Chapter 150

“Hurry up.”

“If the work is delayed, we won’t be able to get on the ship, so move quickly.”

The merchants urged the workers on.

The workers, dripping with sweat, loaded the goods onto the carts.

There were over a dozen carts lined up in the open space. Loading goods onto each cart was inevitably a slow process.

“Finish all the work within half a shichen.”

“Don’t worry, sir. It will all be done by then.”

Lee Chang-du replied to Unit Leader Jo Mu-saeng’s words.

Lee Chang-du was an experienced merchant who oversaw all the miscellaneous tasks within the Trading Company.

A flag bearing the name Black Tortoise Merchant Group fluttered above the carriage.

The Black Tortoise Merchant Group was a Trading Company located in Kaiyuan, Yunnan Province.

They bought salt from the coast of Yunnan Province and sold it in Chengdu, an inland city in Sichuan Province.

Although rock salt was produced within Sichuan Province, the quantity was not very large. Because of that, the demand for salt was high.

The Black Tortoise Merchant Group made a large profit selling salt. But they couldn’t return to Yunnan Province empty-handed.

They traveled throughout Sichuan Province, buying and collecting tea.

The tea from Sichuan Province was very famous and sold at a high price.

Jo Mu-saeng planned to take the Sichuan tea to Yunnan Province to sell. However, obtaining the tea was not as easy as he had thought.

Since the demand for tea was also high within Sichuan Province, there wasn’t enough to sell in large quantities to outsiders.

For that reason, Jo Mu-saeng traveled all over Sichuan Province, buying and collecting tea little by little. That effort was now bearing fruit.

He had finally gathered enough tea to fill all the carts he had brought.

Having met his goal, Jo Mu-saeng decided to return to Chengdu. His plan was to prepare in Chengdu and then return to Yunnan Province.

Lee Chang-du shouted at a young man who was struggling to load the cargo.

“Hey, rookie! What the hell were you doing all night to be so weak? Can’t you tie the ropes tighter? If we lose the cargo of tea leaves, even your entire wage won’t be enough to cover it. Tie it tighter. So it will never come loose. Got it?”

“Yes! I understand.”

The young man who was called out answered in a barely audible voice.

Lee Chang-du looked at the young man with a displeased expression. The young man, as if sensing Lee Chang-du’s gaze, hunched his shoulders and focused on loading the cargo.

The young man’s name was Tae Yongha.

He was a worker newly hired before this trip.

He was hired because he had a large build and was strong, but he wasn’t very quick-witted and often made mistakes.

Because of that, Lee Chang-du was thinking of firing Tae Yongha as soon as they returned to Yunnan Province.

‘The world is full of workers, it’s a waste to keep employing such a useless guy.’

Lee Chang-du watched Tae Yongha with a displeased look before heading to the carriage at the front.

Once Lee Chang-du was gone, Tae Yongha cautiously raised his head.

He had an ordinary face.

His face was slightly wide, and his eyes, nose, and mouth were all plain, with no single feature standing out.

It was the kind of face that was ambiguous to call handsome, yet also not ugly.

Tae Yongha began to focus on his work again.

He pulled the ropes with all his might to secure the goods, then shook them a couple of times to check if they were firmly fixed.

“No problems.”

Although Lee Chang-du had berated him for being bad at his job, Tae Yongha was actually quite good at it. It was just that Lee Chang-du disliked him.

The reason was that he had left his post without permission a couple of times while at the inn.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t plan on staying here long either.”

Tae Yongha muttered softly and plopped down in a small empty space at the back of the cart.

Although the Black Tortoise Merchant Group was a fairly large Trading Company, it didn’t look after workers like him.

Workers like Tae Yongha had to either walk for the entire journey or squeeze themselves into a corner like this, like a piece of luggage.

He was lucky to even be riding on a cart.

Many workers trudged alongside the carts.

“Everyone, let’s move out.”

Once all the cargo was finally loaded, the Black Tortoise Merchant Group began to move.

The warriors guarding the Trading Company took the lead, followed by the merchants and the carts.

Tae Yongha sat at the back of the last cart and looked up at the sky.

Since he was on the last cart, no one paid him any attention. Not even the worker driving the cart he was on.

The high pile of goods blocked people’s line of sight.

Tae Yongha took something out from his robes.

It was a long bamboo tube.

