Ye-hyang
After clearing away a backlog of laundry and cleaning, I stopped by Poongcheon Inn for the first time in a while.
Gu-sam, who had been wiping down an empty table, came over hesitantly.
“M-My lord... are you all right?”
He hadn’t meant it that way, but in the end it looked as if he had guided Do Goeng-il to my house.
It was a relief that things had worked out. If they hadn’t, I would have lost my head, or maybe ended up crippled with my tendons cut.
Even if it hadn’t been Gu-sam, Do Goeng-il would have found out where I lived in the end.
He was the sort of obsessive man who, after shaking down a one-armed saber wielder in Zhejiang and getting a rough sketch of his face, would track him all the way to this remote corner of the world.
Gu-sam had kept faith with me. After pretending he didn’t know anything, he’d run over in secret to warn me about the threat.
It wasn’t his fault he hadn’t accounted for the fact that his opponent was an old Jianghu hand who had seen it all.
He’d done all he could. If anything, he deserved praise, not a scolding.
I gave him a crooked smile and handed over ten copper coins as he watched me nervously.
“...Why are you giving me money all of a sudden?”
“Buy some taffy with it. Next time someone comes looking for me, don’t just run straight at them. Keep an eye on your back first.”
“Yes! Don’t worry. If I make the same mistake again, I’ll join the Beggars’ Sect and definitely avenge the great hero who died a violent death—”
“Is the old man here?”
“...He left yesterday morning. He said he’d come again later.”
Gu-sam glanced around the empty inn and lowered his voice.
“About that old gentleman.”
“What about him?”
“Is he your master?”
“Well... something like that. Why? Did something happen?”
Gu-sam suddenly took on a grave expression and pressed his left index finger to his lips.
“I didn’t see anything that day, and I didn’t hear anything either.”
“Hmm.”
It looked like Do Goeng-il had put the fear of death into Gu-sam and shut his mouth. It didn’t seem as if he had threatened him with a sword.
There wasn’t a trace of fear in those bright eyes. Only pure reverence, and the sort of grim loyalty one only sees in someone who’s climbed onto the same sinking boat.
It seemed Do Goeng-il had sweet-talked Gu-sam into silence rather than beaten him into it.
I didn’t know what he’d said, but if Gu-sam kept the secret, that was enough for me to feel at ease.
I was eating somen noodles in cooled tea when someone entered the inn.
“Master Jeong, so you were here.”
It was a servant from Simhyangru who worked under Geuk-hwan.
“What is it?”
“The lady is looking for you.”
*
“A guard? Again?”
I was thoroughly put out. For some reason, a faint smile, as if drawn with a fine brush, touched Geuk-hwan’s pale face.
“You know Ye-hyang, don’t you?”
“Is there anyone in Seochon who doesn’t know Ye-hyang?”
“We’re holding a banquet at Choe Manor tomorrow evening, and we’ve invited Ye-hyang to play the pipa and liven things up. We’d like you to accompany her.”
“...You want me to guard Ye-hyang?”
“That’s right.”
“Where exactly is Choe Manor?”
“It isn’t far. If we leave in the morning, we should arrive by afternoon.”
“Does Ye-hyang get invited out often?”
“This will be her first time. Everything has a first time.”
There’s always a reason when people suddenly start doing something they never did before.
“Don’t you have anyone else who could handle the guard duty?”
“I have to serve Madam, and Won Seo-gang is busy with the Black Night Gang. The other guests aren’t suited to this sort of work. Master Jeong is the perfect fit.”
What exactly was he basing that on?
Whatever the case, it wasn’t as if I’d be cutting anyone into pieces. If all I had to do was guard her, there was no reason to refuse. Besides, I needed money if I was going to keep paying for Spiritual Herbs.
“Just to be sure, what should I do if someone lays a hand on Ye-hyang at Choe Manor? If they try to molest her, or drag her into a bedroom and demand her services...”
“That won’t happen.”
Geuk-hwan cut me off sharply.
“You know Simhyangru is no ordinary courtesan house, don’t you? Very few people know its true identity, but everyone who matters knows that Madam is on close terms with the prefect. No one wants to make enemies or invite trouble.”
When I still looked unconvinced, Geuk-hwan finally brought up a more private matter.
“Ye-hyang is not simply a courtesan. She is Madam’s only adopted daughter. If anything seems about to happen, you may say that much. If necessary, use force. The sect will bear everything that follows.”
“So this might not be a simple invitation to perform after all?”
Geuk-hwan neither confirmed nor denied it.
I didn’t know much about the pleasure quarters, but taking in an adopted daughter usually meant you intended to raise her and pass everything on to her.
Hong-hui was the owner of Simhyangru and the Seochon branch leader of Haomu Sect.
