Every Meeting Ends in a Farewell
Where there is a meeting, a parting is bound to follow.
It had been four days since we crossed paths with the assassins sent by the Kim Clan of Sacheon. By now, Kim Shin would surely have discovered their bodies.
It's a shame I won't get to see him flying into a rage.
That man was certain to fly off the handle, smashing and hurling whatever came within reach, throwing a spectacular tantrum he couldn't contain.
What did worry me a little was the possibility that Kim Yeonju, who had helped me, might suffer for it under Kim Shin's stubborn fury.
Not that I could have just rolled over and taken it for her sake.
Had I sent the assassins back unharmed, they would simply have drained yet another innocent village dry. That was precisely why I'd had to leave a warning carved in blood.
Even so, I can't promise anything.
I felt I had done what I could. As for the rest, I trusted Kim Yeonju to handle herself well enough — she'd surely learned something from that whole affair too.
"It's far too quiet out here, Sogaju-nim."
Ansong, walking along with his eyes on the map, remarked that something felt off.
"What do you mean?"
"The bandits. Forgive me for saying it, but the way we look right now practically begs to be robbed."
He had a point — everyone in the party, myself included, was dressed in fine silk. And with only three of us instead of a column of a dozen or more, we must have looked like a delectable morsel to any bandit with eyes.
Which made it all the stranger that we hadn't crossed paths with a single one of them this entire time.
"Either we're riding a wave of extraordinary luck, or something has happened back home. Usually, it's the latter."
Something had to be going on. We'd know the full picture once we reached the estate — though, then again, it might turn out to be nothing at all.
With work piling up the moment I set foot back home, I found myself quickening my pace. At this speed, we would reach the clan by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.
And that meant it was time to part ways with Seonhwa.
While my steps grew faster, hers had been slowing by degrees. In the end, I slackened my stride to match hers.
"Seonhwa?"
"Could we... walk a little slower?"
She said it quietly, her face clouded over.
"Why? Are you feeling ill somewhere?"
"No, I'm just a little tired. A short rest will fix it, so please don't worry."
Even as she said it, Seonhwa wore a bitter smile that was hard to describe.
Had I been so caught up in her martial training that I'd failed to spare her any consideration? For a girl not yet grown, this journey must have been an ordeal.
Just as she suggested, we decided to rest for a while, making our way to a spot shaded by a conspicuously large tree. We dumped our packs carelessly on the ground, and as I leaned back against the trunk, a cool breeze swept over my body.
"It almost feels like we're on a journey."
Seonhwa's eyes had gone soft, wistful with sentiment.
"Now that you mention it, I suppose it does have that feel to it."
Ansong, apparently swept up in the mood himself, chimed in as he gazed blankly up at the clear sky.
A journey. I'd heard the word often enough, but this was my first taste of it. Then again, I wasn't entirely sure this counted as one.
Still, I found myself looking up at the sky alongside the two of them. Not a wisp of cloud marred its flawless blue.
But as I sat there staring dumbly upward, I realized that if this went on, I'd never pry myself off the ground. I badgered the two of them — still basking in their sentimentality and refusing to move — until we were all back on our feet.
Rest could wait until we reached the estate; there was no sleeping in with less than a day's distance left to cover.
Yet even after the break, our pace never recovered. The reason was simple: Seonhwa's steps had returned to exactly the same sluggish tempo as before.
Could it be.
Having guessed the reason, I drew closer to her.
"Don't tell me you're doing this on purpose?"
"......I'm sorry. I promised myself I wouldn't."
Caught out, Seonhwa hung her head low.
Hmm.
From Dansewon to the Kim Clan's estate, and from Yushin Village all the way to now — the memory of her dragging her feet at every stage, desperate to delay our arrival even a little, surfaced one after another, and my heart grew heavy with it.
These past four years must have been unforgettable for her. It was the first time in her whole life she'd set foot beyond her village. No wonder she wanted to stay together.
If circumstances allowed, I would have loved nothing more than to bring her into the clan myself — so how much harder must it be for a child like Seonhwa?
Swish.
Before I knew what I was doing, prompted by that pang of sympathy, my hand had come to rest gently on her hair. And then Seonhwa, who had been so quiet, suddenly spoke.
"We'll... see each other again, won't we?"
"Of course we will."
The words left me without a moment's hesitation, as though I'd been keeping them stored in my throat all along.
At my answer, the shadow lifted from Seonhwa's face, and her expression brightened. Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I even caught the faintest trace of a smile.
"Then that's enough for me. I won't act up anymore. After all, I'm all grown up now."
With those words, Seonhwa strode boldly ahead to take the lead. However delicate she might look at a glance, she was a stronger girl than she appeared.
Ansong, watching her go with a warm expression, quickened his own pace so as not to fall behind.
About half a shijin later, we had all but arrived at Seonhwa's village.
Her face darkened again — a far cry from how briskly she'd been walking just moments before — but this time she didn't slow her steps, pressing straight on toward the village entrance.
