The Green Forest (2)
The Green Forest (2)
"Follow carefully. There are traps."
"If you step only where we step, you'll be safe."
The conclusion they reached was to take me to their chief first. They might have planned to truss me up and present me to the chief, but these thieves were always hungry for talent. Rather than trafficking a man who had even dabbled in martial arts, they always wanted to put him to use right away.
"Whoops."
Just as they had said, the path to their base was riddled with traps. If someone who had stolen money charged blindly out, they could end up crippled by poison arrows or the thorn traps set among the trees. Even a man with a bounty of a mere five silver nyang had set up such vicious defenses—what would it have been like for thirty nyang?
It wouldn't have been pretty.
I answered myself as I followed in their footsteps. The bandits yawned and discussed what to eat for dinner as they strode forward. Just as the outline of a wooden palisade revealed itself through a gap in the trees, one of the robbers stretched out his hand and said,
"Over there."
The place looked like a small fortress.
It resembled a clumsy palisade built by giants playing soldiers, but also a part of the forest that had grown into an artificial shape. To camouflage the stockade, branches had been stuck between the walls, and the thieves standing in the watchtowers were glancing around with leaves stuck to their bodies as well.
"Who goes there!"
Someone with sharp night vision shouted in a low voice. A blade flashed from the direction of the watchtower, reflecting the moonlight. Just in case, I ducked behind a tree and waited for what came next. The robber waved his hand and said,
"It's us. We brought a new recruit."
"A new recruit?"
"Seems like he knows a bit of martial arts. Thought the chieftain would like him, so we brought him."
Not even an assassin group would go so far as to turn that kind of exchange into a code phrase for a situation like this.
"Come in."
The Green Forest man gestured at me. Inside the palisade, torchlight illuminated everything, making it feel like a different world.
When I actually entered, my eyes took in a world slightly different from what I knew.
"What's with that guy?"
"He's a new recruit. New recruit. Since he's learned martial arts, you won't have to deal with him."
"Aigoo, how'd a guy who even learned martial arts end up crawling in here?"
All around, people dressed like savages milled about, perfectly embodying a vulgar bandit gang. Each and every face looked like an illustration from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, so I grimaced and averted my gaze. Those flaunting their yellow and pitch-black teeth shoved their faces at me without any thought for their body odor.
"Hey! Show us some sword-dancing!"
Since it was an absurd demand, I let it go in one ear and out the other. I decided to focus on observing the interior layout rather than their appearances. The bandit group I saw numbered roughly twenty to thirty men, and judging by their numbers and experience, it was impossible for me to wipe them all out.
They had erected watchtowers and a stockade, but the stockade wasn't very high and was flimsy, so there were plenty of gaps to slip through.
There were two large tents positioned near the entrance, two structures that had been given the semblance of proper buildings by reinforcing tents with wood, and two more tents that were smaller than the others and relatively clean, apparently for personal use.
One of the clean tents I'd been eyeing bulged and shifted, and then a man who looked like a bear crawled out from inside. At a glance, he had an enormous frame that overwhelmed everyone else, and a distinct knife scar ran across his eye.
He was completely hairless, including his eyebrows and every other trace of body hair, giving him a bizarre impression. The man scanned the area with eyes whose whites stood out prominently, then looked straight at me and said,
"A new recruit?"
The Green Forest man nodded and said,
"Yes, Deputy Chieftain! First we want to see the chieftain and then discuss what to do."
The Deputy Chieftain looked offended by what the subordinate had said. As he took a step closer, the smell of alcohol hit me.
"What. So I'm being left out? This guy? Huh?"
"Oh, no, no! Deputy Chieftain! Of course you, Deputy Chieftain, also have the right to talk with this fellow!"
As the subordinate flusteredly cried out, the Deputy Chieftain's expression turned satisfied. He lifted the corners of his mouth, let a rising belch escape through his teeth, then nodded and said,
"Good. That's how it should be. Once your talk with the chieftain is over, bring him to me. I'll need to have a word with him."
He seemed to be in a power struggle with the chieftain. He kept subtly glancing at the tent where the chieftain was, and his drunken manner betrayed arrogance.
"Oh my, darling. Let's go inside and rest."
Behind the Deputy Chieftain was an ordinary-looking woman. She smiled brightly and hugged the Deputy Chieftain's waist, and he let himself be led inside, as if helpless against her. When she glanced at me, she briefly brightened and smiled with her eyes.
To throw herself at a newcomer out of the blue—she didn't seem like an ordinary loose woman.
I ignored her gaze and followed the robber toward the most opulent-looking tent.
*******
"What are you?"
Unlike the Deputy Chieftain, the chieftain had a solid build but was not a giant. He was shorter than me, but his body was packed with muscle, and his eyes showed he had killed before. He too smelled of alcohol inside the tent, and behind him hung a large podao.
The handle was grimy but the blade was clean, showing he took diligent care of his weapon. He held a cup of liquor, looked me over, and said,
"What are you?"
I immediately kowtowed to his question. It was to leave a good impression first.
"I heard of Chief Unho's fame! I was captivated by his martial prowess and came to find him! My name is Park Do-cheol!"
When I raised my head, the chieftain and the guy who brought me both wore bewildered expressions. The chieftain was pointing a finger at me and nodding at the robber, and the robber was shaking his head no.
