Currently Taking That Bastard Away Very Quickly -1
Black Cat and I returned safely to Sichuan.
Given Black Cat’s personality, I had fully expected her to start pestering me the moment we got back about heading out to hunt for more fortuitous encounters. Contrary to my expectations, however, she had been deep in thought about something ever since we left the grotto.
Was she the type who preferred to savor delicious things sparingly?
“Ho Cheon-an, a named request.”
“What?”
“A named request came in from the Sichuan Tang Family.”
The moment we returned to the Wanderer Inn, Yu Sa-yeon looked at me with eyes that asked what kind of trouble I had caused this time as she spoke.
“They’re requesting the Sichuan Nangin who gambles best—‘Brother Ya.’”
What was this now?
I was being summoned to the Tang Family Estate? This was a summons wearing the thin disguise of a request.
“Hmm.”
“You’re not thinking of refusing, are you?”
“Well… no, I suppose not.”
There was no real reason to turn this one down. Coming from the Tang Family, the fee would be generous to the point of excess. The reason they wanted me was a little unclear, which left a slight itch of unease, but it did not seem dangerous.
“With Tang Do-gyeong there, what could go wrong?”
“That’s true enough.”
Tang Do-gyeong had almost certainly not received any severe punishment. The fact that the details of his discipline had never leaked outside was proof enough—they had given him a slap on the wrist and were keeping quiet about it. He had brought back a new martial art and rediscovered family affection, so they were probably just locking him up inside the Tang Family Estate and making him train.
The reason they were calling me was most likely related to the martial art he claimed to have created.
“This time, though, you have to go alone. You’re the only one specified, so Black Cat can’t come with you.”
“Hmm?”
“You could have at least tried talking them into it.”
“Of course I pushed as far as I could. They said absolutely not.”
Yu Sa-yeon shook her head. Letting a Sichuan Nangin into the Tang Family Estate at all was already an extraordinary exception.
But was it really all right to leave Black Cat behind? More to the point, would she even agree to stay?
It was obvious she would be dying of curiosity about the inner workings of the Sichuan Tang Family…
“It’s fine, Senior. I’ve got a few things of my own that need handling anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Just showing my face at the Tang Family will take a fair amount of time, right? I’ll take care of my business while you’re gone.”
“Mm… all right.”
Yu Sa-yeon clapped her hands.
“So that’s settled? Then get going already, Ho Cheon-an.”
“I just got back. At least let me shake off the travel fatigue and leave tomorrow morning.”
It had been a five-night, six-day journey, and the time right now was a little past noon. I needed to work out the fatigue that had built up over nearly a week.
“There’s a person and a carriage from the Tang Family waiting outside.”
“Tsk.”
Under Yu Sa-yeon’s prodding I had no choice but to step outside. Waiting in the alley with a carriage was a familiar face.
“This is our first proper introduction. Nangin Ya. I am Dang Do-yeon—I visited the Wanderer Inn previously.”
“Ah, is that so. As a Sichuan Nangin I cannot freely give my name; I hope you’ll understand.”
Dang Do-yeon smiled brightly and gestured toward the carriage. Was this one of the carriages built by the Tang Clan? Every carriage I had seen in Murim Cheonha so far looked like it would disintegrate the moment it hit a single rock at speed, but this one looked solid.
“I’m off then, Black Cat. Take care of your business and come back safe.”
“Yes, Senior. Following you into the Tang Family Estate would have been pretty fun, but it can’t be helped.”
With Black Cat seeing me off I climbed into the carriage and found the seats. They were arranged much like modern train or bus seats—individual places with armrests, backrests, and even headrests.
“We will depart now.”
Clunk.
An odd sound reached my ears. I tried the door, but it was locked. Had that been the sound of the lock engaging?
“Miss Dang Do-yeon?”
“Ah, that is one of the features of this Bicheon Carriage—please pay it no mind. The doors are designed to lock while the wheels are turning, for the safety of those inside.”
They had even implemented a safety lock. The Tang Family’s technical prowess was impressive. Since I was already up, I waved through the window at Black Cat, who was still seeing me off.
Did foreign luxury cars have the same power to cow people no matter where you went? The Tang Family’s high-speed carriage—comparable to a Lamborghini in modern terms—began to move, and carriages and pedestrians alike hurriedly cleared a path.
There was not even a Tang Family crest on it, yet people made way so readily. In the end, money really was king wherever you went.
The Tang Family was an enormously wealthy group that raked in staggering amounts of gold. Among all the martial sects under heaven, none were as rich as they were. In order to fund the development of new techniques for manufacturing hidden weapons and the research of new poisons, they had long since perfected the art of making money.
