Hainan Island (4)
In a thatched hut deep in the forest.
This was one of the Gold Guard's safe houses.
Inside, a man hung suspended in midair, bound and unconscious.
His limb meridians had been severed.
Jang Won Daehyeop, in a rage upon discovering a letter in his possession meant for his collaborators, had personally crippled the man's meridians.
"We could just tie him up..."
"No. A Gold Guard could break free from any bonds and escape whenever he wanted."
"......"
Well, when you put it that way, what choice did we have?
Still, doing this made us feel like the bad guys.
But it wasn't our first time with something like this.
I nodded to Yeo Eung-am Warrior, and he splashed water on the bound man.
Splash!
The man came to, opened his eyes, and immediately grasped the situation. He shouted,
"What is the meaning of this?"
"What is your deal?"
Jang Won Daehyeop hurled the letter the man had been carrying right into his face.
Thud!
His eyes shook as he saw the letter fall to the floor.
"So it was all because of you, Mo Kyung—that every investigator sent here before has died! Ha!"
Ah, so his name was Mo Kyung.
"Eul-ja" must have been some kind of code name.
"......"
"Why'd you do it?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I want to know the reason."
Mo Kyung answered without hesitation.
"Money, obviously. Heh heh heh. They paid me a pretty sum."
"You betrayed His Majesty the Emperor and your comrades for money?"
"Just money?"
He grinned wickedly.
"You need a lot of money to eat and live well, don't you? Does loyalty to the Emperor or faith in your comrades put food on the table?"
"......"
"Am I wrong?"
Sigh, this wasn't going anywhere.
Jang Won Daehyeop's face was turning beet red with anger—he looked like he might pop a vein and drop dead first.
I stepped forward and said,
"Of course, money is the best thing, and loyalty to the Emperor or faith in comrades doesn't fill your belly."
"Oh... As expected of a merchant. You get it."
That meant he knew who I was.
Good thing we'd kidnapped and locked him up beforehand. We almost blew my cover to his buddies.
I'd have to thank Seo-hyang later.
I looked up at him with a smile.
Behind me, Jang Won Daehyeop looked betrayed by my words.
"But even if you eat and live well because of money, can you really call that living well as a human?"
"What?"
"If you ignore all that and just focus on eating and living well, what's the difference between you and a pig in a sty?"
- Oink? Oink!
Yeah, yeah, not you.
You're Han Ho-su, who knows righteousness.
Of course, of course.
I slipped my hand into my sleeve and patted Gold Bell's butt.
"We're called human because we know our human duties and uphold them. Isn't that right?"
"......"
He couldn't come up with a quick rebuttal.
"Now, answer my questions."
I continued,
"Who were you trying to deliver this letter to?"
"......"
"Answer me."
"I just wrote it for my own records."
Unable to hold back any longer, Jang Won Daehyeop swung his fist at the man's face.
Crack!
"Gah!"
"Let's keep this simple."
"I don't know what you mean."
At that, Jang Won Daehyeop drew his sword, stabbed it into the man's thigh, and twisted mercilessly.
"Arghhh!"
Oof, that had to hurt.
Why wasn't he talking, though?
Pride?
Or maybe he was hoping to avoid a worse punishment.
The bigger this got, the harsher his sentence would be.
So instead of execution by beheading or hanging, it might turn into something gruesome like dismemberment.
Ah! Or he might bite his tongue before that...
"Be careful! He might bite his tongue."
Thwack!
Crunch!
Damn... Jang Won Daehyeop was terrifying.
He just smashed the guy's teeth with his fist.
"Ugh..."
Jang Won Daehyeop said to the groaning man,
"You're a Gold Guard too, so you know. No one tortures like we do."
"......"
His eyes darted wildly.
"The next ship to Hainan Island isn't till tomorrow, so we've got time. And no one's around here. Come on, let's play."
.
.
.
A short while later.
I reaffirmed my vow.
I'd never get on the Gold Guard's bad side.
And no wonder—Mo Kyung had spilled everything within an hour.
"Tch! Couldn't even last an hour! He was never Gold Guard material."
Hey...
Isn't holding out an hour impressive?
Anyway, thanks to that, we learned who he was passing info to and the full story so far.
The big revelation: Seo Mun-hyeon's deputy was involved.
We'd suspected it, but suspicion and hard evidence were different.
We even had a confession.
We locked him in the safe house's prison cell. It was small, but they had one.
Then we returned to the inn and wrote an interim report on the incident.
We also requested reinforcements.
We'd need backup to thoroughly dismantle the Mu Clan Merchant Group and Seo Mun-hyeon.
"Jang Daehyeop."
"Yes."
"Pick our fastest man and have him deliver this letter to the Honam Province Military Commander."
"Understood."
There was a military commander in Guangdong too, but I requested Honam support to account for the chance he might be involved.
Worst case, but we couldn't rule it out lightly.
For now, we had to proceed assuming Guangdong officials were untrustworthy.
Honam had Gold Guards and imperial troops waiting in secret.
So the Honam commander or censor would lead them to clean out Guangdong.
And me?
I'd head to Hainan Island and shake things down there.
.
.
.
The next day.
I rose early.
Since it was the day to sail to Hainan Island, Palgap had been bustling since dawn.
I headed to the Mu Clan Merchant Group with my escort warriors.
