Chapter 41: Chapter 41

The postures of the three people inside the room differed slightly.

The huge monk sat upright on a chair, looking at Jang Geon with half-closed eyes as if meditating, while the martial artist named Jin-ha, who was clutching a sword, likewise looked at Jang Geon, though all her concentration was actually focused on that monk. A woman named Seol dozed off in the corner with her head against the wall, as if having nothing to do with the subtle psychological warfare between the two.

As she was dozing off like that, she woke up in surprise at what Jang Geon said as he turned around, and looked at him.

“Ah! Are you finished?”

At those words, the monk’s eyes snapped open, and Jin-ha also turned her gaze to Jang Geon. Jang Geon met their eyes, let out a light sigh, and asked.

“…I don’t know what kind of situation this is right now. Could you give me an explanation?”

Seol wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stood up. She peeked at Jang Geon’s complexion and said.

“Wow, you look completely fine? Even after guiding internal energy for nearly three days, you don’t look tired at all.”

“Three days?”

“Yes. Warrior Jang, you were guiding internal energy for three days.”

Jang Geon looked at her and said.

“Why are you here?”

“Ah. Don’t you remember? You agreed to help me gather material for my book.”

Jang Geon remembered that as well. However, that was something they had agreed to do after meeting at the inn.

“But you didn’t show up even after I went to the meeting place. So I chased and chased the traces of you two until I arrived here. After that, as Monk Jin Won-sang asked, I stood guard over Warrior Jang.”

“…He asked you to stand guard?”

The fact that there had been no trouble until now meant that they had stood guard well. But what made him trust people he had met briefly in the evening enough to entrust them with standing guard?

“While we were standing guard like that, about half a day ago, that monk over there appeared. At first, we tried to chase him away, but he said he was an Arhat of Shaolin Temple. On top of that, he said Jin Won-sang was a sinner who had committed a crime against Shaolin and fled…”

“Where is Jin Won-sang?”

“That person? Ah… he is…”

“I shall tell you that story.”

Just then, the seated monk smoothly rose to his feet and spoke. Jin-ha, who had been wary of him, reflexively stood up from her seat and shielded the front of Seol. However, the monk did not seem to care about that at all and only looked into Jang Geon’s eyes.

“I am called Jin Gyeon. A humble monk.”

“Jang Geon.”

“Pleased to meet you, Jang Geon. I hear you helped Jin Jo?”

“If that Jin Jo refers to Jin Won-sang.”

“Won-sang was Jin Jo’s name before he entered the priesthood. Should I be glad that he at least didn’t forget his generational name…”

The monk who identified himself as Jin Gyeon spoke like that and shook his head lightly, then cast his eyes on the girl lying behind Jang Geon.

“Did you know that what that child swallowed was a treasure of our temple?”

Jang Geon nodded.

“Did you also know that Jin Jo took it out without permission, without the consent of the Abbot and his senior and junior martial brothers?”

“I had roughly guessed as much.”

Jin Gyeon nodded his head, then asked again.

“How is the child’s condition?”

“She is fine. Thanks to the spirit medicine, the meridians throughout her body have become clean and tough, so if she learns martial arts, she will become a master.”

In particular, there was also the point that the nine meridians repaired this time would bestow special power upon the girl’s internal energy. Although they would have to wait and see how it turned out exactly, Jang Geon could guess that it was a talent hard to find precedents for.

“Then did that child completely absorb our temple’s treasure?”

“Without a drop left.”

“And you aided that?”

“An innocent child must be saved.”

Jin Gyeon just looked into Jang Geon’s eyes for a moment without saying anything. Watching them, Jin-ha and Seol felt a subtle tension in the sight of the two men facing each other and held their breath. Jin-ha quietly brought her hand to the sword she held in its scabbard.

At that moment, Jin Gyeon slowly folded his two hands in prayer and bowed slightly at the waist.

“I thank you on behalf of my foolish junior brother. Guiding and enduring the medicinal power of the Great Return Pill to heal a child’s body could not have been an easy task, yet you willingly stepped forward without asking for much in return for a matter that could have endangered your own life. Few meritorious deeds could be greater than this. In the future, that merit will become a great strength for Warrior Jang.”

This experience would indeed become a strength. Without having to wait for the future, right now, given time, it would emerge as a new martial theory from Jang Geon’s hands.

Watching Jin Gyeon straighten his waist, Jang Geon asked.

“…It seems you don’t intend to hold me accountable for any crime. Is that correct?”

“How could saving a person be a crime? An object is merely an object. I only hope that Warrior Jang will grant your aid after hearing what I am about to say from now on.”

