Twelve Taels of Silver
“Master Haedeuk, please consider my situation. At one tael of gold, I won’t even break even.”
“Captain Jin, I’m sorry. You’ll just have to wait until another ship arrives from the other side.”
Though his words were apologetic, the water bandits’ lips curled with open mockery.
Seeing this, Cheonhwa stepped forward.
“Cheonhwa.”
Yi Ja-saeng tried to stop him, but Cheonhwa had already moved to Captain Jin’s side.
“Captain.”
“What is it?”
“If I deal with them for you, will you give me twelve taels of silver?”
Captain Jin glanced at Cheonhwa, then at Yi Ja-saeng standing behind him. When Yi Ja-saeng shook his head, the captain tried to placate the boy.
“This is a matter for adults.”
“I’m grown enough. Besides, we can’t keep the cargo and passengers stuck on the boat forever.”
“They’re martial artists.”
Cheonhwa placed his hands on the swords at his waist.
“So am I. That’s why I’m saying I’ll handle them as one martial artist to another. So, how about twelve taels?”
When Yi Ja-saeng approached to pull him away, Cheonhwa spoke again.
“Uncle, Father always said that endless patience isn’t always a good thing. Look at them. They’re laughing at us, mocking us. Why should I be the target of their ridicule?”
Yi Ja-saeng had no answer.
An intangible aura flowed from Cheonhwa’s body, pressing down on the two men.
“Are my parents so insignificant that they deserve to be mocked by people like that?”
“That’s…”
Mention of his parents left Yi Ja-saeng at a loss for words.
“I respect your opinion, Uncle, and I’ll follow it whenever I can, but this doesn’t feel right.”
“Hmm…”
“Captain Jin, I’ll clear them out for twelve taels. What will it be?”
Captain Jin, sensing that Cheonhwa wasn’t speaking lightly, gave his consent.
“Fine. If you can, then do it.”
“Captain Jin!”
“Master of the Merchant Group, if we follow this child’s words, they’ll demand one tael of gold from us.”
Yi Ja-saeng knew the ways of water bandits well enough to understand they would harass and toy with them until they extracted that single tael.
“Giving them one tael isn’t difficult. But next time they’ll ask for two, then five, raising the price each time.”
Once Captain Jin spoke, Yi Ja-saeng had no grounds left to stop Cheonhwa. He himself wished he could step forward and teach the bandits a lesson if only he had the ability.
“Cheonhwa.”
“Yes?”
“Do as you wish. But remember one thing.”
Cheonhwa looked at his uncle.
“Every choice and every action carries responsibility. Don’t become the kind of man who tries to avoid that responsibility.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. Please step back, Uncle.”
Cheonhwa moved to the bow and addressed the lead bandit.
“Five boats, and the bandits… one, two, three, four, five… thirty per boat makes one hundred and fifty men.”
“What?”
Cheonhwa continued, his voice calm.
“Listen carefully. Each of your lives is worth one tael of gold, and each boat is worth two hundred taels. That means you owe me one thousand one hundred and fifty taels in total.”
The bandits stared at him, clearly failing to understand.
“Let me explain it so even you can grasp it.”
Cheonhwa drew the sword at his waist and swung toward the mast of the foremost boat. A fierce surge of energy shot from the blade, grazing the cheek of the bandit at the bow before piercing straight through the mast.
Crack!
With a splintering sound, the mast tilted and collapsed.
Crash!
The falling mast smashed into the cabin area.
“Aaaagh!”
Bandits who failed to dodge were crushed beneath it. The survivors stared at Cheonhwa in shock—along with Yi Ja-saeng and Cheon-sang, who were still aboard the merchant vessel.
“I’ll say it once more. Each life is worth one tael of gold, each boat two hundred taels. Pay me one thousand one hundred and fifty taels and we’re done.”
“That’s absurd…”
“Is it any more absurd than blocking the river and collecting tolls? Did the government give you permission to be bandits? We’re both operating without permits, so what’s the difference?”
As he spoke, he swung again. Another mast toppled.
Captain Jin felt a surge of satisfaction at the sight.
“Well? Will you all die, or will you buy your lives with money?”
With a single leap from the bow, Cheonhwa landed on the bandits’ boat. He kicked the man at the bow in the chest, sending him overboard, then took his place and smiled at the remaining bandits.
—Captain, move the ship and get out of here. Don’t tell anyone what happened today.
After sending a sound transmission to the captain, Cheonhwa addressed Yi Ja-saeng the same way.
—We’ll meet in Wuhan. Don’t worry about me. Board the ship and head straight there.
Yi Ja-saeng opened his mouth to protest, but Captain Jin spoke first.
“Master of the Merchant Group, we need to move the ship.”
“Ah, yes. Do it.”
As the merchant vessel passed by, fury filled the bandits’ eyes.
“How foolish. You could die right here, yet you’re trying to take it out on innocent people. So, will you buy your lives with money?”
Realizing Cheonhwa was serious, the bandits grew flustered.
“We don’t have that kind of money…”
“Then you die.”
“You’d kill us all just for blocking the river?”
“For people who do this every day, it’s nothing. But the merchants who travel the Yangtze suffer their whole lives because of you. Why don’t you understand that?”
Cheonhwa’s aura spread across the water, freezing the bandits in place.
Terror gripped them.
