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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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One of the Sasang Faction thugs who had been blankly looking back and forth between the fallen Jin Cheongseok and Jang Geon came to his senses and shouted, “Get that bastard!”
If any of them had cultivated a decent level of martial arts, they wouldn’t have mindlessly ordered an attack like that. However, their top fighter, Jin Cheongseok, was already down, and none of the thugs had trained in perception to read Jang Geon’s movements.
“This damn guy! Let’s beat him up!”
The thug closest to Jang Geon swung his cudgel in a straightforward slashing attack – devoid of any subtlety, but probably enough to smash an ordinary civilian’s head.
Jang Geon took a step back with his right foot and slightly arched his back to lightly evade the cudgel. He immediately straightened his torso and struck the thug’s jaw with his right fist. There was a cracking sound, and the thug froze before crumpling forward.
Before that thug had completely fallen, Jang Geon stepped past him and drove his raised right foot into another thug’s face. Simultaneously, he used the recoil from that kick to spin and slam his heel into yet another thug’s chest.
Startled by those moves, one of the remaining thugs instinctively charged at Jang Geon, raising his cudgel high. Jang Geon swiftly pivoted his body and drove his left fist into the thug’s wide-open ribs. As the thug choked on his breath, Jang Geon planted his right fist squarely in his face, leaving him to crumple.
With his stance regained, Jang Geon calmly approached the last two thugs, who stood gaping dumbly as their comrades dropped one by one around them.
Jang Geon stopped right in front of them, took in their dismayed expressions, and casually planted a fist into each of their jaws. They let out pained grunts before collapsing.
In the span of mere moments, Jang Geon had taken down all nine thugs, including Jin Cheongseok. He dusted off his hands and looked around – Jin Yangseok was nowhere to be seen, having swiftly fled when his brother went down. Chuckling, Jang Geon turned to Yang Gweng.
Yang Gweng wore the same dumbfounded expression as the thugs who had been struck in the jaw.
“…Not a scratch on you?”
“I didn’t learn martial arts to lose against common thugs like them.”
Yang Gweng looked down at the fallen Sasang Faction men, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Well, I didn’t expect them to be this…weak.”
“Even if I had only used half my skills from gambling matches, your little gang wouldn’t have stood a chance against me.”
Jang Geon picked up the sword he had propped against the table, secured it at his waist, and took his bamboo hat in hand.
“Anyway, it was nice meeting you, but let’s never see each other again, trickster.”
Yang Gweng, who had been lost in thought while caressing his chin, slowly hunched his shoulders and laughed uneasily at Jang Geon’s words.
“What, Jang? You want to leave just like that? That’s a bit cold, isn’t it? Instead, let’s have a drink together.”
“The hell, what do you have to be sentimental about? You want to get swindled again?”
Yang Gweng waved a dismissive hand.
“No, no, that’s not it. Are you really going to leave just like this?”
Without a response, Jang Geon simply gestured with his chin towards the inn’s window. The innkeeper and guests who had fled moments ago were peeking out cautiously, watching them with wary eyes. Yang Gweng noticed their gazes too.
“…Ah, right. Drinking here would be difficult now.”
Hearing Yang Gweng’s mutter, Jang Geon lightly chuckled and exited through the inn’s entrance. Yang Gweng hurriedly followed behind him.
“Hey, Jang! Don’t be like that, let’s go together. There are still around ten more of those Sasang Faction guys left, including their leader who’s above even Jin Cheongseok! And the reason that guy could be the leader despite being weaker than Jin Cheongseok is precisely because he has connections with the local Martial Arts Alliance branch here…”
Yang Gweng nearly walked right into Jang Geon’s back as the latter abruptly stopped, freezing in place himself.
“What? Why did you stop?”
Jang Geon didn’t answer. Yang Gweng peeked over his shoulder to assess the situation outside – a burly middle-aged man on horseback and five armed martial artists had surrounded the inn’s entrance, swords drawn.
