WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ Raised by a Ruthless Swordsman ◈
Chapter 45: Hidden Motives
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The suggestion that I take Chae Ryeon with me left me speechless.
When I looked beside me, Chae Ryeon was staring at Chae Wol with wide eyes as well. It did not seem they had prepared those words beforehand.
Chae Wol continued gently.
“What if you return to your hometown and find that no one has come back?”
If the fishing village had been emptied entirely, its people would have scattered through mountains and fields, from town to town, seeking a way to live.
There was no way to trace every place they had scattered to. We would have to start by searching the larger towns where the most people would have gathered.
“...Then we should look in Yeongpa, should we not?”
Yeongpa was the nearest large town. Chae Wol quietly nodded.
“That would be right. But that is exactly what worries me.”
The hand that had been stroking her cup stopped.
“In Hangzhou, Young Hero is merely a traveler carrying a sword. But Yeongpa will be different, will it not?”
Yeongpa would be different. It was not as though the thought had never crossed my mind.
That night at Seonharyeong. If I had been Nangong Hwi, standing amid the corpses left by Mount Hua Sect, I would have examined every fallen face while considering every possibility.
And since Yun Baek had revealed himself in Lanxi that way, I too, having disappeared alongside him, would already have been factored into Nangong Hwi’s calculations.
Even if he could not be certain, if word reached him that someone thought dead had returned safely to Yeongpa, he would not simply stand by and watch.
But that still was no reason to keep Haomun’s eyes on me.
“I had considered it. But you said you already have people in Yeongpa. If I need help, could I not simply borrow their hands instead?”
I had meant to remind her that she had said I had already paid generously if necessary. Yet Chae Wol merely smiled.
“Those people will do any errand I give them. But that is the problem.”
She lightly rested her fingertips on the table.
“The people stationed in Yeongpa can only act as my hands and feet there. To set anything in motion, they must send word to Hangzhou and receive instructions one by one.”
Then she faintly furrowed her brows, putting on a regretful expression.
“I am sorry, Young Hero, but that is how Haomun operates. Hangzhou is far from Yeongpa. What if matters go awry while messages are traveling back and forth?”
At the end of her words, she glanced once at Chae Ryeon standing beside her.
“That is why I intend to send Ryeon with you. Ryeon’s word is my word, so whatever happens in Yeongpa can be decided on the spot.”
Was she saying that without Chae Ryeon, even their help would be incomplete?
It sounded plausible. But if an organization that had spread its reach everywhere truly operated with joints that stiff, it would have collapsed under its own weight long before growing this large.
It might not be a complete lie, but it could not be enough to hinder their work.
Still, as a guest, I had no proper grounds to argue. I could not simply insist that it was not so.
My thoughts naturally turned elsewhere.
Why did she insist on placing one of her own people at my side? Did she have some other purpose for this journey?
Now that I had handed over the tea brick, I was unlikely to be of any other immediate use in this matter.
No matter how much I thought it over, I could not read Chae Wol’s intentions. I stole a glance at her face, but behind her lovely smile, there was no sign of anything in those calm eyes.
There was nothing else to be done.
Whatever her intentions, it was certain that I would have trouble in Yeongpa if I could not borrow Haomun’s help. I had heard of the town since childhood, but had never set foot in it even once.
Having someone familiar with the place beside me to clear the way would make all the difference.
Still, the fact that it was Chae Ryeon troubled me. Taking such a finely dressed girl into that land where Nangong lay hidden in the shadows.
“Then I will accept your offer gratefully.”
The smile at Chae Wol’s lips deepened. She seemed about to add something, as if the matter were settled.
Before she could, I spoke.
“But if all I need is someone to clear the way, need it be Chae Ryeon? Surely there is someone else suited to the task.”
Chae Wol’s eyes moved slightly, as though measuring me. Then her smile returned.
“It seems you do not trust our Ryeon.”
That was not what I meant. But correcting her did not seem right either. In the meantime, Chae Wol turned to Chae Ryeon.
“Ryeon. When Young Hero Jin enters Yeongpa, what should he do first?”
At the sudden question, Chae Ryeon’s eyes widened briefly. But only briefly. She soon composed herself and answered clearly.
“Even if the sea has been blocked, the river that runs along the city walls has not. Fisherfolk who lost their boats still lived by the water, so they will have drifted toward the riverbanks. Whether it is carrying goods at a ferry or doing odd jobs on boats, work by the water would be what their hands know best.”
It was unexpected. Her reasoning was nearly the same as mine.
“But there must have been several ruined fishing villages. If people from all around have gathered there, jobs will be scarce while people are plentiful, and conditions will be terrible. If we begin with the poor villages along the river, we will waste far less time.”
As she continued, my ears found themselves following her words.
“Also, if we put a few cash into the hands of a low-ranking clerk handling Yeongpa’s household registers at the magistrate’s office, it will not be difficult to look through the records. Government records ordinarily list natives and newcomers separately. Those who have wandered in are entered as guest households, with the people who entered each household listed beneath.”
