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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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The girl asked to be called Birang (悲狼), meaning “Sad Wolf”. Jang Geon became curious as to why she, who seemed so bright and lively even in the brief moment he saw her, had such a name, but he did not ask since she did not try to explain.
The tent that Jang Geon was in now was not very large. According to Jeok-pung, it was a tent that had been set up specifically to take care of him, one that had not been used before. Birang brought water and a thick porridge-like dish, then left the tent. Jeok-pung said not to mind it, as she was just being shy.
“I want to express my gratitude.”
Jang Geon, who had finished the porridge, spoke to Jeok-pung, who was still sitting in the tent. Jeok-pung laughed heartily and replied.
“Gratitude? You mean you want to reward us? Then give us money.”
“…Do you use the coins from the Central Plains?”
“We didn’t use to, but when buying things from the villages below, we need the coins from the Central Plains. Thanks to that, other nearby tribes also use the coins from the Central Plains. It’s convenient once we started using them.”
Jang Geon chuckled and searched for his clothes in the corner of the tent. He then took out all but one of the coins he had left from gambling in the past and handed them to Jeok-pung. Jeok-pung beamed when he saw the silver coins in his pocket.
“Oh! You’re giving me all of this?”
“In return, I’ll stay for a few days.”
“Of course! Ah, I should return your sword too? Wait a moment, I’ll bring it right away.”
Saying so, Jeok-pung left the tent. As Jang Geon watched him leave, he immediately sat cross-legged and began to move his inner energy.
By his will, the power arising from his dantian traveled through his meridians, passing through the twelve main meridians and the eight extraordinary vessels, extending into his governing vessel, making his entire body feel warm. The spear of the Yuan warrior that had pierced Jang Geon’s shoulder was coated with a potent poison, and this venom had aggravated the wound.
So Jang Geon had previously released the constricted meridians, expelling the stagnant blood along with the venom that was disrupting his meridian flow.
However, unexpectedly, he had expelled too much blood and lost consciousness. Of course, even during that time, his inner energy minimized his body’s activities and aided the healing of his wound when his will disappeared, but if Birang had not found and brought him, it would have taken longer for his wound to heal.
Jang Geon burned off the residual traces of venom around his shoulder. At the same time, he stimulated the surrounding meridians to increase his healing power and calmly completed his energy circulation. The solid inner energy, created through the teachings of numerous martial arts masters, Jang Geon’s own creative attempts, and his experiences, filled his dantian.
Exhaling a long breath and opening his eyes, Jang Geon felt that moving his arms had become much easier. It did not seem like he would be staying here for an extended period.
After standing up and roughly putting on his clothes, Jang Geon stepped out of the tent. In the chilly air, the bright sunlight stung his eyes. Squinting and straightening his bent back, he saw a village with thatched huts and tents intermingled, emitting billowing white smoke. The tent Jang Geon had been in was on the outermost edge of the village.
“Huh? You’re out already? It might have been better to rest inside a bit longer.”
Turning his head, he saw Birang and Jojo. It seemed that Birang had been brushing Jojo after removing his saddle. Jang Geon smiled faintly at the sight of Birang.
“I ate the porridge well.”
“Ah, did it suit your taste?”
“It was a bit bland, though.”
“…Normally in this situation, don’t people say it was delicious even if it wasn’t?”
“But if it’s bland, it’s bland.”
Birang looked at Jang Geon with a wry expression.
“Then next time, you’ll have to prepare it yourself. I can’t control the saltiness.”
“I said it was bland, not that it didn’t taste good. I ate it well.”
“…Really?”
After looking wry, she suddenly smiled and quickly turned her head towards Jojo.
“Does this fellow have a name? He seems quite intelligent. At first, he tried to stop me.”
“More mischievous than intelligent. His name is Jojo.”
“Jojo?”
As she murmured, Jojo immediately nuzzled against her and neighed in a mischievous tone. It sounded like a person laughing slyly. However, Birang stroked Jojo’s mane as if she found it endearing.
