Sakju (4)

148. Sakju (4)

To be honest, I hadn't believed a word of it until we reached the inn. Jo Sa-eun was the classic unorthodox scum who'd lent Do-hwa money ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to turn her into a prostitute. To some degree, it had gone as I'd intended, but Yeongsan Sect now commanded considerable renown throughout the Central Plains' martial world. Thanks to that reputation, we could avoid nuisances like Jo Sa-eun and Jeonchu Finance House, but there was a downside to everything. Namely, there was no telling where some bastard claiming to be the master of the young Yeongsan Sect Leader might pop up.

But the moment we reached the inn and I saw Master clinging to her own master and sobbing like a child, I realized that my suspicions had been groundless.

"Master! Master!!"

My master couldn't even speak properly, wailing like a baby with tears and snot streaming down her face. The weakest among us, she had always led Yeongsan Sect like its mother, at times facing down giants of the martial world like the Murong Clan Head or the Peng Clan Head. Yet in her master's arms, she just wept and wept, more childlike than even Cho-ryeong. Grandmaster, flustered at first, held my master close and shed tears just as endlessly. The other senior sisters, watching the sight, found their own eyes growing damp for no reason.

"Master! Why are you here? What happened to Martial Granduncle?"

"Shanxi was my senior brother’s homeland. We remained near Yeongsan for several years after leaving the mountain, but his final wish was to die in his homeland, so we came here. He passed away one year after we reached Shanxi."

Patting my master gently on the back, Grandmaster spoke unhurriedly.

"Martial Granduncle passed away? Did something happen to him?"

"No. My senior brother was already past sixty when he left the mountain. He lived out his natural lifespan."

Grandmaster's daughter was roughly Cho-ryeong's age, even at a glance. Which meant Grandmaster had married a sixty-year-old geezer when she was around thirty. And then the bastard, having enjoyed a happy life, a wife, and even had a daughter, must have up and died. Damned irresponsible bastards.

"But you're the Sect Leader of Yeongsan? How could a female disciple become Sect Leader? What happened to the Head Disciple, your senior brother, and to his disciple?"

"A bloody calamity struck Yeongsan. Every Daoist of Yeongsan went out to subjugate the unorthodox faction and were struck down in turn. Only I and the female disciples remained, so I had no choice but to take over as Sect Leader."

"Yeong-ok, you've endured so much."

Grandmaster clasped my master's hand and shed fresh tears. That gentle manner suited the fact that she was my master's master remarkably well.

"Then that Daoist who rescued me? Is that such a stupendous master truly my grand-disciple?"

"Yes. That's right. Yeongmok is truly the benefactor who saved Yeongsan on the verge of collapse, the one who delivered us from Heuk Cheon-gyeon, and Yeongsan Sect's proudest disciple."

At my master's proud expression, Grandmaster looked startled.

"Yeong-ok! To address the Daoist by his given name! No matter how flustered you were when you accepted the Daoist as your disciple, a female disciple of Yeongsan Sect must never forget her proper station!"

"Master. Yeongsan Sect has already changed. I'll tell you that story later."

My master addressed Grandmaster with a gentle but undeniable charisma. Confronted with a light in her former disciple's eyes that she'd never seen before, Grandmaster faltered and nodded.

"Very well. I am a disciple who has already left the mountain. If you, the Sect Leader, say so, I can no longer interfere. Even so, Yeong-ok. No matter how much Yeongsan Sect has changed, you are a woman, and your grand-disciple is a man. It is the law of heaven that a woman follows a man."

Grandmaster spoke with gentle warmth from convictions of male superiority and female inferiority far more entrenched than my master's. Though she was middle-aged, Grandmaster was no different from a grandmother. She seemed like a good person, but she was just as old-fashioned and unyielding as any grandmother.

"Please don't worry about that. Yeongsan Sect may have changed, but the fact that I am a woman hasn't changed in the slightest."

At my master's words, Grandmaster relaxed a little. Just then, Jeong-hyang approached Grandmaster, took her hand, and spoke.

"Grandmaster. Do you remember me? I'm Jeong-hyang, the first disciple your own disciple took, who greeted you as a child."

"Good heavens! I knew you'd grow into a beauty from the time you were small, but I never dreamed you'd turn out so lovely. Hyang, do you remember me?"

"Yes. When I followed Master down to the village as a little girl, you always gave me good things to eat."

The two of them sank into distant memories. Suddenly, Grandmaster's gaze passed over them, landed on Cho-ryeong, and she gave a start.

"Don't tell me you're Ryeong?"

"Y... yes. Grandmaster. It's Cho-ryeong."

Cho-ryeong answered hesitantly. Grandmaster pulled Cho-ryeong into a hug, her face alight with joy.

"We were separated when you were far too young, so you wouldn't remember me, would you? You came to Yeongsan Sect right after I'd left the mountain and were nursed on my milk while I lived in the village."

