Lawless Zone (4)

There was a large river in Seon-yeong that flowed from west to east. Its name was called the Huangshui River. In the western direction, upstream of that Huangshui River, the wealthy households of Seon-yeong were gathered. Most of the people who lived in that rich district were people of the Central Plains, that is, Han Chinese.

Neung Je-gang had now set foot in that wealthy neighborhood. If what U Ha-pyeong had told him was true, every estate in this rich district had already become Kunlun’s.

Of course, not every estate was like that. Before the Kunlun people occupied them, there were also many cases where they had been half-destroyed or completely ruined and made unusable by the Mongols and Tibetans who made up most of Seon-yeong’s lower class.

Neung Je-gang climbed over a wall.

“Shall I clean only this place for today?”

Dawn would break before long. Because he had been moving busily, he had not even noticed the passage of time.

A proper martial artist did not indulge in laziness. There was no martial artist who did not know that the best time for training was when the rooster crowed at dawn. Perhaps the Kunlun people here had also lived that way when they were on the mountain.

But after descending the mountain and tasting power, the number of those who took part in dawn training had greatly decreased. Unfortunately, the martial artist who had settled in this estate also seemed to be someone who had decided to abandon dawn training. There was still no sign that he had woken.

Neung Je-gang approached the place where he sensed human breathing. One room, two people breathing.

“Tsk!”

Neung Je-gang let out a bitter sound. There was a scene before him that showed exactly what a Taoist looked like when he had fallen into corruption. His body was naked, yet he was wearing a Taoist crown. His lushly grown long beard looked as if there was no telling when it had last been trimmed. And at his naked side, a woman—apparently Mongol—was sleeping with her arm placed over the Taoist’s waist.

In one corner of the room, empty wine bottles were rolling around. It seemed he had drunk a great deal. The room was also filled with the strong stench of alcohol. As if he had given up on being a martial artist, the sword that should have been handled like part of his own body was propped up in a corner of the room.

Neung Je-gang was beyond dumbfounded and could only feel speechless. Even so, since they had once been Taoists, he had thought there would surely be no sight like this.

Tap.

He touched the Taoist with his foot. The Taoist’s eyes snapped open. Though he had not sensed Neung Je-gang’s presence, it seemed he was not so far gone that he could not feel his body being touched directly.

“What is it?”

But he did not seem to have grasped the situation yet. Saying “what is it” to someone who had come to kill him?

“What is it? You’re making me wonder. I was going to at least dress you before killing you, but it seems you should just die as you are.”

“What?”

The Taoist’s eyes widened. “Should die”? Then was this man an assassin?

“You? Are you not one of the Soul Hunters?”

“Soul Hunters? Ah, I see. Now that I look at it, you misunderstood. Well, since we’re wearing the same black clothes, it’s understandable that you would misunderstand. No wonder you didn’t seem afraid. Sorry, but I am someone who came to kill you.”

Even though Neung Je-gang said he had come to kill him, the Taoist remained calm. He got up and picked up the Taoist robe that had been thrown beside him, putting it on. As he did, he looked with troubled eyes at the sword placed far away in the corner. Only now did he seem to regret not keeping his sword close.

“Who sent you?”

He was composed. Sitting there after putting on his clothes, he asked Neung Je-gang. Even without his sword, he was confident that he would not be killed by some assassin.

“That woman’s husband.”

Neung Je-gang pointed at the Mongol woman, who still had not woken. Of course, it was a joke. He was letting the man say whatever he wanted before killing him. But looking at him, the Taoist seemed angry.

“This damned thing! She had a husband?”

While still seated, he shoved the woman away with his foot. He appeared angry, but he could not deceive Neung Je-gang’s sharp eyes. The Taoist had merely removed an obstacle to make it easier to grab his sword.

“Hey, I’m not falling for that.”

Flinch.

The Taoist paused for a moment, then swiftly launched himself forward.

Tak.

He finally grasped his sword in his hand.

Srrng.

The sword left its sheath. Even if the Taoist’s mind was rotting away, his sword had not lost its gleam.

“Who really sent you?”

“I told you, this woman’s husband.”

“This wench has no husband. Because he died by my hand.”

“Huh! You killed the husband and took the woman? Were you truly once a Taoist?”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me the truth. Then I will not kill you.”

“Hah! What a funny fellow. But are there factions within Kunlun too?”

The fact that he kept trying to confirm it stimulated Neung Je-gang’s curiosity. So he probed indirectly.

And sure enough, even though Neung Je-gang had not said anything, the Taoist beat the drum and gong all by himself.

“As I thought! It really was Jeong Haeng-ja who sent you. That damned bastard……”

The Taoist sprang up. Then he looked at Neung Je-gang and asked.

“Where is that bastard now?”

“Who?”

“That bastard Jeong Haeng-ja. The one who commissioned you. That foolish bastard who thinks his disciple will become the next Sect Leader if I die.”

There was nothing more to find out. He had wondered what sort of circumstances there were, but it was merely fellow disciples fighting over the position of Sect Leader. And over the Sect Leader’s position of Kunlun, which had already burned down and disappeared, no less.

“I don’t know who the stupid one is here. You don’t even know that your sect has burned down and vanished, and what? Next Sect Leader? Hah! No wonder no one opposed a bastard like Deung Gak when he stepped forward and ran wild. Kunlun truly has fallen under an ill omen.”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m saying I’m done joking and will kill you now. If dawn breaks, it might become troublesome to go back.”

