Delivery Accident — 5
The Doctrine of Universal Sword.
It was a time-honored maxim of the martial world: to escape poverty, settle it with a sword; when words fail, settle it with a sword; when a business relationship sours, settle it with a sword; and when you want to create a monopoly, settle that with a sword too.
Lost your clients? No problem — just engineer a little courier "accident," wuxia style.
They even went so far as to brazenly dock the merchant ship in Wuhan as advertising. In short, the Nokcheong Escort Agency's plan was to fix everything with nothing but the sword.
"That's the most likely scenario."
"Yes, I think so tooo."
Both women nodded, apparently convinced by my reasoning.
"It does sound right, but doesn't it clash a little with what the witness heard? Something like 'find it — it's not there,' wasn't it?"
That exact line had confused me too. I'd assumed the target was the cargo. But once you pieced the situation together, there was another way to read it.
"With the escort chief dead, they must have struggled to single out only the shipments that would actually hurt Seocheon Escort Agency."
The root of it all was the Wuhan branch manager of Seocheon, who had bitten off more than he could chew in his drive to expand the business.
Poaching so many clients from the Nokcheong Agency was certainly an achievement — but it meant shouldering that much more risk.
He'd promised massive compensation to several trading houses, including a prominent merchant clan, should anything go wrong with their shipments.
The cargo Nokcheong targeted must have been precisely the shipments carrying those hefty compensation guarantees. The kind of cargo that could bankrupt the entire Wuhan branch in a single escort run.
Remind me, when I get the chance, to tell them about that old Joseon proverb: never put all your cargo in one hull.
"Whatever standing they have in Wuhan, attacking an agency run by the Sichuan Tang Clan? Aren't they insane?"
Im Hayeon asked with an incredulous look.
"This is Wuhan, Hubei — not Sichuan. And the Wuhan branch manager isn't even a Tang."
"So it was a fight between agencies, not an attack on the Sichuan Tang Clan itself?"
I nodded at Hayeon's sharp observation.
Even the Sichuan Tang Clan doesn't run its businesses with family members alone.
They hire outsiders freely for the enterprises they operate, expanding the business with flexibility. A promising hire might even be taken in as a son-in-law and made a proper member of the family.
"If the crime were perfect, they could ruin the branch that stole their clients — and if things went wrong, they could always cut off the tail. That must have been their calculation."
None of the escort men who died in the Wuhan incident, nor the branch manager, were Tang family.
Strictly speaking, the body of the Sichuan Tang Clan wasn't attacked — one of its possessions got broken. Even the mighty Sichuan Tang Clan, the calculation went, wouldn't make a big move over this much.
"The agency head may be underworld-born, but he doesn't think small."
And these are men who believe that with a sword alone they can work their own miracles of the loaves and fishes. Is there anything they'd consider beyond them?
"Of course, it's all in the realm of conjecture. I can't be certain the goods actually exist."
Not that it was anything more than a theory stitched together from evidence and circumstance.
"…I'm going to step out for a bit."
Im Hayeon looked back and forth between me and Jegal Hyang, then spoke with a slightly dissatisfied face.
"Night's about to fall. Are you sure? It might be better to wait and go tomorrow."
Where she intended to go was as clear as day. Jegal Hyang was right there, so she was objecting on her behalf, tactfully.
"One of us should do her part, right?"
She does the work of dozens every single day — what's this about "one person's share"? I suppose Jegal Hyang finding the evidence in a single stroke shook her more than she let on.
As I moved to walk her out and dissuade her, I saw her hand, clenched tight into a fist.
She had no intention of backing down.
"…Watch your step. Go carefully and come back safe."
Confronted with Im Hayeon's burning determination, I finally nodded.
"Has she gone?"
As I sat brooding in my chair, Im Hayeon leapt in through the window.
Good grief. Would it kill her to use the door like a normal person?
"A man and woman staying together late into the night isn't proper. I put her in a carriage and sent her home."
Fiancée or not, she was a well-bred young lady of a great house, so I'd made sure she was in a carriage before sundown.
"Hmm…."
Im Hayeon hummed, apparently pleased about something, and drifted closer to me.
"Don't bring your face that close."
I've got three faces to worry about already.
"What are you saying. Here — this was in the Nokcheong Agency's warehouse."
Her expression soured in an instant as she handed me an item she'd retrieved from the Nokcheong Agency.
It was Volume 3 of Dangga Pungun.
The Nokcheong Agency was behind it, just as I suspected.
"It must have been dangerous. You did well."
I'd been worried sick she might run into the master who killed the escort men.
"Who do you take me for?"
Im Hayeon declared with haughty confidence.
"And yet I'll worry about you every day anyway."
Because no matter how destined she is to become the world's greatest thief, she's my precious partner.
I smirked and waved Volume 3 of Dangga Pungun at her.
"Ugh… honestly! Anyway, shall we contact Seocheon and raid them?"
Im Hayeon pouted, evidently displeased about something, then moved on to ask about our next step.
"That would be hard. Nokcheong has its headquarters here in Wuhan. Seocheon, after losing the branch's escort men on top of everything, is no match for a single raid — this little branch can't manage it."
The only reason they dared pull such a brazen stunt was the confidence that, in Wuhan at least, their clout crushed Seocheon's outright.
"Should we at least recover the books?"
"No need for that either."
"You have something else in mind, don't you?"
Sensing something from my confident bearing, Im Hayeon perched herself on my desk and asked.
Of course I do.
"I've already prepared a way."
While Im Hayeon was risking her neck, I hadn't exactly been sitting idle either.
"You've come for a big transaction? As it happens, the agency head is in — I'll show you in."
The next morning, I visited the Nokcheong Escort Agency with a few people in tow.
