Palgap looked at my face and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Run!”
But Escort Guard Seo Wu gave a small shake of his head and whispered,
“I think we’re already too late.”
“…”
I let out a sigh to myself.
He was right. They’d already recognized me and were hurrying this way with bright smiles on their faces.
“Couldn’t they just be passing through?”
At Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am’s comment, I gave him a bitter smile.
There was no way that was it.
They were warriors from the Embroidered Guard.
There were six of them in total, and four of them already knew me.
So Un, who’d worked with me when we dealt with the ice upstream, and Gwon Jik and Gwon Eul, whom I’d met at Yanzhi Mountain where Blood Staff Star Monk’s Sword Tomb had been.
And one of the warriors I’d once saved.
Before I knew it, they were standing right in front of me. Hiding my unease, I greeted them.
“It’s good to see you. What brings you here?”
“What brings us here? We were obviously waiting for you.”
At that, I turned and shot Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am a look.
See? They weren’t just passing by.
Catching my stare, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am scratched his head and looked away.
“The moment we heard you’d left Shaolin Temple, we came straight here.”
“I heard you made quite a name for yourself at Shaolin Temple too! Hahahahaha!”
“The title Handsome Young Hero fits you perfectly.”
No doubt about it.
The emperor had eyes and ears in Shaolin Temple too.
Still, I’d come this way with help from the Path-Revealing Map… so how?
Should I throw it away?
But I dropped that thought just as quickly.
There had to be a reason…
First, I needed to find out why these people had come to see me.
Please…
I’ve got a mountain of work waiting for me at the Beijing branch. And I need to go home and rest.
“You got here awfully fast, by the way.”
“The second we heard you’d left, we set out too, and you’re already in Hebei!”
Well, I rode a River-Crossing Horse.
“We came looking for you because there’s somewhere you need to go with us.”
“Here, an Imperial Edict.”
Gwon Jik held out a red scroll lavishly decorated with gold leaf.
Damn it!
I knew I had a bad feeling about this!
The men standing before me were utterly devoted to the emperor.
If I showed even the slightest reluctance in front of them, there was a good chance I’d be finished on the spot.
They clearly thought well of me, but I knew that goodwill could turn into anger at any moment.
I respectfully accepted the scroll with both hands, bowed toward the imperial palace, and carefully opened it.
“…!”
I almost failed to keep my expression under control.
[Go to Yunnan with the Embroidered Guard I have sent and complete the mission.]
Yunnan? Yunnaaaan?
Where even was Yunnan?
The far southwestern edge of the empire. In other words, the complete opposite direction from Beijing.
Whew, calm down.
I kept reading the edict.
[I already know what kind of face you’re making right now, so wipe that look off. You have passed my test, and there is no one better suited to this task than you.]
What in the world is going on…
No, more than that, the emperor brought up a test in the edict, which made it sound like that earlier test hadn’t been just to place me beside the Crown Prince as a friend.
So this was the real reason?
Was he trying to get even more use out of me?
Honestly, this is starting to feel like payback for getting one over on the emperor…
No way. Surely His Majesty wouldn’t be that petty.
I rolled the scroll back up, bowed once more toward the imperial palace, and stood.
“What should I do with the edict?”
“Burn it.”
“What? Is that really allowed?”
“It is. No record connected to an Embroidered Guard mission can ever be left behind.”
His tone was so firm that I didn’t hesitate and burned the Imperial Edict to ashes.
For some reason, that felt incredibly satisfying.
“Oh, and now that you’ve burned the edict, you can no longer refuse the order.”
“What? I could’ve refused it?”
At my question, they answered,
“By regulation, yes. If you have a valid reason, you can refuse.”
“But you know full well theory and reality are two different things, so why ask?”
“I was just… curious. Hahaha.”
“…”
I had a feeling they were genuinely enjoying messing with me.
Swallowing another sigh, I asked them,
“So what exactly are we supposed to do?”
“We need to rescue the envoys.”
“The envoys?”
Had there been any place sending envoys at a time like this?
Gwon Jik explained what had happened.
About a month ago, the emperor had sent envoys to Yunnan.
The empire’s authority didn’t fully reach the frontier regions.
