Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 79

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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 79
The winter forest after sunset breathed an eerie atmosphere.
Each time the wind blew, frost-locked branches clattered against one another with a desolate sound.
Warming my hands by the fire, I lifted my head in confusion.
Yeon Ryang stood with his back to the flames, staring into the darkness.
“Why are you doing that?”
“That way I can see enemies approaching. Once your eyes grow accustomed to the light, you lose sight of what moves in the dark.”
“Ah.”
I offered an awkward murmur and hunched closer to my warmth.
He seemed practiced at sleeping rough. Or perhaps at being ambushed.
The realization that he was a seasoned martial cultivator sent unease flooding back through me. My chest tightened, my stomach heavy.
Could I trust him?
The wanderer band had become dust beneath the earth, but that didn’t mean the hunt for me had ended.
Another rogue could be chasing me for the Yuzhou Merchant Association’s bounty, or the family of the man I’d killed could have sent assassins.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility that Yeon Ryang himself might be a wanderer after that bounty.
To him, I was nothing but an uncashed promissory note. My safety hung entirely on his whim.
Just as the antidote had returned to me from Dang Jung, there was no guarantee that Yeon Ryang, once a good man, wouldn’t become cruel.
I watched him sidelong, twisting my fingers. His motives for stepping forward to help remained utterly unclear.
Yeon Ryang, who’d been gazing quietly into empty air, gathered a handful of dead grass and drew his blade.
I rolled my eyes, wondering what he was doing, then let out a hollow laugh.
He was simply rolling up the grass and using it to wipe away the debris clinging to his sword.
Cleaning a blade with dead grass—that was a first for me.
There was nothing better than tending to weapons to kill a dull evening. I set aside my scrutiny, opened my pocket, and began maintaining my throwing knives.
I sharpened the dulled edges against the whetstone, wiped them clean with an oiled cloth, and after oiling each blade one last time, Yeon Ryang let out a small sound.
“You have steady hands.”
Yeon Ryang had somehow turned around, regarding me with curious eyes.
“Would you like me to sharpen yours?”
“No thanks, miss. A swordsman who lets others handle his blade is no swordsman at all.”
“I see.”
The words rose to my throat—that what he had wasn’t a sword but an unattended lump of iron—but I swallowed them.
His blade was chipped in places, darkened with rust, and looked dangerous enough to cause infection merely by grazing skin.
It was remarkable that he could sever a man’s neck cleanly with such a blunt edge.
Suddenly, the memory of something rolling across the earth flashed before me, and my hair stood on end. I hastily shook my head.
There was nothing good in dwelling on that scene. I needed to think of something else.
I bit my lip and counted my throwing knives, then realized one dart was missing.
Thinking I’d miscounted, I tallied again—the result was the same. One was gone.
Right. The one Dang Cho Hui gave me.
I had no time to search for the lost dart. I smiled bitterly and tucked the knives away in my pocket.
Yeon Ryang, resting his chin in his hand while watching me, asked a question.
“Is this your first time in the Martial World?”
“As you can see.”
When I nodded readily, Yeon Ryang chuckled as if he’d expected as much.
“I thought so. Your inner power is more than double what it should be for your age, yet you have almost no real combat experience. I figured you were some precious gem raised on elixirs alone.”
Not a precious gem, perhaps, but grandfather certainly did make sure I was well fed.
“Still, it seems wasteful not to use half of such capability. Miss. Those elixirs you’ve swallowed must feel wronged too.”
“I don’t know any better, so please stop.”
“If you don’t want to be a pig wearing pearls, shouldn’t you train harder?”
Enough—I understand. Yeon Ryang, you’re quite the straight-shooter.
When I glared, Yeon Ryang pretended to be frightened and leaned back.
“Yikes. One more word and I’ll have a throwing knife lodged in my forehead.”
“You have a knack for saying the most infuriating things.”
“Do I? That’s a misunderstanding, miss. You’d be hard-pressed to find an unorthodox cultivator as well-mannered as me.”
If his courtesy meant following the Rules of Combat, then yes, he had plenty to spare.
I forced an awkward smile and studied Yeon Ryang carefully. His excessive friendliness made me suspicious, and my mouth had gone dry.
I cleared my throat and spoke curtly, drawing a line in the sand.
“I wanted to talk about compensation again.”
“Right. How far did we get?”
“Three silver coins a day…”
“Yes. Two silver coins a day. That’ll work.”
Yeon Ryang, cutting me off mid-sentence, offered a warm smile. The amount was less than what he’d originally demanded.
Flustered, I wet my lips and met his gaze.
His dark eyes held no scheming, no hidden calculation—only genuine kindness.
Which made it all the more frustrating.
I pressed my brow and frowned, my mouth working wordlessly.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“You said three pieces at first. Now that you’ve seen my situation, you should be raising your fee, not lowering it. Unless you mean to lull me into a false sense of security before selling me off to the Yuzhou Merchant Association, I don’t see why you’d want to travel with me.”
At my pointed question, Yeon Ryang blinked as though I’d said something strange.
“You said you didn’t want to die.”
“Pardon?”