“What kind of aid?”

With his hands still folded together, Jin Gyeon looked up at Jang Geon and hardened his face.

“While Warrior Jang was guiding internal energy for three days, my foolish junior brother entrusted the guard to these women here and committed an atrocious act. In the middle of the night, he secretly broke into the Sword Dragon Sect, assassinated the sect leader of the Sword Dragon Sect, and not content with that, harmed numerous disciples of the Sword Dragon Sect.”

Jang Geon closed his eyes without realizing it. It was because he could now understand the meaning of Jin Won-sang’s words that there was someone who had to pay the price. Jin Gyeon continued speaking toward Jang Geon.

“Jin Jo has not been caught yet. After raising such havoc at the Sword Dragon Sect, he fled to the west. And the Sword Dragon Sect, having lost its sect leader, organized its martial artists and sent a pursuit party. I hear their number is over one hundred. Jin Jo also suffered severe injuries during the fight, so it is uncertain whether he can throw off their pursuit.”

At Jin Gyeon’s story, Jang Geon opened his eyes again and faced him.

“Is there any reason my help would be needed in that situation?”

“There is. I was close with Jin Jo, so I knew he would come to this Salt Lake City and look for an old friend. That is why I was able to arrive here without much difficulty. But what about in the wilderness where there are no roads or anything? I am not a guide. A whole day has already passed since Jin Jo and the Sword Dragon Sect pursuit party left.”

Jin Gyeon unclasped his hands and stood up straight. If it were not for the monastic robes he wore and his clean-shaven head, he had a stature that could pass for a general rather than a monk.

“I heard that you found Jin Jo’s friend in half a day with insignificant clues. Can you do that again this time? This time, it is not finding a person in a city, but following traces in the west.”

“What do you intend to do once you find him?”

Jin Gyeon’s eyes shone like solid diamond.

“Jin Jo not only desecrated the remains of our late master and fled during an important spiritual practice, but also violated the precept against taking life and harmed people. Shaolin’s sin belongs to Shaolin. My junior brother will have all his martial arts destroyed and go with me to Shaolin’s Cave of Repentance to spend the rest of his life there.”

“…So you won’t let him die at the hands of the Sword Dragon Sect at least.”

“What belongs to Shaolin stays with Shaolin.”

Jang Geon quietly looked at Jin Gyeon as he spoke like that. Somehow, it felt as though Jin Won-sang, that is, Jin Jo’s figure, overlapped with his. Whether it was because they were martial brothers, he almost looked like his older brother. Jang Geon fixed his gaze on his eyes and spoke.

“Young Lady Seol.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Please speak.”

Seol, who had been holding her breath with only her head poking out from behind Jin-ha’s shoulder, answered in surprise.

“I am sorry, but could you take care of that child? Until I return. She will probably wake up soon.”

“The child? Understood. Then the inn where we agreed to meet would be better than here. Jin-ha and I will take the child and wait there. And… um…”

As her voice trailed off, Jang Geon turned his head. She looked at him with sparkling eyes and smiled brightly. In her hand was a small booklet.

“Instead, when you return, will you tell me everything about what happened to you this time, Warrior Jang?”

“…I shall do so.”

Jang Geon turned around one last time and looked back at the girl whose name he still did not know. Her face, which had been pale like a corpse, now had a reddish life in it, and her breathing flowed evenly. She looked like an ordinary girl who would grumble about wanting to sleep more if her mother shook her awake.

However, she was a child who, in less than a month, had lost her parents, had her home and property stolen, and was dying in a corner of a musty temple room.

Looking at the girl for a moment, Jang Geon reached out his hand and brushed away the slightly messy stray hairs on the child’s face.

“Let’s see each other next time with an awake face.”

Having offered his farewell, Jang Geon gave a light nod to Seol and Jin-ha to ask them to take care of her, then immediately turned around and left the room. Sensing that those actions meant consent, Jin Gyeon followed behind him.

As the two left the room, the inside of the room became quiet for a moment. Then Yu Seol suddenly tapped Jin-ha’s forearm and spoke.

“Kuu! Didn’t I tell you? I knew those people definitely had a story!”

“Ah, yes…”

While Jin-ha wore a lukewarm expression, Yu Seol tightly hugged the slightly tattered booklet, spun around, and stopped in the middle of the room.

“A Shaolin monk who stole a treasure and came looking for his former lover, a rogue warrior helping him for money, and his senior brother who will punish him with his own hands rather than letting others do it! The cold gazes and blades of the three men facing each other… Yes, this is what I crossed that distant ocean for!”

