Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (6)
Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (6)
"Welcome! You've had a hard journey, Great Hero!"
"Oh, yes. You've all worked hard too."
When Jong Yuseop arrived in Chang'an with the carts, broad-shouldered soldiers and martial artists brimming with energy greeted him. He accepted their greetings one by one and exchanged pleasantries. A few passersby glanced their way, but it drew no special attention.
In Shaanxi, Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect held primacy, with smaller sects clustered around them. It was a common sight in the heart of Chang'an for martial artists to greet each other and flaunt their influence.
"Were there any difficulties on the road?"
Jong Yuseop silently glanced back at his retinue. He'd been tense with impatience and anxiety when the journey began, but now, entering Chang'an, he felt foolish for ever having been nervous. Facing the friendly crowd that welcomed him and Chang'an's uniquely vibrant atmosphere, his own sense of worth seemed to rise in tandem.
He spoke in a confident tone.
"It's simply a matter of moving carts. What hardship could there be for me? The horses and soldiers are the ones who had it hard. Let them rest well today."
His attendants' faces brightened. Whenever that happened, Jong Yuseop's expression grew all the brighter. Though he occupied an important position in the Zhongnan Sect, he had a tendency to depend on others' reactions and expectations for his sense of worth.
"Hohoho, hearing you speak, Great Hero, reminds me of the saying: 'The direct disciple of the Zhongnan Sect is truly of a different caliber!'"
Jong Yuseop didn't hide his pleased expression. His confidants working in Chang'an knew this side of him well.
"Don't talk nonsense. Anyway, I'd like to shake off the travel fatigue. You've secured a good brothel, I trust?"
In principle, managing the goods on the carts was the duty of the escort commander, but 'by custom,' storing the goods in a warehouse in the heart of Chang'an and then unwinding from the journey was a popular part of the escort schedule. As he usually did, Jong Yuseop intended to follow that same schedule this time.
After all, this was the heart of Chang'an.
Bandits couldn't possibly run rampant here and lay a hand on Zhongnan Sect property.
"Oh dear, of course, Great Hero. There's a brothel that recently got some very lovely young ladies, and I've reserved a room there especially. Hehe...."
The men working in Chang'an naturally thought the same.
"Today is my first day of rest after taking on this duty, so I'd like to get moderately drunk."
Jong Yuseop said this, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, Hong Ye's face flickered through his mind.
*********
"What's the fun in going to a brothel?"
Chang'an had many tall buildings, yet people, drunk on the splendor of the streets, never looked up at the sky.
I ducked beneath a wide eave and muttered as I watched the bastards leave the carts and head for the brothel.
Sannyeo tilted her head at my words and asked back.
"What? It's surprising that you hate brothels."
From a modern person's sensibilities, a brothel was a place you couldn't like even if you tried.
It cost a fortune, and all you could do there was grope pretty women's breasts, appreciate classical dances, and appreciate classical music.
What's more, if you went to a brothel with any kind of reputation, a ridiculous farce would unfold where I'd end up having to humor the courtesans instead. There was no pastime as unwholesome as that.
'It's unwholesome.'
"....?"
A look of utter incomprehension rose on Sannyeo's face. She tilted her head, furrowed her brow, then nodded again and changed the subject.
"So, how are you planning to ruin things? If you try to steal them, there'll be hell to pay."
"I heard that the goods those bastards brought this time are jewelry from the Western Regions and high-grade silk."
I turned my gaze toward the warehouse where the carts were heading. Martial artists stood guard, and patrols moved inside. However, the martial artists were barely second-rate at best, and the soldiers had only just learned the rudiments of martial arts.
At this level, sensing my Dark Moon Step was impossible. I pointed to the lamps lining the street and said.
"I'm going to set a fire. At the warehouse."
The people in charge were all elsewhere, and the warehouse holding the valuables was not frequently visited. By the time they sensed something wrong and opened the warehouse door, the silk would already be half burned, and the singed jewelry would no longer be fit to give as gifts.
Sannyeo smiled, perhaps imagining the sight of the warehouse blazing up.
"Not bad. As long as you don't get caught, it's hard to place blame. But if you do get caught, it'll get troublesome."
"That's why I need your help."
I could infiltrate using the Dark Moon Step, but with Sannyeo, a superior master, here, I didn't need to go that far. The less chance of being detected, the better, and no trace of an outsider's intrusion must be found. For this kind of operation, the surest method was the right one.
Even while we talked, the goods were being moved piece by piece into the warehouse. The rich man they were meeting this time must be truly important, given the considerable amount of silk packed into boxes.
"Now, lock the door once everything is loaded! Make sure no one approaches for the rest of the day!"
