Wrrrrr!

Clatter! Clatter-clang!

A long procession stretched on — carts loaded with all manner of provisions.

“Angelica and astragalus, eighty catties; licorice, one hundred catties; peony, eighteen catties… hm. Vein-Moistening Grass, twelve taels. Correct. Go on in.”

The Baek Clan’s main gates stood wide open, a rare enough sight. At the entrance, the Baek Clan’s head steward was inspecting the goods himself.

“Next!”

The cart that had been waiting behind moved up before him. The man pulling it bowed his head and spoke.

“My cart is loaded with silk and cloth. Twenty bolts of Hangzhou silk, fifty of cotton, thirty of hemp.”

The head steward looked over the cart, verified the counts, and nodded.

“Hm. That’s correct. Good, go on in.”

The head steward and the man locked eyes. After a significant exchange of looks, the man spoke again.

“The carts right behind me are loaded with grain. Twenty seok of rice, fifteen of barley, ten of beans.”

Directly behind him, several carts piled with grain stood in a line, all of them covered with matting.

The head steward, who until now had been meticulous about every cart, sighed as though the whole business had become a nuisance.

“Fah. However am I supposed to check all that.”

It came to over forty seok in all, and each cart would have to be untied and its contents gone through one by one. More than ten cartloads had already passed inspection, and the line stretching out behind showed no sign of ending.

Besides — the man who’d brought the carts was of the Wang household, wasn’t he? A family they’d traded with for over ten years.

“Ai. Take the carts behind you in with you. We’ll need to keep piling the goods into the storehouses, so you’ll want to unload quickly.”

That was why nobody would suspect a thing. The head steward’s negligence was reasonable enough.

The man broke into a broad smile and bowed.

“Haha. Don’t worry about a thing. My man there’s got a strong back — it’ll be done in no time.”

With that he went inside, and the grain carts followed after him.

Then the driver at the very head of that line caught the steward’s eye, and the steward gave a small, tense nod.

The man — Mun Seok — smiled thinly and passed straight on through.

Clatter.

Once inside the estate, someone was waiting to guide them. The carts that had gone in ahead were already headed somewhere.

“I’ve been expecting you. I am Baek Sogang, Young Clan Head of the Baek Clan. Please follow me.”

Mun Seok swallowed hard and bowed.

Ningbo’s back alleys might be his to command, but what business did a man like him have crossing the threshold of a house like this one? It was natural to feel tense.

Mun Seok drew the deepest breath he could and followed him. A short while later they arrived at a large storehouse where the Baek Clan kept its grain.

Mun Seok led the carts inside and pulled off the matting. Around the edges, grain was stacked in neat rows — but the middle of each cart was packed with something else entirely.

“Hm.”

Baek Sogang saw the contents and made a low sound in his throat.

‘I did it because Father ordered it, but… to think it really was coffins loaded inside.’

When he said nothing, Mun Seok spoke up carefully.

“Uh… what’s inside needs to be unloaded… they said it’s sensitive to temperature…”

Only then did Baek Sogang come back to himself.

“Ah. My apologies. You there. Bring down everything that’s inside.”

Since when had they been waiting? A group of men filed quietly in from outside, all of them in blue martial robes.

The Baek Clan’s pride, its combat unit — the Azure Turtle Unit.

In good order they drew out the coffins loaded in the middle of the carts. Set out in rows, they came to exactly twenty.

“Is this all?”

The answer to Baek Sogang’s question came from behind him.

“That’s right. Twenty fake corpses. I accounted for the Baek Clan’s direct line and the loyal retainers who’ll be staying with them to the end.”

Baek Sogang turned to see Seo Woojin coming into the storehouse. He hastily raised his hands in a cupped-fist salute and bowed his head.

“I greet you, my lord.”

Seo Woojin gave an embarrassed laugh and changed the subject to cover it.

“How many of the Baek Clan’s warriors are still on the grounds?”

“All of them sent out as planned. The only warriors left are the portion of the Azure Turtle Unit here now.”

Seo Woojin turned his gaze to Mun Seok.

“And what’s Yun Giwon up to?”

Yun Giwon had been released — but not before being fed a poison that would kill him inside a fortnight without the antidote. Or so he had been told.

