Longevity - Chapter 59

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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 59: The Final Journey
As the boat broke free of the rushing current, the river widened again.
The small vessel drifted downstream of its own accord with the current. Jangseong merely steadied its direction with the oar, keeping it from spinning in circles.
Once he’d caught his breath, the next problem came into focus.
First, he needed to decide where to send Lady Jo and her party. The official vessel’s destination was Gamju,

but he hadn’t learned where exactly in Gamju

they were headed.

“Lady Jo, where are you three going?”

Jangseong hesitated for a moment, then added,

“Or rather—where are you headed, Sister-in-law?”

Lady Jo’s cheeks flushed again. She merely lowered her gaze, uncertain whether to correct him outright.
The maidservant coughed softly instead.

“Young master, marriage is not something to be undertaken without parental consent and a proper matchmaker. Such a form of address is not yet appropriate between you two.”

Jangseong understood propriety well enough. He’d simply called her by that name a second time on purpose, wanting to give Jin Ipchu a small measure of encouragement.

“Ah, I see. I overstepped.”

He smoothly changed the subject.

“Then, Lady Jo, where in Gamju

are you going?”
“My father is the Prefect of Gamju.

We’re heading to the Prefect’s Office in Gamju.”

Jangseong’s oar stilled on the water.
He’d known they came from an official household, but not that she was a prefect’s daughter. A prefect governed an entire province—one might say he ranked just below the Jeoldosa himself.

“How far remains from here to the Gamju

Prefect’s Office?”
“I’m not certain of the exact distance, but I’d say roughly five hundred li.”

It was far.
Jangseong studied the water ahead. Four people in a small boat covering that entire distance would be impossible. The Gaebang disciples were still alive. Escaping the official vessel didn’t mean pursuit had ended.

“I’m afraid I cannot escort you all the way to Gamju.

We’ll drift downstream and put ashore at a safe place, then make for the nearest local office. If you request official guards from them, they should escort you to Gamju.”

Lady Jo didn’t answer at once. She looked to her mother, and only after the older woman nodded did she speak.

“Very well. But where are you going, Young Master Jang?”

Jangseong’s grip tightened on the oar.
Jin Ipchu had written of him in the letter, so he’d simply revealed his identity to Lady Jo. Gakjosan—

There was no reason to mention that they were heading there. That place was where the hunted brothers had agreed to gather. The more people who knew the route, the greater the danger.
When his answer came slowly, the young lady seemed to interpret it differently.

“If you have nowhere set to go, you’re welcome to travel with us. Once we reach the Hyeon Office, I’ll speak to Father about finding you work.”
“I’m grateful for the kindness.”

Jangseong shook his head.

“My third brother likely wrote of our circumstances in his letter. I cannot stay in one place for long.”

The young lady did not press further.

“We left all our baggage and money on the official vessel. Should you find yourself short of traveling funds, once we reach Gamju,

I absolutely will—”
“It’s unnecessary. I have money.”

He still had a few silver coins left from what the Taepyeong Guard House had given him, and a small nugget of gold was hidden in his robes. The traveling expenses and provisions from the Prefect of Yuzhou had been left aboard the vessel, but he was far from destitute.
Jangseong scanned both riverbanks in turn. He needed to find a path to the Hyeon Office that avoided drawing attention while remaining reasonably close.
The lady asked about the identities of those who had accosted them on the official vessel.

“Disciples of the Gaebang. They were trying to steal the vessel’s military provisions and deliver them to Zhu Wen.”

The lady and her daughter listened with hardened expressions. The maidservant could not restrain herself and clicked her tongue.

“Those vagabonds dare steal an official vessel? If caught, they should all be subjected to severe punishment.”

Jangseong turned to look at her.

“Did those men ever inquire about the three of you?”
“No. They simply took our valuables and asked nothing of who we were.”
“That is fortunate.”

The Gaebang were not ordinary bandits who feared the authorities and hid. Had they learned the family’s connection to the Prefect of Gamju,

they might have sent men all the way to the Hyeon Office to silence them.
The maidservant still wore a displeased expression.

