WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 106: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (11)
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The White-Robed League returned to Yuezhou.
They surrounded the wretched people as though escorting them. Their skin was darkened by long exposure to the sun, their bodies gaunt, and they barely had enough clothing to cover themselves.
The families of the missing walked alongside them, lips pressed tight as they fought back tears.
On Yuezhou's outskirts, the clinking of cups fell silent in the pavilions and manors where wealthy Jianghu people gathered to enjoy themselves.
The laughter vanished as they quietly watched the White-Robed League pass.
Something was wrong.
Something terrible was happening.
The procession made that impossible not to feel.
Before long, grim-faced Jianghu people fastened weapons at their waists and came out in small groups. They followed behind the White-Robed League.
By the time they reached Yuezhou's gates, merchants and farmers carrying loads and pulling carts were bustling in and out.
They stopped in surprise as well.
At first, their eyes were drawn to the martial artists approaching in fluttering white robes. Then they saw the haggard faces trudging between them.
“Is that Mr. Jang? Isn't that Mr. Jang?”
“Mr. Wang! What are you doing there? We wondered where you'd gone all this time... No, what happened to you?!”
“Isn't that Mr. Woo, who disappeared three years ago and was said to be dead?”
The whispers steadily grew louder.
People were shocked to see those they believed dead walking through the gates, then shocked again by their unbelievably miserable condition.
Most ordinary people in this era were already dirty and poorly dressed. Only the wealthier people around the market bothered to dress themselves up.
Even by this era's standards, though, these people looked horrifying.
Their bodies were sun-blackened. They were painfully thin. They smelled like damp rags. Their faces were stiff. Their clothes were little more than torn tatters. Their feet were bare...
Under the flood of stares, those who had walked in silence hunched their shoulders and lowered their heads. They were ashamed and miserable.
The White-Robed League's martial artists deliberately spread out, trying to shield them, if only a little. Their families clung to them, biting their lips through their grief.
Sometimes, there were things like that.
Things that made one understand everything without a single word being spoken.
Countless people stared in silence.
Now and then, someone muttered.
“So it was true... People really were being kidnapped.”
“...And we had no idea...”
“We thought these were peaceful times. We never knew something like this was happening.”
A tragedy like this had been unfolding in their own city.
Because they had not known.
Because they had denied it.
Their guilt only grew deeper.
The people around the gates pressed their lips together and joined the procession.
An endless stream of people followed behind the White-Robed League.
The closer they came to the center of Yuezhou, the larger the procession grew.
At last, it stopped only when they encountered the soldiers sent by Yuezhou's provincial governor.
‘...A master.’
Around a hundred soldiers stood in formation.
Before them stood two military officials wearing breastplates and military caps.
The faint heat and light rising from their shoulders made it clear that both were late first-rate masters. Yet Yeon Sowol's gaze was fixed on the man to the left.
A military official in a dark blue uniform, wearing a deep green military cap with black tassels hanging from it.
Even among late first-rate masters, one's martial arts could differ greatly depending on one's enlightenment and training.
By that measure, the man on the left certainly caught Yeon Sowol's attention.
A clear aura and restrained movements.
His true skill could only be known through a fight, but merely looking at him created a subtle sense of tension.
He spoke.
“I am Ha Taeseok, Prefectural Inspector Commander of Yuezhou, sixth rank. Why are you leading these people toward the government office?”
Yeon Sowol was not the one who answered.
Just as he was about to speak, a voice cut in. Its owner struggled against his bindings.
“My lord! Patrol Military Inspector, my lord! It's me! Me! These scoundrels broke into my manor, destroyed my buildings, stole my slaves, and even harmed me like this! Please right this injustice!”
At his shout, every gaze turned to the military official on the right.
He wore a blackish-red uniform and a black military cap with red tassels.
Cold sweat ran down his face.
“W-what are you talking about?! I don't know you! Why are you bringing me up when this is a matter for the provincial governor to judge through a proper trial?!”
