Monopolizing Fortunes (78)
Monopolizing Fortunes (78)
"Hello, sir. Heading out to work, I see?"
The old man Jang Mo-seok smiled at his neighbor Jang Han, who had greeted him. He had heard the name of Jang Han, who had moved in three months ago, several times, but it wouldn't come to mind.
"Looks like you're just getting back from work yourself."
Fish strung on a line hung thick over the man's shoulders.
"Yes. The dawn catch has been good lately. Well, take care."
"Will do."
Jang Mo-seok limped toward Sohyeon Lake. The knee injury from five years ago stabbed like needles every time it rained.
The old ferry landing, about two jang long, had two boats rocking beside it.
The water level of Sohyeon Lake, swollen by the downpour, had risen as if about to swallow the landing.
Jang Mo-seok went to the stone cairn beside the landing and placed another stone on it. The cairn, built up one stone at a time whenever he had a spare moment, had now reached the height of Jang Mo-seok himself.
"When this old man dies, let me go to where my son and his wife are. Whether you're a god or whatever, if you have any conscience, please... grant me that."
Jang Mo-seok limped aboard his boat. The net he had left neglected for days because of the rain was filthy and badly tangled.
Jang Mo-seok's aged hands worked the tangled net loose without any sign of hurry. An old man waiting only for the day he died had no reason to rush in hopes of catching a lot of fish.
After spending a full half shichen untangling the net, Jang Mo-seok rowed the ferry boat toward the center of the lake.
It was not as vast as Dongting Lake, but it was still large enough for a few people to make a living fishing.
He cast the net and hauled it back in for about two shichen. Because the downpour had just passed, he did not catch very much.
"Should I head in?"
He had no desire to go looking for a better spot and cast the net there. Whether he caught a lot or a little, it made no difference when it came to getting two meals a day.
This was his last cast. He had thrown the net without much expectation, but a heavy pull reached his hands. He had fished here his whole life, and only a handful of catches had ever felt this heavy.
"Is it something over three ja?"
He felt a light excitement. The fisherman's desire to land a big fish was perhaps the only instinct Jang Mo-seok had left.
"Hrrgh—! Hrrgh—!"
Blue veins bulged on his thin old forearms like a young man's. Jang Mo-seok, who had hauled the net up with all his might, was so startled that he let it go.
It sank back out of sight, but there was no room for doubt that what had been caught in the net was a corpse.
"Damn it. Bad luck at the end of my days."
Then again, when had his life ever been lucky? Thinking, 'My luck has always been like this,' he hauled the net up again.
The corpse did not seem to have been in the water long, as it had not bloated much. A beard was plastered flat against a pale nose, which made it look comical.
It was not the first time he had seen a corpse, so it was not particularly frightening.
"What should I do with this?"
Throwing it back into the water would be simplest. But if he had never known, that would be one thing; now that he had pulled it out, he could not make it fish food again.
"I suppose I'll have to bury it somewhere."
It was trouble for nothing. Even just moving it halfway up a low hill drained all his strength.
He dug a hole only big enough for the corpse to fit. As he dragged the corpse over and pushed it into the pit, something dropped from its chest with a thud.
It was a black box about half a ja wide and one and a half ja long. The wooden box was sealed so tightly that no seam was visible, and its surface gleamed.
He decided to satisfy his curiosity later and buried the corpse first. After returning home, Jang Mo-seok struggled for a long while before he managed to open the sealed box.
"Huh? This is..."
It was a large wild ginseng wrapped in green moss.
"Wild... ginseng?"
Jang Mo-seok was a fisherman, not a ginseng digger, so he knew very little about wild ginseng. But he did know that a wild ginseng over one ja long was rare.
"This... what do I use it for?"
Perhaps the man had died because of this. If so, it was a treasure worth risking one's life for, but to Jang Mo-seok it was useless.
He had no desire to eat the wild ginseng and live longer, and even if he sold it for a great sum, it would mean nothing.
"If only it had been fish..."
