Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Grass and trees grew abundant. The desolate, flat terrain became rugged, with towering, jagged mountains far off, and a majestic river flowing from another side. It was a terrain Jang Geon knew well. Once they crossed these forests and mountains, a vast wilderness so hot and dry that finding water would be difficult lay beyond. At the very front of the group, Li Yeon spread out the Treasure Map, looking back and forth between the scenery ahead and the map.

Looking around at the mountains and forests, Yang Goeng spoke to her.

“Are we going the right way? We’ve strayed too far from Sinsacheon. At this rate, Heavenly Empress City would actually be closer.”

“If you’re unhappy, why don’t you look at the map yourself?”

Yang Goeng gave an awkward smile.

“Hehe… Why speak so harshly again?”

Ignoring Yang Goeng’s nonsense, Li Yeon looked at the Treasure Map for a moment longer before tightly rolling up the scroll.

“For now, we need to cross these forests and mountains to the east. Do you know any shortcuts?”

Jang Geon shrugged his shoulders at her question directed toward him.

“I don’t travel around here often, so I wouldn’t know.”

“I see…”

Just then, Yang Goeng chimed in.

“Then I should take the lead. We’ll be able to sleep in a bed tonight.”

Li Yeon knitted her brows.

“What is it? An inn again?”

“Yeah, an inn. There’s a decent inn in a valley crossing this mountain.”

“You… don’t tell me weird bastards are occupying that place too?”

Yang Goeng jumped in place.

“Ehey! That was just a special case for that place! I’m telling you it’ll be perfectly normal this time!”

He was full of confidence as if asking her to trust him just one more time. As Li Yeon remained half-doubting, Jang Geon spoke up.

“The sun is inclining. We do need to find a place to rest. Let’s head there first. If there’s a problem there too, we can solve it then.”

At that word ‘solve,’ Yang Goeng flinched in surprise and stroked his eye socket. The area bruised dark blue throbbed with pain. However, he soon smirked and said.

“Just trust me. That’s really a place where no problems could possibly arise.”

* * *

“Hmm. I cannot tell whether they intend to cross the eastern mountain range or if the mountain range itself is their destination.”

Je Un-seong muttered while massaging his temples. To the east of Sinsacheon lay a mountain range extending long to the south. It wasn’t as high and rugged as the native mountain range that blocked the path of pioneering in the north, but because dense forests, rugged valleys, and beyond them a wilderness of dust and stones stretched out, few crossed it unless they intended to go up to the north.

It was a forest region that some called the Sinsacheon Mountain Range while others called the Heavenly Empress Mountain Range as Heavenly Empress City was closer. Je Un-seong was deep in thought as he prepared camp at the entrance before entering that forest.

Just then, someone chimed in from the side.

“What is there to deliberate further? Whether the treasure is in this mountain range or beyond it, we must capture them now anyway.”

He was Je Sang-cheon. Considering his usual behavior, Je Un-seong could have just ignored him, but curious about his thoughts spoken so confidently, he asked.

“Why do you think so, Young Master?”

“If the treasure is in the mountain range, we must capture them quickly to prevent them from fleeing with the treasure. If we lose their tracks in this mountain range and wander around, the distance between them and us will widen uncontrollably in a short time. Rather than that, we just need to capture them and decipher the remaining route ourselves. We only need to keep that woman alive, don’t we?”

Gaining confidence from Je Un-seong quietly listening to him, Je Sang-cheon continued speaking.

“If they intend to cross this mountain range, we must capture them here even more so. Beyond this mountain range lies a land of extreme heat, swirling dust, heated stones, and death. It’s a real desert over there. We are large in numbers, so we’ll be at a disadvantage in that land. It’s better to force ourselves a bit and capture them here to secure the Treasure Map. After that, we can explore at a somewhat leisurely pace.”

“Then according to your words, Young Master, now is not the time for us to rest?”

Je Sang-cheon nodded.

“I believe our Je Clan warriors can advance through the night, even if slowly. Even if raiding them at night is too much, we could aim for tomorrow morning, or at dawn at the latest.”

“We cannot pursue tracks at night. Because it is dark and impossible to see.”

“We have the Master’s Blood Plum Eagle, don’t we? I know everything—the truth is, up until now we haven’t been following their tracks, but following the Blood Plum Eagle. Right? Even if it’s dark, we can just lead our horses and move slowly.”

