Chapter 6: To Hanzhong (2)

About thirty li south of the Yonghua Tavern, in the bustling district of a city called Hampyeong, stood Hwachang Pavilion, a massive brothel. A place where pleasure and debauchery thrived, the establishment spanned a massive estate of over seventy thousand square feet. Beyond its ornately decorated gates lay a beautiful garden and ponds in the front yard.

Here and there, courtesans showed off their charms, soliciting customers. Behind them stood dozens of bright red buildings. One did not need to guess what transpired inside.

So-mu walked past the pavilions one by one, listening to the activity inside. The vulgar banter and the groans of women were projected clearly to his heightened senses as if he were standing right next to them.

Soon, his steps halted in front of a bright red pavilion at the far end of the property. He had recognized a familiar voice inside.

“Haha! Come closer, I said!”

Just hearing the voice made him grind his teeth.

So-mu placed his right palm against the door. The profound internal energy rising from his dantian erupted from his palm, striking the wooden door.

Crash!

So-mu frowned at the scene revealed through the shattered entrance.

A luxurious bath filled with red flower petals. Ha-chil was soaking himself inside.

Ha-chil immediately bellowed in rage, “Who the hell are you? Get out of here right now!”

“You’ve forgotten me already, it seems.”

Ha-chil stared at the man approaching him. Before long, he recognized the face. Though the man’s hair was trimmed and his appearance was neat, it was undoubtedly the tavern keeper he remembered.

But there was no reason to panic. The man was just a tavern keeper, after all. Ha-chil reached for the clothes draped over the edge of the bath and pulled out a dagger.

“Get lost if you don’t want to die!”

“Did you not make a promise to me? You said you would take the children to Henan.”

“Am I insane? Why would I share six silver coins with those useless orphans?”

His subservient attitude from before had vanished entirely. So-mu’s voice grew heavy and cold as it escaped his lips.

“The children died because of you.”

“What do I care if those brats die? Take one more step and I’ll gut you!”

Further words were useless. A murderous intent flared in So-mu’s eyes, turning them ice-cold.

“The outcome would have been the same, but I was worried you might have had a compelling reason. Thank you for making it easy to kill you without guilt.”

In an instant, So-mu vanished from the doorway.

Ha-chil blinked in confusion, looking around the room. In the next moment, he felt a hand grab his hair from behind.

“L-Let go of me!”

He still failed to grasp the situation, even as his face was shoved violently into the water.

Splash!

“Glub… glub!”

The two courtesans watched in terror as Ha-chil thrashed in the tub. At So-mu’s cold glance, they grabbed their clothes and fled the room in the blink of an eye.

“And those six silver coins. It took me about five years to save that money.”

The more he thought about it, the more his anger boiled over. The realization that he had worked for five years just to fund this bastard’s debauchery was intolerable.

“Glub… glub!”

Only when Ha-chil’s thrashing began to weaken did So-mu pull his face out of the water.

“Gasp! Cough! Stop…”

So-mu’s low voice echoed in the ears of the gasping Ha-chil.

“Give me one reason why I should stop.”

“T-That is…”

Ha-chil suddenly realized the dagger was still in his right hand. Without warning, he lunged it toward So-mu’s abdomen.

“Die, you bastard!”

The sharp blade lunged forward, but So-mu did not even bother to dodge. A pathetic strike like this posed no threat to him.

Clang!

The moment the blade struck So-mu’s abdomen, a cruel grin appeared on Ha-chil’s face. But his smile froze. The blade did not penetrate at all, as if he had stabbed a solid boulder. He stabbed again and again, but it was useless.

“You truly are beyond saving.”

So-mu’s palm moved at the speed of light, slapping Ha-chil across the face.

Smack!

Ha-chil’s body flew out of the tub and crashed violently against the wall.

Crash!

“Argh!”

Since the strike contained barely any internal energy, he suffered no fatal injuries. Staggering to his feet, Ha-chil’s eyes darted around in a panic.

Before he could realize it, the dagger had already been transferred to So-mu’s hand. He hadn’t even felt it being taken. Recognizing the terrifying gap between them, Ha-chil’s face filled with subservience once more.

“P-Please spare my life, My Lord…”

His constant shifts in attitude were so pathetic they were almost absurd.

“I will let you live. For a creature like you, death is a luxury.”

With those words, So-mu swung the dagger twice through the air. Two crescent waves of energy shot forward. It was astral qi, flying through the room.

Crash!

The waves of energy tore through the outer wall of the pavilion before dissipating. Ha-chil blinked, confused, until an agonizing pain flared in his shoulders. A bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the room.

“Aaargh!”

The pain was enough to make him black out. Furthermore, he could no longer feel his arms from the shoulders down. Despair washed over him.

His business concluded, So-mu turned his back and walked away.

“Survive for as long as you can, and experience the pain Yoo-hwa felt before she died.”

