Chapter 63
“Family?”
Eom Papa asked in bewilderment. But Pyeonghyeon seemed to realize something belatedly and let out an “Ah.”
I slowly began to explain.
“Well, I have some circumstances of my own…”
The circumstances I confessed were similar to what I had told Pyeonghyeon before.
I had encountered some assailants while traveling with my family, and in the end, we had become separated. I told her that I had fled from the assailants, fallen off a cliff, and been carried all the way here.
Then I added one final thing.
“I know that I need treatment immediately. But I don’t have time. I’m already late, and if I spend a long time recuperating somewhere else, I don’t know when I’ll be able to meet them again.”
“Hmm…”
“Isn’t there any other way? Some way I can hold out for the time being even without receiving treatment…?”
“You.”
Eom Papa suddenly asked,
“Are you certain your family is still alive?”
I froze.
“Even if you were lucky enough to survive, you don’t know about your family. They might have been found by the assailants who attacked you, or they might have suffered an unfortunate accident while fleeing. So what makes you so certain that you must hurry out to find them?”
“That…”
I tightly shut my mouth.
In truth, Eom Papa had pointed out the very thing that worried me most. Even if I had acted as bait, Young Lady might ultimately have been caught by them. And even if she had managed to escape safely, I had no way of knowing what might have happened in the meantime.
But still…
“Because I made a promise.”
“What?”
“That even if we separated for now, I would definitely come back, that I would stay by her side… And she said she would wait for me, too. So I believe she’s alive. I’m sure she’s safe…”
“……”
“And if she’s safe, she probably went to the Jiangxi branch of the Xiao-seong Merchant Group. Even before we separated, we were on our way there…”
“What? The Xiao-seong Merchant Group?”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, Eom Papa’s eyes widened in surprise. I could only blink blankly at her unexpected reaction.
What was this? Did Eom Papa have some connection to the Xiao-song Merchant Group, too?
“The Xiao-song Merchant Group? You mean the Xiao-song Merchant Group run by the Xiao Family? Do you have some connection with them?”
“What? Yes, somewhat… Someone who once helped me is there. But why do you ask? Has something happened there?”
“Something happened…”
Eom Papa trailed off and firmly shut her mouth. I waited for her words without knowing what was going on. A sudden ominous feeling came over me.
‘What is it? What could have happened?’
Unable to hold back any longer, I pressed Eom Papa.
“Please tell me. What happened? What kind of problem is it?”
“Recently…”
Eom Papa slowly opened her mouth.
“A surprising incident occurred in the martial world.”
“An incident?”
“I heard the Xiao Estate was wiped out.”
“…What?!”
I raised my voice as though I had just heard incredibly shocking news. But in reality, I wasn’t surprised at all. I had been there when the Xiao Estate was wiped out.
Still, I had to pretend to be shocked to make it seem natural… I hurriedly asked,
“No, how on earth did that happen? That can’t be…”
“Yes, it is shocking. The Xiao Family was quite a prestigious family in Shandong, after all. Even if they weren’t one of the Five Great Families, they weren’t a place that could be wiped out so easily.”
“Why, why was it wiped out? Did everyone there die? Who on earth did something like that?”
“This old woman doesn’t know the exact details. But…”
Eom Papa said,
“The Xiao-song Merchant Group disappeared along with it.”
“…What?”
I wondered if I had heard her correctly.
“After the Xiao Estate was wiped out, fires broke out simultaneously at each branch of the Xiao-song Merchant Group. Apparently, they burned down in an instant before anyone could do anything.”
What…?
“It caused quite a commotion for a while. Not only the Xiao-song Merchant Group, but the homes of ordinary people nearby caught fire as well. The authorities came to investigate, but once they learned it was connected to the martial world, they decided to stay out of it.”
What was this…?
“Tsk. Officials are all the same. They don’t want to get involved in troublesome matters. It’s always innocent commoners who suffer… Child, child?”
What had I just heard?
My mind went blank, and I became dazed. The Xiao-song Merchant Group had disappeared? Then what was I supposed to do? I had thought Young Lady would be there…
‘Young Lady?’
The thought suddenly occurred to me, and I shouted,
“T-The people!”
“What?”
I could feel Eom Papa looking at me strangely, but I desperately asked,
“The people from the Xiao-song Merchant Group? You said there was a fire, right? Then what happened to the people there? Do you know anything at all about what happened to them?”
“How would this old woman know that?”
“But still! Did you hear anything? That they escaped safely, or something like that…?”
“Why are you suddenly trembling like that? Hmm… I didn’t hear anything about the merchant group people being massacred, so perhaps they escaped. Those who couldn’t escape…”
“……”
“They must have burned to death.”
