The Fugitive's Wife (9): The Road to Mangtan Mountain
The next morning, gentle sunlight poured down from a clear sky, warmly licking across the earth. The sweet scent of plum blossoms mingled with the smell of straw sandals, creating a strange yet pleasant spring fragrance. The snow that had melted overnight had formed a small puddle in the middle of the yard, reflecting the blue sky above.
“Hoo...”
Dressed in simple traveling clothes, I stepped out through the main gate. I wore comfortable pants with sturdy gaiters wrapped tightly around my ankles. On my back was a heavy bundle. Two jars of fermented liquor from Shangyang, some dried meat, and a pouch containing emergency funds weighed heavily on my shoulders.
They said it takes ten hours on foot to reach Mangtan Mountain…
Moreover, Liu Bang was surely camped deep within the mountains. Even after walking ten hours to reach the base, that wouldn’t be the end of it. The real climb would only begin from there.
My goal is to arrive before the sun sets.
I tightened the straps of my bundle once more. I was checking the new leather shoes I had bought with grim determination when a cheerful voice suddenly called out from right behind me.
“Auntie!”
“Young Master?”
When I turned my head, I saw Liu Fei running toward me, his short legs pumping busily. Didn’t we already say our goodbyes? I tilted my head in confusion and bent down. Without even catching his breath, the boy approached and thrust out his small hand.
“Take this… take this with you!”
In his fern-like little hand rested a small wooden doll. It was a crudely carved horse figure. The bark hadn’t been fully stripped away, leaving it rough, and its legs were all different lengths. Yet between those clumsy knife marks, the traces of earnest effort were thickly embedded.
“This is…”
“It’s a talisman I made! Please take it!”
“You made this yourself, Young Master?”
“Yes! If you have a horse, you can go faster!”
“……Ah.”
I carefully accepted the doll. The lingering warmth from his hand traveled through my fingertips and straight into the depths of my chest.
“Thank you, Young Master. It’s truly a magnificent steed.”
“Hehe. Make sure to tell Father too. Tell him that Bi is doing well. That I’m not crying and that I’m protecting Mother properly.”
“……Yes, I’ll be sure to tell him.”
“Really? It’s a promise!”
“Yes, it’s a promise.”
Our pinky fingers linked once more. I gently stroked Liu Fei’s head. At that moment, a thunderous voice loud enough to pierce eardrums rang out from afar.
“Sister-in-law!”
When I turned, I saw Fan Kuai striding toward us like a bear, carrying bundles the size of small houses on both shoulders. I had asked him to prepare some supplies for Liu Bang, but this clearly exceeded my expectations.
“Sister!”
And that wasn’t even the end of it. Clinging tightly to Fan Kuai’s side, right next to the massive butchering knife at his waist, was Su-a with a tearful expression. The moment she saw my face, her eyes widened even further. Without caring that the hem of her silk skirt was getting dirty, she came dashing toward me and grabbed my hand as if she were about to burst into tears.
“Are you really… really going all the way to Mangtang Mountain?”
“Well, yes, but… who told you that?”
“Who else but Kuai, of course! How could you keep it a secret even from me!”
“Kuai, you say…”
Over the winter, Su-a had grown quite close to Fan Kuai. It wasn’t that her father had sold her off like mine had. Rather, on a certain day in January, when she had come to our house to see me, she had taken one look at Fan Kuai effortlessly lifting a heavy pile of straw sandals with one hand and fallen for him at first sight.
When I glanced at Fan Kuai, he was scratching the back of his head with an expression that seemed to say, ‘How could I possibly win against her?’ I let out a small sigh and took her warm, soft hand in mine.
“It wasn’t meant to be a secret. I just didn’t think there was any need to mention it.”
“When you’re going somewhere so far away?”
“It’s not that far. No matter how late I am, I should be able to return by the morning after tomorrow.”
My plan was to join Liu Bang before sunset today, spend one night there, and return by tomorrow evening. In three days, an official would visit again to check on me. Even if I wanted to stay longer, I couldn’t.
“Still… this is the first time you’re going so far away. And your body is so weak, Sister.”
“I came all the way from Danbu County to here, didn’t I? Compared to that, this is just a neighborhood stroll.”
“T-that was with the family in a carriage! This time you have to climb the mountain on your own two feet!”
“The fact that I have experience is what matters. Besides, the peerless champion Lord Fan here will be guarding the way.”
I nodded calmly. “Or do you not trust Lord Fan, Su-a? Does your ‘Kuai’ look that weak to you?”
