Episode 141. There are times when actions speak louder.
Southern directness.
Hefei.
It was around the end of March when the party of Yeon Jeok-ha passed through Shu-su and reached Hefei.
In the meantime, Seol Cha-soo and Yoo Geun-sik have recovered their health.
Having been together for more than two months, Namgungse and Seol Cha-su’s party have become quite close. Because they are members of the same Justice League, the close bond is visible.
Of course, even in the midst of that, Namgung-yeon maintained her unique appropriate distance.
The beauty of Namgung-yeon and Jin Seol-ha attracted people’s attention wherever they went, but there was no particular dispute. It was because there was no one big enough to deal with as many as seven Murim people.
Wouldn’t it be strange if you had encountered a group of similar size to the Bongmubangdos you met in Deungju?
A small number of Murim people were frightened by the heartache of Gucheonnodo and the prayers of Namgungcheon, the sword of Cheongun, and did not even come close.
Thanks to this, Yeon Jeok-ha and his party were able to travel comfortably to Hebi without getting caught up in a fight.
around lunchtime.
The carriage stayed in the spot for a while and then drove through the city to the outskirts.
I sat next to the driver’s seat and dozed off.
The sun was shining, and the hunger pangs pushed in, which made it unbearable.
less so
The carriage, which had been moving slowly, stopped for a moment.
When Yeon Jeok-ha opened his eyes at the reaction, the coachman’s director spoke as if making an excuse.
“The top is blocking the road, so I stopped for a while.”
He rubbed his sleepy eyes and turned his head forward.
As Isa said, about 50 merchants were filling the Guando.
Seeing that some samurai were busy running around trying to sort out the situation, I don’t think it was intentional.
As expected, a young warrior approached with a carriage.
“I am sorry. We are the people of Hefei’s Chaoyang District. Somehow the starting order got messed up and the road was blocked. It will be sorted out soon, so please wait a moment.”
Isa smiled and nodded at the polite warrior’s words.
“Yes yes. See the work.”
Musa was about to turn around when Yeonjeokha asked.
“Wait there!”
“You mean that?”
“Yes, do you know how long it takes to Jiuhua Mountain?”
“If it refers to Mt. Jiuhua in Lugang County, it will arrive in a day or so. But if it’s too late, you’d better go back the other way.”
“why?”
“There, Samdo Sanchae is crazy these days.”
“Are you crazy?”
“It was notorious before, but recently it has gone too far. Now the superiors are also avoiding it.”
“ah! is it so?”
“There was a rumor going around that he gave up even at greening, so I said everything.”
“Looks pretty harsh, doesn’t it?”
“If you grab someone from Yeo Kang-hyeon and ask him, you’ll know.”
“Ah yes. thank you.”
“Enough then.”
The warrior silently bowed and left.
The director, who was glancing at the younger enemy’s face, asked in a resigned tone.
“Are you going anyway?”
“Sure.”
While Yeon Jeok-ha and Isa were talking, people from upstairs dispersed to the left and right to clear the road.
The carriage moved forward cautiously, and after passing the people above it sped up again.
That evening, Yan Zehe and his party finally arrived at Lujiang County.
The sun had already started to set, so it was unreasonable to go straight to Mt. Guhwa.
Yeon Jeok-he and his party slowly passed through the center of Lugang County, looking for a place to stay.
Issa muttered, looking left and right.
“There are many houses, but there are not many people on the street?”
“Iknow, right.”
Seol Cha-su, who was next to the driver’s seat, nodded.
Compared to the size of the city, there were not many people going to and from the streets.
If it wasn’t for the building in good shape, I would have thought that the war had swept through it.
“ah!”
An exclamation flowed from the sage’s mouth.
At this time, the streets should be crowded with merchants looking for accommodation, but the merchants were nowhere to be seen.
Come to think of it, it seems that there have been no people in Guando since Yeogang-hyeon.
‘Tsk! How in the world did Samdo Sanchae get to this point?’
I remembered what the samurai of Sangbang Choyang I had met at lunch told me to go back.
In the meantime, Issa stopped the carriage in front of the largest inn.
After a while, the couple got off the carriage and entered the inn.
As expected, there were no guests in the large inn.
“Oops! Welcome! Welcome! We will do our best to serve you!”
A man in his fifties who was at the counter jumped out and led me to my seat.
Seol Cha-su asked the man indirectly.
“You seem too old to be a storekeeper, but are you the owner?”
“Yes, because there were no customers, Jeomsoi sent them all out a few months ago. Where should I be in business?”
“I couldn’t see the people upstairs. Is that why?”
“That’s right. Because Samdo Sanchae has turned the Yeogang-hyeon area into a mess…”
Jin Seol-ha, who was sitting down, said a word.
“No, why is the county standing still so that Yeogang-hyeon is in this situation?”
“The government forces and military officers of Yeogang-hyeon went to subjugation a few times, but all of them failed. It is said that the martial arts of Samdosanchaeju reached the sky. After that, Lijiang county became like a ghost town. There are not just a couple of shops that only fly.”
At the end of the sentence, the owner let out a sigh as if he was frustrated.
As usual, Yeon Jeok-ha and his party sat down at two tables and ordered food.
The food came out quickly because there were no customers.
Yeonjeokha, who diligently played with chopsticks as if hungry, said with a satisfied face.
“Is your food delicious?”
“That’s right. It’s not a house that doesn’t do business like this, but it’s a pity that even the shop is sent out.”
Namgungcheon looked around the empty restaurant with sad eyes.
