Episode 794
We began to look around the secret underground warehouse in earnest.
“It’s quite big.”
“huh. “Even in Geumhyeolbang, if it’s this size, it can be used as a large material warehouse.”
“The boxes are all opium. It is also of quite high purity. That means they have the technology and facilities to refine this….”
Where on earth did they get something like this?
Since this is a world without satellites, helicopters, or drones, it would not be strange to say that a secret slash-and-burn farm has been created somewhere in the mountains.
However, cultivating it and refining it into opium and distributing it are two different problems.
“Okay, shall we take a look? “This is what we specialize in.”
Jin Tianxi nodded at Sima Xuan’s words.
“Yes, thank you. “No matter how high-ranking the family, it would be almost impossible to bring something like this without a trace.”
Even if you want to hide it, if you have this much stuff, you have no choice but to get caught up in it.
Jin Cheon-hee scratched the back of his head.
“First, I need to find some ledgers for this. Are you going to be busy? First… confiscate all of this opium.”
Jin Cheonhee said with a cold expression.
Looking at his older brother like that, Sima Hyeon thought.
‘Is your brother very angry?’
It is a prestigious family with a high reputation in its own right. You will know better what it means to sell opium with your own hands there.
‘I’m more angry than when quacks were going around giving fake vaccinations.’
And the involved party is too big.
* * *
A moonlit night.
Sima Xuan is walking in the dark.
The clothes were uncharacteristic of him, plain military uniform with no patterns.
Nevertheless, the reason it feels a bit sophisticated may be due to the unique atmosphere.
He takes out a bast cotton ball from his pocket and sweeps his face with his sleeve.
Wow –
in that split second, my face changed.
No one noticed the young man’s change.
The young man headed straight to the guesthouse.
Jeomsoy welcomed me.
“Come on! Do you need food or lodging?”
“Give me a room. “In a well-ventilated room with two windows.”
The young man’s voice had suddenly changed into a harsh, warrior-like voice.
He was a ronin himself, as if he had lived on a daily basis for twenty years.
“There’s a room like that right now!”
Jeomsoy rubbed his hands as if he was tired of dealing with such a rogue.
I followed Jeomsoy up the stairs and a room appeared.
When I entered the room, there was someone already waiting inside.
A young man wearing glasses is sitting at a table and drinking tea.
The chain of his glasses was made of gold, giving it a fancy feel, but at the same time it also had a unique intellectual feel.
Hao Wen Ju. Hongryu.
“I see you, Lord Moon.”
Sima Xuan still spoke in a husky voice.
Hong Liu glanced at Sima Xuan.
Geumhyeolbang Hongrugak Tudomun Osal tribe gambling group.
Among them, he is from the Red House and is currently in command of all of Haomun.
“It’s been a while since I saw you, Somoonju. As expected, Hwahu of Heavenly Bianmangong has reached the Ten Saints. “No matter how much you wear a human skin mask, you are probably the only one who can turn into an ‘other person’ like that.”
“That’s too much praise. “Didn’t Lord Mun learn it too?”
Hearing Sima Xuan’s words, Hong Liu smiled and lit a cigarette.
Phew –
smoke filled the room.
What he drinks is different from the medicinal herbs sold on the market. It is speculated that it is related to his martial arts skills, but we do not know for sure.
It’s that kind of place.
Hao Wen.
Although they do not trust each other like political factions, there is a strong bond between them that is difficult for others to understand.
Otherwise, Haomun would not have been able to survive for such a long time.
Even so. It is extremely difficult to run and move around this chaotic place.
One important thing. Does it have that much power?
Hongryu said.
“well. Since the teacher disappeared without teaching me all the martial arts… In fact, I even doubt whether I learned Cheonbyeongeommangong properly. Isn’t that right? Priest?”
The death penalty is prohibited.
When Sima Xuan first realized that Hong Liu had learned the same martial arts as him, he was more skeptical than happy.
And that feeling was still the same.
Sima Xuan is standing and Hao Wenzhou is sitting.
We looked at each other for a moment.
Sima Hyun said.
“Grandmaster Seok didn’t teach me much.”
