Chapter 24: Chapter 24

At a time when the sun had peaked in the sky and tilted slightly. A man and his horse entered the entrance of a village.

The man slowly led his horse, slightly lifting the bamboo hat he wore to look at the worn signboard at the village entrance. There, the characters for Cheongsu Village flickered, faded with age. The eyes of the man, Jang Geon, turned toward the dust-blowing interior of the village.

“Clear Water Village. It doesn’t look like there’s a single well.”

Jang Geon, who had left the valley tribe about two weeks ago and set his journey westward this time, had stumbled upon this place after wandering for three days since the last village, and had hurried over. Though the village looked quite desolate, most villages in this region looked like this, so it was nothing special.

Jojo, trotting along, discovered the inn signboard even before Jang Geon did, and without the reins being pulled, trotted over to it. Arriving in front of the inn, he even shook his head and snorted as if telling Jang Geon to dismount quickly.

“I got it, brat. I’m dismounting, so stay quiet.”

As he dismounted from the horse like that, a kid pushed aside the inn’s door curtain and emerged. The kid looked around briefly, perhaps having come out upon hearing Jojo’s snorting, discovered Jang Geon, hopped over, and spoke.

“Welcome. Are you staying overnight? What about meals? We have alcohol too. Should I put the horse in the stable? We have small rooms and large rooms. We also have the best special room. Personally, I recommend just a small room. In truth, there isn’t much difference between the rooms.”

Jang Geon stood gripping his belt and quietly listened as the kid poured out words rapidly, opening his mouth only after the child finished speaking.

“Lodging. Small room. Meals too. What kind of alcohol do you have?”

“Just cheap baijiu.”

At the kid’s blunt response, Jang Geon chuckled softly.

“You are honest.”

“That is merely one of my countless virtues.”

Haha laughing, Jang Geon flipped a coin over and extended Jojo’s reins. The kid hastily accepted the reins, bowed respectfully to greet him, and immediately led Jojo to the stable beside the inn.

Jang Geon watched that for a moment, then pushed aside the inn’s door curtain and entered.

Inside the moderately sized inn, three or four people were sitting, eating something or killing time over cups of alcohol.

A woman wiping dishes behind a long counter saw Jang Geon enter and spoke.

“Welcome! Are you staying overnight? What about meals? Will you have alcohol? We have small rooms, large rooms, and a special room, and I recommend the special room. It’s the quietest.”

Entering inside, Jang Geon heard those words and could clearly tell from whom the kid had learned to speak. And that he had to repeat the words he had spoken earlier.

“…Lodging. Small room. Meals and baijiu.”

Jang Geon removed his bamboo hat and sat down in front of the long counter as he spoke so. Then the woman who appeared to be the innkeeper came up front and beamed without any thought of going to prepare meals. At Jang Geon’s gaze questioning what she was doing right now, she extended her hand and spoke.

“Payment is upfront here.”

Haha laughing, Jang Geon pulled coins from his pocket and placed them on her hand. Accepting the money like that, the woman turned around, rattled something, and quickly served him a meal. It was steamed bread made without substance and thick soup made by simmering beans in sauce.

The bread was cold, as if steamed in the morning, but the soup was comfortably warm for eating, as if kept over low heat continuously. Taking a spoonful, it was slightly salty, but when he bit into the steamed bread with it, the seasoning was just right. For a meal served as soon as it was ordered, it was decent.

Around the time the woman set down the baijiu and a cup, the kid from earlier pushed aside the door curtain and entered. He came up to Jang Geon and spoke.

“I removed the saddle and filled the hay. Did you get a room?”

“Yeah.”

“Then enjoy your meal and rest comfortably.”

The kid bowed respectfully once more, grabbed a dishcloth from one side of the long counter, and began wiping tables inside the inn. Jang Geon chewed while watching him, then filled his cup and spoke to the female innkeeper across the counter.

“A clever son.”

The woman wiping dishes with a dry towel chuckled softly.

“He’s not my son.”

“Then?”

“Am I not a bit young to have a son like that? That kid is the son of an older sister I knew. Both that sister and her husband died, leaving no one to raise him, so I merely took him in temporarily.”

