**Chapter 21: Poisonous Mist, Hidden Shadows**
The man No Cho-san had summoned was none other than the goat-bearded merchant who had tried to swindle me.
What a coincidence to run into him again.
The goat-bearded man’s face had turned pale. He seemed unable to find his words, stammering as he glanced back and forth between me and No Cho-san.
"U-uh... well..."
"Hmm? Ho-ga. What is the matter? Do you know this benefactor?"
"That is... well, you see..."
"Ah! The Ho Family Trading Company was on the list for this mission, wasn't it? You must have seen him then. Why are you standing there looking so awkward? Come on in."
"...Yes."
With his head hung low, the goat-bearded man shuffled inside like an ox being led to the slaughterhouse.
No Cho-san gestured toward him as he introduced him to me.
"Benefactor, this is Ho Ga-ryang, the owner of the Ho Family Trading Company. It is a small outfit, but he is quick-witted and capable, making him quite useful for tasks."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Go on, introduce yourselves. Ho-ga! What are you acting like a criminal for? Get over here!"
Ho Ga-ryang bowed his head, his face twisted in misery.
"We meet again, Great Hero. I am Ho Ga-ryang."
"A pleasure to see you, too. Tell me, is the horse trade going well these days?"
"H-horses! I deserve to die for my sins!"
Ho Ga-ryang dropped to his knees with a thud.
I had only meant to tease him a little, but seeing him react this way made me feel genuinely sorry.
"What sins? I was only joking. Get up."
"Great Hero! I shall serve you with the utmost respect from now on!"
No Cho-san blinked, looking back and forth between us in confusion.
"There is no need for that. Now, do you have what I asked for?"
Ho Ga-ryang stood up tentatively, keeping a wary eye on No Cho-san.
No Cho-san gave a silent nod.
With that, Ho Ga-ryang reached into his robes and pulled out a crumpled document, handing it over.
"Here it is."
I reached out and took the paper.
As I unfolded it, I saw my cover identity for the expedition.
"The name is Jin Cheon. Thirty-three years old, from Yeongnam in Sichuan. You have worked as a caravan guard for our trading company for three years, and since your hometown is near the destination, you are the perfect candidate to infiltrate the expedition."
"Is this a real person?"
"Yes. He has a foul, violent temper and is constantly getting into fights, so the others tend to avoid him. I have sent that man away on a separate leave. I have already briefed the others, so you need not worry. They are all members of the Beggar Sect, so they are trustworthy."
"Understood."
I memorized the personal details on the document while studying the wanted poster. It seemed I would need a bit of a disguise.
No Cho-san, who had been watching, spoke up.
"How do you plan to depart? The Mount Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect will not just sit by and watch."
"The Tang Clan is already creating a diversion. They are officially preparing two separate punitive forces. The first, led by the eldest young master, will move toward Qinghai, while the second, led by the second young master, will head toward Guizhou."
"Eh? Then what about the Ho Family Trading Company?"
"From an outsider's perspective, we have no connection to the Tang Clan whatsoever. The Tang Clan warriors will also be thoroughly disguised as members of our trading company."
It seemed the Tang Clan intended to use their eldest and second young masters to draw the attention of Mount Qingcheng and Emei.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"Then, is Lady Dang joining the expedition?"
"No. Because of this recent incident, Lady Dang has been strictly confined by the Clan Leader and cannot leave Chengdu for the time being. Since our side is so critical, the eldest young master has decided to join us instead."
"But I thought the eldest young master was moving toward Qinghai?"
"That is merely a ruse. We have found someone who resembles the eldest young master."
"Hmm. I see."
After that, Ho Ga-ryang pointed out a few precautions one by one.
He might have made a bad first impression, but as No Cho-san had said, he certainly had a talent for his craft.
However, I still wondered how someone like Ho Ga-ryang had been entrusted with such an important task.
"Was your connection to the Tang Clan truly that deep?"
"Ah, not exactly... The Tang Clan was looking for a trading company that was capable but not overly conspicuous. It just so happened that our company caught their eye."
"Hmm. I see."
"Hey now! Ho-ga! Why are you leaving out my contribution?"
"Ah, of course, the Pavilion Owner’s mediation was a significant factor. Yes, that is correct."
A trading company that wasn't too prominent but possessed sufficient skill.
