Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 101

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

Episode 101
Yeon Liang’s manner was uncommonly grave. Startled, I ventured carefully, “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t sleep without my sword.”
“……What?”
I tilted my head, wondering if he was joking, but his expression remained serious.
“You’re a Swordmaster. A sword should always be within arm’s reach. With empty hands, I feel incomplete—I can’t sleep.”
As he scratched his cheek and poured out his troubles, I rolled my eyes.
“Ah. I see.”
I hadn’t thought about the sword.
I’d been focused on healing Yeon Liang, not considering what a martial artist would feel losing his weapon.
The blade had snapped in two before my eyes—he must have been sick about it, yet he’d said nothing and endured it all this time. I felt ashamed.
“I’m sorry, brother. I was distracted and didn’t think about the sword. I was planning to go to the marketplace tomorrow anyway to buy some medicinal herbs we can’t find on the mountain. I’ll look for a decent one while I’m there. And I need to get you proper clothes too—we can’t have you leaving the Hermitage looking like that.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. Gak Mun mentioned tomorrow’s market day. I want to buy some herbs we can’t get here on the mountain. And you need clothes—there’s no way we’re leaving the Hermitage with you dressed like that.”
I eyed the ragged cloth Yeon Liang had wound around himself as a makeshift robe with poorly concealed distaste.
That would draw every eye in town.
Yeon Liang nodded in agreement.
“Finding clothes to fit me properly here will be difficult. My frame is… unconventional. Ask them for extra cloth to panel the garment.”
“All right. How much weight do you prefer in a sword?”
“Around three catties would suit me well. My last sword, which I used for quite some time, weighed about two catties eight taels.”
“That’s quite heavy. Understood. I’ll do my best to match it.”
Something around Ju Ryeong’s weight might work. I hoped we’d find a decent blade.
I nodded and extended my hand toward Yeon Liang.
“Then give me the money pouch. I don’t have any.”
“……Fine.”
Yeon Liang exhaled softly and handed over the pouch.
The next morning, I began preparations before dawn to head down the mountain.
I put on clothes Gak Mun had lent me and applied a modest amount of dust to my face.
It was to blend naturally among the people in ordinary dress.
“Is this all right? Does it look natural?”
“It’s enough—stop now. You look like some alley boss roughing up neighborhood children.”
Yeon Liang, who’d been watching me, clicked his tongue.
“Fair skin stands out, so it can’t be helped. If I’d known, I should have learned the Appearance Alteration Technique.”
“It’s not too late, sister. If you entered the Hao Gate even now, I’d teach you the Bone Shrinking Technique as well.”
“But I was raised in the Orthodox Sect. The Hao Gate is different.”
I answered with a dissatisfied expression, and Yeon Liang made a wry face.
“Hmm. Looking at what you do, this brother questions whether the Dang Clan deserves to be called Orthodox at all.”
“What? Brother. Whether the Dang Clan is or not, I walk the Righteous Path. I didn’t abandon my wounded brother—I brought him along with honor, didn’t I?”
“I won’t deny that the Dang Clan strays from the Righteous Path…….”
Muttering to himself, he shook his head and brushed dust from my crumpled clothes.
“I don’t know if I should trust you. Fur ball, you. Stick right beside Sohye so she doesn’t lose her way. If she wanders somewhere strange, you go fetch her right back. And if you see anything suspicious, get her to run immediately. Can you do that?”
“Chirp!”
“Don’t stick out of my sleeve. Keep watch from the fold, and if she seems to be getting cheated, stop her from buying. And if anything looks wrong, make her escape at once. Can you manage?”
“Chirp!”
Why was he giving all these instructions to Ju Ryeong? He should be talking to me.
Yeon Liang clearly didn’t trust me to go down the mountain alone.
He furrowed his brow and scratched his head for a long while, then waved his hand as if giving up.
“Worrying myself sick won’t help. Go on. I’ll get started on the cooking.”
“All right. I’ll be back.”
I shrugged and stepped out past the gate, and Yeon Liang called after me.
“Sohye, be careful of people!”
“Don’t worry—just cook, brother!”
I called back and hastened down the mountain.
* * *
The marketplace, which opened once every nine days, was surprisingly large for the size of the village.
Farmers had come to sell vegetables and grain from the summer harvest, and wandering merchants peddled household goods.
It wasn’t hard to understand why such a small village was crowded with merchants.
“Neigh!”
“Listen, you stubborn beast! Go into the stable like I told you!”
The village had a waystation.
It was the sort of place where travelers on horseback or in carriages would stop to rest, so naturally it was crowded.
I flinched at the sight of the station guards on duty, but my heart eased when I realized they paid me no attention whatsoever.
They were too busy keeping watch for swords-bearing martial artists to notice someone like me.
In a street where escorted treasure convoys, foreign merchants seeking a night’s lodging before crossing the mountains, and traders selling their wares all mingled together, no one had eyes for a child.
Which was exactly what I needed. The chaos would keep me unnoticed.
Reassured, I slipped into the crowd.
