Longevity - Chapter 58

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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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Episode 58: Lady Zhao
“Lady Zhao, come with me at once.”

When Jangseong extended his hand, Lady Zhao instinctively stepped back. With her face streaked in blood and her clothes soaked through, it was only natural she found it hard to trust this boy who had suddenly rushed at her.
The maidservant at her side swiftly knocked his hand away, positioning herself between him and Lady Zhao with eyes blazing.

“What are you doing?”
“I came to save you.”

Jangseong caught his breath and glanced toward the stairwell. Below, the sounds of bodies falling and moans still drifted up in intervals.

“If you stay here, you’ll all die. Come quickly.”
“Who are you to save us?”

The maidservant pressed him again. Jangseong started to answer but closed his mouth. There was no use explaining about Jin Ruchu now—they would never believe him. Besides, he had no idea when the Kaibang Disciples might move again.

“Is now the time to explain?”

He reached into his garments and drew out the blue flowers of the Snowstorm Zephyr Begonia. Keeping only a few blooms, he threw the rest into the center of the deck.

“Share these flowers! They’ll help purge the poison. Whether you jump from the ship or hide—save yourselves!”

Every eye snapped toward the blue blossoms. When one person rushed forward, those nearby reached out as well. In an instant, the deck descended into chaos.
Jangseong did not wait any longer and turned toward the stern. After a few steps, he looked back at Lady Zhao.

“One last time I ask: will you come, or not?”

Lady Zhao’s mother and the maidservant both turned to look at her.
Jangseong bit his lip. He had been bitten by a snake and run down the mountain before barely managing to climb aboard this ship. He had racked his mind until he thought it would split, creating a poison strong enough to fell the Kaibang Disciples without killing them. But if he hesitated now, he could not drag anyone further.
After a brief silence, Lady Zhao released her mother’s arm.

“I’m coming.”

She rushed toward Jangseong first. Lady Zhao’s mother and the maidservant followed behind her.
Just then, one of the men who had failed to seize the blue flowers cried out desperately.

“Wait! If you leave too, what are we supposed to do?”

Jangseong’s feet stopped.
He had been bitten by a viper, run more than ten miles through the mountains, jumped into the water, and crawled onto the Official Ship. He had even lowered the poison’s potency to save these people. He had done all he could.
He did not turn around as he replied.

“Jump from the ship. If you stay, you will die.”

He no longer listened to the sounds from the deck.
At the stern, Jangseong looked down beyond the rail. The small boat he had left behind rocked in the current. Without hesitation, he vaulted over the rail and threw himself into the water.
Splash!
Cold water covered him from head to toe. Jangseong broke the surface and grasped the side of the small boat. After sliding a wooden pole into the cabin, he hooked his elbow over it and looked up at Lady Zhao.

“Jump!”

The maidservant clung to the rail, peering down.

“How can I jump from this height!”
“I didn’t come here to save you. If you’re afraid, stay there.”

Jangseong looked toward Lady Zhao.

“When I count to three—”

Before she could finish speaking, Jo Nangja vaulted over the railing.
Her skirts billowed dramatically through the air. Jangseong spun in shock and caught her, and the impact drove them both beneath the surface before they bobbed up again.
Jo Nangja didn’t thrash despite swallowing water. When Jangseong seized her arm, she surrendered her weight to him without resistance.
He thrust her toward the gunwale of the small boat.

“Get inside the boat!”

Once he confirmed Jo Nangja was climbing aboard, he turned his gaze back up to the Official Ship.
The daughter had jumped first, and seeing this, Jo Buhin gritted her teeth and threw herself over the railing as well. The maidservant couldn’t hold back any longer and followed.
The moment they struck the water, both flailed their arms in panic. Jangseong supported Jo Buhin’s back first, pushing her toward the small boat, and Jo Nangja caught her mother’s hand to pull her aboard.
Jangseong turned and seized the maidservant’s arm.
It was then that a scream tore through the upper decks.

“Ahhh!”

