Chapter 106: Visit of the Bright Fate Escort Agency
Swish!
As soon as I turned my eyes at the sign of presence, a stone flew in along with a sound of slicing through the air.
It was a cobblestone that would make one curse automatically if hit by it.
My hand, moving reflexively, deflected the cobblestone aiming for my forehead.
Thwack!
“Baek Mu-ho, do you want to die?”
There was no way there were two bastards in Samyang County who would do such a thing to me.
As if it were natural, Baek Mu-ho entered the training ground with a silly grin.
“This guy doesn’t even have the basics down. You should have deflected it with a sword there. Weren’t you planning to pick up the sword in earnest?”
“Shut up. It’s not familiar enough in my hand to that extent yet.”
Like a thief crying “stop thief,” he was nitpicking in a strange way.
“More than anything, because my body is stronger than a sword.”
“What? Are you looking down on swords? Do you have iron arms and iron legs?”
Perhaps his pride was pricked, as Baek Mu-ho flared up.
I gave Baek Mu-ho a kind example.
“Which do you think would hurt more: getting hit by my fist or getting stabbed by my sword?”
“…How strange. Obviously, it should be the latter, but why does the former feel like the correct answer?”
Baek Mu-ho, who pondered for a moment, tilted his head in a bizarre sense of discrepancy.
Apparently, because he hadn’t been beaten up lately, the kid seemed to have lost his touch.
‘Should I give him a good thrashing after all this time?’
While I was looking down at my clenched fist, wondering if I should have a sparring match with Baek Mu-ho after a long time, the Pine-patterned Ancient Sword at my waist suddenly caught my eye.
Oddly, it felt as though the Pine-patterned Ancient Sword was whining about feeling left out. It felt like I could hear a crying sound coming from inside the scabbard where it was quietly sheathed.
‘I will train a bit more before handling you.’
As my mind calmed down, the strength naturally left my clenched fist as well.
I stroked the Pine-patterned Ancient Sword and looked at Baek Mu-ho.
“What is it?”
“What do you mean, what is it? How long have we hung out together? Do you think I’d only come find you when I have business?”
“I’m saying this precisely because we’ve hung out for so long. It really feels like you came because you have business.”
There were things that could be seen because we were close enough to be called childhood friends—no, damned childhood friends.
“Tch.”
Baek Mu-ho clicked his tongue and shook his head. What I saw must have been correct.
“Do you remember the Bright Fate Escort Agency?”
“…I do.”
It was not a good memory. Because it was the first case where I witnessed how brutal the martial world could be.
The sight of dozens of slaughtered people lying scattered with even their bellies sliced open was hard to forget.
Especially since it was the first time.
“It seems someone is coming from there. They sent a letter delivering the news of their visit.”
“From the Bright Fate Escort Agency?”
Dozens of escort warriors, who could be called their main force, and the chief of the escort agency had died. At this level, it should be viewed not just as the pillars shaking, but as being completely broken.
“Didn’t they go under?”
“They must be in a similar state. The escort mission back then was a matter of life and death for the Bright Fate Escort Agency. In such a situation, with their main force completely wiped out, it’s safe to assume they went under.”
“Then, are they stopping by to pay their respects?”
Perhaps the Bright Fate Escort Agency had also sorted out their situation in their own way and was only now sending someone.
“Who knows. Anyway, Father told you to drop by for a bit.”
“Alright.”
If it was the Bright Fate Escort Agency, it wasn’t completely unrelated to me either. Since it was true that we were briefly linked, even if only by a tiny, distant connection.
Even if that weren’t the case, I couldn’t ignore it since the uncle was calling.
“When should I go?”
“Now.”
“Now? Right this instant?”
“Yeah, now. Right this instant.”
“This is way too sudden.”
It wasn’t like some kind of surprise present.
Isn’t it a bit much to just drop this on me out of nowhere?
“Tada?”
“…”
At my reaction, Baek Mu-ho raised both hands as if it were indeed a surprise present.
‘I really… have to give him a good thrashing sometime soon.’
