Lady Yeon (1)
Zhuling.
Did the name mean bamboo standing like a tomb, or a tomb that embraced the bamboo?
“They named this village well.”
One of the subordinates who had followed me glanced around nervously and spoke up.
“There really are a lot of bamboo here, Boss. Heh heh… The path is practically carved straight through the middle of it.”
I didn’t bother replying.
A small village tucked into a valley at the northern edge of Mount Tai. The roads were narrow and winding, and most of the houses had earthen walls and thatched roofs.
There weren’t many people.
Only a handful of old folks remained, silently watching us from beneath the shade of the trees.
“This place… really is just the ones who survived.”
That was what a sweep by the Yellow Turbans usually left behind.
The young ones were either dead or scattered. Only those not worth killing remained, clinging to the ruins and desperately searching for a way to live.
I glanced back at one of my men.
“The old estate?”
“It’s up on that hill. If you follow the path to the right and climb, you’ll see it right away.”
A hill. And an old estate.
I narrowed my eyes and gave a small nod.
“The rest of you wait at the village entrance. Yu Byeok, you come with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
We slowly made our way up the hill.
Once we reached the steep incline, a glimpse of black-tiled roofing appeared beyond a weathered wall directly ahead.
“…This is it.”
Yu Byeok’s feet stopped before he even finished speaking.
A shabby but sturdy old estate. It was old, yet showed no signs of collapse. The walls were covered in moss and cracked in places, but the main gate still held a faint sheen of polish. The surrounding plants had been carefully tended.
“Someone’s been maintaining this place.”
To a bandit’s eyes, the house felt strange.
It wasn’t abandoned. Yet it didn’t carry the liveliness of a bustling household either.
It was exactly the kind of space where one person quietly maintained and lived alone.
“There are footprints in front of the gate. They look fresh… like someone was here just moments ago.”
At Yu Byeok’s low whisper, I stepped forward silently and stopped before the gate.
I didn’t knock.
Instead, I reached out and gave the door a light thump.
Thump.
The inside remained deathly silent.
No birds. No dogs barking.
I pondered for a moment, then took a step back from the gate.
And spoke plainly.
“Hey.”
A brief silence followed.
“I’m Jang Yeon. The man who’s taken control of the southern roads of Mount Tai.”
No answer came.
I turned my head slightly toward Yu Byeok.
“You sure there’s someone inside?”
“There should be. The scout said he saw someone go in and close the gate.”
I furrowed my brow.
This level of silence was new.
A bandit had come right to her gate, announced his name, and introduced himself—yet not a single word in response?
“…Fine. Let’s pull back for now.”
I had no intention of forcing the door open. It wasn’t time for that yet.
That was when it hit me.
Target Detected
▶ A conquerable individual is nearby.
I narrowed my eyes.
Yeah… whether that door opens or not, you’re already in my sights now.
I lightly tapped my scabbard once, then turned to Yu Byeok.
“We’re pulling out. For now—”
“Understood, Boss.”
As our footsteps faded, only the wind remained, blowing through the silent village.
The moon had risen.
Moonlight spilled between faint clouds, and Zhuling greeted the dead of night.
I was alone.
I carried no weapons. I had tossed my sword to Yu Byeok before leaving.
A single coil of rope hung at my waist as I quietly climbed the hill path once more.
The old estate we had visited earlier that day with Yu Byeok.
The main gate was still firmly shut. Inside, it was as quiet as a grave.
But I wasn’t the type to give up.
If I can’t go through the gate, I’ll just go over the wall.
I walked past the gate and circled to the right.
The wall was half-collapsed, and there were plenty of footholds visible.
Narrowing my eyes against the moonlight, I slipped my foot into a gap in the wall.
A strange stillness seeped over from the other side, clinging to my skin like a warning not to enter.
But I ignored such warnings, planted both feet firmly, and leaped.
Tap.
The sound of my landing echoed across the ground.
I was called the Flying General in the original history, so something like this is…
My feet touched down softly, stepping onto the courtyard soil.
A breeze brushed past my sleeves.
The silence was absolute. Not a single presence could be felt.
Yet for some reason, a subtle tension hung in the air.
There was definitely someone inside this old estate.
Hiding. Watching. Beneath the moonlight.
I began to move.
Hands clasped behind my back, I walked deliberately slow.
