Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Everyone Must Stand Alone Sometimes (2)
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Damho asked.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Bang Jinbo replied.
“I was scared at first, but now I’m okay. Hehe!”
Damho thought Bang Jinbo was strange. Adults couldn’t even meet his gaze straight on and hurriedly looked away, yet only Bang Jinbo circled around him, endlessly showing interest.
In truth, Bang Jinbo was curious about everything about Damho. He felt afraid at times, but he was convinced Damho wouldn’t harm him.
“How did you end up there, big brother?”
“Where are you headed?”
“How old are you, big brother?”
Bang Jinbo kept asking Damho questions nonstop.
As his questions continued, Jo Sugwang and O Gio’s faces grew pale. They worried that Damho might get annoyed and lash out.
But strangely, Damho showed no reaction. He lay in the carriage all day, staring blankly at the sky, while Bang Jinbo chattered endlessly by his side.
When his questions paused, Bang Jinbo shared his own story.
He prattled on in detail about losing his mother as a child, wandering the Central Plains with his father, and even coming to the Western Regions.
The lonely boy Bang Jinbo talked, and the man accustomed to silence, Damho, simply listened.
People found the sight of them odd. They seemed utterly mismatched, yet somehow they fit together.
When the sun reached its zenith, Jo Sugwang ordered the group to rest. Thanks to this, the Silver Lotus Merchant Troupe members could finally take a break.
As everyone rested, Damho approached Jo Sugwang. Just his presence made Jo Sugwang tense.
“What is it?”
“Can you dispose of this for me?”
Damho pulled something from his bosom and held it out to Jo Sugwang. The moment he saw the object in Damho’s hand, Jo Sugwang’s eyes widened.
A stone the size of a child’s fist, shaped like a cat’s eye, was scattering a brilliant glow.
“This is... a cat’s-eye stone?”
Luminous pearls had grades too. The cat’s-eye stone, resembling a cat’s eye, was the most precious treasure among them.
Even Jo Sugwang had only heard of such a thing; this was his first time seeing one.
“C-Can I touch it for a moment?”
Damho handed the cat’s-eye stone to him.
Jo Sugwang’s hand trembled as he held it.
‘This is the real deal. A treasure money can’t buy.’
Bringing this to the Central Plains would draw tycoons offering tens of thousands in gold. Anyone with money coveted a cat’s-eye stone.
Greed flickered in Jo Sugwang’s eyes.
If he could have it, he’d even commit murder. Kill Damho now and pocket the stone—he could make a fortune right there.
But the moment he looked at Damho’s face, those thoughts vanished far away.
Though partially hidden by his disheveled hair, Damho’s faintly gleaming eyes were terrifying.
This was a man even O Gio, a martial artist, feared. Snatching it by force was impossible, and he didn’t want to create bad blood by acting rashly.
“Phew! To be honest, this cat’s-eye stone is worth at least thirty thousand nyang in gold.”
“Thirty thousand nyang?”
“Yes. And that’s the bare minimum. Find the right buyer, and it could fetch a hundred thousand.”
Damho’s eyes lit up.
The cat’s-eye stone was one of the luminous pearls embedded in the cavern ceiling. Thinking he’d need money once outside, he’d taken two of the finest ones.
This was one of them, offered to Jo Sugwang.
“Can you dispose of it?”
“To sell this, we’d need to enter the Central Plains.”
“The Central Plains?”
“Yes! No small county would do—it’d have to be at least a provincial capital.”
“Will you buy it yourself?”
“I’d love to, but all I have is ten thousand nyang in gold. It wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what you have here. Greedy merchant or not, I’m not that shameless.”
“Then I’ll sell it to you for ten thousand nyang.”
“R-Really?”
Jo Sugwang’s voice trembled involuntarily.
‘Not a calamity, but a god of wealth?’
Damho nodded.
After all, he was traveling comfortably thanks to Jo Sugwang and the Silver Lotus Merchant Troupe. He did owe them, and selling the stone himself would be a hassle. Better to settle the debt now and feel at ease.
“W-Wait just a moment.”
Fearing Damho might change his mind, Jo Sugwang rushed to his own carriage. There was a pouch containing all his assets.
“These are bills from the most trusted mainland exchange in the Central Plains. Six thousand-nyang bills and thirty hundred-nyang bills. The remaining thousand nyang is in silver taels—please check.”
Damho nodded and tucked the pouch into his bosom without verifying the amount.
Jo Sugwang’s face showed a flicker of regret at the sight of someone trading ten thousand gold without checking.
He realized the man had no sense of money.
If he’d known, he could’ve haggled harder. But he shook his head.
Moderation in all things. Pushing his luck might anger him and bring unknown repercussions.
Worried Damho might ask for the stone back, Jo Sugwang hurriedly pocketed it.
“Where’s the nearest village?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Me traveling with you will make everyone uncomfortable. Let’s part at the next village.”
Jo Sugwang brightened.
“A bit further north from here is Turpan. It’s so developed that all merchants to the Western Regions stop there. We’re headed that way too, so come with us.”
“Fine.”
“If we hurry, we’ll arrive by evening. Just bear with it a little longer.”
