Free Web NovelWhen Kwak Yeon came down to the main road, Hu Gae was standing alone in front of the clearing where black smoke was curling up.
“—HIIIINNNG!”
“—HIIING!”
From far off, Jin Cheongha was still soothing the two horses, helping Old Master Gu as he led them around in circles.
“You’re back?”
Hu Gae spoke to Kwak Yeon without taking his eyes off the flames that were burning the bodies.
Hu Gae’s face was drawn tight. He didn’t even ask where he’d been.
THUMP.
Kwak Yeon felt the Honwonmusang Technique resonate.
He had executed villains in accordance with the Beggar Clan’s Extermination Order, but how could there be no human pain in it?
“There was one lookout.”
Because nothing was better for forgetting a pain in the heart than turning one’s gaze to a different matter, Kwak Yeon continued with words no one had asked for.
“He’d already fled.”
“Tch. We let a rat slip, so it’ll get loud.”
“It will.”
“Then this isn’t the time to be idling around like this.”
When Hu Gae turned away, his expression had already loosened.
He had steadied his heart with a pain that was brief but intense. That meant his compassion ran deep—and his heart was just as hard.
Kwak Yeon understood another reason Hu Gae had been singled out by Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu as a Sub-Branch Master of the greatest branch under heaven.
Matching Hu Gae’s pace, Kwak Yeon spoke abruptly.
“One day, I’d like to meet Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu.”
“Out of nowhere, why do you want to see that old man?”
“That’s what I’m wondering.”
“......?”
“Just... when I look at you, Brother, I start getting curious what kind of person Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu is.”
“What nonsense....”
Hu Gae shook his head and went on.
“If you get tangled up with that old man, it’s nothing but trouble. He’s the best under heaven at working people to the bone without lifting a finger himself.”
“Surely he wouldn’t do that to someone outside the sect.”
“That ‘surely’ is what gets people killed.”
“Which makes me even more curious.”
“Damn it, quit trying to comfort me. The number of villains I’ve beaten to death is more than double yours.”
Hu Gae couldn’t bring himself to add that he wasn’t even accounting for the number of years they’d each been out in the rivers and lakes.
“I’m sorry.”
Kwak Yeon cleanly acknowledged his own meddling and continued.
“Either way, we can’t go by carriage anymore.”
“Right.”
Hu Gae gave a bitter smile.
With the lookout having fled, the comfortable journey by carriage was over.
“So, about that. May I spend some taels?”
“To give to Old Master Gu?”
“Old Master Gu’s carriage burned down, didn’t it? And as for the Red Wolf Society’s carriage... Old Master Gu would feel uneasy taking it in their place.”
“Why are you asking me for permission for that? Just give it to him yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s with the thanks again?”
Hu Gae soon learned why Kwak Yeon had insisted on thanking him.
“Old Master Gu, please take this. Let’s consider our contract concluded as of reaching here.”
Kwak Yeon handed Old Master Gu the entire money pouch filled with taels, directly into his hands.
In this world, with only a single tael of gold, you could buy five more carriages.
‘Damn—no matter how clueless you are about the world, this is too much.’
Just because the Beggar Clan were beggars didn’t mean they had no greed at all.
More than anything, that money pouch was the thing that would guarantee him a generous spread of liquor for the rest of the journey.
Hu Gae planned to jump in the moment Old Master Gu tried to refuse and make him keep at least half.
But....
“Oh my, to not punish this sinner and even give me money like this... truly, truly, thank you. I have no shame, but my throat is the magistrate’s office, so I will accept it.”
Watching Old Master Gu take the pouch without refusing, Hu Gae swallowed hard.
Old Master Gu wouldn’t know there was gold inside that pouch, so he couldn’t exactly blame him for shamelessness, just as the man said.
‘Damn it!’
“Old Master Gu, you were threatened, so you had no choice but to comply—please don’t feel sorry.”
“Great Hero, truly, truly, thank you.”
As Old Master Gu kept bowing again and again, Kwak Yeon said to him,
“And this is just me worrying on my own, but they were such vicious men that I’m afraid their remnants might harm you. That’s also why I’m giving this to you.”
Only then did Old Master Gu realize the pouch was quite heavy.
It was far too heavy for its small size if it held only silver.
Then....
“Hngh!”
Old Master Gu hurriedly opened it—and flinched at the glittering golden light.
“......G-Great Hero! This is... too... too much.”
Kwak Yeon shook his head.
“With that money, I want you to quit working at the livery and leave Seochang County with your family.”
“It’s still too much.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to stop driving and rest?”
“That was... because I’ve been working those two old horses too hard, and I was complaining to them because I felt sorry for them.”
“.......”
When Kwak Yeon just looked at him quietly, Old Master Gu forced the words out.
“......To be honest, I really did want to rest.”
“Then do so now.”
Old Master Gu’s eyes reddened, tears trembling at the edges.
“......Great Hero, how can I ever repay this kindness....”
“You already have.”
“Y-yes...?”
Kwak Yeon wasn’t saying it as an empty phrase.
Because inside his heart, Jang Noya was smiling brightly at him.
“So you’re at least worth the firewood you burned up.”
At that moment, the Honwonmusang Technique flared up with a WHOOSH and swept through his entire body.
Every time Kwak Yeon looked at Old Master Gu’s bent back as he sat on the driver’s bench, he had been reminded of Jang Noya sitting in front of the stove.
“I’m old now—I want to rest already, you bastards.”
Whenever he heard Old Master Gu lamenting to the horses, Kwak Yeon would whip his head around toward the driver’s bench, thinking it might be Jang Noya speaking.
