The Prefectural Lord... Tang Jo-hui, who had spoken absently, frowned slightly. She did not like it.
The reality that they, who were once closer than anyone in the world, could now only exchange such formal words. The aftertaste seeping into the floral fragrance that gently filled her mouth felt unusually bitter. She set down her teacup and lifted her head.
Du Ja-ryeom, sitting opposite her, had his gaze fixed somewhere on the table between them. Though it was only the distance of a table, it felt truly far. In the time they hadn't seen each other, the scars of time were apparent on Du Ja-ryeom's face.
His wrinkles had deepened, and his white hair had increased. The light in his deep-set eyes no longer burned with passion. She too was aging and withering.
Was that why he was deliberately avoiding her gaze? Because he couldn't bear to look upon the shabby state of his former lover. Or was he being careful, lest disappointment show in his eyes or expression without him realizing…
Ever since she was young, Tang Jo-hui had wanted to know many things. How poison and medicine worked to harm and save lives, the psychology of the adults who praised or scolded her. Why the women of the Tang Clan were used as a means to recruit talented men needed by the clan as live-in sons-in-law…
What she wanted to know more than anything was the heart of the man before her. She was so curious it drove her mad, wanting to know what he was thinking, what his true feelings were. The youthful love had long since scattered, but it seemed the passion of those days remained like a habit.
Judging by how intensely curious she was about the inner thoughts of Du Ja-ryeom, who would not meet her eyes.
“It is a fragrant tea that recently came from Fujian. I am glad it suits your taste.”
Du Ja-ryeom's exceedingly polite formal speech no longer sounded awkward. Tang Jo-hui felt a sense of relief, yet a corner of her heart ached strangely.
"Is the agency master well?"
“He is fine. He has currently left the agency for a matter regarding an escort mission." She remembered the day the Flying Force Sword, Gam Hu-jeong, left Sichuan seven years ago.
Gam Hu-jeong was a prudent and taciturn man. Among the lay disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, his martial ability was by far the most outstanding, but because his family was poor, he could not properly realize his ambitions. Even after establishing an escort agency with funds he had painstakingly gathered, he was plagued by local territorialism and slowly declined.
Then, after losing his younger brother in an accident during an escort mission, the man changed completely. Showing a ruthlessness and determination he never had before, he doggedly grew the escort agency.
Just by the fact that he left Sichuan and established the agency in a place like the Western Village, which was no different from a wasteland, and built it up this much, he was no ordinary man.
“You are aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred at our school, aren't you?”
No matter how much the Tang Clan tried to kill witnesses and enforce silence, they could not block all the rumors. It was not a trivial scandal, but a major incident where one of the Tang Clan's three great divine artifacts, the Iron Arm Guards, was lost.
It was a small mercy, if any, that they had thoroughly suppressed the fact that the inner energy-scattering poison, Gentleman's Dispersal Powder, and the Divine Immortal's Ruin had also been leaked. Du Ja-ryeom set down his teacup and carefully opened his mouth.
“I heard about it through rumors during an escort mission in Sichuan. I am not sure if it was resolved well.”
“We have confirmed that the prime suspect, a Sichuan black market merchant, sent a carrier pigeon to the vicinity of the Western Village. Your agency uses carrier pigeons as well, correct?”
Du Ja-ryeom straightened his back and looked directly at Tang Jo-hui. As their eyes met, both were momentarily at a loss for words. In the strange and awkward silence, Du Ja-ryeom shook his head as if drawing a line.
“... We do use them, but managing carrier pigeons is not easy, so we use them only in limited situations, such as when an escort group is attacked or in a very urgent situation.”
“Is that so?”
The conversation flowed in a strictly business-like manner. It appropriately skirted around feelings that were old but could still be dangerous, without touching them. Only after the tea, which she kept sipping to wet her parched mouth, was all gone did she rise from her seat.
"Hoo."
Tang Jo-hui’s steps were heavy as she left the reception hall. It wasn’t that she had come with any expectations, but her sense of loss was so deep that one side of her chest felt completely empty. The dazzling emotions had faded.
The promises she believed would never change were vaguely forgotten. It wasn't just because of the storms of time. The end had been too unpleasant for them to reunite with smiles.
A subordinate who was waiting approached her. Tang Jo-hui composed her expression into a cold one and turned her head.