“T-that’s impossible! My Kuai is the strongest in the world!”
Su-a raised her voice in protest. At the same time, Fan Kuai’s face turned slightly red. She opened her mouth to say something more, then noticed Liu Fei standing blankly beside me. After glancing at the bundle on my back and the resolute light in my eyes, she bit her lower lip as if she had no choice.
“Ugh… Fine. I can’t stop you anyway.”
Su-a straightened my slightly disheveled clothes and whispered softly.
“Be careful. Don’t get hurt.”
“Yeah. Thanks. I’ll send someone when I return.”
“Okay. I won’t tell Mother and Father either. If Mom finds out, she’ll throw a fit.”
Su-a let out a small sigh of resignation. I squeezed her hand once more in farewell.
“Young Master.”
Finally, I turned back to Liu Fei. This time I properly bent my knees to meet his gaze and took both his hands firmly.
“I’ll be back, Young Master. Take good care of the house while I’m gone.”
“Yes, Auntie. Have a safe trip.”
The boy, who had been momentarily dazed by the sudden commotion, quickly came to his senses and smiled brightly.
“Come back soon. I’ll be waiting.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely return. With a present.”
After giving Su-a a light wave, I turned around without further hesitation.
“Let’s depart, Lord Fan. We need to reach the foot of the mountain before sunset.”
“Right, Sister-in-law! Just follow my back!”
Fan Kuai answered boisterously and took the lead. I adjusted my bundle and took my first step. As if the sky itself were welcoming me, an unusually warm spring sunlight pushed against my back.
The road to Mangtan Mountain was rougher than I had expected. The first hour was across flat fields. Green barley fields stretched out, and farmers bent at the waist, diligently working on their spring planting. A peaceful scene. Up until then, I felt like I was going on a spring picnic.
But as the faintly visible peaks of Mangtan Mountain drew closer, the path narrowed and the slope grew steeper. Soon, we entered a wetland thick with trees and vines.
We moved in a single-file line: the hunter Ho leading the way, me sandwiched in the middle like a pack mule, and Fan Kuai—the human tank—bringing up the rear.
“Madam, may I ask you something?”
After some time had passed, Ho, who had been silently clearing vines ahead, spoke up. It was probably around one in the afternoon; the sunlight piercing through the leaves was heating my scalp intensely.
“Hoo… Yes, go ahead.”
“Did you already know that your husband would call you to this place?”
“Pardon?”
Out of breath, I didn’t quite catch the question. When I tilted my head unconsciously, he glanced back at me and said,
“Your stamina is far better than it appears. We’ve been walking for several hours without rest, yet you haven’t once asked to stop.”
“Ah… So that’s what you meant.”
Even by my own estimate, it felt like we had walked at least half a day. I wiped the sweat from my eyelashes with the back of my hand.
“Because complaining won’t change anything.”
Of course, inside I was dying. My thigh muscles were screaming, and my silk undergarments were soaked with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to my body. Honestly, I wanted to collapse right then and there and yell, ‘Carry me!’
But the reason I could endure it was because the spirit and grit of a former Republic of Korea Army reserve sergeant flowed within this delicate body. I took a deep breath and continued in a calm voice.
“Besides… I did prepare a little in advance.”
“Prepare?”
This time Fan Kuai, who had been following behind, stepped closer and chimed in. I glanced at him and nodded.
“Yes. I steadily trained my stamina in preparation for days like this… days when I would have to push my body to its limits.”
Depending on the historical record, some texts mentioned that Lü Zhi had continued to make contact with Liu Bang after he fled into hiding at Mangtang Mountain and supported him from behind. Of course, when there had been no contact all winter, I had half-given up, thinking, In this timeline, maybe not. Still, judging that there would be many occasions requiring physical strength regardless, I had used the free time gained thanks to Seom-a handling the housework to relentlessly train my lower body with squats and lunges in my room.
Not to mention, I now have an excellent protein source called tofu.
“Haha! Training, you say. Sister-in-law truly is a remarkable woman.”
Fan Kuai laughed cheerfully. Ho still looked amazed but didn’t ask any more questions and turned his gaze forward again.
“How did you come to know my husband, sir?”
This time I asked Ho. He slowed his pace slightly and answered calmly.
“He gave me some jerky.”
“Pardon?”
“It was last winter, when the snow was so heavy that hunting was impossible. I had been wandering Mangtan Mountain for three days without any luck when he suddenly appeared and handed me some jerky. ‘You’ve had it rough too. At least chew on this,’ he said.”
“Without you even asking?”
