Dokgo Yeop
Chapter 19. Dokgo Yeop.
"Big Brother, who exactly was that woman last night?"
It was the first thing Yang Jeong asked the moment he woke at dawn.
"Apparently she's the master of the bastards I killed a while back."
"Really? Then why did you just let her go?"
Jiang Zhou glared at him, eyes wide and glassy with sleep.
"Why? Would it have made you happy if she'd killed me?"
"No, why are you twisting my words again? That's not what I meant at all."
"She said she'd come back again."
Aaaah................
"Really? Big Brother. Aigoo, that gives me chills."
Yang Jeong shuddered visibly, genuinely frightened of that woman.
Hee-hee-heeng........!
The instant Jiang Zhou heard the horse whinny, he bolted out of the room.
"This damn brat's at it again."
"He was quiet enough last night, though, wasn't he? Big Brother."
When the two of them reached the back yard, they found the stallion utterly absorbed in mating.
Hee-hee-heeng........!
But the deed seemed to be more than the mare could bear—she was crying out and dodging away over and over.
"Stop it while I'm asking nicely."
Jiang Zhou let a faint thread of killing intent seep out. At that, the stallion snapped its head around with a wildly furious glare.
Snort......snort.....
Yet the moment its eyes met Jiang Zhou's, all that fury vanished as if it had never existed—it lowered its head meekly and backed away.
"Honestly. Its master and that horse both have an absolutely uncanny knack for reading the room."
Hehe.....
"Big Brother, the only one with sharp instincts around here is that horse. I know nothing whatsoever."
Clang...! Clang....!
Yang Jeong was busy repairing the stable, hammer in hand. While he worked, Jiang Zhou sat in the kitchen trimming herbs—wild ones he'd gathered in the forest, intending to brew them into liquor. He hadn't given it much thought before, but the words the tattooed woman had spoken last night kept gnawing at his mind.
Damn it all. No customers again today.
The sun was already sliding toward the western hills, and still not a single soul had come through the door. The one silver lining was that the beggar old man who'd been pestering them relentlessly hadn't shown his face today.
The moment the sun set, the racket of hammering finally stopped.
"Big Brother, food first, please. I'm starving to death over here."
Yang Jeong came running with a saw and hammer in both hands.
"Give me a moment. It's almost done."
While Jiang Zhou tended the pot, Yang Jeong picked up one of the trimmed deodeok roots and popped it into his mouth.
Crunch...crunch......
"Why did you dig up so many herbs and greens, Big Brother?"
"To brew liquor."
Oh......
"Big Brother, that's a splendid idea. Leave the brewing to me."
Jiang Zhou had barely gotten the liquor jar out before Yang Jeong tried to stuff the herbs in whole. Quick as a flash, Jiang Zhou snatched them away.
"I try to do one good thing for once—why are you stopping me, Big Brother?"
"Do it that way and it won't be sellable for ages."
Jiang Zhou pressed down on the herbs with both hands, crushing them, and the leaves mashed apart, juice beginning to seep out. He squeezed every last drop from one batch into the jar, then picked up the next. Three or four rounds of this, and the towering pile of herbs had all vanished into the jar.
Watching with his throat bobbing in a swallow, Yang Jeong hurriedly fetched a ladle and scooped out two cups of the liquor. He tasted his first.
Mmm.....
"It tastes remarkably proper, Big Brother."
Jiang Zhou sampled it too and nodded. Perhaps because of the pungent herbs and greens, the flavor was uncannily close to the brew made with the Yeongcho and Hollow Jade Liquid.
"Big Brother, this would be perfect to serve up whenever the Alliance Leader comes around fussing for medicinal liquor."
Jiang Zhou stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. The rascal's cunning worked overtime precisely on schemes like this.
"That's fraud, you little punk."
"What of it, Big Brother? I'd only be serving medicinal liquor exactly as the Alliance Leader demanded."
"Quit yapping and ladle out the rice."
Around lunchtime, some half a dozen young women came calling.
So the customers finally deign to show up.
