Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Dream
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Entering big sis’s room, I saw her huddled under the blanket all the way up to her head.
I carefully set the bowl of beef noodle soup on the table and perched lightly on the edge of her bed, gently tugging at the blanket covering her.
“Sis, I brought beef noodle soup. You gonna stay like that?”
“…Damn it!”
After squirming around under the blanket for a bit, she kicked it off dramatically and glared at me with eyes full of fury.
I slipped off the bed and sat in the chair opposite the table where the beef noodles sat.
She kept glaring at me for a moment before finally getting up from the bed herself and plopping down across from me, attacking the noodles like it was a battlefield.
-Slurp! Slurrrp!
“Eat slower. You’ll choke.”
Did my words jinx it?
Big sis, who’d been slurping down the noodles without properly chewing, soon started pounding her chest—clearly something was stuck in her throat.
“I told you to eat slower.”
The moment I poured her a cup of the still-warm tea I’d brought along, she downed it in one bold gulp.
“Phew—!”
She dumped the tea straight down her throat and shoved more noodles in her mouth.
Thanks to that, the pretty generous serving of beef noodles vanished in no time.
After guzzling down even the leftover broth, big sis let out a deeply satisfied sigh.
“Huuu….”
Then, just as quickly, she snapped her eyes wide open and fixed them on me with a sharp glare.
Ah, already starting?
It was right after a meal, so waiting a bit wouldn’t have hurt.
But contrary to my hopes, big sis didn’t seem to have any intention of holding off.
“Ja-seong, what are you gonna do?”
“What do you mean?”
“You really leaving or what?!”
“…….”
Her blunt shout left me at a loss for words.
Even without a reply, she seemed to sense what my answer was, and her face twisted up.
“Why? What’s missing? Why leave a cushy landlord family where you’ve got more than enough, food on the table, and a warm bed, to go to some brutal place like the martial world…!”
“…….”
Looking at big sis, whose eyes were starting to redden, I revisited my reasons for wanting to head into the martial world.
Big sis, who loved eating and lounging more than anything, had fasted for a while just to stop me.
That alone made me think I owed it to her to reconsider at least once more.
I looked deep into my heart.
The reason I wanted to venture into the martial world. What lay at its root.
I delved deeper and deeper into my mind.
At the very bottom was a stark white hospital room.
-Your Highness~ Please show mercy~
-Please show mercy~
A double room with two beds.
Grandpa sat silently on one, lips pressed tight, staring only at the historical drama on the TV.
I was sitting on the opposite bed.
Beside me towered stacks of books—all of them wuxia novels.
Long-term treatment side effects had left me bald, skin and bones, so frail that a tap might’ve finished me off.
The terminally ill kid, whom even the doctors had given up on, flipped through the pages diligently with his bony fingers.
Each printed page conjured fantasies.
A world born from the author’s imagination, set in the ancient past of a neighboring great power that didn’t feel so foreign.
I was utterly captivated by that world.
When awake, I devoured novels nonstop; when asleep, I dreamed of living in that world myself.
In a life of nothing but pain, it was my one and only joy.
And after that agonizing life ended, as if receiving recompense for endless suffering, I was reborn into this wuxia world.
Everything I’d ever wanted was here.
Martial arts.
A healthy body.
…Even a family that treated me with warmth.
Anyone else would be content with that.
But I couldn’t settle for it.
“Can’t we all just keep living happily together like this?”
“Big sis.”
I met her pleading gaze and gave a small smile.
“Sis, you know, I’m pretty greedy.”
“…Huh?”
Her face shifted to confusion at the sudden tangent, so I smiled even wider.
“There’s so much I want to see, so much I want to do myself.”
“What are you even….”
“I want to climb all the Five Peaks, sail down the Yangtze on a boat, visit Lake Dongting too.”
Countless wuxia novels described those places.
Was Lake Dongting really so vast it felt like the sea?
Did the Yangtze really have those water bandits?
Did Plum Blossom Peak really bloom with plums year-round?
Did the Plum Blossom Sword really scatter plum fragrance?
And so on—countless curiosities had slumbered within me over the years.
“…….”
“All of that… none of it can be resolved from here.”
Big sis fell silent for a long while after my words.
*
Su-ae stared blankly at Ja-seong as he spoke of the world beyond Gun River Village.
From childhood, Ja-seong had been a sweet, cute little brother.
Sometimes, like any kid, he’d do silly things, and other times he’d act far more mature than his age.
Before he started wanting to learn martial arts, he’d never thrown a tantrum for anything, never shown such intense longing for something.
Now, that Ja-seong was speaking with a fierce desire she’d never seen before.
He wanted to be sent out into the world, to take it all in with his own eyes.
Su-ae realized she could never hold him back, no matter how stubbornly she tried.
