The Incompetent Hero and the Sichuan Tang Clan (3)
"Huh? What's gotten into her…?"
Baekryeon had asked me not to step into any fights with beastmen if I could help it, so for a while I just stood back with my arms folded and watched. At first she'd seized the initiative cleanly enough, steering the flow of battle exactly the way she wanted, and I figured the whole thing would wrap up without much fuss. Then her whole demeanor flipped. Her eyes rolled back in pure rage, and she started thrashing around like a madwoman.
Blinded by fury, she failed to dodge attacks she should have avoided without breaking a sweat. The little wounds piled up, her stamina gave out first, and she let the enemy slip away.
Watching her charge in without the slightest regard for front or back…
She must have heard something about Red Oni.
Going by her in-game personality, Baekryeon was normally the easygoing big-sister type. Playful, a little sly, full of mischief — but the moment a fight started, she became the most reliable pillar anyone could ask for.
There was only one exception to that temperament. The instant her personal enemy — and her family's enemy — Red Oni entered the picture, every scrap of composure vanished.
In the game, the first encounter with Red Oni happens at… Chui Pass.
The problem was that Chui Pass sat in the nation of Jo, well beyond Yeom Kingdom. So while we were still lingering in Yeom, I'd assumed the Red Oni story events wouldn't trigger yet.
Or maybe not. Come to think of it, the original Leon only arrived here after Yeom Kingdom had already been annihilated by Tenma.
Red Oni was one of Tenma's underlings. For all I knew, he was already moving as part of the groundwork for Tenma's invasion of Yeom.
Tch. What a pain. Looks like we're getting tangled up in this after all.
I pulled a mask and a wig out of my inventory.
Against the people of Yeom Kingdom, the identity of "Jang Cheon-woo, champion of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament" would blend in far more smoothly than "Hero Leon."
"I scarcely know how to put into words the great debt I owe you. You have my deepest thanks, Lady Baekryeon."
"…"
Once the ambush had somehow been brought under control, Dan Seollyun offered his gratitude to the swordswoman who had come to his aid. Under ordinary circumstances Baekryeon would have waved it off with some easy, teasing reply. But she had just lost a lead on her hated enemy Red Oni, and her mood was foul enough that she answered with nothing but silence.
Even so, Seollyun could hardly scold her for lacking courtesy toward the young master of the Tang Clan. He was the one who owed her his life. He simply gave a hollow little laugh and turned his gaze toward the masked man — Jang Cheon-woo.
"…A-ah, and it is good to see you again as well, Ilryong. I was under the impression you belonged to the Yeom Army. Is it… well, you are not alone, but is it truly all right for you to travel on personal business?"
"…That is my affair."
The man was every bit as taciturn as before, yet he had at least answered the question. Seollyun felt disproportionately grateful for even that much.
"…Still — does the Tang Clan normally suffer ambushes like this?"
It was almost certainly nothing more than pure curiosity. At that particular moment, however, the question burned with shame. Seollyun knew no insult was intended, yet it still sounded uncomfortably close to Is the Tang Clan really so insignificant that rabble like this can attack you? He cleared his throat and looked away.
"Not at all. The Sichuan Tang Clan is one of the thirteen great powers that uphold Yeom Kingdom itself."
"And yet you were ambushed."
Jang Cheon-woo's blunt statement left Seollyun momentarily speechless.
"Th-that is… It would seem this attack was planned with meticulous care in advance."
"Planned, you say…"
"Indeed. We were not marching to war; we were traveling to participate in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament. Our armaments were therefore far from complete. Had we known such a raid was being prepared, the outcome would have been entirely different."
Even as he spoke, the words felt like a flimsy excuse, and fresh embarrassment washed over him. Jang Cheon-woo, however, seemed unconcerned. He merely nodded and swept a long look across their surroundings.
Watching him, Seollyun found himself thinking:
Could Jang Cheon-woo himself be a beastman?
In Yeom Kingdom, the treatment of beastmen could be either excellent or abysmal. The truly prestigious sacred beasts — those who carried the blood of a guardian deity as famous as the White Tiger, the way Baekryeon did — were held in high regard, sometimes even venerated. But the mongrel strains, like the island toads who had just attacked them, whose bloodlines were so diluted one could scarcely even identify the original sacred beast… those were treated poorly. In some places they were branded potential criminals without having done a single thing wrong.
