The Merchant's Treachery
"Any clues on the culprit?"
"None."
"Then what do you plan to do now?"
"The Naphae Gate will come looking for us in one shichen."
"What? What are you talking about? Why would the Naphae Gate come after us? And how would they even know we're here?"
"The one who killed the cooks must have told them. I don't know the method, though."
"Then what should we do?"
"Running away won't help. There's someone among us in league with the Naphae Gate. We need to prepare to receive them."
"Damn it all! Head Shin, I'll go check on the ronins' condition."
So Kang-mu slipped away before anyone could stop him.
Shin Woo, still standing there with a flustered face, asked Dan Yeop.
"Is it certain the Naphae Gate is coming?"
"They used poison and killed the cooks as well. They will definitely come."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"We'll meet them and hear what they want."
"What do you think that is?"
"Considering they killed the cooks..."
"Considering they...?"
"It won't be anything good."
Shin Woo, who had been clinging to hope, let out a deflated sigh.
"Haa... I suppose you're right."
"Still, since the Gate Master of the Naphae Gate holds the rank of commandant, I'll try speaking with him as one official to another."
"I doubt he'll listen."
"Nothing to lose by trying."
"Understood. Give it your best. If this resolves well, I'll make sure to repay you properly once we return."
"Of course. It's a matter of life and death. I have to give it everything."
With a dark expression, Head Shin returned to the upper guards.
Dan Yeop walked toward the area where the ronin had gathered.
Chae-un spotted him and hurried over.
"Thirty of them ate the horaltang."
Dan Yeop nodded, then suddenly asked.
"Sister, this is the first time we've had horaltang since leaving Chang'an Castle, isn't it?"
Horaltang was a spicy soup flavored with hocho—black pepper.
Since pepper itself was an expensive spice, it was usually only found in restaurants. Merchant caravans typically served yangyuktang instead.
"First time. Why?"
"It occurred to me that we've never had it during our journey before."
"Obviously. Who would go to the trouble of making horaltang when pepper costs so much?"
"Then why did the cooks make it?"
"To hide the taste of the aconite and other poisons, of course."
"Exactly as I thought."
Dan Yeop nodded and changed the subject.
"Sister, can you prepare an antidote?"
"I could make something similar, but we don't have the ingredients. Even if we went to the village to gather them, there's no way to finish it in one shichen."
"So we're stuck taking the hit?"
"Pretty much."
Seo-hwa, standing nearby, cut in with a worried expression.
"Maknae, shouldn't we run?"
"They'd catch us quickly. This is Baekwol Kingdom."
"So we just sit here and let them kill us?"
"Our original goal was to meet the Naphae Gate Master and settle things anyway. If they're coming to us, we should be grateful."
At Dan Yeop's calm composure, Seo-hwa blinked.
"Is that courage? Recklessness? Or have you lost your mind?"
"None of those."
"Then what? What are you relying on to stay so relaxed?"
Just then, a commotion broke out among the gathered ronin.
"We can't stay here! We have to run!"
"Bullshit! Run where? All this fuss over two dead cooks."
"Fuss? How do twenty people fight the Naphae Gate?"
"Everyone calm down. We don't even know how many from the Naphae Gate are coming."
"You people don't understand. This might not be the Naphae Gate's doing at all."
"What are you saying? If not them, who would do it?"
"Looks to me like the whole thing was staged by those upper merchants."
"Staged how?"
"They never planned to rescue Head Merchant Na Jin-geum in the first place. Only five upper guards came along—doesn't that tell you everything? Na Jin-geum's been pushed out. They'll pretend to search, then give up and head back. You think I've only seen a merchant group change hands once or twice?"
"That actually makes sense."
"More than half the ronin are poisoned, but all the upper guards are perfectly fine, right? It's obvious. They tried to save the head merchant but got poisoned themselves, so they have no choice but to turn back. Perfect excuse. No losses on their side."
"Plausible. Let's watch and see who's right."
"If the Naphae Gate shows up while you're all chatting, we're dead."
"Ah, fuck, stop jinxing us."
"What? Fuck? Hey! What's your name, you bastard?"
"This bastard? I'm A-gwi the swordsman. Who the hell are you?"
"Bae Deok, you son of a bitch."
"Bae Deok? What a pathetic name. Some nobody I've never heard of strutting around like he owns the place? Just because you're a ronin doesn't make us all the same."
The argument quickly turned into a brawl.
As a result, both the "run away" and "wait and see" factions were forgotten.
Watching the ronin fight, Dan Yeop muttered.
"They say many heads are better than one. Looks like it's true."
Seo-hwa flinched in surprise.
"What does that mean? Are you saying what they said is true?"
"Not everything, but some of it."
"Which part?"
"There are seven people total between the head and the upper guards, yet none of them touched the horaltang. Sister, does that look like coincidence to you?"
"It is strange, but... then why kill the cooks?"
"It's a very bad sign."
"Explain it clearly so I can understand."
"The cooks suddenly used expensive pepper to make horaltang. Then they laced it with poison herbs. Once the job was done, they killed the cooks. Still not seeing it? Then maybe we should drop the 'fox' from your nickname, Beautiful Fox."
Seo-hwa lowered her voice to a whisper.
