In my previous life, I’d always thought it was such a shame that Gangyong’s tribe was so closed off.
This region is a place where Hongram, the main ingredient for rouge, grows incredibly well.
So I’d tried asking them to cultivate Hongram for me, but every time they flatly turned me down.
For one simple reason: they refused to have anything to do with outsiders.
It was because the tribe leader’s son had gone missing after an outsider visited and left.
But now that their missing son has come back like this, that hostility toward outsiders should fade at least a little.
The tribe leader and I exchanged names and greetings.
“It’s getting dark, so stay the night before you go.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
Either way, it was already too dark for us to travel any farther.
And honestly, we needed a bit of rest.
No matter how you ride in a carriage, traveling itself still takes a toll on your body.
Just then, the tribe leader glanced at the carriage and asked,
“By any chance, are there other children with you?”
“Yes. I rescued five children; I’ve already taken one back home. Gangyong is the second.”
“I see. Would it be alright if I met them for a moment?”
“I’ll ask the children first.”
They might still be scared, after all.
The children said they were fine, and they followed me to the tribe leader’s house.
“He’s my father.”
At Gangyong’s introduction, the kids fidgeted shyly and greeted him.
“Uh, h–hello.”
“It’s good to meet you. I’m glad you’re all safe like this.”
As he spoke, the tribe leader’s eyes carefully scanned the children, as if trying to figure out which tribes they each belonged to.
After a short moment, the tribe leader gestured toward the outside, signaling for me to step out with him.
I followed him out.
“First, let me thank you again. I’m truly grateful you saved my son and even brought him back like this.”
“I only did what had to be done. Protecting children, the pillars of the future, is an adult’s duty, isn’t it?”
“But those ‘adults’ are the ones who kidnapped the children.”
“…”
“What I’m saying is, there are adults who deserve to die, and there are those who know what’s right and deserve to be thanked.”
After saying that, the tribe leader continued.
“Those children are from tribes I know. I’ll send word and have them come here.”
“That sounds troublesome for you. Are you sure it’s alright?”
“Of course. I’ve been a father who lost a child too. How could I not understand how they feel?”
He went on.
“Fortunately, all their tribes are on friendly terms with ours, so if we call, they’ll come. We’ll send people from our side.”
“Thank you.”
The truth was, after returning the children, I still had things to do in Gansu.
That was part of why I was in such a hurry, so I was genuinely grateful for his help.
The tribe leader immediately called someone over and sent messages to the three children’s tribes.
I suggested it might be better to send them tomorrow since it was already dark, but they said they were used to traveling at night, so I just nodded.
And so we spent the night there in peace.
The next day.
As soon as morning came, the messenger who had left the previous evening returned.
He arrived with a couple from another tribe.
The moment they dismounted their horses, they urgently shouted a child’s name.
“Eung–man! Eung–man! Where are you?”
At that voice, the boy named Eung–man, who had been sleeping in the tribe leader’s house, jerked awake.
“Huh? That’s my mother’s voice.”
Right then, he met eyes with the handsome young man sitting in front of him.
It was the good older brother who had saved them. That brother smiled and pointed outside.
“What are you doing? Your mother’s calling you, you should hurry out there.”
“Uh… okay!”
At those words, Eung–man nodded, jumped out of bed, and ran outside.
“Mother! Father!”
“Oh my goodness! It really is our Eung–man!”
“You rascal, where on earth did you go… huuuk…”
The couple still couldn’t forget that night.
One day, their child had suddenly vanished. In truth, children disappearing from the tribe had happened from time to time.
Given the environment around them, they thought the child had fallen prey to wild beasts and had been drowning in grief.
But last night, a messenger from a neighboring tribe had come and delivered unbelievable news.
“By any chance, is there a child named Eung–man from your tribe?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“That child is currently in our tribe. Our tribe leader sent me to tell you to come and get your child.”
They had ridden here in a rush and were finally able to reunite with their child.
“What in the world happened? You disappeared so suddenly we thought wild beasts got you.”
At his father’s question, Eung–man explained everything from the beginning.
He’d eaten a dumpling from someone who claimed to be a passing merchant and blacked out, and when he woke up, he was being dragged somewhere against his will.
