Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 12

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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 12
Namgung Hui vaulted lightly over a ten-meter wall, slipping through the Inner City and out past the Outer City. And how did I manage it, you ask?
I showed my Entry Pass to the guards and walked out the front gate like any ordinary person.
As a servant with not a shred of Internal Energy and no training in Lightness Skill, this was the best I could do.
Truth be told, this is the proper way. Walls weren’t built for people to go leaping over them, after all.
Namgung Hui seemed dissatisfied that I hadn’t indulged his whims, and complained the whole way.
“You’re no fun at all.”
“I cannot scale walls, Young Master. Unless you were to carry me over, it’s simply beyond me.”
“It’s not beyond me. I could carry you over without trouble. We could do it right now if you’d let me.”
Namgung Hui crouched down with a show of false confidence. I quickly shook my head.
“Men and women must maintain proper distance after childhood, Young Master. How could I possibly allow you to carry me?”
Namgung Hui straightened up, tilting his head with interest.
“Have you been reading the Confucian classics?”
He looked at me with surprise and fascination—as if such words were unexpected from a servant. I laughed it off.
“I merely overheard it somewhere. Look, there’s the road. Shall we go?”
I pointed to the avenue that connected to the Outer City gate. Namgung Hui’s face brightened, and he set off ahead. I followed one step behind.
“Come on, hurry.”
When Namgung Hui spotted the Marketplace sprawling along the busy street, he tugged at my sleeve impatiently.
The crowded market teemed with every sort of person peddling every sort of thing.
Innkeepers calling out for custom, fabric shops with bolts of soft-hued silk hanging in rows, bookstalls where fresh ink on newly copied manuscripts was still drying….
Unlike the perpetual quiet of the Dang Household, this bustling street carried the living scent of human commerce.
While my curiosity stirred at the sight of the marketplace, anxiety crept in alongside it. Was it truly wise to wander about like this?
In every story I’d heard, ruffians appeared the moment noble young masters showed their faces in markets.
I studied Namgung Hui. Each time he moved, his rich silk robe caught the light with lustrous grace.
To anyone watching, he was plainly a wealthy young master of some consequence. The weight of responsibility settled on me—I had to return him safely, without incident.
“What noble house is this young master from? He carries himself so proudly.”
“Could he be a son of the Baekpung Trading Company? Silk of that quality isn’t for just anyone.”
“Fool, don’t you see? Look at that sword at his waist. He’s from a martial family. Surely a guest of the Dang Household. Didn’t several carriages enter there yesterday?”
Even as whispers rippled through the crowd, Namgung Hui didn’t bat an eye. The boy was clearly accustomed to being noticed.
I wondered if anyone from the Namgung Clan had seen him slip out of the Dang Household.
It wasn’t my fault, but would I really escape a blade through the ribs for supposedly coaxing out their honored guest?
I wiped the sweat from my palms and surveyed the area carefully. Fortunately, no one looking like a ruffian was in sight.
Besides, anyone foolish enough to cause trouble within spitting distance of the Dang Household gate deserved what they got—and if they were still alive, they’d wish they weren’t.
Reassured, I relaxed and began browsing the market alongside Namgung Hui.
Cheap sword ornaments, hair ribbons, fans, straw hats….
We passed a stall selling sundries and came upon a counter laden with unfamiliar medicinal herbs.
Namgung Hui stared intently at what looked like dried mushrooms and asked me.
“What is this?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir.”
“What about this one?”
“I’m not certain of that either.”
“You don’t seem to know anything.”
Well, that’s rich coming from you, when you don’t know either.
Dissatisfied with my halfhearted answers, Namgung Hui turned his questions elsewhere.
“Proprietor, what is this?”
“That would be Chinese Angelica root, Young Master. We use it as medicinal herb.”
“Is that so? What’s it good for?”
“It’s beneficial for all manner of ailments, sir. It goes into herbal tonics and medicinal wines both.”
The Herbal Medicine Merchant stroked his goat beard respectfully. He was eager to make a sale to this young customer who had every appearance of quality breeding.
But Namgung Hui shook his head, apparently uninterested.
“I have no need for it. Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
I answered obediently and trotted after him. Past a grain merchant next to the herb stall, I spotted a rice cake shop.
The Female Rice Cake Vendor, working with cheerful ease, pulled finished cakes from a pot where they steamed with an appetizing aroma.
“Are you visitors from out of town? Do try our fried rice cakes—fresh from the pan and absolutely delicious.”
Namgung Hui stopped in his tracks, and the vendor beamed, extending a wooden bowl.
Inside lay golden-fried glutinous rice cakes. Even in their modest appearance, my mouth began to water.
To fry sticky rice cakes like this—whoever made them knew how to eat well.
Namgung Hui, too, couldn’t tear his eyes from the steaming cakes rising with wisps of heat.
“One. No—two. Give me two.”
Namgung Hui seemed aware of my presence and adjusted the order quantity. It looked like he was making sure to include my portion as well.
Thank you, friend.
“That will be thirty copper coins, Young Master.”
“Mm.”
Namgung Hui nodded and opened a silk pouch, then without hesitation drew out a silver ingot and offered it to her.
The Female Rice Cake Vendor and I both opened our eyes wide at the horseshoe-shaped ingot. I hurried to stop Namgung Hui.
“Young Master, that’s far too much.”
“Why? I only have silver ingots on me.”
“You can’t use an ingot. I have copper coins. Let me pay with these.”
Saying it wouldn’t do, I thrust out my plain cloth pouch, and Namgung Hui’s lips puckered.