“Both parents? How did that happen?”

She stopped wiping the plate, set it down, and looked around cautiously before speaking.

“…That doesn’t seem to be something to tell an outsider.”

Seeing her reluctant aura, Jang Geon simply shrugged his shoulders and did not ask further. Since she disliked speaking of it, he had no intention of digging it out.

Swallowing what he was chewing in his mouth, he lifted the filled cup and downed it in a single gulp. Hot heat swept down his neck, and the remaining aroma of baijiu filled his nose and mouth. For something the child called cheap, it was a decent liquor.

Jang Geon finished his meal in that quiet inn, went up to his room, and took a relaxed afternoon nap. Thanks to a room that was clean and free of odor for a small inn, just like the meal and liquor, he was able to enjoy a sweet sleep with a pleased heart.

* * *

Waking around evening, Jang Geon went down to the first floor thinking of having a meal. More people were filling the inside of the inn than earlier during the daytime. In Jang Geon’s eyes, the busy running kid and the female innkeeper were visible. There seemed to be no other employees.

Just then, as he descended the stairs and walked toward the seat he had occupied during the day, a corner table where four people sat gathered caught Jang Geon’s eyes. Along with the dominoes they held and the coins rolling on the table.

Without realizing it, Jang Geon stopped in his tracks, stood quietly watching what they were doing, and startled himself back to his senses at the glance looking up at him as if asking what his business was, resuming his steps.

Though he had once resolved never to hold dominoes again, that resolution had long since been shattered along with silver coins in the last village.

He sat down, ordered a meal, and thought to himself. Still, last time he hadn’t gambled to the point of being completely cleaned out. He had stopped at an appropriate limit, which was why he still had plenty of silver coins left in his possession. This time, he would be able to abstain altogether. Jang Geon nodded his head, admiring his own strict self-restraint.

However, a short while later, having finished his meal, he saw one person drop out of that corner table and immediately jumped in. Thinking to himself, why live so strictly anyway?

The people who were originally turning tiles seemed slightly wary and tense at Jang Geon’s tall, sword-bearing atmosphere as an outsider, but after gambling for a short while, they realized he was a complete amateur and comfortably relaxed.

A short while later, they were chatting among themselves.

“Hey, what was it. They say Old Man Won finally sold his land this time?”

“I knew it. Why endure and hold out when he was going to sell like that in the end? He should have just handed it over in the beginning when they offered a lot of money.”

“Is that easy? That ranch is a place Old Man Won operated for twenty years.”

“Then who’s left now? Mr. Son?”

A man with a scar below his lip put down a domino tile on the table with a thud and spoke.

“Mr. Son doesn’t have much time left either. He seems to have grown scared after seeing Old Man Won’s house burn down.”

“Goodness. When Mr. and Mrs. Ho died, he threw a fit without fear, calling it murder and what not.”

Just then, a thumping sound came from beneath the table. The scarred man below the lip glanced at Jang Geon and kicked the leg of the man who brought up the topic of murder. Though Jang Geon showed no reaction, the men gathered around the table quickly grew quiet.

The scarred man below the lip stopped turning tiles, raised his hand, sniffed and wiped his nose, then pulled out a small paper and pouch from his pocket to roll tobacco. Looking at the engraved pattern on the pouch, it appeared to be a product sold by the Merchant Guild.

He lit the tobacco with the oil lamp on the table and puffed out smoke with a phew. Then, leaning against the back of his chair, he asked Jang Geon.

“So, where did you come from, brother?”

Jang Geon answered without taking his eyes off the domino tiles he held.

“East.”

The scarred man was stunned for a moment by that brief answer, then chuckled.

“East. East, huh… If it’s east from here… you must have wandered for several days?”

“Three days.”

“Where are you headed?”

“West.”

At the continuous brief answers, the scarred man looked at Jang Geon in silence for a moment. Then he spat out tobacco crumbs to the side with a tui and bit the tobacco again.

“Then you have no intention of causing trouble in our village, right?”

Jang Geon casually nodded his head. What mattered to him right now was not a thug wary of him for no reason, but the tiles held in hand turning on the table.

