A Gift for the Chief Bailiff
Rub, rub.
Jang Chil-sam, who had hauled along every last beggar of the Beggars Sect's Yichang sub-branch, rubbed his eyes. He squeezed them shut and popped them open a few more times for good measure, but the scene before him stayed exactly the same.
"Wang-pal, what... what in the world is this?"
"I-I don't know, boss."
By the time the commotion had settled, every beggar who had come running at Jin Cheong-un's request was wearing much the same expression as Jang Chil-sam.
"Hm-mm. This one doesn't look properly tied."
"I-I'll retie him right now, boss!"
"You did a fine job on this one, though."
"Thank you, boss!"
"Don't tell me you're slacking over there. Loosened the rope a little so you could make a run for it, did you?"
"I-I'm sorry, boss! I'll correct it at once!"
"No, go on. Run. If you run, that's one less thing for me to worry about."
"I wouldn't run even if it killed me!"
The Black Tiger Sect men — who, to put it crudely, had had their faces beaten to a pulp — were busily tying one another up with rope. These were men of the unorthodox path, the kind who lived and died by their pride alone, and now they were obeying Jin Cheong-un's every word as though they'd happily play dead on command.
What in the hell kind of mess is this?
And what was with all this "boss" business?
"Ah, there you are."
At that moment Jin Cheong-un, having spotted them, slipped his hands from behind his back in greeting.
"F-forgive us for being late."
Jang Chil-sam bowed without thinking, hands clasped politely together.
"What exactly happened here?"
"Hm, well, you see—"
Jin Cheong-un started to explain from the top, then abruptly decided that was far too much effort and gave him the abridged version instead.
"There was a fight. It resolved itself nicely. And the Black Tiger men have repented their sins and resolved to start new lives."
"...Ah. Is that so."
Isn't rather a lot of the middle missing? That's not a summary, that's a forgery.
"Wh-where is the Black Tiger Sect Lord...?"
"Over there."
Where Jin Cheong-un pointed, a corpse lay half-sunk in a pool of blood. Jang Chil-sam hesitated a moment, then nodded.
"Are there any other dead?"
"I shouldn't think so."
"...Pardon?"
"Why so startled?"
"N-nothing at all. Understood."
What had startled Jang Chil-sam was not the presence of a corpse — it was that no one but the Sect Lord had died.
I'd braced myself for mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
He stole a sidelong glance at Jin Cheong-un. After all, a man of the orthodox sects didn't pick up epithets like Asura, Demon, and Yama for nothing. Even battle-hardened veterans ground their teeth at the mere mention of missions where the Black Dragon Unit Captain had appeared — Jang Chil-sam himself had once needed to steel his nerves before setting foot in a place Jin Cheong-un had passed through.
Has he really... changed?
Jang Chil-sam peered surreptitiously at Jin Cheong-un.
SMACK!
At that very instant, Jin Cheong-un backhanded a Black Tiger man across the face. The man's jaw spun sideways and he crumpled where he stood. Jang Chil-sam's mouth fell gaping open.
"Ah. He had a dagger tucked in his coat."
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"N-nothing at all."
"Then I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"O-of course. Though... hasn't it already been more or less cleaned up?"
"It has, but."
Jin Cheong-un pointed to a stack of crates off to one side. As Jang Chil-sam tilted his head, wondering what he meant—
"They were carrying gunpowder."
"...!"
His expression changed in a heartbeat. Unless they were mad dogs like the Esoteric Cult, gunpowder was the one thing even the most lawless of the unorthodox sects wouldn't so much as touch. This was not something that could be quietly swept under the rug.
"Those black-road bastards...! Understood. But — if it's no trouble — about this matter..."
"Don't worry, I won't go chattering about it. I'd rather it not get around either."
"Thank you! Thank you very much!"
Jang Chil-sam swiped the cold sweat from his brow and pressed on.
"Come to think of it, we picked up a runner on the way here."
"One of them got away?"
Just then, a commotion rose from the back of the line.
"Let go! Let go of me, you beggar bastards!"