Once this request was finished I would have a sizable sum coming in. Where should I invest it so it could grow?
Until now I had poured everything into gambling like water into a bottomless jar, but now that I had mastered gambling the request fees were steadily accumulating.
I also needed to decide what to do with the Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir.
Since I had already resolved to break past my limits one way or another, carrying a spiritual medicine around in my pocket was not a bad option. But if I could get a proper price for it, selling it to use as seed money would not be bad either.
Selling the Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir to the Tang Family was something I should consider.
Clop-clop.
While my mind wandered through these thoughts we had already left Sichuan behind. Was this the true power of a high-class carriage? To slip out of the crowded, chaotic interior of Sichuan so quickly…
All the noisy clamor vanished, replaced by the soft, rhythmic sound of hoofbeats.
Being a luxury carriage, the seats were extraordinarily soft. Firm on the inside, soft on the outside—exactly the ideal state for a seat. It had been so long since I had felt a seat this comfortable that my body melted into it of its own accord.
As I sank deeper into idle thoughts and my eyes began to close, Dang Do-yeon’s voice reached me.
“Nangin, please fasten your seatbelt.”
“…Excuse me?”
“If you look at the upper right of the seat you will find a seatbelt. Pass it through the buckle on the lower left and secure it.”
They even had seatbelts? This was the true might of the master craftsmen of the Tang Family.
I marveled inwardly, hauled my half-sleeping consciousness back up, and fastened the belt.
“I will now give a brief introduction to the Bicheon Carriage, the fastest means of transport belonging to our family.”
I was already beginning to feel the speed increasing.
“Um… Miss Dang?”
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!
“Our family’s pride, the Bicheon Carriage, boasts roughly half the weight of a standard four-person, four-horse carriage. The Tang Family’s advanced technology is concentrated in it, greatly reducing the burden on the horses that pull it—a true crystallization of cutting-edge engineering.”
“No, Miss Dang, the speed right now is—”
A carriage was not something a horse could simply drag along at a full gallop. The roads of the Central Plains were uneven to begin with, and they were not maintained like modern highways. Tree roots jutted out, rocks lay scattered, or the ground simply dipped or rose without warning.
Such things were so common there was no need to list examples.
If a horse ran too fast, an overturn at any moment would not be strange.
“We will make a high-speed direct run from Sichuan to the Tang Family Estate at more than ten times the speed of an ordinary carriage. Even so, we will have to slow down at night when visibility is poor, so we should arrive at the Tang Family Estate around noon tomorrow.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!!
The furious pounding of hooves against the ground, the scenery streaming past, and the violently rattling carriage!
“If the passenger feels uneasy, please hold the handle above. That said, this carriage concentrates the Tang Family’s highest technology, so even if the horses overturn at top speed, as long as you are wearing the seatbelt you will be perfectly safe. Outside guests do tend to get rather anxious, though!”
“Save me! There’s a person in this carriage!”
“Heh heh, it’s all right, Nangin Ya.”
Dang Do-yeon showed her face through the communication hole meant for speaking with the driver and smiled. Her original features were fine enough that the smile was beautiful, but right now it looked to me like the grin of a reaper.
“Front! Front! Look at the front!”
“Nangin Ya has probably already guessed, but I myself am at the Super-Peak Realm. You are familiar with the Tang Family’s eye techniques, yes? From the high driver’s seat I have already confirmed every variable that could overturn the carriage.”
“I get it, so please just look ahead!!”
Whoooosh!!
The speed was nearly equal to a horse at full sprint.
“Miss Dang! You said we would travel through the night! Can the horses even endure this?! Please slow down!”
“It’s fine. The sun will set in two or three shichen anyway. At that point, for the passenger’s safety, we will switch to a walk or a brisk trot.”
“If you’re considering the passenger’s safety, you can just go slowly starting now!!”
“Heh heh heh. Nangin, really. Then we would never arrive on time.”
She waved a hand as if she had just heard a delightful joke and looked back at me! Look at the front! The front!
“Somebody help! The Tang Family is killing people! There’s a person in this carriage!”
“Please don’t be like that and listen to the explanation. You may feel uneasy at the high speed, but I will continue the interrupted introduction to the Bicheon Carriage. The Bicheon Carriage is a vehicle with a long and distinguished history—it has already been in service for over five years. Research into rapid transport has continued throughout the Tang Family’s history, but the carriage that received the name Bicheon—Flying Heaven—was developed five years ago.”
Inside the violently rocking carriage I clung to the handle firmly fixed to the ceiling and managed to keep my reason intact. My heart was pounding as hard as the carriage was shaking, yet enough faint sanity remained to listen to Dang Do-yeon’s calmly unfolding words.
