Chapter 180 – To Gangseo-sung (4)

We waited for our return, and the preparations for the expedition went smoothly.

And three days later.

After completing a simple handover to the fully recovered Paeng Ji-hyuk, Paeng Oh-jin ordered the expedition to Gangseo-sung.

***

“Here is Hongju, Hongju-gu….”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked around as if she was amazed.

The size of the city itself is not surprising. It is undoubtedly vast, but it is not as big as Nak-yang, where we visited before.

However, the people who reside within it are different.

It is a commercial city that has developed around the largest lake in Jungwon, the Paryang Lake.

Not only the Mu-in of the Muryeongmaeng but also the merchants who sell supplies and convenience to them have gathered there, so it is not just a typical village.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a small Muryeong….

“Why is the atmosphere so heavy?”

“Because everyone didn’t come here to have fun.”

The Mu-in, who were gathered in groups of three or five, with their respective clan and family crests engraved, had a strange determination.

The Hwanggun, who walked orderly somewhere while sneering at those Mu-in, had a deep tension and a little fear.

When so many people gather, there should be a unique vitality, but it is not felt in Hongju right now.

It is undoubtedly a noisy neighborhood, but as Hong Yeon-hwa said, the atmosphere is heavy.

Paeng Oh-jin was finding his way through this atmosphere.

“Uh, father-in-law. With so many people, do we have a place to stay?”

“No need to worry. I bought a small mansion here too.”

“Here too?”

“I bought one in every big city.”

“……”

When I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, Paeng Oh-jin smiled and said.

“Why? Do you think I’m wasting money that I don’t need?”

“A little?”

“Well, at first, it was just a simple money issue. My wife liked to travel everywhere when she was alive. So, even if it wasn’t necessary, I bought a suitable house in places where we could visit.”

“What about now?”

Paeng Oh-jin smirked and replied.

-This is confidential, but now I use them as a kind of information network.

-…Why are you telling me if it’s confidential?

-It won’t be a secret soon.

The most informed place in the current Muryeong is Gaebang. It used to be Haomun, which was doing pretty well, but now it’s not as open as Gaebang.

Anyway, both Gaebang and Haomun have a tremendous amount of information power.

Then where does their information come from?

The answer is simple. It’s thanks to the Gaebangdo and Haomundo scattered throughout the country.

According to Paeng Oh-jin’s explanation, he had attempted similar things by using the mansions he had purchased in various places.

He hired workers to manage the villas and soldiers for security.

They would blend into the local community, pretending to play and eat, while collecting information.

The information they gathered was directly operated by the upper echelon of the Paeng family, included in expense reports, and occasionally relayed to Paeng Oh-jin through the Paeng family members who came to visit on vacation.

“Of course, it wasn’t very efficient. It’s more profitable to sell to the open market outside of Habeokseong.”

“Well, they weren’t trained as informants, and we don’t have enough personnel.”

“You’re right. That’s why I was planning to clean up a few places after this job is done…”

“Luckily, we can stay here for a few days since we haven’t sold the house yet.”

***

As Paeng Oh-jin said, the mansion in Hongju was noticeably smaller than the one near the Muryeongmaeng.

“Can we all stay here?”

“Did you really think about that? Look carefully, you foolish Gyeongryong. Each room is spacious enough. There won’t be any problems if two ordinary soldiers share a room.”

“Oh…is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Samayeryeong nodded her head eagerly, but soon became distant and melancholy.

We had become close, but now she was acting like this again. What could be the problem?

She had shown a little avoidance towards Samamang during our trip to Mosanpa. I thought everything was okay after she opened up about Hong Yeon-hwa’s world, but…

After hearing about our engagement on the way back, she started avoiding not only Samamang but also other women.

At least I was a little more comfortable, popping in and out like usual, but was this really okay?

I wasn’t sure.

If she continued like this for a few more days, I would have to do something, no matter what Samamang said.

I couldn’t afford to make a mistake and hurt her badly.

As I silently made up my mind, someone came running out of the mansion.

“Pant…pant…Oh, my. Are you here, Ga-junim? Why are you doing this here, the landlord? Please come inside. I have prepared the best room for you.”

“Good work. I was waiting to hear about what happened in Hongju. First, please show the others to their rooms. Also, prepare some food.”

“Understood. Oh, Madame! Please take care of the guests who came from the main house!”

“Yes, yes!”

The man who had originally planned to use the mansion as an information network continued to whisper the detailed trends of Hongju to himself, as if to prove his point.

As he disappeared from view, the soldiers scattered to their respective rooms, following the middle-aged woman named Oh.

As Samayeryeong had said, the ordinary soldiers seemed to share a room with one other person.

Although we were given our own rooms, Hong Yeon-hwa refused.

“It’s fine. Two rooms are enough.”

“Oh, it seems like you two are close. Then, I’ll guide you to this room…”

“Uh? That doesn’t mean we’ll be separated by gender.”

