Murim in my Hometown - Chapter 27

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

◈ Murim in my Hometown ◈

Chapter 27: Killer

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“There aren't any lunatics here looking for an antidote too, are there?”

There was only one way out of the mountains.

The Tang Clan traitors must have passed through here as well. There was no way they had used poison only on the bandits.

That was why none of us entered the inn carelessly, even after getting out of the carriages.

Dang Hyeseo, standing beside me, shook her head.

“After poisoning dozens of bandits, there shouldn't be much Soul-Shaving Acid left.”

“Don't they have any other poisons?”

Dang Hyeseo fell silent for a moment before answering.

“Only Soul-Shaving Acid can neutralize poisonous energy and put victims on a leash.”

So the Tang Clan traitors had other deadly poisons as well. Just how much had they stolen for a pursuit-and-execution squad to be sent after them?

Watching the inn entrance where the driver had gone in moments earlier, Won Seogang joined the conversation.

“Won't it be fine? I heard this inn belongs to the Hao clan.”

“Even if it does, would that matter if their lives were hanging by a thread from poisoning?”

It wasn't only people with rotten hearts who committed betrayal.

Someone could fall into a trap another person had set, be driven by circumstances, or have no choice for some unavoidable reason. Any of those things could ruin a decent person.

Won Seogang must have known that, yet he remained remarkably calm.

“Would the attendants attack martial artists with swords just because they'd been poisoned? At most, they might poison the food. Nothing is more ridiculous than using poison against the Tang Clan.”

It was a reasonable point. Inn attendants were different from bandits.

When I glanced over, Dang Dohun and the Detoxification Hall members still looked murderous.

It was only natural for them to be on edge. Tang Clan traitors had used Tang Clan poison to attack them.

The monk, the only person in our group whose clothes weren't soaked in blood, simply stared at the sky with indifferent eyes.

The driver named Mangseok emerged with a middle-aged person.

“This is the innkeeper.”

Even at the sight of martial artists reeking of blood, their killing intent not yet faded, the middle-aged innkeeper neither cowered nor looked intimidated.

It took more than simply dealing with plenty of martial artists to develop such nerve.

Perhaps the innkeeper could look upon us as caged beasts only because the Hao clan provided such sturdy protection.

Dang Dohun immediately asked, “Does this inn belong to the Hao clan?”

“Yes.”

“How many people are inside?”

“Myself, two inn attendants, and two cooks.”

“Have them all come out. I need to check whether they've been poisoned.”

“Of course.”

Perhaps having heard what happened in the mountains, the innkeeper didn't panic and simply did as instructed.

Dang Dohun took out his needle case and examined them personally.

Just as Dang Hyeseo had done in the mountains, he inserted needles into the innkeeper, the attendants, and the cooks, checking various things.

I didn't know what he was doing, but it seemed none of them had been poisoned.

Once that was confirmed, the conversation moved on.

“The targets entered this village yesterday afternoon. They didn't stop at any inn and drove straight south. We sent someone after them, and it seems they spent the night in the mountains.”

“How many were there?”

“One young lady, a man who appeared to be her lover, and three martial artists hired as swordsmen in Seochon.”

An elopement...

The picture formed easily enough. Even in ordinary households, it wasn't easy to marry the person one loved. For a great family like the Tang Clan, it went without saying.

They had to marry a stranger chosen by the family head and elders, who put family interests first.

Most accepted their roles without complaint, believing they were repaying the favor of being born into a good family and living in comfort. Yet some abandoned their families and chose love.

The strange thing was that they had stolen Tang Clan poison and hidden weapons while fleeing. It didn't make sense as a means of shaking off the pursuit-and-execution squad.

If they had simply fled quietly, they wouldn't have been chased this far in the first place.

Dang Dohun took a bank draft from his money pouch.

“I'll rent out the entire inn for the night, so don't accept any guests.”

The innkeeper checked the amount written on the bank draft and smiled in satisfaction.

“I expected as much, so I have already cleared the inn. The meal will be ready shortly, so please wash up first.”

The drivers took the carriages to the stable behind the inn.

We all went inside. One attendant lowered the flag hanging outside the inn and barred the door.

“Is there somewhere to wash?”

The attendant pointed beyond the back door.

“Keep going straight that way, and you'll reach a river. The current is gentle there, so it's a good place to bathe.”

After telling Dang Hyeseo that I was going to wash, I headed through the back door. Won Seogang followed me.

Walking beneath the still-piercing sunlight, the two of us, martial artists soaked in blood, felt like a pair of stray dogs.

After crossing a low hill, we found a fairly wide river flowing gently, just as the attendant had said. It hadn't dried up despite the scorching summer sun.

