Chapter 143
The person we had picked up from the snow was a martial artist around my age.
Judging by the fine fur-lined cloak and the prized sword at her waist, she seemed to be the child of a fairly wealthy family.
But nothing about the way she behaved matched that impression.
The moment she climbed into our carriage behind me, she began demolishing our rations with alarming noises.
CHOMP. CRUNCH.
“You’re going to choke. Have some water.”
GULP, GULP, GULP.
“Are you even chewing? You’ll make yourself sick eating like that.”
“Mmf, ’m fine.”
“What? Did you say you’re fine? No, I’m not fine just watching this. Slow down.”
“’Kay.”
CRUNCH.
However many days she had gone without food, she kept cramming it into her mouth without pause. She reminded me of a Beggars’ Union beggar.
Cane seemed startled by the sight too. Its fur stood on end as it pressed itself against me.
With his arms crossed, Yeon Ryang watched her with a dubious expression before whispering,
“Sohae. I think we picked up something strange. Let’s put it back by the road.”
“She’s a person, Brother. What do you mean, put her back?”
I answered him, then slowly looked her over.
With her unusual clothing and sword, she looked at first like a spoiled boy who had never known hardship.
But her frame was different. She was tall, and the men’s clothing suited her well, but she was definitely a woman.
Maybe she had disguised herself as a man because she did not want to get dragged into trouble. Maybe there was another reason. Either way, I could not bring myself to simply leave her alone.
She reminded me of myself when I had been driven out of the Tang Clan.
Trying to settle my uneasy feelings, I asked,
“Where are you headed?”
The answer I received was incomprehensible.
“Mmph, mngh, outh...”
“Could you swallow before you answer?”
“Mmf, Yueyang...”
“...What did you say? Never mind. Fill your stomach first.”
I waved her off in disgust. She merely grinned and nodded. Stroking Cane as it curled into my arms, I muttered,
“I’ve never seen anyone eat more than you, Brother. Is it because she’s still growing?”
“Do I eat that much?”
“About that much. Sometimes more when you’re hungry.”
“...I see.”
Yeon Ryang replied a beat late, rubbing his chin. He looked a little shocked.
Uncle must have loaded those sacks of rations because of Brother. It looked like he had not realized that himself.
The stranger, who had been filling her stomach like someone possessed by hunger, only flopped onto the floor with a refreshed expression after wiping out half a sack of rations.
“Ahh, I feel alive again now that I’ve eaten!”
She shouted loudly while patting her belly. Honestly, there was not much difference between her behavior and Cane’s.
Could a martial artist really be that unwary?
Suppressing a laugh, I asked,
“You can finally speak properly. Are you full now?”
“Properly full. Thanks, friend. I really thought I was going to starve to death.”
“Why were you collapsed on the roadside? You weren’t injured.”
“Well, you see, I was hungry, but no matter how long I walked, I couldn’t find an inn. So I sat beneath a tree and waited, thinking I’d hitch a ride if a carriage came by. But then it started snowing while I rested, you know?”
“Yes.”
“Carriages do not travel much when it snows. So I thought, whatever, and just lay down.”
“...What?”
If no carriages were coming, shouldn’t you have kept walking? Why would you lie down?
Even at my strange look, she remained perfectly cheerful.
“And then—ta-da! You appeared. The world really is still worth living in.”
What was that supposed to mean? She was not entirely normal either.
Between her appearance and her fearless attitude, she looked like someone who had never struggled a day in her life. Had she run away from home?
“Did you run away?”
“I didn’t run away. I got kicked out. Mother smacked me on the back and threw me out, telling me to go widen my seeing. Is it that obvious?”
“You do look rather filthy. And it’s ‘broaden your horizons,’ not ‘widen your seeing.’”
“One thing, the other. You understood what I meant.”
So she was not a runaway. She had been expelled.
Her cheerful answer reassured me that she had not gone through anything harsh like I had. My expression softened.
“Where is your home?”
“Luoyang.”
“You walked here alone from Luoyang?”
“Yep. I wanted to see Dongting Lake. I heard it took about ten days to get there, so I came, but I guess I still have further to go. This is the road to Yueyang, right?”
“It is. You could not have left home empty-handed, so why are you dressed like a beggar?”
“At the last market I stopped in, I ran into a pickpocket.”
Her answer left me puzzled. Even at a glance, she did not look like a martial artist who could so easily fall prey to a pickpocket.
“Did a divine thief rob you?”
“Not quite. It was a little child, this small. I did not have the heart to take it back. How hungry must they have been to pick my pocket? I thought I’d do a good deed.”
“....”
Her innocent cheerfulness left only the listener flustered. I had no idea where I was even supposed to begin criticizing her.
As I merely opened and closed my mouth without finding an answer, Yeon Ryang chuckled.
“No plan and no answer, right? Wondering what in the world you’re supposed to do with her? That was exactly how I felt when I first saw you.”
“Come on. I wasn’t that bad.”
“Were you not? You look similar to me.”
The thought that I had once known as little about the world as she did was painful in its own way.
Pretending not to hear him, I fiddled with Cane. Yeon Ryang gave a soft laugh at the sight, then asked,
“What is this little brother’s name?”
