The Price of Corpses
"Ban Da-hong?"
Lee Go-nap-hap frowned, his face asking who on earth that was supposed to be.
Tchahar realized from that expression that Ban Da-hong, who had departed a full day before the rest of them, still had not been caught. He decided to change the subject.
"Ban Village... do you truly mean to annihilate it? All of Jianzhou will turn against you."
"Well, that's the Dudu's will, isn't it?"
Lee Go-nap-hap snapped, his irritation plain. What exactly do you expect me to do about it? Take it up with my father... That was precisely the attitude he wore.
It was then that Hong-wi spoke.
"If that is the case, might I ask what Your Lordship Kunaha thinks?"
For a moment, no one said anything. Lee Go-nap-hap turned to look at Hong-wi with a face that said, You little wretch — what did you just say to me?
Never in his life had a mere merchant dared answer him like that.
"What did you say?"
"The man standing here is not Lord Lee Man-ju. It is Your Lordship Kunaha."
"Ha... so you're telling me to defy my father's orders?"
He slowly raised his index finger to his temple and began circling it.
"This fellow has lost his mind."
"From what I have heard, Ban Village is a prosperous one. To burn all of it to the ground — what a waste. And the distance from here to Sorobirada is considerable. Too far, in fact, for Lord Lee Man-ju to come and verify it himself."
"So...?"
"Everyone present here will simply say that everything in Ban Village was annihilated."
"Oh?"
Lee Go-nap-hap glanced at the chieftains with a look of mild suspicion. At length, Tchahar nodded.
"I heard what Kunaha just said with my own ears. That is how I will remember it."
"As will I."
The elderly chieftain agreed. One by one, the other chieftains followed suit.
Lee Go-nap-hap fell into thought for a long moment.
"Temusi'i, was it?"
Only after a considerable silence did he finally speak.
"Then what do you stand to gain?"
"I am a merchant. As you say."
Hong-wi answered smoothly.
"I am prepared to buy everything in Ban Village — that is to say, everything that was 'burned to ashes.'"
"You merchants always think everything in this world can be bought with money."
Lee Go-nap-hap scoffed.
"Of course. Even human lives, among other things."
"Human — lives!"
Lee Go-nap-hap shrugged and shook his head.
"But a living soul is far too expensive to buy. People came first, then wealth — or was it wealth first, then people?"
"A living life, yes. But a life already spent? That's another matter entirely."
The audacity of the reply made Lee Go-nap-hap flinch. He stared at Hong-wi with wide eyes.
"What did you say?"
"You said Lord Lee Man-ju intends to slaughter everyone here regardless. Then whether the people of Ban Village are alive right now or not changes nothing — they are corpses either way. Think of it as selling the dead for coin."
A silence hung over the gathering. Then Lee Go-nap-hap burst into a roar of laughter.
"Hah! This fellow says some amusing things. Temusi'i, was it? You'd pay for corpses to save those poor wretches? That's hardly merchant-like of you."
He was not the only one thinking it. Tchahar and the other chieftains were all looking at Hong-wi with astonishment.
"What exactly do you intend to do with these corpses you're buying?"
"Buy low and sell high — that's the foundation of trade. I'll handle the rest myself."
"Hm."
Lee Go-nap-hap fell silent. Hong-wi held his gaze steady and unblinking.
He wanted only one thing: for Lee Go-nap-hap to hurry up and decide. With a single word from the man, the lives of a hundred-odd people might yet be spared.
Tchahar cleared his throat. Hong-wi realized he was not the only one waiting for Lee Go-nap-hap's 'decision.'
"It's a tempting proposal, I'll admit. But—"
Lee Go-nap-hap was still twisting his beard, unable to commit, when it happened.
"What tales are being spun here?"
A voice, cold and low yet resonating to the bone, cut Lee Go-nap-hap off mid-sentence. A chill radiated from it, so piercing that the men shuddered involuntarily. Even the arrogant Lee Go-nap-hap dropped his eyes for an instant.
The next moment, he spun around.
"Ah — Zhihui Biriherimdon. It was nothing worth mentioning."
"Was it not."
