WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Murim in my Hometown ◈

Chapter 47: Capture

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“Hmph.”

Bok Hagyu frowned and pushed himself away from the inn wall.

My kick had come while I was leaning backward, so I had not been able to put my full weight behind it. Even so, it seemed to have caught Bok Hagyu off guard.

My left arm, which had blocked Bok Hagyu’s fist, ached. I looked at him with a calm expression, trying not to show it.

“Want to keep going?”

“Why? Are you tired?”

“If you want, I can go all day.”

I squared my shoulders and raised my long saber.

Bok Hagyu paused as though savoring our recent exchange, then sheathed his sword.

“You’re too skilled to be doing the Hao clan’s dirty work.”

“I don’t belong to the Hao clan.”

“Then the Hao clan won’t be backing you either.”

“The Martial Alliance Inspector is backing me for now.”

“Hmph. You trust the Martial Alliance because there’s no one else to trust?”

“Bring the woodcutter here tomorrow morning.”

“What are you planning?”

“Aren’t you going to catch the opium merchant?”

“We’re tearing Seochon apart looking for him. We’ll catch him soon enough and drag him in by the neck.”

I studied Bok Hagyu again.

His martial arts were respectable, and he had plenty of grit, but he was not much of a schemer. Should I call him steadfast, or simply dumb and stubborn?

The Black Night Gang’s lackeys had already ruined things by coming after me just because I bought firewood from a woodcutter who had bought opium.

Then again, if he were good at scheming too, he would be a gang leader rather than a squad leader.

“If you grab everyone you come across and beat them with fire in your eyes, he’ll only hide himself more carefully. The fact that he hasn’t been caught yet means he’s no ordinary man. This is when you bait a hook and fish for him. Let’s meet here tomorrow with the woodcutter.”

After explaining it clearly enough for him to understand, I left the Wandering Swordsman Inn.

Perhaps Bok Hagyu had taken measures in advance. There was not a single Black Path man nearby, nor even a passerby.

* * *

I immediately found Geuk Hwan, explained everything, and went with him to the annex.

While Geuk Hwan met the inspector, I waited outside. A Martial Alliance member standing guard at the door caught my attention.

“Which sect are you from, Brother?”

“That’s none of your business.”

The Martial Alliance member answered curtly.

Not just anyone could join the Martial Alliance. Rising junior talents from the Nine Sects and Five Great Families had connections, but I had heard that disciples from small and medium-sized sects competed viciously to step over one another.

That was why even ordinary Martial Alliance members took as much pride in themselves as graduates of the martial examinations.

Usually, when asked about their school, they puffed up with pride and went on about their sect and heroic exploits.

It was strange for him to be this cold to someone whose martial arts the Hao clan recognized, who lived as a guest retainer, and who was not some Black Path man encountered on the road.

Was he looking down on me because I was a wanderer? When I watched him more closely, his wariness was obvious.

I was considering probing him further when Geuk Hwan emerged.

“Please go in.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“He wants to speak with you alone.”

The inspector, Pyo Holdeuk, did not even offer me a seat before asking directly, “You made contact with the Black Night Gang? Did you get anywhere?”

“It seems the Black Night Gang has also been troubled by someone selling opium in Seochon lately...”

I described the opium merchant’s appearance from the Wandering Swordsman Inn.

Pyo Holdeuk’s eyes flashed sharply.

“It does seem to be him. Where is he now? Did the Black Night Gang catch him?”

“We plan to set a trap and catch him tomorrow.”

“Are you certain? There can be no mistakes.”

“In return for cooperating, the Black Night Gang wants their safety guaranteed. They want the Martial Alliance to acknowledge that they have nothing to do with the opium merchant.”

“Very well. We’ll do that.”

Pyo Holdeuk readily agreed. Though he was making a deal with the Black Path, he did not hesitate in the slightest.

“The Black Night Gang wants that promise in writing.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. They certainly are suspicious, just as you would expect from the Black Path.”

Pyo Holdeuk sat at the table and picked up a brush. He swiftly scribbled across a sheet of paper, then took a seal from his robe and stamped it.

