A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 427

427. Trust in the Murim Doesn’t Exist

With twenty-odd guards, Hyeonryeon Sehwa set out for the Ilsim Martial Arts Center in Gamju. However, as soon as she left the Hyeonryeon Clan, rain began to pour.

Swish.

The distance from the Hyeonryeon Clan to Gamju was considerable. The downpour quickly turned the road into a muddy mess, eventually making travel impossible. The group was forced to halt. They waited for three days at an inn along the way, but the rain didn’t stop. Eventually, Hyeonryeon Sehwa and the twenty or so warriors of the clan had to press on when the rain subsided slightly.

Clack, clack.

Looking out of the carriage at the torrential rain, Hyeonryeon Sehwa couldn’t shake her worries. Although the rain didn’t reach inside the carriage, the clan’s warriors on horseback had to endure the elements with only rough raincoats. Even though they were warriors of the Hyeonryeon Clan, she couldn’t help but be concerned. The carriage wheels bounced uneasily. The road conditions were terrible due to the continuous rain. Normally, one shouldn’t travel in such conditions. However, the affairs of the Murim [martial arts world] don’t consider anyone’s circumstances. If Hyeonryeon Sehwa arrived late and the other party used it as an excuse to act difficult, she would be in a more precarious situation than simply traveling in the rain. Therefore, Hyeonryeon Sehwa had no choice but to urge them on, even knowing the warriors’ difficulties. Fortunately, the loyal and excellent warriors of the clan silently carried out her orders. Hyeonryeon Sehwa also steeled herself, ready to don a raincoat and ride a horse at any time if there was a problem with the carriage.

“Deputy Clan Leader.”

A warrior’s voice was heard from outside the carriage. Hyeonryeon Sehwa immediately signaled for the carriage to stop and pulled back the curtain.

Swish.

The rain poured in, but Hyeonryeon Sehwa didn’t care. A clan warrior on horseback, wearing a raincoat, spoke to Hyeonryeon Sehwa with determined eyes.

“According to the scout’s report, the large river ahead has flooded, cutting off the road.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s face darkened. However, she soon said in a firm voice.

“I understand. Let’s go there and assess the situation.”

The clan warrior nodded and galloped forward through the rain. The carriage carrying Hyeonryeon Sehwa also began to move again. Hyeonryeon Sehwa suddenly raised her head and looked up at the sky. Heavy rain was pouring from the heavily clouded sky. There was no sign of the rain stopping. Hyeonryeon Sehwa sighed softly and muttered.

“The Inner Hall’s Deputy Clan Leader…”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s official title was currently the Deputy Clan Leader of the Inner Hall. She had received it rather suddenly a few days before departing from the Hyeonryeon Clan. Even though there were several Deputy Clan Leaders in the Inner Hall depending on the task, it was a truly exceptional position considering Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s age. However, none of the clan’s elders opposed it. Based on Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s lineage alone, she was already qualified to be the Clan Leader.

‘What should I say, it’s a typical problem of the clan… And yet, I’m benefiting from it.’

In the clan, lineage takes precedence over ability or experience. Just look at the enormous discrimination between direct and collateral lines. It can be said to be a structural contradiction of the old clan system, but it would have been absolutely impossible if Hyeonryeon Sehwa had not gained the trust of the clan elders. In fact, even that trust wouldn’t have been so strong if it weren’t for the previous Sword Master, Hyeonryeon Wi, and her adoptive father, Hyeonryeon Gong.

‘Is the first task as Deputy Clan Leader being like this a sign that the future won’t be smooth?’

Hyeonryeon Sehwa smiled bitterly, dismissing it as a foolish thought. And she quietly closed the carriage curtain.

Rustle.

A cold chill filled the carriage. Hyeonryeon Sehwa, shivering slightly, hoped that there would be a way to cross the flooded river.

***

The muddy river’s current was strong. Eventually, Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s group was stranded at an inn near the river, waiting for the weather to clear or for a way to cross the river to appear.

Clunk.

“Deputy Clan Leader.”

A clan warrior opened the door and rushed to Hyeonryeon Sehwa. He bowed respectfully and said with shining eyes.

“We have found a way to cross the river.”

“Really?”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s eyes also sparkled. If it was now, they could barely keep the promised date. The warrior nodded and continued.

