Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Merchant House - Anhui (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
With those words, Jegal San leaped over the broken wall.
The Elder, who had been standing there in a daze, finally snapped to his senses and twisted his face into the grimace of a ferocious god of evil.
“Ch-chase them! I said go and catch them….”
“You can’t.”
Halt—.
Those who had been about to move froze in place.
Mok Ri-won flashed a faint smile and continued.
“You can’t chase them. Because I’m here.”
It was a chilling declaration.
Even though his words carried no internal energy, everyone present felt an irresistible pressure within them.
The Elder, his gut churning with frustration at letting the target slip away right in front of him, spat out.
“Do you even know what you’re doing right now…!”
“I don’t.”
“Then get out of….”
“But.”
Mok Ri-won added that qualifier and swept his gaze around the surroundings.
Then he continued.
“I do not consider those who judge people by their origins to be righteous. I do not consider those who follow such orders to be righteous. Nor do I consider those who harass a grieving woman to be righteous.”
With each word, Mok Ri-won’s aura sharpened.
“For those reasons, I see you all as villains.”
The Elder ground his teeth at the onslaught of words, his body trembling in a fit of rage.
The situation refused to bend to his will.
And then this interloper appeared before him.
All of it mingled with the fury rising in the Elder’s chest, twisting into a rather plausible conjecture.
Of course, it was only plausible by his own standards.
“Bullshit! Righteousness my ass! You’re in on it too! No, you must be! You think we don’t know you’re a dog of that filthy merchant company!!!”
His outburst, complete with finger-pointing, was steeped in the most pathetic self-justification.
Mok Ri-won furrowed his brow.
“Merchant company?”
“Don’t play dumb! That damned wench, that loudmouth bastard, and you! You’re all rugs for the Heavenly Trade Company!!!”
“What are you….”
“I knoooow—!”
The Elder’s cheeks quivered.
Mok Ri-won could read the hatred in his contorted expression.
‘Heavenly Trade Company.’
Mok Ri-won knew of it.
How could he not? It was the very company that had swept up all the horses from the stable in the village right before Residual Blood Valley not long ago.
Twice now since leaving the jianghu.
Having gotten tangled up in bad incidents twice in a row, an inexplicable aversion to the merchant company began to stir in Mok Ri-won’s heart.
“You filthy merchant dog. How much more do you need to take before you’re satisfied? Huh? How much more greed do you have to indulge before it’s enough?!”
“I’m not affiliated with them….”
Mok Ri-won stopped himself mid-sentence.
‘…No, there’s no real need to reveal my identity.’
Mok Ri-won wasn’t a fool.
He knew full well there was no reason to clarify when the other side was already misunderstanding.
“…Think what you will.”
At his words, the Elder finally broke into a grin of twisted glee.
“As I thought! Just as I suspected! This is all a plot by those merchant bastards!”
It was a smile that could pass for that of a madman.
“Attack himmmm—!”
At the Elder’s roar, the martial artists charged forward.
Mok Ri-won let out a soft breath and drew up his internal energy from his dantian.
Crack—!
He struck down the three swordsmen thrusting at him from three directions in an instant, then broke out of the encirclement, shattering their formation from the flank as he thought to himself.
‘No need to even draw my sword.’
Fragile warriors whose killing intent wavered.
A senile old toad in the throes of a tantrum.
To Mok Ri-won, they weren’t even worth calling villains—they were petty scum.
***
Jegal San ran for quite some time with the woman on his back.
His steps no longer carried internal energy, and his breathing had been ragged for a while, but he didn’t stop.
Wasn’t this the opportunity Mok Ri-won had carved out by plunging into that horde of warriors?
He had no time for luxuries like anxiously glancing back or pausing to catch his breath in relief.
The scenery shifted.
From the merchant house to the streets, from one street to another.
To the shabbiest corner of the city.
Jegal San finally halted upon reaching a ramshackle alley patched together with haphazard planks.
“…We’ve arrived.”