“Still, would a band of vagabonds ever make their way to the Hyeon Office itself?”
“The disciples of the Gaebang are not the same as ordinary beggars on the road.”

Jangseong’s voice grew firm.

“One must not vent anger upon wandering commoners or common beggars. Those who harmed us today were disciples of the Gaebang from the Jianghu.”

The maidservant nodded, looking sheepish.
Jangseong hesitated a moment, then asked about Jin Ipchu’s whereabouts. The young lady said only that he had entered military service. She did not reveal which garrison he was currently stationed with.
Jangseong did not press further. Just as he was hiding Gakjosan,

the young lady was protecting Jin Ipchu’s safety.

“Did my third brother say nothing in his letter about the fourth brother and Fifth Uncle?”
“Their names were not mentioned.”

Jangseong’s face hardened, and the young lady continued.

“But most of the letter expressed joy at their survival. There was no sense of grief from the loss of those close to him.”

Only then did Jangseong exhale.

“Then we’re in luck.”

Yi Jungyong and Mujeon Jingung were likely still alive. It wasn’t certain, but for now that alone was enough to give him hope.
As strength gradually returned to his limbs, Jangseong took up the oars again. He had to put as much distance as possible between them before Gaebang began their pursuit.
Jo’s niece and her attendants tried to push the water with their hands, but when the boat began to rock, they quickly stopped. In the cramped vessel, huddled close together, they could only watch Jangseong’s oars and the wake spreading behind them.
* * *
Two hours later, as the sun tilted westward, a large ferry landing appeared ahead.
Porters were unloading cargo from the merchant vessel, and passengers filed out in streams from the ferry boats. Carts and wagons tangled along the riverbank.
Jo’s wife took in her surroundings.

“We’ve entered Gamju territory now. The Hyeon Office can’t be more than fifty li away.”

It would have been a good place to disembark. Since it was an official government landing, the road to Hyeon Office was easy to find.
But there were too many people.
If a small boat carrying a blood-soaked boy and three drenched women pulled in, anyone would remember it. If Gaebang disciples who followed came asking questions, they’d learn their destination in moments.
Yet they couldn’t take the four passengers downriver through the night either. The small boat rocked as if it would capsize whenever the current grew stronger. Once darkness fell, it would be impossible to distinguish the riverbed from the water’s course.
While Jangseong hesitated over his decision, the small boat drifted past the ferry landing.
The maidservant looked back.

“Shouldn’t we have disembarked just now?”
“If we landed there, too many people would see us.”

Jangseong kept his eyes on the riverbank.
Before long, a low, gently sloping mound appeared downstream of the landing. The undergrowth was thick enough that the boat would remain hidden from anyone on the path above.
Jangseong quickly angled the oars.
As the boat touched the muddy bank, he helped the three women ashore first. But they didn’t part ways there. If they met people immediately after leaving the river, Gaebang might take notice.
He led Jo’s niece and her party across woods and grassland. Their wet skirts caught on grass roots several times, slowing their pace, but no one complained.
After traveling about four or five li along a path, the four of them hid themselves among the tall grass.
Shortly after, a cart approached from the north, carrying a young couple and a child of three or four years.
Jangseong stepped onto the road and stopped the cart.

“Are you traveling back to Hyeonseong?”

The young man pulled warily at the reins.

“I am.”

Jangseong produced a silver coin and showed it.

“Would you take these three people to Hyeonseong? If you encounter officials on the road, simply tell them these are people traveling to the Gamju Hyeon Office.”

The man examined Jo’s wife and niece’s appearance and exchanged a meaningful glance with his wife. He seemed to sense the situation was unusual even before accepting the silver coin.

“We’re headed back to Hyeonseong ourselves. Please, get in.”

Jo’s wife expressed her gratitude repeatedly, and before boarding the cart, Jo’s niece turned back to Jangseong.

“Won’t you come with us?”
“I have something I must do.”
“Then take care of yourself. I’ll be sure to send word to Jin Ipchu.”

At the mention of Jin Ipchu’s name, Jangseong broke into a bright smile.

