Chapter 7 The Warehouse Mission

The warehouse was a squat stone building on the eastern road, surrounded by bare trees and silence.

Taeyang sat in the back of a covered wagon, dressed in merchant robes that Seokjin had forced on him, it smelled badly of someone else's sweat but he had to make do with it anyway.

Across from him, Seokjin carefully arranged the fake currencies into a box, while Dohan drove the wagon. Soyono and the rest had joined a different cart circling somewhere in the darkness behind them, outside.

The wagon stopped minutes later and Seokjin jumped out, Taeyang and Dohan followed suit.

The merchant Sangho was already waiting for them at the warehouse door. He was a heavyset man and looked tall and slightly imposing, he smiled warmly at them as they arrived and held out two hands warmly to welcome them. Seokjin shook hands with him and nodded at the four guards flanking him on both sides.

"You're the buyers?" Sangho asked first, just to make sure.

Seokjin nodded. "We're Tang merchants. We heard you had inventory to move."

Sangho studied him for a minute before His eyes flicked to Taeyang. "Who's he?"

"My Apprentice."

"Doesn't look like much." The man commented.

"He's not supposed to."

Sangho grunted his agreement and led them inside.

The warehouse was stacked with crates. Swords. Shields. Armor. Imperial-grade equipment stamped with the royal crest. Weapons that should have been protecting Goryeo soldiers, now bound for the Tang Dynasty because of a fire Taeyang had started.

His stomach turned uncomfortably at the knowledge but he kept walking.

They stopped in front of a crate and Seokjin threw it open, He examined the goods with practiced efficiency, he drew out a blade and ran his thumb over the edge, nodded to himself "These are acceptable."

Sangho looked please. “I told you they were.”

The deal was concluded in minutes. Seokjin handed the merchant the fake money and while Sangho was happily, counting his pay.

Seokjin ordered his men to load the crates.

Baekho, Soohyun, and Yohan step forward from where they'd been waiting near the wagon. The other outlaws — two of Dohan's men followed. They worked fast, hauling the crates through the side door toward the wagon outside. Taeyang moved to help, but Seokjin caught his eye and shook his head once, signalling him to stay, so he stayed.

In a matter of minutes all the crates were loaded aboard and the wagon was ready to leave.

Suddenly, Sangho held out one of the fake currencies up to the light, his eyes caught something in the money and his expression shifted. “You fooled me!”

Seokjin didn't wait for any further signal, he seized Sangho's wrist and twisted it.

The forged currency scattered across the stone floor as the man howled in pain.

Dohan drew his sword and drove the hilt into the nearest guard's throat before the latter even had time to react, his cartilage crunched and he dropped dead to the floor.

The second guard managed to draw his sword faster, but Dohan had been prepared for that and was even much faster. His blade caught the second guard right across the thigh spraying blood everywhere across the crates. He kicked the man's knees with the same speed and agility, the man screamed as he dropped to the floor and then he was silenced with a clean sweep of Dohan's blade.

Taeyang shivered. He pressed himself against the wall watching the whole scene unfold with a thumping heart.

The third guard rushed at Seokjin with an overhead strike. The old man sidestepped and caught the guard's wrist, with a twist he dislocated his joint making the latter drop his sword with a clatter on the floor.

With the same efficiency, Seokjin drove the guard to his knees with a blade at his throat.

Soyono came through the back entrance with the rest of the outlaws, her face was bloodstained from fighting at the back and she walked with a fierce determination that Taeyang had never seen before.

Her sword had already been drawn, and in no time she had Sangho against the wall with the steel at his throat before the merchant could finish his protest.

"What is this? We had a deal—"

"The deal is over." She said coldly.

The fourth guard parried a blow from an outlaw with his sword, he tried to pull a fast one on the outlaw but ended up with a gash above his eye and his sword knocked out of his hands.

Instead of continuing the fight, he turned around and fled, sprinting for the side door the only exit, directly behind whee Taeyang was standing.

The Prince unsure of what to do, stepped into his path.

He had no weapon. No plan. Just the desperate refusal to be useless again.

The guard didn't slow down at all.

He feinted running towards the left and Taeyang fell for it. The guard's boot connected behind his ankle and the floor rushed up to meet him, his shoulder struck stone the next minute,sharp intensed pain exploded behind his eyes.

Before he could pull himself together, the guard had made for the exit and vanished into the night.

