Monopolizing Fortunes (192)
Monopolizing Fortunes (192)
From the fragrance, he knew the tea Yeon Ja-yeon had brought was Seolhyang tea.
"I remember when we first met."
Yeon Ja-yeon poured tea into Do Tong-dal's cup and continued.
"Back then, I was startled that you recognized the taste of Seolhyang tea, Young Master Do."
"The little punk's grown a lot, hasn't he?"
"I knew you'd become someone great. I do have an eye for people, you know."
"It's thanks to you, Mistress Yeon."
Yeon Ja-yeon smiled softly.
"Thank you for saying that."
"Then why don't you get to the point?"
Do Tong-dal had noticed for a while now that Yeon Ja-yeon had something she wanted to say.
"My life has had quite a few twists and turns."
Yeon Ja-yeon didn't unpack the whole bundle of her life, but being the owner of a pleasure house at thirty said enough about its ups and downs.
"I thought my fate was a wretched one, but meeting you was luck. It feels like I've used up all the luck I was supposed to have for the rest of my life."
She poured tea into Do Tong-dal's empty cup and went on.
"They say too much of anything is worse than too little. I think that's true. You are too much for me, Young Master Do."
"Mistress Yeon......"
Yeon Ja-yeon raised a hand to stop him.
"Please hear me out to the end. This isn't just some common woman's whim. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time. I'm nothing but a common roadside flower of Hangzhou."
"Someone like you isn't common, Mistress Yeon."
"Someone like you is even rarer. No, there's probably only one of you in the whole world. And there's a match suited to someone like that. What's certain is that it isn't a courtesan like me. You don't know my past, do you?"
He could have found out easily enough if he'd wanted to, but he had no desire to know at all. It was already water under the bridge, and whatever had happened in the past, the person Do Tong-dal liked was the Yeon Ja-yeon of now.
"I'm not interested."
"I don't particularly want to reveal it either. What's certain is that I'm not a woman suited to you. For you, someone far prettier than me—someone like Namgung Seol-rin or Ha Su-ran or Her Highness the Imperial Princess—would be fitting. A woman like me should just be someone passing through your life. The longer I stay with you, the uglier I become."
"And if I don't think so?"
"Right now I'm still holding up well enough, so you can say that. Do you know how old I'll be when you're thirty?"
"......."
"Forty-two. That's the age when fine wrinkles start to show. When you're forty, I'll be a completely old fifty-two. Watching you be happy among young women while I grow old...... that's just too miserable for me."
Yeon Ja-yeon drained her tea in one go as if drinking liquor. The lukewarm tea had no fragrance left to it.
"I won't lie and say I've come to dislike you. What woman could dislike Do Tong-dal? I just know the unhappiness that's coming, and I want to stop it. Even if it hurts for a little while now, even if it's hard for two or three years, I'll be able to forget eventually. Time is a cure-all, after all. And I want to live the rest of my life happily. So for my happiness, please let me go."
Do Tong-dal asked.
"Can you really be happy leaving me?"
She meant to answer that of course she could, but suddenly the words wouldn't come. As she missed her chance to answer, Do Tong-dal pressed into the opening.
"I can't."
"Young Master Do......"
"You said this Seolhyang tea reminded you of when we first met. It's the same for me. What did you like about me, Mistress Yeon?"
"Well. Because you're handsome? Hehe! I don't know. I suppose the honest answer is that I just liked you."
"Then why do you think I liked you?"
"You liked me?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you just sleep with me because a rich, decent-looking woman stripped and threw herself at you?"
When Do Tong-dal put on a thoughtful expression, Yeon Ja-yeon asked, "Do you want to die?" and Do Tong-dal chuckled.
"You're the first woman in my life who ever held me warmly. You asked me, didn't you? Whether I know your past. Then let me ask you too. Do you know my past?"
"That sort of thing doesn't matter."
"Right. We like each other enough that neither of us cares about the other's past. No, my feelings are more than simply liking you. What would I do if I fell into a pitch-black night sea with no moonlight?"
