Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 108

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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 108
I blinked, awkwardly tugging at the hem of my robe.
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“It’s just a precaution.”
“Don’t talk like something’s about to go wrong. You’re making me anxious.”
Why did he speak as though we were about to part forever?
He’d only just mentioned going to the Martial Alliance—why was he saying things like this now?
An ominous premonition crept through my chest.
Knowing his character, there was a real possibility he would take me to the Alliance prepared to die.
I clamped my mouth shut and stared directly at Yeon Liang, but his composed face revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
I wiped the sweat gathering in my palm and changed the subject. The thought of fleeing and leaving Yeon Liang behind was unbearable.
“I’ll remember all three things. But before we go looking for Master Seol Jae, there’s something else we need to do first.”
“What do you need to do?”
“Build up your strength. I heard a rumor that there’s Gongqing Stone Yu in Anhui. Let’s find it and take it before we leave.”
It seemed the True Qi that Gao had damaged hadn’t fully recovered—Yeon Liang’s movements weren’t what they used to be.
I felt like I could at least rest easier if I could get him to take some Spirit Medicine.
I’m sorry, Namgoong Hui. I’m going to steal just a little more of your Opportunity of Fate.
It was just a trivial incident in the novel that didn’t even rate as a Fate occurrence, so it should be fine. Only a few drops.
But Yeon Liang didn’t seem keen on my proposal.
“Anhui is enormous. You can’t just hear a rumor and expect to find it. If Gongqing Stone Yu truly existed, martial artists from all of Zhongyuan would have flocked there regardless of their allegiances.”
“But I know where it is. There’s a cave on Tianzhu Mountain. It’s supposed to be on the western side of Bilae Peak. It’s close enough—let’s stop by and check.”
“Tianzhu Mountain is out of the question.”
“Why? We could just follow the ridgeline down from here. It won’t take long.”
“Tianzhu Mountain is Namgoong Clan territory. Even though they’ve moved their base to Hefei, they still use it as their ancestral burial ground, and many of their elders spend their final years there. We could easily stumble into one of their martial artists, and that would only complicate matters.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that.”
So that’s why Namgoong Hui’s younger sister had lived in the village at the mountain’s foot. This was inconvenient.
But it wasn’t just anything—it was Gongqing Stone Yu. I hated to abandon the search just because it lay in Namgoong territory.
“Can’t we at least scout it out? Or I could go alone and slip back before anyone notices. I could play it off as taking a wrong turn.”
Then Yeon Liang cut me off sharply, his expression turning stern.
“Absolutely not. You’re clearly a member of the Dang Clan to anyone who looks at you. Do you think the Namgoong won’t recognize it?”
“Is it really that obvious?”
“As obvious as an open banner.”
It sounded almost like a curse.
He furrowed his brow and let out a troubled sigh.
“I can’t send such a reckless girl off alone…”
“Then let’s go together. Please, just try. We’ll find it quickly.”
“Sigh. How could I ever win against a willful sister like you? We’ll search for two days. But if we haven’t found it after two days, we give up.”
“Yes! We’ll find it! Trust me, just this once.”
“…I just said we’d give up if we don’t find it.”
“We’ll find it. I promise I’ll restore your strength.”
I shook my fist confidently.
The novel had clearly stated it was in a cave on the western side of Bilae Peak. So once I found Bilae Peak, it should be easy.
Surely there couldn’t be dozens of caves?
* * *
That very day, we began our preparations to depart.
We repaired the Hermitage in various places, pickled summer fruits generously in honey, dried fish and meat for the Deposed Queen, and carefully stocked them in the kitchen.
I borrowed brush, paper, and ink to carefully write down prescriptions based on the Deposed Queen’s symptoms.
As we bustled about like squirrels preparing for winter, Master Seol Jae seemed to sense that we would be leaving soon.
“Do you have a moment to spare? Would you care for some tea, benefactor?”
“Yes, Master.”
I readily nodded at the monk’s invitation. I had been meaning to tell him we’d be departing soon anyway.
Following Master Seol Jae, I found Master Wol Am and Master Gak Mun waiting for me.
“You’ve come, benefactor.”
“We’ve been waiting. Please, sit here.”
As I sat in the chair Master Gak Mun had prepared, Master Wol Am poured tea into a small earthen cup and placed a deep purple flower fritter on a small plate before me.
“We’ve lightly fried Crape Myrtle Flowers. Do try them with the tea. They have a lovely fragrance.”
“Thank you, Master.”
I carefully placed a petal of the flower fritter in my mouth, and the fragrance seemed to roll across my tongue.
Master Seol Jae watched me munching on the flower petals, his kind face opening into speech.
“Thanks to your care, the Deposed Queen has regained her health, and we couldn’t be more grateful. We truly appreciate all the thought you’ve put into her recovery, benefactor.”
“Please, don’t say that. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Thank you for letting my sister and me stay here at the Hermitage.”
It was no simple matter to hide a bloodied Martial Artist fleeing for his life.
I felt nothing but gratitude toward the monks who had sheltered us for three months without asking a single question.
Seol Jae smiled gently at my words before speaking.
“You’re planning to leave soon, aren’t you?”
“Yes. My brother’s wounds have healed completely, and our staying any longer would become a burden. I’d rather leave before anyone gets the wrong idea.”
“I worry how the humble monk’s words might sound to our guest, but… there is something I must ask of you before you depart.”