“First, allow me to speak of the operating regulations for the Bicheon Carriage. Every time a Bicheon Carriage is used and returned to the Tang Family, it undergoes thorough inspection and repair by the family’s carriage craftsmen. The driver cannot operate a Bicheon Carriage without passing a rigorous internal examination according to strict regulations. Only a Peak Realm expert with a specialty in whip techniques who has also mastered equestrian arts can pass.”
As Dang Do-yeon explained calmly, my heart finally began to settle. Whew. Right. It was a carriage driven by a Super-Peak expert. And she had mastered horse-handling techniques as well, so running at this speed should be fine.
“Oh, perfect timing. We have an excellent opportunity to experience why the Bicheon Carriage is called the Bicheon Carriage.”
Just as I was relaxing, the carriage began to tilt little by little. We were climbing a hill.
“Hill roads can be called the enemy of carriages. On the way up the horses must strain to pull, and on the way down people often have to get out and slow the vehicle to prevent overspeeding.”
Surely not…
“Haha, no way. Haha, come on~ Miss Dang Do-yeon, you’re joking, right? You’re about to tell me it has a dedicated downhill decelerator or something?”
“Oh, you know about the existence of decelerators? Nangin Ya seems quite knowledgeable about vehicles.”
The tilted carriage leveled out again.
“But you see, a decelerator is the enemy of speed. Once speed has been built, once that power has been gathered by flogging the legs and horses up the slope—to fail to unleash it would be a sin.”
Was it my imagination, or was Dang Do-yeon’s rhetoric growing hotter?
“This explosive speed that can only be felt on a downhill! The thrill of the instant you cast off the shackles of the earth’s pull!”
The carriage tilted little by little. The news that we were entering a downhill made me instinctively seize the handle with both hands.
“The sense of speed that light-body techniques can never give you—the pure speed of a vehicle! The crystallization of Tang Family technology that pushes that sensation to the extreme is none other than the Bicheon Carriage!”
“Aaaaaaaaahhh!!!”
The carriage shook like mad. Literally like mad. The scenery streaming past the window seemed to whisper to me, “Heehee, you’re dead now.”
Clunk!
Unable to withstand this insane speed, the carriage finally bounced into the air. Every hair on my body stood on end at once, and my rear lifted slightly off the seat.
In midair the only thing I could cling to was the sturdy-looking iron handle. I squeezed out every last drop of strength I had ever possessed and hung on for dear life.
The body of the carriage was gradually tilting forward, so I had no choice but to overcome the terror of freefall by relying on a single seatbelt and the handle.
Ah, Ho Cheon-an, year eight of this life. I had struggled so hard to survive, only to die as a traffic-accident victim at the hands of the Tang Family.
If I opened my eyes and found myself back in the modern world, I would immediately boot up Murim Cheonha and wipe the Tang Clan from existence.
“The reason the Bicheon Carriage is called the Bicheon Carriage! It is precisely because of the aerial attitude-control function that concentrates the Tang Family’s cutting-edge technology!”
As my life flashed before my eyes and I half-gave up on living, Dang Do-yeon’s voice, filled with pure exhilaration, reached my ears.
And in that moment the center of the carriage, which had tilted more than sixty degrees forward, began to recover. Judging by the scenery outside, the tilt was now almost identical to the slope of the downhill itself.
Boom! Thud! Boom!!
The carriage bounced twice more in midair before landing.
Every time a shock that made me fear the carriage would shatter ran through it, my heart sank, but whether my heart had shattered or not I could not say. What I could say with certainty was that the Bicheon Carriage I was riding had safely descended the downhill and was once again racing forward with ferocious speed.
“Kyaaaaahoo! Wasn’t that absolutely thrilling? That heavy, solid pleasure you can only feel from a vehicle! I absolutely wanted Nangin Ya, who has helped my brother Do-gyeong so much, to taste this sensation. Fortunately the Wind Shadow Hall Master granted permission to use this Bicheon Carriage!”
“Sa—”
“Permission for the Bicheon Carriage is rarely given unless the matter is truly urgent, so Nangin Ya is extremely fortunate!”
“Save me! Somebody help! A speed maniac is killing people! There’s a person in this carriage!”
I’m going to die, I’m going to die! The next hill road and I’m really dead! Even if the carriage doesn’t tip over I’ll die of a heart attack!
“Ahahahaha! Once Nangin Ya experiences it a couple more times, you will come to understand the charm of the Bicheon Carriage!”
“I don’t need it! Let me off!”
“Hahahaha!”
The Bicheon Carriage continued to race without ever stopping.