Chapter 4: “At the guesthouse”

“Hmm? You’re going to buy alcohol?”

At the middle-aged man’s words, Jinsohan turned to face him with an expression that showed he wanted to hear news about the Geommudan. The middle-aged man laughed and got up, then sat down opposite Jinsohan.

“Young man, up close you’re quite a handsome fellow.”

The middle-aged man positioned his sword (daedo) at an angle next to the table so that he could quickly grab it.

Jinsohan examined the handle of the daedo. The cloth wrapped around the handle was covered in stains, and there were bloodstains smeared all over it. When Jinsohan looked at the handle, the middle-aged man smiled faintly while looking at his own sword.

“Order some drinks first.”

Jinsohan flicked his finger and looked at Jumsoui, who was looking around the place.

“Dokon, bring us a bottle of old liquor (noju) here.”

When Jinsohan called out Jumsoui’s name, everyone was surprised. The middle-aged man looked at Jinsohan.

“Oh? You know Dokon?”

“I saw him before.”

“Saw him before? What’s your age and name, young man?”

“Jinsohan, I’m twenty-six this year.”

When Jumsoui carefully brought the food and old liquor that Dokon had ordered and placed them on the table, the middle-aged man intentionally asked Dokon.

“Dokon, how old are you this year?”

“What? My age is….”

The middle-aged man knew that Dokon was twenty-eight this year. He said to Dokon, “Control your expression. Hmph…”

When the middle-aged man raised his hand to hit Dokon, Dokon’s expression suddenly crumpled and he pulled his head back, then went straight into the kitchen. The middle-aged man’s brothers chuckled and laughed. This seemed to be a usual way they teased him.

The middle-aged man turned his gaze to Jinsohan and spoke.

“Twenty-six… are you from a martial arts school? You seem to be a disciple of a fairly well-known martial arts school…”

The middle-aged man threw the question as if he were just trying to make conversation, but Jin Sohan shook his head in response.

“I don’t belong to any martial arts school. Please enjoy the food and drink as a sign of my hospitality. I’ll have the crab and tofu soup…”

The middle-aged man nodded his head and swallowed his saliva.

“Sounds good. I won’t decline.”

As the middle-aged man began to eat his dumplings, Jin Sohan poured him a drink.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man who had been closely examining Jin Sohan’s gaze found that his dumpling wasn’t going down his throat smoothly and seemed to be stuck.

“What… this guy has a strange look in his eyes.”

Jin Sohan’s eyes had a light gray tint.

The middle-aged man pounded his chest and downed the drink that Jin Sohan poured for him. In the midst of his coughing, the middle-aged man said,

“Little brother, your way of speaking is a bit off-putting, but you have some manners.”

Then Jin Sohan replied politely instead. He also changed his tone to a more respectful one.

“If my manner of speaking bothered you, I apologize. By the way, I haven’t heard of your esteemed name.”

As Jin Sohan spoke politely, the middle-aged man’s momentum was broken and he retorted.

“What do you mean by esteemed name…Oh Je-cheol, huh? By the way, it’s really nice to meet someone who knows about the current month’s dance troupe. The Muheedan was a famous group in our Seoheok-ro. You probably know it well too, little brother…”

“Please feel free to call me Jin-ah. And it’s the current month’s Sword and Dance Troupe.”

“Uh…right. The current month’s Sword and Dance Troupe.”

Oh Je-cheol didn’t know, but the people in the room who were listening to the conversation realized that Oh Je-cheol’s voice was getting quieter.

As a result, Oh Je-cheol’s brothers, who couldn’t see Jin Sohan properly because of Oh Je-cheol’s size, were making sour faces.

“Why is he like that?”

“Not like an older brother should be.”

****

오제철 was looking closely at Jinsohan again.

He was handsome, but his eyes were clear and his posture, movements, and voice were very calm. Moreover, even the sword that was briefly visible at his waist emitted a cool atmosphere. Only then did Ojecheol realize how well Jinsohan and the Black Clothing Three matched.

