“Master. Turushan is protesting that he only trades with his own tribe.”
Even if one gains new encounters and insights, daily life doesn’t just vanish. Murong Sang-a tuned in to the incoming workload.
“I’m opening the market for you. Make sure to warn him it’s not a trade. If he wants to show his face at the market again, that is.”
“Master, the officials are expressing concerns about the market being held after decades, regarding foreign tribes.”
“Tell them to attend. They’ll understand the reason. If they seem to want bribes, give it to them. We must turn those corrupt officials into puppets.”
The biggest issue, of course, was the market. It had been decades since it was held, and since the Murong family wasn’t hosting it, there were a lot of worries.
“Master, we received contact from the Joseon merchants. They have something to say about ginseng trading.”
“Is there a problem with the ginseng supply?”
“They want to change the trading method a bit. They want to reduce gold and silver from the transaction cost and increase the amount of live and dead stock used for silk extraction.”
“When’s the next deal?”
“A month from now.”
“Tell them we can’t match their desired quantity right away. But if they show goodwill with a stock of red ginseng that’s easy to preserve, we’ll negotiate future discussions.”
“What do you mean by future discussions?”
“I recall a business in Sichuan has expanded. Chukgeum is the most expensive silk in the Central Plains, so bring the stocks there and sell them to Joseon merchants at high prices. If they want something from us, we must gain big on this side, right?”
“T-That method! We’ll proceed immediately!”
Trade with Joseon was already established, but one couldn’t let their guard down. They were a group willing to take any risk for their own benefit, so a consensus point that would satisfy both sides had to be continuously sought.
“Master. We need to recruit more instructors from the Chuseondang.”
“There are martial artists from the collateral family who have declared support for me this time. They’ve been out of family affairs for a long time, so tell them to shake off the dust and get to work.”
Finding new talent and gaining support within the family couldn’t be neglected. Murong Sang-a paid special attention to the appointments of instructors.
The market, Chuseondang, Spear Peak Band, trade, inspection, martial arts training. Family matters and other tasks. Busy work doesn’t arrive slowly, one at a time.
“Master!”
Murong Sang-a was the owner of Changbong Hall.
Subordinates simply needed to carry out their assigned duties, but Murong Sang-a, in the decision-making position, had to make the final calls.
“Master!”
There were few people she could trust. No worries.
To handle many critical issues herself, Murong Sang-a sacrificed her sleeping time first.
“Master!”
“Master! About the last incident…”
The decisions she had to make kept piling up.
“Master? Miss?! Missss!”
Murong Sang-a’s consciousness faded in an instant.
——
“Doctor! Is there no doctor outside!!! The lady has collapsed!”
As Murong Sang-a opened her eyes, she realized she had momentarily lost consciousness. How long had it been? As her gaze shifted around, she saw the Great Lord of Spear Peak hastily calling for a doctor. Thank goodness. It hadn’t been long.
“I’m fine.”
Murong Sang-a said while struggling to hold onto the Great Lord’s arm.
“Miss! Please don’t get up, just stay still! Doctor!”
“Don’t call. I’m just a bit fatigued.”
Had the Great Lord ever looked so terrified? Murong Sang-a spoke as calmly as possible.
“You may be sick!”
“Are you planning to let the whole neighborhood know that the owner of Changbong Hall collapsed from mere fatigue?”
At this rate, it seemed like every doctor in Shenyang would be summoned. Murong Sang-a managed to stand up from the floor and rebuked.
“However, Master.”
As the Great Lord gently pushed her to sit on the chair, he spoke with a somewhat calmer expression.
“I know my condition best. You look fatigued yourself, Great Lord.”
“I knew you’ve been lacking sleep, but I didn’t expect this extent. My fault.”
Not noticing her Master’s complexion was embarrassing for the Great Lord. Murong Pyeong bowed his head towards his Master.
“I know you’re also stretching yourself thin. It’s just that the unexpected tasks from the market have increased, so don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“Let’s go home early today and rest.”