My gaze gradually turned toward the inner building.
One window stood quietly open amid the chill-laden silence.
And through that gap—
A shadow was visible.
The silhouette of a woman with her long hair twisted up.
She wasn’t leaning against anything.
She stood straight and still.
Simply melting into the darkness, gazing in this direction.
“…So you were watching.”
I muttered, lifting my head.
I didn’t call out to her.
There was no need to raise my voice. At this distance under the moonlight, she would have seen my lips moving clearly.
And finally, the door to the inner building opened.
Creak—
Even the sound was cautious.
The door opened with a slight groan.
And from within emerged a woman.
She wasn’t wearing glossy silk, but her silhouette revealed in the pale moonlight was strangely refined.
Her figure looked slender, yet beneath it lay distinct curves and a full bosom.
Her worn but well-maintained jacket and the firm steps visible beneath the hem of her skirt.
This woman… I think I understand why all the bastards who crept in here before ran away.
It wasn’t out of fear.
They had been overwhelmed by her presence.
She slowly looked at me.
“You’ve come again.”
Her voice was low and calm.
Outwardly composed, yet a faint tremor lingered in her eyes.
After all, a bandit now stood squarely in the middle of her courtyard with no room to flee.
I smiled.
“If you wouldn’t open the gate, I had no choice but to climb the wall.”
“…Other bandits didn’t enter this way.”
“Which is why they survived, I suppose.”
I took one step forward.
She did not retreat.
Only the door left open behind her swayed gently in the breeze.
“I didn’t come here to kill or to plunder.”
“Then what—”
“I came for meat.”
Her brows furrowed.
“Meat…?”
“That’s right. You.”
I reached out a hand.
One finger cutting through the air.
“I came because I need meat.”
Her expression changed.
For a moment she looked flustered, then suppressed contempt rose to the surface.
Then her eyes turned cold and still once more.
“A man like you dares…”
I nodded.
“Correct. I’m a bandit. A bastard who dares to lay chopsticks on precious meat.”
I walked right up to her.
My outstretched hand touched the tip of her chin.
She flinched reflexively and stiffened, but she didn’t run.
“I’ll give you one chance.”
I spoke gently, yet clearly.
“I don’t know what kind of family yours was, but right now—this house, this village, this night… everything is in the palm of my hand.”
Her eyes trembled.
“So… will you cling to your pride and die? Or will you choose to survive—”
I whispered into her ear.
“Decide. Now.”
She neither pushed away my hand nor grasped it.
It was literally a stance of ‘neither accepting nor rejecting.’
I liked that even more.
“No answer, huh.”
My finger slowly slid down from her chin.
Her skin was cold. But beneath it, a subtly trembling heat definitely existed.
She was a woman with living blood in her veins.
“If you wanted to die, you would’ve done it long ago.”
“…”
“But you’re still alive, aren’t you? Standing here in front of me like this.”
Her chest rose and fell slightly.
Cold sweat beaded along her neck.
There was no sign of resistance, yet the defiance sparkling in her eyes was like shards of sharp glass.
I laughed.
“Is this what you call pride?”
I gently brushed her hair aside and murmured.
“…Or is it simply silence before acceptance?”
She drew in a deep breath.
Her seemingly slender frame shifted beneath the thin jacket.
Yet the curves hidden within—
They were unmistakably those of a woman.
“In a world like this, you have to hold onto something if you want to live.”
I untied the rope from my waist.
Her eyes widened.
“This isn’t a weapon.”
It’s not for fighting, but it might be an even stronger weapon. Especially when dealing with a woman like this.
I flicked the rope lightly with my fingertips.
“Just a thin cord. It could become a leash. Or a binding for your wrists.”
“You… really…”
“Really. A lowly bastard, you say? Want to curse me? Puhaha, that’s exactly why I live as a bandit.”
I stepped closer to her.
“But listen.”
I reached out and lightly placed the rope on the back of her hand.
“Whether I tie your hands with this myself, or whether you hand it to me… it’s better if you choose for yourself.”
At that moment, Lady Yeon’s eyes shook violently.
What filled that tremor was not fear.
It was hesitation.
Her lips parted slightly.
Yet in the end, no answer came.
I knew that silence was her tacit consent.
Noble people like her always crumbled first through their eyes rather than their words.
No matter how much they denied it with their mouths, their eyes would always betray them first.