The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

A white dragon flew across the deep blue sky.

Although it appeared as small as a fingernail due to the great distance, it was clearly not a mere bird.

It looked like a serpent swimming through the water.

The sky above the Tibetan Plateau was as blue as a lake, making it stand out even more.

Each time the ‘dragon’ twisted its body, white powder-like particles sparkled and scattered.

「Is it… a dragon?」 Bodhidharma murmured faintly.

Yi-gang suddenly understood why Bodhidharma seemed to admire the existence of a dragon.

The massive imoogi coiled around the mountain peak was indeed overwhelming, but it lacked freedom.

An imoogi bound for a thousand years to a damp, dark valley upon the earth.

The contrast was so vivid that Bodhidharma remained silent for a long while.

The dragon danced in the sky for a moment longer before descending back to the ground.

It seemed to have gone beyond the hill, out of sight.

“…Shall we go take a look?”

When Yi-gang spoke, the entire group snapped back to their senses.

As they prepared to leave on horseback, the bandits hurriedly tried to stop them.

“W-wait, could you please free us before you go?”

Yi-gang glanced down at the bandits and, with the tip of his foot, released the pressure point of one of the bandit underlings nearby.

“Go and give your leader and comrades a good massage. The pressure points will be released after that.”

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

He then shifted his gaze toward the bandit leader.

“If we meet again, I won’t let you live next time.”

“W-wait, couldn’t you free me too…?!”

Yi-gang did not bother to answer and spurred his horse forward.

Surprisingly, the bandits’ horses were quite docile, so riding them posed no problem.

Although Yi-gang had released one of the bandit underlings, it was essentially meaningless.

Massaging the body would not release the pressure points. Since he had adjusted the energy flow, it would naturally be released after two hours or so.

His words were merely meant to instill more fear in the bandits.

However, the situation seemed entirely different to the bandit leader who remained behind.

The released bandit underling soon realized that he was the only one among the fifteen comrades who could move.

He stood there blankly, looking around.

And then, his eyes met those of the bandit leader.

“Hey, Duheon!”

The leader frowned deeply.

Of all people, Yi-gang had released the pressure point of the dumbest underling in the entire group.

The leader disliked that particular underling so much that he beat him almost daily.

“What are you doing, you bastard?! Get over here and start massaging me first!”

Thinking the fool was once again dawdling, he yelled at him furiously.

However, Duheon didn’t come running as expected; instead, he smirked.

“You were hurting a lot this morning, weren’t you?”

“W-what did you say?”

“You filthy dog. You beat me up just because you bit your tongue while eating breakfast?”

The underling, who used to laugh stupidly even when beaten, suddenly drew his sword with a sharp glare.

The bandit leader quickly realized his predicament.

“W-wait, l-let’s calm down and talk this out…”

“Talk? Sure, talking is great! Let’s have a conversation—with swords.”

As the underling licked the blade of his sword, the other bandits who had bullied him trembled in fear.

Meanwhile, Yi-gang continued riding his horse.

He went over the details he had heard from the bandit leader.

The place where the dragon resided was a small lake atop the mountain, called Dragon Pond.

Though farming was difficult on this plateau, there were people who raised barley—resilient to the cold—and herded sheep.

When the weather stayed dry, the grass for the sheep would wither, and farming would become even harder.

At such times, the villagers would go to the dragon, bow before it, and pray.

They would hold a ritual, a rain-praying ritual, to call for rain.

Then, the dragon would graciously send down rain.

Thanks to this, the village prospered.

「It makes sense. Dragons are beings that control water.」

Bodhidharma seemed genuinely pleased.

Yi-gang agreed as well.

‘It’s far better than using the fire of a fire dragon to clear fields.’

This time, it seemed like there would be something truly special.

Not only that, but they had seen it with their own eyes—

The existence of the dragon.

It was just under a day of riding when it happened.

Yi-gang, leading the group, suddenly halted his horse.

“What… is this…?”

Yi-gang looked flustered.

The Tibetan Plateau and the mountain ranges of Sichuan were entirely different places.

Yet, somehow, similar events kept occurring.

