A Clash of Hard Heads
Their eyes flashed at each other.
—Crack!
Their foreheads bounced apart as if repelled.
In that instant of massive impact, Im Cheon-hak's lips curled as he watched Gwak Yeon's head snap farther back than his own.
Heh.
He'd be dazed by now.
But this wasn't the end.
Intent on thoroughly teaching the boy a lesson, Im Cheon-hak seized both of Gwak Yeon's arms as the young man tried to fall away.
Shall I make the young master cry a little?
That was when he realized he was not the only one who had grabbed the opponent trying to pull free.
Clench.
A ferocious grip locked onto his own arms as well.
Gwak Yeon's hands had seized him in exactly the same fashion.
With both pairs of arms and hands tangled tight as kudzu roots, Im Cheon-hak felt pure absurdity.
……What?
He was a natural powerhouse. On top of that, having trained external martial arts, his bones and muscles were thicker than most men's. He had always prided himself as a strongman among strongmen.
Even without the spiritual herbs he had hunted tigers and bears for and consumed during his rough mountain-bandit years, pure physique alone let him crush ordinary jianghu martial artists with ease.
And this brat was challenging him to a headbutting match?
This bastard, how dare he—
Grinning, Im Cheon-hak drew his upper body like a bowstring, yanked Gwak Yeon in, and slammed his forehead forward. Gwak Yeon met it no differently, receiving the blow with his own loaded brow.
Thus the second headbutt exploded.
—Thud!
A collision greater than the first.
A sound that should never come from human skulls rang across the clearing. The moment their heads met, the surrounding air seemed to tremble—a headbutt so fierce that either man fainting would have been no surprise at all.
Gwak Yeon and Im Cheon-hak, arms still locked tight, only their heads bouncing back once more.
Crazy rock head……!
Momentarily dazed, Gwak Yeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
Just now his vision had flashed white. That was how intense this Im Cheon-hak bastard's forehead bone was—a shock strong enough to make a man think the other had wrapped iron plates around his skull.
But still……
Even so, it's bearable?
His own toughness was no less. This body that recovered so quickly whether wounded or training muscle after he became a vampire—this body whose effects grew stronger the more blood he drank—had finally become as hard as the bones of this monster who had tempered even his skeleton with external arts.
Thump!
Confirming once more the flesh strengthened by his vampiric nature, Gwak Yeon drew his upper body again.
Then—one more!
He was not alone. The opponent was burning with the same will.
From the still-tangled arms and the flash of light in each other's eyes across the short distance, Gwak Yeon and Im Cheon-hak confirmed one another's resolve.
"Hraaah!"
"Uwaaah!"
With twin roars they crashed together again.
The third headbutt burst forth as they clenched their teeth.
—Bang!
This time both men's eyes glazed slightly as they rebounded.
Yet Gwak Yeon and Im Cheon-hak merely shook their heads, eyes gleaming once more. At the point where their momentum for another clash looked as if they had not received the slightest shock—
Bang!
—the ones whose faces turned more shocked than theirs were entirely different people.
"Oh no."
"Sh-shouldn't we stop them?"
They were the executives of the Cheonhae Merchant Group, who had intended only a simple test and now watched the entire affair spin completely out of control.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!
That was no longer a fight or anything resembling one.
The headbutting contest that had been leagues away from a proper sparring match from the very start had now surpassed mere stubbornness and entered the realm of pure stupidity.
"Vice Leader. Are we really leaving them like this?"
"You lot, don't you know the Stronghold Leader's personality? He has to see it through to the end!"
"There was no need to go this far……"
"Exactly."
"The Stronghold Leader too, accepting those useless requests of theirs for no good reason……"
"Merchant-group types are always like that, what can you do."
The Green Forest bandits gathered around the vice leader who had come to his senses and began to mutter among themselves.
"Young Master, shouldn't we stop this? They're not even goat kids—if they keep slamming their heads like that something real might happen!"
"……Kh."
