The only things that could be heard were footsteps crunching against the snow. It sounded ridiculously loud. Every time Ko took in a deep breath it felt like his throat was going to freeze, so he took short, shallow breaths instead. Even so, it didn’t stop his throat and nose from hurting. His eyelids stung as well. His only solace was that the snow had now ceased falling from the sky.
“Even those who live in the deepest depths of the mountains have roads that lead them all the way down to the sea. Why do you think that might be?” Jikei asked Ko, who was walking along behind him.
Ko didn’t have the energy for chitchat, but he felt obliged to answer anyway. “Because…they need salt?”
“Exactly. Those who lived in the mountains got salt from those who lived by the water in exchange for the firewood needed for salt production. When I say ‘those who lived by the sea,’ I naturally mean my clan, the Yozetsu clan.”
Although Jikei had initially been very formal in the way he’d addressed Ko, the more time they had spent together, the more casual his speech had become.
After having met him by chance at a market at the base of the Northern Mountains, Ko had asked Jikei to take him to the tribes who lived there. Since they lived so deep in the mountains, first-time visitors needed a guide in order to locate their settlements. The pair had already crossed one or two mountain passes. They had then continued their ascent and descent until sunset, stayed the night at a woodcutter’s cabin, and were now finally approaching the mountain where the settlements stood.
“They call these salt wood roads.”
Jikei looked down at his feet and stomped firmly on the snow beneath them. The snow made a squeaking noise.
“Because the wood needed to make salt was transported down them?”
“That’s right. They’re also referred to as boat wood roads because the wood used to build boats was transported down this same route. Trees from the mountains are used for all sorts of different things—even charcoal or woodwork.”
Jikei’s physique was surprisingly brawny for his advanced age, and he didn’t even need to gasp for air as he spoke and walked at the same time. For Ko, however, these mountain roads had taken their toll—even though he exercised every day. He was dressed in a lamb-fur coat, a woolen robe, a marten-fur hat, and boots made out of yak fur—all items that Jikei had recommended—so thankfully, he wasn’t going to freeze. That said, this attire was so weighty that it sapped a great deal of his energy. Jikei had slowed his pace to match Ko’s, and they took breaks from time to time.
In front of Jikei, a goods transporter was pulling along a yak with bags of salt attached to it. A goods transporter’s job consisted exclusively of transporting things from the mountains to the town and back. Mountain residents didn’t have to make the journey themselves every single time they wanted to buy or sell something.
Jikei had gotten his own attendants to stay at the foot of the mountains while he accompanied Ko on his climb. Ko had left his attendants behind too. The only ones walking these snowy roads were Jikei, Ko, the goods transporter, and the yak. Jikei let the goods transporter and the yak go on ahead and told Ko to take his time.
“Don’t people use sleds?” Ko asked, watching as the goods transporter and his yak gradually disappeared into the distance. He couldn’t help but feel that sleds would be an easier way to transport cargo on snowy roads.
“In this area, sleds are only used in early spring—never in the winter. The snow in the winter is powdery and lacks moisture, so sleds wouldn’t be able to slide across it. They’d just sink instead. It’s like sand, you see. The snow that falls in early spring, on the other hand, is icier, which allows the sleds to glide better. That sort of snow makes for much easier walking too,” replied Jikei.
Ko could see where he was coming from. Every time he took a step forward, his feet sank deep into the snow underfoot. It was one factor of many that made the trek so arduous.
“In early spring, trees are taken to the river on sleds, and then are streamed toward the town from the river’s mouth. Until that time of year comes around, folks have no choice but to stay shut away indoors, sometimes dabbling in some woodwork to keep themselves occupied. Life on warm, flat land is worlds apart from life here.” Jikei glanced back at Ko. “If you don’t take that into account when negotiating, they won’t listen to a word you say.”
Ko smiled awkwardly. “It doesn’t sound like there’d be much demand for silk,” he said.
“People would have no opportunity to wear it, would they? You may as well go back to Ga Province before they send you away themselves.”
“I wouldn’t dream of going home without even trying to negotiate.”
Jikei frowned, but his expression wasn’t one of annoyance. Instead, the look in his eyes was more one of pity. Ko looked down and focused all his concentration on the sound of his footsteps against the snow.
The “negotiation” the two of them were referring to was not a business transaction. They were both aware of that fact, and yet neither of them would acknowledge it openly.
Ko couldn’t quite grasp what Jikei’s intentions were. It was widely known that Jikei had been a chief vassal of the Ran dynasty, and the Northern Mountains were where the Ran dynasty originated from. For him to try to make contact with the tribes of the Northern Mountains so soon after the existence of a surviving relative of the Ran clan had come to light… It was safe to assume that he had some sort of motive. Ko struggled to deduce what it could be. He’d requested his company with the goal of unearthing what it was.
The most realistic theory to him was that Jikei was going to urge them to embrace that living descendant and rouse them to action. However, as realistic as this idea was, it was also a reckless one. There were some people who were willing enough to make rash, reckless actions every now and then, but having spoken to Jikei, Ko couldn’t imagine him being one of them. For better or for worse, he was an intelligent man. He wasn’t the sort of person to embroil a whole clan in something so foolish just for the sake of proving his devotion.