🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 08
Sorae and Yeong-won hunched their bodies as much as possible and walked with their eyes fixed on the ground, weaving through the crowd of rough-looking people.
They were doing everything they could to avoid drawing attention.
Then, suddenly, from somewhere ahead came a desperate scream—like a pig having its throat cut.
Startled, Yeong-won looked up, and her face instantly drained of color.
In front of a dried-fish stall, a severed pig’s head rolled across the dirt floor, and beside it stood a man holding a knife with a blade as blue as ice.
His clothes and face were splattered with blood, making his already fearsome expression look even more brutal.
“Hey! Kim Gaya! If you don’t crawl out here right now, I’ll slice the head off your mangy mutt this time!”
“Yelp, yelp!”
As if to show he wasn’t bluffing, the man grabbed the neck of a yellow dog that had been barking loudly next to the stall.
“You lowborn butcher bastard, are you that desperate to die? I’ll rip that filthy mouth of yours wide open!”
Soon, a small but stout one-eyed man burst out from inside the stall, swinging a hatchet wildly.
Meanwhile, the dog was tossed aside and disappeared into the crowd, which had gathered around to watch the fight.
“Ugh, damn it! What’s that rotten-egg stench? Who is it? Damn!”
Yeong-won, frozen by the sudden bloody brawl unfolding before her, jolted when she heard the outburst and hurriedly pulled Sorae away through the crowd.
Then she practically ran toward a quieter, more deserted spot.
She was terrified that the man who had cursed might discover that she and Sorae were the source of the stench and take it out on them.
Sorae knew a little martial arts, but against men with weapons who lunged first and asked later, it would be useless—especially when they were much larger.
“Miss, miss! I think this is far enough. Please stop a moment.”
Snapped out of her panic by Sorae’s words, Yeong-won finally stopped, let go of his hand, bent over, and tried to steady her rough breathing.
“Sorae, we have to do something about this smell on our bodies. That was almost a disaster.”
“You’re right. Once we reach Geomga we should wash. Honestly, even my nose feels like it’s rotting. Hehe.”
Sorae joked while pinching his own nose.
Just then—
“You’ve taken in all kinds of beggars now, haven’t you! Who are you two? Never seen you before. Show me your do-pae (the wooden tag proving you’re registered in Jejado)!”
A harsh voice barked at them from behind.
Yeong-won had been staring blankly at the sunset-soaked street but turned around at the shout.
There stood a scrawny old man in a pine-cone-colored official robe, with a middle-aged servant beside him.
The old man, whose expression was as hard as stone, looked them up and down in displeasure. When they didn’t answer immediately, he widened his eyes and shouted again.
“What are you doing, are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me? I said show me your do-pae!”
“Do-pae…?”
Bewildered, Yeong-won and Sorae exchanged looks.
“Yes! If you’ve been given permission to reside in Jejado, you should have a do-pae!”
Yeong-won swallowed hard under the old man’s relentless pressure.
It seemed that to stay here in Jejado, one indeed needed something called a do-pae.
But the moment this realization hit her, the old man’s previously loud voice abruptly thinned, his eyes narrowing.
“…You don’t even know what that is? You came here without permission. How did you get this far without a do-pae?”
Looking at them as though they were common thieves, the old man lifted his hand and waved.
“Tie them up. This is not a place where just any dog or cow can wander in!”
“Sir, wait! W-we’re not dogs or cows. We came looking for Jejado. This is Jejado, right?”
Startled by his thunderous tone, Sorae quickly deepened his voice and answered.
But the old man only looked them over with clear disapproval and turned away.
The servant beside him began walking toward them, expression cold—clearly intending to drive them out.
Sorae swiftly stepped in front of Yeong-won and glared sharply at the man.
A few days earlier, he’d been outnumbered by the prisoners, but a single middle-aged man was nothing he couldn’t handle.
However, Yeong-won didn’t hide behind him. Instead, she slipped past him and hurried after the old man.
They couldn’t afford to be chased away after finally finding Jejado, and his manner suggested he had lived here a long time.
“Sir? Please, wait a moment! I have something to ask!”
Yeong-won forced her voice lower and deeper.
But the moment she came near, the old man grimaced and tried to avoid her.
“I came to Jejado in search of Geomga. Is Geomga here?”
At that, the old man—who had been about to ignore her—suddenly froze mid-step and turned back, confused.
“Geomga? How do you know of Geomga?”
Because her father’s description of Jejado differed so much from reality, Yeong-won had been uneasy—but hearing his question made her feel a wave of relief.
“Tell me! How do you know of Geomga? Don’t tell me rumors about us are spreading in the outside world?”
Not even allowing her a chance to speak, he burst out again.
“That damned brat! It must be because he started accepting prisoners! Of course stories about our Geomga have leaked! I knew that fool would bring disaster someday!”
As Yeong-won watched him rage until his face flushed red, one phrase caught her ear—‘our Geomga.’ Her face brightened.
“Are you perhaps an elder of Geomga?”
His barrage of curses stopped abruptly.
Yeong-won’s voice had shifted—no longer rough and deep, but clear and gentle.
The sudden change clearly startled the old man.
“I have traveled a thousand li in order to meet the head of Geomga. I wish to see the clan head.”
She took out the black jade plaque she had been safeguarding inside her coat.
The old man’s bewildered gaze dropped to the plaque—and his eyes widened like lanterns.
He snatched it from her hand, inspected it front and back, then stared at her in disbelief.
“This is…! So that’s why! This jade plaque is how you made it here without a do-pae!”
“I wish to meet with the clan head.”
Although she had no idea what he meant, Yeong-won calmly repeated her purpose.
But the old man’s reply was entirely unexpected.
“…Y-you… you’re a woman?”
“What?”
Before she could answer, he burst into wild laughter, bending backward as he roared.
Startled, Yeong-won stepped back.
Sorae rushed to her side and whispered into her ear.
“Miss, he’s crazy. What’s wrong with him?”
“Quiet.”
She glared at Sorae so the old man wouldn’t hear, then looked back at him.
“Hahaha! So this day has finally come! A beggar! The person carrying this jade plaque is a beggar! Good heavens! What was Eun-pyo thinking, giving it to someone like—!”
“Sir, my lady is not a—”
Sorae tried to protest against the old man’s maniacal laughter, but Yeong-won stopped him with a shake of her head.
This man likely was from Geomga, but he didn’t seem particularly pleasant.
In times like this, it was better to stay quiet and observe.
“Come! Follow me! I’ll take you to the clan head of Geomga!”
The old man, who had moments ago been cackling in glee, now wore an almost cheerful smile as he motioned for them to follow.
“I am an elder of Geomga. Call me Elder Hwa.”
Yeong-won exchanged glances with Sorae, then followed behind him.
The old man walked ahead with a spring in his step, the corners of his mouth lifted in obvious satisfaction.
“To think the bride chosen by the previous clan head, Eun-pyo, for I-sin would end up looking like this! He said never to speak of it again, and yet here she is. Ten years of frustration blown away in an instant!”