And since the people there had long lived according to the land’s natural conditions, they couldn’t simply be forced to follow the empire’s standards across the board.
So the usual approach was to grant official titles to the influential families or tribal chiefs in the area and make them the local administrators.
Yunnan also had seven major tribes, each with its own power base, and the emperor had granted titles to their chiefs as well.
“This mission was meant to inspect one of those tribes, the Springview Fortress tribe, and receive its administrative report. But they’ve taken the envoys hostage.”
“What are they demanding?”
At my question, Gwon Jik answered with an awkward look.
“They want recognition as an independent power.”
“What?”
So in other words…
They wanted to break free of the empire’s rule and establish an independent nation?
There was no way the emperor could allow that.
Once a precedent was set, tribes in other regions would rise up and demand the same thing.
The Springview Fortress tribe had to know that.
And the emperor’s seat was a ruthless one. It was a place where you chose to sacrifice the few for the many.
Which meant there was no real reason for him to force a rescue like this.
Maybe he cared deeply for his officials, sure, but enough to send not two, but six warriors from the Embroidered Guard?
And if the Springview Fortress tribe had taken them hostage, that meant those hostages were worth that much.
I let out a sigh.
“I think it’s time you told me.”
“Told you what?”
“Who’s in the envoy group we’re supposed to rescue?”
At my question, the warriors from the Embroidered Guard all widened their eyes.
Seriously, these people!
Did they really think I wouldn’t figure that out?
Gwon Eul smiled with obvious satisfaction.
“As expected. I’d already taken note of you before, but… your insight is impressive.”
“So who is it?”
I asked again, and Gwon Jik answered.
“His Highness Imperial Prince Ju Hyeon.”
“…”
Imperial Prince Ju Hyeon was the second son of Consort Hwarun, the emperor’s second wife.
And he was also Prince Jinseung’s older brother, someone I’d known in my previous life.
Come to think of it, I’d heard he died young. That was why he was never formally granted a royal title.
I was thinking back on what Prince Jinseung had told me when I suddenly flinched.
Wait a second. This was around that time, wasn’t it?
Which meant this operation had failed in my previous life.
Back then, I hadn’t known anything about it.
I hadn’t had any connection to the emperor, and that was also when I’d been overwhelmed dealing with the famine.
And this was the death of an imperial prince at the hands of a frontier tribe. The imperial palace must have covered it up.
Yeah… I’d better keep my wits sharp.
If Imperial Prince Ju Hyeon had died in Yunnan at the hands of the Springview Fortress tribe, then everything that happened afterward made sense too.
At the time, Prince Seongbo, Ju Hyeon’s older brother, personally led the campaign that wiped Springview Fortress off the map.
The conquest had been so vicious that I’d wondered whether there was some personal grudge behind it, and apparently there really had been.
I mean, they took his little brother hostage and then killed him. If it were me, I wouldn’t have let that slide either.
Gwon Jik gave me a warning.
“Keep this confidential.”
“Understood.”
“And we’re counting on you.”
And just like that, on my way from Shaolin Temple to the Beijing branch, I had no choice but to turn around and head straight for Yunnan instead.
Goddamn it!
I’m going to squeeze every last thing I can out of the emperor for this. Every last thing!
.
.
.
Yunnan was so far away that traveling only by land would wear you down far too much, so the best option was to make as much use of the waterways as possible.
We’d take a boat from Jinan to Gaebong, travel south overland from Gaebong to Wuhan, then board another boat there and head up the Yangtze all the way to Yunnan.
I was a little worried whether the River-Crossing Horses would behave on a boat…
Still, with Geumryeong around, they probably wouldn’t dare cause trouble.
First, I sent a letter to the Beijing branch through Geumryeong, and Geumryeong returned carrying a letter from Lady Seohyang.
Lady Seohyang already knew Geumryeong served as my messenger.
[I already knew. Have a safe trip. And send Geumryeong to me once every five days. I will report on business.]
Report on business? Why every five days for that… Ah!
Lady Seohyang didn’t mean an ordinary business report.
She was trying to tell me the future she’d seen.
She had never once made a request like this before, so did that mean this mission was especially dangerous?
Well, I’d find out soon enough once we started exchanging letters.
We boarded a boat in Jinan and got off in Gaebong.
