113. Beijing (1)
Beijing (1)
113. Beijing (1)
Beijing, also called Yanjing—the former capital of the state of Yan. In my true past life, I had known so little Chinese history that I had not even realized a state called Yan once existed. Yet from Jilin through Liaoning and Hebei to Beijing, I still had not left the old land of Yan. Beiping, Gongsun Zan's base during the Three Kingdoms period, had lain somewhere around here, so the Gongsun Clan had already withdrawn from Liaoning and established itself in Beijing. From the Jin dynasty through the present—and later through the Qing, the Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China—Beijing would remain China's capital. Its grandeur was overwhelming from the first glimpse.
"This is the land where His Majesty the Son of Heaven resides. So everyone, no rash actions, and absolutely no fighting recklessly, understood?"
Master spoke to us like a teacher chaperoning a school outing.
"Yes, Master."
When everyone answered in practiced unison, I deliberately put a little internal energy into my voice and answered thunderously.
Ever since a moment ago, countless people in Beijing had been startled by their beauty and had inched closer to our sides. I'd heard from Escort Captain Jeon that when an escort agency arrives in a town, they usually intimidate local troublemakers this way. We weren't escorts, but I figured this method wasn't bad either, so I gave it a try, and the effect was immediate. Since Beijing was full of martial artists coming and going, the moment they pegged us as high officials and martial artists, they immediately avoided entangling with us. But still, someone approached us.
—Master, old stories talk about intimidating people with killing intent through a single glance. How do you do that?—
—Threatening someone with killing intent is itself a form of martial art. A martial artist must not threaten commoners with martial arts. Besides, if someone can sense killing intent, that person is a martial artist, not a commoner.—
The Flame Emperor was subtly magnanimous, yet on this front, he was rigidly upright. This was a true orthodox-faction martial artist.
"My lord, welcome to Beijing. Are you of the Martial World? The ladies are so beautiful I can't tell whether you're martial artists or celestial maidens. How about one of these trinkets for such beautiful ladies? Doesn't it truly suit them well?"
I didn't know how to use killing intent, but when I scowled and refused all approaches, I turned away most people. For one thing, I was large-framed and looked like a lunatic who wore five swords at his waist. But in the end, one young woman stubbornly ignored that glare and approached us anyway.
"Oh my, how cute. That's a magnolia flower, isn't it?"
Jeong-hyang, caught completely by the woman's sales pitch, was captivated by a flower ornament carved from wood.
"Pretty, isn't it? I carved it myself from good wood. Beijing is the empire's capital, so prices are a bit high. But since you're my first customers, I'll let it go for two silver taels."
"Give me five."
Jeong-hyang pulled out the spending money I'd given her before and handed it to the woman. The merchant woman's face lit up with a bright gleam.
No, Senior Sister. You've just become a total sucker. Ten silver taels was what the Yeongsan Sect used to survive an entire spring on back then, and all we get is five measly wooden ornaments? At least if you're buying five, you should've asked her to cut you a deal.
Jeong-hyang smiled and attached the ornaments to herself and the other women. As far as I knew, this was the first time she'd ever spent money to buy an item. Well, we did have more than enough money, and seeing her face that bright made it hard to stop her.
"Wouldn't this carving suit this dashing martial artist gentleman here?"
Now, apparently not satisfied with just the women, she pulled another carving from her large sack.
A taiji symbol. Whether it was true merchant's instinct or mere coincidence, it was a carving that suited me perfectly as a Daoist.
"I'll buy that too."
"Oh my! Thank you, Celestial Maiden!"
Delighted, Jeong-hyang paid two more silver taels and fastened the taiji ornament to my waist herself. I didn't know about Beijing's cost of living, but in Jilin, five silver taels kept an entire family fed for a season. Having earned twelve silver taels, the woman didn't want to let go of her easy marks and stubbornly clung to us, saying she'd show us around Beijing.
"It's your first time in Beijing, isn't it? Strange sorts latch on easily, so may I be your guide? I'm a Beijing native, so I know all the delicious restaurants and wonderful sights inside and out."
Strange. I was certain we'd never met, but her face looked familiar, like I'd seen her somewhere before. I grew up at the Baek Clan Estate—hardly likely I'd have met a woman who wasn't a martial artist.
"Ah! I've got it! You want a guide fee, is that it? How much is the guiding fee?"
Jeong-hyang, who'd been learning the ways of the world, pieced together what she'd heard and now understood the woman's intent, cheerfully asking questions.
"I'll only take five silver taels. You've already made my whole day's sales, dear customers."
Excessive greed had crept in, but she didn't seem like a swindler. Well, she'd know that if she tried to scam martial artists, she couldn't handle the consequences. Rather than letting some half-witted men loiter around us, wouldn't it be better to hand her a few coins and entrust ourselves to her?
