Longevity - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37: Left Alone
The moment Jeon Jin Gung’s black robes vanished beneath the stone railing, Jang Saeng’s speed died with it.
From Stone Bridge to the river below was some thirty feet—a height that could prove fatal even to the uninjured. And Sajeo, his chest caved in by a boot heel, had coughed blood.
Jin Ip Chu was the last thing Jang Saeng saw, rushing toward the railing. Then the carriage lurched into the forest path, and the stone bridge and all three men disappeared among the trees.
Batu Ru did not look back, only shook the reins. Only when he noticed Jang Saeng’s face had gone pale did he ask in his thick voice.

“What happened?”
“Sajeo pushed the woman off the bridge.”

Jang Saeng swallowed hard.

“But someone kicked Sajeo. He fell too.”

Batu Ru’s nostrils flared wide. The veins on the back of his whip-hand stood out, yet he neither spoke of turning back nor cursed.
Crack!
The whip cut through the air. Four cavalry horses stretched their necks and galloped faster.
Jang Saeng clutched the cloth pouch tightly. The knot inside bit into his palm.

“Elder Brother, do you think Sajeo is alive?”

Batu Ru’s whip hand stiffened for a moment.

“He’s alive.”
“And the Second and Third?”
“Both have good heads. Even if they can’t win, they’ll find a way to escape.”

The answer came too quickly. Jang Saeng understood that Batu Ru himself was not certain.
The river ran cold and swift, with sheer rock walls on both sides. They could not know where hidden reefs lay thirty feet below.
Even the order to capture them alive offered no comfort. In the midst of clashing blades, no command could guarantee life, and if caught, they would be tortured for the secret’s location. Yi Jung Yong and Jin Ip Chu would not break their silence.
Jang Saeng squeezed the cloth pouch harder. The rushing current beneath Stone Bridge felt less like an escape route and more like another form of death.

“Youngest, stop thinking about it.”

Batu Ru spoke without taking his eyes from the path ahead.

“I said they’re alive.”
“……Yes.”

Jang Saeng answered but could not lift his head.
The carriage continued south along the mountainside. No sound of hoofbeats came from behind. Whether that meant the three had held off their pursuers or the fighting was already over, there was no way to know.
After a long silence, Batu Ru asked.

“What do we do now?”

Jang Saeng finally lifted his face.
In ordinary times, Yi Jung Yong chose the direction and Jin Ip Chu filled in the gaps. Jeon Jin Gung watched their rear without a word, and Batu Ru drove the chosen path as fast as the horses could bear.
Now that choice had fallen to him.
Jang Saeng did not answer at once, but asked first.

“Elder Brother, how much farther must we go to clear the mountains?”
“Mountains beyond mountains. Just not as high or treacherous as here.”
“And to the next Crossroads?”

Batu Ru tilted his head, reckoning the distance they had come.

“About two hundred li.”
“How many Crossroads are there?”
“One main road to the south. A small path east and another west.”
“Are there mountains on both sides of the southern road?”
“There were, I think.”
“Are there villages on the eastern and western roads?”
“Once we’re out of the mountains, there are more people around. Small villages, farmland.”

Batu Ru answered only what was asked. Jang Saeng traced the three diverging paths in his mind, one by one.

“Which road leads to Gizhou?”
“East.”

Jang Saeng asked nothing further. He drew three lines in the dust on the wagon bed with his finger.
Along the eastern line hung the lie Jin Ip Chu had thrown at Stone Bridge. The pursuers would likely believe they were heading to Gizhou to meet someone named Yi Jung Yong.
The southern line held the wagon and Batu Ru’s frame—both traces too conspicuous to hide. If Jeon Seo Gu pressed ahead, they could be cut off at every checkpoint.
When Jang Saeng wiped away the two lines with his palm, Batu Ru glanced down.

“Why erase them?”
“If the two of us take the same road, they only have to follow one trail.”

