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The moment I lay down on the bed, it sounded like every bone in my body was breaking.
After several straight days of sleeping outdoors, my muscles had knotted up so badly that I felt like I’d been beaten all over by someone.
Groaning, I buried my face in the pillow.
I was grateful just to be lying on a bed instead of bare dirt, but everything hurt so much I thought I might die.
“Cane. Get over here and walk on my back.”
“Chrr!”
Cane sounded annoyed at being summoned, but it hopped up onto the bed anyway. Muttering as if this were a terrible inconvenience, it soon started stepping on my back and waist with its tiny feet.
“Yeah. A little lower. There. Right there.”
It was better than nothing, but the massage still left something to be desired, like brushing your teeth without toothpaste.
As I endured Cane’s clumsy efforts, I found myself missing Grandfather’s massages—no, his pressure-point therapy.
Was this what it felt like to go from a five-star hotel spa massage every day to pounding your shoulders with a dollar-store massage stick?
And to think I’d been receiving daily pressure-point therapy from a master of that level and never realized how incredible it was.
I honestly wanted to punch my past self.
Grandfather, I’ll make it up to you later.
Sniffling, I tapped the bed weakly.
“That’s enough, Cane. Come down.”
“Chit.”
“Good work. Want some jerky?”
“Kyuuuu!”
Cane had been sulking up until the word jerky. Its eyes lit up at once, and it leaped down right in front of my face.
Clutching the jerky in delight, it hopped onto the table and flopped over against something at an angle like it was using it as a pillow.
I snorted at the sight of it lying on its back, chewing away, then checked what it had propped its head on and blinked in surprise.
“What the—Cane, where did you get that?”
“Chrr.”
Under its head was a jade badge engraved with a tiger so vivid it looked ready to leap out at any second.
It was the favor token Peng Rak had given me once.
“Why is this here? Did you bring it?”
“Kyu!”
Cane bobbed its head, then shifted and settled more comfortably.
The way it fitted its neck into the hollow shaped like the tiger’s head made it look far too practiced for something it was using for the first time.
When did it even bring that? I’d completely forgotten about it.
Out of everything in the annex, it had picked out Peng Rak’s token and brought it along. I supposed a spirit creature really was a spirit creature.
That little brat really was useful in ways that mattered. It had an uncanny nose for valuable things.
“Cane. Keep that safe. Don’t lose it. Got it?”
“Chrr.”
As if I’d just said something painfully obvious, it turned over with an irritated look.
I took my eyes off Cane and threw myself back onto the bed.
Tomorrow I needed to buy rations, hire a carriage and driver to Wuhan...
Maybe I should buy a little more oil for maintaining my hidden weapons too. I didn’t have much left.
As I lay there estimating how much oil and poison I had left, I suddenly remembered the old Taoists trying to hide the alcohol while they soothed Jinseong.
Thinking of Jinseong insisting on obeying the rules made me laugh for no reason.
He was basically Deokju, if Deokju were a man.
According to the novel, Jinseong had become the disciple the Taiji Sword Immortal took in after returning to Wudang from his carefree wandering through the martial world.
To be more exact, he had stopped wandering and gone back to Wudang because raising a child had been too hard.
He’d found a newborn abandoned in the snow and hadn’t been able to walk past, but he also hadn’t had the slightest confidence that he could raise a baby by himself.
What would a swordsman who’d spent his whole life living by the blade know about childcare?
Why was the baby crying? Why wouldn’t it sleep? When exactly were you supposed to feed it? How often were you meant to change its diapers? Lost in that confusion, the Sword Immortal had hauled the baby all the way back to Wudang Mountain.
And then he’d dumped the child on his martial grand-nephews.
He is my disciple. Your youngest junior brother, so take good care of him.
From their point of view, it was an utterly absurd demand, but they couldn’t very well disobey an order from a senior of the sect.
They had barely become full-fledged third-generation disciples before they were forced to juggle training and childcare at the same time.
So the group of old Taoists I’d seen earlier had been the ones who’d raised Jinseong from infancy.
That was how Jinseong grew up, and...
The first time Jinseong was ever mentioned in Namgung Under Heaven was during the younger generation’s Number One Under Heaven martial tournament.
Because whenever people started discussing the favorites to win that tournament, he was always the first name that came up.
Jinseong, the Wudang Sword Dragon—the disciple of the Taiji Sword Immortal, the greatest sword under heaven.
Just hearing those flashy titles made you think, Yeah, that guy has to be strong.
A Sword Dragon appearing in front of the protagonist, the Divine Dragon? Anyone would peg him as the hero’s rival on sight.
When Namgung Hwi and Jinseong met in the semifinal round of the martial tournament, they put on a dazzling duel that had the entire audience sweating. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
At first Jinseong seemed to hold the upper hand, but little by little the momentum swung toward Namgung Hwi. Then in the final exchange, both of their swords shattered at the same time, and the duel was declared a draw.
The first match was a draw.
The second match was a draw too.
Then in the third, Namgung Hwi finally snatched victory by the narrowest margin.
After that, they reunited at the Martial Alliance, and the story turned into that classic boy’s-comic development where rivals became comrades... though I couldn’t remember the details very well.
Anyway, it was strange enough meeting the future greatest sword of Wudang the moment I came near Wudang Mountain.
Times like this really made the world feel weirdly small.
I lay there staring at the ceiling with that idle thought in mind, then suddenly realized something and bolted upright.
...Wait.
My first impression is completely ruined, isn’t it? I became that weirdo who kept sneaking glances at a man while he was eating and then asked for his Taoist name because his face was too good-looking.
Ah, Yeon Ryang. This man, seriously.
I clawed at my hair in a soundless scream.