Sweating profusely, the Patrol Military Inspector nervously glanced at the Prefectural Inspector Commander beside him.
The Patrol Military Inspector of Yuezhou was a junior sixth-rank military official responsible for public security throughout Yuezhou.
His rank was not far below that of the Prefectural Inspector Commander, but their actual power differed.
The Prefectural Inspector Commander was the second-in-command of the Prefectural Inspectors, the provincial governor's personal armed force. He directly assisted the provincial governor and held authority to inspect Yuezhou's military organizations. A single word from him could cost the Patrol Military Inspector his head.
The Prefectural Inspector Commander stared at the Patrol Military Inspector.
“Is that not Lord Jeon? They say he made a fortune drying reeds. I heard one-third of Yuezhou's baskets and mats come from that old man's manor. Do you not know him?”
The Patrol Military Inspector broke out in a cold sweat.
“O-of course I know him. I only meant we're not close enough for him to speak of me that way.”
Lord Jeon had been screaming through the Patrol Military Inspector's repeated denials, but his expression went blank.
“No... How... Why...”
Yeon Sowol let out a quiet laugh as he watched the old man.
‘To think he'd keep acting exactly the same even after coming here.’
They were in the heart of Yuezhou.
Thousands of people had gathered around them like a sea of clouds, all watching.
And right before all those eyes, he had openly revealed his connection to the Patrol Military Inspector.
‘Rather than stupidity... perhaps he's simply grown too used to this over the years.’
When someone committed evil as part of their daily life, they eventually lost even the awareness that it was evil. That was exactly what this looked like.
“What did that bastard just say?”
“So the Patrol Military Inspector knew about this?”
“Slaves? Slaves? Since when did my friend Mr. Jang become a slave?!”
“Was only the Patrol Military Inspector involved? Could the provincial governor of Yuezhou have known too?”
The people who had silently watched until now began to boil with rage.
Each gave voice to their fury at this absurd situation.
Lord Jeon seemed to finally grasp the mood around him. He turned his head this way and that, shrinking into himself.
The Patrol Military Inspector trembled as if bathing in sweat, his eyes rolling wildly.
“Tsk.”
The Prefectural Inspector Commander clicked his tongue and gestured behind him.
“Bind the Patrol Military Inspector and Lord Jeon. The provincial governor of Yuezhou will personally question them about their crimes.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yuezhou's Prefectural Inspectors rushed forward like the wind. They stripped the Patrol Military Inspector of his sword, spear, and bow in an instant, then struck behind his knees and forced him down.
“My lord! My lord! This is a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! That man has used his wicked tongue to deceive you!”
“No. No... I... I was only harmed by those scoundrels...”
“Take them away.”
The Patrol Military Inspector and Lord Jeon, bound in an instant, were dragged away.
“As expected. It must have been that Patrol Military Inspector acting alone.”
“Of course it was. The provincial governor is such a good man.”
“Tsk. The country would be at peace if pests like that were all exterminated.”
Only then did the people relax a little and click their tongues.
The Prefectural Inspector Commander stood proudly for a moment, watching the scene settle before turning his gaze to Yeon Sowol.
“You have done something significant. We will only know the full details after the provincial governor has held the trial, but even from what I see now, your contribution is no small thing.”
The Prefectural Inspector Commander's gaze moved behind Yeon Sowol.
Hundreds of half-naked men stood there.
Their families, having heard the news, were pushing through the crowd and joining them one after another.
Wives embraced their husbands. Elderly people embraced their gray-bearded sons. Suppressed sobs rose from all around.
The scene required no explanation.
The Prefectural Inspector Commander said, “As it happens, we had heard the rumors and were conducting an investigation into the situation. We intended to strike soon and set things right, but you have handled it for us. Once the judgment has been made, all of you will naturally be rewarded. You may look forward to it.”
The White-Robed League members looked pleased.
There might have been a boundary between the authorities and the martial world, but rewards from the authorities were substantial. They were also the sort of things one could proudly show off and be recognized for anywhere.
