Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Battle of Wits
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Heuk Do-san tore into his third chicken.
His stomach was already sufficiently full, so he wasn't devouring it as ravenously as before. Seizing the opening, Yong Seol-ran quietly struck up a conversation.
"You must have been starving."
"Don't even mention it. I haven't hunted in the past ten days and went hungry. Fortunately, I had some preserved meat set aside for emergencies, which kept me going. Otherwise, I'd have collapsed in the snow and died by now."
"Did you cross the grasslands?"
"I came from even farther north."
"Farther north than that would be the Yinshan Mountains, right?"
"Even farther than those."
"Beyond the Yinshan Mountains, there's nothing but the Great Desert. You're not saying you crossed the Great Desert, are you?"
"I did. I actually started much farther north than that. It took about a month and ten days. If I hadn't gotten lost in the desert midway, I could've shaved off a full month."
"……!"
Everyone froze mid-bite, their meals forgotten. The Great Desert was a land of death that even the local Mongols avoided entering lightly.
Yet how could he speak so casually of crossing it? No, more than that—if he'd been walking for a full month, that meant he'd come from the northernmost reaches of Alashan or Dalan.
His face was blackened by the sun, but aside from that, he was unmistakably from the Central Plains. What on earth had taken him all the way up there?
"You're not talking about Alashan, are you?"
"Somewhere around the border of Dalan and Alashan."
"Are you a merchant?"
"You sure have a lot of questions."
As Heuk Do-san gnawed on a drumstick, he shot Yong Seol-ran a sidelong glance. In that instant, she felt as if two sharp blades were aimed right at her.
"I'm sorry. I got carried away."
"What rudeness? You're buying the drinks and meat—how could I mind a few questions? No, not a merchant."
Heuk Do-san returned to his meal.
His skill at coaxing and intimidating was no joke. Especially that glance just now—even though it was just a fleeting moment, it carried an indescribable intensity.
It wasn't killing intent, but it made her shrink back even more.
"He's no ordinary man. We might have invited a tiger into our midst."
Yong Seol-ran swallowed dryly.
The man she'd invited to join them on a whim was unexpectedly throwing everything into disarray.
But the water was spilled. The calmer she stayed, the better.
Gathering her courage once more, she asked.
"Then are you a monk?"
"A monk?"
"If you were a merchant, you'd have gone to sell goods. If a monk, to seek scriptures or spread the Dharma."
"Neither."
Just then, the liquor ran out.
Heuk Do-san shook the flask this way and that, then tilted it into the air, squeezing out and downing the very last drop.
"Want to make a little bet with me?"
"I'm sick of bets."
"Pardon?"
"Long ago, an old man who locked me in a cave was always suggesting bets. Because of that, I went through hell I wasn't fated for. Even now, the thought of it grinds my teeth in my sleep. He ended up dying by my hand, though. Wonder if he's faring well in hell."
"Who was he?"
"My master."
"……!"
Bang Dae-gang and the other escorts listening in felt like their heads might explode. The more this guy talked, the murkier his identity became instead of clearer.
"So, what kind of bet are you suggesting?"
"I'll ask five questions and try to guess your background, young master. If I fail, I'll buy you another bottle of liquor."
"Why are you so curious about my background?"
"You suddenly appear and ask what year it is, where this is, say you've crossed the Great Desert... How could I not be curious?"
"And my strange appearance?"
"Yes."
Yong Seol-ran let out a small laugh.
"Fine by me. Let's do it."
"First question. Why did you go there?"
"I didn't go because I wanted to."
"You can't answer so vaguely if we're betting."
Heuk Do-san suddenly recalled something from three years ago and chuckled. He'd had exactly this kind of exchange with Old Man Snow Mountain back then. Except in that case, he'd been the one calling out the old man's evasive answers.
"You won't believe me if I tell you."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I went to sleep and woke up there."
"As expected, an evasive answer."
"I'm not joking. I really woke up in the far north of Dalan. More precisely, above some nameless sea."
Heuk Do-san's expression was so earnest that Yong Seol-ran couldn't doubt him anymore.
"Then where were you before that?"
"Shandong."
At the mention of Shandong, Yong Seol-ran's face hardened. Bang Dae-gang beside her narrowed his eyes, as did the escorts across from them.
"When was that?"
"That's your third question."
At Heuk Do-san's words, Yong Seol-ran snapped back to attention.
If she delved deeper here, she might give away their own identities before uncovering his.
"No, I got drawn into your words and asked something irrelevant without thinking. Third question. Did you have companions?"
Heuk Do-san tilted his head back and gazed at the sky for a moment. Three years—short if short, long if long.
Were they all doing well?
Had Hyeon-gak won Bing-seol's heart?
Where had Gong Cheon-ak gone?
Had Dang Yak-ran safely returned to the Tang Clan of Sichuan?
Did she still remember him?
"Yes. But we parted ways midway."
"Fourth question: What were you doing before heading to the north of Dalan?"
"Now you're asking proper questions."
"I hope for proper answers too."
"You mean what I was doing right before going to the north of Dalan?"
"Yes."
"Ha, you're drawing out my true colors. Well, it's old news, so no harm in telling. I tried to rob a treasure ship. More precisely, I failed because it had already sunk entirely into the sea."
Bang Dae-gang and the escorts' faces stiffened once more. He didn't specify which treasure ship, but if true, didn't that make him a bandit?
"Now, the final question. How skilled is your martial arts?"
