Black Market Merchant is the 76th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
Ei Sei gets an angry mob around him, because he has stolen food again. The people still remember what happened at Chouhei. They want to make Ei Sei pay for it. However, Ei Sei doesn't go down that easily, he attacks his attackers. However, their sheer numbers overpower Ei Sei and the Qin people want to aid him. Shi Ka however stops him, because he would only make matters worse. Shi Ka knows that the people won't kill him as he is captive. The Zhao people want to hurt him more but are stopped as they aren't allowed to kill him. They are about to take his arm however as Shi Ka stops them. Ei Sei uses this as opportunity to escape with the food. Ei Sei is starving and need to get food by himself as his old man bailed him and Qin stopped giving them allowance. Ei Sei mother doesn't fear better as she can't get a job, because she gives birth to a royal child. She has to get by, by selling her body.
When the king of Zhao knows about the king of Qin death then the first thing, he will do is assassinate Ei Sei. If they choose to accept the job and smuggle Ei Sei to Qin, then the moment Ei Sei disappears the city will be in a lock down. Shi Ka comes across Sei as he is lying down in the fields looking at the stars and night sky. Shi Ka talks to Ei Sei about the moon and her adoptive father. She doesn't want him to lose hope and so tries to pep Ei Sei up.
The Qin people are at Ei Sei's house as he comes home, he thinks they are here for his mother. They aren't as they are kneeling before Ei Sei and tells him they are his escorts. The merchants accepted the job of getting Ei Sei out of Zhao. 18 years ago, a peddler Shi Kei, was being chased by enemy soldiers when he happened to encounter three orphans in the wilderness, who were on the verge of starvation. The children he saved were the merchants. The merchants are escaping with Ei Sei.
Characters
Qin
- Royal Palace
- King Shou (mentioned)
- Shi So (mentioned)
- Queen Mother (mentioned)
- Ei Sei Faction
- Ei Sei (flashback)
- Ryo Fui Faction
- Dou Ken (flashback)
- Ten Ji (flashback)
- Tan Gen (flashback)
Zhao
- Royal Palace
- 8th King of Zhao (mentioned)
- Kantan
- Unnamed citizens (flashback)
High Points
- Sei is attacked by an angry mob and is beaten.
- Qin stopped giving Sei and his mother their allowance.
- The merchants accept the job of smuggling Ei Sei out of Zhao.
Trivia
- First appearance of Shi Kei.