S-sir… if you listen to me, I will truly tell you everything I know.
The merchant pressed both hands to the ground and spoke in a twisted, hoarse voice.
"S-sir… if you listen to me, I will truly tell you everything I know.
What I ask is only this—that you spare my life…"
Instead of answering, Park Seong-jin lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his ring-hilted saber.
Tok.
The clear sound rang once, and the merchant's face drained of what little color remained.
As if realizing that concealment would tighten the noose around his own neck, the merchant sucked in a breath and began to spill his words.
"Sir… those we call 'Wokou' are not merely bands of thieves.
As famine and war dragged on, commoners, masterless men, even fallen warriors all mixed together and took to the sea.
But—"
His hands shook as he continued.
"Now the lords themselves are moving.
These raiders are no longer like the old bands of thieves—they are almost regular troops."
Park Seong-jin's eyes narrowed.
"The forces that entered Goryeo this time," the merchant said,
"there were five streams, at least, that I know of."
He spread five trembling fingers.
Iki Island.
Two points along the coast near Nagasaki.
Miyazaki.
Kagawa.
Lowering his voice, the merchant went on,
"Excluding Iki, the other four were secretly supported by local lords.
They provided provisions, weapons—even ships."
A cold sensation passed across Park Seong-jin's brow.
The merchant whispered,
"Their first objective was the tax-grain ships sailing from Jeolla up toward Gaegyeong."
Park Seong-jin's gaze flashed.
"When they learned of your arrival," the merchant continued,
"the Japanese lords withheld the tax ships from sailing.
They feared losses."
The pieces began to lock together as the merchant spoke.
That was why the raiders had pushed inland more deeply than expected, driving the plunder harder and harder.
The merchant swallowed.
"Sir… the reason they act so savagely is because if they fail to meet their quotas, they will be killed back home."
Park Seong-jin asked,
"Killed?"
"Yes.
For a lord, 'failure to seize tax grain' is unforgivable.
If they return empty-handed, their heads will fall—so they try to make up for it here.
I know that some groups received support in advance, even formal agreements, before setting out."
He added, as if forcing the words out,
"When food runs short, they take people."
The tip of Park Seong-jin's saber trembled, cold and faint.
"There is a slave market on Tsushima," the merchant said.
"Strong men, young women, clean-looking children—they fetch high prices."
His lower jaw quivered.
"That is why they abduct entire villages at once."
Park Seong-jin asked,
"And the commanders?"
"They are close retainers of the lords—men with real combat experience.
Skilled with blade and spear, practiced in naval fighting and landings.
Some of the fallen warriors even negotiate directly with the lords."
Park Seong-jin nodded.
"That's why they establish a beachhead first once they land."
"Yes, sir."
The merchant bowed deeply.
"They move with the intention of holding ground for a long time.
Seizing tax ships would be ideal, but who sends them out in times like these?
So they speak of advancing toward places with 'necks to cut.'
They say Naju Mok holds abundant grain.
But acting alone is difficult—so they talk of forming alliances."
The merchant no longer held anything back.
"I am not directly attached to the shogunate.
However, the shogunate uses the Mitsui house as an 'information trading company.'"
Park Seong-jin asked,
"So gathering intelligence is your purpose."
"Yes, sir.
Money matters—but information matters more.
We collect rumors and inner dealings of the many lords whose control has frayed, and report them upward."
Park Seong-jin said,
"And the lords allow you in, knowing this."
"They do," the merchant replied.
"Because the profits of trade are too great."
Gasping for breath, the merchant continued,
"My role is to return with reports on the raiders' composition, the number of ships, their ties to the lords, even the amount of plunder."
Then he added,
"That is why I said I bear no guilt."
Park Seong-jin listened to every word.
When the merchant finished, his gaze sank low and heavy.
"…Then the root must be cut."
The merchant shuddered.
"What that means," Park Seong-jin went on,
"is that killing only the raiders who set foot on this land will never be enough."
Looking down at the merchant, he said,
"Write down everything you know."
Then he added,
"Mark it on the map. Draw the routes.
Record without omission the names and temperaments of the commanders."
The merchant swallowed, unable to judge whether he would live or die.
To survive, he began pulling out every fragment of knowledge he possessed, one by one.