Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 272

272. The Inspector General Jo Gwan

Jin Yelim addressed Inspector General Jo Gwan.

“Three months ago, the Hoam Merchant Guild’s caravan was attacked near Cheongwon. The guards fought back, killing all thirty attackers. What’s suspicious is that neither the guards nor the attackers were identified afterward.”

Jin Yelim’s eyes sparkled as she pressed on.

“The government investigated, but the case was closed without a proper inquiry. Isn’t that suspicious enough?”

A moment of silence hung in the air.

The burly Hang Jang-ik spoke, his expression awkward.

“It is suspicious, but I don’t think it’s our concern.”

“That’s right.”

Dam Soha frowned as she chimed in.

“It seems you’re not fully aware yet, but while our job is to oversee collusion between merchant guilds and government offices, the Investigation Bureau can’t get involved in individual cases.”

Jin Yelim immediately countered.

“The Hoam Merchant Guild hoarded a huge amount of goods when they entered Gwangju. The source of those funds is also unclear.”

Dam Soha shrugged.

“Where is the source of funds ever clear for a large merchant guild?”

Jin Yelim frowned. Jo Gwan, who had been listening intently, turned to Hang Jang-ik.

“What about the local officials?”

“The Commissioner of Justice and the Regional Commander showed no signs of wrongdoing. There were a few instances of personal corruption among the officials, but the Inspector could handle them sufficiently.”

“Any evidence of special collusion with the Hoam Merchant Guild?”

“As far as I could see, there was none.”

Inspector General Jo Gwan was lost in thought for a moment.

The job of an Inspector General, belonging to the Investigation Bureau, is to impeach corrupt local officials.

In some cases, they can exercise extrajudicial powers that don’t require evidence or adhere to the law, but the corruption of local merchant guilds wasn’t their primary concern.

Of course, it would be a different story if that corruption greatly affected the lives of the people.

“Let’s put the Hoam Merchant Guild issue aside for now.”

Inspector General Jo Gwan’s decision was made.

Disappointment flickered across Jin Yelim’s face, but Dam Soha and Hang Jang-ik accepted it as a matter of course.

“Ah, so Gwangju is over. Where to next?”

Dam Soha asked.

However, Inspector General Jo Gwan remained silent for a moment.

“…There have been some changes from the central government.”

The faces of the three hardened at Jo Gwan’s words.

“According to the royal decree, all Inspector Generals currently on patrol will prioritize the work of the Eastern Depot.”

“The Eastern Depot?”

Dam Soha’s eyes widened.

The Eastern Depot, a direct agency of the Emperor and a powerful institution that had never been abolished for hundreds of years.

Although eunuchs were the main players, the authority of the Eastern Depot was the same as the authority of the Emperor.

Therefore, the fact that the Investigation Bureau would be carrying out the work of the Eastern Depot had enormous implications.

“Wow, that’s great!”

Dam Soha said with a delighted expression.

“The Investigation Bureau, which has been nominal, will finally gain some power.”

An Inspector General impeaching a local official essentially infringes on the autonomy of the local magnates [powerful, influential families or individuals].

Therefore, the Investigation Bureau had power only in the early days of its establishment, and now most of the civil and military inspection rights belonged to the local magnates.

The extrajudicial powers were also mostly nominal now, and in fact, the Investigation Bureau was said to be just a name.

However, if the Eastern Depot, a direct agency of the Emperor with tremendous power, is added, the story changes.

It would be like having the power of the Eastern Depot plus the extrajudicial powers of the Inspector General, giving them absolute power.

“But our responsibilities have not changed.”

Jo Gwan said with a calm look.

“Our job is to assist the Emperor above and promote the comfort of the people below, no matter what happens in the central government.”

The three, knowing what kind of person Jo Gwan was, nodded with determined expressions.

“Are there any new orders?”

Hang Jang-ik asked.

Jo Gwan slowly opened his mouth.

“Our new mission is to thoroughly investigate all suspicions related to the League of Heroes.”

A different light flashed in Hang Jang-ik’s eyes.

“Are you talking about the League of Heroes from the Hangzhou Bloodshed?”

No one was unaware of the Hangzhou Bloodshed and the League of Heroes.

