A Tangled Feeling
There is an old saying: all is in vain. Every effort, come to nothing. That was precisely what those who had been chasing the elixir felt now.
"So the saying's true — we cooked the feast and fed it to a dog."
Someone's weary sigh drifted through the wreckage. In the meantime, a handful of the inn's martial artists had already vanished in pursuit of Do-eo-ak-jon.
Dang Seol-yong, at least, managed to put on a learned air.
"A textbook case of labor without merit."
The phrase fit the hollow tone in her voice all too well. She had lost her escorts, and the thought of chasing Do-eo-ak-jon held no appeal. The guards who had survived were too badly wounded to even stand. To claim the Gongcheong Seokyu, she would have to get past the Plum Blossom Swordmasters and the Blood Heaven Unit even before she reached Do-eo-ak-jon.
I can't do it alone.
On top of that, having clawed her way back from the brink of death, her fighting spirit had all but guttered out. Right now, all she wanted was to sleep.
Jang Hyeon-nam watched Mak Goeng lead Bulsama away and muttered under his breath.
"Wouldn't it have been better to kill Bulsama?"
Letting the man walk free still sat wrong with him. Baek I-jin answered him.
"If we had taken Bulsama hostage — or killed him — no one in this inn would have lived. Perhaps the Plum Blossom Swordmasters and I might have survived. But no one else."
That was her honest assessment. Jang Hyeon-nam pictured what would have followed Bulsama's death, and nodded.
"Hero Po struck that bargain to keep every one of us alive."
"I see."
Had Daoist Gojin still been breathing, he would have tried to pin blame on them for that one fact alone — that Bulsama had been allowed to live. The Mount Hua Sect understood the situation, and so the matter could be set aside.
"Still — the elixir was stolen by a villain. What are we supposed to do?"
At that, Baek I-jin's face darkened.
"The chance to treat my sister is gone."
Just then Baek Seol came down the stairs.
"Don't worry, Unni. Hero Do Gi — the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber — gave me some of the elixir he set aside, just in case."
"What? Is that true?"
"Yes."
The Black-Faced Fluttering Saber had heard Baek Seol's story and shared enough Gongcheong Seokyu to cure her illness. The elixir's potency was so extraordinary that even a small amount was enough to heal her.
In truth, the elixir had all but belonged to the Mount Hua Sect to begin with. He had stolen it, and if the Plum Blossom Swordmasters had pressed him on the matter, he would have had nothing to say for himself. That was why, when the Blood Heaven Unit withdrew, the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber had quietly slipped out of the inn with Do Ok-myeong in tow.
Whatever the case, her sister's illness would be cured. Baek I-jin, who had been drowning in despair after losing the elixir to Do-eo-ak-jon, found hope again.
Seo Joo-cheon murmured to himself.
Good. Perfect. The Black-Faced Fluttering Saber just took a weight off my conscience.
In truth, he had been thinking of setting aside a little of his own share of Gongcheong Seokyu for Baek Seol. For Dokgo Ho-in's sake.
The two of them looked at each other with the faces of people who had a great deal left to say. Jang Hyeon-nam had the air of a man who had stopped at an inn and found a comrade-in-arms; Baek I-jin, the air of a woman who had found the friend who pulled her out of the fire. Fondness had taken root between them — no, something more than fondness. They wore the kind of smile that only those who have survived a desperate battle together can wear.
Baek I-jin smiled, a small, genuine thing.
"Thanks to you, Young Hero Jang, we weathered a terrible crisis. We can return to Mount Hua."
"I hardly did anything worth mentioning."
He scratched at the back of his head, looking sheepish, and she studied him in silence.
Truly an upright man. I've met any number of people from the Wudang Sect, but never anyone like Young Hero Jang.
She could not deny it. He was a genuinely fine person. The rising stars she had encountered until now had been insufferably arrogant, and the ones who seemed decent were proud. Most of them suffered from the typical disease of the unripe prodigy — talent without the cultivation of the heart to match. Young talents who possessed both skill and character could be counted on one hand.
She herself had tasted a measure of achievement and grown arrogant for it, and for months afterward she had startled awake in the night, burning with shame. That was why a man like Jang Hyeon-nam — of similar age, yet already so mature — commanded her respect. A rising star perfect in skill, character, looks, and background, and yet this humble, this unspoiled — that was a rare thing indeed.
"That isn't true. You stepped forward and gathered martial artists to fight beside us. Without you, I could never have held out until the Plum Blossom Swordmasters arrived."
The praise kept coming, and Jang Hyeon-nam scratched the back of his head again.
"I will not forget that you fought with your life on the line. Should anything befall the Jang Family Clan — though I pray it never will — the Mount Hua Sect will step forward to help. Even if the matter is yours alone."
Just hearing it made him feel steadier. Having the Mount Hua Sect at one's back was not something a thousand taels of gold could buy.
"Just hearing Miss Baek's words feels like reward enough."
"I keep my word, no matter what happens. So when you need my strength, send word."
Jang Hyeon-nam cupped his fists toward her, moved by the pure goodwill in her face, and by the care in every word.
"Thank you, Miss Baek."
"And I don't think the Jang Family Clan and Mount Hua are so very far apart. Let us visit each other often."
"If Miss Baek comes to the Jang Family Clan, we will throw the gates wide open to welcome you, whenever you wish."
He smiled, bright and open, and she smiled back like a plum blossom coming into full bloom.
"I need to hire a carriage, so I'll take my leave."
Baek I-jin watched Jang Hyeon-nam hurry off, then turned — and found Seo Joo-cheon coming toward her. In that instant, the feeling that rose in her was nothing like what she had felt looking at Jang Hyeon-nam.
Seo Joo-cheon had been watching the two of them talk, the warmth between them easy and unforced, and a pleased smile had settled on his face.