Je Un-seong looked at Je Sang-cheon as if impressed. He thought he was merely an immature brat, but had his dozen-plus years of education not been entirely useless after all? However, he soon felt a subtle sensation from the awkward face of the boy and young man.

He glanced over to confirm Seom Ji-young sitting over there, and was able to realize where this greenhorn’s insight had come from. Seom Ji-young was tightly clenching her hands toward her fiancé as if encouraging him that he was doing well.

Je Un-seong almost let out a sigh. Should he view this as inner assistance since they were going to marry anyway, or should he view it as Seom Ji-young pulling Je Sang-cheon’s strings? He couldn’t tell. Either way, since the future mistress of the house seemed wise, perhaps it was a fortunate thing.

“Then let us do as you say, Young Master.”

Je Un-seong said so as he stood up from his seat. And he spoke to the warriors who had frozen mid-preparation for camping.

“We are changing the plan. We will definitively narrow the distance within today. After that, early tomorrow morning, or at the latest during the morning, we will reclaim the Treasure Map. Let us depart immediately.”

The warriors, who had been watching Je Un-seong while he spoke, all looked toward Je Sang-cheon once he finished speaking. In the end, the ultimate decision-maker of this pursuit force was the heir of the clan. Even if Je Un-seong stepped forward to explain and talk, they were not his subordinates. Receiving their gazes, Je Sang-cheon nodded, and the warriors began to move in a rush.

At this subtle hierarchical relationship, Je Un-seong shook his head unconsciously, then went to find his horse and moved. Just then, one of his three direct subordinates in this pursuit force approached.

“Master, then what shall we do with the guy we captured?”

“Is there anything more to find out?”

“There was nothing more. To begin with, he wasn’t a person with such strong willpower.”

Je Un-seong nodded.

“Hang him up. I’m curious how the Great Peace Band following from behind will react.”

“Um… If left abandoned like that, he will die.”

At his subordinate’s words, Je Un-seong gave a chuckle.

“Then it cannot be helped. The Great Peace Band will rack their brains trying to figure out which of us or Jang Geon’s group killed their comrade.”

His eyes looked beyond the busy warriors. In a dark spot slightly away from where they were preparing camp, a bloody lump would probably be hanging from a tree. And that lump’s name would be Gal Woong. Thinking about him, Je Un-seong nonchalantly turned around. Now whether Gal Woong lived or died depended on his own will.

* * *

The inn was built on one side of a valley, appearing as though it had become part of the valley’s scenery just like other trees and rocks. Arriving around sunset, the inn had no guests, but when Yang Goeng stepped inside and thudded loudly on the floor of the inn, someone parted the kitchen curtain and appeared.

Jang Geon was able to understand why Yang Goeng had guaranteed there would be no problems with this inn. The man appearing from the kitchen had a height three heads taller than average people and a physique like two people put side by side. Combined with a clean bald head and a fierce face, he created an impression that would make ordinary bandits wet their pants and flee at a glance.

However, seeing him, Yang Goeng raised both hands and shouted as if meeting a welcome friend.

“Wu Xiao-long, you pig bastard! Have you been well!”

The innkeeper, who had been glaring fiercely like a tiger, smirked at Yang Goeng and replied.

“This thief bastard came back without even dying! I thought for sure you’d get stabbed by a blade on some roadside and die this time!”

Afterwards, the two laughed loudly and embraced each other warmly. Watching that scene, Jang Geon and Li Yeon were able to enjoy a hearty meal a short while later. The innkeeper named Wu Xiao-long did not introduce himself, nor did Yang Goeng try to introduce him. Thanks to that, Jang Geon and Li Yeon couldn’t share a conversation with Wu Xiao-long beyond that of an innkeeper and guests.

Thanks to that, Jang Geon felt that even that giant of a man had some kind of backstory, but he didn’t bother asking. In fact, it was because there was another side he was more curious about.

Since there were no other guests staying at the inn at present, they were each able to use a separate room. Having eaten dinner and even lightly washed up, the party gathered in Jang Geon’s room. Meanwhile, what made Jang Geon and Yang Goeng slightly bewildered was Li Yeon in thin clothing, her hair damp as if she had even washed her hair in the meantime.

However, Yang Goeng knew well who she was trying to look good for, so he opened his mouth with a smile.

“Now, Dr. Li? Please explain where we are heading now. I’m losing energy just following along without even knowing the road.”

