Episode 319
The woodcutter, Hao Wen-tao, guided me to the base of the entertainment district.
As I ascended to the top floor of the pce with the guidance of the warrior guarding the entrance, a gorgeously dressed woman waiting for me with a table set for drinks came into view.
Apparently, the branch manager of Jinan, Shandong Province, was a courtesan like the branch manager of Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
The woman, sensing that he was popr, stood up and politely bowed.
“I meet a noble person.”
“I will omit the full name. “I will quickly convey the matter to you.”
“It’s a shame. “I was hoping that I would be able to talk to the Great Heavenly Dragon, who is famous throughout the central ins.”
“There is something I would like to request from Hao Wen.”
“Please speak.”
“First, please organize and send me information about the power structure within Hwang Bose. The number of factions, the members and power of each faction, their inclinations, orientation, rtionships, and sources of support. “I would like to receive materials with as much detail as possible.”
“All right.”
It wasn’t just human trafficking that needed to be investigated.
I feel sorry for Hwang Bo-kyung, but I couldn’tpletely trust what he said to me.
[Do you think I would try to deceive you by making up something that didn’t exist?]
[If you were an elder, I think you would get away with it.]
[…….]
[I’m joking.]
I said it was a joke in front of the person in question, but it’s actually half true. It was serious.
Even if he didn’t necessarily make up the story, he could have cleverly distorted the facts or concealed information that was unfavorable to him.
The Hwang Bo-kyung I knew was a very capable person.
Didn’t this and the third prince of the Beast Pce get stabbed in the back after being deceived by his trick?
“Second, please monitor Hwang Bo-hoon’s movements. Who did youe in contact with, where did you go, what did you do? “I want you to tell me all about it.”
“If you are Hwang Bo-hun, do you mean the great lord of the Heavenly King?”
“That’s right.”
“He is one of the best masters in the Hwang Bose family. “Monitoring your every move is not as easy as it sounds.”
“It is enough not to get too close, but to observe the movements with a telescope. “Don’t worry, we’ll fully pay for it.”
“All right.”
“And thest one. “Please gather information about children who have gone missing in Shandong in the past twenty years.”
There was a thought that came to mind when Hwang Bo-kyung first talked about human trafficking.
If Hwang Bo-hoon had engaged in human trafficking, the purpose was most likely to secure funds for his activities.
Otherwise, there would be no way to do something prohibited by nationalw.
However, there were two questions that arose here.
Is it realistically possible for Hwang Bo-hoon to secure the amount of funds he wants through human trafficking?
Hwang Bo-hoon was the person aiming to be the next family member.
In order for him, whoes from a coteral background, to push aside other prominentpetitors and take the top spot, he first had to rely on the support of Gasol.
You would have to meet that many people, and a lot of money would be spent as a result.
No matter how lucrative human trafficking is, it is only by the standards of ordinary people who will never touch arge sum of money in their lives.
‘There is no way that a person like Hwang Bo-hoon has the same sense of money as an ordinary person.’
Kidnapping one or two people at a time and selling them off would not be enough to make pocket money.
Based onmon sense, there was no way Hwang Bo-hoon would havemitted an illegal act to make dubious money.
Unless he was a fool, he wouldn’t have weighed the risks he had to take and the benefits he could gain.
‘If he really engaged in human trafficking, it would be one of two things. Human trafficking is a smokescreen, and in reality, either she has mastered the magical art of taking the vitality of others like the Blood Flower Witch, or there is a clear source of demand.’
Thetter seemed unlikely.
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no group nearby that would pay enough to satisfy Hwang Bo-hoon.
ck city?
Would they be so crazy that they would risk being stepped on and regrly exchange business with people from the five major families?
They are people who wander around the central ins, opening and closing markets to avoid the attention of officials.
Outside of the new world?
Nanman (南蠻) and Xijiang (西藏) were too far from Shandong.
On the road to the North Sea, which was nearby, there was a crossroads that caught the eyes of beggars.
Demonic religion?
No matter how stupid Hwang Bo-hoon was, he would not have made a deal with the Demonic Cult during wartime.
The case of Geombong (劍鳳) Jong-ri So-yeon was special, but even those who deviate from the right path usually have at least some discernment between right and wrong.
Above all, there was no longer any reason for the Demonic Cult, which had swallowed up Cheonghae, Gansu, and Shanxi, to purchase children from outside.
‘Of course, the most likely thing is if Hwang Bo-hoon or someone around him learned the forbidden magic arts. Or maybe Hwang Bo-kyung gave me wrong information.’
Afterpleting business.
I said hello to the branch manager and left the base.
I walked across the street at a leisurely pace for a while.
‘……wait.’
My eyes widened at the sudden assumption that urred to me.
After thinking about it, there was one more thing.
A group that could buy the children kidnapped from Hwang Bo-hoon.
The words Damun said in the past passed through my mind.
[He received kickbacks from a group of ck thieves and became their backer. He also had a hand in running a gambling house and selling drugs. He also worked against the nearby martial arts factions, causing them to fight, and secretly gathered orphans and taught them to form a group of assassins.] ‘Samase!
‘
Why didn’t I think of this idea earlier?
Jiangsu is a region adjacent to Shandong.
Isn’t there a group that is as suitable as a business partner for Hwang Bo-hoon than Sima Sega?
* * *
The information sheet sent from Haomun has arrived.
I opened the paper, checked the contents, and nodded.
