The Green Forest (9)
The Green Forest (9)
"Yeah, I didn't like you either! When someone offers you the Deputy Chieftain position, you should be grateful! I treat you well, and you try to shit in the chamber pot!"
"Don't talk nonsense! What bullshit are you spouting about treating me well? You were the one constantly on edge, scared shitless that I'd steal your position, you coward! I never liked you from the start! Come out here, stick out your neck, and I'll kill you cleanly!"
The Chieftain raised his saber, his face flushed red. Then, like a madman performing a sword dance, he choked up on the handle and charged forward like a beast.
"He's fast. Can you handle him?"
Sannyeo asked, looking at me. I blinked, then replayed the Chieftain's movements in my head and swung my axe through the air.
Chaeng!
The Deputy Chieftain's and the Chieftain's weapons clashed with mighty force. I shook my head.
"I definitely can't win in a frontal fight. No matter how I swing, I'd be slower than that."
Sannyeo nodded.
"That's your situation right now. Even if you think you've gotten stronger, the Chieftain you've been toying with is someone you can't beat in a direct fight."
I understood her intent. She meant that just because I'd been manipulating the Chieftain and Deputy Chieftain, I shouldn't think of myself as powerful.
"In the martial world, people who don't know their own strength die young. We're in the same boat, so we should live as long as possible, right?"
Sannyeo shot me a look. Seeing her blink her crimson eyes, I nodded.
"Yeah, I'll live a long life."
"Thanks?"
Sannyeo was blinking at me. I couldn't tell what answer she wanted, so I shook my head from side to side and turned my head away.
In stark contrast to our peaceful atmosphere, the Deputy Chieftain swung his weapon wide and pushed the Chieftain back. The wind pressure generated by sheer brute force swept through the nearby tent of the Deputy Chieftain's camp and brought it crashing down. The Chieftain tumbled backward, rolling once, and just barely regained his balance.
The Deputy Chieftain saw the Chieftain staggering and let out a hearty laugh, re-gripping his weapon.
"Uahahahaha! Look at you, Chieftain, how pathetic! Rolling around like that, who'd call you a Chieftain!"
"Shut up! Uwaaah!"
The Chieftain shook his head, then gritted his teeth and gripped his saber with both hands. As he summoned his strength, his eyes bulging with intensity, I could feel the flow of his qi even from a distance. Though he hadn't reached the realm of manifesting sword energy, the inner energy spreading through his entire body was unmistakably fortifying his physique.
Sannyeo watched and said,
"He's not very skilled at using his inner energy. Maybe his martial arts are shallow? Or maybe he's been too drunk to practice? His blade technique using that saber isn't particularly sharp either."
Cold sweat beaded on the Chieftain's forehead. As he took a step forward, holding his stance, the Deputy Chieftain hesitated briefly, then leveled his club and began advancing. He'd decided to trust his brute strength over the Chieftain's martial arts.
Even as sweat streamed down his face, the Chieftain kept running his mouth.
"You haven't seen the opening stance of the Jeolsan Blade Technique (絶山刀法) in a long time, have you? Huh? Remember? This is the martial art I used to cut down that insolent brat at the 71st stronghold!"
"Th-the Jeolsan Blade Technique...!"
"H-he's using that technique again after so long!"
"Everyone get back! You might die if you get caught in it!"
The subordinates made a huge fuss, as if lightning were about to strike. It seemed the Chieftain's prepared opening stance of the Jeolsan Blade Technique was indeed quite sharp. Even amid the bandits' commotion, Sannyeo wore a bored expression.
"Ah, I've seen that before. It's nothing special. Just..."
"Hush."
I clamped my hand over her mouth. Sannyeo stared blankly at my palm, then pulled her head back.
"What? Don't get your hopes up. It really is nothing."
I looked at her again. Sannyeo tilted her head at my expression.
"What's wrong?"
"...Never mind."
What was the point of saying anything? I watched the fight again with a deflated face. The Deputy Chieftain, who had been facing off, briefly straightened up and shuddered at the Chieftain's words, but soon changed his expression and shouted.
"Your third-rate martial arts are no threat anymore! You're dragging this out because you're scared of me! If you won't come to me, I'll come to you! You coward!"
The word "coward" seemed to echo particularly loudly. The fleeing subordinates, Sannyeo, and the Chieftain all reacted—shrugging or widening their eyes. Especially the Chieftain's reaction was explosive, like someone had touched a raw nerve.
With half his eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth, he charged forward swinging his saber.
"C-coward? Y-you called me a coward again! Fine! I'll chop you to pieces! Take this! The opening stance of the Jeolsan Blade Technique!"
Gaining confidence from his opponent's reaction, the Deputy Chieftain howled and swung his club with all his might, charging at the Chieftain.
"Uwaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
The opening stance of the Jeolsan Blade Technique flashed brilliantly. In contrast, the Deputy Chieftain's club flew straight toward his vital spots, relying solely on his own strength and instinct.
The Chieftain's saber seemed to plunge vertically, then he shook the blade. An optical illusion made it appear as if the sword split into three branches, and confusion washed over the Deputy Chieftain's face.
But the Deputy Chieftain didn't defend against any one direction. He ignored the three-pronged attack entirely and swung his club with a massive arc straight at the Chieftain's head.
Now it was the Chieftain's turn to be flustered. But even as he watched the club's trajectory, he clenched his teeth, and the three afterimages converged back into one, flying toward the Deputy Chieftain's left shoulder.