“Yes. A ferryman in this area says he can launch a boat. However, the boat is small and the current is strong, so the limit is five people, and even that will be impossible unless the rain subsides. Besides, the fare is three times higher…”

“It’s okay.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s answer was already decided.

“First, I and four others will cross over together. And the others should follow as soon as the road opens.”

The warrior bowed his head and accepted her order.

“Ah, and.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa suddenly recalled the letter Namgung Hyang had sent last time. In that letter, Namgung Hyang was clearly warning about the Ilsim Martial Arts Center. Although there was no specific mention, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

“Even if it’s a bit much, please follow as quickly as possible. If necessary, you can request support from the clan.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

The loyal clan warrior’s eyes shone with a determined expression. Hyeonryeon Sehwa was relieved that there was a way to cross the river and got up from her seat.

Swish.

The flooded river was sending out a tremendous current. In the drizzling rain, Hyeonryeon Sehwa, relying on a single raincoat, met the ferryman with the other warriors. Crossing the flooded river in a small boat was a life-threatening task. However, the middle-aged ferryman claimed to have lived with this river all his life and was confident in crossing. Hyeonryeon Sehwa decided to trust his words. Otherwise, it would be impossible to go to the Ilsim Martial Arts Center in time. The ferryman succeeded in crossing the river as he said. Although there was a danger of the boat capsizing in the middle, Hyeonryeon Sehwa and the four clan warriors were able to reach the other side of the river safely.

“Thank you.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa thanked the ferryman directly.

“Can you take the remaining group across?”

The ferryman, who was looking at the river, shook his head. In the meantime, the rain had become heavier again, and the current had become rougher. Seeing him pulling the boat up, saying that he couldn’t even cross himself now, Hyeonryeon Sehwa had no choice but to give up. Swish. Hyeonryeon Sehwa and the four warriors headed to a nearby inn through the pouring rain. As they entered the inn, they saw some people sitting there who were also stranded, though in the opposite direction. Perhaps because of the continued rain, there were very few people in the inn. Most of them had probably given up their journey and returned.

“We need to find horses or a carriage.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa said, taking off her raincoat, which was dripping with rainwater. They needed to find horses or a carriage as soon as possible and hurry on their way. Even if they had to pay several times the price. It was just then that Hyeonryeon Sehwa was looking around the inn, trying to find someone with horses or a carriage.

“Excuse me.”

Someone spoke to Hyeonryeon Sehwa. When Hyeonryeon Sehwa turned her head, she saw a sturdy young man dressed as a warrior. When the Hyeonryeon Clan warriors glared at him with sharp eyes, he said with a flustered expression.

“Ah, I’m definitely not a suspicious person. I was just wondering if you were from the Hyeonryeon Clan…”

Since they were wearing clothes with the Hyeonryeon Clan’s crest, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize them. Hyeonryeon Sehwa said in a businesslike tone.

“That’s right, but why are you asking?”

“I see.”

He smiled brightly and quickly clasped his hands and bowed.

“I am from the Ilsim Martial Arts Center. The head of the center was worried that the heavy rain would block the road, so he sent us to welcome you.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s eyes lit up at those words. If what he said was true, it was welcome news.

“Ah, you’re from the Ilsim Martial Arts Center.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa also bowed to him in return.

“We were in trouble anyway. Thank you so much for coming to meet us like this.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Actually, I was worried if you would be able to cross the river, but I’m glad to see you safely. Come on, let’s go over there.”

The people from the Ilsim Martial Arts Center were sitting on one side of the inn. When they found Hyeonryeon Sehwa and the clan warriors, they immediately stood up and bowed, and Hyeonryeon Sehwa greeted them one by one. In particular, the chief instructor of the Ilsim Martial Arts Center, ‘Instructor Jang,’ was an important figure who appeared in the records Hyeonryeon Sehwa had reviewed, although his impression wasn’t very good.

“Excuse me, but can we leave right away?”

Instructor Jang laughed heartily at Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s words.

“Hahaha. You don’t have to rush so much. We’ll take care of you from here. First, get some rest. Everyone must be very tired from coming through this rain.”

