An Unexpected Encounter with Cai Yan
After catching up on his insufficient sleep that morning at the inn, Seo Jun slipped about a hundred five-shu coins into a small leather pouch, tucked it into his robe, and stepped out again in the afternoon. His destination was the skewer shop belonging to Sohwa, the girl he had met the other day. Though the promise had been made in passing, he was heading there to keep his word.
As Seo Jun entered the alley where Sohwa’s shop stood, he noticed a crowd gathered at the far end, murmuring noisily.
“Hey! You precious young lady! If you don’t want to end up in a bad way, move aside right now!!!”
“Even our patience has limits when dealing with a nobleman’s daughter!!”
“Everyone here knows our gang manages all the shops in the East Gate district and collects protection fees! So why the hell are you interfering?!”
The crowd blocked his view, but it was clear enough: several rough-looking men who made their living extorting merchants had clashed with a noblewoman trying to stop them, and the situation had grown loud.
“You aren’t even official officers. On what authority do you collect protection fees? And preventing people from doing business simply because they can’t pay? Are you saying that if they can’t hand over money to the likes of you, they deserve to starve?!”
Right! Right!
“These bastards!!! Who do you think you are, sticking your noses in?! Shut your mouths!!”
The woman’s voice rang out—calm, clear, and resonant. A few bystanders voiced their agreement, but the men’s threats quickly silenced them.
Seo Jun pushed through the crowd and stepped inside. The scene became immediately clear. Five men who looked like Yuxie thugs had surrounded a woman. She was holding a small, doll-like child in her arms and they were threatening her. Though mostly obscured by the men, the woman wore refined, high-quality clothes that avoided ostentation. Her face was strikingly beautiful, carrying both strength and intellectual grace.
Despite the plight of such a lovely woman and child, none of the onlookers stepped forward. The locals had clearly suffered under these thugs before; the eyes watching the scene held more fear of the Yuxie than concern for the pair.
To them, worrying about potential repercussions mattered far more than questions of right and wrong.
Thugs. Calling them Yuxie is just dressing it up. They’re nothing but gangsters shaking down merchants—just like back on Earth.
A sight Seo Jun had witnessed far too many times in his life.
If I get involved for no reason, it’ll only bring trouble. Let’s just go find Sohwa.
Unless it involved someone connected to him, he had no desire to meddle in strangers’ lives. Experience had taught him that once you stepped into such affairs, the complications never ended. That knowledge made him even more reluctant.
Scum like this always had corrupt officials watching their backs. He had no idea how deeply he might get entangled if he intervened.
I absolutely hate unnecessary headaches.
Sohwa’s shop was around here somewhere, wasn’t it? Hard to see with all these people in the way.
The moment Seo Jun turned his head to look for the shop and tried to move on—
“Handsome sir!!!”
“Huh?”
The child nestled in the beautiful woman’s embrace poked her face out and shouted loudly upon spotting him. It was Sohwa—the very girl he had been looking for.
That changed everything. Now it was his business.
“Sohwa!”
Seo Jun called her name loudly, strode through the crowd, and planted himself in front of her.
“Who the hell are you, stepping forward like that?!”
“If you don’t want to die, get lost right now!!”
The Yuxie thugs bristled at his sudden appearance and roared.
Seo Jun ignored their bluster, his expression indifferent, and looked at Sohwa and the elegant woman.
“Sohwa, what’s going on here?”
“Well…”
The moment Sohwa began to explain, her face changed. One of the thugs mixed in with the group was approaching them.
Gal Chong, a Yuxie of the East Gate faction responsible for Luoyang’s eastern district, found the situation far more troublesome than expected. He had been making his usual rounds with his men, collecting fees from the shops. When they reached one that couldn’t pay, he had intended to give them the usual scare and move on. But before he could finish, this beautiful noblewoman had intervened and escalated everything.
He couldn’t let it end vaguely now. If he failed to leave a strong impression by resolving this firmly, the merchants would remember and resist future collections.
I don’t know which family that noblewoman belongs to, so I’ll cut that bastard’s arm off!
With a vicious decision, Gal Chong gripped his sword hilt and advanced on Seo Jun. He felt a twinge of pity that the man would be crippled over this, but in the underworld, ruthlessness was sometimes necessary.
Seo Jun read the situation from Sohwa’s expression, gently moved the woman and child behind him, and turned to face the threat.
Just as Gal Chong tensed to draw his blade—
“That’s far enough. Draw that sword and you’ll be staking your life on it.”
The voice cut in at the perfect moment. A pair of black eyes—calm yet containing the ferocity of a monster—locked directly onto Gal Chong’s own.
What kind of eyes are those?!
A bead of sweat trickled down Gal Chong’s scarred cheek. He ground his teeth, trying to resist the overwhelming pressure of that gaze.
“Haa!”
With a sharp shout, Gal Chong closed the distance in an instant and slashed from left to right, aiming for Seo Jun’s left arm. Seeing his opponent remain completely still and defenseless, Gal Chong dared to hope the strike would land cleanly.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking hard rang out. Seo Jun had shifted back at some point; with nothing more than a light tap of his hand on the passing blade, he drove the sword violently into the ground.
“Hup!”
Gal Chong recovered quickly and raised his sword again, but this time it refused to move at all.
“If you swung your sword, that means you’ve staked your life too, doesn’t it?”
Seo Jun’s low voice pressed down on the blade with his right foot, pinning it in place. He applied more force, forcing Gal Chong to release the weapon, then grabbed the man’s collar with one hand and lifted him clean off the ground.
“Ugh!”
Gal Chong flailed wildly in midair, desperately trying to break free. But no matter how violently he struggled, Seo Jun’s arm remained steady as stone.
Whoooosh—
Boom!
Seo Jun flipped him over and slammed him into the ground. The inhuman strength left every onlooker’s mouth hanging open.
A monster.
Everyone present assumed Gal Chong was dead.
Thud.
“I dropped him on his shoulder, so he shouldn’t be dead. Stop causing a scene and take him away quietly. Otherwise, you’ll all be staking your lives for real.”
Seo Jun’s voice dripped with killing intent as he kicked the unconscious Gal Chong toward the remaining thugs.
The stunned Yuxie snapped back to their senses. After witnessing that single exchange, they understood they were no match for him.
“We are the East Gate faction that controls the eastern district. Interfering with our affairs—you’ve got some nerve. Our big brother, Lord Sa-a, will come to punish you soon. Polish your neck and wait quietly!”
Whether the threat held truth or not, Seo Jun couldn’t say. The thugs invoked the name of the renowned Black Wolf Sword Sa-a to salvage their pride, then hastily hoisted the unconscious Gal Chong and fled.
“Hurrah!!”
“A true hero has finally appeared in Luoyang after so long!!”
The surrounding crowd began showering Seo Jun with praises.
“Handsome sir, thank you so much!!”
“It was such a difficult situation, yet you stepped forward and resolved it beautifully. I am truly grateful. I am Cai Yan, who shares a small connection with this child Sohwa. My courtesy name is Xiao Xi.”
Sohwa and the elegant woman approached Seo Jun to express their thanks. The woman introduced herself as Cai Yan.
Seo Jun gazed at her for a moment as she offered a calm, refined greeting. Her beauty carried the noble grace of a lone peony flower.
Similar to Wang Yi, yet somehow different. What is it?
Cai Yan, she said?
Wasn’t that the name of Cai Yong’s daughter?
Cai Yong, courtesy name Bojie. Within the now-unified memories, he was regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the age. Unparalleled in scholarship, literature, music, painting, and calligraphy—his fame was so immense that people would rush forward barefoot at the mere chance to obtain a single piece of his work.