Chapter 28: Chapter 28

At the sight of the tumbling carriage and Jang Geon standing blankly looking back at them, both Yang Goeng’s crew and the bandits were briefly stunned. For a short moment while no one opened their mouth, stunned as they were, Yang Goeng at least snapped back to his senses first and hurriedly moved beside Jang Geon.

And pointing a finger at the bandits who had appeared later, he shouted.

“Did you see that, you bastards! Now this carriage is ours! Get lost, all of you!”

Far from being frightened by those words, both the bandits and Yang Goeng’s crew looked at Yang Goeng with absurd eyes. However, without paying any mind to such looks, he turned back to Jang Geon and spoke.

“Hehe, Brother Jang. As expected, you are incredible. I don’t know how fortunate it is to have an expert like Brother Jang on our side. What was that at the end?”

“What at the end?”

Yang Goeng awkwardly spun his short spear around and answered.

“Doing things like this while catching the incoming spear. It was quite cool.”

Jang Geon met Yang Goeng’s eyes and spoke calmly.

“Who knows. It doesn’t have a name yet. Shall I teach you?”

Yang Goeng could not answer immediately upon hearing those words. He hesitated as if he had heard words he truly had not expected. However, he soon chuckled again and spoke.

“…Ehey, I’m already at an age where my bone structure has hardened, making it hard to learn new martial arts. I haven’t even fully mastered what I originally learned anyway. Come, let’s check inside the carriage. We should take the gold and silver and flee!”

Speaking so, he dismounted from his horse. Yang Goeng’s crew, who had been watching, approached as well. Since they could not hijack the carriage, they now had no choice but to grab as much gold and silver as each could carry and flee.

Just then, one of the bandits watching them approach the carriage stepped forward.

“Stop! Don’t lay a hand on the carriage!”

It was a woman’s voice. Unlike the woman who had called out for the fallen bandit earlier, it was a voice marked by firmness.

Seeing her step forward, Yang Goeng smirked.

“Don’t lay a hand on it? What the fuck. What will you do if we lay a hand on it?”

“The silver coins and gold inside that carriage are money Seo Wi-ryang exploited from the people of this land. Money embedded with the tears of ranchers and the blood-stained coughs of miners. Do you think we will let bandits like you steal it?”

Speaking so, she aimed the sword in her hand at Yang Goeng.

“Just go. We will make it so that this carriage raid was done by us, so just get lost.”

“…What the fuck! Are you crazy? Aren’t you bandits too? And stopping this carriage was all done by us, so why are you throwing a fit! Do you really all wanna die!”

To be precise, it was done almost by me alone. Jang Geon thought while slowly scratching the back of his neck. However, he agreed with the thought that telling them to get lost recklessly like this was not right.

Silent for a moment at Yang Goeng’s shout, the woman suddenly pulled her cowl down below her face.

“Sister! What are you doing!”

“Su-yeon! What are you… Ah, no, not Su-yeon, that…”

The other bandits were startled by her sudden action. Among them, some were so startled they called out her name, then walked on eggshells around Yang Goeng’s crew.

Removing her cowl, the woman spoke.

“My name is Jin Su-yeon. Daughter of an exploited rancher and sister of a miner who coughed blood. The reason we committed banditry is to reclaim what is originally ours, and simultaneously to show our fury to Seo Wi-ryang and Son Gwang. Do you want the gold and silver? Then you will have to kill all of us standing here. Because we appeared here prepared for that.”

Yang Goeng’s face distorted.

“What the fuck… You aren’t a bandit gang, but just commoners of this village? No wonder the way you held swords was awkward…”

“It doesn’t matter whether you call us a bandit gang, evil practitioners, or whatever. Because we are merely reclaiming our rights and the reward for our labor.”

She looked at Yang Goeng calmly, yet with two eyes filled with cold fury. While Yang Goeng unwittingly muttered curses at that gaze, the other bandits, affected by some emotion, pulled down their cowls one after another and stepped forward.