Jiang Zhou welcomed them with good cheer.
"Welcome, welcome."
But the women only craned their necks this way and that, making no move whatsoever to sit.
"Are you looking for something?"
They answered hesitantly.
"We heard that the young hero Samryong is staying here........"
"Ah....... He's out fixing the stable right now."
The words were barely out of Jiang Zhou's mouth when Yang Jeong revealed himself, looking rather battered.
"Ladies, how may I serve you?"
His voice was mellow yet resonant—though it could not hide the deep purple bruise blooming across his face. The women were far too busy stealing glances at him to notice anything else.
"The butcher said the young hero Samryong had been terribly hurt, so.........."
Hahaha.......
"I took a fall while riding, that's all. There's no need to worry so much on my account."
Jiang Zhou quietly observed him and the women. Now that he looked closely, they hadn't come for a meal at all—they'd come to feast their eyes on Samryong.
"Since you've come all this way, why not stay for a meal before you go?"
The instant Yang Jeong offered, the women claimed their tables.
"So the young hero Samryong is a fine cook as well."
"My Big Brother's cooking outshines mine, ladies. And my name isn't Samryong—it's Yang Jeong."
The women's gazes simply refused to leave his face.
"Of course, young hero Yang. Then one bowl of noodles, please."
Do those thoughtless girls even know a bowl of noodles costs one silver tael here?
Jiang Zhou stated the price before he began cooking.
"One bowl of noodles is one silver tael."
The women floundered, too flustered to know what to do with themselves.
"O...one silver tael? Is this place insane? How can anything cost that much?"
"We... we don't have that kind of money, you know?"
Watching them panic, Yang Jeong summoned a gentle smile.
"How could I accept silver from ladies who traveled all this way to see me? Today, allow me to treat you."
The women's faces bloomed with delight.
"Thank you, young hero Yang."
"Thank you so much."
Yang Jeong turned his head to look at Jiang Zhou, who stood there stone-faced. The man's expression was on the verge of tears.
Big Brother. I'm begging you, please cook this one time for me.
He was desperate. He couldn't bear to look shabby in front of the women who had come seeking him out. Jiang Zhou, reading that desperation, heaved a deep sigh. The fool had his pride too, so he couldn't even bring himself to explode.
Whew.........
"Please wait a moment."
The moment Jiang Zhou disappeared into the kitchen, Yang Jeong turned back to the women with his mellow smile.
"They say one bowl costs one silver tael—but once you've tasted it for yourselves, I suspect you'll find a single tael a pittance."
Jiang Zhou set a bowl of Pork Noodles before each of the women.
You're dead.
Then he fixed Yang Jeong with a glacial stare.
"Dig in, ladies."
Yang Jeong hurried the women along, studiously avoiding his brother's eyes. The women exchanged glances, then picked up their chopsticks and brought noodles and meat to their mouths.
Slurp....slurp.....
The moment they chewed, their eyes went as wide as they could possibly go. Never in their lives had they eaten Pork Noodles this delicious. They couldn't tell how he'd made it, but the meat and noodles seemed to simply melt away in their mouths. They stuffed their faces in a daze.
Slurp...slurp slurp....
They ate so ravenously they forgot Yang Jeong was even sitting beside them. Only after draining the last of the broth did they finally come back to their senses.
"It... it really is as delicious as you said, Samryong—forgive me, young hero Yang."
Hahaha.........
"Glad it pleased you."
Yang Jeong beamed as though he had done the cooking himself. The women kept stealing glances at each other, wanting more Pork Noodles, but the words wouldn't leave their mouths. One silver tael was simply too steep. Yang Jeong read their hearts perfectly, but let it pass with studied ignorance.
"In any case, thank you for coming all this way to visit."
The women forced their reluctant bodies to rise.
"Th...then we'll come again, young hero Yang."
"Take good care of yourself, young hero Yang."
Haha......
"My thanks to you all. Safe travels, ladies."
They crossed the Stone Bridge, glancing back again and again, and Yang Jeong waved until they had vanished completely from view. But the instant they were gone, he spun around and dropped to his knees.