Damho nodded and returned to his spot. Bang Jinbo was the first to greet him.
“Big brother, here.”
“What’s this?”
“Jerky. I dried it myself. Hehe!”
Damho looked at Bang Jinbo for a moment, then took the jerky.
“Thanks.”
“Eat it when you get hungry.”
Blushing, Bang Jinbo handed it over and ran back to the others. Bang Ugwang watched his son’s retreating figure with a wistful gaze.
Bang Ugwang bowed to Damho.
“Thank you for accepting a mere child’s kindness.”
“......”
“I tried to look after him, but he must’ve been very lonely. That’s why he’s so drawn to you...”
Bang Ugwang trailed off.
To him, the Silver Lotus merchants were like family. They treated him and his son well too. But that didn’t erase the fundamental loneliness.
The merchants were busy with their own work, and the escorts wouldn’t play with young Bang Jinbo. Bang Ugwang wasn’t the affectionate type either.
In the end, Bang Jinbo had to swallow his loneliness alone. Perhaps that’s why he grew curious even about someone as fearsome as Damho.
Damho was now leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed.
Bang Ugwang no longer found him scary. Instead, he seemed profoundly solitary and forlorn.
“Phew!”
Bang Ugwang let out a sigh.
After a short rest, the Silver Lotus Merchant Troupe set off again.
Jo Sugwang urged the group on, and they reached Turpan before evening.
Turpan was an oasis city in the southern basin at the eastern end of the Tianshan Mountains, below Peak Strike Moon. Water from the mountains gathered here, becoming a vital source for residents and travelers.
Yellowish-brown buildings clustered around the oasis—mud houses made from local earth. This gave Turpan a somewhat desolate feel.
Upon entering Turpan, Jo Sugwang spoke for the group.
“This is Turpan. Any building around the oasis will take you in.”
“Can I buy a horse?”
“There’s a livestock market on the outskirts. Mention the Silver Lotus Merchant Troupe, and they’ll treat you well.”
“Thanks.”
“Then I wish you good fortune.”
Jo Sugwang hastily clasped his hands in salute and hurried away from Damho.
He wanted no more time with him, just in case his mind changed.
He led his group to a fairly large inn deeper in the oasis, a regular stop on their route.
Bang Jinbo approached Damho.
“Big brother, are we parting already?”
His face looked ready to burst into tears.
Damho thought Bang Jinbo was very affectionate. He spoke all the more coldly.
“We couldn’t travel together forever anyway. Better to part sooner.”
“Big brother?”
“Learn to cook well from your father.”
With that, Damho turned away. Bang Jinbo stared blankly at his retreating back.
Then someone placed a hand on Bang Jinbo’s shoulder.
“So disappointed?”
“Father?”
“He’s right—he doesn’t fit with us. It’d be uncomfortable for him and for us.”
“But...”
“He’s a martial artist. Nothing good comes from tangling with them. You know how vicious they are. Your mother even...”
“I know, Father.”
Bang Jinbo cut off Bang Ugwang.
Only then did Bang Ugwang realize his mistake and looked away. Bang Jinbo tugged at his father’s hand.
“Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”
“Alright.”
Bang Jinbo glanced back suddenly. But Damho was already gone.
‘Big brother!’
Turpan lay between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, a mandatory stop for merchants traveling between them, so finding an inn was easy.
Damho entered a small inn in a secluded corner. The waiter flinched immediately.
Damho’s appearance was utterly ragged.
His hair was a tangled mess hiding his face, and his shoulders were caked in dust.
‘A beggar?’
The thought crossed the waiter’s mind.
Then Damho pulled a single silver tael from his bosom. The waiter’s eyes sparkled.
He rushed over.
“Welcome!”
“Give me a room.”
“How many days?”
“Two.”
“Got it. Meal too, of course?”
“Mm.”
Damho nodded.
“Understood. Follow me.”
The waiter led him to the room.
It was made of mud bricks with only a wooden bed. Rough and crude, but warm.
The waiter smiled.
“And if you open here...”
He flung open a side door. A well came into view.
“Bathe there.”
“Mm.”
“Call if you need anything.”
“Bring scissors and a knife.”
“Got it.”
Damho flicked his finger. The silver tael flew to the waiter.
“That enough?”
“More than enough.”
The waiter grinned and dashed out.
One tael from Damho could cover over a month’s stay. And he was only staying two days—a huge profit.
Damho, having lived almost cut off from the world, had no sense of money. He didn’t know the immense power or value of the fortune now in his bosom.
Damho stripped and approached the well.
Splash!
He poured water over his body.
The dust and fatigue seemed to wash away with it.
Soaked, Damho stood motionless for a long while. He didn’t move until the wind dried his wet body completely.
Only after a long time did he return to the room.
Scissors and a knife lay on the bed, brought by the waiter.
Snip! Snip!
Damho began cutting the hair shrouding his face. Strands piled up at his feet.
With the hair trimmed, his face emerged from beneath the beard.
Now he took the knife. The blade traced his jawline.
Shave! Shave!
Through the neatly trimmed hair gleamed beast-like eyes. Below the sharp nose sat firm lips, and an angular jaw.
After twelve years, his face was revealed to the world.