“Please speak freely, Master. If it’s within my power, I should naturally help.”
“It’s just that…”
Even at my reply, Seol Jae struggled to find the words.
Wol Am, sensing the lengthening silence, stepped in.
“Forgive me, but… when you leave, could you possibly bring the Deposed Queen down the mountain with you?”
“Pardon? The Deposed Queen?”
I blinked at the unexpected request, my eyes widening.
They were asking me to smuggle out the Emperor’s concubine? Wasn’t that treason?
As I swallowed hard in my confusion, Wol Am gently took my hand.
“We know this is no small request, and we do not mean to coerce you. Yet if you leave, another opportunity may never come. Forgive us for asking without shame.”
Gak Mun, who had been watching our exchange anxiously, added his words.
“The Deposed Queen’s body is too frail to descend the mountain without bearers, but you alone can carry her easily. We have deliberated much, but asking you seemed our only choice.”
It sounded as though there was no other way to secretly remove the Deposed Queen from the mountain.
I smiled awkwardly and asked, “What will become of the Deposed Queen after she leaves the Hermitage?”
“We mean to hold a false funeral, so that she may live freely beyond the palace walls.”
“We have told no one at the Imperial Palace that the Deposed Queen’s health has improved. Since she was unwell when she left the palace, all will believe she contracted plague and was cremated.”
The monks had clearly given this matter far more than a day or two of thought.
“Does the Deposed Queen wish to leave?”
“We have not yet asked her. It is only possible with your help. We intended to encourage her after hearing your answer.”
“Then you should ask her first. What matters most is the Deposed Queen’s choice. As for me… I’ll speak with my brother.”
After answering, I brought the now-lukewarm tea to my lips. My heart felt heavy for some reason.
* * *
When Yeon Liang heard the monks’ request, he took it lightly.
“What’s so difficult about helping someone down a mountain? If you want to help, then help her.”
“Brother, this is treason—treason! We’re smuggling out the Emperor’s concubine. If something goes wrong, we could be hunted by both the authorities and the Murim. You don’t care?”
“What power does the Emperor have? He’s just a useless fool sitting with his backside planted in Jinling, never moving an inch. Your grandfather is ten times more frightening than he’ll ever be.”
He seemed wholly unmoved by the word Emperor, as though he considered it a matter from an entirely different world.
But the Deposed Queen was different.
When the monks presented their proposal, her face crumbled as if the world had fallen away.
“Leave the Hermitage? You’re driving me out? Am I so lacking that I must be cast aside even here?”
“Cast aside? That is not our meaning at all. We speak only because we wish for your happiness.”
“It is so. Please, do not be angry. We speak of this because we hope you might live freely beyond the palace walls.”
As the monks hurried to soothe her, the Deposed Queen’s trembling lips stilled, and she slowly shook her head.
“I understand now what you mean. There is no possibility of my return to the palace, is there?”
“Deposed Queen…”
She clenched her lips and remained silent for a long time, composing herself. When she finally spoke, her voice was hollow.
“Send word to the palace that I am dying. Tell the Emperor that the Deposed Queen So wishes to see him before she passes.”
“Very well, Deposed Queen.”
“If no answer comes even then… only then will we hold the funeral and I will leave the Hermitage.”
* * *
After the carrier pigeon was sent to the Imperial Palace, the Deposed Queen’s mind changed a dozen times a day.
“I do hope the Emperor will come to see me.”
“He will surely come, Deposed Queen.”
“I wish to return to the palace and see my children again. Just thinking of Agon and Ajeong makes my chest ache so…”
Yet just as quickly, she would change her mind entirely.
“I’ll forget life in the palace and live freely.”
“Yes, let us go boating on Dongting Lake.”
“That sounds lovely. They say Dongting Lake is so vast and beautiful. I shall open a teahouse by its shores. My tea is praised even within the palace.”
The Deposed Queen herself seemed uncertain, her resolve wavering.
When no answer came from the palace despite the waiting, she finally set one last condition.
“Four days. I will wait exactly four more days. If no answer comes after that, please take me and leave.”
But on the first day, and on the second, no answer arrived.

The Deposed Queen, as if sensing that no answer would come, wore an expression of resignation.
At last, the final day the Deposed Queen had chosen to wait for arrived.
I was returning from dawn practice in the forest.
A nagging sensation made me pause, and as I scanned my surroundings, I thrust my hand urgently into my sleeve.
The sound of dozens of footsteps echoed from below the mountain.
Yeon Liang, who had been practicing on the opposite slope, muffled his steps and approached me.
“Brother.”
“Shh. Someone’s coming. We need to hide, now.”
We gripped our weapons and swiftly withdrew from the Hermitage.
Once we crossed over to the opposite peak and concealed ourselves, a lavishly decorated palanquin climbing the steep mountain path came into view, followed by a long procession.
Yeon Liang murmured under his breath.
“They’re not Martial Cultivators. No madman would ride in such an ostentatious palanquin unless he wanted to become a target. They look like Imperial Palace people…….”
“Do you think the Emperor came to see her?”
“Hard to say. Let’s wait and observe.”
I suppressed my anxious heartbeat and watched the procession approach the Hermitage.
When the soldier at the front raised his hand, the gold-lacquered, ornate palanquin came to a halt before the Mountain Gate.

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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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