The Ones I Must Protect
The one who played the most decisive role in moving Hobanggae, Leader of the Beggar Sect, was none other than Jinmyeong.
Having taken Ja Gangcheon’s side, he had not flinched from clashing with the Huangbo Clan—or even with the Beggar Sect itself.
Calling a man whom even the Wudang Sect acknowledged as Beggar Sect Leader a hypocrite had clearly crossed a line. He had offered a formal apology once his temper cooled, but for Jinmyeong it had still been a razor-thin walk.
In any case, he had accepted Ja Gangcheon’s request and returned to Gyounam with Song Jain. Having stayed at an inn, he only heard the news a little late.
“I’m really grateful, hyung.”
“I merely followed justice.”
They sat in the rear garden, drinking the tea Cheongu poured, and spoke in easy, pleasant conversation.
Hmm.
At first, his heart had been light with genuine pleasure.
He set aside the uncomfortable past and looked only at the person before him.
And when he did, he saw.
“Hyung. Back then I’d only just come off that deserted island. I barely knew how the world worked.”
“You didn’t.”
“Now I understand why people call Daoist masters thick-skulled dust-beaters.”
“I’ve never heard ‘dust-beater’ before.”
“Really? Somehow it suits them perfectly.”
“Ahem.”
Jinmyeong cleared his throat and lifted his teacup. Then, having taken an absentminded sip, he let out a gasp of pure admiration.
“Wah. So this is what tea can be. Even Master, deep in meditation, would turn around for a taste of this.”
“I can send you as much tea as you like. But you’re leaving for Wudang today?”
That was what left Ja Gangcheon so frustrated.
“I’ve seen that you’re safe. Now I must go back and seek forgiveness. I’ve left my sect empty far too long.”
“What did you do wrong that you need forgiveness? Was believing in me a crime?”
“Believing in you was not wrong. But defying the will of my sect and acting on my own authority most certainly was.”
“Weren’t those two things the same act? Can right and wrong really live side by side like that?”
“Even I don’t know the truth of it.”
“Then why do it?”
“That is the way I fight. Live this fiercely long enough, and one day I’ll grasp that truth.”
In the end, Ja Gangcheon appealed for help.
“Cheongu. Did you understand that?”
Beside them, still refilling the cups, Cheongu spoke for the first time since the greetings.
“Being scolded by the elders, and persuading them afterward—that, too, is part of the study Daoist Jinmyeong pursues.”
“Huh?”
Half hoping, Ja Gangcheon looked at Jinmyeong.
To his surprise, Jinmyeong nodded with a thoroughly pleased expression.
“Gangcheon, you truly have an excellent friend at your side. That puts me at ease.”
“Cheongu being a good friend is true enough, but I still don’t understand your studies, hyung. I guess I still have more of the world to learn.”
For the first time, Ja Gangcheon found himself thinking it was fortunate he had been driven out of Wudang.
“I’ve learned of the things you’ve done in the meantime. Soft without, firm within. Fight at once when the cause is righteous. Do not contend without cause—and never lose when you must. The one truly walking the Dao… was you. You are every bit Unhak Sahyeong’s son. I’ve learned a great deal.”
Naesu Oegang—soft on the outside, yet firm and deep within.
Uijeon Jeukjeon—if the battle is righteous, fight without hesitation.
Bujaeng Bulpae—do not contend lightly, but once you contend, never fail to win.
These were the principles Wudang pursued.
“You’re good at compliments too, hyung—just like Cheongu.”
“I don’t waste empty words. That was simply my judgment of how splendidly you’ve lived.”
Jinmyeong cupped the teacup in both hands, feeling its warmth, then held the tea in his mouth with the slow care of meditation.
Having savored the last cup with full attention, he rose from his seat with a gentle smile.
“You’re really leaving just like this?”
“Once things are settled, I’ll come again.”
Jinmyeong offered Cheongu a formal martial salute as well, both fists together.
“I’ve drunk excellent tea. Thank you for such generous hospitality.”
“Not at all. Come again whenever you like. You’re always welcome.”
“Then I leave our little brother in your care.”
“Don’t worry.”
The words “our little brother” sent a warm, pleasant tickle through Ja Gangcheon.
