A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 383

383. Dispersion

Seorin remained hidden, watching Son Bin and his group get imprisoned.

Instead, following Old Lord’s instructions, Seorin shadowed General Bahadur and the old man, Sheikh. He listened intently to all their conversations, and then immediately went to the prison where Old Lord and Son Bin were being held.

“Those bastards!” Old Lord spat, grinding his teeth after hearing the story through telepathy.

“What’s wrong?” Son Bin asked from the opposite cell, where he was bound by shackles and chains just like Old Lord.

“…They’re planning to annihilate the village.”

Son Bin’s face hardened. He suspected they were plotting something, which was why he had left Seorin behind, but he never imagined they would target the villagers.

Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising. Framing someone and eliminating witnesses to ensure their silence was a common tactic throughout history.

Crack.

At the sudden sound, Son Bin looked up. The shackles binding Old Lord’s arms and legs were being crushed as if they were made of paper.

“I knew it when they lit the Bewilderment Incense [a type of incense that impairs senses and judgment] here. These dirty bastards,” Old Lord muttered, lightly rotating his wrist. Then, he stretched out a hand towards the thick iron door.

Thud.

The lock on the iron door shattered from the force of his palm strike. The thick iron door, no longer able to restrain anyone, swung open weakly as Old Lord kicked it.

Son Bin didn’t try to stop him. Now that they had broken their word and revealed their true intentions, there was no reason to remain.

Thump.

The iron door blocking Son Bin’s cell also succumbed to Old Lord’s palm strike.

“What’s that noise!”

“What’s going on!”

Ignoring the clamor of the warriors outside the prison, Old Lord broke the shackles on Son Bin’s wrists and arms.

“Ugh.”

Son Bin’s complexion was poor. The Bewilderment Incense had taken a heavy toll on him.

Old Lord immediately placed his palm on Son Bin’s back, channeling his inner energy to help him recover.

Originally, Seorin was supposed to sneak in and do this, but that was no longer necessary. They wouldn’t be staying in the prison.

“Are you alright, Elder?”

Even in this situation, Son Bin was worried about Old Lord.

“Tsk, worry about yourself.”

Old Lord’s reply was curt, fueled by his anger at having endured this far for nothing.

“…What happened to the village?”

“The soldiers have already left, I heard.”

“We need to go… quickly.”

Just as Son Bin finished speaking, a few short groans echoed from the entrance of the underground prison, followed by Seorin’s voice.

“Hyung [older brother or respected male figure]! Grandpa!”

“Alright, I’m coming!”

Old Lord supported Son Bin and hurried towards the entrance.

“What? Why isn’t this open yet?”

Old Lord frowned at the still firmly closed large iron door.

“I don’t have the key! I searched the warriors guarding here, but it’s not there!”

Seorin said from outside. Old Lord clicked his tongue. It seemed the key was strictly managed, given that it was an underground prison.

“Step aside.”

As soon as he spoke, Seorin moved away from the iron door. Old Lord, still inside, released Son Bin’s arm and stood before the large iron door, slowly gathering his inner energy. Or rather, he was about to.

Boom.

A loud noise echoed from somewhere, causing Old Lord to frown.

“What’s that sound again?”

“Ah, it must be Suyun and Wol-a.”

Seorin replied from outside.

“I went to ask Head Instructor Hwang about some unknown words earlier.”

Son Bin could roughly guess what had happened. Seorin had gone to Head Instructor Hwang to clarify the parts of the conversation he hadn’t understood.

After Seorin left, Head Instructor Hwang must have told Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a about the conversation, prompting them to take immediate action.

A clear and decisive judgment that there was no need to remain any longer.

“Hoo.”

Meanwhile, a blue aura flickered in Old Lord’s clenched hands. Son Bin turned his head and raised a hand to cover his ears, but Seorin’s shout reached him from outside.

“Ah! Sword Demon! You shouldn’t do that…”

“Haa!”

The sound of Old Lord’s shout and the blue sword energy slicing through the iron door diagonally from top to bottom were almost simultaneous.

Shhh.

Kwaaaang.

With a tremendous roar, the thick iron door burst open. When Son Bin looked again, the large iron door blocking the underground prison was neatly split and scattered.

“Heeing, I only needed to break the lock…”

In front of the miraculously opened entrance stood the Sword Demon, crouching down and sheathing her sword, and Seorin, looking slightly tearful. She had cut through the iron door at the same time as Old Lord struck it.

The Sword Demon hadn’t collided with the broken iron door because Old Lord had flung it to the left and right. Of course, even if the iron door had flown towards her, the Sword Demon would have cut it in half again.

“Hyung! Grandpa!”

Seorin jumped up and hugged Son Bin tightly.

“This.”