Ojecheol judged that it seemed impossible to harass or exploit the stranger as usual. He was naturally discouraged during the conversation.

After swallowing his saliva once, Ojecheol spoke, “The swordsmanship group was the dream of men like us.”

“Is that so? If it was a dream?”

“People said they were excellent with their bodies and beautiful appearance, so they were excellent in their swordsmanship.”

When Jinsohan looked at Ojecheol at those words, Ojecheol was inadvertently avoiding eye contact.

‘Ah… This isn’t going to work.’

He felt that something was wrong.

After putting the cold noodles that came out late in front of Jinsohan, Jinsohan stirred the noodles with his chopsticks and then put them in the broth.

오제철 asked cautiously, 

“Are you perhaps affiliated with the Geommu-dan (Sword Dance Troupe)?”

“No, I am not,”

replied Jin-sohan softly.

Perceiving Jin-sohan’s expression, Oh-jechul asked,

“Then, how do you know about the current Geommu-dan?”

“There were a few dyeing houses next to the Geommu-dan. When you mentioned ‘Wol-ya-ru,’ you were referring to the building story. Wol-ya-ru now occupies the place where the Geommu-dan and dyeing houses used to be. Do you remember the dyeing houses?”

Continuing to speak politely and denying any connection with the Geommu-dan, Jin-sohan gave Oh-jechul some courage to respond enthusiastically, 

“Ah! I forgot that there were dyeing houses. Oh, that’s a relief!”

What was fortunate about this?

As the conversation progressed, Oh-jechul’s words followed that he had thought Jin-sohan was a son of a dyeing house owner in the past.

“Do you know about the Hwaeomun?”

Jin Sohan nodded his head.

“Yes.”

“The Hwaeomun tried to take over the Geommudan. They wanted to consume everything, the Geommudan’s spicy income, their women, and even the orphans they raised. They even forced them to perform in their underwear.”

“Perform in their underwear and do a sword dance?”

Jin Sohan was at a loss for words and took another drink.

During the Geommudan’s performances, there was a trick where they cut each other’s clothes off. However, they usually wore underwear underneath, but it seemed that the Hwaeomun demanded that they take that off as well. Of course, the Geommudan would not tolerate such interference. Jin Sohan was becoming bitter because what the monks were saying was so accurate.

O Jecheol continued to speak.

“The Geommudan wasn’t a gentle group either. At that time, the Hwaeomun didn’t yet have complete control over the Seoheungro area… so the enraged Geommudan and the Hwaeomun clashed from time to time.”

At those words, Jin Sohan thought of the leader of the Geommudan. She was a woman with a truly commanding personality.

Is she still alive…?

Jin Sohan was curious, but he didn’t show it and instead led Oh Jecheol’s story.

“I remember that the Geommudan suffered a lot too. Still, how could they have endured the Haehyeolmun?”

“That’s right. It would have been good for the Geommudan to just obediently step aside when Haehyeolmun reached out their hand.”

“But didn’t Haehyeolmun not forcefully push their way through? As far as I know, there were quite a few places that helped the Geommudan.”

“Where were these people who so readily opposed Haehyeolmun? Haehyeolmun sent one of their unarmed men to the Geommudan, as usual. But as soon as he stepped inside the entrance of the Geommudan, he started vomiting blood and died. The dead man probably took the poison Haehyeolmun gave him without even realizing it. Then the war broke out. It was Haehyeolmun’s typical tactic.”

Jin Sohan retorted with a calm expression.

“They made seven people suffer from a despicable tactic.”

Oh Jecheol nodded in agreement.

“At that time, there was a man who liked a woman from the Sword Dance Group. He was someone who ran a military office and brought fifty men to support the Sword Dance Group. However, they couldn’t handle the Blood Sect. The Sword Dance Group was covered in the blood of those men.”

Jin Sohan nodded and raised his bottle of alcohol.

“Such a thing…please have another drink.”

As O Jecheol swallowed his drink, he remembered the past.