The chieftain set down his cup, cleared his throat, and said to me,
"...Alright, I get it. The Green Forest is always short on men. A guy who's learned a bit is a very sorely needed talent. But you—you look like you've learned some martial arts. Do you have a weapon you're good with?"
I shook my head.
"No! I don't! I paid the entry fee and even joined a third-rate sect, but all they taught me for years was some weird gymnastics and stuff like the Golden Capturing Hand! I couldn't stand it and left!"
The chieftain chuckled at my words. I looked aside and saw the robber nodding and laughing too.
"Seems there are more gangs like the Crimson Ring Sect around here. Yeah, it's because of bastards like them that the likes of us stir about. That's how the world works. Even those who prattle on about the Way and chivalry—rip them open and they're no different from us."
It seemed there were guys doing similar things around here. I chimed in with the chieftain's words and nodded.
"That's right. They're all nothing but thieves."
He downed more liquor and said,
"Right. Still, you've joined the Green Forest, we can't have you fighting with bare fists. Hey."
The chieftain gestured, and the subordinate who'd brought me stood at attention and said,
"Yes, Chieftain!"
"Take him to the storehouse, let him have a look around. Toss him an axe. I'll teach him how to use it properly tomorrow."
"A look around the storehouse?"
I tilted my head at the chieftain's unexpected offer and asked again. The chieftain nodded and smiled; the subordinate bared his teeth and said,
"Because there's a really rare sight to see in the storehouse."
A sight to see?
I could only tilt my head, unable to understand his words. Because in the Central Plains, there were too many things that could be called a "sight to see."
"But, the Deputy Chieftain said to bring him over and have a talk...."
"Tell him to do it tomorrow."
The chieftain cut off the subordinate's subtle remark with a single stroke and picked up the bottle again. The subordinate shrugged, then gestured at me.
******
The tent I'd seen earlier, reinforced with wood, was the storehouse. As I stood in front of the entrance looking around, the subordinate slapped my back and said,
"This is the storehouse. Go in, pick a weapon you like, and come out. Have a proper look around too."
I was more concerned about the so-called sight in the storehouse than his thumping me. Had they taxidermied a person and stored it? What kind of sight was it that they made such a fuss about me seeing?
I shrugged and yanked open the door to the storehouse. The subordinate yawned and sat on a chair far away; I examined the interior. The spacious storehouse, seen from outside, held not a single item of value.
All it had were old weapons, a few that looked somewhat sturdy, and broken weapons.
Besides those, there was a large iron cage, but the tent's interior was dark and I couldn't see what was inside.
I observed the iron cage, then withdrew my gaze and headed toward the weapons.
Since they said they'd teach me axe work, picking up an axe first seemed right.
I grabbed the axe that looked most useable among them and examined it from every angle.
"You must be the new recruit."
"Whoa, fuck!"
I jumped in surprise and whirled around. A woman's voice had rung out from the darkness. A voice with a timbre I'd never heard before resonated clearly in my ears.
"What about this dead-end mountain stronghold attracts a moth like you? Hey. Why did you come here? This stronghold doesn't even have much money."
The voice wasn't echoing inside my head.
"Wh—what? Who are you?"
The iron cage.
A shadow beyond the dark iron cage was speaking to me.
At first it hid so completely that even its shape was indiscernible, then it faintly revealed a slender silhouette, and finally it pressed close to the bars and revealed itself.
"Me? You're curious about my name? And you? What's your name?"
Beyond the bars was a shabbily dressed woman whose red eyes gleamed.
Her hands were in manacles, and her gaze was fierce. Her appearance was no different from a beggar's, but there was no poverty or melancholy in her tone. She spoke as if completely detached from this situation.
I spoke to her.
"I'm Park Do-cheol. Docheol."
The woman's eyes gleamed and she pressed further. Upon hearing my name, she suddenly seemed intrigued. I shrank back.
"Docheol? How is it written in characters?"
Probably the "do" from "dodeok" and some "cheol." I couldn't remember well, so I tilted my head and said,
"What 'do' and what 'cheol' do you think Docheol is made of?"
She explained in a soft tone, putting a rhythm into her words.
"The 'do' for greed and the 'cheol' for gluttony. A demon that covets and consumes, scraping the bottom clean. That's Docheol."
"I like it?"
I liked the name.
Because it was the way of life I desired most.
If I had come to a world where strength proves everything,
it was only natural to seize, steal, smash everything, and make it all mine.
In that case, rather than debating morality from my name, wouldn't it be right to infuse my name with my life's creed?
Smash everything, and everything becomes mine.
At the sense of purpose radiating from that name, I sat down on the spot and laughed.
"Then from now on, my name is Docheol, written with the 'do' for greed and the 'cheol' for gluttony. Because I like it better."
The more I laughed, the more the woman's eyes sparkled.
She stared fixedly at my face and posed this question.
"Do you believe in the Heavenly Mandate?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. I'm a fatalist."
Then she pressed her body close as if to break through the bars and said.
"My name is Sannyeo."
That voice somehow carried an earnestness that hoped I would respond in kind.
I nodded and said,
"That's a cool name."
The two voices intertwined in the air.
We were calling out the same name.
"Sannyeo."