Chapter 328

“Guh… ghk.”

Blood gushed from Heo Jun’s slashed throat.

He thrashed and clutched at his neck, but it was already too late.

Ju Hwaran’s single sword strike had been fast and precise. It had accomplished its purpose without a single mistake.

“Grrk…”

It was the death rattle of a dying man.

What had he wanted to say? This is unfair? Spare me? Or perhaps, I’ll curse you even in death?

Heo Jun’s lips, which had been opening and closing as blood rattled in his throat, suddenly froze.

The strength drained from his flailing limbs. His eyes, fixed on Ju Hwaran and clouded with countless emotions, lost their light.

Haaa…

His final breath in this world dispersed into the air.

Heo Jun—the sworn brother of Junzi¹ Sword Ju Hogun and the Chief Escort who had served the Yongbong Escort Bureau for thirty years—died just like that.

At the hands of the niece who had once followed him as though he were family.

“…Uncle Heo.”

The words slipped quietly from Ju Hwaran’s lips. From behind, she looked strangely desolate.

She gazed down at Heo Jun’s lifeless body for a moment, then slowly turned around.

Her obsidian eyes passed over the escorts of the Yongbong Escort Bureau and settled on the outsiders.

One person at a time. Finally, she looked at me, then offered everyone a formal martial salute.

“I, Ju Hwaran, Young Bureau Head of the Yongbong Escort Bureau, have been discourteous before my seniors in the martial world.”

Pain often made people mature. I hoped this ordeal had helped her grow.

It’s a relief that she seems calmer than I expected, but…

There was an awkward edge to the air.

Just as I was thinking that, something pressed down hard on my foot.

I looked down and saw an ornate danghye.²

As far as I knew, there was only one person here who would wear something like that.

When I gave her a questioning look, Wolhwa glanced pointedly to either side.

Only then did I notice everyone staring at me.

At some point, they had all split off to either side and were now looking straight at me.

At the end of the path they had opened stood Ju Hwaran, still holding her salute.

…What is this?

Was there something on my face?

As I stood there flustered, Wolhwa whispered so softly that I could barely hear her.

“Young Master Jin, say something.”

“Pardon?”

“Young Lady Ju greeted us. You need to respond on everyone’s behalf.”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“Hurry. Young Lady Ju will grow old waiting.”

“…”

Well, she had aged about ten seconds in the meantime.

I had no idea why I had to speak when Huashan’s leading candidate for Sect Leader, the Beggar Prince, and the Lower District Sect’s Shaanxi Branch Leader were all standing right there, but I gave an awkward bow anyway.

“There’s no need to call it discourteous. And I’m not a senior in the martial world, so you can treat me casually.”

“How could I do that?”

Ju Hwaran raised her head and spoke calmly.

“Great Hero Jin and the other seniors are Benefactors of the Yongbong Escort Bureau. Without your help, we would have suffered a terrible ordeal… and we would never have been able to punish the traitor.”

A trace of bitterness crossed her face as she added those final words.

Perhaps she noticed it herself, because her voice grew firmer.

“I will repay the debt we owe you today without fail.”

I couldn’t exactly claim it had been nothing. The help provided by me and the other sects had certainly been substantial. From the perspective of Ju Hwaran and the Yongbong Escort Bureau, even a hundred bows wouldn’t have been enough.

Still, being called Great Hero is a little much.

Even Young Hero made me cringe, and now the title had evolved to the next stage.

Feeling as though I ought to grow a beard, I changed the subject.

“Repay the others, not me. More importantly, what are you going to do now?”

“We’ll recover the body first and return to the bureau. There’s a lot to take care of.”

“You must be incredibly busy.”

Ju Hwaran was managing the bureau in place of her unconscious father.

Dealing with the aftermath of the long escort mission alone would fill her days, and after one outrageous incident after another, even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough to handle everything.

Ju Hwaran nodded.

“Even so, we have enough time to host Great Hero Jin and his companions.”

“You have enough time? That’s a relief… Huh?”

“You and your companions are Benefactors who saved me and everyone under my care. I cannot send you away without offering you proper hospitality.”

