Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 123

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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 123
“Ryeon. That must be her name. The courtesans who took care of me used to call my mother Ryeon.”
My words caught in my throat. I stared up at Yeon Liang, dumbfounded.
Surely not…. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. But there couldn’t be two people with the same courtesan name in one establishment, could there?
“If you remember your birth mother being young at that age, she must have been very young indeed.”
“That’s right. When I was four, my mother was only twenty-one. She had me when she was barely older than Sohye is now. A child bearing a child—what could she know? My mother found it difficult even to hold me. Looking back, I think she didn’t know how to care for me at all.”
Yeon Liang spoke matter-of-factly, but a bitter smile crossed his face.
“I must have been a burden to her. In a way, it turned out well. My absence probably made her life a little easier.”
“Do you need a drink?”
“No. I have to board a boat anyway, and I get seasick. What use is alcohol?”
“Tsk.”
Beop Gong clicked his tongue lightly and, crossing his arms, offered a rebuke.
“You and that little one both have such tender sensibilities. What does it matter how you were born? What matters is how you live.”
“That’s just your thick nerve talking. You damned monk.”
“Never mind that—your sister’s mouth is hanging open. The little thing looks startled. She’s been chewing the same piece of cloth this whole time.”
“Hmm? There wasn’t anything shocking in what I said…”
Yeon Liang, puzzled, reached over and removed the cloth from my mouth, adjusting it.
“Sohye. What’s wrong? Are you feeling ill? Your face has gone pale.”
“Um, you see… brother.”
“Yes. I’m listening.”
“Do you… do you happen to know someone named Hwa Yeop?”
At my question, Yeon Liang’s eyes blinked.
“Hwa Yeop…? Hmm. Well… ah, I’ve heard the name before. It sounds like my mother’s maidservant’s name.”
“But you don’t remember your own brother’s name, yet you remember the maidservant’s?”
“That’s because no one ever called my name. My mother was always calling for Hwa Yeop.”
“Did your birth mother… happen to paint wisteria flowers…?”
“Quite often. She loved wisteria. How did you know that? Sohye, do you know my mother?”
At this point, it couldn’t be a coincidence of names!
My throat dried in an instant. I didn’t know what to say.
Someone I know? The truth is that woman gave birth to me and passed away? We must be blood relatives?
As I hesitated, uncertain what to do, Yeon Liang gently steered the conversation.
“It’s all right. Enough time has passed that her death wouldn’t be strange.”
“Well, that’s… the thing…”
“If it’s uncomfortable to speak of, you don’t have to force yourself. I had no expectations anyway.”
“That’s just it… my birth mother’s name was Ryeon too.”
“…What?”
“Cho Ryeon of the Wuyue Pavilion. They said she was Seongdo’s greatest beauty.”
Yeon Liang’s expression became unreadable. Beop Gong, who had been listening to our conversation from an awkward angle, furrowed his brow.
“Wait, wait a moment. Little one. Are you saying your birth mother and Yeon Liang’s birth mother are the same person?”
“We’d have to confirm it, but… that does seem to be the case.”
“No wonder you look so much alike! I wasn’t wrong. What did I say? Yeon Liang, I said you could pass for an only child, and it’d still be believable!”
Yeon Liang’s pupils trembled violently.
“That’s… that’s… what…”
“Even I find this hard to believe, but… judging by the circumstances, isn’t it likely? There couldn’t be two people named Ryeon at the same establishment.”
In that moment, all expression drained from Yeon Liang’s face. He seemed both bewildered and elated.
“Well, this works out nicely! Yeon Liang, you didn’t want to send the little one away, did you? Now you have an excuse not to.”
“Beop Gong. Quiet.”
“Little one, the reason your brother wanted you to come to Shaolin was—”
“Beop Gong!”
Yeon Liang cut off Beop Gong’s words sharply, then took a slow, deep breath. His eyes, fixed on me, were bloodshot.
“…So you really are my sister?”
Yeon Liang’s eyes, which had been murmuring, grew red-rimmed.
“Real blood kin, you’re saying. I… so… I…”
Seeing him like this for the first time, I sprang up and threw my arms around him.
“No, no, brother. Why are you crying? Don’t cry.”
“I’m not… crying. It’s just… something got in my… eye…. Ugh.”
“Oh, brother. Collect yourself. People will gossip if a grown man weeps. Stop. Stop.”
As Yeon Liang shed great tears, Beop Gong muttered with a look of disgust.
“I’ve seen it all now. Is this some street theater?”
He made a face as though he might be sick and waved his hand toward the back of the inn.
“Jeom Soi! Another round!”
* * *
Yeon Liang had barely stemmed the flow of tears, yet his eyes were swollen like they’d been stung by wasps.
He’d sobbed so hard and so long that every customer who’d entered the inn had fled—leaving only us in the cavernous space.
Yeon Liang rose slowly, his voice still hoarse and strained.
“I’m going to wash up.”
“Then hurry and get out of my sight.”
“If the sight of me bothers you, close your eyes.”
Yeon Liang, irritable now, slipped out of the inn.
Washing up was an excuse, it seemed—he needed air to settle his emotions.
When I couldn’t tear my gaze from his retreating figure, Beop Gong tapped my shoulder.
“Understand him.”
“What’s not to understand? He can cry. He’s human, after all.”
“Not that. That fool’s happy because he’s found a place to belong. He’s always wanted family. Blood ties don’t break until one side dies, do they?”
“……Ah.”
I hadn’t grasped the true meaning of those tears and looked down, embarrassed.
“He wanted to send you back to the Dang Clan because he had no justification to keep you with him—not because he wanted to leave you.”
“Yeon Liang wanted to send me back to the Dang Clan?”
