The Father Who Came Back

Chosam, born and raised in Yichang, had been the bottom of the bottom in the Black Tiger Sect.

He'd started out a beggar, fallen in with the older boys of his neighborhood, and somehow drifted into becoming a Black Tiger Sect man. And now here he was, leading Jin Cheong-un and the Jeong siblings down some remote mountain path.

"I've done every odd job there is. Being the youngest, I started with the small errands and worked my way up to shoveling out the latrine pits…"

"Didn't need to know about that last part."

"I-I'm sorry."

Chosam scratched the back of his head.

"How old are you that you're still the youngest? You look like you're pushing thirty, at least."

"Thirty? I don't know my exact age, but I'd be fifteen or sixteen."

"Come now. Where do you get off lying about your age? You're younger than Soso?"

"I-I'm telling the truth."

Chosam made a face like he'd been terribly wronged — and it seemed entirely genuine. With a frame that towering, a face like some bear, the mistake was an easy one to make.

"…If the years are going to come for you anyway, you ought to dodge a little. Why take them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head-on with your whole body?"

"Pardon?"

"Good luck to you."

The path was rough going. Unless something were truly urgent, even a native of these hills wouldn't take this shortcut often.

"So how much farther is it?"

"I'm sorry. It was years ago, so my memory's a bit hazy…"

Jin Cheong-un sighed and glanced back at the Jeong siblings. Both wore utterly blank expressions — but he could tell they weren't feeling nothing. They were feeling so much, all at once, that they had no idea what face to make.

"Ah — that should be the place."

The moment the rock-strewn trail opened onto a wide clearing, Chosam pointed ahead.

Jeong So-ryong glanced back. "Sis, we're here."

"…"

"Sis?"

After a long pause, Jeong So-so drew a deep breath and started walking. "Yeah. All right. Let's go."

Dead leaves and fallen branches lay piled so thick that an untrained eye would pass the spot off as ordinary ground. But look closely and it was obvious — no terrain like this formed on its own. One corner of the brush-choked clearing swelled slightly upward. It was… a grave.

"…Father."

Jeong So-so's lips parted, her voice trembling.

The grave of Jeong Baek-heon — senior disciple of Cheongun Martial Arts Academy, eldest martial brother of Jin Cheong-un, and father to the Jeong siblings.

She still remembered it all.

"…"

Jeong So-so quietly opened her eyes.

Chosam's voice drifted over from behind her. "A few years back, a top-grade elixir came into the manor. This man came to see the Manor Lord about buying it first thing in the morning."

"And how would you know that?"

"The chief steward was out that day, so I was serving the Manor Lord's tea."

"You served tea?"

"W-well, I do have a certain gift for the tea ceremony."

A face built to knock back liquor by the barrelful — and a gift for tea, of all things. Jin Cheong-un, about to lob his usual jab, glanced at his disciples' faces instead and let it go.

"Back then, the Manor Lord always sold anything valuable on the condition of an estate or land held as collateral… From what I remember, this man borrowed against the estate he owned as well. He said his child was gravely ill, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and that was why he needed it…"

"…"

"After the deal closed that day, the Manor Lord called a few of his men aside. And then, and then…"

Jin Cheong-un shut his eyes tight and let out a long breath. He didn't need to hear the rest — he could already see exactly how it had gone.

"He ordered them to follow quietly… take back the elixir… and make sure the money could never be repaid."

He had softened it as much as words allowed, but there was no one present who didn't understand what that meant.

"…"

Jeong So-so clamped both hands over her mouth, her fingers shaking.

He hadn't run away.

Father had never abandoned his children and fled. She and her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brother had never been cast off by their parents.

If anything…

Father.

Jeong So-so sank to the ground with one hand resting on the grave. "Dad…"

A heavy silence settled over the clearing. Though the daughter slumped before her father's grave was openly weeping, the wilderness around them stayed hushed.

"…"

Jin Cheong-un had meant to comfort the siblings, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. What could he possibly say? These were children who had already learned to cry without a sound at their age — and he knew better than anyone that clumsy words of comfort were nothing but cheap pity.

