An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 50
“Ah, how satisfying.”
All the way back to the inn, a smile refused to leave my face.
“I wish Yoon Jeob Chang could have seen the look on Wi So Gang’s face.”
Song Do Hyun gazed at me with evident amusement.
“But you’re really thinking of closing the deal at sixty taels?”
“Of course not. I’m just throwing out a price and seeing what happens. If someone makes contact, I’ll adjust accordingly.”
“I see.”
Today was less a negotiation than a personal settling of scores.
Revenge for threatening me, for putting Song Do Hyun’s life in danger.
The latter weighed far more heavily.
If he hadn’t been hurt, I wouldn’t have pressed so hard.
I didn’t show it, but the moment I saw blood, my vision went white.
A feeling too complex to name had burned through my chest.
“But…….”
Song Do Hyun opened his mouth carefully.
“Do you really think Wi So Gang will just let this go, aside from the others?”
“No chance. He’ll definitely try something. No doubt about it.”
I scanned the surroundings slowly.
We’d already reached the Golden Guest Inn.
I swept my eyes across it with suspicion.
“He picked this place for us, didn’t he?”
“He did.”
“Hmm…….”
The inn was divided into three main buildings.
Guest rooms where travelers stayed.
A stable for horses and carriages.
A storehouse for goods.
And in that storehouse lay the ginseng.
My feet naturally drifted toward the storehouse.
Creak, creak.
A heavy padlock hung at the entrance.
I pulled with all my strength, but the lock held firm as stone.
“The front is secure…….”
Having checked the lock, I began circling the storehouse.
Then I stopped at one particular spot.
“Hm?”
Behind the storehouse.
A single ventilation grate cut into the wall caught my eye.
It was set high enough that even on tiptoes I could barely reach it.
But with the empty barrels and wooden crates scattered nearby, I could easily make it to the opening.
The problem was the size.
The grating blocked entry, but without it—someone could squeeze through by angling their shoulders, if they were small enough.
‘I might manage it, if I’m careful…….’
I rose onto my toes and gripped the grating.
Then I shook it hard.
Creak, creak.
It shuddered with a loose, fragile sound.
“Interesting.”
I murmured, studying it.
“I’ll need to prepare for this.”
***
Deep in the night when everyone slept.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Black shadows vaulted over the inn’s outer wall where I was staying.
Thump!
They landed without a sound and exchanged signals with hand gestures.
‘Is this the place?’
‘Yes. Confirmed.’
‘Lead the way.’
‘Yes.’
The masked figures moved without hesitation toward a single location, as though they possessed an intimate knowledge of the terrain.
‘We’ve arrived.’
They stopped before the warehouse that Ha Yun had inspected earlier.
‘Begin.’
‘Yes.’
One of the masked men brought over a wooden crate and set it beneath the barred window.
He climbed atop it and began working the bars with his hands.
Slide.
The bolts slipped free with surprising ease, and the bars separated cleanly.
Once he’d removed the remaining bolts, a passageway large enough for a single person appeared in moments.
“Heh, truly our master’s craftsmanship.”
The masked men let out low chuckles.
These men were Heuksabang operatives sent by Wi So Gang.
“To have anticipated even this… he’s worthy of being our master.”
Wi So Gang’s choice of this guest inn had been no accident.
Over the course of weeks, he had made subtle preparations.
Loosening the bolts so they would come free easily.
And by ensuring the trading delegation stayed here, he had completed his design.
Of course, stealing the Ginseng directly remained a last resort.
The moment the Ginseng vanished, suspicion would fall upon Wi So Gang first and foremost.
But now he was in no position to choose his methods.
If he allowed the trade to fail, Heuksabang would be threatened, and his own prestige would suffer grievous damage.
In the world he inhabited, prestige was life itself.
When prestige died, one became prey.
The previous master had indeed vanished one day without word or warning.
There was no guarantee Wi So Gang would escape the same fate.
Even now, countless eyes hungered for his position.
