The Courage to Let Go
The road to the Jeong Family Manor. Jeong So-so followed a step or two behind Jin Cheong-un, saying nothing as she watched the backs of the man and her younger brother ahead of her.
"Master! Master!"
"Yes?"
"Where have you been these past few days?"
"Had some business to see to."
"I thought you'd run away on us."
"And go where, leaving my own house behind?"
"Our father left even us behind when he went."
"...Are you doing that on purpose?"
Jeong So-ryong walked glued to Jin Cheong-un's side, his face glowing with delight, sneaking glances up at him all the while and copying his every little habit. When Jin Cheong-un glanced around, So-ryong glanced around; when he yawned, So-ryong yawned; he even mimicked the way the man scratched his head.
When did he start trailing after me like that?
Seeing how far her brother's illness had mended in so short a span, a smile rose to her face. But the moment her eyes turned to the road ahead, Jeong So-so's expression darkened once more.
The road. The familiar road home, the one she had walked her entire life. To someone else it might have felt warm and welcoming, but for her now it led only to a reality she wanted to run from.
What has become of the house?
Tears spilled over, and she hastily scrubbed her eyes dry with her sleeve. Honestly, the place was old and falling apart, buried in debt — and as it turned out, half of it now belonged to Jin Cheong-un. But... it was still home. The one precious refuge she had left, lived in all her life and defended through so much hardship.
Half the walls and the front yard burned, and the gate and the annex are gone entirely...
What was she supposed to do now? The debt? The Black Tiger Gang? And... her family?
It's heavy.
It was too much. Living was simply too much. Had heaven punished her for greed? For trying to hold on to everything at once — her brother, the house, her family?
No! None of that! No more feeling sorry for myself!
She hardened her eyes and pressed her lips into a stubborn, tight line. I'll do what I've always done. And if it truly comes to that... I'll sell the house. She had never once collapsed under hardship, no matter how brutal — was she really going to crumble over this? Besides, wasn't there someone now whom she could trust and lean on?
"Um, Master?"
"Hm?"
"I've decided it's best... to let the manor go after all."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes went round. "Out of nowhere?"
"I can't keep being stubborn about it forever."
"You mean that?"
"Yes."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes sparkled. "If you do, you have my thanks! Hahaha! Good thinking! Excellent decision!"
...? What was this? Why was he so delighted?
"What made you decide all of a sudden?"
"Nothing much. It was an old house to begin with, and if this is the only way... then there's nothing to be done, is there?" Jeong So-so forced the most casual smile she could manage. "Those people even set the fire — who knows what the Black Tiger Gang might do next."
Jin Cheong-un faltered. "Why does the Black Tiger Gang come into this?"
"I'm sorry? Why wouldn't it?"
His expression stiffened by degrees. Misreading the look as pity, Jeong So-so scrambled to keep her smile in place.
"Please don't look at me like that! I'm fine, really!"
...
"Do people dodge dung because they're afraid of it? No — they dodge it because it's filthy. I'll just work hard and buy the manor back! I'm truly fine!"
In the end, Jin Cheong-un's face crumpled.
Don't tell me she doesn't know. Why wouldn't she know? Had no one told her? Come to think of it, he had brought the children straight from the government office. His disciples had never heard the news — that the men hauled in by the authorities today were the Black Tiger Gang!
"Well, that put a damper on things. Tch. Let's just get there first. You'll understand once you see it." Jin Cheong-un muttered to himself and strode ahead. Then, after a moment, he tossed a remark over his shoulder.
"Still, I admire it."
"...Sorry?"
"I said I admire it." His face had grown a touch serious. "Giving something up takes more courage than most people ever realize."
The unfamiliar air about him made Jeong So-so falter. Jin Cheong-un's hand drifted to the scabbard at his waist.
Clank.
The old blade he had reclaimed from the Black Tiger Gang leader's office let out a heavy ring of steel.
"I've seen plenty of them in the Jianghu. People who can't let go. Far too many pitiful souls who lack that courage — who can't even bring themselves to run, and just drift through life."
Some miss their moment to set a thing down and wander cold, dark roads for years on end. Only after squandering the years do they understand how much they let slip away in their refusal to lose that one thing. Perhaps he had been one of them, once.
Then Jeong So-so gave a bitter smile. "Courage? I'm just running away because I'm scared."
"Even running away takes courage."
"...Thank you for saying that."
She glanced sidelong at Jin Cheong-un, then turned her gaze to her brother. Courage. Yes — maybe it really had taken courage. She drew a deep breath and spoke with a grave face.
"The truth is, there was a reason I didn't want to sell the house. I should have said something sooner, but..."
"Oh — you were holding on to it because you thought your father would come back, weren't you?"
Jeong So-so froze solid. "H-how did you know that?"
Jin Cheong-un made a strangled noise and clamped his mouth shut, while Jeong So-ryong turned to stare at him with a look that plainly asked, why would you say that?
What? The two of them looked for all the world like conspirators whose secret had just been ratted out.
"Ahem!" Jin Cheong-un cleared his throat. "I was meaning to have a talk with you about this anyway. Let's head home first. You may finally learn what happened to him."
"I'm sorry?"
"Your father's matter. You might be right, for all I know. And if you're only selling because of the Black Tiger Gang — you won't have to."
"I'm sorry?"
Just then, Jin Cheong-un abruptly turned his head.
"They can't have been here long, yet they've already started. Did Master Jang do me a courtesy?"
Soon they arrived before the house — and Jeong So-so's eyes went as wide as saucers.
"Haul it over here!"
"You there! Get a firm grip on that!"
"Bricks! Bring the bricks, now! Move!"
