A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 425

425. End of the Voyage

Ilsim Martial Arts Center had been based in Gamju for a long time. It didn’t explicitly pledge allegiance to any particular faction, but it also avoided open conflict. In essence, it was a typical local martial arts center. While relatively large in Gamju, the intense competition prevented it from ever dominating the region. Ilsim Martial Arts Center primarily defended its territory and interests by leveraging its advantageous location.

“How is it? Are they here yet? Is the Hyeokryun Clan coming?”

Moo Ilsim, the head of Ilsim Martial Arts Center, frowned. With his long beard and thick eyebrows, he cultivated the image of a dignified martial artist, but this was largely a facade.

“Yes, Head. We received word that they will arrive on the appointed date.”

At the chief manager’s confirmation, the head nodded, appearing satisfied.

“Of course, they should. No matter how powerful the Hyeokryun Clan is, they can’t afford to ignore us in Gamju.”

The chief manager offered a wry smile at the head’s somewhat arrogant statement. Gamju, their base of operations, was a region contested by the Namgoong Clan and the Hyeokryun Clan. Ilsim Martial Arts Center walked a tightrope between them. Neither clan would risk open warfare over a single martial arts center, allowing Ilsim Martial Arts Center to maintain a safe distance while protecting its own interests.

“But is this wise? Ordering the Hyeokryun Clan around like this seems excessive… Moreover, Hyeokryun Sehwa [a prominent female member of the Hyeokryun Clan] is said to be the adopted daughter of the retired Hyeokryun Gong [a high-ranking member] and a rising star within the clan…”

Tightrope walking is inherently precarious, especially when openly provoking one of the parties involved. If anything went wrong, Ilsim Martial Arts Center could be crushed instantly.

“That’s precisely why we’re doing this. And this is exactly the right amount of pressure.”

The head chuckled, addressing the chief manager. Noticing the chief manager’s confusion, the head clicked his tongue.

“Don’t you realize that our Ilsim Martial Arts Center, indeed, all of Gamju, stands at a critical juncture? Our actions now will determine whether Ilsim Martial Arts Center takes a significant leap forward or remains just another mediocre martial arts center.”

The chief manager remained perplexed by the head’s words, which only deepened his unease.

“Shouldn’t we be even more cautious, then?”

“Tsk.”

The head openly clicked his tongue.

“That’s why you’ve never distinguished yourself. Without strength, one must possess keen insight to seize opportunities.”

“I-insight?”

The chief manager, recently concerned about his worsening presbyopia [age-related farsightedness], repeated the word. The head clicked his tongue again, looking down at the chief manager with pity.

“Vision, I mean vision. How can this martial arts center prosper if its chief manager lacks the foresight to recognize emerging trends? For someone like you to hold the position of chief manager at Ilsim Martial Arts Center… tsk.”

The head made no attempt to conceal his displeasure. The chief manager refrained from further questions, bowing his head in apology. In truth, he understood little of what the head was saying, nor did he particularly care to. Regardless of the absurd schemes brewing in the head’s self-important mind, nothing would likely change.

“Um, but…”

“What is it?”

At the head’s curt response, the chief manager cautiously continued.

“Due to the recent heavy rains, rivers and streams have flooded in many areas. Perhaps we should send someone from our side to meet them, as the roads may be impassable.”

It was the rainy season, and widespread road closures were causing significant travel disruptions. Sending someone familiar with the local terrain to greet them in advance would be a gesture of courtesy and consideration, especially given the esteemed status of the Hyeokryun Clan.

“Meet them? What do you mean, meet them?”

The head scoffed.

“The great Hyeokryun Clan is perfectly capable of handling such matters themselves. Surely, they won’t break their word over a little rain? You needn’t worry. Besides, that’s precisely why I chose this date.”

The chief manager found himself even more confused. Was the head deliberately trying to inconvenience the Hyeokryun Clan? Was he planning to exploit their delayed arrival to gain leverage in the negotiations?

“I… what do you mean by that…?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The head stated firmly.

“Instructor Jang and I will handle the Hyeokryun Clan. You simply need to be aware of that. Now, go attend to your duties.”

Instructor Jang was Head Moo Ilsim’s sworn brother, a skilled martial artist highly trusted by the head, but lacking in negotiation skills and diplomatic finesse. The chief manager dared not press the matter further, as the head had already turned away, signaling his unwillingness to discuss it. The chief manager bowed and left the room. Watching the chief manager’s retreating figure, Head Moo Ilsim clicked his tongue in disdain.

“Tsk, tsk, how can we achieve great things together when the chief manager is so dense?”

Shaking his head, he swept his sleeves and headed toward his inner chamber. His unpleasant mood was fleeting, soon replaced by a sly smile.

