After the horses passed through the gate.
Gate guard Gang Chung was about to close the doors when he spotted the Second Young Master, Namgung Byeok, and immediately saluted with clasped hands.
"I pay my respects to the Second Young Master."
Namgung Byeok — his face slightly pockmarked from the aftermath of smallpox, one eye faintly misshapen.
A fittingly vile temper to match his looks.
Only nineteen, but his martial talent was widely acknowledged as the finest among the Namgung siblings.
"Hey, the one who just rode off on that horse — know who that was?"
"Th-that was the Third Young Master......"
"Third Young Master? That bastard is nothing but a lowborn whelp born to a servant woman. Third Young Master my ass!"
"My apologies......"
"Anyway, did that bastard even get the Grand Steward's permission before leaving?"
As if he would.
One look at how the rider had blown through without stopping for even a second was enough for anyone to guess.
Gang Chung's mouth went dry.
"Well, that's......"
"Do you at least know where he's going?"
"I-I......"
THUD—!
"Ghhk......!"
Gang Chung, who had been stammering, felt the air driven from his lungs and his face twisted in agony.
He had taken a hard fist to the solar plexus.
"Son of a bitch! Who gave you permission?!"
SMACK—!
This time, the back of his skull lit up.
As Gang Chung staggered and lost his balance, his knees buckled at a sickening angle and he crashed to the ground.
Namgung Byeok had slammed the flat of his scabbard into the backs of his knees in rapid succession.
"GAAGHH......!"
"Count yourself lucky you're still breathing!"
SPIT—!
Having spat on Gang Chung's crumpled body, Namgung Byeok ground his teeth.
"Lowborn bastard! Big Brother coddles him and now the whelp's gotten so bold his guts have crawled outside his belly."
Some thought seized him, and Namgung Byeok strode off in haste.
The First Young Master, Namgung Ryong, had been standing at the pavilion railing, gazing absently at the bamboo flowers in the distance.
Hearing the seething approach of his brother, he furrowed his brow sharply.
Born of the same mother, yet utterly different in temperament and disposition.
In appearance, Namgung Byeok took after their mother — a slender jaw, slightly upturned eyes lending him a haughty look.
But his rash, narrow-minded nature, compounded by the self-loathing that came from a face ravaged by smallpox—
Every encounter with him felt like treading on cracked ice, fragile enough to shatter at the slightest misstep.
"Elder Brother!"
"What is it?"
"What is it?! I'm talking about that bastard — we can't let him run loose any longer."
'Sigh, here we go again.'
Namgung Ryong's knife-straight brows twitched.
"What now?"
"Do you know what that bastard did today? He crippled the stablemaster Jo Sun and stole two horses."
"What? Crippled Jo Sun......?"
"Yes! Beat him half to death just because the man wouldn't do what he said, and then sealed his pressure points so he can't move an inch."
"Pressure points can be unsealed, can they not?"
"Ugh, they can't! Whatever dark art that bastard used, no matter how hard they try, the points won't release."
"Hmm......"
"More importantly — he took those horses and left the estate without the Grand Steward's permission. With that servant of his. Are you still going to leave that bastard alone?"
"About that...... I sent him on an errand myself."
"What? What kind of errand?"
"You will find out in time. It will probably take a few days."
At that, Namgung Byeok seethed with barely contained fury.
"In time? You're telling me 'in time'?! Hmph! He acts like the world owes him a living because you keep shielding him!"
"There are good reasons for all of......"
"Enough! You hide things from your own flesh-and-blood brother and coddle some damned illegitimate bastard — what kind of nonsense is this?!"
"Watch your mouth, boy! 'What kind of nonsense' — don't you think that goes too far?!"
"It's all because of that illegitimate bastard! I won't stand for it anymore...... for the sake of the Namgung Clan, I'll kill him with my own hands! RAAAHH!"
"Byeok......!"
Unable to master his rage, Namgung Byeok flipped his eyes back, let out a shriek, and stormed off.
"Heavens, these children......"
Namgung Ryong pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh, then hurried after him.
His first priority was to go to Jo Sun's quarters and assess the situation himself.
***
Meanwhile.
"So-i, I'm letting go of the reins."
"N-no, don't!"
Hyeol-u rode the lead horse.
Behind him, So-i was clinging to his horse's neck for dear life.
Hyeol-u held the reins of that horse too.
"Enough. You're a big man — where does all this cowardice come from? Just take them!"
