A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 334

334. The One Who Seeks the Path

The journey of Son Bin and his party toward Seojang [a remote region in western China] encountered an unexpected obstacle: no merchant caravans traveled that route in winter.

The head of the Seongdo Merchant Guild, a figure even the Odae Merchant Guild couldn’t ignore in Sichuan [a province in southwestern China], declared it ‘madness’ and assured them that no caravan would dare move in winter. Smaller merchant guilds echoed this sentiment.

Even the packhorse drivers who brought goods from Seojang shook their heads. Those departing from Sichuan, as well as those coming from Seojang, only traveled in the summer, as the mountain passes remained impassable until the snow melted.

“Is there no way?”

Son Bin asked Dang Hwa-ryun. Leaning back in her office chair, deep in thought, Dang Hwa-ryun glared at Son Bin, her displeasure evident.

“I’m thinking, aren’t I?”

Dang Hwa-ryun was in a foul mood because the task she had confidently undertaken was running into difficulties from the start.

In Sichuan, it was unheard of to refuse a request from the Dang Clan. The fact that they were being refused meant the situation was truly impossible.

“Should we return to Gwangju [a major port city in Guangdong Province] now and look for a ship heading to the Western Regions?”

Son Bin suggested. The metropolis of Gwangju in Guangdong Province was also a major trading port, and it wasn’t uncommon to find ships arriving from the Western Regions [a historical term for areas west of China, often referring to Central Asia].

However, Dang Hwa-ryun glared at Son Bin for interrupting her train of thought.

“Do you think taking a ship will be quick? Besides, we don’t even know our final destination yet. If we have to go back to Seojang, we won’t arrive until next summer, not this one.”

She was right. Sailing to the Western Regions was neither simple nor easy.

Tock, tock.

Dang Hwa-ryun tapped the armrest of her chair, muttering.

“At least three months at the earliest…”

The packhorse drivers and merchant guilds said it would take at least three more months for the snow to melt and the roads to open.

“I don’t mind waiting,” Son Bin said, sipping his tea. Waiting three months wasn’t a problem for him.

But the problem wasn’t Son Bin. Dang Hwa-ryun, well aware of this, wore a sardonic smile.

“You mean the Martial Emperor [a powerful and influential figure] and the previous Jade Dragon [another significant individual] won’t wait, right? I know that much…”

“That’s not it?”

Son Bin looked at Dang Hwa-ryun as if asking what she meant.

“The Martial Emperor never asks for the impossible. If we have to wait three months, he’ll gladly wait.”

People thought the Martial Emperor was incredibly overbearing and selfish, but that was a misconception.

The Saja Hyuk that Son Bin knew was a reasonable and rational person. It’s just that his reason and common sense were a little different from others. No matter how urgent or important the matter, if waiting was the only option, he would wait.

“And the previous Jade Dragon too… well, if the Martial Emperor says he’ll wait, he’ll wait. He might get a little annoyed, though.”

As long as something piqued his interest, he wouldn’t care about time. Whether you could handle his whims was another matter.

Dang Hwa-ryun looked at Son Bin with a skeptical expression, thinking that things wouldn’t end with such a convenient story.

As expected, Son Bin cautiously continued.

“However, I would feel terrible imposing on you for three months…”

He was being sincere. Considering it was the Martial Emperor and the previous Jade Dragon, he thought it would be a great burden for Dang Hwa-ryun.

However, Dang Hwa-ryun interpreted Son Bin’s words in a completely different way.

“Ah.”

Dang Hwa-ryun let out a soft groan.

‘Oh my god. Now that I think about it…’

It was the Martial Emperor and the previous Jade Dragon, no less. If they stayed in the Dang Clan for three months, it was obvious that external experts would flock to them.

Moreover, the Outsiders didn’t care about other people’s circumstances. She couldn’t even imagine the chaos that would unfold because of the Martial Emperor and the previous Jade Dragon while they were in Sichuan.

‘Ugh.’

Dang Hwa-ryun shuddered involuntarily.

She might be able to use the situation to her advantage, but would the Martial Emperor and the previous Jade Dragon allow it?

In the end, the cleanup would fall entirely on the Dang Clan, or rather, on her, and she would gain nothing. It was a truly chilling nightmare for Dang Hwa-ryun.

“Yes. You’re right.”

Dang Hwa-ryun looked up at Son Bin. He blinked, seemingly unaware of anything, which made him all the more irritating.