“Everyone who had some connection to the Sword Dance Group left. It must have been too difficult to handle.”

“Did everyone from the Sword Dance Group die at that time?”

“I don’t think so. Some of the women who were taken away by the men and even the women who the Blood Sect leader had his eyes on were left alone. The women who were especially beautiful in the Sword Dance Group were probably taken by the Blood Sect leader.”

O Jecheol was now telling Jin Sohan about the before and after of the Sword Dance Group in great detail. He seemed to know more than Jin Sohan had expected. Perhaps it was because he had frequented the nearby inn for a long time.

However, O Jecheol was becoming increasingly uncomfortable under Jin Sohan’s gaze.

‘Is he a mage… with his attire and all. Ah, the more we talk about this, the stranger I feel. I should stop here.’

As Oh Je-cheol tried to stand up from his seat, Jin So-han let out a sigh and muttered,

“Anyway…the Hwehyeolmunju is still a son of a bitch, even now.”

Oh Je-cheol’s brothers were the most sensitive to this remark.

“What did you say?”

“Hehe, listen to the kid’s tone.”

Oh Je-cheol’s brothers were the first to become agitated. Naturally, the people in the tavern became quiet. Of course, they were not members of the Hwehyeolmun, but there were not many people around who could curse the Hwehyeolmunju.

Jin So-han deliberately provoked the rough prayers with one word.

Oh Je-cheol, who was already crestfallen, forced a smile and quieted down the noise.

“It’s noisy. Quiet…quiet!”

As Oh Je-cheol’s brothers looked bewildered, he spoke as if he was concerned about Jin So-han.

“Little brother, even though there are no members of the Hwehyeolmun here, you won’t be able to survive if you keep talking like that in my name.”

Jin So-han retorted while looking at Oh Je-cheol.

“Do you not belong to the Blood Sect?”

“No, we’re just-“

Oh Je-cheol felt as though the gazes and expectations of those around him were pushing him towards a cliff. Above all, the young man in front of him showed no emotional response despite insulting the Blood Sect leader.

Trying to defend himself, Oh Je-cheol spoke.

“That’s not it. I’m just saying this for my little brother’s sake.”

Upon hearing this, Oh Je-gwang, Oh Je-cheol’s youngest brother, exploded with anger. He didn’t like his timid brother and especially didn’t like the young man’s calm tone and language.

Oh Je-gwang spoke in a resentful tone, as if he was planning to draw his sword.

“Come to think of it, there was a woman named Du Hyang in the Swordsmanship Sect. I remember now. Do you all remember her?”

Oh Je-cheol’s heart sank as he turned around, feeling uneasy.

“Jegwang, shut up.”

When O Jecheol looked back at his youngest brother with a lot of tension, he glanced at the man who opened his mouth.

While looking at Jinsohan, O Jegwang was laughing.

“Do you remember Doo-hyang?”

O Jegwang had less skill and awareness than O Jecheol, but he could be considered a man one step above O Jecheol with his cruel disposition and ostentatious personality.

O Jegwang continued,

“Doo-hyang didn’t get involved in that situation, even if he had gone on an errand. Thanks to that, our brothers were able to secretly take Doo-hyang away to a quiet place.”

When O Jecheol opened his eyes wide and shouted, 

“I told you to shut up!”

even the clueless second brother expressed his dissatisfaction with O Jecheol.

“Big brother, why are you so scared? Did you get scared by your younger brothers?”

“Ha… these guys only say stupid things today.”

Cold sweat was dripping down Ojecheol’s back. Normally, he would have started a fight, robbed the guests, or killed them and disposed of them somewhere.

But not today.

Ojegwang looked at Jinsohan and said,

“If you know a woman named Duhyang, I can tell you in great detail about her appearance.”

In response, Jinsohan pointed his chopsticks at Ojecheol’s brothers and said,

“Your brother told you to shut up, so why do you keep interfering? You bastards.”

For a moment, the guests fell silent.