Jang Saeng redrew short lines in the wiped space.
The wagon east, Batu Ru south, himself west. Split three ways, even if one was caught, the other two would be harder to track down immediately.
Jang Saeng turned in his seat. Of the three horses that had been following the wagon, one had vanished. Two remained.

“Driver, slow down for a moment.”

When Batu Ru eased the pace, Jang Saeng jumped down from the wagon. He grabbed the two trailing horses and tied their reins to both sides of the wagon harness.

“Why bind those horses?”
“We’ll need them later.”

Jang Saeng climbed back onto the wagon seat.

“How much farther can the horses pulling the wagon run?”
“About three hundred li, maybe. If we keep at full gallop the whole way, could be less.”
“Can the wagon follow the road without someone driving?”

Batu Ru gave Jang Saeng a sidelong look.

“What are you planning?”
“Answer first. Can it follow the road?”
“The wagon will keep going. But at a crossroads, the horses won’t know which way to turn.”
“If you set them loose at a crossroads?”
“Startled horses look ahead and run. When they’re tired, they stop.”

Jang Saeng nodded.

“Once we clear the mountains, we send the wagon east. You ride the two rear horses south, bring the iron club with you. I’ll get down at the crossroads.”

Batu Ru’s face clouded at once.

“Sajeo told me to take you south.”
“Things have changed. If we both go south together, we’ll both be caught.”
“Where are you going?”

Jang Saeng fell silent for a moment.
Batu Ru was a poor liar. If someone later captured him and asked, his face and words would betray the direction he knew, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

“I haven’t decided yet.”
“How far south should I go?”
“Only a few dozen li. When you see mountains rise on both sides of the main road, take the two horses into the forest and hide for three days.”
“After three days?”
“Head north. Avoid the main road—stick to the smaller paths and keep going north.”

Batu Ru’s eyes snapped open.

“If we keep going north, we’ll just end up back on the Steppe.”
“That’s precisely why it’s safe. They’ll assume we’ve fled south or east. They won’t easily consider that you’d return to the north.”

The corners of Batu Ru’s mouth turned down.

“There’s no one waiting for me back home.”
“Go to the Steppe, but not to your homeland. Find an empty place to strengthen your martial arts, and when the rumors die down, come find us again.”
“How long will that take?”
“Until your martial arts grow stronger.”

Batu Ru fell silent for a long while, his displeasure evident, yet he offered no alternative plan.
Jang Saeng withdrew a money pouch from his robe. He’d thought there was only the one Yi Jung Yong had given him, but when he untied the small cloth pouch from Jeon Jin Gung, two more money pouches tumbled out from within.
One belonged to Jin Ip Chu and the other to Jeon Jin Gung. Sajeo had anticipated even the possibility of separation and entrusted Jang Saeng with their travel funds.
Jang Saeng emptied the contents of all three pouches into a bamboo basket inside the cart. Silver coins and cut silver struck each other with a heavy clink, and from among them rolled out a single gold nugget no larger than a thumbnail.
Jang Saeng left the gold nugget in his palm and returned the silver coins to a pouch.

“Take this with you, brother.”
“No. That’s your travel funds.”

Batu Ru shook his head firmly.

“This gold nugget alone is enough for me. There’ll be money left over after I pay for passage and food.”
“You need the silver coins too.”
“If I carry too much, I can’t hide it. Tucked inside my clothes, it jingles with every step, and it’ll draw the eyes of thieves and soldiers alike.”

Batu Ru stared at the money pouch, then looked Jang Saeng over from head to foot. The image of the boy walking forest trails with dozens of silver coins hidden in his clothes seemed only then to come to him.
Still he didn’t reach out, so Jang Saeng placed the pouch on his knee.

“You’ll need to buy a horse and find shelter. It takes more money to reach the Steppe than it does for me.”
“You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”
“No.”
“I’m your elder brother. Don’t regret it later saying you had no money.”
“I won’t regret it.”

Batu Ru reluctantly tucked the money pouch into the inner band of his robe.
Jang Saeng also retrieved the dried rations. He divided them into ten portions, putting seven in his own backpack and adding three to Batu Ru’s bundle.