“We'll wash in turns.”

“I'll go first.”

“What happened to respecting your elders?”

“Do you want to leave first, too?”

I quickly set my long saber beside my bundle and removed the dagger strapped to my ankle, my money pouch, and the bamboo tube fastened to my hand.

The blood had already dried on my martial garb, leaving it stiff as a shell. When I took it off, dry blood flaked down unpleasantly.

I threw off the garb and jumped into the river. I regretted it immediately. The water was cold enough to take my breath away.

Pushing through the sharp chill striking my entire body, I dived to the riverbed.

I watched small fish swimming among the pebbles, then scrubbed myself with my hands. Dried blood dissolved in red streams. No matter how much I rubbed, more seemed to flow out.

I felt lighter, but also uneasy.

I broke the surface and ran my hands over my body and limbs, checking myself.

When one became excited in a fight, it was easy not to realize one had been injured.

More often than not, I would think my legs merely ached from cramped muscles, casually touch my thigh, and only then find wet blood on my hand.

Fortunately, I wasn't injured. All the blood washing off me belonged to nameless bandits.

After washing my hair, face, behind my ears, the back of my neck, and every corner of my body, I climbed ashore.

I took a cotton cloth from my bundle, dried myself, and changed into clean underclothes and fresh martial garb.

My old leather shoes were stained with blood and had holes near the big toes.

In the past, I would have repaired them somehow and kept wearing them. But now I had money to spare. I simply threw them away and took out a pair of straw sandals from my bundle.

New shoes always made me feel good. They gave me the strange expectation that I might be able to walk a new road.

Of course, it was only a feeling. The road ahead didn't change.

I tossed the blood-soaked garb and leather shoes into the river. After watching them drift slowly away with the current, I turned and shouted.

“I'm done! Go wash!”

Won Seogang, who had been lying beneath the shade of a tree, rose and stretched.

He set down his sword, undressed, and strode down to the river.

I couldn't tell how big it was from behind, but the sword scars across his bronzed back stood out clearly.

The sharply carved wounds were so precise that they resembled flower petals. It seemed he had faced a master far beyond him and barely managed to escape.

I washed my hands and lay down beneath the shade.

The fight against the bandits returned to my mind.

It was always like this after a fight. Even if I didn't want to, I couldn't help replaying it in my head and going over it again. That was probably why I was still alive.

I hadn't felt the slightest guilt while killing the bandits. I had shown no mercy and hadn't hesitated once.

I had even tested the sword path Won Seogang taught me.

I hadn't enjoyed killing them, but the familiar feeling, as though I had finally gotten a feel for combat again after so long, was deeply unsettling.

When I accepted the job of guarding Dang Hyeseo, I hadn't intended to kill anyone.

But when I thought carefully about it, part of me had expected something like this to happen. Even so, I hadn't considered it a big deal. Was it because I was sick of it, yet used to it?

Come to think of it, the others were no different.

Won Seogang, Dang Dohun, and the Detoxification Hall members were one thing, but even Dang Hyeseo, who looked barely twenty, had killed the bandits without hesitation.

She had remained calm even when she saw me drenched in blood.

Even before the dozens of dismembered corpses, stinking of sickening blood, she hadn't fainted. Instead, she had inserted needles into them to check whether they had been poisoned.

Not one of us trembled or suffered before that scene of carnage, like something from hell.

If someone asked whether that wasn't what martial artists were, I would have nothing to say. But if they asked whether we were human...

I didn't know.

I had become a killer too...

I felt it deep in my bones once more. Starting life anew was terribly difficult.

Like the blood-soaked garb I had thrown away, perhaps this life could only be washed away by death. Perhaps it would only be possible in the next life.

Won Seogang approached while drying his hair, now fully dressed.

“Why do you look so troubled? Is it because of the sword path? I told you, it isn't something so easy to learn. If you're not careful, even your saber techniques could collapse...”

“It's not that. We killed people.”

“Hm?”

Won Seogang blinked as though he had no idea what I meant.

“What are you talking about? You were so excited in the mountains, thoroughly reviewing everything you learned...”

“...I wasn't that excited. I was just doing what needed to be done.”

The thing I did best was killing people. It was deeply regrettable, but I had no right to feel wronged.

The world was full of idiots who were even bad at that and died screaming.

“Don't think too deeply about it. Just consider it saving sentient beings. Were those bandits innocent civilians? They were villains who lived by killing and robbing travelers crossing the mountains. They killed men and raped women. That was their work. Only when they faced someone they couldn't handle did they collect a toll and let them pass peacefully. We were in a hurry and came straight here, but if we had searched their stronghold, there would probably have been more than one or two captive women.”

