Chapter 51
“Hey! I’m going with you.”
“Just stay in the room for a bit. I’ll be right back.”
“No. I’m going too.”
“Why?”
“You might run away, right?”
“Run away? What for? Why would I run away?”
“That’s… because it’s annoying, or maybe you’re scared, or maybe you just don’t want to? Anyway, I don’t trust you.”
“I told you, right? I’m a person who has to take responsibility for my words. If Jin So-ah, the great disciple of the Moyong Family, says something, he’ll keep it even if a knife is at his throat. And what’s so scary about breaking the heads of some desert thieves and getting back a stolen jewel? Stop talking nonsense and stay put. I’ll be back.”
The two people bickering were So-ah and Wang So-yeong.
So-ah was planning to go to a bookstore before leaving Liaoning to officially head to the Great Desert.
It was to get information about the Great Desert and to buy a detailed map.
But even for this trivial matter, So-ah did not let Wang So-yeong accompany him.
‘It’s better to go to the bustling streets alone if possible. Sigh!’
The reason was Wang So-yeong’s outstanding beauty.
Just half a day.
In this short time, So-ah had to feel the gazes of hundreds of people while accompanying Wang So-yeong.
‘Look at that woman.’
‘She’s crazy, so crazy. I’ve never seen such a beautiful person before.’
‘They’re a perfect match.’
‘I wish I had a girlfriend like that…’
There is no distinction between men and women, young and old, in admiring beauty.
Everyone who saw Wang So-yeong whispered and glanced at her, and among them were even dandies who openly flirted with her, so it was quite an annoyance for So-ah.
‘I’ll have to make that North Sea lady wear a mask.’
Although So-ah had heard countless compliments about his appearance since he was young, such as being cute or handsome, this was his first time experiencing this.
It was a moment when he could understand, just a little, the annoying words of someone who had said that being too good-looking was also tiring.
***
“Here! All the knowledge of the world is here. Old books are on sale for 20 iron coins! Come and have a look!”
When he arrived at the bookstore in the market, a clerk who was busy attracting customers from the entrance was shouting loudly.
So-ah approached him and asked abruptly.
“Excuse me, you sell maps and things like that, right?”
“Maps? Of course, sir! There’s nothing we don’t have in our bookstore. We even have ancient spellbooks and high-level martial arts manuals.”
So-ah snickered at those words.
‘Ancient spells and high-level martial arts manuals, this old man is also a big liar. Haha.’
But he just nodded his head as if he understood and,
“I’d like to buy a detailed map that I can use on my way to the Great Desert, and also a related book. It doesn’t matter if it’s text or pictures, so please show me some.”
“Ah! The Great Desert! Seeing that you’re going to the Great Desert, you must be from a merchant group, right?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“A martial artist.”
“Gasp!”
As So-ah revealed that he was a martial artist, the clerk no longer spouted useless words.
“I will show you this way, sir!”
It was a common trick for merchants to talk a lot and overcharge if they thought the customer was a drifter, but if they did that to a martial artist, their neck would likely be on the line.
The clerk immediately guided So-ah to a bookshelf in a corner of the third floor of the bookstore.
***
A look of disappointment was evident on So-ah’s face as he was flipping through the books.
It was because he couldn’t find any proper information about the Mad Wind Sand no matter how much he searched through the books related to the Great Desert.
‘Is it because it’s not a proper sect…’
That’s right.
Although the Mad Wind Sand was a well-known place, even that was just symbolic. In fact, the position of the Mad Wind Sand in the Jianghu was nothing more than a band of horse-riding robbers nestled in the middle of the desert.
In contrast to other robber bands like the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest or the Yangtze River Waterway Fortresses, whose history, the names of their successive general chiefs, their signature martial arts, and even their family relationships were described in the book <History of the Jianghu Martial World: Ancient Times>, the information about the Mad Wind Sand was just a ridiculous passage that said, ‘A desert robber band that is skilled in disguise and appears and disappears like a ghost, so even their base cannot be found.’ So-ah couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
‘They can’t even find their base… hah. I might not be able to finish this in three months.’
If he made a mistake, he would have to suffer in the middle of the vast desert, getting hit by sandstorms. At that thought, his expression automatically crumpled.