“You have to come back.”
“Of course.”
Jinmyeong walked in silence as far as the main gate. Only at the moment of parting did he speak again.
“Gangcheon. I understand the words you once spoke—that you hated Wudang. And I will never force you to love it. Only know this one thing.”
He set a hand on Ja Gangcheon’s shoulder.
“I am Wudang. And your father is Wudang as well.”
The feeling was complicated, but Ja Gangcheon nodded. In that moment he learned how, for another’s sake, to hide a little of what he felt.
“Noona. How many times did you meet Jinmyeong hyung?”
“I didn’t expect that to be your first question.”
After Jinmyeong left, Ja Gangcheon sought out Yeonhui at the black market.
There were any number of matters to settle with her, yet the first thing he pressed her on was her relationship with Jinmyeong.
“While he was in Gyounam, we met every day.”
“Why?”
“Do I really have to tell you that? It’s private.”
Ja Gangcheon started to speak, then glanced at Cheongu beside him.
“Gangcheon. That’s not something you’ll fix by digging into it. Better not to ask in the first place.”
“Is that how it is?”
When Cheongu nodded, Ja Gangcheon shot Yeonhui one last sidelong look.
“If it turns into something good between you, treat him well.”
“My. And here I thought you were opposed.”
“I plan to keep an eye on things. I don’t plan to oppose them.”
“That’s actually a little touching.”
Yeonhui smiled in satisfaction, and Ja Gangcheon smiled back.
“From here on, Cheongu’s the one who’ll do the touching. I’ll just sit to the side and drink tea.”
Cheongu took up the thread.
“Shall we begin settling accounts for everything that has happened?”
“Wonderful. At last, our time has come.”
They launched into a war of numbers fiercer than any blade.
The negotiations ran for a full shichen and still came to no conclusion.
“We’ll continue at the manor tomorrow.”
In the end they agreed to pick it up the next day, and Ja Gangcheon headed out to the harbor with Cheongu.
There, before the ice warehouse, a peculiar scene met their eyes.
“What’s all that?”
With summer underway, the ice warehouse was always thronged with people coming and going.
After a full month’s absence, the place was busier still. Fortunately Deungmyeong Manor’s ice production was so swift that, so long as hands were sufficient, matching the volume was never difficult.
Today, however, among the laborers moving briskly about, a few men stood in awkward postures, pleading.
“Those are the other trading-company masters of Gyounam.”
“They must have come to apologize to Donghae Trading.”
They had rushed over the moment they heard the Donghae master was checking on the ice supply himself.
“I heard they requested a visit to the company and weren’t even granted an audience.”
Having nearly been ruined by Shandong Trading’s schemes, Donghae had no intention of forgiving anyone this time.
“Ahem.”
Ja Gangcheon deliberately cleared his throat as he approached the ice warehouse.
“Lord of the Manor!”
“Lord of the Manor! Greetings!”
“Don’t mind me—keep working.”
Cheongu leaned in with a quiet whisper. Hearing it, Ja Gangcheon smiled and raised his voice.
“You’ve been working late into the night lately, haven’t you? Tonight, take your evening meal at the Hang-a Inn. I’ll have a generous spread ready.”
The Hang-a Inn was a fine establishment at the harbor—the very place Song Jain had stayed when she first came to Gyounam.
It was far too expensive for laborers, so the cheer that met Ja Gangcheon’s words was only natural.
“Lord of the Manor! Thank you!”
“You’re the best, my lord!”
“Can I have a bottle of wine too?”
“You idiot! Read the room!”
“Haha. Go ahead and drink. I’ll mention that as well. Just don’t overdo it—one cup each, no more.”
Another round of cheers rose, and the trading masters who had been watching for their moment finally stepped forward.
“We present ourselves before the Lord of the Manor.”
“We hope you have been well.”
These were men who, in earlier days, would never have lowered their heads to someone so young as Ja Gangcheon.
They had once refused even to call him Lord of the Manor, omitting the title altogether. Now they bowed deeply.
Their manner alone was enough to show how far Ja Gangcheon’s standing had risen.
“Where is our trading master?”
Just then, the master of Donghae Trading, who had been reviewing the ledgers inside the warehouse, came hurrying out.