“We’ll pay! We’ll give you one thousand five hundred taels of gold!”
“Really? Then bring the money.”
“We don’t have it now. If we go back to our stronghold…”
“You have it at your stronghold?”
“Yes.”
The bandit had only mentioned the stronghold to buy time, but he immediately realized his mistake.
“Then I’ll just kill you all and collect my payment there myself.”
“What?”
“I never planned to let you live. If I let you go, you’ll just go back to tormenting the weak. You’ll need to make up the money you lost to me, so you’ll squeeze them even harder.”
From the beginning, Cheonhwa had never intended to spare them.
“What are you…”
“You only understand when you become the weak and suffer yourselves. I’ll make sure you do.”
Cheonhwa’s figure blurred and vanished from the bow.
“Aaaagh!”
A scream erupted from the bandit he had kicked earlier. Blood poured from the backs of both his ankles.
From that moment on, the deck echoed with the bandits’ screams.
* * *
“Do you think Cheonhwa will be all right?”
Cheon-sang asked Yi Ja-saeng, his voice full of worry.
“He’ll be fine. If he can cut through a mast in a single stroke, no number of bandits will be able to touch him.”
“Why is that?”
“When facing an opponent, presence matters. It’s important not only for martial artists but for merchants like us as well.”
“The bandits who saw him slice through the mast must have felt fear. They were overwhelmed by his presence.”
Yi Ja-saeng explained as simply as he could.
“I thought he’d just learned some martial arts, but I never imagined he was this skilled.”
“Neither did I. Still, if he learned from his father and mother, I should have expected as much.”
“Then our merchant group won’t have to suffer from others anymore?”
“That depends. We don’t know what judgment Cheonhwa will make. And Cheon-sang.”
“Yes?”
“You and Cheonhwa are sixteen now. By age, you’re grown, but you’re still at an age where you need adult protection.”
Cheon-sang remained silent.
“I hope neither of you gets dragged into the affairs of the martial world.”
“I haven’t even learned martial arts.”
“Do you think martial artists will leave you alone just because you haven’t? They act according to their own interests. If they decide you’re a threat, they won’t hesitate to strike.”
Worry clouded Cheon-sang’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Does that mean I can’t travel with Cheonhwa anymore?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. As I told you, you simply have to bear the responsibility that comes with your choices. So don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.”
After encountering the Poyang Lake bandits, the rest of the journey passed smoothly.
The ship crossed Jiangxi Province and entered Hubei, following the river until it reached Wuhan.
“Uh… uh…”
Standing on the deck, Cheon-sang stared at the dock in shock.
“Father! Father!”
He frantically searched for Yi Ja-saeng and pointed with his finger.
“It’s Cheonhwa! He’s already here!”
The figure waving at the ship from the dock was none other than Cheonhwa.
“Cheonhwa!”
Cheon-sang, who had worried the entire way, felt overwhelming relief at the sight of Cheonhwa standing there unharmed, waving casually.
“Master of the Merchant Group.”
Captain Jin handed Cheonhwa twelve taels of silver.
“What’s this?”
“Payment for the promise I made with that young master.”
“It’s fine.”
“No. A promise is a promise.”
Yi Ja-saeng took half the money and gave it to the captain.
“This is our fare.”
“What?”
“Take it. I’ll feel better if you do. I can make up the difference myself, so just accept it.”
Captain Jin bowed deeply to Yi Ja-saeng in gratitude.
“You should be careful for a while. We don’t know how the Poyang Lake bandits will react.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll simply say it had nothing to do with me. Besides, while they may threaten people, they can’t touch those who make their living on the Yangtze.”
“Is that so?”
“No one wants their income to shrink. If word spreads that Poyang Lake is overcharging, the other strongholds won’t stay quiet.”
“You’re right. If the front takes everything, the back will starve.”
“So you needn’t concern yourself. I’m more worried about that young master. If rumors spread, the other river strongholds won’t remain idle.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll handle it. Thank you for bringing us this far.”
“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for your help.”
Once the ship docked and a sturdy gangplank was laid, Cheon-sang rushed down and ran to Cheonhwa.
“You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me see.”
Cheon-sang examined Cheonhwa’s body with concern, and Cheonhwa could feel the sincerity behind it.
Having someone worry about me isn’t so bad.
“I was really worried you might get hurt.”
“I told you. I learned enough martial arts to protect myself.”
“Sorry. I didn’t actually believe you at the time.”
“It’s fine. Plenty of people don’t believe it even after seeing it with their own eyes. No need to apologize for that.”
“Still, it was incredible. Cutting the mast in one swing…”
Cheon-sang mimicked swinging a sword, and Cheonhwa laughed.
“Cheon-sang!”
Just as he was about to speak excitedly, Yi Ja-saeng called out from the ship.
“This place is full of people.”
“I’m sorry. I got carried away…”
“We can talk on the way to the Wulin Alliance headquarters. If you have something to say, hold it in for now.”
“Uncle, I’m fine.”
“It’s not just for your sake. For the sake of others—and for our family—it would be better to speak carefully.”
“Ah!”
“I should have said this first: you did well, Cheonhwa. Thank you for your hard work.”
At Yi Ja-saeng’s words, Cheon-sang beamed at Cheonhwa, and Cheonhwa answered with a smile of his own.
Uncle and Cheon-sang really do have kind hearts.