That's right. The protagonist and the heroine circling each other — it's a good look. I wrote this pairing myself, and I'm still almost jealous.
He approached to take his leave.
"I heard you'll be departing soon."
He spoke first.
"Yes. We have many wounded, and we've obtained the elixir, so I think it best we return as quickly as we can."
If anyone out there still coveted the small amount of Gongcheong Seokyu they had managed to keep, it would be a headache. A forced march was the wiser course.
"A sound judgment."
The Shaanxi Four Chivalrous Heroes had helped her with no thought of gain, and Baek I-jin felt the weight of that kindness keenly.
"I don't know how I am supposed to repay this debt."
She could barely find the words.
"Don't give it another thought. We didn't help because we wanted something."
"I think I met truly good people on this journey through the jianghu. People like Young Hero Jang, and like you, Hero Po."
"It was a fortunate meeting for me as well."
She hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"Will we be able to meet again?"
Seo Joo-cheon flinched. There was a lingering tenderness in her voice, the kind a woman might use with a lover she was about to leave.
I'm imagining things, aren't I? A woman like Baek I-jin — what could she possibly want with an Unorthodox martial artist like me?
He decided it was his own delusion, and answered evenly.
"As long as the jianghu doesn't vanish from the world, there will be another day we meet, won't there?"
"I suppose so. Where did you say you were headed?"
"We've been invited to serve as branch leaders of the Yongcheon Sect."
"Ah. The Yongcheon Sect."
She murmured it with a look that was part regret, part something like pity. The Yongcheon Sect was an Unorthodox faction. The daughter of Mount Hua's sect leader could neither draw close to such a place nor take any interest in it.
"If I were to invite you to Mount Hua, Hero Po — would you come? Once I report this incident, they may well extend an invitation."
Something felt off. Watching her ears turn red as she said it, he had a strange sensation in his chest.
This doesn't seem like a good development.
The thought crossed his mind, but he answered calmly all the same.
"If Miss Baek extends an invitation, how could I refuse?"
"I've also promised to visit with Young Hero Jang. I would like to see you then as well, Hero Po."
"I'm grateful you're so considerate."
The reply was rather more businesslike than warm, and a flicker of disappointment crossed her face. A subtle unease stirred in him. He cupped his fists.
"Then I wish you a safe return to your sect."
"Ah — yes."
He moved to end the conversation so abruptly that Baek I-jin, caught unprepared, hastily returned the salute and could not even manage a proper farewell. She stood and watched his back for a long time as he turned and walked away.
Baek Seol looked at Dokgo Ho-in with sad eyes. The Mount Hua Sect and the Plum Blossom Swordmasters were already waiting outside the inn.
"I don't know when we'll meet again."
"When you return to Mount Hua, please make sure you treat your illness."
"This will be the last time, won't it?"
"I hope you will stay well."
They were each saying only what they had to say, talking past each other. It was time to part, and neither of them had managed to set their feelings in order. Then their words fell into the same shape at the same moment.
If ever a word had been spoken in one voice, it was that one. Dokgo Ho-in went on.
"We'll see each other again, won't we?"
Baek Seol nodded. Many people had died in this affair, and that grieved her — but the time she had spent with him had felt like a dream.
"Seol-ah. Let's go."
At Baek I-jin's urging, she rose. She looked at Dokgo Ho-in a while longer, then quietly left the inn.
He watched her go for a long time. A wind blew in through the inn's shattered window, and his sleeve fluttered. He reached down and worried the fabric between his fingers. He looked at the empty sleeve and murmured.
Ham Cheon-yeong, watching him, thought of Do Ok-myeong. Before she slipped out of the inn with the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber, she had come to find him. The memory of her rose up, and a wistful, bittersweet ache swept through him.
"Hero Ham. Thank you for everything you've done."
She could not have failed to notice how he had looked after her in every way, large and small.
"This is a token of thanks. For saving my father and me."
"I didn't help you because I wanted anything in return, Miss Do."
His voice was deep and even.
"I know. But this is my sincerity. Please — I want you to take it."
She held out a wrapped bundle. Ham Cheon-yeong did not particularly care what was inside. The ache of parting had taken hold of him, and nothing else could quite reach him.
"Once my illness is cured — will I be able to see you again?"
There was something faintly bold in her eyes as she said it. Ham Cheon-yeong smiled.
"I'll always be in the jianghu. We'll meet again, won't we?"
At that, Do Ok-myeong smiled, bright and clean. It was not a refusal, at least. She had hoped for different words — but that was enough.
From beyond the window came the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber's voice.
"Myeong-ah."
That was the third time her father had called her. Or the fourth.
"I think I should go now. We wander without a fixed home, so I can't really say where we're headed."
"We're going to the Yongcheon Sect. We've been invited to serve as branch leaders there."
She nodded. Ham Cheon-yeong watched the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber and Do Ok-myeong leave in silence, wary of catching the Plum Blossom Swordmasters' eyes, and he watched them for a long time.
Now, because of Dokgo Ho-in, the feeling of having just parted from Do Ok-myeong came back to him all over again. He clapped a hand on Dokgo Ho-in's shoulder, as if he understood exactly what his brother was carrying.
"Looks like Second Brother's going to find out what longing feels like now too. Can't say that's a good thing."
Dokgo Ho-in felt the comfort in that hand — Second Brother's heart, reaching for him.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Kang Chu-mi watched the two of them with a look of frank exasperation, then spotted the bundle in Ham Cheon-yeong's hand.
"What's that? A gift from your sweetheart?"
He huffed a short laugh at her teasing.
"Miss Do gave it to me. Said she was grateful."
"What kind of gift?"
"Don't know. Haven't opened it."
At that, Kang Chu-mi snatched it from him at once and unwrapped the cloth.