“Here. Take it to them.”

He had written it in a hurry, but it was not cursive, so it was easy enough to read.

It stated, in the Martial Alliance Inspector’s name, that the Black Night Gang had cooperated with the Martial Alliance’s investigation and that they had nothing to do with opium.

Pyo Holdeuk’s name and seal were stamped at the bottom.

My doubts deepened.

In any organization, those at the top always made promises with words alone.

When asked to put it in writing, they became offended and asked whether I did not trust them, or flew into a rage.

They wanted to cheat people out of money if the chance arose, and they did not want to leave room for trouble later.

Even if he was blinded by the desire to earn merit, how could he carelessly write a document bearing his name and seal?

Moreover, the other party was Black Path scum the Martial Alliance did not even regard as people.

The Black Path was meant to be eradicated, not negotiated with.

Even when something had to be exchanged, it should be settled through words as much as possible, leaving no evidence behind.

That way, no one could tarnish their name by accusing them of consorting with the Black Path, nor could anyone use those dealings against them later.

An ordinary inspector would have first showered them with plausible verbal promises, then immediately turned his back on them after catching the opium merchant.

Then he would submit a report tying the Black Night Gang to the opium merchant as his backer.

The Black Night Gang would claim that they had cooperated with the Martial Alliance, but without proof, the inspector could dismiss it as a filthy lie and crush them by force.

That was always how those at the top handled things, whether in government or the martial world.

If the Black Night Gang made trouble with this document, it would become a lasting headache.

Pyo Holdeuk could not have been unaware of that, yet there was not a trace of worry on his face. All he had was anticipation at the thought of capturing the opium merchant.

As though any problems this document caused later would have nothing to do with him.

“I won’t forget your contribution once we catch the opium merchant.”

Pyo Holdeuk smiled benevolently, speaking as though granting me a favor.

Should I test him? If I asked for a written guarantee, he seemed like he would happily write one for me.

The words rose to my throat, but I did not want to become more deeply entangled, so I turned away.

As I left Simhyang Pavilion and walked down an alley, subtle gazes clung to the back of my head.

When I turned around, gatekeepers in Yongcheon Escort Agency uniforms were whispering among themselves. They flinched and looked away when they noticed me.

* * *

The next morning, I headed straight to the Wandering Swordsman Inn. Bok Hagyu had brought the woodcutter as I asked.

I handed him the document I had received from the inspector the day before.

“Will this do?”

Bok Hagyu read the document silently, then stared at me with doubtful eyes.

“The inspector wrote this so easily?”

“Not easily.”

Shaking my head, I pointed to the woodcutter being held among the Black Path men.

“I’ll take this fellow out for a moment.”

“Where?”

“To eat.”

“There’s food here too.”

“With all these vicious faces glaring at him, do you think he could get a meal down his throat?”

Bok Hagyu glared at me for a moment, then let us go without objection.

He had received a document guaranteed by a Martial Alliance Inspector, and he probably knew where this woodcutter lived.

If I failed to keep my promise to him, I would not be able to meet Jeok Chuyeong.

I took the woodcutter to Pungcheon Inn and fed him.

Like someone who had not eaten for days, he wolfed down dumplings and noodles.

The money he earned from selling firewood could not have amounted to much, and after buying expensive opium, he was likely deep in debt as well.

“How did those men know to come looking for me at Pungcheon Inn?”

The young woodcutter stopped eating his dumpling and hurriedly answered.

“I don’t know. I heard you stopped by the Wandering Swordsman Inn that day? Those men rounded up every martial artist at the inn and beat them all. Some of them recognized you, Great Hero. After hearing your name and appearance, I believe the men collecting protection money mentioned Pungcheon Inn. I was caught on my way home.”

I recalled, one by one, the rough-looking faces I had seen at the Wandering Swordsman Inn when I went to buy travel rations and jerky.

“There was no one there who should know me.”

“Didn’t you stand equal to Head Escort Pung Gangik and cut down dozens of bandits? They say you wield a long saber like a ghost...”