"Yes!"
With those booming voices, the carts grew distant, but the warehouse remained standing, holding the silk inside. The only windows were vent-sized openings with bars, and the door and walls looked thick.
Even as I turned my head this way and that, trying to grasp the interior structure, I could only glimpse the piled silk; there was no entry point to be seen. Even with third-rate guards, the warehouse was so sturdy and densely structured that stealing the goods easily would be impossible.
Was the reason Jong Yuseop confidently entered the brothel because he trusted the warehouse's durability?
Honestly, just looking at the warehouse made the idea of going in trusting only the Dark Moon Step feel daunting—especially with the premise of not getting caught. I looked at Sannyeo and asked.
"Can you do it?"
Sannyeo nodded.
"Of course. I'm not sure if it were a completely empty space, but with a wooden building at this distance, setting a fire is nothing. Wait a moment...."
Then she suddenly vanished into the middle of the marketplace, only to reappear on the rooftop, leaving a black afterimage behind. In her fingers, empty moments before, she now held a needle and a scrap of paper. A faint smell of oil wafted from the paper.
She looked at the needle in her hand with a very proud expression and said.
"Watch this. Watch closely."
First, she skewered the small wad of paper onto the tip of the needle. Then, gripping the needle between her thumb and forefinger, she began rubbing them together at a ferocious speed, like a primitive man starting a fire. Her fingers moved so fast they left a blurry afterimage, generating a light breeze, and the sound of flesh rubbing was louder than expected, echoing like a wild beast tearing through grass.
"Oh, ohhh...!"
Then, from the friction point, the needle began to glow red. At first, only the part touching her fingers turned red, then gradually the entire tip glowed red. And finally, at the very moment the heat reached the end of the needle, smoke and a flame bloomed from the paper.
Sannyeo fixed her gaze through the bars and flicked her finger. A hazy red streak seemed to trail the needle, but I couldn't follow its path.
I listened for a moment but heard nothing. As I turned my head, trying to check the result, Sannyeo grabbed my head with both hands and adjusted the angle for me.
"Look over there."
"Oh...."
A small wisp of smoke was rising from the silk. What at first looked like a heat haze gradually began to give off a yellow glow, then grew little by little into red flames. Sannyeo was looking down at me with an expression of superiority.
I reached my hand into the air and said.
"...I thought you'd use something like that True Samadhi Fire."
"At this distance?"
At her question, I checked the distance between the warehouse and us again.
It was true, I was in the wrong.
Even while we were talking, the fire was growing larger. The flames, having already devoured one piece of silk, were slowly, steadily burning through the silks piled beneath it.
"Now, let's head to the manor. We have other groundwork to lay."
That Jong Yuseop at the brothel wouldn't be able to spare a thought for the manor anyway.
*******
"Euuuheheheheung...! H-Hong Ye...! I...! I...! I tried so hard to treat you well...! Euuheeeeeung...! Was I, was I that worthless? Huh...! Euuheeeeeung...!"
Jong Yuseop's party at the brothel exchanged bewildered glances, gauging each other's reactions. After all, Jong Yuseop, who had said he'd drink moderately, had downed one cup and then another and was now binge-drinking and wailing. The courtesans rolled their eyes, at a complete loss, while the men from Chang'an tried to soothe Jong Yuseop and salvage the mood.
"Aigoo! Great Hero! Why are you so downcast on such a fine day? Instead of this, the courtesans here play music incredibly well—why not listen to that and soothe your spirits... Hey! Hey! What are you doing! Play something, quickly!"
At the man's gesture, the courtesans began playing their instruments. It was a cheerful song meant to lift his spirits. The man said with a smile.
"Aigoo, you've just taken on a new duty today, so why so glum? That's no way to be at a drinking party! Come, come, pull yourself together!"
"Keuheup...! Heueup...! Keung...!"
Jong Yuseop sniffed back his tears and nodded. He had a point. He'd barely arrived in Chang'an to make a fresh start; it wouldn't do to keep clinging to the past.
The man from Chang'an joined in with the courtesans' song and said to Jong Yuseop.
"Come now, you shouldn't stay like this! Think of it this way! Only good things will happen from now on! Everything will work out well! From now on...!"
The sound of running footsteps echoed down the brothel hallway. Jong Yuseop, who had been listening to the man's words, shifted his gaze. The door burst open, and a martial artist drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, came crashing in. The man's face twisted with displeasure.
"For crying out loud, I'd just barely set the mood.... What is it!"
Ignoring the man's roar of anger, the martial artist knelt down and stammered.
"Th-The, the, the warehouse is on fire!"
The music stopped.
Not a single person moved.