More than that, she shouldn’t.
Gun River Village was too small for Ja-seong.
The boy who’d been cooped up for so long was finally grown, ready to spread his wings.
If she blocked him now, could she even call herself his sister?
“…Haa.”
Su-ae bowed her head and let out a deep sigh.
Then she steeled herself and looked up again.
“Ja-seong.”
“Yeah, big sis.”
“Make one promise with me.”
Realizing she was relenting, Ja-seong’s eyes widened.
He eagerly asked what it was.
“What?”
“Promise you’ll never get hurt.”
Ja-seong gave an awkward smile at her unreasonable demand.
“Uh, sis? This isn’t like I’m just going on a trip….”
She knew.
The place her baby brother was headed was crawling with brutal killers who’d slaughter a manor’s entire household without hesitation.
Demanding he never get hurt while going there was absurd.
“Promise me.”
Even so, Su-ae pressed.
Even if it was just words, it was a plea to ease her worries.
After locking eyes with her for a moment, Ja-seong slowly nodded.
“I promise. I won’t get hurt, ever.”
“…You promised, got it? If you do, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Ahaha….”
Ja-seong let out an awkward, hearty laugh.
Seeing that, another promise came to mind.
“And one more.”
“Sis? You said just one….”
“Tsk!”
“…What are your orders?”
Su-ae spoke as he listened obediently.
“Don’t forget. Your home—the one that’ll always welcome you—is here in Gun River Village. If you ever suddenly want to come back, do it anytime. Dad, Mom, me—we’ll all be waiting.”
“…Of course. I don’t want any other home.”
Ja-seong and Su-ae gazed at each other and smiled brightly.
It was a smile so alike, anyone could tell they were siblings.
“Sis.”
“Yeah?”
“But didn’t you leave out brother? Won’t Dan-sang be waiting for me?”
“When does he have time to wait? He’s busy working his butt off to earn money.”
“…….”
Su-ae doted on her baby brother Ja-seong as much as she was harsh on her other brother, Dan-sang.
*
Four days passed after that.
With even big sis’s permission finally secured, the manor buzzed with preparations for my journey.
“It’s not a trip you’ll be back from in a day or two, so we need to prepare thoroughly. A carriage is a must, right?”
“Of course. You’ll be camping out all the time.”
“Huh? No, I don’t need anything that fancy….”
An enormous carriage, lavishly funded with years’ worth of accumulated tribute, was completed in just three days.
“You can’t go hungry on the road, so we’ll stock up tons of preserved rations.”
“Jerky alone gets boring, so dried fruit’s necessary too.”
“What? I can just buy that stuff along the way….”
Over 100 catties (60kg) of rations claimed one corner of the carriage.
“Emergency funds are always essential. Hey, Goo, did you make that secret compartment in the carriage floor sturdy?”
“You bet, nice and solid.”
“How much should we put in? Gotta fill it with gold taels….”
“I can’t even spend that kind…!”
I barely managed to stop them from stuffing the solid iron safe under the carriage floor with all the gold taels piled up in the warehouse over the years.
After all the fuss and drama of preparations, I finally left the manor amid tearful goodbyes and arrived at Heavenly Wind Martial Hall with my carriage.
There, I met three people, each shouldering a single bundle.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
We stared at each other in wordless, indescribable expressions for a moment.
What the hell do you even say in a situation like this?
“…Hey, wanna ride?”
Is that the right line?
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ah, guess it worked on Hwa-ryeon.
She gave a small laugh and climbed aboard, followed by Seol and Master.
Once everyone was seated, I gently tugged the reins.
“Hyah.”
The two horses started forward slowly.
The outwardly plain carriage—plush inside with lavish spending—cut through Gun River Village’s streets.
“Oh, young master maknae! Off on your jianghu tour?”
“Yeah, heading out now.”
“Here, take some of this with you.”
Auntie from the candy shop and tea house stuffed me full of candy and tea cakes.
“Oh, you didn’t have to….”
“And this too….”
“And that….”
On top of that, countless villagers from Gun River loaded us up with all sorts of things, and soon the carriage brimmed with food.
Wow, this alone could last four days.
“Thank you! I’ll be back!”
Waving wildly in thanks, I passed through the streets and fully exited Gun River Village.
As the crowds faded and the open road to the county came into view, my heart thumped with pleasant excitement.
Alright, my adventure’s finally starting….
“Hey, do you even know where we’re going?”
-Yank!
-Neighhh!
The horses came to a halt with long whinnies as I yanked the reins.
I turned to look inside the carriage.
“…Come to think of it, where are we even headed?”
Three pairs of eyes stared at me pitifully for a moment.
Then, speaking for the group, Hwa-ryeon sighed and opened her mouth.
“Our first destination is the Nangong Clan in Hefei, Anhui Province.”