Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Homecoming
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We pressed on, even after the sun had set.
We were worried about another ambush.
"Hmm."
The kid, who until a moment ago was just cargo, was studying me intently.
"What?"
"I'm curious."
"About what?"
"How can I get as strong as you? Can't you tell me the secret?"
His out-of-the-blue question gave me the chance to say something I'd always wanted to.
"Ahem, if you thoroughly study your manuals, review the key points..."
"Hmph, you're lying."
The boy's denial earned him a flick on the forehead before I knew it.
*Thwack.*
"Ow! That hurts!"
"You little brat, how dare you talk back when a grown-up is speaking..."
"Then you should've given me a real answer! Who do you take me for, an idiot? I know how it works!"
"And what do you know?"
"That the disciples of the great sects are all strong because they train under good masters and get to eat all sorts of elixirs."
"That's only true for the top one percent. The rest of us don't get anything close to that."
Just like me.
"My father said I'd become a master in no time if I went to the Nine Dragons Fortress..."
This is why rumors are so dangerous.
Whoever his father is, he sent his son away based on nothing more than a rumor.
And even hired the expensive Silver Dragon Hall as escorts.
Dan Un, walking beside us, must have overheard our conversation, because he chimed in.
"It's not a lie. I know someone who joined the Nine Dragons Fortress without knowing a single technique, yet through sheer effort, he rose to the ranks of a master."
Dan Un finished and looked back at me. I just shrugged in response.
"Why are you butting in, old man?!"
In that moment, I saw it.
The moment the words "old man" left the kid's mouth, Dan Un's hand moved like a flash of lightning.
*Thwack.*
*Thump.*
The boy, having received a flick from Dan Un, foamed at the mouth and passed out.
"..."
As I stared, Dan Un looked slightly embarrassed and brushed his hand off.
A smirk played on my lips as I commented.
"He called me 'big brother'."
"...!"
"It seems kids think you look old for your age, Brother Dan. Hehehe."
*Shing.*
"Jeez, you draw your sword at the drop of a hat. How terrifying."
While Dan Un and I were bickering, Escort Leader Oh sidled up to us.
"What's so funny?"
"Hehe, I was just laughing because this kid called Brother Dan an old man. Escort Leader Oh, have you heard the saying that kids don't lie?"
"Pfft. Hahahaha. That's true, isn't it? My own daughter can't tell a lie to save her life."
*Shing.*
"Hey, why the sudden sword..."
"It's a bad habit of his. I'll have to beat it out of him someday... I mean, not right now, of course..."
Once things calmed down, Escort Leader Oh looked down at the unconscious boy and spoke.
"You haven't asked who he is."
"Aren't we supposed to maintain strict confidentiality regarding the cargo?"
"That is true."
In truth, I had a pretty good idea.
The Southern Heaven Palace wouldn't send pursuers for just anyone.
*He must be the son of some family feuding with the Southern Heaven Palace.*
"In any case, I won't ask any more questions. Just have a generous reward ready for me."
"Of course. Don't you worry. I, Oh Dae-san, have never been called stingy in my life. My name is Dae-san—Great Mountain—for a reason."
"Of course, I believe you. Is there anyone in the Nine Dragons Fortress who doesn't know of your generosity, Escort Leader Oh?"
For the record, Escort Leader Oh was known as the biggest cheapskate in the Silver Dragon Hall.
"By the way," Oh Dae-san began, hesitating, "what are your plans now?"
"We should part ways at the next town. We're heading in different directions, after all."
An escort agency's routes are different from common roads.
They travel on uncharted paths to guard against potential ambushes.
Sticking with them could turn a ten-day journey into a fifteen-day ordeal.
Despite knowing this, Escort Leader Oh gave me a pleading look.
"Don't tell me you want us to come with you?"
"Ahem, it would be nice to travel together. We could share meals..."
"Seems more like a perfect way to get stabbed and die."
"I'll pay you a daily wage."
"How much?"
"Half a tael?"
"Well then, we'll be taking this path. I wish you a safe journey. Hope to see you again, alive."
"O-one tael!"
"Ah! And could you write me a confirmation note? So that if, heaven forbid, something happens to you, I can still submit it to the Silver Dragon Hall and get my reward."
"Ugh, two taels! That's my final offer. I can't go any higher."
"We'll see you there safely."
* * *
The attacks from the Southern Heaven Palace continued after that.
They dispatched so many warriors that we couldn't tell if we were in Nanman or Sichuan.
Each time, I did my best... well, not my *best*, but I fought just hard enough to fend them off.
It was all for the daily wage Escort Leader Oh had promised.
From the reward for saving the mission to the daily pay, it was a very satisfying and profitable journey.
A week later, we rendezvoused with a rescue team from the Silver Dragon Hall.
Before we knew it, we were atop Mount Guryong, looking down at the Nine Dragons Fortress.
The stone walls encircling the outer fortress.
The endless rows of houses.
And the tall pavilions clustered in the center.
It was like looking at a small city.
"Wow!"
The boy gasped in awe at the sight of the fortress spread out below, then turned to look at me.
"Big brother! Is all of that the Nine Dragons Fortress?!"
"That's right, kid. Now that you're here, you'd better work hard."
"I will! I'll become a great warrior, just like you."
"Heh, this kid."
Cute kid.
After the "old man" incident with Dan Un, the kid and I had grown quite close.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I suppose.
Thanks to him, the nearly five-hundred-li journey wasn't boring.
A short while later, we reached the main gate, and the escort party entered with their carriage.
"See you later, big brother!"
The kid waved his small hand and shouted. I waved back.
"Once you graduate from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, make sure you come to the Outer Hall!"
I'll be sure to work you to the bone.
After watching the kid go in, I said my goodbyes to Dan Un.