“Um, Young Lady Ju, the thing is…”

“Are you perhaps very busy?”

I was busy. Extremely busy.

Jeok Cheongang had a treatment window of six months at minimum and eight at most.

Within that time, I had to scour the vast land of Sichuan for the mysterious person known as the Divine Physician.

It took us a week to get from Henan to Shaanxi. Reaching Sichuan will take at least another week, no matter how fast we travel.

And that was assuming I used my movement technique to the fullest.

Everything about the Divine Physician was shrouded in mystery. No one could predict how long it would take to find him.

That was why spending even a single day in Xi’an had already made me anxious.

And it’s already late in the day.

The sun had passed its zenith long ago. Our entanglement with the Zhongnan Sect had cost us a considerable amount of time, so I needed to start running as though my feet were on fire.

And yet…

“No, I’m not busy.”

My mouth opened of its own accord, and that ridiculous answer slipped out.

What had just happened? That was the exact opposite of what I had meant to say.

As I stood there dazed, Ju Hwaran cautiously asked,

“Great Hero Jin, are you really all right? If you have something urgent to attend to, we can postpone it until later.”

Thank you. Thank you so much for saying that first.

Sharp and perceptive as ever. She had scratched exactly where it itched, and I answered without hesitation.

“No matter how urgent it is, can’t I share one meal with you?”

“Right…”

“I was already hungry after exerting myself so much. This works out perfectly. Let’s go.”

Am I a fucking idiot? Seriously?

I needed to go to Sichuan. Why the hell was I going to the Yongbong Escort Bureau?

But by the time I came to my senses, I had already hoisted the pack frame onto my back.

Just as I heaved an inward sigh, I noticed someone who had remained completely detached from everything going on around him.

When I stared at him, he spoke first.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

This was the first time casual speech from someone I had just met sounded so natural.

Since he had dropped the formalities first, that made things easier for me too.

“I was just wondering if you weren’t coming.”

“I have no reason to.”

“Then make one.”

“…?”

“I know you have plenty of time to spare, so let’s have a conversation.”

“A conversation?”

“Yeah. A conversation.”

Song Ilseom raised an eyebrow at me, then pushed himself upright from where he had been leaning.

It was early spring. The blazing sun disappeared behind the western mountains less than two shichen³ after we arrived at the Yongbong Escort Bureau.

Oil lamps illuminated the reception room, where a magnificent feast had been laid out across the table. Cheongpung and Gung Gibang stared wide-eyed as they crammed food into their mouths.

“Mmph. Benefactor. This is delicious. Mmph-mmph-mmph.”

“…Eat as much as you want. Preferably don’t talk.”

The food did look delicious.

At least until Cheongpung went out of his way to show me what was in his mouth.

“Gobble, gobble. This Escort Bureau sure knows how to cook. Young Bureau Head, could you give the extra food to the members of our sect as well?”

Gung Gibang really was a beggar to the bone.

As he continued his meat-centered massacre, Ju Hwaran nodded.

“Of course. Tell them they can come whenever they’re hungry.”

“Oh, whenever they’re hungry?”

“…Not quite that much.”

If every Beggars’ Sect disciple in Shaanxi Province descended on the place, all four hundred thousand silver nyang⁴ of the compensation would disappear into food costs.

Gung Gibang grinned, baring his yellow teeth.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to explain it so you have nothing to worry about.”

Hyuk Mujin, who was at least eating normally, whispered,

“The way he says that makes me even more worried.”

“You said it.”

At this rate, the Yongbong Escort Bureau might go under because of the Beggars’ Sect instead of the Zhongnan Sect.

I was resolving to give him a warning when Ju Hwaran spoke to me.

“It’s a shame the others didn’t come.”

“Yeah. The food is good, too.”

The others in our group—Baek Museong, Heukgeol Beggar, and Wolhwa—had all declined the invitation.

I wasn’t sure why, but the two men might have changed their answers after Wolhwa gave them a long, pointed stare.

In any case…

“For someone who likes the food, you aren’t eating very much.”

“No, it’s delicious. Look. I’ve already finished two bowls of rice.”