“Jojo. Jojo. I’m not good at naming people from the Central Plains, but it’s a fun name to pronounce.”
“I named him that because I thought it was fun too. But as time passes, he’s becoming more mischievous, so it might have been a mistake to give him that name…”
“Why? What does it mean?”
“It’s not the meaning, but the original owner of that name was a bit problematic…”
Birang smiled at Jang Geon, seemingly not understanding what he meant and asking for an explanation. Seeing that smile, Jang Geon gave a wry smile. There was no way to explain it, for he could not explain history that no longer existed.
Jang Geon was saved from the situation by Jeok-pung’s arrival. He appeared holding Jang Geon’s sword in his left hand.
“Oh, Jang Geon. Is it okay for you to be out? Well, I guess it’s better to move around a bit for a quicker recovery. It worked out well.”
As Jang Geon and Birang looked at him questioningly, Jeok-pung continued.
“I was bringing your sword when the elder wanted to see your face. Since you’re up, you might as well go right away.”
“The elder?”
“He’s the one who communicates with spirits. He’s also the oldest in our tribe. And he was the second strongest advocate for treating you, after the one you can probably guess.”
Jang Geon nodded. It seemed that the village elder wanted to confirm his face. Jeok-pung led the way, but Birang, who had been blushing behind them, quickly tried to follow. However, Jeok-pung stopped her.
“He wants to see him alone.”
Although she pouted her lips in disappointment, she eventually stopped and simply looked at Jang Geon. As Jang Geon followed Jeok-pung, he turned back to her golden eyes and gave a light bow.
“Thank you for saving me.”
Birang beamed at those words.
“What are you talking about? According to my uncle, you weren’t in that much danger. Later, tell me stories about the Central Plains.”
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As Jang Geon followed Jeok-pung, he could feel the people of the tribe passing by looking at him with wary or curious eyes. Most were more curious than wary, to the point where some stopped in their tracks and stared at him in amazement. From Jang Geon’s perspective, those twinkling golden eyes felt burdensome.
Jeok-pung occasionally stopped those who tried to ask questions, making excuses that the elder had called for them and they were busy. In this way, the two were able to reach a small tent set up between the tribe and the forest.
Jeok-pung, standing in front of the tent, stopped Jang Geon.
“From the way you speak our language well, I can assume that you will show proper manners even in front of the elder. But let me say this anyway. Do not act improperly from the perspective of a Central Plains person.”
Jang Geon responded with a deep nod. Jeok-pung seemed pleased with his taciturn manner and smiled faintly, looking towards the tent and saying.
“Elder, I’ve brought that friend. Shall I let him in?”
Then, without any response from inside, he stepped aside from the tent entrance.
“Go in. I’ll return your sword afterward.”
Jang Geon, with a slightly bewildered expression, entered the tent with a bow. Inside, he wondered if it was really okay to meet the tribe’s highest elder and shaman so easily.
The interior of the tent was adorned with colorful cloths, feathers, animal bones, and hides. At the very back of the tent, facing the entrance, sat an elder similarly adorned with the tent’s decorations. His deeply wrinkled face, half-open eyes, and yellow and red patterns painted on his face were noticeable.
As Jang Geon entered, the elder slightly opened one eye and looked at him. Jang Geon, finding the elder’s red eye color strange, lightly clasped his hands.
“My name is Jang Geon.”
The elder did not respond. He simply gazed at Jang Geon with his red eye. Jang Geon wondered what that meant for a moment, then simply sat down on the spot. The elder’s eyebrows twitched.
“I didn’t tell you to sit.”
“It’s a bit low to stand in this tent.”
The elder stared intently at Jang Geon’s natural behavior, then let out a wry laugh.
“Your pronunciation is decent. Where did you learn our language?”
“If you go far southwest from here, there’s a place called Cheonhuseng on the coast. It’s the largest of the three cities the Emperor established in this land. Many people from these lands work there. Among them are those who teach the languages of the various tribes for money.”