As he grumbled, an unfamiliar voice came from outside.
"Is anyone home?"
Jang Mo-seok hastily wrapped the box containing the wild ginseng in a cloth and put it in the wardrobe.
"Who is it?"
"We've come because we have something to ask."
When he opened the door, a young man and woman appeared. Judging by the weapons they carried, they seemed to be the martial artists he had only ever heard about.
For an instant, he thought they might have come because of the wild ginseng. Jang Mo-seok kept his composure as best he could and asked.
"What brings you here?"
The young man, who had a gentle, pleasant face, spoke.
"I'm called Do Tong-dal, and this friend is Namgung Seol-rin. We'd like to talk about the wild ginseng you picked up, sir."
Jang Mo-seok felt a jolt, but he played dumb.
"Wi... wild ginseng? I don't know what you're talking about."
"May we come in for a moment?"
He could not refuse when they asked so politely. So he let the two of them into the room.
Do Tong-dal swept his gaze slowly around the room. When his eyes lingered on the wardrobe, Jang Mo-seok's heart beat twice as fast.
Do Tong-dal looked steadily at Jang Mo-seok and asked.
"How much would you sell it for?"
"I told you, I don't know anything about such a thing."
Do Tong-dal, wearing a habitual smile, pointed at the wardrobe.
"It's right there, isn't it."
"H... how did you...?"
"Selling it to us right now is the way to save your life, sir. The moment people learn you have it, martial artists will come swarming in, and there will be no way to survive."
It was not his property to begin with, and he had no greed for it. As Do Tong-dal said, handing it over right away would be the wise decision.
But... but... Jang Mo-seok held on to a hope of "maybe." The thing he wanted more desperately than life itself—perhaps this could make it possible.
"If you know it's there, then just take it. Where would this old man get the strength to stop you?"
Do Tong-dal let out a long sigh.
"Because we're not thieves or robbers. We want to pay a fair price and buy that wild ginseng."
"I have no need for money. And I don't value my life."
"Still, there must be something you want."
"There isn't."
"You're lying. There's something you want most desperately right now, isn't there? More than your life."
"H... how did you know that?"
Do Tong-dal was seeing through everything, as if he had been watching Jang Mo-seok for a long time.
"How about exchanging that wild ginseng for what you want most?"
"What I want is too difficult."
"Let's at least hear it."
"And if you hear it and can't do it, will you take that wild ginseng by force?"
"Yes."
Jang Mo-seok let out a hollow laugh.
"You're too honest."
"Even so, I'll give you money. If you keep that wild ginseng, you will certainly die."
"I have no lingering attachment to life. If someone killed me, I'd actually be grateful."
"What could a man who doesn't even value his life want so badly?"
"Kill one person for me."
Do Tong-dal nodded with an expression that said, "I thought so."
"Who?"
Jang Mo-seok moved over to the window. Beyond the window, Cheongo Mountain, well over five hundred jang high, was visible.
"A bandit on that mountain."
"You want us to subjugate the bandits?"
"Among the bandits there is a man named Seo U-song. Bring me his head, and I will give you my wild ginseng. If that's too difficult, then kill me and take it."
For Do Tong-dal, killing Jang Mo-seok was not difficult. If anything, that would be simpler and faster.
"May I ask what the story is?"
The question came from Namgung Seol-rin. Jang Mo-seok's eyes grew distant as he groped through the past.
"Five years ago, Seo U-song killed my son and his wife and then became a bandit on Cheongo Mountain. He tried to rape my daughter-in-law and was caught by my son, so he killed them both. There's no way to catch that bastard, who fled to Cheongo Fortress. I went to take revenge myself, and..."
Jang Mo-seok pulled up his trouser leg and showed his knee, covered in scars.
"I came back a cripple. Either grant this old man's wish—an old man who lives because he can't die—or just kill me."
Namgung Seol-rin stood up.
"Tell us the exact location."
Jang Mo-seok's lifeless eyes widened.
"Y... you'll kill Seo U-song for me?"
