Chapter 68
The next day, around noon.
It was as expected.
The day after the commotion at Cheong-a-ru.
The Triad, accompanied by the magistrate, Ga Yeong-deuk, visited the Moyong family.
But the faces of the Moyong family members were full of leisure.
‘These people believe in the reputation of the martial world and look down on the magistrate…!’
Ga Yeong-deuk was furious, but he couldn’t particularly find fault with them.
No, he couldn’t.
Because there had long been an unspoken rule that the government and the martial world would not invade each other.
Moreover, he was just a magistrate.
It was known that spirited martial artists of the Jianghu did not bow even to the imperial court, so he could not dare to be arrogant in front of the Moyong Family.
‘But I can’t be defeated. At least until this matter is over, I have to keep the Triad by my side.’
Ga Yeong-deuk soon opened his mouth with a heavy voice.
“Family Head. Do you know why I have visited this place today?”
At that question, Moyong Baek smiled faintly and answered.
“I can guess. It must be because of So-ah’s matter.”
“That’s right.”
Ga Yeong-deuk nodded and looked at So-ah.
So-ah was smiling triumphantly.
Just then.
“Then you can talk to So-ah directly.”
Moyong Baek passed the conversation.
The faces of Ga Yeong-deuk and the Triad crumpled.
Ga Yeong-deuk, for his part, felt ignored, and the Triad, because the terrible nightmare of the ‘beating’ came to mind and their teeth chattered.
But whether he knew their feelings or not, So-ah, as if he had been waiting, quickly spat out his words.
“Your Excellency. By any chance, did you come because of the matter of beating those gangster bastards?”
‘This brat!’
Ga Yeong-deuk’s brow furrowed deeply.
If it had been Moyong Baek, he might not have known, but he had not expected a young brat to be so bold.
But since Ga Yeong-deuk was second to none in being sly, he completely hid his inner thoughts and continued to speak with a smiling face.
“Hoho… gangster bastards. Young Master Jin. You seem to have misunderstood something.”
‘Ah…’
‘Your Excellency Ga!’
‘That word is not allowed!’
As soon as the word ‘misunderstanding’ came out, the gangsters’ eyes widened like lanterns.
‘Misunderstanding one… misunderstanding two… misunderstanding three…’
So-ah’s vicious voice echoed in their minds like an echo.
The gangsters, who had vowed never to utter the word ‘misunderstanding’ again…
As expected,
“Misunderstanding… you say?!”
So-ah drew his eyebrows into an eight-character shape and mentioned the word again.
Tremble, tremble, tremble…
The gangsters’ legs trembled violently.
“Magistrate. Did you just say misunderstanding? I didn’t hear you wrong, did I?”
“Young Master Jin…”
“Alright. Let’s hear it. What is the misunderstanding?”
‘Th-This!’
Ga Yeong-deuk’s insides were burning black.
Because leaving aside the difference in status, So-ah’s words and actions were extremely rude.
“Young Master Jin. The Triad is not a gangster group. They are businessmen who have strictly entered the commercial world, and are currently making a huge contribution to the economy of Liaoning…”
“Ah! So they’re making a huge contribution to the economy, so they’re cheating on their monthly salaries!”
“…What?”
“So they’re not a gangster group, so they’re smuggling and distributing the world’s famous liquors without even paying liquor tax!”
“Young Master Jiiiin! Aren’t your words going too far? Such speculation…”
“So they’re businessmen who have entered the commercial world, so they dared to possess a thunderbolt bomb?!”
In that moment.
The gangsters, whose teeth had all fallen out anyway, opened their mouths wide, which were left with only gums, and made astonished faces.
But the one who was even more surprised was Ga Yeong-deuk.
Ga Yeong-deuk trembled as if he had been struck by lightning, and then glared at So-ah with a terrified gaze and asked back.
“J-Just now… what did you say?”
“I said thunderbolt bomb.”
At the same time,
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
A few porters entered the family head’s office with the chief steward.
They were carrying wooden boxes on their shoulders, and they soon put them down on the floor and opened the box doors.
“Ah… no!”
“That’s…!”
The faces of Ga Yeong-deuk and the gangsters turned deathly pale.
“Wow. They brought in a lot, didn’t they? The bamboo leaf liquor smuggled from Shanxi, the most expensive Geumjoncheong, the Fenjiu brought from Jiangxi, and the Guzhenggong wine brought from Anhui? Wow! Anhui is a place where the Namgung Family is firmly established, but they did such a thing? Does the Namgung Family know about this? I have some connections in the Namgung Family, so if I tell them, it will probably be a sight to see.”
