The Awaited Harvest (5)
Haomen Hangzhou Branch.
The place was in utter chaos.
Cheongpa, whom they had forcibly dragged in and locked away in the prison cell, had vanished.
All that remained in her place were the severed bars.
That meant someone at the Super First-rate level had infiltrated and taken her away.
Bam!
"Who the hell snatched Cheongpa?!"
In the face of the branch chief's fury, everyone could only stay silent, as if their mouths were glued shut.
It was then.
"Branch Chief! Branch Chief!"
Someone burst in, shouting urgently.
"They say Cheongpa Pavilion Mistress has appeared at Cheongpa Pavilion."
"What? At Cheongpa Pavilion?"
"Yes. According to our informant, she was able to return thanks to the help of Eun Seo-ho, the young branch leader who recently took over Cheongpa Pavilion."
"So they ignored our warning after all."
Haomen Hangzhou Branch Chief Yeon-yeon spoke with a venomous expression.
"In that case, we make them regret it as warned. Gather every scrap of information on Eun Seo-ho and everyone around him."
"Yes, sir!"
I heard about the Haomen Hangzhou Branch from Dong-a Soi.
The branch chief's name was Yeon-yeon.
She was a former courtesan who had risen to become the branch chief of Haomen.
"I know she won't rest until she gets the information she wants, no matter what it takes."
"Sounds like a persistent one. And greedy too."
"Exactly. She's obsessed with money. That's why she picks out the most profitable intel with uncanny precision."
Yeon-yeon...
I'd asked about her because she was someone I hadn't encountered in my previous life.
That meant she was the branch chief before the one I knew took over.
Hmm, fair enough.
By now, the branch chief I remembered was probably still climbing the ranks.
He'd told me the previous one got stabbed to death by a subordinate.
Seemed like this Yeon-yeon had made a ton of enemies.
"But the opponent isn't an individual—it's the Haomen Hangzhou Branch. The risk is huge."
"Doesn't matter. Their ways of screwing me over are obvious. At best, they'll collect dirt on me to shake me up."
I chuckled.
"But I haven't lived carelessly enough for that."
Information on me?
Let them dig all they want.
It won't hurt me one bit.
In the meantime, I planned to make them pay for threatening me and touching what's mine.
They reached for my things first—why shouldn't I do the same to theirs?
That dawn.
I slipped out of Cheongpa Pavilion.
Since Haomen might target Cheongpa Pavilion Mistress again, I'd asked Seo-u Warrior to guard her.
And I'd brought only Jin Yu Warrior with me.
To avoid offending the other guards, I'd excused myself by saying it was a covert mission.
Thanks to the trust we'd built up, they agreed without hesitation.
"Even we think Jin Yu Warrior's perfect for sneaky jobs."
"How could we hold back the young master?"
"Jin Yu Warrior, if the young master gets hurt, you're dead by our hands."
"I'll do my best."
I recalled the exchange as I walked the alleyway.
"It's already Insi time, huh."
"Yeah."
I let out a sigh without realizing it.
Slept plenty today—check.
We arrived at the Haomen Hangzhou Branch.
Under their management were five sub-branches, from First Sub-Branch to Fifth.
I scanned the surroundings.
There were watchers, but their skills weren't enough to detect our presence.
We infiltrated stealthily and released Geum-ryeong.
"Kku... Mmph!"
I quickly clamped Geum-ryeong's mouth and sent a sound transmission.
—Quiet!
—Kkwi...
—Find this branch's vault. The one stuffed with money and valuables.
—Kkwi!
Geum-ryeong wiggled its butt and led the way.
We spotted a vault rigged with mechanisms, guarded tightly by warrior sentries.
But that didn't matter.
—Geum-ryeong, you can slip inside, right?
—Kkwi!
Geum-ryeong nodded.
—Then go in and move everything inside to my secret storage. Do that, and I'll give you a gold coin.
Geum-ryeong perked up and darted into the vault. The guards didn't notice a thing.
It was one of Geum-ryeong's specialties.
With enough focus, it could phase through anything. That's what made its already swift movements even faster.
Spirits gonna spirit.
A moment later.
Geum-ryeong emerged from the vault and approached us.
—Got everything moved?
—Kkwi!
Shall we hit the next branch?
Dawn broke.
The Haomen Hangzhou Branch buzzed with activity, scrambling to gather intel on Eun Seo-ho.
"A yellow bird just brought in some info."
"Let me see... They've dug up quite a bit. Pay them accordingly for their efforts."
"Yes, sir."
Information came at a price—one matching its value.
Haomen was a group bound by trading secrets for coin.
And with full effort poured into Eun Seo-ho's dossier, the expenditures were no joke.
"Ah, my money pouch is empty. My steward! Refill this for me."
"Right away."
The branch's internal steward headed to the vault to fill the pouch.
He manipulated the mechanisms and opened the door.
Rumble...
At that moment, the steward froze solid.
Thud.
The pouch slipped from his hand, and his body began to tremble.
One of the guards noticed the odd sight.
"What's wrong?"
"It's... gone..."
"What's gone?"
"The money! There's not a single coin left!"
"What?"
They tilted their heads and peered inside the vault.
"We have to tell the branch chief—now!"
The steward bolted to the branch chief.
"Branch Chief! Disaster!"
"What is it?"
"The vault's empty—no money!"
"What nonsense is this, like a bolt from the blue? The vault's empty?"
Branch Chief Yeon-yeon furrowed her brow.
"You trying to mess with me?"