It was a lie, of course. Where would a back-alley thug come by a poison that costly? But Yun Giwon would believe it absolutely. Fear had already been branded deep into him.

Mun Seok cleared his throat softly and spoke carefully.

“At present he’s shut himself up in his residence and won’t come out. Luckily the prefectural office seems to have decided he’s absorbed in gambling as usual, and isn’t paying him much mind.”

“And the coroner?”

“Yun Giwon lined one up for us. We paid him generously, so there’s no cause for worry.”

Time had been short and the work rushed, but by and large it was falling into place. Even so, this was no point at which to ease up.

“Brother Mun. Please keep watching the area. If you see any suspicious movement, come tell me at once.”

He’d never expected them to simply stand back and watch this unfold. If anything, the complete absence of any reaction so far was itself the strange part. Something would come, in some form, and until it did he couldn’t let his guard down.

Since he couldn’t count on the Cheongeum Envoy’s help, he’d made do by scattering Mun Seok’s underlings around the Baek estate.

Last of all, Seo Woojin went over to the coffins on the floor and opened one. A fake corpse lay inside.

Swish.

It certainly wasn’t refined work. Now he understood what Muk-yeong had meant about only being able to fool a glance.

‘Still, the texture of the skin is impressively convincing. Whether it’s for this or something later, this is bound to come in useful.’

Seo Woojin closed the coffin lid again.

“Muk-yeong has arranged the ship. Execution is tomorrow night. Until then, stay at your posts.”

“Sir!!”

Leaving Baek Sogang and the Azure Turtle Unit’s ringing reply behind him, Seo Woojin walked out of the storehouse.

Everything so far had gone smoothly.

‘What is it? The hand they’ve prepared. If it were me — how would I be moving?’

Which was exactly what nagged at him. He had been turning it over for days without an answer.

‘In the end I’ll have to move as the situation calls for, won’t I.’

He had to be realistic about it. Clinging to a worry with no answer to it might make him slip at the crucial moment. Seo Woojin exhaled and set the thing down for now.

Now all that was left was to go where Muk-yeong was and inspect the ship one last time.

Just as he made to start walking, he caught sight of a small, slight figure off in the distance, waving vigorously at him.

Seo Woojin let out a dry laugh and went over to her.

“Clan Head Baek said you were going to rest in your room until you left.”

The girl who’d greeted him so brightly — Baek Soeun — pursed her lips.

“Even when I say I’m fine he goes and insists. With provisions coming in and out of the estate this constantly, how am I supposed to rest quietly in a room?”

Judging by how she launched into complaints the moment she saw him, she’d clearly snuck out.

“You must have been going stir-crazy.”

“Just stir-crazy? Don’t do this, don’t do that. It’s all ‘don’t do’ this way and ‘don’t do’ that way!”

“You’re about to leave, so if anything happened to you it’d be a real problem. That’s why he says so.”

Seo Woojin was trying to soothe her, but Baek Soeun snorted through her nose.

“Hmph! You sure it isn’t because I’m being a pain?”

Seo Woojin very nearly nodded along. He too was beginning to feel she was a bit of a pain, right about now.

Unfortunately for him, she read it on his face.

“Ah!! Brother, am I a pain to you too? Why would you lie? You said I’d be your conversation partner for life!! And I’m a pain?!”

Seo Woojin swallowed a low groan.

“When did I say you were a pain. It’s just — I’m busy right now, so once I’m done with work, I’ll come find you.”

“Hmph! Brother, are you going to marry me, then?”

Seo Woojin let out a dry laugh.

“What sort of nonsense is that?”

“Hear me out. You and Father have both been busy night and day lately, haven’t you? So ‘coming to find me when work is done’ means coming late at night, right? A strange man visiting a beautiful woman’s chambers late at night? If you’re not going to marry her, isn’t that a no?”

Seo Woojin’s face crumpled.

‘I’m in trouble now.’

Baek Soeun tossed her head triumphantly.

“Make your choice. Whether you’ll target the Baek Clan’s darling and become the enemy of every man in the Central Plains — or whether you’ll play with me a little now.”

Seo Woojin rubbed at his forehead against the sudden headache.

Why had Baek Gyeong not put a padlock on this young lady’s door? For a moment he quite resented the man’s carelessness.

