Chapter 219 : Scam

Chapter 219: Scam

“Could this be that?”

I frowned as I turned to look at Wang Mu.

My stomach twisted from the flood of terrible memories.

I immediately went to find Do Gye-gong.

However, I couldn’t find him anywhere. It seemed he had stolen the information and was hiding for a while.

With no other choice, I went to Jeon Yeong.

“What is it?”

Seeing me return not long after we parted, Jeon Yeong looked puzzled as he stared at me.

“Head Escort Jeon, I want to ask you something. Did we agree to deliver grain to the Weiji Clan this time?”

“Yes. We deliver grain to the Weiji Clan every year, and this year is no different. It's just that this time, the delivery is about a month earlier.”

Goosebumps spread across my skin.

This was exactly the incident that had put Hoi Unkyung and me in so much trouble in my previous life.

When a flash of killing intent sparked in my eyes, Jeon Yeong frowned and asked,

“Is something wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Do you know where the people from the Weiji Clan who ordered the grain are staying? Are they perhaps staying with the Sky Ocean Merchant Union?”

“No. Normally, those from the Weiji Clan would stay in the VIP quarters of our merchant union, but this time, they said they had reserved another inn and went there instead.”

‘It’s definitely them!’

I was certain now—these people from the Weiji Clan were the same ones who drove me into a corner in my past life.

“Is something the matter?”

“No. When is the grain scheduled to be dispatched?”

“They said it was urgent, so it's been decided to send it out within a few days.”

“Is that so? Understood.”

I left the puzzled Jeon Yeong behind and sank into thought.

‘How should I crush these scamming bastards?’

The humiliation from back then surged up, uncontrollably violent, as the memory returned.

After I married into the family, the first large-scale deal I handled under Hoi Unkyung’s direction was the sale of grain to the Weiji Clan.

But those I negotiated with from the Weiji Clan were none other than scammers.

I later learned that they had discovered the Weiji Clan purchased grain from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union every year, so they killed the representatives sent by the clan, disguised themselves as them, and came to the merchant union to steal the grain.

The grain that was scammed away then was so significant that Hoi Unkyung and I were barred from any involvement in the union’s operations for quite some time.

After that, I was called a “fat belly who got scammed” and was humiliated within the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

I hurried back to my residence.

Then I summoned the assassin that Baekseom had left behind.

One had already gone to deliver my letter to Baekseom, but another was still lingering around me.

Whenever I returned to my quarters, the three assassins always stayed nearby, as if to guard me.

“I have a message for your superior.”

When I spoke into the air after entering the room, a voice came from the ceiling.

“Go ahead.”

“Tell them that people from the Weiji Clan are staying at an inn near the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. Find them.”

“Understood.”

As soon as the voice finished, the presence in the ceiling vanished.

I muttered,

“I won’t let them get away this time.”

Back then, they had vanished without a trace with the grain. Because of that, the Weiji Clan moved their trade routes elsewhere, and the Sky Ocean Merchant Union lost a major source of steady income.

After waiting for about two hours, the assassin returned.

“Young Master Yong, I’ve found the people you were looking for. They’re staying at an inn not far from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.”

“Is that so? Let’s go at once.”

Since I wouldn’t know the outcome of Hoi Unkyung’s condition until some time passed, I could spare the moment.

I informed only Mu Iso of my whereabouts and then followed the assassin to the inn where the scammers were staying.

Indeed, the Blood Green Unit was thorough.

Assassins—evident by their demeanor—were already surveilling the surroundings of the inn.

The fact that they didn’t take my words lightly pleased me.

“They’re staying in the last room on the left of the third floor.”

At the assassin’s words, I raised the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art and ascended to the roof of the inn.

When my presence vanished from beside him, the assassin was inwardly shocked.

‘What is this person? How can he be better at stealth than me, an assassin?’

Curiosity about my identity began to stir within the assassin.

I had suppressed my presence so completely that without seeing me with one's own eyes, one wouldn’t know I was there at all.

As he continued to watch my movements, some of the lingering doubts in his mind began to clear.

‘It wasn’t a coincidence that the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect kept glancing in our direction. They must have sensed our presence perfectly. If they’ve also mastered the Stealth Technique used by Young Master Yong, then detecting someone like me would have been easy.’

The assassin felt a chill run down his spine. He had thought it was by chance when the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect occasionally looked toward where he was hiding.

But now, watching Yong Hwarin, he realized that wasn’t the case.

He pressed his ear to the roof, heightening his sense of hearing.

But only a faint humming reached him; no clear syllables were audible.

– It seems they’re blocking sound using qi.

For such secret meetings, it was common to form a sound barrier with qi to prevent anything from leaking out.

‘If they’re blocking sound with qi, then they’re no mere scammers. Of course, they’d have to be that bold to steal the Weiji Clan’s grain.’

I also pressed my ear to the room, trying to hear the conversation inside, but as expected, I couldn’t hear anything.

After a moment of thought, I sat cross-legged.

‘What is he doing now?’

The assassin was dumbfounded to see me sit down cross-legged as if about to begin Qi Circulation Training.

But sensing an unknown energy flowing from my body, he continued to observe.

That energy soon vanished.

‘Even as an assassin, these are bizarre techniques I’ve never seen before.’

I had drawn out qi through the Inner-Outer Realm and was synchronizing with Nature’s Energy.

