I asked the Life-Seizing Wanderer.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“We don’t have time to dawdle. If we let ourselves get held up here, we’ll only waste more time. Let’s go.”
“R-right.”
And with that, we left the disappointed crowd behind and departed.
Once we had put some distance between us and the village, the Life-Seizing Wanderer asked,
“Did you really have to turn them down so coldly? They looked terribly disappointed…”
“I didn’t help them because I wanted a reward, so what does it matter? Besides, they’re probably overwhelmed dealing with the aftermath right now. Making them worry about repaying me on top of everything else would only burden them further.”
“Uh…”
Seeing him at a loss, I continued.
“That aside, if you run your mouth again because you can’t tell what takes priority, I might beat you myself.”
“That was my fault. I apologize.”
“Be more careful from now on.”
“I will.”
We traveled for several more days before finally reaching the river.
Ordinarily, I would have ridden the River-Crossing Horse across, but since I had companions this time, we had to take a boat.
Fortunately, river traffic was brisk in the area, so finding a boat to carry us across wasn’t difficult.
Not long after crossing the river, we arrived in Kaifeng.
“Kaifeng certainly lives up to its reputation.”
“It sure does, sir.”
It truly was one of the greatest cities in the empire.
I said to the Life-Seizing Wanderer,
“Let’s rest here for a day before setting out again.”
“Very well.”
We began searching for a suitable inn.
“What about that one?”
“The food isn’t very good.”
“That place looks decent enough.”
“The walls are too thin.”
I rejected every inn the Life-Seizing Wanderer suggested.
By my standards, a suitable inn needed decent facilities and good food, but above all, it needed to protect its guests’ privacy.
It wasn’t quite the same as Luoyang, where the Murim Alliance itself was based, but Kaifeng was home to the Beggars’ Sect, their primary intelligence network.
It would be best not to draw too much attention.
“That place will do.”
It was the same inn where I had stayed the last time I came to Kaifeng to shake off the men pursuing me, back when the emperor sent me to deliver a letter to Lord Bang Hyo-myeong.
That had already been almost two years ago.
Time really did fly.
This inn was rather expensive, though.
“In case you don’t have enough for a room, I can pay–”
“Didn’t I tell you before? I have plenty of money. There’s no need.”
Come to think of it, he did possess the easy confidence of a man who had never needed to worry about money.
Now I was curious.
“How did you come by so much money?”
He answered,
“My master left me a considerable inheritance. Our lineage has owned businesses and land since before even my grandmaster’s time, all passed down from one successor to the next.”
So that was it.
I let out a sigh.
Surely they hadn’t left him that wealth so he could squander it however he pleased. In a lineage passed down to only one successor at a time, it was probably meant to keep him fed and allow him to preserve their martial arts properly.
“Did your master leave you any instructions regarding the estate?”
“None. He suddenly disappeared one day. I only learned I had inherited anything because the Chief Administrator managing the estate told me.”
“So you’ve been traveling across the empire in search of your master?”
“More or less.”
He nodded.
“Then one day, I met a martial artist and got into a dispute with him. The bastard called himself the Three-Benevolence Sword Gentleman, but he wasn’t nearly benevolent enough to deserve three benevolences in his name. So I took his epithet. That was how the Life-Seizing Wanderer began.”
And just like that, I learned how the Life-Seizing Wanderer had come to be.
“So it did begin for a fairly righteous reason.”
Though by now, he was earning resentment and infamy alongside all those epithets.
“…”
He had no answer to that.
After leaving our luggage at the inn, we headed back outside.
The Beggars’ Sect might make me wary, but we had come all the way to Kaifeng. Keeping everyone cooped up inside the inn would have been cruel.
Palgap, for one, already looked ready to crawl out of his skin.
On our way out, I spotted the Life-Seizing Wanderer drinking tea on the first floor.
“We’re going to look around the market for a while. Would you care to join us?”
He readily nodded at my invitation.
“Gladly.”
And so we left the inn together.
We wandered through Kaifeng, taking in the sights.
I paid particular attention to the shops and market stalls. Their displays revealed what was selling well and what currently held the public’s interest.
While we were there, I also bought some of Kaifeng’s famous dried meat.
I glanced behind me.
“We should rest at a teahouse for a while.”
“…That would be best.”
Kaifeng was prosperous as a center of commerce, but it was also well known for its teahouses.
Probably because so many of its residents were wealthy enough to spend their leisure time in them.
