Chapter 7

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“I thought he was dead just now.”

Janggeun, who was leisurely leading his horse across the vast field, turned his head at Lee Hwan’s abrupt question. The boy was squinting against the sunlight, swaying with his father behind him.

“Yeah, right? How can someone sleep with their tongue hanging out like that?”

Janggeun chuckled. It seemed that this morning, when he woke up, he saw Jajo lying on the ground with his mouth wide open. He poked Jajo’s nape and said,

“He is a bit strange. Sometimes even I get a shock. That’s why I plan to sell him someday and buy a decent horse.”

Jajo, seeming to understand Janggeun’s words, snorted grumpily, as if he was tired of it and wanted to be sold quickly. Lee Hwan turned his head, looked at the two with wide eyes, and then tilted his head back to look at his father.

“Don’t you think of Grandpa and Gungun?”

“Gungun? The ox?”

“Yes. Gungun was also a bit like a person, wasn’t he? Grandpa always scolded him.”

Lee Yun smiled, impressed by the child’s memory.

“It’s been more than five years since Grandpa passed away, and you still remember that?”

“Of course. Grandpa and Gungun were so much fun. How could I forget that?”

“...I see. I see.”

Perhaps the reason childhood feels so long is that what is a short moment for adults is the entirety of life for children. Janggeun, seeing Lee Yun’s bitter smile, felt that he wanted to forget his memories from the Central Plains. Perhaps most people who came from the Central Plains to the New Continent felt the same way. They wanted to forget the painful and humiliating past and create new memories in the new land.

And Janggeun was no exception.

The child began to tell the story of the old man and the ox as if it had happened yesterday. Lee Yun lightly chimed in, trying to forget the pain in his abdomen, while Janggeun looked at the distant hills and fields, listening quietly to the boy’s story. It seemed to be quite amusing.

“...So, Gungun sat down on the spot and mooed at Grandpa, as if telling him to stop. Grandpa looked like he was about to whip him. I was so scared of that whip, worried that Gungun would get hit. Right? It hurts when you get hit with that long whip. Gungun and Grandpa seemed to have no intention of letting each other off...”

At that moment, Janggeun stopped Jajo and grabbed the reins. Lee Yun and Lee Hwan, unaware that he had stopped, continued forward until Jajo neighed, and then they stopped and turned to look back.

Lee Yun, puzzled, said,

“...We still have a bit more to go to the village. What’s the matter?”

Janggeun didn’t answer the question but seemed to be listening to something. Lee Yun, feeling an inexplicable unease, was about to ask again, but Janggeun was already off the horse, removing his hat and pressing his ear to the ground.

Lee Hwan muttered,

“Dirt will get in your ear...”

Janggeun stood up quickly, mounted Jajo, and said,

“A lot of people are coming.”

He said this briefly and, before Lee Yun could respond, spurred Jajo toward the hill they had just passed. Lee Yun, startled, quickly followed him.

When they reached a slightly higher spot, Janggeun frowned and looked into the distance. Lee Yun, standing beside him, frowned and looked around, but he saw nothing unusual.

“What do you mean, a lot of people are coming...”

“Over there!”

Lee Yun, puzzled, looked in the direction his son pointed. Only then did he see the dots moving on the distant horizon.

“Those... What... You heard them coming from there?”

Janggeun didn’t answer Lee Yun’s incredulous question. He just focused his inner strength in his eyes. In the clearer vision, he saw people riding horses coming toward them.

Their faces, dirty from lack of washing, and the fierce weapons they carried, along with their angry expressions, suggested they were not coming with good intentions. At that moment, Lee Yun’s face turned pale with fear.

“Could they be the companions of those bandits from yesterday? If they weren’t all of them...”

Janggeun thought it was possible. Of course, that would mean they were a large bandit group of nearly forty, including the ones who were already dead. It seemed unlikely that the martial arts alliance would let such a large group of bandits go unchecked, but if they were a new group, it was possible.

Moreover, there was a familiar face among the bandits.

“That kid...”

The one with a bandage around his nose was Jin Yangseok, whom Janggeun had beaten in the last village. His brother’s face was not visible, and it was unknown how the seemingly incompetent brother managed to escape the village. Perhaps the branch leader had released him.

“Ah, no. Maybe they’re just people going the same way. It’s not good to be too scared.”

Lee Yun, looking at the distant dots with anxious eyes, offered a hopeful observation. Janggeun understood him. After all, Lee Yun had just been robbed by bandits yesterday and had a hole in his abdomen. It was natural for him to want to think positively.

But even Lee Hwan, standing beside him, seemed to sense his father’s fear, looking at Janggeun and his father with trembling eyes.

Janggeun, seeing those wide, innocent eyes, chuckled.

“At least they’re not just travelers. They’re holding weapons.”

“T-Then... those people...!”

From a quick glance, it seemed there were more than thirty of them. Lee Yun, now clearly anxious, looked at Janggeun. He knew Janggeun had killed over a dozen bandits yesterday, but the number coming now was three times that.

“Shouldn’t we go to the village...?”

“With that many, they’d probably sweep through a small village.”

“...Let’s just run away quickly. The distance is so far, we can outdistance them.”

“With you in that condition? If you ride for too long, your wound will open. We couldn’t stitch it properly because we didn’t have a proper needle. If it starts bleeding again, you’ll die.”

Lee Yun’s face showed despair at the negative answer. Janggeun, being a skilled martial artist, might survive among the bandits, but Lee Yun and Lee Hwan would die from a single blind strike. Naturally, despair rose in his heart.