Jang Chil-sam glanced back that way.
"The Chief Steward and the Young Lord of the Black Tiger Sect."
Ah, right. Almost forgot that one existed.
Jin Cheong-un regarded the pair with a face of perfect indifference. Yeop Gun-pyeong thrashed about in sheer terror, while Baek Seo-gun, apparently resigned to his fate, came dragging along with his head hung low. As Jin Cheong-un trudged toward them, Yeop Gun-pyeong jerked upright as if seized by a fit.
"Y-you beggar bastards! It's not me you should be killing, it's him!"
"..."
"What did we even do wrong! The ones at fault are the deadbeats who borrowed money and never paid it back! What's a debtor got to be so high and mighty about! So we torched a manor that would've been ours anyway once the debt came due...!"
CRACK!
With a sound like something bursting, Yeop Gun-pyeong went limp.
Trickle.
Bright red blood came streaming down from the crown of his head. The beggars stared at Jin Cheong-un, dumbstruck.
"Ah — my apologies. Reflex."
As Jin Cheong-un withdrew his fist with a sheepish look, the beggars exchanged uneasy glances.
Is he dead? No — he's breathing.
Don't most people at least let you finish the sentence before swinging...?
Jin Cheong-un turned back to Jang Chil-sam.
"Should I wake him up?"
He was faintly curious how exactly the man intended to manage that, but Jang Chil-sam had the good sense not to ask.
"Oh, no need, no need. Less noise, better for everyone."
Then, having gauged the mood, he ventured carefully,
"Would it be alright if we took custody of those two? The Fierce Tiger Unit Leader as well."
"What do you intend to do with them?"
"Drag them off and have a proper look into things."
Jang Chil-sam's eyes gleamed.
"The Chief Steward knows the Black Tiger Sect's inner workings inside and out. And as for the Young Lord... well, with the Sect Lord dead, somebody has to answer for it all, don't they?"
"..."
"Ah — not that you'd know anything about that. Heh heh. I wouldn't call it taking their place, exactly, but I'll see to it that the government office that's been sheltering the Black Tiger Sect gets scrubbed clean top to bottom, so there's no blowback on anyone."
Jang Chil-sam smiled a meaningful smile and rubbed his hands together, greasy and obsequious. It seemed he intended to put the whole affair through a long, complicated process and bury it quietly.
"Do as you like."
Trying to rack up some merit, is he.
Which suited Jin Cheong-un just fine. The situation was already settled; the last thing he wanted was to stay tangled up in it any longer than he had to.
Yeop Gun-pyeong's ending, he suspected, would not be a pretty one.
This was why parents had to raise their children properly, and children had to choose their parents carefully — and if both halves of the bargain were hopeless, then at the very least one ought to find oneself a decent teacher.
"This is why education matters."
Jin Cheong-un murmured it aloud, silently vowing to raise his own disciples well. The beggars watching merely ran their hands down their arms, looking as if the non sequitur had given them chills.
Well. At last I can stretch out and live in peace.
Jin Cheong-un let out a long, long sigh.
Right. Time to go home.
Yinghua Village.
The villagers had all gathered along the roadside, whispering among themselves.
"Wh-what is that, there?"
"Ain't that the Black Tiger Sect lot?"
"Then what're they—"
Trudge. Trudge. Trudge.
Dozens of men, bound like convicts, walked past in a long, straggling line. And the man standing where that line was headed was stammering with a face that looked ready to burst into tears on the spot.
"Th-that — th-this is — what, I mean..."
Geum Tae-bang, Chief Bailiff of Yinghua Village. A man whose grandest ambitions in life were safety first, contentment with his lot, and keeping his head down for a long, uneventful career — now staring at the culprit behind this entire catastrophe.
"...Hall Master Jin?"
"We meet again, Chief Bailiff Geum."
"Wh-what is all this?"
"Black Tiger Sect men."
You brat! You think I can't see that?! Why did you drag them here all trussed up in a line?!
Jin Cheong-un said, perfectly flat:
"Chief Bailiff Geum, it seems a pack of villains who'd been disturbing the peace of Yichang has been dealt with, so I brought them in."