"You'd have to swim."
"Right. I'd thrash like my life depended on it. Even with nothing visible in any direction, I'd swim for my life. Because I'd believe there's an island somewhere, even if I can't see it. You're like that island to me. No matter what hardship I go through, no matter how difficult the situation, an island I can return to and be held by. An island doesn't count your age, doesn't debate whether you're beautiful or ugly, doesn't talk about the years that have passed. That island is precious just by existing."
Do Tong-dal clasped Yeon Ja-yeon's hand in his.
"So don't talk about leaving. An island can never leave."
"So the right to leave me belongs only to you?"
"If I left the island, I'd die. Why would I leave?"
"You might regret it. You might think, I should have let that old woman go when she said she was leaving. This is the first and last chance. Do you really want me by your side?"
"Until I die."
"But......"
Yeon Ja-yeon squeezed Do Tong-dal's hand and asked.
"How many islands do you have, Young Master Do?"
"Huh...... what?"
* * *
Only Do Tong-dal went to the Righteous Chivalry Sect; the rest headed for Beijing. Yeon Ja-yeon had decided to open a pleasure house in Beijing, Wang Chil and Jo Jin-ho were going to establish an Underworld presence there, and Jang Yu-seom accompanied them as escort and helper.
"Are you sure you don't need to stop by Beijing? His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Yang will likely look for you a great deal."
At Jang Yu-seom's words, Do Tong-dal expressed refusal with his whole body.
"Meeting those people would do me no good at all. Tell them I'll be in closed-door training and not to look for me for a while. Though even if they try, they won't be able to find me."
"Aren't you going to do closed-door training at the Righteous Chivalry Sect?"
"If I stay there, someone will definitely pester me."
"Still, if something important comes up......"
"You'll have to handle it yourselves. The world doesn't stop turning just because I'm not there. I'm going somewhere no one knows."
"Then when do you plan to return?"
"When I reach a level I can be satisfied with myself."
"So there's no set date."
"I might hold out for three days, remember my place as a thug, and come back."
"Please return having achieved great things."
After parting from Jang Yu-seom's group, Do Tong-dal returned to the Righteous Chivalry Sect. The renovations were nearly finished, and the Revenge Society warriors were arriving one after another.
Do Tong-dal looked around the wide courtyard of the bustling Righteous Chivalry Sect. This would probably become the main training ground.
In his mind, he pictured the future of the Righteous Chivalry Sect.
'Many people will share their joys and sorrows in here.'
They would take part in the great and small affairs of the martial world, and all sorts of incidents and accidents would arise, keeping them busy with no time to breathe.
Thinking about a life so hectic even ten bodies wouldn't be enough made him shiver like he'd pissed on a cold day.
'I absolutely cannot throw myself into that!'
Now as ever, what Do Tong-dal wanted was a life of leisure. Power and fame could go to the dogs! Comfort was best!
"What are you doing out here? If you're back, come inside."
"Master!"
Won Dae-yeon and Jang Yeon-seon had come, and as if drawn by a magnet, Namgung Seol-rin and the others appeared in a line. Even Ha Su-ran was there.
'Why are the Twelve Zodiac Shadows here?'
They had clearly said they would leave once the Revenge Society matter was finished. Won Dae-yeon spoke.
"I asked the Twelve Zodiac Shadows to stay until the Righteous Chivalry Sect stabilizes."
No matter how much Won Dae-yeon asked, if they didn't want to, there was no way they'd be here.
'Those people look like they're settling in here.'
They would be a help to the Righteous Chivalry Sect, not a hindrance, so it wasn't a bad thing.
"That's good. Did your trip go well?"
"Yes."
"So you're going into closed-door training? There happens to be a suitable building in the back......"
"I plan to do it outside the Righteous Chivalry Sect."
The people most startled by those words were Namgung Seol-rin and Ha Su-ran.
"What? You're leaving the Righteous Chivalry Sect?"
