Chapter 156
“Should we scatter a few poison bombs or caltrops around?”
“That seems excessive. One of the servants could step on them. Still, we should carry signal flares.”
“I have signal flares!”
Yang Gyojin swallowed the rice cake she had been eating as a palate cleanser, thrust one hand into the air, and pulled out a signal flare.
“Why do you still have signal flares when you lost all your money?”
“The chief steward packed them separately and told me I had to keep them with me.”
She answered with an innocent smile, then handed one flare each to Yeon Ryang and me.
So she caused enough trouble at home that they made sure she always carried emergency flares.
Yeon Ryang seemed to be thinking the same thing. He clicked his tongue and tucked the flare into his clothes.
“Where do Miss Jang’s guards usually stay?”
“There is a residence for the guards in the inner compound. It should be around here.”
At Yeon Ryang’s question, Jang Miryeo drew a small circle in one corner of the inner compound. After checking the location, Yeon Ryang pointed at her martial guard.
“Then I’ll stay in the guard quarters. I should be able to impose on this fellow.”
“It may be uncomfortable. You would still be better off staying in the guest hall...”
“A martial artist only needs a roof to keep off the dew. Besides, the guest hall will probably be noisy with all the martial artists here for the marriage tournament. Staying over here should make it easier for me to move around.”
Jang Miryeo’s martial guard looked flustered, but readily agreed. I continued.
“Some people have seen my green robe, and word has probably spread that Miss Jang brought martial artists into the estate. Your uncle is unlikely to attempt anything too reckless today. I would also like entry tokens for the inner compound.”
“I will have them prepared immediately. Jinjin.”
The personal maid bowed at Jang Miryeo’s call and left. I swept my hair back and asked,
“What kind of man is Jang Hojung?”
“My uncle is... underhanded. He pretended to be my father’s loyal retainer while quietly building a faction of his own. The moment Father fell ill, he stripped away my support and declared himself the acting head of the company.”
“You had no grounds to refuse when a seasoned merchant offered to take over operations.”
“Exactly. I am ashamed to admit it, but except for the chief steward who has served beside my father for decades, everyone has turned their back on me.”
Her calm confession painted a clear picture of her circumstances, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
She had never been acknowledged as the company’s heir.
I had only spoken with her briefly, but it was enough to tell that Jang Miryeo was no easy mark as a merchant.
Yet she had still been shut out of the company. Her youth and the fact that she was a woman seemed to be holding her back.
Now that I had heard her story, I could understand why her father was so desperate to marry her off quickly. He must have concluded that he needed to bring in a live-in son-in-law and establish him as his successor before he died, or his daughter would never inherit the company.
Was that why she had drawn Yang Gyojin into this?
It probably had not been intentional, but aside from the fact that she was a woman, Yang Gyojin fit Jang Miryeo’s requirements perfectly.
She would have no interest in company affairs and no pointless ambitions that might get in Jang Miryeo’s way. She was also strong enough not to fall victim to the uncle’s schemes. And when the time came, she would leave.
As a figurehead husband who could serve as a shield until Jang Miryeo secured her position, she was practically ideal. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing...
When I gave Yang Gyojin a strange look, she tilted her head.
“Do you want this rice cake? I can give you some too, Sohae.”
“No, thanks. You eat it.”
Husband material, my foot. Bringing her into the family would be adoption. Adoption.
I shook my head and turned back to Jang Miryeo.
“Is your father unconscious?”
“He drifts in and out. He recovered a little the day before yesterday, but today he has not woken at all.”
“Would you mind allowing me to take his pulse?”
“Of course. I could not be more grateful if you examined him, Miss Tang. Shall we go at once?”
Jang Miryeo’s face brightened, and she sprang to her feet.
But we were unable to take the Trading Company Master’s pulse. We could not even enter his residence.
The guards blocked us at the entrance.
“Why are you stopping a daughter from seeing her own father?”
“My apologies, my lady. Master Jang ordered that no one be admitted.”
“She is a physician from the Tang Clan! Do you have any idea what it took to bring her here?”
Even when Jang Miryeo shouted, the guards stood firm.
“Obtain Master Jang’s permission first, and we will step aside.”
“You dare...!”
Their attitude was unbelievably insolent for men speaking to the Trading Company Master’s only daughter. Yang Gyojin cocked her head to one side.
“Miryeo. Want me to clear them out?”
As Yang Gyojin gathered her energy, the guards sensed the danger and gripped their swords.
The atmosphere was one spark away from exploding. I quickly grabbed the back of her neck.
“Gyojin. Don’t make this worse.”
“They’re baring their teeth at their own mistress. That’s insolent. A beating will bring them to their senses.”
“No. Stay quiet and don’t cause a scene. You have to go up on the fighting platform tomorrow.”
