Chapter 577: Side Story 77

Chapter side_77

The fourth day after they entered Gansu with the carriage.

Dan Woo-hyun’s carriage arrived in Lanzhou long after passing Mount Qilian. Since they would soon reach Shaanxi if they kept heading east, the distance to Anhui was also rapidly shrinking.

Thus, those who stopped in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, began to move about to obtain necessary supplies first.

And as if it were natural, the one who received that role was none other than Jang Sam-tae. Since it was what he did every time, everyone took it for granted to dump it on him.

Thus, while normally he would be grumbling and groaning alone with his hands full of goods, this time he was walking through the market streets with strangely light movements.

“Ah- this is great!”

Jang Sam-tae was in a very good mood.

The resentment that boiled up every time he went shopping had vanished into air. The reason was none other than Geum Jiran and Jin Tae-gong following behind him.

In their hands were piled items so high that the phrase ‘both hands full’ was not enough, to the point where even walking was difficult.

“Ugh?! H-heavy!”

Geum Jiran frowned and panted.

Since her hands were full of goods, the weight was considerable. Moreover, her feet ached from walking for a long time, so she wanted someone to share the load.

But Jin Tae-gong had no room to spare.

It was because he was carrying even more luggage than Geum Jiran.

In that case, only Jang Sam-tae was left…….

“What would be good……?”

Jang Sam-tae was just humming and looking around the market. He did not seem to have the slightest intention of helping.

“E-excuse me! Let us divide the load, shall we?”

“Good grief! Can you not see that I am shopping? If I carry that, I cannot shop, can I?”

She had mustered up the courage to speak, but the reply she got was indifferent. Since they were brought along to be used as porters in the first place, Jang Sam-tae’s idea was to work them to the bone.

They were such excellent folks to Jang Sam-tae, who had been acting as a servant for over ten years, that he wished they would go all the way to the manor together.

Jin Tae-gong was strong and did everything with grit.

Even if he didn’t do it perfectly right away when ordered, he was the type to grow while being scolded. It felt rewarding to raise him as a servant by his side.

On the other hand, Geum Jiran?

She grumbled and did not know how to do anything properly.

If asked to do laundry, she tore everything, and if asked to do dishes, she smashed them all. However, there was one thing that was gradually improving, and that was none other than cooking.

At first, she served things that were too disastrous to eat, but now she was preparing dishes well suited to human tastes.

When it was mealtime, she naturally got up and prepared it, which greatly eased the burden of Jang Sam-tae, who had been in charge of meals for a long time.

‘I will never let them escape, indeed!’

Jang Sam-tae felt it.

Why Dan Woo-hyun ordered him around like that.

He was newly realizing how comfortable it was to order someone around. Thus, he cherished and loved the existence of the two more than anyone else, displaying a firm determination never to let them go.

“Uuugh…….”

Just then, Geum Jiran swallowed a groan and frowned. Because the day was extremely hot, her head spun for a moment and her body swayed, but Jin Tae-gong beside her quickly supported her.

“A-are you alright?”

“Ha…… haa……. Are you worried because it seems like it is time for me to die?”

“T-that is……!”

“Forget it. I can do it myself!”

Geum Jiran ground her teeth and shook off Jin Tae-gong. She was sick of him acting as if he would give anything to Namgung So-hye, only to pretend to worry about her now.

She would grit her teeth and endure, enduring until the end.

In any case, wasn’t it impossible to even escape from those people? If so, she had to learn how to survive somehow.

This was precisely the true taste of life that Jang Sam-tae had taught her over the past few months.

“…….”

“What is that……?”

And there were eyes watching the three of them.

Although it passed in a flash, there was certainty in the gaze that remained fixed until the end. They seemed to ponder for a moment while looking at each other, then nodded and quickly left the area.

* * *

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes, without a doubt. It was definitely the Divine Maiden and Jin Tae-gong.”

Elder Hyeong Un-gak, who was returning to the Heaven and Earth Cult after finishing his work, could not hide his surprise upon hearing his subordinates’ story. The world-renowned Divine Maiden and Jin Tae-gong following someone while carrying luggage?

It was a somewhat unbelievable story.

The Divine Maiden had a strong pride and always tended to look down on people. Such a person acting like a maidservant?

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand it at all.

But more than that…….

“Were they alive?”

Hyeong Un-gak let out a sigh.

The Cult Leader had already tried to dispose of the two in Sichuan. There was no one who did not know that, and it was right after he declared that the Divine Maiden had died due to the attack of the orthodox sect.

Thus, the morale of the Heaven and Earth Cult was boiling, and the power of the cult, which had been split in half, was now united under the Cult Leader, grinding its teeth toward the orthodox Murim.

Given the situation, she must not be alive.

Hyeong Un-gak tapped the table with his fingers and sighed.

Should he report this to the Cult Leader?

