"Don't come out, stay there."
Yiseo quickly turned her horse toward the carriage, opened the door, and shoved Soye inside.
"Wah!"
Soye tumbled into the carriage, practically hurled inside.
"My lady!"
The nanny, who had been trembling in the corner with her hands over her head, hurriedly embraced Soye.
Soye knew the woman was only looking after her out of self-preservation, but she still felt a sense of security in that desperate embrace.
The little girl forced herself upright, straining to get a look.
Although Gong-hui was clinging to her waist, she could see past the carriage window.
The Tang Clan warriors were taking down the bandits in perfect unison.
They don't seem like ordinary bandits.
Usually, thieves tested the waters and ran away if things looked bad.
They only cared about their profit margins.
Still, attacking a convoy this size—and with armed guards, no less? Isn't this just bad business?
Gong-hui pulled Soye back.
"My lady, you shouldn't look at such gruesome things."
"B-but grandmother…"
"You must call her the matriarch!"
The nanny scolded and coaxed Soye at the same time.
Shielding the child in the corner of the carriage, Gong-hui seemed incredibly imposing to Soye.
Part of it was the chaos outside—clashing steel, the heavy thuds of falling bodies, and screams.
No, the truth was simpler: Soye was just too young and weak.
She caught herself thinking.
At a time like this, if Gong-hui snapped and tried something, could a little child even fight back?
"To attack the Poison King's convoy! You've got a lot of nerve!"
A booming shout echoed.
It was the voice of this body's grandmother.
Fight back…? Why wouldn't I be able to?
The realization snapped Soye back to reality like a jolt.
Even without fully understanding her situation, she had managed to back the nanny into quite a corner earlier.
She was confident in her quick hands, so if the nanny tried to threaten her, she could just gouge her eyes out and scream.
Being trapped in a child's body seems to be narrowing my thinking.
Granted, it was to minimize risks.
Children this age could easily die from the slightest slip-up.
Soye knew that better than anyone.
"The Poison King?"
"Did they say the Poison King?"
Yiseo's shout stirred up a commotion among the enemies.
"Run away!"
"Argh!"
Soye's pounding heart calmed down.
She had a protector, so the nanny wouldn't suddenly act up either.
"Looks like we won!"
Gong-hui looked displeased, but she also seemed relieved.
"Thank goodness. But you must stay in the carriage from now on. If there's another attack…"
Soye wasn't even listening anymore.
Sensing that things were mostly cleaned up, she flung the carriage door open.
"Grandmother!"
"My lady! I told you to call her the matriarch!"
Gong-hui pleaded, following Soye, who leaped out of the carriage.
However, Yiseo, the person in question, didn't correct the title.
I guess it's fine to call her grandmother.
"Tsk. You should have stayed in the carriage."
The Poison King spoke reproachfully, yet still hoisted Soye and tucked her under her arm like a piece of luggage.
At the first creak of the opening door, Yiseo swiftly wiped the blood from her throwing daggers and slipped them out of sight—completely unnoticed by Soye.
In front of the Poison King, the surviving bandits were forced to kneel on the ground, tied up.
Gong-hui rambled on in a half-crying voice about the young lady's emotional well-being… and things like that, but neither grandmother nor granddaughter listened.
"Why did you attack us?"
At the Poison King's question, one of the bandits stammered out an answer.
"They said the Tang Clan has the Divine Thief's treasure…"
D-Divine Thief?
Soye's eyes widened in shock.
Did I hide a treasure in the Tang Clan? No way.
Back when Soye was at her peak, she used to sneak into the Shaolin temple and other places.
But she had barely ever set foot near the Sichuan Tang Clan.
"That damn Divine Thief again."
Yiseo clicked her tongue.
"Like locusts swarming at the scent of grain, all it took was a rumor about some Divine Thief's treasure hidden in the Tang Clan to multiply our attackers tenfold."
Not long ago, a rumor spread that the Divine Thief's treasure was in the Tang Clan, even though there was absolutely no connection between the two.
Thanks to that, the Tang Clan was in an uproar inside and out.
"Cough, cough. Ack…"
The bandit who confessed collapsed sideways, vomiting bloody froth.
Yiseo maintained a calm expression, but her hand quickly covered Soye's eyes.
"I'm showing my granddaughter things she shouldn't see."
To be honest, it was natural for a kid born into a martial arts family to be far more accustomed to blood and death than ordinary children.
