Chapter 29
“Thank you for the meal! It was delicious again today!”
Lee Ji-cheol, just like yesterday, had prepared a hearty breakfast.
Thanks to that, Eun Sowol’s face was shiny from the food, and her belly was so full she could barely move.
The person who gives delicious food is a good person.
Not only that, but Lee Ji-cheol had also allowed her to stay for free, brought a renowned physician for her, and had taken care of her well.
Despite his plain appearance, he had money, skill, and a large, generous heart!
“If only Ji-cheol Uncle were my uncle.”
Eun Sowol said this purposefully, hoping to be overheard.
Bong—
“Ah!”
A sharp rebuke flew her way.
“Enough nonsense, just eat! Or I’ll leave you behind.”
“Tch, I’m going to get my illness treated. What will you do if you leave me behind?”
“Right, you’re on your way to get treated. But from the first day, you’re saying you wish that guy was your uncle?”
Remembering how Dok Go-ryong had been thoroughly annoyed by her earlier remarks, Eun Sowol smiled brightly.
“Ah, I’m just joking. You know I like my uncle the most, right?”
When Dok Go-ryong shot her a disbelieving glance, Eun Sowol whistled awkwardly, and she could hear someone laughing nearby.
“You really have the adults wrapped around your finger, huh? The Mad Dragon of the world is really under your thumb?”
“Seems like the fever’s down since you’re talking so much. You’re going to be tired today. With how you’re acting, I bet you’ll have earwax for a week… Ugh.”
Dok Go-ryong gave Eun Sowol a tired look, and Lee Ji-cheol, laughing, handed something to him.
“Here, take this.”
Inside the bundle was a letter, some silver coins, and what looked like beef jerky.
“This letter has my signature. There’s a tavern called ‘Drunken Immortal Pavilion’ in Chengdu, Sichuan. It’s the branch of Hao Moon in Sichuan. Go there, mention my name, and tell them you’ve come to seek help. I’ll make sure to handle things on my end while you head to Chengdu.”
Due to the tight schedule, Lee Ji-cheol hadn’t been able to contact the Hao Moon branch in Sichuan yet. This was the best he could offer at the moment.
“…What’s this money for?”
“To help cover the food. With all the medicine and treatment, it’s going to cost a lot. It’s not much, but it’ll help.”
Dok Go-ryong twitched his lips but then spoke.
“I won’t forget this.”
“It’s nothing. Just focus on getting Sowol better.”
Lee Ji-cheol, who had been speaking curtly, now bent down to Eun Sowol’s level and looked her in the eye.
“Sowol, if you feel any pain, tell your uncle, okay? And make sure you take care on the way. Got it?”
“Yes! I’ll get better and come back to see you, Ji-cheol Uncle!”
“That’s the spirit.”
Eun Sowol hugged Lee Ji-cheol tightly, feeling the warmth in his embrace.
Then, after a final moment, they left the tavern.
As they stepped out, Eun Sowol turned around with a feeling of reluctance.
She saw Lee Ji-cheol standing where they had parted, watching them as they walked away.
She waved her hand back at him, and then followed Dok Go-ryong.
“Uncle, what are we riding this time?”
Eun Sowol asked, thinking they might be joining the convoy like the last time they went to the Dokgo family.
“We’re not riding anything.”
“Huh? We’re not?”
She wondered if they were going to walk.
The last time they traveled to the Dokgo family, walking had taken forever, and they had joined the convoy.
They soon exited the city gates, and just as she was wondering, Dok Go-ryong suddenly stopped.
He turned his backpack around and adjusted it.
“Climb on.”
“Huh?”
“Get on quickly.”
Dok Go-ryong turned his back to her and squatted down in front of her.
Eun Sowol, not knowing what else to do, climbed onto his back.
Then, Dok Go-ryong wrapped the thick cloak he had prepared around both their bodies.
“You’re seriously going to carry me like this?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“But I feel fine today! I can walk.”