Pondering that, Hyeong Un-gak shook his head and smirked. It was an expression of someone who seemed to have a certain intention.

“The Divine Maiden must have been with the Cult Leader the longest, right?”

He knew they had been together since before the Heaven and Earth Cult was established. That made her the person who knew the Cult Leader best.

The power that had suddenly appeared and defeated the current elders and guardians in an instant, forcing them to submit, and the martial arts that had created the two existences of the Four Heavenly Kings who were his close aides.

He thought that perhaps she might be able to unravel those questions that had been tightly hidden and unrevealed.

“She might be…… of use.”

Hyeong Un-gak stood up from his seat.

If he could only uncover the Cult Leader’s secrets, he might be able to lay his hands on that mysterious power he possessed.

If that happened, what did the Five Emperors of the World matter?

He would even be able to place this Central Plains under his feet.

Hyeong Un-gak could not control his racing heart. The competitive spirit he had felt in his youth boiled up like crazy, and his emotions felt as if they would swell and burst.

* * *

“No one is here?”

“Pant, pant.”

“Ah, oh my, this is killing me……!”

Entering the inn, Jang Sam-tae looked around and frowned. It had been strange that they dumped the shopping on him, and it seemed everyone had gone out to look around the area.

Surely, they were chatting, laughing, and buying delicious food for themselves.

Jang Sam-tae swallowed his anger and tightly clenched his fists.

In that case, he too would eat and drink to his heart’s content.

‘Surely…… they said there is a very good tavern here too……?’

Instantly, recalling the stories of passersby, Jang Sam-tae grinned broadly. How many years had it been since he felt the resonance of freedom?

He would drink good alcohol and eat delicious side dishes.

It would be even better if there was a woman to pour the drinks.

Unconsciously inflated with dreams, his smile would not fade.

But before that, there were things to handle.

Glancing to one side, he saw Geum Jiran and Jin Tae-gong sprawled on the floor.

“Damn it! They went out to have fun without me again.”

He then spoke irritably and watched the two’s reactions. However, the exhausted ones did not show any particular reaction, and watching that, Jang Sam-tae smiled stealthily.

Rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out a tael of silver and threw it to them.

“I will take care of the rest, so go out and buy something to eat. It looks like the Master will also eat outside before coming back.”

“Pant, pant…… i-is that really alright?”

“Have you ever seen me play jokes with things like this?”

He wanted to say, ‘I have seen it a lot,’ but Jin Tae-gong forced a smile and shook his head. Although Jang Sam-tae ordered people around harshly, he rewarded them properly when he did.

“Ah- and do not think of doing anything foolish.”

Instantly, Jin Tae-gong broke into a cold sweat.

Even if they fled, could they succeed?

It was just like Sun Wukong in Buddha’s palm.

And he did not even want to think about the catastrophe that would unfold afterward.

“Then we will be on our way.”

Jin Tae-gong managed to stand up and supported Geum Jiran. One might wonder why he was making such a fuss over merely carrying luggage through the market streets, but the fatigue accumulated in the meantime was no joke.

Unlike those who ate and slept with peace of mind, they always had to be tense, so they could not sleep deeply, and since they had to wake up on time to work, they could not sleep in either.

Thus, they had no choice but to be this exhausted.

As the two went outside like that, Jang Sam-tae was the only one left in the inn.

He began to look around.

One by one, he stealthily opened the rooms of the two old men, the two women, and Dan Woo-hyun. Sure enough, the rooms were empty, and there was not a trace of anyone’s presence.

That meant it was confirmed that everyone had gone out.

Soon, Jang Sam-tae slipped into his room.

Unpacking the bundle he brought, he looked at the very bottom and saw clean clothes he had packed when leaving the house.

“I brought it for this very day, muhaha!”

Unconsciously smiling, he began to change clothes. After quickly arranging his disheveled hair, he looked into the bronze mirror, and a completely different person from the usual Jang Sam-tae was standing there.

Just as he was about to put the purse inside his clothes.

Flutter-!

A sheet of paper fluttered and fell to the floor.

‘What is this?’

Although he hadn’t worn it in a long time, he had never put such a paper in it. The paper also looked quite old, as if it had been placed there a long time ago.

Thus, the moment he picked it up with a puzzled look.

Jang Sam-tae felt a sensation of all the hair on his body standing on end.

-Just go out and see. I will cut off that ugly thing.

The written phrase was extremely simple and clear.

But the handwriting was all too familiar. A neat and clean handwriting just like Namgung So-hye’s. Yet it held power and somehow captured a person’s attention.

Yes, the owner of this handwriting was indeed…… Mae-hyang.

“Damn it all?!”

Jang Sam-tae slumped down with a tearful face.

Visualizing Mae-hyang’s face in his mind, Jang Sam-tae was devastated. It was as if she had read his thoughts from A to Z.

Even though he hadn’t worn these clothes for over ten years…….

The chill would not fade.

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