The interrogation of So-ah, who had been possessed by a judge in an instant, began like that.
“In addition, the waiters, courtesans, servants, cooks, kitchen maids, and tavern husbands. Did the gangster bastards threaten to set their houses on fire? And while embezzling their monthly salaries.”
“…”
“Is that all? They extorted the profits of the investors in the middle, manipulated the ledgers, and even embezzled public funds. Wow! There are no gangsters like these gangsters.”
“…”
“In addition, the possession of a large amount of thunderbolt bombs is added. These are people who would sell out their country. Tsk tsk. You gangster bastards. You’re screwed. You know? At the very least, you’re going to the guillotine, you brats!”
As the crimes of the Triad were listed in a rapid-fire manner, they were on the verge of fainting.
In that moment,
“You baaaastards!”
A roar erupted from Ga Yeong-deuk’s mouth.
“Ah… no…”
“Your Excellency Ga…”
It was directed at the Triad gangsters.
‘Oh! Is this a strategy of killing the dog after the rabbit is caught?’
So-ah’s judgment was correct.
Because Ga Yeong-deuk, who had not expected the Moyong family to have secured physical evidence, had instead turned on the Triad and changed his attitude.
“You trash! Did you think you would be safe after doing such a thing? What would have happened if it weren’t for Young Master Jin? I was almost completely deceived. How despicable…!”
The Triad was dumbfounded.
Even the Moyong family members were dumbfounded, so what must their feelings have been like?
Was it because of that?
Ga Yeong-deuk’s shamelessness had triggered the Triad’s fuse.
“Your Excellency Ga! How can you do this? You’re going to throw us away after sucking us dry?!”
The Triad leader, Ma Dang-seok, said with glaring eyes.
Thanks to not participating in the prosperity meeting yesterday, he had not been beaten by So-ah and could pronounce his words correctly with his even teeth.
“You bastard! What are you talking about!”
Ga Yeong-deuk shot back at him with an even more furious voice.
‘You foolish brat. First, I have to live, don’t I? This is the only way to get rid of the evidence and you guys!’
Ga Yeong-deuk was frustrated to the point of going crazy.
But there was no way the ignorant gangsters would know his intentions.
“The thunderbolt bomb! You were the one who told us to bring in the thunderbolt bomb to send to Dongying! To backstab us so despicably!”
“Sh-Shut up!”
“You shut up, you vile bastard. Since it’s come to this, we won’t die alone!”
“You bastard… what are you talking about?”
Just then.
‘They’re really human trash.’
So-ah intervened.
“As expected!”
“…”
“They’re not even from the Green Forest or the Yangtze River Waterway, but just local gangster-like people, but I thought they were too bold.”
“Young… Master Jin…”
“Of course, you had the magistrate, who works for the country, behind you, didn’t you? You guys?”
“That’s right! We were just deceived by that Ga Yeong-deuk. We’re just guys who do as we’re told, aren’t we?”
In that moment, Ga Yeong-deuk’s face contorted like a vicious god of evil.
“Will you all not shut your mouths? How dare you, who do you think I am? I am the magistrate of Tieling, and an official of Liaoning! Where are you, ignorant riffraff, trying to frame me…”
But his roar did not continue to the end.
“Because you are a magistrate! Your crime is even more unforgivable!”
The figure who appeared, pushing aside the curtain in a corner of the family head’s office.
The figure’s thunderous roar was directed at Ga Yeong-deuk.
“Who are you?”
He was a man in his forties.
His face was dyed a jujube color, reminiscent of Guan Yunchang, and his eyes held a firm spirit.
Also, his angular jaw and firmly closed lips showed a sense of stubbornness, and So-ah thought that his impression and character matched well.
“I am the Censor, Bao Qingtian.”
Bao Qingtian!
He had been known as the epitome of an incorruptible official since his days as the prefect of Kaifeng, and was currently a censor, impeaching and punishing corrupt officials in the Liaoning and Tianjin areas. He was the younger brother of Teacher Po, the tutor of the Moyong Family.
“Bao… Bao Qingtian…”
The moment he heard that name, Ga Yeong-deuk could not help but stutter with a dazed look.
A few years ago, the story of Bao Qingtian, who had cut down a relative of the king with a dragon-headed guillotine, had spread throughout the Central Plains.
Since he had appeared, there was no possibility of escape.
“Master Bao… it’s a misunderstanding… this is a misunderstanding!”
Ga Yeong-deuk, who had lost his reason, fell to his knees.
