Book 5: Chapter 20 |
“For a final confirmation, to summarize one last time…”
The 4th Young Master, Yeon-bi, spoke.
“My subordinates and I are in charge of the investment group coming from Sichuan. But the key that will determine victory or defeat in this plan is not those in the investment group, but ‘Daseollang’.”
Yeon-bi looked at Yeon So-hyeon.
“They are the ones you must handle, Big Brother.”
Yeon So-hyeon quietly nodded.
“Daseollang is the name of a merchant association, but it’s also used to refer to the individuals in it.”
Yeon-bi continued, flipping through the report.
“It’s said that decisions are made by the unanimous agreement of all five Daseollang members, but if there’s one person who’s the most important, it’s Sanggwan Nanhwa.”
The spring breeze blowing through the carriage window gently rippled Sanggwan Nanhwa’s silky hair.
As she raised her slender jade-like hand to tuck her loosened hair behind her ear, her fair and slender nape glistened dazzlingly in the sunlight.
“I’m envious…”
One of the Daseollang members muttered.
“As expected of Sichuan’s top beauty.”
Another Daseollang member chimed in.
“I wish I had talent in internal energy like Nan-hwa…”
“Hohoho, even if you learned Joo-an Arts1 at the academy, it would be like drawing lines on a pumpkin2, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s about you.”
The two immediately started bickering.
“Ah… I just wish my family wouldn’t pressure me about marriage like they do to Nan-hwa.”
As the youngest-looking one among them made a gloomy face, the tall one patted her head.
“It’s okay. Unlike you, I can’t get married even if I want to.”
“Ah… I’m sorry, unnie.”
The woman, taller than the average man, flashed a confident smile for no reason.
“It’s fine. In a huge, glamorous city like Luoyang, a destined love must be waiting for me.”
The youngest clenched her fists.
“I’m sure you’ll meet them!”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”
She inwardly held back a sigh and looked at Sanggwan Nanhwa.
‘I wish my face was as pretty as that, at least…’
Next to Sanggwan Nanhwa, who was sitting by the carriage window, the commander of the guards escorting them was endlessly flirting with her.
Riding a horse and sticking close to the carriage, his tenacity in chattering for several hours was astonishing.
‘Still, having people cling to you so persistently everywhere must be really tiring…’
She gave a wry smile.
As she was looking for an opportunity to intervene and help Sanggwan Nanhwa as usual, an amazing sight unfolded outside the window.
“Ah, look there!”
Everyone’s gazes turned outside.
“Wow!”
Without exception, they all pressed against the window to look outside.
As they all flocked to the window at once, the carriage’s center of gravity was disturbed, making it tilt momentarily.
“A lake!”
In the distance, a vast lake was gradually revealing itself.
The scale of the lake was so immense that even at a considerable distance from the carriage, it filled their field of vision.
And on that lake were huge Western-style sailing ships, unseen in the land of Sichuan.
Blankly gazing at that wondrous sight, Sanggwan Nanhwa’s plump lips moved.
“That lake is…”
The commander, who had pulled his horse back a bit to avoid blocking the view of the Daseollang ladies, quickly picked up her words.
“Yes, that lake is the Yellow Lake, the largest artificial lake in the Middle Kingdom!”
As the gazes of the Daseollang ladies gathered on him, he shrugged his shoulders and began to share his knowledge.
“The Yellow Lake is not only a lake but also the starting point of the East-West Grand Canal. It’s also the arrival point for foreign merchant ships that reach here via the North-South Grand Canal and the East-West Grand Canal.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Oh, yes…”
Since it was knowledge the Daseollang ladies were already familiar with, the response was lukewarm, and he racked his brain in confusion.
At that moment, Sanggwan Nanhwa asked him.
“Do you know why they artificially created a lake of this scale?”
The result of a construction project that seemed impossible with human power was the end of the previous dynasty.
“Ah! What an excellent question! A sharp question befitting Miss Sanggwan Nanhwa!”
He clapped his hands at that question.
“This is a story I heard from my mother as well…”
He skillfully maneuvered his horse to get close to the carriage window.
Although he blocked the view, the Daseollang ladies, curious about his story, didn’t express dissatisfaction.
“Near this vast city of Luoyang, there’s a point where ‘Luck’ rises.”
“…’Luck’ rises?”
As the Daseollang ladies made dumbfounded expressions, he waved his hand.
But even so, there was clear curiosity on those faces.
Being the age they were, even the renowned Daseollang ladies liked divination and interesting superstitions.
“Of course, it’s a superstition. Naturally, a superstition. It’s just that there’s such a saying.”
He quickly continued.
“A king of the previous dynasty heard a prophecy from an outstanding Taoist priest. And it was…”
He paused for a moment.
“If they could accumulate this Luck, the dynasty monopolizing it would last a thousand years and enjoy only prosperity.”
“So they dug that lake to accumulate the Luck?”
“But even after creating that lake, the previous dynasty fell, didn’t it?”
“Then isn’t the prophecy wrong?”
“Hoho.”
He gave a meaningful smile.
“Actually, the completion of the Yellow Lake was after the fall of the previous dynasty. Almost right after.”
“What…?!”
“Ooh!”
The ladies chattered amongst themselves, looking at each other, engrossed in the interesting and mysterious story.
