Tavern Disturbance (1)
Seok Geum-ryong, and by extension the fate of Bukcheon-won, had already demanded that every possible preparation be made.
Even the men sent out to the Xi'an horse market were first-rate, each one formidable in his own right.
Seok Geum-ryong himself went with Gong Sang-pil, the Scholar in Blue; Jang Sam, the servant who knew horses better than most stable masters; and the escorts assigned to guard them, Shadowless One Shin Dan-woo, Moon Spirit Swordswoman Im So-gun, and Wol-papa.
Rather than waste time and momentum by piling on more escorts for no reason, he had chosen to travel with a small but elite company.
With Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae joining them as well, ready not only to treat the group but to stand on the front line if necessary, it was nothing short of a band of one-man armies moving together.
This much power should be enough to crush even a small sect without much trouble...
Seok Geum-ryong was satisfied with the caliber of the men around him and felt his nerves settle. Since they would be driving dozens of Thousand-blood Horses, not a single one could be lost, so he had assembled the best force available.
That did not mean he was neglecting the household at Bukcheon-won, however.
Using his most trusted servant, Deung Chon, as the anchor, he stationed the other guards throughout Bukcheon-won to keep the interior secure.
And there was one more thing.
“Lady Seok Myo-hee.”
Before setting out on the long road to the Xi'an horse market in Shaanxi, Seok Geum-ryong decided to take an extra precaution and called on someone just in case.
That someone was, naturally, Seok Myo-hee.
“Yes? What is it this time?”
The moment she saw Seok Geum-ryong, Seok Myo-hee was thrown off balance by both surprise and an uncomfortable, hard-to-name feeling.
She had done things she ought not have done to him before, and besides that, he was now doing far better than she was, so her emotions were in a mess.
“I have to make this trip to earn a profit from selling the Thousand-blood Horses.”
“And?”
At his tone, which sounded almost as if he were boasting, Seok Myo-hee’s familiar envy and resentment surfaced at once, and her reply came out sharp.
“If I complete the business successfully, I’d like to give Lady Seok Myo-hee some jewelry or a gift as well.”
“What?”
What woman in the world disliked jewelry and treasure?
Seok Myo-hee was no exception.
At the mention of jewelry, her mouth opened into a broad grin before she quickly straightened her face.
“What exactly are you plotting?”
She knew better than anyone that in this cold, merciless world, nothing came for free.
“Plotting? Nothing of the sort. I only mean this: while I’m away, if Seok Ju-woo or Seok Ho-in starts strutting about and setting their sights on Bukcheon-won, please keep them from acting recklessly. That is all I ask.”
That was it.
What Seok Geum-ryong was attempting now was nothing other than using the barbarians to control the barbarians.
In its original sense, it meant to use one barbarian tribe to defeat another, but in this case it meant using Seok Myo-hee to suppress Seok Ju-woo and Seok Ho-in.
“Hmm. Well, those two really are shameless enough.”
It was not exactly something Seok Myo-hee herself had room to say, but in her own mind, she believed she was far better than either Seok Ju-woo or Seok Ho-in.
“Fine. I’ll even mobilize my maternal family if I have to and make sure nobody so much as dares to get near Bukcheon-won. But!”
Her face brightened for once as she spoke with confidence.
“Forget the jewelry and the gifts. I only want you to do two things for me.”
“Two things?”
At the idea that she wanted not one but two favors, Seok Geum-ryong’s brow furrowed deeply.
There was no better expression for the truth in his face.
“Don’t look so openly unwilling. Just hear me out first.”
“All right.”
Seeing the hurt look she deliberately put on, Seok Geum-ryong gave a small nod.
“First. Tell me, as far as you know, what the other siblings have been scheming and what they’ve done to you. I’ll share anything I know with you too, so in other words, let’s help each other.”
“Hmm, all right.”
Seok Geum-ryong blinked in mild surprise at how reasonable her conditions were.
He and Seok Myo-hee were, in effect, nothing more than minor factions among the eight heirs.
So if a minor faction wanted to hold its ground against a great and prestigious clan, it had no choice but to rely on unity and alliance.
Seok Myo-hee knew he was not as vicious as the others above, so he was trustworthy enough in her eyes, and Seok Geum-ryong could feel that she at least regretted some of her past behavior and had a conscience about it, which made her seem more reliable than the rest of his siblings.
“The second is...”
Seok Myo-hee hesitated a little as if she were about to ask for something more difficult.
“You aren’t about to ask me for one of the Thousand-blood Horses, are you...”
“No, I’m not!”
At his hasty guess, Seok Myo-hee shot back in her high, piercing voice.
What, exactly, did she want?
“Ahem. Could you call me your older sister again?”
Her face flushed red as she spoke to Seok Geum-ryong.
Indeed, after Seok Myo-hee had once tried to harm him, Seok Geum-ryong had been profoundly disappointed and began calling her Lady Seok Myo-hee instead, drawing a clear line in his heart that she was no longer family to him, only an outsider.
After that, as she watched Seok Geum-ryong struggle on alone, she gradually began to feel guilty. More than anything, seeing him rise so rapidly made her painfully realize that if she wanted any chance of surviving within Seokga Manor, she needed to get closer to him.
“Hmm, that might be a little difficult.”
She had gathered her courage and made the request while blushing, but Seok Geum-ryong rejected it flatly.
“Y-you!”
Seok Myo-hee bristled at the sheer speed of his refusal, as though he had not even paused to think, but there was nothing she could do about it.
This was a problem she would have to solve little by little.
“In any case, please take care of it. Understood?”
“...Very well.”
