Gold and Silver Treasure
The sun had long since slipped behind the mountains, and in the deepening dusk long shadows stretched across the hills.
"We’ll have to rough it nearby tonight, no matter what."
Cheongwol looked around, searching for anywhere they might at least lie down decently, and let out a small sigh.
They had barely left the Kongdong Sect, and already they were talking about sleeping outdoors.
"By roughing it, do you mean spending the night on the mountain?"
Ak Seo-ah, who had been chattering nonstop at his side only a moment ago, suddenly stiffened.
"That’s right. If you hate the idea that much, should we head back down now? I’m not sure how much farther it is until we reach a village..."
But contrary to Cheongwol’s expectation, Ak Seo-ah beamed and shook her head.
"How could you say something so disappointing! I’ve always wanted to rough it at least once, but there was never an opportunity, so I’ve been terribly sorry about it! At last, today, I shall finally ease the grief in my heart!"
"...Well, I’m glad to hear it."
Why she would want to experience roughing it—being swarmed by insects and wild beasts, making do with scraps of dried meat for a meal, and shivering awake in the cold dew of dawn—Cheongwol had no idea.
And yet, even as he thought that, he found himself chuckling softly.
Ak Seo-ah’s unguarded sincerity had somehow lightened his own mood as well.
"It seems the chivalrous hero is pleased too! Wait here a moment! Since this is a memorial first night outdoors, I shall bring back a beast of the mountain to mark the occasion!"
But innocence was only charming so long as it stayed within the bounds of reason.
-Thud
Cheongwol swiftly caught Ak Seo-ah by the nape of the neck just as she was about to dart into the forest.
"...Why do you stop me?"
When Ak Seo-ah lifted her head and asked, Cheongwol immediately pointed toward the forest entrance ahead.
It was the same place from which the bandits had just emerged, demanding tolls for passage.
"Now that I think about it, those mountain thieves came out from there. There might be a bandit stronghold nearby. How about it? Want to raid the place with me?"
---
Sure enough, as Cheongwol had said, they did not have to walk far before they found the mountain bandits’ stronghold.
It was not especially large, but it was big enough to house about twenty grown men with ease.
"To think I’m raiding a bandit stronghold together with a chivalrous hero...!"
Once inside, Ak Seo-ah rushed eagerly from place to place, rummaging around with a face full of emotion.
Cheongwol did not try to stop her. Instead, he quietly searched the surroundings himself, his expectations slowly rising.
...Found it.
Not long after, he easily found a room that anyone could tell had belonged to the master of the place.
A huge chest, sealed shut with layer upon layer of bindings, sat in one corner.
He was not particularly greedy, but there was no reason to leave money with no owner to claim it.
-Crack
As Cheongwol drew upon a little inner power and tightened his grip, the chains sealing the chest snapped apart and fell away helplessly.
As far as he could tell, whatever treasures were inside would more than repay the silver he had received from Unhak, and then some.
Senior Brother Unhak, just wait a little longer. Your junior brother will treat you to the finest inn in Gansu. Of course, Master will be coming too...
Just as Cheongwol was about to push the chest open with a heart full of anticipation, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"As expected, a chivalrous hero is something else!"
"...?"
Startled, Cheongwol turned around, and there was Ak Seo-ah, draped in some unknown tiger-pelt cloak over her head, approaching with an air of smug triumph.
"Treasures plundered from the common people must of course be returned to them! I had forgotten that in my excitement, but you, chivalrous hero, have not forgotten what must be done!"
...Returned?
His treasures... inside the chest?
When Cheongwol looked into the chest, which somehow already felt like his own, he found it packed so full of gold and silver treasures that the phrase did them no injustice.
"Good heavens. Just how much is all this..."
At a glance, it was clear this had not been gathered in a day, and even Ak Seo-ah, before she knew it, slipped out of her usual manner of speech.
"Ahem! For bandits, I never imagined they’d be able to pile up this much wealth. I can only guess how much blood and sweat they squeezed from the common folk."
Perhaps embarrassed by that slip, she coughed awkwardly and once more gathered her sense of righteousness and justice.
"As soon as dawn breaks, we should bring it to the Sichuan branch of the Murim Alliance. Those who feed at the public trough can’t be trusted one bit."
He was certainly listening to Ak Seo-ah, but Cheongwol could not focus in the least.
The temptation kept circling in his mind, relentless.
If I use the Sunflower Manual, couldn’t I knock them out with a single strike—no, even half a strike?
---
"Try some of this too! I think it’s rabbit meat!"
Watching Ak Seo-ah hold out a well-cooked piece of meat, Cheongwol nodded lightly.
"Yes. Thank you."
It had a faint gamey smell, but the seasoning was decent enough to take the edge off his hunger.