Kwajik!
The Chieftain's saber tore into the Deputy Chieftain's corpulent body and lodged there. It pierced through the shoulder and cleanly split almost half of his body, revealing raw red flesh like meat hacked apart in an unhygienic butcher shop.
Kwang!
At the same time, the Deputy Chieftain's club struck the Chieftain squarely on the temple. The Chieftain had succeeded in nearly bisecting the Deputy Chieftain, but now he lost his grip on the saber and was sent flying sideways, his head half-crushed.
"Ugh...!"
"Grrrgh...!"
The Chieftain, who had been flung to the ground, rolled around clutching his head. The Deputy Chieftain, with the saber embedded in him, spurted blood and shivered, his face pale.
The subordinates and we all held our breath, curious about the outcome. The Deputy Chieftain's wife crawled out of the half-collapsed tent and, seeing the Deputy Chieftain now a corpse, her face was overflowing with delight.
"Grrrgghh...!"
The victor was obvious. The Deputy Chieftain vomited a gush of red blood from his mouth and collapsed flat onto the ground. The Chieftain, on the other hand, was completely drained, his head cracked and blood flowing, but nonetheless, he had gotten back up.
His eyes were unfocused and his steps were unsteady, but the victor of this fight was unmistakably the Chieftain.
I exchanged glances with Sannyeo. Sannyeo nodded, and I gripped my axe and cautiously stepped out of the tent.
*****
The Chieftain looked at his subordinates. His head was spinning and his vision was blurry, so he couldn't make out their expressions, but what mattered was that he had won. Blood streamed down his head, but it seemed like he could recover if he just stopped the bleeding.
The Chieftain took a step forward.
He could see the bothersome Deputy Chieftain a little more clearly now. The Deputy Chieftain had been reduced to a half-butchered lump of meat, lying there grotesquely. The Deputy Chieftain's wife appeared to be huddled up, probably mourning.
Things could only get better from here.
A groundless positivity that things would somehow get better surged through the Chieftain's mind.
Pale and drained, the Chieftain opened his mouth to declare his ambition.
"I...!"
Kwajik!
And the Chieftain's head split in two.
*****
I pulled my axe out of the Chieftain's head. It had embedded right in the back of his skull, splitting it neatly like firewood. Even the Jiangshi wouldn't survive being smashed like that. I extracted the axe, stepped over the Chieftain's corpse with Sannyeo, and stepped forward.
The bandits filled the space before us. They were eyeing each other, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation—me appearing out of nowhere and killing the Chieftain.
I scanned the ground.
The Chieftain's smoking pipe lay on the ground.
I picked up the pipe and held it out to Sannyeo. Sannyeo raised her manacled hands and lightly flicked a finger, lighting it.
The bandits just watched, as if entranced, like an audience at a magic show. I put the pipe Sannyeo had lit into my mouth and leisurely drew on it. There was barely anything inside, so nothing came out but a faint burnt taste.
"Hoo..."
I grimaced, clicked my tongue at the taste, and exhaled the smoke.
Then I looked at the still-frozen bandits and said,
"You know the stronghold rule. The strongest one becomes the chieftain."
Only then did the bandits begin to relax, exchanging glances and re-gripping their weapons one by one. Each one harbored the arrogance of becoming the master of this sixty-somethingth stronghold.
Ironically, this dream that might seem humble to some was an excessively arrogant dream, far above their station.
I tossed the pipe.
"I'm not interested. Go ahead and hash it out among yourselves."
The pipe sailed through the air.
I turned around with Sannyeo and started walking. Without anyone giving a signal, the somewhat powerful men within the stronghold began swinging weapons at each other.
"I'm the chieftain!"
"No! I'll be the chieftain!"
The bandits from the watchtower came down and joined the fray, and the women inside the stronghold screamed and babbled. The Deputy Chieftain's wife had already gathered a full load of luggage and was fleeing in the opposite direction from us.
What a quick-witted bitch.
"Uwaaak!"
"Aaaak!"
The sounds of blades clashing and the horrible noise of flesh being torn mixed together.
Torches fell and tipped over, setting buildings ablaze. Corpses crashed onto wine jars and oil barrels, spreading the fire.
Kwang!
As if to celebrate our departure, a great pillar of flame shot up from the center of the stronghold.
I laughed, savoring the fire at my back, tossed my axe into the air and caught it, and looked at Sannyeo. Sannyeo tilted her body toward me.
"Why did you smoke?"
"It looked cool."
"Haha!"
Sannyeo laughed briefly and nodded. Then she looked at the path we were taking.
"It does. It's cool."
Peong!
Another explosion rang out. We turned our heads. The flames soared endlessly. Embers spread like flower petals, and in the fire, people's shadows were struggling to escape the inferno. But most were scorched by the fire demon, unable to retain their forms, and blackened corpses crumbled to the ground.
Sannyeo stared straight at the scene.
"Docheol."
"What?"
"Say my name."
"Sannyeo."
Sannyeo kept her gaze fixed on the flames.
"Say it louder."
"Sannyeo?"
Sannyeo's lips curled upward.
"Louder!"
"Sannyeo!"
Sannyeo's name echoed through the forest.
Sannyeo closed her eyes and nodded, as if savoring it.
Only when the echo of her name I'd shouted had faded completely did she turn around.
"Let's go. Time to head down to the village."
What an enigmatic woman.