He died without telling any story about himself, only teaching Sima Xuan the Heavenly Transformation Sword and Mangong.
“But didn’t you teach me everything about Heavenly Bianmangong? Because they only taught me the first half. I just envy the priest. One day, the priest will inherit everything I have.”
In this way, the two unintentionally formed a relationship due to Nosa Seok.
“Now, please sit down.”
“yes. Lord Moon.”
Sima Hyeon sat across from Wen Ju.
“Please show me your real face.”
“As instructed.”
As soon as Sima Xuan’s face made a crunching noise and he wiped his face with his sleeve, Sima Xuan’s face was immediately revealed.
“Hehe. As expected… Master likes beautiful women.”
“Cheonbyeon Geommangong has said countless times that the original face is important. Since you have to keep changing your face, it is said that you have to have a good-looking face to be less crazy~” “
Like other Buddhist temples, Cheonbyeongeommangong is a martial art that becomes maniacal if you learn it deeply. I think Master believes that if you are confident in your face, it will remain the center of gravity no matter what you change it to in the future. “When I think about it these days, I don’t think it’s wrong.”
Paradoxically, the most important thing in Cheonbyeongeommangong is not how quickly you can change your face.
No matter what you change into, you never forget your original face.
No matter how high a kite flies, it must have a thread to hold on to so it can return without injury.
Cheonbyeongeommangong can not only change the face, but also steal the voice, behavior, and even the image of a warrior.
If they get there, those with a weak ego will quickly get caught up in it and begin to suffer from mania.
The memories begin to become more and more confusing, and eventually the ego of the person he was playing comes into play.
It was such a terrible thing to even copy a warrior’s image.
‘Normally, like other magicians, his energy and blood are distorted and he dies, but sometimes his genius overpowers it and only mania manifests.’
It is truly a talent that only comes along once in a hundred years.
I heard that even if you don’t die from reflux of blood due to your genius, you should already give up your role as a human being.
If you repeatedly try to protect yourself without being able to protect yourself, you will continue to lose your memories.
Afterwards, he doesn’t even remember who he is or what he does.
It’s literally something like a living echo.
What next? What if it gets even crazier there?
I can not know.
He said that neither Grandmaster Seok nor the person who taught him Cheonbyeongeommangong had ever seen anyone go that far in his life, and even the previous steps were only passed down through word of mouth.
That’s why even Master Seok, who has been careful from the beginning, sometimes goes crazy.
Just like other Sapa magicians.
Even he said that he had lost himself several times.
So you should never forget yourself.
Sima Hyeon now had two people to hold on to.
No matter how handsome your face is, if there is no one around to see it, you will not be able to come back.
Even if he was immersed in the depths of dark madness, the place where the stars shine was the place he would return to.
Sima Hui (暳).
The Chinese character used in the name is Hye (暳), which means twinkling stars.
Once you’ve found a place to return to, all that’s left is to go back.
Find the joyful and happy memories (喜), trace them back without difficulty, and return to your original state.
Jin Cheon-hee (喜).
Even the name has joy in it.
No matter how much he imitates a peerless expert, Sima Xuan always chooses his original self.
We remember what is truly precious.
That was also the reason why there was less mania compared to Sima Xuan’s achievements.
Of course, I am not grateful for that.
If I hadn’t learned the Ten Thousand Swordsmanship from the beginning, I wouldn’t have even had to get involved with Hao Wen.
With my brother’s guidance, I would have been able to live as I wanted more freely like Hye-ah.
‘If I had known it was a martial arts skill with such a history, I might have made a different choice.’
However, I know that meeting my brother was an unprecedented luck.
For a child to live alone in Hangzhou, there had to be something.
‘So, if I hadn’t known such martial arts skills, I might have died before then.’
In one way or another, Tianbian Jianmangong served as a way for Sima County to protect itself at the bottom of Hangzhou.
Grandmaster Seok probably knew that, which is why he didn’t mention it when he taught it.
“The old man had a tendency to do that. But why didn’t the teacher teach the second half to my brother?”
In some ways, this is a bold question that can be seen as a provocation. However, Hongryu did not show any signs of anger and only smiled faintly.
“They said I didn’t have enough acting skills.”
