The streets were bustling with countless people.
Anticipation-filled people, laborers carrying goods and moving somewhere, and amidst them, martial artists heading somewhere.
Could the place those martial artists are heading to be where the treasure is? I cautioned Hye-ryeong, who was walking by tightly holding my hand.
“Be careful. There might be pickpockets.”
“Shouldn’t it be Uncle who needs to be careful? You’re the one carrying the money, after all.”
“Thugs aren’t just pickpockets.”
Actually, more than pickpockets… there could be someone taking advantage of the chaos to make a move.
Even in the 21st century, where such crimes are swiftly dealt with, those types still exist, and in this medieval era, such occurrences might be quite common. With this many people, catching them wouldn’t be easy.
The biggest concern was that Hye-ryeong…
Anyway, protecting the lady is a knight’s duty, so I needed to shield Hye-ryeong from bad hands.
Specifically, severing their wrists and stuffing them into their mouths would be sufficient.
“Therefore, stick close to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
…Not that I meant this close.
Ignoring the sensation on my arm, I moved forward through the chaotic streets. Though many merchants were loudly attracting customers, no one tried to approach us.
…It must be because I’m the colored-eyed one.
Let’s be honest, it doesn’t seem like I can speak fluent Chinese. You can’t exactly attract customers if you can’t communicate.
Not like I’d bother with such face-losing tasks in such a crowded night market anyway. We were able to browse the night market without much interference.
“Uncle! Look at this!”
“It’s a hairpin.”
A hairpin that looked to be cleanly crafted from silver was glinting under the lantern light. It appeared to be a decorative piece made from high-purity silver.
Hye-ryeong squatted in front of the stall, beginning to inspect several hairpins. I stood beside her as she carefully examined them.
Though there wasn’t much else to see other than variously decorated hairpins.
“Can I try this on once?”
“Hehe, of course, Miss.”
“Uncle, could you…”
Hye-ryeong suddenly untied her hair, handing me the string used to tie it. I held the string as I watched her gather her hair into an upward knot.
Having inserted hairpins a few times before, Hye-ryeong’s movements were quite skillful. As I watched her waist-length hair swiftly coil into a round shape atop her head, I was genuinely impressed.
“Skillful.”
“My mother taught me when I was younger! I practice from time to time!”
Finally, the hairpin was secured in her coiled hair. Hye-ryeong turned around after removing her hand from her hair and asked me,
“What do you think?”
“It suits you.”
“Ha ha ha~”
A bright smile like the full moon graced Hye-ryeong’s face. I couldn’t help but stare at her. After all, the sight of a beauty smiling was impossible to look away from.
I snapped back to my senses when Hye-ryeong took out the hairpin and extended her hand toward me. I handed her the string and asked,
“Will you buy it?”
“Are you buying it for me?”
“Just a hairpin.”
“Thank you!”
I took out money from my pouch, bought the hairpin, and handed it to Hye-ryeong. She looked at the hairpin fleetingly before placing it in her cleavage and grabbed my hand.
“Then let’s go look at other places!”
“Not wearing it now?”
“You don’t know, do you? Hairpins are only worn by married women.”
Is that so?
Looking at the shop owner with that newfound knowledge, he chuckled and nodded, confirming that it was true. So basically it’s for show then?
It’s rather charming, quite different from her usual strangely modern double braid.
How should I put it… a feeling like transitioning from childhood to adulthood?
Indeed, hairstyles really do change impressions. Feeling that anew, I idly touched the strands of hair covering the back of my neck.
Maybe I should get a trim too.
When I used to traverse the battlefield, my hair was cut short due to the helmet.
“Shall we continue walking then?”
“Yes!”
We headed to the next area, holding hands.
Since we hadn’t achieved our original purpose yet.
—
“I guess there’s no Light Treading manual to be found.”
After thoroughly combing through the night market for a considerable amount of time, we found no merchant selling a Light Treading manual. It seemed that this market didn’t deal in manuals of such sorts.
“I thought that in such a large market, we could at least find a manual for Light Treading…”
“How come everything else is here except the Light Treading manual?”
“Huh.”
There were manuals for Fist Arts, Sword Arts, and Spear Arts available, so why are Light Treading manuals absent? We couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Of course, since Light Treading techniques are often designed for specific internal arts, it wasn’t that surprising… but not even a decent third-rate Light Treading manual?
It was as if someone had swept all the Light Treading manuals together.
“Hey, are you sure there’s no Light Treading manual at all? Not even one?”
“That’s right. You’ll likely have a tough time finding it. Light Treading manuals were rarely released into the market in the first place, and whatever few were out have probably all been sold by now.”
“To whom?”
“Lord Jang. I heard it has something to do with the treasures revealed this time… I don’t know the details, but you might want to check it out. They’ll be unveiling the treasure soon at the square in the center of the city.”
Treasure.
So, do we have to see it eventually?
“Alright, Hye-ryeong, let’s go see the treasure.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you for the information.”
“Just felt sorry seeing all your efforts go to waste.”
In the end, we’ll probably just end up watching. Who would have thought they’d be so considerate? With those thoughts, I turned around with Hye-ryeong.
Since this place is quite far from Central Square, we had to hurry. We didn’t know if the treasure would be on display for long or just briefly.
“What do you think the treasure might be?”
“Maybe…it’s Light Treading.”
“If it deserves the title of treasure-level Light Treading, it could be the ‘Floating Cloud Steps’ or ‘Graceful Wave Steps’.”
I have no idea.
Knowing such things is weird, but…
“We’ll know once we get there.”
“Why did Lord Jang buy Light Treading techniques?”
“Beats me…”
There must be a reason, but we had no clues to speculate for now.
Without any leads, we headed toward Central Square while talking about the treasure. A crowd had gathered at Central Square, all looking at a stage set up in the middle.
“Eh… I can’t see anything from here…”
“It’d be better to climb somewhere, like a roof.”
“Uncle can’t climb, can you?”
“…I need to learn Light Treading.”
If I learn Light Treading, I should be able to leap onto roofs like those black-clad figures.
Quickly learn…
Hmm?
Black-clad figure?
I immediately followed the black-clad person spotted at the edge of my vision. Moving between rooftops, the figure circled the stage, then settled in a position favorable for leaping onto the stage, looking down at it.
Obviously, they were up to something.
If left alone, they would cause trouble, so should I report it?
“Uncle, what are you looking at?”
“Can you see the black-clad person over there?”
“Whoa, really? I haven’t seen that black-clad person before!”
“The Evil Sect members also wear black robes.”
“But… well… this person doesn’t seem like a real black-clad person but more like a martial artist dressed in black…”
True, since their face wasn’t fully covered, calling them a black-clad person felt a bit off.
“Anyway, should we report it?”
“I guess we should.”
I took a deep breath and looked at the black-clad person. He still hadn’t noticed my gaze and had his hand in his robe, likely preparing to do something on the stage.
I shouted before he could act.
“There’s a suspicious person on the roof!”
“Uncle, it’s too noisy here. It doesn’t seem like it’s getting through!”
Geez, this is a pain.
It’s not like I can channel my energy to shout here either. Weakening people might suffer a heart attack.
Still, quite a few people must have heard me, so they would notice soon…
Oh, they’re running away.
No, they’re falling toward the stage.
“Suspicious person!”
“Protect the treasure!”
The laughter and chatter-filled square immediately fell into chaos.
I noticed someone swiftly leaping onto a nearby roof and found the black-clad person, who was holding a book.
That’s…
“That’s the treasure.”
I instantly realized the item stolen by the black-clad person was the treasure.
“Quick, chase them!”
“Quickly! Catch them! Catch them! Do you know how hard I worked to secure this?”
“Looks like we won’t get to see the treasure.”
“Well, at least we have something to talk about at drinking parties, so it’s fine.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
We turned around without a second thought.
It felt like sticking around would drag us into troublesome situations.
————
“You can’t take one step from here!”
What is it?
I woke up to a loud voice.
