Hainan Island (2)
Mu Merchant Group was a place that had vanished without a trace one day in his previous life.
Countless people had suffered losses because of it.
Those who received goods from Mu Merchant Group were thrown into confusion, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
Places that had handed over goods expecting payment never received their money.
Some even went bankrupt or took their own lives because of it.
Proper merchant etiquette called for announcing the dissolution of a group at least a month in advance and tying up loose ends, but they had disappeared overnight.
The imperial palace launched a strict investigation, but strangely, it all fizzled out.
Fortunately, Eunhae Merchant Group had no ties to them, so they suffered no losses.
Come to think of it, that was right around the end of the famine year.
So, about a year from now.
Honestly, since it had nothing to do with his own group, he hadn't paid it any mind.
But now that he knew about it, it felt like even heaven was furious about what had happened back then.
Which meant it was handing the task of resolving it to him.
From the information so far, he could make a decent guess.
Mu Merchant Group must have been the outfit handling the conversion of grain and such—pilfered by corrupt officials in Guangdong Province and Hainan Island—into cash.
Then, when the famine ended and tax collection time came, they must have gone too far and swallowed more than they should.
The Emperor, enraged to the tips of his hair, would have dispatched a large force of Gold Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards.
Those with connections in the palace got wind of it and swiftly liquidated Mu Merchant Group.
With the local officials cleaning up in advance, the Gold Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards would have found nothing to do when they arrived.
No evidence, after all.
The fact that they hadn't been caught until then meant their ledgers were spotless.
Innocent people were the ones who suffered.
What utter scum.
But now that he knew, he wouldn't let it slide so easily.
He wouldn't allow it.
Steeling his resolve, he greeted the errand boy.
"I see. Thank you for letting me know."
"No trouble at all. Haha! I'm glad I could help Seonhyeopmirang."
"……."
Hiding his identity was probably hopeless now.
He gave a wry smile and sank back into thought.
Now that he knew about Mu Merchant Group here, he needed to strike first.
Unlike Hainan Island, Guangdong was on the mainland.
If they sensed something off or got word from Hainan Island, they could bolt immediately.
When herding prey, you always cut off the escape routes first.
Otherwise, it slips away.
Besides, the Emperor had ordered him to strip them of every last ill-gotten coin they'd amassed.
So he couldn't let them escape.
They finished their meal, left the inn, and headed for Mu Merchant Group.
Near the Mu Merchant Group premises, Jin Yu Warrior quietly joined them.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes. We confirmed the man tailing us entered here. But how did you know about this place?"
"I heard the grain scented with Yi Pil Warrior's tracking incense was sold by Mu Merchant Group."
"I see."
Exchanging sound transmissions like that, he observed Mu Merchant Group.
A bloody, unorthodox aura emanated from within.
Meaning corrupt officials weren't the only ones involved.
Was that why the Murim Alliance stayed out, citing the taboo against interfering in government affairs?
From the circumstances, it was clear the Alliance had ties not just to the unorthodox sects but even to the Blood Cult.
One more thing was certain.
Someone would be furious if Mu Merchant Group vanished.
Was this what they called killing two birds with one stone?
Nice.
He headed for the entrance.
It wasn't too late in the evening, so visiting shouldn't be rude.
The gatekeeper spotted them and asked,
"What brings you here?"
"I'm Eun Seo-ho, vice leader of Eunhae Merchant Group. I don't have an appointment, but I'd like to meet the person in charge of rice trading here."
"Eun Seo-ho, the vice leader...?"
"Are you perhaps Seonhyeopmirang?"
"Yes, that's me. It's a bit undeserved, but that's what they call me."
At his words, they bowed their heads to him.
"Greetings, great hero."
"This way, please."
They escorted him politely.
Times like this, the nickname really came in handy.
He'd been famous before, but his performance at the Murim Alliance's friendly martial exhibition and saving people in Luoyang had boosted his renown even more.
He hadn't expected to be turned away, but they were even more welcoming than anticipated.
Sipping tea in the reception room as he waited, someone soon entered.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Wang Suk, acting manager of Mu Merchant Group."
"Eun Seo-ho, vice leader of Eunhae Merchant Group."
They exchanged courteous greetings and took their seats.
"What brings Seonhyeopmirang here at this hour?"
"Ah, I have to head to Hainan Island soon and don't have much time, so I apologize for the intrusion."
"Pardon? Hainan Island?"
He probed subtly.
"If it's not too rude, may I ask what for?"
"It's merchant business. Please forgive me for not saying more."
To merchants, information was power.
Sometimes life itself, so prying was against unspoken protocol.
Yet asking so casually meant he wasn't a real merchant.
Or perhaps his suspicions about Eun Seo-ho hadn't fully cleared.
"Of course, of course! My apologies for overstepping."
"No, thank you for understanding."
He continued.
"The reason I visited your esteemed group is that I had a meal at a nearby inn today, and the rice was exceptionally good. Of course, the chef's skill played a part, but rice has to be quality for the cooked result to shine."
"Hahaha, y-yes, quite right."
"So, I'd like to purchase some of that rice."
"Pardon?"
"About twenty thousand seom—is that possible?"
"Twenty thousand seom..."
He swallowed hard.
Probably calculating the profits in his head.
"Y-yes, possible."
"How much per seom?"
"Five nyang of silver."
Normal price was one nyang, so quite steep.
But harvest season had brought it down a bit.
It would drop further once merchant ships returned loaded with bulk grain from overseas trade.
"Fair price."