It didn’t end with one. The cries and shouts of people tangled together. It seemed a Kaibang Disciple who’d consumed less poison had already made his way topside.
Jangseong didn’t wait to hoist the maidservant aboard. He drew his dagger and slashed at the final rope binding the Official Ship to the small boat.
Snap!
As the line parted, the current swept the small boat downstream. Jangseong gripped the gunwale with one hand while clamping the maidservant’s armpit with the other.
Terror seized her, and she thrashed violently.

“Let go! Release me! Help—”
“Silence!”

Jangseong clamped his hand over her mouth in desperation. The distance to the Official Ship was still only a dozen lengths or so. If she cried out here, any survivors would spot them immediately.
The maidservant struggled harder. Her nails scraped his arm, her heels kicked at his shin. Jangseong clenched his jaw and didn’t remove his hand from her mouth.
Only after the small boat had drifted some fifty lengths from the Official Ship did he release her.

“Not another sound.”

He summoned what strength remained and shoved her over the side of the boat onto its deck.
That exhausted what he had left.
Jangseong hung from the gunwale, breathing hard. His fingers had begun to stiffen, and he lacked the strength to haul himself up.
Jo Nangja crouched down.

“Give me your hand.”

She grasped his wrist with both hands. Her wet sleeves rode up to her elbows, but she didn’t let go. Using her strength to pull, Jangseong managed to roll over the side and into the boat.
In that moment, a curse erupted from the stern of the Official Ship.

“Seize them!”

Jangseong lifted his head. Two Kaibang Disciples with blades were staggering toward the railing. Their steps wavered, yet whether they had the strength left to throw their weapons remained unclear.
Jangseong seized the oars without even catching his breath.
Splash! Splash!
Each time the oars bit the water, his arms and shoulders screamed with pain. The small boat, weighed down by four people, moved sluggishly through the current. Still, Jangseong didn’t stop.
The curses of the Kaibang Disciples faded gradually into distance.
Only after drifting several hundred lengths downstream did he slow his pace. Looking back, the Official Ship hung on the water trailing black smoke.
Blades flashed across the deck again.
The people who had been quarreling over the blue flower now rushed toward the railing. Some tried to dive into the water, but the Kaibang Disciples reached them first. Screams stretched across the river’s expanse.
Jangseong tightened his grip on the oars.
Jo Nangja and Jo Buhin were watching the scene unfold. All color drained from their faces. Had they hesitated even a moment longer, they would still be there.
The maidservant stared at the Official Ship, not at Jangseong, before slowly turning her gaze away. Her eyes held more resentment than gratitude.
Jangseong wiped his breath and met that stare.

“Why do you look at me that way? Shall I row you back?”

The maidservant’s shoulders flinched.

“Who said anything about going back? It’s only that…… I thought I was nearly strangled to death back there.”
“I only covered your mouth. I didn’t block your nose.”
“Could you breathe properly in that situation?”

Jangseong started to protest, then closed his mouth. When he thought about it, he’d twisted her mouth shut rather forcefully.

“If you’d cried out, they would’ve chased after us for certain.”

The maidservant couldn’t argue with that either. She merely pouted her lips and wrung out her wet sleeve.
Lady Jo straightened her posture first.

“Had it not been for you, my daughter and I would not have survived today. I don’t know how to repay such a debt of gratitude.”

Miss Jo and the maidservant bowed their heads in turn.
When all three offered such formal thanks, Jangseong found himself oddly uncomfortable.

“Please, don’t do that. I was rather harsh in my words. I have no martial arts training, so when I had to get all of you out, I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“You haven’t studied Martial Arts?”

Miss Jo asked in surprise.

“No. That’s why it was all the harder.”

Jangseong moved the oars again. The current in the tributary was sluggish, and the distance to the Official Ship still wasn’t sufficient.

“We’re not safe yet. Please stay quiet and still until we reach the Great River.”

The three of them offered to help, dipping their hands into the water. But each time they leaned forward, the small boat rocked side to side.

“No, please. The boat rocks more when you do that—it only makes things harder.”

Only then did the three withdraw their hands and gather their bodies toward the center of the boat. Jangseong gritted his teeth and rowed harder.
* * *
The small boat finally entered the main channel of the Great River.
The widening current pushed the boat downstream. Only then did Jangseong set the oars down across his knees. His palms were blistered and bleeding.

“Are there whirlpools or dangerous shallows ahead?”