Gusam suddenly came to mind. So did Pung Obok looking up at me with sparkling eyes after learning Fist-and-Kick Techniques from him.

I was an unknown without even an alias, but looking back, I had done a fair amount in Seochon.

It was nothing remarkable, but apparently enough to be discussed among martial artists whose work was eating and swinging blades.

No wonder the Black Night Gang lackeys who came to Pungcheon Inn had not drawn their swords so easily...

“Did you tell them where I live?”

The woodcutter stopped using his chopsticks and looked me straight in the eye.

“I did not. If I had readily answered their questions, my face would not look like this.”

Good eyes. Not cruel enough to casually harm another, but with enough resolve to reject violence and resist.

Whether the woodcutter had talked or not, the Black Night Gang would eventually have found out where I lived.

He must have known that too, yet when he had been dragged to Pungcheon Inn and faced me, he had kept his mouth firmly shut.

I knew then. Though he was weak enough to be beaten, he was not a man whose spirit could be broken.

I did not know how many people the opium merchant had traded with in Seochon, but for now, this woodcutter was the only way to contact him.

I needed to get this fellow talking and gain his cooperation.

Beating and pressuring him would not help if he insisted he did not know anything or covered things up with lies.

That was exactly how he had answered the Black Night Gang men. He had said that the opium merchant approached him first as he was leaving the clinic, and that he had bought opium only once at the Wandering Swordsman Inn.

That was not true. From the first time I went to buy firewood, the woodcutter had smelled of opium.

Then I had seen him make a deal at the Wandering Swordsman Inn, so he had bought it at least twice.

There had to be another way to meet the opium merchant. As I talked to him and gently coaxed him, it turned out as expected.

If he went to a particular place and performed a particular action, the opium merchant would notice and come to sell him opium.

“What do you want?”

“I want the opium those Black Night Gang bastards took from me returned.”

“What else?”

The woodcutter fell silent and stared at the table before continuing.

“Adding my medical costs, the days I could not work, and everything else... I should receive three taels of silver.”

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Hwanghae.”

“Have you ever seen the sea?”

“No. My father named me that so I would live as broadly as the sea, but I have never even seen Dongting Lake, let alone the sea.”

It was probably because of his sickly mother, who could die at any moment.

For some, family was an anchor that allowed them to settle in one place and live with purpose. For others, it became shackles that kept them from leaving.

“If you extort money from the Black Night Gang, it will be hard for you to keep living in Seochon.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll die either way...”

“If I get all that for you, will you help us catch the opium merchant?”

“Of course.”

After we finished eating, we went outside. The Black Night Gang lackeys sent to watch us hesitantly followed at a distance.

Back at the Wandering Swordsman Inn, I held out my hand.

“Give this fellow the opium you took from him, along with ten taels of silver.”

“Give it to him.”

At Bok Hagyu’s command, his subordinate opened a money pouch without complaint.

After receiving the opium and silver, I took Hwanghae out through the back door. His eyes widened at the enormous sum of money he had never seen in his life.

“This is too much...”

“Whether it is three taels or ten, you have still extorted money from the Black Night Gang. You are already on their bad side, so you may as well have full pockets. Once this is over, you should leave immediately.”

“...Yes. I suppose that is how it must be. This will be the last opium.”

Hwanghae tightly gripped the paper-wrapped opium with a troubled expression.

Now that he could no longer obtain opium in Seochon, Hwanghae’s dying mother would take it all at once and cross the River of Three Crossings without pain.

If things went well, Hwanghae would leave Seochon behind by tonight.

“Do not go to Dongting Lake. It is crawling with martial artists. You will meet three bandits before you have even walked ten steps. Head east and go to Hangzhou. The sea there is magnificent. There are plenty of beauties, and the shrimp and crab dishes are delicious too.”

Memories of learning the Heavenly Steel Saber Method from the one-armed saber wielder Munhwi while staying in Hangzhou came back to me.

Hangzhou was an entirely different world from my hometown of Seochon.

I understood why people called it a paradise beneath heaven, yet I could never grow attached to it.

The more splendid and prosperous the city was, the more I felt the emptiness of knowing that the people I truly wanted to see were not there.

