After the bandits of Black Stone Stronghold surrendered, the first person to collect herself was Ju Hwaran, the Young Bureau Head.
She looked at me with indescribable emotion in her eyes before performing a deep fist-and-palm salute.
“Thank you for the immense favor you’ve done us.”
“It was nothing. I happened to be passing by, so I took care of it while I was at it.”
I meant it. I had been passing through anyway, and it hadn’t taken much time, so the Levels I gained were more than enough compensation.
From Ju Hwaran’s perspective, though, I must have been a lifeline.
“If not for Young Hero Jin’s help, the Yongbong Escort Bureau would have been buried here. I had heard plenty about the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, but it seems the stories about you being a hero who cannot stand by in the face of injustice were true.”
“A hero? Hardly. It’s just a rumor people spread because it sounds good.”
“Pardon?”
“I can ignore injustice sometimes. I only occasionally get rid of people who annoy me. The problem is, the people who annoy me always seem to be scumbags—like that Heavenly Axe bastard.”
I glanced toward Heavenly Axe’s corpse as a caravan porter dragged it away, then continued.
“And my family runs an Escort Bureau too.”
“Ah, the Jin Family Escort Bureau.”
The Seongun Escort Bureau, once run by the Woo family, had changed its sign to the Jin Family Escort Bureau and was thriving. I had heard it already had more than five branches.
Shaanxi and Shanxi shared a border, so the Jin Family Escort Bureau and the Yongbong Escort Bureau would probably cross paths someday.
“You know about the Jin Family Escort Bureau. If you ever run into them, please treat them well. We should help each other out in the spirit of fellow business owners, just like today.”
“The spirit of fellow business owners?”
“Is there a problem?”
“You do know that the Jin Family Escort Bureau and the Yongbong Escort Bureau are competitors, right?”
Huh? We were competitors?
I blinked and asked again.
“Is that true?”
“You really didn’t know?”
“No. I barely pay attention to family matters.”
“If you hadn’t saved us today, the Jin Family Escort Bureau might have expanded into Shaanxi Province. It may not look that way right now, but we still dominate Shaanxi.”
“I see.”
“This line of work is more cutthroat than it looks. There are plenty of invisible power struggles, and armed conflicts break out from time to time too.”
“Well, what does it matter if we can’t expand? I’ll tell my eldest brother we should get along.”
Ju Hwaran stared at me with a strange expression before letting out a quiet laugh.
“I’d appreciate that.”
Wow. I almost let out an actual gasp.
She had only laughed. So why was it that beautiful?
I swallowed the exclamation that was about to escape when murmuring voices reached me from behind.
“My word. That’s the first woman I’ve seen who’s more beautiful than Young Lady Lee Seowol.”
“Dagger Hidden Flower Ju Hwaran is one of the Three Flowers of Jiangbei. I don’t know who Lee Seowol is, but how dare she compare herself to her?”
“As if she could. Young Hero Gung, go rub yourself against a rock in the stream and wash up. That grime is so filthy it makes me sick.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re a beggar, aren’t you?”
“Hah. That’s true, I suppose.”
An innocent voice followed.
“That’s not true. Young Lady Lee Seowol is pretty too.”
“What’s gotten into Young Hero Cheongpung? I didn’t know you could say things like that.”
“And Young Hero Gung is pretty too, in my eyes.”
“……Then go down to the stream and wash up with pretty Young Hero Gung. Especially your eyes.”
There was no question about it. They were the Bermuda Triangle.
Normally, I would have at least introduced them, but the level of their conversation was so low that I was embarrassed to say anything myself.
I was forcing out an awkward cough when Ju Hwaran poked her head out over my shoulder.
“Who are those people?”
“I don’t know.”
“You came here together.”
“They’re traveling companions.”
“Really?”
“I swear it on the heavens.”
I had lowered my voice as much as I could, but the Bermuda Triangle had inevitably heard me. Their outrage rose like wildfire.
“Captain! Are you ashamed of us?”
“Am I embarrassing?”
“Benefactor! I’m fine! Please be ashamed of me!”
“……They’re actually my friends.”
“Anyone can see that.”
Anyone can see that? That was somehow even more devastating.
Ju Hwaran gave a small laugh at my expression and performed a fist-and-palm salute toward the three of them.
