Chapter 26: Chapter 26
The heavy-set fellow, huffing and puffing, stomped over, grabbed Yang Goeng out of nowhere, and yanked him down. Yang Goeng could not even resist. Holding Yang Goeng by the collar like that, he slammed him to the ground and shouted.
“You’re dead! That unlucky face of yours, I’ll…”
However, the mouth of the heavy-set fellow, who looked ready to beat Yang Goeng up at any moment, shut tight. Sitting atop Jojo, Jang Geon, who was watching blankly, whistled softly upon seeing the situation.
Before anyone knew it, Yang Goeng’s dagger aimed at the heavy-set fellow’s neck was drawing a thin red line.
“…Gong Pyeong. I know waiting around quietly for two days has been tough. Still, we shouldn’t lose respect for one another. It’s not like we gathered to rob commoners walking down the road, right? Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The heavy-set fellow, Gong Pyeong, could not say anything, glaring at Yang Goeng while trembling, unable to overcome his anger. Feeling that trembling through his grabbed collar, Yang Goeng spoke again.
“Answer me, you pig bastard. If you keep trembling like that, I’ll lick your skin with this blade.”
“…I understand.”
“Then let go of this, fuck.”
Gong Pyeong, while still huffing through his nose, stealthily let go of his grip. The moment he let go of his collar, Yang Goeng stood straight, patted and adjusted his collar, then delivered a sudden, surprise slap across Gong Pyeong’s face. Watching him fall onto his rear, Yang Goeng dusted off his collar again, bent down, rested his hands on his knees, and pointed a finger at Gong Pyeong.
“I planned this job! I found out with my informant, my network, and my ability! Do you think you could have found out the transport carriage route with your ignorant brain and poor network? Don’t act up when you’re just along for the ride! Just do the job you’re told to do well!”
Having poured out a rant, Yang Goeng stood upright again, hid the dagger at his waist, and turned back to Jang Geon.
“…Let’s head up now. We should greet each other at least.”
Jang Geon watched that scene with interest and nodded. The way he naturally drew his dagger or threatened Gong Pyeong was somewhat distant from the gambling scammer he knew. No, perhaps this was his true face.
Leaving Jojo standing, he climbed up the rock, where two other people introduced themselves. The other heavy-set fellow was Gong Pyeong’s younger brother, Gong Rang, and the handsome one was Geom Jung-chan. Gong Rang spoke with a peaceful smile even while his brother was beaten.
“So you are Brother Jang. I am Gong Rang. I heard story from Brother Yang. Your martial arts are quite considerable.”
“Just so-so.”
“Haha. How humble. That actually makes you seem more trustworthy.”
Geom Jung-chan toyed with the horn bow Yang Goeng had mentioned, passed by without even looking at Jang Geon, and spoke as if in passing.
“Geom Jung-chan. I came from Heavenly Empress City.”
“Jang Geon.”
That was the end of the conversation between the two. Geom Jung-chan, toyed with his bow, seemed quite taciturn. While exchanging greetings in that brief manner with the two, Gong Pyeong, who had been beaten by Yang Goeng, stealthily climbed up. Yang Goeng naturally introduced him as if the incident just now had been a lie.
“This is Gong Pyeong. Gong Rang’s older brother.”
“…Nice to meet you.”
Gong Pyeong spoke briefly, his spirit slightly dampened. Jang Geon did not bother to say anything more and simply nodded. Only Gong Rang, his younger brother, patted the shoulder of Gong Pyeong sitting beside him.
A small campfire was set atop the rock, with tea brewed in an iron kettle over the fire, and a stew prepared for eating. Once greetings were roughly finished, Yang Goeng served and distributed the stew naturally, as if he had cooked it himself, and spoke.
“Eat up, and I will let you know how things will unfold tomorrow.”
Without knowing what was put in and boiled, the stew was salty and hot, good to eat. It was certain that beans and unknown meat had been added. Since the stew was all that was prepared, the meal ended by slurping it down.
Setting down his bowl, Yang Goeng took a sip of tea with a horok sound and brought up the topic.
“Now then. I will explain how things will unfold tomorrow.”
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spoke.
“The carriage will pass through here around noon tomorrow. A large fellow pulled by four horses in front. Added to that, there will be four more running beside it as bodyguards. A driver, two inside the carriage, and four bodyguards, seven fellows in total will guard the carriage.”
Yang Goeng looked at Geom Jung-chan.
“Our friend Geom Jung-chan will first deal with the driver with an arrow. Then we, waiting below, will rush out, and this friend will continue shooting arrows. The carriage whose driver is dead will run recklessly. The fellows inside or running beside will try to do something about it, but we just need to rush forth and block them.”
Listening quietly, Gong Rang raised a hand with a smiling face. Yang Goeng looked at him.
“Is there something you are curious about?”
“Is there no expert among the bodyguards? Still, given the amount of fortune inside, there ought to be quite a formidable expert.”
Yang Goeng smirked.