‘indeed.’
Should I say that it is exactly as expected?
Hwang Bo-kyung didn’t lie to me.
I just left out the important part.
『P.S. – Recently, the overall age of missing people has increased.』
The phrase written at the end caught my attention.
I folded the information sheet, stored it in my chest, and organized my thoughts in my head.
Many years ago, Damun said at the base that Sima Seju gathered orphans and raised assassins.
I heard that the Bisaldae and Jeolyeongdae, which were annihted by Ak Yeo-ryeong, were the units that were created that way.
So how did Sima Seju secure children to teach martial arts?
They would not have sent warriors to kidnap them or recruited applicants in a conspicuous way.
Because of the things he had done, Sima Shiga had many enemies around him.
There were many Wulin forces in Jiangsu who wanted to somehow catch the pod and report the Sima family to the alliance.
‘Perhaps Hwang Bo-hun may have been doing business with Sima Se-ju for a long time.’
ording to Damun’s story, the time when Lord Simase decided to raise Bisaldae and Jeolyeongdae was after he discovered that his son had a talent for fighting.
In other words, the average age of the members of the Bisaldae and Jeolyeongdae that were wiped out was not very high.
‘I thought it was strange.’
So how was Sima Seju able to raise a group of such high average standards in such a short period of time?
A group of children who are lucky enough to have outstanding qualities?
Or is it because the teachers who taught martial arts are highly capable?
My guess is that Sima Shiga would have created a training ground that imitated the Demonic Cult’s Jamma Cave.
As you go through the process of sorting out the stones, the average level naturally increases.
In fact, famous assassin groups often nurtured their members in a simr way.
‘The problem is that many people are separated during the training process, but efficiencypared to investment is clearly guaranteed.’
Didn’t Seo Ho-seon’s original Bangpa, Salmabang, force him to perform all kinds of inhumane practices for the purpose of mind killing?
‘It’s a secret pact between Sima Xuhuan and Hwang Bohun.’
Although it was only a hypothesis, the possibility was quite high.
It felt like the pieces that had been missing wereing together.
‘If this assumption is true.’
Depending on what I want, I can take both Hwangbo and Sima Se in my hands and sway them.
The corners of the lips twisted up slightly.
I thought I knew why Hwang Bo-kyung asked me to assassinate him.
He probably knew roughly the rtionship between Hwang Bo-hun and Sima Shiga.
‘The timing of your visit to me is too coincidental to say no.’
If Hwang Bo-hoon’s denial bes known to the outside world, the Hwang Bo-hoon family will naturally suffer damage.
As Hwang Bo-kyung, she wanted to kick out Hwang Bo-hoon, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but worry about what might happen in the process.
‘The most ideal solution in his opinion is to quietly deal with Hwang Bo-hoon and ask about the matter.’
I wanted to use Hwang Bo-hoon as a sacrifice to increase the value of Cheonan Gambu’s name, but unfortunately, Hwang Bo-gyeong was in debt.
Since he kept secret about Sa Woo-yeon’s identity, I also had to repay him.
‘Hwang Bo-hoon. ‘How should I cook this human?’
* * *
Late at night.
Hwang Bo-kyung came to my dorm once again.
“I want to hear the answer soon.”
“Personally, I did some research on Hwang Bo-hoon. “It was exactly as the elder said.”
“He’s a bad friend in many ways.”
“For now, I will ept the elder’s request.”
“Thank you. With this, the debt you owe me will be settled.”
“So it doesn’t make sense. “The elder will simply keep my mouth shut, but I must take a big risk.”
“…….”
“Since the target is not anyone else, but the head of the Heavenly Kingdom, I will have to receive additionalpensation.”
“Tsk, the calctions are so thorough.”
“I will take it as apliment.”
I smiled and offered Hwang Bo-kyung a drink.
I knew that Hwang Bo-kyung woulde today, so I prepared alcohol instead of tea in advance.
“Big.”
Hwang Bo-kyung emptied the ss in one go.
I still liked alcohol.
Before, I didn’t even touch the ss.
“First of all, I understand that you have epted the part regardingpensation.”
“You are also very consistent.”
“Let’s move on to the main topic. They said they would ept the request, but they are still at a loss as to how to get rid of Hwang Bo-hoon. “Do you have any ns prepared by the elder?”
It goes without saying, but work could not be carried out within Hwang Bose’s premises.
Because there are so many eyes watching, the risk is high and the likelihood of sess in assassination is low.
Although Seo Ho-sun and Sa Woo-yeon had achieved great growth so far, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to eliminate Hwang Bo-hoon without causing any noise.
Even if I took the initiative myself, it was still impossible to guarantee sess.
‘There.’
From the beginning, the second problem was whether it would seed or fail.
The biggest problem was that it was impossible to handle things quietly.
If done incorrectly, the aftermath of the incident could have disrupted the Shandong Akga relocation n.
“Of course there is.”
“Please tell me.”
“Even if I look like this, I’m not an elder of the Sega. “Even if we can’t oust Hwang Bo-hoon, we can influence it so that the unit sent this time to support the Shandong Musicians is Cheonwangdae.”
“…!”
It was a pretty good method.
In short, it meant that I would have Cheonwangdae by my side, so I could take the opportunity to kill Hwang Bo-hun.
“The Emperor of Heaven, who unfortunately lost his life while fighting against the viins of the Sima family. “Wouldn’t this be a pretty good picture?”