This should do, I figured.
"This is where we part ways."
"......"
Seonhwa's feet, which had carried on without a single stop, halted dead at those words.
Step, step.
I walked over to her, drew the sword from my coat, and held it out before her.
"Take it."
"This is..."
It was the sword — or what remained of it — from the battle with the assassins, reduced to nothing but the hilt.
"If anything dangerous ever happens, bring this and come find me. Show it, and they'll let you in."
Seonhwa accepted the hilt with both hands, and her face broke into a radiant smile. I suspected it was the brightest I had ever seen from her.
"Thank you, Mujin-nim."
"Don't mention it."
With our brief farewells exchanged, Seonhwa turned back toward the village. I watched her retreating figure for a long moment before finally turning away myself.
"Are you sure about this?"
Ansong, who had watched Seonhwa's departure alongside me, asked.
"Well. Where there's a meeting, there's a parting, isn't there? It's all~ just the natural way of things."
It wasn't as though I'd never see her again — I'd drop by whenever I could spare the time. So yes, I was fine with it.
At that, Ansong shook his head as if to say that wasn't what he meant.
"Rather — we've lost quite a lot of time since Yushin Village, Sogaju-nim. Forgive me, but I fear the consequences."
"Huh?"
"Yes?"
What on earth was this boy going on about? Consequences? What could there possibly be to fear? Besides, I'd already told them I'd be in closed-door cultivation for four years, so being a few days late hardly seemed like—
"Young Lady Seolha, Young Lady Ran, and Maid Nari departed the estate to come see you, Sogaju-nim — that's what the letter said, isn't it?"
"Oh."
Damn it. Right.
"It's been over seven days since that letter arrived, so they may well have already left the est—"
FWOOSH!
Before Ansong could even finish his sentence, I wrung out every last drop of my internal energy and unleashed the Shadow Weaving Art.
"Sogaju-nim?!"
"I'm going on ahead!"
How could I have forgotten that? If I'd indulged Seonhwa's sulking for a few more days, it would have been a disaster.
Commending my past self's foresight, I shot forward at full speed, and before long the gates of Gaegyeong came into view. I flashed my insignia at the guards and slipped inside, where the bustling market streets greeted me just as they had four years ago.
Sightseeing could wait.
Engaging my lightness technique once more, I tore off toward Baekundae. Once I conquered that ridge looming in the distance, the Wang Clan estate would be right there.
Just as Ansong had warned, dread of the consequences was creeping over me. After all, Wang Inho himself had pressed me to hurry home. That said plenty.
I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen once I set foot inside the estate.
Trouble from the very start, huh.
All I could do was pray that those three women were still at the estate.
"Eunmun Sangguk. Word arrives that the Young Lord of the Wang Clan has returned to Gaegyeong."
As ever, Yi Munseong, Director of the Chancellery, had come calling at Choe Chunghon's private villa — the Shibi-gak.
"I see."
Even at the news that Mujin — the man who had outmaneuvered him politically — had returned, Choe Chunghon merely nodded.
Ever since Mujin had foiled Wang Yeong's deposition and turned the court against him, Choe Chunghon had kept his doors shut to the world. However he turned the problem over in his mind, the King's support was already near-absolute. He could have resolved it with force, of course, but the aftermath would have been beyond bearing.
In the end, the only things Choe Chunghon had done across those four years were keep his body honed so his skills wouldn't rust, and keep a wary eye on Heungwangsa Temple. The Wang and Shin Clans joining hands against him was irritation enough, but the temple had been a festering wound within his own walls.
Because King Taejo Wang Geon had made Buddhism the state religion, the monks had grown powerful — far too powerful. It said everything that they were spoken of as a match for the Six Great Clans.
It had been those very monks who, years ago, backed Wang Yeong in an attempt on Choe Chunghon's life. Utterly insufferable. The plot had failed, but the memory of it remained, by Choe Chunghon's own reckoning, the most humiliating of his life — alongside the matter of Wang Yeong's failed deposition.
Who would have thought that before he could even trade out his teacup, his enemies would have multiplied to four? Wang Yeong and Heungwangsa within, the Wang Clan and the Shin Clan without. It was irony itself.
"Heh heh. Things are about to get busy again."
His own lifespan was running short now. The fading strength in his innate true energy told him as much, day by day.
"I confess I still wonder whether drawing the bandits into your service was wise, Eunmun Sangguk."
"You'll recall that most of them are deserters. Promise them a pardon from execution, and they'll fight for their lives with everything they have."
"That is true, but..."
For once, Yi Munseong let his words trail off. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with unleashing bandits against their enemies. It was simply that these men had betrayed an army once before, and that fact galled him.
"Worry yourself not about betrayal. I have already made the necessary arrangements."
"Yes. Eunmun Sangguk."
Before his time ran out, he intended to flip this entire board on its head.
Go on, then. Let's see you try to stop me.