Still… Gaebong, of all places.
At this point, I couldn’t help thinking I should’ve just taken my time getting here.
This was basically going backward.
First, I tried to think about the Yunnan region.
It was famous for Pu’er Tea, and the Eunhae Merchant Group also had people there handling supply shipments.
And it was where Brother Jin-ho had gone missing before.
Thanks to that, I’d gotten the Silver Mist Sword and Geumryeong, but still, I never thought I’d end up going back there…
Ugh.
A sigh escaped me.
I knew exactly how brutal and miserable that place could be.
It had only just become the Ninth Month, but over there the rainy season lasted until the Tenth Month.
It would be oppressively hot and humid.
Of course, I’d already reached the Profound realm, and my inner force carried a chill, so heat itself wasn’t a problem for me.
The problem was my bodyguards and Palgap.
I lifted my head, looked at the sky, and said,
“It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu agreed with me.
“I think so too.”
At our exchange, So Un looked puzzled.
“The sun’s still blazing. What rain are you talking about?”
But before we could explain, Gwon Jik stepped in.
“Did you say Escort Guard Seo Wu used to work for an escort agency?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’ve heard no one reads weather and direction better than men from an escort agency. So does that mean we need to find shelter around here?”
“I don’t think this rain will pass quickly. We need to get out of it and find a place to stay for the night.”
But at Escort Guard Seo Wu’s words, the other warriors objected.
“But we can still travel another several hours, can’t we? It’s not like we’re in any position to move at a snail’s pace.”
“That’s right. Let’s just keep going.”
The conflict was plain on Gwon Jik’s face.
I sighed to myself.
“As far as I know, warriors of the Embroidered Guard keep moving whether it rains or snows.”
“That’s true.”
“Then has anyone here actually been to Yunnan?”
At that, one of the warriors raised his hand.
He was one of the men I’d saved before. Was his name Han Seok?
“I’ve been there.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what month was that?”
“Let’s see… I think it was winter. The First Month.”
“And where in Yunnan did you go?”
“The central region.”
“…”
I was starting to understand another reason the emperor had sent me along with them.
“Ehh…”
The sigh slipped out before I could stop it, and Gwon Jik’s brow twitched.
“What is it?”
“Yunnan is vast, and the weather changes drastically from region to region. The central area, for example, stays mild year-round. But the west side of Guizhou, where Springview Fortress is, is completely different.”
I continued,
“Of course, moving fast is important. But considering the climate where we’re headed, we need to conserve as much stamina as possible. That place drains your strength even if you’re standing still.”
After a brief moment of thought, Gwon Jik accepted my judgment.
“If you’re speaking that strongly, then you must be right. We’ll rest here, then. Find somewhere we can spend the night.”
At that, the other warriors still looked unconvinced, but they nodded anyway.
“I saw water down below. What about there?”
At So Un’s suggestion, Escort Guard Seo Wu shook his head.
“I wouldn’t recommend it. You can’t judge a valley in the rain by what it looks like normally. The water can rise five to ten times over. And if you get caught in a flash current, you’re in serious trouble.”
“We’re all martial artists, and we passed the brutal Embroidered Guard selection exam. A little current isn’t going to—”
At that, I pointed at a huge boulder with my hand.
“Can you lift that and move it?”
“Are you joking right now? How would anyone lift and move that?”
“A flash current can.”
“…Th–that’s impossible…”
“It’s true.”
They didn’t know that? What exactly were they testing in the Embroidered Guard selection exam?
At my firm answer, Gwon Jik spoke.
“All right, settle down. Go find us a place.”
At his order, we immediately moved to look for a place to stay.
Escort Guard Seo Wu, who was used to this kind of thing, quickly found a cave that could keep off the rain.
Which made sense. The road from Gaebong to Wuhan was one escort agencies traveled often.
Then we hurriedly gathered branches, built a fire, and sat around it.
Not long after the fire was lit, a torrential downpour came crashing down.
Shhhhaaaaaa–!
The weather changed in an instant.
And when thunder and lightning followed, the way the warriors of the Embroidered Guard looked at us changed completely.
Uh… why are you all looking at us like that?
That was when it happened.
Clink, clink.
A sound came through the pounding rain.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt