It's Not Over Till It's Over - 6
Sajian said nothing. He just fiddled silently with the gourd flask I'd brought him. Out of consideration, I kept my mouth shut too. This wasn't the time to boast about the bureau's achievements or try to persuade him.
"...You found the remains?"
"Yes, sir. A total of twenty-seven bodies."
"Impressive. That's exactly how many we couldn't recover right up to the end."
Sajian's words made Samshik and Buong seem all the more amazing. They'd really found every single body in just six days.
They somehow only found the Yangminmun corpses.
It was miraculous. Honestly, there could have been bandit trash or ronin who died passing through, but they hadn't touched any of that—only the Yangminmun remains. Every body they found had the sect's emblem tucked in its robes. How shocked I'd been.
"Hard to believe... but I want to. At last, the departed can find peace."
I nodded calmly at Sajian's half-doubting response. Even I, who'd witnessed the excavation in real time, could scarcely credit it. How must Sajian feel, just hearing about it? Without my title as Left Vice Inspector General, he might've cursed me as a liar.
"As I mentioned, the Branch Manager plans a grand ritual. Not just Geomju-bu officials, but all of Guangxi's bureaucrats will gather here to mourn Yangminmun."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So, let me ask again. Will you grace us with your presence?"
Sajian slowly closed his eyes at my second invitation.
"Left Vice Inspector General."
He stayed silent for minutes, then opened his eyes and spoke.
"Speak."
"I lack the courage to show my face. For decades, I failed to recover my comrades left to rot on cold earth, yet here I am, shamelessly clinging to life and outliving them. The honor Yangminmun built together... this coward who survived alone monopolizes it."
Sajian's hand trembled around the gourd.
"A shameful life. I couldn't protect my comrades or even recover their bodies—a utter failure. If the sect leader or other elders had lived instead of an incompetent like me, maybe none of this would've happened. I've thought that a thousand times a day."
"Even with the bureau's manpower, we failed for decades. Anyone else would've fared the same."
"Maybe. Or maybe not."
Sajian gave a bitter smile and lifted the gourd to his lips, as if his insides burned. His still-shaking hand tugged at my heart. His reaction to the news showed the guilt he'd buried ran deep. I'd expected tears of感動, but...
"We vowed to live as one, die as one. If one falls, the living recover and remember them... I broke that promise."
"Everyone knows you tried to keep it."
"It's not effort that matters—it's results."
Sajian set the gourd down.
"Yangminmun Elder Sajimun. My elder brother."
He confirmed my suspicion.
"I failed my comrades and my family. So I swore: if I couldn't recover the bodies myself, I'd end my life. And if others found them, I'd never show my face at the rites."
He fell silent again. Bitterness mixed with resolve on his face.
"But it's strange. I swore all that, know I'm shameless... yet I want to see them off one last time."
"You have every right."
"Haha. I heard Dochalwon censors are strict and cold, but you're so warm, sir."
Sajian bowed deeply from his seat—the utmost courtesy his frail body allowed.
"...Thank you, sir. This old man who couldn't die has finally let go of his last regret."
Complete with the tears of emotion I’d secretly hoped for.
"Once preparations are done, officials will come fetch you. The Prefectural Governor, Inspector General, and Regional Commander will witness Yangminmun's true farewell."
"Just hearing it sets my heart racing."
"All Guangxi's people will remember and honor these heroes' end."
"To live on not as a dying old man, but in the people's memory. Nothing could please me more."
"After the rites, we'll designate Yangminmun a merit sect. The leader will be posthumously granted earldom; elders, viscountcies."
Sajian flinched at the sudden titles.
"Of course, as a former elder, you're no exception."
I rose slowly, gazing at his stunned face, then bowed deeply to him—too suddenly for protests.
"Forgive us for returning your due honors so late, sir. The state will never forget Yangminmun's devotion and sacrifice."
No reply came. I hadn't expected one.