“I know.”

Listening to something meant for a martial world novice trembling after their first kill made me feel like an idiot.

I changed the subject in a sullen voice.

“What do you think will happen tomorrow?”

“We'll see blood again.”

The people fleeing were Tang Clan members too. They would know the Tang Clan's capabilities better than anyone.

They would never have expected a few dozen pathetic bandits to shake off the Tang Clan pursuit-and-execution squad.

“If they're caught, they'll only die, so they'll be desperate as well. Who knows what madness they might attempt to buy themselves time to escape?”

“They said it was a simple escort job, yet we're covered in blood from the first day.”

“Did you think they would pay three silver taels a day for nothing in an age so full of human butchers?”

It seemed Won Seogang had expected something like this too.

Was that simply how the world worked? Just as money coming in meant money would go out, wearing a sword meant blood would eventually be spilled.

After drying my hair and resting for a while, I returned to the inn.

Only Dang Hyeseo and her attendant were on the spacious first floor. Dang Dohun and the Detoxification Hall members must have been upstairs.

Dang Hyeseo gestured for us to come over.

“Let's have some tea.”

It seemed she had washed in a bathtub that had been brought in. Her face was clean, and she wore fresh clothes. Her attendant's face was clean as well.

As we sat across from each other and drank cooled tea, Dang Hyeseo suddenly pointed at my left arm.

“What are you hiding in your sleeve? It doesn't look like a sleeve arrow.”

I flinched and raised my eyes over the rim of my cup, meeting Dang Hyeseo's gaze. It was too late to pretend otherwise.

“When did you notice?”

“The moment I saw you at the annex. Tang Clan members look at both sleeves first when they meet someone.”

So that was why she had stared at me so intently then. She must have wondered what kind of lunatic had a bamboo tube attached inside a sleeve.

“It could be a sleeve arrow.”

“Is it? Hmm, it looks a little different from mine.”

“How far do you intend to chase the traitors?”

When I hurriedly changed the subject, Dang Hyeseo answered as if it were obvious.

“Until we catch them.”

“Hero Won and I were hired as guards for five days. After today, four days remain. Will that be enough?”

“I heard the term could be extended. It seems neither of you is interested. It doesn't seem to be because of the bandits. Is it a matter of payment?”

“Outsiders have nothing to gain from getting involved in another family's affairs, do they?”

Dang Hyeseo held out her right hand and folded down her thumb.

“Four days will be enough. It may end before then.”

Won Seogang studied Dang Hyeseo closely. His eyes had turned cold, but his voice remained calm.

“It seems there is much we don't know.”

“This is an internal Tang Clan matter.”

Since it concerned the Tang Clan, it was awkward to pry further. We simply drank our tea until the cook brought dinner.

Thin noodles in cooled vinegar tea, stir-fried chicken and vegetables, dumplings...

Similar dishes were sent upstairs.

After eating enough to fill my stomach, I rose. Dang Hyeseo glanced toward the stairs and lowered her voice.

“When the sun sets, both of you should prepare to leave quietly and wait.”

* * *

Dang Hyeseo's attendant knocked on my guest room door around the time night fell and the moon hung over the eaves.

When I opened it, Won Seogang stood behind the attendant. The attendant urged us on while watching the other guest rooms.

“Let's go quickly.”

We went down the stairs together and left through the back door.

Dang Hyeseo, changed into black night-traveling garb, was waiting for us. Her attendant went back inside the inn.

“Let's go.”

Without an explanation, Dang Hyeseo took the lead toward the village.

The village, dimly lit by hazy moonlight, was dark and nearly empty.

When our group entered, a dog wandering about barked a few times before running away.

The alleys between the thatched houses twisted and turned. We walked with our senses alert, ready to draw our weapons at any moment.

A human silhouette flashed past at the end of an alley. A dark figure running quickly.

Dang Hyeseo gestured for us to slow down.

We all raised our heels and quietly emerged from the alley. Far away, someone was running toward the mountains. It was a black-clad person in a straw hat.

“That one?”

At my question, Dang Hyeseo's eyes and voice blazed coldly in the darkness.

“Yes. If we're lucky, this will end tonight.”

“Good.”

Won Seogang murmured softly and looked at me. When our eyes met, I nodded.

There was no need to say it. This was why Dang Hyeseo had hired us as guards.

“We won't lose them, but we can't be too late.”

“Wait.”

Dang Hyeseo, who had been about to run again, turned back.

“Have you ever tailed someone at night?”

“A few times.”

“Then I'll take the lead. I've done this enough times to be sick of it.”