Heading to Beijing Anyway (1)
We packed our things.
The matters here were now out of my hands.
Wrapping up the aftermath wasn't my job anyway.
So there was no reason for us to stick around any longer.
We had plenty of our own work to do; we couldn't afford to waste more time here.
Before leaving, though, I needed to pay my respects to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was still lingering on Hainan Island, comforting the people and handling the remaining cleanup.
"Then we'll be off."
"Safe travels."
I took Seo-u Warrior and Chang-un Warrior as my escorts and headed to where the Crown Prince was staying.
Given my major contributions to this incident, I was granted an immediate audience.
"I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Come in."
I offered the proper courtesies, and the Crown Prince invited me to sit.
He looked quite fatigued. I need to make my escape quick.
One wrong move, and I could end up in his shoes.
"Your Highness's actions since arriving here have earned widespread praise."
"Haha, is that so?"
"That said... if I may be so bold, I'm concerned His Majesty might worry over this."
Emperors generally don't take kindly to the Crown Prince gaining too much prestige or building his own independent power base.
They fear it could lead to being ousted.
Grasping my implication, the Crown Prince let out a hearty laugh.
"I'd rather he did worry about that. Then I wouldn't have to work this hard, right?"
Come to think of it, this Emperor was actively putting the Crown Prince to use.
"His Majesty said that since we've fed and educated you well as Crown Prince up to now, it's time for you to pull your weight."
Ah...
"And that the throne he'll inherit anyway—he needs to get familiar with it beforehand. Otherwise, how could he avoid being cursed by posterity? He can't tolerate anyone ruining what he's built."
"As expected of His Imperial Majesty."
"He also said it would let him retire as Grand Emperor and enjoy his later years in peace."
Truly no ordinary man.
And all the more terrifying for it.
It meant he was confident he wouldn't be forced from the throne unless he chose to step down, no matter the reason.
I looked at the Crown Prince.
My gaze carried a hint of pity, but he misinterpreted it and waved his hand dismissively.
"Oh, don't think for a second I'm scheming for the throne or anything."
"Pardon? I haven't entertained such thoughts for a moment..."
"...Is that right?"
The Crown Prince cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem. To be honest, being born a regular royal and living a leisurely life would be ideal. Becoming Crown Prince just means drowning in work. Take me, for example."
Fair enough...
An Emperor's duties depend entirely on how one approaches them.
To be revered as a sage king, you must endure mountains of work and battle overwork.
But give it all up, and it's easy.
Just accept being recorded as a tyrant and a fool, like the previous Emperor.
Though that comes with a high chance of a gruesome end.
"Speaking of which..."
This is dangerous!
I instinctively cut him off.
"Your Highness, the reason I've come is that it seems time for me to return to Beijing."
"Already?"
"Yes. My assignment was to uncover the abuses and corruption from this incident. With that resolved, my role here is complete."
And I continued.
"Besides, I have my main business to attend to—I can't neglect it."
I still needed to report this Hainan matter to the Emperor, finish establishing the martial academy, push forward the Luoyang branch, prepare to make Beijing our small headquarters... and build a Eunhae Merchant Group branch on Hainan.
Why does the work never end?
It's enough to bring tears.
"Moreover, our merchant ships will soon dock in Nanjing, and I need to handle that personally."
"Sigh, you're as busy as I am. Very well, I permit your return to the capital."
"Your grace humbles me."
And so I barely escaped the prison of official duties.
I headed straight for the Hainan Sect.
I needed to bid them farewell before leaving the island.
They'd helped me greatly this time; basic courtesy demanded it.
I ascended Oji Mountain and reached Yeomo Peak.
Oji Mountain is said to be the finger of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Long ago, the monkey Sun Wukong, in a bet with the Buddha, thought he'd reached the world's highest point and inscribed his name there—only to find it was the Buddha's finger.
It's that high, with vegetation changing at every elevation.
Admiring the diverse flora along the way, I arrived at the Hainan Sect, where the disciples greeted me warmly.
"We greet the great hero."
"Is the sect leader inside?"
"Yes, he is. Please wait a moment; I'll fetch him."
I was shown to the reception room, and soon the sect leader entered.
"Hahaha! Welcome."
"I greet the sect leader."
"Thanks to your exploits, Hainan Island has regained its peace and happiness. We are truly grateful."
I waved off his flattery.
"No, this is thanks to His Majesty's decisive action."
"That's true, but you directly resolved it, didn't you?"
"Such words put me in a difficult spot."
"It's fine. It's just us here, hahaha."
Watching the sect leader laugh heartily, I scratched the back of my neck.
Sharp as ever.
"And I stepped in because I wanted something out of it myself."
"Whatever your reasons, you're our benefactor."
Too embarrassed to hear more, I got to the point with an awkward smile.
"Thank you. The reason I've come is that it's time for me to leave."
"Already?"
"Yes. I have too much to do; I can't delay further."
"No helping it. I know how busy you are. When will you return?"
"I can't say for sure, but I'll stop by once during the ongoing projects."
"I see. Then make sure to visit the main hall next time. We'll show you proper Hainan hospitality for our benefactor."
"Yes, I look forward to it. And..."
I handed over an envelope.
"Please accept this."
"What's this?"
I smiled silently as he opened it.
"Hic!"
He was so shocked he hiccuped.
"Hic! What, hic! is this?"
"Oh dear! Are you all right?"