Of course, not enough to call it delicious.
Yet Ak Seo-ah seemed to think the meat was a delicacy, chewing happily with a face full of satisfaction.
Cheongwol watched her for a while as she enjoyed her meal, then spoke carefully.
"You said you came from the Shandong Ak Family."
"That’s right! I am the eldest daughter of the Shandong Ak Family!"
Pleased that he had asked her something about herself, Ak Seo-ah smiled and nodded.
If what Unhak had told him was correct, the Shandong Ak Family was a massive power on par with the Six Great Clans.
They merely disliked being called a martial family, since their ambitions lay more with the court and official rank than with the jianghu.
"I’m not doubting you, but why is the eldest daughter of the Shandong Ak Family wandering around a forest like this alone? Besides, the Shandong Ak Family is far from here."
"Th-that is..."
For a moment Ak Seo-ah stammered as if flustered, then gave an embarrassed smile.
"To be honest, when I first left the family, I was with a group. Something happened in the middle, so we ended up going our separate ways."
"...I see."
Something happened in the middle.
Cheongwol could vaguely guess just how much trouble those few words concealed.
...She must’ve caused an enormous mess.
By now, her companions were probably in an uproar, desperately searching for their vanished young lady.
"Then, Chivalrous Hero, you..."
Apparently finding something uncomfortable even in her own mind, Ak Seo-ah hurried to change the subject.
"Cheongwol."
"...?"
"My name is Cheongwol. We seem about the same age, so if you’re fine with it, call me by my name. I’m not really qualified to be called a chivalrous hero yet, and hearing it over and over is getting a bit embarrassing."
At his request, Ak Seo-ah stared blankly for a moment.
"...Truly, may I call you by your name...?"
"Please do."
Ak Seo-ah lowered her head slightly, hesitating, then at last spoke in a voice that was shy in a way it had not been before.
"Cheongwol... so-jo...?"
"Mm."
When Cheongwol answered, Ak Seo-ah finally lifted her head and asked him to do the same.
"As you may already know, my name is Ak Seo-ah! I would be most pleased if Cheongwol so-jo would also call me by my name!"
It was only a name. What could be difficult about that?
"Seo-ah. Nice to meet you."
---
"If one simply stands by and watches from there, can that really be called following the path of chivalry? I was frightened, yes, since it was my first true battle, but I stood up with a spear in hand and in one stroke...!"
After finishing their meal in a rough fashion, Cheongwol intended to choose a suitable bed and rest.
That is, if the woman who brought him no malice at all—and somehow made things all the more unbearable because of it—had not followed after him.
Ak Seo-ah had been talking nonstop for nearly half an hour, most of it about her first ventures into the martial world.
Of course, she also included tales of the chivalrous heroes she could not bear to leave out.
"And so, in an instant, everyone’s attention gathered on Young Master Seomun Hwi."
By now her tales of valor were enough to make him drowsy, but when a familiar name came up, a spark returned to Cheongwol’s eyes.
"Wait. Seomun Hwi? The young clan leader of the Seomun Clan?"
"That’s right. So Cheongwol so-jo is interested in Young Master Seomun Hwi as well. When I spoke of the other rising talents, you seemed so indifferent that I wondered whether my story was boring you."
He felt a bit guilty, but it was not important enough to matter, so Cheongwol quickly steered the conversation away.
"I was listening with interest. But sorry—could you tell me about Young Master Seomun Hwi again?"
"There’s no need to apologize. I’ve only just begun."
With a grin, Ak Seo-ah began telling the story of Seomun Hwi once more.
"These days, Young Master Seomun Hwi is called the greatest dragon among the rising talents, but that reputation only appeared not too long ago. Perhaps about five years back..."
Seomun Hwi’s story, one that even Unhak had never told him, had begun, and this time Cheongwol’s eyes shone.
"Young Master Seomun Hwi, who scarcely ever attended the gatherings of the rising talents, suddenly appeared that day and said this, didn’t he?"
As if she were imitating Seomun Hwi himself, Ak Seo-ah deliberately lowered her voice.
"Who among you has the finest martial arts? I wish to request a duel."
At those words, Cheongwol somehow pictured Seomun Hwi’s face and voice—serious to the bone—and let the corner of his mouth lift faintly.
"So what happened?"
"What do you think happened?"
“If it were me, I wouldn’t even have bothered. If someone shows up out of nowhere and then says they want to duel, who would be pleased about that?”
"I thought the same. That was, until the young clan leaders of the Hwangbo Family and the Hebei Peng Family started arguing over who would duel him first."
Even now, as if still finding it ridiculous, Ak Seo-ah shrugged.
"In the end, both of them emptied their inner power and collapsed where they stood, so Young Master Seomun Hwi never got to duel anyone."