They stopped after discovering a child on the road.

A young girl, dressed in the traditional attire of the Ijok tribe, stood there sucking her finger.

It was just around the time when the distant village began to come into view.

It would take at least half a day to walk there. Why would a child, who seemed to be around seven years old, be alone in such a place?

The girl, who had been sucking her finger, wiped her hand on her skirt and asked, “Who are you?”

“…And who might you be?”

“I’m Tsering.”

An exotic name—Tsering.

Her slightly tanned face was flushed bright red on the cheeks.

With a runny nose and a shy expression, she was an adorably charming child.

“I’m Yi-gang.”

“Yi-gang? What does that mean?”

“Well… I’m not sure.”

Yi-gang pondered whether there was any special meaning behind his own name.

The child named Tsering answered questions that hadn’t even been asked.

“Tsering means ‘to live long.’”

“That’s a very nice name. I should have chosen a name like that for myself.”

A name meaning longevity—truly a wonderful meaning.

“Names are given by mothers and fathers.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

Only vagabonds can choose their own names.

Since parents had come up in conversation, Yi-gang decided to ask, “Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?”

“They’re dead.”

Yi-gang froze.

For a rare moment, he showed visible embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“…Well, I guess there’s no reason for me to be sorry.”

“Yes.”

As Yi-gang stood still, his companions gathered around him.

Although the child had seemed fearless and calm, she looked a bit intimidated now that so many people had gathered.

Tsering subtly took a step or two back.

At that moment, the sound of bleating echoed.

“Baaa—”

Startled, the girl rushed behind a rock and hugged a hidden mountain goat.

“You have to stay quiet.”

“Baaa—”

What she brought out was a baby mountain goat.

The kid goat did not struggle and rested calmly in the girl’s arms.

Tsering remained slightly wary.

“This little one ran away.”

“Oh, I see. So our little shepherd girl came out to find the runaway kid goat.”

The Divine Monk smiled broadly, his wrinkled face lighting up.

Though it wasn’t exactly a gentle smile, it seemed to ease the girl’s tension a little.

“What’s the name of the village you live in?”

“Rangachen…”

“So you’re Tsering from Rangachen. Want something to eat?”

The Divine Monk took out something black from his robe.

“It’s candy made from licorice, very sweet and delicious.”

“It looks like poop.”

“Hehehe.”

Tsering hesitated for a moment while holding the licorice that the Divine Monk had given her, then finally put it in her mouth.

Her eyes widened instantly, and her ears perked up.

Her hair even stood on end slightly, making her look like a startled cat.

“It’s sweet.”

“Tasty, right?”

She was so surprised that she hugged the baby mountain goat tightly.

The kid goat squirmed in her arms.

“We’re heading to your village, Rangachen. Would you like to come with us?”

“Yeah, but my legs hurt.”

The Divine Monk glanced at Tsering’s legs.

Her feet were swollen. It seemed she had chased the runaway mountain goat all the way here.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Yi-gang, come here.”

“Yes?”

“Give her a ride.”

“…Understood.”

Fortunately, Yi-gang wasn’t very large, and the horse carrying him was strong and big enough.

Tsering hesitated for a moment before stepping in front of Yi-gang.

Then, she raised both hands high.

Yi-gang sighed and lifted her onto the horse.

He was skilled at dealing with successors, but handling a child like this wasn’t so easy.

Yi-gang seated Tsering in front of him, while Tsering held the mountain goat in her arms.

It was a scene straight out of a storybook, causing Gal Dong-tak to chuckle.

“Hehehe, Yi-gang.”

Because of his large build, Gal Dong-tak rode his horse alone.

Showing off, he rode in a circle in front of Tsering.

“You look silly.”

Tsering pointed at him and said, “Zhu Bajie.”

Gal Dong-tak gloomily fell to the back of the group.

Yi-gang gently patted Tsering’s head.

‘Has she read Journey to the West?’ he wondered. The people of the Western Regions did seem familiar with Buddhist culture.

Since they were carrying a child, they couldn’t gallop quickly.

