Dokmaeuiseon - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24

 

 

No news was coming in at all.

The Vice Guild Master never thought the job would fail.

 

‘It’s just going into a medical clinic and sticking a knife in one physician. There’s no way they can’t handle this.’

 

It was just one medical clinic.

A small medical clinic with just one drifter physician.

From what he heard, the man was a wandering Gangho Physician.

His medical arts seemed quite excellent though.

But that was it.

For some reason, the elders of the Golden Tiger Gang above had taken interest and started this affair.

Just that much.

Once they stabbed the physician, something would happen.

It was a job started with such carefree thinking.

If Chang Hwa-geom failed at this, he couldn’t even be called Chang-gyeon.

He’d be a dog.

 

‘Where did this bastard run off to? How can I entrust him with big jobs like this! Big jobs! Ugh. Tsk.’

 

So the Vice Guild Master thought.

Where exactly had he run off to?

Where should he catch these bastards?

But what was this?

 

“V-Vice Guild Master!”

“What? Did he come?”

“No… it’s not that Chang-gyeon came.”

“Then?”

“News has arrived though.”

 

Instead of Chang Hwa-geom, news had come.

 

“News? Did that Chang-gyeon bastard finally cause some trouble?”

“N-no, that’s not it… it seems he got into trouble.”

“What?”

“Yes. They found him dead from a sword wound in some other place.”

“Did he get caught making a fuss about not paying for drinks?”

“That’s not it…”

“Then why? Why are you stuttering like that? Huh? It’s not like such things happen just once or twice.”

“…He was found around the Salt Merchant ship.”

“Huh? Where?”

“From what I heard, they also found the Sub-Captain’s corpse who was traveling with him on the Salt Merchant ship!”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes! It’s causing an uproar.”

“Where did you hear this?”

“Someone connected to the Salt Merchants was talking about it… I overheard it nearby.”

“Hey, I told you to guard this place, but when did you go out again… No, never mind. So you’re saying they were definitely found around the Salt Merchants? And there were sect members on the ship too?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Huh…!”

 

Of all places, the Salt Merchant ship.

Not only around there, but corpses were found on the ship too?

 

‘What is this?’

 

The Salt Merchants don’t usually start trouble first.

Those money-crazed bastards don’t move unless there’s profit.

They absolutely weren’t the type to start trouble first.

 

‘Did Chang Hwa-geom borrow money from the Salt Merchants? No, that’s not his type.’

 

He couldn’t guess at all.

The Vice Guild Master’s head suddenly felt dizzy.

It was difficult to grasp the situation.

Meanwhile, the situation continued to escalate.

News kept coming in.

 

“Vice Guild Master! Another corpse…!”

“Where this time!?”

“Near Jeongsu Inn, they say.”

“Jeongsu? That’s far from our territory! Why again…!”

“Isn’t that the place? That Black Point…!”

“Ahem… speak quietly. Don’t dare mention Black Point. Anyway, they died at Jeongsu Inn?”

“Vice Guild Master!”

“Why are you here again! What is it!”

“This time they found our sect member’s corpse near Haesa Gate.”

“No, what the hell is this…”

 

Black Point. Sea Horn. Salt Merchants. Golden Tiger Gang above.

Corpses were found in various places.

Bodies discovered everywhere.

Not just one or two. Already over ten.

This made the situation serious.

 

‘What the hell is happening?’

 

The Vice Guild Master who started this affair to simply(?) stab someone.

For him, unthinkable incidents were happening one after another.

Every single one reported dead was someone he had sent on missions.

That was the bigger problem.

Don’t they say trouble begets trouble?

 

“Vice Guild Master!”

“What now!”

“T-the Guild Leader is looking for you. He’s urgently calling for you to come…!”

“Huh…!”

 

I told him to be careful.

But it seemed the news had inevitably reached the Guild Leader.

In that moment, the Vice Guild Master instinctively felt it.

 

‘I’ve completely messed things up. Everything’s gone wrong!’

 

The Vice Guild Master felt it intuitively.

He couldn’t go to the Guild Leader like this.

 

‘That crazy Guild Leader!’

 

He would definitely hold him, the Vice Guild Master, responsible for this.

Whatever it was.

It was true that he was involved.

But what kind of Evil Sect would it be if you took responsibility just because you started something!

 

‘I need to run. That’s the only way to survive.’

 

The Vice Guild Master wanted to faithfully follow the instincts of an Evil Sect member.

 

“Hah… Haven’t several incidents occurred right now?”

“That’s true, but…”

“So tell the Guild Leader that I have something to handle for a moment and will come a bit later!”

“That’s…”

“Why are you like that? Go and report quickly…”

“There’s no need for that, Vice Guild Master.”

“G-Guild Leader?”

“Vice Guild Master, if there’s trouble, we should handle it together. So, what’s making you prepare so hastily?”

“Th-that is…”

 

Before he could even move on instinct, the Guild Leader appeared.

The Guild Leader looked at the Vice Guild Master with piercing blue eyes.

 

‘I’m screwed…’

 

Realizing he had messed up, the Vice Guild Master squeezed his eyes shut.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jung Myeong’s Medical Clinic became bustling.

Song In. The escort leader sent from Baekyang Escort Agency. The one who had briefly guided Jung Myeong.

It was because he had come to visit the Medical Clinic.

 

“The entrance is the place where vigilance takes priority. Three will take shifts at the entrance. Two will be sufficient for patrolling the surroundings.”

