WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ Raised by a Ruthless Swordsman ◈

Chapter 16: Hidden Currents

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Why was he here?

I stood frozen by the unexpected sight. Soon, the chief steward and agency head approached Munhwi.

They seemed to exchange a few brief words, but Munhwi showed no hesitation in dealing with people far older than himself.

If anything, the agency head and chief steward appeared to be keeping their distance from him. He did not seem to be an ordinary traveler.

Just then, a hand touched my shoulder. I turned to find Gwak Seok, the habitual grumbler, standing beside me.

"Hey. Staring that hard won't change the fact that we'll be sleeping on the ground."

Gwak Seok patted my shoulder and nodded toward the open yard. When I looked, people had already gathered there, arranging the wagons in a circle to form a defensive perimeter.

"We need to find a spot too. Come on. We've still got a long way to go."

"Let's do that."

I followed Gwak Seok, glancing back once. But those people were nowhere to be seen, perhaps having already gone into the inn.

What could this mean?

I gathered my tangled thoughts and headed for the yard after Gwak Seok. Most of the spots had already been claimed. The wagons formed a wide circle, and several campfires burned within it.

I saw familiar faces near one of them. Jin Song, Yang Hyeon, and Du Gi sat around the fire, unpacking their bags.

Gwak Seok headed over and called out.

"Hey, let us join you."

Yang Hyeon looked up, smiled warmly, and raised a hand.

"We were just settling in."

I sat near the fire. Its warmth wrapped around my chilled body.

A little later, Ma Jeongsan settled himself in the middle and drew everyone's attention with a dry cough.

"Listen up!"

The gazes of the escorts sprawled around the yard turned toward him.

"Make do with the food you received at noon. Fresh rations will be handed out tomorrow. You'll also get an extra handful of side dishes."

I heard Gwak Seok quietly sigh beside me. Jin Song showed little reaction as he took out the bundle he had received at noon.

Ma Jeongsan briefly assigned the night watches, starting from the front, then concluded.

"Nothing major should happen. Still, there is always a chance, so those on watch, stay alert and keep your eyes open."

Once his orders ended, the yard slowly came alive again. Laborers carrying baskets began making their rounds among the groups.

Before long, our group received a bundle as well. It was the same bundle of travel sesame flatbread from noon. In the laborer's other hand was a cloth-wrapped handful of salty pickled radish.

Gwak Seok accepted it and spoke without much enthusiasm.

"Flatbread. Nice."

Yang Hyeon put a strip of pickled radish into his mouth, chewed, then replied.

"Still, it's better than eating nothing but travel sesame flatbread."

"That's obvious. Compared to that stuff, is there anything that wouldn't be better?"

As I half-listened to their exchange, I glanced toward the inn. Only then did one of the escort captains go inside.

Seeing Ma Jeongsan spreading out a cloth beside us, it seemed one escort captain had to remain near the wagons.

I unpacked my bag, spread out my cloth, and lay down on it. Gwak Seok lay beside me, Yang Hyeon beside him, with Jin Song and Du Gi farther beyond.

Before long, I heard a brief sound of breathing from somewhere. It seemed to be coming from Jin Song. As expected of a wandering martial artist, he appeared able to sleep anywhere.

For some reason, though, sleep did not come easily to me. I lay there for a long while, looking at the sky instead of a ceiling.

The sky was filled with stars. Unlike my cluttered thoughts, it looked peaceful.

Too many things fit together for it to be mere coincidence. Yeongpa, the escort agency, this protection convoy.

I had no idea why Munhwi was riding in that carriage. But when he had encouraged me to join the convoy at the inn, why had he not mentioned it then?

My chest seemed to grow cold and stiff.

I also thought of the Wudang disciple and the beggar. Where might they be wandering now? If they had hurried, they might already have reached the mountain hut.

What would they think when they saw the grave mound? Would they know that I existed?

Could Munhwi be connected to them somehow?

Suspicion tangled itself through my thoughts. Ever since I had come down from the mountain, it felt as though I had been taking one step at a time into an unknown mire.

For now, I only needed to finish this protection convoy. If there was a problem, I could travel to Yeongpa alone.

Still lying down, I quietly checked my energy circulation. It was just over ninety percent. My hand naturally reached for the sword at my side to confirm its position.

For a long while after that, I only looked at the sky.

* * *

"Sir. Dawn is breaking. Time to get up."

A hand lightly shook my shoulder, and I opened my eyes. The face of a man I vaguely recognized was close by.

I forced my heavy body upright.