“Tell the Prefect I’m doing well.”

The cart receded down the southern road. Jangseong stood there until the sound of the wheels could no longer be heard.
With the three of them safely sent off, the weight that had pressed on his shoulders seemed to lift.
He cut across the grassland and returned to the riverbank. The people at the Ferry Landing would have seen only a small boat carrying four passengers drifting downstream. None of them would have noticed the vessel hidden and moored below the landing.
Even if the Gaebang pursued them to the Ferry Landing, they would hear only that Cho’s party had continued downriver. Jangseong set the small boat back into the water. If he kept going downstream, he could draw any pursuit in his own direction.
* * *
Darkness settled over the river.
Jangseong did not hurry through the night. Though he himself could not see in darkness, any martial master possessed of Spiritual Qi kept keen eyes even after sunset. Rowing in the pitch-black river was not escape—it was only making oneself a target.
After drifting five or six li, he spotted a small tributary branching from the main channel. It would have been a plausible place to hide, but its entrance was plainly visible from the main current. He passed it by.
Only after going several li further did he discover a tree with its long roots trailing into the water’s edge. Countless roots extended down into the depths, spreading like thick legs to screen the riverbank.
Jangseong pushed the small boat in behind them.
It would have been safer to climb up into the branches, but snakes infested the trees along the southern banks. He had already been bitten by venomous serpents more times than he cared to count. Instead, he curled his body inside the boat.
Strangely, mosquitoes and flying insects kept their distance. Whether it was the lingering snake venom in his blood or the smell of antidote, he could not say.
Thanks to that, Jangseong was able to close his eyes undisturbed for once.
Since leaping from the Official Vessel, he had never truly rested. The thought that Gakjosan

lay not far ahead suddenly broke his tension all at once.
He opened his eyes only after noon the following day had passed.
Jangseong did not set out immediately. If the Gaebang had spread their net of pursuit, this was the most dangerous hour. Fresh from his escape from the Official Vessel, they would be scouring every inch—the landing, the riverbanks, the roads leading downstream.
He left the boat hidden behind the roots and ventured into the forest. Hunger gnawed at him, but he had lost both supplies and provisions.
Instead, he had the Qianjin Yifang.
He methodically verified each plant and herb he had memorized from the book. For leaves and fruits he had never seen before, he could compare their appearance, stems, and scent to determine what was safe to eat. He filled his hunger with roots and fruits that others feared to touch.
When the sun set, mosquitoes swarmed again. The poisonous reek that had clung to his body the day before had grown faint.
Jangseong gathered herbs that insects avoided and spread them across the ground. As the acrid smell diffused, mosquitoes and small insects retreated from the area.
He lay upon them and passed another day.
The next day, he did not move either.
Gakjosan

was already near. Leaving only the last few dozen li ahead, he felt impatience rising—and if he encountered the Gaebang now, all his suffering would have been for nothing.
Jangseong hid by the riverbank and counted the days.
One day, two, three.
Each time a boat passed overhead, he held his breath; each time footsteps sounded on the bank, he pressed himself low. Still, nothing gave him away.
Seven days passed before he pushed the small boat out from between the roots.
By now, anyone would assume he had fled far downstream long ago. Moving now was actually the safer course.
* * *
Jangseong retraced the route he had learned from Yi Jungyong and Jin Ipchu.
Without leaving the riverbank, he cautiously traveled for two days. By day he moved along reeds and thickets; he skirted far around any crowded landing or settlement.
In the afternoon of the second day, a tributary he had remembered appeared before him.
Jangseong turned the small boat toward it. He went several dozen li deeper along the narrower channel, away from the main flow, before finally abandoning the vessel at a stretch of bank where human footprints were scarce.
The moment his feet touched earth, both legs buckled. After so long on the water, even solid ground seemed to sway beneath him.
He steadied himself against a tree and caught his breath, then raised his head.
Beyond the ridge, the roof of an enormous hall rose into view. Its multiple layers of eaves caught the sunlight and shone with brilliant clarity even from this distance.
Gakjosan.

It was Gakjosan.
Less than thirty li remained.

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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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