"Well, that was something."
"You're getting awfully familiar."
"I've been through hell and back because of you, Brother Dan."
"...Suit yourself."
"It's been a chore traveling with you. Let's try not to see each other again. And stop showing up at my house. If you have something to say, come to the Outer Hall headquarters."
"But you're never there, are you?"
"...Then send a messenger with your message."
"Fine."
After our peaceful farewells, I went over to Escort Leader Oh, who handed me a money pouch.
"Here's your daily wage for now. As for the reward... I'll discuss it with the superintendent and get it to you."
"Then, if you could just sign here..."
"What's this? A promissory note?"
"Nothing much. Just so we're clear on the terms..."
His eyes instantly turned cold.
But I managed to get his signature anyway.
When it comes to money, you have to be thorough, even with family.
A short while later.
*Clack.*
"I'm home!"
I arrived at my dear home, throwing the door open as I entered.
"You're back?"
Myo Hyang, who was in the middle of preparing dinner, ran out to greet me.
A smile spread across my face at the familiar, heartwarming sight.
* * *
That evening.
Word of my return must have spread, because some familiar faces came to visit.
"Squad Leader! How are you? My heart sank when I heard you'd been injured."
Yu So-pyeong greeted me, handing over an armful of meat.
"...Squad Leader. Good to see you."
Lee Dang-pal brought a bundle of medicinal herbs.
"So where'd you get beaten up this time?"
And Yang Gang, as expected, brought nothing.
Myo Hyang whispered in a chilly voice.
"Seat him at the far end of the table. I'll make sure his spot is completely devoid of meat."
"Should I just kick him out?"
"We'll let it slide this one time, for the sake of your reputation, Squad Leader."
Myo Hyang was truly as magnanimous as the great sea.
The guests didn't stop there.
Our bald friend, Yong Ma-san, also showed up.
"Long time no see. Your hair's still falling out, I see."
"I believe I told you last time that I shave it, it's not falling out..."
The drinking party that followed was a joyous affair from start to finish.
"How come I'm the only one without any meat...? And I'm running out of wine."
I heard Yang Gang grumbling but chose to ignore him, pouring another round of drinks for everyone as we talked.
"So I drew out my sword energy and brought it down with a crash, and the old demonic sect leader yelped and tucked his tail between his legs..."
Everyone gasped in admiration at my entirely factual war story.
As time passed and more drinks were had, faces began to flush and voices grew louder.
"One of the girls at the Red Flower Pavilion was so desperate, she grabbed the Squad Leader and begged him to spend the night... Huh? Why did it suddenly get so quiet?"
That idiot Yang Gang, drunk on the mood, had started telling lewd stories right in front of Myo Hyang and Cheong So-so.
Thanks to him, the mood instantly turned frigid. I sighed.
*That's the last time I let that bastard in my house.*
I couldn't just let the awkward silence hang in the air.
To break the tension, I decided to unveil a joke I'd been saving for a special occasion.
"What do you call a fish with no eyes?"
"...Just shut up and drink."
Myo Hyang's icy glare forced me back into my seat.
Clearly, my high-level humor has reached a plane of existence that mere mortals like Myo Hyang cannot possibly comprehend.
My feelings hurt, I went to relieve myself. When I came back, Yong Ma-san was waiting for me.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"Funnily enough, I had something to tell you too."
"You go first."
"I heard you sent a hundred men to escort Myo Hyang and Miss Cheong. All that way, too. Thank you. You saved my life."
As I bowed my head slightly, Yong Ma-san looked away awkwardly.
"Ahem, it was nothing. I happened to be sending men to Hyeongcheon Prefecture anyway..."
"Don't be modest. A hundred men? The cost of their meals alone must have been dozens of taels."
"It was, but I didn't do it for a reward, so don't worry about it."
"What do you mean, don't worry? Do you take me for an ungrateful animal? Just you wait. I'm going to get you the one thing you want most."
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Come on, man. After all the meals we've shared, you think I wouldn't know?"
At my words, Yong Ma-san's eyes widened, and he began to back away.
I moved closer and spoke in a low voice.
"I've ordered a perfect wig from the Hwang Merchant Guild to replace your hair. You don't have to live as a bald man anymore."
"..."
*Pat, pat.*
I patted the back of the still-stunned Yong Ma-san and continued.
"What do you think? I'm the best, right?"
Unable to contain his joy, Yong Ma-san's face turned beet red, a thick vein bulging on his forehead.
It seems the pain of hair loss is the same whether you're in the martial world or the modern one.
A moment later, Yong Ma-san, having barely contained his "joy," finally spoke.
"...I came to tell you something about the Southern Heaven Palace."
"...?"
"Not long ago, the great chieftain of Nanman united the tribes and rebelled against the Southern Heaven Palace. In response, the Palace Lord dispatched warriors and carried out a massacre. I hear the casualties among the tribespeople numbered over thirty thousand."
"What?!"
If that was true, this was something the main fortress needed to know.
Immediately.
"We have to report this to the main fortress right..."
"The higher-ups must already know. There's no way the Red Dragon Hall is ignorant of something I've heard."
"Then why tell me?"
"Partly because we're friends, and partly because you've become involved in this, Squad Leader Jin."
"Me?"
"Didn't you just escort the great chieftain's son to the Nine Dragons Fortress?"
"What are you talking about?"
For a moment, I thought of the kid, the Silver Dragon Hall's cargo.
"Don't tell me... that kid?"
Yong Ma-san answered with a faint smile.
"That's right. The boy is the great chieftain's legitimate heir. The chieftain sent his eldest son as a hostage to forge an alliance with the Nine Dragons Fortress."
"Hah...!"
"It looks like war is on the horizon. You'd best prepare yourself, whether that means honing your skills or gathering allies."