“Thank you so much. For pointing out something I hadn’t even considered.”

Son Bin unconsciously edged backward.

Dang Hwa-ryun’s cold gaze was far from grateful.

Besides, wasn’t that faint sound she made just now the sound of her grinding her teeth?

However, Dang Hwa-ryun didn’t care about Son Bin’s reaction. She bit her lip and muttered.

“This won’t do. I have to do something quickly…”

But Dang Hwa-ryun’s anguish soon ended.

A quiet voice came from outside.

“Chief Strategist.”

At the familiar voice of her subordinate, Dang Hwa-ryun looked up.

“Come in.”

The door to the office opened silently, and Dang Hwa-ryun’s subordinate entered. He bowed respectfully but stood for a moment without saying anything.

“Ah, it’s okay. He’s fine. Speak.”

Only then did the subordinate open his mouth.

“We have found a packhorse driver who can guide us on the winter route.”

It was the news that Dang Hwa-ryun and Son Bin had been eagerly awaiting. Dang Hwa-ryun’s face lit up, and she asked.

“Really? Who is it?”

“It’s the Cheonjang Packhorse Company.”

“Cheonjang Packhorse Company?”

Dang Hwa-ryun’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly. She paused, searching her memory.

“Isn’t that place where there hasn’t been a proper caravan in recent years? I heard that after the previous leader stepped down ten years ago, his son failed miserably on his first caravan?”

At Dang Hwa-ryun’s accurate recollection, the subordinate nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct. It is said that the new leader can guide us.”

“What?”

It made no sense that the protagonist of a failed caravan would guide them.

It was only natural that displeasure appeared on Dang Hwa-ryun’s face.

However, the subordinate continued with a calm expression.

“The Cheonjang Packhorse Company’s caravan failed because the new leader recklessly pushed for a winter caravan. As a result, the caravan was annihilated, but the new leader succeeded in reaching Seojang alone.”

The caravan failed to reach Seojang and was annihilated. However, the new leader of the Cheonjang Packhorse Company, who was thought to be dead, returned to Sichuan that summer, looking like a beggar.

Although he was alone, he had succeeded in crossing the Great Snow Mountain Range in winter and reaching Seojang.

But upon returning to Sichuan, he was met only with the enormous debt he had incurred as a result of the failed caravan.

In a polite but firm voice, the subordinate said.

“So far, he is the only person who has crossed the Great Snow Mountain Range in winter.”

Dang Hwa-ryun and Son Bin’s eyes sparkled simultaneously. A way to get to Seojang had finally appeared.

* * *

Dang Hwa-ryun immediately went to find the Cheonjang Packhorse Company with Son Bin.

The old chief, who was guarding the dilapidated packhorse station, wrung his hands and bowed to Dang Hwa-ryun.

“I’m sorry. The young master, no, the leader is currently out…”

“I know. He’s probably out drinking again, wallowing in the endless self-reproach that he ruined the family business.”

Dang Hwa-ryun spoke in a haughty and cold voice. She had already heard about the situation of the Cheonjang Packhorse Company and its young leader from her subordinate.

“So go find him. Tell him that the Dang Clan’s Chief Strategist has come with a way to save the Cheonjang Packhorse Company.”

At Dang Hwa-ryun’s words, the old chief’s eyes widened. He hurriedly bowed, looking grateful.

“Ah, I understand. I’ll go right away…”

“No need to go, Chief.”

A slurred voice came from inside the packhorse station. And after a moment, a man with disheveled clothes staggered out, hiccuping.

The man with long, unkempt hair and a shaggy beard was wearing shabby clothes haphazardly.

His bloodshot eyes, barely open, indicated that he was quite drunk, even without the bottle in his hand.

The loose chest [referring to his unbuttoned or disheveled clothing] and the old, long rosary around his neck were quite mismatched.

“Oh my, isn’t this the great Chief Strategist of the esteemed Dang Clan? This humble one from the Cheonjang Packhorse Company greets you.”

Whether it was the alcohol emboldening him, he fearlessly said that to Dang Hwa-ryun and bowed with exaggerated gestures.

The behavior, like a clown in a marketplace, was an act of rudeness that would never be tolerated by the Dang Clan’s Chief Strategist, at least not here in Sichuan.

But Dang Hwa-ryun didn’t care about his rude remarks.

However, if he truly disappointed Dang Hwa-ryun, the aftermath would be more than the Cheonjang Packhorse Company could handle.

