Chapter 46

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The late afternoon was chilly.

Janggeon, who had been looking up at the sky, felt a coolness typical of winter and slightly adjusted his collar. He exhaled a white breath and slowly lowered his head. In front of him stood two tombstones side by side. The tombstones of Jin Won-sang and Yang So-so. As he gazed at the tombstones, Jin Jeon, who was standing beside him, spoke.

"With their mortal bodies now returned to the earth, they can both finally move on to the Pure Land without any regrets. Namu Amitabha, Kwanseum Bosal."

Janggeon glanced at him without a word. Jin Jeon had bandages wrapped around both arms, and he wore a loose monk's robe over them. Despite the deep wounds that would cause significant pain with even slight movement, he seemed oblivious, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes as he mumbled Buddhist scriptures. Of course, Janggeon could see the subtle trembling of his body as he endured the pain.

Turning his head slightly, he saw Miss Seol and her bodyguard, Jin Ha, standing behind them. In front of them stood a girl with a blank expression. The girl, with a slightly pale face, was named Jin Seoha.

She suddenly met Janggeon's gaze, looking away from the tombstones. Her eyes, which met his, were a peculiar dark blue. After a moment, Janggeon, who had been looking at her cold face and eyes, turned his head back to the tombstones. The neatly shaped tombstones filled his field of vision again. Janggeon let out a light sigh.

It had been four days since Jin Won-sang's body and the return to Yanhoucheng, yet he hadn't even properly greeted the girl. This was partly because he didn't know what to say, but also because Jin Seoha hadn't spoken a word since she regained consciousness.

After a moment of such thoughts, Janggeon suddenly asked Jin Jeon, who was standing beside him, "Are you okay?"

"···Amitabha, what do you mean?"

"I haven't heard of the Shaolin Temple taking female disciples."

Jin Jeon laughed lightly.

"Those who climb the Shaolin Temple don't necessarily have to shave their heads and become monks. We are merely taking responsibility for the girl's guardianship. We will help her until she becomes an adult and can take care of herself. This is usually called a lay disciple."

Janggeon nodded. Seeing this, Jin Jeon smiled again and continued.

"Also, with the compensation from Jianlongmen, the girl won't go hungry in the future."

He must have been referring to the bill of exchange he received from Jianlongmen a few days ago in exchange for Jin Seoha's property. Thanks to the surviving warriors, Jianlongmen, who were terrified of Janggeon, had paid three times the usual price for salt kilns. It was indeed a substantial amount of money. Jin Jeon, thinking the explanation was sufficient, closed his eyes and continued chanting. The chanting continued quietly for a long time.

After the modest funeral, as they were returning to the inn, Miss Seol approached Janggeon.

"Um, Warrior Jang?"

"I'm listening."

She smiled slightly when Janggeon responded, albeit tersely.

"Um, I know it's sudden, but I've been thinking about this for a while since the last time."

Janggeon glanced at her face.

"Ask away."

"Um, did you really not hear any names?"

"Names?"

Janggeon confirmed, and the smile on her face was a bit awkward and anxious.

"···Bak Sae-kyeong, Gam Gun-sang, or Mu Myeong-hyeop... you know, those names..."

"Those names like Cheonryong and Jilbong?"

"···Yes, those."

Janggeon chuckled.

"The current leader of the Wulin Alliance is known as the Righteous Dragon Sword Master. His nickname comes from the Righteous Dragon Sword, which was bestowed by the emperor. But this Cheonryong Swordsman is said to be the disciple of the Wulin Alliance leader? If he were in his right mind, he wouldn't call himself Cheonryong to honor his master. If he were really called that, he would have found and stopped those who called him that."

Her expression turned gloomy at his answer. She seemed a bit disheartened by the reality of the Wulin in the New Continent, which she had heard mostly from the innkeeper over the past few days. Janggeon, seeing her expression, smiled faintly and continued.

"But I did hear that there is a disciple of the Wulin Alliance leader named Bak Sae-kyeong. It seems his story was somewhat exaggerated and passed on to the Central Plains."

Her gloomy expression brightened immediately at his reassuring words.

"Of course! That makes sense. How could a Wulin warrior use the word 'Cheonryong' so casually? Considering the status of the Cheonryong Sword... Ah, I'm glad I came here to find the real story. If I had stayed in the Central Plains, I wouldn't have known the true stories of these real warriors..."

Janggeon watched her as she spoke, smiling brightly.