Even so, Yiseo believed it was better to delay it if possible.
After a moment of thought, the Poison King ordered.
"Go back into the carriage now."
At those words, Soye remembered something she had momentarily forgotten.
"It's boring by myself! I want to ride with Soso and Socheong."
"You mean the branch head's children?"
The Poison King soon nodded.
"Do as you wish."
Content enough to remain by Soye's side, the nanny didn't raise any fuss.
Meanwhile, tension had been thick in Soso and Socheong's carriage since the start of the attack.
"Ambush!"
The moment that shout rang out, Soso tensed up and hugged her younger brother tightly.
"My lady, young master. I will clear out the attackers."
It was the voice of the warrior who had accompanied them from the Tang Clan village.
"C-come back safely."
Soso mustered up her courage to speak, but no answer came.
The sound of weapons clashing in the distance was incredibly intense.
The girl shrank back.
After all, she was on her way out of the Tang Clan village, where she had lived her whole life.
She already felt gloomy about leaving her old home, and now there was even an ambush.
No matter how mature Soso tried to be, she was still just a child.
What should I do? What should I do?
Even though the Poison King stood at the front of the convoy, her small heart was thumping.
Unfortunate incidents always happened, no matter how much one prepared.
Besides, when it came to protection, some lives simply took priority over others.
Although Soso and Socheong were the branch head's children, there was a much more important child in this convoy.
My brother and I must be the last of their concerns.
"Nngh. Sis, what's wrong?"
Her younger brother, who was half-asleep and couldn't grasp the situation, squirmed restlessly.
"Stay still."
The situation was resolved in an instant, but to Soso, it felt like a hundred years.
"Ugh, m-mom…"
Socheong showed signs of tearing up.
Like a good older sister, Soso tried to soothe her brother.
But looking at Socheong made her own tears well up, and she couldn't open her mouth as she sniffled to hold them back.
If I cry too, things will really spiral out of control.
But truthfully, Soso was scared too.
We got attacked right after leaving home—what's stopping it from happening again?
Her imagination grew wilder and wilder, turning into a nightmare.
Then—
"Hey guys, let's play together!"
The carriage door flung open, and Soye stepped inside.
Boarding the carriage a step behind her, Gong-hui frowned and spoke.
"My lady. Even if they are the branch head's children, you should only socialize with children who match your status."
Gong-hui said in a deliberately cautious tone.
"What's status?"
Soye widened her eyes and asked back.
"Well, status refers to people whose standing matches yours, my lady."
"Oh, come on. I'm asking who exactly matches my status."
"Uh, well. First of all, there would be the children of the other Five Great Clans. Like the Murong Clan or the Namgung Clan…"
Soye unleashed the ultimate secret technique that all adults dreaded.
"How close do they live? How long does it take by horse? Can they come see me? Is it a boy? A girl? How old are they? Do they like playing ball? Can they push me on the swing?"
An endless barrage of questions.
"Hmm? Soye wants to know."
A strange pressure emanated from her smiling face.
Truthfully, the Sichuan Tang Clan was located much farther away than the other Five Great Clans.
Even if she wanted to hang out with children from other families, it was impossible to reach them in a day or two.
So where could they possibly find a child who matched Soye's status?
Because the carriage was cramped, Soso was listening to their conversation too.
Looking closely, it seems Lady Soye actually wants to hang out with us.
Her gaze lingered on the nanny for a moment before dropping to the floor.
So is the nanny the one standing in the way?
She had heard plenty of rumors back in the village about how picky Soye was.
The maids and servants often complained to her mother about how hard it was to handle the nanny's tyranny.
But she had never heard that Soye herself actually did anything.
This is fishy…
Soso felt uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Soye and Gong-hui bickered back and forth for quite a while about the four of them riding in one carriage.
But this kind of fight always had a predetermined winner.
"…Sigh. Who could win against you, my lady?"
In the end, Gong-hui gave up trying to convince Soye.
She thought to herself with a gentle smile.
I can't separate them right now, but a child's interest never lasts long anyway. She'll forget all about them once we return to the main estate—just like a toy she's grown bored of.
* * *
Time seemed to blur with the steady sway of the carriage.
Knock, knock.
There was a tapping sound against the wooden shutter.
When Soye peeked her head out, she saw her grandmother's face on horseback.
"Are we there?"
A solidly built old woman grinned, showing her teeth.
"Welcome home, child."
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