660 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"The Secretary knows our location...?" Bae Il-eung, the former White Tiger Chieftain, had the appearance of someone who wouldn't flinch in front of a house-sized tiger. Ever since he was young, his body, a head taller than most, had endowed him with the strength to cut down numerous escort guards. His soaring courage allowed him to make brave decisions, preserving his life through many life-or-death situations. Eventually, he secured a position among the 72 gangs of Noklim as the White Tiger Chieftain. Yet, now he was trembling. He stepped back, seemingly unable to believe what he was hearing, his jaw quivering uncontrollably. "Lies! Lies!!! After everything I did to escape, there's no way the Secretary could know where we are!" How did he manage to escape? Could it have all been within the Secretary's grasp? No, that can't be. It must be a cheap trick to break through the encirclement. In his heart, Bae Il-eung genuinely denied it, but the cold message did not waver. "Stand up or fall. The members of Hubin cannot sit idle." "You mean...!" Bae Il-eung's eyes grew wide, almost bursting. Some were so terrified that they dropped their weapons. It was only natural. "He, he's planning to eliminate us through the Secretary?" Two choices lay ahead. Return to the fold of Hubin or fall to the ground. It meant that fugitives would not be forgiven. "He intends to use me as an example?!" "If you don't come back, yes." "No! This can't be happening! After everything I did to escape!" "It's over! We're as good as dead!" "Damn it! That's why I suggested joining the cause!" "We're not even sorcerers! How can we endure all that training!" "Exactly! Eating pine needles is fine for pine caterpillars, but forbidding banditry?" "If you have a reply, I'll deliver it." Ok Dae-am, the head of the Okcheon Escort Bureau, stepped confidently toward Bae Il-eung. Even though he was the head, he couldn't predict how long he would last against the former White Tiger Chieftain, but he remained unfazed. The Bae Il-eung before him had already lost his will to fight. "Just give me a day. I'll send someone to the nearest village." "I can only wait so long. Sign here. If anyone asks later, just say it was received half a month ago." Ok Dae-am took out a document requiring a signature and spoke. "Why's that?" "It's just formal industry talk. You don't need to worry." Expertly, Ok Dae-am acquired Bae Il-eung's reluctant fingerprint on the document. Though it was proof of receiving a letter half a month before the agreed date, Bae Il-eung remained oblivious. Being notorious for delays, Okcheon Heobu also excelled at deftly handling complaints. —— "Today only! Rest well at the inn and then we depart!" As soon as he arrived at the small village in the mountains, Ok Dae-am made his declaration, but the winter journey wasn't cooperative. "It's been snowing heavily for four days now!" From the inn's second floor, Cheon So-hee looked out the window Yukiko was pointing at. The snow had nearly buried the mountain village after four days. "We should wait." "Oh, what a considerate heart! Yukiko! I'm so overwhelmed by Okbun's growth!" "Brother said so." Traveling through snow as deep as one's waist was a challenge even for Tian Xing. "We've had some fun on the way, so let's just rest easy now!" A letter to bandits—what was that about? Seolja was chattering about the unusual mission, and loud voices could be heard from the first floor. "If we hadn't accepted that suspicious request, we wouldn't be in this mess, would we?" The voices belonged to the Okcheon Escort Bureau, who had been grounded for three days. "You returned the cargo then. A debt must be repaid, but we haven't received Bae Il-eung's response yet. Let's just wait." Was there a reason for delivering a letter to bandits? Unlike the anxious escorts, Okcheon Heobu looked calm, as if he had completed a significant task. "Still!" "Our goal is to safely deliver the cargo. What good is rushing if it harms the cargo?" "If I may, we need to clear our name somewhat. People call our bureau 'Okmuduo,' saying entrusting valuables to us is like watching mist from a mountain. That's why they call you Okcheon Heobu." The schedule was seriously delayed. The escort was desperate. "Escort Cho! They'll have no complaints once we arrive. If they wanted speed, they would've chosen Gu Bang Escort Bureau, which works day and night without breaks." They say those escorts never get a day off. Okcheon Heobu laughed and shrugged it off confidently. "It seems problematic!" Yukiko shifted her gaze from the first floor to a spot where she sensed someone's presence. "Um..." "A familiar voice! Isn't that the innkeeper's daughter?" The woman approaching them was the daughter of the inn where they were staying. "My father asked if you could share some food since you're staying here for the winter." "Is it something sweet?! I can