Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Return Journey (1)
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Yang Chan, covered head to toe in dust, stared at the market street ravaged by the earthquake and found himself speechless.
‘Just what in the world is…….’
He had been sleeping until late morning when he suddenly felt the tremors and rushed outside. If he had been even a little slower, he might have been buried alive.
The market street was a vision of pure hell.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Aaah!”
People staggering about caked in dirt, others pinned under rubble wailing for someone to save them, families clawing desperately at the debris with bare hands in search of loved ones they couldn’t reach……
If hell existed anywhere, this was it.
“Help! Someone’s buried here!”
“Please, help us!”
Cries for aid burst out from every direction.
Yang Chan started to step forward to lend a hand but froze. The villagers flashed through his mind.
Bang!
Kicking off the ground, Yang Chan bolted away like a madman. The horrifying destruction of the city and the traces of the massive landslide he passed only fueled his growing dread.
‘Please…….’
Pa pa pat!
After scaling a mountain and crossing a river, Jukchon Village came into view far ahead.
How much farther did he run? The mountain to the left of the village had vanished as if sliced clean off by a blade. A landslide.
‘No!’
Though his breath burned at his throat and his lungs felt ready to burst, Yang Chan pushed on with everything he had. Finally reaching the village outskirts, he collapsed to the ground right there.
The site where the village had stood was buried under mounds of earth and rock. The landslide had been so enormous it had completely blocked off a stream several spans wide.
Brrr……
He wanted to rise and charge ahead, but it felt like his entire body had gone numb—he couldn’t even twitch a finger.
Whiiiing!
Dust whipped up by the wind swept over him, staining his body yellow.
Yang Chan simply hung his head.
* * *
Yi Hwan and his group set off on the road home, struck by the harsh truth that life was utterly unpredictable.
Who could have foreseen a natural disaster derailing Jo Yun’s grand scheme?
Clop clop.
Yi Hwan traveled by carriage.
He had rented one to fully mend his internal injuries. The leftover funds he handed to the owner of the inn where they had stayed for several days.
From what he gathered, the man had taken over the inn on borrowed money just five months prior, only for this calamity to strike. With no extra hands, he had put his own son to work as a server, but the boy had been gravely injured while fleeing the quake.
Once he heard the tale, Yi Hwan couldn’t bring himself to turn away, even if they were subjects of an enemy kingdom.
“Huu…….”
Yi Hwan let out a long breath and settled into meditation.
The air inside the carriage grew scorching hot from the energy radiating from his body.
A considerable amount of time passed like that.
Completing his qi circulation and meditation, Yi Hwan exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
In that instant, a sharp glint filled his pupils before vanishing.
He first checked his dantian—the traces of his internal injuries had nearly faded away.
Tak!
Yi Hwan slid open the window.
His gaze immediately locked with Go Mi’s, who was riding alongside on horseback.
“How are you feeling now, my lord?”
“Fully recovered.”
“That’s a relief. Still, you should take it easy for a while.”
Hwa Ryeong suddenly poked her head in.
“You spent nearly half a day in qi circulation, and now your face has such a healthy glow.”
“Are you using the same perfume as the Empress?”
“Pardon? Oh, yes. I had some left from that gift she sent before. But why do you ask?”
“It reminds me of her. So either keep your distance or stop using it starting tomorrow.”
“……Understood.”
Hwa Ryeong tugged the reins and dropped back behind the carriage. Go Mi shot Yi Hwan a delicate frown.
Yi Hwan, who had been staring right at her, spoke up.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, my lord.”
Darkness was creeping in.
A city lay not far off, but Yi Hwan ordered them to pass it by.
Go Mi spoke.
“You should rest.”
“I’m fully recovered, so it’s fine.”
The journey continued. Before long, night had fallen, plunging everything into pitch blackness.
Feeling confined inside the carriage, Yi Hwan climbed up to the driver’s seat. Ju Tae, who had been there, naturally shifted to the carriage roof.
“It’s such a remote stretch—doubtful we’ll find anywhere to avoid the night dew.”
“If there’s none, we press on.”
“You’ll be all right?”
“Are you going to keep asking?”
“…….”
Clop clop.
The darkness slowed the carriage to a crawl. Yi Hwan’s thoughts turned to Jo Yun.
‘His face must be a sight right now.’
What must the man be feeling?
Despite his strained coffers, he had poured a fortune into that murim tournament, only for it to come to nothing. And the earthquake damage? It would demand staggering amounts of manpower and funds to repair.
He had eagerly claimed the throne for himself—so the full burden would fall squarely on his shoulders.
‘No need to worry about the Zhao Kingdom for a while. Which means now I just need to drive out the Empress?’
It was tragic to think of the Zhao people struck by disaster, but the thought of the Empress brought a profound sense of relief. Once back in Yeon, the war with her would resume.
With her strategic ally, Southwest King Jo Yun, thoroughly hamstrung, the Empress wouldn’t be able to weave any more plots relying on Zhao.
That left Yi Hwan and Crown Prince Yi So free to focus entirely on her.
Whiiiing!
The wind was picking up strength.
How much farther had they gone?
Something assaulted his nose.
“Doesn’t that smell like blood?”
“Indeed.”
The foul odor carried on the breeze was unmistakably the stench of fresh blood.
Even so, the carriage pressed on. After another fifty jang, Cheol Mu-ok yanked the reins, halting it. Several corpses lay sprawled in the middle of the road ahead.
“I’ll take a look.”
