At my words, Merchant Lord Bok tilted his head.
“You want to go yourself?”
“Yes. As Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s sworn brother – how could I just sit back and watch the Gwangjun Merchant Group struggle? I want to lend a hand too.”
Merchant Lord Bok readily nodded.
“Then do so.”
“Thank you.”
“No, no. You’re going to all this trouble for my son – I’m the one who should be thankful.”
Then Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun grabbed my hand, eyes brimming with tears.
Aw, come on.
This is getting kind of embarrassing.
I quickly changed my clothes and headed straight for the carriage yard.
“Sorry for deciding this on my own.”
At my apology, the Escort Guards all shook their heads.
“Please don’t say it like that.”
“We’re our lord’s Escort Guards. Wherever you go, it’s our duty to follow without complaint.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu spoke up.
“Of course, that’s only because we judge that it won’t put you in serious danger. If we ever decide it will, we’ll stop you without hesitation.”
“I tend to value my own life too, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Really… are you sure about that?”
The look in Escort Guard Seo Wu’s eyes made me flinch before I knew it.
Okay, that stung a little.
There wasn’t even a speck of profit or calculation mixed into this.
I was just stepping up because I wanted to help a friend.
Right then, someone walked up to me.
“I’m Supervisor Bok Deok.”
Since his family name was Bok, he clearly belonged to the Merchant Lord’s family.
“I’m Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Forgive me, but how are you related to the Merchant Lord?”
“I’m the second son of the Merchant Lord’s grandfather’s elder brother’s eldest son.”
Uh…
That’s… close if you call it close, far if you call it far.
“I see. I’ll be in your care, then.”
“No, I’ll be in your care. Are you ready to depart?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s head out.”
And with that, we mounted our horses and rode out from the Gwangjun Merchant Group.
We kept riding, following the markers the advance party had left when they first started the pursuit.
The plains of Liaoning really were vast.
When we headed for the North Sea Ice Palace, we’d gone northeast, but this time we were riding in the exact opposite direction.
Instead of endless white snow, a boundless grassland now stretched out before my eyes.
While we paused briefly to let the horses rest, I asked Supervisor Bok Deok,
“Have you ever had something like this happen before?”
“Of course, horses trying to bolt happens fairly often. But most of the time they don’t get far. A full-on escape like this is really rare.”
“I see.”
“On top of that, this time it’s hard to even guess the reason.”
So that’s how it is. I’ll have to look into that later.
For now, getting the horses back took priority.
We spurred our mounts on and rode hard for another half a day.
They really ran far.
Since time was critical, we rode through the night without stopping and finally reached the encampment.
It was the camp of the people who had started the pursuit ahead of us.
“Whoa, whoa!”
As we approached, someone guarding the camp ran over.
“Supervisor Bok Deok, sir?”
“That’s right. And you are?”
“I’m Gu Eul, under Supervisor Sim. I’ll go report to him right away.”
Soon, a man stepped out from inside the tent.
“Supervisor Bok Deok.”
“The Merchant Lord has sent an additional pursuit party. What’s the situation right now?”
“I’m sorry. We lost the trail during the chase.”
“Lost the trail? You, Supervisor Sim?”
He nodded, his expression grave.
“Yes. Something about it is suspicious. It feels like someone deliberately tampered with the tracks.”
Listening to their conversation, I spoke up and asked him,
“Did you just say someone seems to have tampered with the tracks?”
He looked at me, puzzled, and asked,
“And you are?”
Supervisor Bok Deok introduced me, and the man quickly bowed his head.
“I greet Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s sworn brother.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. For now, just answer my question.”
“Ah, yes.”
He continued,
“I’ve spent over thirty years doing nothing but tracking horse prints. No matter where a horse runs off to, I can follow its trail.”
His voice was full of pride in his own skills.
“Unless a horse literally vanishes into the air or sinks into the ground, it always leaves tracks. With iron horseshoes, they leave marks in the earth easily.”
I nodded.
“On top of that, this is open grassland, so the prints show up clearly. That’s the problem.”
He went on,
“There are too many tracks. And they’re going off in every direction…”
“So you’re saying…”
“Yes. Someone did this on purpose.”
I thought it over carefully.
Horses that suddenly bolted, and someone who went to the trouble of faking their trail.
This reeks.
“Mind if I take a look myself?”
“This way, please.”