As a matter of fact, everyone was exhausted. They had forced their way through the journey in bad weather, and their clothes were completely soaked from crossing the river in the rain a little while ago. Even the trained clan warriors were like that, not to mention Hyeonryeon Sehwa, who didn’t have very high martial arts skills. Just in time, warm tea and simple food were served. It was so welcome for those who were cold and tired. Besides, since they said, ‘We’ll take care of you from here,’ it was safe to say that the Ilsim Martial Arts Center wouldn’t find fault with the schedule.

“I understand. Then I will gratefully accept your kindness.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa held the warm teacup in both hands. Then Instructor Jang said cautiously.

“Ah, now that I think about it, we didn’t prepare clothes for you to change into. What a mistake…”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa, who was holding the teacup, smiled softly. In fact, she wanted to change her clothes right away, but she couldn’t stay here for long.

“It’s okay. They’ll dry soon.”

“Then how about some warm wine? The head of the center specially prepared it for the guests, and it will warm you up quickly.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa, who was raising her teacup, shook her head.

“I will refrain from drinking as I have important business ahead.”

“Is that so? That’s a bit of a shame. This wine is very special.”

Regardless of Instructor Jang’s regretful voice, Hyeonryeon Sehwa slowly brought the tea to her lips. A unique and soft fragrance spread in her mouth, and the hot tea stimulated her cold throat as it passed. Soon, feeling the subtly spreading warmth, Hyeonryeon Sehwa let out a soft sigh of relief.

Clink.

Meanwhile, Instructor Jang took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms and placed it on the table.

“This is it, you see, this is a very hard wine to get. What was it? They say it’s made by soaking a flower that blooms only once every hundred days in alcohol and aging it for a thousand days.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa wasn’t very interested, but Instructor Jang continued without caring.

“This wine is very unique; it doesn’t have a strong taste or smell even after aging for a thousand days. Rather, it’s very subtle and soft. Other than slightly stimulating the throat, it doesn’t really feel like anything.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa listened to his words while drinking the slightly hot tea. It seemed that it was definitely a very precious wine as he said. A proper wine couldn’t be made without careful management for a long time of a thousand days.

“So even women drink it lightly, but it’s a big deal if you make a mistake. If you know it, it’s a very strong wine. I once drank the whole bottle bravely and slept for fifteen days without moving. With this small bottle, haha.”

Instructor Jang, who was laughing, said to Hyeonryeon Sehwa.

“How is it? Miss, you are from the Hyeonryeon Clan, so you must have high internal energy [cultivation], wouldn’t it be okay to have a light drink?”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa smiled bitterly.

“I’m sorry, but we…”

Whirr. Suddenly, Hyeonryeon Sehwa felt dizzy and couldn’t continue speaking. She felt a hot flush inside, and her face turned red.

Thud.

Hyeonryeon Sehwa grabbed the table without realizing it. Because of that, the small porcelain bottle on the table shook as if it would fall over.

“Oh, you have to be careful. Didn’t I tell you it was precious?”

Instructor Jang said, holding the porcelain bottle. He must have clearly seen Hyeonryeon Sehwa staggering, but he only cared about the small porcelain bottle, not worrying about her.

“I don’t know if this is okay. I wonder if it’s broken…”

Instructor Jang opened the bottle cap, worrying about the porcelain bottle that hadn’t even fallen over. As if to prove that it was a long-aged wine, a subtle scent spread all around in an instant. At that moment, Hyeonryeon Sehwa realized that the scent was already familiar.

‘This is!’

It was the same scent that came from the hot tea she had just drunk.

“Huh? Where did it all go?”

Instructor Jang said, looking at the porcelain bottle with a puzzled expression. He tilted and shook the bottle upside down as if to confirm his words. But only the unique subtle scent came out, and not a single drop of the wine he had mentioned came out.

“Ah, look at my mind.”

Instructor Jang said as if he had just remembered. Hyeonryeon Sehwa bit her lip and tried to regain her senses, but her vision was already blurry.

“Now that I see it, I gave it all to the Hyeonryeon Clan people. I put it generously in the tea you just drank.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a dull sound was heard from the side. Hyeonryeon Sehwa turned her head. Through the blurry vision, she saw the clan warriors collapsing. Thud. The trained clan warriors were collapsing powerlessly. Hyeonryeon Sehwa couldn’t believe it. No matter how special the wine was, there was no way the Hyeonryeon Clan warriors would be defeated so helplessly. Instructor Jang said in a cold tone, watching the Hyeonryeon Clan warriors collapsing.