The herb shop and the cloth merchant were easy to find along the main road.
The buildings were large enough that I had no trouble gathering what I needed.
But the blacksmith shop was nowhere to be found.
Why wasn’t it here? Was it tucked away somewhere remote?
I wandered for quite some time, glancing about, and before long I’d gone far beyond the marketplace.
Just as I was debating whether to turn back, an alley appeared, thick with the distinctive scent of metal.
I entered the alley slowly.
Deep within it, an old man sat before a weathered blacksmith shop with no nameplate, working a scythe handle with his hands.
“Ahem.”
I made a loud noise to announce myself, and the old man lifted his head. I bowed respectfully.
“Pardon me, sir. I’m looking to buy a sword.”
“A sword, you say? Not a kitchen knife?”
“No, sir. A sword for a martial artist.”
“Doesn’t look like it’s for you, girl. Who’s it for?”
“It’s for my—that is, for the young master. Where might I find one?”
“A swordmaster sends a servant girl to buy his own blade? Looks like some greenhorn’s been playing at martial arts.”
When I asked as if I were a maidservant, the old man snorted and jerked his chin toward the corner.
“Take your pick from what’s over there.”
Then he returned to working the scythe handle.
He clearly had no intention of dealing with me seriously.
Reading the situation, I moved toward the spot he’d indicated.
No one had searched for items here in a long time, and inside a dust-covered box lay dozens of old swords piled haphazardly together.
Even at a glance, they were nothing but cheap iron blades.
I grimaced and pulled one from its sheath slightly to inspect it. The metal was poor quality, as expected.
It wasn’t even as good as the one Yeon Liang carried.
The other swords were in no better condition, and some had edges so dull they looked like they’d snap if struck against a branch.
Should I try another blacksmith? It didn’t seem like there were any others in this part of town.
I was worrying over the sorry state of these worthless blades when Ju Ryeong suddenly poked his face out from my clothing.
“I told you to stay hidden.”
I scolded softly and pushed him back in, but he resisted with all his strength and raked his claws across my forearm.
As if that weren’t enough, he leaped down and dragged out one of the swords across the floor.
As the creature scurried back and forth with a scratching sound, the old man muttered from a distance.
“What’s that noise? Girl, is there a rat in here?”
“No, sir! No, not at all! I’m just looking for a sword!”
I cried out and grabbed the blade Ju Ryeong had brought, but the sheath, which hadn’t fit properly, clattered to the floor.
I stood with my mouth gaping open.
“Heavens.”
My slack-jawed expression was perfectly reflected across the blade, which shimmered with a blue-green light.
The smooth edge had been honed so finely that it seemed capable of cutting through anything.
Even to an untrained eye like mine, this was no ordinary object.
But why was such a blade buried in a pile of dust?
I gasped in shock, and Ju Ryeong scratched at my knee, as if demanding praise.
“Good work, Ju Ryeong. When we get back, I’ll ask Yeon Liang for a jar of honey for you.”
“Purr.”
“Now get back inside.”
I stuffed the excited creature back into my clothes and drew out my small blade.
Releasing the tension in my hand, I tapped the small blade gently against the sword’s edge, and a clear, ringing note sang out.
Ting!
The note was so pure and clean that I worried the sword might have broken.
I turned the blade this way and that to examine it in alarm, but there wasn’t a single scratch on it.
It remained unharmed even after striking cloud-iron, so this was no ordinary metal…
I opened my eyes wide, studying the edge, and nearly bit my tongue.
Wait. This is cloud-iron too, isn’t it? Did someone really carelessly toss around a cloud-iron blade like this? Do they not know what they have?
I had to buy it. No matter what. And cheaper was even better.
I hurriedly shoved the sword into its dented scabbard, arranged my face into composure, and approached the old man.
“I’ll take this sword. How much is it?”
The old man glanced at the blade in my hand and shook his head.
“That one’s not for sale, miss.”
“Please, sir. Sell it to us. Our young master needs this sword.”
“It’s not for sale, I told you. That’s not a sword I made. It’s something I’m keeping for someone else. I wouldn’t sell it even if you brought me a fortune.”
The old man spoke with finality.
Damn. This wasn’t going to work.
I swallowed hard, meeting the old man’s gaze.
Yeon Liang needed a good sword—one that could hold up without needing Internal Power channeled through it.
Now that I’d found it, I couldn’t simply abandon it.
As I turned the scabbard over in my hands, trying to think how to persuade him, the old man’s expression shifted strangely when he caught sight of my wrist.
“Miss, that White Jade Bracelet—might I take a look at it?”
His eyes weren’t greedy, but I felt myself tense. It wasn’t the kind of thing that usually drew attention.
I pulled my sleeve down to cover the bracelet and deflected. “Ah, well, it’s a cheap counterfeit, nothing worth your interest, sir…”
“I know that piece.”
“Pardon?”
“The bracelet you’re wearing. Someone I knew made it about thirty years ago.”
The old man’s brow furrowed as he studied me from head to toe, twisting his beard thoughtfully. He asked, “Are you from the Dang Clan?”

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