Chae Ryeon paused, her eyes curving prettily.
“So if we simply copy down the names recently entered as guest households, we can get an idea of what sort of people have come into each neighborhood.”
When I glanced at Chae Wol, she was merely smiling faintly. She seemed quite satisfied with the answer.
I saw this girl anew.
I had already learned on the night we first met that she was quick-witted and clever. But I had not expected that cleverness to reach as far as knowing exactly how records at the magistrate’s office were kept.
I was no different. I had learned swordsmanship and letters through ten years in the mountains, yet had still fumbled because I did not even know what it took to pass through a city gate.
Only then did I truly see the two of them. Chae Wol was raising this girl to succeed her.
There could no longer be any doubt that Chae Ryeon would be helpful if I took her with me.
Even so.
“...Indeed, those were not empty words.”
I looked at Chae Ryeon. Yet when I tried to speak, nothing felt quite right. How should I put it? I did not want to reveal my true thoughts too plainly.
“But someone this capable must be no small asset to your side as well. Yeongpa is no easy place. I only say this because if something should go wrong, the loss would not be small.”
So would it not be better to send someone else? As my words trailed off, Chae Wol seemed to pause, then looked straight at me.
Her calm eyes seemed to peel back a layer of the excuses I had offered. It felt as though my true thoughts had been laid bare, and my back stiffened slightly.
Then Chae Wol smiled faintly.
“It puts me at ease that Young Hero is so considerate of her.”
She raised her cup for a sip, then said in a tone that could have been teasing or sincere.
“If the time comes, could you not protect her at your side?”
Damn it. How had things turned out like this?
There was nothing else to be done. The whole board had already been laid out beneath Chae Wol’s fingertips. She had seen through my excuses long ago, and one by one, every reason to refuse had been blocked. Before I knew it, I had nowhere left to retreat.
But when I thought it through, it was not entirely a losing bargain.
I had never set foot in Yeongpa. If a girl who knew the place like the lines of her palm accompanied me, finding my family would surely become much easier.
I still could not grasp why Haomun was sending her with me. But if we traveled the same road, there would be chances to sound her out in time.
“That is true as well.”
I had no choice but to nod.
Once I had made up my mind, it was not difficult to decide when to leave. They said we would travel to Yeongpa by water. Hangzhou was a city with waterways leading in every direction, so there should be no shortage of boats heading to Yeongpa.
But we could not prepare at once. Chae Ryeon had to send word ahead to the Yeongpa branch, and there were many things to arrange: baggage, travel funds, passage. Chae Wol said it would take a day.
Originally, I had intended to board any boat I could find and leave at once. But there was nothing else to be done. It would be faster in the end to make proper preparations and go in one trip than to set out recklessly with nothing.
So we decided to leave Hangzhou as soon as preparations were finished the next day.
After settling on the day of departure, I rose to leave.
Chae Ryeon led the way toward the door, and I was about to follow her out of the main hall.
“Young Hero Jin.”
Chae Wol called to me from behind. When I turned, her usual faint smile had faded somewhat.
“She is more precious to me than anything. Please take good care of her.”
I stopped and turned to face her.
“...I will.”
It did not seem like something to answer with empty words, so I added one more sentence.
“I will protect her to the limits of my strength.”
Only then did a faint smile return to Chae Wol’s face. I looked at her for a moment, then turned away again.
I retraced the corridor we had entered through.
Chae Ryeon’s back as she walked ahead caught my attention anew. Her slender shoulders, the skirt of her dress whispering softly with every step.
I had spoken boldly, but could I truly keep this girl safe in such a dangerous place?
At the end of the corridor, before the door, I finally spoke.
“Will you truly be all right?”
Chae Ryeon stopped and turned around. She looked at me for a moment, then covered her lips and laughed softly.
“What is there to worry about? Young Master will be there to protect me.”
At the end of her words, she tilted her head slightly to show her pinned-up hair.
“Do not worry too much. I know how to take care of myself, at least.”
The end of her neatly placed hairpin was sharpened more keenly than it appeared.
Surely she was not planning to use that for something. Before I could ask, Chae Ryeon turned back and pretended to grip the hairpin.
The way she wiggled her hand as if to stab something was thoroughly awkward. Yet the sight eased my heart a little.
“With skills like that, you would struggle to catch even a rabbit.”
Chae Ryeon pretended to shoot me a sidelong glare. I swallowed the laugh that nearly escaped.
Yes. What could I do about it now?
After saying farewell to Chae Ryeon, I went down into the courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with daylight. The sun had already climbed near its height.
When I went to the side building, Wi Jin-ak was out on the porch, holding his sabre at an angle in one hand and carefully wiping its blade with a cloth.
“Brother Wi.”
After struggling for some time with a smiling face whose thoughts I could not read, Wi Jin-ak’s steady expression felt newly welcome. As I walked toward him, I made a joke.
“How can the masters of this house be so impossible to read? I am certain I argued my case perfectly well, yet when I come to my senses, I find myself sitting squarely where they wanted me.”
Wi Jin-ak stopped wiping the blade and gave a rare, faint smile.
