Monopolizing Fortunes (27)
Monopolizing Fortunes (27)
"My two arms."
Do Tong-dal forced himself to look down at his unmoving arms.
"Put my arms back the way they were."
"That...... is not within our power."
"That's the only thing I want! You fucking bastards! I just need my arms to work! You bastards!"
Even after shouting until his face flushed red, all Do Tong-dal got back was the echo of his own rage.
"Rest here for a few days and think it over."
With those words, Namgung Sang-yeon left.
"If my arms could come back, I'd think it over for years, not just a few days! You bastards!"
This was not a situation where cursing could make him feel any better. The words simply burst out.
He had tried not to cry, but the tears that suddenly welled up streamed down both temples.
"Fuck, what a shitty fate!"
There was no other way to describe it but fate. In his previous life he had died with a useless leg, and now in this life both his arms were useless. Both of them!
"Why are you doing this to me...... What did I do that was so terrible...... I only sinned as much as everyone else. Fuck, even if I sinned a little more, there are people worse than me everywhere. So why does this only happen to me...... Say something. You fucking bastard......"
Naturally, there was no answer to the lament that ended in sobbing. No, perhaps this despair pressing down on his whole body like a hundred waterlogged cotton blankets was the answer.
'If I just dropped dead right here, would I reincarnate again?'
* * *
Namgung Cheol-hyeon had been standing motionless in front of the room where Do Tong-dal was for one shichen.
He had to go in and apologize, but he could not muster the courage. If he turned away again today, that would make three days in a row.
For three days he had repeated this: standing vacantly in front of Do Tong-dal's room, then turning back.
Meeting Do Tong-dal was a hundred times harder than facing fear.
What would happen if he lost the use of both arms? He would become a useless person and spend his whole life shut away deep in the Namgung Clan growing old, or he would take his own life.
Do Tong-dal would be no different. No, for a back-alley thug who could not earn his own keep, a far more miserable life was waiting.
He had shoved his lifesaver and lifelong friend into that pit.
Namgung Cheol-hyeon again could not bring himself to look at Do Tong-dal's face today. When his body had half turned away, Do Tong-dal's voice came from inside the door.
"Come in."
He flinched as if he had stepped on a nail. He wanted to run, but Do Tong-dal's command was like a spell. In the end, Namgung Cheol-hyeon opened the door.
The bed was placed by the window, and Do Tong-dal could see Namgung Cheol-hyeon just by turning his head to the right.
"So it was you after all."
Namgung Cheol-hyeon's head dropped.
"I'm sorry."
That was all he had to say.
"The Namgung Clan sure lives comfortably in this world. All anyone does is say sorry, and not a single person takes responsibility."
Do Tong-dal was right. This was not a matter that could be passed over with an apology. Clearly someone had to take responsibility, and the greatest responsibility lay with Namgung Cheol-hyeon himself.
After all, he was the one who had become friends with Do Tong-dal and given him the jade token.
"I should take responsibility. This kind of responsibility won't bring your arms back, but at least I can show my remorse."
Namgung Cheol-hyeon drew the sword from his back. It was a sword broken in half.
"Tong-dal, I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry."
After saying that, Namgung Cheol-hyeon brought the sword in his left hand down on his right shoulder.
With martial arts of Namgung Cheol-hyeon's level, that arm would be cut off cleanly.
Do Tong-dal had no chance even to spit out words of protest.
Clang!
What blocked Namgung Cheol-hyeon's sword was another sword. The other sword that blocked the broken sword was resting precisely above Namgung Cheol-hyeon's shoulder.
Blood flowed from the shoulder cut by the blocking sword.
"What are you doing?"
The person who stopped Namgung Cheol-hyeon was Namgung Seol-rin.
"Brother, no."
"Get out. This is none of your business."
"If you're going to cut off an arm, cut off mine. The responsibility for all of this lies with me."
