Chapter 317
“All the smugglers know about this. You are aware of how many of those guys frequent Amiaeng, right? Through them, I’ve basically heard every trick in their books.”
Ed followed Alain as he drove his horse through the gap.
“You have a capable crew.”
Lil smiled confidently at what he said as she glanced back.
“Of course.”
The place they passed was the most shallow part of the cliff. It was a tiny gap that had been chipped away over time. Lil looked around her with some curiosity, but after they passed it, nothing really changed. The landscape, with its towering trees lined up in a straight line, seemed just like a replica of the forest they had ridden through.
“The ecology here is really consistent.”
“If you get lost in a place like this, it’s almost impossible to find your way back. That’s why smugglers were able to take advantage of it.”
“Well, it has all the perfect conditions to avoid the Empire’s surveillance. They really figured this out.”
The remaining cabin was found soon after. It was a house made of crudely split trees, with green moss and unidentifiable fruits clinging between the rough bark. The stem of a vine, hanging down on one side, swayed faintly in the wind.
This cabin was larger than the one Lil and Ed had stayed in.
‘It’s suspicious that they kept it hidden so well… But since our morale is already low and there’s nothing good about getting excited in vain, let’s just keep our mouth shut.’
The group quickly dismounted their horses and each took out a weapon they were most comfortable with. Because Lil was concerned that Ed couldn’t properly yield a weapon yet, she sent him to the back.
When there weren’t any signs of human presence, Lil beckoned, and Alain and Jericho clung to a nearby tree trunk on each side of her. Having waited with her rifle raised next to her ear, Lil eventually jumped out and took aim in front of her, causing a creature to fly above her head and screech suddenly.
After reaching the cabin, Lil put her back to the wall and listened. The moment she nodded her head, Jericho kicked in the door.
– Bang! –
The latch was torn off and the door opened wide. They rushed inside all at once but started coughing when the interior welcomed them.
“Puetch! What is this?”
Soot flew around as if something had been burned inside. At that same time, the hinge of the door that Jericho had kicked in, fell off with a screeching sound, and the door itself began to tipple over. The four of them evacuated outside in unison.
“Ugh!”
Ash followed them outside and poured out like a swarm of bees.
– Thud! –
When the door finally collapsed with the floor inside, black smoke burst out the entrance like a cannonball.
“…Is everyone alright?”
Alain and Jericho, who had entered first, had half their faces painted black. Meanwhile, Lil looked back at Ed and saw soot on his chin. She thoughtlessly rubbed her fingertips along his philtrum to create a beard, before chuckling while looking at his confused face.
“It suits you well.”
“…What?”
Finally realising what his face looked like, Ed extended his hand towards her as well. Lil tried to dodge, but she froze momentarily as Ed threw away his cane and approached her. Ed, who took hold of her in an instant, rubbed the area around her eyebrows diligently. Lil struggled in her own way, but because her determination to break free was half-hearted, she couldn’t escape from his embrace.
“This looks good on you, too.”
Even if she couldn’t see it herself, she could easily imagine the shape of her now charcoal-stained eyebrows. Lil began to laugh frantically along with Ed but abruptly stopped upon recalling Alain and Jericho’s presence. She looked back at them in shock, whereas Ed followed her gaze with a look of regret on his face.
A tall, slender man and a short, stocky man were standing and watching them from a distance. Although their appearances were different, their facial expressions were strikingly the same. It looked like they were about to vomit. It was obvious even though their faces were covered in ash.
“…”
“…”
Avoiding her gaze, Alain turned towards the cabin and blurted out.
“…Don’t mind us, have your fun…”
Jericho, feeling equally as awkward, picked up Ed’s cane.
“…Here you go.”
“…”
“…”
“Ah, ah, it looks like no one is here!”
Lil changed the topic a little late. But in any case, the fact that the group was this loud and that there was no response from anywhere nearby meant that they were indeed the only ones there.
Lil belatedly entered the cabin after Jericho had already opened all the windows wide. Burnt wooden boxes, whose sizes were typical for cargo boxes loaded on merchant ships, were scattered everywhere. Some were even stamped with the seal of the Chamber of Commerce.
Lil began rummaging through a few. Fortunately for them, none of the boxes were completely burned down because only the exterior part was touched by the flames.
“It was very humid that day. Else, it would have all burned down.”
“Thank goodness.”
“It looks like they retreated in a hurry.”
“With the Imperial Army rushing in, it would be the end of them if their merchant ship got caught.”