Strength began to seep into my relaxed fist once again.
***
While heading to the Baek Family Escort with Baek Mu-ho, I ran into various people. Among them, the master carpenter of Samyang County was extremely glad to see me.
It was because his workload had increased thanks to me lately.
The pretext for that fellow Beom-gak coming to Samyang County was partly to study Buddhist scriptures under my grandfather, but he also had instructions to spread Shaolin martial arts here.
Perhaps because of that, they seemed to have decided to establish a small martial arts academy altogether.
In addition, a small manor was also being built next to our house.
It was the residence where Yi Hwa, who stuck close to my side like an attendant, would stay.
Given Yi Hwa’s usual attitude, I thought she would naturally reside in our house, but after visiting the Baek Family Escort together, she suddenly said she would prepare a separate residence.
Then, she built a manor large enough for at least ten to fifteen people to stay.
Since she was the Divine Maiden of the Demonic Cult, she must have been raised quite preciously, so perhaps it was actually a modest size.
Since she was doing it with her own money, it was not my place to say anything, so I just let it be.
Crossing through the bustling Samyang County, we arrived at the Baek Family Escort, where Uncle Baek Jin-seong was waiting.
“Are you here?”
“Yes.”
“Oh! The prim young lady came along as well.”
“…”
Bow.
At Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s warm greeting, Yi Hwa only gave a slight nod of her head.
It was a reaction like a child warily observing an unfamiliar relative uncle.
“She is a very shy young lady.”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong gave a slightly bitter smile as if he were hurt.
On the other hand.
“Are you here?”
“Yes, Sister.”
When Sister Seol-ah, who now seemed to have completely recovered, approached, Yi Hwa’s reaction was different.
“Did you say your name is Yi Hwa?”
“I am Yi Hwa.”
“We’ll be seeing each other often in the future. Please look after me.”
“Please look after me as well.”
Although there was a stiff side to her, unlike how she treated Uncle Baek Jin-seong with aloofness, she answered Sister Seol-ah obediently.
In addition, there was also a feeling that she was keeping a slight distance from me.
How should I put it, was it a feeling of showing proper respect to a senior?
Uncle Baek Jin-seong smacked his lips bitterly.
“…I feel like there is some discriminatory treatment going on, is it just my imagination?”
“Let’s just say it’s a difference in virtue.”
“Well, let’s leave it at that for now.”
But soon, he laughed cheerfully.
“Because I don’t dislike smart kids.”
As we were greeting and chatting like that, we saw two people approaching from a distance.
They were unfamiliar faces. They were probably the people coming from the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
“Hmm?”
However, there was a sense of mismatch.
“A disguise as a man?”
Although her hair bound style and attire were those of a man, anyone looking at her could tell she was not a man but a girl.
“It seems that one over there isn’t a very smart fellow. Tch!”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong clicked his tongue. The wrinkles creasing his brow showed the face of someone who had run into a troublesome matter, clear for all to see.
***
“I am called Ju So-ran.”
“I am Myeong Il-seo, an escort leader of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.”
In the guest room where seats were prepared, the two bowed their heads and revealed their names.
Uncle Baek Jin-seong asked with a bitter face.
“Then, Chief Ju Il-pyo is…”
“My father.”
“You must have suffered a lot.”
“We are holding on.”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong brought up and asked about a relationship he already knew well.
At Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s question, the girl named Ju So-ran tightly gripped her trouser legs.
‘It’s completely obvious.’
She could not hide her agitated emotions. At Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s mention, the corners of her eyes quickly turned red.
She looked completely like a natural girl, to the point that there was no meaning to her disguise as a man.
‘Is he guiding her?’
It was just my personal feeling, but Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s words and actions seemed to carry some sort of intention.
“Chief Ju Il-pyo was a good man. There were several times I owed him, and I also helped him many times.”
“Yes. My father also always said that Chief Baek was a trustworthy person.”
While compliments were exchanged like that, strength entered the eyes of the girl named Ju So-ran.
“Actually, I came here because I have a request.”