“The two in the carriage will be frantically trying to do something about the carriage, so in the end, what we need to deal with are the four on horseback. You can’t mean to say you can’t even handle frontier martial artists like that, right? Added to that, Geom Jung-chan will provide cover from behind with arrows.”
Gong Rang nodded and spoke.
“Then we deal with the ones on horseback, stop the carriage, and deal with the remaining two.”
“No. We only deal with one fellow.”
Everyone was bewildered by Yang Goeng’s sudden words. Yang Goeng wore a meaningful expression, but only Jang Geon smirked and spoke.
“The fellow riding inside is the informant.”
The Gong brothers looked at Yang Goeng in admiration. Yang Goeng stealthily nodded his head.
“Correct. A fellow named Gang Sang-ju, a fellow with enormous gambling debts. He says he will repay his debts with this single haul and flee far away. He said he wants to take a ship and depart for the Central Plains.”
Setting down the iron cup he was drinking from, he continued speaking.
“Do not show mercy with your moves, everyone. At any rate, Seo Wi-ryang’s subordinates are not ordinarily malicious fellows. If one does not sell their ranch, they burn down the house and kill the cattle, and if they still don’t listen, kidnappings of sons or daughters to make threats are frequent among them. According to Gang Sang-ju’s words, they really locked one commoner couple inside their house and set it on fire, leaving only that house’s son remaining alone as a result.”
In Jang Geon’s mind as he drank tea, the kid he met at the inn flashed past. Listening to the story, Gong Pyeong spoke.
“Then what about that fellow named Gang Sang-ju? Isn’t he the exact same kind of fellow?”
“We promised to spare that fellow and give him information in exchange for dividing the money. Since we promised to send him off like that, we will do so.”
Yang Goeng then smirked slyly and slowly looked around at the Gong brothers, Geom Jung-chan, and Jang Geon.
“At any rate, after ending those six swordsmen like that, driving the carriage south for a day, dividing the money, and parting ways is the plan. Since our informant will depart for the Central Plains, the pursuers won’t know our faces or names at all. Gamsan Guild Leader Son Gwang will be busy fending off attacks from other Guild Leaders, so he won’t be able to operate those pursuers for long either…”
Gong Rang picked up the words.
“It will be a clean job.”
“Indeed. Clean like a ghost.”
The Gong brothers and Yang Goeng smirked sinisterly. Geom Jung-chan merely toyed with his bow without much interest, but had he really been uninterested, he wouldn’t even be sitting in this spot. As if proving that, his expression looking down at the bow appeared pleased.
Only Jang Geon sat quietly, toying with his chin with an unreadable expression.
* * *
The dawn met in the Central Plains and the dawn met here in the wilderness were slightly different.
There were plains and grasslands in the Central Plains as well, and Jang Geon had experienced dawns in such places too. However, the sun seen here in this New Continent was slightly different from what was seen there.
The sky dyed with dawn’s dark blue slowly yielded its density to the morning sun and turned pale. The sunlight, as if absorbing that dark blue, pierced through the cold air of the vast wilderness and sparse clouds, scattering even the remaining shadows into faintness. The remaining shadows huddled narrowly in small shade, trembling in pitch-black color.
The sky, stripped of darkness in that manner, was vast as if somewhat empty.
Waking early, Jang Geon sat atop the rock and gazed at that vastness. A sight someone would call beautiful, and someone would call familiar. A wonder that must have repeated for uncounted years on this land. A sight that made one feel the triviality of human affairs while simultaneously realizing that the only entity capable of bestowing meaning upon that wonder was human as well.
“A landscape not easily seen in the Central Plains or Heavenly Empress City.”
Beside Jang Geon watching the sunrise, Geom Jung-chan approached. He naturally sat beside him, pulled out a bottle, and took a swig. Then he extended it to Jang Geon.
Jang Geon chuckled softly at the aroma coming from it.
“Alcohol right upon waking?”
“Drinking moderately relaxes tension and is good. Originally, I smoked tobacco, but if the bow is exposed to that smoke a lot, it gets ruined. So I merely substitute it by taking a swig of alcohol.”
At Geom Jung-chan’s calm response, Jang Geon accepted the bottle and took a swig. Hot energy traveled down his neck and shook awake his stomach that had not yet fully awakened from sleep. It was a decent liquor. Accepting the bottle back from Jang Geon, Geom Jung-chan asked.
“It doesn’t seem like the New Continent is your hometown.”
“Why do you think not?”
“Just a feeling.”
Jang Geon merely smiled faintly and did not answer. Geom Jung-chan did not ask twice either, keeping his eyes on the sunrise and sipping from his liquor bottle. The two remained watching the sun rise for a moment until the other people woke up.
A short while later, as everyone tidied up their sleeping quarters, Yang Goeng pulled out three sticks, dry rations, and dried meat from his saddlebag, laid out only the food, and spoke.
“We will eat a hearty breakfast and skip lunch. Since the carriage passing this path will be around noon. Everyone prepare your saddles so you can mount your horses at any time, and keep watch to the east. If you see a carriage far off, we will go down below to wait, and wait until our friend Geom Jung-chan shoots the driver. Jung-chan, you must shoot your arrow and give us signals well. Got it?”