I followed him forward and soon reached the place where the tracks were.
Under the torchlight, I could see prints scattered in every direction, a chaotic mess.
And then I felt it.
“…!”
This Qi… faint, but unmistakably from the Unorthodox Sect.
Someone from the Unorthodox Sect had definitely meddled in this.
I didn’t know who it was yet, but their cowardice made my blood boil.
Pulling this kind of stunt just days before the wedding!
I was absolutely going to find whoever did this.
“We’ll rest for now and resume the search at first light.”
“Yes.”
At Supervisor Bok Deok’s order, everyone cupped their fists in unison and answered.
They assigned me a tent as well, but given the circumstances, my group and I all had to share a single tent.
I quietly called over Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“I have a favor to ask of you two.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“From what I can tell, this was done with the clear intent of harming the Gwangjun Merchant Group.”
“We think so as well.”
“Do you have any guess who might be behind it?”
“I’m not certain yet, but I do have a suspicion.”
I continued,
“It might be that another merchant group hired a band of Unorthodox Sect thugs.”
“Did you say the Unorthodox Sect?”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s question, I nodded.
“I mentioned this before, remember? Because of the nature of my martial arts, I’m good at sensing the Unorthodox Sect’s Qi.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I sensed the Unorthodox Sect’s Qi here. And they usually don’t touch large–scale merchant groups.”
The bigger groups have considerable martial strength of their own, and enough money and connections to get revenge.
That’s why they’re usually left alone.
“But if they’re being paid and backed by another merchant group, that’s a different story.”
I looked at the two Escort Guards.
“Which is why I’m asking this of you. I want you two to return to the Gwangjun Merchant Group. There’s a good chance the people involved in this are still there.”
“You’re worried about your friend.”
“Yes.”
“What should we focus on?”
“First, please concentrate on guarding Deputy Merchant Lord Bok and his family. And if you find anyone colluding with the Unorthodox Sect, subdue them.”
I added,
“If you two handle that, I can focus on tracking down the horses without worrying.”
“Understood.”
The two Escort Guards immediately set off back toward the Gwangjun Merchant Group.
Alright, time to really start looking for those horses.
“Geumryeong.”
“Kui?”
Geumryeong poked its head out from inside my sleeve.
“It’s errand time.”
At my words, Geumryeong’s eyes sparkled.
“You smelled the horses plenty on the way here, right? Go find where they are.”
At my request, Geumryeong shot off like an arrow.
A short while later, Geumryeong came back.
Judging by how fast it returned, the horses were somewhere nearby.
But I noticed something red smeared on Geumryeong’s body.
“Blood?”
Startled, I scooped Geumryeong up in my arms.
“Geumryeong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
At my call, Geumryeong shook its head.
“Kui! Kui! Kui–kui!”
“Huh? That’s not your blood? And we need to go there right now?”
“Kui!”
I hurriedly grabbed my things and rushed out with the Escort Guards. I told Palgap to go inform the others.
“Hyah!”
At my shout, my horse leaped forward.
Geumryeong raced ahead of us, leading the way. It was dark on all sides, but the light streaming from its body let us advance without trouble.
I had no idea how long we ran like that.
Before long, I understood why Geumryeong had called me so urgently.
Several campfires lit up the surroundings, and the missing horses were gathered there.
But…
Something about the scene was off.
A few of the horses were going wild, rampaging and attacking people.
Those had to be the Unorthodox Sect thugs who’d stolen the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s horses.
— Neigh!
“What the hell is wrong with these crazy horses?!”
“Where the hell did they even come fro—”
The horse attacks had them in a total panic. It was a complete mess.
But it seemed they weren’t just taking it lying down either, because the horses were bleeding too.
Ah, so the blood on Geumryeong had come from them.
“Kuit! Kui! Kui!”
Geumryeong was shouting at me.
Pretty much asking what I was doing just standing here instead of helping those horses.
“I was just about to.”
We drew our swords at once and charged in, taking down the Unorthodox Sect rabble one by one.
The strongest among them was only at the very entrance to the Peak Realm, so subduing them wasn’t difficult.
“Who the hell are—urk!”
I didn’t bother answering his question and simply kicked him in the face.
In the meantime, the Escort Guards took care of the rest.
Just like that, the situation was under control. We tied up the Unorthodox Sect warriors and even removed any hidden poison they might use to kill themselves.
