Ch. 71
"…When I lost my husband and child… I was already dead then. But this cumbersome body and resentment remained… and I was wandering the nine heavens for revenge… but now that even that is over, what do I have to live for?"
Yun Soso's appearance, who was continuing her words calmly and serenely, not lamenting or being self-deprecating, looked all the more sad for that reason.
"Hand…"
"Huh?"
"Give me your hand."
Although Yun Soso was puzzled by Jang Baekseo's sudden words, she soon held out her arm, and Jang Baekseo grabbed Yun Soso's arm and said.
"It might sting a little, but bear with it."
"Huh?"
Hwoong!
Jang Baekseo instantly grabbed Yun Soso's pulse and sent his energy through it. At the same time, he pressed a pressure point on her arm with his other hand.
"…This… what on earth…"
For a moment, Yun Soso was flustered by the action that had been carried out in an instant. She was astonished by the change that had occurred in her body.
"The urge to drink blood…"
"It hasn't completely disappeared. I've just suppressed it a little."
Jang Baekseo stopped Yun Soso, who was about to ask something more, and continued.
"I'm not asking for much from you, Mrs. Yun… just show yourself moderately and distract the eyes of the Righteous Heaven Alliance. And if you survive safely, try visiting a place called Hyeon-gong Mountain Villa in Napobakho, Xinjiang. If you go there, you will be able to find a way to escape the curse of the forbidden art."
"…I…"
Jang Baekseo interrupted Yun Soso, who was about to say something with sad eyes, and said.
"As long as you're alive!"
"…"
"As long as you're alive, you can start over. No matter how precious a person you've lost… no matter how sad you are, you still have to live. Live… live…"
Jang Baekseo could not continue any further.
But what he wanted to say was conveyed to Yun Soso.
Words have no weight.
Words are just a list of words and a list of information. But if weight is felt there, it is the weight created by the person speaking, not the words.
And now, Jang Baekseo's words to Yun Soso had a weight like a thousand, ten thousand pounds.
"…At first, I thought you were a brat who didn't know the world and was just pretending to be a hero…"
Yun Soso looked at Jang Baekseo and said.
"And as we talked, I thought you were a sinister fellow with a belly full of cunning… but now I see…"
Yun Soso, who made eye contact with Jang Baekseo, showed a smile that was a little sad and a little happy, unlike before.
"You were just a gentle person."
Jang Baekseo did not answer.
A gentle person? It was a word that was as different from Jang Baekseo as the sky and the earth. At least, Jang Baekseo himself thought so.
"Can I hug you just once?"
Jang Baekseo nodded his head once without answering.
"My son too… I wanted him to grow up to be a gentle child like you."
"…"
Jang Baekseo did not say anything. He just silently wished that the sorrow of the woman who had lost her child would be eased even a little, and that this woman could live again.
***
"Are you sure it's resolved?"
"I told you it's resolved! You saw it too, didn't you, uncle! The woman came out of the cave at the end and saw us off!"
"N-no, that's true, but…"
After finishing their conversation, Jang Baekseo's party, who had come out of the secret place, returned to the Water Remnant Gang and were waiting for the boat to be prepared.
"Tsk, seeing her come out and see us off in person, the story must have gone well… it will take some time for the boat to be prepared, so let's just spend some time around here. We'll probably be able to depart around evening."
At the words that it would take longer than expected to prepare the boat, Jang Baekseo's party came out of the Water Remnant Gang to find a place to spend their time.
While moving…
"Brother! Isn't that a boat going to the Chivalrous Alliance!?"
What Hwa Mokyeon pointed to was a large merchant ship with the flag of the Chivalrous Alliance.
"Yes, it seems so. Looking at the flag, it seems to be a merchant ship of the Chivalrous Alliance. It seems they are on their way back after buying goods in Guangxi."
Although the boats in Guilin were currently hesitant to depart, fearing the Yangtze River Waterway Fortress, the situation was different for the merchant ship of the Chivalrous Alliance.
'There's no way the Yangtze River Waterway Fortress 'of all things' would touch a boat of the Chivalrous Alliance…'
Although the Yangtze River Waterway Fortress acted as if there was nothing to fear in the world, claiming to be the master of the Yangtze River, they were still just water bandits. In front of the Righteous Heaven Alliance and the Chivalrous Alliance, which ruled the current eastern martial world, the Yangtze River Waterway Fortress was no different from the common water bandits scattered here and there.
In other words, they would crawl on their own.
"How about we take that boat!?"
Jang Yuran looked at Hwa Mokyeon, who was proposing with great excitement, with the eyes of someone looking at a foolish child and said.
"…Why would they let us, who they've never seen before, on board?"
"W-well, that's true, but if we explain the situation!!"
"And they'll believe us?"
"M-Madam Ma's ex-husband's coded message…!"
"You idiot…"
Jang Yuran, who had covered her face with a 'thump', pinched Hwa Mokyeon's cheek and said.
"As if those people would recognize a top-secret coded message written by a top-secret spy who had infiltrated the Demonic Cult!!!"
"O-ow! Owwww! It hurts, it hurts!!"
Watching the two bicker, Madam Ma laughed softly, and Jang Baekseo thought about Hwa Mokyeon's proposal.
Certainly, if they could take the merchant ship of the Chivalrous Alliance, that would be the best way.
But as Jang Yuran had said, there was no way for the party to get on that boat. Then how about stowing away… Jang Baekseo thought, but he soon gave up the idea at the presence he felt on the boat.