Gucheonno, who had been eating silently, also added to his heartache.
“Look outside. Even in this fine weather, I don’t see a single person on the street.”
His gaze turned to the window.
Indeed, not a single ant cub could be seen on the street where the sunset shone.
It is desolation that does not suit the sunset of spring and March when flowers bloom.
***
Next day.
After breakfast, Yeon Jeok-ha and his party leisurely left the Cheongpung Gaekjan.
After running the wagon for half an hour (1 hour), a huge lake appeared.
An exclamation flowed from Jin Seol-ha’s mouth as he looked out the window.
“oh! Is there a lake?”
Namgungcheon, a native of Hebi, said calmly.
“It is a lake called Huangpi Lake. If you go half an hour further, you will arrive at Jiuhua Mountain.”
Seol Cha-soo and his party’s faces stiffened lightly when they said that it would be Mt. Guhwa in half an hour.
It reminded me of how I almost died in the last fight with the Twelve Horsemen.
Jin Seol-ha saw Yeonjeok-ha.
“How many 12 horsemen are there in Yeonsohyeop Samdosanchae?”
“well. I heard that the cold noodle sword ghost co-giant who became Chae-ju is suspicious, but I don’t know if there are more.”
Namgoongyeon, who had been listening quietly, opened her mouth.
“Two cities (four hours) away from Jiuhua Mountain to the north is the Musansoxochuk, a famous church. The co-giant must have something to do with anoxia. I don’t think it will end as easily as in Taishan.”
Yoo Geun-sik, who had just recovered from his injury, had a distorted face.
“Well, does that mean that anoxia might come out on this one?”
Namgoongyeon nodded at Yoo Geun-shik’s question.
“Musan Nangrang and Lee Mae-hwa, the owner of Musan cattle, is a resourceful person. Will she easily give up Guhwasan, her front yard?”
“Are you saying you’re going to send another Twelve Horsemen?”
“For now, there is a high possibility that he will act like Ung Jae-gwi, the phantom god of Gwangmyeong Manor. Since you still don’t know about Gwangmyeong Manor, you’ll want to check the enemy’s inaction.”
“ha! When I hear those words, my back suddenly throbs.”
At Yoo Geun-shik’s words, Seol Cha-soo inadvertently rubbed his shoulder.
If two or more of the Twelve Horsemen come together, the whole will be involved in a fight.
At such times, lives come and go, but there is nowhere else to turn for help. This is because the Justice League is still in the stage of collecting information about famous religions.
Does the Justice League know that they are doing such a dangerous thing?
***
I saw a high mountain in the distance.
It is citric acid.
The eyes of Namgung-cheon, who was sitting next to the coachman’s seat, spilled blood.
If Chae-joo of Samdo Sanchae is a person of innocence, then Namgung Se-gawa is the enemy of the great heaven.
A few days ago, when I was passing by Hefei, I stopped by alone at the Ruined Namgung Family House.
That day, he swore revenge in front of a huge burial mound said to have been made by Hefei’s samurai.
Namgungcheon looked up at the blue sky of her hometown.
‘father. You’re alive, right? You must be alive.’
Only then can she take proper revenge in the name of the Namgung family.
He gripped the handle of the sword tightly.
He resents his lack of swordsmanship skills today.
If he had been as intelligent as Namgung-yeon, he would have been able to handle 12 horsemen alone.
I want to help Yeon Jeok-ha, but I was too lacking to do so.
‘If only I had worked a little harder. Just a little more…’
Namgungcheon rebuked himself for not trying harder even though he had lived his life without being idle.
The village under Jiuhua Mountain was terribly broken.
There was not a single house in sight that was fully formed.
As the carriage slowly crisscrossed the village, one or two people appeared out of nowhere.
These are people who have not yet left their village with hope.
More than half of them were children.
Unlike the adults who watched from afar, the children rushed around the wagon.
“Just a penny!”
“help! yes?”
“Naris! Please give me something to eat!”
I couldn’t speed up the move because I was afraid that the children would get hurt.
As a result, the distance between the wagon and the children narrowed even more.
Soon, the faces of the naked and starving children were within reach.
Confused and at a loss for what to do, Jin Seol-ha threw the bag she was holding outside.
“Wow!”
With cheers, children flocked to the backpack.
Only then did Issa hurriedly shake the reins to speed up the wagon.
Some children followed, gave up, and soon turned around.
None of the people in the carriage opened their mouths.
As soon as he left the village, Yeonjeokha asked.
“How many gin sauces were there?”
This is a question about the backpack thrown to the children.
As people looked at them, Jin Seol-ha replied with a puzzled face.
“I didn’t have much money. Maybe ten or so? I just gave it to you because I had beef jerky and dried meat.”
Yeonjeokha, who nodded, took out ten coins from her purse and handed it to Jinseolha.
“Are you giving it to me?”
Jin Seol-ha opened her eyes wide and looked at Yeonjeok-ha.
Without saying anything, he handed over the hermit and looked out the window again.
Hwayong reading heart Namgungyeon, who was sitting next to Yeonjeokha, clenched her small fist tightly.
‘What should I do?’ It happened during a moment of hesitation.
In that brief moment of setting out, he threw away his backpack and was unable to do anything while thinking.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
That was the situation a little while ago.
I regretted not reacting immediately when the children approached.
It’s not because I’m jealous that Yeon Jeok-ha takes care of Jin Seol-ha separately.
He is not an idiot, and there is no way he would do that in front of the great enemies of Samdosanchae and Musansochuk.