Old Lord, having exerted himself for the first time in a while, checked the result of his wasted effort due to the Sword Demon and made a dissatisfied expression. But it didn’t last long.

“Let’s go.”

Son Bin urged Old Lord, who was about to kick off the ground.

“Wait a moment. We need to retrieve White Dew [likely a valuable item or weapon].”

“Of course. I need to find my spirit pearl too.”

Old Lord looked back at Seorin, who was still clinging to Son Bin, and said.

“Do you know where they are?”

“Uh, that’s…”

Seorin, who hadn’t had time to take care of that, hesitated, but the Sword Demon, who had risen, said quietly.

“I know.”

“Good job. Let’s go quickly.”

At Old Lord’s words, the Sword Demon immediately leaped forward. Old Lord followed behind, and Seorin, supporting Son Bin, also moved quickly.

The warriors, startled by the loud noise, belatedly rushed to the underground prison, only to find fragments of the iron door, crumpled and scattered, and the wide-open entrance.

* * *

The confiscated swords were easily found. Their appearance was so different from the Heavenly Axis style that they didn’t attract much attention from the Heavenly Axis warriors.

Son Bin and his group, having retrieved their swords, soon joined Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a, and Head Instructor Hwang. After finding the horses in the stable, they immediately rode towards the village.

“Are you alright?”

Son Bin asked Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a. Sa Suyun looked back at Dang Wol-a, then smiled and replied.

“It wasn’t bad.”

It was as if she had been on a picnic. Son Bin tilted his head, sensing that something had happened, but he was relieved that they seemed safe.

Doo-doo-doo-doo.

“Hey, isn’t it faster to just run?”

Seorin, riding his horse, shouted. But Old Lord shook his head.

“Considering the distance, there’s not much difference. And considering the expenditure of inner energy, it’s better to ride the horse as far as we can.”

“But I want to run like Sword Demon…”

Seorin said enviously, watching the Sword Demon running beside them. She occasionally leaped into the air, never falling behind the galloping horse.

Son Bin, Sa Suyun, and Dang Wol-a, who had anticipated this, didn’t react much. However, Head Instructor Hwang looked at the Sword Demon with a bored expression and shook his head.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

It was night, but the moon was bright and the road was relatively flat, so travel was easy. Head Instructor Hwang also displayed excellent horsemanship, as expected of a stable instructor. But soon after leaving the city, a problem arose.

“They’re following us!”

Seorin suddenly shouted. Old Lord frowned. Son Bin turned his head and clearly saw a group following them from afar.

Seorin, with his excellent night vision, rose from his horse and looked back. It was dangerous, but his posture remained steady.

“Um… That unpleasant old man and that unlucky uncle are at the front. And the warriors in black clothes I saw earlier too.”

The words ‘warriors in black clothes I saw earlier’ were only understood by Old Lord. They referred to the three hidden experts who had been present during Son Bin and his group’s interrogation.

“Is that all?”

At Old Lord’s question, Seorin stretched his neck and looked back, then shrugged.

“There are a lot of other warriors behind them. Their attire looks like the lord’s warriors here.”

“Tsk.”

Old Lord clicked his tongue.

“We can’t go to the village like this, can we?”

If they weren’t careful, they might worsen the situation instead of saving the villagers. If it was just Son Bin and his group, it wouldn’t be a problem, but breaking through their encirclement with the villagers wouldn’t be easy.

“I don’t think we can. I’ll stay behind and stop them. You guys…”

“No.”

It was Dang Wol-a’s voice.

“It’s better to scatter here. Since the lord’s warriors don’t know we’re going to the village yet, some people can lure them away while others save the village.”

At those words, Old Lord frowned.

“We can just smash them all here, right? We don’t even need to leave anyone behind. With just me and Seorin…”

“If Elder blocks them.”

Dang Wol-a explained calmly while riding her horse.

“The problem will become too big. It’s like we’re proving the false charges they’re trying to pin on us.”

Dang Wol-a’s words were accurate. If they confronted the lord’s warriors here, they couldn’t avoid being branded as rebels or members of the Demonic Sect. The lord, unaware of the situation in the village, would see this not as a simple escape but as a rebellion.

“But we can’t avoid fighting them anyway if we want to save the village.”

“It’s different.”

Dang Wol-a replied calmly.

“Attacking the village is General Bahadur’s sole decision. On the other hand, the lord won’t want things to escalate due to his position. If we cross the lord’s territory like this, the lord’s warriors won’t follow us.”

But Old Lord still didn’t understand.

“Does that make sense? Rather…”

“If you punish them here.”

Dang Wol-a cut off Old Lord’s words and said quietly.

“The general will rejoice because it will prove that we are rebels or members of the Demonic Sect. Attacking the village will become a legitimate measure, and he will get everything he wants, thanks to us moving according to his wishes.”