"Why? It's comfortable here in so many ways."
"I'm not doing closed-door training to be comfortable. Anyway, for a while...... no, I might not be seen for quite a long time."
Ha Su-ran asked with an uneasy expression.
"You are coming back, right?"
"Of course. This is the only place I have to come back to."
After saying that, the thought came to him: 'There are two islands here too.' Do Tong-dal crouched down to meet Jang Yeon-seon's eyes.
"I feel sorriest toward our Sect Leader. This master couldn't even properly pass on martial arts to you."
At the news that Do Tong-dal was leaving, tears were already welling in Jang Yeon-seon's eyes.
"Can't you not go? I'll be really good to you."
Do Tong-dal stroked Jang Yeon-seon's head.
"You're doing well, Sect Leader. The one not doing well is this master. Until I return, learn martial arts well from your adoptive father."
Won Dae-yeon and Jang Bu-ok had hit it off over drinks, and Jang Yeon-seon had become Won Dae-yeon's adoptive daughter.
Once Do Tong-dal had made up his mind, there was no one who could stop him. Knowing that, no one tried to hold him back any longer.
"When are you leaving?"
To Namgung Seol-rin's question, Do Tong-dal answered, "Now."
"That soon? We should at least have a farewell party!"
"We're not parting forever, so what farewell party? The longer the night, the longer the dreams. Once you've made up your mind, you have to leave quickly."
"A thug with that much martial arts is fine as is. What's this about becoming a master?"
She had nagged him to train like that, but now that Do Tong-dal actually said he was leaving, the grumbling came out on its own.
"Then I'll be off."
Everyone came outside to see Do Tong-dal off. Do Tong-dal, who even waved his hand in a way that didn't suit him, set his course toward Shanxi Province.
He hadn't chosen any particular place. He planned to go wherever his feet took him, and when he saw a suitable mountain, find a cave and seclude himself.
The whole way, the light, unburdened feeling continued. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd had time alone like this.
He found himself humming, and even a single wildflower blooming by the roadside looked beautiful.
"This is nice. Nice."
But that good mood didn't even last two shichen. He was bored. Walking alone on a mountain path with no sign of people was unbearably tedious.
So he used his Lightness Art. With no clear destination, he ran like a soldier carrying news of war.
Camping alone in the mountains at night was miserable. He had to hunt or pick wild fruit to feed himself, and the mountain nights were so cold that every time the campfire died down, he had to get up and add wood.
"Should I have just done closed-door training comfortably at the Righteous Chivalry Sect?"
He'd left for comfort, but the road turned out to be this uncomfortable. He even had the absurd thought: 'Should I go to a nearby village, live as a thug for a few months, and then come back pretending I did closed-door training?'
Anyway, the most urgent things were provisions and a blanket for sleeping outdoors. So he decided to head to a village where people lived.
"The road to becoming a master really isn't easy."
He didn't think of it as buying himself hardship. As he was descending the mountain, he saw smoke rising in the distance.
Judging by the amount and color of the smoke, it looked like cooking smoke from several houses. Which meant there was a village. Villages of people who cleared slash-and-burn fields in the mountains were fairly common.
Do Tong-dal ran toward the village. If he was lucky, he could get a warm bowl of rice and learn the way to the nearest town.
From far off, the savory smell of cooking rice wafted over. His steps quickened on their own. The village's appearance, ringed with a wooden palisade to keep out beasts, was a common sight anywhere.
But once he stepped inside the palisade, he saw a sight that was anything but common.
"Hey, hurry it up! Fuck! We came for lunch and now it looks like we'll be eating dinner!"
"Bring out more liquor! And slaughter a few more chickens!"
Six burly men dressed in beast-hide clothes sat around a wide wooden platform, shouting at the villagers.
Around them, people frozen in terror could be seen bringing liquor and carrying food.
Suddenly, someone beside him grabbed Do Tong-dal's arm and pulled him behind a house.
* * *