Before heading to the Emei Sect, I needed to pay my uncle a visit, so I made my way to the Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group with everyone I had brought along.
“Somehow, we ended up coming all the way here together.”
Among those traveling with me was Escort Chief Jang Jin of the Changin Escort Bureau.
I had originally asked him to accompany us only as far as Hubei, but our schedule had changed, and he ended up following us all the way here.
Of course, when I sent a letter to Father, I had also asked him to explain the circumstances to the Changin Escort Bureau.
“It’s quite all right. You’ll be paying us generously for the extra distance, won’t you? Hahaha.”
I nodded at that.
“You don’t need to worry about the escort fee. I’ll make sure you’re compensated for the sudden change as well. And you’re free to head back now. Your wagons will be empty on the return trip anyway.”
At my words, Escort Chief Jang glanced back at his men before replying.
“No. Since we’ve already come this far, we’ll help with the relief effort as well.”
“You must already be exhausted. Are you sure?”
“If we work hard while we’re here, we may end up forging a few new connections. And as you know, connections like those have a way of helping you later.”
That was true, but I suspected the real reason was that he simply couldn’t see a disaster like this and walk away.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
Then a Voice Transmission reached my ears.
– I’m the one who should be counting on you, Young Palace Lord.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Escort Chief Jang was a Peak expert and one of the Snow Wind Palace’s senior figures.
Naturally, he knew about my other identity as well.
It wasn’t long before we arrived at the Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
My uncle and aunt warmly welcomed our entire party.
“It’s good to see you, Uncle, Aunt.”
“Yes. I heard you came for the relief effort. But how in the world did you know there had been an earthquake?”
Let’s blame the Emperor for this one.
“It was thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s remarkable foresight. His Majesty sent me here with the others.”
“I see!”
Along with their happiness at seeing me, concern was plainly visible on my uncle and aunt’s faces.
It was probably because of Cousin Hyang-ok, who was at the Emei Sect.
“You don’t need to worry too much about Cousin Hyang-ok. I heard the Emei Sect didn’t suffer very severe damage, and she’s a Peak warrior herself, isn’t she?”
“I know that, but that isn’t how a parent’s heart works.”
My aunt continued.
“I’m also worried she’ll push herself too hard trying to help everyone else. Her tongue may be sharp, but that girl has a very soft heart.”
I suppose I should tell them now.
“As it happens, I’ll be heading to the Emei Sect for the relief effort. I’ll check on Cousin Hyang-ok myself once I get there.”
“You’re going to the Emei Sect?”
“Yes. The Provincial Administration Commissioner said we need to stabilize the Emei Sect and secure their help.”
My uncle nodded.
“I suppose that is the wisest course under the circumstances. Our Sichuan Branch was already preparing to release supplies for the relief effort. Since things have worked out this way, I’d like you to lead our people and take part in the relief work.”
“Thank you.”
Most of the people working at the Sichuan Branch were natives of Sichuan themselves.
Perhaps because of that, gathering volunteers for the relief effort was extremely easy.
Everyone volunteered without hesitation.
Then again, Sichuan was such an insular region that if you followed enough connections, almost everyone turned out to be somebody’s relative.
As soon as our preparations were complete, we set out for Mount Emei, where the Emei Sect was located.
Before long, we discovered that the entrance to the mountain road had been completely buried beneath earth and debris.
There were already people working to clear it away.
Most of them were Emei Sect disciples.
Every one of them looked thoroughly exhausted, but they seemed too worried about the sect to allow themselves any rest.
I approached them.
“Please leave the rest to us.”
At my words, the women turned toward me and blinked…
“Ah! Is that the Great Hero, Handsome Young Hero?”
“What brings Handsome Young Hero here?”
Those among them who recognized me immediately brightened.
They were disciples I had met before at the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering and the Murim Grand Assembly.
“Thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s foresight and compassion, I was able to come here. We’ll take over from this point, so please get some rest.”
At my words, Young Lady Seohyang stepped forward and gently addressed them.
“That’s right. Come over here and rest for a while. If you push yourselves so hard that you collapse, the others from the Emei Sect will only be more worried about you.”
Faced with her gentle persuasion, the Emei disciples finally stopped insisting on continuing.
I thanked Young Lady Seohyang, then turned toward the rest of our group.
“All right, let’s clear it.”
“Yes.”
We each grabbed our tools and threw ourselves at the mound of earth.
To be perfectly frank, clearing away the enormous amount of soil dumped onto the road by a landslide was anything but easy.
But there was a reason people said many hands made light work. With more than a hundred people working together, the enormous mound began disappearing as quickly as spring snow beneath the sun.