"I told you! A horse I was riding once went berserk and I nearly died—"
"Enough! Don't rile up a perfectly calm horse. Now — straighten your back, distribute your weight evenly between both legs, tuck your elbows tight to your sides. Hold the reins loose, not taut...... that's it. Like there's a small pebble resting inside your fist."
"L-like this?"
"Yes! Not bad at all. Now rock the reins in time with the horse's head. Sway, sway, creak, creak. Say it with me."
Hyeol-u demonstrated the motions, and So-i stole glances at him and did his best to follow.
"Sway, sway, creak, creak...... wow, that's strange. It's like my body is responding on its own."
Hyeol-u smiled.
In truth, he had been training his own body alongside So-i.
Horsemanship was learned with the body, not the mind, and he had been struggling with that very thing.
His mind knew what to do, but the body was stiff as a wooden post.
"Good, good! Lower your body close to mine, and now — shall we gallop? Hyah!"
As Hyeol-u spurred his horse forward—
So-i let out a yelp, then quickly urged his own horse to match pace.
"Not bad at all!"
"Ah, aaah, a little slower......!"
So-i had been wobbling precariously at first, but by the time they neared the banks of the Yangtze River, his posture had finally steadied.
The journey to the Yangtze was two hundred li.
Paths cut off at intervals and some two hundred marshes blocking the way for horses stretched it to a full two double-hours.
When they arrived at the Yangtze River ferry landing, throngs of people had gathered, and ferryboats crisscrossed the water constantly.
Horse ferries carrying mounted passengers appeared from time to time.
Cargo vessels laden with goods were a common sight too.
So-i, his galloping heart not yet calmed, immediately burst out.
"Woooow, the sea, the sea!"
A cry that escaped the lips of anyone who visited the Yangtze, no matter how many times.
All one could see across the river was a tower jutting above the mountain peaks, so the reaction was only natural.
That tower was Immortal's View Tower, built to honor the Wine Immortal Li Bai.
"Hey, have you ever actually been to the sea to be saying that?"
"Hehe, you don't have to go somewhere to know what it's like. So have you been to the sea, Young Master?"
"Hm, no."
"What, pfft......"
In truth, he had been there countless times.
He had killed Japanese pirates, traded goods on the black market — but could hardly say any of that.
"Anyway, there sure are a lot of people."
"No kidding, I can barely think straight."
With the massive iron mines being developed at Ma'anshan, outsiders had flooded in by the thousands.
A lawless zone where even the Namgung Clan's influence had evaporated.
The permanent population alone numbered in the tens of thousands, and counting transients, nearly a hundred thousand people were jostling in one place.
By the time they loaded the horses onto a horse ferry and crossed to the Ma'anshan side, nearly half a double-hour had been lost.
It was already the noon hour.
Many people in the streets were making do with simple noodles or skewers from roadside stalls for lunch.
Every inn and restaurant in sight was packed to bursting with customers.
"Young Master, shouldn't we get something to eat?"
So-i spoke up, smacking his lips.
"No, horses first."
The relay station was easy enough to find.
The whinnying of several horses carried from a distance.
The station was typically set up every hundred li, and this one had been established at a temple near the entrance to Ma'anshan.
The surrounding area bustled with inns, taverns, and teahouses, lined up like a marketplace.
"There it is."
Hyeol-u dismounted and led the horses by the reins toward a large stable.
Beyond its official functions, the relay station also fed and tended horses for a fee.
In cases like this, temples that operated relay stations earned extra income on the side.
"How long will you be leaving them?"
The monk who had been carefully inspecting the horses asked, and Hyeol-u slipped him a copper coin.
"These are horses of the Namgung Clan. I'll retrieve them in a few days."
"Understood."
No need for lengthy explanations.
If the horses were not claimed within a certain period, the temple would simply keep them.
"Right, let's go."
Without the horses, their load was lighter — but So-i tilted his head curiously.
He had not cared at first, but even after leaving the horses, Namgung Seong was still carrying that soot-black stick around.
"What's that thing you've been holding this whole time?"
"What do you think? Just a cane."
"A young man like you — it's unseemly to walk around with a cane. At least strap on a sword if you want to look the part......"
"No, there's a good reason for this. This cane has a deep history."
Superstitious as it may have sounded.
Something told him that the bond with 'Lone Soul Single Sword — Tae-seok' would begin with this very cane the man had left behind.
