Chapter 312

After the bandits of Black Stone Stronghold surrendered, the first person to collect herself was Ju Hwaran, the Young Bureau Head.

She regarded me with an indescribable look in her eyes, then gave me a deep fist-and-palm salute.

“We owe you an immense debt.”

“It was nothing. I was passing by anyway, so I took care of it while I was here.”

I meant it. I had already been on my way through, and it hadn’t taken long. The Level I’d gained was more than enough compensation.

From Ju Hwaran’s perspective, though, I must have seemed like a lifeline.

“If not for Young Hero Jin’s help, every member of the Yongbong Escort Bureau would have left their bones here. I had heard much of the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi’s fame, but it seems the stories of you being a hero who cannot abide injustice were true.”

“A hero? Hardly. That’s just a rumor people spread because it sounds good.”

“Pardon?”

“I can ignore injustice sometimes. I only get rid of people who annoy me every now and then. It just so happens that the people who annoy me are always scumbags—like that Heavenly Axe bastard.”

I glanced at 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’d 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. Fellow business owners should help each other out, just like today.”

“Fellow business owners?”

“Is there a problem?”

“You do know that the Jin Family Escort Bureau and the Yongbong Escort Bureau are competitors, don’t you?”

Huh? We were competitors?

I blinked and asked again.

“Is that true?”

“You really didn’t know?”

“No. I barely pay attention to family affairs.”

“If you hadn’t saved us today, the Jin Family Escort Bureau might have been able to expand into Shaanxi Province. We may not look like much right now, but we still dominate Shaanxi.”

“I see.”

“This line of work is more cutthroat than it looks. There are plenty of struggles behind the scenes, and armed conflicts break out from time to time.”

“Well, so what if we can’t expand? I’ll tell my eldest brother we should get along with you.”

Ju Hwaran stared at me with an odd expression before letting out a quiet laugh.

“I’d appreciate that.”

Wow. I almost gasped out loud.

All she had done was laugh. How could that be so beautiful?

I swallowed the exclamation rising in my throat just as murmuring voices reached me from behind.

“My word. That’s the first woman I’ve ever 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 could she possibly compare?”

“As if you’re one to talk. Gung Gibang, go scrub yourself on a rock in the stream. 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 Cheongpung? I didn’t know you could say things like that.”

“And Gung Gibang looks pretty to me too.”

“……Then go wash up in the stream with pretty Gung Gibang. Pay special attention to your eyes.”

There was no need to look. It was 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.

I was forcing out an awkward cough when Ju Hwaran poked her head past my shoulder.

“Who are those people?”

“I don’t know.”

“You came here together.”

“They’re just traveling companions.”

“Really?”

“I swear it on the heavens.”

I had lowered my voice as much as I could, but the Bermuda Triangle still overheard me. They erupted 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? Somehow, that was even more devastating.

Ju Hwaran laughed softly at my expression, then gave the three of them a fist-and-palm salute.

“I am Ju Hwaran, Young Bureau Head of the Yongbong Escort Bureau. It is an honor to meet my 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 he isn’t my right hand. He’s more like the pinky on my left.”

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 may not be the sharpest, but he’s a good friend.”

After the whirlwind of introductions and my helpful explanations, Ju Hwaran’s lips parted slightly.

Her large black eyes practically quaked.

“So, let me make sure I understand…… The pinky on your left hand, the next-generation beggar boss, and the slightly dim but kind friend?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“I’ve never heard anyone introduced that way before.”

“Would you like me to repeat it?”

“No, thank you.”

She let out a deep sigh, then studied them one by one.

“I, too, have heard of the Swift Wind Sword, who rendered distinguished service during the campaign against the northern mounted bandits.”

“……Huh?”

Hyuk Mujin stared at Ju Hwaran in bewilderment.

Swift Wind Sword?

I had no idea when he had acquired such a sobriquet, but judging by his reaction, it seemed to be real.

