Monopolizing Fortunes (88)
xml
Monopolizing Fortunes (88)
He only came to a stop after sliding five jang across the floor.
"Tong-dal!"
As Namgung Seol-rin rushed over, Do Tong-dal handed her the old woman he was holding.
"First, see if the old lady's all right."
As if she had understood him, the old woman spoke.
"I'm fine. Why did you save me?"
"Does saving a life need a reason? Ugh!"
Do Tong-dal, who had been trying to get up, felt a pain in his chest and bent over. If he hadn't blocked with his sword, his sternum might have shattered.
"You stay back. I'll handle it from here."
Do Tong-dal grabbed Namgung Seol-rin as she tried to step forward.
"This fight is mine."
"But..."
"My claws got a little scuffed, but a tiger can't be scared of a monkey."
"Fuck, that's true."
The old woman said.
"Don't try to fight. Dantabura, who has eaten kiyum, is twice as strong as usual."
Do Tong-dal stood facing Dantabura, who was dragging the iron club along the ground.
"Twice isn't enough."
He stretched his shoulders back as far as they would go, and crack! a sound rang out.
"You're really all right?"
At Namgung Seol-rin's question, Do Tong-dal grinned.
"I'm Do Tong-dal, the Red Tiger of Hangzhou."
"What's that?"
"Well... something like that."
Namgung Seol-rin let out a small laugh and tapped him on the shoulder.
"I absolutely won't help you."
She said that, but if Do Tong-dal seemed even slightly in danger, she would jump in immediately.
"Waaaaah—!"
Do Tong-dal shouted and threw himself toward the charging Dantabura. He dodged the iron club sweeping at his waist, launched himself into the air, and struck Dantabura's nose bridge with his knee.
It was as hard and heavy as striking rock, but his knee was strong enough to shatter rock.
With a thwack! blood burst from Dantabura's nose. Do Tong-dal spun around and landed, and Dantabura fell roughly backward.
He didn't know what kiyum was, but it was clearly a remarkable drug. Even after that impact, Dantabura sprang back up. But he should have stayed down.
From the moment Do Tong-dal went all out, the fight was under his control. Do Tong-dal was so fast that he didn't even give Dantabura a chance to swing the iron club.
Closing the distance in an instant, Do Tong-dal kicked Dantabura in the calf, then drove his knee up into Dantabura's lowered chin.
"You bastard! Die!"
Dantabura staggered back and swung the iron club, but Do Tong-dal was already gone. Do Tong-dal's foot, which had struck his waist, was now kicking his chest and smashing his face.
Dantabura, being pummeled senseless, didn't even realize he had dropped the iron club.
The one-sided beating continued for nearly one ke. Everyone in the underground plaza learned for the first time that a person could hit someone that fast.
In the end, Dantabura couldn't endure it and collapsed like an old tree. Even if he had eaten kiyum's grandfather instead of kiyum, he couldn't have withstood Do Tong-dal's thrashing.
"Bastard, he lives up to his size."
As Do Tong-dal caught his breath, a thunderous cheer suddenly erupted. There was no hostility in the shouts of the Yeosan tribespeople.
It was purely a sound celebrating the victor, and it was all the louder because Dantabura had eaten kiyum.
The old woman approached Do Tong-dal.
"I didn't expect you to defeat Dantabura after he'd eaten kiyum."
"So will you give me the go now?"
"It's almost done."
The repeated "almost" bothered him. The old woman's gaze turned to the chieftain, and the chieftain nodded. It was permission for her to speak.
"Tonight, you must share a bed with the chieftain."
"Excuse me?"
"Did you not understand our word for sharing a bed?"
"No, that's not it—why are you suddenly talking about sharing a bed?"
"That is the chieftain's condition for giving you the go."
Seeing Do Tong-dal's shocked face, Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"What are you talking about?"
There was no reason to hide it.
"She says I have to sleep with the chieftain over there to get the go."
"What? You and the chieftain have to do... that?"
"That's what she says."
Namgung Seol-rin's eyes turned vicious.
