Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Southern Jiang's New Hero (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Having dispatched Complete Three Stones like that, I turned my body and opened my mouth.
"Anyone else wanna come at me?"
At my voice.
Clang!
Clang!!
The bandits who still had breath in them threw down their weapons without being ordered to and prostrated themselves.
I glanced over at the side where the Yin siblings were, and they had noticed the situation here as well, dropping their weapons and starting to prostrate just like us.
'Would've been fine if they'd come at me more.'
I felt a bit disappointed.
Walking through the Blade Mountain Sword Forest where one wrong step meant life or death, relying on a single sword—it didn't feel bad at all.
No, not bad; honestly, I think I enjoyed that moment.
So, I thought it would be nice if this lasted a bit longer.
'Is it my nature?'
But with them flattened on the ground over there, proclaiming with their whole bodies that they had no will to fight, the murderous intent that had prickled my skin vanished clean away, and the steam went out of me.
'Swinging the sword more from here would just turn it into a massacre or slaughter.'
I wiped the blade of Regret on my sleeve and with a click—sheathed it at my waist.
'Well, still easier this way.'
With the Northern Deer Bandit Lair, I'd had to shout myself hoarse that we'd repelled the enemy leader, and the escorts had to go around urging surrender or flight, but this time they disarmed themselves and everyone prostrated on their own.
'In the martial world, nothing beats showing overwhelming might.'
Musing on that principle of the jianghu once more, I resolved to redouble my training.
Then, among the prostrating bandits, some with coiled ropes at their waists caught my eye, so I spoke up.
"Hey, you, you, and you."
"A-Are you talking to us, sir?"
"Yeah. Those at your waists are for tying people up, right? You know how to tie knots, I assume?"
"Y-Yes, sir?"
"You guys take responsibility and go around tying your comrades' wrists."
"Yes, sir!"
"I'll check later, and if any come loose, you're going with the chief and the generals?"
"Yes, sir!!!"
While that was happening, Yin Xia Lian and Yin Ha-seong came toddling over to me.
"You're safe!"
"Worried?"
"Of course! You charged into a group of nearly a hundred?"
"Don't worry like that next time. You've seen it a few times by now, but I generally don't fight battles I can lose. If it looks like I might, I avoid it from the start."
"...Liar."
"......?"
"Nothing. Anyway, thanks to your prowess and formations, we've received another favor. We already owe you so much, and with these constant kindnesses, I don't know how we'll ever repay you."
"Well, think hard about it."
"I will."
While talking with Yin Xia Lian like that, a faint sigh came from my master's voice at my waist.
- ...Sigh.
'?'
- At that point, aren't you supposed to say something like, "It's not that big a favor"?
'Come on, if she's insisting on owing a debt in her heart, why refuse?'
- You have those thoughts sometimes, huh.
'What thoughts?'
- Thoughts about what people will think of when they hear "Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect" in the future? Judging by your personality, I'm afraid it'll be remembered as a den of thieves. Afraid.
Sheesh.
I ignored my master's voice and kept speaking to discuss what to do with the bandits in front of me.
"Anyway, what should we do with these guys?"
"What would you like to do, Young Master Eon?"
"Hm. With the Northern Deer Bandit Lair, preparations were lacking and there might've been other arrangements, so I let most go, but I think they should pay for their crimes first. But bandits' crimes vary wildly, don't they?"
"They do."
"Some are too far gone, rotten to the core, beyond redemption; others just grabbed weapons instead of farm tools because life was hard. But we don't have time to sort them out. As you know, our schedule is tight."
"How about this, then?"
With that opener, Yin Xia Lian pulled a map from her sleeve and continued.
"A bit northeast from here is the Silver Radiance Merchant Group's Cheongyang branch. It's a detour from Dangang District with the Righteous Martial Academy on the map, but taking a boat up the Yangtze from there should make up for it. So, shelter from the rain here tonight, head there at dawn, and hand them over—how's that?"
Distance-wise, no issue, but the key reason was missing.
So, I threw a question back at Yin Xia Lian.
"Will it wrap up neatly?"
"Yes. The county magistrate there is renowned for fairness, so he'll sentence them appropriately by crime."
"Hm, I know officials can't be touched, but aren't we just dumping our karma on them?"
"Officials can't be touched, but bandits torment the common folk like vermin, so it's the government's domain anyway. Plus, the Guhwa Bandits' lair chokes Cheongyang's vital point, so it was a headache for them from the start."
"Then let's do that."
"Yes. I'll handle compensation for this famed mountain inn on my end. The loot gathered at the Guhwa lair—I'll have the branch send people to Cheongyang to recover it and return it to rightful owners, right?"
Hm.
Yeah, that works.
"Of course, rewards from the yamen and hard-to-identify goods will be sorted carefully and sent to Young Master Eon."
"Yeah, that'll do."
- ...Kept her mouth shut tight with a sour face thinking there'd be no share for her. Now grinning ear to ear hearing there is one.
...No.
This time it's unfair, Master!
This smile came after considering if it'd wrap up cleanly her way and deciding it would.
It was then.
As discussions on the bandits' disposal and our route to Dangang wrapped up.
"Ahem."
Ha-seong, who'd been quietly listening, suddenly cleared his throat.
"What? Why?"
When I asked why.
"Ahem."
The kid ignored the question, cleared his throat again, and nodded toward the inn surroundings.