He turned back to Chosam. "One question."

His face wore its usual bored expression, but his eyes were strangely still and deep. "Were you one of the Beasts too?"

"No, sir! Do you have any idea how old I was back then?!"

"Then how do you know this place?"

"Th-the brothers did order me to help, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I took a beating for it and just stayed at the back the whole time."

Jin Cheong-un's eyes narrowed. No matter how he looked at it, the man didn't seem to be lying.

"Then who were the Beasts?"

"They're, they're dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes, sir — the innkeeper killed them, they say… They were called the Three Killers of Yichang. Surely you remember them?"

The three brothers he'd fought at the inn. Those men were the culprits? No — more to the point, they were dead?

"They were thrown in jail, and with their broken bones never treated, I heard they died a few days ago."

"…Well, what do you know."

A hollow, absurd ending. The Manor Lord who'd given the order, the men who'd carried it out — all dead. And hadn't the Black Tiger Sect itself come crashing down?

"…"

Jin Cheong-un gazed at the small backs of the Jeong siblings. How were these children meant to lay to rest a grief that had nowhere left to go? Or was it, in its own terrible way, a mercy that things had ended like this?

"Who buried him?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"Well, even so…"

Chosam glanced sidelong at the siblings' backs as he spoke. "Basic human decency, you know? You can't just leave a man dead on the roadside and walk away."

Guilt bled through every word. Jin Cheong-un looked down at him in silence — and for some reason, Chosam felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"You will spend the rest of your life thanking the boy you were that day."

"Pardon?"

"You were supposed to die today. Instead, the boy you once were is the one who saved you."

Chosam blinked for a moment, not understanding — then his face drained pale as it dawned on him that he'd just walked back from the very edge of the afterlife.

It was then. "…Thank you."

Jeong So-so's eyes were still wet, but her gaze was clear. "Thank you for building my father's grave."

"N-no! I'm in no position to be thanked—"

Jeong So-so simply shook her head. Chosam faltered, pressed his lips shut, and bowed his head deeply once more.

"And, Master."

Jeong So-so bowed to him with careful formality, and that greeting carried a sincerity deeper than any words could hold.

"Because of you, I can finally say it. That I was never a child my father abandoned. That he was a man who looked after his children to the very end…"

"…"

"Father… in the end, he came back. Just like he promised."

The quiet song of crickets. A low wind. A sky washed clean. And in the middle of it all, Jeong So-so smiled — a smile boundless in its sorrow, and boundless in its warmth.

"Chosam."

At Jin Cheong-un's summons, as flat as calling a servant, Chosam sprang to his feet. "Yes, sir!"

"Lay out what we brought."

"What we brought… oh! Yes, sir!"

Chosam had carried a bundle on his back the entire way up. Standing before the grave, he carefully unwrapped it. Inside were dishes of food, a bottle of wine, and incense.

"If you've come to see your father, you should pay your respects. I ought to pour a drink for my elder brother too. Soryong, you come over here as well."

The Jeong siblings looked up at Jin Cheong-un, faces tight with emotion. The four of them hastily pulled the weeds, tidied the earth around the mound, and made their bows. The children had never done anything like this before, so Jin Cheong-un had to walk them through every step.

When the siblings had finished their greetings, Jin Cheong-un lifted the bottle last of all and poured it out over the grave.

Elder Brother.

He called to him in his heart. I'm sorry. I was far too late.

Yinghua Wine — the pride of Yinghua Village — soaked into the dry grave dirt.

Don't you worry about the children. I'm hardly a good man, but…

In the Jianghu, they say a teacher is both the one who teaches — and a father.

So I'll try to be a good teacher to them.

Drip. Drip.

A few last clear drops fell from the emptied bottle.

Rest in peace, Elder Brother.

At the Jeong estate, construction was in full swing. To the rhythmic pounding of hammers, Jin Cheong-un sat across from his disciples.