After roughly two hours, we managed to open a path wide enough for several people to pass through at once.
“The road is open!”
“Then we’re moving again!”
“Yes!”
Naturally, that first mound of debris wasn’t the only obstacle blocking our path.
And since Mount Emei was a rocky mountain, there were places where enormous boulders had crashed down and planted themselves squarely across the road.
Just like the one in front of us now.
“This time, we’ll have to handle it.”
I stepped forward with the guards and had everyone nearby move back.
“Please stand clear for a moment. Flying stone fragments could injure you.”
Once I confirmed that everyone had moved to a safe distance, we took turns swinging our swords with all our strength.
Slice!
Only warriors of Peak level or higher had stepped forward, so dealing with the boulder itself wasn’t difficult.
The reason we attacked one at a time instead of all at once was that stray Sword Qi or fragments from the shattering rock could have created a dangerous situation.
Before long, the massive boulder that had blocked our path had been reduced to stones small enough for ordinary people to carry away.
By the time we had cleared several more blocked sections of the road, night had fallen.
Sichuan’s climate could best be described as hot and humid, but that certainly didn’t mean its winters were warm.
The weather had started to ease, so everyone had dressed more lightly during the day, which only made the cold at night feel even sharper.
Campfires were lit here and there, and everyone gathered around them to warm themselves while eating dinner.
We needed to recover as much strength as possible during the night if we wanted to work hard again tomorrow.
I headed toward the campfire where the Emei Sect disciples were resting.
“Try not to worry too much.”
“Ah! Great Hero.”
“The earthquake wasn’t nearly as severe in this area, so I doubt the sect suffered much damage.”
“That’s what we’re hoping.”
I sat down beside them.
“Still, I’m worried about the Qingcheng Sect. I heard they suffered extensive damage from the earthquake.”
“Ah…”
Their expressions immediately darkened.
The Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect might constantly squabble over who stood at the top of Sichuan, but that very rivalry also meant they had known one another for a very long time.
“Fortunately, I heard the Sichuan Tang Clan has already gone to help them.”
I carefully brought up the real reason I had come over.
“Which is why I wanted to suggest something. Starting tomorrow, why don’t you head over and help the Qingcheng Sect?”
“You want us to leave this place?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“You can leave this area to us now. As you know, my cousin is a disciple of the Emei Sect. I have every reason to devote myself fully to helping this place.”
At my words, the disciples hesitated and then all turned toward one woman.
She appeared to be the most senior disciple among the Emei Sect members gathered here.
“We do not doubt you, Handsome Young Hero. I am merely curious why you’re making such a suggestion.”
“Aren’t all those who walk the martial world supposed to stand together? And we’re talking about people who live in the same Sichuan Province. I believe helping them is only right.”
“That is true, but…”
“I know the Tang Clan has already gone to assist them, but they’ll still be short on hands. If all of you join them, it will make an enormous difference.”
I continued.
“More importantly, if word spreads that the Emei Sect sent disciples to aid the Qingcheng Sect even while its own situation remained unresolved, that alone will benefit the Emei Sect greatly in the future.”
She considered my advice for a moment before nodding.
“Very well. Junior Sister Hyang-ok once told me that there was no one better at using his head than Handsome Young Hero, so I will trust your judgment.”
…That was a compliment, right?
For some reason, I could vividly imagine her grumbling, ‘That bastard Eun Seo-ho really does have one damn clever head on his shoulders! I bet he cooked up that whole scheme because he didn’t want to spar with me! Just wait until I get my hands on him! I’ll smash him to pieces!’
Hmm… I should probably take the secret of me deliberately pretending my leg was broken to my grave.
Keeping my expression perfectly composed, I respectfully cupped my fist.
“I’m embarrassed to hear that Cousin Hyang-ok praised me so highly. Thank you for accepting my advice.”
“Not at all. Then we’ll rest tonight and leave for the Qingcheng Sect tomorrow.”
At that, I inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
Good. I managed to persuade them.
There were roughly twenty Emei Sect disciples here at the moment.
They had come down from the mountain on business and happened to be staying in Chengdu when the earthquake struck.
In my previous life, they had devoted themselves entirely to reopening the road back to the Emei Sect.
Up to that point, their actions had been perfectly natural and understandable.
People naturally looked after their own first.
But afterward, Sichuan fell into chaos, and the Emei Sect became so overwhelmed dealing with its own situation that it was unable to send any aid to the Qingcheng Sect.
And that eventually became one of the causes behind the deterioration of relations between the Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect.
I was sending these women over early precisely to eliminate that cause.