"···Right! Jilbong, Gam Gun-sang, and Mu Myeong-hyeop must be real too! Of course, their nicknames might be a bit different, but since their stories are real, it's possible for historical novels to be written in the Central Plains. Ah! If I could find out the true identity and face of Mu Myeong-hyeop! I'm curious about him more than anyone else. His historical novels are the most popular in the Central Plains..."

She suddenly stopped talking, feeling Janggeon's gaze on her. She smiled sheepishly.

"···Was my voice too loud? When I get excited, I tend to ignore others' gazes..."

Janggeon asked while listening to her awkward excuse.

"What's your name?"

"Excuse me?"

"You. You've only told me your surname, Seol, but not your name. I've been calling you Miss Seol, but I should know your name."

"···Oh, my name? My name?"

Janggeon nodded silently. She hesitated for a moment, licking her lips, before answering.

"Um, it's, it's, Seol, Seol, Myeong... that is, Myeonggeum... that's it..."

"Myeonggeum? Seol Myeonggeum?"

"Yes, yes..."

Hearing her hesitant answer, Jin Jeon, who had been listening, interjected.

"It's a bit unusual, but it's a name given by your parents. You shouldn't be embarrassed. Speaking more confidently would make your parents proud. And who among us would say anything about a slightly strange name? If we must, my name is Jeon, and Warrior Jang's name is Geon. Hehe."

"R-right? I think so too! Haha! Myeonggeum! My name is Seol Myeonggeum!"

"Good! It's great to see you so confident. Hehehe!"

Behind them, Jin Ha, who was holding Jin Seoha's hand, unconsciously held his forehead. Myeonggeum卯金 was clearly just the character 刀 removed from 刘. The fact that she was calling it a name made her head hurt.

Fortunately, either because Jin Jeon naturally went along with it or because he was dense, Janggeon didn't ask any more questions. He just smiled faintly at the awkwardly smiling Seol Myeonggeum and the slightly less sad-looking Jin Jeon.

A short while later, they arrived at the inn and had dinner at a corner table. After finishing their meal without much conversation, they each sat with a cup of tea in front of them. Jin Jeon sipped his tea and said,

"First, I want to thank Miss Seol for all the help over the past few days. If it were just me and Warrior Jang, things would have been much more difficult."

He was talking about taking care of Jin Seoha. Indeed, for a monk like Jin Jeon and Janggeon, who liked children but found them a bit difficult, taking care of a twelve-year-old girl like Jin Seoha would have been a complex task.

"It's nothing. I'm glad I could help Seoha in some way."

Janggeon glanced at Seol Myeonggeum as she spoke, recalling the night a few days ago. The day after bringing back Jin Won-sang's body, Janggeon, as promised, told her the story of Jin Won-sang, Yang So-so, and Jin Seoha. At first, she had listened with a fascinated expression, holding a brush and a book, but by the end, she was only shedding large tears on the open book, unable to say a word.

Later, she expressed her desire to help Jin Seoha's journey, at least until she could see her off to the Central Plains, and decided to stay at the inn. From then on, she not only took care of Jin Seoha but also covered the lodging and meal expenses for Jin Jeon and Janggeon. For the cash-strapped Janggeon, there was no reason to refuse the generosity of this wealthy young lady.

"We'll start our journey to Shenchuan tomorrow morning. The carriage has been repaired, and the luggage is packed, so we can leave right after breakfast."

The plan was simple. Jin Seoha and Seol Myeonggeum would ride in the carriage they had secured two days ago, with Jin Ha as the driver. Janggeon and Jin Jeon would ride horses, and they would travel to Shenchuan, stopping at villages along the way. Upon arriving in Shenchuan, Jin Jeon would take Jin Seoha by boat to Shaolin, marking the end of their journey.

Originally, they planned to use the regular carriage service that departed from Yanhoucheng. However, upon learning that Jianlongmen managed and supervised the service, Seol Myeonggeum promptly secured a carriage.

The adults, having briefly summarized the schedule, nodded and began to subtly check someone's reaction. The person they were checking was the youngest among them, Jin Seoha.

Perhaps sensing the strange atmosphere, Jin Seoha, who had been looking at her tea cup, suddenly raised her head and looked at the adults. Her deep dark blue eyes sparkled. Everyone felt an inexplicable sense of anticipation and focused on the girl.

