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chapter 58
Dan-yeop’s expression was dark as he rode his horse back toward Chang’an City.
Everything was worse than he had imagined.
He hadn’t entirely ruled out the possibility that the woman might be his biological mother. Between a wet nurse and a birth mother, he’d tended to suspect the wet nurse more. But the person who had tried to kill him turned out to be his birth mother.
Gwak I-do says she wasn’t in her right mind and to forgive her, but he didn’t know if he could bring himself to say that after what had happened to him.
“No—this is something else entirely.”
Lady Jin had crossed every line. If she couldn’t raise her child without abusing them, she should have entrusted them to someone else instead of keeping and tormenting them.
“Tch! Before victim and perpetrator, they’re mother and child? Ha! People sure do talk easily when it’s someone else’s business.” Dan-yeop muttered and frowned.
In the distance, a carriage stood abandoned on the snow-covered road, one wheel noticeably tilted as if it had been damaged. Up close, one wheel was indeed broken.
“Huh?” That was strange—if a wheel was broken, there should at least be horses to pull the carriage, but there were none.
Not only were the horses gone—
“There’s no one here either?”
He checked inside the carriage but saw no people. The interior was a mess, like a bandit attack. Around the carriage, dozens of footprints led toward the mountains.
“This is….” If he’d not known, he might have passed by. But knowing this and walking past felt wrong. Scratching his head, he urged his horse toward the mountain.
“If I can help, I should.” He intended to do what he could with the martial arts he’d learned.
Mid-slope of Mount Maebaek.
Around a shabby hut, about a dozen men were gathered. On a spit over the campfire in the clearing sat a dog being roasted. The men chatted, glancing between the cooking dog and the hut.
“They’ll come out before we finish the dog, yeah?” someone asked.
“It’ll be a while—the woman looks fair. They’ll take their time,” another replied.
At that moment a woman’s scream burst from the hut. Conversation stopped briefly, then restarted.
“Tsk. If you touch her face, we can’t get full price,” a voice said.
“Our big brother’s tastes are odd—he won’t hold back with a prettier woman,” another answered.
“Bah, that’s a sickness. Don’t be selfish; think of what you’ll get when we sell her to the gate. Don’t touch the face, hear me?”
“Eldest brother, when have we ever scarred a woman? Say that to the eldest—what crime is it for us if she’s already wrecked?” someone else joked.
“Right, you can tell from the wailing. No need to see more.”
As they chattered, a young man climbed up from below. The noisy men fell silent. The stocky one crouching by the fire hurried over to the newcomer.
“What are you?” he barked.
“Just a passing traveler. There’s a carriage down there….” Dan-yeop trailed off. Behind the stocky man two corpses lay sprawled. The stocky man quickly moved behind Dan-yeop to block his escape.
“Tsk tsk! If you’d ignored it you’d probably still be alive—now your nosiness’s gonna get you killed!” Three of the men stepped toward the youth. One, grease from dog fat running down his face, grinned.
“Well well! What have we got here? Damn, look at that face. Better than most whores. I’ll take him instead of the woman. Anyone who wants to switch, line up behind me.”
Two men near the fire leapt up. Dan-yeop asked the greasy man, “Did you kill everyone who was in the carriage?”
“Everyone except the woman. We’ll keep her through the winter and have our fun, then sell her off. You listen and behave and I won’t kill you—your face’s fair enough.” Grease-eyed man stared hungrily at the youth.
Dan-yeop exhaled quietly. He’d been in a foul mood already—and now he had to deal with scum like this. Maybe Lady Jin had suffered at the hands of men like them. The thought made his blood boil.
“Hah! You lot won’t do.” Disliking the thought of them touching anyone, Dan-yeop drew his transverse saber.
Grease-man drew a straight blade and sneered, “Why take the hard way when the easy way’s right in front of you? You want someone to—”
Before the man finished, the transverse saber sliced across his neck. His head dropped to the ground. The bandits blinked, startled.
Then those by the fire sprang up, shouting, “Eldest! Enemy! Come out!”
Meanwhile, the stocky man and two others charged the youth with straight blades. Dan-yeop used the move “Water-Moon Divine Walk” to pass by them and swung his transverse saber. Before they could scream, three heads were separated from their bodies.
Dan-yeop ran straight into the campfire circle. “Argh! Eldest!” “Eldest!” “Save us!” “Ahhh!” Some cried for their boss, some begged for mercy, some screamed and fled. Regardless, Dan-yeop seemed like a ghost, circling the fire. In one breath, half the men’s throats were slit; the rest were pierced through the heart and died instantly.
A middle-aged man poked his head from the hut’s door. The bandits’ called-out “eldest” was Seoak Bloodsword Janggak. He glanced over the yard, walked out slowly, his bare upper body steaming in the cold; he wore only pants. Oddly, he was holding the Songmun High Sword. It was said that only disciples from the Hwa-san (Mount Hua) mainline carried that treasured sword, but Dan-yeop—new to the jianghu—didn’t recognize it.
“Tch. You killed all my servants, did you?” Janggak said—but he did not look angry. Those few could be replaced in a few days. At that moment the woman burst out onto the porch. Her torn clothes were haphazard, but her face was strikingly beautiful.
Janggak looked at the youth and asked, “Which sect are you a disciple of?”