If she had chosen Ye-hyang as her successor, there was nothing wrong with getting acquainted with the next Seochon branch leader of Haomu Sect and building a good relationship. As a bonus, I’d make some money too.
“Fine. Let’s do that.”
*
I had only seen Ye-hyang once before, when I’d worked as a gatekeeper at Simhyangru.
When she came out with the lady of the house to receive the prefect of the branch, Ye-hyang had looked like a deer feeding in the morning mist.
It hadn’t been that long ago, so her features were still delicate and clear, with a fresh, unspoiled beauty.
The only thing that had changed was that she wore a plain blue outfit instead of luxurious silk.
“I’m Jeong Dae-cheon. Today I’ll be escorting you to and from Choe Manor.”
Since this was our first meeting, I introduced myself first. Ye-hyang bowed politely in return.
“I’m Ye-hyang. I’ll be in your care.”
It was the sort of voice that made you think: so this is what a deer would sound like if it could speak. When she raised her head, the butterfly-shaped ornament tucked into her pinned-up hair trembled faintly.
For some reason, the sight felt strange. It was as if she had been born with wings, but could only flap helplessly because she could not fly.
We rode out of Simhyangru in the broad, sturdy carriage provided by the lady of the house as the day brightened into a pale gray wash.
It was Ye-hyang’s first time being invited out to perform, so she was terribly tense. She kept her mouth tightly shut the whole way, her face set with a determination that bordered on solemnity.
The next time would probably be easier. And the time after that easier still, until she grew used to it, and then learned how to handle it with ease.
Right now, she was stirring the hearts of the men around her with a pure, pitiful sort of beauty, but if she got worn down by the world long enough, she might someday grab the crotches of drunken deadbeats who tried to skip out on their bills and shake them around without the slightest hesitation.
There were people who could remain detached in the face of money, but no one was so perfect that time couldn’t change them.
Once we left the city, the carriage headed north along the main road.
Since this road connected to Hubei, it was one of the better-maintained routes. It didn’t rattle much, and my backside wasn’t getting sore either.
Traveling that comfortably, it almost felt like we were out on a casual outing. Then the coachman suddenly slowed and called out to me.
“Hey! Something’s gone wrong up ahead.”
I opened the front door and climbed onto the driver’s seat. I could hear the metallic clash of weapons meeting one another.
Not far ahead, near the main road by the foot of the mountain.
Three masked men were fighting a bloody battle against five martial artists who seemed to be protecting a carriage. A robbery in broad daylight, right in the middle of the main road.
“Are there bandits around here?”
The coachman shook his head in bewilderment.
“None at all. Usually anyone can pass through here without trouble. It’s called a main road for a reason, isn’t it?”
“Stop the carriage.”
We pulled off the road and stopped the carriage in the brush, then I watched the fight from the driver’s seat.
Though they were outnumbered, it was the martial artists who were dying, blood spraying as they fell.
The robbers were highly skilled. All three used swords. One had a sturdy build, while the other two were long-limbed and lean.
Surrounding their opponents, they worked together with practiced ease, striking and withdrawing in quick succession. They clearly hadn’t just been thrown together yesterday.
The coachman had an eye for these things too, and his expression darkened at once.
“Wouldn’t it be better to turn back? We could go to the sect and bring more men—”
Before I could even say a word, Ye-hyang cut in firmly.
“No. No matter what happens, we have to go to Choe Manor today. It’s Madam’s orders.”
The coachman was also from Haomu Sect, so he couldn’t disobey the branch leader’s command. I was only the escort, so the decision was Ye-hyang’s to make.
Fortunately, the robbers who had hijacked the carriage mounted their horses and fled into the wasteland quickly. They even took the two horses that had been pulling the carriage.
They butchered every martial artist guarding the carriage. If that was going to be the case, why wear masks in this heat?
Once we’d waited until the robbers had disappeared completely, we set out again.
As if eager to get away from the area as fast as possible, the coachman didn’t slacken the reins and kept the horses pressed forward. The carriage jolted violently up and down.
As we passed through the scene of slaughter, the open window carried in a stench of blood.
Ye-hyang’s face, rigid as she clutched the seat, lost all color.
“Are you all right?”
Ye-hyang nodded hard.
“Madam always used to say something. If you want to become a great person, you have to face the fear that defines your life and work your way through it head-on. Only then can you see the road ahead.”
The words were hard to make sense of, but the steel of her resolve was unmistakable.
It was as if someone born with a straight character and a fragile heart had clenched her teeth and made up her mind to become strong, no matter what it took.
*
Even with the delay caused by the robbers, we still reached our destination on time.
Choe Manor.
A large estate with high walls, built on sunlit ground. For a mere manor, there were quite a few guards posted there.
On the way, I had picked up a rough outline of Choe Manor from the coachman.
The master of the estate was Choe Sa-deuk.
