Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 66

 

Clatter, clatter!

 

The carriage raced frantically along the mountain path.

 

The wooden carriage rattled as if it would break apart. It was impossible to sit on the seat, so I had to lie flat on the floor.

 

“Kuk…!”

 

Then suddenly, a short death rattle came from the front.

 

I raised my head in surprise, but quickly lowered it again. The horses, with their reins loose, were running wild.

 

Now the carriage was entering the mountain forest instead of following the road.

 

The carriage swayed several times as it crashed into trees and rocks. Then, as if the harness connecting to the horses had come loose, it tilted backward before finally toppling over to the side.

 

“Ugh!”

 

My consciousness became hazy for a moment and everything went dark. When I came to, I was lying inside the overturned carriage.

 

I don’t know how long I was unconscious. My head was spinning and my wounds throbbed again.

 

However, there was no time to stay still. I crawled out of the carriage somehow.

 

When I used all my strength to lie down in the nearby grass, I heard the sound of people approaching.

 

“Found it.”

 

“Hey, over here!”

 

I held my breath.

 

From their voices, it was those bandits from before.

 

“What about that guy? What happened to him?”

 

“He’s long dead. The arrow got him right in the neck.”

 

“Hehe, he should have listened from the start, right? Let’s see…”

 

‘So he’s dead after all.’

 

I heard the bandits rummaging through something nearby. Before long, disappointed voices could be heard.

 

“What? He doesn’t have much on him?”

 

“Huh, he ran away so desperately I thought he’d have gold bars or something.”

 

“We killed a man and only got this much? Isn’t there anything in the carriage? I thought I saw someone riding in it.”

 

“Not really. Even if there was someone, they would have run away already.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

One bandit who still had lingering regrets began looking around. Cold sweat flowed from tension. If they searched the area, I would be discovered immediately.

 

Fortunately, an indifferent voice came from beside him.

 

“Forget it, it’s not even a good carriage, so what kind of rich person would it be? Catching the one who ran away is also work.”

 

“Tsk, this amount won’t even make a dent…”

 

Eventually they clicked their tongues and left the area.

 

Long after they had disappeared.

 

I, who had been lying in that spot for a long time, only got up when the surroundings became dim.

 

I wanted to collapse and faint right away, but I had to leave this place quickly. The bandits might return.

 

I went back to the carriage. As they had said, there was a man collapsed by the driver’s seat with an arrow stuck in his neck. His eyes weren’t even properly closed, as if he didn’t know he was dying.

 

I closed his eyes and briefly prayed for his soul. Then I started walking again.

 

“Huff, huff…”

 

I repeated the cycle of walking, fainting, and walking again when I opened my eyes.

 

What allowed me to endure was thanks to the medicine Eom Father had prepared for me. At least when the medicine’s effects circulated, the pain lessened.

 

I chewed the small pills without water and hurried my steps. After walking for half a day like this, a small village appeared.

 

I grabbed a passing old man and asked.

 

“Here… is there perhaps a place where I can get a horse?”

 

“A horse? This Ho-ga Village is small, so there’s no post station or stable. But why is a young child looking for a horse? Do you have somewhere far to go?”

 

“Yes, I need to go to Anhui Province… Isn’t there anything I can ride? I’ll pay whatever amount.”

 

“Anhui Province?”

 

The old man looked at me as if surprised by the unexpectedly long distance. Then, seeing my pale complexion that looked ready to collapse, he clicked his tongue and said.

 

“How do you plan to get there alone… Wait a moment. I do have one donkey…”

 

With that, he disappeared before I could say anything.

 

I didn’t even have the strength to stand, so I sat down and waited for the old man. Before long, the old man appeared leading a donkey.

 

It even had a saddle on it. The old man held out the reins to me and said.

 

“This one has a small body and is weak, so it was quite useless, but it seems perfect for you. Take it if you need it.”

 

“Thank you, truly thank you, sir. Would this amount be enough…”

 

I took out my money pouch from my chest. Fortunately, I hadn’t lost the money pouch that Eom Father had prepared for me.

 

When I took out silver coins from the pouch and handed them over, the old man nodded and accepted the silver coins. At the same time, the old man handed me a bundle.

 

“It will be a long journey, so I packed some simple food and a set of clean clothes. Take them.”

 

I opened my eyes wide in surprise. I immediately bowed my head and thanked him several times.

 

Then I mounted the donkey and set off again.

 

The donkey, smaller than a horse, was definitely suitable for me. Actually, I had never ridden a horse before, and even if I rode a horse and galloped, it would have strained my body.

 

The donkey also had a gentler temperament than expected and went in the direction I wanted. Most importantly…

 

“Huff.”

 

Even when I fainted, the donkey didn’t stop.

 

I straightened my body that had been hanging precariously. The donkey, which was drinking water from a stream, made a sound.

 

I had become accustomed to this situation by now.

 

Still, at first I rode the donkey with a clear mind and proceeded along the road, but the longer I rode the donkey, the more it became burdensome, and if I let my guard down, I would repeatedly lose consciousness for a moment.