In an instant, my vision went hazy.
Had Young Lady been at the Xiao-song Merchant Group at that time?
If Young Lady had safely escaped the mountain, she would definitely have gone to Jiangxi Province. She had told me so herself. Knowing that the masked men were pursuing her, she would have hurried even more.
Then had she already arrived at the Xiao-song Merchant Group by then? Had she been staying there?
When the fire broke out, Young Lady…
‘Young Lady.’
I couldn’t breathe. It felt as though the ground beneath my feet had collapsed.
***
“Unni, get some rest.”
Creak
I stared blankly at the closing door.
Soon, darkness descended.
Lying on the bed, I turned my head. Pale moonlight seeped in through the window.
Looking at the shadows cast by the moonlight, I thought,
‘Young Lady…’
And I desperately tried to calm myself.
‘…She’ll be safe.’
It wasn’t because I was deliberately trying to think positively. It was because of what I had heard after frantically asking Eom Papa the same questions over and over.
“Wh-When… when did it burn down? The Xiao-song Merchant Group, I mean. When did it happen after the Xiao Estate was wiped out…?”
“I don’t know the exact timing, but… it must have been not long after the Xiao Estate was wiped out. News of the Xiao Estate’s destruction and the fire at the Xiao-song Merchant Group spread throughout the martial world at the same time.”
“……”
“…Why have you been acting like this? Is it because you think your family had already arrived at the Xiao-song Merchant Group?”
“……”
“Get a hold of yourself! Didn’t this old woman tell you earlier? I never heard that the people there were all massacred. Not everyone dies just because there’s a fire, so why are you acting like this? Didn’t you say so yourself? You said you believed they were alive.”
At those words, I barely managed to regain my composure. Eom Papa’s stern voice reached me.
“If you believe it, then believe it to the very end. If you’re going to be shaken by a mere uncertain assumption, what are you going to do from now on?”
Eom Papa was right.
If I was going to collapse over something this minor, I should have collapsed long ago.
And when I thought about it calmly, I could see the answer.
The Xiao-song Merchant Group had caught fire ‘not long’ after the Xiao Estate was wiped out. At that time, hadn’t we been fleeing from the masked men?
Even if it had been a day or two after the Xiao Estate was wiped out, it would have been the same. Young Lady would have only just escaped the mountain then, and there was no way she could have reached Jiangxi Province in that short amount of time.
Therefore, Young Lady must still be alive.
Even if she had somehow arrived there, she would only have learned that the Xiao-song Merchant Group was gone.
Then, after hearing that news, Young Lady would…
‘What would she do?’
Back in the secret passage, Young Lady had said,
“…There is a Jiangxi branch of the Xiao-song Merchant Group. I intend to arrive there and contact Uncle Namgung.”
She had said she would contact Namgung Jeong. But now the Xiao-song Merchant Group was gone, and there was no longer any way to contact him. In the end, there was only one way to meet Namgung Jeong.
She would have to go there herself.
‘To the Namgung Family.’
“I’ll go right away… Ugh.”
I tried to spring to my feet, only to be hit by a wave of pain at the same time, and I clenched my teeth.
I had to go to the Namgung Family immediately. I had to go there and find out what had happened to Young Lady. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to rest easy until I heard that Young Lady was safe.
But with my body like this, could I even make the journey?
‘First… I need to recover.’
I had to at least be able to move before I could leave, after all. Just one week. Let’s endure for just one week. But the affairs of the world don’t always go according to plan.
“One month! You need at least a month.”
“…A month?”
One day, Eom Papa gave me an ultimatum.
“I’m telling you this in advance because you keep looking impatient. In fact, even a month isn’t enough. Looking at your condition, you might need half a year of recuperation just to barely recover!”
“……”
“Every treatment has an optimal time. And if you miss that window, there will inevitably be consequences. Not only could you be disabled for life, but in your case, your life itself could be in danger.”
“……”
“So stop thinking unnecessary thoughts and consider yourself to be dead to the world for a month. Understood?”
I said nothing. I could feel Eom Papa looking at me disapprovingly, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer.
‘A month is too late.’
I couldn’t simply waste time when I wasn’t even certain whether Young Lady was at the Namgung Family right now. And the Namgung Family concerned me, too.
Regardless of the fact that I trusted Namgung Jeong, there was something suspicious about the Namgung Family.
First were the warriors Namgung Jeong had brought with him. They were definitely warriors of the Namgung Family. They had apparently carried Namgung Jeong’s token from the very beginning, and even the Manor Lord recognized some of them. But they had betrayed us. Unless Namgung Jeong had been in league with them…
That meant there was another traitor who had made arrangements from within.
And that traitor…
‘Could they be connected to the Demonic Cult?’
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