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Chapter 118. People on Fire
Henan.
Lankao County.
A carriage drawn by four horses slowly advanced along the road beside the Yellow River. It was the carriage carrying Yeon Jeokha and his group towards the Guangfeng camp on Mount Tai.
Inside the carriage, the six occupants sat, three facing three, with their shoulders nearly touching. In the summer, it would have been unbearable, but in winter, the proximity was comforting and warm.
Jin Seolha, who was watching the imposing flow of the brown water through the window, exclaimed in amazement.
“Wow! It’s incredible. It seems like there’s a lot to see in winter. It’s a shame we’re so busy. If we weren’t, we could stop by the river and have a drink.”
Yoo Geunsik, who had swapped places with Seol Chasu to enter the carriage, commented.
“Sister, you think that way because you’re in a warm place. Go outside. You’ll freeze. You won’t see anything but the cold. I’m sure Brother Seol just wants to get there quickly.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Next time, I’ll make the switch.”
Yeon Jeokha, who had been listening silently, intervened.
“Old Shim and I can switch as well.”
“Jeokha, then I’ll make the switch too,” said Namgung Cheon.
Yeon Jeokha shook his head at Namgung Cheon’s words.
“Then only you can switch, Brother. Sister Yeon cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s cold.”
Namgung Cheon was left speechless by Yeon Jeokha’s obvious response.
Grateful for his brother’s consideration, Namgung Cheon also felt a bit uneasy seeing Jin Seolha’s reaction.
At that moment, Namgung Yeon spoke briefly.
“It’s fine.”
Since the person in question said it was fine, Yeon Jeokha didn’t insist. The others accepted it without further ado, but Jin Seolha felt somewhat annoyed.
Although she knew about the relationship between Yeon Jeokha and the Namgung Family, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat excluded.
Determined to get closer to Yeon Jeokha, Jin Seolha took advantage of the next stop of the carriage.
At lunchtime, the coachman stopped the carriage at a nameless outdoor inn by the riverside.
They entered the inn, ordered food, and relaxed after the long journey.
Soon after, hot fish soup, fried pork, fresh vegetables, rice, and steaming noodles were brought out.
“Yeon Sohyeop, try this.”
Jin Seolha served fish soup in a bowl and offered it to Yeon Jeokha.
He accepted the bowl with an awkward but grateful expression.
Afterward, she served him fried pork and vegetables, placing them in front of him with kindness and courtesy.
Seol Chasu and Yoo Geunsik watched Yeon Jeokha with envy.
Yeon Jeokha, unaccustomed to such attention, didn’t know how to react.
Shim Tong, seeing this, let out a silent laugh, and Yeon Jeokha shot him a look.
Namgung Cheon, who was eating his fish soup without much thought, suddenly found a plate of fried pork in front of him, served by Namgung Yeon.
Surprised, Namgung Cheon could only blink, puzzled by his sister’s unexpected gesture.
Just as he was about to take a bite, Namgung Yeon suddenly withdrew the plate.
Confused, Namgung Cheon scratched his head, not understanding his sister’s erratic behavior.
After the meal, they returned to the carriage.
Yeon Jeokha noticed that Namgung Yeon was not in her place, but Shim Tong had taken her spot.
It seemed that Namgung Yeon had swapped places with Seol Chasu without anyone noticing.
Jin Seolha, who was sitting across from Yeon Jeokha, smiled and asked.
“Yeon Sohyeop, what is your favorite food?”
“I don’t have a favorite. I eat everything.”
“Ah, I see. And your favorite season?”
“Autumn.”
“Why do you like autumn?”
“Because it’s neither too cold nor too hot.”
Recalling his days in the warehouse, Yeon Jeokha preferred autumn because the temperatures were more moderate.
“Don’t you feel the heat or cold due to your high level of martial skills?”
“When I was a child, I liked autumn.”
“Ah...”
Jin Seolha nodded, not delving further into Yeon Jeokha’s past.
Meanwhile, Namgung Yeon, who had voluntarily gone to sit beside the coachman, remained still as a statue.
She felt uncomfortable realizing that she was paying attention to Jin Seolha. She couldn’t understand why she felt this way.
Jin Seolha hadn’t done anything wrong. She was a beautiful and charming woman, kind and attentive, in every way the opposite of herself.