As one of the major cities near Beijing, it was home to many affluent families.
That was likely why so many Kaifeng poets had entered the last Poetry and Prose Competition–and why they had performed so well.
We entered a suitable teahouse nearby.
“Welcome!”
A waiter greeted us and showed us to a table.
“May I take your order?”
“I’ll have the Azure Sea.”
Azure Sea was a blend created by the Eunhae Merchant Group, combining several varieties of tea to evoke the refreshing sensation of gazing across a blue ocean.
We had created it to commemorate the Eunhae Merchant Group’s first trading expedition, and I had heard it was selling quite well.
It would probably sell even better once the weather grew hotter.
I was rather fond of Azure Sea myself.
The rest of my party ordered the same, while the Life-Seizing Wanderer chose Wuyi Rock Tea.
Wuyi Rock Tea was produced near Mount Wuyi in Fujian and had a clean flavor touched with a subtle sweetness.
Come to think of it, the Life-Seizing Wanderer was from Fujian.
Our tea soon arrived. As I sipped it with the accompanying refreshments, I quietly said,
“We’re being followed.”
“I know. They’re waiting outside the teahouse now.”
“They seem to be after you…”
He sighed and lowered his head slightly.
“I’m sorry. It seems I’ve caused you trouble.”
“Were you already being pursued?”
“To tell the truth, there are quite a few people after me.”
Of course there were.
He had stolen epithets from people in both the Orthodox Sect and the Unorthodox Sect. The men waiting outside the teahouse for him to emerge belonged to the Unorthodox Sect.
My guards’ presence was nothing to scoff at, so they had probably followed us while waiting for an opening.
Anyone from the Orthodox Sect would have approached more discreetly instead of tailing us so brazenly.
Come to think of it… hadn’t everyone been shocked when the Life-Seizing Wanderer died?
Even the man who killed him had supposedly been surprised.
His killer had launched the strike fully expecting him to evade it, yet for some reason, he hadn’t. The sword had pierced him and ended his life.
Perhaps someone he had wronged used some hidden means against him.
Though I had no idea what method they might have used.
That was the sort of thing that happened when someone accumulated that much infamy.
This man really was trouble in every conceivable way.
I sighed.
“It can’t be helped.”
I was the one who had invited him to travel with us, so this was mine to deal with as well.
“What do those men want from you?”
“To take back the epithet I stole and restore their pride, I imagine.”
“Then why not simply give it back?”
“Do you have any idea how hard I worked to collect those? How can you even suggest such a thing?”
The Life-Seizing Wanderer shook his head in vehement protest.
To him, those epithets were probably no different from the honor he had spent his entire life building.
“None of that will matter if you die, will it?”
“…”
“How do you plan to settle this, then? Surely you don’t intend to spend the rest of your life being hunted.”
“I’ll kill them. Then there’ll be no one left to come after me.”
No.
That would only breed more hatred and invite further revenge.
“You’ll regret that.”
“Do you truly think rabble like them could kill me?”
“Allow me to share an ancient maxim of battle with you.”
“And what would that be?”
“No matter how skilled a martial artist may be, no one can defeat an entire mob alone.”
Or getting jumped, as people crudely called it.
Besides, this was Kaifeng, one of the empire’s major cities.
Causing trouble here would bring no end of headaches and delay our schedule.
I couldn’t allow that.
When I rose from my seat, he asked,
“Where are you going?”
“To settle this for you.”
“Why would you?”
“Because I don’t want the people chasing you to become my problem.”
And it wouldn’t hurt to make the Life-Seizing Wanderer owe me one.
“Hmph. The name Life-Seizing Wanderer would be shamed if I stood by and watched you deal with them in my place. Leave it. I’ll handle this myself.”
“With that sword?”
“Indeed.”
I gave a faint laugh.
“I know how to use a sword as well, but not every problem should be solved with one.”
The Life-Seizing Wanderer let out an incredulous laugh, as though my words made no sense. I continued,
“What will you do if I send them away without drawing my sword?”
“That’s impossible.”
“It isn’t.”
The corner of my mouth curled upward.
“Care to make a wager?”
“A little entertainment would brighten this journey. A contest within our contest, then.”
He considered my proposal for a moment before saying,
“Well, I have nothing to lose. If you fail, I’ll count it as one step toward taking Handsome Young Hero from you.”
“Very well. But if I succeed, you’ll call me Brother until we reach the Zhuge Clan.”