The gatekeeper greeted me warmly, and I received a welcome as I was led to the reception room.
After a short wait, Wang Seok the deputy manager rushed in.
"What brings you so early in the morning?"
"I came to check on the grain procurement."
"No need to worry. It's proceeding smoothly."
Smoothly, my ass.
His eyes already screamed trouble.
"I'm heading to Hainan Island today."
"Ah, finally going in."
"Yes. The ship was delayed, so it'll be four or five days later than planned."
"I see."
"I'll stop by again on my way back to Beijing, so have the 10,000 seok of grain from our contract ready then."
"Got it. We'll prepare it so you can take it right away."
"Then I'll be off. It's almost time to leave."
I stood, and he bowed politely.
"Safe travels."
I left the Mu Clan Merchant Group.
This should buy enough time for the Gold Guard and imperial troops from Honam to march in.
"Ah, Nam Jong Warrior. Mind stopping by the market on the way?"
"What's up?"
"Gwak the deputy asked me to pick something up."
I bought what she'd requested at the market.
An umbrella.
She must have known it would rain today.
Back at the inn, I headed to the harbor with Jang Won Daehyeop.
"Welcome! Greetings to Seonhyeopmirang Daehyeop."
The sailors looked at me with goodwill and admiration.
They were from Hainan Island, right?
"We'll do our utmost to serve you."
"Thank you."
We boarded, and the ship set off immediately.
"From here to Hainan Island takes about one to one and a half hours."
Close enough for a day trip by land.
"Is the sea route to Hainan Island treacherous?"
A sailor answered,
"It's not smooth for the time it takes. Strong winds, rough waves, reefs. But sailors like us can avoid the dangers. Haha, no need to worry."
"I've heard quite a few ships to Hainan Island run aground."
"Yes, truly regrettable."
"Because of that, relief grain and funds from the palace never make it properly."
"Exactly. Back then, many sailors and ship owners volunteered. We offered to transport the grain and repair materials for free."
"For free?"
"Yes. How could we refuse for Hainan Island? But..."
He glanced around, then whispered,
"The higher-ups gave the job to total amateurs instead."
"What? Really?"
"And what happened? They became sea ghosts. And all that precious cargo sank... Aigoo."
"How tragic."
I sighed sympathetically.
It had gone straight into the wrong bellies.
"Hainan Island was on the brink of starvation, but the Hainan Sect leader brought massive amounts of grain, and their ship owners rushed it over. That saved them."
"All good now?"
"Yes. Hainan Island has good farming and lots of fruit, so they've recovered."
"Glad to hear it."
"The Hainan Sect leader said Seonhyeopmirang Daehyeop teared up hearing Hainan Island's plight and donated generously."
Ah...
"Thanks to that, my family survived. I don't know how to repay such grace."
"I just did what I had to."
Now I knew why the sailors looked at me that way.
They'd benefited directly from my donation.
Kind of embarrassing.
I'd done it to establish an Eunhae Merchant Group dock there, but they were so grateful.
Anyway, the sailor's words raised red flags.
Total amateurs...
No way?
"Any influx of outsiders to Hainan Island lately?"
"Outsiders... Come to think of it, we've seen unfamiliar faces recently."
As expected.
I changed the subject casually.
"I see. By the way, I want to get pearl jewelry for my wife's birthday. I heard about the Cheon family there. Safe to visit?"
"They deal in pearls, but I'd recommend the Yeon family."
His expression showed clear distaste, even unspoken.
"Any issues with the Cheon family?"
"No problem with Cheon himself, but lately he's brought in a bunch of outsiders, and they've been causing trouble. Makes it awkward."
"Oh?"
"Yes. He invited them but doesn't keep them in check. Hainan Sect warned them sternly before they settled down, but I still don't like it."
Something was up!
"Those guys... martial artists?"
"Yes. Hired to guard the pearls, he says."
Then I needed to pay this Cheon fellow a visit.
Just then, a sailor took a bowl to the bow, put something in it, and lit it.
Red smoke began to rise.
"What's that?"
"The signal for a ship returning to Hainan Island."
"Got it."
A moment later, our ship arrived at Hainan Island.
"You can disembark now."
"Thank you."
"Here's the fare."
Palgap offered the payment, but the sailor waved it off.
"No! How can I charge the benefactor who saved my family and Hainan Island?"
"Please, you must take it."
I took the money from Palgap and placed it directly in the ship owner's hand.
"Everything in this world deserves fair compensation. And you need to feed your waiting family."
"...Thank you."
"I'll use your ship again as promised."
"Yes. Anytime you need, just say the word."
Then about ten people in martial robes came running toward us.
From their attire, Hainan Sect disciples.
Two stopped in front of us and unrolled large scrolls on poles, holding them high.
[Welcoming Seonhyeopmirang Daehyeop, Young Division Leader of Eunhae Merchant Group and Benefactor of Hainan Island, to Hainan Island]
Huh? What was that wording?
The other four disciples pulled flowers from large baskets and scattered them as they approached.
Hainan Island was very warm.
Flowers bloomed year-round, so getting them this season wasn't hard.
But... this welcome was over the top.
Whoosh!
Then Seo-hyang opened her umbrella, and I finally understood why she'd asked for it.
It was raining today, after all.
Flower rain counted as rain.