The Great Lord suggested to Murong Sang-a, his voice full of concern.
“There are still things I haven’t dealt with yet.”
Murong Sang-a shook her head firmly.
“I’m scared it might lead to a disaster.”
“It’s my responsibility to bear.”
She was the final decision-maker of Changbong Hall. If she stops, Changbong Hall stops. Murong Sang-a focused again, reading through the finalized documents.
“Master….”
The Great Lord was left speechless by her stubborn attitude.
Is it a sense of responsibility? Guilt? Whatever the reason, if it hadn’t been for her, Changbong Hall wouldn’t have grown to this point.
The Great Lord could only look at his Master with a pitying gaze.
“I’ll do what can be done tomorrow.”
Seeing the Great Lord continuing to silently stare at her, Murong Sang-a decided to compromise a bit.
There was no need to collapse trying to resolve everything at once. Even if she doesn’t procrastinate, she learned to wait a bit while sharing swords.
“I’ll have the doctor brew a tonic with the best ginseng for you.”
“Do as you please.”
——
“Ah, miss?!”
“You look tired. Everyone should leave for today.”
Perhaps because Murong Sang-a left work earlier than usual, the guards had surprised puppy-like looks on their faces as their master unexpectedly appeared.
To hide that she had no energy to speak further, Murong Sang-a showed them a bland expression and dismissed them.
Once the guards disappeared, she collapsed onto her bed.
Perhaps it was because it had just been ventilated. The blankets on the bed felt cold.
“Huff.”
A sigh full of countless worries escaped from her beautiful lips, which shouldn’t have had a single worry on them.
It was inevitable.
Murong Sang-a was a decision-maker.
Writing down numbers, taking notes, and wielding a sword wasn’t the end of her work; it meant repeatedly pondering for a single decision and showing a clear resolution in front of her subordinates.
How much had she agonized over that one seemingly decisive choice?
She had to consider the risks and benefits. She had to think about the repercussions of her decisions. Even back in her room, she couldn’t lie down on her bed, lost in thought.
Sometimes, she would be startled awake by the dawn’s songs with the moon still overhead. It was a constant struggle to stay awake.
“Am I doing well?”
Her anxious voice broke the silence of the somber room.
She completed urgent tasks. But just because the decisions she had to make were gone didn’t mean she was free from worries.
Questions without answers tormented her.
“Am I doing well?”
There was only one person who could tell her the answer. Murong Sang-a stared blankly at the wide bed she was lying on.
A bed far too large for a single person. Of course. This bed had been changed two years ago.
Just once in life. A bed that a woman had permitted only to one man.
“Great Lord… Am I doing well?”
There was no response.
Lying alone in a bed permitted for two. If she was tired, she wanted to lean on someone, and if she was in pain, she’d want to lay her head on her forever half, that bed was now empty.
She was doing well.
The love that should have whispered those words in her dreams was no longer there.
On the bed. Her heart’s pain, burden, and loneliness remained unsolved. The emptiness in her chest could not be filled.
It shouldn’t be filled.
What was permitted to her was merely giving in to her fatigue and laying down. Murong Sang-a felt her consciousness fading as the oncoming fatigue took hold.
——
It feels like walking in the clouds.
‘A flower field?’
Spring flowers bloom splendidly. Murong Sang-a lost her senses in a Wuling Peach Garden-like view.
Somehow, this spring felt familiar.
It was a happy spring. A nostalgic spring. A spring so familiar.
Yes. It resembled the spring of that day.
‘Wedding ceremony.’
The happiest moment in life. The day she had gained the most precious half in the world. It resembled the spring of that day.
Murong Sang-a didn’t care why she was here or how she came to this place. It was all too reminiscent of the joy of that day.
A smile, hardly seen now, adorned Murong Sang-a’s face. She walked slowly, gazing at the blooming flowers.
A spring day so beautiful anyone would be captivated. Yet with each step, her expression darkened.
