Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Seol Yak-bing
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The person who stepped down from the carriage was a single woman.
Moreover, she was such a stunning beauty that all one hundred passersby on the street—men, women, young, and old—would turn their heads without exception.
In particular, each of her steps was demure and elegant, as if she had received proper etiquette training.
The woman approached me and looked at me, offering a bow of gratitude just as the deputy escort leader had done moments before.
"Thank you for your help, young hero. My name is Seol Yak-bing."
After Miss Seol revealed her name, I was about to give mine in return.
But Miss Seol silently shook her head.
"I overheard what you just said to the deputy escort leader."
"Oh, so you've trained in martial arts?"
There was a fair distance between the carriage and our current position.
To hear our conversation from that far away was as good as declaring she had cultivated internal energy.
At my words, Miss Seol smiled faintly.
"It's a level too embarrassing to admit in front of such an impressive young expert."
"Hey, young expert? You're gilding the lily on my face."
I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed.
Ha, really. I couldn't even manifest sword aura yet, so I shouldn't be hearing expert talk.
Ah, I just couldn't hold back the laughter.
Watching me struggle to control my expression, Miss Seol smiled even more deeply and asked me.
"By the way, you mentioned to the deputy escort leader that you're curious about my circumstances?"
"Yes? Ah, well... a little?"
I felt a slight spark of anticipation.
For her to ask separately like this—didn't it mean she was going to tell me?
But contrary to my expectations, Miss Seol slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but it's a sensitive matter, so I can't just share it freely. I wouldn't want to cause you unnecessary trouble."
"Ah, I see."
I was a bit disappointed, but I accepted it soon enough.
Even if I was her benefactor, it would be hard to divulge personal matters to a complete stranger she'd just met.
However, with Miss Seol responding this way, the deputy escort leader grew flustered and stepped forward instead.
"Miss Seol, why not explain the situation to him and ask for his help?"
"Deputy Escort Leader?"
Miss Seol looked perplexed at the suggestion.
The deputy escort leader turned away with an ashamed expression.
As the one responsible for leading the escort caravan, his gaze swept over the injured and fallen escorts scattered here and there.
"...As you can see, the enemy's forces are too strong. This time, we luckily repelled them with young hero Goon's help, but next time... it won't be so easy."
"......"
At the deputy escort leader's words, Miss Seol's face clouded over with deep worry.
The deputy escort leader bowed his head apologetically and looked at me as he spoke.
"If it's not too much trouble, would you consider helping with our escort caravan? In return, we'll give you half of the commission fee Miss Seol paid—ten taels of silver."
"...Half?"
It wasn't that I was particularly tempted by ten taels of silver.
After all, the secret compartment under our carriage held far more money than that.
What surprised me was the deputy escort leader's decision to offer half the escort fee outright.
"You're not the chief escort leader or the bureau head, are you? Can you make that call so freely?"
At my question, the deputy escort leader shook his head.
"Normally, I shouldn't. But the caravan is on the brink of failure. A failed escort means the escort bureau loses credibility. Better to take the loss than let that happen."
"Heh..."
I was impressed inwardly.
Willing to suffer immediate losses for the sake of the future—it was bold in many ways.
It was a tough decision for the caravan leader to make lightly.
If things went wrong, he might take all the blame alone, yet he proposed it without a moment's hesitation. That alone spoke volumes about his character.
Though we'd only just met, I found myself taking a liking to this man named Mak Pyo-sam.
I wanted to help, but I had my own group and destination.
Regrettably, I had to decline.
"I'm sorry, but we have our own destination, so I can't accept the offer."
At my refusal, the deputy escort leader tried to hide his disappointment.
"...I see. If it's not too rude, may I ask where you're headed?"
"To Hefei. We have business there..."
At my answer, the deputy escort leader's face suddenly lit up.
Uh... no way?
Just as the deputy escort leader was about to say something with a beaming smile, a commotion erupted from behind.
-Kyaa, kyaaak!?
"?... What?"
I turned to look back, and far in the distance, something was rapidly approaching.
Focusing my eyesight, I realized it was none other than our carriage.
Hwa-ryeon was frozen stiff at the driver's seat, gripping the reins, while Seol-i, barely poking her head out, was screaming her lungs out.
What? What happened?
The unexpected situation threw me off, but first things first—I had to stop the carriage.
I dashed straight toward the oncoming carriage.
"G-Goon young hero!"
Hwa-ryeon, who had been tense, spotted me and relaxed with a relieved expression.
I leaped up to land on the driver's seat, wrapped my hands around hers on the reins, and yanked hard.
-Hiiiing!
"Whoa, whoa!"
The madly galloping horse gradually calmed its frenzy and slowed down.