“Are you the leader?”

“That’s right.”

He said with a smirk. His yellow teeth seemed to exude a rotten smell just by looking at them.

“A way to save the packhorse company that’s already ruined? I don’t know what wind blew in here after you coldly chased us away, bringing such unbelievable words.”

He continued, not hiding his sarcastic tone.

“What exactly is this way to save the packhorse company? Ah, let me say in advance, I’m not selling my body.”

“I’m not interested in that either. Well, in a way, I do need your body.”

Dang Hwa-ryun said, looking straight at the leader of the Cheonjang Packhorse Company.

“You crossed the Great Snow Mountain Range in winter, right? I need your guidance.”

The face of the Cheonjang Packhorse Company’s leader contorted.

“Didn’t you hear? That caravan was annihilated. More than fifty horses were swept away by an avalanche. Speaking as someone who has experienced it firsthand, going on a caravan in winter is madness. So please go back.”

As if there was no need to say more, he turned his body. Or, he tried to.

“What if it’s not a caravan?”

At the young man’s voice, the packhorse company leader turned his head. A young man dressed as a scholar was looking at him with a serious expression.

“My name is Son Bin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Son Bin’s bow was neither exaggerated nor merely a habit. He bowed to the packhorse company leader with a sincere look and tone.

That attitude made the packhorse company leader stop, but it didn’t change his mind.

“It’s the same even if it’s not a caravan. There’s no grass to feed the horses in the mountains in winter. Besides, how will you sleep?”

Even in the middle of summer, the nights in the high mountains are very cold. You can barely survive the night by lighting a fire and blocking the wind with thick blankets. It goes without saying that it’s even worse in the snowy mountains in winter.

“If you load up food for the people and horses, thick tents to keep from freezing to death in the winter snow mountains, and all the necessary supplies, the procession will inevitably become longer. Then the result will be the same anyway. If you encounter an avalanche even once, more than half of the supplies you prepared will be swept away, and then even the procession that barely survived will collapse completely.”

He spat it out as if vomiting blood. Then he suddenly chuckled.

“Ah, you don’t need to load water. It’s all snow anyway. But if you want to melt the snow, you’ll have to load firewood to start a fire, right? Frozen wood won’t catch fire no matter what. Although there’s hardly any wood anyway.”

“I see.”

Son Bin nodded. Just hearing the words made him feel the harshness of a winter caravan. And the despair that the leader must have felt.

But he had no intention of backing down.

“If you understand, then that’s enough…”

“There are ten people in our group. But most of them are martial arts experts.”

“Experts?”

“Ten people?”

At Son Bin’s words, the packhorse company leader and Dang Hwa-ryun asked at the same time.

‘Ten people?’ It was Dang Hwa-ryun who asked.

As far as she knew, there were thirteen people in Son Bin’s group. Three of them were Princess Kyunghee’s party and Cheonghye’s master would remain, so there should be nine people heading to Seojang.

“Ah, there’s one more person, though you can’t see them.”

There was Sword Saint who hadn’t revealed herself. At Son Bin’s explanation, Dang Hwa-ryun frowned as if she didn’t understand.

She was about to say something when the packhorse company leader cut in.

“Don’t experts freeze to death? It’s the same even if they’re the grandfather of all experts.”

Son Bin smiled awkwardly at the packhorse company leader’s blunt words.

“Well… they’re seriously skilled. Ah, of course, they don’t fly around the mountains or anything. They have to sleep, eat, and protect themselves from the cold. But they endure much better than ordinary people. So…”

Son Bin calculated something and said.

“Should I say they endure about ten times better?”

Ten times was actually an understatement. After all, the cold of the Great Snow Mountain wouldn’t affect Saja Hyuk or the previous Jade Dragon.

For Sword Saint or Sa Soo-yeon, the cold itself was their source of true energy, and it wouldn’t be a big threat to Dang Wol-ah, Seo-rin, Old Man, and Guigyeon Sura either.

“But that doesn’t mean they’re completely unaffected. Besides, there are ordinary people in the group.”

Saja Hyuk also told him not to take the mountains lightly.

No matter how skilled you are, you’re finished if you get lost in the Great Snow Mountain Range in winter.

The snow mountain is a place where even the Martial Emperor of the world cannot be careless.

“So, you can think of it as four, no, five people moving, including the leader.”

“Hmm.”

The packhorse company leader frowned and looked at Son Bin.