The group slowed their pace to a brisk walk.

Clip-clop—clip-clop—

Only the sound of horse hooves echoed quietly.

Though Yi-gang wasn’t someone who typically struggled with silence, he felt awkward for some reason and spoke up, “Won’t someone at home be worried if you’re late?”

“I don’t have a home.”

Yi-gang nearly bit his tongue.

「Ha-ha.」

Bodhidharma also scoffed.

Hadn’t they just heard her mention that her parents had passed away?

As Yi-gang was briefly blaming himself, he realized something odd and asked, “Even if your parents aren’t around, you must have a place to stay, right?”

“…I live at the village chief’s house.”

“A relative?”

“No. All the kids whose parents died live at the chief’s house.”

It was not uncommon for a village chief to take responsibility for orphans.

While they might not be raised like biological children, it was still a better situation than starving to death as an orphan.

“That’s a good thing.”

Tsering pressed her lips together.

Then, sitting as if leaning into Yi-gang, she glanced back.

“Hey… did you come from that way?”

She was referring to the direction opposite the village.

Yi-gang nodded.

“What’s over there?”

Perhaps it was just a child’s curiosity about the world beyond her village.

Yi-gang answered, “There’s nothing there.”

“I see…”

Bodhidharma’s reproach echoed in his mind.

「How cold you are to a child.」

‘Well, it’s true anyway.’

For days, there was nothing but mountains, rocks, and sky.

Of course, if one traveled even further, crossing multiple mountain ranges, they would eventually reach the Central Plains and Sichuan.

However, that path wasn’t something an ordinary person could traverse.

Only because Yi-gang and his group were Supreme Peak masters could they overcome such treacherous terrain.

Would a little child like Tsering ever leave the Tibetan Plateau in her lifetime?

Tsering seemed somewhat disheartened.

Yi-gang considered offering words of comfort but eventually chose to stay silent.

It wasn’t until dusk that the group finally arrived at the village.

As expected, there were no soldiers guarding the village and no walls surrounding it.

Only a single shepherd, upon seeing the group approach on horseback, watched them cautiously.

However, he soon recognized Tsering, who was sitting in Yi-gang’s arms.

“Tsering! Isn’t that you, Tsering?!”

For some reason, Tsering turned her head away with a sulky expression instead of greeting him.

Instead, Yi-gang spoke up, “We are travelers. Would it be possible for us to stay in the village for a while?”

“Y-yes… Should I take you to the village chief?”

This was a place where proper inns or guesthouses didn’t exist.

In such cases, visitors typically stayed at the largest house in the village.

Usually, that would be the house of the village chief, where they would offer some money in exchange for lodging.

“That sounds good. Please, lead the way.”

Coincidentally, Tsering had mentioned that she lived at the village chief’s house.

Following the shepherd’s guidance, the Divine Monk and the group proceeded.

Rangachen Village was small but pleasant.

It was a hundred times better than Wangjia Village.

The villagers’ faces were full of life, and smoke rose from the chimneys of the stone houses.

A savory aroma of lamb drifted through the air, and the village chief’s house was no exception.

Unlike the chief of Wangjia Village, this village chief had a hearty appearance, likely due to eating well.

“Of course, you’re welcome here. Please, come inside.”

With a smile, he led Yi-gang’s group into the house.

Yi-gang was about to tie up his horse and enter the house when Tsering hesitated.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

Then, as if hiding behind Yi-gang, she followed him inside.

The house was filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

At that moment, a plump woman strode over and grabbed Tsering’s wrist firmly.

“You little rascal!”

Then, after forcefully turning her arm, she began spanking her repeatedly.

Yi-gang started to intervene but stopped.

“What were you thinking, going so far without telling anyone? We searched for you all day!”

“Hiiing, I-I’m sorry!”

It was appropriate discipline.

As Tsering met Yi-gang’s gaze, she suddenly shouted, “Help me!”

Hearing that, the woman disciplining her turned sharply to look at Yi-gang.

Yi-gang lowered his head slightly and stepped further into the room.

Tsering cried out, wailing, “Yi-gang is mean!”