“Did you confirm it?”
“Yes. The records of the carrier pigeon hall show no letters from Sichuan. There were no signs of tampering, and though I questioned the manager, I did not sense anything suspicious.”
So it’s not the Dragon Sky Escort Agency… Tang Jo-hui turned around in front of her carriage. He might have come to see her off, but there was no sign of Du Ja-ryeom.
It was bitter and disappointing, but it was the proper conduct. Sichuan was far from here, but rumors have no feet, and the eyes and ears of the subordinates she brought with her were connected to the inner workings of the Tang Clan. Tang Jo-hui swallowed her deep regret and boarded the carriage.
The carriage slowly left the agency. The fragrance of the tea she had just drunk lingered deep in her nose and would not disappear. As she mindlessly savored the fragrance, Tang Jo-hui finally realized.
It might seem like nothing, but it was a tea that perfectly suited her taste. It seemed Du Ja-ryeom had not forgotten her preferences. He probably also vividly remembered how she looked in those days when he fell in love at first sight.
Just as she did. It might not be enough, but it would have to do. One who holds a small ember in their bosom will not forget the bygone spring, even in a snowfield raged by the north wind...
The carriage that left the agency followed the main road and headed straight for the Western Village's downtown. Du Ja-ryeom silently watched the departing carriage from the window of the reception hall. He was lost in the joys and sorrows of past days, but his expression hardened as his thoughts turned to the future that was to come.
“I am sorry, Jo-hui…”
Du Ja-ryeom sighed and closed the window. * The weather, having entered early winter, grew colder by the day. If I fell asleep with charcoal burning in the brazier, I would wake up shivering at dawn and have to relight the extinguished embers.
Even in the ice-cold morning air after the sun had risen, I did not neglect my daily training. In the morning, I focused on the reluctant practice of sword techniques. I repeated the Jade Spring Sword Technique about ten times to review its forms and sword path, then erased all the forms with the Immortal's Leisurely Ten Thousand Swords.
It was a rather peculiar training method, like building and destroying a house made of sand, but its effects were certain. I felt like I was slowly getting a grasp on the meaning and limits of the forms and the sword path.
Around noon, I roughly appeased my hunger with jerky and dry rations, and then practiced the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique until Gu-sam brought my meal. Swinging the long blade freely made my heart feel as open as if I had climbed a high mountain.
With the saber technique as well, I repeatedly confirmed the forms and routines of the first eighteen forms, then erased them all with the ambiguous movements of the latter eighteen forms. Replenishing the inner energy consumed at the Black Night Gang required one pill. Now, only four pills remained.
Just looking at them made my blood run cold, but there was no need to be anxious. Once the refinement of the Lake Water Lotus Herb was complete, I would be able to fill the empty wooden box with new pills.
The days were cold, but I sweated a great deal, so after finishing my daily training, I boiled water and washed myself, even though it was a hassle. When I slept, I wore my martial arts uniforms and kept my long blade under my pillow.
It felt as if that monk, the one looking after Jeok Chu-yeong's Hidden Force, would knock on my gate in the middle of the night. At the Black Night Gang, he was with Bok Ha-gyu, so I thought he might have pretended not to know me, but I felt he would surely approach me at least once.
However, the monk did not show his face at all. Did he really not recognize me? Or does he have other thoughts?
Several days passed in such diligent training and strange anticipation. Instead of the expected monk, a servant from the Underworld Information Clan came to find me. "The pavilion master asks for your presence.”
Had the payment for the Murim Alliance Inspector's identification token and seal, which I had asked him to dispose of, come through? I went with some anticipation, but it was not Geuk-hwan but the pavilion master, Hong Hee, who greeted me personally.
The pavilion master was always busy, managing not only the Deep Fragrance Pavilion but also the Underworld Information Clan’s branch. She wouldn't personally step forward unless it was a significant matter. After hearing the story, it was certainly no ordinary request.
“The Prefectural Lord?”
The pavilion master mentioned a high-ranking official I could never have imagined.
“I wonder if you have seen him before?”
“I saw him once from a distance when I worked as a gatekeeper.”
A stick-straight, gaunt, elderly man. His appearance was unimpressive, but he was the highest authority in the region, ruling over Zhongqing.
“This is a request made directly by the Prefectural Lord.”
