Early morning on the day that marked roughly eight days since we had passed through the gates of Gyeonseong.
My men and I cut down every last Heuksan bandit we encountered at each bend in the road toward Dongmuyang, leaving not a single one alive.
Perhaps because word had spread that we showed not a shred of mercy; thanks to that, we reached our destination, Dongmuyang Fortress, far more easily than expected.
“Halt! T-this is the Dongmuyang military camp, where outsiders may not tread freely! W-who in the world are you lot!”
“S-suspicious ruffians! Lay down your weapons at once and reveal your identities!”
The gatekeepers stammered, terrified out of their wits.
At their rough shouts, the peasant militia trio flinched, dropping the weapons they carried and the giant burlap sacks nearly as large as themselves, then threw both hands high into the air.
‘…I hadn’t realized it while we were on the road. But seeing it through another’s eyes, we look suspicious at best—no, absolutely horrifying.’
“Squad Leader, it seems they’ve mistaken us for a bandit horde. Shall I step forward and clear a path?”
“Clear what path? You trying to clear an express train to hell? Shut your trap and wash your face, it’s noisy enough already.”
At my words, Akjin, covered head to toe in dark, clotted blood, pulled a faded cloth from within his clothes and wiped his face.
Even so, Akjin still growled like a beast off its leash, glaring at the gatekeepers while fiddling with the hilt of his ring-pommel dao as though he might draw it at any moment.
—Thwack!
“Gah!”
The back of Akjin’s head was swatted cleanly.
“Hey now, get a grip. Those guys won’t give you merit points.”
“Hah! M-my apologies, Squad Leader! We’ve spent the last few days cutting down nothing but bandits without rest, so I unconsciously…!”
Clutching the back of his head, Akjin startled and quickly withdrew his hand from his ring-pommel dao.
The defending soldiers paled and leveled their spear tips at our wretched figures.
When the peasant militia trio let out shrieks of fear, I quickly pulled out the token General Xiahou had given me and waved it.
“We are a special detachment from Gyeonseong. I am Yi An, squad leader. I departed before the others to deliver General Xiahou’s token to the military commissioner, and have come all the way to Dongmuyang.”
“Hmm… i-it is indeed one of our army’s tokens, but more importantly…”
Could it be that they couldn’t believe Xiahou Dun had sent us?
The defending soldiers looked back and forth between my face and the men behind me before speaking.
“The others are one thing, but why are you so clean?”
“Because I don’t like getting dirty.”
“…….”
Cut ears off corpses? Setting aside how dirty that is, how would I even do something like that?
“In any case, it’s clear you’re allies, so we’ll let you inside. Wait here a moment.”
One of the men guarding the camp entrance hurried inside and spoke to a man who appeared to be of high rank, then gestured for us to follow.
***
The man led us to a tent located deep within the camp.
“Wait here quietly.”
Once the man entered the tent, a sudden roar of reprimand echoed out.
After waiting like that for quite some time, we were finally permitted to enter the tent.
“A special detachment of Commandant Xiahou’s… I had not heard that such a unit existed. Who might you be?”
A man dressed neatly in a gray official’s robe sat before a desk. Though he addressed us, he continued writing in his documents as if completely uninterested.
“My lord, these men are soldiers conscripted from Gyeonseong, said to be an elite unit personally selected by the Commandant. Here is the Commandant’s token as well.”
The man stopped his brush at the mention of the token and raised his head. After lifting the token and examining it here and there, he looked at my face and scrunched up his expression in clear annoyance.
“A special detachment? Just one insignificant squad leader and four village militiamen? Where is the rest of your party?”
“We five are the entirety of it.”
“Oh, I see? Lord Yuanyang must be quite the jester, sending such a ragtag mob.”
“…….”
The man looked me up and down and snorted.
“I am the Military Affairs Aide. More importantly, what is this disgusting stench coming from you lot? Don’t foul the camp and withdraw immediately!”
The man shouted in anger, covering his nose.
“We encountered a Heuksan bandit group on the way here and eliminated them. My subordinates insisted we had to bring proof of merit, so I brought ‘a few’ as a token. We reek because of that.”
“A Heuksan bandit group? You five? Ha! At best, you got lucky and caught three or four bandits who had slipped past control.”
The Military Affairs Aide lowered his gaze back to his documents and waved his hand dismissively.
“Just toss the ear tokens over there in the corner and go wash up first. Tsk, it’s obvious you only brought three or four.”
The Military Affairs Aide sneered incredulously and picked up his brush.
I signaled with my chin to the peasant militiamen standing behind me.
“Lads, the administrator here says to toss them down there.”
“Yes, Squad Leader!”
—Thud! Clatter! Crash-bang!
A thunderous sound, as if heaven and earth were caving in, echoed in the corner of the tent.
The peasant militia trio slammed the giant bundles they had been carrying on their shoulders to the floor.