Then he was locked up in a stone prison inside a cave, and a handsome older brother had rescued them from there, and so on.
Eung–man’s parents were shocked by his explanation.
It was something they had never even imagined.
Now that they thought about it, they’d already found it strange that so many children had gone missing from the tribes lately.
Just then, Eung–man beamed and said,
“That brother is the one who saved me! And they say he’s a hero of the martial world, known as the Handsome Young Hero.”
Starting with Eung–man’s parents, the other children’s parents began arriving one by one.
The last to arrive was the boy Gil–seong’s father.
I heard he came from the farthest tribe, which was probably why he had come alone.
“Even if I’d arrived tomorrow, people would still say I rushed here… but once you’ve experienced losing a child, things like that stop mattering.”
“Still, thank you for helping us like this.”
“Think nothing of it. If anything, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay this favor.”
He continued.
“In fact, when my wife first conceived Gangyong, my father had a prophetic dream about the pregnancy.”
I couldn’t help thinking it was unusual for a father–in–law to be the one having the pregnancy dream.
“Someone said back then that if Gangyong safely reached adulthood within our tribe, our tribe would prosper greatly. But if he didn’t become an adult within our tribe, we would fall into poverty.”
“…”
“Of course, it was just my father’s dream, but even so, Gangyong was our tribe’s future and hope.”
As someone who’d already lived one life, I couldn’t just brush off the tribe leader’s words.
“That’s why I want to make sure I repay you somehow.”
“It wasn’t just me. Other people helped as well…”
“But you’re the one who personally rescued my child, aren’t you? And I heard you faced the kidnappers’ leader alone.”
So Gangyong really did see everything.
“So please, don’t turn down my request.”
I hesitated for a moment at those words, then nodded.
“Alright. Then can I ask you for one favor in return?”
“Go ahead, speak freely.”
“By any chance, do you know of an herb called Hongram?”
“Of course I do. It’s the herb used to make rouge, isn’t it?”
“I have a request related to that.”
I entrusted the cultivation of Hongram to the tribe leader. I would process and sell the Hongram to make money, and the tribe would earn by supplying it to me.
That way, both sides profited.
Anyway, I was relieved that all five children I rescued were able to reunite with their parents.
That evening.
The tribe leader held a banquet.
For the parents who had found their missing children, there couldn’t have been a happier occasion.
At that moment, Eung–man’s father approached me.
“Excuse me, Great Hero.”
“Calling me a Great Hero is still too much.”
“Not in the slightest. Who could deserve the title Great Hero more than you? Isn’t that right, Handsome Young Hero?”
“Ugh!”
So that nickname has spread all the way out here!
It must have gone from Palgap’s mouth to the children, then to their parents…
At this rate, my nickname might end up spreading throughout every tribe in northern Gansu Province.
I spoke with an embarrassed look.
“Alright, alright, I get it. Just leave out the ‘Handsome Young Hero’ part. It’s embarrassing.”
He chuckled and nodded.
“Very well. Anyway, what I wanted to ask was, do you know anything about the other kidnapped children? Recently, two more children have gone missing from our tribe.”
At those words, the others joined in.
“It’s the same for us.”
“Two children from our tribe have disappeared as well.”
I knew it…
I expected as much, but they really did kidnap evenly from every tribe.
I set down my teacup and spoke.
“Actually, this whole matter…”
I explained that the officials had already reported the disappearance of the children to His Majesty the Emperor, and that His Majesty had dispatched people to investigate.
Naturally, I left out the confidential details.
“His Majesty will have them interrogated, track down the abducted children, and do everything possible to send them back home.”
“Ahh, we are grateful for such grace!”
“This empire is truly blessed!”
“So please endure a little longer. His Majesty is doing everything he can.”
Your Majesty, are you watching?
I’m your loyal subject, spreading the word of your benevolent rule like this.
So I trust you won’t pretend you didn’t see all the money I’ve been spending.
.
.
.
The day after the banquet ended.
The people who had come to the tribe to reclaim their children got ready to return home.
At that moment, Gil–seong walked up to me.
“Great Hero.”
“You too? Seriously. Just call me ‘big brother,’ I told you.”
