Chapter 201: Go Ahead, Do As You Please (4)
Yang So hurriedly came to a halt and spread his arms wide, signaling his subordinates not to come any closer.
A look of composure settled over the face of the spy who held the child hostage.
“Everyone, drop your weapons.”
Nodding, Yang So threw down his iron staff without the slightest hesitation. The patrol officers following behind him followed suit.
Clatter! Thud, thud!
About fifty weapons fell to the ground, abandoned by their owners.
The spy had not expected them to obey so submissively, even with a hostage in hand. Moreover, weren’t some of the officers actually smiling?
It felt unnatural. The spy tilted his head, listening closely to the whispered conversation among the officers.
“Captain, what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? That’s So-so’s gang. Don’t interfere, just step back.”
“But they’re just kids…”
“Are they normal kids? Intervening half-heartedly will only get in their way.”
“Are they really that strong?”
“Just watch and see. Don’t worry about it and get ready to tie him up.”
Instead of closing the perimeter, the patrol officers were actually backing away to widen the distance.
Bewildered, the spy looked down at the child he was holding. Come to think of it, something was indeed strange.
She was completely concealing her presence, much like an assassin. The other two children standing nearby were doing the exact same.
“Who are you?”
“I’m So-so. You’re a thief, aren’t you, mister?”
The answer came instead from Yang So, the patrol leader.
“That’s right, he’s a thief! Absolutely certain!”
A meaningful smile spread across So-so’s face. After all, she had been itching to catch the thief who had sneaked into the palace.
“Yeong-yeong, Baek-sang.”
At the command of their Vice Sect Leader, the guardians of Shadow Gate moved.
Taking swift, light steps, the two children vanished into the shadows.
It was Shadow Gate’s Shadow Step. Witnessing it right before his eyes, the spy panicked.
A heartbeat later, he flinched in shock. The two children who had vanished suddenly reappeared on his left and right, their legs sweeping toward him.
Deciding it was impossible to dodge, the assassin braced his legs. However, he quickly realized his mistake.
Though their legs were as thin as twigs, they carried a heavy force of internal energy.
Crack! Thud!
“Urgh!”
Caught completely off guard, both of his knees slammed hard against the ground.
Thud!
The spy’s eyes filled with disbelief. To think that he, whom even the patrol officers couldn’t capture, had been brought to his knees by mere children.
But he was an experienced and seasoned operative. He wasn’t about to give up so easily. He swung his sword in a half-moon arc toward his back.
Yet a tiny hand moved even faster.
Smack!
So-so raised her small palm above her head, blocking his wrist.
It looked as though a small pebble was trying to block a massive boulder, yet no matter how much force he exerted, she did not budge in the slightest.
While he hesitated, the other two children grabbed his arms from both sides.
“W-Who on earth are you kids?! Let go of me!”
The spy struggled in panic, but it was futile. He could not believe what was happening.
Forced onto his knees with his arms pinned behind his back, he was completely immobilized.
Just then, Baek-sang shouted.
“Now, So-so!”
The kid with the bowl cut standing in front of him was the real problem. Contrary to her appearance, she possessed monstrous strength.
“W-Wait a moment!”
The child was already drawing back her small, chestnut-like fist.
“Nice meeting you, Mr. Thief.”
It was the fourth form of the Mountain-Breaking Fist: the Mad Dog Face-Shattering Strike—a stance meant to knock a mad dog unconscious by striking it square in the face.
Her lunging fist gathered a swirling vortex of astral qi.
It struck the kneeling spy squarely in his philtrum.
Clang!
With a sound like the tolling of a great bell, his head whipped back and slumped forward.
He had lost consciousness instantly, unable to even scream. Blood trickled like a stream from his nose and mouth.
At that moment, Yang So, who had been watching from a distance, quickly ran over and patted the children’s heads.
“Haha! Well done, kids!”
Yang So couldn’t stop smiling. He felt as though a great burden had finally been lifted.
He searched the spy’s robes and retrieved the stolen schematics for the Dragon-Turning Cannon.
Two patrol officers approached to tie the spy up and asked, “What should we do with him?”
Considering the trouble this man had caused, beating him to death wouldn’t have been enough.
Yang So replied immediately, “Drag him to headquarters. I’ll interrogate this bastard myself.”
“Understood, Captain. Now we just need to catch one more.”
Yang So glanced in the direction where Yeon Seo-hwa had disappeared and shook his head.
“No need to worry about that side. It’s likely already over.”
With the Great General’s wife pursuing the other spy, there was no cause for concern. Thinking the situation was resolved, Yang So looked down at So-so with an inquisitive gaze.
So-so was looking up at him from his waist with a proud expression.
“You did a great job. Since you’ve done such a wonderful deed, the patrol division must reward you.”
“Hehe. Really?”
Yang So gestured for a nearby official in charge of patrol administration to step forward.
“We still have enough budget, right? Give them one silver coin as a reward.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The children were thrilled to receive the reward.
Bidding farewell to the patrol officers, they walked down the street with light steps.
“What should we do with this? Yeong-yeong, is there anything you want to buy?” So-so asked, peering at Yeong-yeong’s face.
“No… I don’t have anything…”
“What about you, Sang?”
“I don’t need anything either. So-so, do you have any ideas?”
So-so crossed her arms, acting as if she were in deep thought. She seemed to have something in mind.
Soon, she asked her friends with a sly grin, “Should we buy a gift for our Sect Leader?”
She had been feeling guilty about using the Life-Sustaining Pill, one of the sect’s treasures, without permission. Even though it was to save a friend, she wanted to repay him out of gratitude.
