Shaanxi Scorpion (6)
With a voice as cold as ice, Ji-hyeon spoke.
"I've heard your confession loud and clear."
"……."
He looked at his subordinate in shock. The man's eyes had already turned just as frigid.
"Surely you're not betraying me?"
"Who's the one who stabbed me in the back first?"
"Stabbed you in the back?"
"You had hidden assets stashed away. Behind the Guanzhi Temple. And yet you claimed to be broke and didn't even pay our wages!"
"H-how did you…?"
Eun Seo-ho, who had been among them, spoke up.
"Truth be told, the tea our esteemed acting manager served you wasn't from the Chaozhou master."
"……?"
"It was Haengnok, the tea our merchant group is about to launch."
"D-does that mean the poison I ingested…?"
Eun Seo-ho drove the final nail in.
"Was a lie."
"And the antidote being candy?"
Ignoring the question, Eun Seo-ho chuckled softly.
"You must have worked hard falling for my trick."
Those were the exact words from the letter Shaanxi Scorpion left for his past victims after scamming them.
Only now did Shaanxi Scorpion glimpse the bitterness those victims had felt.
Far too late, of course.
The next day.
I headed to the magistrate's office in Hyeoncheong.
Magistrate Ji-hyeon smiled and praised my merits.
"Well done. Your efforts were crucial this time."
I clasped my hands in a fist and replied.
"Not at all, sir. It was only thanks to your assistance that we caught that swindler. Without your timely help, how could we have extracted a confession from such a brazen criminal?"
"You sly fox, buttering me up like that."
He set down his teacup.
Seeing he wasn't refilling the empty cup, I knew he planned to end the conversation there.
Profits from crimes revert to the state—or more precisely, to the magistrate's coffers.
Here's the catch.
When no one demands victim compensation.
It looked like he wanted me gone before I could press for restitution. Not on my watch.
When reporting to the censorate, he'd claim the victims were compensated and pocket the funds, no doubt.
In my previous life, the victims of Shaanxi Scorpion never received proper compensation.
The assets found at his hideout were woefully insufficient.
When asked what he did with the rest, he claimed it went to food, fun, and plotting his next scam. Hard to argue with that.
But Shaanxi Scorpion was cunning.
He wouldn't have left all his wealth in one place.
The scant funds left at the Nokgeum Merchant Group proved it.
Later, his hidden trove was discovered.
Thanks to my vague recollection, we'd recovered more than enough to cover our losses.
"Forgive my impertinence, sir, but our merchant group suffered losses of 3,500 taels of silver in this affair."
"Gasp!"
He started in surprise.
"S-such massive damages?"
"Yes, sir."
Last time it had been 3,000, but I'd tacked on 500 more for lodging costs and emotional distress.
"Hmm……."
As he hesitated, I added a few words.
"As you know, sir, the Eunhae Merchant Group holds an imperial license for salt retail. His Majesty himself keeps a close eye on us."
"……."
Blackmail?
No, a rightful demand.
We'd been wronged; compensation was only fair.
I waited patiently for his response.
In the end, Magistrate Ji-hyeon forced a magnanimous smile.
"Haha, of course I intended to compensate you fully."
"One more thing, sir. Besides us, three other merchant groups fell victim to that swindler."
I'd promised to recover as much as possible for all victims.
And I kept my promises.
The next day.
A cart rolled into the inn where I was staying.
Pulled by Hyeoncheong's official guards, it was piled high with silver taels.
"Here's 3,500 taels. Please sign the receipt."
At the official's words, I inspected the silver meticulously.
Only after confirming it was all genuine did I sign.
"And here: 400 taels for the Yu Merchant Group, 1,100 taels for the Baek Merchant Group, and 60 taels for the Imyul Merchant Group."
The leaders of the victimized merchant groups were present—I'd summoned them.
I'd secured double their claimed losses.
Emotional damages counted too, and their figures were pure material losses anyway.
Better than letting some random thief make off with it.
"Verify and sign, please."
"Ah! Yes, yes!"
"Right away!"
They looked dazed. They hadn't expected full recovery, let alone double.
They checked the silver and signed.
The official led his guards away, and I turned to the merchant leaders.
"I'm glad we could cover your losses."
"Thank you!"
"Truly, thank you!"
"How can we ever repay this kindness?"
I smiled.
"What kindness? You helped us recover ours too."
"No, no."
The Yu Merchant Group's leader said, tears streaming.
"Honestly, I thought we'd get nothing. But this… sob…."
"For Eunhae to help us like this…."
"Sniff…."
Come on, grown men crying like this?
I soothed them, and they left with their silver for the battlefield bank.
To deposit it before any mishaps.
I dispatched Eunpung Corps warriors to escort them.
Then I took our share to Acting Manager Eom Sam-taek's room.
"Come in."
Eom Sam-taek looked gaunt, worn from the ordeal.
