Episode 183. Even a cough will startle them and cause them to run away.
next day.
Nam Soo-kyung opened her eyes only when the morning sunlight began to stream into her bed.
She sat up straight and quickly looked around, startled by the unfamiliar sight.
‘Ah! Grandpa came to the guest house.’
Maybe it was because I was so relaxed, but I ended up sleeping in for the first time in a while.
Suddenly, things from yesterday came to mind one by one.
It was a hectic day, as if a typhoon had hit.
Old Man Shim left, saying he would catch the swindlers, but Prince Yeon stayed behind in the inn.
Grandfather said that he was going to go to Gaebongbu to report Yeon Gongja, who was suspicious.
‘Have you already gone to Gaebongbu?’
Curious, she hurriedly got out of bed, changed her clothes, and went out the door.
After a quick wash in the backyard, I came to my senses.
As we entered the restaurant, a waiter named Sangdo ran up to us and bowed to us.
“Miss, should you eat breakfast?”
A smile appeared in Nam Soo-kyung’s eyes.
The quick-witted Jeomsoi was already treating him like his own master.
“Would you like some noodles and dumplings?”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Soon after, Jeomso-i ran into the kitchen and shouted, “The young lady wants noodles and dumplings!”
Nam Soo-kyung looked out the street through the wide open window.
Two years ago there wasn’t a single person there, but now it’s quite crowded.
‘I’m so glad.’
If there had been no guests at the inn, it would have been difficult to live with my grandfather.
The noodles and dumplings came out quickly.
Nam Soo-kyung called out to Sang-do, who was about to turn around and leave.
“yes?”
“How old is the person named Yeon Gongja?”
“I heard you’re twenty-one.”
Nam Soo-kyung’s mouth opened slightly.
He looked young so I thought he would be similar to me, but he was two years older.
“He hasn’t left yet?”
“Yes, he’s at Suicide Rock. He always goes there every morning.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
The merchant bowed and walked away.
Nam Soo-kyung quickly ate some noodles and dumplings and then went outside.
I was worried about the prince who was on Suicide Rock.
‘You looked quite shocked yesterday. No way… … .’
The large rock next to the guest house is called Suicide Rock because of the rapids below it. Since once you fall in, you can’t get out, one or two people jump into it every year.
She hoped that the older man would not have bad thoughts.
He himself had tried to kill himself several times during the years he had been tormented by Nokdam-pyeong.
But he held it in for fear that his grandfather would die of shock if he died.
Nam Soo-kyung forgot about looking for her grandfather and ran to where she could see the suicide rock.
I knew it!
As Sangdo said, Yeon Gongja sat blankly on the suicide rock.
She approached the rock, deliberately making noise with her footsteps.
“Your Highness the Prince?”
Yeonjeokha turned her head slightly at the sound of her name being called.
A girl named Nam Su-kyung was approaching with a faint smile on her lips.
“yes?”
Nam Su-gyeong climbed up the rock and squatted down near Yeon Gong-ja.
Now that I think about it, I often came out to this rock when I was young.
Every time that happened, my grandfather would come running and scold me, saying it was dangerous, and take me away.
“Oh, I was out for a walk and I saw someone I knew and said hello.”
“Ah yes.”
Yeonjeokha turned his head towards the Yellow River again.
“I also liked this place when I was young. Time seemed to pass quickly as I watched the Yellow River flow by.”
“… … .”
Yeonjeok nodded silently.
Certainly, if I just sit here and watch the water flow, the day goes by quickly.
Nam Soo-kyung continued speaking cautiously.
“You were really surprised yesterday, weren’t you?”
“yes.”
He did not deny that he was in love.
It can’t be helped since it’s the first time in my life that I’ve been scammed.
“Even if things are hard, don’t have bad thoughts. Good days will come soon after.”
“thank you.”
“Do you have anywhere else to go?”
“why?”