With a loving expression, Grandmaster stroked Cho-ryeong's hair and spoke warmly. But I'd never stopped to consider that raising an infant like Cho-ryeong at Yeongsan Sect obviously required breastmilk. In a sect where female disciples lived as maidens until they left the mountain, caring for a baby meant begging someone to wet-nurse it. Grandmaster, who'd lived in the village just below, must have been the perfect candidate. Now that I thought about it, Grandmaster's daughter, that girl they called Miss Yu, was around the same age as Cho-ryeong. Most likely, Grandmaster had given birth to her daughter and then nursed Cho-ryeong. Then, when Grandmaster had left for Shanxi, Cho-ryeong must have cried for her lost milk, and Jeong-hyang, who'd just entered the sect, must have offered her own milk as a last resort.

"You've truly grown so much. It feels like just yesterday I was nursing our So-wol on one side and our Ryeong on the other, and now both of you are all grown up..."

Grandmaster was lost in distant memories. Cho-ryeong held Grandmaster tight and said to her,

"I grew up an orphan. Master truly cherished me and raised me with great care, but you were the one who had been like a mother to me, were you not?"

Cho-ryeong truly was a good-hearted child. She hadn't even lived a happy life, yet all she wanted was to grow up quickly and become an adult so she could be of help to everyone. Underneath that kindness, though, lurked a vague, unconscious belief that since she was an orphan, she mustn't ever become a burden to grown-ups. At the revelation that the person before her—Grandmaster—had once nursed her, Cho-ryeong suddenly felt as though she'd found her mother in her.

"Of course. Of course I was. I was the one who gave you your name, too. I am Ryeong's mother, and So-wol is no different from a sister to Ryeong, having been nursed on the same milk."

Grandmaster was kind and wise. Seeing her, I understood how my master, who'd lived through Yeongsan Sect's wretched days, could have turned out so gentle. The hidden meaning behind Cho-ryeong's sudden words was her longing for a family, since she had none. Grandmaster had picked up on that feeling and offered to become her family. While they held each other with deep affection and reminisced about the past, Jo Sa-eun slipped over to me and spoke.

"Reverend. Don't you have something to ask me?"

"Plenty. First, give me the gist of what happened."

"To begin with, after meeting you, Reverend, I was expelled from Jeonchu Finance House."

"Why? You handled me very smoothly, didn't you? If not for you, Jeonchu Finance House would have been annihilated right then and there."

"Jeonchu Finance House had been humiliated, so to continue existing as a black-market outfit that commanded fear, it needed a scapegoat. Even though dragging Madam Do into it hadn't been my doing, I was forced to shoulder all the blame and was kicked out."

What stupid bastards. Character aside, this woman was remarkably capable. Her martial arts, for a third-rate sect, were at a passable level, and a person in a chief administrator's position was an extremely valuable asset to begin with. Word of the Yeongsan Sect and Peng Clan affair had spread to some degree, but since the Peng Clan had clamped down on loose talk, it was high-grade intelligence that only an information outfit like the Beggars' Sect or Red Flower Pavilion—or perhaps the Gongsun Clan, a major sect right on Seungdeok's doorstep—could have acquired. For a woman belonging to a mere loan-sharking outfit like Jeonchu Finance House to have obtained such rumors so quickly and acted on the intelligence, she was on par with the likes of Ban Ho-jeong or Lee Yeon—highly exceptional.

"Once I was driven out of Jeonchu Finance House and could no longer stay in Beijing, I went to the Great Sun Association in Shanxi. The Great Sun Association had been building momentum and recruiting heavily. A foreigner who'd been chased out, I was assigned, never mind simple bookkeeping, jobs like being a prostitute to satisfy the martial artists' carnal appetites. I had to offer my body to the warriors, and I had to teach the captured prisoners the same work. That's where I met Miss Yu."

Jo Sa-eun spoke calmly. The fate of an unorthodox woman who'd lost a sect's protection was, as expected, truly wretched.

"While I was assigned to Miss Yu, we talked a great deal. I learned that her mother, Madam Seong, was originally from Yeongsan Sect. She said her mother would be worried and asked me to get a letter to Madam Seong. Having joined Jidong Sect, a minor sect in Shanxi, Miss Yu knew nothing about Yeongsan Sect and told me about it, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment I heard the name Yeongsan Sect, I went straight to find Madam Seong. And just as I'd thought, Madam Seong, too, was unaware of the present-day Yeongsan Sect, but I confirmed she was unquestionably the Yeongsan Sect Leader’s master. So I smuggled Miss Yu out and fled together with Madam Seong."

"Why did you help Grandmaster? Spiriting away a Great Sun Association prisoner means literally staking your life, doesn't it? You did nearly die in actual fact. Given my position as someone who received your aid, this isn't my place to say, but you don't strike me as the type of martial hero who acts out of loyalty and righteousness."

Jo Sa-eun gave a short laugh. My admission that I owed her a debt eased much of her fear of me, and she began to explain.

