Chapter 379

Freedom already felt like it had died once.

If it weren’t for Qing, I would’ve either burned to death somewhere amid the Fire Demon’s chaos or been slaughtered by soldiers before that. Seriously, what were the odds of a weak scholar making it out alive from the wild mountains?

Why did this happen?

Freedom gritted his teeth anew.

There’s no way news of a secret mission to seek alliances in Guangxi Province leaked out from the Deokhyeon Royal Family. After all, I really got my act together after that incident in Sichuan.

In the first place, I informed everyone about the secret mission as late as possible before setting out.

So, even if there were still spies hiding in the Deokhyeon Royal Family, there simply wasn’t enough time for the Emperor to mobilize the northern troops for a siege.

However, someone did know about Freedom’s secret mission ahead of time.

It was none other than Prince Suswi of Namnyeong.

Prince Suswi probably reported Freedom’s mission to the Imperial Family, and they seized the opportunity to send out their troops.

Considering the time it takes to mobilize, they likely rushed to inform the troops immediately after receiving the letter, without a moment’s hesitation.

Freedom had clearly written a serious warning in his letter: “The Emperor’s attitude poses a serious danger. I cannot guarantee the safety of the princes!”

But did loyalty towards the Emperor remain?

Or did Prince Suswi think that since Guangxi Province was a barren land with a low population, he wouldn’t be worth bothering with, seeing it as someone else’s problem?

If so, it was time to make it not someone else’s problem.

Freedom was already halfway to being a traitor.

He gathered gunpowder in Sichuan while the Tang Family incessantly churned out stronger explosive shells, poisoned projectiles, shining projectiles, and all that powerful stuff.

But I can’t just sit around and die.

If what the Emperor desires is my death, I can’t just willingly give up my life; I must still raise my defenses to survive.

Dear brother Suswi, why don’t you get a taste of being a traitor?

It’ll be more comfortable than you think.

However, if Prince Suswi is colluding with the Imperial Family, diving blindly into Namnyeong would be dangerous.

Either way, he needed to hide and wait for the royal family’s subordinates to come, or perhaps make all citizens of Namnyeong fully aware of Prince Deokhyeon’s visit, ensuring they wouldn’t act recklessly.

This was why Freedom received a grand welcome from the Sapa gang with his surprise appearance in the new year.

For those in the Central Plain, watching fights between martial artists is like the spice of life, the most enjoyable leisure activity.

Thus, the citizens of Namnyeong, who had been cautiously following behind the Sapa gang, suddenly found themselves greeting Freedom alongside the gang’s warriors.

Thanks to this, news of Freedom’s arrival spread throughout Namnyeong.

After all, it was as if the Sapa folks, who seemed ready to despair, or rather were just a mob, got down on their knees and received blessings, foolishly retreating.

—-

This wasn’t what Freedom intended, but it certainly made a joke out of the Sapa gang.

Yeonbangju Yo Hwan-cheol, facing a giant obstacle in his lifelong ambitions, was full of anxiety.

The leaders of the three combat units couldn’t even remotely stand up to the prince.

Yet, that old man Boyeol, the master of Poison Arts, just kept chuckling, seeming to know something interesting was coming.

“What the heck is this interesting thing? Could you please share?”

“You’ll find out if you just wait. Knowing in advance takes away the fun, you know? Hehe. If I had to give a hint, it would be something along the lines of: It’s dangerous when a poisonous snake quietly slithers onto the bed,” he said.

The expressions of the loyal followers soured immediately.

They were itching to talk and couldn’t stand the suspense when he had basically revealed everything already.

The dangerous poisonous snake that should have slipped quietly into bed was currently enjoying a hot springs bath while hiding its fangs.

And it plans to keep on enjoying itself, using the excuse of recovering from injuries for tomorrow and the day after as well.

Swoosh.

—-

“Why is that brat Deokhyeon doing this!”

A man with drooping eyebrows, giving off a particularly weak impression, fumed in frustration.

Physiognomy is about statistics.

Knowing that a person’s face gradually solidifies the expressions it often makes, one could easily guess that Prince Suswi’s personality is originally timid and weak without needing to be a physiognomist.

That’s why he was already out of favor with the former emperor.

“If you’re going to die, die alone without dragging me in!”

“Your Majesty, you must make a bold decision.”

A man beside him was the Prefectural Governor of Guangxi Province.

Prefectural Governors are originally the highest authority in a single province.