While Cheon Gang and Gwak Ho-shin fretted roughly over Gwak Yeon, both of them restless—
What in the world is that—!
—Hwang Pil, Ju Hwa-jeong, and Yeo Baek-rang's faces had gone completely white.
Bang— Bang—!
Gwak Yeon and Im Cheon-hak were beginning to stagger yet still refused to release their tangled arms. No one had imagined the two would do something this idiotic.
At this rate one of them could be seriously hurt. If Gwak Yeon were injured, a pointless test would have wounded the second young master of the Seoho Gwak Family. If Im Cheon-hak were injured, they would earn the grudge of the Green Forest side watching with sharp eyes from the other side.
I never expected them to go this hard……
The problem was not who won. The problem was that relations would become tangled.
Cheonmok Mountain was one of the land routes the Cheonhae Merchant Group frequently used when traveling to the capital. Goading a pointless test could leave them with nothing gained and only worsened relations.
Was testing them a mistake?
We must stop them!
Hwang Pil urgently exchanged glances with Ju Hwa-jeong and Yeo Baek-rang, nodded, and stepped forward without further hesitation.
"……St-stop! Everyone stop!"
No one interfered. Whether on Gwak Yeon's side or the mountain stronghold's, people had begun to realize that this pride fight would only end in mutual ruin the farther it went.
"Young Master Gwak! No—Pavilion Master Gwak! I apologize; we tested you! Stronghold Leader, please leave it at that—I beg you!"
"Come on, stop! That's enough!"
"You're not even goats in heat—why are you two doing this!"
Led by the vice leader and Cheon Gang who rushed up at nearly the same moment, people poured in from every side to tear the two men apart.
Even then, eyes slightly glazed, Gwak Yeon and Im Cheon-hak still managed to drive one last headbutt into each other.
……Bang.
When the surrounding crowd finally wrenched them free, smiles of entirely different meanings rose on both their faces.
Grin.
A rock warmed by sunlight.
Im Cheon-hak and Gwak Yeon sat side by side, leaning against its flat face, towels soaked in stream water laid across their throbbing foreheads.
Slurp!
In front of Gwak Yeon, who quietly sipped tea, Hwang Pil scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
"So."
Even though he already knew everything, Gwak Yeon went over the facts once more.
"You intended to test us?"
"I'm sorry."
"I thought as much. I could tell from the way you stubbornly kept calling me nothing but 'Young Master.'"
"I have nothing to say."
"Since Stronghold Leader Im here also knew, it seems only we were played for fools. This isn't even a natural hardship that would have arisen later—is this how you stab in the back those you've agreed to collaborate with?"
"……"
"Does the Cheonhae Merchant Group conduct business this way? How are we supposed to trust you going forward?"
That was when soft footsteps sounded.
Beside Manager Hwang, someone stepped forward with a trembling voice.
"I-it is my responsibility-o."
"Hm?"
"I-it is—it is my fault!"
The little boy who squeezed his eyes shut and shouted was Yeo Baek-rang.
At the sudden appearance of a child he had never properly spoken with, a strange light flickered in Gwak Yeon's eyes.
"I-I was the one who suggested the test."
"Is that so?"
"I-I am filled with a shameful heart. Out of carelessness and ignorance I have committed a great rudeness."
"Hmm."
"Th-therefore these people are without sin! This great fault is solely my own."
Like the boy who had been imitating adults throughout the caravan journey, he tried once more to put on weighty dignity, but it did not come easily. His hands trembled as much as his words, and his eyes could not properly meet Gwak Yeon's. He even seemed to have mangled the pronunciation of "carelessness" and "ignorance."
Gwak Yeon smiled lightly, set the gourd of tea water down beside him, and slowly rose. Bringing his hands together in a formal salute, he answered.
"……Very well."
"……?"
"Since the Young Master of the Cheonhae Merchant Group has mustered such courage to speak, I have no reason not to accept it. I will accept that apology."
"Wha?!"
"There is still a long road left to the Hubei Pang Family, so let us do well going forward."
"……Th-thank you!"