In truth, the Emei Sect hadn’t done anything wrong at the time, so there had to have been some other reason I didn’t know about for the situation to escalate into conflict and resentment between the two sects.
The Asura Blood Cult had probably been stirring things up behind the scenes.
But since I didn’t know exactly how they had done it, there was no way for me to prevent their scheme itself.
What I could do was stop that scheme from damaging relations between the two sects.
If Emei disciples went to help the Qingcheng Sect before the Emei Sect had even finished dealing with its own crisis, the Qingcheng Sect would have no choice but to view the Emei Sect favorably.
Considering the Asura Blood Cult’s connection to the Murim Alliance and everything we had uncovered so far, there was a good chance the infighting between Orthodox martial factions was another part of their scheme.
If so, I needed to stop it.
.
.
.
Morning came.
Just as we had discussed, the Emei Sect disciples prepared to leave for the Qingcheng Sect.
“You can take this wagon with you.”
“What is all this?”
“I loaded it with food for your journey and relief supplies.”
One of the Emei disciples inspected the contents of the wagon before speaking.
“Bandages, Golden Wound Medicine, splints… There are quite a few supplies for treating the injured.”
“Yes. I heard the earthquake caused severe damage there, so I expect they have a great many wounded.”
I made it sound like a guess, but I had prepared those supplies because I already knew just how dire the Qingcheng Sect’s situation actually was.
Many people had been trapped beneath collapsed buildings or struck by falling debris, leaving them critically injured.
They had been so short on bandages that they had resorted to cutting up blankets and clothing to wrap people’s wounds. That alone showed just how desperate the situation had been.
“But what are these chest braces?”
“They’re basically splints for people with fractured ribs or sternums.”
And since the opportunity had presented itself, there was no reason not to promote one of the new products the Eunhae Merchant Group was releasing.
Besides, it was something they genuinely needed.
With that, the Emei disciples departed for the Qingcheng Sect, pulling the wagon behind them.
As for us, we still had to keep clearing the road toward the Emei Sect.
.
.
.
The next day.
While we were working, Prince Seongbo arrived.
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
“Yes. It appears the work is progressing faster than I expected.”
“It is. Everyone has been working extremely hard.”
“Then I should lend a hand as well.”
Prince Seongbo removed his silk outer robe and personally began carrying piles of earth away.
“Y–Your Highness! You can’t possibly mean to do this yourself…”
I hurried to stop him, but Prince Seongbo waved me off.
“This is work being done for the people of Sichuan. Every one of their lives is precious. I cannot allow Imperial Father’s precious subjects to lose their lives for nothing.”
But why did his eyes seem to be saying, ‘Praise me. Tell me I did well’…?
Surely I was imagining it.
He really had taken everything I said to heart.
“I will honor Your Highness’s intentions.”
After another two days of work, the Emei Sect finally came into view.
If I remembered correctly, in my previous life, it had taken nearly fifteen days just to end the Emei Sect’s isolation.
Even including the time the Emei disciples had already spent clearing the road before we arrived, we had done it in less than half the time.
We were hard at work clearing yet another mound of earth when I suddenly heard someone speaking.
And this Qi…
“Cousin Hyang-ok?”
Perhaps she heard my voice, because Cousin Hyang-ok called back from the other side of the mound.
“Huh? Seo-ho, is that really you?”
“Yes. It’s me, Eun Seo-ho.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What else? I came to rescue you.”
For a moment, complete silence came from the other side.
And then…
“Junior Sister Hyang-ok. Are you moved right now?”
“She is!”
“Ah! Shut up!”
“Look at you getting embarrassed…”
Cousin Hyang-ok, embarrassed…? I couldn’t even picture it.
“Was what I said really that touching?”
I asked in a low voice, and Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded.
“Even I would have been moved.”
Prince Seongbo chimed in right after him.
“Then again, you have a habit of saying things like that as though they’re nothing special. That tends to make them strike people even harder.”
I–Is that so?
“Isn’t that why I fell for you?”
…That sounds like a rather dangerous thing to say.
Seeing my expression, Prince Seongbo hurriedly waved a hand.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t misunderstand. By ‘fell for you,’ I meant that I came to admire you as a person worthy of respect.”
“I wasn’t misunderstanding anything in the first place.”
“Ahem. Is that so?”
“I can only say that I am overwhelmed by Your Highness’s favor.”
Phew. I handled that naturally.
I raised my voice toward Cousin Hyang-ok.
“Cousin! How is the Emei Sect?”
“Everyone’s safe.”
“That’s a relief. Then please rest for a while. We have plenty of people on this side, so we’ll handle the rest.”
–TL Notes–
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