smell the sweetness from the plate!" The daughter cautiously offered the food. "These are dumcarons." "Oh! Is it a Joseon delicacy?" "Please, help yourself." Even after handing over the food, the innkeeper's daughter didn't leave. Yukiko noticed the girl's hesitance and smiled. It's a small village, and with all the snow, traveling is tough. Two women who don't seem much older than her stood before her. Yukiko could easily guess the daughter's intentions. "Why don't you join us for a bite?" A little chat to pass the time—just right for a leisurely winter day. —— "This is delicious." "Mmhmm! No wonder they say a tiger won't eat you if you offer it a dumcaron!" "Is there such a tale in Joseon as well?" The innkeeper's daughter gazed at the two swordswomen, who seemed like older sisters, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. In truth, this wasn't the first time the three of them had spent chatting together. Two female warriors had suddenly appeared in the countryside, and since they were only slightly older than herself, the innkeeper's daughter naturally spoke to them from the first day they arrived. After all, her world consisted entirely of this small village. "My neighbor, the brother next door, brought me some firewood when I mentioned my room was cold. He told me not to skimp on using it because my hands and feet get cold." Knowing they weren't people who would spread her thoughts around, since they were outsiders, the innkeeper's daughter confided in them about the boy she had liked since childhood. "Ah, young love! So, are you planning to marry him?" "I don't know. He still seems to see me as a little sister." Yukiko subtly glanced at Cheon So-hee. Normally, the woman wasn't much interested in conversations with strangers, but she seemed to be all ears for this particular story. She even added a word of her own. "Just kiss him." "What? That's a little embarrassing." "It's yours. You should mark it." Something about her shoulders seemed to lift. Yukiko couldn't help but smile inwardly at Cheon So-hee's action. "What if he doesn't like it?" "Doesn't like it?" Cheon So-hee tilted her head earnestly, as if genuinely perplexed. To her, the relationship between a childhood brother and sister should make everything clear. "Ah, Yukiko! Such talk! It’s intriguing and heart-pounding, but also so foreign!" "I’ve been worried a lot lately." "Why?" The story felt familiar. Cheon So-hee asked without realizing it. "I think other girls have started taking an interest in my brother. I used to be the only one who knew him. But now, he’s become quite attractive..." "Don't worry." Cheon So-hee dismissed the innkeeper's daughter's concerns as easily as if she were cutting with a knife. "Really?" "Yeah. A brother is originally a little sister's." It was something determined from the moment of birth. Her advice was filled with confidence. "Whoa…! Okbun! Please be mindful with your words! There is a saying in Dongyeong that overfamiliarity without caution can lead to disaster. Correct it to the truth of childhood friendship!" "I'm definitely invincible as a childhood sister." She had even received her brother's news in a letter just days ago. It was as if a halo shone behind Cheon So-hee, exuding immense confidence. "Such confidence! It's truly wonderful! But remember, the path of childhood friends is thorny and not easy!" "Is that so?" Yukiko nodded vigorously in response to the young woman's question. "A childhood friend is like a man's trusted companion! Never let your guard down for even a moment! Whether it's a fiercely confident woman disguised as a man, a tough-looking yet romantic girl, or a bashful beauty! Even a quiet buxom woman who pretends to be indifferent but has deep feelings for a man, and a suddenly appearing fiancée from the past! You'll need to fend them all off, so the journey is wrought with hardship!" "What?" "It seems like the list is growing." "It's just one way of putting it. Yukiko! I'll help Okbun so she can win it all!" The notion that childhood friends are destined to fail—in Yukiko's eyes, it was unacceptable. Cheon So-hee nodded toward Seolja, who was burning with enthusiasm on her behalf. "Alright." "Please, tell me too!" "Very well! Let's start with the first secret of childhood friendship! It's morning. Wake up. You sneak into his room before he wakes up and gently whisper to him." "…What?" "If you don’t want others to catch you sneaking in, you'll need to master stealth." Cheon So-hee nodded as if it made perfect sense to her. "That's exactly it! You must be well-prepared from head to toe for when he wakes up! If you also serve him breakfast as he wakes, it would be even better…" Foolish beings who don’t understand the blessing called childhood friendship! No, here I am teaching them the ninja arts of Dongyeong. Seolja was about to continue her explanation when a loud shout rang from the first floor. "What’s that noise?! Asking