Yeonjeok-ha took that as a warning to ‘leave quickly’ and asked back rudely.
“No, if you don’t have anywhere to go, I was wondering if it would be okay if we stayed together for a while.”
“I don’t think Grandfather Nam So-jo would like that?”
“I will explain it to you clearly.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’m not the type of person who will do something or stop just because someone tells me to.”
It means, ‘I’m going to do what I want anyway.’
Nam Soo-kyung understood what he said and smiled bashfully.
Maybe it’s because he’s a man, but he seems to be acting like this even in these situations.
“Yes, but I will try to explain Confucius’s situation to my grandfather. My grandfather is not a cruel person, so I am sure he will understand your situation.”
I listened to her words with one ear and let them go unnoticed.
He also knows that Nam Soo-kyung doesn’t mean anything bad by doing this. She sympathizes with him for having been swindled out of a large sum of money.
‘How dare you throw me into the gutter!’
The more favors she bestowed, the more her animosity toward the conmen burned.
‘These guys are worse than dogs… … .’
At that time, Nam Cho-gyeol was meeting with Cheon Ryang-ji, the deputy commissioner of Gaebongseong.
“So you’re saying that an unidentified man who claims to have been scammed is occupying your guest room?”
“Yes. At first, he was with an old man, but now only a young man remains. He is a natural-born rascal who does nothing but play and eat. It is unlikely that such a person would have had a large sum of money, such as twelve thousand nyang, and it is also suspicious that he claims to have bought a guesthouse worth five thousand nyang with twelve thousand nyang.”
“Even I find it suspicious. But the old man looked like a martial artist?”
“Yes, it only took about 30 minutes to catch Jang Yi-yu from Gaepoong.”
At those words, the wrinkles on Cheonryangji’s forehead deepened.
“I don’t know if you know, but the people of the martial arts world call themselves the people of the rivers and lakes. They are people who have escaped from the land like rivers and lakes. They do not follow the laws of this land. They live by the sword instead of the law. They are truly lawless people.”
“But the old man left to catch the swindlers. Whether he really went to catch them or just sneaked away when the master showed up, only heaven knows. All that’s left is a single thug.”
“If it’s a problem for the martial arts people, how about asking the government of Gaebong for help?”
An awkward smile appeared on Namchogyeol’s lips.
I wanted to, but I spent all the money I had left on meeting the vice president.
“That little boy is just a plaything. If the magistrate coughs, he will be startled and run away.”
Cheonryangji nodded, as Namchogyeol’s words made sense.
“Understood. I will lead the soldiers and take care of it this afternoon.”
“Thank you. I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.”
“It was nothing.”
After expressing his gratitude countless times, Nam Cho-gyeol stood up from his seat.
***
Hwasangchon Inn.
Around midnight (1pm – 3pm).
Cheon Ryang-ji, the deputy commissioner of the Gaebongseong Fortress, stormed into the guest house with ten soldiers.
The surprised Sang Il-woon quickly called Yeon Jeok-ha, who was loitering around in the guest room.
Cheon Ryang-ji, who was sitting at the table, felt a sense of relief when he saw the young man with a youthful face.
I thought he might be a martial artist, but at first glance he looked like just an ordinary person.
“A petition from Namchogyeol has arrived at the Gaebongbu. Are you the person called Yeon Gongja?”
“But who are you?”
At Yeonjeokha’s words, one of the soldiers shouted.
“You bastard! How insolent! This is the great man Cheonryangji, the deputy chief inspector of Gaebongseong!”
“Oh, that’s surprising. Why are you yelling all of a sudden? Is there anyone deaf?”
Cheon Ryang-ji tilted his head at Yeon Jeok-ha’s calm words and actions.
I heard he was a bum, but his actions were so brazen.
“What is your name?”
“They told me to marry her.”
“I heard you were scammed out of a large sum of money. Is that true?”
“That’s what they say, but we need to catch the scammers to find out if we’ve really been scammed or not, right?”