“…”
The woman bit her lip as she gazed at the street.
It was a dark alley, but it was still home.
Where she had been born and raised, where her one and only family waited.
It was miraculous.
There wasn’t a speck of good memories here, yet facing it now stirred a strange sense of comfort.
“Tha…nk….”
Only then did the woman truly realize it.
The gazes colder than bone-chilling frost no longer existed.
The aching loneliness of having no one by her side no longer existed.
She had returned to the place that, though not resplendent, still held some warmth.
“Tha…nks….”
“Too early for thanks.”
Jegal San pretended not to notice the tears pattering on the nape of his neck and smiled.
“Come on. Your brother’s waiting.”
With that, he gently set her down.
She wobbled for a moment before steadying herself, then leaned on the arm Jegal San offered and slowly began to walk.
***
“Sister!”
“Chang!”
The siblings embraced.
The young man, still boyish in appearance, whom the woman called Chang, startled at the sight of her and pulled her into a hug.
The woman, seeing him rush over, could no longer hold back her tears and buried her flushed face in his embrace.
“Sister, how did you end up here… Ah, Great Hero!”
“Only three days?”
“The Great Hero being here means….”
“I went to the merchant house. I went to see your sister as requested, and she didn’t seem to be faring well, so I stuck my nose in.”
The young man’s eyes widened.
He looked back and forth between Jegal San and his sister, then belatedly grasped the meaning of Jegal San’s words and let out a sigh.
Then he hugged his sister even tighter.
“…Sister, you’ve suffered.”
“Sniff….”
“Thanks to the Great Hero too….”
“Enough. I did it because I felt like it. More importantly, do something about your sister over there. If she keeps it up, her eyes will swell shut by tomorrow.”
Jegal San said teasingly.
The young man finally burst out laughing and nodded.
“Come on, Sister. Pull yourself together. The Great Hero says to stop crying too.”
“Sniff….”
The woman couldn’t stop her tears easily.
With so much pent-up longing to pour out, and all the resentment she’d bottled up, she kept weeping.
She only stopped once the young man’s clothes were thoroughly soiled with her tears and snot.
***
Inside a shack so flimsy a punch to the wall would bring it down.
Jegal San sat in the middle, watching the siblings seated side by side.
“You two really look alike. Anyone could tell you’re siblings.”
At his words, the young man smiled, and the woman bowed her head.
She had only now realized her unseemly display.
“Sorry for the ugly sight….”
“Why apologize again? It’s a good day.”
The woman let out a small chuckle.
‘A good day….’
No better way to describe this moment.
Of course not.
What truly brings happiness isn’t lavish feasts or precious jewels, but the warm family by your side.
“What will you do now?”
At Jegal San’s question, the woman smiled faintly and placed her hand on her belly.
“We’ll leave before dawn. To somewhere other than Anhui, to build a new foundation.”
The young man’s eyes went wide at the sight of her stroking her belly.
The woman noticed his gaze and smiled.
“Chang, you’re going to be an uncle.”
“This….”
“Let’s go together. Now we can live well, without starving.”
“…Sister, but what can we do? We haven’t learned anything.”
“How about a fabric shop?”
“Pardon?”
“A fabric shop. I lived there handling silk, so I’ve got an eye for it. Don’t worry.”
Jegal San simply watched the flustered young man and the woman, who was finally smiling brightly.
A faint smile touched his lips.
‘As expected….’
She was a beauty.
Far more beautiful when she smiled.
“I’ll be going now.”
Jegal San rose from his seat.
The siblings startled and tried to stand with him, but he waved them off.
“I’m fine. Catch up with each other. Seeing siblings together like this is just too nice.”
“But….”
“It’s fine, I said.”
As Jegal San chuckled, the woman bit her lip.
Then, as if resigned, she smiled and said.
“Thank you.”
“I’m starting to get a callus in my ear from that.”
“Even so, thank you.”
“Wel….”
“…Hong Seon.”
At the woman—Hong Seon’s words, Jegal San froze.
