Messenger from the Past (5)
“Ugh……”
Watching Jin Taesan let out a grotesque groan that could have been a moan or a scream as he worked, Wang Geumsan furrowed his brow.
With Wang Soso throwing herself into training, the hectic affairs of the Wang family had lightened up considerably. In the past, he'd lamented every day that he couldn't spend time with his daughter, but now he was glad for the routine where she occasionally stayed overnight at the Tae-eul Gate under the pretext of training.
Thanks to that, Wang Geumsan's complexion had improved nicely after catching a breather. On the other hand…
'He'll end up killing himself at this rate.'
Jin Taesan's appearance was utterly wrecked. Bald patches were already visible here and there on his head, his skin was cracking from not washing properly, and who knew when he'd last slept—his eyes were bloodshot red, with dark circles sunken deep beneath them.
'He mentioned building a forge recently?'
A famous blacksmith from Akyang and a technician from the Dang family had been recruited and settled in the Tae-eul Gate. The sect had been growing at a dazzling pace over the past few years.
It was only natural to be busy, but Jin Taesan was still pushing himself relentlessly.
“Can't you take it easy for a bit?”
“……”
Jin Taesan glanced up briefly, then ignored him and buried his head back in his work.
“You'll collapse at this rate, you stubborn fool.”
“……Are you bored, Lord Wang?”
“Huh?”
“Or did you come here just to tease me?”
“Ahem, cough. I've got plenty to do—I'm swamped as it is. Why would I drag myself all the way here to mess with you?”
“Then why'd you bring Danggo tea and snacks? Doesn't that mean you're planning to hang around here?”
Truth be told, Wang Geumsan himself didn't know why he'd come all the way here on his day off. Sure, teasing Jin Taesan was fun, but drinking with high officials and sect leaders was enjoyable too.
“……I brought it for you to eat. You think I'd bring it for myself?”
“……Not hungry.”
Jin Taesan buried his head again and got back to work. The Great Heaven Merchant Group was steadily establishing itself in Hebi. The volume of logistics was growing, and he'd heard the new branch in the Cheonmok Mountain area was booming so much they were short on manpower.
“You could ease up a little. Why risk your life like this?”
“……Didn't you just complain last time that 'these days' young folks only think about slacking off'?”
“Ahem! Hem! That was just talk.”
Of course, it had been meant to motivate him, but Wang Geumsan hadn't expected him to go this far. Jin Taesan's grumbling expression suddenly turned serious.
“I'm doing it out of shame.”
“Huh?”
Still buried in his work, Jin Taesan continued.
“You know better than anyone, Lord Wang, how terrifying money is.”
“……I do.”
“When you don't have a single coin in your pocket, the world feels utterly terrifying. More than you can imagine.”
“……”
He'd spent his life learning the terror of money, but Wang Geumsan had never known poverty. After all, he'd grown up in luxury within the Wang family from childhood.
“'Desperate' is the word for it.”
Painful memories seemed to crease faint lines around his eyes.
“Do you cut back on the grain going into the kids' mouths, or the firewood for the rooms in winter? That's the daily torment of weighing it all out.”
Setting his brush down for a moment, Jin Taesan pressed his eyes hard with both hands, as if they ached.
“And no matter how hard the adults try to hide that pain, it gets through to the children. That's why kids raised in hardship mature fast.”
“……”
“My son too.”
Thinking of Jin Sowoon, Wang Geumsan ventured carefully.
“……Is it arrogant to say Sowoon turned out so splendid because of that environment?”
Jin Taesan snapped his head up.
“Yes. Arrogant.”
His eyes gleamed sharply, his tone firm. It might have irked Wang Geumsan, but it didn't.
Jin Taesan dropped his gaze again.
“When I heard that kid passed the entrance exam as top scholar, my heart felt like it was tearing apart.”
“……”
“I couldn't even bear to imagine what he'd sacrificed instead of money.”
Moisture gathered in Jin Taesan's voice.
“I lay awake at night wondering if I even had the right to call myself his father.”
“……”
“The opportunity the Tae-eul Gate has now? He brought it all.”
Jin Taesan looked at Wang Geumsan again.
“Lord Wang, let me ask you one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“You said there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world?”
Wang Geumsan answered immediately.
“Right. That's the one truth.”
“Then what does a sect like ours—with nothing—have to sacrifice to enjoy this kind of prosperity in such a short time?”
“……”
This time, he couldn't answer right away. He'd never been in that position, never even imagined it.
“I can't just admire him. He's the most precious thing to me.”