"That's what I'm curious about too."
"You're dodging a proper answer to the end."
"I've spoken nothing but the exact truth without a single lie. Even if not, isn't it only natural? In a riddle game, the questioner must be sharp, and the answerer cunning."
Yong Seol-ran was at a loss for words.
She'd lost. A complete defeat.
But the real bet was yet to come.
Heuk Do-san asked.
"So, did you figure out my background?"
"Yes."
"What kind of person am I?"
"You're in your early thirties, born in Shandong Province. You studied the classics as a youth. You were smart but unlucky, so you never passed the exams for office. You drifted through liquor and gambling dens until war swept you up. You seized the chaos with friends to make a quick fortune, but caught a martial artist's eye and were dragged north to Dalan. There you learned martial arts, your master died of old age, and now you're wandering back to the Central Plains alone, lost and ending up here."
Heuk Do-san was genuinely startled.
Everything from "caught a martial artist's eye" onward was utter nonsense, but his prior life matched without a single deviation.
"How'd I do?"
"You divined it without even shaking a yarrow stalk?"
"Hoho, from the way you're talking, it seems I win."
"How on earth did you know?"
"I could tell you were from Shandong from the deeply ingrained speech patterns in your voice. And from the occasional tones slipping through, that you'd studied the classics. People who read books for years often retain a unique cadence in their speech. That was luck."
It was astounding upon reflection. She'd pinpointed his hometown as Shandong and his scholarly youth just from that.
"How did you know I never passed for office?"
"That was easy. If you had, you wouldn't be here in such shabby attire. And failed scholars naturally fall into drink and gambling. Everyone knows war ravaged Shandong long ago, bringing hardship to many. It surely didn't spare just you."
"So it had nothing to do with the questions in the end."
"The rest I inferred from what you yourself said. So I can't say it was entirely unrelated."
Sorry, but everything from there was wrong. Still, an astonishing insight.
"I lose. Total defeat."
Heuk Do-san threw up both hands.
What an incredible woman.
Bang Dae-gang barely resisted the urge to applaud. The escorts grinned broadly. It wasn't even a fight, but seeing Yong Seol-ran win felt inexplicably good.
But Yong Seol-ran's thoughts were different.
'I didn't uncover a single important thing. He's no ordinary sly fox.'
Few could engage in such a long conversation with her and completely conceal their identity.
Just who was he?
How strong was his martial prowess?
Was his sudden appearance truly coincidence?
Were his words all true?
"Thanks to you, time flew by. I won the bet, but to show my gratitude, I'd like to buy more drinks."
"I won't refuse."
Yong Seol-ran signaled Bang Dae-gang with her eyes, and he called the waiter to order plenty more liquor.
The drinking resumed. This time, they passed cups back and forth instead of drinking alone. As the mood warmed slightly, Bang Dae-gang quietly spoke up.
"I'm Bang Dae-gang."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Do you use that axe much?"
Bang Dae-gang glanced at the axe tucked into Heuk Do-san's belt. There was another staff, but it had been leaning casually against the table for a while.
No way would he use a wooden staff that could snap with one solid sword strike as a weapon. That was just a walking stick.
"It's not mine. Belonged to a dead comrade. Felt wrong to discard it, and better than nothing, so I carry it."
"I see."
"But where's the main branch of Thousand-Li Escort Bureau?"
Escort agencies operating between major cities typically had a central headquarters with branches scattered about. Knowing the main branch's location gave a rough idea of their scale, active regions, and even the goods they handled, given each area's specialties.
But they were an ad-hoc group masquerading as an escort caravan—no real main branch. Bang Dae-gang exchanged a quick glance with Yong Seol-ran and bluffed.
"It's in Southern Zhili."
"Southern Zhili can't all be Thousand-Li Escort Bureau's front yard."
When the man probed deeper than expected, Bang Dae-gang grew slightly flustered. He'd picked Southern Zhili precisely because it was distant and obscure. This was near Shaanxi Province, and from northern Shaanxi to Southern Zhili was thousands of li.
'Why's he asking so many details?'
Something felt off. He couldn't pinpoint it, but unease crept in.
Bang Dae-gang subtly twisted his sword sheath under the table, ready to strike if anything suspicious arose.
"Yangzhou. You probably haven't heard of it."
"Isn't that a day's ride downriver from Huai'an? A Shandong man ignorant of Yangzhou? Most of Huai'an and Yangzhou's salt trade goes to Shandong. But I've never heard of Thousand-Li Escort Bureau."
"……!"
Bang Dae-gang flinched.
First the escort caravan ruse, now this strange wanderer. Eyes naturally turned their way.
They seemed to be laughing and chatting among themselves, but in truth, everyone was focused on his conversation with Heuk Do-san.
Yong Seol-ran and the escorts paled, fully aware of it. They'd fed and wined him up, and this was the thanks they got.
Yong Seol-ran bailed Bang Dae-gang out.
"We're just a fledgling bureau no one knows yet, but someday we'll make our name across the continent."
"I see."
"You seem to know Southern Zhili well."
"I've been to buy salt a few times. More importantly, escort folk must know the Jianghu situation well?"
"We pick up some rumors here and there on the road, but how could that make us experts on Jianghu affairs?"
"Still, you know the big events."
"Is there something you're curious about?"
"What happened with the Righteous-Demonic Great War?"
Heuk Do-san tossed it out casually, as if asking about a neighborly spat.
But the repercussions were enormous.