“Lord of the Manor. Welcome. Out for a stroll, are you?”
“I am. Though there seem to be quite a few uninvited guests.”
“I refuse them every time, yet they keep coming and planting themselves here. I hardly know what to do.”
Ja Gangcheon confirmed the opinion of Jo Pilsang, master of Donghae Trading, then turned his gaze.
“Don’t force something our people dislike.”
“But my lord—if this continues, not only I but every member of my company will starve.”
“No. They won’t starve. Everyone knows Gyounam is overflowing with work right now. Donghae itself is still hiring laborers. The only ones who go under will be the trading masters and their families.”
Innocent as he was, Ja Gangcheon understood at least this much.
“When you sided with Shandong Trading and turned your backs on Donghae, you should have prepared yourselves to be turned away in turn. Looking at all of you now, I’m reminded of the Huangbo Clan when they tried to torment our manor.”
At the mention of the Huangbo Clan, the trading masters flinched and edged back.
“When someone who tried to kill you comes begging for their life—should you spare them?”
The trading masters could no longer open their mouths. They only chewed their dry lips.
As men who led trading companies, they were well versed in rumor and intelligence. Of course they had already taken Ja Gangcheon’s nature’s measure.
—An innocent face, but once a fight begins he becomes a yaksha.
He had shown it often enough in Gyounam itself. None of them dared talk back.
“Leave. If you come again without leave, you’ll meet me at a time you won’t enjoy.”
“W-we’re sorry.”
The trading masters tucked their tails and fled.
“I’m sorry to have troubled you for nothing, my lord.”
“Cheongu said handling things like this is part of a lord’s duty. Right?”
When Cheongu nodded, the trading master laughed in high good humor.
“As it happens, I was about to pay my respects anyway—I’ll be away from the company for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to visit the southern ports once more. Demand for the Deungmyeong Divine Pill is… extraordinary. It’s ten times the price of ordinary Deungmyeong Medicines, and still the bulk orders keep stacking up. Overseas traders are even offering premiums.”
A month of hard traveling had borne fruit.
“You’re not afraid of ships anymore?”
“How could I not be? But it has to be done.”
“Who’s going with you?”
“Branch Master Cha and Seokho. I’m thinking of taking two more as well.”
“Isn’t that too few?”
“We have an apothecary at the southern trade port. We’ve even expanded it, so we have a fair number of our own people there.”
The southern trade port was thronged every day; laborers alone numbered twenty.
“Hmm. You know numbers don’t mean much on their own.”
With the present company, they could expect no real martial strength. And for the moment, no one from the manor could be spared to accompany them either.
Far too few people.
Ja Gangcheon knew there was nothing to be done this time—but with the future in mind, he made one decision.
“This won’t do. From now on, Uncle Trading Master, come to the manor every morning.”
“To the manor?”
“Yes. Learn Deungmyeong Gymnastics. Practice it while you’re at sea, too.”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, I’ve heard people saying their bodies improved from it. If you’ll teach me, I’ll learn with gratitude.”
He had been privately considering it already.
“Is that so? Then while we’re at it, we should bring more people in. Tell Uncle Labor Bureau Chief to come as well. Bring everyone heading south with you this time—and ah, tell the Chief Steward to come too.”
“The company’s chief steward is seventy years old.”
“All the more reason he should.”
“At this rate you’ll have the entire company.”
“Oh? That doesn’t sound so bad either.”
“Pardon? Then every soul in Gyounam will be doing gymnastics.”
“So what? It’s good if we all get healthier together.”
“As ever, my lord’s scale is something no one can match.”
“I’ll discuss that part with Cheongu. You just make sure you come starting tomorrow morning. I’ll teach you thoroughly.”
Having extracted the trading master’s repeated promise, Ja Gangcheon returned to the manor.
“What’s on your mind?”
At Cheongu’s question, Ja Gangcheon answered.
“There are so many people I have to protect—and so few who can protect them.”
“That’s certainly true. We’ve become a name known throughout the jianghu now.”
For any group that set foot in the martial world, it was no longer a choice. It was a necessity.
“I need to build a force that can protect my own people.”
Ja Gangcheon was about to take another step forward.