“……”
“But I can't stop him either. If the Tae-eul Gate falls back into poverty, the other kids get thrown into that cruel world again.”
Wang Geumsan nodded silently. Jin Taesan busied his hands once more.
“That's why I can't rest even for a moment. This is the only thing I can do.”
A faint smile crept onto Wang Geumsan's face as he listened to Jin Taesan's earnest words.
Pfft.
Now he understood why he'd skipped meeting high officials or sect leaders on his golden holiday to come here. It was that stubborn integrity—facing his shortcomings head-on and giving his absolute best.
Wang Geumsan liked this thick-headed but upright Jin Taesan.
“My thinking was shortsighted. Anything I can help with?”
“Something you could help with……”
Thinking it over, Jin Taesan rummaged through his documents and began rattling off as if prepared.
“Categorizing goods with price differences around Anhui Province and calculating profitability……”
“Ah, sorry. I misspoke. It's my day off—I need to rest.”
“……”
As Wang Geumsan cleared his throat awkwardly, a servant entered and handed over an express letter. Jin Taesan, still glaring at him, slowly tore it open and read.
“Gasp!”
His eyes bulged, and he swallowed hard. Curious at the reaction, Wang Geumsan approached slowly.
Normally he wouldn't show it, but Jin Taesan was just clutching the letter, trembling. As Wang Geumsan reached for it—
A mad laugh burst from Jin Taesan's mouth.
“Muahaha! Hahahahaha!!!!”
“……What's gotten into you?”
“Read it.”
Jin Taesan grinned widely. Wang Geumsan skimmed it quickly, letting out a small groan.
“Designated as the Murim Alliance's exclusive supplier…… Incredible.”
“Muahahahaha!!!!”
“Dozens of merchant groups must've vied for this right. How on earth…… Anyway, congratulations.”
“Of course. Now I've got plenty of chances to tease you right back, Lord Wang.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
As Wang Geumsan looked puzzled, a sly smile spread across Jin Taesan's face.
“The Wang family has always wanted regular trade with the Murim Alliance, hasn't it?”
“!!!”
Memories flooding back, Wang Geumsan's hair nearly stood on end.
“N-no, no. We can't snatch such a good opportunity from you.”
Jin Taesan shook his head at the feigned humility.
“What are you talking about? The volume and variety the Alliance branches need—we can't handle it alone. Naturally, we do it with the Wang family.”
“No, it's fine!”
“I'm not fine with it!”
“I-I won't accept!”
“Then I'll have to tell Soso.”
“……”
Wang Geumsan's brow furrowed deeply. Jin Taesan felt his fatigue melt away with a hearty laugh he'd missed.
Yaryul Geuk meets his death.
That was the first basis for my deduction: Yaryul Jae.
In my previous life, around this time, Yaryul Jae had become a wreck, drowning in drink. He never said why—just that he'd lived that way for years.
Yaryul Jae wasn't the type to break easily. If he were, he couldn't have become a ronin right after adulthood, trained his martial arts, sent all his earnings back to his sect, and kept it up for years.
So naturally, something around this time had driven him to that ruinous life.
Second: He never mentioned family.
Not talking about blood kin, never seen visiting them—if so, by the time he joined the Small Justice Squad, he'd already fallen out with his brothers or they'd died.
If kin had died, and he couldn't easily speak of it…
……That death must've been a shock strong enough to burden him for life.
Even years later, painful memories would float up with longing. Yet he couldn't voice it—he'd forcibly suppressed that grief.
Meaning the 'death' itself wasn't natural. Not an accident or illness……
Something agonizing, wracked with guilt every time he recalled it.
Third: After completing the Yuyun Divine Art, he was wracked with immense guilt and regret.
That naturally linked the art to his brothers' deaths.
Fourth: Hating opponents just for being Murim Academy graduates.
Putting it together led to this conclusion.
'Yaryul Jae tried to complete the Yuyun Divine Art through Yaryul Geuk. Geuk was isolated and beaten daily in that burdensome situation, and in the midst of it……'
I halted my train of thought abruptly.
It was just deduction, after all.
Still, it choked me.
“What the hell kind of brothers are they?!”
I started searching the main building classrooms.
“Who's recklessly running around the sacred campus?!”
“Stop right there!”
Instructors and supervisors tried to stop me, but I unleashed the Tae-eul Paeman Sinbo, creating afterimages to dodge them.
“Jin Gongja!”
A sudden call made me turn—Seong Moran, Namgung Seonhwa, and Saryeon stared at me in surprise.
“What are you doing? Why are you running around like that?”
I pleaded urgently.