“Ju Hwaran, Young Bureau Head of the Yongbong Escort Bureau, pays her respects to the Benefactors.”
I wasn’t sure what those three had done to deserve being called Benefactors, but the Bermuda Triangle bowed their heads anyway.
“I am Hyuk Mujin, one of the great Jin Family of Taiyuan’s foremost elites, Vice Squad Leader of the Jin Dragon Squad, and the right-hand man of the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi.”
I calmly corrected him.
“Not the Vice Squad Leader. The acting Vice Squad Leader. And not my right hand. He’s more like the pinky of my left hand.”
Gung Gibang spoke next.
“I am the beggar Gung Gibang.”
“He’s the next-generation beggar boss.”
Finally, it was Cheongpung’s turn.
“Hello! You’re pretty!”
“As you can see, he’s a little unwell. He’s not the sharpest, but he’s a good friend.”
After hearing the storm of introductions and my kind explanations, Ju Hwaran’s lips parted slightly.
Her large black eyes trembled visibly.
“So, let me get this straight…… The pinky of your left hand, the next-generation beggar boss, and the slightly dim but kind friend?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“I’ve never heard an explanation like that before.”
“Would you like me to repeat it?”
“No, thank you.”
She let out a deep sigh, then looked at each of them in turn.
“I’ve heard of the Swift Wind Sword, who rendered distinguished service during the suppression of the mounted bandits in the north.”
“……Huh?”
Hyuk Mujin stared at Ju Hwaran with a bewildered expression.
Swift Wind Sword?
I had no idea when he had acquired such a sobriquet, but judging by his reaction, it seemed to be genuine.
Before anyone could say anything, Ju Hwaran continued.
“And the person beside him is Young Hero Gung Gibang, the Successor Beggar and Disciple of Great Hero Myriad-Mile Pursuit, the Beggars’ Sect Leader.”
“P-Pleased to meet you.”
“Lastly, it is an honor to meet Young Hero Cheongpung, the Huashan Divine Dragon. My grandfather and father have always referred to Great Hero Mae Jonghak, the Sword Saint, as a hero of benevolence and righteousness.”
The title Huashan Divine Dragon had been given to Cheongpung after the Star-Array Grand Banquet.
Cheongpung’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“Wow! How do you know all that?”
Ju Hwaran smiled brightly.
“Because I’m the Young Bureau Head of the Yongbong Escort Bureau.”
It was a short answer, but it carried a great deal of meaning.
We had left Henan only a few days after the Star-Array Grand Banquet ended.
She gathers information quickly.
Unlike Cheongpung and Gung Gibang, Hyuk Mujin was merely a newcomer who had operated only in Shanxi Province.
The fact that she knew both his name and his sobriquet so precisely meant that Ju Hwaran was even more meticulous and clever than I had expected.
Dagger Hidden Flower. A flower hiding a dagger.
The dagger she concealed was not merely one.
She possessed Peak-level martial arts, a sharp mind, and beautiful features capable of captivating people.
She more than deserved her place among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, said to be the greatest young prodigies in the martial world.
Interesting. At this rate, she must be good at running an Escort Bureau too.
According to what I had heard from Gung Gibang, the Yongbong Escort Bureau’s past two years had been one hardship after another.
I brushed the question from my mind.
Eh, what difference does it make if I worry about it?
Finding the Divine Physician was more urgent right now.
We had already lost nearly a shichen here. If we wanted to reach our destination before dawn, we needed to get moving.
“Young Lady Ju, I think we should be going now.”
Ju Hwaran flinched at my sudden words.
“Now?”
“I have something urgent to take care of.”
“It’s already quite late. Why don’t you stay here for the night and leave in the morning……?”
“That might be difficult…… We need to reach Xi’an by tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
Ju Hwaran hesitated as if she had something to say, then finally opened her mouth.
“Will I be able to see you again?”
“Of course. If fate brings us together.”
I was about to bow and turn away when Ju Hwaran’s voice followed me.
“I will never forget that you saved our lives.”
“I don’t know about that. Even if it hadn’t been me, you would have avoided the worst-case scenario, so you don’t have to be that grateful.”
“What?”
“Of course, you would have suffered some losses.”
She still doesn’t know?
Well, it was understandable.