‘The overlord of Gamju… The more I consider it, the more appealing it becomes.’

Those who fail to recognize emerging trends will be left behind. But those who seize the opportunity can rise to prominence in an instant, especially during such turbulent times in the Murim [martial arts world].

Head Moo Ilsim entered his inner chamber, his heart filled with anticipation. He felt as though the prestigious title he had long coveted was already within his grasp.

***

The warship carrying Son Bin and his party sliced through the sea with unwavering determination. No other vessel dared to impede the progress of the large, imposing warship visible from afar.

“We are not pirates,” Sarasvati declared with an elegant smile. But No Gun merely pouted.

“What do you mean, you’re not? Then why is that merchant ship suddenly changing course and fleeing as soon as it spots us?”

“I wonder?” Sarasvati lightly flipped her hair. Despite the strong sea breeze, her hair remained remarkably undisturbed. It was an impressive feat.

“That’s their problem. Should we stop every ship we encounter and explain that we’re not pirates?”

Sarasvati’s demeanor exuded composure. Even on deck, dressed in an unfamiliar outfit instead of her usual sari, she looked nothing like a sailor.

“Who said you should? Besides, once you stop them, you won’t simply let them go. Forcibly stopping a ship and taking their goods is precisely what pirates do, isn’t it?”

At his words, Sarasvati smiled.

“But doesn’t the Imperial Navy do the same thing?”

No Gun flinched. Sarasvati continued in her refined tone.

“They also forcibly stop ships, inspect people and cargo, and collect tolls. Doesn’t seem all that different, does it?”

While No Gun frowned, feeling as though he’d been subtly rebuked, Seo Rin, who was listening from behind, muttered.

“Oh, that’s right.”

“No, it’s not,” Son Bin quickly interjected, eager to correct Seo Rin’s potentially misguided understanding.

“The taxes collected by the government are used for essential public services, such as the army that protects the country and the maintenance of rivers and streams.”

“Ah, I see.” Seo Rin nodded. Son Bin sighed in relief, but Sarasvati, standing behind him, said in admiration.

“Ah, is that so?”

Son Bin offered a wry smile. There was no way Sarasvati, a former empress, was unaware of this; she was simply teasing him.

“Then we should only use it for things that are essential to protect the safety of this sea area.”

At Sarasvati’s words, No Gun frowned.

“You’re just saying you’re going to pocket it all.”

“Is that how it sounds?” Sarasvati shrugged, feigning ignorance. No Gun clicked his tongue.

“Did you become more thick-skinned after giving up the empress’s seat? Or are you simply old enough to be so brazen?”

Sarasvati’s eyes twitched, but she maintained her elegant smile as she replied.

“Why are you suddenly bringing up age? And those words…”

Sarasvati paused, tilting her head back.

“What was it?”

“Personal attack,” the maid standing behind Sarasvati said politely, bowing her head with a blank expression.

“That’s right. Personal attack. This word is a bit difficult.” She practiced the word as if muttering to herself. No Gun smiled wryly at the sight, but Son Bin smiled contentedly instead. The reason No Gun could argue with her was because Sarasvati had lost the power of a god. Her fatal charm, which had silenced even No Gun, had disappeared, but Son Bin thought that the current state was more natural and better. As Son Bin was smiling contentedly, Sarasvati, who was muttering the word to herself, looked at Son Bin and smiled.

“Ahem.” Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Son Bin coughed and averted his gaze. Splash. The waves crashed against the bow of the small warship following behind. The ship sailing now wasn’t just the warship that Son Bin and his party were on. Just like a merchant ship had an escort ship attached, two small, fast warships were escorting the large warship.

“Do you like them, Young Master Son?” Sarasvati, who had approached him, asked. She no longer called Son Bin ‘Raja.’ Whether she had heard Sa Soo-yeon and Dang Wol-ah calling him that, or whether the expressionless maid had told her, Son Bin was secretly relieved.

“Ah, yes. I don’t know much about ships, but it’s really amazing.”

It was definitely amazing. Not only the two small warships, but also the ship he was currently on was truly overwhelming.

“How did you get such a ship?” Dang Wol-ah suddenly asked from the side. Sarasvati replied as if it were nothing.

“Because this ship was the biggest. And the newest.”

Son Bin smiled wryly. Perhaps the ‘how’ that Dang Wol-ah had asked wasn’t meant in that way. Besides, to take an imperial warship just because it was the biggest, she really had a different way of thinking, as expected of a woman who had been an empress. On the other hand, he also wondered if the empire was okay with losing warships in this way. Hwang Bang-ju, who was standing next to him, also said in admiration.

“Wow, if you have five such big ships, it must be a lot of work to maintain them?”