Yang Gweng slowly backpedaled into the inn’s interior.
The middle-aged man sat stroking his thick mustache, observing Jang Geon with an intrigued expression. Jin Yangseok stood beside the horse, watching Jang Geon with an uneasy look.
The middle-aged man spoke, “You don’t seem too fazed. Do you know who I am?”
In response to the question, Jang Geon folded his arms and gestured with his chin towards the man’s chest.
“You must be the head of the local Martial Arts Alliance branch.”
A small hexagonal metal insignia was pinned to the middle-aged man’s robe – the badge granted to branch chiefs by the Alliance. The man let out a light laugh before continuing.
“That’s right, I’m this village’s branch chief. And I’ve just received a report that you assaulted some of my villagers here.”
“It wasn’t just an assault! My brother was left in a vegetative state! He lost teeth, so he probably can’t even eat properly now!”
Jin Yangseok, beside the branch chief, shouted angrily. The chief looked at him incredulously before turning back to Jang Geon.
Jang Geon bluntly replied while keeping his arms folded, “It was self-defense.”
“Self-defense?”
At the branch chief’s questioning tone, Jang Geon shrugged lightly.
“Then what would you call a one-versus-nine fight? Eight of them were even armed with cudgels.”
“But now I only see you emerging from the inn.”
“Those nine were a bit crippled.”
For some reason, the branch chief gave a satisfied smile before asking again, “Any casualties?”
Jang Geon simply shook his head slowly, without a word. The branch chief nodded with an even wider grin. Seeing this, Jin Yangseok contorted his face and yelled.
“Branch Chief! Why aren’t you arresting this bastard immediately? My brother is down, and my nose was broken too!”
The branch chief slowly hardened his expression and turned his gaze to Jin Yangseok at his outburst. Jin Yangseok, whose face had flushed red, looked bewildered by that glare before seemingly realizing something, his color draining.
The branch chief addressed him. “Jin Cheongseok and eight other Sasang Faction members were taken down? Then what reason do I have to keep tolerating you lot? The only ones among you who can even pretend to have martial arts skills are that Jin Cheongseok and your leader. And between those two, I could easily handle one of them alone. The rest of your thugs wouldn’t last against my subordinates.”
“Th-That… If, if my brother wakes up, he, he’ll…”
“All he’ll see when he wakes is a prison cell.”
The branch chief gestured to the armed martial artists, one of whom sheathed his sword and began binding Jin Yangseok with a rope from his waist. Jin Yangseok was led away wearing a dumbfounded expression, unable to properly protest.
The branch chief, still mounted, edged a bit closer to Jang Geon and spoke.
“Now, step aside. I need to arrest these troublemaking thugs disrupting my village.”
Jang Geon, who had been calmly observing the situation, obediently complied, walking past the inn entrance towards where his horse was tethered. As the Alliance martial artists rushed into the inn, the branch chief watched Jang Geon untying his horse’s reins.
“Planning to leave right away?”
Jang Geon neither looked back nor responded. The branch chief nodded to himself.
“A wise decision. No matter if it was self-defense, your continued presence here would be problematic. The villagers would feel uneasy.”
In the brief moment he spoke, the martial artists who had entered re-emerged, dragging the unconscious thugs out and lining them up by the roadside. Noting Jin Cheongseok’s battered face among them, the chief asked Jang Geon again.
“Where did you learn your martial arts? That Jin Cheongseok may not be a top expert, but he’s quite skilled in combat.”
Jang Geon remained silent, simply mounting his horse. After giving the reins a light tug to settle the restless steed, he finally met the branch chief’s gaze. Without a word, he stared at the man for a moment before donning his bamboo hat and turning his horse in the opposite direction from which they had entered the village.
“…A taciturn fellow.”