“…Slightly off topic. But I wonder what the Imperials smuggle.”
“Seeing how they tried to burn it, it must be something flammable, so it might be silk or paper. Or it could be fruit or spices.”
Ed spoke, passing between them.
“If they gathered and burned everything here, there should be more evidence laying around.”
He started tapping his cane here and there on the floor. Despite the moustache and full beard, he still managed to look dignified. Lil caught up with him and stuck her head over his shoulder.
“I’ve been curious since last time, but how did you know these guys have a habit of hiding things beneath the floor?”
“Oh, I was once on a smuggling ship…”
“..?!”
“…When you were already the Admiral?”
Without taking his eyes from the floor, Ed simply nodded. Alain and Jericho gaped, but Lil just shook her head. Jericho, who managed to close his jaw, muttered.
“…It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now…”
Ed tapped the floor with the tip of his cane.
“This spot looks a little suspicious…”
“Step aside.”
Lil drew her dagger and stuck its tip between the wooden planks. She pressed down hard on the hilt until the board popped straight out. Underneath the floor were white cloths, blankets, and…
“You found something, alright.”
Lil took out a box from under the blanket. It was a jewellery box. Inside were necklaces boasting a brilliant light, pearl earrings as thick as eyeballs, and a bracelet made of amber and emerald.
Alain, who was standing behind Lil’s shoulder, widened his eyes.
“This is… crazy. Absolutely crazy!”
Lil searched further to see if she could find anything else down there. Sure enough, there was a bundle of documents in the bottom compartment. It had the stamp of the Imperial Customs Office, but anyone could tell that it wasn’t real. Jericho imitated Alain from the side.
“It’s… fraud. Fraud!”
Lil tilted the paper towards the window. As the page became brighter, the writing came into view.
“It’s a forged… customs statement?”
“It’s our insurance.”
After concentrating on the content for a bit longer, Lil looked up at Ed. He still had his sooty beard, but this time, he was smiling contentedly through the blowing ash. Lil also raised her charcoal eyebrows happily as she held out the papers to him.
“Read this. This is our thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.*”
“..!”
– – – – –
Footnote:
Thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses: Korean proverb often used when you receive huge support/help from someone or something.
– – – – –
Chapter 317
“All the smugglers know about this. You are aware of how many of those guys frequent Amiaeng, right? Through them, I’ve basically heard every trick in their books.”
Ed followed Alain as he drove his horse through the gap.
“You have a capable crew.”
Lil smiled confidently at what he said as she glanced back.
“Of course.”
The place they passed was the most shallow part of the cliff. It was a tiny gap that had been chipped away over time. Lil looked around her with some curiosity, but after they passed it, nothing really changed. The landscape, with its towering trees lined up in a straight line, seemed just like a replica of the forest they had ridden through.
“The ecology here is really consistent.”
“If you get lost in a place like this, it’s almost impossible to find your way back. That’s why smugglers were able to take advantage of it.”
“Well, it has all the perfect conditions to avoid the Empire’s surveillance. They really figured this out.”
The remaining cabin was found soon after. It was a house made of crudely split trees, with green moss and unidentifiable fruits clinging between the rough bark. The stem of a vine, hanging down on one side, swayed faintly in the wind.
This cabin was larger than the one Lil and Ed had stayed in.
‘It’s suspicious that they kept it hidden so well… But since our morale is already low and there’s nothing good about getting excited in vain, let’s just keep our mouth shut.’
The group quickly dismounted their horses and each took out a weapon they were most comfortable with. Because Lil was concerned that Ed couldn’t properly yield a weapon yet, she sent him to the back.
When there weren’t any signs of human presence, Lil beckoned, and Alain and Jericho clung to a nearby tree trunk on each side of her. Having waited with her rifle raised next to her ear, Lil eventually jumped out and took aim in front of her, causing a creature to fly above her head and screech suddenly.
After reaching the cabin, Lil put her back to the wall and listened. The moment she nodded her head, Jericho kicked in the door.
– Bang! –
The latch was torn off and the door opened wide. They rushed inside all at once but started coughing when the interior welcomed them.
“Puetch! What is this?”
Soot flew around as if something had been burned inside. At that same time, the hinge of the door that Jericho had kicked in, fell off with a screeching sound, and the door itself began to tipple over. The four of them evacuated outside in unison.
“Ugh!”
Ash followed them outside and poured out like a swarm of bees.
