TSBIRBV Ch 152

Chapter 152 Even if You Deceive Heaven, Deceive an Esper (5)

Yegyeol parted the curtains and peered outside, his eyes narrowing.

“Oh. To think so many would already gather.”

A week had passed since the first compensation period ended. Upon hearing from the steward about the plan for a second payout, swindlers and real customers alike had flooded Qinghai Trading, gathering like clouds.

So many had come that the once-spacious compound was nearly overflowing with people.

Across from him, Samrang grumbled.

“I can’t fathom what you’re thinking. First you created a so-called first compensation period, handing out consolation money to all sorts of riffraff, and now you say you’ll actually refund the seal money in the second?”

“If the Qinghai Trading Group affixed its guarantee to rosewood seals, and their value has been tarnished by counterfeits circulating, then of course they must be refunded.”

“At that rate, you won’t just be one of the Three Great Trading Groups, you’ll be the ‘Ten-Thousand-Generations Trading Group.’”

It was an idea fit only to land them in the streets, she muttered. Yegyeol chuckled.

“I’m not really doing business.”

What he was doing now was setting an example.

“Seems like they’ve nearly all gathered. Shall we head out?”

At his words, Samrang composed her features into a solemn expression. When serving as a guard, she always kept her gaze sharp so others would not underestimate her.

Stepping outside, Yegyeol loosened his senses.

To his Esper hearing came the chattering voices of the gathered crowd.

“They’re really handing out compensation this easily? Not wriggling out of it, not refusing to pay?”

“Well, it’s because rumors that they distributed fake rosewood seals would be fatal.”

“If they refund one seal per person in this crowd, won’t the Trading Group go bankrupt trying to pay them all?”

“I hope they pay me and then go bankrupt.”

Yegyeol laughed inwardly. In truth, the genuine customers were not even one-tenth of this crowd, let alone half.

Every kind of swindler in Sichuan had gathered here. A few might have been duped by the swindlers into coming, but still.

Perhaps because the guiding is plentiful, I don’t feel any headache.

Other than the dizzying flood of information crashing in all at once, it was bearable. Now, he thought he could even sift through the clamor for only the information he wanted, instead of hearing it all as mere noise.

When he mounted the prepared platform, the murmurs died down.

“I am Yegyeol, head of Qinghai Trading.”

The young master of Qinghai Trading who suddenly revealed himself was far younger than they had vaguely imagined.

“He’s too young.”

“No wonder the compensation plan was so overly generous. Now I see why—the head’s just a clueless greenhorn.”

Despite the whispers reaching his ears, Yegyeol calmly continued.

“First, I must thank our customers who trusted us and purchased our goods.”

Though he had not infused his words with inner strength, his voice carried evenly throughout the grounds.

“Today, as promised, we will carry out compensation regarding the rosewood seals.”

Soft cries of delight rose here and there.

It’s too early to rejoice, he thought coolly.

At his gesture, Samrang brought forth a large basin filled with water. It would have been better if it were glass, but alas, the Central Plains had no technology to craft glass tanks. Instead, Yegyeol had prepared a wide, low basin, just high enough that a person on tiptoe could see inside.

“What’s that?”

“Looks like water?”

“One guard carrying a basin full of water like it’s nothing? Must be a true martial expert.”

Of course, the basin could have been prepared in advance. But Yegyeol had deliberately ordered Samrang to carry it out mid-ceremony—for a display of strength.

With this, anyone plotting something reckless will hesitate a moment longer.

“However, before we proceed with compensation, there is something I wish to reveal in this place, with your understanding.”

Since the money was forthcoming, no one would leave right away.

“This is the rosewood handled by Qinghai Trading.”

He lifted a chunk of unprocessed rosewood. It was fresh wood from a jujube tree struck by lightning, something Samrang had brought him three days prior, which Yegyeol himself had cut down and prepared.

There was a faint ripple of surprise in the crowd at the sight of the blackened, lightning-scorched jujube wood. Most had only ever seen rosewood in processed form, not as a whole piece of a tree struck by lightning.

Yegyeol tossed the charred block into the water.

The wood, which had floated at first, slowly sank to the bottom.

“As you see, the rosewood handled by Qinghai Trading is genuine—it sinks.”

The steward brought out a sample rosewood seal and its certificate. Yegyeol dropped them together into the basin. Despite being smaller pieces, the seal and certificate also sank.

Those close enough to see with their own eyes gasped aloud. Those further away, seeing their reaction, realized the truth of Yegyeol’s words.

Several swindlers tugged at their collars or coughed uneasily.

