Three days had passed since we got our hands on meteoric iron at Gongdong Mountain.
During that time, we rested up thoroughly at the inn.
At first, when I thought about all the work piling up, I could barely sleep, but then a thought hit me.
Worrying wouldn’t solve any of it, so what was the point of worrying in the first place?
So I cleared my head and decided to use this chance to rest. Really rest. Totally, completely, blissfully rest.
Yeah, rest is good – it’s always the best.
After lazing around for three whole days doing absolutely nothing, I slowly started getting ready to leave Gongdong Mountain.
It was definitely not because I got tired of slacking off.
I could have kept playing around a bit longer, but Elder Bang and the Embroidered Guard warriors would be reaching Beijing soon.
So there was no reason to stay here any longer.
I got up from the bed.
“Palgap.”
“Yes, young master, did you call me?”
“Yeah. Bring me a cup of tea.”
At my words, Palgap tilted his head, looking surprised.
“You always say you hate tea because it keeps you up, so what’s going on today?”
“Because it’s time to get my head back on straight.”
“Ah, so it’s about time we headed down from Gongdong Mountain?”
“Yeah. Time to go home.”
Soon Palgap brewed the tea and brought it over, and I sipped it while putting my plans for what came next in order.
The tea cleared my head a bit, and once I finished sorting things out, I stood up and walked out into the yard.
Clang–! Clang–!
I heard the sharp ring of cold steel colliding.
Right now, everyone except the two Escort Guards assigned to stay right by my side was out in the yard training.
They had always trained hard, but lately they seemed even more driven than before.
Ever since I fought that mountain stronghold’s Chieftain and got wounded by his claw armor, it kind of felt like they were pushing themselves even more. Maybe I was just imagining it.
Evening came soon enough, and while we were eating together, I spoke to the Escort Guards.
“I think it’s about time we headed back to Beijing.”
“True, we have stayed here for quite a while.”
“Then when are we leaving?”
“I’m planning to move out tomorrow morning.”
We all finished getting ready to leave and went to bed.
As soon as it started getting light, we went down to the first floor, grabbed a quick bite, then came back down carrying our luggage.
“Thanks to the Daoists looking after us in so many ways, we’ve had a very good rest before leaving.”
“We pray that your journey will be full of good fortune, benefactors.”
With that, we left the inn and headed north again.
We were going back to that mountain stronghold.
If that mysterious group had followed our trail, then they would definitely have reached that stronghold as well.
But what we found there was completely unexpected.
“Huh? Why are there traces of a fight here…?”
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu, who were checking the area, spoke up.
“Two groups clashed here. And both groups were unorthodox fighters.”
“I can see traces of the martial arts from the ones who ambushed us, so it looks like they ran into another unorthodox group here.”
“Doesn’t look like there was a clear winner – more like they both beat each other half to death.”
Hm… what?
The mysterious unorthodox group that was chasing me ran into another group here?
“But I don’t see much trace of that other unorthodox group.”
“Then there’s only one answer.”
“Sir?”
“The ones originally in charge of this stronghold. Other than them, there aren’t any unorthodox groups that would show up here.”
“Of course! That makes sense!”
“And if they really tore each other apart like that…”
I grinned. What a nice little bundle of luck rolling my way.
“Looks like we don’t have to worry about those bastards anymore. Let’s head back. To Beijing.”
“Yes!”
Beijing.
As soon as Bang Hyo-myeong, Jin Yeong, and the rest of the party arrived in Beijing, they went in to pay their respects to the Emperor.
“Minister Bang, you’ve had a hard journey coming all this way.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. This humble subject merely enjoyed a comfortable ride on a boat.”
“You still haven’t lost that sharp tongue of yours. So how could you abandon me and retire to the countryside like that?”
“…Your Majesty, in this matter I truly only added a few small suggestions.”
At Bang Hyo-myeong’s reply, the Emperor gave a faint, unreadable smile, then turned his head to look at Jin Yeong and the four Embroidered Guard warriors.
“I’ve already read your report. I heard you were captured by those wretches and suffered quite a bit. When you disappeared, it weighed heavily on my mind.”
“Because we were lacking, we caused Your Majesty such worry. Please punish your servants.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
The Emperor waved his hand.