The campfire had nearly burned down to ash, and the sky beyond it had grown bright, its edge beginning to turn reddish.

It seemed I had fallen asleep at some point.

Jin Song, Yang Hyeon, and Du Gi were each getting up beside me. Gwak Seok must have risen earlier. He was some distance away, stretching his body in every direction.

Around the yard came groans and the sounds of people rubbing their shoulders.

I rolled up my cloth and put it away in my bag, then picked up the sword I had kept beside me. There still seemed to be about half an hour before dawn fully broke.

The inn was silent when I arrived before it. Only the cloth hanging from the eaves stirred now and then in the wind. There was little sign of anyone inside.

I stood still several steps from the door. Two carriages stood tied beside each other, just as they had yesterday.

I let out a long breath.

About half an hour passed.

Then I heard footsteps from within the inn. Not one person's footsteps, but several.

At last, the door opened from inside.

The chief steward came out first. The agency head followed, then the captain from the front of the convoy. The three spotted me standing before the door and looked puzzled.

I ignored their gazes and waited for the next person to emerge. The wait was not long.

Soon, Munhwi walked out. He was letting out a long yawn, but when our eyes met, his large eyes opened even wider.

I watched him closely. Was he surprised to see me by chance?

"Oh, isn't it Brother Jin?"

His hand dropped from his mouth, and a smile finally spread over Munhwi's face. I could see the tension leave his shoulders as well.

"Ha, so you really did join the protection convoy. Even when I recommended you to the escort agency, I had no idea how it would turn out."

He stepped closer and moved to place a hand on my shoulder, then hesitated. His large eyes briefly dropped and rose again. He seemed to have seen my hand resting near my sword hilt.

Munhwi withdrew his hand and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. I spoke then.

"Brother Mun, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you were returning to your hometown?"

"I did say that. And I'm on my way there now, aren't I?"

Munhwi shrugged one shoulder. But perhaps he read my expression, because he scratched his head and continued.

"I had planned to go alone. But circumstances changed. It wasn't what I wanted, but it's a family matter. What else could I do?"

There was much I wanted to ask.

What sort of family matter required him to join this procession? He had visited the escort agency, but was it truly coincidence that he had ended up accompanying a protection convoy personally led by the agency head and chief steward? He had said nothing was set, yet within three days, he was traveling to Yeongpa in a carriage reserved just for him.

But this did not seem like the place to press him. Behind Munhwi, the agency head and chief steward's eyes narrowed.

I also glanced at the escort captain, but the escort captain merely stood there blankly, showing no particular reaction.

Only the agency head and chief steward seemed uncomfortable.

I merely gave a short nod.

"I see. Then I'll see you again along the way."

Munhwi raised one hand in farewell, and I immediately turned away.

I headed toward the yard. After taking several steps, the back of my head began to itch.

I glanced back.

The agency head was saying something to Munhwi. Munhwi appeared to brush it off with a light shrug.

But beside him, the chief steward was clearly looking this way instead of at Munhwi. Those narrowed eyes gave me an unpleasant feeling.

I turned back and resumed walking. Yet the feeling of that gaze against my back clung to me heavily for a long while.

* * *

"Brother Yang. The mountains are getting rougher and rougher. It looks like Seonharyeong is finally close. What do you think? Feeling nervous?"

In the distance, the road narrowed between mountain peaks. Yang Hyeon shaded his eyes with one hand and looked ahead before answering in a strangely excited voice.

"Now that we're actually here, my heart is pounding a little. It feels like I might finally get a chance to swing my blade."

"The best protection convoy is one where you never have to swing a blade, Brother Yang."

Gwak Seok replied flatly. Unbothered, Yang Hyeon began making another comment.

I half-listened to the pointless conversation between the two, who had grown closer over the past few days, and counted the steps I had taken.

Six days had passed since then.

We traveled north from Geonnyeong along the main official road for three days. At a bend in the road was a small market town, where we spent one night.

After another two days of walking, we reached Poseong. As Ma Jeongsan had said, it was a large town with plenty of vacant rooms at the inn, enough for the entire group to stay inside.

But perhaps to save money, all the escorts were crammed into one large room in a corner of the inn. This was probably the communal dormitory Abok had told me about.

Gwak Seok never stopped grumbling, even there. The communal dormitory was certainly uncomfortable, but it was far better than sleeping under the night dew.

Since I had encountered Munhwi in front of the inn on the first day, I had scarcely seen him again.

He seemed rarely to leave the carriage. At every rest stop, I had discreetly looked over, but Munhwi was nowhere to be seen.

