Episode 5
Commotion and Chaos
The sudden appearance of the warriors blocking the cart was no ordinary sight.
The passengers inside the cart were startled by the swords and spears they carried.
"Kyaah!"
A woman sitting across from Jincheon screamed.
"Silence!"
One of the warriors holding a spear barked gruffly.
"We're apprehending a dangerous criminal. If you obey orders, nothing will happen to you."
The six or so warriors all wore the same uniform. They likely belonged to a martial household.
It wasn't strange—prominent martial clans or schools often served as local vigilantes.
"Everyone, get off."
The warriors commanded in a forceful tone.
The passengers in the cart slowly gathered their belongings and got down.
Getting off was easy since the cart was old and bare, but the warriors' overbearing attitude left a bitter taste.
"What's the deal, asking us to get off like this? A simple face check would've been enough."
Someone grumbled, but the warriors didn't bother replying.
Jincheon held his bundle tightly with both hands and glanced around.
Then he noticed that, aside from the warriors, there were also others with weapons.
Soldiers?
About ten men stood beneath the shade of a tree. They were clearly government troops.
While their swords and spears leaned against the trees, bows and quivers hung from their shoulders and waists.
There was also a lower-ranking officer who seemed to be their leader.
"What are you looking at?"
One of the warriors frowned and said sharply.
When Jincheon looked away, the warrior scowled and stared at him.
"Where are you headed?"
He questioned Jincheon in a commanding tone. Jincheon replied with indifference.
"On my way to visit a relative."
"Which relative? Where do they live?"
"My father's cousin—he lives in Xi'an."
The warrior looked doubtful.
"All the way to Xi'an? That's at least a month's journey from here... Let me check your belongings."
"You've already seen them, haven't you? You're not even a government official—how can you bother people like this?"
"You brat, how dare—!"
The warrior glared, but Jincheon didn't back down.
"Watch your words. I'm a saengwon from Henan."
The warrior flinched.
A saengwon was a certified scholar who had passed the local civil exam. Unlike ordinary farmers, they didn't need to bow before low-ranking officials and could even own servants.
If Jincheon was indeed a saengwon from Henan, he likely had powerful connections—he couldn't be treated carelessly.
Of course, Jincheon had quit the exams long ago, and he didn't know a single powerful person.
"Ahem."
The warrior glanced toward the soldiers and cleared his throat.
"Fine. You, over there—"
Whoosh.
It happened in an instant.
A flash of blue light suddenly streaked into Jincheon's vision.
Then came a loud explosion.
BOOM.
"Uwaaah!"
"Wh-What the—?!"
Screams and shocked shouts erupted.
The blue light slashed through the air in every direction.
Whoosh, whoom.
"Ugh."
The warriors collapsed, bleeding, not even able to let out proper screams.
The soldiers fumbled for their spears but didn't dare approach.
Instead, they backed away in fear—so did the officer.
Meanwhile, the source of the blue light stood up slowly.
She was a warrior.
Blood-stained clothes, loose hair, and visible wounds told of the difficulties she'd endured.
Yet her gaze remained sharp, almost eerie, as if haunted energy flickered in her eyes behind her disheveled bangs.
"Wh-Who are you?!"
The lower-ranking officer shouted with his sword raised.
But the woman didn't respond.
Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd, as if searching for someone.
Huh?
Jincheon felt a strange familiarity as he looked at her.
And then he realized.
She was the woman he'd seen at the inn the other day.
More precisely, one of the guards who had been beside "that middle-aged man."
Unlike Jincheon, however, the woman's eyes now brimmed with disappointment.
"…Not here either."
She muttered in a low voice.
Having faced yet another disappointment, she launched herself into the air without hesitation.
BOOM.
"Uwaah!"
"G-Get out of the way!"
The soldiers panicked and scattered, but the woman was already gone.
Like a bird in flight, she vanished in an instant.
Just as the soldiers began to relax—
"What are you doing?! After her, now!"
The officer belatedly screamed.
The soldiers looked at him like he was insane, but the officer yelled even louder.
"Move, now! That's an order!"
"B-But…"
One soldier tried to speak.
Anyone could see the woman was a top-class martial artist. How could a few soldiers chase her down? And weren't there injured people to take care of?
But the officer wouldn't listen.
"Disobeying orders is a crime under military law! Move, now!"
He even waved his sword, driving the reluctant soldiers forward.