Before anyone could respond, Ju Hwaran continued.

“And the gentleman 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 always spoke of Great Hero Mae Jonghak, the Sword Saint, as a hero of benevolence and righteousness.”

Huashan Divine Dragon was the sobriquet people had given Cheongpung after the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

Cheongpung’s eyes widened 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.”

The answer was brief, but it said a great deal.

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 an unknown 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.

And she had more than one dagger hidden away: Peak-level martial arts, a keen mind, and beauty that could captivate anyone.

She more than deserved her place among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, the martial world’s foremost young prodigies.

Interesting. With all that, she should be good at running an Escort Bureau too.

According to Gung Gibang, however, the past two years had brought the Yongbong Escort Bureau one hardship after another.

I shook the question from my mind.

Eh, what difference does it make if I worry about it?

Finding the Divine Physician was more urgent.

We had already lost nearly a shichen¹ here. If we wanted to reach our destination before dawn, we needed to get moving now.

“Young Lady Ju, I think we should be going.”

Ju Hwaran flinched at my sudden declaration.

“Now?”

“I have something urgent to take care of.”

“It’s already so late. Why don’t you spend the night here and leave in the morning……?”

“That might be difficult…… We need to reach Xi’an by tomorrow.”

“Ah.”

Ju Hwaran hesitated as though she had something to say, then finally spoke.

“Will I be able to see you again?”

“Of course. If fate brings us together.”

I lowered my head and was about to turn away when Ju Hwaran called after me.

“I will never forget the debt I owe you for saving our lives.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Even if I hadn’t been here, you would have avoided the worst, so you don’t need to be that grateful.”

“What?”

“You would have suffered some losses, of course.”

She still doesn’t know?

Well, that was understandable.

I smiled at the bewildered Ju Hwaran, glanced at the fierce-eyed young escort, and turned away.

System

Level 110: Song Ilseom

The Murim really is a vast place. Someone that skilled is working as an escort?

He was the source of the gaze I’d felt this entire time.

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 close 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 rumors from the martial world can’t be trusted…… but in this case, they seem to have understated the truth.”

Ju Hwaran recalled the martial prowess Jin Taekyung had displayed.

It had been an overwhelming sight. Watching him had sent a thrill through her, but it had also left her 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 on the tip of her tongue and spoke. This time, she sent them through Sound Transmission, carrying them on her internal energy.

—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 suggesting…?

—It’s only a suspicion for now. But too many things don’t add up.

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 betrayal that had taken root deep within the bureau.

Especially the last thing Jin Taekyung said.

He had said that even without him, the worst would never have happened.

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 only an instant, but she had seen it clearly.

Jin Taekyung’s gaze had lingered on Song Ilseom as he turned away.

And his eyes had held a faint trace of surprise.

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.

What if those failures had come from trusting people too easily? What if someone had betrayed her?

What was she supposed to do then?

Whoooosh.

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 words and manner were so courteous that anyone who heard him would find it difficult to refuse.

He brought to mind a proud, solitary crane, and the Captain of the Guards 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.

Staying there required not only money, but also the status to match. As a result, its guests tended to be the same familiar faces.

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 young man nagged at him. That was why the Captain of the Guards had dismissed his subordinates and come to receive him personally.

“Have you visited our pleasure house before?”

“No. My circumstances don’t permit such luxuries.”

The young man smiled sheepishly and rubbed his cheek.

The Captain of the Guards’ eyes widened.

That’s……!

Pale crimson blossoms had been embroidered on the young man’s snow-white sleeve.

They were unmistakably plum blossoms in full bloom.

A stammer slipped from between the guard captain’s lips.

“M-May I ask your honored name?”

“I’m a Daoist named Baek Museong.”

“H-Huashan’s Lone Crane!”

Baek Museong, direct Disciple of Huashan Sect Leader Heavenly Sword True Person, smiled faintly.