“She has held a position like that despite being a woman. Do you think it could have been kept with easy methods?”
Hearing that, I could see his point and added nothing more. When I sat on the edge of the porch, Wi Jin-ak set down his sabre and picked up the cloth again.
For a while, neither of us spoke. Only the soft scraping of him wiping the blade continued.
I had just come from wrestling with my thoughts, so that indifferent silence calmed me instead. Tomorrow, I would leave this separate residence as well. I thought there would not be many more times when we could sit beside each other like this and feel the wind.
“Brother Wi. I leave tomorrow.”
The sound of the blade being wiped stopped.
“How about that bout you mentioned earlier? Right now.”
Wi Jin-ak set down the cloth, readjusted his grip on the sabre, and stood.
“Good.”
I rose from the porch and walked to one side of the courtyard.
I noticed that the countless footprints stamped into the dirt over the course of yesterday still remained there.
Quietly, I traced the sensation I had gotten used to yesterday. The feeling of letting all my strength go, then lightly setting my sword against the incoming sabre.
Once I had taken my position, I untied the sword at my waist and held it in my hand.
* * *
The next day, I woke before dawn. It seemed to be because I could hear a whoom, whoom sound from somewhere.
I had little enough baggage, so as always, I wrapped Hyeonam’s sword in cloth and slung it across my back. Then I fastened my iron sword at my waist and left the room. The dawn air was chill.
Wi Jin-ak was already outside, slowly practicing with his sabre. Whenever the blade cut through the air, the heavy sound I had heard half-asleep tore through the dawn.
At the sign of my presence, he stopped and looked over my attire.
“Leaving now?”
The sweat he had shed throughout the day before came back to mind.
If I put even a little too much strength into it, my sword became stiff again. More often than not, instead of letting the incoming sabre slide away, I would forcibly knock it aside. Seven or eight times out of ten, it still went wrong.
But it was different from when I had understood nothing at all. What had once seemed beyond reach was now firmly within my grasp.
Now that I knew what I had to polish and refine, all that remained was to repeat it until it became second nature.
“I am deeply indebted to you.”
I stroked the sword hilt once, then added,
“When I return, I will ask for another bout.”
Wi Jin-ak gave a short laugh.
“Do that.”
I gave a light bow of my head and turned away. Behind me, the sound of him practicing with his sabre rose again. Listening to it, I left the side building.
When I crossed the separate residence and reached the main gate, Chae Ryeon was already waiting.
She was not dressed in her usual fine attire. She wore dark cotton clothes, with her hair simply pinned up. At a glance, she was prepared for a long journey. A small bundle lay beside her.
Chae Wol stood next to her. She seemed to have come out before dawn and had a thin outer robe draped over her shoulders. Two familiar men stood silently behind her.
“You did not need to come out so early.”
“How could I not show my face when sending someone precious so far away?”
At the end of her words, Chae Wol gently adjusted Chae Ryeon’s clothes and quietly told her something. Chae Ryeon nodded, seeming to take the instructions firmly to heart.
Then we left the separate residence. The men guarding the gate lowered their heads and made way.
After walking a little way along a path where dry reeds rustled in the dawn wind, the main building of Mist and Sunset Pavilion soon came into view.
Following Chae Wol around the back of the building, we came to a small dock by the water.
Dawn mist hung thick over West Lake. Through that mist, a boat was tied to the dock.
It was a cargo boat commonly seen traveling the waterways, with a long, low hull and a roof the size of a small skiff.
The boatman standing by the side of the vessel bowed deeply upon seeing Chae Wol approach. When Chae Wol answered with a slight nod, the boatman took hold of the pole again and waited for us to board.
Chae Ryeon picked up her bundle and boarded first. The narrow boat rocked lightly under her weight.
As I was about to follow, I suddenly looked back. Chae Wol was standing on the dock, watching us. The two men stood silently behind her, showing no sign of boarding.
“Please return safe and sound.”
I answered with a light bow of my head, then boarded the boat.
When the boatman pushed away from the dock with the pole, the boat slowly glided into the mist.
Looking back, Chae Wol’s figure on the receding dock gradually grew faint. I tried to make out her face, but it was soon swallowed by the dawn mist and vanished from sight.
When I turned my eyes aside, I met Chae Ryeon’s gaze. Before I could say anything, she curved her eyes prettily and smiled.
For some reason, I could not bring myself to smile back. I gave her a suitable nod, then looked ahead.
Beyond the prow was nothing but water mist. It was so thick that I could not see an inch ahead. I could not tell which way Yeongpa lay, nor where this waterway led.
Yet somehow, within that white veil, the boatman never hesitated even once.
That was what came from something being deeply ingrained in one’s hands. Even with eyes closed, even with the way buried in mist, the body could find the path on its own.
Even that feeling I could barely grasp a couple of times out of ten, if I worked at it again and again until it became as familiar as the boatman’s pole. One day, perhaps, it too would flow naturally even with my eyes closed.
And so the boat slowly continued through the mist, cutting across the calm water.
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