Srrng.

Neung Je-gang also drew his sword. If he wished, it would not be difficult to kill him barehanded, but why would he carry a sword around? He carried it so he could use it.

“Uaaaagh!”

He deliberately made the man scream, so it could be heard outside.

That scream would now echo every night, and Seon-yeong would greet nights of hell every day.

Neung Je-gang returned to the Martial Alliance. It was time to rest. Had he not stayed up all night?

But when he thought about it, he had nowhere to go and lie down. That was because he had returned to Seon-yeong without even deciding on a residence.

Fortunately or unfortunately, however, there was someone waiting for him.

“Hm? Court Lady Ha!”

It was Court Lady Ha, who had been kidnapped. Court Lady Ha bowed her head in greeting when she saw Neung Je-gang. She was probably expressing gratitude for him having rescued her like that.

“You have returned.”

“Yes, but what brings you here……?”

Why would Court Lady Ha be waiting for him? There was no reason for it. And right now, since he needed a place to wash and sleep, he did not want someone taking up his time.

“Yes, Her Highness told me to bring you when you returned.”

But if the princess had called him, there was no helping it. No matter how uneasy and tired he felt, what choice did he have but to go?

“Welcome. You worked hard.”

“Not at all.”

He wanted to say, “That is right. I worked quite hard. So I would like to rest a little,” but he could not, since the princess might get angry. It drove him mad.

However, the fact that the princess had called him could ultimately be called fortunate.

“I have prepared water for washing and a sleeping place in the tent beside this one. You must be tired, so please go rest there, and I will see you when you wake.”

The princess soothed Neung Je-gang’s heart with a very gentle expression and tone.

“Is, is that so?”

Neung Je-gang felt somewhat dazed. Seeing her take care of him like this when he was in difficulty somehow moved him.

“Th-then……”

Neung Je-gang gave his respects and came outside. Then Court Lady Ha, who had been waiting for him, guided him to the tent beside it. That tent was made of very clean cloth, as if it had been newly set up.

When he opened the tent door and entered, it was surprisingly spacious. It was even equipped with a large wooden bathtub. In a field camp like this, it was a facility luxurious enough to be called complete indulgence. Moreover, as if they knew when he would return, warm water had even been prepared in the bathtub.

Of course, the pitiful palace maids must have been the ones who did the work, but in any case, it was surely the princess who had ordered it, so he was grateful for her thoughtfulness. And so, for the first time in a while, he washed away the grime, completely relieved his fatigue, and slept deeply.

After confirming that Neung Je-gang had fallen asleep, Court Lady Ha went to the princess’s tent.

“He has fallen asleep.”

“How was his reaction?”

“It seems his mood improved. I believe it was quite effective.”

“Really?”

“See? Did I not tell you that he would like it if you only did as I told you?”

“Yes, thank you, Court Lady Ha!”

Ah, that was right. Everything had come from Court Lady Ha’s head. Perhaps because she had experience, she understood well what made a man feel grateful and at what moments. Princess Jang-ok had merely listened to Court Lady Ha’s advice and done as she was told.

“But did you not dislike the Deputy Commissioner, Court Lady Ha?”

Court Lady Ha had originally refused to accept that Princess Jang-ok liked an ignorant martial artist. Yet for some reason, her attitude had changed after being kidnapped and returning.

“Dislike him? I only opposed it because I did not know he was such a handsome man. I thought all martial artists were burly brutes. But to think he was such a handsome man, ah……!”

Court Lady Ha suddenly let out a sigh. She did not even know that the princess was glaring at her.

“Court Lady Ha!”

“Y-yes? Your Highness!”

“From today on, you are forbidden from approaching within three jang of the Deputy Commissioner.”

“What?”

“I already have a headache because of that woman called his junior sister. Are you going to be like that too, Court Lady Ha?”

Only then did Court Lady Ha’s face turn red. At any rate, women caused a commotion over handsome men, whether they were young or old.

“But what do you mean, junior sister?”

Court Lady Ha changed the topic.

“He has a junior sister, and it seems they may already have promised their future to each other. So I am troubled. I wonder whether it is all right for me to keep liking him.”

“What is there to be troubled about? If the person himself likes Your Highness, that is enough.”

“But what if his master has already approved it? It seems he cannot go against his master, even if he can against others…… Whew!”

The princess complained to Court Lady Ha like that and sighed.

“Then there is no helping it. There is one method……”

“What is it?”

“Would it not be fine if the two of you married the Deputy Commissioner?”

Court Lady Ha spoke as if it were obvious.

“What?”

The princess asked back as if to say how that could be possible.

“Even if he marries Your Highness, if later on he says he will take a concubine or something, your heart will suffer all the same. So instead, acknowledge that junior sister as a concubine and marry him on the condition that no other women will be tolerated. Would that not settle it?”

Court Lady Ha’s opinion somehow had many similarities to Majil’s opinion.

“W-would that be all right? I would be the one intruding, yet she would become the concubine?”

“Of course. Or will Your Highness become the concubine?”

“That cannot happen.”

“Of course not.”

There was a Joseon proverb that said one drank kimchi soup before the person who would give the rice cake had even thought of giving it. And what these two were doing now was exactly that.

Neung Je-gang was doing nothing, yet the two were talking as if the matter had already been decided that way. If Neung Je-gang had heard it, he might have grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.