The next day.
The atmosphere of the Black Tiger Society was as tense as water just about to boil, yet strangely calm.
I seized the opportunity to move toward a place typically reserved for the upper echelons of the society.
“Stop. No one but executives can pass here.”
As I approached, two guards instinctively drew their swords, blocking my path.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
I smiled lightly as I approached the guards.
“Don’t come any closer, you crazy bastard… Huh! Leader!”
“Leader! What brings you here?”
As I got closer, the guards in their red headbands stood straight in surprise.
I’m not a leader. It’s been tough to correct everyone saying that since yesterday.
“I’d like to see my companions inside. Is that okay?”
“Of course! Please, go in!”
The two bandits sheathed their swords and opened the way. It was a good decision to come when the red headbands were on guard.
“For the unity of one party!”
I lightly thumped my left chest with a clenched fist in greeting as I entered.
As I walked a little, the excited voices of the guards who had just opened the way reached my ears.
“The leader greeted me! The leader just acknowledged me!”
“No, it was me who got acknowledged!”
“Unity of one party! The leader will lead us!”
—–
I had arrived at a place where only distinguished guests among the Black Tiger Society’s prisoners were kept.
Of course, the only person worth guarding here was none other than Lady Tang, who had been effortlessly captured by the bandits in Yichang.
“Hey, how’s life?”
I spoke to Lady Tang, who was huddled in a corner behind the bars.
“Why are you here?”
Lady Tang responded with a defeated voice.
Her appearance was like a lady who went out in a new dress only to be caught in a sudden downpour, sitting at a bus stop with a vacant expression.
“Why am I here? I came because I could. Why do you look so down for several days now?”
I had come to rescue her, but she seemed too dejected.
I spoke lightly, but worry filled my expression as I looked at her. Lady Tang glanced at me before lowering her head and speaking.
“…I’m such a damn loser.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Because I can’t do anything right. Everything is just pathetic… Me.”
Lady Tang sighed softly, still holding her head down.
It was true that she had every reason to feel low. From her perspective, recent events must have been a series of misfortunes.
She had been kicked out of the Seong family, abandoned by her mother, insulted and fled by servants, called a leper by those around her, sick in body, and broke.
She was fortunate to meet me, who promised not to worry about escorting her, only to be effortlessly captured by the bandits.
It was understandable for her to feel like nothing was going right and think of herself as a loser.
“That’s just how the world is.”
“Not for Hong Gil-dong.”
Are you also going to compare yourself to Hong Gil-dong?
“Is Hong Gil-dong a hero for no reason?”
“I thought similarly to Hong Gil-dong until I left the Seong family.”
“You?”
“Yeah. I was despised and looked down on like Hong Gil-dong since I was a kid. Everyone around me insulted me, including my mother, that crazy bitch, would throw a drink at me and say, ‘You’re just baggage in my life.’”
“Ha. Is she really your mother?”
I sighed softly, revealing a hint of anger.
What kind of monster does that to their own child? The love of parents is so important when growing up. It’s no wonder she turned out to be a foul-mouthed brat.
Lady Tang glanced at my angry face, then opened her mouth with a heavy expression.
“I wanted to go out into the world too. But with this face… I was scared to leave the Seong family, but I thought things would change once I did. …But what is this? Some become robbers and build nations… I have no money, and I can’t even use martial arts properly. I’m such a loser that I can’t even book a guest room without you. Loser.”
Lady Tang buried her face in her knees, continuing to lament her fate.
I silently listened to her lamenting her life.
“…Why am I such a loser? Why does it have to be me who is so unhappy?”
Tears could be felt in her voice. It’s a tough problem.
She must have felt confident before coming into the world. Growing up in a wealthy family, she had lived without lack and possessed martial arts skills superior to her peers.
Her martial arts prowess must have instilled great confidence in her.
However, the trials she faced as soon as she escaped the confines of the Seong family must have utterly shattered her confidence.
What she has left now is crushed self-esteem, low self-worth, and the arising helplessness.
Some might think she’s just moping around, but to me, it looks like her first challenge as an adult.
This is the growing pain one experiences as an adult.
‘It reminds me of my 20s.’
At 20, I recall a day sitting with a can of beer and looking up at the moon, lamenting life.
The pain and trials I felt when I had just reached adulthood and had to fully take responsibility for my life.
It felt like I might die during that time, but looking back now, those trials were nothing compared to what life would throw at me later.