Geom Jung-chan merely nodded his head without a word.
“As for the Gong brothers and Brother Jang, I think you will do well without me saying more. I say this just in case, but naturally, each person takes care of their own life. Do not expect anyone to save or rescue someone else. Now then, let’s eat.”
Having eaten breakfast, as Yang Goeng said, they prepared their horse saddles and all kept watch to the east. Though time might seem to pass slowly while waiting, the steady sun climbed the sky without showing any sign of caring about anyone.
At a time slightly past noon like that, something squirming far in the distance caught Jang Geon’s eyes. Subsequently, Geom Jung-chan also discovered it and spoke.
“It’s here.”
“Where? Where?”
Without answering, Geom Jung-chan pointed to a corner of the east. At that gesture, the other people who discovered the carriage smirked.
Except for Geom Jung-chan, the Gong brothers and Yang Goeng put on cowls. Yang Goeng extended a cloth to Jang Geon as well.
Jang Geon accepted it and wrapped it around his face. Having covered his face with a cowl, it now definitely felt like committing banditry. While he was adjusting his cowl like that, Yang Goeng looked at the carriage becoming increasingly clear and shouted.
“Now! Let’s go!”
The Gong brothers nodded, picked up a large broadsword each, and stood up. Yang Goeng took out the three sticks he had brought earlier and joined them into one to create a pole coming up to about his eyebrow level. Attaching a dagger to the end of that pole, a short spear was crafted in a flash. Holding that, he prepared to head down with the Gong brothers.
Just then, Jang Geon spoke.
“Wait a second.”
Yang Goeng and the Gong brothers, who were about to rush down, froze abruptly and looked at Jang Geon. Jang Geon raised a hand and pointed toward the path the carriage was running on.
“Over there. Behind the rocky mountain.”
At those words, Yang Goeng and the others all focused strength in their eyes and looked in the direction Jang Geon pointed.
In this vicinity, there were many red rocks and hills where those rocks towered high. The reason Yang Goeng had chosen this particular location right now was because it was not too rugged, easy to climb, appropriately high to observe far away, and a place where Geom Jung-chan could provide covering fire even after shooting the driver.
However, that did not mean there were no other hiding spots at all. Far off, there was a rocky mountain that Yang Goeng would have chosen as the ambush spot had it not been for Geom Jung-chan’s bow. In Yang Goeng’s eyes, horses and people wriggling out from the shadow of that rocky mountain were visible. They had been hidden behind the rocky mountain, invisible from this side.
“W-What the fuck. Who are those bastards?”
While Yang Goeng muttered in fluster, the carriage and bodyguards passed that rocky mountain. Simultaneously, the hidden ones could be seen rushing out in a swarm. In their hands, glittering spears and swords were held one by one, and in Jang Geon’s eyes, even their wearing cowls was visible. It was the appearance of yet another set of bandits.
While everyone’s jaws dropped at their sudden appearance, Jang Geon lightly tapped Yang Goeng and spoke.
“The carriage is veering to the side.”
Yang Goeng checked that as well and let out a groan like being strangled. At the appearance of the bandits emerging from one side, the carriage began turning sideways in a circle. If the path became distant like that, the plan to deal with the driver using Geom Jung-chan’s arrow was as good as gone.
Yang Goeng, his face distorting, sprang up and shouted.
“Fuck! We can’t let those bastards beat us to it! Let’s go! Forget plans and what not, whoever goes first and steals it wins! Jung-chan! You come too!”
And he scrambled down below. The Gong brothers and Geom Jung-chan, who hastily put on a cowl, followed behind him. Jang Geon also descended lightly and mounted Jojo’s back.
Yang Goeng rode out first and shouted.
“Hyah, fuck! Ride! Don’t lose it! Do you know how much money is inside!”
They relentlessly whipped their horses’ hindquarters, riding toward the transport carriage and the bandits. Before long, the driver of the carriage who discovered them turned pale and pulled the reins again, making the horses turn in a larger circle.
The bandits and bodyguards who were riding hard were also bewildered by their sudden appearance, but realizing the situation upon seeing drawn swords, distorted their faces and urged their horses.
Before long, in order of front to back, the four-horse carriage ran in the lead, followed by bodyguards, bandits, and Yang Goeng’s crew behind them.
“You fuckers! Who are you!”
“That’s what I should ask, you bitch!”
“You crazy bastards! Do you even know whose carriage you are raiding right now!”
“Who doesn’t know, you retard!”
“Stop the carriage, you bastards!”
“Fuck! As if we’d stop it, you crazy,!”
“Who the hell are you, you shitty bastards!”
“What difference does it make if you know, fuck! Just stop the carriage!”
The carriage and bodyguards were fleeing for their lives, and the bandits were chasing behind them, unable to block Yang Goeng’s crew attached to the very rear. Thanks to that, all three groups were riding merrily while hurling wild curses at one another.
Jang Geon, even while riding at the very back, looked at them shouting harshly at each other and chuckled softly.