“The fact that you’ve all returned alive and unharmed like this is enough to make me truly grateful to Heaven and Earth. You went through a lot.”
“We were only able to return safely because Your Majesty did not abandon us. We can only be deeply moved by your boundless grace.”
Jin Yeong continued.
“Even in death, we will never forget this favor.”
The Emperor smiled kindly at their words, then tilted his head.
“But there should be someone else standing here. Why don’t I see that fellow?”
Bang Hyo-myeong answered that question.
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho stayed behind in Gansu Province for a time, to draw away the eyes of those pursuing him.”
“That boy did?”
“Yes. Because I was lacking, that young man had to volunteer for such a sacrifice.”
The Emperor let out a short laugh.
“Thanks to that, all of you returned safely. Sending him really was the right answer.”
“…”
The Emperor looked over at the Embroidered Guard warriors.
“You’ve suffered enough for now. I’ll grant you a month’s leave – use it to rest and recover.”
“Your Majesty’s grace is overwhelming.”
“And the ones who were captured in this incident will be handed over to the Embroidered Guard. You may all withdraw now.”
After the four Embroidered Guard warriors withdrew, the Emperor gave an order to the eunuch by his side.
“Send the imperial physician to them.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, and I heard that because of that man named Cheong-gwan, the Embroidered Guard suffered quite a bit this time… what do you think about that?”
At that plain, almost casual question, the eunuch immediately dropped to his knees.
“Please put this foolish servant to death for failing to properly manage his subordinates!”
“No. How could I blame Eunuch Jeong for something like this? You can’t possibly keep track of every bit of personal greed.”
“…”
“However, if that results in any rot, it’s the duty of a superior to cut it away.”
“I will take responsibility and excise it myself.”
“I’ll be watching.”
“Your Majesty’s grace is as vast as the sea.”
Eunuch Jeong bowed his head low and ground his teeth inwardly.
‘You son of a bitch…!’
And so, Cheong-gwan – who had sold information for his own greed, sold out the Embroidered Guard warriors, and even tried to sell out Eun Seo-ho’s group – was about to enter a whole new world of suffering.
Compared to what was coming, the ordeal he suffered when he was captured at the mountain stronghold barely even counted as hardship.
If Eun Seo-ho heard about it, he’d probably say, ‘Serves him right.’
The Emperor gave a faint smile and asked Bang Hyo-myeong.
“So, how was it, leaving me and retiring from court?”
“It was wonderful. Even honey doesn’t taste as sweet.”
At that answer, the Emperor chuckled.
“Honestly, I didn’t really want to drag you back into the palace either.”
“Your Majesty, if you’re going to say that, shouldn’t you at least wipe that smile off your face?”
At Bang Hyo-myeong’s words, the Emperor adjusted his expression and spoke.
“Like this?”
“Yes. Maybe try looking a little regretful while you say it.”
He went on.
“Did Your Majesty order me to find the missing Embroidered Guard warriors this time to give me a stepping stone to return to the palace?”
At that question, the Emperor nodded.
“Yes. That’s right. There were bound to be plenty of people grumbling about bringing you back, so I had you earn such a great merit that no one would dare object.”
The Emperor continued.
“And of course, we needed to find those Embroidered Guard brats as well. I’m rather fond of them.”
“So that was it after all. But Your Majesty, even if you had only sent Young Master Eun Seo-ho, he would have been more than capable of finding the Embroidered Guard warriors.”
“Oh? Really? I didn’t expect you to rate that young man so highly.”
“If anything, I felt like he was the one looking out for me. When Your Majesty already has such a genius of the age by your side, do you really need someone like me?”
“Tsk, tsk. Where do you think you’re trying to slip away to, like a slippery eel?”
“Ah, you caught me.”
He continued.
“Still, what I said about Young Master Eun Seo-ho’s abilities – that was sincere.”
“I know he’s a prodigy as well. That’s why I sent him to you.”
“Are you telling me to stay on good terms with him?”
The Emperor nodded with a smile.
“So he doesn’t run away.”
“Even without that, I already planned to. It’s been a while since I’ve liked someone that much.”
“In any case, that boy has his own work to do. And I intend to entrust the affairs of this palace to you.”