Long ago, his winter caravan was a grand procession of up to seventy horses. There were too many supplies to prepare, and he himself was too greedy.

As a result, he couldn’t properly cope with the avalanche that he had clearly anticipated.

“What are the goods to trade?”

“As I said, it’s not a caravan, so there are no goods. We just need to get to Seojang.”

“Five people without luggage…”

If they could reduce the scale, they would have more room to maneuver and the chances of success would be much greater. They wouldn’t be able to make a big profit since there were no goods to trade, but at least the Cheonjang Packhorse Company’s credibility would be greatly restored.

The packhorse company leader fiddled with the old rosary hanging around his neck and began to think seriously about something.

The fact that his bleary eyes were shining clearly indicated that there was a possibility.

“…Maybe, it could work.”

After a long time, he muttered like a sigh. At those words, Dang Hwa-ryun’s eyes also sparkled.

“If you succeed,” Dang Hwa-ryun said to the packhorse company leader, “the Cheonjang Packhorse Company will get the Dang Clan’s exclusive trading rights for three items for three years.”

The packhorse company leader looked at Dang Hwa-ryun with a frown.

“Seven items for five years. It’s a life-threatening job.”

“Five items for three years. You don’t think your life is that valuable, do you? Instead, I’ll be considerate and let you choose the items you want.”

“Okay.”

The leader nodded. His bleary eyes were already sparkling.

“However, make it three items for five years. If it’s three years, other merchant guilds can unite even if they have to bleed.”

An unusual light flashed in Dang Hwa-ryun’s eyes.

“I thought such acts were strictly prohibited?”

The packhorse company leader smirked.

“If they don’t do it even when it’s prohibited, they’re not merchants.”

First of all, the Dang Clan itself uses its monopolistic position to control the Sichuan merchant world.

How many merchant guilds would sincerely submit to what such a Dang Clan says?

“Okay. Then let’s make it three items for ten years. So that they can’t even think about uniting.”

Dang Hwa-ryun said in a firm tone. A look of delight spread across the packhorse company leader’s face.

“Indeed. The Dang Clan’s young Chief Strategist has as much courage as her rumored beauty.”

“Unnecessary words.”

Dang Hwa-ryun said with a frown.

“When can you depart?”

“I need five days.”

“Make it three days. Instead, the Dang Clan will support everything you need.”

“Okay. Ah, one more thing.”

The packhorse company leader said to Dang Hwa-ryun and Son Bin.

“I will do my best. But I can’t guarantee success or safety. Once we enter the mountains, everything is decided by the Great Snow Mountain.”

“I understand.”

Son Bin nodded.

“But that doesn’t mean I’ll accept it willingly. Even if someone is crushed and someone runs away, it’s up to me to discover my destiny.”

He was imitating Saja Hyuk in his own way, but the leader didn’t understand Son Bin’s words. To him, it just sounded like a desk-bound scholar showing off.

Son Bin, embarrassed by the leader’s frowning expression, turned his gaze away.

And he suddenly noticed that Dang Hwa-ryun’s face was no different from the packhorse company leader’s.

“Ahem.”

Son Bin cleared his throat and avoided the two people’s gazes. For some reason, the back of his head felt hot.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Dang Hwa-ryun suddenly asked the leader of the Cheonjang Packhorse Company. The leader answered with a bitter smile, thinking that she was asking too late.

“Ma Cheol. Hwang Ma-cheol.”

He said, stroking his dark beard.

“Originally, I’m called Ma Gwadu during caravans, but you can just call me Leader Hwang.”

“Okay. Leader Hwang.”

Dang Hwa-ryun smiled. When she, who had been cold until now, smiled, it felt like the surroundings brightened. Not only Leader Hwang but even Son Bin looked at her with surprised eyes.

“The Great Snow Mountain may make the decision, but the Cheonjang Packhorse Company, its family, and their relatives will pay the price for failure. I will definitely guarantee this. I swear on my name.”

Son Bin felt a chill down his spine. Leader Hwang must have felt the same way, as he swallowed hard and immediately nodded.

“Ah, I understand.”

Leader Hwang didn’t even realize that his tone had changed. Dang Hwa-ryun smiled with satisfaction.

From that sight, Son Bin recalled her smile as she pressed down on his wound, enjoying it.

The scar on his shoulder, which he hadn’t even paid attention to until now, seemed to throb anew for some reason.

(Author’s Note)

If you know, Dang Hwa-ryun is the only person who succeeded in stabbing Son Bin.