So she had been raised in a prominent family after all. I had thought she was simply dense, but she was remarkably sensitive to insubordination.
Jang Miryeo glared fiercely at the guards.
“Where is my uncle now?”
“We do not know.”
“...I see. You have already boarded my uncle’s ship. But no one knows whether that ship will sail safely or sink. Let us wait and see which it will be.”
Jang Miryeo fixed the guards with a scornful stare, then turned away.
“I am sorry you had to witness such an embarrassing display. Let us return.”
She forced her emotions down as she apologized to us, but her eyes blazed with fury.
After exchanging glances, we followed her in silence.
*****
The birdsong outside the window pleasantly tickled Tang Un’s ears.
He pushed aside the covers, rose, and slowly opened the window. The crisp dawn air rushed deep into his lungs.
The cold struck him full in the face, and normally it would have sent him into a coughing fit. Today, however, his throat remained perfectly comfortable.
Tang Un savored the breeze brushing across his cheeks. When he sensed someone behind him, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Seol-yak. Did you rest well?”
“Well enough. How is the pain?”
“Much better. The headache is gone today as well.”
Im Seol-yak approached with a sullen expression and draped a fur-lined cloak over Tang Un’s shoulders.
“I hope you remember that if you collapse, I am the one who will have to deal with the nuisance. It is still too early for you to breathe cold air.”
“I will keep that in mind, Seol-yak.”
Im Seol-yak snorted, closed the window, and held something out.
“Your sister sent a letter.”
“Ah... It seems she did not return with the Seventh Elder.”
“Obviously. Unless she is a complete idiot, she would not crawl back into the Tang Clan while the Poison King is absent.”
Tang Un accepted the letter and unfolded it, his smile undisturbed by the curt response.
His sister had once struggled even to hold a brush, producing only crooked, clumsy characters. Now her handwriting flowed with surprising grace, and the sight made the corners of his mouth rise.
The letter itself was simple. She said she was doing well, thanked him for looking after the household, and asked whether his health had improved.
Yet its very ordinariness put him at ease. Even such a short letter overflowed with his youngest sister’s characteristic warmth. At the very least, she did not seem to have suffered anything harsh enough to leave her badly wounded in body or mind.
Im Seol-yak waited until Tang Un lowered the letter before speaking.
“When winter ends, I am thinking of going to the Bamboo Sea.”
The words sounded like the beginning of a farewell, and Tang Un’s heart plummeted.
Im Seol-yak was a supreme master who wandered the martial world like the wind, bound by nothing. Tang Un had always known that he would eventually leave.
But this was too sudden.
Tang Un’s lips parted before he slowly asked,
“Do you mean Yibin?”
“Yes. The Tang Clan is saturated with poison. Even the energy here is turbid, and there are far too many irritating obstacles. If I remain much longer, I may end up killing them all.”
Im Seol-yak shook his head and muttered under his breath.
“That would not do. If I laid hands on Tang blood, I would never hear the end of it from that old monster.”
Tang Un drew a slow, deep breath, determined not to show his disappointment.
What right did he have to feel hurt after receiving such extraordinary kindness?
Even his own family had given up on him, yet this physician had cared for him for four months. Im Seol-yak had already done everything that could be expected of a healer.
Tang Un should be grateful instead. No other physician had managed to restore his body this far.
Hiding his true feelings behind a carefully constructed smile, Tang Un gave Im Seol-yak a clasped-fist salute.
“I understand. I will never forget the kindness you have shown me.”
Im Seol-yak frowned.
“What are you talking about? I am going to the Bamboo Sea because of you.”
“Pardon?”
“For your body to recover completely, you must convalesce somewhere with pure energy. Not in this den of schemers. Prepare quietly without telling your family. We will leave as soon as the ice melts.”
Tang Un’s fingertips trembled at the unexpected answer.
The Bamboo Sea? ...Together?
He wondered whether he had misheard and turned Im Seol-yak’s words over in his mind.
But no matter how many times he considered them, Im Seol-yak had unmistakably invited him along.
Im Seol-yak continued without concern for Tang Un’s stunned reaction.
“Ah, it would be best to bring one maid. Was her name Gyeonga? That girl is capable. We should stop by the secret cave as well. I will need to replenish your yang energy. And...”
Im Seol-yak’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight as he poured out his plans for their journey to the Bamboo Sea.
Tang Un’s dumbfounded expression was reflected in those dark, gleaming eyes.
Together.
They were going together.
The Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist—Im Seol-yak—had not given up on him.
His parents and siblings had abandoned him and turned away. Everyone else had released his hand.
Yet the physician standing before him still held on tightly.
As though entranced, Tang Un gazed into those eyes. A smile gradually spread across his face until it became radiant.
“Yes, Seol-yak.”