"They're planning to kill all of us?"
"That way they don't have to pay the remaining balance. Much more convenient."
"......"
Seo-hwa glanced doubtfully toward the cluster of merchant officials.
The investigation team's rest stretched on after the poisoning and the subsequent murder of the cooks.
Between the investigation and everything else, half a shichen passed in the blink of an eye.
Eventually the anxious ronin began to clamor that finding the culprit was important, but they should leave this place first.
Even that proved difficult.
Everyone agreed to leave, but they couldn't agree on where to go.
Opinions split sharply on the question of their next destination.
Most ronin wanted to return to Chang'an Castle, but Head Shin and Escort Captain So Kang-mu insisted they had to go to the Naphae Gate.
Since the original contract had been to rescue Na Jin-geum from the Naphae Gate, the ronin couldn't completely dismiss their employers' opinion.
With no consensus, the investigation team couldn't take a single step.
Another half shichen passed amid the endless arguing.
That was when the poisoning symptoms began to appear.
Some ronin complained of dizziness and collapsed where they stood. Others began retching violently.
At that moment, roughly a hundred warriors in varied attire appeared.
Their weapons were as diverse as their clothing. Curved blades were most common, but many also carried straight swords, greatswords, scythes, and axes.
But that was only the beginning.
Behind the hundred or so tribal warriors, a cavalry unit slowly revealed itself.
The cavalry numbered another hundred, half armed with curved blades and the rest with recurve bows.
That many archers on horseback could overwhelm even the most skilled martial artists.
Ja-yoon's face turned deathly pale as he muttered.
"It's over."
Fewer than thirty people in the investigation team could still fight, while the enemy numbered two hundred. The situation was utterly hopeless.
Head Shin and Captain So Kang-mu led the five upper guards toward the tribal warriors.
Whether they meant to negotiate or surrender was unclear.
For some reason, Dan Yeop also ran forward and joined the upper guards.
Ja-yoon stared at him in disbelief before asking the others.
"It looks like Dan Yeop just joined Head Shin's side. Am I seeing that right? Does anyone know why he's going over there?"
"Dan Yeop isn't the type to do that."
"Right. Maknae would never betray us."
"He's probably trying to talk with the Naphae Gate."
Though they said this, none of them could tear their eyes away from Dan Yeop.
The other ronin, however, had no such reservations.
"Fuck! The constable bastard finally showed his true colors!"
"I knew something was off from the start! He was brought by the head!"
"What happens now?"
"What happens? We're all screwed, that's what."
"I should have known when he suddenly appeared and insisted on investigating. He was just keeping us here until the Naphae Gate arrived. That son of a bitch."
"Dan Yeop! You bastard! And you call yourself a constable!"
Watching the ronin curse him, Na Geum-ryeong spoke to Na Bu-gang.
"See? I told you we couldn't trust a constable."
"Don't jump to conclusions."
Na Bu-gang gritted his teeth, glancing back and forth between Shin Woo and Dan Yeop.
It was certainly suspicious, but it might not be what it seemed.
He hoped it wasn't.
Shin Woo glanced at Dan Yeop but said nothing.
After all, Dan Yeop's life was already in his hands.
When they were roughly ten jang from the Naphae Gate, Dan Yeop asked.
"Head Shin, was this entire thing planned by Acting Head Yu Man-seok?"
"Not the acting head. The new head of the merchant group."
"And I suppose Captain So Kang-mu killed the cooks?"
"Sharp as ever. Or perhaps simply late?"
Shin Woo stopped when they were about five jang from the Naphae Gate.
Even with the enemy right in front of them, Dan Yeop's questions continued.
"Why kill the cooks? They followed your orders well enough to lace the horaltang with poison."
"Their loyalty was weak. Once we returned to Chang'an, the county office would investigate. We couldn't trust them to stay quiet."
"I see. You must have had quite a grudge against Head Merchant Na Jin-geum. It was obvious from the work you did in Baekwol Kingdom."
"He didn't have the caliber to lead a merchant group. Head was the highest he should have gone. I removed him for the sake of the Jinbo Merchant Group."
"It wasn't your own greed and that of the acting head?"
"History will judge who was right."
"No need to burden your descendants. I'll judge you according to the law. By the way, what conditions did Acting Head Yu Man-seok offer that made the Naphae Gate agree to get involved?"
"He promised to pay half of the annual profits as tribute."
"That can't be all."
Dan Yeop asked because it seemed unlikely a major faction like the Naphae Gate would move for so little.
"As expected, your mind works quickly. Not only in Monghwa Prefecture, but we'll also expand our operations into the eastern part of Namun Province."
"You'll monopolize the eastern Namun trade routes under the Naphae Gate's banner?"
"Not all of it. Just the goods entering Chang'an Castle. This conversation has grown tiresome. Let's end it here."
Shin Woo then bowed to the man in his forties standing opposite them.
"Gate Master, it is good to see you again."
The Naphae Gate Master, the Netherworld Guest Ha Hyeon-do, nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Head Shin, perhaps it's because you're a merchant, but you keep your time well. Your work is very much to my liking. So now I simply need to clean up those leftovers behind you?"
Shin Woo turned to look at Dan Yeop and said.
"Constable Dan Yeop, and you..."