Taeyang rolled onto his side, wincing at the pain in his head, it was at that moment he saw a fifth guard rushing out of nowhere towards him, a dagger in hand and his eyes fixed on Taeyang.

He lunged at him the moment he was close enough.

Taeyang threw himself sideways. The blade missed his throat by inches and buried itself in the crate behind him. The wood splintered but The guard wrenched it out at an alarming, desperate speed.

In no time he was raising it again, aiming for his throat this time.

An arrow punched through his shoulder at the last minute.

He screamed.

The dagger dropped to the floor.

The guard stumbled backward, clawing at the shaft buried in his arm when a second arrow hit him in the thigh. He collapsed to the floor.

Yohan rushed over to Taeyang, lowering his bow. His face was as pale as paper.

"Are you okay, Taeyang!" he shouted. "Are you okay?”

Taeyang nodded, trying to heave himself up.

Seokjin walked upto him wearing a tight scowl on his face. After Taeyang had finally struggled to his feet with the help of Yohan.

Seokjin looked at the open doorway where the guard had escaped.

Then he looked at Taeyang.

"What a waste." He said, shaking his head and turned and walked away.

In minutes, Sangho was bound to his knees in the center of the room, blood dripped from a cut on his cheek.

Taeyang sat on a crate near the door, his back against the cold stone. His shoulder throbbed. His hands were shaking terribly and he could still feel the impact of the floor against his spine. He kept thinking about Seokjin's last words, replaying it over and over again in his mind.

While he was brooding, Soyono interrogated Sangho with her sword drawn.

"Who do you work for?" She asked the merchant.

Sangho pulled his lips together into a frown, "I don't know what you're talking about. I am a business man, I work for myself."

She pressed the blade closer. A thin line of blood welled beneath the steel.

"I am not a fool, Sangho. You move imperial weapons across the border. There's definitely someone backing you. Who is it?"

"I don't—"

Soyono twisted the blade, the steel bit into his flesh below his collarbone. Blood spilled out from his chest and he screamed.

"I will tell you alright, I'll tell you!"

“Who is it?” Soyono snapped impatiently.

“He's an elder in court, we don't interact with him directly but all our orders and supplies come from him.”

“Who is it?” Soyono asked, her tone taking on a slow and dangerous edge that made Sangho shiver and swallow uneasily.

“His name is E-elder J-junsang—”

“Elder Jungsang!” Taeyang repeated with shock, his voice carrying through the room.

"Elder Jungsang!" Sangho confirmed, babbling now. "He's the one! He's the one, we've been secretly moving weapons for months! The workshop fire only made it easier by creating a shortage, with that we were able to drive up prices! I assure you he's the man. He has buyers in Tang! He has military contacts! He's been using me to move the stock! Please! I'm just a middleman!"

Soyono drew back her sword, The merchant swallowed uneasily.

“Get up!” She snapped.

The man looked confused but he still staggered to his feet.

“Where are we going? What are you going to do with me?”

“Nothing much.” Soyono said, sheathing her sword. “You're just going to take us to your boss.”

At that the merchant's face turned horrified. “I can't, I can't. I'd rather you kill me."

Soyono studied him for several seconds.

Then she nodded.

"Very well."

Her sword flashed.

Taeyang jumped up.

“Don't kill him, don't kill him— I'll take you there.”

But it was too late, the sword had already decapitated The merchant's head from his body.

The sight horrified Taeyang. He swallowed uneasily, Once. Then twice before looking away.

The words of Elder Jungsang filtered back into his ears.

"The empire cannot sustain conduct that threatens its military foundations from within its own palace. The court has spoken this morning with one voice. We request that His Imperial Majesty act accordingly."

The same man who had called for his expulsion. Who had looked at him with contempt while he knelt on the stone floor and begged for mercy, was the same man secretly smuggling weapons to the enemy. Stealing from the empire. Using the chaos of the fire — Taeyang's fire — to line his own pockets.

The elder who had destroyed him was a traitor.

Soyono wiped her sword clean and walked up to Taeyang, her face bloodstained and bloodthirsty. “You said you would take us there right?” She asked in a voice that made Taeyang go pink.

All thoughts of Elder Jungsang disappeared from his mind at that moment as he stared into her eyes, lost.

“Taeyang?” She snapped impatiently.

“Uh-yeah-huh, I'll take you there.” He stuttered.

“Good.” Soyono nodded and sheathed back her sword. “Let's go!”

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter