Chapter 05: Beautiful Lady

The brothers of Oh Je-cheol stood up simultaneously, emitting a sense of tension.

Oh Je-gwang approached with a knife in his hand and said,

“I knew you would come out like this.”

Somehow, Oh Je-cheol, who had no intention of fighting today, suddenly stood up and stopped Oh Je-gwang.

“This crazy bastard! Can’t you just shut up?”

said Oh Je-gwang.

“Did this son of a bitch not hear what I just said?”

replied Oh Je-cheol as he slapped Oh Je-gwang’s cheek several times.

“Are you disrespecting me right now? Huh?”

Just as the two brothers were about to fight with their knives drawn, Jin So-han’s calm voice interrupted them.

“Doo Hyang…”

Jin So-han poured himself another drink while thinking about Doo Hyang. He spoke solemnly:

“She was such a beautiful lady.”

Feeling uneasy from his tone, Oh Je-cheol turned around to face Jin So-han when something passed by him quickly followed by a thud sound. Startled by the noise and looking back at his brother whom he was holding onto tightly before turning around to face Jin So-han again; there was chopstick stuck in his forehead. As soon as Oh-Je Gwang took one last breath after being impaled by the chopstick on his forehead; all of his weight fell into the hands of Ohe-je Cheol who held him tightly.

“Oh my god…”

cried out Ohe-je Cheol’s second younger brother as he rushed over towards them both shouting: “Je-Gwang! Hey!”

Another thud sound echoed through the room followed by yet another body hitting the ground – it was Ohe-je Cheol’s second younger brother whose head also had been pierced with a chopstick that caused him to fall backwards onto the floor lifelessly. With two of his brothers dead, Ohe-je Cheol looked at Jin So-han with eyes full of anger and frustration but there was nothing he could do.

“F*ck! I knew this would happen…”

He thought to himself as the realization that his predictions had come true hit him. However, he knew that he couldn’t fight back against such a formidable opponent. Ohe-je Cheol was torn between begging for mercy or fighting until death.

Looking at Oh Je-cheol shivering all over his body, Jin So-han filled his glass with soju.

“Sit down.”

With this much difference in martial arts skills, escape was impossible. Oh Je-cheol, who thought it was inevitable, cautiously sat back down and said in a gloomy tone,

“Younger brother… no, Jin So-hyup. They made a slip of the tongue. My brother liked Duhyang liquor. It was a slip of the tongue to provoke Jin So-hyup.”

Jin So-han raised his head.

“It didn’t seem like a slip of the tongue.”

Continuing, Jin So-han first grabbed Oh Je-cheol’s sword and looked at the blade from side to side. It was quite a solid sword, but when it was in Jin So-han’s hand, it moved lightly like chopsticks.

Then, one of the customers cautiously stood up and spoke to Jin So-han.

“…Uh, So-hyup, we’ll leave now.”

“We have nothing to do with the O family brothers.”

“We have nothing to do with the Hwahyeolmun.”

Other people also stood up carefully and waited for Jin So-han’s words.

Then, Jin So-han, who was admiring the blade of the sword, lightly retorted,

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

Those who had stood up sat down again.

Jin So-han did not make an angry expression, nor did he show any excitement. He had returned to the state of conversing with Oh Je-cheol in front of him in no time.

Jin So-han spoke.

“What is the name and whereabouts of the man who helped the swordsmanship team with his colleagues?”

After swallowing his saliva, Oh Je-cheol responded.

“Chumyeongwi (Ugly Face Ghost)? Yes, it’s called Chumyeongwi. I heard that he was badly injured and escaped, but the Hwahyeolmun (the organization) hasn’t found him yet.”

Before she knew it, O Je-cheol’s tone had changed to a respectful one.

Jin So-han echoed the nickname once.

“Chumyeongwi… “

Chumyeong meant a very ugly face, and the word “wi” was attached to mean ghost.

Toxicity overflowed from the nickname.