It seemed the Tang Clan had been preparing for this for a long time.
But as I listened, I realized they had overlooked the most basic detail.
"What is the departure date and the destination?"
"We depart in two days. The destination is Yunnan."
"Yunnan?"
"Yes."
My head throbbed instantly.
A jungle that was sweltering all year round and crawling with all manner of poisonous creatures.
Why on earth did that Fighting God fellow have to go and close his eyes for the last time in a place like that?
"Oh dear. Our benefactor, you are going to have a rough time."
"……."
No Cho-san was the only one grinning.
Two days later.
I joined the Ho Family Trading Company, not as Jang U-gil, but as Jin Cheon, a porter.
With a scruffy beard covering my entire jaw and unwashed hair flying in a tangled mess, my face was darkened and I looked utterly pathetic.
"Hey! You there! Load the cargo, quickly! We need to move!"
A senior porter climbed onto a cart and urged the others on.
The scale of the trading company was modest.
As it was a nameless outfit, there were twenty people in total for three carts. However, only ten were actually working; the other ten were laborers from the Tang Clan in disguise.
"Heave!"
"Good grief! This is backbreaking!"
"At this rate, when are we ever going to reach Yunnan?"
The porters belonging to the trading company grumbled, yet they worked in perfect harmony.
I also moved busily, keeping a sharp eye on those who appeared to be from the Tang Clan.
If Ho Ga-ryang’s words were true, the eldest young master had to be among them.
'Hmm. Is it that one?'
I didn't even need to search hard.
There was a man who, like me, had a scruffy beard attached to his face. He wasn't particularly large, his hands were as delicate as a woman's, and above all, his gaze was deep and sharp.
However, a talent cannot be hidden for long.
The fact that his extraordinary nature shone through even while disguised as a porter was his only flaw.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
A moment later.
A man rushed into the trading company and whispered something to Ho Ga-ryang.
Ho Ga-ryang, who was already visibly tense, gulped and turned deathly pale upon hearing the man's words. He then walked toward us with heavy steps and spoke in a trembling voice.
"L-let's go. We're departing."
"You heard him! Everyone, tie down the cargo tight!"
With that, everyone threw themselves into the final preparations.
Yet, the Tang Clan members still dawdled, barely moving a finger.
Ho Ga-ryang was too nervous to notice, but the other porters kept glancing in their direction.
'Why don't you just go ahead and announce that you're suspicious?'
In the end, I couldn't watch any longer and stepped in.
"Good grief. Did you come out without eating? Why can't you put some muscle into it? Damn it."
Jin Cheon, the porter with the foul temper.
Just as written in my personal file, I acted out the man named Jin Cheon and sauntered toward the young master.
"Stop!"
"Back off!"
Before I could even get close to the young master, two men dressed as porters blocked my path.
I frowned and looked past them at the young master.
"Loosen up your shoulders. Someone might think you're just pretending to be porters."
"……."
"I don't know what kind of trouble you lot got into, but I can tell just by looking at you. At this rate, we won't even make it out of Chengdu, damn it. Are you going to take responsibility if we all end up dead?"
The two men's eyes turned fierce instantly.
I stared right back at them with a 'what are you going to do about it?' expression.
This was a mission where success depended on deceiving the entire Murim. Even now, the Mount Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, two of the Nine Great Sects, were watching with eyes ablaze.
Yet, for some reason, these idiots didn't even have the basics of a disguise down.
At least the young master had some sense.
"Step aside."
"Yes."
The young master spoke with dignity.
The two men, who appeared to be his guards, bowed their heads and took a step back.
I looked around at the surrounding walls with exaggerated gestures and grumbled.
"Damn it. You're practically shouting it to the world."
"This guy really!"
Perhaps thinking a mere porter was picking a fight, one of the guards reached out to grab my collar.
"Enough."
The young master stopped him immediately.
"He is right. This is everyone's first time doing something like this, so we are unfamiliar with it."
Surprisingly, the young master apologized right away.
Usually, people with a bit of status would rather die than admit their own faults.
Between Dang Hwa-rin and her brother, the young master, it seemed the children of the Tang Clan were all a bit abnormal.
"You look like a high-ranking gentleman, but I'm not interested in your sob story. Change the way you talk, at least. We need to get out of Sichuan, don't we?"
"Understood. By the way, have you been a porter for a long time?"