"That monkey-faced little wench dares to pull a trick like this!"
"Her face is covered with a veil, so how do you know what she looks like?"
"It's obvious! Tell her to stop talking nonsense!"
"Then what about the go?"
Namgung Seol-rin flinched and grabbed her own head.
"Damn it! How can they be this underhanded!"
The old woman's voice followed Namgung Seol-rin's words.
"What will you do?"
If he didn't share a bed with her, he would have to kill all the Yeosan people and threaten the chieftain. Even then, there was no guarantee he would get it.
If Do Tong-dal sacrificed his own body (?), he could achieve his goal.
"How many pairs can you give me?"
"That depends on you."
"What do you mean, depends on me?"
"One per time."
"What does that...?"
The old woman raised her index finger, moved it to the left, and then made it droop down.
"One per time you do this."
It was so absurd that he couldn't even speak.
"What is it this time?"
"So... how should I explain this..."
"Just say it as it is!"
"She says she'll give one for each time you... do the deed!"
"What...? What? Why would she set such a horrible condition!"
"She wants to get the seed of a strong man."
"Fuck! I should have fought instead!"
Do Tong-dal stared blankly at Namgung Seol-rin, and Namgung Seol-rin threw him a look that said, "Why?"
"Forget it."
Namgung Seol-rin said to the sighing Do Tong-dal.
"So you have to do it at least twice?"
Anything less than a pair was meaningless. Namgung Seol-rin glanced at the chieftain.
"Can you do it with that monkey? That?"
"There's no choice."
"Since you're doing it anyway, you have to make sure it's at least twice."
"Even one pair is uncertain."
He had never heard of anyone raising go outside the Southern Barbarians. That meant go was hard to keep alive away from the Southern Barbarians.
So he needed spare go in case one died. Namgung Seol-rin gave Do Tong-dal powerful motivation.
"My brother's life is on the line. Just think about that. No matter what that monkey looks like, you have to do it twice!"
With no choice, Do Tong-dal ultimately accepted the chieftain's demand. The old woman also beamed, welcoming Do Tong-dal's decision.
"While you share a bed with the chieftain, the rest of your people will be treated as guests. Now, let's go."
"Already?"
"Why? Is there a reason you can't right now?"
"No, it's just that I need to prepare myself mentally..."
The old woman gave him a lecherous wink.
"It's not your mind that needs preparing. Heh heh heh..."
Do Tong-dal followed the old woman as she turned and walked away, asking.
"Um... what happens if my... thing isn't ready and the great deed (?) fails?"
"If you're a proper man, that won't happen. The chieftain is a great beauty, after all."
Since their standards of beauty would be different, it was a meaningless guarantee.
"Still, if you do have a problem, you'll either keep going until it works or be thrown out empty-handed."
"Until... until it works?"
The old woman slapped Do Tong-dal on the back.
"Why the long face! A man's strength is in his vigor!"
The old woman flexed her arm with all her might.
* * *
She thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, unsettled by the thought of Do Tong-dal sharing a bed with the Yeosan chieftain. But Namgung Seol-rin fell asleep the moment her head touched the ground.
After such a forced march, it was only natural she was tired. Having slept soundly for the first time in a while, she woke up and stretched.
Looking outside the cave, it was bright, so morning must have come. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Namgung Seol-rin stepped out of the cave.
White sunlight streamed through the open ceiling, brightly illuminating the plaza. The waves of sunlight, with fine dust floating in them, looked mysterious.
Namgung Seol-rin, who had been admiring the sight, shook her head.
"This isn't the time for me to be distracted by something like that."
The tribespeople, already starting their morning, were bustling about. She could see the soldiers who had woken up coming out of the cave one by one.
"Um..."
Hwang Tae-min cautiously spoke to Namgung Seol-rin.
"I didn't have the presence of mind to introduce myself properly yesterday. I am Centurion Hwang Tae-min."
"I'm Namgung Seol-rin."
No introduction beyond her name was necessary.
