Journey to the Imperial Capital -1

"An imperial decree, then…"

Sagong Myeong nodded calmly. The key figures of the Jeomchang Sect would all know that Hyeok Gi-rin was a princess, so even if she became entangled with the Emperor somehow, they would simply take it in stride.

"I understand. Then what do you intend regarding the lady wanderer's whereabouts?"

"For now, I plan for us to leave together."

Taking Black Cat into the imperial capital was impossible. Even if somehow it worked out, this was an audience with the Emperor. There was no way she could wrap herself in Shadow Image Qi Gong or wear a face veil before the throne — that would cause an absolute uproar.

Traveling together, though, was still possible.

Given that she stood on the threshold of the Super-Peak Realm, remaining at Jeomchang to pour herself into training hadn't seemed like a bad option — but she clearly had no appetite for staying behind alone.

"I see. Even should circumstances change, the doors of the Guest Hall will always remain open. After your audience with His Majesty the Emperor, you may return to the Jeomchang Sect, or the lady wanderer may continue to reside at the Guest Hall. And the spiritual medicines?"

The fire-attribute spiritual medicines were currently being refined at Jeomchang to great acclaim. Roughly a month remained until completion. Since they still hadn't obtained any earth-attribute medicines anyway, there was no reason to rush consuming the fire-attribute ones — they could simply come back after the audience with His Majesty.

"I'll come retrieve them later."

"Very well. When do you intend to depart?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Huhu. The elders will be quite disappointed."

Leaving the Sect Leader's Hall, I went straight to the elders' quarters to deliver the news. They were rather startled, but soon seemed to accept it as somehow related to Hyeok Gi-rin being a princess.

Since we hadn't prepared to leave at all, there was a great deal to take care of. First I stopped by the Herb Hall to restock basic travel provisions, inspected the carriage that had sat neglected for nearly two months, and checked on the horses that had grown plump and sleek in the stables.

I also wrote up a sleight-of-hand instruction manual for the elders who still hadn't finished the curriculum. Having prepared one for Ryeo-ah before, it wasn't particularly difficult.

Turning the elders into proper gamblers would still be a long road ahead — but if the goal was simply providing children with a bit of entertainment through hand tricks, there wasn't much left for them to learn.

Dawn.

The elders who came to see us off, reluctant to part, frowned at the sight of my homework bundle. And I frowned right back at the homework bundles they had prepared for me.

With eleven people contributing, their stack was easily twice as thick as mine. Watching the two of us scrunch up our faces, Black Cat and Hyeok Gi-rin burst into laughter.

"Well, take care of yourselves out there. Aigoo — and here I thought we'd get a month or two to catch our breath."

"Don't skip your training just because you're traveling. Gi-rin, keep a proper eye on him."

"Haha, understood."

Leaving the elders' send-off behind us, we departed the Jeomchang Sect. Driving the carriage, I took in the receding landscape of Jeomchang and Mount Sunam.

Come on, elders, enough already — go back inside. How long are you planning to stand there watching?

I waved a hand as a signal to head in, and the elders waved back. Of course, they still didn't move an inch.

"Hmm."

What a strange feeling.

I, Ho Cheon-an. I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠traveled many places across this Murim Cheonha, but nowhere had I stayed long except the Wanderer Inn. I was a stagnant sort of person — whatever goal I set, I resolved it in the shortest time possible — so there had never been a place I lingered without special reason.

Two months was a long stay by my standards.

Feeling this hollow ache, it seemed I had already grown attached.

I was uncharacteristically lost in sentiment when a commotion erupted inside the carriage.

"Aagh! Young Lady Black Cat!"

"Cheeks! Let me touch those cheeks!"

"Why are you so obsessed with my cheeks?!"

"Because they're bouncy and soft and completely addictive? Every single time I saw them I wanted to squeeze them, but being stuck inside Jeomchang I couldn't touch them at all — do you have any idea how much that built up?!"

A snicker escaped me.

Can't stand to see me get sentimental, can you. Yeah — after two months of hard martial arts training, a trip outside is just what we need. It's not like we're parting from the people of Jeomchang forever, and Sichuan is only a few days' journey away.

"Hyah."

Listening to Hyeok Gi-rin's grumbling with one ear and letting it out the other as Black Cat grabbed her cheeks, I drove the carriage toward Sichuan.

Sichuan nangin always wore black bamboo hats as a rule within Sichuan. But a carriage driven by a Sichuan nangin would look far too suspicious. So today I pressed down an ordinary bamboo hat and entered the city.

"Sichuan has… become livelier than before."

"It has."

Call it a blessing in disguise. Sichuan already saw heavy traffic, but now the main thoroughfares were practically bursting at the seams.

"Warrior, warrior! Do you have business on Heavenly Center Road?"

"…No?"

A child of about ten to fifteen — somewhere between a kid and a boy — called out to me. Having almost never experienced someone approaching first in Sichuan, my response came a beat late. At first I thought they were talking to someone else entirely.

"Warrior! Then turn your carriage elsewhere! The Bandit Subjugation Merit Monument was only just erected, so Heavenly Center Road is packed these days! For anyone driving a carriage, routes using Heavenly Center Road are to be avoided!"

"Oh. Right. Thanks."

So the merit monument had finally been completed. Yeah — just the martial artists wanting to check whether their names had been properly engraved, plus all their associates, would make for a massive crowd on their own.

I accepted the flyer the boy held out as a matter of course. Having received useful information, the least I could do was take a handbill.

"Oh…"

I looked at the flyer and was briefly left speechless.

It seemed the martial arts schools of Sichuan were adapting quickly for survival.

