Chapter 72: Savory Death (3)
Translator: bjgoofy
"What?!"
At the woman’s desperate cry, the gambling den owner wore a bewildered expression.
He glared at the woman as if to say, “What kind of nonsense is this?”
Perhaps frightened by his sharp and firm shout, the woman curled up in a pile of straw and trembled.
"I-I'm sorry!"
“Do you even know who these people are!? How dare you! Follow them right now!”
Once again, the gambling den owner's angry voice lashed out at the woman.
Seeing that it was difficult to watch the owner yelling like that, Nunim stepped forward and explained to the woman.
“Young Miss, not only the owner but we also promise to treat you well. If you have family, we’ll need to check, but we can arrange for them to live at Sichuan's Tang Family as well.”
However, the woman didn't hesitate for even a second before replying.
“N-no, I don’t want to.”
“What, are you serious!? Do I need to rough you up again today!?”
“S-still, no! I absolutely won’t go!”
As their conversation went nowhere, Nunim decided to first confirm the woman's status from the gambling den owner.
Though officially there were no slaves in the Central Plains, there were people working like slaves due to debt. Judging by her current state and how the owner treated her, she seemed like a slave, yet the fact she refused our offer suggested otherwise.
“Is she in debt by any chance? Or is she working on behalf of someone? Does she have any compelling reason to stay here?”
In response to Nunim’s question, the owner shook his hand firmly as if to deny it completely.
“No, of course not. How could that be? She has no debt. But she’s not exactly a paid worker either.”
“?”
It was a strange answer, she had no debt, but she wasn't officially employed either.
The owner continued his explanation.
“Uh, well… maybe about five years ago? She said she didn’t need wages and just wanted to work, so we let her. But her face... ahem... isn’t exactly fit to entertain guests, so we couldn’t have her do anything but chores. Honestly, she just eats and does nothing….”
According to him, a few years ago, she showed up at the entrance to the gambling den, begging for work even without pay, so he gave her some.
The gambling den, besides gambling, had women entertaining customers, but since this woman wasn’t suitable for that, they assigned her to kitchen work.
However, after complaints about the food taste, she got kicked out of the kitchen and was now left in charge of the smelly cricket cages.
While finding the owner’s explanation rather odd, a voice suddenly chimed in, Squad Leader Gu Pae.
“Young Miss, may I step in for a moment? I feel like I see my old self in that woman, from before I joined the Tang Family.”
‘He sees himself in her?’
It was hard to imagine what the hulking, hairy man had in common with a gloomy woman whose face was mostly hidden under her hair, with only her eyes barely visible. But something about Squad Leader Gu Pae’s words seemed to strike a chord with Nunim.
Nunim’s eyes sparkled at his words, perhaps recalling something of her own.
She quickly nodded her head.
“Go ahead.”
Then Squad Leader Gu Pae made a suggestion to the gambling den owner.
“Owner, may we take her with us just for a day? We’re not taking her permanently, just to give her some good food and try to persuade her.”
“Oh, persuasion? Just leave her to me and I’ll beat her until she agrees. Where’s my club? Oh, that’ll do! Ptooey!”
While Squad Leader Gu Pae wanted to show her the workplace and feed her something tasty to lure her over, the gambling den owner grabbed a broom rolling on the ground and even spat into his hand.
As the owner moved toward the trembling woman, Nunim stepped in to stop him.
“Wait. Please don’t touch her. She may soon become one of our people, and I wouldn’t want to see her harmed.”
“Ah, of course. You’re right. I was a bit hasty. Naok, go with these folks for a while!”
“N-no....”
The woman tried to refuse again, but then, as if struck by lightning, she shuddered. Her eyes, dark and sunken under her hair, widened as she stared directly at Squad Leader Gu Pae.
Then she quickly nodded.
It felt like Squad Leader Gu Pae had sent her a sound transmission.
“Alright then, we’ll take her with us and return. Understood?”
“Of course.”
“See you tomorrow, then.”
The woman’s dazed eyes now glowed as if enchanted by something.