But Bao Qingtian did not show any sign of wavering.
“Everything will be revealed through investigation. If you are innocent, you will be safe even if the whole world accuses you of being a criminal, and if you are guilty, you will surely be punished even if the heavens fall.”
In other words,
‘Hehe, as long as Master Bao is investigating, you guys are definitely going to die.’
To So-ah’s ears, it just sounded like he was going to kill them.
***
A month later…
“Hooray!”
“Hooray!”
“Long live!!”
Everyone willingly shouted “Hooray!”
The shopkeepers of Liaoning, including those in the entertainment world, hummed a tune every day.
It was because the commercial district of Liaoning had undergone a major transformation.
The Triad, down to the last member, were all imprisoned, and the executives were all beheaded by the dog-headed guillotine.
Ga Yeong-deuk also could not escape his fate. He insisted on his innocence, but his connection with the thunderbolt bomb manufacturing gang was proven, and he disappeared into the dew of the execution ground under the tiger-headed guillotine.
Because of that, Bao Qingtian’s fame shook the entire Central Plains.
In addition, the wounds of Yuk Jeong-ran, who had regarded Ga Yeong-deuk as her sworn enemy, were healed as if they had been washed away, and the employees of the taverns, brothels, inns, restaurants, and gambling dens, whose monthly salaries had been delayed, were also able to make a living.
But among them,
“Shopkeepers, employees who have gathered here. I sincerely thank you!”
The happiest person was So-ah.
“We are the ones who are grateful!”
“If it weren’t for Young Master Jin, Liaoning would have been ruined within 10 years. We were able to pull out a rotten tooth, so it’s all thanks to Young Master Jin!”
“Once again, we thank the Moyong Family and Young Master Jin for their difficult decision to intervene in the business world!”
The newly reorganized Liaoning Business Prosperity General Meeting.
In the midst of the sea of people, So-ah was feeling an indescribable sense of elation.
‘Is this the second time?’
He remembered taking the wealth of the Mad Wind Sand and distributing it to the nomads in the Great Desert.
Although this time he had stepped up for the financial establishment of the Moyong Family, in the end, since many people had regained their lost rights, he could not help but be proud.
“You’re welcome. Today, the reason I have gathered you all through Young Lady Yuk is to make an important announcement.”
At So-ah’s words, the people looked at him with questioning eyes.
“I intend to establish a great principle for the benefit of the community.”
“If it’s Young Master Jin’s words, we must follow them.”
“Of course, of course.”
“Please speak frankly!”
At the willing response, So-ah opened his mouth without hesitation.
“One. Each shopkeeper will not delay the monthly salaries of the employees under any circumstances.”
“That’s right!”
“Two. Each shopkeeper will grant at least three days off per month to the employees.”
“That’s right!”
“Long live Young Master Jin!”
The employees cheered.
The shopkeepers also did not raise any objections.
Although it was uncomfortable, since the Triad, which would extort profits under various pretexts, was gone, their profits would be several times higher than before, no matter what proposal they accepted.
“Three. The act of overcharging drunk customers will be refrained from, and if there is a conflict of interest, it will be resolved peacefully without hiring ronin warriors or gangsters.”
“You speak the obvious!”
“There should be no more gangsters in Liaoning!”
“And finally…”
“…”
“There is the wealth accumulated by the Triad. I intend to designate this money as a joint fund for the prosperity meeting and use it for medicine and treatment costs when the employees and their families below them get sick. Of course, it will also be used for various celebrations and festivals in Liaoning, and I also plan to donate to orphans every New Year. For your information, this fund will be jointly managed by Young Lady Yuk and me.”
At the same time, the eyes of the people were colored with astonishment.
Because they had thought that the illegally accumulated assets of the Triad would naturally be confiscated by the government.
It was a fact that even a three-year-old child knew that money accumulated through crime belonged to the country.
“Young Master Jin. Weren’t the funds embezzled by the Triad confiscated?”
“That’s right.”
“But… how?”
The corners of So-ah’s mouth curled up slyly.
“Well, where would it all go even if the government guys confiscated it? It’s obvious that it would go into the mouths of the higher-ups.”
“…”
“I sneaked a little. Haha.”
“…”
For some reason, the atmosphere was chilly.
The people still had astonished faces.
So-ah, who had become embarrassed, opened his mouth again.
“Hey! Why are your faces like that? Huh? It’s for a good cause anyway! Isn’t this something that even Buddha and the Jade Emperor would praise? As they say from ancient times…”
In times like these, it was best to change the atmosphere with a chatter divine art.
(End of Chapter)