Yeo Baek-rang blinked as if he had never expected the apology to be accepted so quickly, then could not hide his joy and cried out.
"Thank you, Pavilion Master Gwak!"
"What good would it do for us to fight among ourselves?"
To Hwang Pil, who likewise offered a fist-and-palm salute, Gwak Yeon returned the same greeting and nodded.
In truth he was not angry. The reason he had spoken in that scolding tone was only to create an emotional debt from the Cheonhae Merchant Group.
I knew everything from the start, so what of it.
Moreover, that self-destructive headbutting match had not been solely to put them in a difficult position.
Rather, Gwak Yeon had gained certainty.
I've become…… much stronger than I thought.
Regarding the body strengthened by his vampiric nature. The blood of the evil men he had drunk until now had not only accelerated muscle growth; it had also made his bones incomparably harder than before.
A body that grew as hard as one tempered by external martial arts the more blood he obtained. It was quite a fine discovery.
Of course he had not continued the headbutting match solely to test that.
"By the way—who among us ultimately won?"
"Hahaha!"
At Gwak Yeon's question, Im Cheon-hak, who had been sitting as if simply admiring the clouds the entire time, rose from his seat.
His massive frame, large enough to cast a shadow over a man's head, was still imposing, yet the words that followed were softer than a breeze.
"What would you like to do?"
"It doesn't seem a winner was decided."
"How about we both count as winners?"
"Pardon?"
"Damn it, my head still hurts. When they say famous great-family young masters have good heads, did they mean their skulls are hard?"
At that joke the surrounding bandits burst into roaring laughter. Even Cheon Gang, who was listening, was already arm-in-arm with one of the Green Forest men and giggling; the earlier tense atmosphere had long since dissolved.
"Anyway, isn't it simply a matter of each taking what he wants? If there is something among what you see that you wish to take, take anything."
Gwak Yeon's eyes lit up. Yet suddenly he grew curious.
"Then, Stronghold Leader—what do you intend to take from me?"
"I'd like to receive your sincere greeting."
At those words Gwak Yeon straightened his posture and introduced himself with proper etiquette to Im Cheon-hak.
"I am Gwak Yeon of the Seoho Gwak Family, who runs Iyeongak. It has been an honor to meet you."
"I am Im Cheon-hak, Stronghold Leader of the great mountain stronghold of Cheonmok Mountain under the Green Forest 108 Strongholds. Glad to meet you as well."
Im Cheon-hak returned the fist-and-palm salute in kind.
Gwak Yeon tilted his head and asked,
"Doesn't this mean the Stronghold Leader is at a loss?"
"What thought just crossed your mind?"
"May I speak honestly?"
"I at least like people who are straightforward with me."
"I thought you were the most polite among thick-skulled bandits."
"Puhah!"
Laughter erupted among bandits and merchant-group members alike. Likewise, Im Cheon-hak grinned slyly.
"I heard somewhere that a true thief steals hearts."
"!"
"I've also obtained the heart of a hard-headed young master, so no matter what you take from here, isn't it a far more profitable deal for me?"
"Ah."
"Don't make a face like 'how can a bandit say such things.'"
"Was it that obvious?"
"Hahaha!"
With an expression that declared the deal profitable either way, he continued,
"It's a shame to simply send you off—care for a drink before you go?"
"I'm sorry. I still have escort duties."
"I like you even more! Someone this thorough about his duties is trustworthy. When the chance comes later, could you handle some work for our stronghold as well?!"
"Anytime."
Im Cheon-hak nodded vigorously. He pointed with a broad hand across the Green Forest mountain stronghold where the wide wooden walls spread out.
"Anyway, take what you want and head down quickly! Didn't you say you have a long road ahead?"
He issued a hearty dismissal.
After seeing the merchant group off,
"Damn."
Recalling the hard-headed bastard who had specifically picked out only the jars containing spiritual-herb roots from among the dozens of jars and carried them away, Im Cheon-hak muttered blankly,
"……It wasn't a profitable deal after all."