“That’s strange. Why does it seem as though you’ve barely eaten?”

“It’s all relative. Look at them. They’re waging the Great Faction War against the food.”

Schlurp, schlurp!

Gobble, gobble!

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

Ju Hwaran nodded as though she had attained enlightenment.

“Ah.”

“Mujin and I are the normal ones. The person who’s actually eating very little is over there.”

Song Ilseom replied in his usual blunt tone.

“I’ve been saying this for ten years, but the food here is too salty. Spicy and salty dishes overstimulate the senses and weigh down the body.”

“That reminds me of someone. If she were here, she’d beat you to death with a ladle.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Someone I know. One hit from her and you’ll scream whether you mean to or not. She’s beaten the hell out of me over the years, and strangely enough, I’ve never managed to dodge her once.”

“Great Hero Jin, is that true?”

“You?”

Ju Hwaran asked back in surprise, and Song Ilseom’s eyes flashed.

“If even you, the man who defeated the Taeeul Merciless Sword, say so… she must be an extraordinary master indeed. Can you tell me her name and epithet?”

“Kim Jeonghee. Her epithet is Lady.”

“Hmm. I’ve never heard of her.”

Of course he hadn’t. She was my mother.

Without showing anything on my face, I continued in a solemn tone.

“In any case, she always said you had to eat all kinds of food without being picky if you wanted to grow big—no, strong.”

“Hmm.”

“So stop whining about the side dishes and fucking eat.”

Song Ilseom pondered this with a serious expression, then picked up his chopsticks and began eating the side dishes.

The more I watched him, the stranger his personality seemed.

He’s strange, but he doesn’t seem dangerous.

A few shichen³ earlier, I had briefly suspected Song Ilseom of being something very bad indeed.

It had been a reasonable suspicion. He was an exceptional Peak master who had concealed his strength for ten years, and I had already encountered a similar case in Shanxi Province.

Dark Heaven.

The Head Elder and the Five Gates of Shanxi had lain low for decades. Perhaps that was why Song Ilseom’s behavior had reminded me of them.

But the longer I spoke with him, the more my suspicion faded, leaving only curiosity behind.

What the hell is this guy?

His blunt manner of speaking and behavior. He seemed rough to the point of being crude, yet there was a peculiar air of refinement in his appearance and various other aspects of him.

Perhaps that was why his casual speech sounded so natural.

Well, this is something.

I stared at Song Ilseom.

He chewed the side dishes thoroughly, his face twisted into an exaggerated grimace. After swallowing, he spoke.

“That look again. What is it?”

“I was just thinking about your identity.”

“Are you that curious?”

“Yeah. Very.”

Talking with this guy was like driving down a wide-open highway. That was why it felt so comfortable.

Before long, everyone else—including Ju Hwaran—had pricked up their ears and fixed their eyes on Song Ilseom’s mouth.

Apparently displeased by the attention, he raised an eyebrow.

“There’s nothing special about it. I stayed at the Yongbong Escort Bureau because of a connection to the previous generation.”

“A connection to the previous generation?”

“To be precise, my father received a great kindness from them.”

Huh? Wait a second. That sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.

I turned and found Ju Hwaran staring wide-eyed at Song Ilseom.

This was clearly the first time she had heard the story in ten years.

“May I ask your father’s name?”

“Song Pyosan.”

“Song Pyosan… I’ve never heard that name.”

“That’s hardly surprising. It happened almost fifty years ago.”

Almost fifty years ago? Was he talking about the Great Faction War?

Before we could ask, Song Ilseom continued as though it were nothing important.

“The Guangdong Chen Family was a clan forgotten long ago. My grandmother was saved with the help of Escort King Ju Gongsan, but she feared the greedy martial artists and had her child carry on her surname. It was a wise decision.”

I felt completely blindsided. Ju Hwaran stared at Song Ilseom with trembling eyes.

“Then could you be…?”

Instead of answering, Song Ilseom drew a faded jade hairpin from his robes and held it out.

It was the only escort fee a young escort surnamed Ju had received from a heavily pregnant woman more than fifty years ago.