I reached out and patted his head. Having a kid who looked barely ten call me Great Hero…
That wasn’t cute at all.
Of course, he was the oldest of the five kids. Was it fourteen he said he was?
“Ah, brother!”
“That’s better, now I can actually listen to you. What’s up?”
“I’ll definitely repay this favor someday.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on growing up strong and healthy first.”
“Come on! Can’t you take me seriously for once? I’m actually being pretty serious right now, you know.”
“I know.”
“Huh?”
“I can tell right away whether you’re joking or serious. I know you’re being serious right now.”
“…”
“Look, it’s not like I don’t understand your determination. But what you need right now isn’t that determination, it’s figuring out how you’re going to live well and take care of yourself.”
At my words, Gil–seong tilted his head.
“Huh?”
“Honestly, it’d only help me if you became capable enough to actually repay the favor.”
Gil–seong’s face turned serious.
Did what I say really sound that heavy?
I patted his head again, this time messing up his hair as I spoke.
“So leave that for later and just live a healthy life. Got it, kiddo?”
“Argh, brother!”
“Get going.”
I gave Gil–seong a push on the back, and as he was walking away, he hesitated and turned to look back at me.
“Brother!”
“Yeah?”
“Wait for it! I’ll definitely become someone who can help you.”
Then he sprinted toward his father and said something to the people gathered there.
Huh? What is he saying?
Just as I was about to focus my Qi into my hearing, Escort Guard Seo Wu spoke up.
“That boy Gil–seong is going to grow into someone great.”
“Huh?”
“That’s how it felt.”
With that, the children all returned to their own homes, and I parted ways with Eung–man’s tribe as well.
“Then, I’ll see you next time.”
“Travel safely.”
“Yes. Everyone, stay well. And you too, Eung–man.”
“Yes!”
And just like that, our group left the tribe.
“Young Master, where are we headed now?”
“Mount Gongdong.”
“Huh?”
Palgap blinked a few times and asked,
“By Mount Gongdong, you don’t mean the one where the Gongdong Sect is based, do you?”
“That’s the one.”
I went on.
“I’m planning to lie low there for a bit. With the Gongdong Sect, the overlords of Gansu Province, based there, it should be safe, right?”
At my words, Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded.
“That sounds perfectly reasonable.”
“If they’ve realized they were tricked and are tracking us properly now, they’d be getting close to Gansu Province around this time.”
Of course, it won’t mean anything.
Everything’s already been taken care of, and Elder Bang should be heading for Beijing with the others, following the Yellow River.
Even so, just in case, I planned to play a game of cat–and–mouse and buy them some time until they arrived.
And there were a few things I needed to take care of while I was at it.
At that moment.
The pursuit team made up of Unorthodox Sect members finally set foot in Gansu.
“At last, Gansu!”
“Damn it!”
“He’d better be here.”
They ground their teeth.
They’d chased south after hearing he went to Guangdong, but halfway there they got a bad feeling and commissioned new intelligence.
The Beggars’ Union and the Hao Clan there had both said he seemed to be heading for Gansu instead.
After wasting money, time, and going through all kinds of hardship, they had gone back to Kaifeng to complain to the Hao Clan and the Beggars’ Union.
“Back then, all our information said he was headed for Guangdong. Later, we heard they’d changed their route and gone to Gansu.”
When they reported this to their superiors, the order that came down was to find out exactly what kind of letter Eun Seo–ho was carrying, no matter what.
And so they set out again and came to Gansu.
They clenched their fists tight.
“This time we don’t fail! We’re going to crush that brat Eun Seo–ho!”
Soon, they were combing through all of Gansu Province, asking around about Eun Seo–ho.
Following the trail of rumors and traces, they finally arrived at… a mountain stronghold in ruins.
But a group of Unorthodox Sect martial artists were already searching the place.
“Who the hell are you people?”
“Then who are you?”
“Don’t know what business you have here, but back off. We got here first…”
“Can’t do that!”
“Hmph, then there’s no helping it.”
Srring,
“Heh! That’s our line!”
Srrring,
They drew their weapons at each other, and the two mysterious Unorthodox Sect groups clashed.
–TL Notes–
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