Biriherimdon asked flatly. Hong-wi understood instinctively that trying to persuade this man would be meaningless.
Lee Go-nap-hap answered with an uneasy look on his face.
"Forgive the discourtesy. You haven't forgotten the Dudu's orders, have you, Little Dudu?"
"How could I."
"Then you know Ban Village must be annihilated."
Biriherimdon cut him off. Lee Go-nap-hap bristled, a mixture of embarrassment and simmering anger rising in him — the man had clearly heard everything, and yet had feigned ignorance like a cat toying with a mouse.
So I'm the one being played for a fool!
And yet Biriherimdon was a man even Lee Go-nap-hap found daunting.
"No — it's not that, it's just... rather than destroying everything outright, I thought it might be better to, well, salvage something—"
"This campaign is no mere raid. It is a reckoning against those who defied the Dudu."
Lee Go-nap-hap shut his mouth.
Biriherimdon swept his gaze across the chieftains gathered there.
"Dudu Lee Man-ju intends to take nothing whatsoever from Ban Village. This is not a raid launched in greed for plunder. Let everyone here understand it well. If any of you thought that defying the Dudu could be settled with a suitable price — no. You are thinking entirely wrong."
As Biriherimdon spoke in that flat, uninflected tone, there was truly nothing at all in his eyes. Emotionlessness — that was precisely what it was. A monster with no feelings to appeal to, no matter how one might try.
Hong-wi felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"That is exactly why the Dudu demands that everything in Ban Village be annihilated — taken, not a single piece of it. Little Dudu. Do you understand now?"
"Ah — yes, understood."
Lee Go-nap-hap swallowed his pride and folded at once.
Biriherimdon studied him for a moment, then turned his gaze to Hong-wi.
As payment for the audacious proposal, he could have taken the merchant's head right there. Or he could have granted him something worse than death — a death he would come to beg for instead.
"Your name was Temusi'i, I believe."
So Biriherimdon had been listening to everything from the very start after all.
Hong-wi answered calmly.
"That is so."
"A preposterous offer. You'll buy the corpses... hm."
Biriherimdon smiled coldly.
"Very well. I'll grant the trade. But a deal must be honored in full, and so the quality of the goods must be certain, mustn't it? I will make quite certain they are corpses before I hand them over. And you, Temusi'i, will have to verify them yourself. Now then — everyone, let us go."
Biriherimdon turned on his heel and strode off. Lee Go-nap-hap followed, wearing a sour expression, as though chewing on something bitter. Tchahar let out a long sigh and nodded weakly to the other chieftains.
As the chieftains filed forward, Tchahar spoke to Hong-wi.
"A brave move. Still — thank you."
"I regret it had to come to this."
Hong-wi's reply was equally bitter.
"Let's go. That young one — I can't imagine where he is or what he's doing right now. All we can do is pray he's safe."
The two men followed the others ahead. In the distance, Biriherimdon was watching them stonily.
It was at that very moment that chaos broke out. The horses shrieked in panic, and Lee Man-ju's men shouted as they raced toward the disturbance. Biriherimdon knitted his brows and bellowed for his subordinates.
"What is this? Daniri! Danganmilsu!"
"There is an intruder."
"An intruder?"
Biriherimdon answered without a flicker of feeling, then shrugged.
"Caught him, did you?"
Before his words had even fallen, his men came into view, dragging someone along by the arms. The captive's face was badly swollen — he had clearly been beaten.
As they drew near, a groan escaped Tchahar's lips.
"Ban Da-hong... you reckless fool..."
Hong-wi recognized him too — the stout boy who had come to the village days ago seeking help. And then he understood. The boy had braved every danger to free his captive family and villagers.
A brief report reached Biriherimdon's ears.
"This one slipped in, scattered the horses, and while every sentry's attention was fixed there, he tried to free the Ban clan prisoners."
"I see."
Biriherimdon turned his gaze to Ban Da-hong, kneeling and pinned to the ground.
"Are you the village chief's son?"
Ban Da-hong looked up at Biriherimdon with a defiant stare.
"I am."
His voice was half-muffled, his lips swollen from the blows, but his bearing was unbowed.
