Chapter 435: Journey to Taewon (6)

If you have multiple masters, it’s only natural that you must fulfill your duties as a disciple to each of them.

So of course, a disciple ought to go pay respects to their second master as well.

Qing hadn’t particularly planned to serve this one as a master, but thinking about it, wasn’t it her Master who had thought it a good idea in the first place?

And now that she’d heard it, she actually found herself wanting to see that sly smile of her Master again.

And thus, there was one person who was very, very excited about this.

“What should I pack?”

“Clothes. Underclothes. Towels. Needle. Thread. And a blade.”

“That’s it? How much gold and silver should I bring? I’ve got some allowance saved up. Should I just take it all?”

Was she a kid going overseas for the first time?

Seeing Jin Jangmyeong practically bursting with excitement, Qing gave a faint, amused smile as she replied—

“Oi, put that away. What do you need gold and silver for?”

“You don’t need it?”

“I told you to pack a blade. If you’ve got a blade, why would you need gold or silver?”

“...?”

“A blade.”

“...Right?”

Qing chuckled and reached over to ruffle Jangmyeong’s hair.

The girl’s head was just the right height to pat easily.

“Your Master-Grand-Aunt is filthy rich, you know. She’s not about to hand you pocket money for buying candy like a snot-nosed brat.”

“I’m not a kid. I’m twenty this year.”

“Twenty’s still a baby. A baby.”

“You’re only a year older.”

“Ah, but don’t you know what a difference a year can make? Me—top-tier master. You—uh... let’s not even talk about it. First, second, third-rate? All the same low-level trash. Why bother numbering it? I honestly don’t get it.”

“Tch.”

“Go on, pack your things and get some good sleep.”

“Mm.”

She answered well enough, but judging by her face, Qing doubted she’d get any rest that night.

And sure enough—

The very next morning, her eyelids were puffy and the whites of her eyes were shot through with red veins.

And there she was, carrying a bundle bigger than her own torso—light on her feet thanks to her martial training, but still—

“Clothes. Underclothes. Towels. Needle. Thread... what’s all this? Opening a cloth shop? Or are you a peddler?”

“I only packed what was necessary.”

“Good grief. People will think a perfectly capable young warrior is exploiting some little servant. Let’s see... Why did you bring a blanket?”

The moment Qing opened the bundle, a blanket popped out.

“Fourth-Senior-Sister said you have to be careful not to get cold if you sleep outside.”

“We’re not sleeping outside. And even if we did, we wouldn’t be using a blanket like this. Hm, what’s this?”

“Peefung-ee. Fourth-Senior-Sister said it’s absolutely necessary.”

The pifung-eui was a type of garment—in Qing’s homeland, they called it a cloak.

Honestly, aside from the name, there was no difference.

Why such perfectly identical clothing existed in completely different cultures was a mystery.

Was it that human sensibilities, East or West, all decided that having a long drape over your back looked cool?

Of course not.

It was simply that a long piece of cloth or leather that wrapped around the head and fastened in front was easy enough for even a monkey to make.

In cold places, you wore it to keep out the cold; in hot places, to block the sun.

“It’s nice to have, but we won’t need it this time. Jangmyeong, believe it or not, Taewon has these things called houses. Amazing inventions that block cold, heat, rain, snow, and wind. Hm, maybe you can’t picture it from words alone?”

“Tch.”

“Extra cotton padding? You won’t need it—once we get there, it’ll be warm. Winter clothes? Same thing. Bolts of cloth—why? Planning to do some weaving? A pot? Bowls? Spoons? Ah, at least you remembered to pack wound powder... Hm? What’s this? Jerky? Why so much jerky?”

“Fifth-Senior-Sister said to snack on it while traveling...”

“Now that’s excellent. Yes. This is exactly the sort of thing you should pack.”

“...?”

In the end, Jangmyeong’s massive bundle was pared down to a lean travel pack after a ruthless purge.

All the random household odds and ends—more suited to fleeing one’s home than a martial journey—were stripped away, leaving her looking at last like a proper wanderer of the jianghu.

After that came greetings—paying respects to the Sect Mistress, whose kindly demeanor still felt strange to her, and bowing deeply to her Master, promising to return safely.

Only then did they set out—for Taewon.

****

Those who walk the path of evil are often lumped together as sama oedo.

Sa refers to the heretical sects (sapa), ma to the demonic cults (magyo).

But evil in the world isn’t limited to those two.

The rest are bundled together as oedo—those “outside the way.”

After all, the heretical sects claim they walk the sa-do, and the demonic sects claim they walk the ma-do—

So the rest, with no “way” at all, the righteous and the demonic alike have tacitly agreed to call “oedo.”

Among these oedo are the human refuse most worthy of extermination, like the Blood Sect.

Also included are the black marketeers who skulk in the shadows of the Central Plains, human traffickers, flesh peddlers, and so forth.

And then, there are the bandits.

Here’s the surprising truth—

The Green Forest isn’t classified as part of the heretical sects!

Sure, the work of the heretics isn’t all that different from highway robbery, but at least they don’t outright snatch goods by force.

The heretics maintain at least a shred of pretense—protection fees without protection, “revival funds” without revival, taxes without rights—collected through more roundabout means.

They’re at least recognized by the authorities, who make absurd excuses like “non-interference in martial affairs” while turning a blind eye.

But the Green Forest?

That’s just a fancy name for mountain-dwelling bandit scum.