"Then let's put ourselves in your hands for once."
When I brought it up with Master, she, too, intimidated by Beijing's crowds and scale, nodded in agreement.
"Oh? A Jilin accent? You're from Jilin, Hero?"
She reacted the moment she heard my voice. I'd thought I'd gone through plenty of trouble learning standard Central Plains speech, but I supposed Jilin was so remote that people in Beijing could still pick up a hint of a dialect accent.
"Yes. I'm from Jilin."
"Oh my goodness! How delightful! I'm from Jilin too. Now isn't this an extraordinary connection?"
Honestly, she looked more delighted to have found a way to rope in some easy marks than happy to meet someone from her hometown. Then the memory finally surfaced. Among the women around this age who'd gone from Jilin to Beijing, one person came to mind.
"Would the young lady's name happen to be Do-hwa?"
"Huh? How did you know? Have you seen me before? I used to live at the Medicine Immortal Hall."
"It's me. Baek Eun-hyeok. Don't you remember?"
"Baek Eun-hyeok?! Baek Eun-hyeok of the Baek Clan Estate?"
"You really have changed so much. You've become a total Beijing local, haven't you?"
Do-hwa.
A girl who'd attended the martial training hall in our childhood. The training hall run by the Baek Clan Estate was almost at the level of a village school, so it was practically like a taekwondo studio. My father, who'd been deeply worried when I, carrying memories of my past life, accepted my mother's death too calmly and acted far too grown-up, had made me attend a training hall with children my own age. In Jilin, the eldest son of the Baek Clan Head was practically royalty, so most children my age didn't approach me, but at that low-level training hall, I'd ended up helping a girl who couldn't even keep up with the lessons, and we gradually grew close. But around age ten, Do-hwa's family—descendants of the Medicine Immortal, yet somehow having lost not only the legendary martial art, the Shennong Art, but even that grand knowledge of pharmacology in its entirety—ultimately abandoned the Medicine Immortal Hall and left for Beijing, and we never met again. I'd only heard word that Do-hwa had been married off to a merchant in Beijing.
"You're the one who's gotten huge yourself. Then are these people also from the Baek Clan Estate? Does the Baek Clan Estate accept female martial artists these days?"
Do-hwa asked, startled.
"No. I left the Baek Clan Estate and joined the Yeongsan Sect in Liaoning. This is our master, the Sect Leader of Yeongsan. And these four are all my senior sisters."
At my explanation, Do-hwa let out a puff of laughter. First, she bowed her head to greet Master and my senior sisters, then looked at me again and spoke.
"You entered a sect that late? Then are you the youngest now?"
"The youngest."
"Wow. The eldest son of the Baek Clan abandons the Baek Clan Estate and enters a sect as the youngest. The Central Plains really are the Central Plains, I guess. When I was in Jilin, I thought the Baek Clan Estate was truly the greatest under heaven, but you ended up going to a Central Plains sect after all too. So, having left the Baek Clan Estate and joined a new sect, you must be a lot stronger now?"
"Hm... Probably?"
"Perfect. Help me. I'm in serious trouble. My husband gambled and borrowed two hundred taels of silver from a place called Jeonchu Finance House. Now those bastards demand twenty taels every month in interest alone. When I went to the authorities, they said Jeonchu Finance House was a martial sect and refused to touch it. When I tried asking a martial sect for help, they said I'd have to bring taels of gold. Even the one place where I had connections was completely crushed by the Gongsun Clan not long ago, so I'm really losing my mind. I've scraped together a hundred and twenty taels of silver. Could you go talk to them, tell them to take this, and call the matter settled?"
Jeonchu Finance House? First I'd heard of it. Well, they were loan sharking gangster types, so it was only natural I wouldn't know them.
"Junior Brother. This is Beijing. Unnecessary trouble will be difficult here."
Lee Eun-ha spoke with a worried face.
"Still, there's no choice. Do-hwa is a descendant of the Medicine Immortal."
"What? Truly?"
Lee Eun-ha was utterly startled at the connection she'd never imagined. There was no choice. The Medicine Immortal hadn't asked this of me, but she was a spirit who'd genuinely done so much for our Yeongsan Sect. Besides, even though she always stayed silent and still, the Medicine Immortal was our final bastion in the face of decisive threats. Doing Do-hwa this favor was the least I owed the Medicine Immortal to save face. Moreover, this was something I could resolve cleanly without any bloodshed.
"Master. I'll go and resolve it quietly. If it looks like it'll get bothersome, I'll just settle it with money or call in Peng Gang or someone and settle it peacefully."
"I grant my permission. However, even after we've left here, you can conclude this neatly so that Yeongmok's friend won't face further hardship, yes?"