But in a province ruled by a prince, they’re nothing but puppets who need permission to do even the simplest tasks.

So, the Prefectural Governor, stripped of authority in Guangxi, was instead saying, “This is even better! Puppets at the top are great!”

That’s the consensus among most governors.

They don’t have any responsibilities or duties while enjoying a hefty salary and just have to greet the prince and act as advisors.

“Bold decision? What do you mean?”

“If the Rebel King held a banquet for Liu Bang, and if the strategies of Fan Zeng were correct, the ruler of the world would’ve changed hands.”

This referred to how the Rebel King, Xiang Yu, invited Liu Bang for a banquet with the intent of killing him.

But Liu Bang, catching on to the plan, exaggeratedly flattered Xiang Yu, saying, “Brother! Your younger brother has come! Your most revered younger brother is here! What can I do for you? Just say it, even a woman is fine! Oh look, there’s dust on your shoes; let me lick it clean!”

Thus, Xiang Yu thought to himself, “I can’t kill a pathetic flatterer like him. What will the world think of me if I do?” And so he let him go.

The intense back-and-forth between loyal subjects, sword dances, and wary glances has been a highlight of historical tales.

In the romance of the Three Kingdoms, this scene shares a similar position with the famous “Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.”

The Prefectural Governor’s bold decision was about that scene.

Send for him now that he’s in Namnyeong!

Then just deal with it.

“Hmm, that might be a bit too much.”

“Your Majesty, Prince Deokhyeon has firmly become the Emperor’s opponent. Haven’t you heard that the Fire Demon has approached? The Fire Demon wouldn’t just appear for nothing, you know? You know the Emperor is someone who acts without hesitation.”

His final statement was veiled, but essentially meant, “You know that guy has a notoriously bad temper, right?”

If you get dragged into this, you won’t end up facing just the Fire Demon.

Because of that, shadows appeared over Prince Suswi’s face.

“I just wanted to live quietly.”

What made him venture out to the border of Guangxi in the first place?

To quietly keep his life intact.

If he had known this would happen, he would’ve preferred to head to Yunnan or Qinghai.

But Yunnan and Qinghai were genuinely rural border areas; Guangxi was at least a defined place where people lived.

“Host a banquet and send invitations. But about the invitation…”

At that, Prince Suswi’s brow furrowed deeply.

Must I send an invitation for him to come?

Even though he had informed the Emperor, he couldn’t have imagined that it would lead to the Emperor sending the Fire Demon to kill him!

He simply thought he might be captured midway and receive a warning, or perhaps dragged to Beijing to live a life in captivity.

But now, he hadn’t even shown his face once to his brother.

Not even a letter asking for news.

This despicable situation only fueled his resentment toward Prince Deokhyeon.

Thus, an invitation flew to Prince Deokhyeon.

“Sorry, can’t attend due to a wine bottle. Hehe, my bad.”

And the response returned was Freedom’s reply.

It had elaborate and polite wording, but to summarize, it boiled down to one line.

That brat!

Prince Suswi’s face twisted in despair.

—-

Moon Jeong-yeok secretly sought out Jo Kwang-ang.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be unbeatable in strategy, right?”

“Hmph. What? Are there still mosquitoes flying around in this winter?”

Jo Kwang-ang pretended not to hear.

Moon Jeong-yeok frowned and spoke again.

“Hey, Jo Kwang-ang.”

“What is it?”

“Are you really being petty about this? Not accepting the result?”

The wager had been won by Moon Jeong-yeok, the Number One Sword in Fuzhou.

Several days had passed since then, and the Gye-rim Sword Faction no longer needed to position warriors at every entrance.

The soldiers from Guangxi were taking their place.

If it were a fake prince, the soldiers wouldn’t need to guard the Gye-rim Sword Faction.

“It’s close enough to being real, but it hasn’t been clearly identified as genuine.”

“Why does the strategy say that one should insist on such a silly argument? Sun Tzu, that guy, wasn’t someone great, after all. He was quite the petty man,” Moon Jeong-yeok remarked, casually.

Sun Tzu refers to the great sage revered in China, so they use “Master” to show respect.

“In war, it doesn’t matter—”

“Enough already! What does that beloved strategy say? When you’ve gone through the effort to seize victory, only to have someone else almost swallow it whole?”

“Hmm.”

Jo Kwang-ang recalled the war manuals he’d read.

But war manuals teach how to seize victory just before someone else swallows it, not how to defend against such tricks.