‘Let’s just run as much as possible. Just getting there won’t be an ordinary task.’
***
So-ah, who had returned to the inn, was surprised.
Because next to Wang So-yeong, who was supposed to be alone, there were as many as six unidentified figures standing.
And they were glaring at So-ah as if to kill him, with their swords drawn.
“What is this?”
So-ah asked in bewilderment.
At that, among the figures, a man in his twenties with the largest build and intense eyes, with his eyes wide open, said.
“How dare you! A dirty and petty brat from the Central Plains tried to seduce our innocent young lady and commit an indecent act? Do you think we, the North Sea, are fools?!”
For a moment, Wang So-yeong frowned with a troubled expression and then opened her mouth.
“Ah! Il-seok. It’s not like that. That brat’s identity is certain, and he’s a well-known guy in the Central Plains. He said he would make up for the Liaoning Escort Agency’s mistake, so let’s trust him for now. Huh?”
“My lady! Don’t you see it yet? I’m sick and tired of these Central Plains people. We can just wipe out that robber band called the Mad Wind Sand or whatever and get back the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade ourselves!”
“Il-seok. Calm down. No matter how much they are robbers, can we defeat them by ourselves?”
“Then, are you saying that brat can do it?”
“That brat’s martial arts are ‘real’.”
“How good can the martial arts of such a weak-looking brat be!”
“I’ve experienced it myself…”
“My lady! This is your first time in the Central Plains, right? The Central Plains is a place where you can get your nose cut off while your eyes are open. They are not people to be trusted!”
So-ah, who was watching the bickering between the man called Il-seok and Wang So-yeong, was so dumbfounded that he was at a loss for words.
What on earth was this?
“What on earth are you guys doing?”
So-ah asked again with a fed-up face.
The big man still glared at him and shouted as if scolding him.
“Can’t you shut up? How dare you run your mouth so carelessly?”
It was a really stubborn attitude.
At this point, it seemed useless to explain the situation and try to talk.
And,
‘I’ve already shown enough courtesy and respect to the client, right?’
So-ah didn’t want to endure it anymore.
“Well, it seems words won’t work.”
“…”
“Let’s have some bloody stool today.”
Physical pain is the best medicine for people who don’t listen to words.
Isn’t it a prescription that has already been perfectly clinically tested?
Thwack-thwack, thwack-thwack-thwack!
It was the moment when So-ah’s ‘massage and healing arts’ were being performed for the first time in a while.
***
“Ugh…”
“Uuugh…”
The time it took for So-ah to knead the six men from the North Sea so that they couldn’t even move was truly a moment.
The men from the North Sea, who had the aliases of No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6, were Wang So-yeong’s bodyguards, and their individual martial arts skills were roughly at the level of the students of the White Martial Academy.
Of course, that level would be enough to act as a hero anywhere.
But it was far from enough to be So-ah’s opponent.
“Hey. Why did you draw your sword out of the blue and threaten people? I hate swords. If you draw your sword and act up one more time, I’ll make you shit blood, so keep that in mind. Got it?”
The commotion subsided.
Thanks to the perfect effect of the physical therapy, the excited men from the North Sea no longer ran wild.
‘He beats me up and then suddenly acts like a victim… and with honorifics?’
‘Suddenly?’
‘Is he really a human being…’
‘I’m never even going to piss in the direction of the Central Plains again!’
Whether he knew the thoughts of the men from the North Sea or not, So-ah explained the situation to them with a friendly-looking face.
A little later…
Through conversation, So-ah and Wang So-yeong’s bodyguards resolved their misunderstandings to some extent.
The bodyguards had definitely departed for the Great Desert before Wang So-yeong.
But since So-ah and Wang So-yeong had set off a day apart, they had caught up with them and their paths had overlapped. And because of her beauty, Wang So-yeong was talked about wherever she went, so the bodyguards had found her.
‘Our young lady…’
‘With that tiger-faced gangster brat…’
‘They’re going to the Great Desert together? No. That’s not right! What is that brat trying to do!’
The bodyguards were reluctant.