She had heard that Sichuan was far, but would they really travel like this the whole way?
She was worried.
Even though he was a martial artist and she was light, carrying her for such a long journey would still be exhausting.
“What are you talking about? How could you walk all the way to Sichuan?”
“Then we could just join the convoy like last time.”
“No, that’s too slow.”
“Slow? But it’s way faster than walking!”
“I’m using light body techniques. Remember when we descended the mountain?”
“Ah!”
She remembered the first time she met Dok Go-ryong and descended from the mountain.
She had been weak from hunger and couldn’t manage the steep path, so Dok Go-ryong carried her all the way down.
The scenery had changed rapidly with each leap, and she had marveled at it.
Despite more comfortable ways to travel, he had chosen the hard path for her sake.
Even though he would tease her and be rude at times, she realized he had always been thinking of her.
A smile crept across Eun Sowol’s face as she sat on Dok Go-ryong’s back.
“Then I’m riding the Kwangryong Train, huh?”
“What?”
“Hehe, I must be the only one who gets to ride the Kwangryong Train in this world, right?”
Dok Go-ryong let out a laugh and grabbed the sword at his side, positioning it firmly to support her.
“I don’t know what this Kwangryong Train is, but if you keep laughing like that, you’ll bite your tongue.”
“Ugh!”
“Hold on tight. We’re going to speed up.”
“Okay… Wooooo!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a massive shockwave sent them flying backward.
If Dok Go-ryong hadn’t wrapped the cloak tightly around her, she would have slammed her head into the ground.
‘This… is faster than the Qinglong Train?!’
She suddenly felt queasy as she realized they would continue at this speed.
Meanwhile…
A few days had passed, and things weren’t going as planned for some of the others.
“Still no progress…”
“Ugh, if we go back empty-handed today, Chief will have our heads.”
“Well, it’s not like we expected an easy job. That landslide happened a few days ago and now no one’s coming through here…”
The men, who were part of the Green Forest bandits from the Bashu stronghold, were resting in a deep valley in Longmen Mountain.
They made a living by collecting tolls from passersby and offering their “services,” but lately, the landslide had cut off their customers, and they were getting restless.
Suddenly, one man perked up, listening intently.
“Huh?”
He quickly stood up and scanned the surroundings. The others, who had been lounging around, asked:
“What is it?”
“Do you hear that?”
“What sound?”
“Stop wasting energy. Sit back down. No one’s coming through here anyway.”
But the man kept staring into the distance.
Soon, his eyes widened in realization.
“Get up! It’s people! A man and a girl!”
At first, the others didn’t believe him, but when they looked in the direction he pointed, they saw two figures—what appeared to be a father and daughter—resting by the stream.
“This is a chance. I don’t know how they got here, but this is a golden opportunity!”
“They might not have much money, but this is a chance to get something.”
“They haven’t come this far for nothing. Get ready.”
With plans to take everything they could, the bandits prepared to pounce.
Meanwhile, at the stream…
Eun Sowol was kicking her feet on a rock by the stream, looking up at the sky.
“When will Uncle come back?”
He had left for a while to get food.
She counted the days in her head. It had been fifteen days since they left Southern Yang, and they were only two days away from reaching the Sacheon Dang Clan.
“Ji-cheol Uncle said it would take about a month…”
They had reduced the time by almost ten days, making incredible progress.
At first, she had wondered if they really needed to hurry so much, but now she could see how wise Dok Go-ryong’s decision had been.
‘But… I’m starting to feel sick again.’
Eun Sowol’s body had started to feel weaker over the past few days.
Fever would spike, then chills would come, and sometimes the pain was so bad she couldn’t focus.
And now, her head was aching again. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them.
The sound of gravel crunching nearby made her lift her head.
“Uncle… my head hurts…”
Suddenly, her words froze in her mouth.
There, standing before her, were several rough-looking men, their yellow teeth exposed through their scruffy beards.
They were holding crude weapons and had surrounded her.
