Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: You Said There Wouldn't Be Any Obstacles, Right? (1)
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A few days had passed since I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself with Tang Hye-won after such a long time apart.
"These horses are of the quality supplied even to the military. Not only do they have excellent stamina, but they're well-trained too..."
The words of Lee Jae-gak—or rather, the man from the Tang Family's Financial Pavilion—dragged on at considerable length.
The gist was that these weren't free gifts; they were loans, so ride them carefully.
"Especially in special cases where it's hard to take the horses along, you can sell them at a nearby stable and we'll retrieve the transaction receipt..."
"Come on, why say something so heartless? Don't mind him, Young Hero."
Suddenly, a petty-looking middle-aged geezer cut off the man from the Financial Pavilion.
"In emergencies, it might not be easy to do that! And you're supposed to be from the Financial Pavilion?"
From what he was saying, this guy seemed to be from the Financial Pavilion too—and quite high up, at that.
According to Mother's transmission, the Technical Pavilion Master handled technical matters originally, while the Financial Pavilion Master sided with the family head.
But after the family head's authority was curtailed this time, the Financial Pavilion Master switched sides and started sucking up to Peng Yeon-hwa.
The Technical Pavilion Master was still clinging to Tang Jo-myeong's coattails. The Financial Pavilion Master might actually be the wiser one.
"We're grateful for the Pavilion Master's consideration. But this gentleman's words have merit too, so unless it's truly an emergency, we'll handle it that way as much as possible."
The Pavilion Master looked a bit deflated, while the pavilion subordinate shot him a "See?" look.
"Y-Yes, exactly! To value upholding principles like that—Young Hero Kang, you're unusually level-headed for a young man these days!"
Pavilion Master, your Udyr-level stance switch was impressive.
In any case, thanks to the Financial Pavilion's generosity, Mother and I received horses, spare clothes, and even emergency rations in the form of dried provisions.
Mother knew the way, so we probably wouldn't need the provisions.
Peng Yeon-hwa, who had been watching from the side, approached to see us off, but then Huangbo Hyo-seon and Mong-a came rushing over abruptly, causing her to halt.
"Are you leaving now?"
"...Yes. Is something the matter?"
"Well, it's like this..."
Huangbo Hyo-seon had originally planned to accompany us, but the Sword Saint had suddenly gone off to hunt some Demonic Cult bastard, so she had to follow him.
'She was planning to come along?'
I shot Mother a bewildered glance, but it seemed she was hearing this for the first time too.
In any case, if my master had lured her away, there wasn't much to worry about...
"So, Sister Mong-a here has graciously agreed to accompany you in her place."
Mong-a stepped forward with a less-than-thrilled expression and nodded.
From the way her eyes flicked toward me, I was probably the issue. If it had just been with Mother, she might've done the Cossack dance in her head.
"You don't need to accompany us..."
"No, didn't the Alliance Leader send her to offer this to you, Young Hero? It's only right that she does."
"Mother has already agreed to accompany me, so there's no need to worry."
"Really!?"
Mong-a suddenly perked up, then glanced at Mother and gave an awkward smile.
"Ahem... Young Hero? As the elder here, may I speak casually with you?"
What the hell? You're making me uneasy. I know this is the first time you've talked to me since that initial greeting, right?
"Of course, Sister."
"Ahem... Young Hero, this poor nun originally came from Emei Sect at the Martial Alliance's request, but..."
"..."
"When the Martial Alliance asks for help due to circumstances like this, it's hard to refuse."
Another Udyr here. What was with the stance switch?
"What about you, Lady Zhuge? This poor nun wishes to join and lend a hand on the journey."
Mong-a gazed at Mother with eyes dripping honey. Was she really a lesbian?
Had her face soured because she thought it'd just be me?
"If Sister Mong-a accompanies us, it'll be reassuring."
Peng Yeon-hwa!
Maybe because she hadn't seen how Mong-a acted around me, Peng Yeon-hwa readily accepted with a light heart.
It wouldn't be easy for me or Mother to overrule something Peng Yeon-hwa had agreed to in front of the Tang Family retainers...
"I look forward to traveling with you, Lady Zhuge. This poor nun absolutely won't be an obstacle on your journey."
And so, a lesbian nun utterly useless for our journey joined the party.
As Peng Yeon-hwa watched the three ride off on horseback, she felt full without even eating.
'Little brother, the world is cruel.'
Zhuge Mi-ryeong being selected to accompany Kang Yun was an inevitable conclusion.
Tang Hye-won was pregnant from the start, so no need to mention her. For Peng Yeon-hwa, who was in a mentor-like position, she couldn't compete with her "niece" Zhuge Mi-ryeong.
It flowed better to introduce her as "my niece" rather than "someone like a disciple."
She had no complaints up to that point, but Zhuge Mi-ryeong's attitude during their threesomes was the issue.
Wasn't it foul play for her to slyly encroach on Peng Yeon-hwa's turns? Especially when Peng Yeon-hwa was the one who hadn't seen him for months.
'With Sister Mong-a along, it'll be much harder to do it.'
Kang Yun might suddenly want to do it in roadside bushes, but Mong-a's presence would block that from the source.
Even in an inn, they'd have to watch their step.
Peng Yeon-hwa was inwardly toasting her own judgment when she sensed two presences approaching from behind.
"M-Mother! Young Hero Kang...?"