In the end, Seok Myo-hee grasped the lifeline that was Seok Geum-ryong, and their strange alliance of two wolves sharing one boat began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After joining hands with Seok Myo-hee and using her to settle the internal unrest and anxiety by means of using the barbarians to control the barbarians, Seok Geum-ryong set out secretly at daybreak the next morning.
There were only two people who knew that Seok Geum-ryong’s party had departed all at once.
“Ryong, do take care of yourself and return in good health.”
Before dawn, someone stood gazing blankly toward the north, where Bukcheon-won lay.
It was, of course, Seokga Manor Lord Seok Ji-sung.
“Will Young Master Seok Geum-ryong really be all right?”
With the morning air still cold, Chief Butler Sword Discussant Jo Seung-pyo handed Seok Ji-sung a coat and asked the question.
“It will surely be a hard road. Dong-seo and Ju-woo are both watching him with sinister eyes, and even the movements of the Red Demon Hall are anything but ordinary...”
If one were to worry, there was something to worry about from beginning to end.
Even so, he could not simply tell him to come back safe.
As the eight heirs were currently competing against one another, it was impossible for him to favor anyone openly.
“He may well end up losing all those Thousand-blood Horses in vain.”
Jo Seung-pyo voiced his concern, saying such a thing must never be allowed to happen.
“In the end, wasn’t it Ryong who brought those Thousand-blood Horses here in the first place?”
Seok Ji-sung did not care in the least if the horses were lost.
After all, it had been Seok Geum-ryong who, almost miraculously, brought the herd of Thousand-blood Horses in the first place, so even if they were lost at his hands, he had no intention of blaming him.
“If he makes good use of this chance and overcomes the crisis... he may become the most promising heir after Dong-seo and Ju-woo.”
Seok Ji-sung had the foresight of a merchant.
The reason he had entrusted the Thousand-blood Horses to Seok Geum-ryong was not because his arm bent inward, nor because Geum-ryong was the child who pained him most.
Where does this feeling come from? That Seok Geum-ryong will not only succeed, but might even strike it rich beyond measure?
His merchant’s instincts told him very clearly that if Seok Geum-ryong was given the Thousand-blood Horses, he could defeat his greatest rival, the Red Demon Hall, and rise above it all.
“Hyaaah!”
While the worries and hopes of Seok Ji-sung and Jo Seung-pyo hung in the air, Seok Geum-ryong’s party kept moving.
Contrary to their concerns, the journey went smoothly.
In particular, they had the Thousand-blood Horses pulling the carriage to increase their mobility, and thanks to that, they were able to head west faster than expected.
“So this is the legendary Thousand-blood Horse.”
Even Jang Sam, who had driven four-horse carriages since childhood, looked a little strained while handling the horse-drawn carriage of the Thousand-blood Horses.
Still, before long, he began to get the hang of it, soothing the Thousand-blood Horses he had grown close to and come to understand in recent days.
“Well done.”
Seok Geum-ryong smiled in satisfaction as he watched Jang Sam interacting with the horses.
If it had not been for Jang Sam’s real knowledge of horses, they would not only have failed at this mission, they might not even have obtained the Thousand-blood Horses in the first place.
Feeling that fortune had at least smiled upon him with good people, Seok Geum-ryong resolved to treat those around him even better.
After a long stretch of travel, they finally left Hebei and arrived in Shanxi, the province lying between Hebei and Shaanxi.
“How about staying at an inn tonight?”
Gong Sang-pil, the Scholar in Blue, made the suggestion carefully.
They had spent most of the journey from Hebei to Shanxi sleeping outdoors or taking shelter from the cold wind in abandoned Guandi temples, so the prospect of a warm room and a proper meal was deeply appealing.
“That sounds good. The Thousand-blood Horses must be tired by now as well... let’s rest for a day and reorganize ourselves.”
Seok Geum-ryong agreed at once.
To be honest, while moving with the Thousand-blood Horses, it had been best to keep as low a profile as possible, but they could not spend the entire time skirting the outskirts forever.
Besides, if we’re going to Xi'an in Shaanxi anyway, we’ll have to pass through a crowded city sooner or later.
In other words, if a road was unavoidable, he would rather take it head-on than continue dodging it.
Thus Seok Geum-ryong’s party headed for the inn with dozens of legendary Thousand-blood Horses in tow.
Of course, they were not foolish enough to leave the horses unattended or fail to post guards.
On the contrary, they divided themselves into two teams with meticulous care: while one team ate at the inn, the other stood watch over the Thousand-blood Horses and maintained an ironclad escort.
One group consisted of Seok Geum-ryong, Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae, and Shadowless One Shin Dan-woo, while the other included Gong Sang-pil, Jang Sam, Moon Spirit Swordswoman Im So-gun, and Wol-papa.
Seok Geum-ryong and Gong Sang-pil each took the role of team leader.
Gong Sang-pil insisted that Seok Geum-ryong need not trouble himself by joining the team and should simply rest inside in comfort, but Seok Geum-ryong had no intention of doing that.
He wanted to share both the hardship and the glory.
“It can’t be helped. Then please eat first, Young Master.”
Since Seok Geum-ryong refused so stubbornly, Gong Sang-pil ultimately asked him to have his meal first while his own team guarded the stable where the Thousand-blood Horses were resting.
“Very well. Eat quickly, then we’ll switch over.”
Having made that promise, Seok Geum-ryong entered the Shanxi inn and, instead of ordering lavish dishes, chose something that could be eaten quickly, cold noodles and dumplings, so that he could finally enjoy hot food after a long time.
Neigh!
What they had feared at last came to pass.
Unbelievably, from the inn stable where the Thousand-blood Horses were enjoying their sweet rest, the sound of one of the horses’ cries rang out at the very same moment.
“What is the meaning of this!”
Gong Sang-pil’s furious voice began to ring out as well.