us to stop a raid?" —— "Please, escorts! Save us! The bandits threatened to raid our village if we don't pay a tax within fifteen days!" The first floor of the inn was filled with the village men pleading with the escorts from Okcheon Escort Bureau. "It's common for bandits to extort people. In the end, you just need to show them some sincerity if you don’t want to stir up trouble." When bandits set up a camp on a nearby mountain, the nearby villages are the first to suffer. Though some bands coexisted with nearby villagers by purchasing necessary goods, most bandits simply extorted protection money without providing any protection. They often avoided excessive plunder since they still depended on the villages for goods and needed human traffic for trade. "But the bandits suddenly went crazy and demanded ten times the usual tax!" "Ten times?!" This situation felt a little different. "Even if we manage to pay half, or even a quarter of that, we'd freeze to death this winter!" "What kind of disaster hit us out of the blue?" Expecting villagers to pay ten times the protection fee in midwinter was akin to the grim reaper adding their names to his list unexpectedly. While the villagers felt as if a lightning bolt had struck them, the Okcheon Escort Bureau members exchanged whispers, having a rough guess of the reason. "It likely has something to do with the letter." "So he's choosing to flee in the end?" "It seems they're planning to grab what they can before running. If they can't pay, this village is finished..." "Our mission takes precedence." The bandits’ sudden generosity wasn’t because they intended to spare the small village. If there was no need to keep leeching off them, the village’s fate was clear. "Does the Okcheon Escort Bureau expect to eliminate the bandits for us?" After silencing his members, Ok Dae-am spoke again to the villagers. "How many in a small village like ours can wield a sword?" "It’s impossible for us. We’re on a mission." "Escort leader! Please, we're begging you! Last spring, when we couldn't raise the money they demanded, people suffered greatly!" "That's right. My father was killed by those damned bandits!" As a young man, barely on the brink of adulthood, stepped forward, a shrill voice came from the second floor. "Why is my brother there?!" "Ah! Is that the brother I've only heard about? He looks sturdier than I imagined!" "Why is he among the adults..." The two women's gaze shifted to the man who seemed intrigued by their presence, while one girl looked on with worry towards her brother. "Please, I'm begging you! If the escorts leave, we're as good as dead! Please help us!" Despite the pleas of the village people, Okcheon Heobu shook his head firmly. This was not a simple matter. "The person in that mountain base is the former White Tiger Chieftain, Bae Il-eung. Even if his power isn't what it used to be, it's beyond what Okcheon Escort Bureau can manage." It wasn't something they could just assist with. As the head, Ok Dae-am firmly rejected the villagers' pleas. "I'll go with you!" "No, brother! Where do you think you're going?" "Stay put! Are we supposed to just sit here and die? Shouldn't the villagers at least fight with sickles and hammers?" The boy exclaimed confidently, but Ok Dae-am's resolve was unyielding. "Regrettably, this is the village's matter, not Okcheon Escort Bureau's concern." "This can't be...!" Despite the villagers' continued appeals, Okcheon Escort Bureau stood their ground. It wasn’t because Okcheon Heobu had delivered a letter to the former chieftain or had ties to Nokrimdo. Suppressing bandits would mean risking the lives of the escorts. And the adversary was a former White Tiger Chieftain. In the worst-case scenario, they had to be prepared for total annihilation. "It's unfortunate." Yukiko murmured empathetically, but she had no intention of helping. As an assassin of the Secret Chamber, she only moved upon request. Besides, this was half a vacation for her. While the misfortune of others was regrettable, once the snow stopped and they left, it would just be another common occurrence somewhere else. Both the villagers who eventually gave up their pleas and the escorts from Okcheon Escort Bureau, as well as the sixth-ranked assassin of the Secret Chamber, knew this well. Except for one person. Her red eyes were directed towards the girl swallowing her sorrow and the boy clenching his anger. It was indeed common. Bandits. Pirates. Marauders. And foreign invaders. Common occurrences where simple, happy lives were shattered. "Okbun?" 一 So-hee, it’s your brother. Lives that could have been spent happily, building precious memories together, seizing moments to grow closer—all snatched away in the blink of an eye. Appallingly common. "Seolja." Cheon So-hee turned toward Yukiko with a composed expression. "What is it?" "Let's go." "Where to?" "The White Tiger Base." Cheon So-hee’s red eyes were quietly ablaze.