“Hmph, so all these manuals are useless.”

“No, there’s the case of Wu and Yue! Wu and Yue exist!”

At that moment, Jo Kwang-ang suddenly shouted.

The phrase refers to the historic conflict between the state of Wu and the state of Yue, where enemies once joined forces against a common foe.

“The old man Boyeol probably intends to use poisoning as his method. If the poisonous snake slithering quietly is dangerous? But knowing about the poisonous snake makes it completely not scary!”

“So, should we give a warning to the Gye-rim Sword Faction?”

“What’s stopping us? If we send an anonymous letter through someone, who’d know who sent it? Once you prepare against poisoning, it becomes entirely unworrisome.”

That sounded plausible.

But soon after, Moon Jeong-yeok shook his head.

“Thinking about it, is it really necessary to go that far? We’re all family anyway; we could share the merits a little. And even if we prevent the poisoning, the prince will still be around, so it’s not like we have any solutions, right? We might as well just enjoy drinking with my subordinates.”

“What? Aren’t you frustrated? It’s not like I’m assigning tasks to anyone else. If I can’t eat, then no one else should be able to! I can’t let this go.”

Jo Kwang-ang said through gritted teeth.

“Sure, you’re better than that old man Boyeol, I’ll give you that. So, I’ll act like I didn’t hear any of this. I haven’t heard anything. What were we talking about?”

Hearing that, Moon Jeong-yeok inwardly cheered while doing his best to hide his cunning thoughts.

What a simpleton! Just a little nudge and he’s all riled up, he thought.

—-

A deadly poisonous snake had slithered into the Gye-rim Sword Faction!

It even bore the Blood Poison, one of the most notoriously toxic poisons known!

A horrible poison that causes one’s body to decay while still alive.

Therefore, that snake is now enjoying a hot springs bath with the utterly oblivious, innocent Da Sa-jeo.

For ten whole days, mind you.

Now that’s dedication to the routine!

“Big Brother! Aren’t you getting tired of the hot springs? After all, a warrior should be all about the mountains! Mountains must mean Cheongsu Mountain, and Cheongsu Mountain means Namnyeong! We need to stretch those sore muscles!”

“Nah, I’m good. Not tired at all.”

“Oh, is that so…”

Woo Na-ram looked terribly defeated for a moment.

An astonishing sight that would surprise the disciples of the Gye-rim Sword Faction, almost impossible to see otherwise.

“I’m a patient, you see. A patient.”

“Cheongsu Mountain is absolutely fine! The highest peak isn’t even a hundred zhang high, it’s just a small hill! It would definitely help with your recovery!”

“Hmm, I appreciate it, but…”

After sticking around for over ten days, Woo Na-ram simply couldn’t stay still.

He was swimming in the hot springs right now, leaping out to flail about, performing martial arts forms, and then diving back in again like some kind of athlete.

Judging by this spirit, he sure enjoys hiking in the mountains.

Leaving aside the westward mountains with their cloud-covered peaks, he wanted to head to a low hill, likely as a gesture of consideration for Qing’s injuries.

But hiking a low hill was already pushing it.

There’s no reason to seek out low hills in the Central Plain; even Qing’s hometown has gentle slopes with scenic views.

Whether it was simply from idling about for ten days or if it was truly thanks to the hot springs, or maybe due to Qing’s remarkable recovery rate, half the swelling on his side had gone down.

If I just keep this for another two weeks, I’d say I would heal completely.

Just looking at a close distance is enough for letters to be read almost perfectly.

“After about ten days, I should be all better. What did you say? Daemyungsan?”

“You know Daemyungsan! Daemyungsan means Namnyeong! And southward more! To Ilyeongam! You can’t say you visited Namnyeong if you haven’t seen Ilyeongam!”

“Yeah, yeah! Once I’m well, let’s do everything you want, Na-ram.”

Twenty-one official years old, Qing exclaimed.

To which Na-ram, thirty officially, cheerfully replied.

“Yes! Big Brother! Young girl! I’ll be waiting for that moment with bated breath!”

Another day passes, with Qing happy as a clam, returning to the Gye-rim Sword Faction.

Waiting for him in the guest hall was yet another letter from his mentor.

“When on earth will you keep your promise? Do I really need to expose your identity to the world?”

Qing let out a snort in response.

“Go ahead! Do what you want!”

Qing tossed the letter into the fireplace.

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