Chapter 42
The sun was sinking lower and lower, and yet we kept moving, climbing the mountain at a brisk pace.
There was only one reason for it: to finish off the bandits who were still left alive.
Dang Hye kept shooting me sullen, discontented glances from time to time, but I ignored her. I’d have to tell her someday that she didn’t have any talent for the sword.
For her sake too.
“Stop.”
At my words, Dang Hye halted. At the far end of my field of vision, a palisade rose up like a castle wall, tall and rigid.
A massive fortification set halfway up the mountain.
It was a strange sight, one you normally never saw.
“I’ll go take a look first. Wait here until I give the signal.”
Dang Hye said nothing. She only gave a slight nod.
I walked slowly to the front of the palisade and tapped it lightly.
But there was no sound from inside.
“Honestly.”
Bang!
I loosely clenched my fist. Then I drove that fist into the palisade with a dull, compact force behind it. The barrier, woven from wood and straw, was thick and solid, but when it took my blow, a clear ringing sound burst out in every direction. It spread through the quiet mountains like a sudden ripple on still water.
Bang.
Bang-bang!
At the same time, drums began to thunder from all around. I could feel people gathering above the palisade.
It was the kind of commotion you’d expect before battle. And yet the voice that came down from above the wall belonged to an ordinary man.
“Who goes there?”
More than that, it sounded like an old man, one who had lived a fair number of years.
“I am Baek Mugeuk of the Baek Clan.”
“You sound like some orthodox young master. What brings you here?”
I reached into my robe and took out the strip of bandit clothing marked with the character for “lead.” The old man’s eyes widened at once.
“We’ve been clearing out bandits along the pass. I’m here to check whether there are any more hiding nearby.”
“This is just a village in the mountains.”
“Is that so? From the palisade, it seems the bandit damage here was severe.”
“It was.”
“Hmm…”
I glanced around briefly, then motioned for Dang Hye to come over. Once she was at my side, I turned back to the old man.
“It looks like the sun will set soon. Would it be possible for us to stay just for tonight?”
“Just the two of you?”
“That’s right.”
The old man remained wary of us. So I drew Bright Destroying Sword from my hip, still in its scabbard.
“If you think we’re bandits, or if you’re worried because we’re martial artists, I’ll turn in our weapons before entering the village. Nightfall in the mountains is dangerous, isn’t it? I only ask for one night.”
I put on my friendliest smile. Then I sent a message to Dang Hye through transmission.
Why are you just standing there?
Dang Hye glared at me for a moment, looking offended beyond words, then drew the sword at her waist.
“Please, sir.”
“Just a moment... wait there.”
The old man’s voice faded, and at the same time I heard the creaking of hinges. The gate began to open.
We stepped inside the palisade. What I saw was an ordinary village enclosed within the fortification. Even though it was late, the entire village had gathered, wary of strangers arriving at night.
“Let me formally introduce myself again. I am Baek Mugeuk of the Baek Clan.”
“I am the village headman, Lee Chi-baek.”
The old man whose voice had come from above the wall was the village headman. He approached me with obvious suspicion, then extended a hand.
Dang Hye and I handed over our swords in turn.
When I offered up Bright Destroying Sword, I worried for a moment that the headman might fall into a fit of madness. But I couldn’t sense any internal energy from him, and the sword itself had been quiet all this time, so I figured there’d be no problem.
And sure enough, the headman showed no reaction at all.
“I’ll return the swords when you leave the village. More importantly, I can only spare one room for you. Will that be all right?”
“That’s fine. We only need a place to close our eyes for a while.”
“Follow me.”
The headman led us deeper into the village. And when we reached around the center of it, he stopped.
There, where he stopped, stood a single thatched cottage. It was a tiny little house with only one room.
“Have you eaten?”
“We’ve been chasing bandits, so we haven’t had a chance to eat yet.”
“I’ll bring you something simple to tide you over.”
“Thank you.”
“Rest yourselves.”
There were only two bedding mats in the room. Dang Hye and I sat down on our respective mats, and only then did the mouth that had been firmly shut open at last.
“You said you’d help me become immune to all poisons, and I’d teach you swordsmanship.”
“I did.”
Dang Hye’s expression was venomous. Honestly, she finally looked like a proper Dang clan member.
“And now you’re telling me to give up the sword. What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I’m not confident I can teach someone with no talent to become any better than they already are.”
“Hah... then I can’t help you either.”
Her face turned cold.
“If you don’t want to help, I can’t exactly force you.”
I spoke in a somewhat cool but steady voice.
“But listen. You with a sword aren’t even fit to be called third-rate. If you don’t admit that, you won’t get stronger.”
Dang Hye narrowed her eyes and shot back, “So that’s it? You’re telling me to use poison just because I’m a Dang?”
“At the end of the day, yes. Use poison, Dang Hye.”
Bang.