When he opened the lid of the bamboo tube, several envelopes came out.

Tae Yongha checked once more that no one was around, then unfolded the envelopes.

Inside the envelopes was a fine powder.

Tae Yongha carefully began to mix the powders from each envelope.

He had to mix them in precise proportions, without a single margin of error.

Tae Yongha focused on mixing the powders without even blinking.

A moment later, the powder was completed in the desired ratio.

The finished powder had a fine azalea color.

Tae Yongha put the azalea-colored powder into the bamboo tube and sealed it.

“Phew!”

By the time he finished the series of tasks, Tae Yongha’s back was soaked with sweat. It was a task that required that much intense concentration.

It was a relief that the work was completed without any accidents.

Just then, voices could be heard from the front.

“This road is rough, so be careful.”

“Check the cargo one more time to make sure it doesn’t fall.”

The well-paved official road ended, and a rough path appeared. The road was so rough that the carts swayed greatly from side to side.

The porters who had been riding the carts got off to hold the cargo and prevent it from falling. No matter how securely it was tied, on a road this rough, the cargo could still fall.

The merchants and workers moved on, taking care not to let the cargo fall.

After going on like that for a long time, a large river finally appeared.

It was a river that connected to their destination, Chengdu.

A ship was already waiting at the small dock. It was a Cloud-Piercing River Crossing Ship that the advance party, who had left earlier, had secured in advance.

The people of the Trading Company loaded the carts and horses onto the Cloud-Piercing River Crossing Ship.

After all the work was finally done, the Cloud-Piercing River Crossing Ship left the dock.

“Phew! Now we can finally get some rest.”

“This is refreshing.”

The merchants and workers sat on the deck and took a break.

Once on the ship, it wouldn’t take long to reach Chengdu.

There were no Water Bandits active in this area, so there was no need to be on high alert.

It was a sweet respite for the merchants and workers.

The ship, catching a favorable wind, sailed swiftly down the river. After half a day of sailing like that, Chengdu came into view in the distance.

Smiles appeared on people’s faces.

It was because they planned to rest soundly for a few days once they arrived in Chengdu.

‘As soon as I get to Chengdu, I have to stop by the Brothel.’

‘I’ll be able to drink to my heart’s content.’

It was at that moment, when everyone was swelling with their own dreams.

Splash!

Suddenly, the sound of something falling into the water was heard from the stern of the ship.

“Someone fell in!”

“Someone fell into the water!”

At the sudden commotion, the Trading Company’s leader, Jo Mu-saeng, rushed to the stern.

The workers were gathered at the stern.

Jo Mu-saeng asked urgently.

“What’s going on?”

“The rookie fell into the water.”

“What?”

Jo Mu-saeng looked at the river. But nowhere on the surface could the rookie, Tae Yongha, be seen.

The Cloud-Piercing River Crossing Ship circled the area, trying to find at least a body, but in the end, Tae Yongha’s body was not found.

“What terrible luck. To fall in the water and die when we’re almost at Chengdu.”

“Does anyone know Yongha’s family?”

“That kid’s an orphan.”

“Well, that’s…”

Tae Yongha had a naturally introverted personality and didn’t get along well with the group. His death was unfortunate, but not sad.

When his body didn’t surface, the ship stopped searching and left for Chengdu.

And so, Tae Yongha became a dead man.

＊＊＊

“How clever.”

Pyo Wol muttered as he looked at the corpse before him.

The owner of the corpse was Jin Seung-hak.

He was the Hall Master of the Returning Star Martial Hall, said to have died from Qi Deviation five days ago. He was also the one whose cause of death Yu Gicheon had doubted.

Pyo Wol had dug up Jin Seung-hak’s buried corpse.

It was a corpse that had been dead for seven days. And yet, there were no signs of decay on the body.

Decomposition begins as soon as a body is buried, but Jin Seung-hak’s corpse was far too intact.

Pyo Wol took out a Silver Needle from his robes and pierced Jin Seung-hak’s solar plexus.

The Silver Needle penetrated more than two finger-widths deep.

Yu Gicheon watched Pyo Wol’s actions with a tense gaze.

A moment later, Pyo Wol pulled out the Silver Needle.

The middle part of the Silver Needle had turned black.

Pyo Wol brought the Silver Needle to his eyes and examined it closely.