Seeing the untouched porridge bowl, I said,
"You can't go on like this, Acting Manager. Eat up and recover your strength."
"Sigh… What face do I have to eat?"
"But you need to get better to check on the black tea, right?"
"……Pardon?"
The acting manager blinked at my words.
"Black tea? What money do we have for that?"
I glanced at Palgap.
Palgap set down the box he was carrying.
Thud!
The sound revealed its weight.
Palgap opened it.
Seeing it brimming with silver, the acting manager fell silent.
"Wh-what… what is all this?"
"Caught the swindler. Recovered the losses. Clear enough?"
"H-how on earth…?"
"Ask the other managers for details."
Too tedious to explain.
"Use this to buy the black tea and head back to headquarters."
I turned to leave.
Glancing at the cold porridge, I added,
"I'll have fresh hot porridge brought."
I left his room, and behind me came the sound of Eom Sam-taek sobbing.
The next day.
Acting Manager Eom Sam-taek had regained his vigor and was bustling about with renewed drive.
"Something's off here. Double-check it."
"Yes, Acting Manager."
Seemed he'd grown more suspicious—fitting for a merchant, so I let it be.
Then Shim the manager approached me.
"Young master, the Baek Merchant Group's leader wishes an audience."
The Baek group—one of the scam victims.
What now?
I asked him to show the man in. Soon, the Baek leader entered with a few others.
"Welcome."
"Thank you for seeing us."
They bowed with clasped fists. Then—
Thud!
They dropped to their knees before me.
"No! What is this? Please, get up!"
"We've heard you're the third son of the Eunhae Merchant Group's leader, a branch head, and the lord of Hyeonpung Province."
"Yes, that's true, but…."
"We held a meeting yesterday. We've decided to entrust our merchant group to Eunhae."
"……Pardon?"
"No one else helped us. But Eunhae, not even our affiliates, aided us materially and morally. That made us think."
The leader continued.
"We want to join your group. Please accept us!"
He prostrated himself, the others following suit.
These people… making me uncomfortable.
But from our group's perspective, it was a boon.
Gaining a branch in Shaanxi Province widened our reach.
"Very well. Now please stand."
"You'll accept us?"
"I need my father's permission as group leader. I'll dispatch a rider immediately—now get up."
"Understood."
After sending them off, the Yu Merchant Group arrived and knelt too.
Same purpose.
Why the kneeling? Words would suffice….
I promised to send word to headquarters and dismissed them.
"Young master, the Imyul Merchant Group is here."
Not them too… same thing?
They say "settle" for a reason.
The Imyul group also knelt, seeking affiliation with Eunhae.
Why does everyone keep kneeling?
Anyway, I promised a rider to headquarters and sent them away.
"Ah, exhausting."
Palgap replied,
"You're incredible, young master."
"What is?"
"Everything about you."
"Flatterer."
Anyway, time to send the news swiftly.
I penned a detailed letter and dispatched it.
Now to prepare for Wu Merchant Group.
With Shaanxi Scorpion handled, it was time for my true purpose in Shaanxi Province.
I stepped out to inform Acting Manager Eom.
His voice came from outside.
"That wasn't me. So…."
I followed the sound.
Two men who looked like brothers were bowing repeatedly to Eom.
"Ah!"
Spotting me, Eom told them,
"That's him! Not me—he's the one who saved your elder."
Eh?
"He's the third son of our group leader, a branch head, and lord of Hyeonpung Province."
At the introduction, they rushed over and bowed low.
"We're from the Oh Tea Fields."
Ah….
Learning the kidnapped elder was from Oh Tea Fields, I'd sent men at once.
"We heard you saved our father."
"How to repay this grace… thank you so much."
I asked them,
"Is the elder well?"
"Yes, he's fine."
"He's bedridden from the shock, but he'll be up soon."
"I pray for his swift recovery."
Then the elder's eldest son spoke.
"As you know, we produce black tea. In gratitude for saving our father, we'd like to provide as much of this season's harvest as you need—for free."
Eom, standing behind, gaped at me in shock.
It was that generous an offer.
"What do you mean? Giving away black tea like that?"
"It's the least we can do for saving our father."
I asked awkwardly,
"Don't you have contracted quotas to middlemen?"
Tea fields producing black tea often dealt directly with groups like ours, but most sold to middlemen, who resold to regional merchants.
Eunhae got it en route to peddle candy, but others profited more from delivered goods than travel.
Once brewing began, middlemen swept up the supply.
Even rushing on rumors, direct deals were impossible—they'd re-sign preemptively.
No matter "contract with us next," first signature wins.
Producers favored quick sales of fresh leaves to middlemen.
"Normally, we'd renew with our long-term partners—Father handles it. But with his kidnapping…."
He smiled wryly.
"They'll understand."
"Even so, giving it to us free—how will you survive the year?"
I continued,
"I appreciate the gesture, but sacrificing a year's livelihood makes me uncomfortable. We can't accept."