When she had said she wouldn’t go, and now here she was looking at Squad Leader Gu Pae with bewitched eyes as if she had fallen for him, she followed us, mesmerized.
We took her not to the Tang Family of Sichuan, but to a street in Chengdu lined with high-end restaurants and pharmacies.
At the very end of the street was the entrance to a magnificent Inner Courtyard.
When we arrived at the large courtyard entrance attached to a luxurious clinic, familiar faces greeted us.
“You’ve arrived!? Young Miss.”
“Yes, I’ll be staying for a day. Please prepare a room. Ah, but first guide us to the Guest Hall. Serve us some tea and light refreshments.”
“Understood!”
There were Tang Family warriors guarding the place, which made me curious, but Squad Leader Gu Pae provided an explanation.
“This is something like the Sichuan Tang Family’s branch office here in Chengdu. That clinic is operated by the Tang Family, and this house also belongs to us. The two inns, eight pharmacies, and five restaurants visible along this alley, all belong to the Tang Family. I’ll show you the trading house and escort agency later.”
So the whole alley belonged to the Tang Family.
Honestly, I had always wondered how the family sustained itself when Grandfather and Father-in-law just cycled internal energy and practiced martial arts like daily calisthenics without doing anything else, and now I found out the secret.
In the end, saying it's the Tang Family’s meant that all this would eventually belong to Nunim, and Nunim…
I let out an awkward cough in my head.
‘Ahem…’
Soon after, we arrived at the Guest Hall led by the warrior.
Inside the Guest Hall, some food and tea were served, but the woman showed no interest in either.
Her gaze kept following Squad Leader Gu Pae, and he, unable to endure it any longer, gave a faint, awkward smile and spoke.
“So, why don’t you tell us what’s going on? Maybe it’s something we can help with. It seems like something rooted in deep resentment, doesn’t it?
Don’t worry, go ahead and speak. This is the Sichuan Tang Family, after all.”
At the Squad Leader Gu’s question, the woman hesitated for a moment, then got off her chair and knelt down, revealing the face hidden beneath her hair.
“That’s…”
"How could a woman's face have such scars?"
Then what was revealed were red burn marks.
She had what looked to be a cute face originally, but the face of the woman called Na-ok was covered with clear, pale burn scars.
And between Nunim’s and Squad Leader Gu’s sorrowful voices, the woman began her story.
“My name is Song Na-ok. I’m from Song Family Village, not far from here…”
Her voice was clear and strong, quite different from earlier.
***
The Song sisters, Song Na-ok and Song Na-eun, were quite well-known in Song Family Village, a small village near Sichuan's capital where most residents were of the Song clan.
They were famous because Na-ok had raised her younger sister alone after their parents passed away early, and both sisters were known for their fair beauty.
Their jade-like white skin drew particular admiration, and so the villagers referred to them as the Jade Sisters.
“Sis, you’re coming home early today, right?”
“Yes, the neighboring village isn’t far. I’ll help with the banquet work and come back right away, so wait just a little bit. I’ll bring some delicious food, too.”
“But I really don’t want to be alone today. I’d rather go with you and help out….”
It was the day she had agreed to help at a banquet in a neighboring village for a fee.
Na-ok was about to leave the house when her younger sister clung to her arm, begging.
Though she was now fully grown and an adult, her sister said she wanted to come along and help, but Na-ok simply patted her head.
It was a typical sibling squabble, but Na-ok knew why her sister was being so clingy today.
“I’m sorry on a day like this. But I can’t bear to have you go through hardship on a day like today. I made a promise to our parents, remember.”
“But I’m all grown up now!”
While that was true, to Na-ok, her younger sister was still an adorable child.
Moreover, there was the promise made to their parents before they died from an epidemic.
Na-ok, who had promised to raise her sister well, looked at the small bowls placed in a corner of the room and said.
“You’ll be bored, but just play with the crickets, alright?”
The crickets chirped as if responding to her words.
-Chirrup chirrup.
The crickets had been raised for her younger sister, who had to stay alone whenever she went out for work.
They had grown in number over time, becoming companions for her sister during Na-ok’s absences, but even so, Na-eun pouted at her words.