“You said you didn’t want to die.”
“……I’m sorry?”
“I was like that at your age. I didn’t want to die. Every single day, I prayed that someone—anyone—would appear and save me from it.”
He spoke in a low, measured voice.
“It just reminded me of those days. That’s all. There’s no other reason. Well, it’s a good instinct, always keeping your guard up. You’re wise, for your years.”
Yeon Ryang chuckled softly, gazing up at the sky.
A smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes held no warmth.
For a moment, I couldn’t find the words.
Had I not known Yeon Ryang’s past, I would have dismissed it as a calculated move to put me at ease.
But I knew what had happened to him when the Demonic Cult had taken him captive.
He was seeing his younger self in me—in my dying body. That version of himself who’d endured the Cult’s brutal training, who’d done nothing but pray for someone to rescue him.
Yeon Ryang clenched and unclenched his fists, as if trying to shake off a bitter memory.
The backs of his hands showed veins standing out like pale blue cords.
“Chirp chirp…….”
Ju Ryeong padded over and rubbed his face against Yeon Ryang’s hand in what seemed like comfort.
“You’re a good one, you furry little thing.”
Yeon Ryang’s voice was cheerful as he stroked Ju Ryeong, but beneath it ran a quiet tremor.
I pretended not to notice, turning my eyes toward the campfire. My cheeks burned from the fierce glow of the flames.
In that moment, I thought I understood—just a little, just a fraction—of what he carried.
Sensing my expression, Yeon Ryang spoke gently, as though coaxing a younger sibling.
“In any case, you should get some rest. You haven’t eaten much today, and sleep will do you good.”
“……Yes.”
I answered dutifully and lay down with care. I closed my eyes, but sleep, predictably, did not come.
Only the sound of embers crackling grew sharper and clearer.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, it was the hour before dawn, when the last stars still lingered.
Startled at the realization that I had actually fallen asleep, I jerked upright, and Ju Ryeong let out a small cry as if to ask if I was awake.
“Peep peep.”
The campfire and belongings were untouched, but Yeon Ryang was nowhere in sight.
Where could he have gone? Surely he wasn’t about to hand me over to the Yuzhou Merchant Association…….
I caught my breath and searched frantically for any sign of him, then felt his presence at a distance and exhaled with relief.
He had simply stepped away for a time.
Reassured, I straightened my clothes, and Ju Ryeong scampered up onto my shoulder.
I stroked the creature’s head gently and made my way toward where I sensed Yeon Ryang.
Beyond the skeletal branches, I saw a Sword Aura flashing keenly through the darkness.
Yeon Ryang’s blade carved through the shadowed forest like the wingbeat of a hunting bird in flight.
He was training.
I tried to retreat quietly, but Yeon Ryang sensed my presence and tilted his blade to the side.
“You shouldn’t watch another martial cultivator’s training, you know.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
Despite my quick apology, Yeon Ryang’s expression hardened. He knitted his brow and slid his sword back into its scabbard.
“In other places, you’d be wise to be more careful. Stumble on the wrong training session, and you could be silenced through murder.”
“I—I’m terribly sorry.”
“Well, I’m a refined sort of unorthodox cultivator, so I’ll be generous and let it slide.”
Yeon Ryang stretched casually, and his face had already shifted back to something playful, as if the moment of displeasure had never occurred.
“But you’re up early. I thought you’d sleep longer.”
“I’ve slept enough. Did you manage to rest, benefactor?”
“Yeon Ryang.”
“Yes?”
“Call me Yeon Ryang. If you find it awkward to use my name, you can call me elder brother instead.”
At the startling proposal, I widened my eyes, and Yeon Ryang chuckled softly.
“Miss. If you keep looking at me like I’m some worthless rogue, my feelings will be hurt. What’s the age difference between us? I’m hardly trash, and I certainly don’t harbor dark intentions toward you.”
“Your words are full of dark intentions, though.”
“I have no interest in children. And wouldn’t we draw less suspicion if we looked like siblings out here?”
It was sound logic. I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood. Brother.”
“Good. Much better.”
Yeon Ryang, his expression satisfied, gestured toward the stream and spoke.
“Then, sister, you must be hungry. Shall we try catching some fish?”
“Fish?”
“You can’t travel on an empty stomach, can you? There are no settlements nearby. We won’t reach an inn until tomorrow evening at the earliest.”
With that, he began breaking through the frozen stream with his scabbard.
Crack—the ice split apart, holes appearing in the frozen surface in the shape of the scabbard. Below, I could see fish darting frantically away.
“How many should we catch?”
“Who knows. These are small fry—we’d need five or six to fill our bellies, I’d think. We’d be lucky to catch even one, honestly. I’ve no talent for fishing.”
“I see.”
I nodded and bent down to pick up several stones of suitable size from the ground.
Whether by fortune or misfortune, fishing was one thing I had confidence in.
“Miss. Or rather—sister. What are you planning to do with stones?”
“Fish with them.”
“……What?”
Yeon Ryang narrowed his eyes as if he’d heard something strange. Without a word, I extended my hand toward the stream.

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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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