“Yes. It was… quite a strange encounter.”
Ho shrugged as if he still didn’t quite understand it himself.
“Hahaha, that’s just like Big Brother! He can never just walk past someone who’s hungry!”
Fan Kuai burst into laughter so loud it shook the forest.
……That man.
I swallowed a deep sigh inwardly. The type whose spending becomes extravagant the moment his pockets are full. A typical mood-driven person. A meddlesome neighborhood busybody. Of course, thanks to that, we had gained such a capable guide, so in the end it was a good thing… But jerky wasn’t exactly cheap, and from a wife’s perspective, it was enough to make one’s blood boil.
“So that event led to you becoming sworn brothers with my husband.”
“Yes. Sometimes I visit his mountain stronghold to drink with him.”
“What is my husband’s mountain stronghold like?”
“Hmm…”
Ho gazed up at the sky for a moment as if pondering, then glanced back at me.
“It feels less like a bandit’s lair and more like a small village in the mountains. Roughly fifty to sixty people live there.”
“F-fifty or sixty?!”
The completely unexpected number made my voice crack. Weren’t there only about thirty fugitives at most, even if he had gathered every last one?
“Yes. Not just men—there are children with nowhere to go and women as well, so it really does feel like a village. When I went to deliver your letter, they had even started processing hides and weaving straw sandals to sell at the nearby market.”
“……Huh.”
I had told him to live as a fugitive, yet Liu Bang had gone and built a small independent kingdom in the mountains. Moreover, its scale was completely different from what I knew of the official historical records.
Did my four hundred coins have an influence?
Of course, no matter what kind of life he led in the mountains, the chances of it drastically altering the great flow of history were low. In just a few months, Liu Bang would quietly return to Peixian, declare himself the Duke of Pei, and lead three thousand soldiers.
Still… it feels a bit strange.
The realization that my seemingly insignificant actions were changing the details of history. A sense of pride as a regressor and a vague anxiety about an unpredictable future washed over me at the same time. After briefly contemplating the butterfly effect of my actions, I shook my head vigorously to clear away the distracting thoughts.
Instead, I casually tossed out a question that had been bothering me for a while.
“Mister Ho.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“You mentioned there are young women in my husband’s mountain stronghold as well?”
“Yes. Most came with their husbands or fathers, but I believe there are also a few widows who fled there and maidens who lost their parents and sought refuge.”
Ho nodded calmly. I quickened my pace a little to stick close behind him and asked in a slightly more serious tone.
“By any chance… has my husband been up to any mischief?”
“Pardon?”
Ho stopped dead in his tracks. His expression turned slightly dazed. Then, as if a realization had struck him, his shoulders twitched.
“Ah… Yes, o-of course not. No.”
“Really? Not even when drunk?”
“Yes. At least from what I know, Lord Liu… that is, he does not have any concubines.”
“Hmm, I see.”
I nodded in satisfaction and stepped back. Fan Kuai, who had been sneaking glances at me, spoke up again in his cheerful voice.
“Ehey! Sister-in-law, aren’t you trusting our Big Brother a little too little? He only has eyes for you!”
“That man is just too unreliable, that’s why.”
Of course, I wasn’t particularly jealous or looking for a lovers’ quarrel. I was simply… curious whether he had squandered the four hundred coins I had earned with blood and sweat on some other woman.
“Ahem. At this pace, we should reach the stronghold within the next three hours.”
Ho cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. I answered, “I see,” but added one more thing, just in case.
“Or perhaps he invites newly arrived widows for a private drink to comfort them…”
Ho squeezed his eyes shut and firmly declared that Lord Liu would never do such a thing.
……And after walking some more, when the feeling had left my legs and I was moving purely on autopilot, the sun that had been visible through the dense trees began to sink slowly toward the west. The forest’s shadows stretched long, and a chilly cold wrapped around my ankles.
“From here on is what we commonly call the depths of Mangtan Mountain.”
Ho, who had been leading, finally stopped. He wiped his sweat, caught his breath, and turned to face me properly.
“It is a lawless zone that even the government army hesitates to enter, teeming with countless beasts and vicious bandits. From here, you must truly be cautious.”
He stared at me intently. His eyes were asking whether I was truly prepared to cross this line.
Of course.
There was no turning back after coming this far. Besides, most beasts would be handled by the human weapon Fan Kuai behind me. I neatly straightened my sweat-soaked collar and nodded with an expression that said, ‘Naturally.’
“Yes. Please lead the way.”
As if welcoming me, several crows flapped noisily into the air above our heads.