Cheonryangji frowned.
When I looked closely, it seemed like he wasn’t accepting reality.
I was really shocked that I had been scammed or it was obvious that I was being lied to.
“I’m an expert in this kind of thing. Bring me the contract.”
Yeonjeokha took the contract out of her bosom and placed it on the table.
When I heard that an official had come, I gathered up the contract just in case, and I think it was a good decision.
An exclamation escaped Cheon Ryang-ji’s mouth as he carefully examined the contract.
“Wow! This is the work of someone with exceptional skill. It’s so elaborate that you would have been able to defeat it.”
“Is this really a fake contract?”
Yeonjeokha asked in a dead voice.
It seems like he really got scammed, since even the person called Deputy Chief of the Office of the Inspector General of Gaebongseong is said to be fake, following the number of people in the upper ranks.
“Yes. Recently, there have been many similar scams all over the world. They commit crimes here and then move to other places. Those people move between big cities and castles, so it’s not easy to catch them even if you know about them.”
“Haa! I really got beat up.”
“It’s a shame that you were scammed. But would you want the innocent inn owner to suffer the damage? Now that the real owner has returned, you should leave the inn.”
“I also spent 20,000 nyang in this inn. Where can I go when I don’t have a single penny? If Old Man Shim catches the swindler, I will leave even if he tells me not to.”
“Oh! But still! The fact that you were cheated has nothing to do with the innkeeper. If you don’t leave the inn, I have no choice but to punish you according to the law of the land.”
“What happens if you do it according to the law?”
“What should I do? Of course I’ll be locked up in jail.”
“Will they give you food if you go there?”
“Haha! Don’t you know what kind of place Ok is?”
Cheonryangji was so shocked that he burst out laughing.
For someone in his twenties, those words were too naive.
“I’m asking because I don’t know.”
“A prison is a place where people who have done bad things are caught and locked up. Of course, they give you food. However, it is very uncomfortable because you have to wear heavy shackles on your feet and all sides are blocked.”
“It looks like a warehouse?”
“Compared to jade, a warehouse is like an inn.”
“This is a place I shouldn’t go. Okay, so I’ll just go back.”
“If you don’t leave this inn, I will have you taken away and thrown in prison.”
“Your Majesty, Vice-Minister.”
Yeonjeokha’s voice suddenly quietened down.
Cheonryangji unconsciously lifted his back from the chair due to the strange force.
As Yeonjeokha reached out, the teacup on the table was sucked into his hand.
Cheonryangji couldn’t even breathe at the bizarre sight.
The teacup he had made turned to powder and fell from Yeonjeokha’s hands.
“I bought the inn to get rid of my troubled past and live a quiet, comfortable life. But I was swindled out of all my money? I just want to destroy everything, but I’m holding back. So don’t touch me anymore.”
Phew.
In an instant, a typhoon-like energy swept toward Cheonryangji.
‘Khuuuk!’
Cheonryangji’s body shook violently as it was engulfed in the energy emitted by Yeonjeokha.
After a while, the typhoon of energy died down as if nothing had happened.
Cheonryangji was so surprised that he didn’t dare to stand up and just looked at Yeonjeokha’s expression.
Military officer Im Sa-seong, who realized belatedly that his opponent was a martial arts master, quickly intervened.
“Hmm, Your Majesty, considering the circumstances of the prince, how about letting him stay at the inn?”
“That, that would be good. Prince Yeon, I made a slip of the tongue. Since Prince Yeon has poured in a lot of money, let Namchogyeol run the inn until the matter is resolved. I will also make sure to tell Namchogyeol firmly, so you won’t have to blush in the future.”
After finishing speaking, Cheon Ryang-ji quickly got up from his seat.
He wanted to get away from the martial arts master who couldn’t communicate with him as quickly as possible. After all, isn’t the law a nose ring if you hang it on your nose, and an earring if you hang it on your ear?
Wuxia,