"I'll sell it to you, Master. The land deed."

Jeong So-so's face was light, unburdened. It was time. The reason she'd had to keep hold of that house was gone — and now, at the very least, she wanted to repay one debt of gratitude.

But.

"Hmm."

The master she'd expected to be pleased instead scratched his jaw, wearing a sour look.

"Wh-what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"No, it's not… that, exactly."

Jin Cheong-un muttered on, pointedly looking off to the side. "If you're repaying a debt, you should just hand it over, no? How does selling it count as repaying anyone… hm."

"…"

"Ah — I'm just saying, that's all. I'm absolutely not saying that's what I think. But you know how it looks to other people. I mean, wasn't the deed the payment for fixing Soryong's body in the first place…"

Jeong So-so's brow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twitched.

I hate him.

How could a grown man be so petty? So utterly infuriating?

She seized a fistful of her sleeve. No. He's my benefactor.

That's right — this was her savior! Her master…!

"Of course, Master! That would be the proper thing, of course, but please, I beg you to consider my circumstances."

Jeong So-so pinched her own thigh under the table. "I'm nothing now but a destitute orphan, alone in the world with no one and nothing. Without the value of that land, Soryong and I would… sob."

She covered her mouth and dropped her head in perfectly timed grief. She had weathered every lunatic the world could throw at her, and not one of them had ever escaped this technique!

But her opponent was Jin Cheong-un.

"I'm an orphan too, you know."

"…?"

"Besides, you've got a brother, so 'alone in the world with no one' doesn't quite fit, does it? That's a bit hurtful to people who were genuinely orphans."

"You're a grown man — what do you mean, orphan? I'm the one who's the genuine orphan here!"

"I never even saw my parents' faces. I was raised on the street. So the genuine orphan is me."

"And I've just lost both my parents and I'm about to be thrown out onto the street! I'm the genuine orphan!"

And so Jin Cheong-un and Jeong So-so plunged headlong into a contest to determine the one true orphan.

Jeong So-ryong, who had been quietly working through the refreshments beside them, regarded the two of them with a strange look in his eyes.

What manner of conversation is this, exactly.

It couldn't be good for the tender feelings of a child his age. Was it really proper for someone raised as gently as himself to be watching this?

"Enough. Here's what we'll do."

At that point Jin Cheong-un cut the argument dead. "I'll take the deed. In exchange, you enroll at the Cheongun Martial Arts Academy along with Soryong."

"Enroll? Didn't I already?"

"Tsk, tsk. So there's something even you don't know."

Jin Cheong-un's eyes gleamed. "Do you know the difference between a sect and a martial academy? It's whether or not there's a tuition fee — in other words, money!"

His eyes flashed. "You became my personal disciple, but you never paid a single coin — so how exactly are you an official student of Cheongun Academy? No exceptions! You're both paying tuition!"

"You're not actually going to charge me money?!"

"That's right. And so—"

Jin Cheong-un dropped the words flat. "From now on, you'll work at the academy and the manor."

"…?"

"I needed someone to help manage the manor and the academy anyway. Better someone I know than some stranger I don't."

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow."

"I'm telling you I'm hiring you. Wages paid every fortnight. Room and board at the manor, same as now. If you insist on a title, I suppose that would make you an inner disciple."

Jeong So-so's eyes went round.

Then…

nothing would change at all.

No — if anything, this meant Jin Cheong-un would be the one paying out money.

"But how could I possibly burden you again, Master—"

Jeong So-so stopped mid-sentence. Jin Cheong-un was looking at her, steady and silent.

And in that instant, the first lesson her master had ever given her flashed through her mind.

Jin Cheong-un had told her: this is exactly the moment you don't say that. That there was only one thing she needed to say.

After a long moment of hesitation, Jeong So-so followed her lesson.

"…Thank you."

"…"

"I want to do it, Master."

Jin Cheong-un smiled faintly. "That's more like it. I'm counting on you."

That thank-you which had once been so impossibly awkward now came out easier than breathing.