I wouldn’t run into him again, right? Right. Why would I ever meet the protagonist’s rival again?
It was ridiculous to worry about first impressions with wanted notices plastered up everywhere, but still...
Mortified, I kicked at the blanket a few times—then froze at the sharp cracking sound.
Every place I’d stomped with my heel had been punched clean through.
I scrubbed a hand over my face.
The bed was broken. Damn it.
*****
The next morning, for once, I woke up feeling refreshed.
There was something deeply moving about sleeping somewhere that didn’t have cold rising up from the ground beneath you and didn’t force you awake every time an animal cried out nearby.
I had still needed to curl up on the edge of the bed, but just sleeping under a roof had been enough to satisfy me.
I rolled my shoulders, now loose and smooth instead of stiff, and was getting ready to head out when Yeon Ryang knocked on the door.
“Little Sister. You awake?”
“Yes. I’m up. Come in.”
At my answer, Yeon Ryang opened the door and strode in.
“I was thinking of going to find a carriage. If we head out now...” He stopped. “What happened to the bed? Did you have a visitor in the night?”
“Don’t ask. I’m not answering.”
Smacking my lips, I casually tugged the blanket over the holes in the bed.
Yeon Ryang looked puzzled, but he sat down without pressing the matter.
The instant he did, Cane scampered over as if demanding to be petted and rubbed its face against his hand.
“Prrk.”
“There, there, furball. Sleep well?”
“Prrruuk.”
“Haha. Good. Let’s eat.”
Watching the two of them, I tilted my head.
“At times like this, it almost feels like you can understand what Cane’s saying, Brother.”
“Hm? This little guy talks just fine. Don’t tell me you can’t understand him, Little Sister.”
“What?”
Could he actually understand it?
When I blurted the question back in genuine shock, Yeon Ryang crooked his lips in a teasing grin.
“I’m joking. You didn’t actually believe me, did you? I’m not some Taoist sage. How would I {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} understand the language of beasts?”
“...”
Still chuckling, Yeon Ryang kneaded Cane’s belly fat.
This man was definitely starting to enjoy messing with me.
I shot him a look and stepped out of the room. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
The weather was nice.
Laundry hung in neat rows outside the houses, drying crisp and fluffy, and the people walking the streets all looked relaxed.
After scanning the area, Yeon Ryang stopped a passerby and asked, “Excuse me. Where’s the shop that sells rations?”
“Huh? O-over there...!”
Startled by Yeon Ryang’s size, the man shrank back and pointed toward the market street.
Only then did Yeon Ryang seem to realize he’d frightened him. He belatedly pasted on a smile, but by then the man had already hurried away.
“Well, your face does make a bad first impression, Brother.”
“That can’t be right. Where else would you find such a good-natured unorthodox—no, man like me?”
Yeon Ryang stroked his chin like this was a true mystery. He seemed totally unaware of just how intimidating his size was.
I lightly ignored that and asked, “Do you need to buy anything? I was thinking of picking up some oil and plain cloth.”
“Me? As long as I’ve got enough rations and jerky to get by, I’m fine. If possible, I’d prefer a lot of jerky.”
“I wasn’t planning to buy jerky.”
“What? The furred beast gets jerky shoved into its mouth every day, but you won’t let a man have any? Isn’t that too cruel, Little Sister?”
Yeon Ryang pointed at Cane in wounded protest.
He looked exactly like a child complaining that only his younger sibling was getting snacks.
“Yes, yes. I’ll buy plenty. I’ll buy lots, and then you can carry it.”
I waved a hand at him with a tired look.
This man was getting more childish by the day.
Once we finished buying what we needed, we went looking for a driver. Finding one wasn’t hard.
“We’re looking for a carriage headed to Wuhan. Do you make that trip?”
“Huh? Y-yes, Great Hero. I do. Of course I do.”
“Can you leave right away?”
“Right away? That’s a bit... Yes. Yes, I can. Just give me one gak, Great Hero. I’ll check the wheels.”
The driver started scrambling to prepare for departure the moment Yeon Ryang stepped forward.
“How much is the fare?” Yeon Ryang asked.
“Thirty coppers a day, Great Hero. Just feed me one evening meal whenever we stop in a village to rest.”
Yeon Ryang nodded, cut off a small piece of silver, and handed it to him.
“When we reach Wuhan, I’ll pay you the other half.”
“Yes, yes. Ah—thank you, Great Hero.”
The driver’s mouth stretched so wide it looked ready to split.
He quickly checked the carriage wheels and the reins, then threw the door open wide for us.
The carriage was supposed to seat four, but it didn’t feel that spacious. That was probably because Yeon Ryang alone occupied the space of two people.
Sitting across from me, he pushed open the little carriage window, and Cane promptly stuck its face out through it.
“You’ll fall if you keep that up. Hold on tight.”
“Chrr.”
At the warning, Cane flinched and clutched the window frame hard.
I heard the driver shut the door and climb up onto the front seat.
“Then we’re off. Hyah!”
A moment later, the carriage began to roll, slow and smooth beneath the sound of hooves.
“How long will it take?” I asked.
“About ten days. Maybe a day or two more.”
“That long? I thought a carriage would be much faster.”
“It’s still better than walking, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s true.”
I looked out at Gyun County, its scenery already falling away behind us.
The tall trees seemed to swallow the buildings whole, and before long we were running through a broad forest road.
“Get some sleep, Little Sister. The driver knows the road, so until the next village—”
CLANG!
Yeon Ryang had been smiling lazily when his face hardened. With his scabbard, he knocked something aside.
An arrow, split neatly in half by the sword energy from that blow, fell into the carriage with a thud.
What? An arrow?
The instant my hand slipped into my sleeve in alarm, a rain of arrows came pouring down on the carriage.