“You don’t need to leave me any. I can hunt in the mountains.”
“There might be rain, or you might not catch anything. You’ll need these to survive four days in hiding.”

In the cart lay blankets they’d used each night. Jang Saeng selected two of them and reached to tie them to the horses’ backs, then stopped.
If the pursuers found the empty cart and noticed two blankets missing, they’d assume the two fugitives were hiding in the nearby mountains.
Jang Saeng untied the cord and spread the blankets back out in their original places.

“We’ll leave these behind.”
“Won’t you be cold at night?”
“If we take them, they’ll know we haven’t run far—that we’re in hiding instead.”

Batu Ru clicked his tongue.

“You’ve changed, just like Yi Jung Yong and Jeon Jin Gung. Your mind is full of nothing but suspicion.”

Jang Saeng made no reply. He couldn’t be certain if he was overthinking, but a single mistake could reveal both Batu Ru’s direction and his own hiding place.
After that, Batu Ru muttered through the sequence Jang Saeng had laid out several times over.

“Dozens of li to the south. Into the mountains for four days. Then a narrow path heading north….”

Whenever something was missing, Jang Saeng corrected him.

“Don’t release the horses on the main road. Lead them into the forest first. If we leave them on the path, our pursuers will know we haven’t gone far.”
“Understood. I’ll set them loose in the woods.”
“And don’t light any fires for the next four days.”
“What about food?”
“Eat the dried rations first.”

Batu Ru closed his mouth with visible displeasure.
* * *
By midday, the high mountains fell away behind them and the road widened. Ahead, three paths diverged under the sun.
The southern route was a broad main road, its surface rutted deep by cart wheels. The eastern and western paths were narrow, threading between trees and fields.
No one was around.
Batu Ru untied the two horses first, tethering them to the carriage. He fastened an iron club to one horse’s back and took the reins of the other in hand.
Jang Saeng gathered his bundle, sword, and crossbow, then climbed down from the carriage. He’d bound the wooden box and the two medical texts securely beneath his clothes.
Batu Ru positioned the empty carriage on the eastern path. The four military horses came to a halt, breathing heavily.

“If we leave them alone, they can graze here.”

He cut a thin branch from a roadside tree and sharpened its end to a point. Before Jang Saeng could stop him, Batu Ru drove the wooden spike shallowly into the front legs of the lead pair of horses.
Neigh!
The horses reared and kicked at the pain, bolting forward. The trailing horses were dragged along with them, and the empty carriage clattered down the eastern path with a thunderous rumble of wheels.
Clear hoofprints and wheel tracks marked both sides of the road—evidence unmistakable enough that any pursuer reaching the crossroads would follow the eastern route without hesitation.
Batu Ru watched the carriage recede into the distance.

“When they tire, they can pull the splinter out with their teeth. I didn’t drive it in too deep.”
“Go now, brother.”

Jang Saeng surveyed each of the three paths in turn. The longer they lingered, the more their tracks would blur together.
Batu Ru mounted one of the horses and looked down at Jang Saeng.

“You’re clever, so I worry less about you. We made a promise. Once I’ve learned more martial arts, I’ll come back and find all of you.”

The word “all” caught in Jang Saeng’s throat. When they met again, no one could say whether Yi Jung Yong, Jin Ip Chu, and Jeon Jin Gung would still be there.
Still, he nodded.

“Yes. Please come back—I’m certain of it.”
“Don’t you die on me.”
“Nor you, brother.”

Batu Ru said no more. He gathered the reins of both horses and turned onto the southern main road.
His massive frame and iron club shrank steadily smaller. Jang Saeng stood watching until he vanished around a bend in the road.
From the east came no more sound of the empty carriage’s wheels. From the south came no more hoofbeats from Batu Ru’s horse.
Standing alone at the crossroads, Jang Saeng turned one last time to look behind him. The mountains and Stone Bridge he’d escaped from were nowhere to be seen to the north.
He turned toward the western path—the one he’d never told Batu Ru about.
And he stepped into the forest where no human footprints lay.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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