Suddenly something flew through the air and struck Namgung Cheol-hyeon in the face. What flew at his face was Do Tong-dal's shoe.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Do Tong-dal flicked his foot and sent the shoe flying.
"Cut the crap."
"Tong-dal......."
"You're going to cut off your arm and attach it to me? Can you do that?"
"Th...... that......."
"If that won't work, then what kind of responsibility is cutting off your own arm?!"
Of the three people in the room, the most surprised was probably Do Tong-dal. He had not expected Namgung Cheol-hyeon to try to cut off his own arm.
Cutting off the right arm, not even the left, meant throwing everything away. In that instant, Do Tong-dal's mind snapped back to clarity.
For the past three days he had only been floundering in a swamp of despair. He had only resented the god who had toyed with his wretched fate.
The sword Namgung Cheol-hyeon had swung at his own shoulder had not cut the shoulder, but it had severed the bonds of despair that held Do Tong-dal.
This was no time to be like this. His arms did not move, but they had not vanished like his legs in his past life.
The fact that his fingers twitched meant there was still a chance to recover. And Do Tong-dal knew a physician far superior to the Namgung Clan's physicians.
"Prepare the fastest carriage."
"Where are you going?"
"Hangzhou."
"Once you've recovered a bit more......."
"If I say prepare it, prepare it!"
Do Tong-dal, shoes on, walked past Namgung Cheol-hyeon. Then, as he passed Namgung Seol-rin, he stopped short.
Do Tong-dal glared at Namgung Seol-rin, and she did not dare meet his eyes.
"If I killed you, would I feel a little better? I am curious about that."
With only those words, Do Tong-dal walked away. Namgung Seol-rin's legs gave out, and she staggered backward until her back pressed against the wall.
"Tong-dal!"
Namgung Cheol-hyeon followed Do Tong-dal, and she was left alone. Sliding down to the floor, she wrapped both hands around her head.
The most agonizing thing right now was that no matter what she did, she could never be free of this guilt.
"Stupid bitch...... stupid bitch......."
* * *
Do Tong-dal left. All he had wanted was a single carriage. Namgung Cheol-hyeon could only watch as Do Tong-dal departed without making any demand of the Namgung Clan.
He could not even begin to guess how heavy the despair Do Tong-dal was feeling right now must be.
Even if he cut off his own arm, even if he took his own life, nothing would change for Do Tong-dal. If nothing actually changed for Do Tong-dal, then it was not taking responsibility either.
The sooner a decision is made, the better. Namgung Cheol-hyeon went to find Namgung Baek-jung.
"Do Tong-dal left the clan?"
"Yes."
"Let us think of an appropriate way to compensate him."
"What would be appropriate compensation for a man who has lost both arms?"
"I understand how you feel, but we must think realistically. Although Do Tong-dal has lost both arms, if we give him enough wealth to live on for the rest of his life, it will not be much of a loss."
"Can you do that, Father?"
"What?"
"If someone cut off both of your arms and gave you enough money to live on for the rest of your life, would you consider it no loss?"
"Are you comparing a mere Underworld thug to me?"
"The Tong-dal I've known all this time was a friend worthy of more respect than any chivalrous hero of our Namgung Clan...... no, of the entire martial world. I owe that friend a debt I can never repay. If you put Tong-dal in the same category as a clan head who repaid kindness with enmity, Tong-dal would be the one wronged."
"Go back. After a few days of rest, your head will clear. We will talk again then."
"No. My head is clearer right now than it has ever been."
Clatter!
Namgung Cheol-hyeon threw the sword from his back and the jade token symbolizing the Young Head onto the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"As of today, the Young Head of the Namgung Clan is dead."
"What?"
"What right does a man who repaid kindness with enmity have to speak of chivalry in the martial world? For a dishonorable man like me to become clan head would bring shame on the Namgung Clan's thousand-year history."
"You wretch! You are the only son of the Namgung Clan! What do you think will happen if you do not succeed the clan?!"