“Before compensation, we will conduct a simple verification procedure.”

“Verification? If you throw seals and certificates into water, won’t they be ruined?”

One man raised his voice. Yegyeol gazed at him coolly. At his signal, the steward leaned in and whispered something.

“That is Elder Yun. Since refunds are being issued, of course the items must also be reclaimed.”

The man started, clearly not expecting his name to be remembered, then blustered.

“There was no such condition in the first round!”

“That was because we were still assessing the scale of the damage.”

Some sharp-eyed people began edging backward. Yegyeol called out to them.

“My, where are you going?”

At the Qinghai master’s voice, heads all turned. The would-be escapees froze, then were politely escorted back to their places by the Trading Group’s guards.

“Qinghai Trading strives until the very end for our customers’ satisfaction.”

But in his words lay not service-mindedness, but the resolve that not a single swindler would escape.

Thus began the verification of rosewood seals and certificates.

The first customer came forward rather boldly. Yet both her seal and certificate floated.

“My, it seems the items you brought are not ours.”

“The certificate’s too small, that’s why it floated!”

At the sharp protest, Yegyeol drew a dagger.

“Then please, cut it yourself.”

He had already anticipated someone would make such a claim, despite other certificates of the same size sinking.

“You mean to make me destroy the certificate myself?”

The voice was filled with suspicion. Yegyeol thought the man had decent acting ability, but nonetheless raised the dagger.

“See for yourself.”

He ran the blade across the sample rosewood certificate prepared for demonstration. But when he lifted it, there was no mark at all on the cross-section.

Turning the piece so all could see, he showed how a mere sliver of wood remained unscarred. The people witnessed firsthand how not even the smallest crack marred the surface.

Judging the moment ripe, Yegyeol spoke calmly.

“Rosewood is prized for warding off evil, but those who have used true rosewood will know. Its durability is the true reason for its value.”

He laid the dagger down for all to see. Its edge was visibly blunted.

“With such soft iron, it cannot leave a scratch.”

In truth, the dagger had been specially crafted for today—for the shock of spectacle.

“The artisans of Qinghai Trading devote painstaking labor to carve even a small seal. Cutting the rosewood at all is the first struggle. Then it must be trimmed to a suitable size, smoothed into gentle lines, and engraved with the ordered pattern or name.”

The first customer, face flushed, slunk away.

“Next.”

From atop the platform, Yegyeol could see swindlers instinctively lean back.

This is entertaining.

He called them forward one by one. With Samrang and the guards flanking, no one could escape. Each was forced to drop their seal and certificate into the water.

As expected, while there were some genuine certificates that sank, the number of genuine seals was only a handful.

Still, not everyone was a swindler. One gentlewoman had purchased a seal for her son, who had just passed the county exam, and came seeking a refund after hearing fakes were in circulation.

Yegyeol ordered the steward to treat her with great respect.

“Curious, isn’t it? So many certificates sink, yet only two or three seals do.”

He mused aloud with feigned interest.

“Isn’t that right, Officer?”

Standing among the stewards, Do Woomin stepped forward, his brow furrowed.

“When I first heard the report from the Trading Group Head, I was doubtful. But now the truth is plain.”

Do Woomin had been lying in wait since the first payout period.

“Sorting who was defrauded and who are fraudsters themselves would normally take ages. But thanks to the Trading Group Head, discerning the criminals has become far easier.”

“Thank you for your diligence.”

The man before him was one Haryang had handpicked as a ‘gift’ for his partner in business. From a good family, young in his official post, with a soft heart and hot blood—one who could not abide injustice. That had been the reasoning for his recommendation.

As expected of someone chosen by the Black Ghost, Do Woomin was a sharp talent. He had the zeal for investigation, and even when trained in a style more like a modern customer-service representative, he absorbed it readily.

“I only hope no innocent will suffer injustice.”

So he said, playing the part of a benevolent head of trade. But Yegyeol’s mind was cold.

At least half, no—at least two-thirds here were swindlers. Even if not master conmen, still.

The reason he was so certain? Simple.

If you spill honey, how could the ants not swarm?

Footnotes:

1. Rosewood (벽조목, byeokjomok) – In the novel, it refers to wood struck by lightning, believed to ward off evil and prized for its durability. In historical Chinese/Korean context, rosewood was rare, expensive, and often used for religious or high-status carvings. Here, it also functions as a test: genuine rosewood sinks in water. 
2. Poqua (포쾌) – A government constable or enforcer in the local magistrate’s office, tasked with maintaining order and investigating crimes.