“Kill me! Just kill me, you bastard!”

So-mu had no intention of granting him an easy death. He did not look back once as he walked out the door. Just looking at Ha-chil’s face made him sick.

***

Hanzhong, a major city in southern Shaanxi, was a critical strategic hub connecting the transport routes of Sichuan to the west, and Hubei and Henan to the east. Though it was a region that had to be defended at all costs, the Song Dynasty lacked the strength to do so.

General Yue Fei was concentrating his forces in Xiangyang, even at the cost of abandoning Shaanxi, because the situation there was far more critical. If Xiangyang fell, the empire would be split in half. It was a region they could not surrender under any circumstances.

Yet, there was one general who had disobeyed Yue Fei’s orders and remained in Hanzhong.

General Jang-yang had only five hundred soldiers under his command. There was nothing such a small force could do. In desperation, he had set up a recruitment center to gather new soldiers from all over Shaanxi.

“Volunteers, line up and wait your turn!”

At the temporary recruitment grounds in Hanzhong, which spanned a vast area of several acres, over a thousand men were waiting. Among them was So-mu.

After waiting under the scorching sun for two hours, the crowd grew restless and irritable. Yet So-mu stood as motionless as an old tree.

After another hour, it was finally his turn. The administrator sitting at the outdoor table asked mechanically, his brush poised.

“Origin and name.”

“So-mu of Baiyang County.”

“Former occupation.”

“I worked in a tavern kitchen.”

“Have you ever trained in martial arts? Any experience riding a horse?”

“A little bit of swordsmanship. No talent for riding.”

“Any hunting experience?”

The administrator’s questions were endless and tedious.

Given the urgency of the war, the recruitment center was accepting almost anyone who volunteered. The questions were merely to classify them into appropriate branches. With so little time for training, they had to utilize whatever basic skills the recruits already possessed.

“Take this paper and go to the next station.”

Finishing the interview, So-mu moved to the next tent.

Since the government army paid a decent wage, they had to verify that the volunteers were physically fit.

“Strip your top.”

When So-mu silently removed his shirt, the eyes of everyone in the tent locked onto him.

The administrator examining him gasped in admiration. His body was defined by lean, perfect muscles without a trace of excess fat. It was a textbook example of physical perfection.

“I can’t believe my eyes. This is the most perfect physique of any recruit I’ve seen. Pass!”

The physical exam ended in an instant. Without even needing a closer look, he was passed the moment his shirt came off.

Holding his assignment slip, So-mu walked to the parade ground. The gathered recruits already numbered around five thousand.

Looking at them, the phrase ‘a ragtag bunch’ came to So-mu’s mind. Having seen the elite soldiers of the Hui army, he shook his head.

If we go to battle in this state, we will be wiped out instantly.

Today was the final day of recruitment, which was why all the volunteers were gathered at the parade ground.

So-mu had to wait another hour for the final procedures to conclude. Even for someone as patient as him, it was incredibly boring.

It was then. He felt a presence approaching from behind, reaching for his shoulder. Since it carried no threat, he let it happen.

Grab!

A massive hand clapped onto his shoulder. So-mu turned his head and smiled. It was a welcome face.

With a shiny bald head, a bear-like build, and a fierce face, it was none other than Il-gwang of Baiyang County. Though he looked terrifying, he was a warm-hearted man.

“Well, if it isn’t Brother So-mu! You volunteered too? I’m glad to see you escaped Baiyang County safely.”

“Haha. So you were here.”

“Man, you look completely different with your hair trimmed! See? Didn’t I tell you to clean yourself up?”

So-mu chuckled. Who was commenting on whose appearance?

“I washed regularly back then too. I just didn’t style it.”

“By the way, how old did you say you were?”

During their time in Baiyang County, Il-gwang had never asked his age.

Even if he told the truth, the man wouldn’t believe it. So-mu thought for a moment before giving a random number.

“I’m thirty.”

“Hey, we’re the same age! Speak comfortably to me from now on. It’s good to have a hometown friend to rely on in a foreign place, right?”

So-mu nodded. Il-gwang glanced at the slip in So-mu’s hand.

“What branch were you assigned to?”

Recruits were assigned branches immediately upon enlistment. Most were placed in basic roles like swordsmen, spearmen, or archers, though some with special skills were assigned to the cavalry or scouts. The recruits’ most preferred roles were cooks or supply soldiers, as they carried the lowest risk of death.

So-mu opened his slip. Il-gwang peeked over his shoulder and burst into a hearty laugh.

“Haha! A swordsman? Just like me! Stick close to me from now on. We hometown folks have to look out for each other.”

Nodding, So-mu’s eyes drifted to a young man standing nearby.

Looking completely dejected, as if he had lost the entire world, it was another regular from his tavern.

When their eyes met, the young man’s face lit up with a bright smile.

It was Cheong-hae, the excommunicated third-generation disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.