You’ll Come To Know Soon, Too (4)

“No problems?”

“Yes.”

One of the merchant guild members answered with a slight bow of his head.

“Not only are there no problems, their reputation is excellent. Of course, there is one slippery fellow among them…… But when you gather ten people, isn’t it normal for one or two of them to be troublesome?”

“……That’s true.”

“They’re all diligent and strong, so the assessment is that they’re useful workers.”

“Hmmm.”

Yeom Mal-saeng stroked his beard as though tugging at it.

‘Did I see it wrong?’

There had definitely been something unsettling about them…… Then again, if that feeling had been accurate, there was no way the physiognomist could have failed to notice it.

“What did Hong say?”

“He says that although he gave them a hard time, he found nothing particularly strange.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Yeom Mal-saeng slightly furrowed his brow, then nodded.

“……Hmm. Then that means I was mistaken. Well, well.”

The merchant guild member lowered his head without answering.

Yeom Mal-saeng let out a deep sigh and casually waved his hand.

“That’s enough. If I was mistaken, then all the better. It means we’ve gained several useful workers.”

“Then……”

Yeom Mal-saeng let out a short sigh before answering.

“Leave them be. If there had been even the slightest reason for suspicion, I would have thrown them all out today…… But with us already short-handed, there’s no need to complicate matters with baseless suspicion. Just make certain that tonight’s arrangements are secure.”

“Yes. I’ll make sure to impress it upon them.”

As he watched the merchant guild member leave, Yeom Mal-saeng stroked his beard again.

“……Am I getting old, too?”

Yeom Mal-saeng rubbed the corners of his eyes tiredly and rose from his seat. This was no time to worry about such things.

“I need to check one more time.”

Tonight had to be perfect. If there was a mistake, it would not end with just one head.

“Amitabha.”

After finishing the day’s work, Hae Yeon briefly recited a Buddhist invocation filled with fatigue. The wig sitting on his head felt so awkward that he kept touching his hair.

“Honestly. I told you not to recite Buddhist invocations, monk.”

“……I’m sorry.”

He felt that even if he was not a monk, surely he could recite a Buddhist invocation, but it was also true that there was no harm in being careful.

“It seems there’s no such thing as an easy job in this world.”

“Huh? Really?”

Jo Gul looked at Hae Yeon with wonder.

In truth, the workers’ job consisted almost entirely of carrying and moving things. It might be difficult for ordinary people, but it was hardly a challenging task for people whose bodies had been trained through martial arts.

“Just having to do whatever someone tells you all day makes the day feel very long.”

“Ah……”

“For ordinary people, the exhaustion of the body would be added to that as well. I think I understand why the Buddha emphasized that life is a sea of suffering. I should have been more considerate of the lives of ordinary beings.”

Jo Gul wiped his face with his roughened hand.

“Sahyung. Why does that man have to be like that even at a moment like this?”

“……Hmm. Yes, he’s right. Looking back, we haven’t had many opportunities to experience the lives of commoners firsthand. Come to think of it, it could be a very important experience.”

Contrary to his expectations, even Yoon Jong began saying things similar to Hae Yeon’s, so Jo Gul turned his head in search of a way to survive.

But there was no one to save him. All he could see was Baek Cheon, who had half given up on the bushy beard glued to his face; Yu Yiseol, who looked inexplicably depressed; and Tang Soso desperately comforting her.

And……

“Mmph……”

“Why is this bastard completely wasted so early in the evening?”

“What did he say? Something about how, if he’d known Beijing had so many kinds of alcohol he’d never tasted in his life, he would have come here sooner and started guzzling it down?”

“……He found happiness even in the middle of all this.”

Was this something to admire, or was he simply beyond saving?

“How many days has it been?”

“It’s only the third day.”

Jo Gul whipped his head around.

“No, they said new cargo would arrive after three days.”

“……That was certainly how it had been until now.”

Hong-ga scratched the back of his head awkwardly. If this had been the first time, that embarrassed expression alone would have sent chills down their spines, but after spending several days together, they had grown somewhat accustomed to that face.

“Are we supposed to keep waiting without a plan?”

That was when it happened.

Bang!

The door was thrown violently open, and one of the merchant guild members entered.

Those who had been casually sitting on the beds all hurriedly rose. Although they were all employed by the Gahwa Merchant Guild, the laborers who worked with their bodies and the merchants who handled the goods were different in status altogether.

“……What about that guy?”

“Uh, well……”

The merchant guild member clicked his tongue when he saw Chung Myung sprawled on a bed and snoring. But working hours were already over, so he could not exactly berate someone simply for drinking.

“I’ve come to deliver a message. Starting at the night hour today, you are forbidden from leaving your quarters. You may not even go to the privy. Keep that in mind.”

At those words, Hong cautiously raised his hand.

“……May I ask why?”

The merchant guild member sharply knitted his brows and snapped.

“You should do as you’re told. Why do you have so much to say?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I said it clearly. The night hour. If anyone leaves the quarters after the night hour, punishment will not end with a beating. Keep that in mind.”

The merchant guild member glanced meaningfully at Hong as he spoke.

“You know why I’m saying this to you, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Good, then.”

The merchant guild member cast each of the workers a sharp look before leaving.

Click.

The moment they heard the door close, the disciples of Mount Hua quickly exchanged glances.

“Doesn’t it seem like something is happening?”

“It’s obvious.”

“What could it be? Is the cargo we’ve been waiting for arriving?”

“I don’t think so. It’s different from the way they’ve handled things until now. If it were cargo, they wouldn’t go to the trouble of doing this.”

Tang Soso said with a shrug.

“Could an important official be coming?”

“An important official?”