“Hmm~”
Is it true? There may be other causes he didn’t mention.
Sima Hyeon completely distrusts anyone other than Hye-ah and his brother.
But he held his chin and had the same expression as always.
I only believe in half and let the half go.
That is the method of the next Hao Wenju Sima County.
Hongryu continued.
“ruler. Let’s stop talking nonsense. “The reason I came directly is because of the information about ‘opium’ you requested.”
“Yes, yes~”
“Just to conclude. “First of all, your guess was correct.”
He exhaled deeply.
The room was filled with the scent of medicinal herbs. Eventually, he slowly continued speaking.
“This large amount of opium was brought in through pirates. After Haesabang disappeared. Rather, the sea has become an uncontrollable area and various pirates are running rampant. At the same time, here and there, officials who were ‘more than a little’ corrupt are greatly increasing their trafficking in opium and pirates.”
Like a chain, when one thing fell, others began to fall as well.
“As expected, that’s how the board works~”
“The reason I asked you to focus on the sea side. “I guess it’s because you guessed all of this from the beginning, right?”
“Yes, because there was no place other than the sea to bring something like that in. But then, the strange request I received may have a ‘such’ reason, right?”
Was it really sent by the emperor?
So why is this such a strange ‘request’ rather than a royal decree or secret letter?
Even though it was a request that only a very small number of Hao Wen knew about, the format was very strange.
‘First of all, I knew the motive. The emperor is the one who benefits the most from this gambling table.’
Hao Wenzhou said.
“If it is true that you were sent by the imperial palace, then it is true that you are the right person for this opium matter. “It will be difficult with just the Osal Tribe and Geumhyeolbang.”
‘Hmm, one of the boards was amazingly well planned~’
Sima Hyun taps the table with his fingernails and is lost in thought.
Five tribes. And Geumhyeolbang.
The strongest armed groups within Haomun are actually these two. Even so, it pales in comparison to the armed groups of other large sects.
With such a huge amount of opium discovered, those caught must move to survive.
I couldn’t imagine how high-ranking people were who were tied to the head of the strange family caught this time.
And the target of those high-ranking people is, of course, Governor Jin Cheon-hee.
In the Fire Empire, even the emperor was assassinated.
Isn’t it common for governors who were doing well to drown one day and die, or to get caught in the throat while eating rice cake, or to be stabbed to death by a wild boar while out hunting?
Even though I created a human barrier as an escort, when I died, I easily fell asleep and died.
That’s why Sima Xuan makes calculations.
This is not the way to find the truth, like Jin Cheon-hee, by laying the paving stones, reading the opponent’s heart, and making his moves one by one, as if playing baduk.
Rather, Sima Xuan’s reasoning is like weaving cloth.
Read the picture that appears as you cross the warp and weft threads.
It involves a little evidence, a little inspiration, and a little experience.
If there is an alternative path, imagine the interesting one.
Imagine and imagine.
That is the way of Sima Xuan, the successor of Hao Wenjue and the leader of Guangmen.
At a young age at the bottom of Hangzhou, I had no money to read the scripts or scores of other Peking operas, so I had to deduce the entire story on my own.
It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong. As long as it’s fun.
The finished story was often similar to the original Peking opera, and sometimes even more interesting.
Is the conclusion reached at the end of this imagination really interesting?
The habits from my childhood are still with me today.
‘If the emperor’s design is correct, then the design itself is plausible. That’s why things fell through with the school called Hao Mun. Jin Tianxi, Sima Xuan Hao Wen and the Five Rings Association…. In addition, Baeklin’s Pavilion.’
This is a good opportunity to use my brother to completely destroy the opium that has entered the empire.
If you are involved with the Imperial Eight Streets, this is your chance to blow your nose without using your hands.
But aren’t the fish biting the hook and the bait safe being two different problems?
If the emperor plans to use his older brother again, it would be right to attach him as a bodyguard.
‘It’s a great picture. It’s efficient, and human emotions are somewhat excluded, so it’s like an imperial situation without blood or tears.’
And one more thing.
‘With me in the middle, it’s a perfect picture for me to die while protecting my brother.’
Sima Xuan smiled bitterly.
