episode_0016

“Who are you? I don’t think I’m from a clan.”

She was looking at me warily, but she didn’t scream or anything. This was because she also had some understanding of the existence of martial people. The struggles of ordinary people who have not learned martial arts are meaningless. The moment she takes a breath to scream, I will cover her mouth, force her into the room, and then try to talk to her again.

She is a woman who was abused by the head of the Hongryun faction.

The helplessness learned by the martial arts people was giving us an opportunity for conversation.

“Daughter of Munju of the Hongryun faction. Right?”

She nodded. Even though she had food in front of her, her eyes were fixed on me. Sanyeo was watching what I was doing in the shadows, and the woman asked me a question again.

“….What do you want?”

“I heard a rumor that the head of the Hongryun faction was a golden beast, so I came to pass judgment on behalf of heaven.”

I pointed to the ax on my belt. Moonju’s daughter looked at the weapon I showed her, blinked her eyes, and adjusted her breathing. Then he said, holding the hem of his clothes tightly with his fingers.

“…..Father is not here. You’ve gone far, and it will take a month to come back. You came at the wrong time, so please go back.”

“I know.”

The woman’s face was filled with doubt. She didn’t open her mouth, but the question ‘Then why?’ was probably lingering in her mouth. I nodded and took a step forward. As I approached her, staring at her, the woman was fidgeting.

I bowed down in front of her. I sat down, looked up at her, and said this.

“Knowing that, I came here to do business with you.”

A deal in exchange for the head of Munju of the Hongryun faction.

A man who cut the tendons in her legs and came to judge Munju for not treating her properly as his daughter.

The woman’s eyes wavered.

“….What do you want?”

******

The atmosphere in the clan was lively. They were so excited, as if they couldn’t even guess that a deal was being made tonight that would risk Moonju’s life. I squatted in a crooked position and spoke to the woman.

“Do you wish your father were dead?”

She didn’t answer. I just squinted and watched my movements. However, even though it contained a story about immorality, the moment there was no sign of rejection, it was as if the answer had been heard. I continued the story while looking at the wall.

“ He gets a grudge from the merchants around him, and everyone in the village curses the head of the Hongryun faction to die. And, because he was a man with a strange obsession with his daughter, he cut off her ankle tendons and made her into an asshole. He’s such a killer. No one will blame you if you say you want to kill.”

When I said that and pointed to my ankles, the woman lowered the hem of her skirt to hide her ankles, as if someone had been stabbed in her weak spot. And she glared at me and said.

“….So?”

There was a ledger on the desk. All the taxes collected in this village and the money earned by offending merchants are all recorded through her. I said, inhaling the faint scent of ink through my nose.

“I too wish your father were dead. And, I will eat this Hongryun faction.”

The woman was waiting for me to continue speaking. She tried to remain silent and act resolute, but there was no way to stop her lips from quivering.

“For that, I need your help. and… . Helping me will be a good thing for you too.”

The woman said with a frown.

“….to me, why… . Does that make it okay? What do you believe in?”

“If you live like this without helping me, will good days come to you?”

The woman kept her mouth shut. Then he avoided my gaze and made a stern expression. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to say ‘yes’, but it was clear that her life was not going to get any better. There are a lot of rumors out there that Moon Joo doesn’t treat his daughter like a human being, but how on earth would she be treated in reality?

And how much more will I live with being cursed and abused in the future?

“There are widespread rumors that even the neighborhood bastards think that Moonju’s daughter is a servant who keeps a ledger. Is there something you really believe in?”

She distorted her face. He held his hair tightly with his fingers, lowered his head, and ground his teeth. He stared at me for a moment with his lips pouting, then took a breath and spoke.

“….But I’m not stupid enough to help a scoundrel like you.”

I didn’t refute what she said. Instead, he told a different story.

“The Hongryun faction is not a faction created by Munju alone. It has a higher line than that. Just because the munju is dead doesn’t mean I can take over the munpa. In any case, you must have a solid cause that cannot be expressed even from above.”

The woman was squirming, but was listening to me attentively. He leaned as if he was trying to avoid me, but since he was listening, his stance seemed to be a little closer than before. I reached out to her.

The woman leaned further back like a wild animal and swallowed her breath. I said, holding my hand out instead of running after her.

“You are the cause. As the daughter of a mun lord, the person who marries you can become the rightful owner of the mun sect.”

The woman didn’t seem to understand what I was saying. He squirmed and tilted his head, then blinked his eyes and tried to understand what I was saying. Then, his face turned red, he leaned forward and raised his voice.

“What… ! town… !”

I quickly rolled over and jumped at her. He covered her mouth before she could properly scream, and rolled over with her into the room. The blankets and piles of books muffled the sound of us rolling on the floor, and the people outside were still in noisy excitement.

“Who is the best among Kangho!”

“Hongryun Sect! Hahahaha!”

The sound of alcohol rang faintly like the sound of mountain birds.

The night air was cool, and the room smelled of old paper.

The woman was squirming in my arms, but it was impossible to shake off my strength. An ordinary woman would be able to kick and run away, but she cannot use her legs.

As I nodded, Sanyeo, who was outside, moved to the shade and slowly closed the door.

The door slides shut before my eyes.

After struggling a few times, she realized that she couldn’t resist and relaxed her body.

Holding her like a doll, I stroked her hair once and spoke in a low voice.

“If you don’t scream, I’ll open your mouth. Because we still have something to talk about.”

She nodded. I thought my chest, which was rising high, was moving rapidly, but soon I calmed down and took a slow breath again. When I released her hands, she took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

“…What do you mean by marriage?”

“If I were just a thief looking for money, I could put an ax to your neck and find the warehouse. If you have a grudge, just set fire to this sect.”

I continued.

“I need the buildings and influence of this sect. And you are a person who understands the flow of money by writing down the ledgers of this sect, and knows what transactions have been made so far. And no matter what the clan lord thinks of you, you are the rightful and only heir of this clan.”

The woman was blinking. She understood what I meant. I said.

“If you help me take over the faction, your life will be better than it is now. I promise that I will help you escape from the times when you were not treated properly and become the hostess of your clan.”

And I grabbed her side. When he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her, the woman stiffened without realizing it. Like goats that faint when they receive a sudden shock, she was unable to react to my sudden actions.

“I understand that you don’t trust me, but are you really going to live like this?”

I held her close to my body and spoke in a low voice. The woman’s face was red and her hands were trying to push me away. However, its power was so weak that it could be ignored.

I asked.

“Do you really want nothing to happen?”

“Well, that’s… .”

The woman cannot answer.

Pale skin due to not seeing much sunlight.

Watery black eyes.

Although my eyes were shaking, I let go of her hand and distanced myself from her.

“Uh… .”

Moonju’s daughter looked surprised when I walked away again. I shook my hands, and the door opened as if I had been waiting. I said as I walked backwards out the door.

“I’ll come back tomorrow night. Think carefully.”

She had no right to veto.

I got out very slowly, but she didn’t show me a firm attitude.

The word ‘I don’t like it’ was enough to express his opinion, but he just kept his mouth shut and swept his lap with a distraught expression.

From that alone, I felt like I could tell what choice she would make.

“See you tomorrow.”

Of course, I didn’t hear anyone saying goodbye.