Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 77

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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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Chapter 77
When Yeon Ryang returned moments later, his hands carried a bowl of warm rice porridge.
My stomach, indifferent to my claims of lost appetite, sent frantic signals the moment it caught the food’s scent.
Gurgle, gurgle! Gurgle!
At the sound of my belly protesting loud enough to carry beyond the room, I bit my lip and lowered my head.
Mortifying.
When I awkwardly pressed down on my stomach, Yeon Ryang chuckled and set the tray before me.
“Take your time, miss. Start with the porridge, and if your stomach settles, I’ll bring you some broth.”
“…Thank you.”
I nodded stiffly and picked up the spoon. The bland porridge went down easily—hunger being the best seasoning, as they say.
While I scraped the bowl clean, Yeon Ryang dangled a small piece of dried meat and played with Ju Ryeong.
He seemed taken with the creature.
“This one doesn’t shy away from me. Remarkable beast. Usually they do.”
Yeon Ryang spoke with genuine wonder.
“Do you like animals?”
“I do. Though most furry creatures can’t stand me. This is the first time I’ve been able to touch one like this.”
He wasn’t a cruel man by nature—the beasts likely sensed some killing intent in him and kept their distance.
I watched Ju Ryeong roll onto his belly and fawn over Yeon Ryang while I answered.
“He likes anyone who feeds him. He’s fond of poison too.”
“Fond of poison?”
“More accurately, he absorbs it. He consumes toxins and converts them into his own internal strength.”
“So you’re carrying a living antidote with you? Well, I suppose the Dang Clan would have frequent use for poison.”
Yeon Ryang kneaded Ju Ryeong’s soft belly and tilted his head knowingly.
Neither he nor I had spoken the Dang Clan’s name aloud, yet my identity had already become established fact.
I set down the empty bowl and met his gaze.
“Where are we?”
“An inn near the Galung River.”
“Is it far from Nangzhong?”
“Hard to say. If you follow the water upriver, it shouldn’t take long. A few hours’ travel? Miss, are you planning to go to Nangzhong?”
When I didn’t answer, he corrected himself knowingly.
“You came from Nangzhong.”
Yeon Ryang studied me intently, as if inviting me to explain. But I couldn’t find the words.
A false accusation? Being hunted? Fleeing?
No. I couldn’t afford to reveal I was a fugitive.
Even if he were a hero from a novel, seeing the bounty on my head wouldn’t inspire him to help.
When I remained silent, he cheerfully waved a hand.
“Then let me ask differently, miss. Do you have any money?”
At the question—phrased like some back-alley thug—my expression hardened.
Was he going to extort me with that friendly smile?
Seeing my frown, Yeon Ryang hastily shook his head.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying you owe me everything now that I’ve saved you. I’m just curious how you plan to manage going forward.”
“That hardly seems a concern for my benefactor.”
“Oh, it will become your concern soon enough. The men hunting you will arrive any moment. They’re nearby.”
He knew I was being pursued.
My eyes widened, and I snatched up my belongings from the floor. My hands trembled faintly as I drew out my Hidden Blade.
My body hadn’t recovered enough to move as my mind wished, but I couldn’t simply sit idle and accept capture.
The moment I prepared to flee, Yeon Ryang extended his hand.
“Three silver coins.”
“What?”
“Men like me—from Sapa—will do anything for money. With just three coins, I know plenty who’d be willing to help you.”
I studied him, chewing my lip.
Sapa mercenaries doing anything for money? Usually they take the payment and disappear.
His words meant he wanted to help. He was offering me a plausible excuse to let him stay at my side.
Could I shake off the rogue wanderers alone? Wouldn’t it be safer to keep Yeon Ryang with me?
But if the wanderers tried to turn him, the situation would only worsen.
Perhaps it would be better to reveal the bounty from the start.
“Are you aware of how much is on my head?”
“That’s blood money—the price for selling someone. This is mercy money—the price for saving one.”
Yeon Ryang spoke as if it hardly mattered.
The logic was flawed and rambling, yet his appealing offer made my resolve waver.
I simply didn’t have the courage to face a pack of rogue wanderers alone.
The moment I recalled the murderous glint in that wanderer’s eyes, my body trembled of its own accord.
One of them had even lost an eye and had fingers severed, so he was surely burning with rage.
Yeon Ryang would be able to protect me from those wanderers.
Couldn’t I simply close my eyes and trust him?
Couldn’t I believe what the novel said and lean on him?
As I hesitated and gnawed at my lip, someone knocked on the door.
“Yeon Ryang. I’ve brought the clothes you requested.”
“Thank you, miss. Would you set them down in front of the door?”
“Of course.”
I heard the sound of a bashful woman setting down a basket at the entrance.
As her footsteps faded, Yeon Ryang opened the door, retrieved the clothes, and handed them to me.
“First, change into these clothes and think things over, miss. You can’t even run away looking like that.”
The stiff martial robe was made of far inferior material to what I was used to wearing. The rough fabric was even worse than the clothes I’d worn as a servant girl.
I couldn’t tell if it was the low value of the silver coins or if someone had skimmed from the middle, but this wasn’t the time to quibble about it.
As I shook out the martial robe, Yeon Ryang quickly turned away.
“I’ll step outside.”
“Wait, please.”
I hurriedly grabbed hold of Yeon Ryang. I gripped his sleeve so tightly that wrinkles from my fingers creased the fabric.
I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t help it. Fear made me unwilling to be alone.
It felt as though a wanderer might leap out from somewhere at any moment.
Startled, Yeon Ryang opened his eyes wide and looked down at me.
“Hmm?”
“Could you… not go far? Just stay by the door, perhaps?”