At times, I had the impression that someone's gaze rested on my back. Yet no matter how often I turned around, I could not tell whose gaze it was.

Still, the image of the chief steward's narrow eyes sometimes came to mind.

When I had a chance to move beside Ma Jeongsan during the march, I casually sounded him out about Munhwi. But Ma Jeongsan did not seem to know much about who Munhwi was either.

I considered asking about the chief steward as well, but Ma Jeongsan was also a man of the escort agency, so I hesitated and let it go.

Other than that, the six days passed so quietly that my earlier tension felt embarrassing. During that time, the procession gradually entered Seonharyeong.

The road suddenly narrowed, and the mountain slopes rising on either side blocked the sunlight. Before long, only a single slanting strip of light fell across the road.

Ma Jeongsan shouted loudly.

"Close up the procession! Stay alert and watch every direction!"

The gaps between the wagons narrowed step by step, and the escorts took up their positions again.

The road continued straight for about half an hour. The mountainsides on both sides grew steeper, and the strip of sunlight on the road more often split into two shafts.

Only the sound of feet on dirt and wagon wheels rolling echoed through the quiet mountains.

Then the procession suddenly stopped.

I looked ahead. At the far end of the road, one of the scouts was riding swiftly back toward the procession.

Once the scout reached the front, they seemed to make a report to the agency head. Then the escorts at the head of the procession quickly moved forward after the scout.

Those of us remaining at the rear had no way of knowing what was happening.

Yang Hyeon gripped the hilt of his broad sabre in one hand and looked to the side.

"Why have we stopped?"

Gwak Seok answered indifferently.

"How would I know? How could I know what is happening so far away?"

Though he spoke that way, I saw his fingers gripping the sabre hilt tightly. Watching him, Jin Song gave a small snort and commented.

"Probably some logs lying across the road."

Yang Hyeon turned toward him.

"Logs?"

"They throw a few logs into the middle of the road, then watch from afar to see whether anyone gets caught. If a small group comes along, that's when they jump out. If it looks like a large procession, they let it pass."

Jin Song continued as though it were nothing.

"Don't worry. How many would dare lay hands on a procession like ours?"

Only then did Gwak Seok let out a long breath and relax his shoulders.

"That's true. Who would dare challenge a protection convoy with escort captains and scouts attached?"

Just as he said, after about fifteen minutes, the group at the front reappeared. An escort captain made a brief report to the agency head, then a long shout rang out.

"We're moving again!"

The wagon wheels began rolling slowly, one after another. The procession walked for another two double-hours and crossed a mountain.

Beyond the ridge, the road curved, opening onto a hollow between two mountain slopes. The empty clearing, surrounded by mountains on every side, looked suitable for spending the night.

Just then, a shout came from the front.

"We'll stay here tonight!"

The escorts scattered and began setting up camp. The wagons gathered in a circle to form a barrier, while the horse handlers untied the horses and led them away to one side. The laborers began building campfires.

I found a spot with Gwak Seok, Yang Hyeon, Jin Song, and Du Gi. A little later, the laborers passed around the meal bundles again. Today, each bundle also came with a strip of dried jerky.

"Oh, jerky too today."

"It seems the agency head wants to make sure we at least get one decent meal in the mountains."

Yang Hyeon accepted his and took a bite.

Jin Song held a piece of flatbread in his mouth and, for the first time in a while, untied his sword to inspect its condition. Du Gi, on the other hand, seemed more lively since entering Seonharyeong. Even while eating his flatbread, he kept looking around.

Watching him, I bit into my own flatbread. Gwak Seok complained about it every day, but I found it quite tasty.

I could not forget the expression Gwak Seok wore when I had casually said that it was rather good.

I left my cloth spread out and lay down on it. Our group had just taken a turn at night watch yesterday, so we would be able to sleep soundly tonight.

Gwak Seok seemed already asleep, because he began snoring. I heard Yang Hyeon quietly sigh at the sound beside him.

Jin Song and Du Gi also seemed to have gone to sleep. Their breathing gradually became even.

The sky full of stars stretched peacefully above me, just as it had the night before.

Before long, that sight began to blur.

* * *

Something seemed to be rustling in the darkness. At times, the sound seemed to come from above my head, and at others, from beside me.

Was someone going out to relieve themselves in the middle of the night?

But the rustling did not stop. Instead, it grew louder and continued spreading, as though more than one or two people had gone to relieve themselves.

My eyes suddenly flew open. At the same time, a booming cry erupted from the center.

"Night raid! We're under attack!"

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