Because they were rough sacks tied with old cloth, the sacks collided and their contents began spilling out with a rustle.
“What in the world… what madness…!!!”
The Military Affairs Aide’s brush clattered to the floor. He hurriedly rose and rushed toward the sacks.
“E-ek!! H-how… h-how many are these!”
Not only the Military Affairs Aide, but also the men who had escorted us to the tent fell backward, foaming at the mouth. The sacks they had thought were mere luggage were packed full of ear tokens from the Heuksan bandits we had slain.
Then, Akjin, covered in blood from head to toe, approached my side, straightened his spine, and shouted so loudly that the command tent rang.
“Reporting! Squad Leader Yi An and four others! By the Squad Leader’s martial might and brilliant insight, we slew over two hundred remaining Heuksan bandits blocking the road to Dongmuyang and took these ear tokens as proof!”
“T-this… isn’t this a demon of slaughter!”
These insane bastards!
His expression said as much.
[ You have completed a faction quest! ]
[ You will receive 100 Wonbo, 200 Merit, and Favor. ]
[ Quest exceeded! Additional merit will be settled in bulk! ]
[ You have acquired a large amount of merit (+860)! ]
[ You have reached 20 Favor with Xi Zhicai! ]
[ You have acquired 50 Wonbo! ]
***
Leaving behind the Military Affairs Aide, who stood dumbfounded before the piles of sacks containing hundreds of trophies and the foul stench filling the command tent, we exited the camp.
“Squad Leader, are you sure we shouldn’t help them?”
“Cleaning up is their job. And they told us to hurry and meet the military commissioner, so what can we do?”
“The military commissioner is surveying the terrain in the hills outside the camp, my lord, so please hurry!”
The man who had slipped out with us had somehow stuck to our side, acting as if he were one of our group.
He, too, seemed unwilling to deal with the cleanup.
My party and I headed toward the steep hill behind the camp that the man had pointed out.
Drenched in blood, we trudged up the hill with heavy steps.
The higher we climbed, the more the dozens of cherry trees bloomed in full splendor, and beneath them, a small silhouette of someone standing could be seen.
As we approached that silhouette, a woman revealed herself between the fluttering cherry blossom petals.
“……Who?”
Sensing our presence, the woman slowly turned her head.
I approached her, clasped my hands in salute, and spoke.
“I am Yi An, squad leader under General Xiahou, from Gyeonseong.”
——
[General Information]
Name: Xi Zhicai (戲志才) Rank: SSR
Command: 73 | Might: 28 | Intellect: 97 | Politics: 84 | Charisma: 76
Favor: 25/100
——
The true identity of the military commissioner was Xi Zhicai, strategist of Cao Cao’s army.
“……Gyeonseong? My lord clearly promised to arrive by Qingming (early April). Has something grave occurred?”
Languid yet intellectual violet eyes turned toward us. Xi Zhicai’s gaze passed over Akjin and the peasant soldiers, both drenched in blood, and finally settled on my face.
I recounted everything that had happened in the camp to Xi Zhicai.
“Hmm… I see. It seems you’ve had quite the ordeal. All soldiers except the squad leader may descend to rest. Tell the Military Affairs Aide that I sent you and have him assign you tents.”
“Yes, Military Commissioner!”
Akjin and the peasant soldiers all looked at my face.
So he’s showing me courtesy as their superior… You brats, I’m oddly grateful.
I smirked and nodded, and they clasped their hands in salute before descending.
As I watched my subordinates leaving for some time, the military commissioner called out to me.
“Did you say your name was Yi An…?”
“……Yes.”
“Come closer.”
I approached Xi Zhicai and looked at her face.
And in that instant, the word ‘beautiful’ nearly slipped out before I knew it.
“Beautiful…”
‘Wait, it already came out?’
A cross-collared black upper garment and fluttering lower skirt (skirt) harmonized with her hair, black as ebony and swaying in the spring breeze. Beside her elegantly coiled hair, a buyao (步搖: a Han dynasty hairpin) adorned with splendid ornaments and mother-of-pearl floral branches enhanced her nobility.
Xi Zhicai, wearing black leather gloves, held a black folding fan beneath her lower lip, watching me with a gaze that seemed indifferent yet noble and sharp.
“…….”
“It was a slip of the tongue—I apologize!”
“Saying it was a slip of the tongue….”
She looked at me and opened her mouth.
“Does that mean I lack charm as a woman?”
“Not at all. It’s just… I thought it was rude, that’s all.”
[ Xi Zhicai’s Favor has increased slightly. ]
“Then, I am glad. You are the first man to speak so directly to me….”
Xi Zhicai raised her folding fan to cover her mouth, and her eyes, which had been placidly calm, curved into crescents as she smiled gently.
“I nearly felt my heart flutter, just a little.”