“Perhaps someone who must not show his face carelessly is coming. That would explain why they’re forbidding anyone from leaving.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“That makes sense. Then who could it be? Who has ties to the Vice Minister of Revenue, yet must not let word spread that he is visiting this place?”

Everyone exchanged meaningful glances once more.

“Ceremonial Affairs Head, Do-Hyeon.”

“Likely.”

“Hmm. Amitabha. Isn’t that a bit hasty? The Vice Minister of Revenue must have ties to quite a few high officials.”

“No, it’s not hasty.”

Tang Soso quickly countered.

“We came here in the first place because we thought the Vice Minister of Revenue was plotting something with the Ceremonial Affairs Head. If that’s true, there’s nothing strange about the Ceremonial Affairs Head coming here personally.”

“That may be true, but……”

At that moment, Jwa Go-Hak spoke up.

“There’s no need to debate it. We can simply check.”

“But they specifically warned us. If we’re discovered for no reason, it won’t just be us who are in danger—the people here will be as well.”

“Hmm, that……”

Jwa Go-Hak groaned as though he had not considered that point either.

“Uh, we just have to avoid being discovered.”

“Huh?”

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

“Damn it.”

“You bastard, why did you bring that, too!”

There stood Chung Myung, wearing a mask he had pulled out from somewhere.

“I thought we might have a use for it.”

“Don’t tell me you really planned to kill someone if things went wrong?”

“……”

“Seriously?”

Wow, did this bastard have no concept of limits?

“Well, that’s not important right now.”

“……There is no time in this world when something like that isn’t important.”

“If we do this, even if we’re discovered, they’ll think we’re bandits or thieves. Then everything will be fine.”

“Do you really think that’ll work?”

Ignoring Baek Cheon’s furious outburst, Chung Myung turned his head toward Hong.

“Can you get us a few more like this?”

“……It is possible, but……”

Baek Cheon shouted through tightly clenched teeth.

“I’m never wearing one! Never!”

“……This is a little uncomfortable.”

Hae Yeon firmly pressed down the mask that kept sliding upward.

“In all my life……”

“Let’s stop. Saying it aloud will only make it more miserable.”

The disciples of Mount Hua, all wearing identical masks as they crouched on the eaves, quietly sighed.

“Sasuk. It’ll soon be the drinking hour…… Sasuk?”

Yoon Jong subtly nudged Baek Cheon in the side. Baek Cheon, who had been staring blankly at the moon in the sky, wiped once at the corner of his eye and nodded.

“Yes…… I know. We need to get ready.”

“Isn’t our life always like this?”

“……Thanks for the consolation.”

They had visited Nanman Beast Palace, where house-sized beasts rampaged, and the North Sea, where even their eyebrows froze. But surely…… he had never expected to end up wearing a mask like a thief and hiding on someone else’s eaves.

“This isn’t the future I imagined for myself……. I was supposed to wield a magnificent sword, fight enemies, uphold justice, and make a name for myself in the world……”

“You keep muttering on and on. You’re noisy. Just wear your mask properly.”

“……”

Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh and stealthily looked toward Jwa Go-Hak. If he was this shocked, then how much worse must it be for Jwa Go-Hak, a Confucian scholar…… Hmm?

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you secretly look like you’re enjoying yourself?”

Baek Cheon scowled when he saw Jwa Go-Hak’s shoulders oddly bobbing.

“It isn’t particularly bad, is it? This is the sort of situation I’ve wished for at least once.”

“……You wished to hide like a thief and spy on others?”

“That’s not what I mean. I wished for a situation in which I would not shy away from hardship in order to realize justice. As the saying goes, ‘A gentleman walks the great road’; when carrying out a great undertaking, one does not quibble over whether the method is proper or improper.”

“Is that really the right saying to use here?”

“Of course.”

“……”

This bastard was a lost cause, too. And not just a little—he was thoroughly beyond saving.

‘Is this really okay?’

Just as Baek Cheon was about to seriously contemplate what on earth he was doing—

“They’re coming, sasuk.”

“Hm?”

A procession began to appear in the distance within their field of vision.

Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes as he examined the situation, then tilted his head in puzzlement.

“There aren’t many people for the procession of a high-ranking official.”

“If he were coming openly with attendants in tow, there would be no need to avoid the eyes of the servants.”

“Certainly……”

Baek Cheon nodded as he watched the small carriage approaching them.

In any case, that bastard named Do-Hyeon was riding inside, right?

“The leader of the eunuchs. I am curious how impressive a man he is.”

Baek Cheon was just about to say one more thing.

“Hey, Ink.”

“Yes?”

Chung Myung, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke, and Jwa Go-Hak turned to him in puzzlement.

“Do eunuchs learn martial arts, too?”

“Yes. The high officials of the Eastern Depot all practice martial arts. Eunuchs also serve as guards for the emperor, after all.”

“Really?”

“But why do you ask?”

“Sasuk.”

Instead of answering, Chung Myung quietly called out to Baek Cheon.

“Yes?”

“It would be best to be careful.”

At that moment, the small carriage that had come along the road stopped in front of the main gate of the Gahwa Merchant Guild. Soon, the door opened, and a large man emerged from within.

A beardless face. Yet even with that beardless face, the man exuded an oppressive presence that seemed to bear down on everyone present.

The impassive eyes of Do-Hyeon, the Ceremonial Affairs Head, gazed at the main gate of the Gahwa Merchant Guild.

“That bastard……”

Keeping his eyes fixed on Do Hyeon, Chung Myung twisted the corner of his mouth strangely.

“He’s a master.”

The main gate quietly opened, and Do Hyeon slowly began walking into the Gahwa Merchant Guild.