An old man, a young man who had just shed his boyhood, a middle-aged woman, a maiden, a middle-aged man in poor health, and so on. It was not that there were no sturdy adults. However, it was also true that they were ill-suited to be people who had appeared to commit banditry.

However, in the appearance of the people pulling down their cowls and stepping forward like that, there was a formidable momentum that could not be handled carelessly. The Gong brothers stealthily pulled back and tapped Yang Goeng’s shoulders.

“…Hey, wouldn’t it be better to pull out? Are we really gonna fight these people?”

“It seems better to pull back slightly. Unless you intend to kill all these people.”

At their appearance and the sight of those looking down at him commandingly, Yang Goeng spat out curses once more. Then he turned to Jang Geon as if asking for help. Jang Geon chuckled softly at that gaze, trotted forward on his horse, and flicked off his own cowl.

And speaking to Jin Su-yeon, who was looking at him with surprised eyes, he said.

“Let us first check inside the carriage. You don’t even know how much money is inside, do you. Furthermore, from what I heard, most of the ranches and the gold mine in this vicinity originally belonged to Son Gwang, so not all the gold and silver inside this carriage belongs to you. We will take only our share appropriately, so let us take a look first.”

Naturally, the words he spoke carried a different weight. The one who had felled three bodyguards in the blink of an eye, dealt with the sudden obstacle Seo Sang-jeong, and overturned the carriage was him. That implied Jang Geon alone could raid this carriage by himself.

Pondering for a moment, Jin Su-yeon eventually nodded her head. In truth, if Jang Geon forced the matter, they had no way of stopping him either.

Seeing that, Yang Goeng hurriedly approached the carriage and flung open the half-broken carriage door. The Gong brothers followed beside him to help him. The three soon pulled out one person and one small rectangular iron mass from inside the carriage.

Holding the person, Gong Pyeong asked Yang Goeng.

“Is this fellow the one? The informant?”

“Yeah. Gang Sang-ju.”

Gang Sang-ju was passed out, unconscious. Gong Pyeong casually dumped him to the side and hastily approached beside the iron mass.

“Fuck, is this a safe?”

“…It seems so.”

While they hesitated over it, Jang Geon, Geom Jung-chan, and the bandits dismounted from their horses and approached in a swarm. In their eyes, a rectangular iron mass with handle rings attached to both sides was visible. It was not very large, but assuming it contained only gold bars and silver coins, it was not small either.

Gong Pyeong asked Yang Goeng, who was examining it.

“What the fuck. Can you open this? You can’t even see a keyhole?”

“Wait a moment. Fuck, that bastard didn’t mention this story…”

“That bastard? That fellow? Gang Sang-ju?”

When Yang Goeng nodded, Gong Pyeong immediately walked over to the unconscious Gang Sang-ju and slapped his cheek hard.

“Hey! Wake up! Wake up!”

Slap-slap sounds echoed, delivered with no ordinary force. Thanks to that, Gang Sang-ju woke up startled, looking around with bewildered eyes. However, Gong Pyeong had no intention of being considerate to Gang Sang-ju, slapping his cheek again.

“Fuck, pull yourself together. Hey, how do you open that?”

“W-What, what is this…”

Gong Pyeong, frustrated, tried to slap Gang Sang-ju’s face again. Just then, Gong Rang grabbed his hand, pushed Gong Pyeong away, and thrust his face toward Gang Sang-ju.

“Gang Sang-ju?”

“…T-That’s right. I am Gang Sang-ju.”

“Do you understand how the situation is unfolding?”

“…The bandits appeared, and Seo Sang-jeong went up to the carriage roof to block them…”

Gong Rang grabbed the chin of the confused Gang Sang-ju, forced him to look straight at him, and spoke.

“Right, you understand roughly everything. Then do you also remember the deal you made with us?”

“Deal…? Ah! O-Of course. Of course I remember.”

Nodding his head, Gong Rang yanked Gang Sang-ju’s chin to make him look at the iron mass and spoke.

