Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 66

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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 66
16. The Betrothed
Snow flowers danced on a crisp wind. The boy gazed at the icicles hanging from the eaves.
The world had seemed blanketed in spring blossoms only moments ago, yet winter had arrived in full.
“Steward. Any letters arrived?”
“None, Young Master.”
At the answer, disappointment crossed the boy’s face.
“It must take a long time from Sichuan, doesn’t it?”
“Even with a Carrier Pigeon, it takes five days and nights, Young Master. A Carrier Dove would take considerably longer.”
The boy nodded and absently fingered his wrist, as if to soothe his longing.
The boy’s name was Namgoong Hui, and around his wrist hung a red knot that clashed with the jade-green silk.
It was taking longer than expected.
Namgoong Hui murmured to himself, recalling the letter he had labored over the previous spring.
With the news that she was still learning to write, he had selected only simple characters, rewriting the whole thing several times over.
When would her reply come? Should he wait until he could compose a proper letter?
Had she grown taller? Was she unwell?
Had she liked the Hairpin? He had promised to bring her something even more beautiful and precious, but should he have asked what sort of ornament she favored?
His mind was full of questions.
“Is our Hui waiting for another letter today?”
“Ran.”
Namgoong Hui, lost in thought, started at the sound and lifted his head.
His sister was looking at him with a face brimming with mischief.
“What sort of young lady has caught our Hui’s heart so completely? This sister would like to meet her herself.”
“You’ll like her, I’m certain of it.”
Namgoong Ran laughed at her brother’s confident reply.
“My goodness, my goodness. Our Hui has grown up indeed. I should remind Father to pay special attention at next year’s gathering. That young lady will be attending the Five Great Families’ conference in Anhui, won’t she?”
Namgoong Ran was right.
Since the girl was a Later Generation Disciple taught directly by Dok Wang, she would certainly participate in the Five Great Families’ gathering.
When spring arrived, he would see her face again.
If no letter came before then, he could simply pout a little when they met face to face and hear his answer directly.
So until then, he would find a splendid Hairpin worthy of her….
“Ha ha, what are you thinking about to make your face flush so? Now go to the main hall. Father is looking for you.”
“Yes, sister.”
Namgoong Hui composed his expression at his sister’s teasing tone and rose to his feet.
Yet his rigid composure lasted only a moment—as he thought of the girl who had been as fresh as a peach blossom in spring, a smile played at the corners of his lips.
‘Ha ha, I was only joking, Young Master.’
‘You’ll do wonderfully.’
‘Even if it takes time, you shouldn’t apologize for it.’
Her soft voice echoed in his ears. Namgoong Hui’s eyes brightened with pleasure as he walked on.
* * *
Time flowed like a stream, and winter returned again.
Perhaps it was from eating well. She had grown considerably.
Dang Un had measured her at five feet four inches, meaning she had shot up well over ten centimeters in a single year.
No one had been happier about my growth than Dang Jung.
“Growing tall and strong like a bean sprout—it’s wonderful to see. If you grew just a hand’s span more, it would be perfect.”
Dang Jung, patting my head with satisfaction, was standing on his toes.
The height difference between us had grown so great that he now had to rise onto his heels just to reach my head.
He spoke with a hint of regret as he gauged the length of my limbs.
“But now… you won’t fit snugly in my arms the way you used to.”
There was a note of disappointment in his voice. I quickly bent my knees and nestled into Dang Jung’s embrace.
“It works like this instead.”
At my playful gesture, Dang Jung chuckled softly. He adjusted my collar with eyes full of affection.
“Your Internal Cultivation has accumulated well. Your eyes are a sharp blue—like a venomous winter serpent—and I approve.”
…Is that a compliment? Why does it sound like an insult?
My iris color had darkened to a deep blue, just as Dang Jung had said. It was exactly the same shade as his.
Over the span of two seasons, I had absorbed most of Dang Jung’s Martial Arts and Medical Arts.
‘Now it’s time to practice suturing human skin. Human flesh has a different consistency than animal hide—it’s trickier. Come here and start by stitching up your grandfather’s arm.’
‘What? Suddenly—Aieee! Grandfather! What are you doing! You’ve opened my skin! What do I do!’
The process had been chaotic enough that I preferred not to remember it, but the results were undeniable.
Whenever a patient needing Suturing came to the Medical Hall, Dang Ju Hui would seek me out in a flurry, so much had my skill improved.
And so her appetite improved, and she’d plunge her hands without hesitation into containers of insects, catch snakes and venomous spiders with her bare hands…….
Things that would have been unimaginable half a year ago now felt unremarkable.
It was true what they said—when circumstances demanded it, you simply found a way.
“Child, you’ll catch cold. Come inside once you’re done organizing.”
“Yes.”
Just moments before, I’d been rolling gleefully in the snow, yet here was Dang Jung wrapping a fur robe around me as though I’d never been out there at all. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Your hands aren’t numb?”
“They are.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not. My fingernails are completely frozen—they’re terribly numb, Grandfather.”
“I’ll have to look for some leather suitable for making gloves. We can’t have my granddaughter’s hands hurting.”
At my complaint, Dang Jung chuckled and rubbed my frozen hands with warm breath, massaging them gently. He ran his finger over the calluses forming on my palms and murmured.