"Big Brother, I'm so sorry."
"Want to die? I tell you to bring in customers and you bring in freeloaders?"
Jiang Zhou bellowed, fist clenched. Yang Jeong hurriedly produced his money pouch.
"I'll pay for their meals myself, Big Brother."
"That's not the point, you punk! What are you going to do if women like that keep showing up from now on?"
"I swear it will never happen again. So please, just let it go this once, Big Brother."
At his piteous voice, Jiang Zhou had no choice but to loosen his clenched fist.
"If this happens one more time, understand that I'll really kill you."
"I shall engrave it on my heart, Big Brother."
"So you were in today."
Ak Hwan stepped into the inn with a bright smile. Jiang Zhou, mid-meal, rose to greet him.
"Welcome, young hero Ak."
Even with a customer arriving, Yang Jeong remained glued to his table, wholly absorbed in his food. Ak Hwan, for his part, paid him no mind and took his seat.
"May I have a bowl of Pork Noodles?"
"Of course. I'll bring it right out."
Jiang Zhou disappeared into the kitchen and began pulling noodles from the kneaded dough.
Tap...! Tap.....!
Ak Hwan idly looked around, and his gaze drifted to Yang Jeong. He hadn't recognized him at first with that bruise mottling his face, but on closer inspection, it was an extraordinarily handsome countenance.
A customer of the inn?
His interest piqued despite himself, he opened his mouth to ask.
"Are you here as a guest?"
But Yang Jeong had little interest in male customers.
"Ah... yes. I'm the Big Brother's younger brother."
"You mean to say you're young hero Jiang's brother?"
"That's right."
So the inn is run by brothers. Both brothers this handsome—no matter who their parents are, they were blessed with fortune.
For a man with so little confidence in his own face, those good-looking brothers could only be the object of envy. Just then the Pork Noodles arrived, and Ak Hwan withdrew his attention entirely.
Whoooosh...............
The figure that had appeared on the official road flickered out of sight, only to reemerge some twenty paces ahead. Sin Pung-gae vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye, again and again, each time twenty paces further.
Almost there.
When the forest came into view through the darkness, he cut off his lightness skill and slowed to a walk. The effect had been truly monstrous. Five cups of liquor, and for two whole days he had lived like a beast possessed.
Dokgo Yeop lightly patted his chest, where his money pouch rested. Today he had brought no less than twenty thousand silver taels—enough, he reckoned, to buy and drink twenty cups.
If I'd known the medicinal liquor was that potent, I never would have split it with Baek Mun-do.
He and Baek Mun-do had shared five cups each for ten thousand taels. Thinking back on it now, nothing in the world had been more of a waste.
When he stepped into the inn, Jiang Zhou came out to greet him.
"Welcome."
Dokgo Yeop nodded and surveyed the inn. Two young men were eating, and judging from their seating, they didn't appear to be traveling together. He claimed the seat closest to the kitchen.
"Bring me Pork Noodles and liquor."
Jiang Zhou took the order, none too pleased. This middle-aged man, handsome to the point of absurdity, was the customer who had come with the Alliance Leader last time. But the man's disposition was sharp as a blade, and something about him rubbed Jiang Zhou the wrong way. Above all, he still hadn't forgiven him for buying up precious liquor at ten thousand taels a pop.
Back in the kitchen, Jiang Zhou brought out Seasoned Wild Greens and a bottle of stiff liquor.
Gulp.....
As Dokgo Yeop filled his cup, he glanced over at the man eating Pork Noodles.
"Are you one of the Murim Alliance's children?"
Ak Hwan lifted his head from his meal and looked at him—and the instant his eyes met Dokgo Yeop's, strange to say, his whole body began to tremble.
Brrr...
What he felt was terror. A monstrous fear, like prey before a great beast, seized every inch of him. Unable to master it, he grabbed the spear leaning against the table.
At that, Dokgo Yeop curved his lips into an icy smile.
"You've got decent nerve, boy."