Never Let Your Guard Down (2)
The travelers, still dazed by the sight of the landslide, murmured among themselves as they turned to look at me.
"We were supposed to be passing through there right now, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"So, Eun Seo-ho saved our lives when we almost died?"
"Uh...."
They rushed over to me, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you so much."
Then the Gaksa Oerang envoy approached me.
"I'm truly grateful! If it weren't for you, we would've been in big trouble!"
"I only did what needed to be done."
The caravan leader expressed his thanks as well.
"We all owe you our lives, Young Master Eun."
"It was just my duty—no need to make such a fuss, or I'll get embarrassed. Haha."
I glanced back briefly.
The ones who had grumbled earlier about detouring were now gazing at me with eyes full of awe, as if it had never happened.
I looked at the Seo-u Warrior, who shrugged and smirked.
The Gaksa Oerang envoy spoke up.
"It's fortunate we're all safe, but we should send someone to inspect that area."
"Yes, sir."
He immediately dispatched Gold Guards, who investigated the landslide site and returned with their report.
"Reporting, sir. The eastern pass of Myodun Mountain is completely blocked by the landslide."
"It'll take considerable manpower and time to clear."
"Fortunately, no travelers were passing through, so there are no casualties."
"No casualties? That's a well-trafficked route."
"Yes, sir. It seems someone placed a massive boulder ahead, forcing people to detour without clearing it."
Hearing this, the envoy approached me.
"Young Master Eun."
"Yes?"
"Did you block that road?"
"Ah... if you're referring to the boulder, yes, that was me. I was certain a landslide was coming, and it would've been tragic if someone passed through and got caught in it."
I took the same precaution on the other side, too.
And confirmed no one was coming.
"You must've gotten an earful from those trying to pass."
"It's fine. I get curses all the time anyway—a few more won't make a difference."
He let out a hearty laugh at my words.
"Truly, no one suits the title of Seonhyeopmirang better than you."
The Seonhyeopmirang moniker still embarrasses me.
When will I get used to it?
"I'll go report this to the local magistrate."
"Understood."
It was a major landslide.
So, we had to inform the magistrate to take action.
Of course,
ignoring it and heading straight to Namgyeong would only earn a scolding from His Majesty later.
Whether it's from the heart or just to avoid punishment, who knows.
Handling it beforehand is a skill in itself.
"We'll have to camp nearby tonight, then."
"Indeed."
I glanced at the landslide site one last time, thinking to myself.
Complacency is definitely off-limits.
That evening, the rain finally stopped.
Good thing.
Nothing good comes from transporting goods in the rain.
The Gaksa Oerang envoy, who had gone to the county office, returned as well.
"Welcome back. How did it go?"
"The magistrate said he'll report it upward."
It would be much faster for him to send a courier than for us to inform them after reaching Namgyeong.
The next day.
We set off for Namgyeong again.
Because of the detour, it took an extra day, arriving after five days total.
"Welcome."
The Provincial Military Commander of Namgyeong, Ak Daein, personally came out to greet us.
"It's an honor to be received by you, sir."
"Aren't you all here on His Majesty's orders? I must treat you accordingly."
There's steel in his words.
Meaning he'll kick us out if we fail to carry out the Emperor's command properly.
"Rest well. The river route ahead is treacherous, isn't it?"
"Thank you for your consideration."
Ak Daein wrapped up the conversation and turned to me.
"By the way, I heard you went to escort them."
"Yes."
The Gaksa Oerang envoy smoothly interjected.
"Actually, we nearly faced a dire situation on the way here."
He explained the full story of the landslide.
"Good heavens! How fortunate you're all safe."
"If Young Master Eun Seo-ho hadn't rushed ahead to warn us, we wouldn't have made it unscathed, and we couldn't have fulfilled His Majesty's command."
Ak Daein looked at me with a pleased expression.
His gaze made me a bit shy.
"I wondered why Bang Hyo-myeong chose you as his successor, but now I understand."
So even Ak Daein knows I'm the successor to the Yukshik-gong.
Well, this place is under Bang Daein's influence, after all...
"Everyone, get some good rest."
"Yes, sir."
I headed to my quarters.
"My lord!"
"Welcome back, my lord."
The Changun Warriors and Myeongjong Warriors who had stayed behind greeted me.
"No issues while I was gone?"
"None."
"That's a relief."
I continued.
"Where's Deputy Gwak?"
"In his quarters."
I needed to report to Jeong Ho hyung, but first, I had to see Seo-hyang Sojeo.
"Deputy Gwak."
"Come in."
I opened the door and entered Seo-hyang Sojeo's room.
She was handling documents on the desk.
"Were you processing these in my stead? I'm sorry."
"No, it's my duty."
She cleared the papers and greeted me.
"You returned safely."
"Yes."
I nodded and said,
"Thanks to you, everyone made it back safe."
"I'm so glad."
Why does her smile look so beautiful right now?
"I saw a changed future. A terribly gruesome one..."
She continued.
"But you've altered it, Young Master."
Is it just this time?
Thinking back, I've changed quite a few futures.