To her surprise, Baek-sang was the first to nod.
“How about buying him some martial robes? Our Sect Leader only has one set of clothes.”
Even Yeong-yeong, who rarely spoke up, readily agreed.
“…Yes. He only wears black clothes every day.”
Baek Ri-hyeon, the leader of Shadow Gate. He always wore pitch-black robes. While they couldn’t be sure if he really had only one set, the frayed edges here and there made it highly likely.
“Great, let’s go quickly!”
The children ran to the market.
Before them stood a two-story pavilion with a plaque that read “Jin-ui Hall.” It was a tailor shop specializing in high-quality garments and custom orders.
Inside, about ten tailors sat in a circle, cutting fabric.
So-so had been here a few times before with Yeon Seo-hwa.
“Hello!”
Hearing their voices, a clerk dressed in a light, scholarly robe approached them.
“It’s been a while. Are these your friends?”
“Hehe, yes! We came to order some clothes.”
“Just the three of you? Are you on an errand?”
“Yes! Wait a minute, mister.”
The children huddled together to deliberate.
“What would be good?”
“…The Sect Leader likes dark colors.”
“It’s probably best to get something similar.”
Baek Ri-hyeon was tall and lean. The children described his build and ordered a set of black martial robes.
The clerk looked puzzled and asked, “Form-fitting black robes… That’s the kind of clothing assassins wear, isn’t it?”
“Our Sect Leader is currently a guard, but he wears only this every day.”
“Hmm. Well, it’s up to the wearer, so I suppose there’s no reason we can’t make it. In any case, it will take about two days to make. That will be one hundred and twenty copper coins.”
The reward they had received was one silver coin. Although the value of silver had stabilized recently, it was still worth about five hundred copper coins. They had quite a bit of money left over.
After a moment’s thought, So-so asked her friends, “Should we get one for each of us too? They say members of the same sect should wear matching clothes.”
“Sure, sounds good.”
“Yeah…”
After ordering four sets of robes in total, they left the shop feeling content.
After waiting two days with anticipation, the children returned to pick up the clothes.
“It’s so soft. I want to try it on right away.”
Yeong-yeong couldn’t take her eyes off her new clothes, looking extremely pleased.
Made of premium fabric, it was soft to the touch and looked incredibly stylish.
“Wait a minute, Yeong-yeong.”
“Huh? So-so, why?”
“Let’s go to my mom and ask her to embroider something pretty on them!”
As children, they naturally preferred colorful patterns over plain, gloomy black robes.
Yeon Seo-hwa was usually at her hermitage on Mount Juhwa around this time.
Clutching the robes, the children used their light movement techniques to rush there in one breath.
As they drew near, the soft, soul-stirring melody of a seven-string zither drifted through the air. The music stopped just as they got within ten paces of the hermitage.
She seemed to know exactly who was coming by their presence alone. Her voice sounded from inside the room first.
“Come on in. Have you eaten?”
“We ate at Snow Flower Academy before coming.”
A moment later, the door slid open on its own, revealing Yeon Seo-hwa with the seven-string zither resting on her knees.
Yeong-yeong and Baek-sang bowed politely in greeting.
“Hello, ma’am.”
“Yes, hello. What brings you all here at this hour?”
So-so walked into the room carrying the four sets of robes.
“We bought some clothes, Mom. Can you embroider something on them?”
It was a simple request. Placing the zither in a corner, Yeon Seo-hwa took the robes and inspected them.
At a glance, they were black robes of the sort worn by assassins. Furthermore, one of them was adult-sized. It wasn’t hard to guess who the owner of that robe was.
“What kind of design would you like?”
They had already decided.
Glancing at her friends, So-so spoke up hesitantly, “A r-rabbit…”
It was So-so’s favorite animal. A look of doubt appeared on Yeon Seo-hwa’s face.
“Isn’t one of these for your leader?”
“Yes, it is.”
Yeon Seo-hwa stared at them in disbelief, lost in thought for a moment.
Although his sect had been destroyed, the leader of Shadow Gate was a figure of legendary renown in the martial world. There was no way the Shadow King would walk around wearing robes with a rabbit embroidered on them.
“Hmm. Why don’t you think about it again? That mister won’t wear it if you put a rabbit on it.”
“No, he will definitely like it! Please make it a rabbit.”
Yeong-yeong and Baek-sang were nodding in agreement as well.
Unable to refuse them, Yeon Seo-hwa reluctantly pulled out her sewing kit.
“If that is what you all want, I suppose I have no choice. I’ll finish it quickly, so wait here for a moment.”
Holding eight needles in each hand, she began to embroider with fluid, practiced ease.
In all of the Central Plains, her dexterity was easily ranked among the very best.
The children watched with wide, sparkling eyes as the embroidery took shape. They couldn’t help but gape in awe.
The rabbit embroidered on the back of the robes looked so three-dimensional it seemed ready to leap off the fabric.
Out of consideration for the Shadow King, Yeon Seo-hwa made sure to use darker threads that blended in.
About half an hour later.
“It is done.”
“Hehe, I love it!”
“Thank you…”
The children hugged the clothes tightly, overjoyed with the result.
Watching them, a trace of amusement and pity crossed Yeon Seo-hwa’s face.
‘To think the legendary Shadow Gate has now become the Black Rabbit Sect. I really must see that gloomy fellow’s reaction myself.’
Having achieved their goal, the children said goodbye to Yeon Seo-hwa and headed back toward the palace of Chang’an.
Baek Ri-hyeon had marched out with Jang-yang and had not yet returned. Thus, they planned to wait for him at the headquarters while practicing their martial arts.