“…Very well.”
And just like that, the wager was set.
I rose and headed downstairs with my companions, then approached the Unorthodox Sect members waiting outside the entrance.
They immediately shifted into guarded stances when they saw me coming.
They had been watching me travel with the Life-Seizing Wanderer, so their reaction was only natural.
I went straight to the point.
“Do you gentlemen have business with the Life-Seizing Wanderer?”
“…!”
Their faces stiffened in surprise. Clearly, they hadn’t expected me to confront them so directly.
“Ah, and I advise you not to draw your swords. As you know, members of the imperial family reside in Kaifeng, so Imperial Guards patrol these streets constantly. Getting caught would be a needless headache, wouldn’t it?”
“I-it doesn’t matter!”
“If we can reclaim the epithet our brother lost…”
“Tsk, tsk.”
I clicked my tongue.
“Do you think this brother of yours would be able to rest easy if you ended up in prison over this? Worse, if things go badly, he could be implicated in the same crime.”
“W-well…”
“Besides, the Murim Alliance keeps a close eye on Kaifeng. Nothing good will come from drawing their attention.”
“…”
They had nothing to say to that.
“So what epithet did your brother lose?”
“Shanxi Mad Dog.”
A mad dog from Shanxi…
Why anyone would be so obsessed with reclaiming an epithet like that was beyond me.
Not that I needed to understand it.
The world was full of things that made no sense, and sometimes it was healthier to simply accept them and move on.
“You must have thought it was an exceptionally impressive epithet.”
“Of course!”
“But in your place, rather than taking back the old one, I’d create an even better epithet.”
“An… even better epithet?”
“Yes. Since he was called the Shanxi Mad Dog, I assume you live in Shanxi.”
“We do.”
“Then how about the Shanxi Overlord, or the Shanxi Fierce Tiger?”
“Oho!”
Their faces lit up.
“We could do that!”
“Those are even better than Shanxi Mad Dog!”
I gave them an understanding look.
“I understand how you feel. Be honest–weren’t you chasing the Life-Seizing Wanderer because you were angry and wanted someone to take it out on?”
“…”
They avoided my gaze without answering, which told me I was right.
Doing it for their brother was only an excuse. Venting their anger was the real reason.
“The truth is, the Life-Seizing Wanderer and I are currently in the middle of an epithet-stealing contest.”
“Is… is that true?”
“It is. That man is trying to steal my epithet, Handsome Young Hero.”
“What? Then you’re the renowned Handsome Young Hero!”
“No wonder I thought you were so handsome!”
They nodded vigorously.
“To think you’d give advice like that even to men like us! I’m touched.”
“That rotten bastard! Of all the epithets in the world, he has to go after Handsome Young Hero?”
“Exactly!”
Their candid outrage brought a smile to my face.
“Actually, the Life-Seizing Wanderer agreed to call me Brother if I sent you away without drawing my sword. Doesn’t that sound entertaining?”
“Oho!”
“That prideful bastard, calling a man younger than himself Brother!”
“Now that would be a sight worth seeing!”
“So I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
They nodded eagerly.
“If that’s what this is about, of course we’ll help! It’ll let us vent our anger too!”
“Damn right!”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Don’t mention it…”
The thought of the Life-Seizing Wanderer calling me Brother seemed to delight them beyond measure.
“Then I’ll look forward to hearing your new, more impressive epithet.”
“Hahaha! You can count on it!”
They left without further argument, and I looked up at the teahouse.
The Life-Seizing Wanderer stood there wearing the expression of a man chewing a rotten cucumber.
Heh! So I was Brother now?
.
.
.
A short while later.
We returned to the inn.
“Dinner is on me tonight, in celebration of my becoming your Brother.”
The Life-Seizing Wanderer gave me a sour look.
“I… I’m not really hungry…”
Palgap promptly said,
“If you skip meals, you’ll fall ill during the journey, sir.”
“…”
In the end, he sighed and answered,
“Very well, Brother.”
“If you’re going to call him Brother, shouldn’t you speak to him more respectfully too, sir?”
A sharp grinding sound rang out.
Did I just hear him grind his teeth?
Heh heh heh. That’s Palgap for you.
How did he always know exactly what I wanted?
“Under…stood, Brother.”
Hearing his answer, I grinned inwardly.
It felt as though a decade’s worth of pent-up frustration had finally cleared away.
–TL Notes–
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That last part got me evil giggling