“So then, what did you call me back for?”
“There are rats in this palace. Rats that serve a different master.”
“…”
“Catch them all and beat the truth out of them.”
I set out for Lanzhou once more.
My plan was to follow the river back the way we came to Kaifeng, then head up to Beijing from there.
But because we stopped by the mountain stronghold on the way, we couldn’t reach Lanzhou in one go and ended up camping outdoors for the night.
Everyone in the party smoothly went about preparing the camp.
At first, Escort Guard Myeong Jong and Escort Guard Chang Un had been pretty clumsy when it came to setting up camp.
But now, they handled things quite well on their own.
Meanwhile, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Lee Pil caught a deer in the mountains and dressed it, and Palgap skewered the meat and started roasting it over the campfire.
Seeing the venison suddenly made me think of Elder Bang Hyo-myeong.
That elder really could put away meat.
He’d offered us venison back then, but in the end he ate about half of it himself.
When you eat meat like that, no wonder people call you the Meat-Eating Duke.
Once the meat looked good and done, we each grabbed a skewer and started eating.
Hmm… it’s not as good as the meat the Elder gave us.
Meat really does need to be grilled over charcoal.
I felt like I finally understood why Elder Bang always carries charcoal and a grill with him.
Maybe I should start carrying charcoal around too.
I’m not even joking right now. I’m seriously considering it.
Right then.
“…!”
I let out a sigh, set my venison skewer down, and drew the sword at my waist.
“They say you don’t even bother a dog while it’s eating.”
At my comment, Palgap replied,
“Isn’t that just because a dog’ll bite you if you do?”
“I’ll bite too.”
And I don’t just nibble.
My Escort Guards drew their swords along with me and shifted into full alert.
Swish!
Swish, swish!
From the movements closing in around us, it was obvious.
They were coming for us.
A moment later, they showed themselves.
The aura of those masked men felt familiar – and still just as disgusting.
“So we finally meet again!”
“Who are you people?”
At my question, the one standing in the middle curled their lips and said,
“Ha! We haven’t forgotten you for even a moment, and you dare say you don’t even remember us?”
“That’s called one-sided love.”
“Enough nonsense. You lied last time. You kept insisting you didn’t have the Emperor’s letter!”
“…So basically, you’re sure I have His Majesty the Emperor’s letter. What’s the basis for that confidence, exactly?”
“Because that’s what the people upstairs said.”
“Sounds like your bosses are sitting pretty high up the ladder?”
“Enough useless chatter! Hand over the letter!”
“Don’t have it. Do you really think I’d still be carrying that around? I already delivered it.”
At my constant joking tone, he bit down on his lip.
“Then what was in the letter?”
“How would I know?”
“You definitely read it, didn’t you?”
“Reading someone else’s letter before delivering it is incredibly rude. That’s just basic common sense, but the way you’re so confidently assuming I read it tells me you people don’t even have that.”
“Tch!”
They clamped their mouths shut, at a loss for words.
“Anyway, I have no idea what was in that letter.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Elder Bang had shown me the letter, so I knew exactly what it said, but there was absolutely no reason for me to tell them that.
“Fine, then tell us who you delivered the letter to.”
“And if I do, you’ll go to that person and politely ask what it said?”
I snorted.
“There’s just one problem. The person who got that letter already left here and went to Beijing.”
“What?”
“Went to Beijing. By now, they’ve probably already arrived and paid their respects to His Majesty.”
“…”
Emptiness started creeping into their eyes.
I smiled and drove the nail in.
“So, in other words, all the crap you’ve gone through up to now? Completely for nothing.”
At my words, they let out screams filled with rage.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Gyaaaah!”
“Uuuuurgh!”
I could feel how deeply pissed off they were just from their howls. Soon their eyes were gleaming with madness.
“In that case, we’ll make sure you never make it back to Beijing alive!”
“Who said I was going back with you, though? And your numbers seem to have dropped quite a bit… something happen on the way?”
“…”
At my words, the madness in their eyes grew even darker.
So much that they could barely think straight anymore.
Behind me, Palgap whispered,
“You really are amazing, young master.”
This time, I actually agreed with Palgap.
I seem to have a real talent for pissing people off.
–TL Notes–
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