“How strange. Is it because she's another girl? She's not bad.”
“Hey, let’s take her too. When we get to the main fortress, we can just throw her into the cleaning or laundry squads, can't we?”
“Right, they seemed to be short on hands over there.”
The bandits, having talked amongst themselves, came to a decision and spoke to Seolhwa.
“Hey, you. From today, you're the youngest on this ship. This guy will tell you what to do. And especially,” The bandanna-wearing bandit pointed at Hwarin.
Hwarin flinched in surprise and shrank back.
“You, with the kid. Make sure she doesn't cry. If I hear a child crying on this ship, know that she'll be thrown to the fishes immediately.”
“…Yes.”
The bandits cackled and left the storeroom. The moment the storeroom door slammed shut with a bang, Yu Kang let out a deep sigh.
“What on earth were you thinking….”
He was about to ask, but Seolhwa’s attention was entirely on Hwarin. Seolhwa brushed the dirt off Hwarin’s body and said calmly.
“You heard him, right? If you cry, I'll become fish food.”
Beside them, Yu Kang’s jaw dropped.
“What are you saying to a child who's already scared!”
He rushed over and separated Seolhwa from Hwarin. Then, with delicate and careful hands, he straightened Hwarin’s wrinkled clothes and wiped away the tears and snot welling in the child’s eyes.
“Aigoo, good girl. Don’t cry, it’s okay, it’s okay. Everything will be all right. Oh! Look at this! When did this get here! You bad piece of straw!”
Hwarin, who had been on the verge of tears, burst into a bright smile at Yu Kang’s antics, as if she had forgotten her fear. Seolhwa’s expression turned peculiar as she watched him skillfully soothe the child. Though they had known each other for less than an hour, Yu Kang and Hwarin already looked like the closest of siblings.
‘He won't be thrown into the sea either.’
Watching the child burst into giggles, as if she had forgotten she’d been kidnapped, Seolhwa leaned against a pillar and sat down.
“?”
Something was in her pocket. She took it out and saw it was the hairpiece she had intended to give Hwarin for her birthday. After looking at the ornament for a moment, Seolhwa approached Hwarin, who was playing with Yu Kang.
“…?”
Hwarin looked up at Seolhwa. Her lips parted slightly, then closed again.
‘She told me not to call her name….’
Seolhwa sat down in front of Hwarin. Then, she pressed something into her hand. It was a cute, rabbit-shaped hairpiece.
“I was originally going to give this to you on your birthday.”
Hwarin blinked her round eyes.
“I will protect you, no matter what. When we get back home, let's buy some clothes to match the hairpiece.”
Seolhwa smiled warmly and stroked Hwarin’s head.
‘So she won’t be scared. So she won’t be afraid. So she won’t cry.’
“Good girl.”
She had been worried that Yu Kang might scold her, but he didn’t say a word.
‘What a relief.’
Seolhwa felt a little awkward under Hwarin’s sparkling gaze, which was almost burdensome. Hwarin’s lips kept twitching, as if she wanted to say something.
“You can call me sister.”
Hwarin’s expression instantly brightened. Then she threw her arms around Seolhwa in a tight hug.
“Thank you, sister.”
Hwarin’s voice was very small and thin.
“Because you're here, sister, I'm not scared at all.”
She was such a small, small child that Seolhwa didn’t know what to do. She saw Yu Kang saying something beside them.
‘Pat, pat. Pat, pat.’
Seeing his mouthed words and actions, Seolhwa awkwardly patted Hwarin on the back. The embrace of a child, which she was experiencing for the first time in this life and the last, was warm and ticklish.
‘Whatever it takes….’
I have to protect Hwarin. So she won’t get hurt, so she won’t be scarred. So that she would never suffer what I did.
Patting the warm, small child, Seolhwa made a vow.
That night, after Hwarin had fallen asleep. Seolhwa and Yu Kang went out onto the deck. From the cabins, they could hear the boisterous sounds of a drinking party, while a few bandits were maintaining the ship.
Following Yu Kang and wiping down things on the deck, Seolhwa looked up at the sky, which had grown dark. The ship, having departed from the river leading to Lake Chao, was heading south toward the Yangtze River.
‘Even for Namgung, it won’t be easy to catch up to a bandit ship.’