No matter how beautiful that spring day was.
No matter how much it encompassed that scene.
The absence of someone who should have been there only grew.
“I was here.”
Murong Sang-a’s heart sank.
No way.
Her heart raced. She questioned her ears, but there was no doubt. The voice behind her was one she could never forget.
Could she turn around? Did she have the right to? Murong Sang-a couldn’t even ponder such things and instinctively turned her body.
“Great Lord?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”
An unforgettable voice. A face branded deep in her heart.
Her eternal love. Her irremovable fault.
The Great Lord stood before her, looking puzzled.
‘It’s a dream.’
Murong Sang-a finally realized where she was.
They say when people suffer so much, they dream of the happy times they once had. If that’s true, then she was dreaming of the happiest moment of her life.
“What’s wrong?”
So very sweet a voice approached. Warm, but complicating her heart with turmoil.
It’s a dream.
She knew it was a dream. But in front of the face of the Great Lord she so dearly missed, she couldn’t find the right expression to show.
“Don’t cry.”
She couldn’t cry. She wouldn’t. She had no right to cry in front of the Great Lord.
Her tears fell silently, and she could say nothing.
“Oh…”
A warm hand approached her face. Murong Sang-a looked at her husband in surprise.
She wanted to embrace him.
Even now, she wanted nothing more than to be held and whisper anything to him. But Murong Sang-a instinctively understood.
They must not touch.
She must not move. Knowing it was a dream, moving would wake her up.
She felt the Great Lord’s touch. The warmth that caressed her sorrow. Even knowing of death, his gentle hand felt near.
‘If only I could feel the touch of the Great Lord….’
If she could just touch his fingertips.
Murong Sang-a, overwhelmed with uncontainable emotions, carefully reached out her hand to touch her love. She felt the reassuring hand of the Great Lord.
A touch she had longed for.
She felt a surge of emotion, but she had to take responsibility for her actions.
‘No!’
It began to crack. The dream started to shatter.
“Great Lord…!”
In a startled heart, a forbidden action followed. The crumbling world grew closer.
No.
No.
Please.
“Eh?! What is this?!”
The Great Lord felt the change. If he moved any further, the dream would break. All that remained for Murong Sang-a was to watch helplessly.
‘This time too.’
Why did she always break things? Why did she always end up making the worst mistake? No matter how much she struggled and pondered, why did she always meet such ends?
Murong Sang-a locked eyes with Kang Yoon-ho. In a world that was all fake, only those unforgettable eyes held a certain vitality.
Once again, she had broken his world. Because of her fault.
“Please, curse me instead.”
Kang Yoon-ho silently watched the tormented Murong Sang-a before eventually opening his mouth.
“Hang in there.”
“…!”
The world turned to flowers.
Unforgettable love transformed into petals. Murong Sang-a’s tears flowed, unceasing, until the world would end.
——
“Great Lord.”
Murong Sang-a sat up, wiping her eyes.
Her startled heart didn’t easily calm down. She clutched her chest and realized something was odd with her left hand.
The ring she hadn’t taken off due to fatigue. Zhangbai Silver was shining brighter today. It felt like a completely new color.
“Really… Did you come?”
It might just be light reflecting from the dawn. But no matter how she thought, it didn’t feel like an ordinary dream.
The fatigue left her with the ring. The ring left by him, asking her to think of him.
Once from an assassin of the Demonic Cult,
Once from the hardest day.
“Is the Great Lord protecting me?”
He must have been watching over her.
“Great Lord….”
Murong Sang-a tightly clenched her left hand.
There was no spring day.
That happy spring day like that day wouldn’t return to her. But.
“Hang in there.”
Whether it was just a simple dream or a brief visit from him.
It didn’t matter what it was.
What mattered was the courage to walk into tomorrow. The voice of her beloved resonated in her heart.
At the end of everything. For someday to stand before the Great Lord, that was enough for now.