“It’s fortunate you remember the deal. Now then, how do you open that?”

However, Gang Sang-ju did not answer immediately, rolling his eyes while gauging the atmosphere. Seeing that, Gong Pyeong rolled up his sleeves and spoke.

“This bastard! Won’t you talk? We made a deal!”

“D-Deal my ass! Originally there were only five in the deal! Who are those people! Those women and men are people from the nearby village! Ranch people! I know them all! And holding me like this, what deal! D-Damn it! If I tell you how, you’ll kill me, right? I-I’ll never talk!”

“W-What, fuck?”

Gong Pyeong’s face turned red again as he tried to approach him. However, Yang Goeng stopped him, and Gong Rang also let go of Gang Sang-ju and stepped back, before squatting down in front of Gang Sang-ju and speaking soothingly.

“Friend. Did you forget our deal? We agreed to do the job together, divide the money, and part ways. You must tell us how to open that so we can divide the money. You said you’d pay off your gambling debts and cross over to the Central Plains with that money? You said sightseeing in Chang’an was your wish? Then we must divide the money. Right?”

“…Y-You won’t kill me?”

Yang Goeng smirked and shook his head.

“Naturally we won’t kill you, friend.”

“We will kill him.”

Yang Goeng momentarily failed to comprehend what words he had heard, stood dazed, and slowly turned his head in the direction the voice came from. There, Jin Su-yeon stood with a hardened face, arms crossed, looking down at them. Yang Goeng, dumbfounded, asked.

“…What are you talking about?”

“The one who locked Mr. and Mrs. Ho in their house and burned them is that fellow. We cannot leave that fellow alive.”

At Jin Su-yeon’s firm answer, Yang Goeng, dumbfounded, opened and closed his mouth, looked back and forth between Gang Sang-ju and her, then let out a shriek.

“Fuck! Then find out how to open that first and kill him! Why are you suddenly barging in!”

Jin Su-yeon remained silent, keeping her mouth shut with that same hardened face. Gang Sang-ju, who had barely been calming down, turned pale again, shouting that he would never talk and to guarantee his safety, while Gong Pyeong yelled that he would beat Gang Sang-ju up. The bandits cursed Gang Sang-ju, Seo Wi-ryang, and Son Gwang, shouting loudly. Yang Goeng kept pointing a finger at the unresponding Jin Su-yeon, cursing repeatedly.

While the sun shone brightly and the dust raised by the carriage crashing completely settled, people were shouting in excitement. Yet they didn’t seem likely to draw swords, so Jang Geon, watching, chuckled softly.

“The shitshow never ends.”

“…A shitshow. Exactly fitting words.”

Beside Jang Geon, Geom Jung-chan, watching the situation, spoke with a similar smile. Jang Geon turned to Geom Jung-chan and asked.

“Is your arm alright? Earlier it looked quite serious.”

“…If I use good medicine, it will heal. I am fine.”

“Let me take a look.”

“Ah, no, wait, ”

Geom Jung-chan tried to avoid Jang Geon’s hand, but being grabbed was faster. Jang Geon grabbed his injured right forearm and examined it carefully.

“Mm. The wound is large, but the bleeding stopped quickly. The tendons aren’t heavily damaged either…”

“…Did you learn medicine?”

“A bit when I was young. I’m a quack, but I’m good at treating external wounds.”

Examining the forearm like that, Jang Geon’s eyebrows twitched. It was because a strange sense of dissonance was felt from Geom Jung-chan’s arm muscles and skin inside his grip. Unconsciously, Jang Geon tried to send internal energy into Geom Jung-chan’s forearm, then stopped. Unlike New Continent natives, if one casually did such a thing to a martial artist, one could be struck with a sword.

Sinking his internal energy, Jang Geon wrapped and tied his own unfastened cowl over the wound, speaking.

“For now, no part seems damaged worse than expected. Earlier it looked like you couldn’t even hold a sword properly. Applying good Golden Wound Salve later will be enough.”