However, if someone asked me when was the toughest time in my life, I would point to my 20s again.
The trials faced by a child who has just become an adult and stepped outside their home.
I found myself smiling bitterly as I compared my young self back then to her now.
Having lived through that time, I know what she needs.
I opened the prison door and stepped inside.
“What, what are you doing?”
Lady Tang looked at me with wide eyes, clearly confused about my sudden entry into the prison.
“Lie down. I brought new bandages and healing ointment.”
I took out the medical supplies for treating her thigh wound from one pocket.
“Give it to me. I can do it!”
“Nope. Lie down.”
I might have misunderstood her a bit.
This girl, who lives with a mouth full of curses and always reacts with caution and suspicion, I was subconsciously comparing her to the original villain character, the Demon Lord Tang.
In truth, she is just a girl who has stepped into the world for the first time.
Though she might look like a prickly hedgehog all puffed up, she’s really just a girl waiting for someone’s gentle touch.
“Ugh! Seriously! What are you doing?”
As I gently pressed her shoulder to shift her into a more comfortable position, Lady Tang reluctantly lay down.
She resembled a hedgehog startled by a hand, bristling at first, only to relax when she realized it was a caring hand.
What she needed was this.
No matter how much she pushes away, someone tender to be there beside her.
I quickly lifted her skirt, revealing a healing wound on her thigh beneath discolored skin.
Fortunately, it seemed it had healed quite a bit in just a few days.
“Hey! Are you crazy?”
Lady Tang exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock.
“I’m not crazy. If it’s just about your skin, don’t be too shy. I’ve done much worse experimenting on friend’s medicines.”
Come on, people overreact about slightly discolored skin. After all the trolling I’ve endured, Lady Tang’s skin looked adorably panda-like to me.
Now, accept my gentle touch.
“That’s not it! Aah! Ahh!”
Maybe she’s still not in a good state. Upon applying the healing ointment, she screamed in pain.
“I’ll even give you a massage!”
Is her muscle all tense from staying down? She needs to be able to walk properly for our escape.
“Hey, stop… Ugh! Hey! Where do you think you’re touching… Aah!”
Lady Tang let out a blissful moan, it seems her muscles were quite tense.
——–
“Damn, I want to die.”
Lady Tang, now with a flushed face, squatted down, staring at the ground.
Unlike before, I no longer felt any gloom or dejection in her voice, just a confusing sense of embarrassment. Yes, gentle touch was the answer.
Fortunately, it seemed we could have a conversation now.
I sat cross-legged right next to Lady Tang.
“Ha ha. Do you really want to die?”
I chuckled lightly while looking at her with a serious gaze.
“That’s not what I meant… What? Why?”
Lady Tang was a bit irritable, but when she looked at my face, her expression hardened.
“Are you unhappy because nothing is going your way in the world?”
“…Yeah.”
When Lady Tang realized I seemed to be considering her troubles, she nodded her head passively.
‘It’s not a situation where I can simply offer consolation.’
Listening to her pitiful complaints, empathizing and comforting her, sharing drinks with the moonlight, and having a story like we just started out as new students is not something we can do now.
‘I need to lift her spirits and get her back on her feet.’
We have to escape together and head for Yichang. I need her help. If she continues to be lost in gloom and helplessness, we won’t be able to make our escape.
I needed to instill some motivation within her.
“Right. There are plenty of unhappy things in life. One day a prosperous family can fall. Your beloved family and friends can all die. While wandering the Central Plains, you might be despised as a barbarian and end up starving as a beggar.”
I spoke lightly, wearing a sad yet earnest expression while directed at her.
Let’s start with some empathy.
“Is that…. your story?”
“Who else’s story would it be?”
I spoke in a sorrowful voice, casting my gaze at the ceiling, trying to appear like a man with painful scars.
“You’re also unhappy…”
“Nope. You’re the most miserable one.”
I cut her off abruptly, speaking with certainty.
“Are you mocking me?”
“And I’m the most miserable as well.”
“…What do you mean?”
Her eyes sharpened momentarily, then shifted back to a confused expression.
“People generally feel that they’re the most miserable, you know? Some can lose their wealthy family overnight and end up in the Central Plains alone, crying in despair, while others can be thrown into despair after being betrayed by the last person they trusted.”
Lady Tang, I’m as miserable as you.
“…”
“Everyone thinks their own life is the saddest, that’s just how it is.”
So, as a ‘senior’ in misfortune, let me show you how to rise up.