"At least your eyes are still alive. Boy — it was a brave attempt. But I must call it reckless. Distracting the guards, yes, that was well done. But how did you imagine over a hundred villagers would make their escape?"
"Better to die at our own hands than to die like dogs and pigs at the Hurigai's. Even if dying is all we can do."
"Ho."
Biriherimdon smiled faintly. Of all the smiles he ever showed, this one carried at least a hint of something human — a mere flicker of it, granted.
"So death does not frighten you."
Ban Da-hong hesitated for an instant, then answered without reservation.
"If I must die, then so be it. But dying like dogs and swine at the hands of you Hurigai — that is my shame."
Inwardly, Hong-wi marveled at the spirit of the young frontiersman. The chief of Ban Village had raised a truly fine son. It grieved him that this boy might never have the chance to become a chief himself.
"Impressive..."
Biriherimdon fell into thought for a moment, then turned to the chieftains.
"I will speak plainly. Before I came here, Dudu Lee Man-ju delegated to me the disposition of Ban Village. Ban Village must be annihilated — but how it is annihilated rests within my discretion."
Lee Go-nap-hap's eyes went wide. It was news to him entirely. Biriherimdon was not a man to waste words on lies.
He handed Biriherimdon full authority — over me.
A quiet fury boiled up inside Lee Go-nap-hap, but he did not let it show.
Biriherimdon continued, turning back to Hong-wi.
"Temusi'i. A moment ago you said you wished to spare the people of Ban Village. Hm — your diligence deserves reward. I shall give you a chance."
Hong-wi frowned. The chieftains murmured in astonishment. The elderly chieftain asked in a trembling voice:
"Truly?"
"Those who dare defy the Dudu must be annihilated. Yet I have conceived the thought of granting a special chance."
Biriherimdon said quietly.
"That, however, depends on how these men conduct themselves. Ah — make no mistake, punishment cannot be escaped entirely. I may honor their courage with an opportunity, but their defiance of the Dudu will not simply be forgiven."
Hong-wi grew uneasy. The man spoke of 'chances' — yet there was not a trace of warmth in his eyes.
Hong-wi turned to Tchahar.
"Something is wrong here. For a man like Biriherimdon to suddenly act so... I have never seen him before, but is that the kind of man he is?"
"You see clearly. I've never laid eyes on Biriherimdon myself, so I can't say for certain — but dark rumors cling to him like flies. If even a fraction of a fraction of them is true..."
Tchahar's face was grim. He shook his head slowly.
"No matter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh? We watch. What else is there to do?"
Biriherimdon began to walk toward the kneeling men of Ban Village. Slow, unhurried, deliberate — and ominous with every step.
The prostrate men could not lift their heads; they trembled where they knelt.
Biriherimdon smiled coldly. He was enjoying this immensely.
Some among them were born cowards, no doubt. But there would be others too — men who strutted before their neighbors in ordinary times, boasting of their strength. Men who swaggered over the spoils of a hunt and basked in the glances of the village maidens.
Yet in this one moment, before the terror of approaching death, all of them were equal.
Biriherimdon wheeled around sharply. He could feel it through the very air against his skin — the way the men flinched and shrank.
Now and then, a courageous soul did step forward at times like these. But such men were vanishingly few. Across the whole of the Jianzhou Guard, how many could there be?
Biriherimdon glared down at the cowering men with utter contempt.
Contempt — yes, that was it.
Ever since the day his tribe had been trampled beneath the Hurigai warriors led by Lee Man-ju himself — ever since the day he and every last villager had been forced to their knees at Lee Man-ju's feet — he had despised human nature, and hated it in equal measure.
Watching his neighbors quiver and shake, he had wanted to wrap his hands around their throats and strangle the life from them. And he had done exactly that.
That day was the day Biriherimdon was reborn as Lee Man-ju's Whip.
Thud. Thud. Thud...
Not even the sound of an ant crawling could be heard. Nothing fell upon the ground but the ring of Biriherimdon's nailed leather boots.
"Do you know your crimes?"
The people swallowed their breath. Biriherimdon's dry,_funeral-cold voice dropped over their heads like a stone.