Chapter 18

* * *

Janggeon was sitting at the base of a tree next to a tent, basking in the bright noon sun. He could see Bi-rang playing and running around with the children. At first, she had reluctantly played with them, but now she was more excited, hopping and jumping around. The bright sunlight illuminated the children playing between the grass and the river, and in the sparkling light, a pastoral calm and vigorous vitality coexisted.

Somehow, he found himself staring blankly at the scene.

"Such a bright child."

At that moment, Jeongpung approached Janggeon and said. Janggeon smiled faintly. Seeing him smile, Jeongpung also laughed lightly and continued.

"Well, did you hear the story from the elder?"

"I did. He asked to teach me how to deal with martial artists..."

Janggeon mumbled, his eyes still fixed on Bi-rang and the children. As he did so, he recalled the story he had heard from One-eyed Cloud's tent.

"...One day, a few people from the Central Plains came to this valley, leading a young man from our tribe who had been sent to the lower village. They suddenly demanded that we sell this land, promising a large amount of Central Plains silver. However, this valley and village have been our home for over a hundred years. Although we move a little with the seasons, this valley is essentially our home. How could we sell it? If we sell it, where are we supposed to go? Besides, can land be bought and sold at our discretion?"

The Central Plains people then offered even more money. Moreover, the young man who had led them tried to persuade the tribe members, saying this was the best opportunity they would ever have. He suggested that they hand over the valley and move to the cities of the Central Plains.

"That young man was sent to the lower village for too long. He started spouting nonsense and I wanted to beat him up. Anyway, the Central Plains people, hearing our firm refusal, left quietly. Or so we thought."

The young man who had brought them treated the other tribe members as backward and disabled, and left with the Central Plains people. A short while later, the Central Plains people returned, this time with twenty-six men.

"...They said they had already paid for the land and demanded that we leave. When we argued that it was absurd, they showed us a piece of paper..."

It was a document stating that the quick crow, the young man, had sold the rights to this valley and received five hundred silver coins. The young man who had insulted the tribe had sold out the entire tribe and fled.

Janggeon could roughly understand how things had unfolded. They had taken advantage of the tribe's lack of property rights awareness regarding the land.

To them, the land was a shared resource of the entire tribe, a legacy of their ancestors, and not something they fully owned but rather borrowed from nature. They would eventually return to nature, so they couldn't easily grasp the concept of who owned a piece of land.

The Central Plains people had used this to create a document stating that the quick crow was the owner of the land and immediately made a deal. From the tribe's perspective, this was absurd, but on paper, they had to leave. The Central Plains people had paid the owner for the rights.

Janggeon asked if he remembered which organization had stamped and recognized the document.

"That, what was it? Probably some kind of association."

"Trade Association?"

"Ah! Yes, the Trade Association. They were supposed to protect the rights of merchants and the circulation of goods, right?"

Even though they showed the document, the tribe members refused to recognize it. Naturally, the Central Plains people had to leave as they had come. The tribe had dozens of strong adults.

However, One-eyed Cloud felt a clear greed and determination in the eyes of the Central Plains leader as he left. His departure was just to build a pretext. It was easy to predict that when they returned, it would be a bloody affair.

One reason One-eyed Cloud didn't drive Janggeon away was that he thought Janggeon might be able to learn how to deal with martial artists, even if he wasn't sure about his martial arts skills.

Returning from his thoughts, Janggeon, still watching the children play, said:

"Such unfair transactions are prohibited by the Trade Association, the Martial Arts Alliance, and even the Empire. It's likely that the Central Plains person who created the document and some members of the local Trade Association are colluding to deceive you. Send someone to the Martial Arts Alliance branch."

Jeongpung, looking at the same place as Janggeon, slowly crossed his arms and replied:

"The branch leader of the nearest Martial Arts Alliance is neither particularly good nor bad. But he will side with us if bribed. That's his job. The problem is that the time it takes for him to act will be enough for our tribe to be wiped out."

Janggeon turned his head to look up at Jeongpung.

"...You speak Central Plains language well, and you seem to know a lot about the Central Plains people."

"Originally, the quick crow used to work for me, monitoring the Central Plains people in the lower village. He was observant and capable, so I entrusted him with the task... but it ended up like this. I blame myself for not being able to judge people well."

He had a bitter expression. Having lived away from home for the tribe, he must have had a deep affection for the tribe members, making his betrayal even more pitiful. Janggeon, turning his eyes back to Bi-rang and the children, said:

"It would be good to prepare proper documents this time. Even if we get through this, similar issues will likely arise in the future."

Hearing this, Jeongpung looked at Janggeon.

"...You're not going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Why the Central Plains person wants this valley."

"Hmm. From what I've seen, it doesn't seem like much."

Jeongpung hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"It seems there might be a gold mine somewhere in this valley. They want to drive us out to dig it up."

Janggeon chuckled.

"If it's gold, it must be quite valuable."

"According to what I've heard, it takes about a dozen silver coins to make one gold coin. So, gold must be very precious to you. It seems more than just valuable."