Her fist came down on the bedding mat. The orthodox world’s gaze toward the Dang Clan. That was what made people deny the very poison that defined the family.
But the Dang Hye I knew wasn’t someone who could deny poison. No, if anything, she was closer to someone who cherished it, loved it.
When she spoke of poison, her eyes had shone, and she’d smiled. That was probably why she was even angrier now.
“Dang Hye. Let me ask you one thing. Is there any difference between killing someone with a sword and killing someone with a club?”
“... ”
“Answer me.”
She was silent for a moment. Then she nodded and answered, “No, there isn’t.”
I let the silence settle for a beat before asking again.
“Is there any difference between killing someone with a sword and killing someone with poison?”
“Are you trying to imitate Mencius?”
“The root of martial arts, as I see it, is simple. Killing people.”
Dang Hye’s expression gradually twisted, but I didn’t care.
“If you dress it up nicely, it becomes protecting yourself and protecting those around you. But in the end, the purpose is still to kill people. So what matters?”
“... ”
“The person who uses the martial art. Whether you use a sword is not the important part. Whether you use poison is not the important part either. What matters is who uses it, and how.”
“... ”
“I’ll ask you again. Is the act of killing people different? To you, is martial arts not a means, but a way of revealing yourself?”
“...”
At my words, Dang Hye seemed to want to say something, her mouth opening and closing uselessly. But in the end, no words came out. The silence felt as though it were filling the cramped thatched hut.
Creak.
There was no answer from Dang Hye. She opened the door and walked out of the cottage.
There was no way she hadn’t understood what I was saying. She was simply refusing to face it. Or maybe she just needed time to sort through her thoughts.
No different.
That was all I wanted to tell Dang Hye.
No different. So she had to accept it.
I opened the door and stepped outside.
“I’m not a babysitter, you know.”
In truth, Dang Hye’s problem wasn’t something I could solve for her.
That was something she’d have to resolve on her own in the end.
Still...
“They really did build this place in a rather interesting way.”
At first glance, it was just an ordinary thatched cottage with nothing special about it. But on closer inspection, the structure felt oddly unfamiliar, somehow awkward. The other houses arranged in a ring around it seemed almost deliberately positioned to encircle the center. It felt as though every house had been planned so that they could keep watch on that one building.
Even now, I could feel people in those houses holding their breath and watching me carefully. They probably thought they were concealing themselves and observing me discreetly, but the gazes reaching me were far too blatant. Something full of caution and distrust, staring straight at me, seemed to fill the entire space.
“This village has all kinds of strange things going on.”
There was another unusual thing about it. For one, there were no children. What’s more, the only person who could be called old was the headman.
Everyone else was under forty.
“Why are you standing out here?”
It was the headman’s voice. He was carrying a tray in his hands.
“I steamed some sweet potatoes. You must be hungry, so at least eat this.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the tray. The sweet potatoes were still hot, as if they’d only just come out of the steamer.
The headman’s eyes moved here and there.
“Is the young lady in the room?”
“She went out for a walk because she was feeling restless.”
“Is that so? Still, she ought to come back soon. The villagers are extremely on edge because of those bandits.”
“She’ll be back soon enough, Headman. By the way, do you know where the bandits’ stronghold is?”
“...”
At the mention of bandits, the headman closed his mouth. At once, unease filled his expression.
“I know what you’re worried about. The village won’t be harmed.”
“Hah... I know you’re trying to do something good, but please, just go back. They’re dangerous men.”
The headman visibly shuddered, as if the mere thought of them gave him the chills.
“It’s already been more than six months since I built this palisade.”
His gaze drifted to the fortification, and he let out a sigh.
“That means it’s been more than six months since those bastards came here. They’ve already stripped us of everything we had. Still, after I built this palisade, they haven’t dared to lay a hand on us anymore. That’s enough for us to live with. So please, don’t make any more trouble.”
“You’ve had a hard time of it.”
The headman looked up at the sky as if remembering all that had happened.
“There was a time I wanted to kill them. Honestly, if I could kill them now, I’d rush out this very instant and do it. But now, I just want to protect this village. Please don’t break the peace of this old man or of this village.”
He looked like a man forcing down rage with every breath.
What could I possibly say to that?
“If you’ve put it that strongly, what can I do?”
“I’ll take that as you understanding me. I’ll be going now.”
“Please be careful on your way back.”
The headman slowly walked away. Once his figure disappeared completely from sight, I picked up a sweet potato.
And started chewing on it slowly.
“What a thoroughly tragic little story. How is it that not a single line of the script has changed since that time?”
After eating the sweet potato and waiting a little while, I felt a hot surge rise through my body, and the sensation in my hands dulled.
I circulated my internal energy and drew the poison that had entered my body to my fingertips, then expelled it.
When the poison dropped to the ground, it sizzled, and the floor began to melt slightly.
“Found it for sure.”
This village was the real thing.
The place where the first poisonous herb on the road toward immunity to all poisons had been found.
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