Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Trap
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Yu Mimi and Namgung Gamyeong, who had gone to the marketplace, had not returned by sunset. Ordinarily, she would have been back by now, bustling about preparing the evening meal.
As everyone grew tired of waiting, Yu Mimi's handmaidens could bear it no longer and stepped up, hastily preparing a meal with the remaining ingredients.
We'll do it. Please wait just a moment.
She said she was in such a good mood this time that she was going to show off her true skills.
Ah, is that so? Haha. Just the thought of it lifts my spirits. With Chef Yu's cooking skills...
I can feel my strength surging already. I'll have to use this power to crush those bandits!
The handmaidens words brought a smile to everyones face. The air filled with excited anticipation and cheerful remarks about the coming feast.
My uncle and I also sat at a table, waiting for the absent Yu Mimi.
She seems to be taking longer than usual. Who could she be preparing such a delicious meal for?
...Should I have gone with her?
What? With that grim face of yours, you'd just get stones thrown at you in the marketplace. You should be thanking the Nanny. It's a miracle she doesn't say anything after looking at your foul expression.
At my words, boisterous laughter erupted from those around us.
Wahahaha! Thats right, thats right. Chef Yu has a strong stomach!
If it were me... Aigoo!
Dont even say it! Where else would you find someone like Chef Yu!
My uncle scowled at my comment and the crowd's reaction, protesting that it was all nonsense, but I only let out a hearty laugh at the sight.
It was a happy atmosphere. I never knew a meal on the battlefield could be so anticipated.
A stark contrast to the moments spent chewing a single, dry grain of rice in a bleak and desolate environment.
The days spent here, sharing laughter with these companions, were so enjoyable.
Alright, its all ready.
It might not be as good as Chef Yus, but please, give it a try.
Oh my! Youve all improved so much from learning under Chef Yu! I still remember that time it felt like I was chewing on rocks
Hey, now! Sir, why are you bringing up ancient history!
Hahaha!
Perhaps because they had learned to cook from the Nanny, the handmaidens' skills were quite decent, and everyone was ending the day with satisfaction.
Just as the day was about to conclude, only one person was resentfully watching the setting sun.
...Why isn't she back yet?
This has happened on occasion, hasn't it? She's waited until dawn the next day to get fresh ingredients before.
As I said, Yu Mimi had sometimes not returned for a day.
Could she have been attacked by a band of bandits?
Or threatened by a tiger descending from the mountain shadows?
A worried uncle had once shot into the sky, tearing through the earth to search the marketplace. He ended up getting smacked on the back by Yu Mimi all day long for it.
After she scolded him for making such a fuss over nothing and seeing the townsfolk faint in the marketplace, he had vowed to wait patiently.
His anxiety seemed to be considerable, as he couldn't bring himself to sleep. I, too, felt a budding unease, as if his anxiety was contagious, but I forced myself to believe that everything was fine.
It had to be.
I had grown to love these ordinary, uneventful days, and it was my earnest wish, my hope, that nothing would disrupt them.
However.
She still hasn't returned?
Well...
The news from the Namgung family warrior on watch was not the answer I had hoped for. A full day passed, and there was still no word from Yu Mimi or Namgung Gamyeong. As dawn broke and more than enough time had passed for them to return, not even a message had arrived. I was overcome with anxiety.
...That boy, Gamyeong. I told him to contact us if anything happened.
Namgung Han, Namgung Gamyeong's father and the current Shandong Branch Head, let out a faint sigh. While he doubted anything serious had happened, a father's heart naturally worried first.
Observing them, I thought it was for the best.
I asked my anxious uncle to patrol the nearby area with several warriors. Hoping it would at least alleviate some of his anxiety.
I comforted him by saying that Yu Mimi would surely be back by the time he returned.
Thinking of my uncle as he left, a pang of pain struck my heart. And so, I...
...Should I make a move?
Upon hearing Namgung Han's murmur, I immediately stepped forward.
I will go.
...The Great Young Lord?
If anything happens, I'll send a carrier pigeon, so please be ready to move immediately.
...Understood.
An awkward atmosphere formed, but it didn't matter. It wasn't important in a moment as urgent as this.
Ah, and one more thing.
...Speak.
He was restless until dawn, and I barely managed to send him out on patrol. If he finds out she still hasn't returned, he'll try to rush out immediately. Please stop him. If left to his own devices, he'll only make things worse.
...I will do so.
Namgung Han gave me a complicated look, but I paid it no mind and turned away from him, preparing to use my movement technique. Or rather, just as I was about to.
W-Wait a moment!
A young man blocked my path.
...Daemyeong? What is it? I'm in a bit of a hurry.
Namgung Daemyeong. He was the eldest son of Namgung Seok, the White Fang Sword. I knew him well enough, and we were on friendly terms.
He was my nephew. There wasn't much of an age gap between us, but that was hardly an issue.
...Please take me with you.
Impossible.
I needed to move quickly. But Namgung Daemyeong was just a novice who had barely begun his life as a swordsman. With his clumsy skills, he would be of no help to me.
But Namgung Daemyeong didn't back down. He took a step forward and spoke.
Gamyeong. He is like a blood brother to me. With him missing, how can I, as his older brother, simply stand by?