“He was poisoned. But the poison is concentrated in the skin, not the organs.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the one who killed this man is a master of poison.”

“A master?”

“He induced cardiac arrest by injecting poison into the muscles beneath the skin, without damaging any of the internal organs. Since the heart stopped suddenly, his expression was bound to be contorted in pain. That look is similar to someone who has suffered Qi Deviation, so everyone was completely fooled.”

“Ah!”

Yu Gicheon let out an exclamation without realizing it.

It was the first time he had learned that a person could be poisoned in such a way. Because the poison was spread extensively between the skin and muscles, it didn’t even decay.

“Then the other bodies too?”

“There’s a high probability. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to confirm it.”

The other body had been cremated like a servant, leaving no trace behind.

Yu Gicheon muttered.

“Just who would kill them, and for what purpose?”

All three people were acquaintances of Yu Gicheon.

One was the Sect Leader of White Virtue Gate, and another was the Hall Master of a martial arts academy. And the last person was the master of a Manor. There was no commonality whatsoever among the three.

“There aren’t many who can use poison to this extent. And someone with such poison skills is unlikely to move without a price.”

“Then an Assassin?”

“To be precise, an Assassin who uses poison arts.”

Pyo Wol kindly corrected Soma’s words.

Not all assassins practiced Martial Arts or used stealth attacks.

Some used traps, and some utilized poison arts.

They all had in common that they could easily kill people. And poison arts had the advantage of being much less risky than direct assassination.

“There are quite a few assassins who use poison. But there are almost none who can use it this exquisitely.”

Usually, a person who was poisoned would show traces. But neither Noh Gang-pyeong nor Jin Seung-hak had any traces of poisoning.

It was proof that his poison skills had reached a master level.

A person who killed with poison, yet left no trace of it.

This person could be called a grandmaster of poison arts.

“A troublesome being has crawled into Sichuan Province. Or have they been lurking here for a long time?”

Pyo Wol thought it was the former.

When the Bloody Shadows Guild was still intact, it was unimaginable for other assassins to enter and operate within Sichuan Province.

The Bloody Shadows Guild was not so merciful as to let other assassins operate in their territory.

Ordinary people or other Martial Artists might be fooled, but it was nearly impossible to completely deceive the eyes of a fellow assassin.

If an assassin who used poison had been around for a long time, they would have surely caught the eye of the Bloody Shadows Guild. Therefore, the assassin using poison now must have recently entered Sichuan Province.

“So far, three victims have been identified, but there must be more unknown victims.”

“For what purpose are they committing murder?”

“There’s only one reason an assassin kills. Someone commissioned them.”

“But who?”

“We’ll have to find that out from now on.”

Pyo Wol looked at Jin Seung-hak’s corpse.

He didn’t know who the assassin was, but this was a clear challenge to him.

The Hao Clan had suppressed information about Pyo Wol, so Martial Artists outside of Sichuan Province didn’t know much about him. But it was impossible to cover everyone’s mouths with one hand.

Rumors about Pyo Wol were slowly spreading. But since most of the content was unbelievable, those who heard the rumors did not easily believe them.

The assassin who rules the night of Sichuan.

It was a story that sounded unrealistic to anyone who heard it.

But it was a different story if the target was an assassin.

Assassins were more sensitive to information than anyone else.

The kind of people called assassins were those who would not miss even the most trivial piece of information and would dig into it.

They would have realized that the rumors about Pyo Wol were true to some extent. Yet, to enter Pyo Wol’s territory and carry out assassinations meant one of two things.

They were either mocking Pyo Wol, or they were confident they would never be caught.

Either way, it was not a pleasant situation for Pyo Wol.

“Soma!”

“Yeah! Hyung-ah.”

“From now on, we track him.”

“Okay!”

Soma nodded his head vigorously.

His face was full of excitement.

Soma had been spending his days in boredom after entering Chengdu.

Things that were fun at first were no longer enjoyable. Nothing was fun anymore. But hearing that they were going to track someone made his heart pound and a smile naturally appear.

It seemed that this kind of work was his calling.

Just then, Yu Gicheon asked cautiously.

“We don’t know the assassin’s face or name. He’s like a ghost. Is it even possible to find someone like that?”

“It’s possible.”

“How?”

“That’s what I do best. Finding those who are hidden away and killing them.”