Seeing Jang Geon’s cooperative posture, the scarred man and the gamblers exchanged glances, and deciding he was not a dangerous person, began turning tiles merrily while laughing again.

Jang Geon focused again as well. Thinking that if they dared use tricks, he would overturn the table. He intended to win for real. Thanks to that, the heat of gambling burned hot on the table. Though the one losing was mostly Jang Geon.

While he and the village thugs were turning domino tiles like that for a long while, someone wearing a large bamboo hat pushed aside the inn’s door curtain and stepped inside. He stood at the entrance, scanned the people filled inside the inn, and removed his bamboo hat.

The face revealed beneath the bamboo hat had a somewhat slick and servile impression. However, because of the natural smile at the corners of his mouth, one could tell that ease was steeped into his posture. He adjusted his collar with a pat and walked over to the long counter to speak to the female innkeeper.

The two already knew each other’s faces, as the female innkeeper smiled and dealt with him. They chatted for a moment, then the female innkeeper suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the table where Jang Geon was sitting. The man checked the table, handed coins to the female innkeeper, and walked briskly toward that table. Then he stood on one side, crossed his arms, and looked down at the table.

The scarred man turning tiles puffed out smoke with a phew and looked up at him.

“What is it.”

“Ah, do not mind me and continue. I am merely watching for a moment.”

Jang Geon, who was concentrating on his tiles, felt that voice was familiar. Though he wanted to ignore it and keep concentrating, he ultimately had to raise his head and look at the man due to the gaze felt afterward.

The man whose eyes met Jang Geon’s, Yang Goeng, smirked.

“It has been a long time, Brother Jang. Have you been well?”

Smiling so, Yang Goeng soon raised his hand and spoke.

“Ah! Do not mind me and continue. I intend to merely watch for a moment.”

The thugs glanced between Jang Geon and him, and seeing that Jang Geon focused back on the table without saying much, tilted their heads while turning tiles again. And Yang Goeng truly merely leaned against the inn wall, watching them turn tiles.

He spoke only after seeing Jang Geon clutching his forehead when all his silver coins were cleaned out a short while later.

“Brother Jang really needs to quit gambling. Nothing has changed since I saw you last time.”

Jang Geon narrowed his eyes slightly and glared at him. Yang Goeng was startled by that look, avoided his gaze, and continued speaking.

“Come, let us go. I will buy you a drink at least.”

At the offer of buying a drink, Jang Geon followed him to change seats. Sitting down, Yang Goeng caught a passing waiter kid.

“Bring the most expensive liquor in this inn.”

“We only have cheap baijiu.”

“…Then bring that.”

The honest waiter kid nodded his head and quickly brought liquor and cups. Yang Goeng set the cup in front of Jang Geon and filled it. Then he filled his own as well, raised his cup, and spoke.

“Here’s to wishing Brother Jang’s tiles draw well next time!”

Jang Geon stared blankly at Yang Goeng, then quietly downed the liquor in a single gulp. Even without an answer from him, Yang Goeng chuckled, emptied his cup, and refilled Jang Geon’s cup first.

Watching the cup fill like that, Jang Geon spoke abruptly.

“Did you come looking for me?”

Filling the cup, Yang Goeng stole a glance at Jang Geon’s air before bringing up the topic.

“In this vicinity, there are only a few places that can be called villages. Most are ranches, and there is only one mine. Didn’t Brother Jang go east last time? If you go that way, you will eventually be blocked by the mountain range, and since winter is coming soon, unless you were going to cross it and leave, I thought you would return west. Added to that, the place where we parted was a bit to the south, so I thought you would move up slightly, and kept roaming around this vicinity. And thus like this…”

He spoke, then eventually smirked.

“In truth, I roamed around with half a mind like offering a rain ritual. I intended to give up if I couldn’t meet you by tomorrow or the day after. At any rate, it is good to meet again like this, Brother Jang.”

Jang Geon stared at that smile with sunken eyes, then downed the liquor again. And setting the cup down on the table with a thud, he asked.

“Is there a bounty on my head? Why search for me?”

“It is not like that, but because I need someone whose skills are trustworthy. Do you remember what I said when we parted last time?”