“And that money is being given by Brother Hu Gae here, so you should thank Brother Hu Gae.”
Old Master Gu hurriedly turned and bowed his waist toward Hu Gae.
“Sub-Branch Master! Truly, truly, thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness, and I’ll live my life giving alms!”
“Huh... HEM!”
Hu Gae coughed, feeling his head go distant.
‘Damn it.’
Wasn’t this going to spread into another weird rumor?
If it reached his master’s ears, the old man would try to swallow him whole.
“Old Master Gu—when you come into great wealth, disaster clings to it, so watch your mouth. Especially, never mention any beggar. They’ll suspect the source nine times out of ten.”
That much—half a warning, half a request—was all Hu Gae could do.
“I will take the Sub-Branch Master’s words to heart.”
A little later, when Old Master Gu left, leading the two horses that had been freed of their harness, Kwak Yeon said,
“I didn’t even think that far ahead. As expected of you, Brother.”
“That’s because you’re pure, little brother Kwak. You need a thief’s heart to think like that. HEM!”
With his true feelings slipping out and making things awkward, Hu Gae hurriedly changed the subject.
“So what now?”
That question held many meanings.
Above all, the biggest one was: Because of your meddling, aren’t we short on travel money now?
Even though he couldn’t possibly miss it, Kwak Yeon answered calmly.
“We do what we’ve been doing.”
“Run straight for the Martial Alliance?”
“What else can we do? That lookout who fled won’t stay quiet.”
“That’s true.”
Once rumors about them spread in an instant and all kinds of assassins swarmed in, they couldn’t exactly stack up mountains of corpses as they traveled.
“But....”
Hu Gae glanced toward Jin Cheongha.
As if she’d been waiting, Jin Cheongha spoke.
“Sub-Branch Master, don’t worry about me. I’m confident in my lightness technique.”
“Jin sister—so you’ve got a knack for lightness technique too?”
Hu Gae continued, eyes wide in surprise.
“Hah! You dealt with Iron-Headed Red Bear with a single spear—Jin sister keeps finding ways to shock a man.”
“That was only because I could aim for his back while he was distracted. You saw what he looked like after he died, didn’t you, Sub-Branch Master?”
“That’s true, but....”
“Brother, that means Miss Jin’s concealment martial art is that exceptional.”
“That it is.”
As Hu Gae nodded, Kwak Yeon looked at Jin Cheongha and said,
“Miss Jin, you’ll have to suffer a bit from here on.”
“Master Kwak, don’t worry about anything. I’ll chase you to the point of death.”
Kwak Yeon asked Hu Gae,
“Brother—what’s the nearest Martial Alliance territory we can reach from here by the shortest route?”
“Aju County is closest. They say the Martial Alliance has a garrison posted there too, so from there you can count it as inside Martial Alliance territory. Still, if you want to avoid being seen, you’ll have to take mountain paths, so you should plan for a full four days.”
“Then let’s plan for five days and depart.”
Seeing the way Kwak Yeon subtly looked after Jin Cheongha, Hu Gae found it admirable and nodded.
“A very good attitude—no, a good idea.”
*****
On the mountainside about two hundred zhang away from the main road, Geun Seok-oh, who had been hiding in thick brush, finally let out the breath he’d been holding once the three figures vanished onto the mountain path.
“Hoooo...!”
At the end of that long exhale, Geun Seok-oh shuddered in disgust.
If his judgment had been even a little late, he would’ve been kindling too.
It had been heaven-sent luck that he’d seen where the Dark Cavern Taoist’s gaze had turned.
The moment Geun Seok-oh saw Hu Gae, disguised as a coachman, strike at the Society Leader, he immediately shifted his eyes to the carriage door.
Because the Dark Cavern Taoist had to be inside.
And sure enough, the carriage door opened, and the Dark Cavern Taoist came out.
Then he noticed the Dark Cavern Taoist quickly scanning the surroundings—and instinctively realized the man was searching.
It was only for an instant, but he felt as if the man’s gaze had paused right where he was.
Geun Seok-oh had survived by always assuming the worst, and he trusted that feeling then as well.
After watching the Dark Cavern Taoist sweep away the Red Wolf Society’s men, Geun Seok-oh stopped hesitating and left.
Even a hundred zhang wasn’t enough to feel safe, so he fled another two hundred zhang or so and hid his body in the brush.
It was to avoid moving rashly and exposing his trail—but also because he had to learn their next movements no matter what.
The more complete the information, the more valuable it was.
Thanks to deciding and acting quickly, he could now learn which direction they went.
Geun Seok-oh, familiar with the geography of this area, knew well where the mountain path they’d climbed would lead.
‘They’re going to Aju.’
A thick smile spread across Geun Seok-oh’s lips.
The famed assassin groups under heaven were thirsting for the one-million-tael Public Contract, so it was priceless information.
And Geun Seok-oh also knew who could sell such information for the highest price.
If he negotiated well with those merchants of darkness, not only could he make a fortune—he could also secure himself a better foothold than the Red Wolf Society that had vanished today.
*****
In the great hall lit bright with firelight, Baek Ri-gi, the Martial Alliance’s Right Military Strategist, unfolded and read a red slip of paper, then murmured quietly,
“People trying to stick their noses into a bowl of rice that’s already done....”
WHOOSH. freewebnσvel.cøm
The instant Right Military Strategist Baek Ri-gi brought the red slip to the candle flame, it flared up and vanished.
There was almost no smell of burning, and even the ash left behind was so little it could barely be called more than dust.