Hong Seon looked straight at him and continued with a radiant smile.
“My name is Hong Seon. My brother’s name is Hong Chang. Will you remember our names?”
Hong Seon.
Hong Chang.
Jegal San engraved the names in his heart.
But as always, he would bury them deep inside and never bring them out.
He was a man with no time to linger on memories of those he’d saved in the past.
He would simply seal them away and move forward.
That was the kind of person he was.
“Lovely names. I’ll remember them for sure.”
Jegal San turned his back.
The siblings watched him go with reluctance and asked one last time.
“Do you really need no repayment?”
They knew the fortune that had befallen them was something most wouldn’t experience in a lifetime.
That was why they asked, desperate to give something back, but Jegal San was as stubborn as ever.
No, this time he added a touch of wit to his stubbornness.
“Very well, then.”
Jegal San turned only his head to look at the siblings.
Then he grinned and said.
“Be a good mother. That’ll be enough for me.”
With that, Jegal San stepped out into the street.
***
Dawn broke.
It was the dawn when a certain pair of siblings slipped out of the city under cover of night, and the dawn when two men had brought a smile to a grieving woman’s lips, tears hanging from their own eyes.
“You’ve caused quite the stir?”
Inside an inn just opening for business.
The two men knelt on the floor, bowing deeply at Dang Hwa-seo’s icy voice.
Mok Ri-won’s cheeks were red from pinches like ugly scars, and a large lump protruded from the crown of Jegal San’s head.
“Are you mutes? Why won’t you speak?”
Dang Hwa-seo sat with her legs crossed on a chair, tapping her foot as she prodded the two men.
Then, Mok Ri-won ventured timidly.
“We… performed a righteous deed….”
“Does Young Hero Mok call lies ‘righteous deeds’?”
Mok Ri-won’s mouth clamped shut.
It was true.
He had said he was going to bed early and shut himself in his room, only to sneak out, so he had nothing to say to her even with ten mouths.
The fact that there were no eternal secrets in the world was a most lamentable truth for these two men right now.
“Impressive, really. Do you know what happened outside at this early hour? Word is, thugs broke into the merchant house. They say the merchant house warriors and Elder got beaten by the thugs and are laid up.”
Snap—!
Dang Hwa-seo pointed out the inn with her index finger.
“There are checkpoints at the city gates. The merchant house warriors are raising hell to find the thugs, all of them with splints on their bodies.”
The two men flinched.
Dang Hwa-seo felt a vein throb in the back of her head at the sight and sighed.
“…Well, since it was Young Hero Mok’s doing, I know it’s not something bad. But if you’re going to stir up trouble, at least think about cleaning it up after.”
“Sorry….”
“If you’re just going to apologize, keep your mouth shut.”
“…”
Dang Hwa-seo pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead.
‘Damn checkpoints.’
It was troubling.
The merchant house was the largest in the city, wielding immense influence over it.
With herself and Jegal San here, they could probably force their way through using the clan’s name, but the thought of the conflict and the aftermath already turned her stomach.
“Sigh… I must not be fated to die in peace.”
At her near-lament, Mok Ri-won simply bowed his head deeply, while Jegal San sneaked a glance at her.
Then he spoke up.
“Um… Sister?”
“Talk nonsense again and I’ll rip your mouth off.”
“…It’s not nonsense. I’ve got a good idea.”
Dang Hwa-seo’s gaze turned to Jegal San.
Her bloodshot glare held the promise of slicing a man in half any second.
Jegal San swallowed dryly and tensed up.
‘Screw this up and I’m really dead.’
Possibly pickled in poison for the most agonizing death in the world.
So he had to make the most of this one chance to save his skin.
In that moment, Mok Ri-won and Jegal San’s eyes met.
Mok Ri-won looked at him with expectation written on his face, and Jegal San nodded as if to say trust me, then turned to Dang Hwa-seo and said.
“How about disguises? We slip out in disguise?”
Dang Hwa-seo’s right eyebrow arched upward.