“Because it would be better for you. A nameless wanderer drifting through Zhongyuan has no future compared to a young lady of a prestigious sect walking a solid path.”
“I have no intention of going back.”
There was no grandfather there, and everyone wanted to kill me—why return to a den of beasts?
Besides, it was my father who told me never to set foot in Sichuan again.
Beop Gong chuckled at my blank stare, as if amused by the absurdity of the question.
“Good. Tell your brother that. Tell him you don’t want to leave, and since he’s your true brother, he has the right to protect you. Congratulations, anyway. You’ve gained an outside family.”
“An outside family?”
“Yeon Liang’s sister is as good as my sister, so think of me as part of your outside family. If anyone troubles you, use my name. I can do that much for you.”
Outside family. It was a strangely moving word.
Faced with this unexpected kindness, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Really? I can go to Shaolin and trade on your name to get a Summoning Token?”
“Of course not. Look at you. How far do you plan to milk me?”
Beop Gong’s eyes widened in exasperation.
“And Shaolin is forbidden to women. Don’t even think about setting foot inside.”
“What? In this day and age? That’s petty.”
“Amitabha keeps men out of their grounds the same way. It’s no different.”
Beop Gong stretched as he spoke, then brought the bottle to his lips, a faint smile playing at his mouth.
When Yeon Liang returned some time later, his face was as composed as if he’d never wept at all.
“Done crying? Grown men shouldn’t whimper like that.”
“Beop Gong. Shut your mouth.”
Yeon Liang furrowed his brow and replied curtly, clearly embarrassed. Pretending not to notice, I smiled and reached out my hand to him.
“Brother, let’s go ride a boat.”
“……Yes. Let’s go.”
Yeon Liang took my hand with an awkward motion. The fingers that clasped together trembled faintly.
When I gripped his hand firmly in return, the trembling gradually subsided.
“Don’t you want to eat something before we board? Should we buy some snacks?”
“……It’s fine.”
His answer came in a tight voice, and the corners of his eyes had reddened again.
Beop Gong would have something to say if he saw, so I shouted loudly before he could notice.
“The monk is paying for the meal!”
Then I grabbed Yeon Liang and started running.
“Wait! Hey! Your brother said he’d cover the drink!”
“The monk’s loaded!”
“Ha ha! Right. Fat monk! You’re paying this time!”
Yeon Liang, following with a dazed expression, suddenly burst into laughter and wiped his eyes. I grinned widely and pushed harder with my legs.
Beop Gong’s voice echoed from behind.
“Jeom Soi! The bill! Keep the change. You lot know nothing gets done in Wuhan without me, right? Come with us!”
* * *
A flock of magpies scattered upward in flight.
Jo Madam, watching the skeletal winter trees from the corner of her eye, brought the teacup to her lips with an elegant gesture. Yet her delicate face bore unmistakable displeasure.
“How much longer will the Gwijushinui remain? When does the ship depart?”
At Jo Madam’s question, the elder Dang Gak shook his head.
“I’m not entirely sure. You should watch quietly too, madam. The old man has such a difficult temperament that pushing too hard could ruin everything.”
“How am I supposed to bear this? What sort of treatment are they giving that not even a servant can pass through? Dok Wang himself pleaded, yet he wouldn’t budge an inch. So why now……!”
Jo Madam’s eyes flashed with irritation as she set down her teacup. While she seethed, Dang Gak remained composed.
“Even if a celestial immortal descended, that child cannot be saved. No matter how extraordinary Gwijushinui’s arts are, a few more years is all there is. Think of it kindly, madam. If Un I shows even modest signs of recovery, wouldn’t that give Young Ho’s position some stability?”
“That’s what vexes me so. It’s like pouring water into a bottomless jar, isn’t it? If Hwa Yeop had taken the Spirit Medicine that doomed child carried…….”
“Madam. Choose your words carefully.”
Dang Gak cut her off with a glacial tone.
“You forget that it was because that child fell ill that you could enter the Dang Clan. Young Ho may be the junior head, but the legitimate firstborn is Un I. Show proper respect to the family’s rightful heir.”
Stung by his rebuke, Jo Madam shrank back, her lips trembling as she glanced uncertainly at him.
‘This scheming old serpent who nearly drove the family head from power now speaks with such honeyed words.’
That viper had a gift for disarming with a gentle face, then twisting the knife within.
“……I understand.”
Jo Madam’s reluctant reply drew a softer response from Dang Gak, as if he were soothing a child.
“A cunning tiger shows its claws last, they say. Let the two children tear at each other. Soon enough, a fine opportunity will come for Hwa Yeop.”
“Yes. That would be best.”
‘Yes, it must be. That is your usefulness, after all.’
Jo Madam clenched her teeth and curled her lips upward, meeting Dang Gak’s gaze. His weathered eyes seemed more sinister than ever today.
“What the madam should concern herself with is not Un I. It’s Dok Wang’s adopted illegitimate child.”
As Dang Gak shifted the subject, Jo Madam’s expression turned harsh again.
“So, that girl is still alive, then? The thread of her fate is tenacious. Surviving even after I sent two to dispatch her—quite impressive. I should have killed her before leaving Seongdo…….”
“Beop Gong of Shaolin sent word through a messenger that he is handing over the illegitimate child. He asked whether the Dang Clan wishes to attend the Alliance’s interrogation.”
“From Shaolin? What did the patriarch say? Will he send someone to observe?”
“A figure of Beop Gong’s rank reaching out directly makes it difficult to refuse the gesture. The family head won’t move himself for this, but he’ll likely dispatch one of the elders.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be fitting if the Grand Elder went himself? This would be the perfect chance to deal with that girl directly…….”

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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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