"I'll be back before the day is out."
Do Tong-dal stood up as well.
"If that's what you've decided..."
"You stay here."
"Huh?"
"Other martial artists might come. You need to protect the old man."
"No one will come for a while."
"Still, we should be careful. And it'll be faster if I go alone."
"Will you be all right alone?"
"At what?"
"Never mind. Hurry back."
After hearing the location of Cheongo Fortress, Namgung Seol-rin set out at once.
"Is it really all right to send her alone?"
"I wonder. I'm worried about the bandits."
"Pardon?"
"She'll start cutting them down without warning, so not one of them will survive."
"They say the Cheongo Fortress bandits number over thirty..."
"That's fortunate, then. Only thirty or so will die. But do you really not need money?"
"Having a lot of money doesn't mean I'll eat ten meals a day, and the most comfortable bed I've had my whole life is that hard cot over there, so what would I do with money?"
"You might have a drink now and then, or suddenly feel like eating something."
Jang Mo-seok, who had been staring blankly at Cheongo Mountain, spoke.
"Then could you give me about one nyang of silver? If that's too much..."
"I'll give it to you."
As Do Tong-dal took out a banknote, Jang Mo-seok muttered.
"Because that child might come back home."
"That child?"
"My granddaughter. She ran away three years ago. Said she was sick to death of this place."
Jang Mo-seok gave a bitter smile.
"If I were her, I'd have done the same. If my son and his wife's grave weren't here, I'd want to leave too."
"It's fifty nyang."
Jang Mo-seok turned his head in surprise.
"Wh—?"
"When your granddaughter comes back, leave this place. The grave can be moved, and if you don't want that, you can just come back now and then to tend it. It's better to stay away from places with bad memories."
"Heh heh heh! You talk like an old man who's lived a long life."
Do Tong-dal looked at the dust-covered janggi board set to one side of the room.
"Since we're bored, shall we play a game of janggi?"
"You know how to play janggi?"
Do Tong-dal brought the janggi board over and set it on the table.
"In the old days, I used to make decent pocket money solving brilliant-move puzzles."
"You won't be able to beat me that easily."
Do Tong-dal placed the pieces, worn glossy from handling, in their starting positions and said.
"Janggi isn't decided by age, you know."
"I don't know about anything else, but in janggi, older ginger is spicier."
Janggi was a fine game. Even when two people who weren't close sat together, it kept the mood from turning awkward.
It also created time for two people who weren't close to become closer. Small quarrels arose too, like "Just let me take back that one move!" and "A placed piece cannot be withdrawn!"
The best thing was that it made you forget the time.
"Check!"
"Counter!"
"Check!"
"Huh? When did the sang get there?"
"It's been there since last night."
"Hm. Can't I take back just this one move?"
"I said, a placed piece cannot be withdrawn!"
"I let you take one back earlier!"
"I let you take back four!"
"You don't even know respect for your elders!"
"If we're only going to talk about respect for elders, then why play janggi at all! Just rank people by age!"
"You won't even give an inch to your elder...!"
Bang!
Suddenly, a "something" dropped onto the janggi board, scattering the pieces in every direction. When he turned his head, he saw Namgung Seol-rin, blood smeared all over her clothes.
"What's the big idea, showing up out of nowhere like this!"
"Because it looked like you were winning."
Do Tong-dal, who had been about to say something, pointed at the "something" on the janggi board.
"Is that him?"
"Yeah."
Do Tong-dal unwrapped the many layers of cloth. After peeling off one layer and then a second, Do Tong-dal grumbled, "What's so special about this that it needed so much wrapping?"
And when he removed the last cloth, a human head finally appeared. The man, in his early forties with a rough beard, had his tongue lolling out long.
"Sir, is this the man?"
Jang Mo-seok, who had leapt to his feet with his legs trembling, bowed deeply to Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin.
"Thank you. Truly... thank you."
Prostrate on the floor, Jang Mo-seok sobbed for a long while.
* * *