Because of that Nature’s Energy, the assassin could no longer sense my qi.

As the Nature’s Energy seeped into the guest room, the conversation inside became audible through the flow of qi.

No matter how tightly they sealed their speech with qi, this method rendered it meaningless.

Since their qi and Nature’s Energy merged and mingled, they wouldn’t even notice their words were leaking out.

“They’ll be taking the grain out by tomorrow.”

“No one suspects anything?”

“Who would? We handled it flawlessly. We used the Invisibility Mask from the Weiji Clan operatives. Even Chief Administrator Wang Mu, known for his scrutiny, was completely fooled.”

I pinpointed the one maintaining the sound barrier with qi.

It wasn’t the ones speaking. There were three speakers, but two others had stayed silent.

I expanded my qi and probed the corner of the room.

‘It’s him! The one maintaining the sound barrier with qi!’

Qi was clearly emanating from him.

“Have you ever seen this Young Master’s plans go awry? He doesn’t act unless his plans are flawless.”

Hearing the term "this Young Master," I immediately thought of Lee Yung.

‘So once again, the Heavenly Demon Sect is involved. In a way, the Sky Ocean Merchant Union is dancing in the palm of their hand. Even the Geumwon Council is just a puppet to them. No wonder all my efforts in my past life were for nothing.’

The voices continued flowing from the room.

“Is the transport route secured?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. This Young Master’s subordinates will escort us.”

“Haha, then we’ve nothing to worry about.”

“Can we know the route?”

I silently thanked the person asking, as I had the same question.

“Why do you want to know, Young Master Cheong?”

“I’m just bored and wanted to help.”

“With this Young Master’s subordinates present, Young Master Cheong doesn’t need to worry.”

“You don’t understand. This Young Master won’t be able to dispatch many men this time. He already took a hit from that Yong Hwarin fellow, and I heard the rest are being sent to receive this Young Master’s Third Master, who’s arriving soon.”

“How do you know that, Young Master Cheong?”

Startled that Cheong Geonmin knew even the secrets of the Heavenly Demon Sect, Lee Yung’s subordinate asked.

“Hahaha, is it not because this Young Master considers Cheong Geonmin family?”

The men seemed to think for a moment, then spoke to the man silently seated in the corner.

“What does the Branch Leader think?”

“Young Master Cheong is right. We should accept his help.”

The men’s tones showed clear respect for the man with the heavy voice.

“Understood. Then we gladly accept Young Master Cheong’s help. Our lord would be pleased as well.”

“Thank you.”

I was stunned to realize that one of the people gathered was Cheong Geonmin.

‘I didn’t know this guy was such a snake. Could it be that in my past life, he was already tied to the Heavenly Demon Sect? Was taking Jegal Cheongyeong also part of a scheme? Thank heavens that Jegal Cheongyeong didn’t marry Cheong Geonmin in this life.’

I sighed in relief.

If I had neglected Jegal Cheongyeong too much, she might have succumbed to Cheong Geonmin’s persistent advances out of loneliness.

That guy would have taken advantage of the opening in her heart.

But though we were no longer engaged, I had treated her as a friend, as a sister—never letting her feel abandoned.

Thinking that this might be why Cheong Geonmin failed to win her heart, I felt that supporting her warmly had truly been the right thing to do.

“The transport route is through the northern slope of Goisan near Jeongju. The grain will be hidden there. Once things settle down, we’ll send it to our sect. It will be a great contribution.”

“ This plan is intended to cause great damage to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, to sow discord between the Sky Ocean Merchant Union and the Weiji Clan, and to destabilize the Sky Ocean Merchant Union’s finances. The goal is to force Hoi Soyu to borrow money from this Young Master. It is a delicate scheme, so Young Master Cheong must not make any mistakes.”

“Of course, I’m fully aware of that.”

I quietly withdrew my qi.

It was a relief that there were no masters around capable of seeing through the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art and Nature’s Energy.

‘But who is that one called Branch Leader? If he possesses that level of qi, he’s definitely no nameless nobody. I’ll need to be careful.’

It wasn’t that he couldn’t sense my qi—rather, my Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art and Inner-Outer Realm were too unusual—but I had a feeling that I couldn’t be confident if I had to fight that so-called Branch Leader.

I slipped away from the spot without a sound.

Once I had exited the inn, I spoke to the assassin.

“Withdraw all the assassins watching the inn. There’s a master who can detect their presence.”

“Understood.”

“Go to your superior and inform him that tomorrow, there will be a large grain transport headed to the northern slope of Goisan. Tell him to prepare an ambush to intercept the shipment. Also, tell him I’ll be joining at Goisan tomorrow.”

If that Branch Leader showed up, I believed I would be the only one capable of stopping him.

“I will inform Lord Baekseom.”

The assassin withdrew all the assassins monitoring the inn.

Lately, so many things were happening simultaneously that it gave me a headache.

But in a way, knowing everything was within my grasp gave me peace of mind.

‘No matter how cleverly this Young Master plots, in the end, he’ll gain nothing. I’ll block every step and shatter your schemes.’

I thought that if I hadn’t noticed this scam from my past life, the Sky Ocean Merchant Union would’ve suffered severe damage again, just like before.

I was grateful to have caught on in time.

I quickly returned to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Do Gye-gong was supposed to arrive at night, but he might come early.