Receiving a flyer written ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in pure advertisement-speak made me curious about how Sichuan had changed during my absence — but I suppressed the impulse for now and headed straight to the government office.

"Oh, you've arrived. Sooner than I expected."

Prefect Sama Yeom greeted us with his usual inscrutable expression.

"Prefect — what is the meaning of this?"

"I'll explain everything in order. First, shall we sit?"

Tea and refreshments were set out.

"First, how has Hero Hyeok Gi-rin been faring—"

"Prefect."

"Ahem. I'll explain."

Uncle-fan Sama Yeom, who had first tried to hear about Hyeok Gi-rin's recent activities, quickly changed course under her fierce glare.

"Over the past two months, the Golden Family has been almost completely dismantled. Well — most people bearing the Golden surname could hardly claim freedom from the crimes the Golden Family committed. Those with serious offenses had sentences carried out and assets confiscated; even those with relatively light offenses were fined; and beyond that, as we executed the confiscation of ill-gotten wealth, that is how things turned out."

Why are you talking like you're deeply regretful? You never intended to leave the Golden Family alone after they openly screwed over Hyeok Gi-rin.

You were fully prepared to pull out every last root.

The kill list of merchant-house representatives Hyeok Gi-rin had visited briefly surfaced in my mind, but I erased it for now.

What mattered now was the Emperor.

"The Golden Family's assets were enormous. Treasures, precious metals, jewels, grain, and more. Just the physical goods whose value could be measured in material terms amounted to nearly five thousand nyang of gold in confiscated assets, and land, trading rights, distribution rights, and so forth were all reclaimed by the state."

"Such an enormous sum poured in that a mere prefect could not decide its disposition, so the fortune was sent to the imperial capital. In the process, a memorial was also submitted."

"Hmm…"

And that memorial's contents included Hyeok Gi-rin's and my achievements — is that it.

"I thought Wanderer Ho would not wish to become entangled in this sort of affair, so I tried to bury Wanderer Ho's contributions as inconspicuously as possible… but it was bound to show through. His Majesty knows my methods of handling affairs well."

"Rooting out a corrupt merchant family and quelling the chaos in Sichuan is a great deed, and one worthy of praise — but I question whether it is something His Majesty would personally commend."

"How could a mere prefect fathom His Majesty the Emperor's intentions? I simply follow the imperial decree that has been issued."

Sama Yeom smiled faintly.

"It was a bit sudden, but securing an opportunity to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor is truly great fortune. It is something to celebrate — yet I cannot understand why you two look so grave."

Sama Yeom's words were not wrong.

Meeting the Emperor face to face was an enormous honor. If I had been operating with my name openly displayed, the mere fact of having met the Emperor would place me among prestigious families that could make a living as intermediaries on that connection alone.

And since ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we were being summoned to commend our merits, the rewards would be generous as well.

By ordinary thinking, one should be happy regardless of the reason. I was dissatisfied that the situation ideal for focusing on martial arts had been disrupted — but it was something that could fairly be called a celebration.

"'An opportunity to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.' It is also a 'once-in-a-lifetime' chance to behold that august presence."

"…I see."

At Sama Yeom's meaningful words, Hyeok Gi-rin frowned.

I see.

From Sama Yeom's words, I realized the Emperor's true intention in inviting us.

No matter how I turned it over, this matter was not something that warranted an audience with the Emperor. Sichuan's affairs were not small — but the nature of the matter was such.

Yet both Sama Yeom and the Emperor seemed to have decided this could serve as an excuse to summon Hyeok Gi-rin to the imperial capital.

A convenient pretext to see his sister who had been away, you could say. Would there ever again be a situation where Hyeok Gi-rin — a martial artist of the Murim — rendered service for the nation, and that service reached the Emperor's ears? It would never happen again in a lifetime.

"Well, I understand the situation. When should we depart?"

"…Wanderer?"

"Haha. Wanderer Ho and Hero Hyeok Gi-rin can be considered His Majesty's guests. Once the government office finishes preparations to escort you, you may go in comfort."

"No — Wanderer Ho… will you be all right? An audience with His Majesty the Emperor is no ordinary matter. The imperial family will also have no choice but to reveal Wanderer Ho's identity."

As much as Hyeok Gi-rin worried, my identity being exposed or my renown rising significantly was unlikely.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"It's fine. Within the imperial palace my identity will become known, but it won't become well-known in the Murim anyway."

The Tang Family's affairs proved as much.

Just as the government knew little of Murim affairs, Murim people had no interest in government affairs either. Even with the Sichuan Tang Family's name so renowned, plenty of martial artists didn't even know what rank the Tang Family held.

More than anything, the possibility of rumors spreading was almost nonexistent.

Even if my face and name were revealed inside the imperial palace, that information would not leave the palace walls.

This was the Central Plains Murim, and freedom of the press did not exist. Rumors concerning the Emperor and those in power were to be considered entirely controlled within the imperial palace.

Thinking about how Black Cat hadn't known Hyeok Gi-rin's identity made it easy. Rather than being unable to discover the identity, it was closer to simply never looking into it — but that itself was proof of how much effort the imperial family put into information control in ordinary times.

People believed they freely accessed rumors of the imperial palace, but in reality, imperial palace news was not "leaked" — it was "released" by the palace to the public.

"More than anything — what great matter is this that major rumors would spread?"

My and Hyeok Gi-rin's audience with His Majesty the Emperor was an exceptional event. More than anything, Hyeok Gi-rin's identity was that of a princess. If news of our affairs leaked outside, the one who would be troubled was the Emperor — so information would be thoroughly sealed off.

If I could obtain imperial rewards just by putting in a bit of legwork, it was a profitable deal.