“Working under the Central Plains people? They must be Rock People or Prairie People. Those folks have always had a hard time making a living. That’s why it has a southern accent.”
Jang Geon felt a bitterness at the sense of deep division and distance between the tribes conveyed by those words. It made him think that the feeling of regionalism was similar everywhere people lived. The elder then continued.
“I’m called Old One-Eye. I’m the oldest old-timer in this village. I’ve probably lived so long that some of the young folks in the tribe wonder why this old geezer doesn’t die. I may be the oldest elder among all the surrounding tribes. And some say it’s because I use evil sorcery, but of course, I didn’t leave those bastards alone…”
As Jang Geon listened, the elder’s words seemed endless. But remembering Jeok-pung’s advice, Jang Geon did not interrupt him.
“…Even if they’re from different tribes, there should be mutual respect and courtesy, right? Those bastards got what was coming when they were just newborns, and I was already the shaman of this village. Anyway, it seems like only Red Wind among the youngsters these days respects elders. Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve met a Central Plains person that I’m rambling unnecessarily. What’s your name again?”
“…Nice to meet you, Old One-Eye. Let me introduce myself again, my name is Jang Geon.”
It seemed that the reason Jeok-pung and Birang were so talkative was because of this elder. Jang Geon had the ominous thought that perhaps all the villagers were this talkative. And fearing that the elder would go on another long tangent if left alone, he quickly asked.
“I heard you were a strong advocate for treating me in the village. Why was that?”
“So should I have told them to discard the one Sad Wolf carried in? Your words seemed to follow you well, and one who has obtained a horse’s heart cannot be an evil person, so helping an injured and weary person was only natural.”
“…I see.”
Jang Geon lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. It was a familiar answer.
“And I also had a personal interest.”
Jang Geon was slightly puzzled by Old One-Eye’s follow-up words. Was the Central Plains person found collapsed by the river interesting to him?
Seeing Jang Geon’s expression, the elder slowly opened his other eye. In the dim light of the tent, his slowly opening eye shone like a silver ring. His red right eye and silver left eye, glimmering softly in the tent’s shadows, had a mysterious aura that evoked a sense of distant wonder. Those two eyes looked directly at Jang Geon.
The elder’s mouth opened.
“So, how is your second life? Is it enjoyable?”
For a moment, Jang Geon simply gazed back at those two eyes without answering. He did not react with surprise, as someone whose secret has been discovered often does, nor did he ask how the elder knew. He simply maintained his calm expression and looked into those mysterious eyes, then calmly replied.
“It’s not enjoyable, like all matters in life.”
Old One-Eye stared at Jang Geon for a long time with a deep gaze, as if trying to see through his calm. But Jang Geon showed no wavering. The elder let out a small sigh.
“…It doesn’t seem like you used any corrupt sorcery or evil power. Yeah, I’ve heard that sometimes, these things just happen. I didn’t think I’d see it myself, but I guess I’ll live and see many things…”
Jang Geon chuckled.
“Was that the reason you became interested?”
“If you saw someone living their second life, wouldn’t you be interested? You should have seen how surprised I was when Sad Wolf carried you in! At first, I thought you were a demon!”
“I’m more surprised by your eyes, elder. Can you see my soul or something?”
“Hey! That’s not something you ask about. Sorcery loses its power when dissected piece by piece. Don’t you Central Plains people also risk your lives to keep the secrets of that ‘martial arts’ thing?”
“…Most of the time, they just teach it for money.”
Jang Geon answered a little glumly. Hadn’t the foundation of his own martial arts been built with money? However, Old One-Eye, hearing that answer, dismissed his previous seriousness and beamed.
“Oh. Then do you also teach martial arts for money?”
“…My martial arts might be a bit difficult. I’ve learned a hodgepodge of skills.”
But the elder laughed heartily.
“It’s fine. Then just spar with me.”
“…Spar?”
Jang Geon felt his previous gloominess deepen even further.
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