The Sarasvati’s warships that the group had seen were five in total. Two medium-sized warships that had surrounded the merchant ship, two small escort ships that were visible now, and this large warship. Just the maintenance and management alone would be a lot of work. Considering that even owning one large merchant ship was considered a large merchant group, it was amazing.

“There are more.”

“Yes?” Hwang Bang-ju asked back with wide eyes. Son Bin also turned around with a surprised expression, and Sarasvati smiled and explained to Son Bin.

“The warship used as the command ship is just this one, but there are two medium-sized ones and four small ones. There are also three large ships carrying supplies and people, and four medium-sized merchant ships that were taken from pirates.”

Son Bin clicked his tongue. He didn’t know much about ships, but this was a huge fleet, or rather, a flotilla. Of course, it couldn’t be compared to the navy of the empire or the Central Plains imperial family, but the military power that Sarasvati could possess as an individual was by no means small.

“Did you only take merchant ships from the pirates?” No Gun, who was next to him, interjected.

“There were many other ships, but they were useless, so I sank them all. I released all the people who were captured.”

“What about the pirates?”

“I just let them go. Of course, I took everything they had.”

No Gun clicked his tongue.

“Then they’ll come back someday, won’t they? They’re not the kind of guys who won’t do piracy just because they don’t have a ship…”

“I didn’t come here to wipe out the pirates anyway. And we’ll be ruling this sea area from now on, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You’re declaring that you’re going to do piracy outright.”

“Piracy?” Sarasvati sighed softly.

“Strictly speaking, we can be considered an independent country. We have territorial waters, the power to protect ourselves, and the people who follow us, and the ‘Raja’ who rules them.”

Son Bin didn’t want to ask who that ‘Raja’ was. If it was Sarasvati herself, she would have said ‘Rani’ [the female equivalent of Raja].

“Is that so? If you do well, a pirate nation might be born.”

Seeing Sarasvati’s eyes slightly raised at No Gun’s words, Son Bin quickly tried to change the subject.

“Um, but can we go into Gwangju like this? I don’t think we can with this ship…”

This ship was originally a warship. Moreover, it didn’t belong to anyone. If they sailed to Gwangju like this, there would definitely be a huge problem. But Sarasvati smiled.

“The preparations are already complete. A small merchant ship will arrive tonight. If you take that, you can arrive in Gwangju tomorrow morning.”

Son Bin nodded. If it was a small merchant ship, as she said, there would be no problem entering Gwangju. But Hwang Bang-ju, who was next to him, had an uneasy expression.

“Um, will there be any problems with the imperial navy? If it looks like we’re going to get caught, we need to prepare…”

Surprisingly, Hwang Bang-ju didn’t seem to know much about maritime trade. No Gun answered at those words.

“It’s not like they built a Great Wall on the sea, so why would we get caught? Unless someone snitches in advance, we’ll never get caught. Why would smuggling be so rampant?”

There was no way to monitor the long coastline and the vast sea. Even the powerful imperial navy could only protect important strategic locations and rely on tips or investigations to uncover smuggling.

“If you need cannons, please tell me.”

Sarasvati said as if she had suddenly remembered.

“I brought quite a lot of gunpowder and cannons. Or we can go closer to the coast and shoot them directly. If this warship opens all its gunports, it can turn any coastal city into a flatland overnight.”

Not only Son Bin but even No Gun was speechless. It was understandable that she had brought gunpowder since Tenjiku [an ancient name for India] was originally a gunpowder producing area, but actually shooting it was by no means a common sense action.

“Do you think you’ll be okay after doing that? Will the imperial navy just stand by?”

No Gun said in excitement, but Sarasvati continued as if it were natural.

“We can just run away. The sea is wide and there are many places to hide. Ah, but three times would be the limit. The security will be too tight.”

Son Bin was dumbfounded. No Gun also smiled wryly and said.

“This is not a joke, is it?”

“A joke?” Sarasvati frowned slightly with her beautiful eyebrows.

“I’m always serious.”

Perhaps because she was the empress of the empire, or perhaps because she was a god, Son Bin thought once again that her thoughts and actions were really different. So different that it was a problem.

Splash.

The waves crashed against the bow and the sails filled with wind made a sound. The coastline was not yet visible, but Gwangju was now just around the corner. After a long voyage, they were finally returning to the beloved Seowon [private Confucian academy].

No one spoke. Not only No Gun, but also Seo Rin and Hwang Bang-ju, Sa Soo-yeon and Dang Wol-ah, and even Hyeolbong, Geum Sa-ryeon, and Gwi Gyeon-su were silently looking at the sea. But everyone’s heart was pounding the same.

(Author’s words)

Sarasvati: If you just say the word, I’ll shoot the cannons directly. Of course, I’ll charge you for it.