It was bigger than I'd imagined. Forget Seocheon's Wuhan branch — it dwarfed even the Yichang branch we'd relocated to the Baek Family Manor.
Real estate this expensive in Wuhan, and a compound this size? All I could do was marvel.
And where Seocheon's escort men were like couriers who happened to carry swords — deliverymen with blades — these men were like the deranged motorcycle riders who tear down the highway screaming today, one of us dies.
"I am the head of the Nokcheong Escort Agency. I'll show you to a room."
The man who introduced himself as the agency head was a middle-aged martial artist who looked like he belonged in tattoos, a gold chain, a gold bracelet, and a money bag slung over his shoulder.
And bleached-green hair, to boot. The rumors about his Greenwood past were starting to ring true.
"We've come from Daseogak. We can speak here if you prefer."
"Daseogak? Ah! I've heard of it. Aren't you the ones who took losses when Seocheon's shipment was hit? I hear you're famous for some novel or other…."
How would a man living in Wuhan know that a bookstore in Yichang suffered losses in an escort raid?
The only people who could know that were the Seocheon branch manager and the people of Daseogak.
The sheer shamelessness of this bandit-faced agency head nearly wrenched a laugh out of me, but I kept my expression serene.
"We've come for that cargo."
"Aha! So Seocheon is switching over to our Nokcheong Agency? Excellent choice. Hubei folk should stick together!"
I'm Joseon, you bastard.
"We haven't come to entrust cargo. We've come to find it."
I shook my head and spoke plainly.
"No cargo destined for Daseogak has passed through here in the past week. You must be mistaken."
The agency head, apparently realizing something was off, answered with a stone face.
Now the real business begins.
Looking every bit the part of a man who'd come knowing his schemes inside and out, I addressed him.
"I beg to differ. A shipment arrived here last night, didn't it?"
"What?!"
The agency head's brow furrowed instantly.
"Agency head. Kneel and beg now, and I might let you keep your neck."
There wasn't a single fool in this room who didn't understand what I meant. Let's move quickly.
"What mad barbarian spews this filth!"
They say the guilty rage first. He didn't waste any time.
The agency head drew his blade and swung at my throat. I could have evaded it with the Shadowless Body Art or blocked it with the Jade-Faced Guardian Divine Skill, but I chose to stand still.
"Not another step!"
Someone beside me would block it for me.
"No wonder some shady character hides under a straw hat! The Seocheon branch manager! It's you! Ruined, and now you come to drag down living men with you!"
The man accompanying me was the branch manager of Seocheon Escort Agency, teetering on the edge of dismissal — one of my most potent weapons.
"You thought you could commit this unforgivable outrage and walk away unscathed?!"
His reinstatement is riding on this match, so he's certainly enthusiastic.
"So you've finally crawled out to stir trouble, have you!"
I watched the two men square off for a moment, then stepped back a pace and spoke to the agency head.
"Open your warehouse. If you're innocent, there's no harm in letting us check."
"Impudent barbarian! Only those with my permission may lay eyes on the cargo!"
If you're not guilty, then give permission. What's with all this posturing when you can't even do that much?
"I'll say it once more. Open the warehouse."
I said it again, cold as ice.
"The only gate you'll pass through is under my legs! You Sichuan cur! If you value your life, crawl beneath them!"
"You basstaaard!"
"Insolent dogs! What are you all standing around for! Subdue them! Daring to suspect a man of his own wits — beat them to a pulp and they'll come to their senses!"
In the courtyard of the Nokcheong Agency, the escort men who had been watching the standoff all surged forward to seize us.
A moment of crisis.
And I smiled inwardly.
Good. The stage is set.
I circulated my inner energy.
These days it takes only a single breath to amplify my voice through the Soyun Mind Image Art.
"I'll say it once more! We are from Daseogak, whose cargo was stolen from us. Return our goods!"
The voice rang out so powerfully that it shook the entire compound, and the escort men froze mid-stride in shock.
"Daseogak or not, what of it?! All that's coming to you is the club and the blade!"
Is that so?
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
I clutched my forehead and laughed, loudly and deliberately, so that everyone could see.
"Has this bastard lost his mind?"
To all appearances it was the grin of a lunatic. Sure enough, the escort men still didn't move.
Bless them. Though what would I have done if they'd approached me while I was laughing like a madman?
"Thank you. Truly."
Still grinning, I turned my gaze on the agency head.
"Wha—?!"
"You performed exactly as expected."
As I spoke, I raised my hand and snapped my fingers.
A pigeon, one with a familiar look about it, had been surveying the scene from the rooftop — and at my signal, it soared into the sky.
And then—
"Agency head!!! You must come out at once!!!"
A tremendous voice thundered from the front gate.
"What is it?!"
"You daaare!!!! What is the meaning of this!!!!"
And there were so many of them. A horde of martial artists smashed through the gates of the Nokcheong Agency.
Seocheon Escort Agency alone could not resolve this matter.
Even if they could, it would end as cutting off the tail — a case of overzealous loyal escort men, nothing more.
No — after killing my hardworking escort men, am I supposed to accept a mere cargo delivery and call it finished?
Death benefits for the escort men, condolence payments, and my own labor fees — someone has to settle those too, no?
Seocheon won't do it, and my own strength won't do it — so what's left?
I turned to look at the woman behind me, straw hat in place, gripping my sleeve.
"M-Mister Kang, it's youuu."
"It's all right. It's over now."
"The Mangeum Hall?! Why is the Mangeum Hall at the Nokcheong Agency?!"
"You daaare! The crime of oppressing the Mangeum Lord's granddaughter at swordpoint, and coveting the cargo of Daseogak, property of the Mangeum Hall! You will pay for it in full!!!"
"Whaaat?!"
I told you, didn't I, agency head?
Not that I came out of Daseogak.
We came out of Daseogak.