"May I ask what kind of person Do Tong-dal is?"
When he had first followed Do Tong-dal, he had been half-doubtful. No, the gap of distrust had been much deeper.
But while passing through the jungle, he had admired Do Tong-dal's extensive knowledge, and after seeing him fight yesterday, he even felt awe.
"He's an underworld thug."
"Pardon?"
"I said he's an underworld thug."
"That's a funny joke. Ha ha!"
When Namgung Seol-rin remained serious, Hwang Tae-min asked, "It's not a joke?"
"No. In Hangzhou, there's no one who doesn't know the name Do Tong-dal. He's that famous a thug."
"How can an underworld thug know so much about the Southern Barbarians and be so strong?"
He was far, far removed from any thug Hwang Tae-min knew.
"I'm curious about that too."
Even when she thought she knew Do Tong-dal well, going through something like this made her think he was truly an unknowable guy.
Hwang Tae-min went over to where the soldiers were and told them about Do Tong-dal's identity. Their process of laughter followed by shock was exactly the same as Hwang Tae-min's reaction.
"Anyway, is that bastard still sleeping with the chieftain?"
She even had the rash thought that he might have died like a male mantis that dies during mating.
Do Tong-dal only showed himself after they had even finished breakfast. Namgung Seol-rin was about to yell at him for being so late, but she swallowed her words.
Thanks to Do Tong-dal, she learned for the first time that a person could become half of themselves overnight.
So her first question, full of worry, was, "Are you okay?"
"How do I look to you?"
"I asked because you don't look okay."
"What you see is what you get."
"The go?"
She even felt sorry for asking. Just then, the old woman walked out from the other side with a satisfied face.
In one hand she held a staff, and in the other, a wooden case.
"Did you enjoy yourself all night?"
"Well... I suppose."
"As promised, I'll give you this."
The old woman opened the lid of the wooden case and showed him the inside. Black caterpillars could be seen wriggling. Namgung Seol-rin quickly counted the caterpillars.
"Four?"
She patted Do Tong-dal on the shoulder.
"You worked hard all night. Four times."
Then the old woman opened the bottom of the wooden case like a drawer.
"Four times, you say."
Inside the drawer, four more caterpillars were wriggling.
"Four pairs, male and female."
Namgung Seol-rin looked at Do Tong-dal with an astounded face. Do Tong-dal smiled sheepishly and said.
"I did my best, in my own way."
"What kind of... beast are you?"
* * *
The return trip was another forced march, just like the way there. Namgung Seol-rin watched Do Tong-dal, who was practically hanging onto his horse, with worry.
Her suggestion to rest for a day—no, even just half a day—was flatly rejected by Do Tong-dal. He said he was fine, but he didn't look fine at all.
She worried that Do Tong-dal might die before Namgung Cheol-hyeon at that rate. Fortunately, his steel-like stamina, and a mental fortitude as strong as his stamina, brought Do Tong-dal to the Namgung Clan alive.
One pair of go wasn't as hardy as Do Tong-dal and died on the way. Still, three pairs were enough for the antidote.
Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin's hardships hadn't been in vain: Namgung Cheol-hyeon was still clinging to life. It would have been difficult if the physician in black hadn't stayed by his side.
As soon as Do Tong-dal heard that Namgung Cheol-hyeon was still alive, he collapsed on the spot. Namgung Seol-rin had Do Tong-dal moved to a room, then went to the physician in black and handed over the go.
"Oh! Three pairs!"
"It was originally four pairs, but one pair died on the way."
"To the Yeosan Tribe, go is as precious as life itself. How did you get four pairs? You didn't kill them all and take it by force, did you?"
"We're not that cruel."
"Then?"
Namgung Seol-rin thought for a moment, then said.
"Let's just say it was the result of Tong-dal's holy sacrifice (?)."
"Don't be like that, tell me. I'd like to go get some myself if I ever get the chance."
Namgung Seol-rin looked the physician in black up and down.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
She tilted her head, then turned away.
"I wonder if you could even get one."
"Huh?"
* * *