Regardless of his appearance, she may have helped the woman from the Geommudan (Swordsmanship Sect) out of warmth in her heart, or she may have helped her out of admiration for the beautiful nun. Either way, she could say she was a much better man than the trash she had killed today.

Jin So-han asked O Je-cheol, thinking about the man called Chumyeongwi for a moment.

“What else do you know?”

If he said he didn’t know, he was about to be killed on the spot. O Je-cheol shouted desperately while looking at his Dae-do (sword) in Jin So-han’s hand.

“Ah! The… women taken away by the Hwahyeolmun… Huk!”

Jin So-han reached out his left hand and twisted O Je-cheol’s neck.

O Je-cheol’s face began to turn red.

Jin So-han looked into O Je-cheol’s eyes and spoke.

“Those damn Hwakdo (Black Robe) bastards… just as the Master said when you returned.”

Suddenly, the words of the Dokma (Poisonous horse) Master came to mind.

“Do you think the Geommudan is still holding out in Hwakdo?”

And also the words of Uiseon (Righteous Lineage) Master.

“Will there be more bloodshed if you go back? Will you still go?”

“I felt like you knew everything from the beginning.”

Of course, in the deep recesses of his heart, Jin Sohan had some sense of what was going on. However, hearing that even some nobles had fallen victim to these third-rate individuals called Hwahyeolmun, Jin Sohan’s mind was turned upside down.

Jin Sohan muttered towards the priests.

“It’s going to be bloody…”

With his left hand, Jin Sohan twisted Oh Jecheol’s neck, and with his right hand, he stabbed him in the chest with the shoddy sword he was holding.

“Ugh!”

Because of Jin Sohan’s grip, Oh Jecheol couldn’t even scream properly and fell to the floor of the inn. To those who knew the rough side of the O family brothers, it was an even more shocking death.

As if there was nothing more to see, Jin Sohan threw the shoddy sword he had used on Oh Jecheol’s corpse.

Those who called themselves “O Sam-gwi” and lay on the floor of the inn were lying peacefully, and those who watched them couldn’t even say a word.

At that moment, Jin Sohan hesitated for a moment about whether to eat the kalguksoo with the new chopsticks he pulled out of the chopstick container. When his appetite disappeared and he put the chopsticks back in the container, someone let out a sigh of relief.

******

Jin Sohan called Dongon, who was anxiously raising his head in the kitchen.

“Dongon.”

“Yes?”

Startled, Dongon answered in a very loud voice.

Jin Sohan gestured.

“Come closer.”

“Yes, what else do you want me to do… The kitchen isn’t closed yet. Should I boil the noodles a little more? Or…”

As Dongon rambled on, Jin Sohan gestured for him to come closer and said.

“Let me take a closer look at your face. Are you the Dongon I know?”

“Excuse me?”

“Hurry up.”

Dokon could finally meet Jin So-han’s eyes.

“His eyes… Is he a mage?”

Internally, Dokon’s heart raced as he tried to calm himself down. When he leaned his head forward, Jin So-han’s hand moved. There was a loud smack on Dokon’s forehead.

“Oops!”

Even though he only flicked his finger and hit his forehead, Dokon’s mind became dizzy as if a firework exploded in front of his eyes.

Dokon rubbed his forehead and recalled Jin So-han from his memory.

“Ahh! It was Mong-a who danced with swords!”

As a child, Dokon had often gambled with Jin So-han in front of the audience. It was impossible for him to forget.

When Dokon called Jin So-han by his old nickname, Mong-a, Jin So-han grinned.

“Yes, it’s Mong-a who danced with swords.”

Dokon retorted as he rubbed his forehead.

“You’re a completely different person now… Where have you been and what have you been doing all this time?”

Because Dokon was older, the two of them spoke comfortably.

At Dokon’s question, Jin So-han sighed.

“How can I summarize all that has happened? All I can say is that I’ve had a lot of suffering.”

He was captured by the enemy and poisoned, then cured by his comrades.

He wanted to tell Dokon that he had been repeating that for more than ten years before returning, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Dokon’s mind was also in chaos as he recalled the old days.