The Jeong Family Manor. The estate she had expected to find abandoned like a burnt-out ruin was, at this very moment—
"Tear that down! The fire reached all the way inside — the whole thing has to come down and be rebuilt from scratch!"
—a roaring construction site, swarming with laborers coming and going.
"Heh heh heh! Plenty of strong young workers — mighty fine! Ah — hold on! That one goes over there!"
"...Damn it all. Why am I doing this?"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From the direction of the fully collapsed annex rang the noisy clatter of hammering. The ashes had been cleared away without a trace; only stacks of lumber waited here and there, soon to become the bones of the new house.
Just then, the swarthy old man who had been directing the work from afar came shuffling over.
"Ah, Hall Master Jin! There you are!"
"You've already started?"
"You paid me handsomely and even supplied your own laborers — of course I got right to it! Haw haw haw!"
"If any of them give you trouble, say the word. I'll educate them properly."
"Trouble? Hah, they were playing dead for me. Where in the world did you find these men?"
Just then, someone shouted, "Master Jang! Shall we raise the frame now?"
"Aye! Do it! Whew — we'll finish this talk later, then."
"Yes, sir."
Once Master Jang bustled off, Jeong So-so asked, flustered, "M-Master? What is all this?"
"Fixing your burnt house. What does it look like?"
"This must have cost a fortune... Don't ask us for money, because we don't have any! Even if you starve us to death, there isn't any!"
"What kind of child talks like—"
Jin Cheong-un went on, his face sour. "Relax, I'm not going to ask you for money. I happened to come into some spare cash recently, so I spent it."
And that spare cash had come from an old acquaintance of his: the Black Tiger Gang leader. Not that he could swallow all of it. The Beggars' Sect men were watching him with hawk eyes, and a share had to be handed over to the authorities besides. Given everything the Black Tiger Gang had done, getting greedy would only invite disaster.
Still, taking compensation for the damages was only fair. Jin Cheong-un patted his chest, satisfied. The bearer notes he had quietly tucked away felt wonderfully solid. All things in this world come empty-handed and leave empty-handed. Black Tiger Gang leader — my thanks for your estate. May your road to the afterlife be a peaceful one.
"Master. But if the Black Tiger Gang comes back, then eventually..."
"Those men are already over there."
"I'm sorry?"
"Those men are the Black Tiger Gang."
...!?
"Right, I guess you didn't know. The ones hauled into the government office in a line today — Black Tiger Gang, every one of them. As of last night, their operation is finished."
She couldn't follow any of this. With no clue where to even begin asking questions, she could only listen as Jin Cheong-un continued.
"Evidence came to light that they had been running their business illegally, so the authorities will confiscate their assets. Which means the debt you owe them will be settled as well."
"Is... is that even possible? Overnight? Who in the world could have—"
Jeong So-so stopped mid-sentence. Her head creaked slowly around toward Jin Cheong-un.
"D-don't tell me—!"
Jin Cheong-un answered without a heartbeat's delay. "Wasn't me."
"You... you weren't what, exactly?"
"Wasn't me, regardless."
"Then who did it?"
Jin Cheong-un let the moment hang, then said, "I hear it was some passing hero."
Jeong So-so's eyes went dull. In all her years she had never met a man who could lie with so little effort.
"Then where were you these past few days, Master? And why did Black Tiger Gang men come to our house as laborers?"
"...Wow! So-ryong, look over there! They've already got the frame up!"
He's changing the subject! He just changed the subject!
A brief silence fell. Jeong So-so stared at the house, dazed. Then, all at once, her head sank.
"Hhk."
And the sobs came spilling out.
"Hhk—"
Her shoulders trembled.
"...Even this much."
"Hm?"
"I never dreamed... you would go this far for us."
The debt was gone. The Black Tiger Gang was gone. Like the house rising anew from its ashes, hope seemed to shine on the life she had thought was ruined beyond repair.
Thump!
Jeong So-so sank to the ground, hand clapped over her mouth. Jeong So-ryong blinked and pointed at his sister. "Sis is crying?"
"Hhk! Hhk! Waaah!"
Jeong So-so finally lost the battle, ugly tears pouring down her face.
"What? What's the matter?"
"I'm s-sorry, Master!" She wailed at the top of her lungs, as if determined to wring out every last tear in her body. "From the very beginning, all I ever did was yell and pick fights! I was such a terrible person! Waaah!"
"Hmm. You did have your moments."
"I thought you were just a pathetic old man who got swindled like a fool and spouted nonsense all day long! I didn't even believe you were from the Martial Alliance! Hhk, hhk!"
...?
"To think you'd do all this for us. Hhk! Hhk—"
Hold on — is she using this moment to drag her master through the mud? More to the point, those stares were terrifying! He could feel the laborers glaring daggers his way!
I've never seen anyone look at a person like that. Did he make a grown woman cry?
Should we report him to the authorities?
Th-that monster. He cut down the Gang leader in a single stroke, and now he's tormenting a young girl...
The whispered muttering reached his ears. If he left things as they were, this would spiral beyond all control, so Jin Cheong-un hurried to soothe her.
"What have you got to cry about? That's enough now."
"Thank you, truly... thank you. For showing us such kindness — I swear, I'll repay—"
"Kindness? What kindness?"
"Hic! ...I'm sorry?"
Jin Cheong-un tilted his head. "I'm the landlord."
...?
"That's my manor."
...
"I'm fixing my own house. What is there to thank?"
...
Whatever his intentions, Jeong So-so's tears stopped dead.
A brief spell of bustle followed. Still hiccupping, Jeong So-so came into the main hall and sat down — only to be handed yet another piece of unbelievable news.
"Wh-what did you say?"
"It's not certain yet, but... I believe we've found your father."
Jin Cheong-un smiled bitterly.