Because I’m scared.
Understanding the words I’d swallowed, Yeon Ryang let out a soft laugh.
“So you’ve accepted my offer?”
I nodded hesitantly. Yeon Ryang was far preferable to those demonic-looking wanderers.
“Three silver coins a day. Food costs extra. I’d appreciate it if you could provide three meals—I eat quite a lot because of my size.”
“I’d like to, but I don’t have much. At least let me—”
I began to remove my Jade Bracelet, but Yeon Ryang stopped me.
“No. You should keep that, miss. It’s a defensive tool, and you’ll need it more than I would. We can discuss payment later.”
As if coaxing a child, Yeon Ryang ruffled my hair, then stepped outside, closed the door, and sat down with his back to it.
He even drew his sword and held it crosswise, as if to reassure me. He was thoughtful.
Looking at Yeon Ryang’s shadow cast through the paper window, I felt my anxiety ease somewhat.
I gazed at my own shadow stretching down before me, then hurriedly changed into the new clothes.
The black long robe Yeon Ryang had chosen fit me perfectly. The pockets were small and inconvenient, but they were large enough to hold things.
After I loosely braided my hair and tied it, I opened the door. Yeon Ryang, who had tilted his head back to look up at me, shrugged his shoulders.
“I was worried since I chose it by eye, but it fits well. Thank goodness. But miss, haven’t you had your coming-of-age ceremony yet?”
“I have.”
“Then you should change your hairstyle. It bothers me a bit. I don’t like looking like I’m leading around a young girl.”
He scratched his cheek awkwardly as he fumbled for words.
What does a hairstyle matter? The bun style is convenient.
As I touched my hair self-consciously, Yeon Ryang added something.
“I’m not sure how it is in your homeland, but in Zhongyuan, that’s a hairstyle only very young children wear. It’s just… you might be mistaken for my daughter.”
He didn’t want to look like a girl’s father. Caught off guard by something I hadn’t expected, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Surely you’re not at an age where such a mistake would likely occur? How old are you, if I may ask?”
“Thirty-three.”
At his answer, my eyes widened.
Thirty-three with that face? He looks younger than Dang Geun Myeong. There’s no understanding the ages of martial artists.
“My goodness. I thought we were roughly the same age, but there’s quite a bit more difference than that.”
“It seems you’re younger than I thought, miss.”
Yeon Ryang smacked his lips. I loosened my braided hair and replied.
“And you’re older than I thought. You have quite a youthful appearance.”
By local standards, he was an unmarried man past his prime, so it was understandable that he’d worry about looking like a girl’s father.
I’d nearly ruined a perfectly good bachelor’s prospects.
Yeon Ryang watched as I retied my hair and asked a question.
“By the way, why did you choose a black long robe specifically?”
“The stains won’t show.”
After all, I’d be the one washing it.
Yeon Ryang burst out laughing at my reply.
“Ha-ha! So you’ve got more to you than meets the eye, have you?”
He’d taken me for a prissy young lady, apparently. I ignored the jab and lifted Ju Ryeong into my arms, at which Yeon Ryang’s chuckling intensified before he asked, “Where were you headed, anyway?”
“Where were you headed, anyway?”
I recalled Dang Geun Myeong’s warning not to reveal my destination, but since I’d committed to traveling with Yeon Ryang, keeping it hidden seemed stranger still. I answered quietly.
“Zhongjing.”
“Do you have connections there?”
“No.”
“So you were planning to go through the Galung River to Wuhan, were you? A common enough route for a runaway lady to dream up—Wuhan’s the sort of city that draws crowds, after all.”
“I’m not a runaway—”
I’d started to raise my voice, then caught myself and pressed my lips shut.
I couldn’t bring myself to say the word aloud—that I’d been expelled.
“Easy, easy. Don’t work yourself up, miss. It’s not good for you. Besides, you clearly don’t want to reveal who you are, so overland would be better anyway.”
“Overland?”
“That’s right. The docks of a city as large as Wuhan are always crawling with imperial soldiers checking Identity Tablets. If word reached the imperial court, wouldn’t your family come running to collect you?”
Running to kill me, more like.
Unlike me, innocent of the world’s ways, Yeon Ryang seemed to know how Zhongyuan worked.
“Do you know the route?”
“Well enough. If you’d like, I can guide you. I’ll travel with you as far as Wuhan?”
I nodded, and Yeon Ryang rose with a smirk.
I glanced up at him unthinkingly and found myself startled by his sheer frame.
From a distance, I hadn’t noticed, but standing beside him now, he was like a great wall looming before me.
Yet there was no excess flesh on him. His bone structure was simply formidable.
The Dang Clan’s martial cultivators were hardly small men, but they didn’t carry the same presence as Yeon Ryang.
I found myself thinking that this was what true bone density must look like.
Catching my astonished expression, Yeon Ryang placed a hand to his forehead and gazed about theatrically.
“Strange. There was someone here just a moment ago. Where’d they go? Did they sink into the earth?”
“Wh-what—! I’m not small enough that you wouldn’t notice me!”
“I hear your voice, but I can’t see you. Oh, there you are! Miss, I missed you because you’re so tiny.”
“It’s not that I’m small—you’re just enormous! And I’m not a child, so what in the world—! Ugh.”
My tongue was getting tied. What was he even saying? Really.
I covered my mouth with my palm and glared at him. He laughed harder, clutching his belly as if my reaction delighted him. He seemed to be deliberately loosening the mood.
“All right, I’ll grant that. But then again…”
Yeon Ryang bit his lower lip and drew his sword.
Schink!
“I ought to greet our guests, miss.”
His eyes had turned a burning crimson.

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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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