At those words, Li Yeon pondered for a moment, lightly sweeping her hair back before answering.

“First, to state our destination, tomorrow we must cross this mountain range and head into the desert region. Going a long way further from there, rock valleys where it’s hard to find a drop of water appear. From very deep and large ones to places so narrow a single person can barely pass through. It’s quite complex and maze-like. That is our destination.”

Yang Goeng tilted his head.

“They hid a treasure in such a place? Why go out of the way to such rugged terrain…?”

“Then does it make sense that they threw everything away and departed east? Li Zhi, who was the patriarch at the time, must have gone mad somewhere.”

“Is that so? Well, ten wagons’ worth of gold and silver treasures could command even ghosts. Then where is it exactly?”

Li Yeon did not answer. She merely looked at Yang Goeng with sulky eyes as if asking if he would tell if he were in her shoes. Receiving that gaze, Yang Goeng smirked and changed the subject.

“Then we’ll have to prepare plenty of water and provisions before departing tomorrow. Ah, the innkeeper is going to charge a heavy price…”

“Before that.”

At Jang Geon’s words, Yang Goeng was cut short. Jang Geon leaned comfortably back against the chair’s backrest, placed his right hand on the table, and was tapping his fingers to make sounds. When Yang Goeng and Li Yeon, feeling a strange tension from that posture, became slightly flustered, Jang Geon opened his mouth again.

“Please explain your relationship with that Li Clan.”

“Pardon? That…”

Li Yeon opened slightly blank eyes, then slowly nodded her head.

“Indeed, a woman with the surname Li well-versed in the ancient cipher of the Li Clan. Anyone could naturally infer that there must be a connection. It wasn’t a particular secret either.”

“Wait, what? Didn’t I explain that?”

Listening from the side, Yang Goeng asked back in confusion, then flinched under Jang Geon’s gaze staring intent at him.

“Ah, I didn’t…”

“That’s fine. I’ll tell the story.”

Li Yeon adjusted her sitting posture slightly, looked at Jang Geon, and spoke.

“As you guessed, I am indeed a descendant of that Li Clan. But I am far from the main line. Because I was at the very tail end even among collateral branches. Thanks to that, when Li Zhi unloaded the clan’s luggage at Sinsacheon, even when he abandoned my great-grandfather and some of the clan’s workers right there in Sinsacheon, no one could say a word.”

Yang Goeng also seemed interested in her story, as if hearing the detailed account for the first time, and Jang Geon’s eyes also fixed straight upon her.

“…Yes. Whether Li Zhi, who was the patriarch at the time, thought there were too many clan members, or thought they were useless, or both, he unilaterally abandoned the clan members in Sinsacheon. From their perspective, it was absurd. Enduring months of voyage and consecutive moorings believing only in the patriarch, when they arrived at the New Continent, all they had left was their bare bodies.”

Li Yeon let out a soft sigh.

“Afterwards, my great-grandfather… worked with all his might to feed and support his family. Furthermore, if he abandoned people like that, he should have at least revived the clan properly, but the Li Clan suddenly vanished from the world. Thanks to that, my great-grandfather also suffered a lot of hardship, wondering if he might possess the clan’s legacy.”

Li Yeon, who was talking about her great-grandfather, scratched her head and continued.

“…The story is straying off track. Anyway, the reason I can decipher the documents of the old Li Clan is thanks to the records left behind by my great-grandfather. My grandfather, who feared the people of the world, buried them, but my father excavated and studied them. He probably wanted to reclaim the Li Clan’s legacy said to be somewhere in the New Continent. The reason I learned about relics is because of my father.”

She paused her story there. Her eyes, lowered unconsciously, were directed toward the table, and at the same time looking into the past rather than that table. The room, dim with an oil lamp, blended reality and thoughts all too easily. She seemed to recall her father. It felt as if time between her and her father rapidly passed by during that brief silence.

“…When a copy of the Treasure Map was first brought from the black market, I thought it was a joke. Something my father had spent his entire life searching for came looking for me of its own accord. At first, I thought it was another relic of the Li Clan. In fact, there were a few such cases.”

Looking at the table, she raised her head and met eyes with Jang Geon.

“I didn’t start this work simply because of the gold and silver treasures at the end of the Treasure Map. I started it to find out if it really exists, and if there might also be records of Li Zhi there. If so, why he abandoned my ancestors and left.”