If you petition the authorities to wipe them out, you’ll be told the military’s not in their jurisdiction, the army’s too busy guarding the border, and if you suggest using constables, you’ll be asked, “Then who’ll guard the city?”

They don’t even need the flimsy non-interference excuse to leave the bandits alone.

So when Bu Anpyeong heard that the third son of the Green Forest Chief had come calling, he could only tilt his head—

Why would the son of a mountain bandit leader suddenly show up?

“Hah. You’re telling me the Green Forest was taken down by a fledgling who only just reached the top tier?”

“They say she used every underhanded trick—brutally killing his son and displaying the corpse, burning their fortress to shake his composure, then poisoning him and taunting him about how his son died while he staggered around until the poison finished him...”

“Is that really true? The loser always barks out every kind of bullshit to make himself sound better. Even they wouldn’t spout something that unbelievable unless they were desperate. If a late-Flower Realm got beaten by a greenhorn who just stepped into the top tier—hah, what an idiot.”

“So, what will you do?”

“What’s the point of swallowing the Green Forest? Would it even benefit the Union? And him—he comes running to me, offering me the Green Forest if I’ll take revenge for him? Does he think it’s worth that much? If it was, I’d have gone myself, beaten that bastard Chief to a pulp, and taken all his brats hostage long ago.”

Sunung smiled faintly.

A grave miscalculation on Wang Daeyang’s part—

The Demonic Union had no need for the Green Forest.

Just as Gwangju had been tainted by the Blood Sect, tainting themselves with bandits would only make the Union look like they’d dropped their mask entirely.

Seeing Sunung’s look of amused approval, Bu Anpyeong bristled.

“Hey, who’s the strategist here!? If all you do is trip me up, what kind of strategist are you? I keep you here to think for me, so start using your head!”

“You’re already wise enough, my Lord—I hardly need to interfere. Still, no reason to throw away a card in hand. I’ll assign him a capable master and see if we can steer things a bit. Any mountain pass that connects across the Central Plains is a resource that can’t be ignored.”

Bu Anpyeong clicked his tongue in displeasure, then added—

“And we can’t just leave that Heavenly Flower Sword alone either. Give me some way—some pretext—that even I can take action on. Set the stage.”

“Must we?”

“A brainless, reckless woman will burn herself out soon enough. She’ll learn, too late, that drowning in one’s grudges is the martial artist’s end.”

His smile vanished.

“But now I see—she’s not brainless. She knows how to hunt those stronger than herself. Right now she’s only a top-tier... the youngest top-tier. Will she be the youngest Flower Realm next?”

A fledgling top-tier who had already killed two in the Flower Realm and burned the Green Forest?

When Bu Anpyeong had been at that level, the very idea would’ve been unthinkable.

How was it even possible? It was practically supernatural skill.

And if she could do that now—what about later?

“You can’t let something like that grow. A supreme master who charges around, declaring every villain in the world must be beheaded? You have to cut the sprout before it grows.”

Bu Anpyeong’s eyes gleamed.

****

Before leaving for Guangxi, Qing had sent a letter asking if she might visit in the summer.

When she returned, the reply was waiting—a complaint about how hard it was to get a glimpse of her disciple these days.

So the plan had been to take the carriage straight along the main road to Shanxi Province in express fashion.

But there was a certain fledgling who, almost every day, would pester her—

“So where are we going? What’s along the way? Anywhere else we’re stopping? What else is there to see?”

Seeing her so puffed up with anticipation, Qing couldn’t bring herself to ruin it with, We’ll just spend twelve hours a day in the carriage, eating, dozing, and stretching until we reach Taewon.

So—why not make it feel like a trip?

The ultra-luxury carriage from the trading company could wait for another occasion.

Instead, they hired a regular carriage and took their time—

stopping in each city, sightseeing at scenic mountains, sampling local specialties—northward, and northward again.

A whole month of leisurely travel, enjoying the scenery, keeping Jin Jangmyeong company as she delighted in her rare outing into the jianghu.

Leaving Sanmen Gorge on the way to Yunxing—

By now, they were in Shanxi Province.

Qing was idly watching the changing trees outside the carriage window when she heard the rasp of something being ground.

“What are you doing?”

“This. Grinding.”

“Eh? You didn’t throw that away?”

“No. I just need to round off the edge.”

It was the small scallop earring Qing had given her.

She said that if she rounded off the jagged edge, it would just look like it had been made as a half-piece from the start.

Holding the broken side carefully, Jangmyeong was gently rubbing it against a whetstone.

She blew on it and examined it in the light, tilting it this way and that—

apparently dissatisfied, she bent over again and resumed the careful grinding.

Then—

Thunk! The carriage hit a stone and lurched violently.

“Ah!”

Jangmyeong looked down at her hand in dismay.

The half scallop earring was now a quarter scallop earring.

At least when it had been half, you could still tell it had once been a scallop—

now it was just a shiny little scrap, unrecognizable on its own.

“Ugh...”

“Hey, don’t take it too hard. I’ll just buy you another one.”

“...Mm.”

She answered, but her slumped shoulders said clearly she was discouraged.

Still, she’d learned a lesson—trying delicate work in a moving carriage was just asking for disaster.

Everyone learns by experience.

After that little “welcome to Shanxi” mishap, another ten days passed—

And at last, a city enclosed by massive walls appeared before them.

The capital of Shanxi Province—Taewon.