“Won’t there be blind spots?”

“The size itself is small, so that should be fine.”

“Then I’ll arrange it that way. How should we handle the shifts?”

“For now, let’s change every day. They promised to add more personnel later when numbers increase, so please endure until then.”

“Yes!”

 

Song In, the escort leader. He gave orders efficiently to those who came with him from the Escort Agency.

 

‘He’s reliable?’

 

Even from Jung Myeong’s perspective, he had arranged quite a decent setup.

Simply guarding the entrance.

Having them patrol was basic.

Besides this, he was carefully examining the Medical Clinic to see if there were other places that needed guarding.

Seeing him, Jung Myeong smiled contentedly.

 

‘Our strength has been enhanced at once. It really was a good choice.’

 

Namgung Yeon who suggested forming an alliance.

To her persuasion, he had instead thrown a counter-proposal.

That counter-proposal was simple.

He requested security as he had originally intended when first visiting.

It wasn’t the Escort Agency’s goodwill, but a commission based on money he would send.

Thanks to this, considerable profits would be consumed.

But Jung Myeong was rather satisfied.

 

‘I can’t be in debt here.’

 

If he borrowed goodwill immediately, less money would be consumed.

But he knew that goodwill would someday become debt.

To Jung Myeong’s firm proposal.

 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do for now. But we can’t refuse a commission that came to the Escort Agency…”

 

Namgung Yeon also seemed to step back.

However, she wasn’t completely easy-going until the end either.

 

“Then we’ll proceed with the commission. For now.”

 

Though she accepted the commission.

She received less money than the typical amount.

It was an attempt to make him indebted even a little.

She also set a separate time period.

 

‘She said three months for now.’

 

Including today, the period for Baekyang Escort Agency’s escorts to guard this place was exactly 90 days.

She gave the reason that escorts also needed to rotate, making it difficult to stick to one place.

 

‘Rotation is just an excuse.’

 

The intention to gain priority by setting a period was evident.

You might not know where you sit, but you know where you stand, don’t you?

After three months of the Escort Agency people standing guard. She set the period thinking that Jung Myeong would be the one feeling regretful afterward.

It was natural that the party in need would have less leverage.

 

‘Whether things will go according to Namgung Yeon’s wishes when the time comes remains to be seen.’

 

In any case.

Those were the three months he had earned.

Whether he intended to do his job properly for those three months, or perhaps it was thanks to treating his child’s cold.

The escort leader, Song In, who seemed to have volunteered for this duty.

He enthusiastically came forward first with plans to protect this place, just as when he had initially guided Jung Myeong.

 

“For now, regular patrols will solve most problems… but there’s bound to be blind spots. So I’d like to make one suggestion.”

“A suggestion? You have a solution in mind?”

“Yes. How about installing a formation?”

“A formation? Hmm…”

 

A formation. It wasn’t a bad idea. However, aside from being a good plan, there was the question of whether it was feasible.

 

‘Where would I find Formation Masters?’

 

For Jung Myeong, who wasn’t a local, finding one would be difficult.

In fact, even for locals, Formation Masters themselves were rare.

 

‘Finding a trustworthy person would be even harder. Even with a simple formation, if you hire someone who would easily reveal its breaking method, it would all be for nothing.’

 

Finding someone trustworthy on top of that.

Would be even more difficult.

There was the option of making a request through Hao Gate or Black Point.

 

‘I don’t have connections to Hao Gate right now. There seems to be a way to make contact, but… not immediately. Black Point is even less likely.’

 

It could become a situation where the cure was worse than the disease.

As he was pondering this.

 

“If it’s alright with you, I can introduce you to a Formation Master.”

“Oh? You can, Escort Leader?”

“Yes.”

 

Escort Leader Song In stepped forward first.

Offering to introduce a Formation Master.

This was an unexpected kindness.

There was rarely such a thing as kindness without a price.

Wondering if perhaps Namgung Yeon’s influence was reaching even here.

Jung Myeong asked indirectly.

 

“I’m grateful, but would it really be alright for you to go that far?”

“It’s fine. For reference, the Formation Master I’ll introduce is someone I know personally, unrelated to the Escort Agency.”

“You caught my intention right away.”

“Haha. When you’re an escort leader, you develop good instincts.”

 

Song In was quicker on the uptake than expected.

He clearly drew the line between the agency and himself personally.

That changed things.

 

“I’ll repay this debt someday.”

 

Jung Myeong accepted immediately.

Instead, he called it a debt.

Relationships continued when there was give and take.

Especially in this Central Plains, such kindness had to be properly repaid someday.

Beyond just their personal relationship, reputation itself was important.

But Song In waved his hand dismissively.

 

“Haha. A debt? Let’s consider this repayment for treating my child.”

“As I said, that was just my duty as a physician.”

“As I mentioned, there are many cases where people don’t do what’s expected. Especially here in Hangzhou.”

“Hmm…”

 

It seemed there was definitely some story behind this.

 

‘Old Man Gang, whom I treated for a boil before, was the same… There seems to be some problem with the medical clinics here in Hangzhou?’

 

He had some inward suspicions.

But.

It wasn’t something he needed to take action on immediately.

For now, it was important to handle what was right in front of him.

 

“Shall I make the introduction then?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“Haha. Please wait just a few days.”

 

It was decided to bring in a Formation Master.

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