"We're a conscientious merchant group."
Eun Seo-ho suppressed a laugh at the brazen claim.
No truly conscientious group would boast like that.
"I'll trust you. Could I see a sample first?"
"Of course. One moment."
He stepped out and soon returned with a dde of rice.
"Here it is."
Eun Seo-ho pretended to inspect it, and at that moment, Yi Pil Warrior sneezed beside him.
"Achoo! Ahem, sorry."
That was the signal.
This was the rice from the sack coated with tracking incense.
"Fine rice."
"Naturally. That old man's eye for grain is..."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, I meant our group's grain buyer."
Making excuses...
He'd been referring to Hainan Sect's leader.
"Good. Let's make a deal."
"Normally, we'd take half as a deposit for such a contract, but as you know, top-grade rice like this is hard to source. So we require full payment upfront to procure it..."
"Full payment in advance?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
As Eun Seo-ho feigned hesitation, the man urgently offered an alternative, looking anxious.
"In exchange, we'll put up collateral."
"Collateral?"
"One moment."
He left the reception room again and returned with a box in hand.
He opened it and showed Eun Seo-ho.
"This."
Inside was a large golden toad statue.
"This should suffice as collateral for the deal."
"Hmm..."
As Eun Seo-ho didn't bite immediately, he asked worriedly,
"Not to your liking?"
"It reminded me of something that happened before. Our group once accepted gold collateral like this. After the deal, when we returned it, they claimed it was fake and demanded compensation."
He continued smoothly.
"I just wondered if the same might happen here..."
"Hahaha! No! We don't pull such shameless stunts."
"Good. That incident was so outrageous we used every connection to expose their crimes, and that merchant group..."
He smiled thinly.
"It was quite a hassle."
"Hahaha."
The man laughed heartily again and pressed on.
"No need to worry. Even if the collateral turns out fake, we won't pursue it."
"You don't trust our group? Implying it might be swapped?"
"Oh! I misspoke. In any case, we won't raise a fuss over the collateral, no matter what."
"Can you put that in writing?"
"Of course."
With the contract signed, Eun Seo-ho handed over the bill of exchange right there.
A whopping one hundred thousand nyang in silver.
"Ah, do you know much about pearls from Hainan Island?"
"Not an expert, but what's up?"
"My wife who came with me wants pearl jewelry."
"I see. Try the Cheon family on Hainan Island."
With the deal done, he rose, took the golden toad, and left Mu Merchant Group.
Since Gold Spirit was silent, it was definitely fake.
Meaning they'd planned to run before honoring the deal.
About time, and he'd just given them a push.
But no matter.
"Jin Yu Warrior."
"Yes."
"Watch them. Notify me immediately if they withdraw the funds from Gold Mountain Treasury."
"Understood."
Then, Jang Won Daehyeop called from behind.
"Seonhyeopmirang."
"Just call me Vice Leader Eun. That title's a bit heavy."
"If you insist... Understood, Vice Leader Eun."
"Yes."
"What are you thinking? Our goal is to investigate Mu Merchant Group, isn't it?"
"Correct."
"Yet you do business with them! And for such a huge sum!"
No wonder he couldn't comprehend handing over one hundred thousand nyang upfront without knowing the plan.
Eun Seo-ho explained calmly.
"You might find it hard to understand, but this is my way of investigating."
"...?"
"A method only a merchant could pull off, perhaps."
He gazed steadily at the man.
The upright aura he sensed evoked a pine tree.
No trace of unorthodox energy.
Which was a relief.
His dedicated assistant wasn't a traitor like in the Yun Province Chunggyeong Castle incident.
But that didn't mean there were no traitors among the others.
If the problem were only on Hainan Island, the dispatched investigators wouldn't have been eliminated so quickly.
There were Embroidered Uniform Guards here colluding with them.
History was long on traitors selling out for personal gain.
"Jang Daehyeop, I have a question."
"Ask away."
"Do you know all the dispatched personnel here?"
"Of course."
"Then, any suspicious ones among them?"
His face hardened at the words.
"Are you saying there's a traitor among us? Quite offensive. We serve His Majesty loyally. How dare you..."
"Haven't you heard about Yun Province's Chunggyeong Castle?"
"……."
His mouth clamped shut, unable to retort further.
As expected, he knew.
No way he wouldn't. The Emperor had made them witness the gruesome fate as a warning.
He might not have seen it himself, but he'd heard.
"And yet you argue?"
"……."
"As you say, I suspect traitors exist. Otherwise, identifying and swiftly eliminating undercover agents is impossible."
He continued.
"Paradoxically, the Embroidered Uniform Guards' prowess is what tipped us off to traitors."
"……."
His wavering eyes suggested he'd suspected as much himself.
His defensive reaction earlier was likely self-loathing over those doubts.
A good man.
"But you're not one."
"How can you be sure?"
"I can tell just by looking. If I must explain, your eyes lack the scheming glint of someone plotting betrayal."
He furrowed his brow.
"Is that why you asked me not to mention you inside the inn?"
"Yes."
He'd made the same request of the innkeeper, whose aura was pure, so not in league with them.
"Now, the answer to your earlier question. They're suspicious of me right now. By dealing directly, I've dispelled that completely. And."
"And?"
"At the same time, I got to inspect inside boldly. Plus, I've set my own trap."
.
.
.
They returned to the inn.
The innkeeper informed them he'd secured a ship to Hainan Island.
The next day around lunchtime, Jin Yu Warrior rushed back with a report.
"My lord, they've made their move."