"Of course, Master."
At my words, color returned to Do-hwa's face. Seeing her smile like that, she'd grown up quite pretty.
"First, introduce us to a good inn. We'll eat a meal and go right away."
"An inn? Prices here are no joke. There aren't even that many of you, so just stay at my house."
"A newlywed home's uncomfortable. Our side's mostly women, so your husband would be uncomfortable too."
"Ah, I hadn't told you. I'm a widow. That man hung himself last month and died. When his parents were still alive, he was at least somewhat human, but after they passed, he turned into a complete wretch. The only man in my house is my son."
"A son? You even have a son?"
"Yes. He's unbelievably cute. He can't talk yet, but he still recognizes his mommy well."
Wow... It felt like meeting a female classmate at a reunion who'd married early.
"A baby? How old is he?"
Cho-ryeong reacted to the word "baby."
"Fifteen months."
"Ah... I want to see the baby..."
Cho-ryeong glanced furtively at Master.
"Isn't he a very young baby? And you said there's no one at home?"
When Master asked with a worried face, Do-hwa smiled and said,
"I left him with a close older sister of mine. My milk doesn't come in well, so I go begging for wet-nurse milk every day, and I asked her to watch the baby while I was at it. She's had free time lately too."
Grabbing Master's hand, Do-hwa strode briskly, guiding us to her house. Do-hwa's house wasn't on one of Beijing's great thoroughfares but in a cramped alley where the destitute lived. It was an impoverished alley that contrasted with the bustling streets, but fortunately, none among our Yeongsan Sect's members felt any aversion to it. Even the most ramshackle dwelling here was a proper manor compared to the old Yeongsan Sect.
All the same, it did have a small courtyard attached, and even the workshop and storehouse where she'd made those wood carvings earlier still stood. There, a woman in heavy makeup waited for Do-hwa, holding the baby.
"You're back already? Perfect. The Pavilion Mistress summoned me. But... are those people martial artists?"
The Pavilion Mistress. For a woman dressed like that to say such a thing, she was probably a courtesan. No matter how carefully a courtesan practiced contraception—even twenty-first-century condoms weren't one hundred percent effective—if she dealt with men every day, she'd eventually have an unwanted pregnancy. That was how Do-hwa could beg breast milk from her.
A faint trace of internal energy was perceptible from her. She'd recognized at a glance that we were martial artists and spoke to Do-hwa with a guarded expression.
"Yes, unni. They're from Yeongsan Sect. That man is Eun-hyeok of the Jilin Baek Clan Estate, the one I told you about. If the eldest son left even the Baek Clan Estate to join another sect, it must be an incredible place."
"Well, that's a relief then. But still, don't you dare do anything dangerous. You don't have only yourself to worry about anymore."
There was no way the Yeongsan Sect was an incredible place. The courtesan probably thought so. Working at a pleasure house in Beijing, she'd be thoroughly versed in the rumors of the Martial World, but she wouldn't know the name Yeongsan. She'd likely been off work recently, taking care of the baby, so she probably hadn't heard news of the Peng Clan either, but as a professional in the hospitality trade, she didn't let it show. She handed the baby to Do-hwa and hurried out of the house. She clearly knew all too well that getting entangled in martial artists' affairs was an extremely dangerous thing.
"Sect Leader. Do you know how to hold a baby?"
"Yes. When I first met our Ryeong, she was exactly this size."
"Then, I'll ask this favor for just a moment. I'll step out briefly with Eun-hyeok."
Do-hwa, too, was truly anything but ordinary; just as she'd pierced through my glare earlier and approached us, this time, she abruptly handed her own baby to Master, a stranger, and headed inside the house. Master held the baby with a nostalgic expression, and at that sight, Cho-ryeong, Jeong-hyang, and even Son Yeong all bumped their heads together as they peered down at the baby's face.
"I'll accompany Junior Brother."
When she heard Do-hwa was a descendant of the Medicine Immortal, Lee Eun-ha also seemed intent on helping Do-hwa by following us to wherever this Jeonchu Finance House was.
"It's all right, Senior Sister. I'm sufficient alone. Do-hwa seems to have had a very hard time, so just let her taste some of the Medicine Immortal's cooking or something."
"Indeed, that would be better, wouldn't it? My teacher says the same."
Overwhelming force only sparked needless friction. Besides, she was no brawler, so this time I alone was enough. Do-hwa, who'd gone inside and come back out flustered, searching for her coin purse, said goodbye to the baby with a gentle face and left the house with me.
Jeonchu Finance House. This time, let's truly finish it peacefully. Peacefully. Because the Yeongsan Sect wasn't some brawling faction that scorched the earth everywhere they went.