But what could he do. He could hardly make himself the enemy of every man in the world.

“Fine. So what do you want to do?”

Baek Soeun raised a finger as if she’d been waiting for it, and pointed off into the distance.

“A ship!!”

“What?”

“Show me the ship!”

“A ship out of nowhere?”

“I already know everything, you know? We’re going to leave soon, aren’t we. I want to see the ship we’re going to be on!”

Seo Woojin gave another dry laugh. Just as when she’d sought him out before, it seemed she had information channels of her own.

‘Well. There shouldn’t be any problem.’

If anything, it was only proper that someone from the Baek Clan inspect the ship in person, and she was a daughter of the house. With him beside her it should be fine.

‘And she has been quietly enduring these past few days, that’s true too.’

In the end Seo Woojin nodded.

“You really are a handful of a kid. Come on, then. There’s only one horse, so no complaining about riding together.”

“Hehe. As you say.”

She only used her manners when it suited her. Seo Woojin snorted and headed for the stables with her.

The estate was still noisy with all the provisions being brought in. In the middle of it all, a horse carrying the two of them slipped out the rear gate.

The port of Ningbo would be busy any day of the year. Countless ships filled the docks, and more people and cargo still moved between them.

The crowd was thick enough that Seo Woojin and Baek Soeun ended up dismounting. The two of them made for the quietest corner they could find in all the congestion.

There, they were able to meet Muk-yeong.

— You’ve come.

At Muk-yeong’s usual welcome, Seo Woojin’s face turned apologetic.

“Sorry. You haven’t had any proper rest because of me, have you? Ah — the materials came through fine. I was surprised, actually; the quality was better than I’d expected. That side’s worth studying further, isn’t it?”

Muk-yeong’s hands moved briskly.

— It’s nothing. If you order it, I’ll think about points to improve.

“That was just a thank-you, so don’t be so stiff about it.”

At Seo Woojin’s chiding, Muk-yeong gave a faint smile.

— The Cheongeum Envoy you met before helped out too, so it went smoothly.

At the mention of an unexpected figure, Seo Woojin tilted his head.

“The Cheongeum Envoy did?”

— It wasn’t on the Military Advisor’s orders. She said it bothered her that I was doing this all alone…

Seo Woojin nodded, taking that in.

‘Naturally. She’d have more of a bond with Muk-yeong than with me.’

Whatever the case, if the Cheongeum Envoy had helped too, it took a little weight off his mind.

“So — the ship?”

Muk-yeong lifted a finger and pointed to the end of the docks. Compared to the other ships it was small, but there seemed to be no problem in taking on all the Baek Clan’s people.

— A merchant vessel leaving for Liaoning tomorrow night. On the way, it’s scheduled to stop once at an island in the Zhoushan group.

“They’re people we can trust?”

— They owe the Military Advisor a debt of gratitude. It was a very long time ago, so neither the Cheon nor the Gok will know of it.

Seo Woojin was inwardly impressed. In so short a time she had turned up exactly the right people — some of that owing to the Cheongeum Envoy, no doubt.

He turned his head, satisfied. The girl who had made such a fuss about seeing the ship was, unexpectedly, quite composed about it.

Seo Woojin gave Muk-yeong a nod, then spoke to Baek Soeun.

“For now, let’s go in there. The sea wind is cold.”

They went into a nearby inn and ordered hot food. And until it came, Baek Soeun kept her mouth firmly shut.

Making no effort to hide his puzzlement, Seo Woojin asked,

“What’s this? You made such a fuss to come here, and now—”

Only then did Baek Soeun raise her head and look at him.

“Ah. No. It’s just… seeing the ship, it feels real, I think.”

Even the way she spoke had changed. Seo Woojin shook his head. What on earth was going on in that head of hers.

“Getting cold feet? Turns out you’re a coward, for all how you look.”

She looked ready to snap at him at any moment, but Baek Soeun only summoned up a bitter smile.

“Maybe I am…”

At that, Seo Woojin couldn’t help turning serious himself.

“What is it. What’s got into you?”

Baek Soeun kept worrying at her lip. Just as Seo Woojin was about to press her again, she spoke first.

“Could we… could we just not leave…?”

What she meant by it, he could not begin to gauge.

(End of Chapter 31)