Chapter 157
Jang Miryeo seemed embarrassed to have been seen without control of the situation and kept trying to change the subject.
But she was clearly struggling to compose herself. The ends of her sentences trembled faintly.
Unable to watch any longer, Yang Gyojin huffed and reached for her sword.
“Miryeo, let’s just go in. We can beat them all down and walk straight through.”
“Now, now. The best way the Heir Apparent can help is by staying still. If Miss Jang’s guest uses force without permission, Miss Jang will be the one who suffers for it.”
Yeon Ryang gave a hearty laugh as he hooked Yang Gyojin by the back of the neck with his sheath and hauled her away from the residence.
I smacked my lips and glanced back at the Trading Company Master’s quarters.
If they were going this far to prevent anyone from entering, poison was almost certainly involved.
I quietly called for Cane.
“Cane.”
“Kyuu.”
“You can slip inside without being seen, right? Find out whether he was poisoned. If he was, neutralize it before you come back.”
“Kit!”
Cane answered stoutly, leaped out of my sleeve, and disappeared into the darkness.
After calming Yang Gyojin down and settling her in the guest hall, I stood watch in Jang Miryeo’s bedroom. Before I knew it, dawn had arrived.
Cane returned just as the birds began to sing and wriggled into my arms.
“Was it poison?”
“Kyau.”
“Do you think he’ll recover?”
“...Guruk.”
Cane’s vague answer suggested that the prognosis was not good.
Were we already too late?
It was unfortunate, but without examining him myself, there was nothing more I could do. Cane had neutralized the poison, so all I could do was hope the Trading Company Master survived until the marriage tournament ended.
I glanced at Jang Miryeo, asleep with a pallid face, then extended my senses around us.
From within the gray light before sunrise came the sounds of people bustling about as they began their morning.
“Hey, that young swordsman from yesterday. I think our lady rather likes him. I heard they even ate dinner together.”
“He was certainly the most handsome contestant. The rest were all far too old.”
“I even saw an old man whose hair had gone completely white.”
“Ugh, seriously? Did he enter despite knowing our lady’s age? How awful. Anyway, they said that young master was from the Yang Family Estate, didn’t they? Do you think he’ll win?”
The passing maids were discussing Yang Gyojin. Apparently, yesterday’s match had left quite an impression.
“Of course not. I heard Master Jang has already chosen our lady’s husband. You know, one of the martial artists he keeps around...”
“Shh. Keep your voice down. Someone might hear.”
My ears perked up at the claim that Jang Miryeo’s marriage partner had already been decided.
If even the maids were gossiping about it, Jang Hojung must have entered a capable subordinate in the marriage tournament.
Should I make a few preparations in advance?
Deep in thought, I toyed with the pouch containing Dissolving-Power Poison. It was not that I doubted Yang Gyojin’s abilities, but there was no harm in reducing the chances that something might go wrong.
Dissolving-Power Poison would be a little too obvious, though.
All right. Let’s compromise with a mild stomachache. Just enough to hurt, not enough to make him spring a leak.
“Cane. Will you run one more errand for me?”
“Kii?”
“Go to the Golden Scale Pavilion and...”
*****
After several twists and turns, the second day of the marriage tournament finally dawned.
Jang Miryeo put on her shoes with the grave determination of a general marching to war. She had evidently taken great care with her appearance, and her clothing was considerably more elaborate than the day before.
After a moment’s thought, I removed my fur-lined cloak as well.
Jang Miryeo had personally revealed last night that I belonged to the Tang Clan. It would probably help if everyone could see my green robe.
“Miss Jang. One moment.”
I stopped Jang Miryeo as she was about to leave the annex and held out my hand.
“Could you give me your hand for a moment?”
“Pardon?”
“This is one of my protective weapons. I’ll lend it to you for the next few days. Twist it to the right, and it fires a poisoned needle. If anyone approaches you with ill intentions, put the needle through their face.”
I removed my white jade bracelet and fastened it around Jang Miryeo’s wrist. Her eyes widened, and she hesitated, looking back and forth between the bracelet and me.
“Is it truly all right for me to borrow something so precious?”
“We’re in the same boat now. If we want to reach our destination, shouldn’t we row together?”
At my easy reply, a smile spread across Jang Miryeo’s anxious face.
“...I will repay the trust you have shown me in kind. Thank you, Miss Tang.”
“And for the time being, keep Cane with you. Gyojin and I will stay as close as possible, but it never hurts to be careful.”
“Kit?”
“Stay with Miss Jang. You know what to do, right?”
“Kkyuk.”
When I placed Cane in her arms, Jang Miryeo asked with a slightly flushed face,
“May I give it treats?”
“Of course. Cane likes meat best.”
“Then I should have some dried meat prepared. Jinjin.”
The perceptive personal maid disappeared to fetch dried meat. Meanwhile, Cane yawned, burrowed into Jang Miryeo’s arms, and promptly fell asleep. It must have been exhausted after running around all night.