Jeongpung's puzzled question left Janggeon silent for a moment. His eyes still focused on the children playing happily. Bi-rang, who had been laughing, suddenly met his gaze and smiled brightly. Janggeon, looking into her golden eyes, smiled back faintly.

"Some gold is more valuable than others. At least to me."

Jeongpung, looking at the same place, felt he could understand the meaning of the gold Janggeon spoke of.

"By tomorrow, I should be able to move my arm without much trouble. Let's see what I can do."

"...Understood. I'll inform the tribe members. Thank you. I will repay you."

Janggeon nodded slightly without a word. Jeongpung couldn't gauge his martial arts skills from that small gesture, but he could feel that Janggeon was willing to help them.

They both watched the children play for a while, basking in the noon sun.

* * *

The next day, Janggeon followed Jeongpung to an open field at the edge of the village, where he met the ten strongest warriors of the tribe. The oldest was Jeongpung, and the others were all young and robust. Bi-rang was among them.

She smiled and acknowledged Janggeon when their eyes met. Janggeon nodded in greeting and scanned the lined-up tribal warriors.

After a moment, Janggeon turned to Jeongpung and asked:

"Are these all the ones who can fight?"

"These are all our warriors."

"...In such a remote area, the mercenaries you can hire for money won't be very skilled. But even so, they could easily outnumber us by a dozen or more."

Jeongpung nodded.

"If these ten are all we have, each of us might have to face two or three at a time. But we are confident. Truly."

As Janggeon pondered this, the largest of the ten men suddenly spoke up.

"If you're worried, why don't we have a match? Let's see what your fancy martial arts are like."

He stepped forward, showing off his casual movements and elastic muscles. Janggeon, seeing his cocky expression, chuckled. Starting this way wasn't bad.

"It might be a bit spicy."

"Huh. I thought you were just a sad wolf carrying a corpse, but you're quite full of yourself."

The warriors, who had been a bit restless when Janggeon and Jeongpung arrived, quickly cleared a space and sat down when they saw Janggeon wasn't taking off his shirt. A circular fighting area was quickly formed. Even Jeongpung seemed to have intended to test Janggeon's skills from the beginning.

Janggeon, seeing this, smiled lightly again, pulled out his sword with the scabbard, and placed it against a tree. He then turned to the opposing warrior, gently moving his right shoulder. He thought it would be better not to strain his right arm.

"I'm Mountain Climbing Bear. I'm the strongest in our valley, except for Red Wind. What's your name, martial artist?"

"Janggeon."

"Good, Janggeon. Show me your fancy martial arts."

Mountain Climbing Bear took off his loose shirt, crouched, and bent his body. His flashing eyes and subtly raised hands suggested he would attack and cling on at the first opportunity. His strategy was to use his weight and strength effectively.

However, compared to his aggressive stance, Janggeon was standing diagonally with his left hand raised to his chest, nothing special.

Seeing this, Mountain Climbing Bear, thinking Janggeon was underestimating him, snorted loudly and charged like an angry bull. His quickly raised arms seemed to protect his vital points from counterattacks. The distance between Mountain Climbing Bear and Janggeon closed rapidly.

Then, a lightning-fast roundhouse kick from Janggeon grazed Mountain Climbing Bear.

The arms protecting his head were meaningless. Janggeon's foot, like a whip, drew a sharp line, bypassing his arms and striking his chin. Mountain Climbing Bear was thrown to the side, thinking, "Does that guy have a piece of metal on his foot?"

He had clearly been hit by the foot, but it felt like being struck by a hammer, making a ringing sound in his head. However, he wasn't called Bear for nothing. Rolling a few times, he quickly got up, pushing himself with his hands.

Despite the dizziness, he charged at Janggeon again, thinking there must be an opening with such a large movement.

Janggeon smoothly caught the charging mass, grabbed his waist, and flipped him over. Mountain Climbing Bear's attempt to grab Janggeon's body was thwarted by the subtle wobble in Janggeon's stance. He ended up rolling forward in the air and falling again.

Rolling on the ground again, Mountain Climbing Bear, with a red face and dirt-covered body, panted. He saw Janggeon standing calmly in the same position. He spat out a bitter taste and, looking at Janggeon, took a low stance like a sprinter, pounding the ground with his fists.

At that moment, Janggeon felt a strange tingling sensation in his feet, as if the ground was being pulled by Mountain Climbing Bear's fists.

"Mountain Climbing Bear!"

As Jeongpung shouted, Mountain Climbing Bear, now three times faster, charged at Janggeon's waist.

Janggeon instinctively struck his sternum with a knee, infused with inner energy.

A loud thud echoed, and a cloud of dust swirled around the struck Mountain Climbing Bear. The open field fell silent for a moment.

"...Janggeon?"

As Jeongpung called out in surprise, the unconscious Mountain Climbing Bear collapsed. Janggeon, brushing off his clothes, looked at him and said:

"An interesting technique. Could you explain it?"

"...Mountain Climbing Bear?"

"See for yourself. It seems the force protected his body."

Jeongpung quickly approached and examined Mountain