Geum Tae-bang mopped his brow again and again.
"But... I heard the Black Tiger Sect Lord was a truly formidable master. What became of him...?"
"Sect Lord Yeop..."
Jin Cheong-un gazed off at a distant mountain, his expression turning wistful.
"He has departed on a long journey."
He killed him! If you killed him, don't make the wistful face!
"Did — did you do it, Hall Master Jin?"
"Come now, is that any way likely?"
"Huh? Then who did?"
On that point, Jin Cheong-un's mouth clamped firmly shut. Then, after a moment of apparent deliberation, he spoke.
"It seems a passing master handled it. I merely bound them and brought them in."
The Jianghu had never been short of passing masters, after all.
Jin Cheong-un felt a quiet glow of pride, judging it a perfectly apt answer.
Take the hint, Tae-bang! This man is out of his mind! Poke at him here and you might get swatted too! Just nod and keep nodding!
It was an answer that would have fooled no one on earth, but Geum Tae-bang nodded like a man possessed, until his throat went tight.
"I've grasped the general shape of it... but why drag them here, of all places?"
"Well, when you catch villains for the authorities, where else would one deliver them?"
"The — the Yichang county office is rather larger... or, since it's a Jianghu matter, perhaps the Martial Alliance..."
"Haha. But I am a resident of Yinghua Village, am I not?"
"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?"
"You've been good to us all this while, and... I did want to look after you, Chief Bailiff Geum, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone... hahaha. You follow me, yes?"
"Wh-when did I ever ask for such a thing..."
My one dream is to live quietly, so why are you hauling this to my doorstep uninvited?! And what do you mean, 'look after' me?!
Round up a mess of tangled-up thugs like these and all I'll get from my superiors is 'Who told you to do things you weren't told to do?' — not a word of praise!
But all Geum Tae-bang could force out was:
"How very, very kind of yooou..."
"No need for thanks. Not between us."
"..."
"I was afraid it might be too heavy a burden, so I simply let go anyone with extenuating circumstances or room for leniency. That's acceptable, I trust?"
"Q-quite acceptable. I'm sure you handled it all sensibly, Hall Master Jin..."
Just this morning I saw a group of men heading off to work toward the Jeong family's main house. Don't tell me that was them.
Just then, noticing something, he narrowed his eyes.
"Then what, pray tell, is all that loaded on those carts?"
Two full carts stood piled mountain-high with what looked like books and letters. They were built to be drawn by oxen, but after everything he'd witnessed today, the sight of Black Tiger men hauling them along, wheezing, didn't even register as strange anymore.
"We collected the ledgers and correspondence from the Sect Lord's and the Chief Steward's offices. Evidence."
"And why, in heaven's name..."
"You'll need it to pass judgment, won't you? I gathered everything up so the work would go easier on you, Chief Bailiff."
"..."
"It's all in there — the Black Tiger Sect's powerful backers, every bribe taken, every sum extorted by force. Just think of it as a gift from me."
Silence fell.
Jin Cheong-un simply went on beaming, for all the world like a man expecting something in return.
Geum Tae-bang stared back at him with eyes as hollow as a dried fish's. Then, with trembling hands, he fumbled out his money pouch and held it out.
"This is... all I have on me just now."
His welling eyes had never looked more sorrowful.
"I'll... send word up the chain and have the rest of the reward made good."
Jin Cheong-un accepted the pouch with alacrity.
"You truly are the great Chief Bailiff Geum. My sincere thanks."
Geum Tae-bang squeezed his eyes shut. Between his thick brows, dew beaded — and then came rolling down in fat drops.
Around that time, the leaden sky began at last to break apart. Just as bright sunlight came settling down—
"Master!"
He turned at the familiar voice to see his disciples, who had been staying briefly at the government office, come spilling out.
"Kept you waiting long? Come on, then. Let's go home."
Watching Jeong So-so and Jeong So-ryong come scampering up to him, Jin Cheong-un broke into a soft, unguarded smile.