"A very natural remark. I still think staking your life on loyalty or righteousness is foolish. Still, I was a woman who'd risen as high as chief steward. I couldn't spend the rest of my life as a prostitute at the Great Sun Association. Right now, I'm worth bedding, but it's obvious that as the years pass, I'll be tossed aside like some washed-up whore.

"To me, Madam Seong was a chance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to change my entire life. I still haven't grasped your true intentions at all, Reverend, but I thought that if the Sect Leader was anything like the rumors, she wouldn't easily cast me aside after I'd saved her master."

She spoke with a confident smile. Seeing her display her honest desires put me far more at ease. If that woman had mouthed words like righteousness, loyalty, or compassion, I could never have trusted her.

"For now, I fled here to Sakju and hid in Hao Sect Alley. I figured that if it was the Hao Sect, which deals in information, they'd recognize Madam Seong's value and would definitely help us. Even the Hao Sect can't clash head-on with the Great Sun Association, but I'd thought they'd send us on to Hebei one way or another. After all, the escape would be a success so long as we made it to Seungdeok Manor in Hebei."

She was a capable talent from the unorthodox faction, slightly reminiscent of Ban Ho-jeong. It had looked like a reckless plan and had in fact come close to failing, but she'd still mapped out a scheme for the future. The perceptiveness to grasp Grandmaster's value, and the boldness to stake her life on carrying out a decision once it was made. The Great Sun Association's insane momentum had exceeded both her expectations and those of the entire martial world—no one had imagined it would even attack the Hao Sect, another of the Ten Great Evil Factions—so her escape had nearly ended in failure. In the end, though, her plan had succeeded, and it had borne fruit here.

"The fact that Madam Seong is the Yeongsan Sect Leader’s master had to be kept an absolute secret, not just from the Great Sun Association, but even from Madam Seong and Miss Yu themselves. If the Great Sun Association had learned of Madam Seong's value, there's no way they'd have let go of Miss Yu so easily."

That was the reason she'd hidden the connection to Yeongsan Sect from Grandmaster and Miss Yu right up to the end. Clever. If that crucial fact had truly gotten out to the Great Sun Association, it would have become a real headache.

"Hah. Understood. First, let me offer my thanks. You'll have something you want, I imagine? Name it. I'll grant just about anything within reason."

Her eyes lit up at those words. She spoke as though she'd been waiting for the chance.

"I'll tell you everything straight. If you think it's too much, Reverend, please refuse. First, I need protection. I can no longer survive in Shanxi, nor anywhere in the unorthodox faction. I'm a traitor to the unorthodox, after all. Could you place me in White Tiger Sect, which is under Yeongsan's jurisdiction?"

"White Tiger Sect? That doesn't seem to be a problem, but are you sure that's what you want? Seungdeok Manor is a branch of a prestigious family, so it must be overflowing with money, honor, and martial arts."

"Those orthodox bast... ah, no. Orthodox martial artists frighten me a little. White Tiger Sect is of unorthodox origin."

Jo Sa-eun waved her hands in refusal at the suggestion that I could set her up at Seungdeok Manor. It made sense. To the dregs of the unorthodox faction, the Hebei Peng Clan, being close to Beijing, must seem little different from terror itself. Even Byeok-geum had been dumbfounded by Peng Gang's politeness.

"What about Red Flower Pavilion, then? Those women are fellow unorthodox ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠members from Beijing—wouldn't that be far more comfortable? They're truly rolling in money, so living there would be a lot easier."

"To be honest, with a face like mine, I could just barely make the cut for Red Flower Pavilion. But in the end, that place is a brothel. No matter how decent-looking a woman is, if she doesn't make it big as a courtesan, she ends up stuck at rock bottom. Compared to that, White Tiger Sect might have martial muscle, but at the end of the day, it's full of simple country men. If I just get on Deputy Sect Leader Ban Ho-jeong's good side, I'll be treated well and be able to get by nicely there."

She'd already thought her compensation through in detail. As I listened, I realized there was considerable sense in what she said. And Jo Sa-eun would likely prove a capable subordinate for Ban Ho-jeong, who was fighting an uphill battle trying to lead those blockheads.

"All right. What else?"

"You're free to ignore this one... You do have the Medicine Immortal residing at Yeongsan Sect. I've scraped by in this business my whole life, but I've never even glimpsed a spirit pill. I'm fine with even the absolute lowest grade—could I receive a spirit pill, too, just once?"

Unlike before, she spoke hesitantly, gauging my reaction. Lee Eun-ha, who'd been listening from a short distance away, took a pouch from inside her robes and handed it to Jo Sa-eun. It was a spirit pill she'd made while passing the time when we'd been stuck at the rented manor for ten days due to the Spring Festival and heavy snow. Still, since it was a spirit pill that supposedly held about five years' worth of internal energy accumulation, it was at least a low-grade pill. And six whole pills at that. If she absorbed them all, she'd probably be able to gain a good ten years' worth of internal energy.

Jo Sa-eun dropped to her knees on the inn floor and accepted the pouch reverently with both hands, as if receiving an emperor's bestowal. On her face rested a happiness as though she'd just gained everything in the world.