The carriage finally came to a full stop only after reaching the rear of the escort caravan.
Phew, that was close.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm f-fine...?"
Hwa-ryeon turned her head and gasped sharply upon seeing my face right in front of hers, her eyes widening.
At her reaction, I suddenly became aware of our current position.
In my haste to stop it, I'd ended up embracing Hwa-ryeon from behind, our hands overlapping on the reins.
It certainly wasn't a pose for full-grown adults to take casually.
The expressions of the deputy escort leader and Miss Seol watching us must have shifted in some subtle way—it wasn't my imagination.
"S-Sorry."
"N-No, it couldn't be helped..."
We hurriedly separated, exchanging apologies.
In the midst of that, my master emerged from inside the carriage.
"So, what happened here?"
"Ah, well..."
I was about to summarize the earlier situation when Miss Seol suddenly interjected.
"Could it be...! Are you not Hero Yeo Dae-un?"
"Huh?"
Everyone's gazes turned to Miss Seol.
Then back to my master.
What? How does Miss Seol know my master?
To resolve this mystery, I looked at my master.
But my master himself looked puzzled, clearly not recognizing Miss Seol.
At that, Miss Seol introduced herself once more.
"I'm Seol Yak-bing of the Seol family. You don't recognize me?"
"Uh, wha!? You're that Seol kid?"
My master's eyes widened in shock.
Seeing that he finally recognized her, Miss Seol smiled.
"Yes. I'm that kid. It's been fifteen years since we last met, Hero Yeo."
It was an unexpected connection, an unexpected reunion.
*
In an inn within An-hui Province's six counties, a roar erupted from one of the inn's annex buildings.
"You idiot fool!"
An empty cup flew through the air.
The cup, flying at considerable speed, grazed past the hulking man with his right shoulder bandaged and shattered against the wall.
The subordinates kneeling behind the hulking man—those who had disguised themselves as bandits to ambush the Great Peace Escort Bureau's caravan—flinched at the sound of the breaking cup.
Unlike his men, the hulking man silently endured the rebuke.
The one who had hurled the cup at him was a man of ordinary build compared to the giant.
Unable to contain his rage, the man kicked back his chair and stood, fuming.
That man's name was Wi Cheon-gyeong.
He was the leader of the Ronin League, the largest ronin organization in the martial world.
The one commanding over a hundred ronin under his banner.
Wi Cheon-gyeong glared at the hulking man, who was one of his three platoon leaders directly beneath him—the third platoon leader of the Ronin League, Im Chun.
"It was a simple job: just snatch one woman. And you failed that simple task?"
It had been a high-paying gig after a long time.
Moreover, it was to escort and capture one woman under the protection of some no-name escort bureau called Great Peace—truly straightforward.
Big money for easy work.
No reason to refuse, so he'd accepted immediately and dispatched his men.
Especially since this Chun bastard had confidently volunteered from his platoon, he'd sent them off willingly.
And now, Chun had returned with his utterly wrecked third platoon—including himself—to report mission failure.
"...Hoo."
Cheon-gyeong took a deep breath to forcibly calm himself.
He sat back down and asked for details in a more composed tone than before.
"So, what the hell happened? Were there too many escorts? Or were they elite? What went wrong that you failed?"
Im Chun's massive frame produced terrifying divine strength, and his martial art of unknown origin made even seasoned experts wary of underestimating him.
For such a Chun to fail against a mere escort caravan.
"...It went smoothly at first."
Im Chun, who had kept his mouth shut tight, slowly began to speak.
From his large, thick lips flowed the full account, and upon hearing it all, Cheon-gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
"Over thirty third platoon members got taken down in an instant, and you went down in one hit? By some greenhorn who looks barely in his twenties?"
"...Yes."
At Im Chun's reply, Cheon-gyeong's face hardened, and he slammed the table.
-Bang!
"You expect me to believe that? Hey, even street novels these days would get flak for writing crap like that!"
"It is the plain truth, however."
"...Ha!"
Cheon-gyeong's gaze shifted beyond Im Chun to the platoon members.
"You lot have mouths too—speak up. Is this for real?"
Under Cheon-gyeong's blazing glare, the platoon members hesitated but ultimately affirmed Im Chun's words.
They even added that the young expert had spared them, attacking with the flat of his blade so Chun hadn't lost his arm.
Cheon-gyeong was so dumbfounded he could barely speak.
Subduing over thirty third platoon members in a flash, then one-shotting Chun as he swung his axe with full power—a twenties-level expert?
It was hard to believe, but Im Chun admitted it, and so did his men.
They'd even shown mercy.
It meant an overwhelming gap in skill.
Cheon-gyeong's mind naturally grew complicated.