That discrimination was precisely why the beastmen had formed the Beastman Alliance. Under the banner of "an eye for an eye," they began rescuing oppressed beastmen and striking back at those who persecuted them.
But as the old saying went: excess is as bad as deficiency. Not every member of the Beastman Alliance was fighting purely to end discrimination. Some sought only personal revenge. Others sought only personal profit. They began raiding innocent civilians, slaughtering and plundering them, drifting ever further from the Alliance's original ideals.
At this point in time, "Beastman Alliance" is basically synonymous with "criminal"…
So if Jang Cheon-woo were a beastman himself, and wore that mask to hide it? Traveling alongside another beastman who carried the White Tiger's blood — Lady Baekryeon — would make perfect sense.
In that case, what was the best course of action for the young master of the Tang Clan?
"I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"If another ambush came right now, would you have the strength left to repel it?"
"What do you mean by that…? Don't tell me—!"
Seollyun tensed and sprang to his feet, scanning the trees for attackers. Jang Cheon-woo simply looked at him for a moment and said:
"There are no attackers. Not within the range of my senses, at least."
"I-is that so… Ahem. Then why ask such a thing?"
"Can you guarantee the ambush will only come once? Baekryeon cleaned this one up, yes — but what do you intend to do if they strike again?"
"Th-that is…"
Faced with Jang Cheon-woo's sharp observation, Seollyun let out a low groan and nodded.
"The Tang Clan is strong. But… those creatures studied us thoroughly. Ordinary poisons do not work on them, and their bodies are specialized to shed our hidden weapons. If another attack came here and now… it shames me to admit it, but aside from Seollin, I doubt anyone among us could mount a proper defense."
"I see. So it would be fair to say you cannot respond."
"…Regrettably, yes."
Admitting their own helplessness was mortifying. Yet as young master, Seollyun had a duty to face reality and protect the people of the Tang Clan.
"Therefore — and I am truly sorry to impose — would you be willing to travel with us?"
"Fine."
"Of course, I would understand if you refused. But even just as far as Sichuan… wait, you agree?"
"I was already planning to head for Sichuan myself. No reason we can't take the same road."
Relief washed over Seollyun — followed immediately by puzzlement. Why Sichuan? What business did a member of the Yeom Army have there?
"…"
He started to ask, but the man's gaze had already left him and settled on someone else. Lady Baekryeon — the woman who had displayed such overwhelming martial prowess. Of course her companion would be concerned about her state.
But she was a beastman who carried the White Tiger's blood. She would be fine.
"She will be all right."
"?"
Jang Cheon-woo only looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if to ask what on earth he was talking about. Seollyun blinked in confusion.
Left to her own devices, Baekryeon would have chased that beastman pack down immediately. A lead on Red Oni, hard-won — she could not simply let it vanish into thin air.
"I forbid it."
"Why, Doryeong?!"
Leon stopped her cold. Baekryeon rounded on him in a fury, trembling with rage. Never once before had she talked back or defied him, yet this time she made it clear she would not obey.
Leon watched her for a long moment, then crossed his arms, tilted his head, and said:
"Why? Did you just ask me why?"
"I did! Why will you not let me pursue them?!"
"One. You and I both have fighting skill no one can question. We could beat whoever showed up. But combat ability and tracking ability are two different things. The moment has already passed. I don't believe chasing them now would actually catch them."
"If this one assumes beast form, she can follow their scent! This time she will not lose them!"
"Two."
Leon raised two fingers.
"Your rage took over your entire body. You couldn't dodge attacks you should have dodged. You swallowed every poison they threw at you and ended up knocked flat on your back. And you're the one who wants to go chasing someone?"
"This one merely let her guard down! Poison of that level — with inner energy and the enhanced natural recovery of beast form—!"
"Three."
He cut her off, voice hard enough to make clear he would hear no further argument.
"You told me yourself: humans and beastmen must not fight here. You said you would handle it. As your companion — as your comrade — I respected that and stayed out of it. So now you need to respect my words and listen."
"…"
"My comrade's business is my business. I won't forget about Red Oni, and I will settle that score. So for now — stand down."
"…Kh."
Baekryeon said nothing. She could not accept it — and yet she had no choice but to accept it. The logic was sound: she had asked him to heed her words, so she was bound to heed his in return.