"They've already left."
"Damn it...!"
There was her sulky daughter Tang Yeong and her fidgety son Tang Mu-hon, who couldn't stand still watching his older sister.
"You could've at least told us when they departed..."
"Sister..."
Peng Yeon-hwa felt the sensation of a full belly slowly turning into indigestion.
A mother who gobbled up the man her daughter liked.
No sane person could feel at ease about that.
"Young Hero Kang will come back, right? He won't meet some other woman like those Three Peaks on the way, will he?"
"...Kang Yun probably won't care much."
Not unless it was the mothers of those Three Peaks.
Peng Yeon-hwa had long known that Kang Yun's tastes ran toward married women.
'Huashan Sect's Mae So-hyang. Wudang Sect's Dan Yu-ran.'
With Namgung Family's Namgung Hye now counted among the new Three Peaks, the remaining two were those women—their mothers.
'Please, let nothing happen...'
Peng Yeon-hwa prayed like that in front of her daughter, who sighed in relief, fully trusting Mother's words.
Though she herself didn't truly believe Kang Yun's member would remain chaste.
"Sister."
"What's wrong?"
"You said there wouldn't be any obstacles on the journey, right?"
"What obstacle is this? This is just a pebble, a pebble."
With plenty of leeway in the schedule, they traveled leisurely without haste and unpacked in a suitable village they came across.
While eating food Mother recommended at the inn, Mong-a's chopsticks, which had been picking at a mushroom dish, suddenly flew through the air.
"Maybe not a pebble, but sand."
"You damn nun! Found you at last!"
For some reason, a bunch of rough-looking thugs with swords were glaring daggers at them.
"This poor nun has no grudge against you, so what do you mean 'found you'? Who might you be, benefactor?"
"You bitch! You forgot me already?! Just for chatting you up, you shattered my limbs!"
Mong-a tilted her head.
"Your limbs seem fine for someone who had them shattered...? Must've got the wrong person."
"Of course I got treatment in the meantime..."
Suddenly, the yapping thug's words cut off as he crumpled to the floor.
This... crazy bitch!
'She flicked a bead and clocked him in the jaw to knock him out!'
It was a strike so fast even I could barely perceive it. Mong-a acted innocent and continued.
"Seems this benefactor has a deep illness. Are you his companions? Please take him..."
"Fuck, get her!"
The riled-up thugs drew their swords and charged. The surroundings, already on edge, turned into pandemonium as everyone fled.
Mother shook her head in dismay but gestured for me not to intervene.
Truth be told, there was no need for me to step in. They were all third-rate at best.
Didn't seem like good practice either, so I decided to observe Mong-a's martial prowess.
Shwoop!
Not much to observe. She grabbed wooden beads poured from her sleeve, flicked them with her fingers, and down they went like chumps.
'Finger Bullet Technique...?'
Unlike Finger Wind launched purely with qi, this was a technique that flicked physical objects with the fingers to attack.
It worked with beads and such, but even with amorphous things like water.
Having substance made it powerful, but it consumed relatively more internal energy per shot and required prepared projectiles.
Mong-a glanced at the unconscious thugs, sat back down, pulled out new chopsticks, and resumed munching her mushrooms.
From her nonchalant attitude, I got a bad feeling that this kind of thing happened often.
"Daughter, take this to the Madam."
"What's this...?"
"It's a tonic for the young master and to help the mother recover. I got it from the clinic."
A-hyeon eyed the steaming hot bowl of medicinal tonic dubiously.
"Hey now, why the long face? I drank this when I had you. Do you know how much women suffer giving birth? Someday I'll make it for you too..."
"I'll be right back."
Before Mother's nagging could continue, A-hyeon quickly balanced the bowl on a tray and hurried out.
When the Madam left the Namgung Family to settle here, A-hyeon had followed her mother.
Her mother had served the Madam since the Pearl Language Pavilion days, so naturally, her daughter came along too.
It was regrettable to part from Namgung Hye, raised like sisters, but the Madam had cherished her like a daughter for years, so A-hyeon accepted it.
'But for a young master to be born...!'
The Madam's late husband, former family head Namgung Tan, had frequent illnesses that suddenly worsened, leading to his death.
There had been no marital relations in that time. Yet a child now—clearly from an outsider's seed.
The hush in the family and their move here made it obvious.
'But why is everyone acting like it's no big deal?'
Everyone—the pavilion maids and their daughters—all prayed solely for the Madam's safe delivery and the baby's health.
Even though the Madam had been unfaithful.
'Does the young lady know?'
At least back at the family seat, no one thought the Madam was pregnant.
A few close aides like her mother knew, but did Namgung Hye?
'Probably not...'
The kind-hearted young lady, incapable of deceit, couldn't have known and still pretended otherwise.
A-hyeon agonized. Should she tell Namgung Hye the truth?
The direct Namgung descendants were all adults now, or nearly so.
'At the very least, shouldn't she know the truth?'
With the maid guard's permission at the Madam's chambers, A-hyeon stepped inside.
Eon So-young greeted her with a smile.
"A-hyeon, what's that you've brought?"
"Mother sent this tonic for you, Madam."
Her prominently swollen belly. Loose, comfortable clothes that didn't constrict it.
As Eon So-young accepted the tonic with a happy smile and downed it in one go, A-hyeon's dilemma only deepened.