Entering Luoyang
High Shun was a name firmly etched in Seo Jun’s memory. He had also heard of Gao Lan before. It seemed both men were still being suppressed by the entrenched powers of the time, unable to fully display their true abilities.
A passing thought from a story he’d once heard flickered through Seo Jun’s mind. In the early days of the Three Kingdoms, many capable individuals had been able to rise because the chaos of the era created a severe shortage of talent. For a brief time, the rigid barriers of social status had loosened. Indeed, whether in the future or the present, it was never easy for a dragon to emerge from a ditch.
After sharing such unexpectedly profound conversation, the two groups returned to their respective camps. There were people waiting for each of them, so they had no choice but to part ways, promising to meet again another time.
They exchanged promises for the future and parted ways.
Once back with his own group, Seo Jun prepared a modest amount of food and wine that they could spare and sent several Yuezhi warriors to deliver it to Gao Shun’s soldiers. While Seo Jun’s party had brought plenty of supplies, soldiers in this era were always short on provisions. He figured even a small gesture would help.
The next morning, after breaking camp early, the group passed by the area where Gao Shun and Gao Lan’s forces were camped and exchanged final farewells.
Seo Jun’s party continued past the soldiers and resumed their journey toward Luoyang.
Having formed yet another new connection, Seo Jun and his group traveled for two more days. They reached Heyang County, where they split into two ferry boats and crossed the Yellow River.
After disembarking at Xiaoping Ford, Luoyang was now only half a day’s travel away.
Haah~ We’re finally almost there.
It had been a truly long journey. Leading an entire group rather than traveling alone came with heavy responsibilities and was quite exhausting.
Seo Jun turned his head to the left. In his view stood a mountain dotted with lavish tombs and burial grounds from top to bottom.
I wonder if digging around would yield some decent items?
The mountain he was looking at was none other than Beimang Mountain, known in modern times as the very symbol of the afterlife. It was a relatively low mountain filled with the tombs of past emperors, imperial family members, nobles, and renowned figures.
Leaving Beimang Mountain to their left, they continued along the official road cutting through the plains. Soon, the walls of Luoyang began to appear in the distance, gradually drawing closer.
They arrived before the city gates and waited for inspection while gazing up at Luoyang. It was enormous. The cities he had seen before had felt quite large when he first encountered them, but compared to the sight now filling his entire field of vision, they were nothing but a drop in the ocean.
It all begins now.
Since my entire family is moving together with me, I’ll have to be even more cautious and calculated in how I navigate this world.
Passing through the massive northern gate of Luoyang known as the Yan Valley Gate—whose passageway alone stretched nearly twenty meters—Seo Jun steeled his resolve once more. Many people now trusted him and followed in his footsteps. He could no longer move as freely and carelessly as he had while traveling through Bing Province and Ji Province.
Once inside the gates, Luoyang revealed itself to be several times larger than any city he had seen before, teeming with an incredible number of people coming and going. Unlike other cities ravaged by frequent wars and disasters, where many struggled just to survive day by day, this place presented a completely different atmosphere.
As the group headed toward the center of Luoyang in search of a suitable inn, the majestic main halls of the imperial palace came into view on their right. The Deyang Hall of the Northern Palace and the Chongde Hall of the Southern Palace. Built atop tiered stone platforms nearly ten meters high, the buildings themselves reached a total height of thirty meters—equivalent to nearly ten stories in modern terms.
Because of this, even if other palace structures were hidden from view once inside Luoyang, the main halls of both palaces could be seen from anywhere in the city.
The Northern Palace, where the emperor and imperial princes resided, and the Southern Palace, home to the imperial women and eunuchs. The imperial complex, divided into these two vast districts, occupied a staggering quarter of the entire northern section of the enormous city of Luoyang.
The streets of Luoyang stretching south from Yan Valley Gate overflowed with every imaginable commodity, as if all the wealth of the world had gathered here. The merchants buying and selling these goods wore bright expressions, seemingly free from the worries and anxieties of the world.
Luoyang alone seemed to exist in an entirely different world from the Han cities Seo Jun had seen so far.
Now’s not the time to get lost in sentiment.