“…Is that so? What a relief.”

Geom Jung-chan lowered his gaze, answered so, and touched the tied wound. Then stealing a glance at Jang Geon, he saw him approaching the people whose voices were gradually decreasing. Geom Jung-chan watched his back while flexing his hand.

Meanwhile, Yang Goeng, who had poured out a rant at Jin Su-yeon, sat back down in front of Gang Sang-ju and spoke.

“…Fuck. Tell us how to open it!”

“N-No! U-Unless you save me, I won’t say anything!”

“You brat. Don’t you know you’ll end up talking in the end if you stubborn out?”

Gang Sang-ju asked back with a frightened expression.

“Don’t tell me, y-you’re gonna torture me…?”

“…Yeah. I can do that if necessary. Where should I start? Hands? Feet? Or eyes?”

Yang Goeng smirked as he saw his frightened expression, speaking as if he had fallen right into it. When Gang Sang-ju was trembling in that clumsy threat, closing both eyes tightly to say something. From beyond the people gathered around the fallen carriage, something went pshoosh, skyward with a sound, then exploded with a thud sound.

Seeing that suddenly explode in the sky, the bandits muttered stupidly.

“What’s that?”

“…I don’t know what it is, but it’s fascinating? Look at that. The smoke even has color.”

“Oh, it does.”

Only Yang Goeng, seeing that, turned pale in the face, pushed through the bandits surrounding them, and searched for the culprit who launched the signal flare.

Far off on the dry dirt floor, having fallen off the carriage, with both legs and left arm broken, bleeding from his mouth, lay Seo Sang-jeong. Holding the flare casing, looking at the bandits, trembling while smiling, he went limp. When Yang Goeng ran over and checked, his breath had already ceased.

Gong Pyeong followed Yang Goeng and asked.

“What’s that? Smoke exploding in the sky?”

“…It’s called a signal firecracker. Extremely expensive and precious. To the point where only wealthy Merchant Guilds or the Imperial Army use it. And firing that means there are reinforcements nearby.”

“W-What? You said these fellows were all of them?”

Yang Goeng ran back to Gang Sang-ju and grabbed his collar.

“You bastard! Not a single piece of information was proper! What’s that! Who are the reinforcements!”

However, as the situation grew urgent, Gang Sang-ju thought he had found a way to survive, keeping his mouth tightly shut. Seeing that face, Yang Goeng’s eyes flipped, and he tried to punch him with his fist. That hand was caught with a thud.

Yang Goeng turned back to see Jang Geon.

“Let me go instead of taking your anger out for nothing.”

“…To where?”

Jang Geon turned back to Jin Su-yeon.

“Do you have a place to hide nearby? You must have had a place where you originally intended to hide after raiding this carriage.”

Looking at Jang Geon for a moment, Jin Su-yeon uncrossed her arms, turned back, mounted her horse again, and spoke.

“Follow me.”

Jang Geon gave a shoulder shrug to Yang Goeng upon seeing that. Then approaching Gang Sang-ju, he rapidly jabbed various parts of his body with his fingers. Thereupon, Gang Sang-ju, who had been trembling while gritting his teeth, went limp and passed out.

Tossing the knocked-out man to Yang Goeng, Jang Geon picked up the iron mass that appeared to be the safe, mounted Jojo, and followed behind Jin Su-yeon. The other bandits and the Gong brothers quickly followed behind as well, while Yang Goeng, who received the unconscious Gang Sang-ju, and Geom Jung-chan exchanged peculiar looks and watched Jang Geon’s back.

Gong Pyeong shouted upon seeing the two.

“What are you doing, fuck! Let’s go quickly!”

After a moment’s hesitation, the two mounted their horses and began riding behind Jin Su-yeon.

Thus, a short while later, in the middle of the wilderness where the thumping horse hoof sounds vanished, there remained only the sideways-tilted carriage, the driver dead with a broken neck, horses dying slowly with broken limbs, and a corpse cooling while holding an empty signal flare casing and looking at the sky.