When she stopped speaking, silence lingered among the three for a moment. Jang Geon and she merely looked at each other like that. Just then, Yang Goeng, looking back and forth between the two, tried to subtly open his mouth to speak.

“Then…”

“Of course it’s better to get gold and silver treasures too. If I had to choose between records and gold, it’s obviously gold. Naturally.”

She cut him off without even turning to look at Yang Goeng. Shut up like that, Yang Goeng crossed his arms, chuckled to himself, and opened his mouth again.

“The Je Clan’s spoiled heir is probably doing it for his standing in the clan, and that Great Peace Band? Those guys are talking crazy nonsense about war funds or whatever… while our Dr. Li is doing it to know her clan’s past…”

Muttering so to himself, he smirked and spoke to Jang Geon.

“Brother Jang. It seems our intentions are the purest.”

Jang Geon’s eyes turned toward him.

“I’m purely in it for money, and Brother Jang is curious about that Li Shimin’s martial arts, right? Where else could you find such simple and clear reasons?”

Seeing that smile, Jang Geon also let out a chuckle. Curiosity.

That was right. Curiosity, interest was correct. Of course, his curiosity did not lie simply in martial arts. The Li Shimin he knew was a figure who pacified the chaotic Sui Dynasty, seized power from his father and brothers, and ultimately became emperor. He was the founder of an empire laying the foundation for the Tang Dynasty that lasted for hundreds of years afterwards, while at the same time being a person with a strange obsession, obsessing over Goguryeo on the outside and wasting national power.

However, in this world, he was a person who had not left his clan until reaching middle age, and showed no action of building power against the Emperor at all. Of course, considering that he accumulated outstanding martial arts to the point of earning the title of the clan’s foremost expert, he might have merely been keeping a low profile. However, his clan, which should have become the Tang imperial house, withered away without even surviving a hundred years after his death.

What kind of person was he? Was he simply a person suppressed by the power of the empire? Or was he an ambitious man who harbored the intent to overthrow the empire and establish his own country, just like the name Li Shimin he knew?

Perhaps, as Li Yeon said, if there were records of Li Zhi or secret manuals of Li Shimin, he might find out. That was the biggest reason Jang Geon moved along the path of the Treasure Map. The second was the martial arts of the secret manual, and money came after that.

So it wasn’t as simple as Yang Goeng’s words. Jang Geon gave a faint smile while thinking such thoughts.

“Ahem. Well then, now that we know what to prepare tomorrow and where to go, I should get to sleep.”

Just then, Yang Goeng slowly stood up. Since the place they gathered was Jang Geon’s room, he intended to return to his own room. Jang Geon nodded, and Li Yeon also stood up from her chair. Opening the room door and stepping out first, Yang Goeng turned back and spoke to Jang Geon.

“Sleep well, Brother Jang. See you tomorrow.”

However, what caught his eyes as he turned around was the sight of Li Yeon holding onto the door handle without following him out. The moment Yang Goeng, seeing that, revealed question with slightly blank eyes, Li Yeon slowly closed the door. As the door closed like that, Yang Goeng was left standing alone in the hallway.

“…Look at that. In the middle of all these bastards targeting the Treasure Map chasing behind us?”

Thinking that her clothing had felt light for a reason, Yang Goeng clicked his tongue at her boldness. Gently shaking his head, he suddenly froze. Nowhere in Li Yeon’s light clothing he saw just now was there a spot where the Treasure Map could fit. If so? Yang Goeng’s eyes turned toward Li Yeon’s room.

Whatever he was thinking, a smile appeared at the corners of Yang Goeng’s mouth.

* * *

Having closed the door, Li Yeon put her back against the door and turned to look at Jang Geon. Jang Geon looked at her for a moment with eyes asking what she was doing, then seeing her eyes filled with a subtle heat, he buried his body deep against the backrest and gave a slight smile.

Li Yeon asked.

“…You don’t dislike it, do you?”

“There’s no way I’d dislike it.”

Smiling as if satisfied with that answer, Li Yeon pulled off her belt and approached him.

* * *

In the deepening middle of the night, Yang Goeng, standing under the moonlight, exhaled heavy breaths he had been holding in well until now. Then he turned his head to look at the lights of the inn twinkling in the distance. Having tried to look for which room among those lights unconsciously, Yang Goeng soon smirked and shook his head.

He walked carefully while pulling his horse’s reins, taking the bright moon and faint starlight as a lantern. He and the horse slowly vanished into the dark forest.