“If you go to Hangzhou, watch out for a martial artist.”

“You have to watch out for all martial artists.”

“That is true, but... there is one man you should be especially wary of.”

“Who is it?”

“You will find out once you get there. He is infamous because corpses pile up everywhere he goes.”

I headed to the local clinic with Hwanghae. Hwanghae removed a stone embedded in one side of the wall and moved it.

“If I leave it like this, the opium merchant will come to the Wandering Swordsman Inn this evening. I met him this way before. May I stop by my home for a moment?”

I looked up at the sky, then nodded. There was still plenty of time before sunset.

A slum on the outskirts, where shabby shacks pressed their narrow shoulders together.

When he lifted the straw mat hanging in place of a door, several rats scattered into the dim darkness.

An emaciated, hollow-eyed woman with white hair lay alone on the messy dirt floor.

She was a patient slowly and stubbornly being consumed by an incurable chronic illness.

“I’m back.”

Hwanghae went inside, and the straw mat fell shut. I stepped aside and waited, looking at the rear mountain colored by autumn leaves.

Two Black Path men who had been following us since the Wandering Swordsman Inn stared at us from afar while chewing on something.

After a long while, Hwanghae emerged, giving off a strong smell of opium.

“Is it done?”

“...She passed peacefully.”

His voice was thick and hoarse. Tears were clear on his face, which he could not bring himself to raise.

With the money taken from the Black Night Gang earlier, Hwanghae hired workers to bury his dead mother in a nearby hill.

It was closer to disposing of a corpse than holding a funeral, but as long as wild animals did not tear her apart and eat her, it was a good death.

We returned to the Wandering Swordsman Inn in the late afternoon.

The bait had been placed on the hook. Now all that remained was to wait and reel in the catch.

The sun set, and the inn grew dark.

It should have been crowded, but half the tables stood empty. Every man sitting inside was a Black Night Gang member.

They did not block people from entering in case the opium merchant became suspicious.

Martial artists who entered without knowing anything saw the tense atmosphere and vicious looks. They cautiously tried to back away, only to be caught without fail.

Even if Hwanghae shook his head, they were not released. They were tied up first and thrown into the kitchen.

When about seven had accumulated, a martial artist with their face hidden beneath a bamboo rain hat entered through the back door.

After quickly scanning the interior from beneath its wide brim, the figure walked toward the table where Hwanghae sat.

Without removing the bamboo rain hat, the figure sat across from him. After confirming the face, Hwanghae nodded and picked up his teacup before setting it down.

“Grab that bastard!”

The Black Night Gang men all rose at once and pounced on the opium merchant.

The opium merchant ground his teeth, sprang from his seat, and ran for the back door. He smashed his shoulder into a Black Path man blocking his path and forced his way through.

The Black Path men poured outside. More Black Path men hidden in the alley rushed out.

Chaotic footsteps, curses, and shouts followed, until cheers finally erupted.

After a brutal beating, the opium merchant was dragged back into the inn and thrown onto the floor.

Surrounded by dozens of men in an instant, he was finished without even drawing his sword once.

“Cough, cough.”

The bloodied opium merchant curled into a ball and convulsed. It was the same face I had seen before.

“Thinking of all the trouble we went through because of this damned bastard...”

A large Black Path man, his eyes red with rage, drew a dagger.

He had orders from above not to kill the opium merchant. It seemed he intended to vent his anger by cutting off a few fingers instead.

I extended my long saber and blocked his way.

“Back off. From now on, he’s mine.”

When I glared at him with cold killing intent, the Black Path man’s face twisted in fury at being embarrassed before his subordinates.

“If you’re confident, come closer. I doubt the Sole-Rending Squad Leader will say anything if I cut down one man.”

Only then did he swallow hard, sheathe his blade, and step back.

I sent a waiting Hao clan member to summon a carriage, then loaded the opium merchant into it and headed for Simhyang Pavilion.

Footnotes:

The River of Three Crossings is a Korean Buddhist folk-belief river crossed by the dead in the afterlife.

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