“Even if you’re from a clan, you can’t do anything in front of poison. Tie them up.”

At those words, the people of the Ilsim Martial Arts Center stood up all at once and began to subdue the Hyeonryeon Clan warriors. The mouths of the clan warriors, who had already lost consciousness, were gagged, and their hands and feet were tied with thick ropes. Only then did Hyeonryeon Sehwa realize that the other people in the inn were also in cahoots with the Ilsim Martial Arts Center. There was a reason why there were so few people.

“Don’t worry about these people.”

Instructor Jang’s voice was heard in Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s ear.

“It’s just a powerful paralytic, not a deadly poison. In fact, the Hyeonryeon Clan’s reputation is so great that I wouldn’t be relieved with just this, you know?”

Instructor Jang continued, shaking the small porcelain bottle. In other words, the clan warriors were paralyzed by the paralytic.

“Of course, I didn’t use poison on you, Miss. We know very well that your martial arts skills aren’t great. But I never thought you would look so attractive when you’re drunk? Hahaha.”

Meanwhile, all the Hyeonryeon Clan warriors were tied up, and the person sitting next to Instructor Jang gestured meaningfully outside. Instructor Jang nodded.

“Take care of the ferryman too.”

The warrior nodded and immediately went outside. Instructor Jang turned to Hyeonryeon Sehwa and smiled.

“When I think about it, even that stuffy Chief Manager sometimes says something useful, like we have to go out to meet them, or we have to be careful at times like this. It’s presumptuous meddling, but when I think about it, it’s all right.”

“W, why…”

Instructor Jang frowned at Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s trembling voice.

“Why?”

Instructor Jang clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“That’s why big clans can’t do it? They don’t even know what they’ve done to us so far. No, did you think we’d like being bossed around and told us what to do? Did you think we had no pride?”

Instructor Jang, who had dropped the honorifics, said as if scolding in a sarcastic tone. Hyeonryeon Sehwa gritted her teeth and barely spat out the words.

“E, even if you do this…”

“Hmph, stop worrying about us and worry about yourself.”

Instructor Jang said with a sneer.

“How do you feel about being defeated by us, who you always looked down on? Ah, can’t you speak properly now? Your tongue must be starting to twist already.”

‘Ugh.’

Hyeonryeon Sehwa tried to regain her senses somehow. But the intoxication that had already spread throughout her body was not something she could control.

“W, we…”

“What are you going to do? Well, what should I do? I didn’t really have any thoughts, but now that I have a woman in my hands who is flushed with intoxication, I feel a little different…”

Instructor Jang licked his lips. The heat rising in his eyes was clearly lust.

“Why don’t I take this opportunity to experience the noble woman of the Hyeonryeon Clan? You’re not a virgin anyway, are you? You must have already played around enough with the flattery and sweet talk of the men around you. Isn’t that right?”

She didn’t have the strength to answer his lewd remarks. Hyeonryeon Sehwa bit her lip until it bled, but she couldn’t even balance her body properly now.

“Oh, my. If you don’t say no, does that mean it’s true? This is disappointing, even though you look so docile on the outside.”

Instructor Jang shook his head, pretending to click his tongue. But a bitter smile didn’t leave his lips.

“Ah, am I going to become the son-in-law of the Hyeonryeon Clan? To save the precious daughter of the clan who has become cold in the pouring rain, with the bond of warming her with this one body. Euhahahaha.”

Hyeonryeon Sehwa tried to get up. But she couldn’t put any strength into her body.

Thud.

Hyeonryeon Sehwa, who was trying to stand up somehow, lost her balance and grabbed the table with her hand. Instructor Jang, who was watching her with a sneer, shone his greedy eyes. Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s clothes, which were wet with rain and stuck to her body, revealed her feminine curves. Besides, because Hyeonryeon Sehwa was leaning on the table and bending over, her beautiful face was close enough to reach with just a hand.

“Huhu. Really, the more I look…”

Swish.

Instructor Jang slowly reached out his hand. It was the moment when Hyeonryeon Sehwa’s red cheek was about to touch his fingertips.

Thwack.

The inn door burst open with a tremendous sound.

(Author’s words)

Door: Why me ㅠㅠ