“Speak. If it’s a request from Chief Ju’s daughter, I must listen.”
At Ju So-ran’s words that she had a request, Uncle Baek Jin-seong kindly set the stage.
The girl named Ju So-ran stepped onto the stage set for her.
“After my father passed away like that, we intended to give up the family business. Even after taking care of the families of the escort agency members who met untimely deaths with our remaining household fortune, there was still enough to support ourselves. However, when it came to actually discarding all of my father’s traces… I simply couldn’t do it. Hearing that my father’s time… would disappear, I couldn’t bear it at all. I couldn’t erase it with my own hands.”
Tears dripped down.
I wondered if she had cried like that when she was about to give up everything, and when she stared straight at the fact that everything of the Bright Fate Escort Agency would disappear.
Tears were, above all else, the easiest expression of emotion. They were the most primal and clear expression of emotion.
Having heard the poignant story, Uncle Baek Jin-seong nodded.
“You wish to rebuild the escort agency.”
“…Yes.”
“Yes, seeing you come here dressed in an ill-fitting disguise as a man, I had roughly guessed it. Because it looked like a kind of resolve.”
Ju So-ran, who was shedding tears, shook her shoulders upon hearing Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s words.
“Then…!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to give up?”
“…”
However, the face of the girl named Ju So-ran, whose emotions had risen enough to make her body shake, immediately turned pale.
It was an expression where everything inside her had plummeted to the bottom, looking pitiful to behold.
She became so dazed that she could not even comprehend reality.
“…What?”
“Things started out of emotion usually don’t end well.”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong, who had set the stage so widely until just now, continued speaking calmly, just like at the beginning.
“The work of an escort agency is no easy task. The power required to rebuild the Bright Fate Escort Agency is far greater than you imagine. It does not seem like something you can handle right now.”
“But… just now… you said you would listen to my request…”
“If it’s to the extent of helping you and your family stand on your own feet, I will roll up my sleeves and help. However, rebuilding the escort agency is a different story.”
Although I was only realizing it now, Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s voice had not changed at all until now.
It was gentle and quiet, like an adult addressing a child.
It was not the manner of treating an equal chief of an escort agency.
“That’s enough!”
The man named Myeong Il-seo leaped up from his seat in indignation.
“If you cannot help, let us stop here!”
He snarled like a wounded beast, raising his voice.
“We have misjudged you!”
“Didn’t you judge correctly? The role of an adult is to pave the way forward for a child. Is it the role of an adult to throw a child’s future into something bound to run aground?”
“Chief Baek!”
“Shut your mouth before I smash that head of yours. This is a moment that decides the future of my close friend’s daughter. It is not a place for a mere escort leader to raise his voice.”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s attitude toward Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo was starkly different from how he treated the girl named Ju So-ran.
He did not raise his voice, but he pressured him while radiating an aura as cold as frost.
‘Hmm…’
Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s chilling aura was fierce enough to instantly shut up Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo, who seemed to have spent years in the escort business.
However, although the girl named Ju So-ran trembled, she did not back down.
And.
‘He is watching.’
From beginning to end, right from when he threw those intentional questions, Uncle Baek Jin-seong had been watching and observing this girl.
Then, was this attitude a pass or a fail?
The answer was revealed in the remark that followed next.
“Have you heard of the alias ‘Young Heavenly Dragon’?”
“…Yes. He is the one said to be the greatest among the rising stars of late.”
“He is the fellow right next to you.”
“…!”
Whipping her head around to look at me, astonishment filled the eyes of the girl named Ju So-ran.
“Try to convince that kid. Then I, too, will change my mind.”
Suddenly, the ball was passed to me.
‘Good grief.’
Having been brought along to this place for no apparent reason, I had anticipated that things might flow this way.
Even so, it was still troublesome.
‘Rebuilding the escort agency…’
Hearing her story, it was indeed pitiful.
However, as Uncle Baek Jin-seong said, things started out of emotion usually don’t end well.
‘Is there anything I can gain from this?’
In this place where everyone had different thoughts, that was the part I had to consider.