Namgung Yeon had gone outside to clear her mind, but nothing had changed.
‘Haa! Why did I do that?’
Recalling her actions, Namgung Yeon felt embarrassed and foolish.
She had tried to mimic Jin Seolha, only to realize how ridiculous she appeared. Surely, the others also thought her behavior was strange.
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Shandong.
Mount Tai.
Dujiazhuang Village.
Around midday, fifty armed bandits from Nokrim were heading towards the village.
The Boss, Sama Dan, shouted to his subordinates.
“Go! Kill anyone who gets in your way! Take anything of value!”
“Haha, got it!”
The bandits charged forward with sinister laughs.
Soon, screams echoed, and the villagers ran in all directions.
In half an hour, Dujiazhuang Village was in ruins.
Fires rose in several places, and there were corpses in the streets.
The bandits gathered at the entrance of the village with their loot. Some carried packages, others dragged women by the hair, and some even dragged bound men.
Sama Dan smiled in satisfaction as he watched his subordinates.
“Let’s go!”
With Sama Dan leading, the fifty bandits moved forward with their loot.
A man in his fifties, the only one without anything in his hands, walked slowly at the end of the group. He was Goo Munbeom, the former leader of the Guangfeng camp.
Goo Munbeom looked at Sama Dan with disdain.
“Crazy fool! Even though it’s winter and there’s no income, ravaging a village so close to the camp... He’s not in his right mind.”
In winter, when merchants were scarce, bandits sometimes raided villages, but there were rules.
Attacking distant villages or minimizing looting was the norm.
Losing the support of nearby villages made it harder to get supplies and increased the risk of military intervention.
But Sama Dan had no consideration for the future. His actions only guaranteed a short and violent life for the bandits.
“Idiots. Do they live only for today? I can’t live with this uncertainty...”
Hoping that the Great Chaeju Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord would intervene before the army did.
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Mid-February.
Shandong.
Tai’an.
At dusk, the carriage carrying Yeon Jeokha and his group arrived in Tai’an. From there, they only had half a day’s journey to Mount Tai.
They first headed to an inn.
Namgung Cheon, representing the group, rented three rooms and assigned them: one for Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong, another for the men, and the last one for the women.
After leaving their belongings, Yeon Jeokha and Shim Tong went down to the dining hall.
The others were already there, hungry and sitting at separate tables.
Jin Seolha, seeing Yeon Jeokha, greeted him with a smile, but he and Shim Tong headed to the table where Namgung Cheon and Namgung Yeon were seated.
Jin Seolha was disheartened, and Seol Chasu whispered to her.
“Sister, there’s no space here. It makes sense for them to go over there.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
Jin Seolha felt better.
Yoo Geunsik laughed.
“Don’t show too much interest. If you like someone, you need to be more subtle.”
“I don’t like him yet.”
“You don’t? And you do all that? If you did like him, what would you do?”
“Hah! When two young people like each other, there are no limits.”
“Please! Don’t say that with that pretty face. It worries me.”
“Brother, don’t worry. Everything will work out fine.”
While the youths of the Justice Alliance joked, the nearby customers were having a serious conversation.
“Did you hear? Yesterday they attacked Dujiazhuang Village.”
“The Guangfeng camp again?”
“Who else? This time they killed everyone who resisted and took many women and men.”
“Are they crazy? Why do they do that? How many times have they attacked near Mount Tai? Five times?”
“Yesterday was the seventh. Since they changed Bosses, they’ve been out of control.”
“What’s the government doing? Since last spring, everything has gone downhill.”
“When the Jegal Family withdrew, everything collapsed.”
“Why did they do that? If they hadn’t gotten involved, the magistrate would have acted.”
“I don’t know. These days, the Justice Alliance is unpredictable.”
Seol Chasu smiled bitterly.
The Justice Alliance had lost its strength. While Nokrim fought against the Yoomyung Cult, the Justice Alliance took its time to act.
Seol Chasu looked at Yeon Jeokha.
Although they were close to Mount Tai, he seemed calm.
“Are the rumors about the Yoomyung Cult exaggerated?”
Perhaps people exaggerated the dangers. Seeing Yeon Jeokha’s calmness, anyone could think that.
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