“Help me find Yaryul Geuk.”
“Huh? Who's that?”
“Anyway, please.”
I left those words and dashed off.
I scoured the main building classrooms, then the west and east wings. Even checked the rooftops just in case, but no Yaryul Geuk anywhere.
'Gotta go to him.'
Instructors and supervisors chased from behind, yelling, but it didn't register.
I circulated my inner energy again and raced to Dormitory Four.
Entering the hall, heads poked out from rooms, staring my way. I sped past, memorizing faces.
“Jin Sowoon?”
Then I locked eyes with Nam Hwaseong, sweating as he emerged from a room, looking puzzled.
“What are you doing here?”
“Do you know which room Ak Jupyeong's in?”
“Ak Jupyeong? Why him all of a sudden?”
“Do you or not?”
He flinched at my cold tone.
“Room 38.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, what's going—?”
Ignoring Nam Hwaseong's question, I leaped up to the third floor and found Room 38.
Bam.
Luckily unlocked—I smashed the door and burst in. Chaos erupted.
“……Wh-what the?!”
“J-Jin Sowoon?”
Four guys inside, mid-game of some drinking punishment, grins still on their faces. I zeroed in on him immediately.
“Ak Jupyeong.”
Leaning back casually, he eyed me with interest.
I asked flatly.
“You were with Yaryul Geuk yesterday, right? Where?”
“Yaryul Geuk? He said he had nothing to do with you.”
“No time for games. Where's Yaryul Geuk?”
He sneered.
“Why should I tell you?”
“So your bones stay intact.”
“What?”
Ak Jupyeong stood, wiping the smile away. Even with my height, he loomed slightly. He glared down like he might pounce.
“Think your representative authority scares me?”
“Think I fear your pathetic Ak family power?”
“You bastard……!”
Crack.
The instant he moved, I gathered energy at my toe and snapped his shin the wrong way.
“Gack—.”
Ak Jupyeong's eyes bulged as his shin bent unnaturally; he gasped repeatedly.
I gave him one more chance.
“Where's Yaryul Geuk?”
“Aaaargh!”
Pain hit late; he screamed. As I moved to twist his other leg—
“J-Jin Sowoon! Aren't you afraid of making enemies with the Baekdohoe?!”
A voice from behind; I glanced back.
“Baekdohoe, Jeongdohoe, and the Twelve Bongseong already hate me. What should I fear?”
“Th-that's……”
I twisted his remaining leg too.
“Kaaaaargh!!!”
Ak Jupyeong's eyes rolled back, foam at his mouth. Joints fully snapped—he'd never move properly again, even recovered.
“Y-Yaryul Geuk…… last saw him yesterday……! H-honestly, haven't seen him since……!”
One of his lackeys answered.
“I asked where.”
“N-near Yangsan Peak.”
“What time?”
“Ar-around Hai hour.”
“……How hard did you hit him?”
“……Gulp.”
The lackey swallowed hard.
“Want your joints like his?”
Terror crossed his face.
“H-he was definitely breathing.”
“'Definitely breathing'……”
He nearly whimpered, adding,
“Y-yeah, definitely still alive.”
“Did he return to the dorm?”
“……”
Another gulp.
“Yaryul Geuk didn't come back to the dorm yesterday.”
“……!”
Academy students gathered, drawn by Ak Jupyeong's screams. Nam Hwaseong was in the crowd.
“This psycho…… What the hell did you do?!”
“Nam Hwaseong. You've bullied kids plenty. Especially the weak ones.”
Sudden question left him dazed.
“Uh, yeah?”
“Main spot was Yangsan Peak, right?”
“Wh-what……”
“Was it?”
After a pause, Nam Hwaseong pointed.
“Y-yeah. Hard to climb, instructors don't spot it.”
Autumn nights were chilly.
“Fuck.”
All pieces fit. No longer deduction.
Then instructors' voices from the crowd—dorm supervisors coming too, hearing the screams.
“Nam Hwaseong, clean this up.”
“What? Hey!”
I jumped out the window. Crossed the academy toward Yangsan Peak.
Chasing instructors and supervisors panted behind. I vaulted onto roofs, leaping between buildings.
Once past, I tree-hopped. How far did I run?
Finally reached Yangsan Peak entrance, straight to the clearing where they mugged others.
And there—a sinister figure.
“Damn. ……Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it.”
Yaryul Geuk. No color in his face, body cold.
Too late after all.
If I could change the future over Sichuan, this futility shamed my confidence—I'd failed to save a comrade's kin.
“You fucking bastards!!!!”