Preparations for the Yangminmun rites proceeded flawlessly. No surprise there. The Branch Manager acted like his career hinged on it.
Elevating Yangminmun, stirring nostalgia—it would weaken Geomju-bu's ethnic strife. If locals had a shred of conscience, they couldn't resume their dogfights after honoring the sect that prized harmony. With Yangminmun enshrined as heroes of Geomju-bu and Guangxi, fighting anyway? That'd mean lacking basic shame, sense, or savvy.
"Left Vice Inspector General, sir. A gift from the Branch Manager."
"Good work. Leave it there."
"Yes, sir."
So he'd showered me—the one who'd gathered the bodies—with utmost gratitude.
"Another big haul this time."
- Shiiik!
- Buoo!
Especially gifts for Samshik and Buong, who'd helped find the bodies: poison herbs and bugs for Samshik; iron and copper for Buong. He'd scraped together a mountain of it as feed for my spirit beasts.
"Eat in moderation. Too much at once—"
- Shyik! Shiiik!
- Buo!
"...Are you even listening...?"
The moment the soldiers opened the crates, Samshik and Buong dove in. I felt a twinge of neglect—they'd forgotten their owner already. Still, they'd earned this feast fair and square.
"Here again today?"
"Looks like it'll keep coming till the rites. At this rate, Samshik and Buong'll be front row."
"Heehee, could be."
Ak I-yeon, descending from upstairs, smiled at the beasts head-deep in crates.
"Every time, it's amazing. Eating poison herbs and metal like that... they really are spirit beasts."
I nodded absently. They devoured human food fine too, but chomping toxins and ore felt uncanny. Had I been feeding them weird stuff all this time? A pang of guilt hit.
"That herb—deadly to beasts in ten steps. They call it Ten-Step Poison."
"Fitting name."
I eyed the clump in Samshik's mouths per Ak I-yeon's explanation. Vicious enough to drop a predator in ten steps. To my Samshik? Just a meal.
"Fire Flower Herb and Absolute Death Herb too. Rare to Hunan—they must've pulled strings."
I gave Ak I-yeon a strange look amid the poison herb litany. Surprisingly versed in them. She'd learned because poisons could become medicines depending on use, and might prove handy someday? Doubtful. Post-qi deviation, unable to use martial arts, she'd turned to poisons even normals could handle. Proof of her search for purpose—it unsettled me.
...Carrying them in her bosom suggests more than effort.
While I lay unconscious at Jiayu Pass and recovered at Akwangjeo, Samshik had found a poison pouch in her bosom. On reflection, it seemed like genuine interest and fun too.
- Buooo~
"Hm?"
As I glanced at Ak I-yeon then back to the beasts, Buong waddled over, munching metal.
"What? Need something?"
Buong shook his head gently, then offered the copper in his trunk.
"Thanks again today."
- Buo~
Days of these gifts—I chuckled. My sweet Buong, too guilty to hog it alone, sharing with his owner... Touching enough to bring tears.
Humans can't eat this stuff.
Still, his sentiment warmed me; I tucked the copper away quietly. At this rate, I'd become a walking mineral shop.
Then disaster struck. A bomb dropped on our perfect rite preparations.
It had been perfect. Remains meticulously arranged, Geomju-bu steeped in mourning, Guangxi's elite converged.
The problem? "Elite" exceeded me and the Branch Manager's wildest estimates.
"Heard you were doing good work. Hope I'm not intruding?"
"...No, not at all. How could you be?"
"Heh, good. Worried I'd ruin the event."
A white-robed man strolled from the west.
"Heroes who met tragic ends for realm and people. Honoring them is a joy."
"The departed will thank you for coming, Cult Leader."
The Baekryeon Cult Leader, who rarely left Shiwandaishan unless world-ending. The emperor's uncle, one of Daesong's Twelve Great Masters, showed up like a casual visitor.
Not even surprised anymore...
Meeting kings everywhere had inured me; even the Cult Leader felt routine. At a simple rite? Unexpected, but whatever.