Realizing what he wanted: he'd caught two fake generals, so praise him, it seemed.
"...What? Want praise?"
"Yes, sir."
Sigh.
This was his first escort mission, so his first kill, but shouldn't he be trembling or something? Asking for praise?
Honestly, it was absurd.
But not incomprehensible.
'Kids that age in the martial world are all like that.'
In my past life in modern society, it'd be psychopathy, but here, they idolize and respect righteous heroes who punish evil.
So, with a "whatever" attitude, I reached to pat Ha-seong's head...
Whack!!!
"Ack!!"
...but the curse of flying time on the talisman worth it and this kid thrashing like a struck thunderbolt merged in my head into righteous fury.
So, I switched to smacking the back of his head.
"You punk! When are you gonna become human?! You punk!!"
"Hit me after hearing the reason at least!!"
"After hearing?! After hearing?!"
"...P-Please hit me, sir!"
"Fine. Then know why as I hit you. Was that your full skill? Without my formation, you'd be dead, punk. And I just said some bandits are pitiful folks, but you don't listen when your sister and brother speak?! Don't listen!!"
"Ack!! Aaaack!!!!"
"When are you gonna become human?! When?!"
"Young Master Eon!"
"Why call me? Wanna get hit too?"
"No, do you smell something weird?"
Sniff.
"...Smells like burnt?"
"Ah! Right! The food! The food's burning!"
It was spring.
"When's that punk gonna become human?"
Obviously Yin Ha-seong.
With everyone gathered at the inn, what do I do with this kid putting on a storytelling show?
"A band of hundreds of greenwood outlaws surrounded the inn, threatening to pickle us in fish sauce."
"Not just any greenwood! It was Complete Three Stones of the infamous Guhwa Bandits around Southern Jiang, right?!"
Not even hundreds...
Just over a hundred, and Ha-seong handled maybe twenty at most?
"To me, just bandits. And personally, I don't like hyping villains like that."
"Grrrr! As expected of Southern Jiang's New Hero!"
"Southern Jiang's New Hero! Southern Jiang's New Hero!!"
What nonsense.
"The commoners trembled in fear, and among us, only three had swords at their waists. My sister doesn't know martial arts, so really just two."
"A candle in the wind, right?!"
"Yes. Everyone shaking, thinking the end. But then I stepped forward. People threw worried words at me. I told them."
"W-What did you say?!"
"I don't fight battles I can lose."
"Kyaaaa!!"
"Southern Jiang's New Hero! Southern Jiang's New Hero!!"
Damn it all.
Hah.
To recall why this happened, I had to go back in memory a bit.
As Yin Xia Lian suggested, we left the Guhwa cleanup to the Cheongyang magistrate and Silver Radiance's branch.
To claim the bounty, we had to register a name with the yamen, but as an off-the-books guy, it'd be a hassle, so I put it under Yin Ha-seong.
'Then we took the boat.'
Up the Yangtze by boat to Wuchang, then north along the official roads.
Using major waterways and roads, no big incidents after.
We arrived at Dangang District, home of the Righteous Martial Academy, timed perfectly for the civil exams four days before the military ones.
"You'll pass for sure, so if I do well, we'll be classmates. See you at the academy."
"Sounds good. Go ahead and wait."
"Yes!"
Saw Yin Xia Lian off nicely.
But the three days until military exams were the problem.
As expected, Dangang was packed with exam crowds; even booking a room was tough.
"Brother, no inns with rooms."
"Even with extra pay?"
"Yes, brother."
The area was locked down by Righteous Martial Academy, Mount Wudang, and Zhuge family; no Silver Radiance branch for direct help.
Money didn't work either.
"You negotiated properly?"
"I get beat by you plenty, but as Southern Jiang Merchant King's blood, think I didn't try? No rooms. They want house-buying prices, but that's too much for three days, right?"
"Yeah. Guess we camp out."
Of course, no business turns down huge sums, but I didn't want to blow that for three days.
Then unexpected luck struck.
"...S-Sorry to interrupt, but if you're Southern Jiang Merchant King's blood, are you Hero Yin Ha-seong?!"
"Hero I don't know, but yeah, I'm Yin Ha-seong?!"
"W-We meet our benefactor!! Remember the famed mountain inn near Guhwa Mountain?!"
"Of course. Fought bandits there."
"That day, my daughter-in-law heading to her parents' and my grandkid were there!!"
The inn owners in Dangang had family there during the Guhwa fight.
"?!"
"!"
That instant, Ha-seong signaled me to stay mum.
I nodded.
Result: comfy lodgings and meals for free.
From the rumors: Guhwa fell, bounty claimant Yin Ha-seong—merged into the nickname "Southern Jiang's New Hero" before his name.
"That guy over there helped too, but basically I did it all! Hahaha!"
"Southern Jiang's New Hero! Southern Jiang's New Hero!"
So here I am, three days in, watching this.
Watching Ha-seong hype the tale more and more, I automatically clicked my tongue.
"Tsk tsk."
Not because he stole my credit.
I'd given Bang Cheon-deok's head to Escort Leader Eun Jeong-gil before.
Just pity that my trained owl still can't distinguish heaven and earth.
Right?
Fame in the martial world isn't always good.
Especially nicknames not matching skill, like Ha-seong's...
Bam!!
"Heard Southern Jiang's New Hero's at this inn—is it true?!!"
~See, flies like that come buzzing.
Huh?
But why's that fly heading my way, not his?