However, after a moment, the girl lowered her eyes back to her tea cup without saying a word. Jin Jeon, unable to help but let out a small sigh, quickly composed himself and spoke.

"Well, then, let's all go to bed. We'll have a tiring journey tomorrow."

He stood up, and Seol Myeonggeum and Jin Ha followed. Jin Seoha, gently guided by the two women, also stood up and started to go upstairs. As she climbed the stairs, she turned her head and looked at Janggeon, who was still sitting and hadn't stood up.

Janggeon, who had been tapping the table with his fingers, looked up at her gaze. He felt as if her eyes were asking why he wasn't coming up yet.

So, he stared at her eyes for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Jin Seoha's eyes widened, and her tightly closed mouth slightly opened.

She then turned to look at Seol Myeonggeum and Jin Ha, who were leading her up. When they looked at her with a "What's wrong?" expression, she turned back to Janggeon as if to show them too.

However, he had already returned to his usual calm expression, tapping the table and looking at the empty table as if lost in deep thought.

"Why are you doing that, Seoha?"

Jin Seoha, confused by Seol Myeonggeum's question, looked back and forth between Janggeon and her. Then, with a bewildered expression, she stomped up the stairs.

"Hey! Seoha!"

Seol Myeonggeum and Jin Ha quickly followed her. Janggeon, watching them from the first floor, chuckled and took out a pipe from his pocket.

He slowly rolled the pipe and put it in his mouth. He naturally lit it with his index finger, rested his elbow on the table, and fell into his own thoughts. The red tip of the pipe and the smoke coming from his mouth swayed and rose. Janggeon drew a picture of a friend he had known for only a day but whose eyes he liked from the wavy smoke.

But a moment later, he took the pipe from his mouth, blew out the smoke, and the image vanished. Janggeon smoked the pipe for a long time alone.

The next day, they left Yanhoucheng in the prepared carriage. Jin Seoha never looked back at Yanhoucheng during the journey.

* * *

A few days after Janggeon and Jin Seoha's group left, two people in black hoods and black cloaks entered Yanhoucheng. They didn't seem bewildered by the strangely desolate atmosphere of the city and immediately began searching around. They were looking for a girl surnamed Jin with an incurable disease that even a doctor from Tianhoucheng couldn't diagnose or cure.

They eventually reached the inn where the girl had last stayed.

"Those people? They left a few days ago?"

The innkeeper, who enjoyed talking to people, readily shared what he remembered when the two black-hooded figures bought him an expensive bottle of wine. Of course, the innkeeper didn't know the details, but he had a general idea of what had happened.

The two black-hooded figures turned to each other and whispered.

"I don't know what happened. Did they treat the Nine Yin Evil Blood?"

"That can't be fixed in one night. Even with a miraculous medicine, a highly skilled expert would need to guide the energy and slowly dissolve the blocked meridians over several weeks. It seems they only provided emergency care here and took her away for proper treatment."

"Who would save a sick person who has lost their parents? Could it be from the Yellow Army...?"

The black-hooded figure speaking stopped and glanced at the innkeeper, who was standing with his arms crossed. The innkeeper smiled and said,

"What's the matter? Why are you looking for those people? Tell me too. Listening to others' stories is my life's pleasure."

The subordinate black-hooded figure, under his cloak, seemed to reach for something. But he was stopped by the other black-hooded figure, who took out a silver coin and placed it in front of the innkeeper.

"Thank you for the information."

"Wow! That's generous! Maybe I should be a storyteller instead of running an inn."

The black-hooded figures left the inn without a word. The innkeeper, watching their blurry figures through the paper window, picked up the silver coin. He then went to the back of the inn and took out a birdcage that another stranger had left the day before.

"Let's see, what did that man tell me to do? Ah."

He took out a small piece of paper, a tiny inkwell, and a needle from the birdcage and started writing.

-Abnormal activity detected. Someone is following the target.

"Hold on. They're not following that man, but the little girl... Ah, whatever."

The innkeeper finished the note and attached it to the pigeon's leg. He then opened the birdcage and released the pigeon. The freed pigeon started flapping its wings and flew towards its trained home.

The innkeeper, watching the pigeon fly away, recalled the man who had come the day before with the pigeon, the birdcage, and ten silver coins. His name was Yang Hong, and he had asked for simple information regularly. He had promised to visit often and even added five more silver coins at the end.

The innkeeper didn't think of himself as an informant. He was just happy to earn more money.

The pigeon flapped its wings and flew diligently through the sky.