Seo Jun asked passersby for directions to the largest inn. After asking several people, the name that came up most often was the White Horse Inn, located near the Central Eastern Gate in the Eastern Wall district. Many recommended it for its long tradition and excellent food, so it seemed like a decent choice.
“Welcome~”
When Seo Jun, Xu Huang, and Po Cheol opened the door and stepped inside, a young attendant who looked a little too young to be considered an adult greeted them warmly.
“I’d like to rent an entire detached building that can accommodate about fifty people.”
“A detached building for fifty guests?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh my, you’ve come to the right place, sir! Our White Horse Inn is…”
The group was led to a separate building behind the main inn while listening to the attendant’s enthusiastic boasting about his establishment. Only after enduring quite a while longer of the young man’s loud voice were they finally able to settle in.
The detached building cost a thousand Wu Zhu coins per night—an amount equal to ten bushels of grain—but considering the number of people staying together and the well-maintained facilities, it seemed more than reasonable.
While the others unpacked, Seo Jun left the building alone, intending to get a better feel for the atmosphere of Luoyang.
The streets he encountered were lined with shops selling goods from distant regions like the Western Regions—items he had never seen before. A diverse crowd of people filled the streets with vibrant energy. The scale and atmosphere were clearly different from other cities.
“Skewers~ Delicious skewers so good that even if two people eat them and one drops dead, the other wouldn’t even notice! Only three coins each!”
At the end of an alley touching the city wall, a small skewer stall stood where a cute girl who looked about ten years old was shouting loudly to attract customers, apparently helping her parents.
“Give me one skewer.”
“Yes, sir! That’ll be three coins.”
The girl took a skewer from a middle-aged man who appeared to be her father and handed it to Seo Jun, accepting three Wu Zhu coins in return.
Seo Jun stood there and took a bite of the meat.
It’s good.
“Sir, you’re really handsome. Hehe~ You’re going to break a lot of Luoyang girls’ hearts from now on.”
The girl from earlier had somehow approached without a sound. She looked up at Seo Jun with a bright smile.
Finding her adorable, Seo Jun gently stroked her head.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is So-hwa. I’m ten years old.”
“And what about you, sir?”
“I’m Seo Jun. Twenty-one years old.”
Conversing with the charmingly spoken So-hwa was quite enjoyable. Moreover, she surprisingly possessed a great deal of information about Luoyang.
“So-hwa, I’m looking to buy a house. Who would be the best broker to entrust with the matter?”
“You’re looking for a middleman?”
So-hwa rested her chin on one hand and fell into serious thought. The sight was incredibly cute.
“If you introduce me to a good broker, I’ll pay you a generous finder’s fee.”
“Really, sir?”
“So-hwa, that’s enough! You mustn’t keep acting so rudely just because the gentleman finds you cute. It might cause trouble later.”
The middle-aged man who seemed to be her father stepped out from inside the stall, worried that his daughter might invite unnecessary consequences by being too forward.
“Father, the gentleman is sincere. You can tell by his eyes.”
“Still! Sir, my name is So Yeol, So-hwa’s father. She’s still young and doesn’t know better, so please understand.”
“But Father, he really is…”
“I truly intend to pay her a proper finder’s fee if she introduces me to a good broker, so there’s no need to worry so much.”
“See? I told you the gentleman is sincere.”
“Even so, just in case…”
Only after Seo Jun gave a firm confirmation did So Yeol finally relax.
“Right now, the best brokers in Luoyang are Elder Yang Nuo and Elder Zhong Nuo. But it’s hard to even meet them without a solid introduction, and they charge very high commissions. The rising name these days is a man called Ju Gyeong. He doesn’t have as wide a network as the two elders yet, but you can trust him with your dealings.”
“So you’re recommending this Ju Gyeong? Do you know him well?”
“I don’t know him personally. I’m only judging based on the rumors spreading in the marketplace.”
So-hwa looked at Seo Jun with eyes full of conviction.
“Alright. If I end up doing business with this Ju Gyeong for a house, I’ll make sure to give you a generous finder’s fee.”
“Hehe~”
Seo Jun gently stroked the head of the brightly smiling So-hwa, whose face glowed with joy at the thought of helping her family even a little, then turned and headed back toward the detached building at the inn.