It was only natural to be happy after doing what was right and receiving the reward one deserved.
So Yeon Sowol smiled too.
Smiling, he asked the Prefectural Inspector Commander, “Then that means...”
Yeon Sowol's gaze swept across the men silently weeping as they reunited with their families, then returned to him.
“So, in the end, you knew?”
At those cutting words, the Prefectural Inspector Commander silently stared at Yeon Sowol.
* * *
At that time, Won Huiseung and So Hye were crossing Dongting Lake in a small boat.
“Why did Lady So Hye volunteer to assist with the search of Dongting Lake? I heard the rumor that a Dragon Palace lies in Dongting Lake, so of course I had to come.”
“Dongting Lake has many small islands. There might be precious medicinal herbs on them, since people probably haven't set foot there.”
“Of course... One must search whenever the opportunity arises to find what one seeks.”
Creak. Creak.
Won Huiseung stood at the stern and rowed leisurely.
He did not seem to be exerting much effort, yet the boat moved swiftly forward.
Then So Hye, who had been watching ahead, widened her eyes.
“There! Can you see it? There's someone on that island!”
It was true.
A naked man stood blankly by the water, staring in their direction. He wore nothing but his underpants. A strange hat dangled behind his back from a cord looped around his neck.
Won Huiseung and So Hye looked at each other at the same time.
- - -
Three. If, while crossing Dongting Lake by boat, you find a naked person standing alone on a small island, immediately turn away and pretend to be engrossed in something else. It is not human.
- - -
Was this not exactly as described in the <Yuezhou Guide to Avoiding Danger>?
Won Huiseung rowed faster and approached the island.
“I never thought it would really exist.”
“Right? What could it be? A martial artist undergoing closed-door seclusion?”
“It could be, but its appearance is too strange. It might have taken off its clothes, but why would it leave a hat dangling behind its back like that?”
“You're right. What is it? Is it really not human?”
“It is broad daylight, and it looks far too much like a person...”
Creak. Creak.
As the boat drew closer, the man standing blankly by the water began to react.
He sniffed the air, then twitched toward the boat.
He clearly wanted to come closer, but whenever his feet touched the water, he flinched and pulled back. He could not get any closer. He only stood at the water's edge, twisting and writhing.
“...Its movements are bizarre. As if it truly isn't human.”
As Won Huiseung furrowed his brow, So Hye spoke in a grave voice.
“...It isn't human.”
“Hmm? Then what is it?”
“I don't know... This is my first time seeing one in person, so I can't be certain, but its movements and complexion...”
“So what are you saying?”
“A jiangshi.”
“A jiangshi?”
“A corpse reanimated through a secret art of the Demonic Path.”
“...Isn't that a ridiculous story made up to frighten children?”
“Coming from someone who believes in dragons.”
So Hye stared seriously at the man by the water.
“Anyway, if that really is a jiangshi... then Lady Moyong was right. Demonic Path forces are running rampant in Yuezhou.”
They were close enough now to clearly see its condition.
Its face was not merely pale, but bluish. Its hair had fallen out in patches, exposing its rotten scalp. Its feet had also decayed badly, perhaps from touching the water.
A being twitching as it moved in that state.
At this point, even Won Huiseung could not deny it.
“Last time I saw a ghost, and now it's a jiangshi. Yet the only thing I'm looking for refuses to show itself...”
So Hye tightly grabbed and shook his sleeve.
“Look at that! The hat behind its back!”
Won Huiseung carefully examined the hat that appeared in brief glimpses, then widened his eyes.
“That... Isn't that a military cap?”
“It is! A military cap!”
A military cap had a narrow, round crown, a wide brim, and tassels attached at the top.
Military officials wore them.
“So...”
Won Huiseung pieced the situation together.
“You're saying that an officially appointed martial official, one who passed the civil service examination, is standing on a remote little island in Dongting Lake as a jiangshi?”
What did this mean...?
A chill ran through them.
Won Huiseung and So Hye silently looked at each other for a long while.
Footnotes:
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