"Whoever succeeds the Namgung Clan will be better than me. Namgung Cheol-hyeon died as of this moment."
"What do you intend to do after leaving the clan?"
"I will go to Hangzhou and become Tong-dal's arms."
"What?"
"Since he lost his arms because of me, it is only natural that I take their place. I will feed him, wash him, and if necessary, kill people in his place. I will live that life from now on."
"Th...... this madman! Do you even hear yourself?!"
"This is the only way to take responsibility for the sin I committed."
"Brother is right."
Namgung Seol-rin's voice came first, and then the door opened. The two men flinched in surprise at the sight of Namgung Seol-rin entering the office.
Not a single strand of her once-luxuriant hair remained.
"Seol-rin......."
"Brother, you're only half right. The one who should become Do Tong-dal's arms is not you, but me. This misfortune would never have happened if I hadn't dragged him here."
Namgung Cheol-hyeon spoke.
"This is not something you can do."
Namgung Seol-rin put on the mask she had been holding. It was a white mask with only two holes at the eyes. And when she put on the bamboo hat as well, she became a grotesque sight.
"Namgung Seol-rin is dead. Father, thank you for raising me all this time. Even if we meet again by chance, I am no longer your daughter."
Namgung Baek-jung could not stop her. If Namgung Seol-rin did not go, then Namgung Cheol-hyeon would, and he had no choice but to choose Namgung Cheol-hyeon.
"Seol-rin......."
"Brother, no matter what happens, I'll become Do Tong-dal's arms. Please stop feeling guilty about what happened because of me. I'll take all the responsibility."
He had hated Namgung Seol-rin for dragging Do Tong-dal to the Namgung Clan. But seeing her like that, hearing her say those words, he could no longer hate her.
"Please...... take good care of Tong-dal."
Namgung Seol-rin bowed toward the two of them and turned away. Wrapped in a black traveling cloak, she was no longer a person of the Namgung Clan.
* * *
As soon as Do Tong-dal arrived in Hangzhou, he went to see the physician in black.
"Fix my arms, please!"
The physician in black, who had been cleaning acupuncture needles, was startled to see Do Tong-dal.
"They said you were dead, but you were alive!"
He had been missing for quite a long time, so such rumors were only natural.
"Being alive isn't really living, so please make me fully alive again."
The physician in black was startled once more at the sight of Do Tong-dal's dangling arms.
"How did your arms end up in that state?"
Do Tong-dal lay down on the treatment bed and spoke.
"For five days the pressure points in both arms were sealed, and after that I hung by them for three days."
"It seems something terribly unfortunate happened to you."
"With both arms like this, would I have been happy?"
"Let me see...... Can you move your fingers?"
When he focused all his nerves on his hand, his middle and index fingers did twitch. Just wiggling his fingers drained all his strength.
"This is my limit."
"Hm. This will be difficult."
"You're saying you can't fix them?"
The physician in black did not answer and instead felt around Do Tong-dal's arms. All the while came the repeated mutter, "This won't be easy." It sounded like an ominous spell being recited.
"If only the pressure points had been sealed one day less...... no, if only you hadn't been hung up, it would have been much better."
"So you can't fix them."
"No, I can't say that so definitively."
"Then can you fix them?"
"I can't guarantee that either......."
"Are you mocking me?! Speak plainly! Plainly!"
"A person's illness is not something that can be stated so definitively. Even during treatment, countless variables arise."
Do Tong-dal suppressed his anger and asked.
"Then you're saying there is a possibility."
"It's not impossible, but don't get your hopes up too much. They say the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment."
"Looks like you're digging an escape hole in advance, but there's no such hole. If you can't fix my arms, then you die and I die."
He knew it was an absurd threat, but Do Tong-dal was that desperate. Judging from the indifferent expression on the physician in black's face, the threat seemed to have had little effect.
* * *