I smiled at the bewildered Ju Hwaran. Then I glanced at the young escort with the fierce eyes before turning away.
System Level 110: Song Ilseom
The Murim really is a vast place. Someone with that level of skill is working as an escort?
He was the owner of the gaze I had felt ever since we arrived.
Thanks to him, the back of my head had prickled the entire time I was speaking with Ju Hwaran.
But why has that bastard been glaring at me like that? Did I somehow become his sworn enemy?
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had noticed his hostile gaze. Cheongpung followed closely behind me and whispered.
“Benefactor, did you feel it too?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why he’s acting like that, but he’s being incredibly obvious.”
“Right? Maybe he’s interested in Benefactor.”
“……”
Please stop talking bullshit.
The four figures shot away like the wind. As Ju Hwaran watched their backs recede, someone approached her.
“Hwaran.”
“Ah, Uncle Heo.”
Heo Jun had finished binding the bandits and dealing with the aftermath. He followed Ju Hwaran’s gaze and turned his head.
“Jin Taekyung, the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi. He truly is an extraordinary young man. The others are no different.”
“I know. They say the rumors of the martial world aren’t worth believing…… but in this case, they seem to have understated things.”
Ju Hwaran recalled the martial prowess Jin Taekyung had displayed.
It had been an overwhelming sight. She had thrilled at the spectacle, but at the same time, she had felt bitter.
If only I had strength like that.
If she had, the Yongbong Escort Bureau would never have ended up in its current state.
Ju Hwaran swallowed the words hovering at the tip of her tongue and suddenly opened her mouth. The words she sent carried her internal energy in Sound Transmission.
—Uncle Heo. Keep an eye on Escort Captain Song.
Heo Jun was seasoned enough to be the Chief Escort. Without revealing anything on his face, he brought up another subject and replied through Sound Transmission.
—Hwaran. Are you saying that…?
—It’s only a suspicion for now. But there are more than one or two things that bother me.
The leak of confidential information about the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. The attacks that had continued without pause for the past four months.
Ju Hwaran intended to cut out the roots of the betrayal that had grown deep within the bureau.
Especially the last thing Young Hero Jin said.
He had said that the worst-case scenario would not have occurred even if he had not been there.
That meant there was a master within the Yongbong Escort Bureau capable of easily defeating Heavenly Axe and handling the enemies.
And…… that look in his eyes.
It had lasted no more than an instant, but she had seen it clearly.
Jin Taekyung’s gaze had lingered on Song Ilseom as he turned away.
And there had been a faint trace of surprise in his eyes.
There’s definitely something going on.
Ju Hwaran suddenly thought back over the past two years—the countless failures she had endured while leading the Escort Bureau before she had even turned twenty.
If those failures had been caused by trusting people too much, if they had been caused by someone’s betrayal, what was she supposed to do?
Whoosh……
As the cold wind whipped around her, Ju Hwaran stood there for a long time.
“Could you provide me with a quiet room?”
The man was dressed in white. He was strikingly handsome, and his speech and conduct were so courteous that no one listening could bring themselves to refuse him.
The sight of him brought to mind a proud, solitary crane, and the head guard standing at the entrance found himself wondering.
Who is he? I’ve never seen him before.
Xi’an Tower was, as its name suggested, one of Xi’an’s foremost pleasure houses.
To stay there required not only money, but also a social position to match. As a result, the faces that appeared there regularly were always the same.
But he’s a young man who came alone, without a carriage or servants……
Under normal circumstances, he would have been turned away without a second thought.
Yet something about the man bothered him. That was why the head guard had dismissed his subordinates and come out to meet him personally.
“Have you visited our pleasure house before?”
“No. My circumstances aren’t good enough for luxuries.”
The young man gave an embarrassed smile and rubbed his cheek.
The head guard’s eyes widened.
That’s……!
Embroidered on the young man’s snow-white sleeve were pale crimson blossoms.
They were unmistakably plum blossoms in full bloom.
A stammering voice slipped between the head guard’s lips.
“M-May I ask your honored name?”
“I’m a Daoist named Baek Museong.”
“H-Huashan’s Lone Crane!”
Baek Museong, the direct Disciple of Huashan Sect Leader Heavenly Sword True Person, smiled faintly.
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