Every alley was packed with bustling inns, but once they pushed through to a quieter area, the clamor of the crowds finally faded.
"Yangtze Tower."
It looked respectable enough, but there had to be countless establishments with that name near the Yangtze.
Pushing aside the hanging drape and entering the shabby two-story inn—
Of the dozen or so tables, nine sat empty.
Only a single table in a far corner had two patrons.
The patrons had their heads buried in their food and paid no attention to who walked in.
The waiter was nowhere to be seen, either.
"Excuse me!"
"Shh, he'll come out on his own. Let's just sit down."
After the two of them sat by the window for a moment, a rough-looking man with an apron slung around his neck emerged from the kitchen.
Probably the cook and owner combined.
He swept his eyes over the two of them, scowled, and spat a single word.
"What?"
"......?"
A single curt word of banmal to his customers, right off the bat.
'What do you mean, "what"?'
Then again, they were both young, So-i was dressed shabbily as usual, and Hyeol-u looked equally ragged — so the man was obviously sizing them up and finding them beneath notice.
Just then, a group of customers entered the inn.
"Welcome, welcome!"
The same owner who had barked a single word at them was now shouting at the top of his lungs and bowing deeply to the newcomers.
'I knew it — I should've dressed like that......'
One look at the newcomers' appearance told him everything.
Two men, one woman.
Young aristocrats, dressed to the nines in lavish garments.
With swords at their shoulders or hips, they looked like martial artists — roughly twenty years of age.
"See, that's why I said to drop that black cane and strap on a sword...... ugh, look at your hands."
"Ahem......"
Hyeol-u set the cane aside, still leaving soot stains, and wiped his palms on his clothes.
***
"What's good here?"
SNAP—
Among them, a tall young man in white unfolded and folded a fan painted with mountain landscapes as he spoke.
"Oh, yes sir! This establishment prides itself on the finest seasonal herbs from Ma'anshan and indeed all of Southern Zhili, prepared with the freshest meats......"
"That's enough."
"Sir......?"
"Braised pork, fish-fragrant shredded pork, and kung pao chicken!"
"Yes, sir."
"And Bamboo Leaf Green for the wine......"
"Actually, since we've come all the way to Southern Zhili, I'd like to try the Gujing tribute wine."
The young beauty cut in.
A cold tone, a dismissive flick of the hand that said get to the kitchen already.
There was an undercurrent of contempt — a cheapness beneath the veneer of refinement.
"Hahaha, excellent choice. A wine perfectly suited to Miss Ran's refined palate."
"Hmph. Have you even tried it?"
"Aha, well, no. I've only heard of it......"
"Always with the bluster."
Judging by how the young man was squirming under her gaze, the woman's standing was no small matter.
But that aside — the owner had completely abandoned his earlier customers. What was he playing at?
"Hey, are you going to take our order or not?"
So-i spoke up bluntly.
At that, the owner — who had been fawning over the aristocrats as though he would hand over his own liver — whipped his head around and glared.
"What? Hurry up and spit it out."
"B-beef noodles, two bowls. And make one of them a double portion. Extra meat."
"Tch, beggars sure do have high expectations."
The owner's face crumpled, and he marched over and thrust out his hand.
"......What?"
"Pay up front."
"But those other customers......"
"God, you just don't quit. Don't like it? Get ou—"
So in other words: the wealthy-looking aristocrats paid afterwards, while the two of them — looking like paupers — had to pay upfront.
So-i's eyes narrowed dangerously, but Hyeol-u gave him a subtle look.
Keep quiet.
The owner's shabby treatment drew the attention of not only the aristocrats but also the patrons who had been quietly drinking in the far corner.
"How much?"
"Five pun."
"Whew, expensive bowls of noodles. Can't you give us a discount?"
The owner pointed at the entrance.
"Out."
"N-no! I mean, it does seem a bit steep...... and we're out of money!"
Hyeol-u made a show of grumbling as he tipped his coin purse into his palm and emptied it completely.
Not a single pun left.
While doing so, he stole a glance at the burly men in the corner.
They had been eyeing him and So-i from the start, which had been nagging at him.
'They probably think we look like bumpkins fresh off the farm......'
In this newly formed mining town, human trafficking was said to be especially rampant.
If that were the case, those men might well be underworld lackeys or thugs who lured gullible young people with respectable appearances and sold them off to the mines.
'If so, this could be quite entertaining.'
Hyeol-u let a discreet smile play at his lips, hidden from the rest of the room.