“She is not a little brother, Brother.”
“Hm?”
“Look at her frame. She’s a woman.”
“Wait, she is?”
Surprise flickered across Yeon Ryang’s face. He looked as though the possibility had never crossed his mind.
The stranger stared at me with wide eyes, as though she found me fascinating.
“How did you know? Not many people can tell at first glance.”
“You can tell just by looking. I’m a physician, after all.”
“Wow. You’re clever. You’re right. I’m Yang Gyojin.”
She burst into laughter, introduced herself, and gave us an energetic clasped-fist salute.
“Yang Gyojin? Are you from the Yang Family Estate?”
“That’s right. That’s my home.”
“A Yang from Luoyang? Of course I know it. When people hear Pear Blossom Spear, they think of the Yang Family Estate. Though you seem to use a sword.”
Yeon Ryang shrugged as he pointed toward the sword belt marked with a pear blossom design. He seemed to know the Yang Family Estate’s emblem.
“That’s true too. In any case, thank you for the food. I’ll repay this favor in the Yang Family Estate’s name.”
I looked at the smiling Yang Gyojin for a moment, then decided to send her on her way.
Yeon Ryang knew her martial family, and she seemed capable of protecting herself. Besides, Yeon Ryang was not in good condition. I had no desire to add another concern to our journey.
She would manage on her own.
“I see. I heard your introduction. Yang Gyojin, if you’re grateful, could you get out of the carriage now?”
I opened the carriage door wide and smiled brightly. Yang Gyojin shot upright, clutched the seat, and cried out,
“Wait, what? You’re going to be this heartless? Feed me just one more meal! I’m only starting to feel human again!”
What was with this shameless person?
I frowned at the absurd request.
“What is wrong with you? I save someone from drowning, and now she wants the bundle off my back too.”
“You do not have to give me the bundle. Just a warm meal and somewhere to sleep.”
“Did I ever promise to feed you? Get out.”
I snorted and pointed outside, but Yang Gyojin clung to me with easy familiarity and hooked an arm through mine.
“Come on. Let’s travel together. It looks like we’re headed the same way. Want me to drive the carriage?”
“Good grief. Do you even know what I have up my sleeve before getting this close? Do you want a poison needle planted in your forehead?”
“Lovely Miss Tang, what’s your name? How old are you? We look about the same age. Why don’t we be friends? I’m seventeen.”
I could not tell whether she had any sense at all. A crease formed between my brows.
Yeon Ryang watched me stare at her in disbelief, then laced his hands behind his head and smiled pleasantly.
“Sohae. Just let her ride with us.”
“Yes, take me with you!”
As Yang Gyojin chimed in and clung to me again, I pushed her head away and asked,
“Didn’t you just say we should put her back by the road?”
“Think about what Elder told us before he left.”
“What Uncle Geunmyeong said? What did he—ah.”
He had told me to spend time among the promising young talents of the orthodox factions.
For Yeon Ryang to give me such a hint, the Yang Family Estate had to be a rather prominent martial family.
It left a bad taste in my mouth to feel like a snob judging someone by her family name, but it would have felt worse to throw away an opportunity that had rolled into my lap.
Clicking my tongue, I gave Yang Gyojin a few impatient pats and grumbled,
“All right, so get off me.”
“Then you’ll let me ride? What’s your name, Miss?”
Yang Gyojin’s eyes brightened as she obediently moved back and sat down.
“I’ll take you along. But you get out once we reach Yueyang, understood? I’m Tang Sohae. I’m seventeen too.”
“Right? I thought so. We’re the same age! Who’s the big guy?”
“This is my Brother, Yeon Ryang.”
At my introduction, Yeon Ryang lifted a hand in a casual wave.
Cane, which had been quietly watching, stretched itself tall as though demanding an introduction too.
“KYUU!”
“What is this? A sable? It’s cute.”
Curiosity showed on Yang Gyojin’s face as she looked at Cane.
“It is a sable. Its name is Cane.”
“KIK!”
“Right. Nice to meet you too.”
When she held out an index finger, Cane sniffed it, then scampered up her arm.
“Ha ha! Cute. That tickles. Hey, that tickles—achoo!”
Yang Gyojin kept sneezing as Cane’s soft fur tickled her nose.
“Achoo! You’d make the perfect scarf. So warm... achoo!”
“KIK!”
Yet she seemed delighted to play with Cane, which made her seem a little airheaded too.
Had I made a mistake agreeing to travel with her? It felt as though I had picked up the wrong kind of baggage.
Unlike me, who was not entirely comfortable with the situation, Yeon Ryang looked somewhat pleased.
He watched Yang Gyojin and me with a silent smile, then rose.
“You two play. I’ll drive the carriage.”
“Hm? Brother, I have no intention of playing with her—”
“Yes, yes. It’s about time you made a friend. Don’t worry about me. Go ahead and enjoy yourselves. Enjoy yourselves.”
He waved a hand and closed the carriage door, wearing the satisfied expression of an adult watching the youngest child in the family bring home a first friend.
...That old man seemed to have misunderstood something again.
Suddenly left alone in the carriage with Yang Gyojin, I let out a sigh.