He must have been eighteen at most.
Yet his face was etched with anxiety.
Brothers.
Brotherly love.
Namgung Daemyeong's face strangely overlapped with the face of Namgung Ban from my past lifethe Great Young Lord, my eldest brother. It was the same face he had when he first came to me.
It could be dangerous. We don't know what might happen.
...If I were worried about that, I wouldn't have stepped forward like this.
Is that so?
Is this what it means to be brothers?
To be able to jump in, knowing it could be a deathtrap.
Is that what it means to be family, to be brothers?
I nodded. The moment I saw the look in his eyes, a look solely for the one he considered family, Namgung Gamyeong, I erased all other thoughts.
...Fine.
At my words, Namgung Daemyeong's face brightened as he looked up.
Keep up if you can. I'm heading to the Shandong marketplace first, Black Tiger.
Yes, sir.
Kwoong.
The ground rumbled. A gust of wind kicked up in an instant. With a powerful stomp, I surged forward.
The path beneath my feet.
There is no distance the steps of an emperor cannot reach.
To roam a thousand li as if it were my own front yard is the dignity of an emperor looking down from on high.
That is the movement technique that speaks of Heavenly Thunder, the emperor's path that makes naught of a thousand li.
Thousand-Li Court.
I unleashed the Thousand-Li Court with all my might, following the dictates of my heart and the path of my steps.
Staring at the Great Young Lord's back as he vanished like a phantom, becoming a mere dot in an instant, Namgung Daemyeong was dumbfounded, while Black Tiger let out an incredulous laugh.
...Good grief. I'd better get a move on.
The thought of having to take the deadweight Namgung Daemyeong with him made Black Tiger's head throb.
But what could he do?
An order is an order.
Crack.
A crack spread across the ground.
How hard must he have stomped for the ground to fracture and crack like a sheet of ice?
Out of my way!
C-Calm down! Great Warrior An!
Namgung Han shouted, blocking the path of the roaring An Baek.
It's a trap! It must be a trap! You know this! That's why the Great Young Lord went to investigate first!
Even as we speak, she could be in danger.
I know! That's why we've sent men out in all directions!
An Baek's every step.
With each one, Namgung Han found himself unable to block him, overwhelmed by the sheer force of his aura, forced to bite down hard on his lower lip.
This... this is on another level. The rumors that he fought the Azure Sky Divine Sword to a standstill... they weren't lies, were they?
Shudder.
Compared to An Baek, every opponent he had ever faced felt utterly insignificant. Even before Namgung Mubaek, his body had never trembled so finely.
Donghwi and Gang Umun clung to his sides to stop him, while Namgung Han and Namgung Seok blocked him from the front, creating a ridiculous scene.
But everyone was desperately trying to stop this one man, An Baek.
When in the world is the Great Young Lord coming back!
It's been ages since he said he was going to the marketplace himself!
Dammit!
With the only person capable of controlling and stopping the Iron-Blood Sword Saint gone, things had become this difficult. They were all going to collapse from exhaustion.
Not from fighting bandits, but just from trying to hold back An Baek.
Just as everyone was exhausting themselves and energy was relentlessly exploding from An Baek's entire body.
Uncle.
A low voice cut through the air.
G-Great Young Lord!
Why, why did you take so long!
Great Warrior An is...!
He had appeared. The Great Young Lord.
Gang Umun, Donghwi, Namgung Han, and Namgung Seok breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the Iron-Blood Sword Saint An Baek also halt his steps, they felt an immense sense of fortune.
As the four men turned their heads toward the Great Young Lord.
Gulp.
Looking into the Great Young Lord's eyes, their hearts sank.
An abyss, like the pitch-black darkness of the bottomless pit, swirled within his pupils. An Baek lifted his head and stared at the Great Young Lord.
It's them.
Hyenas.
A glint of madness shone in the eyes of the Iron-Blood Sword Saint and the Great Young Lord.
How are you so sure?
They had disguised themselves as bandits and were stirring up trouble among the common folk.
A shadow standing behind the Great Young Lord collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Black Tiger and Namgung Daemyeong, who had barely kept up, gasped for breath as they dropped several ordinary-looking commoners to the ground.
And these vermin were selling out their own people to the bandits.
An endlessly cold voice was directed at the three trembling figures.
They were targeting the Nanny from the very beginning. To lure us out.
...
The three figures came into the Iron-Blood Sword Saint An Baek's view. They looked perfectly ordinary.
And Yu Mimi would have trusted people like them. She might have even been investigating the disappearances of other common folk.
Given her personality, that was entirely possible.
...Are you going to stop me?
Stop you? Why would I?
The Great Young Lord shook his head, then swung his sword at the thighs of the three men.
Shink!
Three pairs of legs were cleanly severed.
Krrruuugh!
Ugh! Urk! Urk!
Mmph! Mmmph!
Thanks to the gags in their mouths, the men couldn't scream, only letting tears stream down their faces. But the eyes of the Great Young Lord and An Baek remained endlessly cold.
Vermin had to be cleaned up. After the cleanup, the two turned away without a second thought.
We should gladly walk into that trap.
Let's go.