“You’ve developed some real strength now, so you need practical experience. But you’ve never left the Dang Family compound, and that worries me. Sohye, would you be willing to do some sparring with the girls from the other families?”
“Sparring?”
“Yes. Out in the Martial World, you’ll encounter blade-wielders far more often than poisoners, so you ought to know what that feels like.”
“I’d like that. But with whom?”
“I’ve sent a letter to Peng Lak asking him to bring girls your age. The annual gathering is being held in the Namgoong Family’s territory this year, isn’t it? I’ll accompany you, so let’s go to Anhui. It’s time you saw more of the world.”
I nodded.
Now that he mentioned it, Namgoong Hui had said something similar. The next Five Great Families gathering was indeed to be held in the Namgoong Family’s territory.
“Go inside and rest. Once you warm up, don’t forget to practice the Fist and Foot Technique with Deok Ju.”
“Yes, Grandfather. Come inside!”
After giving me my assignment, Dang Jung waved his hand and turned away.
Once I confirmed he’d disappeared, I rushed into my chamber and wrapped my arms around the hand warmer Song Ji had left for me.
“Ahhh, so warm.”
“It’s quite cold today. Oh my, your hands are bright red from the frost!”
“I didn’t think about the fact that steel nails freeze……. I should have made gloves instead of being careless.”
Deok Ju had suggested making gloves early in autumn.
Since I had no concern about becoming dependent on them, I’d thought changing them on and off was tedious, so I’d declined. Now I realized she’d had good reason. She must have known my hands would hurt.
“Should I call a seamstress now?”
Song Ji asked, and Deok Ju shook her head.
“Gloves for martial cultivators are made from chemically treated leather. Even the slightest trace of poison absorbed into the material is unacceptable. The fabric is so difficult to work with that a seamstress couldn’t even thread a needle through it.”
“Still…….”
“There’s no need to worry. Since the elder said he’d search for leather, he’ll bring the finished gloves himself before long.”
“Ha, Deok Ju. You’ve read him like a book now.”
Deok Ju’s matter-of-fact words made me burst out laughing. She’d clearly come to understand Grandfather’s nature completely.
As I rolled about on the bed, I turned over Dang Jung’s words in my mind.
His decision to accompany me to the Five Great Families gathering was essentially the same as introducing me as his disciple at the World Family Gathering.
I felt a little anxious—I couldn’t afford to embarrass Grandfather.
But at least there’d be a familiar face there. I hadn’t expected to meet him again.
The thought of Namgoong Hui—the one who’d boasted about knowing a restaurant with excellent silver carp—made my mouth turn up involuntarily.
I wondered if he’d grown taller too. I’d grown nearly a hand’s breadth myself, so perhaps Namgoong Hui had grown even more.
But as I was trying to picture how much taller Namgoong Hui might have become, my heart suddenly sank.
I’d only just remembered the letter Namgoong Hui had given me when he left.
Right—the letter! Where did I put it with the hairpin?
I’d forgotten all about reading it later, what with talk of the Council and other things. I bolted upright on the bed.
“Song Ji, have you seen any paper wrapped in silk and a hairpin? About this size?”
“No? Was there something like that? Gyeong Ah, have you seen it?”
Gyeong Ah shook her head, clearly puzzled.
I hurried to search my chamber, but the silk bundle he’d left me was nowhere to be found.
Oh no. I must have lost it.
Namgoong Hui’s face flashed before me—the way he’d earnestly urged me to reply, even if it took over a year.
……He was going to be so disappointed that I hadn’t sent a reply. I’d need to apologize in person.
I pursed my lips and swept my hair back.
“By the way, have any of you seen my young lady? That girl’s been gone all day—I haven’t spotted her once.”
At my question, Gyeong Ah pulled paper and charcoal from her pocket and moved her hands expressively.
“Miss Dang Ju Hui took her away.”
“What? Why would she follow her there? Don’t tell me she’s going to come back drunk again?”
“She said she wanted to test the new poison she’d made.”
“I should go get her. Thanks for telling me.”
At my thanks, Gyeong Ah broke into a bright smile.
Gyeong Ah had grown quite skilled at writing. She could express nearly everything she wanted to say on paper, and her brushwork was finer than mine.
Given that she could teach Song Ji the Rudiments of Learning, I’d reached a point where I ought to be studying under Gyeong Ah instead.
Song Ji, of course, detested it.
“What use is writing? All learning does is wear a person out, doesn’t it?”
[It will help you better serve the young lady.]
“Fine, fine. I know, so stop nagging me.”
Watching her grumble while faithfully copying out the characters, I suspected that within a few years, Song Ji would be able to compose letters without difficulty.
“Deok Ju. Go fetch Ju-ryung for me.”
“Yes, young lady.”
She set down the hand warmer, now only lukewarm, and rose to her feet with deliberate slowness.
Just as I bent to slip on my shoes, I caught the presence of an unfamiliar visitor from beyond the threshold.
An uninvited guest entering Byeoldang without so much as my permission — my brow furrowed of its own accord.
“Who is it?”
“A martial artist from the family head’s household, it seems.”
Deok Ju whispered.
I composed my expression and opened the door of Byeoldang to find an unfamiliar face — a martial artist — standing at the threshold.
The moment he saw me, the man bowed deeply.
“The family head requests your presence, young lady.”
“……The family head?”
I narrowed my eyes, studying him carefully.
Dang Mu Hyuk had summoned 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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