But he didn’t seem interested in arguing and readily pulled out thirty copper coins.
Farewell, my modest, darling monthly allowance.
The Female Rice Cake Vendor looked slightly disappointed, but she hid it well and accepted the coins without fuss.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Best of luck with your sales.”
We took the rice cakes wrapped in reed leaves and began walking through the marketplace.
Namgung Hui bit into the sticky rice cake and spoke in a petulant voice.
“Explain.”
“Sir?”
“Why shouldn’t I pay with an ingot?”
Damn. Was I being too forward just then?
I laughed awkwardly and looked at Namgung Hui. His face was sharp with incomprehension at my behavior.
……Curse it. I’m a servant. I keep forgetting my station.
Meeting Namgung Hui’s gaze, I chose my words carefully.
“It would be far too much money for that woman to handle, Young Master. You mustn’t show such a large sum in front of others like that.”
“Why? It would be good for her, wouldn’t it? That’s money she could never touch in a lifetime of work.”
“That’s precisely why I’m advising against it. The people nearby saw you offering that ingot.”
“I don’t see why that matters.”
Namgung Hui’s eyes narrowed.
“After you leave, no one knows what might happen. Thieves could break in in the dead of night. Someone might kill her and steal it away.”
“Steal it away?”
“As you said yourself, it’s money she could never earn in a lifetime. Sometimes excessive fortune brings calamity instead of blessing.”
At my words, Namgung Hui’s eyes widened. It seemed he had never once considered what might happen after giving the ingot.
Namgung Hui swallowed the rice cake and murmured.
“……I never thought of that. I would have been the one to kill her.”
“Indeed. Good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. Life is like that.”
Like a life where you read wuxia novels to humor your boss and end up reincarnated as an extra, suffering endlessly.
Ha ha ha.
Then Namgung Hui stared at me. With an expression of surprise, he blinked, then murmured.
“You’re quite clever.”
But earlier you said I knew nothing.
I shrugged and shoved the rice cake into my mouth.
While I savored the snack—crispy outside, moist inside—Namgung Hui seemed lost in thought, quietly staring down at his own hand.
“Let’s go back.”
“You’re not going to look at anything else?”
“No. I want to head back.”
Namgung Hui answered softly and turned around.
What did I mess up now. What’s with him.
I followed behind him, watching his mood carefully.
* * *
When we returned to the Dang Household Gate Area, we were met by Dang Bu-gyeong and the martial artists of the Dang Household, along with members of the Namgung Clan.
It was clear they had been searching for the lost Young Master for quite some time—everyone’s expression was grim.
“Hui, where on earth have you been!”
A powerfully built middle-aged man strode forward sternly, but Namgung Hui showed no intimidation and answered with calm composure.
“Father, I went to the marketplace.”
From that reply, I realized the middle-aged man was Namgung Hui’s father and the patriarch of the Namgung Clan.
“You should have informed someone before leaving. Jeok-seok, this isn’t Anghui. You shouldn’t wander about so carelessly in a foreign land. Shouldn’t the Young Master set an example?”
“I was shortsighted, Father. Next time I will ask permission first.”
But he left without asking permission just now because he knew they’d refuse. Apparently he was also prone to sneaking over walls in Anghui.
The way Namgung Hui answered so maturely made him seem like a completely different person from when he was with me.
I’d thought him thoroughly childish, but in his father’s presence, he seemed to choose his words with care.
Either his father intimidated him, or he didn’t wish to appear childish before him—or perhaps both.
Namgung Gaju chuckled warmly at his son’s reply and asked another question.
“Well then. Why did you want to visit the Marketplace?”
“Because seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. I wanted to witness the world with my own eyes.”
“My Hui has grown up so quickly.”
Namgung Gaju smiled contentedly and stroked his son’s hair.
“True. Reading from books can never match what your eyes perceive. And seeing falls short of doing it yourself. Experience widely, whatever you can. Those experiences will accumulate and nourish your foundation.”
I need to leave soon.
I stood with both hands clasped respectfully, waiting only for this exchange between father and son to end. Once they disappeared, I’d intended to slip quietly back to the interior quarters.
But my wishes were not to be granted so easily. Namgung Gaju, engaged in warm conversation with his son, had noticed me.
His sharp gaze made me bow my head hurriedly, and he asked, “Who is this child?”
“Who is this child?”
Then Namgung Hui answered as if he’d been waiting for the question.
“Father. I wish to take this child to Anghui.”
“What?”
“Please grant me permission to take her along.”
Namgung Hui spoke with perfect confidence.
…Has this Young Master lost his mind?
My mouth fell open as I stared at Namgung Hui. When our eyes met, he puffed out his chest proudly, his face saying: *See? I did well.*
I couldn’t strike him for this. What nonsense is this all of a sudden? Take her along? Am I a dog to be carried off?
“Hui. What on earth are you—”
Namgung Gaju also appeared bewildered, his brow furrowing. He looked between me and Namgung Hui, his face twisting with displeasure.
Indeed. What in heaven’s name is he talking about? I’m equally perplexed.
I forced a smile. But Namgung Gaju’s expression only grew darker.
“Hui, come with me. And you—come along as well. I need to hear the whole story from start to finish.”
His voice cut like winter wind, cold and sharp. Icy displeasure pressed down on me, and my body trembled.
I think I’ve stepped into a disaster.
I found myself longing for the Household Interior, somewhere within the Dang Household Gate Area.
Elder. Please save me.

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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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