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Chapter 20
Before the bandits had even fully descended the peak, the two merchants abandoned their carts and fled as if waiting for this moment. The mountain stronghold members, unaware of anything amiss, excitedly began unloading the cargo.
It happened right then. Yeon remained atop the tall ridge, watching the merchants run off.
From the direction the merchants had fled, clouds of soldiers were climbing the mountain.
“Ah… you mustn’t! D-don’t open that cargo!”
Yeon hurried down from the peak. Because of her bad leg, she nearly tumbled her way down, and all eyes in the stronghold turned toward her.
Even those who had been unloading the wagon stopped what they were doing and stared.
“You must not touch that cargo! Soldiers are swarming up from the foot of the mountain!”
“What? Then we should grab it and leave quickly!”
Just as the oblivious Nacheol ignored her warning and reached for the cargo—
Boom—!
When he opened the wooden chest—expecting it to be filled with gold and jewels—an enormous explosion burst forth.
“Uwaaaah—!”
Fortunately, no one died, but those near the cart suffered burst eardrums, burns from the flames, and even scorched hair from the sudden blast.
But the injuries weren’t the only problem. The explosion and fire allowed the soldiers climbing below to pinpoint their exact location, and they were rapidly advancing.
If they tarried even a moment longer, everyone would be captured and suffer at the soldiers’ hands.
“Ma’am! Let’s go!”
People hurriedly carried the injured and began climbing the valley again. Songwon, who had regained his senses, grabbed Yeon’s arm.
“Ahk…!”
But her injured, limping ankle decided to act up at the worst moment. She had practically rolled down the valley, and it seemed she had hurt the leg that was already bad.
“Ma’am!”
Songwon called out desperately, but Yeon could barely take a single step. The others had already scrambled up with the injured, leaving no one nearby to help them.
Soldiers surged up from below, the valley behind them was steep and cliff-like, and Songwon was still just a young boy—far too small to carry Yeon back up.
“G-go on ahead.”
“No, ma’am! How can I—!”
“Go, hurry!”
Yeon pushed Songwon forward when he refused to leave. Thankfully, Hae-gon had paid attention to her clothing, so she was dressed like an ordinary village woman, not like someone from the bandit stronghold.
Besides, who would believe that someone as weak and limping as she—a cripple—was the bandit chief’s wife? Yeon smeared dirt onto her shoes and adjusted her clothes to look like a wandering herb gatherer.
“Who goes there?”
Before long, armed soldiers swarmed around the carts. If Songwon had hesitated any longer, he would have been captured as well.
“I… I’m just an herb gatherer from the lower village… The loud noise scared everyone, and in the confusion, I slipped…”
Yeon trembled as she lied to the man who appeared to be the leader. She wasn’t used to lying, but the fear she genuinely felt made the poor lie sound convincing.
A man in a black robe narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her.
His gaze seemed to pierce through her. Something about his cold face reminded her of her father, and Yeon involuntarily glanced up—only to meet his eyes.
Startled by the icy stare, she let out a small hiccuping sound and bowed deeply again.
“Raise your head.”
Soon, he came close and even knelt to look her in the eye. His face was pale and looked unaccustomed to hardship, but in contrast, his hands were firm and strong as he grabbed her chin. Perhaps annoyed that she kept her head bowed even after being addressed, he lifted her face himself.
“You claim you were simply passing by?”
“Y-yes. It’s been a long drought, and I haven’t been able to gather herbs. My father at home is close to starving… So I came to collect even dried roots, but then… this happened.”
“Did you see where the bandits fled?”
Yeon pointed in the opposite direction of the stronghold. The man seemed convinced and sent many soldiers that way.
But the problem was that he still did not leave.
Eventually, Yeon stood with the man’s support.
“Agh…!”
“Your injuries are serious. Which way is your home? I’ll take you.”
“I-it’s quite all right.”
“You don’t seem able to walk alone.”
As he said, the leg that was bleeding happened to be her bad one, making movement difficult.
And because she had to lead them away from the stronghold, she needed to head down the mountain. Thinking about climbing back up later made her dizzy.
Still, Yeon forced herself to act fine. She planned to shake off the soldiers and hide until dawn before returning to the stronghold. It would be a long, painful journey, but better she suffer than risk everyone else.
“I will assist you.”
But the man followed her closely, unconvinced.
“I-I’m fine! I can go alone just fine…!”
“Are you perhaps a bandit?”
“What? …What?! H-how could you say that…!”
“Well, think about it. After experiencing something like this, most would be terrified and beg for company. But you refuse again and again—makes me feel both offended and suspicious.”
“T-that’s not it. I am… practically a plain yin person. If my father saw me walking with a strange man, he’d scold me terribly.”
Yeon added another flimsy excuse to avoid suspicion.
The man looked intrigued.
“A yin person?”
“W-well, closer to a normal person, but…”
This too was a lie. Yeon was an extreme yin type—one of the rarest and strongest of yin traits—but she feared revealing her true nature might expose her identity, so she downplayed it.
“Haa…”
The man rubbed his brow as though troubled, then finally spoke.
“Then at least tell me your name. It may be needed for the investigation later.”
“…Gaeddong* is my name.”
(*lit. “dog poop,” a common, generic nickname)
Why that name? She had tried to think of something common and forgettable, but that was all she could come up with.
Strangely, the man repeated “Gaeddong” several times as if trying to memorize it. Pointless, since she had no intention of seeing him again.
“Wait. You should at least hear my name. I am Geum—
…no, Kim Taesan.”
“Yes, then…”
Yeon bowed and turned. Her leg throbbed, sharp pain stabbing her, but she pretended not to notice and kept walking. Strangely, the pain felt like it was fading.
One step, then another.
She grew farther from him and farther from the stronghold—
“Ah, ah…!”
And then she collapsed.
The pain hadn’t faded. It had simply become so severe that her leg had gone numb—she had fainted from the overwhelming agony.
“Commander…! What shall we do?”
One of Geummujang’s guards glanced nervously between his lord and the collapsed woman.
Geummujang let out a quiet laugh.
“I told you not to call me that.”
“A-ah… Forgive me.”
“What kind of incompetent bandits are these? Pretending to be fooled by them was harder than deceiving them.”
She called herself an herb gatherer, yet didn’t have even a woven basket—he had intended to play along for a bit more, but she fainted without him lifting a finger.
Crippled and foolish as she appeared, there was no way the wife of the Right Prime Minister’s youngest son would ever be captured by such shabby bandits, he thought. He pressed a finger into Yeon’s pale cheek. It sank softly—amusing him enough that he stared for a while.
Normally, he would have ordered her taken straight to headquarters—or if he was in a foul mood, executed her on the spot. But her pale, frightened face pleased him, making his mouth water.
“What are you standing there for? Pick her up.”
“H-her, sir…?”
“Yes. We are done for today.”