'Three transcendent masters… to send such masters on a simple business trip, the Chivalrous Alliance is indeed the Chivalrous Alliance.'
And they were all proper transcendent masters, not clumsy guys like Han Chuyeong, whom he had fought on Mount He.
As Jang Baekseo was organizing his thoughts alone…
"…Wait… maybe this…"
Jang Yuran, who had been pinching Hwa Mokyeon's cheek, let him go as if she had thought of something and approached Jang Baekseo.
"Lend me your ear for a moment."
Although Jang Baekseo was puzzled by Jang Yuran's sudden request, he soon obediently lent her his ear.
Whisper, whisper.
Jang Baekseo, who had heard Jang Yuran's question, thought for a moment and then said.
"As far as I can guess, there won't be any important people or key members. But you have to assume that the lower ranks have been somewhat infiltrated."
As if satisfied with Jang Baekseo's answer, Jang Yuran nodded her head and showed a strange smile.
***
Before leaving for Hunan, Jang Baekseo visited the Black Dot in Guilin to supplement his information and to ask for a certain 'favor'.
Jang Baekseo, who had dealt with his business at the Black Dot as quickly as possible, returned to the inn where the party was waiting.
But…
"Where did Jang Yuran go?"
At Jang Baekseo's question, Hwa Mokyeon, who was drinking tea, shrugged his shoulders and said.
"She suddenly said she had to run an errand and left, and she hasn't come back for a long time."
Since it was about time the boat was ready, the moment he was about to go out to find Jang Yuran before it was too late…
"Ah, sorry for being late. I had to run an errand for a moment."
"No, you're not that late… what was the errand?"
At Jang Baekseo's question, Jang Yuran grinned and said.
"Well? Let's just say I took out some insurance?"
"Insurance?"
Jang Yuran did not say anything more, and since it was time the boat was ready, Jang Baekseo's party hurriedly headed for the Water Remnant Gang.
A few days later, a rumor spread rapidly among the public.
-The demonic head who caused a massacre in Guizhou and Hunan is currently moving from Guizhou to Yunnan!
As if the secret actions until now were a lie, the demonic head moved boldly in broad daylight, as if he had no intention of hiding his appearance. And thanks to the very conspicuous characteristic of red hair, his whereabouts spread in an instant.
Until now, since the demonic head had moved so secretly, the Righteous Sword Squad and the Strong Sword Squad had been able to ignore his actual location and chase Jang Baekseo's party. But if his location was revealed so openly, the story would change.
The leaders of the Strong Sword Squad and the Righteous Sword Squad, who had been scolded for what they were doing in Guangxi when the demonic head had already crossed over to Yunnan in the regular report, were able to compromise by splitting their forces in half and sending them to Yunnan, under the pretext that the witness information might have been manipulated.
In a situation they had not expected at all, the two, who were having a hard time because Jang Baekseo's party's whereabouts were not easily caught, had no choice but to divide their forces as a temporary measure. And of course, problems could not help but arise in tracking Jang Baekseo's party.
"Damn it!! Why the hell are you crawling out at a time like this!!"
The leader of the Righteous Sword Squad, Namgung Jeongmin, shouted, tearing the carrier pigeon message that was reprimanding him to shreds.
No matter how much power the Hundred River Association had within the Righteous Heaven Alliance, not all the important people of the Righteous Heaven Alliance had been won over by the Hundred River Association.
Of course, the non-Hundred River Association members, who did not know the circumstances of this dispatch, or who knew but did not approve of the Hundred River Association's event, were dissatisfied with the dispatch of the Righteous Sword Squad and the Strong Sword Squad. And in the midst of that, when they failed to even properly kill the demonic head, which was the excuse for the dispatch, they took it as a good opportunity and began to denounce them.
Moreover, there were factions and power struggles within the Hundred River Association.
Among them, those who belonged to the dove faction did not look favorably on the fact that the Strong Sword Squad and the Righteous Sword Squad, the main forces of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, were out on external activities too much, and because of that, there were even those who expressed negative feelings about this matter itself.
In this situation, if they were to fail in this operation, it was possible that they would be abandoned not only by the non-Hundred River Association members but also by the people of the Hundred River Association.
If that happened, it was the end. It was a situation where it was as clear as day that not only himself but also the leader of the Strong Sword Squad would have a hard time keeping their positions.
"Damn bastards… I'll definitely catch you and tear you to pieces alive!"
***
"Achoo!"
"Are you okay, bro… achoo!"
"Oh my? You're so clumsy, you're sneez… achoo!!"
"Even Yuran? Are you okay?"
Madam Ma looked at Jang Baekseo, Hwa Mokyeon, and Jang Yuran, who were sneezing in succession, with a worried look.
Jang Baekseo waved his hand as if to say he was okay and said.
"Someone must be talking bad about us."
"No, maybe it's because Young Lady Cheong Yeonah is missing me, whose whereabouts are unknown!"
"Oh, you rascal… as if Sister Yeonah would do that."
Madam Ma, who had smiled at the conversation of the three, said to be careful anyway.
"It's already the first month of the year. If you're not careful, you'll really catch a cold."
At Madam Ma's words, Jang Baekseo's mind snapped to attention.
'Is that so… the year has already passed…'
Jang Baekseo looked at the setting evening glow and thought.
'I'm now at the age of learning (15)…'
And more than half a year had passed since he had regressed from death.
'Time sure flies…'
Just as the red sunset could not be stopped from disappearing below the horizon, so was the flow of time.
Jang Baekseo was immersed in an unknown lingering feeling for a long time, looking at the setting sun.
(End of Chapter)