– Thud! –
When the door finally collapsed with the floor inside, black smoke burst out the entrance like a cannonball.
“…Is everyone alright?”
Alain and Jericho, who had entered first, had half their faces painted black. Meanwhile, Lil looked back at Ed and saw soot on his chin. She thoughtlessly rubbed her fingertips along his philtrum to create a beard, before chuckling while looking at his confused face.
“It suits you well.”
“…What?”
Finally realising what his face looked like, Ed extended his hand towards her as well. Lil tried to dodge, but she froze momentarily as Ed threw away his cane and approached her. Ed, who took hold of her in an instant, rubbed the area around her eyebrows diligently. Lil struggled in her own way, but because her determination to break free was half-hearted, she couldn’t escape from his embrace.
“This looks good on you, too.”
Even if she couldn’t see it herself, she could easily imagine the shape of her now charcoal-stained eyebrows. Lil began to laugh frantically along with Ed but abruptly stopped upon recalling Alain and Jericho’s presence. She looked back at them in shock, whereas Ed followed her gaze with a look of regret on his face.
A tall, slender man and a short, stocky man were standing and watching them from a distance. Although their appearances were different, their facial expressions were strikingly the same. It looked like they were about to vomit. It was obvious even though their faces were covered in ash.
“…”
“…”
Avoiding her gaze, Alain turned towards the cabin and blurted out.
“…Don’t mind us, have your fun…”
Jericho, feeling equally as awkward, picked up Ed’s cane.
“…Here you go.”
“…”
“…”
“Ah, ah, it looks like no one is here!”
Lil changed the topic a little late. But in any case, the fact that the group was this loud and that there was no response from anywhere nearby meant that they were indeed the only ones there.
Lil belatedly entered the cabin after Jericho had already opened all the windows wide. Burnt wooden boxes, whose sizes were typical for cargo boxes loaded on merchant ships, were scattered everywhere. Some were even stamped with the seal of the Chamber of Commerce.
Lil began rummaging through a few. Fortunately for them, none of the boxes were completely burned down because only the exterior part was touched by the flames.
“It was very humid that day. Else, it would have all burned down.”
“Thank goodness.”
“It looks like they retreated in a hurry.”
“With the Imperial Army rushing in, it would be the end of them if their merchant ship got caught.”
“…Slightly off topic. But I wonder what the Imperials smuggle.”
“Seeing how they tried to burn it, it must be something flammable, so it might be silk or paper. Or it could be fruit or spices.”
Ed spoke, passing between them.
“If they gathered and burned everything here, there should be more evidence laying around.”
He started tapping his cane here and there on the floor. Despite the moustache and full beard, he still managed to look dignified. Lil caught up with him and stuck her head over his shoulder.
“I’ve been curious since last time, but how did you know these guys have a habit of hiding things beneath the floor?”
“Oh, I was once on a smuggling ship…”
“..?!”
“…When you were already the Admiral?”
Without taking his eyes from the floor, Ed simply nodded. Alain and Jericho gaped, but Lil just shook her head. Jericho, who managed to close his jaw, muttered.
“…It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now…”
Ed tapped the floor with the tip of his cane.
“This spot looks a little suspicious…”
“Step aside.”
Lil drew her dagger and stuck its tip between the wooden planks. She pressed down hard on the hilt until the board popped straight out. Underneath the floor were white cloths, blankets, and…
“You found something, alright.”
Lil took out a box from under the blanket. It was a jewellery box. Inside were necklaces boasting a brilliant light, pearl earrings as thick as eyeballs, and a bracelet made of amber and emerald.
Alain, who was standing behind Lil’s shoulder, widened his eyes.
“This is… crazy. Absolutely crazy!”
Lil searched further to see if she could find anything else down there. Sure enough, there was a bundle of documents in the bottom compartment. It had the stamp of the Imperial Customs Office, but anyone could tell that it wasn’t real. Jericho imitated Alain from the side.
“It’s… fraud. Fraud!”
Lil tilted the paper towards the window. As the page became brighter, the writing came into view.
“It’s a forged… customs statement?”
“It’s our insurance.”
After concentrating on the content for a bit longer, Lil looked up at Ed. He still had his sooty beard, but this time, he was smiling contentedly through the blowing ash. Lil also raised her charcoal eyebrows happily as she held out the papers to him.
“Read this. This is our thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.*”
“..!”
– – – – –
Footnote:
Thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses: Korean proverb often used when you receive huge support/help from someone or something.
– – – – –