Sometimes unexpected crises arose from it, but people whose lives improved thanks to those changes helped me resolve them.
It felt like the futures I'd changed were repaying the favor.
The next day.
Loading the goods onto the Eunhae Merchant Group's ships began.
For items we were shipping, Jeong Ho hyung and I inspected each one personally before loading.
Most of the goods we carried were liquor.
Not just the selections from the liquor tasting, but also Eunhae-produced brews.
The liquor bottles made by Go Sangdanju of Cheongsu Merchant Group and Dam Sodanju of Mudong Merchant Group, backed by the imperial court, were stunningly beautiful in themselves.
They must've burned through a lot of potters making these.
These will be in huge demand in Daewol Kingdom and Marae-seo Kingdom.
They'll bring in massive profits.
Jeong Ho hyung and I double-checked every item and had them resealed in front of us.
"You sure make it tough."
One of the inner court eunuchs who had come with the Gaksa Oerang envoy said that to me as he watched.
The Emperor always sent a trusted eunuch to oversee such matters.
But even they couldn't act arrogantly here, with the Gold Guards present.
There was a subtle rivalry between them, so they had to watch each other.
And unseen shadows lurked too.
Like me, the inspecting censor.
I smiled and replied,
"Hyung and I are responsible for this shipment. If anything's off, we'll bear the blame, so we have to be thorough."
I added,
"Besides, this is to spread His Majesty's grace far and wide. How could we be negligent?"
"Fair enough."
Of course, my thorough checks weren't just for those reasons—there was another.
Lately, unauthorized goods had been slipping into export crates.
Smuggled items.
For foreign trade, every single item for sale had to be reported.
Then, grain purchases matched the sales revenue.
Profits from unreported smuggled goods became pure merchant income, undocumented.
This boomed after famines ended and grain buys weren't needed.
Trading ships then paid taxes on imports and exports.
Under the guise of encouraging asset growth, but taxes were light.
Still, greedy merchants dodged them with wild smuggling tricks.
The tails got long, it all came out, and the Emperor punished them harshly.
For deceiving him.
Many merchant leaders died in prison then.
That's why I nipped it in the bud like this.
A warning to any Eunhae staff tempted to smuggle, and trust-building for the Emperor's men and officials.
Then it happened.
"Seo-ho! Big trouble!"
"Trouble?"
"This cart... the stuff that's supposed to be here is gone."
"What?"
I quickly checked the cart's crates. They were empty inside.
This cart held boxes of sobyeongju—small bottles, about a fifth the size of standard ones, filled with tasting winners.
Inspired by the Emperor's gifts to high officials, these were for the kings of Daewol and Marae-seo.
Ten bottles per small box, ten boxes per cart—twenty total.
One cart for Daewol, one for Marae-seo. The Daewol one was missing.
Ordinary goods? We could eat the loss. But gifts for kings? Unforgivable.
Pandemonium ensued.
"I definitely loaded it onto the cart."
"I confirmed it too."
Everyone swore it was loaded, checked at every fork.
Yet vanished without a trace.
So it disappeared recently?
Damn... can't let my guard down for a second.
I sighed inwardly.
Did someone swap the cart after arriving at the Namgyeong Provincial Command?
The Jin Yu Warrior beside me said,
"But as far as I know, the carts were guarded the whole time."
"Yes, that's right."
"I can't fathom where the gap was."
The guards stood speechless, faces troubled.
They bore some responsibility.
But now wasn't the time for blame—it was for solutions.
If only dark energy lingered on the cart, we could track it... but no.
Should I call Chun Il or Geun Seong?
Suddenly, the pirates in Namgyeong prison came to mind.
Desperate times call for cat's paws.
Even a tiny clue would help.
Seo-hyang Sojeo not mentioning it means either she didn't see it or it's resolved fine.
Then Palgap tilted his head.
"What?"
"I smell roses somewhere."
"Yeah. Not rose season yet—someone must've sprinkled perfume."
"Better than rotten fish smell."
I arrived at the Namgyeong prison.
"Doing well?"
I greeted the former pirates.
"We're eating and sleeping great."
"Kekekeke, this is paradise."
I plopped down in front of them.
"Truth is, I came for advice."
"From scum like us?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"The Duke said among three people, one is surely a master. How much more you experts in your field."
One of them spoke up.
"Something to do with pirates?"
"Not sure."
I explained the situation in detail.
"...So now we're in a real bind."
They huddled and discussed.
"Whole cart swapped, and no one noticed?"
"No gaps, no traitors."
"No disguises either, then..."
As they conferred, someone clapped.
"Ah? What if it's that? The bewitching trick!"
"The one you heard from those other pirates over drinks?"
"Blood Bird Group, right? The ones operating around here!"
"Yes! Blood Bird Group! They used that method a lot. What was the scent?"
"Saho-hyang, I think."
I asked in shock,
"Saho-hyang?"
I knew of Saho-hyang.
"Yes. There's a pirate crew called Blood Bird Group. Their captain has this artifact called Saho-hyang—no idea what it looks like. But inhale its scent, and you obey the owner's commands."
...To encounter this wicked artifact now—is it heaven's will?