“What is the job?”
“It is a mission to guard him for one night.”
I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head. I could not understand.
“Doesn't the Prefectural Lord have military officers as guards? They seemed to be quite an elite force.”
The Prefectural Lord’s guards I had seen before were clearly not to be taken lightly. Since they would have entered official posts by passing the military exam, their loyalty to their superior would also be high. There was no reason to hire a wandering swordsman like me through the Underworld Information Clan.
“The military officers are affiliated with the military. As they are not private soldiers, their movements are inevitably restricted. Since the principle is to report through the chain of command, it is virtually impossible to maintain secrecy about where one goes, whom one meets, and what happened… Does this request not appeal to you?”
I was at a loss for what to say. The pavilion master was very favorable toward me for finding her son’s Mak Jade. Even if I spoke honestly, there would be no repercussions.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen anything good come from getting involved with Officials.”
As if she knew what I was worried about, the pavilion master smiled leisurely.
“Our clan doesn't just sell and buy information from martial artists. While only martial artists are interested in martial arts, information is needed by everyone in the world…”
A certain merchant, who learned about a flood in Gangnam faster than anyone else through the Underworld Information Clan, bought up rice and cotton cloth in large quantities and made a huge profit. It was the same for a merchant guild that heard from the Underworld Information Clan about a Japanese pirate invasion in the Zhejiang province.
Predicting that a large-scale military mobilization would occur, they bought up horses and made a massive profit.
“It is the same for high-ranking officials like the Prefectural Lord. In order to survive in the den of intrigue that is the royal court, keeping an eye on the movements of political rivals and finding their weaknesses is a basic survival skill. The Prefectural Lord didn't become the backer of the Deep Fragrance Pavilion just because he fancies me.”
It was a symbiotic relationship, so the Prefectural Lord couldn't treat the Underworld Information Clan carelessly.
“I won’t be going alone, will I?”
“Great Hero Won has accepted, and we will secure additional personnel.”
“What is the payment?”
“It is 10 silver taels. The date is the night after tomorrow.”
Even on a cold winter night, the brightly lit Deep Fragrance Pavilion overflowed with cheerful music and intoxication. After the Prefectural Lord arrived in a grand procession with several large carriages from early evening, the security in the surrounding area became tight. I holed up in a detached house, chewing on jerky and waiting to be called.
Won Seo-gang was carving a Maitreya Buddha from a block of wood. He had carved before, but after taking revenge on Ban Ho-yang, he seemed to have become much more engrossed in carving Maitreya Buddhas.
“It seems the two of us are confirmed… Do you know who else is going?”
Carving the eyes of the Maitreya, Won Seo-gang shook his head.
“I don’t know. Don’t worry. It’s not just anyone, it’s the Prefectural Lord. The pavilion master must have paid special attention.”
As evening turned to night, a servant came to announce that it was time to prepare for departure. When I went outside, Geuk-hwan appeared, accompanied by a black-robed figure wearing a bamboo hat. The black-robed figure slightly lifted the brim of his bamboo hat.
The stubborn gaze on the wizened face of the elderly man was as cold as a judge's. “Are these the ones who will go with me?”
“Yes. They are masters carefully selected by our clan, so you can trust and entrust them with the task.”
Our eyes met, and as I was about to show my respects, the Prefectural Lord quietly declined.
“No need for greetings. Everyone, please do your best for me tonight.”
On one side of the wall, a large carriage used by the Underworld Information Clan was prepared. As I approached, someone walked out from behind the carriage. It was the monk who was a house guest of the Underworld Information Clan and was looking after Jeok Chu-yeong's Hidden Force.
Today, instead of a long robe and a straw hat, he wore monk's robes. The monk said nothing even upon seeing me. His expression was placid, and his eyes were empty.
His was a ruthless face that made it difficult to guess his inner thoughts, let alone gauge his realm. It was the same as when I saw him before; though he wore monk's robes, the aura he exuded was definitely that of a martial artist. The Prefectural Lord boarded the carriage.
Following Geuk-hwan and Won Seo-gang, the monk and I also boarded in turn. The driver slowly drove the horses. The carriage started from in front of the detached houses and followed the wall around a corner.
It passed the main hall surrounded by military officer guards and left the Deep Fragrance Pavilion. It passed through the bustling streets and immediately left the Western Village.