“Mong-a who danced with swords… The swordsmen had desperately searched for him…”

Dokon thought he should tell Jin So-han about it and added some emotions to his words.

“At that time, you disappeared and the members of the Geommudan (Sword Dance Clan) searched for you extensively. Some people even said that you were kidnapped. Many people also thought that you might have died. I saw something myself at that time, so I told them several times…”

“What did you say?”

“I said it seemed like Hyeok-uiin (Black Shadow) took you.”

“That’s right. That’s what happened.”

Jin Sohan, who was uncomfortable talking about this, changed the subject.

“By any chance, does Siwol (嘶月) know anything? Or news about other nobles?”

“Siwol? Ah! Siwol! Siwol must still be alive. We haven’t been in contact yet, but he promised to come to me if he returns.”

“He’s alive?”

“Yes. On that day, I had a feeling something was off, so I told Siwol, who was playing in the guest room, not to go to the Geommudan. We watched together that day, the fight between the Hwehyeolmun (Blood Blade Sect) and the Geommudan….”

Jin Sohan breathed a sigh of relief and patted Dogon’s shoulder.

“Thank you. What happened after that?”

Surprised by Jin Sohan’s gesture, Dogon responded.

“He said he would hide here for a few days, learn martial arts, and then take revenge… He completely disappeared from Seoheung-ro (West Gate Street) afterwards. I haven’t seen him since. He said if he joins a famous faction, he can kill them all though.”

While talking, Dogon realized that he was using informal language, but Jin Sohan didn’t seem to care about it. They were originally on familiar terms.

“Ah….”

Jin Sohan let out a sigh of relief. Siwol was his younger brother and a child orphaned by the Geommudan. Since he was a child who had been beaten to death, he felt a strange sense of relief when he heard that he was alive. Both Jin Sohan and Siwol started wielding a sword as soon as they took their first steps.

Commonly speaking, Si-Wol was a loner. The phrase

“I will seek revenge after mastering martial arts”

perfectly suited Si-Wol’s personality.

Jin-So-Han nodded her head.

“It seems Si-Wol is alive. That’s a relief.”

After Jin-So-Han put down money for the food on her lap, she spoke.

“Let’s meet again. If you happen to see Si-Wol before me, tell him I’ve returned.”

“Okay. But where should I say you are?”

In response to that question, Jin-So-Han looked across the room.

“I should sleep in Giru. Wasn’t it called the Wol-Ya-Ru?”

“No, that’s… where the Hoihyeol gatekeeper watches over.”

“What’s the problem? I’m just going to sleep. Besides, they don’t know me yet, except for you and the people in this inn.”

For some reason, Do-Gon’s words sounded frightening.

“Are they going to kill all of us?”

Jin-So-Han shook her head in response to Do-Gon’s words.

“That won’t happen. Just dispose of these bodies properly.”

Upon Jin-So-Han’s words, the guests in the inn let out a collective sigh.

Do-Gon, unlike his usual self, raised his voice and scolded the guests.

“Ah, let’s clean up together. Are you going to leave the smell of blood vibrating in a store that people visit every day?”

Then several people stood up.

“Oh, let’s clean up together.”

Someone said this.

“Sohyup did a good job killing him.”

“I knew Oh Je-cheol would end up like this someday.”

As they chattered on about this and that, someone suddenly snatched Do-gon’s towel and began wiping the table, while someone else kept diligently wiping the bloodstains from the floor. The whole scene was ridiculous.

Amidst the noise, Jin So-han spoke up, 

“If anyone asks about what happened today…”

The other customers all joined in as if they had rehearsed this many times before. 

“We know nothing!”

Do-gon also grinned awkwardly and said,

“I’ll handle the interrogation. After all, these people are all weaklings who are being bullied by the Blood Moon Society. Adding a sword would only make it worse.”

Jin So-han thought that, including Sihwal’s case, Do-gon was highly skilled at saving people while running a tavern. However, Jin So-han himself didn’t really care if someone were to betray the Blood Moon Society. After all, they were planning to kill all those involved with the Society anyway.