Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 63

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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 Sixty-Three
‘Surely it won’t end with us reaching the summit and simply descending again.’
If so, Sam-cheon would have to lie to A-rang once more. One lie begets another, after all.
She couldn’t explain Irae, so she’d said her father had a place to go—somewhere she’d visited only a handful of times in childhood, so they might lose their way choosing paths that merely looked familiar to her then.
A-rang had answered with a bright “Yes” and followed quietly, asking nothing even when Sam-cheon said they’d need to leave the horses behind before turning onto the Mountain Path.
[Keep going. Once we clear that Grass Thicket, we’re there.]
It was a welcome sound to hear.
Sam-cheon crouched low and signaled A-rang forward.
“We’re almost there. From here on, we move carefully.”
“Yes.”
A-rang answered in a hushed voice.
Sam-cheon passed through the Grass Thicket without making a sound, every motion deliberate.
Deep in the mountains, a little noise might pass for an animal’s, but lowering her guard would be foolish.
As she pushed through the undergrowth, a flat Basin opened before her. Remarkably, there stood a single Tile House in its center. Had the torch inside not been lit, it would have been hidden entirely in the pine grove.
A-rang, pressed close behind Sam-cheon, whispered.
“There really is a house in a place like this. I was starting to think from the middle of the climb that you’d lost your way, miss.”
Sam-cheon laughed awkwardly and played along.
“I thought the same thing.”
“It’s so gloomy. There’s an odd stench to it. Your father is in there, isn’t he?”
[I’m sure. I can feel my curse emanating from that house.]
The moment Sam-cheon had confirmation, she replied.
“Probably.”
Those who’d attacked Sam-cheon must have brought her father there. He wouldn’t be treated well, but they’d judged him useful enough to keep alive, so his life shouldn’t be in immediate danger.
“A-rang, you can remember this location?”
“Yes. Once I’ve been somewhere, I don’t forget the way.”
“Then we return to the Gyeonhwon Army. We’ll need soldiers.”
“Pardon? Won’t you first confirm your father is well?”
Sam-cheon’s words caught in her throat. How could she make this sound less suspicious?
“If father is here, it means he’s in league with those who attacked us. They wouldn’t be able to bring us to this place without his guidance. Since we don’t know how many there are, we need to proceed safely.”
A-rang’s shoulders flinched at Sam-cheon’s certainty that her father was complicit.
“Still… wouldn’t your peace of mind be better served by at least confirming he’s here? Let me slip in alone and have a look.”
“It’s too dangerous alone.”
“They’ll be asleep at this hour, so if I move quietly there’s no problem. I can handle three or four men myself. But if we go back to the Gyeonhwon Army, it’ll take at least three days, and they could move him again in that time.”
Still, as long as Irae remained, Sam-cheon would not lose track of her father.
The problem was how to explain that reason. As Sam-cheon hesitated, unable to find words, A-rang smiled faintly.
“I’ll just peek and come back. It’ll help when we organize reinforcements—we’ll know the enemy’s strength.”
A-rang was right; understanding the house’s layout and gauging their opponent’s forces would be useful.
“…Don’t overextend yourself. You understand?”
“Yes. If it looks dangerous, I’ll run straight back. Wait here.”
A-rang indicated a good place to hide in the brush and descended quietly into the Basin.
Watching through the undergrowth, Sam-cheon lost sight of A-rang at some point. Her nerves were taut, but no commotion followed as time passed.
Sam-cheon looked up at the night sky, counting the stars to orient herself. Once A-rang returned, she planned to head straight back to camp.
Gye-san would feel alone at the Military Camp no matter how many soldiers surrounded her if Sam-cheon wasn’t there. She’d urged her to rest well while shooing her away, but she’d be lonely nonetheless.
…But why hadn’t A-rang emerged?
Had something gone wrong?
Anxiety clutched at her ankles. The Tile House remained silent. But if something had gone wrong, surely there would be noise.
[Worried?]
“A little.”
In truth, her legs trembled with worry.
Perhaps it would have been better to order A-rang directly to return to the Gyeonhwon Army. Doubt might linger, but A-rang would have obeyed without question.
Conflicting thoughts churned through Sam-cheon’s mind. As her heart grew increasingly tangled, a shadow cut through the darkness.
The silhouette of someone vaulting over the Enclosure Wall raced directly toward where Sam-cheon stood. That slender, graceful frame was unmistakable. Since the Tile House was quiet, A-rang had apparently escaped undetected.
Sam-cheon exhaled in relief and pressed a hand to her chest.
But something seemed wrong about the approaching shadow. Something jutted out at her waist—something that looked like a person’s leg.
‘What?’
A-rang was carrying someone on her back.
‘Did she actually bring father out with her?’
Sam-cheon stepped out of the brush toward the direction A-rang was climbing.
At that moment, A-rang reached the summit of the Basin and collapsed. The father she’d been carrying tumbled into the dirt, making a sound like a stuck pig.
Sam-cheon’s eyes went wide as she ran toward them.
A-rang’s father’s weight shouldn’t have been a problem for her. That she’d fallen meant she was injured.
“A-rang.”
Sam-cheon reached out, but A-rang pushed her away.
“Miss, take your father and go.”
“What are you saying? A-rang—”
The fabric of her garment near the shoulder was torn. Blood ran down her arm and gathered at her fingertip before dripping to the ground.
“I wasn’t careful. But the others don’t seem to have noticed. There’s still time to escape. Please, get yourself to safety.”
Seeing her face—the face of someone prepared for death—Sam-cheon realized something had truly gone wrong.
A-rang slumped to the ground as if abandoning all hope. The sight of her surrender filled Sam-cheon with dread.
“I told you to run if it looked dangerous.”
She should have thanked her for her sacrifice, but only words of recrimination spilled out.
“That’s why I’m saying it was stupid. I should have listened to you, miss.”
Sam-cheon carefully examined A-rang’s wound. There was bleeding at the shoulder, but fortunately it wasn’t severe.
“Let me apply Hemostasis first.”
“It’s fine.”
Only then did Sam-cheon realize how cruel her habitual “It’s fine” had been. A-rang was not fine.
Sam-cheon gripped Irae with an overhand hold and tore her Undergarment into a long strip. She bound A-rang’s shoulder with the fabric to apply pressure, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Even if the wound wasn’t deep, a cut that wouldn’t cease bleeding was dangerous. When Sam-cheon’s anxiety reached its peak, A-rang spoke.
“You have to return safely, miss.”
“You’re coming with me. This isn’t even your first wound—why are you talking like this?”
A-rang laughed embarrassedly.
“There was… poison on the blade, I think.”
“What?”
Sam-cheon’s hands trembled as she pressed the wound. So the bleeding wasn’t stopping because of poison.
[There are living souls stirring in that house.]
Irae’s warning echoed in Sam-cheon’s mind. The moment she reflexively looked down at the Tile House, Torches flared to life across the yard.
“Take your father and go now, miss. I’ll find a place to hide.”
“I can’t leave you. I—”
Before she could finish, her father seized Sam-cheon’s shoulder roughly.
“Go, I’m telling you. They’ll notice I’ve escaped and begin their search. Keeping a person locked away like that—they’re vicious. We have to get out of here now.”
Her father looked like a terrified animal. In the darkness, his eyes gleamed with nothing but the desperate hunger to flee. There was no gratitude for A-rang’s rescue, no concern for her welfare.
Sam-cheon struck her father’s hand away sharply.
“If you want to go, go alone. I’m not leaving A-rang behind.”
“You fool! The living must survive!”
Instead of answering, Sam-cheon looked at her father in silence.

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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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