Dang Wol-a’s judgment was accurate. She had grasped all the circumstances from the atmosphere at the interrogation and the conversation Seorin had overheard.

“Shall we do that?”

Sigh.

Old Lord sneered, though not at Dang Wol-a.

“Absolutely not.”

“If they follow us even after the territory warriors drop off, then we can slowly listen to their story. What were they thinking when they committed such an act.”

Dang Wol-a said quietly from behind her veil. That was exactly what Old Lord wanted.

“Good. Let’s do that.”

“Um, I don’t think it’s my place to intervene…”

Head Instructor Hwang, who had been listening, said.

“If we scatter, they’ll chase after the men. So the women knights must save the village.”

Everyone looked puzzled. Head Instructor Hwang continued with an awkward expression.

“Here, women have… uh, that is, no official authority. If they don’t have brothers or husbands, they can’t inherit the family, and they can’t even hold their parents’ funerals.”

Son Bin frowned. The others did too.

“So women’s words are never recognized as official evidence. So if that general’s intention is to make the problem big…”

“He must catch a man.”

Head Instructor Hwang nodded at Son Bin’s words. Sa Suyun sighed, dumbfounded, and Son Bin couldn’t hide his bitter smile.

It was good that Sa Suyun, Dang Wol-a, and the Sword Demon were safe for now, but he didn’t know whether to be relieved or angry.

“Okay. Then let’s scatter.”

Sa Suyun said firmly.

“Can you find us after it’s over?”

Old Lord’s concern was natural, given that they were in unfamiliar territory. But Sa Suyun replied without hesitation.

“Yes. No problem.”

Dang Wol-a also nodded lightly. Old Lord chuckled. For them, tracking traces from one night ago was easy.

“Let’s make sure anyway. If you get out of here and pass one more territory to the northwest, there’s a very large territory. It’s the area that these guys call the rebels.”

Old Lord smiled. It was one of the discoveries he and Head Instructor Hwang had made during their wanderings. In that place, neither the lord nor the general of the empire could exert their power.

“It’s quite far, so you’ll have to hurry. Let’s meet in the largest city in that territory.”

The reason for mentioning the largest city was that even if a stranger hid there, they wouldn’t be easily discovered.

“Rather than that, let’s go to the city where the lord’s palace is.”

Head Instructor Hwang, listening from the side, intervened.

“Because the largest city can sometimes be ambiguous.”

Son Bin nodded. The group decided to follow Head Instructor Hwang’s suggestion.

“I understand. Then…”

Son Bin was about to say let’s scatter.

Whoosh.

The Sword Demon, who had been silently running beside the horse, flew into the air and landed next to Old Lord and Son Bin.

Son Bin knew why she was coming. It was her way of saying she wanted to go with him.

“Sword Demon.”

Son Bin called, but she didn’t react. Even with the loud hooves, she couldn’t have missed his voice, meaning she was choosing not to listen.

Because she knew what he was going to say.

“Sword Demon.”

Son Bin called again. She turned her head. Looking into her expressionless eyes, he said seriously.

“Please save the children.”

Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a might be enough, but Son Bin wanted even one more person to help save the village.

Despite his request, her expression didn’t change. But he continued to look into her eyes.

Ttak, ttak.

After a moment, she blinked and flew over to Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a.

Son Bin sighed in relief.

“Be careful.”

Sa Suyun said, looking at him. Her beautiful eyes shone like stars.

“Yes. Sa Suyun, please be careful too. And I entrust the children to you.”

Sa Suyun nodded. At that moment, Dang Wol-a’s voice was heard.

“Certainly.”

Dang Wol-a said, looking at Son Bin.

“Please ask him why he broke his promise.”

“…I understand.”

After a moment of silence, Son Bin nodded seriously. Dang Wol-a seemed satisfied and was about to turn away.

“Wol-a.”

His voice stopped her. Looking straight at her, he said.

“I’m sorry. No… thank you.”

Dang Wol-a didn’t say anything, but Sa Suyun could tell how much that one word meant to her.

“…Yes.”

Dang Wol-a, barely audible, turned her head.

And Son Bin and his group slowly began to scatter.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

The horses ridden by Sa Suyun and Dang Wol-a moved away. As Head Instructor Hwang had predicted, General Bahadur’s pursuit team chased after Son Bin without hesitation, not even dividing their forces.

‘Please.’

Watching Sa Suyun, Dang Wol-a, and the Sword Demon leave, Son Bin prayed for their safety.

Then, he turned to face General Bahadur’s pursuit team. He couldn’t identify them like Seorin, but he could feel their malice.

(Author’s words)

Dang Wol-a, a woman of schemes and grudges, and the Sword Demon, who is weak in staring contests.

The title Dispersion suddenly brings back nightmares of statistics… .