Although it was a matter of the Murim [martial arts world], wasn’t it a major incident in which many people died and the landscape of the Jianghu [the world of martial arts and chivalry] changed?

“But then we have to go to Hangzhou.”

Jo Gwan replied to Dam Soha’s words.

“There are others who are inspecting Hangzhou separately. The Investigation Bureau’s order is to look into the areas we are patrolling first.”

The three nodded at his words.

They weren’t the only Inspector Generals in the world, so there would certainly be those in charge of Hangzhou.

However, they couldn’t help but envy those in charge of Hangzhou.

“Shouldn’t we investigate the Hoam Merchant Guild again?”

Jin Yelim, unable to let go of her lingering feelings, spoke up.

“The Hoam Merchant Guild made huge profits from the League of Heroes’ control of the Yangtze River’s commerce.”

“Sister, are the merchant guilds that profited from the Yangtze River only one or two?”

Jin Yelim’s eyes narrowed at Dam Soha’s words.

Hang Jang-ik smiled and said.

“There will be a chance later. Let’s first look into whether there are any officials here colluding with the League of Heroes, Jin Mae.”

Although regret remained, his words were correct.

Inspector General Jo Gwan nodded, and that was the conclusion.

“Then everyone, please work hard. Since Murim affairs are involved, be especially careful.”

Inspector General Jo Gwan said.

But with these three as his escorts, there would be no major problems.

“Understood.”

The three said with shining eyes.

Although they couldn’t openly call out his title, their determination was fully conveyed.

Step, step.

Inspector General Jo Gwan left the place first.

As soon as Jo Gwan disappeared, Jin Yelim’s eyes turned sharp.

“Do you have a problem with me?”

The person who received her glare was none other than Dam Soha.

“A problem? Where else would you find someone who cares about you as much as I do, Sister? I’m just helping you since it’s your first mission.”

“Then why are you arguing with everything I say?”

“Then would you rather have the Inspector General reject it? It was never going to work anyway.”

Certainly, Jin Yelim had gone ahead rashly.

But it was true that the Hoam Merchant Guild was suspicious.

“Okay, okay. Let’s stop talking about that now.”

The large Hang Jang-ik said with a good-natured smile.

“Let’s go to Gwangju and eat something delicious.”

“Wow! Great!”

Dam Soha said with a delighted expression.

“Seriously, how can we not eat properly after coming to Gwangju? This is Gwangju, the city of food!”

Gwangju was famous for its various dishes.

With abundant seafood and a developed food culture, Gwangju was truly a place worthy of being called the city of food.

“Come on, let’s go! I already have a place I want to go.”

Dam Soha took the lead energetically.

Step, step.

Just then, as the three were walking down Mount Wolsu along the path…

“Huh?”

Dam Soha turned her head at Jin Yelim’s voice.

Her gaze was directed down the road.

“What is it?”

Dam Soha turned her head, following Jin Yelim’s gaze.

And what she found was a frail-looking scholar and four or five menacing men surrounding him.

“Why? Do you know them?”

Dam Soha asked casually.

“Yeah.”

Surprisingly, Jin Yelim nodded.

“I saw him in the carriage coming to Gwangju…”

They had arrived in Gwangju via different routes.

Jin Yelim, who was speaking, soon frowned.

“What are those guys doing now?”

It was easy to see what they were doing.

One of the men swung a club at the scholar.

***

That day, Woonhyun left the Woon Family Merchant Guild’s mansion alone for the first time in a while.

Even after sweeping the yard all morning, his mind was not settled, so he went out to the city to change his mood.

However, he was not in a position to visit famous places, so Woonhyun asked a servant of the Woon Family Merchant Guild for a suitable place.

The servant told him about Mount Wolsu, which was close and not too high, and Woonhyun followed his advice and headed to Mount Wolsu.

However, what Woonhyun didn’t know was that the servant was currently having a hot affair with a maid working for a subcontractor.

Taptaptap.

“Young Miss!”

The maid hurriedly ran up and called Hayoungryung.

Hayoungryung, who had just started doing her nails, answered without turning her head, as if she was annoyed.

“What?”

“Young Miss, Young Miss! Guess what? That person, you know?”