Dan-yeop, consumed by killing intent, answered coldly, “Ask the King of Hell.” (i.e., ask Yama—an expression to refuse naming himself)
“Heh heh! Brave words. I had some of that once. I’m Seoak Bloodsword Janggak. If you’re in the area you’ve probably heard my name.” Seoak referred to Hwa-san. Janggak, once a Hwa-san mainline master, had killed many and was called Bloodsword. That earned him expulsion and a life among bandits, but he was so powerful even Hwa-san didn’t bother to thoroughly punish him. Recruiting him was something the Nokrim bandits had been trying recently.
“I haven’t heard of you,” Dan-yeop replied.
“Ah, then you must be more alert. From the way you use a transverse saber, you aren’t from the Five Mountains Sword School.” Janggak observed.
“Is the Five Mountains Sword School that fearsome?” Dan-yeop asked.
“If it were, you’d have left the area long ago. What’s your name? I should at least know the name of the one who killed my men.”
“Ask the King of Hell about that too,” Dan-yeop again retorted.
“Hah! Are you worried I’ll find your family and sect and slaughter them?” Janggak sneered.
“You thinking some cute little thought like that? Fine. I’ll tell you. I’m Dan-yeop, a disciple of the Hao Sect. Now stop talking and come on out.”
“Hao Sect? Heh. Sometimes puppies don’t know fear and act big. Any Hao Sect I see from now on dies.” Incensed by Dan-yeop’s taunt, Janggak charged like lightning.
Ssssh—! Chaa-chaa—! The Songmun sword and transverse saber clashed in the air. The Songmun sword tried to press forward but was repeatedly deflected by the transverse saber and bounced back. Janggak swung three times in a blink, then stepped back.
“You liar! Hao Sect my foot!” He didn’t believe Dan-yeop. He’d swung his sword three times and couldn’t penetrate that saber. If the youth were truly a Hao disciple, he’d have been subdued in a second.
“What a coward. If you’re so cowardly, why do bad things?” Janggak jeered.
“You fraud! My tactics work on you?” he scoffed, but his eyes were bloodshot with exertion. Realizing his opponent wasn’t weak, he drew on his internal force and released it into his blade.
Tsss-tsss—! An eerie sound issued from the tip of the blade as shimmering sword-visions poured out—twenty-four sword images like plum blossoms. It was Hwa-san’s signature technique: the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword-Form.
When the sword-visions flew at Dan-yeop, he lifted the transverse saber upward. The energy gathered on the saber divided into dozens and scattered. It was Jin Baek style saber technique—first move “Thousand Falls of Water” (Water-Heaven Fall). As blade-visions clashed with the saber’s qi, twenty-four plum blossoms exploded into the air.
Pa-pa-pa-pat—!
“No way!” Janggak launched the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom again. This time twelve sword-images formed. Dan-yeop slashed the transverse saber diagonally and used Jin Baek style saber move two: “Thunder-Cluster” (Water-Thunder Cluster). With a rumble like distant thunder, the twelve plum blossoms melted away. Lightning then wrapped Janggak’s whole body.
Pzzzt—! “Aaaagh!” Janggak’s ripping scream echoed through the hut. The smell of burning emanated from him.
The woman on the porch, Soyo, opened her eyes wide and stared at Dan-yeop. He’d killed the notorious Seoak Bloodsword Janggak so easily? Considering even the Five Mountains avoided him, this was unbelievable. Regaining composure, Soyo bowed deeply to the youth.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Ah—yes.” Dan-yeop answered roughly and took the Songmun High Sword from Janggak’s hand. Nice blade. I’ll have to train with it when I have time. Although he liked transverse sabers, he thought a sword might suit the Taigo school arts better. He could put it in his bag when parting—no one would know.
Dan-yeop, sword in hand, turned back to the woman. Soyo, now in the yard, spoke cautiously.
“My name is Soyo of Jaun Pavilion. Since you saved me, would you accompany me to Jaun Pavilion?”
“Alright.” Dan-yeop nodded readily. Traveling to Chang’an in the middle of winter in that state would be difficult. He put the woman on his horse and held the reins himself.
They rode down the mountain for about half a shijin (about an hour) before the woman grew tired, so Dan-yeop decided to rest for a while. He dismounted in a suitable spot, set her down, gathered wood, and built a fire with flint. As the warmth from the campfire thawed them, Soyo asked tentatively,
“Are you really a disciple of the Hao Sect?”
“Yes.”
“Please—don’t tell anyone about what happened on the mountain. The woman ran from the bandits, and we just met on the road and decided to travel together. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Don’t worry—my mouth’s very sealed.” Soyo glanced at the youth’s face. Only then did she notice his handsome features. She silently sighed.
“Hah!” Of all times to run into someone—when she’d been violated by bandits—she’d meet this man. Though she was a kisaeng who entertained with song and verse, today the man had seen what the bandits did. To him she’d only be a woman who’d been abused.
“Soyo.” “Yes?” “If I become a disciple of the Hao Sect, can I learn the sect’s martial arts?” “Yes.” “Then I want to become a disciple of the Hao Sect too. How do I do that?”
“Hmm. Why?” Dan-yeop looked at her closely. Even the Hao Sect needed to be selective about who they accepted.