True to a high-level warrior, the hiccups soon stopped.
"Whew, I'm fine. But what is this?"
I chuckled lightly.
"Do you remember when I blocked that intruder at the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament?"
Back then, Lady Hyang-ok had nearly been gravely injured by that thug.
"Of course. You received ten myeong of silver as compensation, didn't you?"
"Yes. This is everything left after subtracting the ten thousand nyang I gave you before."
Ten thousand from my own pocket, ten thousand from the reward—totaling twenty thousand nyang.
But the sect leader still looked puzzled.
"Why give this to me? Don't you need it?"
I gave my prepared answer.
"I demanded that hundred thousand nyang back then for Hainan Island's sake from the start."
"Even while enduring insults as a money-grubbing merchant?"
I nodded gently.
"It's fine. I hear that kind of abuse all the time anyway; one more doesn't change anything. So I figured I'd squeeze the Murim Alliance for it and use it for Hainan."
He sighed in admiration.
"Heavens! That's why they call you Seonhyeopmirang!"
Cough...!
I'd only done it because the Murim Alliance offered zero help anyway.
And this incident only solidified my resolve—since it involved the Blood Cult.
Their close ties to the Murim Alliance were now certain.
One thing I learned while stripping these guys bare: the real reason the pirates invaded.
They'd planned to move the wealth they'd hoarded over time.
And to divert the most obstructive force—the Hainan Sect—they'd schemed to keep them distracted.
Learning that made me grateful I'd arrived at the right moment.
"Anyway, please use this money for Hainan Island."
"I will. Consider it done."
With the exploitation of Hainan ended, this sum could now be used valuably.
And the sect leader was trustworthy.
"Also, spread some good word about the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"Hohoho! Leave it to me."
"But skip mentioning me."
"..."
His silence is a bit worrying.
After bidding farewell to the sect leader and the Hainan Sect folk, I returned to the inn.
There, I exchanged goodbyes with those I'd grown close to, then headed for Guangdong Province.
The ship back to Guangdong was the same one we'd taken to Hainan.
"It's an honor to handle the great hero's return voyage as well."
"Thanks to you, it was a smooth trip. And may I call on you for help later?"
"Of course."
Upon reaching Guangdong, we sought out Jangwon Daehyeop.
He wasn't the inn's errand boy anymore but operating as a Gold Guard warrior, and he welcomed me warmly.
"I heard the news. You found Sam-ryeong—thanks to you!"
"You know him?"
"He's the closest comrade I mentioned before."
"I see. I'm sorry I couldn't find him sooner. If I'd come earlier, I might have saved more lives."
"Don't say that. Saving two is no small feat. And you even shared precious elixirs for their treatment—how can I ever repay this grace?"
I thanked him in turn.
"No, I'm the one grateful. Without your help, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"What help did I even provide?"
"A great deal."
"Thank you for seeing it that way."
He smiled.
"So you're heading back now?"
"Yes. Too much work to linger."
"Then I won't hold you. Until next time."
"Yes."
I mounted my horse.
Everyone worth farewelling seen; time to really go.
Not straight to Beijing, though.
We had Jukangma, so we had time to spare.
First stop: Guizhou Province.
Since we'd come this far south of the Yangtze, I wanted to give Lady Seo-hyang a chance to see her parents.
I'd seen her father a few times, but never her mother.
"You don't need to go to such trouble for me."
I shook my head at Lady Seo-hyang's words.
"Nonsense. I have business with Governor Pojeongsa anyway."
"Really?"
"Yes. You know I don't lie about things like this."
"True enough."
"So relax and come along."
We rode Jukangma hard, arriving in Guizhou far faster than ordinary travelers.
We booked rooms at an inn and sent Myeongjong Warrior and Chang-un Warrior to deliver a letter to Governor Pojeongsa.
They soon returned with his reply.
As per your proposal, let's meet at Yuhwa Juru tomorrow evening.
With time freed up, I could handle unfinished business.
First: inspect the treasures salvaged from the sunken ships.
I opened the sub-space and stepped inside.
Honestly, expecting ocean grime from seabed salvage...
Why is it so clean?
The treasures piled on the floor were bone-dry.
"Huh? Geum-ryeong. No water? What gives?"
Geum-ryeong squeaked in response.
"Kkwi! Kkwi!"
"Oh? Because I ordered only 'treasures' into the sub-space, so no seawater or debris came in?"
"Kkwi! Kkwi!"
"You only realized that now?"
I felt sheepish.
Well, it's not like that's obvious.
At least it's easy to check now.
I slowly examined what Geum-ryeong had pulled from the sea.
"Wow!"
I couldn't help exclaiming.
No wonder Geum-ryeong had once asked for gold ingots.
Everything was priceless treasure.
Silver and gold ingots, gold bars, assorted precious metals stacked high.
Even night-luminescent pearls and artifacts.
Hm? This...
I flinched. It bore the imperial seal.
Was one of the sunken ships imperial?
Several imperial items; I'd set them aside to return.
No point keeping them in my sub-space anyway.
The Emperor wouldn't grill me on how I got them.
He'd probably be grateful.
And for the identifiable owners among this wealth, I'd return them too.
Pity? Sure.
Wouldn't anyone be the wiser if I swallowed it whole?
Probably.
But this way, I'd gain something bigger.
I'm a merchant, after all.
Now, when do I sort all this?