"About three years. Before that, I did some sword work."
"Ah. You've lived a rough life."
It was like showing off a pig to a butcher.
The guards snickered at the idea of a mere porter claiming to have lived by the sword in front of the Tang Clan's young master.
The young master, however, showed no signs of mockery and continued the conversation with an attitude of wanting to learn even one thing.
"Have you seen cases like this often?"
"What? Sneaking away while hidden in a trading company like you lot? It happens occasionally. *Ptui!* Damn it, Leader. I told you not to take on such dangerous jobs."
I turned my head and glared at Ho Ga-ryang for no reason.
It wasn't the kind of behavior a porter should show, but my surly attitude and gaze made it seem natural.
"Then what must we do to succeed?"
"Since you're disguised as porters, you have to look like porters."
"How can we look more like porters?"
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the young master from head to toe.
"First, narrow your shoulders and hunch your back. Everyone’s back is hunched from carrying heavy loads, whether they realize it or not. You guys are too stiff."
"Ah. Will this do?"
The young master smiled and adjusted his posture.
Though his face was hidden by the beard, his smiling eyes resembled Dang Hwa-rin's.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
"No. Your eyes are too piercing. You need to have eyes like dead fish, like mine, so you don't stand out. You look extraordinary just by standing there."
"How can I fix that?"
"Can't really fix the light in your eyes. You just have to keep your head down."
"Ah. Like this?"
The young master even lowered his head.
Most would have been offended by now, but there was no sign of that from the young master.
From that, I learned two things.
One was that the Tang Clan valued this expedition that much, and the other was that the young master was no ordinary person.
How many people are capable of bowing their heads to a subordinate they wouldn't normally even consider a person?
Since I had given enough warnings and finished my preliminary assessment, I nodded and stepped back.
"That's enough. Excellent."
"Haha! Thank you. By the way, what is your name?"
"Me? I'm Jin Cheon."
"Ah. So you were Brother Jin. I am Cheon-u."
Cheon-u.
Adding the hidden surname, Dang Cheon-u.
In his teens, he was counted as one of the Four Dragons of the Murim and considered the best of the rising generation.
Now, entering his mid-twenties, he was a man whose poison and hidden weapon techniques had reached such a level that he was called the 'Poisonous Mist Shadow'.
"It will be a long journey ahead. I look forward to your help, Brother Jin."
"Ahem. Understood."
Dang Cheon-u beamed at me.
Good family, good looks, and outstanding martial arts.
On top of that, he even had a good personality.
'What a strange guy.'
I spat on the ground as I returned to my spot.
* * *
*Clop, clop. Clatter, clatter. Clop, clop. Clatter, clatter.*
Ho Ga-ryang led the trading company from the front, riding a horse.
There were three carts following behind.
For a group of only twenty, there was a lot of cargo.
"Hey! General! Good work!"
"Yo. Leader Ho. Where are you heading this time?"
"Yunnan. Yunnan."
"Hm? Yunnan? What could you possibly need in that sweltering land?"
"Trying to find some medicinal herbs. The Tang Clan pays a high price if the quality is good."
"Ah. Is that so? Then I wish you luck."
"Yes! General! We'll be back safely!"
Perhaps the Tang Clan's diversionary tactic had worked, as there were no particular checks until we left the city gates. The blue robes and gray monk's robes that had been easily visible anywhere on the streets of Chengdu were nowhere to be seen.
"Brother Jin. It seems we've succeeded, doesn't it?"
"We haven't known each other that long, so why do you keep acting so friendly?"
"Hahaha! Aren't all travelers in the Murim brothers?"
So, this is the first time you've been treated like this, is it?
From the moment we left Chengdu, Dang Cheon-u stuck to my side and chattered away.
It was so annoying.
I thought he would stop after a while, but even after Chengdu disappeared from view, Dang Cheon-u didn't stop flapping his lips.
"Oh my! My back. Brother Jin. Can't we straighten our backs now? I think we've been out of Chengdu for a while. My whole body aches from hunching over."
"Good grief. Do as you please."
"Hm? Am I bothering you? I like you, Brother Jin. It's been a long time since I've met someone I can talk to like this! Hahaha!"
"What the..."
Talk, my foot. He’d been the only one talking the whole time.
Just as I was about to spit out a curse,
"Hm?"
Something caught my senses from up ahead.
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