Looking at Yu Seol like that, Jin-ha let out a light sigh and shook her head. It was a story far too freely interpreted by Yu Seol after seeing Jang Geon, Jin Gyeon, and Jin Jo. Whether that imagination was right would only be known after Jang Geon returned. The problem was whether he and Jin Gyeon could deal with over a hundred Sword Dragon Sect pursuers, though.

However, Yu Seol, who had been playing so lively by herself, suddenly subdued her complexion at a certain moment and turned back to Jin-ha.

“…Hey, Jin-ha.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“…So this child. Both her parents died, right? And the local sect here extorted all her inheritance too.”

Hesitating for a moment at her sudden serious question, Jin-ha let out a deep sigh and answered.

“Yes. If it is as that apostate monk, whether named Jin Won-sang or Jin Jo, said. It is a tragedy that would not have happened if that place called the Sword Dragon Sect had properly established order in this region.”

Yu Seol looked at the sleeping child with sunken eyes.

“…How can someone live in a place like this? In a place like this where sword-wielding scoundrels enforce laws and steal property as they please. Were they that hungry for a new world and opportunities? Or is even a messy world like this better than Father’s Central Plains? Just…”

“Young Lady.”

Yu Seol looked at Jin-ha at the sound of her calling her. Jin-ha said.

“Not everywhere in the New Continent is like this place. There are many places that are better to live in. And for the past hundred years, and even now, most of the people crossing over to this New Continent came to own their own land. At least they came by their own choice. But this child simply hasn’t had the chance to make such a choice yet. If this child had a chance to choose, she would naturally live in the Central Plains.”

Yu Seol smiled softly at the sight of Jin-ha trying to comfort her.

“It might not be so, though?”

“…Yes, it might not be. Then, well, as soon as the child wakes up, let’s instill fantasy about the Central Plains in her like crazy. So that going there becomes her dream.”

“Like me?”

Jin-ha smiled as if put in an awkward spot. Yu Seol smiled brightly again and looked at the child who was still sleeping sweetly. The child looked comfortable, as if having a good dream.

*

Jang Geon and Jin Gyeon crossed Salt Lake City, which was chaotic from the events of last night, and stopped by the inn first. It was because Jojo was there. When Jang Geon put the saddle on him, the fellow snorted as if annoyed to death.

“You’ve played around for a few days, so that’s enough, you punk. Let’s go.”

When Jang Geon mounted the saddle and came out of the stable, Jin Gyeon, who had been waiting, looked at Jojo and said.

“What a fine horse. He does not look like an ordinary horse.”

“Fine, my foot. Sometimes this fellow gives me a headache.”

Even at Jang Geon’s banter, Jin Gyeon continued speaking with his serious face intact.

“Where shall we start? We are already far behind.”

“Did you say they headed west?”

As Jin Gyeon nodded, Jang Geon immediately took the lead.

“Let’s go.”

At Jang Geon’s touch, Jojo snorted lightly and dashed forward straight away. At that relentless gallop, Jin Gyeon was slightly flustered as he followed. Jang Geon and Jojo’s sprint grew even more relentlessly fast after leaving Salt Lake City to the west.

A moment later, Jin Gyeon caught up behind him and shouted.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going? You didn’t even examine the tracks!”

Jang Geon chuckled and answered.

“There was no need to dismount and examine! Because there’s already a road made by the hundred-plus people who passed before us!”

When Jin Gyeon examined the ground at those words, there was a clear path created by numerous horses’ hooves across the vast, dry grass and earth. That path continued west, further into the distant west. Jin Gyeon thought that with traces to this extent, he could have pursued them even by himself.

Of course, that thought did not last long. The horse tracks that seemed to extend as a single long path split into three in the middle. Jin Gyeon thought that this time Jang Geon would dismount and examine the traces.

But Jang Geon merely slowed his speed slightly, roughly scanned beneath his feet, and relentlessly picked one of the three to sprint ahead. Jin Gyeon shouted.

“Why are we going this way?”

“The other two detoured ahead to press Jin Won-sang so he wouldn’t slip away in another direction! Because if he flees into the mountains or canyons, they might lose the trail!”

Jin Gyeon, who did not know much about tracking methods, nodded as if he understood, thinking that although a bit late, it was good that he came along with Jang Geon. Adjusting their pace intermittently so the horses wouldn’t get too exhausted, they steadily headed west.

Just then, Jang Geon suddenly spotted something and sped up Jojo. Jin Gyeon quickly caught up behind him and checked what he saw. Something wrapped tightly in white cloth was gathered together. A moment later, Jin Gyeon confirmed their identity and muttered softly.

“Amitabha…”

What greeted them were corpses lying in the middle of the field.