The commander nodded to himself, satisfied with the ladies’ reactions.
He was inwardly thanking his mother, who had told him this story.
“Then…”
At that moment, Sanggwan Nanhwa, who had been quietly lost in thought, asked him.
“The dynasty fell, so who completed that lake then?”
The commander smiled.
“None other than the famous ‘Luoyang Sword House’.”
***
“Big Brother…”
The 4th Young Master carefully looked up at Yeon So-hyeon and spoke.
“Are you still planning to handle Daseollang yourself? If you entrust them to me even now…”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled brightly.
“Why do you say that?”
The 4th Young Master scratched his fluffy cheek with a finger.
“As you know, Daseollang is strictly a student status. They belong to the Emei Academy run by the Emei Sect in the capital of Sichuan.”
The Emei Sect had joined the investment group under the pretext of accompanying them for their protection, citing that Daseollang belonged to the Emei Academy.
“The Emei Sect…”
He gauged his big brother’s expression.
“They are people who openly clash even with the Tang Clan that rules Sichuan. I mean the direct Tang Clan, not the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled and patted his cute younger brother’s head.
“Are you worried they will look down on me as a swordless person? Here in Luoyang, of all places?”
Yeon-bi shook his head.
“No. I’m worried they will incur your wrath. If their heads hang in the central square, the members of the investment group who came from peaceful Sichuan will be so startled that they’ll run away.”
Yeon So-hyeon burst into loud laughter.
***
“Who’s acting so frivolously?!”
A sharp rebuke fell upon the Daseollang ladies, who were excitedly chattering.
The one who had familiarly ridden her horse to follow the carriage was a young nun in splendid monk’s robes.
She was a strict-looking young nun with long hair twisted up and fixed with a jade hairpin engraved with Buddhist patterns.
“You must never forget that you are students of our Emei Academy, no matter where you are!”
Peering inside through the carriage window, she reprimanded the Daseollang ladies in a sharp voice.
“It’s good that you’re making a name for yourself with that business you treat like play, but that doesn’t mean you should forget your duty, understand?!”
Daseollang was not play, nor was it a business so shoddy that it could be disparaged as such.
“…I wonder who joined to make some money by taking advantage of such a playful business.”
At the nun’s verbal abuse, one Daseollang lady pouted.
It was a small mutter, but not quiet enough for a nun of the Emei Sect, abundant in internal energy, to miss.
“What did you say just now?!”
“…”
As everyone shut their mouths and sat looking elsewhere, the young nun was about to raise her voice again.
“You…!”
“We didn’t say anything, Proctor.”
The one who spoke was Sanggwan Nanhwa.
Her eyes, which could be called phoenix eyes, turned to the young nun called the proctor.
The highest-grade silk monk’s robes embroidered with gold thread.
The accessories that ultimately had to be called ornaments, even if they gave off a Buddhist air.
Makeup more skillful than that of high-born young ladies.
“…Sanggwan Nanhwa. What did you say to this proctor just now?”
Sanggwan Nanhwa looked straight at the nun with an ominous momentum and spoke in a clear voice.
“I said we didn’t say anything, Proctor.”
“Sanggwan Nanhwa…!”
If Sanggwan Nanhwa had not been the only daughter of the Governor of Sichuan, who had ruled the land of Sichuan for generations, the proctor would have slapped her cheek right away.
“…All of you. When we return, I won’t let this slide again.”
After glaring at Sanggwan Nanhwa with a twitching eye for a moment, the proctor was the first to look away.
“Commander.”
The commander of the guards, who had been awkwardly riding his horse next to them, replied.
“Yes, Venerable One.”
“It’s natural for young men and women to be attracted to each other, but these are young ladies from high-born families even in Sichuan, so please be sufficiently cautious.”
The commander nodded roughly.
“Yes, yes. I understand, Venerable One.”
At the commander’s attitude, which couldn’t be more insincere, the young nun’s face twitched.
‘How dare a mere dog of the government, wearing a shabby cloak…!’
In Sichuan, a mere commander leading a few government soldiers could never be so rude to a member of the Emei Sect.
But she wasn’t foolish enough to forget that this wasn’t Sichuan.
“…In the first place, for what reason are the guards from Xi’an escorting travelers?”
“As I told you from the beginning, we are simply following orders from above.”
“That’s why I’m asking whose orders those were!”
Currently, government soldiers wrapped in cloaks were moving alongside the investment group’s procession.
“I don’t know. I’m just dutifully following the orders given, like a soldier should.”
Originally, the Emei Sect was in charge of this investment group procession’s route and escort.
But suddenly, these troops joined them when passing through Xi’an, and now they were even deciding the route as they pleased.
“For what reason…!”
At that moment, a falcon cried in the sky, circled once, and landed on the commander’s arm.
It wasn’t because of a mere beast that the nun proctor shut her mouth.
“Yes, yes. Good boy.”
Unlike the worn-out cloak, the armor covering the commander’s exposed arm was no ordinary item.
As he talked to the falcon and scratched its chin, the commander pointed with his chin.
“Venerable One. If you’re so curious, ask them.”
“Them…?”
The proctor’s gaze followed the commander’s direction, where a thick cloud of dust was rising.