Hong Yeon-hwa spoke, holding onto my hand with one hand and tightly gripping the collars of Paeng So-so and Samamang’s clothes with the other.

“The four of us will share a room.”

“Uh…?”

Oh, the landlady, was confused at first, but soon nodded with a realization.

“Understood. Shall I guide you to a room a little further away?”

“That would be great, thank you.”

I gently stroked Hong Yeon-hwa’s small head, who was smiling bashfully, and glanced back at Samayeryeong, who had gone alone to an empty room.

Samayeryeong was still wearing an uncomfortable expression that didn’t suit her.

***

Samayeryeong was a peak-level warrior and had a fairly high status, so she was assigned a fairly large room.

It was too spacious for her alone.

Clank. Thud.

As soon as she closed the door, Samayeryeong threw her luggage in a corner and lay down on the bare floor without even laying out a blanket.

Samayeryeong wasn’t perfectly refined, but she was still quite ladylike.

But now, she was staring blankly at the ceiling, seemingly not feeling any discomfort.

It was natural. What made Samayeryeong uncomfortable wasn’t the cold, hard floor, but the tangled mess of threads in her chest.

“Why…why did this happen?”

Samayeryeong’s soliloquy echoed in the quiet room.

There was really no need to ask. The reason was clear. It was because of what Samamang had said before they left Pangga.

“Yeryeong, do you remember what Mom said before? Don’t look down on Mom’s man? I’ll say it again, that’s a misunderstanding. I’m close with Geomryong, but that’s only because he’s the only friend who understands my personality. I’ve never seen him as a man.”

“Why did you look at it even though you were so angry?”

“What? I didn’t look at it! That hole was made for Mom to see! And if I did, it would have felt like I was stealing Mom away from Geomryong…”

“Really? You don’t just want to think that way?”

“…”

“Yeryeong. The engagement talk we had on the way here wasn’t just a casual conversation. If we win this war safely, you know your value will increase, right?”

“Well…even though we’re just crossing the river, I might be able to form a marriage alliance with a powerful figure like Cheonma.”

“I’m looking for a suitable engagement partner at that time.”

“…”

“But Yeryeong, you’re my daughter. Mom wants you to be happy. If you find someone you like, don’t worry about anyone else and just tell me.”

“I don’t have anyone like that…”

“I told you, don’t worry about anyone else.”

With those words, Samayeryeong left in anger. But Samamang’s words still lingered in her mind, making her uneasy even now.

“Geomryong…”

Once, Samayeryeong had flipped her blanket and wondered if Jin So-chan would be a suitable partner for Samamang.

The answer was obvious.

Jin So-chan was a really good person in Samayeryeong’s opinion. If she were to be pressed down by his strong arms, she wouldn’t be able to resist…

“I must be crazy! I must be really crazy!”

No matter how good Jin So-chan was, he already had three wives, one of whom was her own mother.

“No matter how you look at it, this is not right.”

Shaking her head vigorously, Samayeryeong changed the subject.

“Marriage.”

Getting married meant doing what she had been secretly writing about in her erotic novels.

Just like Jin So-chan and Samamang.

For a moment, she imagined a man who fit her ideal type, a virtual character who was no different from the protagonist in her novels.

He had always been the hero in her novels…

“What is this! A tacky Geomryong theme! Stupid Geomryong theme!”

Suddenly, she was looking at Jin So-chan’s face.

No matter how many times she tried to recall it, it was useless. She couldn’t imagine anyone else doing such things with her, not Jin So-chan or anyone else.

“Ugh…”

Why did this happen?

Samayeryeong knew the reason, of course. But she couldn’t admit it, as Samamang had said.

Sighing deeply, Samayeryeong grabbed her chest, feeling suffocated.

“Haah…I don’t know, but I have to do it once.”

Samayeryeong’s hand slowly moved towards her pants.

Whenever her chest became so stuffy that she couldn’t bear it, she would relieve herself through masturbation to ease her worries and maintain her mental health in her own way.

Truly a method befitting of an erotic novelist. And to top it off, she had just obtained some good material.

“Huuk…!”

The affair between Jin So-chan and Samamang that she had glimpsed through a small hole.

Samayeryeong fully utilized her excellent memory.

***

“I can’t do it. I think I need to talk to Sahwa about this, Samamang-nim. You haven’t been eating properly for days, just training. You said we should leave it alone, but it seems like it’s getting harder to do that.”

“Yes. I think I was wrong, Sanggong. I’ll leave it to Yeryeong. Oh, I might have locked the door while training, so take this just in case.”

“This is…?”

“A spare key I got just in case. I was thinking of going there myself.”

“If you were going to go, wouldn’t it be better for you to go instead of Samamang-nim?”

“No. I think it would be better for Yeryeong to go with you, as it seems like I’ve caused some resentment in my daughter…Do you think you can handle it?”

“That’s true. I understand. Leave it to me, Samamang-nim!”

Instead of answering, Samamang smiled softly as usual.