I glanced back over my shoulder.
There were about ten horses bleeding.
The horse standing at the very front was face to face with Geumryeong.
“Neigh!”
“Kui! Kui!”
“Snort.”
“Kui!”
Mm, so they were having a conversation.
I counted the horses.
Fifty in total.
Subtract the ten bleeding ones, and that made exactly forty.
Then what were those ten horses?
Geumryeong cleared up my question.
“Kui! Kui! Kui–ui!”
After finishing its chat, Geumryeong came back and explained.
“So you’re saying those horses aren’t the ones that ran away?”
“Kui.”
“Those horses are… spiritual beasts?”
At that, I lifted my head and really took a good look at them.
Their sweat… looked milky? No way!
Most people think the best horses are the blood–sweating steeds, the so–called thousand–mile horses.
But there’s an even higher–grade breed most people don’t know about.
The Hanyu Horse (汗乳馬).
It sweats milky foam, and its formal name is the River–Crossing Horse (走江馬).
It literally means a horse that runs across rivers.
That’s how absurdly fast it is.
If a thousand–mile horse can run about a thousand miles in a day, a River–Crossing Horse can run three thousand.
Which is why River–Crossing Horses are classified not as ordinary animals, but as spiritual beasts.
And there were ten of those just standing here?
“Kui, kuii.”
Noticing my disbelief, Geumryeong explained further.
“Oh, you saw them being dragged off and went out to help them? They actually asked you for help?”
“Kui.”
Those forty stolen horses had figured it out too.
That the Unorthodox Sect group hadn’t brought them here with good intentions.
I walked over to the ten River–Crossing Horses and bowed with cupped fists.
“Thank you for helping. Thanks to you, I was able to protect my friend’s property.”
— Snort.
They looked like it was no big deal.
“I’d like to at least treat your wounds, if that’s alright.”
The horses nodded, and I pulled a small bottle from my robes and dabbed its liquid onto their wounds.
I’ve been using this stuff a lot lately.
The liquid, of course, was Geumryeong’s saliva.
As expected, the effect was incredible – the horses’ injuries closed up in an instant.
“It was a good encounter. Go on your way.”
At my words, the leading horse cocked its head, looking confused.
— Neigh? Snort?
“Kui!”
Geumryeong helpfully interpreted.
“You’re asking why I’m not being greedy and trying to keep you? Greedy, huh?”
I quickly caught on to what it meant.
“Of course I’m tempted. But I’m satisfied with the horse I have now. And do you know how dangerous it is to ride a horse that doesn’t really want you on its back? I don’t do stupidly risky things like that.”
I went on,
“So hurry and get going. It’ll be a headache if other people show up.”
I waved them off, but instead, the horses walked toward me.
And then…
“Huh?”
The lead horse knelt down.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Geumryeong spoke.
“Kui! Kuiii.”
“Uh… so it’s saying it wants to entrust itself to me now?”
“Kui.”
“Why?”
“Kuiii.”
“Uh… because I have money, so I’ll feed it well and keep it warm and comfortable?”
Well, even for a River–Crossing Horse, putting food in your belly and having a warm place to sleep is a serious matter.
Surely these horses don’t actually eat money like Geumryeong, right?
Maybe sensing my suspicion, Geumryeong spoke up again.
“Kui! Kui!”
“Hay is fine? And it’ll be even happier if I give it something sweet like candy once in a while?”
Mm, so it doesn’t eat money.
From the way Geumryeong was acting, it seemed to be telling me to take care of these horses.
I mean, they were River–Crossing Horses.
“Alright.”
A good idea suddenly came to me. I had brought Wolcha along as a gift this time, but an even better present had just dropped into my lap.
“I have a favor to ask – would one of you be willing to go live at my friend’s house as his horse?”
— Snort?
“Of course. He’s rich, so you’ll eat well and stay nice and warm.”
At that, the horses all nodded.
Perfect.
Now I could give Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun a truly amazing present.
But a sudden doubt hit me.
Even with guaranteed full bellies and warm backs, would River–Crossing Horses – spiritual beasts – really bow their heads to me this easily?
I turned to Geumryeong and asked,
“Geumryeong.”
“Kui?”
“You didn’t… threaten them or anything, right?”
“…”
“Geumryeong, why are you avoiding my eyes?”
–TL Notes–
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