The maid said, gasping for breath.

“That person, who are you talking about?”

Hayoungryung asked, carefully doing her nails.

“Ah, the scholar you’re going to marry…”

“Why would I marry that guy!”

Hayoungryung turned her head and shouted.

The maid flinched, but she wasn’t intimidated by that level, as she had been trained for many years.

“But the elders have already decided everything, and his reaction wasn’t bad either? At this point, the marriage is as good as done…”

“Who decided it! Who decided it!”

Hayoungryung shouted, losing her temper.

“Never! Absolutely not! It will never happen! Got it?”

‘You’re not supposed to use ‘absolutely’ in that way.’

The maid muttered inwardly.

But she didn’t want to provoke Hayoungryung any further, so she quickly got to the main point.

“Anyway, he said that he’s at the Woon Family Merchant Guild right now. Right? But Naejeon’s Samsun is sneakily having a thing with Woonga Merchant Guild’s Samdol these days. That girl, I wondered why she refused to go on a blind date with me last time, saying she doesn’t like such casual encounters, but there was a reason. When did she get Samdol…”

“Hey.”

Hayoungryung frowned and said.

“What’s the point? Hurry up and tell me.”

“Ah! Look at my mind. Hehe. Anyway, Samsun is very interested in your marriage, Young Miss. So every time Samdol meets her, he tells Samsun everything about that scholar in great detail? Come to think of it, Samdol looks fine on the outside, but he’s really empty inside. Right? Men are all like that when they fall for a woman. Last time, Wangsam of the Jin Family Merchant Guild also…”

“Hey!”

Finally, Hayoungryung’s patience ran out.

“If you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to throw this?”

In her hand was a small, ornately decorated powder compact.

The sharply protruding corner of the powder compact sparkled particularly in the light.

“W-Wolsu Mountain. He’s going to Wolsu Mountain.”

Hayoungryung’s eyebrows furrowed at the truncated main point.

“Who?”

“W-Who else? That scholar. O-Oh, he went out to Wolsu Mountain this morning.”

Hayoungryung finally understood the maid’s words. The point was that the man staying at the Woon Family Merchant Guild had gone to Wolsu Mountain.

“You said last time, didn’t you? To let you know if you heard any news about where he was going.”

Hayoungryung was lost in thought for a moment.

“You said you knew some back alley thugs back then, right?”

“Ah, know? Who says they know thugs?”

The maid waved her hands, vehemently denying it.

“You said it back then! That you had some older brothers who were good at fighting. That’s a thug, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just a quick meeting… And they’re not thugs. Those brothers don’t fight anymore and are doing some kind of business now. Business.”

“Anyway!”

Hayoungryung interrupted the maid’s words and said.

“Go give them some pocket money and tell them to go to Wolsu Mountain and beat that person up a little.”

“Oh, come on. I told you they don’t fight anymore…”

“Do you want to die?”

Hayoungryung said, glaring.

“Whether it’s juniors or younger siblings, you’ll have those kinds of kids, right! Take care of it. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

The maid answered with a very subdued look.

After speaking, Hayoungryung turned her head and began to do her nails again.

“But…”

The maid cautiously said, watching Hayoungryung’s expression.

“Aren’t you going to go, Young Miss?”

“Why would I? I don’t have a hobby of watching other people get beaten up.”

Hayoungryung answered without turning her head.

She was carefully moving the brush and decorating her nails.

“No, not watching.”

The maid said, as if frustrated.

“If you save him at the decisive moment, you’ll capture his heart, right? Then how well will he treat you after you get married later? Romance is all about that thrilling taste…”

The maid shut her mouth.

Hayoungryung’s glare was very serious.

“T-Then I’ll be going. Young Miss.”

Stealthily, and quickly, the maid left the place.

Hayoungryung, left alone, was still focused on doing her nails.

Then suddenly, Hayoungryung muttered to herself, as if talking to herself.

“It’s all your own fault. Your own fault.”

As if trying to justify herself, she muttered like that, then suddenly frowned.

“Tch.”

Hayoungryung’s beautiful eyebrows were contorted.

“I made a mistake!”

Her annoyed voice echoed in a corner of the Hacheong Merchant Guild’s mansion.