Ju Tae leaped straight from the roof toward the bodies. Go Mi dismounted and followed suit.
Cheol Mu-ok muttered.
“The blood stench is strong—must’ve died recently.”
Yi Hwan silently scanned the surroundings. The forest swayed eerily in the wind, exuding an ominous aura, but no hint of human presence anywhere.
A short while later, Ju Tae and Go Mi returned.
“Warriors from the Palace of Illusory Flowers!”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes. Their attire and accessories are unmistakable.”
To find the Empress’s warriors turned to corpses—shock rippled through the group.
‘Who’s gunning for the Empress?’
Yi Hwan’s first thought was Crown Prince Yi So. But he quickly dismissed it.
‘A man who clings so rigidly to the path of righteousness wouldn’t stoop to this.’
Yi Hwan issued orders to the group.
“Keep a sharp eye on the surroundings as we move.”
“Yes, my lord!”
They set off again.
Everyone scanned keenly. After another fifty-odd jang, more corpses appeared ahead. This time, Yi Hwan inspected them himself.
“This one doesn’t seem to be from the Palace of Illusory Flowers.”
Ju Tae had checked a body lying off to the side.
Two corpses in plain clothes.
Nearby, three from the Palace lay with their throats slit.
Go Mi’s face was grim.
“They would’ve picked the Palace’s strongest for this. To take them down means elite masters were at work.”
Yi Hwan agreed—which only deepened the mystery. Six Palace corpses discovered so far, against just two unknowns.
By all appearances, their attackers outmatched the Palace warriors.
“Recover their swords. Then we move.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Collecting the swords was for later identity checks.
High-level experts often engraved symbols of their sect or status on the scabbard or blade. It wasn’t universal, but worth having just in case.
Yi Hwan surveyed the area. His gaze sharpened on one spot. Far ahead, a carriage stood abandoned.
Pat!
Yi Hwan vaulted into the air at once.
Ju Tae and Go Mi hurriedly pursued, the others quick on their heels.
Moments later, Yi Hwan confirmed it: the Empress’s carriage. Horses believed to belong to her escorts were scattered about.
No bodies in sight, however.
‘With her temperament, she wouldn’t abandon her carriage even if it meant a detour. Which means the situation was dire…….’
Hwiririk!
Go Mi landed beside him, her eyes widening.
“It’s the Empress’s carriage!”
Yi Hwan nodded silently, staring ahead. A landslide? Dirt had piled up like a mountain, blocking the way completely.
“If they ditched the carriage and horses, they likely headed that way.”
Go Mi pointed east.
With the landslide, that was the only route left to the Yeon capital. Just then, Cheol Mu-ok and the others arrived with their own carriage.
“Unhitch the horses. We go on foot.”
“Understood.”
As Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae worked to free the horses, Hwa Ryeong slipped inside the Empress’s carriage.
“The seat’s still warm—they can’t have passed long ago.”
She soon let out a smirk.
“Must’ve been desperate. For that prissy bitch who can’t stand a speck of dirt on her soles to abandon her carriage…….”
“Anything you know about her escorts?”
“Well, the ones I told you about before would’ve come along, naturally. And that pet girl she dotes on…….”
“Who do you mean?”
“That bitch likes women. She’s got a bedwarmer who oversees all the Palace’s female warriors.”
“How does she stack up against you?”
“A few years back, I was stronger. Now? That girl’s probably got the edge. Whatever the bitch fed her, her internal energy is nothing to scoff at.”
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae approached then.
“Horses are all unhitched.”
Yi Hwan pointed east.
“Move out.”
* * *
“Filthy vermin.”
The Empress’s face twisted viciously.
One of her escort warriors was pinning a black-robed man to the ground, her sword buried deep in his back.
Shockingly, the dying man was grinning up at the Empress. That grated on her nerves like nothing else.
“Did the Crown Prince’s Palace send you?”
“Crazy whore…….”
Twitch.
“Why can’t you see that every soul in Yeon wants you dead? I’m one of them—and even as a vengeful ghost, I’ll hound you to the ends of the earth!”
Drip drip!
The blood pooling on the ground had already turned black. The fierce glare in his eyes was rapidly dimming.
“So this is how you want to play it?”
Bloodlust flared in the Empress’s eyes. A crimson mist detached from her hand and enveloped the man’s face.
“You’ll soon know pain no human could endure. Let’s see how long you last.”
“Kekeke. See you in hell, you crazy whore.”
“……!”
Puk!
Something burst inside the black-robed man’s mouth. His body convulsed once, then went limp.
“……He had a poison pill in his mouth!”
Brrr……
The Empress’s hands trembled faintly.
A female warrior standing at her side spoke up.
“We still haven’t confirmed the enemy numbers, Your Majesty. We must leave this place at once.”
“Wine!”
Another female warrior swiftly handed her a flask. Even in that moment, the Empress poured herself a cup and drank.
Crash!
She hurled the cup aside and rose.
The terrifying aura pouring from her entire body was pure demonic energy.
“My shoes are a mess. Infuriating.”
Glaring at her mud-caked footwear, she spat the words—then started walking north.
Roughly a hundred escorts trailed her, about half the number she had brought into Zhao.
Not all of the missing were dead. Some had been in the market during the quake and lost contact.
“Once we cross that mountain range, we can request aid from Zhao forces all the way to the border. Just a little longer, Your Majesty.”
“Fine. Now lead the way.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rumble.
Thunder rolled. Fat raindrops began to fall.
Shwaaa!