Apparently he was a formidable man who had rebuilt a once-poor family into a wealthy one through all kinds of ventures.
He was said to be a rather famous rich man in the area, but the banquet itself was surprisingly modest.
There were only five guests, including Choe Sa-deuk himself, seated to enjoy the pipa performance.
Ye-hyang went up onto the stage in the banquet hall, which had far too much empty space around it.
There were only five guests, but the pressure Ye-hyang felt seemed bad enough to make it hard to breathe.
From below the stage, Choe Sa-deuk and his party watched her while lounging casually with their wine cups in hand.
Ye-hyang’s face as she looked at them seemed both frightened and blank, as if her mind had gone completely empty.
After taking a deep breath, she sat down.
She closed her eyes and held the pipa against her chest at an angle, as tenderly as if she were cradling a child. Her fingers moved over the strings.
Ting.
The first note wavered, as unsettled as her mind. The next note scattered just as quickly. By the fifth note, the instrument began to sound properly.
Once Ye-hyang sank into the performance, every note rapidly found its place.
Her pipa did not show off technical brilliance. It soothed with sorrow, and cradled with a quiet depth.
Seeing it up close, I could tell there was a huge difference from the sound I’d heard outside Simhyangru.
The playing was impressive enough on its own, but when you added her mysterious beauty, it gave you the strange sensation of having wandered into another world for a moment.
I could understand, in part, why the distinguished guests sought out Ye-hyang so eagerly.
After the performance had continued for about a quarter of an hour, someone approached quietly and whispered in Choe Sa-deuk’s ear.
Choe Sa-deuk’s expression changed at once, and he shot to his feet.
“That’s enough for now.”
When Choe Sa-deuk left, the others got up and followed him. Ye-hyang also stopped playing.
She tried to stand, but her strength seemed to give out, and she dropped the pipa before sinking down.
“Are you all right?”
I went over to support her, and Ye-hyang trembled before clutching my arm with both hands. Her grip was desperate, the veins on the backs of her hands standing out sharply.
Concerned, I looked at her face. Ye-hyang had her teeth clenched so hard it looked as if she were holding something back with all her might, forcing it down into the pit of her stomach.
In those bloodshot eyes, a murderous look I had never seen before flared and burned. It was chilling, as though blood might start dripping from them at any moment.
Just as I led Ye-hyang out into the corridor, a servant who had been waiting there approached.
“The two of you are to come as well. This way, please.”
In the inner room, a group of people had gathered. A middle-aged man who looked to be around thirty and had a severe face glanced toward us. His features were familiar.
Where had I seen him before...?
Then I caught sight of the two young ladies standing behind him and remembered.
I had seen him once before, while I was on gate duty at the pleasure house.
Hoyeongeom.
As the distance drew closer, I instinctively stiffened.
A faint but fresh scent of blood, one that had not been fully washed away even after changing clothes and cleaning up, teased at my nerves.
All three wore swords at their waists. The man was sturdy, the women slender. I realized it at once. These were the robbers from earlier in the day.
Choe Sa-deuk entered the inner room from the opposite corridor and asked Hoyeongeom,
“Did you find the inner manual?”
“It’s here.”
What Hoyeongeom produced was a thick book.
So that was it. That was why a martial artist with a proper epithet had worn a mask and attacked a carriage in broad daylight.
After opening the book and checking its contents, Choe Sa-deuk broke into a laugh full of delight.
“Ha ha ha, well done! You truly live up to your name. With this, even Xueshabang and Paecheonmun won’t be able to sit still.”
“Master Choe. I’d like the promised payment.”
For a moment, annoyance flickered across Choe Sa-deuk’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a friendly smile and soothed him.
“Of course, of course. I’ll give it to you right away, before the job’s even finished. Don’t worry.”
Choe Sa-deuk turned his head toward us.
“And what of the request I entrusted to Haomu Sect?”
Ye-hyang took a book from her arms and handed it over.
“These are the materials collected by our branch.”
So that was it. Something had felt off.
Inviting Ye-hyang as an entertainer had just been a smokescreen. In truth, she had come to deliver instructions from the branch leader of Haomu Sect.
“So this is Haomu Sect. It was wise of me to entrust it to you.”
Choe Sa-deuk looked pleased as he closed the book and turned away.
He met the eyes of each of the four companions who had been listening to the pipa performance with him a moment earlier, then lifted the book slightly.
“The time has come. Before tonight is over, I must take that bastard Jeok Chu-yeong’s head.”
Jeok Chu-yeong. Was it just a namesake...
Impossible. The surname Jeok was rare, and Chu-yeong was not a common name either.
The Black Night Gang leader. The Black Killing Sword, Jeok Chu-yeong.
The one Choe Sa-deuk of Choe Manor was targeting was without question Seochon’s Black Night Gang.