It was only after Jang Geon rode away that the branch chief’s expression hardened. Part of him wanted to intimidate the man using his position as Alliance branch chief, but he also hesitated, wondering if Jang Geon might be a formidable expert who didn’t fear the Alliance. In the end, the chief didn’t attempt to stop Jang Geon’s departure. He spat out a yellowish glob of phlegm, watching Jang Geon’s retreating back with displeasure.
At that moment, Yang Gweng burst out from the inn, shouting, “Jang! Let me come with you, Jang! Don’t leave me here alone!”
After thoughtlessly yelling out and catching the furrowed gazes of the other Alliance martial artists and the chief, Yang Gweng flinched before quickly mounting his own horse to chase after Jang Geon. He soon caught up, riding alongside, and glanced back uneasily.
“Damn… That Martial Arts Alliance branch chief really is an opportunist…”
Jang Geon remained silent.
As the two men traversed the main road of that small frontier village, the residents watched them pass with wary eyes from their homes, through windows, or standing at their doors. Yang Gweng met their gazes with a bitter expression before speaking up.
“Still, Jang, you did resolve this village’s trouble, yet they’re all giving us those looks.”
He turned to Jang Geon and asked, “Do you know why that branch chief acted like that?”
“Why else? Being from the Alliance, he has to apprehend criminals.”
“If he was so diligent in his duties, would the villagers be gossiping like that behind his back? Listen, Jang, I heard a rumor that there are currently Martial Arts Alliance inspectors patrolling this region. From what I saw, that guy probably heard the same rumor, got nervous, and then saw you as an opportunity to cover his tracks when you showed up.”
Jang Geon didn’t respond, simply allowing his body to sway with the motions of his horse’s saddle, as Yang Gweng continued to ramble as they left the village.
“So for helping him save face, shouldn’t he have at least given us something in return? Some money, or arranging food and lodging would have been the proper thing to do, instead of just kicking us out like that. From what I’ve seen, there aren’t any decent Martial Arts Alliance branch chiefs around. They’re either lacking in some way or opportunists like that guy. Then again, anyone truly capable wouldn’t join the Alliance in the first place. Speaking of which, Jang, this might seem out of the blue, but would you be interested in doing a job with me…”
Yang Gweng’s words trailed off as Jang Geon, who had been riding slightly ahead, came to a halt. Looking around, Yang Gweng realized they had already exited the village toward the east and arrived at a fork in the road – one path leading north, the other continuing eastward. A small wooden signpost stood between the branching paths.
“…Why did you stop?”
Jang Geon turned to face Yang Gweng.
“Which way are you going?”
“Well, uh? Where are you headed, Jang?”
Jang Geon chuckled lightly.
“I don’t work with tricksters who use deception in gambling.”
“…Didn’t I say I wouldn’t do that anymore? I’m serious. And what kind of job did you think I was proposing?”
After shaking his head slightly at Yang Gweng’s response, Jang Geon turned his horse towards the eastern path.
“Let’s make sure we never cross paths again, trickster. If you follow me, I’ll break your legs, so decide for yourself.”
With that, he simply rode away. Yang Gweng could only gape wordlessly at Jang Geon’s retreating back and the rump of his horse, stunned by the harsh threat of breaking his legs. It was only after Jang Geon had ridden some distance that Yang Gweng finally let out a heavy sigh.
“…That’s a pretty steep price. Just who is that guy? He wasn’t a native of Amju Valley, that’s for sure. I should look into him properly.”
Stroking his chin pensively, Yang Gweng turned his horse towards the northern path and sighed again.
“Ah, damn it. The sun is already setting, and I got kicked out of the village. Curse my luck.”
Before departing northward, he briefly halted his horse to take one last look at the distant Jang Geon. As the sun dipped low, the eastern sky darkened to an inky hue, yet Jang Geon and his steed charged fearlessly into that gloomy world.
Watching them with a strange sense of admiration, Yang Gweng soon set off northward himself, a trail of dust billowing in his wake from the horse’s hooves.
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