No matter how fast and sturdy Namgung’s ships were, they couldn’t match the speed of the bandits on the water. It was only natural, as these people lived on the water and had built their strength on that advantage.
‘Since we're moving along the waterways, it will take time to even procure a ship. At this rate….’
On land, a day or two would have been enough to track them, but on the water, it would take several times longer. In fact, they would be lucky just not to lose the trail. Seolhwa took an iron pellet from her pocket, infused it with her energy, and flicked it with her finger.
The iron pellet flew swiftly, breaking a distant tree branch hanging over the water and embedding itself in the splintered wood. For now, this was the only way she could leave a trace.
‘I hope they notice.’
“Hey, youngest. What are you doing just standing there? I told you to wipe this part like this.”
Yu Kang, who had approached her, began vigorously wiping the railing in front of Seolhwa with a rag. For a while now, he had been nagging her with his words, yet he was doing her work for her.
In the storeroom, he had chattered away to keep Hwarin’s spirits up until she fell asleep, and now it seemed he was trying to look after her mood as well. Instead of answering, Seolhwa snatched the rag from his hand and began wiping the ship's railing.
Yu Kang, flustered for a moment with an ‘Uh, uh…,’ soon brought a mop from somewhere and started cleaning the deck around her. -Escape before we reach the main fortress. Seolhwa’s mental transmission echoed in Yu Kang's mind. The mop, which had been moving with a swish, swish, came to a halt.
Then, with a bright smile, he started moving it again. -That's what I was going to say. -I'm stronger than you. Have you forgotten? -I'm better at looking after a child than you are.
Didn't you see? -What does that have to do with anything? -What if I escape alone and the brothers throw you into the river? -If they throw me, I'll just escape from there…. -Not you.
Hwarin.
What happens if Hwarin is left alone? No matter how strong you are, you can't handle it by yourself. This time, it was Seolhwa’s hand that stopped.
Could she really soothe a young Hwarin if Yu Kang left? She wasn’t sure. -Seems Hwarin finds me more reassuring than her own family. Right? -…. -See?
How can I go anywhere when I'm worried about my younger siblings? Yu Kang grinned, patted Seolhwa’s frozen shoulder, and moved to another spot. There was nothing she could say.
She had clearly told him to leave. Yet, she found that she hadn't been imagining a scenario without him in her mind.
‘…To think I was just saying empty words.’
A bitter laugh escaped her at her own hypocrisy. It was as if she was relying on Yu Kang.
‘It must be because of the memories from my past life.’
Seolhwa stared blankly at Yu Kang, who was chatting amicably with the bandits on the other side of the deck. The back of another man seemed to overlap with his. The back of a man who had silently climbed a mountain, carrying the bodies of his sworn brothers.
They arrived at the river fortress two days later, between eleven and noon. As Seolhwa watched the fortress gradually grow closer in the distance, her expression sank.
‘Ghost Shadow Fortress.’
Of all places, it had to be the Ghost Shadow Fortress. In the Ghost Shadow Fortress was someone connected to the Sixth Blood Lord of the Blood Sect’s Six Blood Lords. He was a man named Maeng Deungho, the Black Killing Ghost, known as the Sixth Blood Lord's dog.
She didn't know much about the identities of the Six Blood Lords, but she had some information on the Sixth Blood Lord. He was the one among the Six Blood Lords who was somewhat known to the world.
‘The leader of the 18 Yangtze River Fortresses.’
It was impossible not to know, as he had declared the entire Yangtze River Water Fortress as Blood Sect territory the moment the sect made its move. The man whom this Sixth Blood Lord used as his own limbs was the current master of the Ghost Shadow Fortress, Maeng Deungho. The problem was.
‘I don’t know what the situation is at the river fortress right now.’
She couldn’t tell if the Sixth Blood Lord had already seized the position of leader of all the fortresses, or if Maeng Deungho was already serving as his subordinate. There was only one thing she could be sure of right now.
‘The reason the river fortress targeted Namgung at this time… it was because of me after all.’
The only thing that had changed from her past life was her return to Namgung, and now a river fortress connected to the Sixth Blood Lord had kidnapped a Namgung child. She didn’t know why they had kidnapped Hwarin instead of her, but….
‘The one they're after is me.’
That one thing was clear.