“Playing with crickets is only fun when we do it together. Hmph.”
The reason it was especially hard to leave her sister alone today was because today was Na-eun’s birthday.
Na-ok, having no choice, went into the kitchen. She retrieved a scented pouch she had hidden in a bowl as a gift for her sister's birthday and tied it around her sister's waist.
“You said before that you wanted this sachet, right? I bought it to give to you as your birthday present, but I’ll give it to you early today, so be a good girl and wait patiently, okay?”
“A s-sachet!? But you said this was expensive…”
Her sister looked up at her with wide eyes as she touched the pouch tied at her waist.
"When I helped Uncle Ho-jung who works at the escort agency, he gave me one, saying he bought it cheaply in Guangzhou."
“Th-thank you, Sister!”
Na-eun’s face lit up with joy as she threw her arms around Na-ok’s neck.
The refreshing scent wafted in along with her sister's body fragrance, as the pouch contained agarwood powder.
Finally, her sister smiled and saw her off.
“Okay. But you have to come back as soon as possible.”
“Alright, I will.”
The banquet held in the neighboring village turned out to be much busier than expected.
Far more guests arrived than the host had anticipated, and though the planned time had long passed, the festivities continued, forcing Na-ok to work longer than expected.
She was given plenty of leftover food and an extra wage, but Na-ok, who had promised to return quickly to her sister, left ahead of the others and walked swiftly without even carrying a lantern.
Today was her sister’s birthday.
She wanted to get back before the day ended to celebrate with her sister using the delicious banquet food.
“Na-ok, it’s dark. You’ll get hurt walking like that. Take it easy.”
“No, Uncle. She’s probably still waiting without having eaten. I need to hurry.”
Though the others who had gone to work with her tried to stop her, Na-ok quickened her pace under the moonlight.
Thanks to her hurried steps, she arrived at the entrance to Song Family Village far earlier than the others.
The village of the Song clan, reached ahead of time.
Just as she entered the village entrance and quickened her steps toward the inside, at the moment when the bright moon was slightly covered by clouds.
She felt an impact as she turned a corner.
“Guh.”
“Kyah!”
Na-ok ran into someone dashing out of the village without a lantern.
She quickly apologized, but the man frowned and shouted at her, hastening his steps outside the village.
“S-sorry.”
“Hey you, watch where you are going!”
She gathered the dropped food bundle and rose to her feet again.
Na-ok tilted her head slightly.
Song Family Village was inhabited only by the Songs and rarely saw outsiders, and when she had bumped into the man, she had caught a whiff of a scent at the tip of her nose, the same fragrance from the sachet she had smelled when seeing her sister off earlier.
But her suspicion lasted only a moment.
After all, a man could also carry a scented pouch. Shaking off the thought, she dusted herself off and checked the food bundle before hurrying home.
And so, she arrived at the entrance to her house.
The gate, which was normally shut, was wide open. Yet strangely, the house was dark and eerily quiet.
‘Did she turn off the lamp to save oil? Or maybe she fell asleep early while waiting?’
She was certain her sister had been waiting without eating.
Na-ok stepped into the kitchen first, set down the food she had brought, and called for her sister.
She wanted to feed her and then let her sleep peacefully.
“Na-eun! Na-eun! Wake up now! Sister’s home!”
But no response came from her sister.
Na-ok searched the firepit to light a flame and, once she got a fire going, lit the oil lamp. She then opened the door to her sister’s room to find her, assuming she was sound asleep.
“!”
-Thud.
The lamp fell from Na-ok’s hand and hit the floor.
It wasn’t just the light of the oil lamp, what illuminated the room was the red hue soaking the floor.
The house was a mess, like someone had resisted. Her sister's white skin, which had been the envy of other women for its ice-jade quality, was now cold and pale.
“Na-eun! Aaaahhhh….”
Na-ok’s scream burst forth as she cradled her sister in her arms, and from the lamp fallen behind her, flames began to rise.
And then, like a funeral song, the sound of the crickets filled the room.
-Chirrup chirrup.
-Chirrup chirrup.
*****
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