Jang Miryeo’s expression softened as she looked down at Cane, curled into a ball in her arms. Worried she might wake it, she began walking with painstaking care.
I was about to tell her she did not need to be quite so cautious when someone came running into the annex, shouting.
“My lady! Lady Miryeo!”
“What is all this commotion? We have guests.”
Despite Jang Miryeo’s stern rebuke, the servant did not lower his voice. Instead, he shouted between gasping breaths.
“M-my lady! The Trading Company Master has awakened!”
Cane, you beautiful little thing. You really did your job properly last night!
“Father is awake? Has he fully regained consciousness? Did he say anything? This is no time to stand here. L-let us go at once!”
Jang Miryeo excitedly ordered the servant to lead the way and hurried out of the annex. The martial guard waiting outside rushed after her.
“Good morning, Brother.”
“My sister does not look as though she is having a good morning at all. You have the face of someone who stayed awake the entire night.”
“I’m fine. More importantly, we should probably follow them, don’t you think?”
After exchanging morning greetings with Yeon Ryang, who stood blankly beside the spot where the guard had been, I set off in the direction the others had gone.
*****
Perhaps it was because the Trading Company Master had awakened.
No one tried to stop Jang Miryeo on the way to his residence.
The guards were so respectful that it was almost laughable, as though last night’s confrontation had been nothing but a dream.
Still, it was not entirely a bad sign. The fact that their behavior had changed the instant the Trading Company Master regained consciousness meant the household had not gone over completely to his younger brother, Jang Hojung.
“Father...”
“Miryeo. You have come.”
“Yes. Miryeo is here. You must recover quickly and get back on your feet.”
Jang Miryeo’s father, Jang Hoyeol, was as gaunt as a dead tree stripped of its bark.
Had I not known he was in his forties, I might have mistaken him for a man well past sixty. His vitality had deteriorated that severely.
Understanding why Cane had given such an evasive answer, I swallowed a sigh.
The poison obstructing the flow of his qi and blood had disappeared, allowing him to regain consciousness temporarily. But he would not last long.
I did not even need to take his pulse to know it. The man had two weeks left at most.
Jang Hoyeol himself appeared to understand that he had little time remaining. He dismissed the physician who had been summoned and struggled to sit up, declaring that he needed to prepare to go out.
Alarmed, Jang Miryeo tried to stop him, but he refused to yield.
“Father, you must not get up yet. At least allow the physician to examine your pulse first...”
“That is enough. I know my own body better than anyone. Do not place Physician Go in an impossible position for no reason.”
“But if you rise so suddenly, you may collapse again.”
“I must at least show my face at the fighting platform. Hojung will only proceed more cautiously if he sees that I, Jang Hoyeol, am not dead yet.”
“Father...”
“This father of yours is fine. You are choosing a husband. How could I call myself your father if I did not attend even once? Come. Let us go.”
His legs trembled violently as he stubbornly leaned his weight against a cane.
Jang Miryeo pressed her red lips tightly together and helped Jang Hoyeol prepare to leave.
A quiet disturbance spread through the audience when the reclusive Trading Company Master appeared at the fighting platform.
Jang Hojung, who had been occupying the seat of honor, looked flustered. He quickly concealed it, however, and surrendered the place to Jang Hoyeol.
“Brother, nothing could please me more than seeing you rise from your sickbed like this.”
“Nothing could disappoint you more, I imagine.”
“Why say something so hurtful, Brother? I have worked myself to the bone to ensure that your absence was never felt.”
Jang Hoyeol’s mouth twisted at the barbed words.
At first glance, Jang Hojung merely seemed to be fishing for praise for his efforts. In truth, it was closer to a declaration that the trading company was already firmly in his grasp.
“You look unwell, Brother. Would it not be better to return and rest?”
“That is for me to decide. Do not meddle.”
Jang Hoyeol answered coldly and leaned back in his chair. Jang Miryeo sat beside him, doing her best not to glare at her uncle.
Pretending not to notice, I stood behind Jang Miryeo and began studying Jang Hojung and the people around him.
Jang Hojung himself was unquestionably an ordinary civilian without so much as a trace of internal energy. The men guarding him, however, struck me as peculiar.
The turbid energy flowing through them made it clear that they had not cultivated an orthodox internal method. Yet there was also something deeply unsettling about them that did not fit ordinary martial artists of the unorthodox faction.
Yeon Ryang seemed to sense the same thing. He frowned and toyed with his sheath.
The man who bothered me most was a red-haired swordsman whose wild, unkempt hair hung low enough to cover his eyes.
He could not compare to the supreme masters I had encountered so far, but the presence emanating from him was anything but ordinary.
That man’s energy is unmistakably different.
I closed my fingers around a hidden weapon and watched him from the corner of my eye.
Just then, the red-haired man sauntered over with a whistle and thrust his face directly in front of Yeon Ryang.
Their eyes met.
A vicious smile curled across the man’s lips.
“Well, well. Look who it is. The Wraith himself.”