Seeing his expression, Janggeun, who had thought from the beginning that his face showed his emotions well, said with a smile,

“You two go to the village first. I’ll distract them and follow slowly.”

“Huh? Alone?”

“I was alone yesterday too. Go ahead.”

Lee Yun, bewildered, didn’t know what to do.

“Still, isn’t it dangerous? There are so many of them.”

Perhaps it was because he had just come from the Central Plains, but he couldn’t run away from a dangerous situation. That wasn’t it, though. Even in the Central Plains, there were plenty of people without a conscience. After a moment, Janggeun, putting on his hat and hiding his face, said,

“Take care of the child and go carefully. Find a doctor when you get to the village.”

Lee Yun, unable to respond, hesitated, then, seeing Lee Hwan, decided and pulled the reins. He slowly moved away from Janggeun, perhaps due to his wound. But he soon stopped, turned, and asked,

“Why don’t you just run away? You’re fine, so you can just ride and escape.”

Without turning back, Janggeun answered,

“You said you’d pay if I brought you. Stop hesitating and go quickly.”

“...I’ll wait for you. I’ll prepare a place to stay and food, so come quickly.”

Lee Yun, hesitating, said this and turned to go, moving faster than before. Lee Hwan, peeking out from between his father’s sides, looked at Janggeun standing on the hill. Under the blue sky and hazy clouds, Janggeun’s back, standing on the horse, seemed lonely yet resolute.

After a while, Janggeun, feeling that Lee Yun and his son were far enough away, lifted his head. The bandits were much closer now. They saw Janggeun on the hill and slowly slowed down.

One of the bandits, a middle-aged man, stopped his horse at the bottom of the hill, looked up at Janggeun, and shouted,

“Are you well?”

Janggeun, without answering, held Jajo’s reins and looked down at him. The man shouted again,

“I’m Gamsang-cheong! I have a few questions. Is that okay?”

He didn’t wait for Janggeun’s answer.

“We’ve been following the trail of the murderer who killed my brother! Right in the direction you’re standing! How should I take this? If you know anything, it’s best to speak up now!”

His voice, quick and angry, seemed to carry his rage. Janggeun, looking at him, suddenly shouted,

“Is your brother’s name Gamsundeok?”

Gamsang-cheong’s eyes widened. The bandits behind him, who had been holding their weapons, started to glare at Janggeun.

“...How do you know my brother’s name?”

Janggeun took the head of Gamsundeok, tied to the saddle, and threw it down the hill. The head, wrapped in layers of cloth, rolled to Gamsang-cheong’s feet. Gamsang-cheong, watching it roll with wide eyes, jumped off his horse. He picked up the bundle and, with careful hands, unwrapped it, stopping when he saw the blue, swollen face inside.

He stood there for a moment, silent. The bandits, lined up behind him, started to glance at each other, their eyes shifting from Janggeun to their leader. One of them cautiously approached Gamsang-cheong and spoke,

“...Leader. It seems to be Sundeok. What should we do?”

Gamsang-cheong, without answering, just stared at his brother’s face. Then, the man with the bandaged nose approached and said,

“Sir, I think it’s him. The one who ambushed my brother.”

The man who had spoken to Gamsang-cheong turned to look at Janggeun.

“Is this the one who knocked out Jin Cheongseok in one move?”

“It wasn’t an ambush. If it wasn’t, my brother wouldn’t have been so easily defeated. It was all because this guy attacked him sneakily...”

“Jin Cheongseok was just that weak. That’s all.”

“Ah, yes. That’s true.”

Jin Yangseok, looking meek, had been released by the branch leader of the martial arts alliance in exchange for a deal. He then sought out the Red Silk Gang to take revenge on Janggeun and destroy the branch. The Red Silk Gang, eager to help, quickly gathered and confirmed Gamsundeok’s death.

Gamsang-cheong, who had carefully unwrapped the cloth, now wrapped it again and held the head in his arms, saying,

“Leader Lee Ho.”

“Yes, Leader.”

“Don’t kill him. Bring him to me. I need to find out who’s behind this before I kill him.”

Lee Ho, nodding with a stern face, drew his sword and shouted,

“Everyone! Let’s go! Take revenge for the death of Leader Sam Ho and our comrades!”

“Hoo!”

The bandits immediately spurred their horses, shouting and waving their weapons. In the lead, Lee Ho held his sword horizontally and charged, the blade glowing blue with his inner strength.

Janggeun, watching from the hill, slowly drew his sword. He pulled the reins, and Jajo, lifting his front hooves and neighing loudly, charged down the hill. The speed of Jajo and the advantage of the hill made them seem to crash into the bandits, as if breaking the ground.

Lee Ho, leading the charge, sneered as he saw Janggeun charging toward him. He thought Janggeun was overconfident, thinking he had killed the third leader. Lee Ho was the weakest among the three leaders, lacking talent and the slowest to achieve mastery in martial arts.

Lee Ho’s eyes glowed a dark red. He swung his sword and shouted,

“Fool!”

As the two passed each other, a metallic clang echoed. Janggeun’s hat, its chin strap undone, and Lee Ho’s severed head flew into the air.

The bandits, riding their horses, were stunned. They saw Janggeun, with a small cut on his forehead, charging through, and Lee Ho’s headless body falling to the ground. Before they could react, Janggeun had already passed through their ranks and was on the other side.

“...What? What is this?”

“Where did that kid go?”

The bandits, seeing Janggeun pass through and continue, were bewildered. Gamsang-cheong, holding his brother’s head, saw Lee Ho’s body fall and then, seeing the bandits’ stunned faces, shouted,

“You idiots! Chase him!”