The only way to restore his prestige, tarnished by recent events, was to steal the Ginseng of the Ten Thousand Mercantile.
“Then move all the Ginseng here to our warehouse.”
‘Yes.’
At the captain’s command, the masked men crawled one by one into the warehouse.
And there they froze.
“It’s not here? It’s gone?”
The warehouse stood empty and bare.
Not a single blade of straw remained, let alone the Ginseng.
“The Ginseng… it’s not here. There’s nothing here at all.”
“What did you say?”
The startled captain scrambled into the warehouse himself.
But of course, he found nothing.
He stared into the emptiness, bewildered.
“Weren’t we told that those men kept the Ginseng stored here?”
‘Yes. It was definitely here until yesterday….’
‘We don’t understand how this happened either….’
That’s when it happened.
“Wait!”
Something pale white caught one of their eyes in the corner of the warehouse.
‘There’s something there.’
One of the masked men approached and picked it up. He examined it at once.
‘It’s a note.’
It was indeed a note.
The note was covered densely with writing.
“What does it say?”
“That is… well…”
The man who’d found the note hesitated, struggling to find the words.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t read.
Nor was it the content of the note itself.
“It’s written in Korean. We cannot decipher it.”
“What?”
The note was written in Hangul, the script of Joseon.
An empty warehouse, hollow and bare.
And left there, a note written in Korean.
To anyone’s eye, it was meant for Wi So Gang.
“Mm……!”
The commander’s face hardened like stone.
He gestured to his subordinates in turn.
“Take this and withdraw at once.”
“Yes.”
And so the men in black returned to headquarters, carrying nothing but a single note in place of the ginseng.
***
Heuksabang.
Wi So Gang’s quarters.
“What? The ginseng has vanished entirely?”
Wi So Gang slammed his palm against the table upon hearing the report.
“You searched the surroundings thoroughly?”
“Yes, we did search.”
“I mean outside the warehouse as well, not just inside! Every corner!”
Wi So Gang’s voice rose to an unusual pitch.
“Yes. We combed the entire area, but found not a trace of ginseng anywhere.”
“How could this…!”
Wi So Gang clutched at his forehead.
A subordinate approached, holding the note his men had found in the warehouse.
“However, we discovered a note left there, written in Korean.”
“Korean? A note?”
Wi So Gang’s eyes narrowed to slits.
There was only one person who would leave such a note in Korean.
“Give it here.”
Wi So Gang snatched the paper from his subordinate’s hands. His gaze swept over it rapidly.
[Wi, you cur, take note.
You didn’t actually think we came squeaking like rats to steal your ginseng, did you?
If so, I’d advise you to abandon that notion.
We are not here.
However much I think about it, the place you showed us left a foul taste in my mouth.
So we’ve moved our lodgings to the Cheongpung Guest Inn nearby.
Therefore, should you wish to meet with us, come to the Cheongpung Guest Inn.
There we shall resume our final negotiation.
*P.S.
Ah, should you come find us, consider this note read.
And consider it confirmed that you tried to steal our ginseng.
Like the rat you are. Squeak, squeak.]
“Im Ha Sung, you bastard!”
Wi So Gang tore the note to shreds, his voice trembling with rage.
“A mere Korean dares to humiliate me…!”
His eyes had gone crimson.
“I should go there this instant and…!”
Every instinct screamed at him to rush to the inn where Ha Yun was staying and tear it apart.
He wanted to bring that man to his knees, to strike him across the face just once—anything to sate this fury.
But he could not.
Though he could tell no one, a transaction far greater than the ginseng trade hung in their hands.
Until that deal was sealed, he could not afford to sever ties completely.
That was why Wi So Gang held back from exercising direct force.
“Hah…….”
Having barely regained his composure, Wi So Gang drew a long breath.
“Where is the Cheongpung Guest Inn?”
“Near the East Gate.”
“Prepare to go there tomorrow.”
“Very good.”
Wi So Gang leaned back against his chair.
By now, his gaze had turned cold and settled.
“Tomorrow, we shall settle this matter once and for all.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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