More than that, this partnership had never been his idea. It had been hers. To snap the bond simply because she disliked something would be wrong. At least, that was how Baekryeon saw it.
In the end she rose abruptly, trying to swallow her anger.
"I've agreed to travel with the Tang Clan as far as Sichuan."
"…Understood."
The Tang Clan was in no condition to move immediately after the heavy ambush. They decided to send a few skilled light-foot practitioners ahead to the nearest cities to request reinforcements, while the rest stayed behind treating the wounded. They would be ready to travel in three or four days at the earliest.
Three or four days…
Short, if one thought of it that way. Compared to the years she had spent honing her blade for revenge, it was nothing.
And yet…
I-impossible…! Impossible! Lord Red Oni succeeded in bringing the White Tiger under his command — so how can a beastman carrying the White Tiger's blood still be…
Her teeth ground together.
She had already found a lead and lost it. Waiting again felt unbearably long.
The Baek family had been a beastman clan carrying the White Tiger's blood, influential enough even within the nation of Jo. When that entire house fell in a single night and only one daughter survived, the shock had rippled through Jo's entire court. As the sole remaining heir of a sacred-beast bloodline, she had been taken in by the royal family and raised without want.
"But I cannot forget, Doryeong…"
The night every kinsman died. The night her father died. The night that red-eyed demon slaughtered every person who tried to save her alone.
Hair the color of blood. Eyes the color of blood. A crimson glow that shone with eerie light even in the dead of night. Until a miraculous white flash swallowed that red radiance and the figure vanished, she had been able to do nothing at all.
"Doryeong… that is why I swore it. That I would sever that crimson light with my own hands… standing in the river of flesh and bone and blood where every last member of my house was slain…"
Footsteps approached.
"…Lady Dan Seollin, was it?"
"That's right."
Baekryeon had been walking alone through the forest, apart from the others, when Seollin found her. She fixed the girl with a long, measuring look. Unlike Baekryeon herself, who stood tall for a woman, Seollin was small-framed; with her mouth shut she gave the impression of a cute young girl. Baekryeon knew better. She also knew the two of them had never shared enough contact to warrant a private conversation.
So she wondered why Seollin had come looking for her.
"What business do you have?"
"You. You want to go after that toad bastard, don't you?"
"!"
Baekryeon's head snapped around.
She had told Doryeong she could track them — but the truth was that too much time had already passed. Even if she assumed beast form now, following their scent was impossible. That was part of why she had ultimately obeyed Leon.
But could there actually be a way?
"During the fight I coated that one with Thousand-Li Fragrance. The others I can't speak for, but I can track him."
"Is that true?"
"It's true."
They could be pursued. Just knowing that set her blood on fire. Seollin clearly noticed; she leaned in and spoke in a low, secretive voice.
"I've seen what you can do. So here's my proposal. Want to chase them with me?"
"…Is the Tang Clan not meant to head for Sichuan first?"
"We have a saying in the Tang Clan. Grace is repaid twofold. Grudges are repaid… tenfold."
In other words, she intended to hunt them down for revenge.
"I doubt that young master of yours would permit it."
"That's why I'm talking to you in secret. You, too… your companion won't let you go after them either, will he?"
"…"
"I can tell you've got something you need to learn from that damn toad. I want rightful retribution. You want information. Cooperation. If you work with me, I'll use the Tang Clan's interrogators if I have to — I'll make those bastards spit out every scrap of information you want."
She was the young master's younger sister — effectively the clan head's own daughter. A promise from her carried real weight.
…No. Honestly, the promise itself barely mattered. As long as she could drag those creatures before her own eyes—
"Very well. This one will cooperate."
"Then we leave at the Hour of the Ox, once everyone except the night watch is asleep."
"Understood."
Having secured the alliance, Seollin started to leave, then turned back as if she had forgotten something.
"And for the record — don't tell him about this either."
"This one is already aware."
Of course she was. If he found out, he would stop them without fail.
And so the secret pact between the two women was sealed.
Far off, someone was watching the entire exchange.
"I told them not to chase…"
Leon sighed as he confirmed their little conspiracy, then thought it over.
…But this situation itself might have a few angles I can use.
The Tang Clan repaid grudges tenfold. And grace twofold.
If the Tang Clan's little princess went charging off on her own after the enemy, and he swooped in to save her… just how handsomely would the Tang Clan repay that favor?