Mounted on his horse, he forced the ten or so soldiers to follow him.
Left behind were the wounded warriors and the cart passengers.
"Ugh…"
"P-Please, help us…"
The warriors who'd just been barking orders now moaned in pain, asking for help.
Jincheon sighed.
"…Let's get them on the cart."
Everyone turned to him.
"We can't just leave them here. Judging by their outfits, they seem to be from a reputable sect, and with government soldiers present, we won't be held responsible for helping."
Jincheon's words eased their concerns.
"Y-Yes, let's do that."
People began helping the injured warriors onto the cart.
Jincheon, too, supported one of the wounded into the cart, while several women tied cloth around their wounds.
"Th-Thank you…"
One of the warriors expressed gratitude to Jincheon.
He gave a wry smile.
The small cart quickly filled with the wounded, leaving no space for the original passengers.
But the driver didn't seem to care.
"Yah!"
Clack, clack.
As the cart began moving, those who couldn't get back on were left behind.
"Huh?"
The stranded passengers looked flustered, then realized what had happened.
"…Tch."
Someone clicked their tongue.
They'd done a good deed, only to be left walking. No thanks, no reward—just dusty road ahead.
Thud.
Jincheon picked up his bundle.
And began walking.
The others, with no better option, followed.
"What a mess."
It wasn't unusual for the authorities to set up inspections, and it wasn't unheard of for martial sects to act as local enforcers.
But the two groups working together? That was rare and suspicious.
"And that woman…"
The female warrior who burst onto the scene had definitely been with the middle-aged man—his client.
Even if Jincheon didn't clearly remember her face, he vividly remembered she was beautiful.
"She must be looking for him."
The way she scanned the crowd, the disappointment in her eyes—it all made sense.
Worry for the man briefly surfaced in Jincheon's mind, but he shook his head.
"Not like I can do anything about it."
The inn was far behind.
He didn't even know the man's whereabouts now. All he could do was focus on completing his task.
"Giryeon Mountain…"
The warrior earlier had said Xi'an was far from here.
And he was right—it took a full month to get there. Jincheon's story about his relative in Xi'an wasn't a lie.
But his real destination was even farther: Giryeon Mountain.
"Let's see… from Hefei, I should go through Xinyang and Xi'an, then head to Lanzhou?"
Giryeon Mountain lay at the far western edge—in Gansu Province.
For most people, it was the edge of the world.
Thankfully, Jincheon had studied the geography while preparing for merchant travels.
"It's far… and I'm broke."
He couldn't afford expensive wagons.
So he chose the cheapest way—freight wagons.
Slow, uncomfortable, with constant transfers and no fixed schedules.
But he had no other choice. Time was the only resource he had in abundance.
"Two months… maybe three? I'll postpone Hangzhou for now."
Unless he had a top-quality horse, it would take two to three months to reach Giryeon.
He had been headed to Hangzhou, but since his goods weren't perishable, he could delay that.
After all, it made sense to deal with the bigger job first.
"Guess I should send a letter home…"
If only to ease his friend's worries about the money.
Step, step.
Dry dust rose under his feet.
Walking along the sun-soaked road, Jincheon slowly left behind the inn, the commotion, and the chaos.
Several days later.
After finally reaching a village near Xinyang, Jincheon switched to a new freight cart.
The cart began moving, and just as Jincheon was about to doze off—
"Oh, you got caught up in it too?"
"What, you did as well?"
Two middle-aged merchants greeted each other warmly. Their conversation sounded like old friends, but they had just met.
"Geez, it was terrible. That checkpoint! I waited all day—sun went down before they even let us through!"
Jincheon snapped to attention. A checkpoint? He'd been through one too.
Feigning sleep, he turned his head and listened closely.
"Same here. That was Hefei, right?"
As the other nodded, the man continued.
"I went through Huainan. Government troops came swarming in, blocked all the roads and gates. At first, I thought a war had broken out or something! What the heck's going on… tsk."
Hefei and Huainan—both cities in Anhui. Jincheon had passed through them, too.
"Huh? You don't know yet?"
One of the merchants smiled smugly.
"You do?"
"Of course I do…"
He lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"Treason. That's what it is."
"Gasp!"
The other man reeled in shock, and Jincheon also stiffened. That word—treason—naturally provoked such a reaction.
Jincheon sharpened his focus, ears wide open.
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