 

Even the bandages had long been stained with blood, turning dark red. I wiped the sweat flowing down my forehead and thought.

 

‘There isn’t much time left.’

 

My body was getting worse and worse.

 

The time I spent unconscious was getting longer, and even walking a little would soak my body with sweat. Was I going to have a serious problem continuing like this…

 

I shook my head and got off the donkey.

 

I let the donkey loose and washed my dirty body in the stream. Then I took out new clothes from the bundle and changed. I tore the dirty clothes into long strips of cloth.

 

I used that cloth to tie the donkey’s body to my lower body. This was so I wouldn’t fall down even if I lost consciousness again.

 

When the series of tasks was finished, I drove the donkey again.

 

“Let’s go!”

 

‘Just endure a little more, just a little…’

 

After that, I continued steadily on the road.

 

Stopping at villages along the way to buy simple food, and when my body hurt, letting the donkey loose nearby and resting briefly under trees.

 

The clothes I had changed into once quickly became dirty again. Later, even the travel money I had been saving ran out, so I begged along the way or picked fruit from trees to satisfy my hunger.

 

Had I traveled like this for quite a while?

 

When I felt it was becoming increasingly difficult to endure.

 

“Finally arrived.”

 

“It’s been a while since Anhui Province. When we reach Hefei, we’ll unpack and rest from the journey…”

 

As I entered the main road, I heard the bustling voices of people and looked ahead.

 

It was Anhui Province.

 

* * *

 

Arriving at Anhui Province didn’t mean everything was over.

 

Hefei was in the center of Anhui Province. I had to go further north from here.

 

But perhaps because of the relief that I had almost arrived, or the hope that I would soon meet Young Miss, my heart was at ease.

 

And the body follows the mind, you could say.

 

As my mind became comfortable, my body also improved a little. Until just before, my consciousness was hazy and I had no strength, but now strength naturally flowed into my body and my vision brightened.

 

‘There’s not much left now…!’

 

I felt vitality flowing through my body for the first time in a while and headed forward.

 

How many more days did I drive the donkey?

 

Soon the scenery of the majestically flowing Yangtze River came into view. Gradually, large and small buildings increased, and lakes flowing through various parts of the city caught my eye.

 

It was Hefei.

 

And finding the Namgung Family in Hefei wasn’t difficult.

 

“Namgung Family? Why would a young beggar want to go there…? Hmm, if you go straight down this road, you’ll see obviously magnificent pavilions. Then head toward that place. That’s the Namgung Family.”

 

There was no one here who didn’t know the Namgung Family.

 

And when I followed the road as the man had instructed, there was a pavilion standing far away with a different grandeur from other places – how could I not find it?

 

Thus, when I arrived in front of the Namgung Family Estate’s main gate, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

 

‘So this is what they call one of the Five Great Noble Families….’

 

On both sides of the main gate, enormous blue flags as tall as grown men were fluttering, with the two characters ‘Changcheon ‘ embroidered in gold thread.

 

And what about the main gate that was several times larger than the Seo Family Estate’s?

 

Above the main gate, four Chinese characters starting with the character Nam were written in large, golden letters that sparkled whenever sunlight hit them.

 

If just the main gate was like this, how much more magnificent would it be inside? I felt myself shrinking back for no reason.

 

‘Should I have changed clothes before coming?’

 

I wondered if I should get a room at an inn even now, wash up, and change into clean clothes before visiting, but I didn’t have money for that anyway.

 

I had no choice but to face it head-on. After taking a deep breath, I carefully approached the main gate.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

“….”

 

“I’m terribly sorry for visiting so suddenly, but I have something I must ask about. Could I possibly go inside….”

 

Only then did the guard at the door, Dae-han with his broad shoulders, turn to look at me.

 

He looked me up and down with fierce eyes, then immediately lost his temper.

 

“What’s this, you beggar bastard? Do you think this is a place where the likes of you can easily come and go?”

 

“Oh my, you’re right. Someone lowly like me couldn’t possibly enter. Then I have one thing to ask, just that….”

 

“If you want to beg, go somewhere else. Don’t loiter around here being a nuisance.”

 

“No, I didn’t come to beg, I came to ask a question….”

 

“If you don’t leave right now, you’ll get beaten up!”

 

I flinched at Dae-han’s appearance as he immediately raised his fist threateningly. But I couldn’t back down like this.

 

“Just one thing, I’ll only ask one thing! Didn’t a young lady come here?”

 

“You bastard, won’t you listen?”

 

“A young lady who’s fourteen or fifteen, small and delicate. She’s also a great beauty, but she’s probably covering her face. She might be wearing a face veil…. Haven’t you seen her by any chance?!”

 

“How would I know that? Will you really not get lost?!”

 

So did he see her or not?

 

I was getting more and more anxious. I could see Dae-han threatening me by swinging his fist, but it barely registered in my eyes.

 

What should I do about this? Should I just directly ask if Lady Seo from the Seo Family came? But with rumors spreading that the Seo Family was annihilated, wouldn’t Young Miss have come here secretly?

 

Then who should I ask? Who would know? Someone who would know that Young Miss is here….

 

“Namgung Jeong!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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