Of course, they would be happy if So-ah retrieved the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, but the problem was that the young lady they served, Wang So-yeong, was too innocent and beautiful.
For them, who were exclusive to the Central Plains, that point was very suspicious.
“I understand the situation… but it’s not acceptable for the young lady to accompany that dog-like, no, that young master alone. We will go with you!”
In the end, No. 1 stepped forward, saying he would accompany them.
But So-ah was skeptical.
“You guys, can you get to the Great Desert in a month?”
“Crazy. How can we get to the Great Desert in a month? Are we birds?”
“Tsk tsk, and you want to follow us with that kind of attitude?”
The key to this request was ‘time’.
He had heard that the North Sea Ice Palace Lord was in a critical condition.
From Liaoning to the Great Desert, even if one rode a famous horse and ran diligently, considering the time for eating and sleeping, it was a distance that would take three to five months.
Even if the bodyguards’ lightness skill was very outstanding, it would take at least two months.
Moreover, since the location of the Mad Wind Sand was also a mystery, So-ah judged that he had to reach the Great Desert in a month, or at the latest, 20 days, to solve the request quickly.
“You said the Palace Lord is critically ill, right? Are we on a sightseeing trip? It’s a question of whether we can even make it to the Great Desert in a month, so are we going to waste all our time getting there? You’re free to follow, but if you’re not confident in that much endurance, don’t even think about it.”
So-ah cut off No. 1’s proposal in one fell swoop.
“Hah… but! You brat… no, how can we trust you and entrust our young lady to you?”
“Is So-yeong a child? What do you mean, entrust her? Ugh, you frustrating old men. So-yeong’s martial arts are quite good, and her lightness skill is at a very high level, so what are you so worried about?”
“Wh-What did you say?! So… So-yeong? How dare this person say our young lady’s name!”
Just then.
‘So… yeong… i?’
The person who was most surprised by So-ah’s words was Wang So-yeong herself.
After losing her mother when she was young, no one except her father had ever called her ‘So-yeong-i’.
But when such words came out of So-ah’s mouth, whom she had only known for two days, a strange feeling arose.
But she hid her emotions and said softly.
“Excuse me… No. 1. And everyone. The reason we came to the Central Plains was to cure my father’s illness. The situation has become complicated, so for now, we have no choice but to trust So-ah… no, this brat. So don’t worry about me, and you guys should first go back to the North Sea and report this.”
“Ah… my lady!”
“No!”
“How can you be alone!”
The bodyguards shook their heads with voices as if the sky was falling.
“This is an order. I will definitely retrieve the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, go to Manju-jang in Qinghai, get the internal dan of the Sun Fire Carp, and return to the North Sea. Trust me.”
Wang So-yeong’s firm voice.
Only then did the bodyguards realize that they could no longer stop her.
***
A week later.
“Gasp… gasp… I can’t go any further. No. It’s impossible!”
“Don’t you think about your father? Hey? Your feet aren’t moving? Are you going to collapse like this?”
So-ah and Wang So-yeong bickered.
For the past week, the two had been running like crazy.
The free time So-ah had given Wang So-yeong was two shichen a day.
In that time, Wang So-yeong had to take care of her meals, sleep, and bathroom needs, and all other time was spent on performing lightness skill.
Thanks to that, they had accomplished the feat of reaching the entrance of Beijing, but So-ah was still pushing Wang So-yeong.
“Hey! Can’t you at least go on a good road! You only pick these steep and rugged mountain ridges… it’s even more deadly.”
“Look at the map here! This is the fastest way. You have to endure even if it’s hard.”
“Can’t we just rest for one shichen?”
“No. I won’t let you rest.”
“Hey!”
Wang So-yeong shouted convulsively.
As expected, her face was pale.
‘Hmm… it’s a symptom of oxygen deficiency. She’s really going to collapse at this rate.’
So-ah had no choice but to make a bold decision.
“Wang So-yeong.”
“What?”
“Get on my back.”
So-ah turned his back to her and lowered his posture to sit down.
“Hurry up and get on, I’m leaving you behind.”
Wang So-yeong had no choice but to jump onto So-ah’s back and be carried.
‘Jin So-ah…’
Wang So-yeong’s face turned red.
(End of Chapter)