Miss Jo shook her head.

“The water is calmer than upstream. There shouldn’t be any great danger.”

Jangseong let out a long breath.

“Thank the heavens. This boat is far too small to carry four people. If we hit a storm, it won’t hold.”

They drifted with the current for several more li. The Official Ship was no longer visible, and feeling gradually returned to Jangseong’s arms.
Miss Jo hesitated for a long time before speaking.

“May I ask you something, sir?”
“You want to know why I saved you?”

Miss Jo nodded slowly.

“Those people all had Martial Arts training, but you risked your life without any at all.”

Jangseong straightened the water’s course with the tip of an oar and smiled.

“Take a guess.”
“How could I possibly know?”

The maidservant seized the moment, stepping in with careful deliberation.

“We are of the Official Family, and Miss will be marrying into a great house of wealth. Since the young master risked his life to save her, we must certainly repay—”
“Marrying into a great house?”

Jangseong stopped rowing. His voice came so loud that all three turned to stare at him.
The maidservant seemed to think he harbored other intentions and moved to block Miss Cho again.

“I shall not forget the debt of gratitude, but Miss has already been promised to someone—”
“Wait, please.”

Jangseong’s brow furrowed.

“Is there truly someone to whom she is betrothed? Or did you fabricate this tale for fear I might use the debt of gratitude as pretext to demand marriage from Miss Cho?”

The maidservant’s mouth fell open.
Reading her face, Jangseong had his answer. His shoulders sagged.

“So it was a lie after all.”
“Well, I only thought… I mean…”
“Do not worry. I did not save Miss Cho because she is beautiful.”

Questions bloomed across the faces of Lady Cho and Miss Cho.

“Then why did you save her?”

Jangseong looked between them both.

Do you remember that night when you boarded the ship in Yuzhou? Miss Cho and this maidservant were speaking at the stern.

Miss Cho could not recall it at once, but the maidservant’s eyes widened as if she recognized him.

“That boy from the stern!”
“I was there first. I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I heard everything you both said.”

This time Jangseong could not hide his smile.

“The man you both spoke of is my teacher.”

Miss Cho’s eyes widened.

“The disciple of Master Jin Ruchu?”
“Yes.”
“Then the young master’s name is…?”
“I do not know my own family name.”

Miss Cho’s gaze traveled down to Jangseong’s short, singed hair and his legs. The boy before her seemed at odds with the figure she had heard described in the letter, and confusion flickered across her face.
Jangseong spoke first to clarify.

“My legs were mended by another. My hair burned in the fire and became like this. Do you know my name, Miss Cho?”

The wariness drained entirely from Miss Cho’s expression.

“Jangseong.”
“Yes.”

Jangseong broke into a broad smile.

“Did you tell him about me?”
“I mentioned it several times in my letters. How you had an remarkable memory even as a child, and how you never forgot anything you saw or heard.”
“It seems my brother spoke only well of me.”
“After seeing what you’ve done today, I know he wasn’t exaggerating. To accomplish something like this against so many people.”

At the praise, Jangseong found himself remembering all the grievances he’d endured. He rolled up the hem of his wet trousers. His calves were covered with fang marks from the snake and scratches from scrambling over mountain paths.

“I’m not trying to boast, but look at these. The snake bit me all over.”

Madam Jo gasped, leaning down to examine the wounds, and Jangseong added matter-of-factly:

“If you’re to marry my brother, then you’ll be my sister-in-law.”

Madam Jo’s daughter’s cheeks flushed crimson. Madam Jo looked back and forth between her daughter and Jangseong, her eyebrows rising.

“Marriage? What are you talking about?”

Madam Jo’s daughter bit her lip for a moment. But she had already come through death itself. She seemed to have no more wish to hide, turning her body toward her mother.

“Mother, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

Jangseong took up the oars again. Madam Jo’s expression was startled, but she did not immediately scold her daughter.
Jin Ruchu’s disciple—whom she had dismissed as no one from the Jianghu—had risked his life to save them. At least in this moment, it would be difficult for her to flatly oppose that connection.
Jangseong cut through the water, his mouth curving upward. All the snake bites and scrambling through the mountains had been worth it.
Above all, he had kept his brother’s beloved safe.

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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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