"How dare I joke with you, Branch Chief?"
His serious expression made her stand.
"Let's go see."
She followed him to the vault and stepped inside.
"What? Isn't this the vault?"
"We're already inside the vault."
"What?"
"This whole space is the vault."
"......"
Stunned, Yeon-yeon looked around. Nothing but dust.
Not a single coin—everything had vanished clean.
"Wh-who the hell did this?!"
As she reeled in shock, someone called for the branch chief.
"Branch Chief! Urgent news from First Sub-Branch. You need to see this."
"......Tell them to come back later."
"Can't do that. Thieves cleaned out their vault last night!"
"What? Their vault too?"
Yeon-yeon blinked. First the main branch, now First Sub-Branch.
It was then.
"Branch Chief! Big trouble—Second Sub-Branch's vault got hit!"
"Ha. Haha. Hahaha."
She burst into mad laughter, unable to accept the reality.
There was an old saying.
"Never say never."
Hearing that Fifth Sub-Branch had been robbed too, Yeon-yeon collapsed on the spot.
"Branch Chief!"
"Are you okay?"
She barely regained her senses and nodded.
"I'm fine."
She knew exactly who was behind this mess.
'Eun Seo-ho! That bastard's work for sure!'
She didn't know how, but she couldn't just take this lying down.
She ordered her subordinates.
"Bring every bit of intel we've gathered on Eun Seo-ho!"
"Yes, sir!"
To strike back, she pored over every detail on Eun Seo-ho.
She hadn't been at it long, but her skills had yielded plenty.
"Got a hero title from the Murim Alliance—Seonhyeopmirang. But even heroes have their flaws if you dig deep!"
Then her face fell in dismay.
"Wait, what's this? Eun Seo-ho's tight with the Gold Guard?"
"Yes. Apparently close with a high-ranking officer named Jin Yeong."
"......"
She bit her lip and flipped pages.
She picked up a sheet and her eyes widened.
"What? When Eun Seo-ho got targeted by the Ministry of Commerce guilds, the Gold Guard and Emperor's aides pressured the ministry?"
"Yes. The Minister of Commerce himself welcomed Eun Seo-ho."
"......"
She bit her lip again and rummaged through more.
"Frequent trips to the North Sea?"
"Yes. Set up an Eunhae Merchant Group branch there and traveled with the North Sea Ice Palace's young palace lord."
She bit her lip once more.
"And this... The Emperor favors him? Summoned to the palace often?"
Maybe from biting too hard—blood trickled.
Her clenched fists shook violently.
They weren't just untouchables; this was absurd.
The Emperor himself—practically the empire.
His eyes and hands, the terrifying Gold Guard and aides.
North Sea Ice Palace—one of the strongest single factions.
And the Murim Alliance.
Connected to fearsome powers across court and martial world—she was losing her mind.
"Um... Branch Chief. Looks like we poked someone we shouldn't have."
"I know that without you saying!"
Then the internal steward cautiously asked.
"B-but what about the payments due today?"
"Just pay them—why ask me..."
Yeon-yeon snapped, then clamped her mouth shut.
The Hangzhou Branch had zero coin.
Haomen couldn't deposit funds in banks by nature—cash only. Fees made it a loss, and it risked leaking finances.
Couldn't borrow from banks either—relations were sour, same reasons.
Couldn't beg other branches.
Haomen branches were fiercely independent.
It wasn't pocket change; they'd probe, then back off—afraid of backlash.
Couldn't ask the Gate Lord either.
He'd stressed the Gate Lord must seem absent for longevity.
If he learned she'd tangled with empire-level powers via Eun Seo-ho...
'My head's on the block!'
Her hands trembled. She had to fix this fast.
"Young Branch Leader Eun Seo-ho... sir, where might you be now?"
Cheongpa Pavilion.
I was there, hearing the errand boys' damage estimate.
"Hmm, so total around a hundred silver taels, right?"
"Yes."
I'd told them to double it, so probably fifty actual.
Reasons for doubling:
First, compensation for mental trauma. How scared must they have been, thugs wrecking their workplace?
Second, the broken furnishings held the boys' care and memories over years.
Destroying them erased that too.
"We'll take the full amount."
"But Young Branch Leader."
Cheongpa Pavilion Mistress called worriedly from beside me.
"Is this really okay? Haomen's power..."
"Info's scary, yeah. But something scarier exists. Know what?"
"......?"
I grinned at her puzzled tilt.
"Money."
That's why I'd swept every coin from Haomen Hangzhou Branch.
Then Palgap approached.
"Y-young master. Haomen wants to meet you."
I nodded and headed to the entrance.
A man saw me, bowed politely.
"From Haomen Hangzhou Branch. Our branch chief wishes to meet. Please come with me."
"Tell him to come himself."
"Pardon?"
"I got no business there. If they do, their chief should come."
He broke into cold sweat, bowed.
"I-I'll relay that."
He scurried off. I let out a hollow laugh watching.
Haomen Hangzhou Branch Chief's got a ways to go before coming to her senses.
Pride even now? Do I look that easy?
"If Haomen Hangzhou Branch can't pay for info, will sellers still come?"
"Probably not. But won't that hurt the info brokers who live off sales?"
"That's why I've got a plan. Spread a rumor in Hangzhou: I'll buy that intel instead."
"Pardon?"
"And pay in grain."
Grain's what money can't always buy right now.
And as the saying goes, the one feeding you is the good guy.
I'm no good guy, but I'll play the part.