The business of an escort agency is usually to transport the goods of rchants to other regions. As a result, they do not treat small rchants carelessly.
Although they are small rchants now, it is because it is unknown when they will beco large rchants who will make large deals with the escort agency.
The Taegang Escort Agency was the sa.
No matter how arrogant Yang Gyeongpil was, he could not kick out small rchants without a reason. Because if he did, he would receive a stern reprimand from the head of the escort agency.
And so, the six rchants attached themselves to the rear of the Taegang Escort Agency.
Eom Tak, who saw that, said as if it were no big deal.
"Brother O, you should go with them. This is not sothing to be upset about, so don't mind it."
"Ha, you really shouldn't do that."
O Chungyang felt very sorry.
But he could not be separated from the other rchants.
The small rchants had their own order, so if he did sothing wrong, he could be ostracized.
Eom Tak also knew that much, so he had told him to go, saying that they were fine and not to mind it.
"Brother Eom, I hope you and your brothers always have good things."
"Brother O, may you always be at peace."
The two nodded at each other and shook off their regrets.
Although they were a ronin and a small rchant who were difficult to get close to, they were two people who were sad to part because they had a lot in common.
O Chungyang also greeted Gwak Gyeong, Ilpyeong, and Cho Myung, and then moved quickly towards the Taegang Escort Agency in the front.
"Those who go, go, and those who stay, stay, that's life."
Ilpyeong muttered.
It was not that he was sad about parting with O Chungyang. Since he had not built up any special feelings for him, there was nothing to be sad about.
It was just that he had thought about when they would be able to settle down in one place.
'Those who go, go, and those who stay, stay, that's life?'
Cho Myung was impressed by what Ilpyeong had said.
As soon as he heard those words, Old Man Ban ca to mind.
His master had left, and he had stayed. And he had left the clinic to beco stronger by gaining practical experience, and his grandfather, big brothers, and sister had remained at the clinic.
Those who were to leave, left, and those who were to stay, stayed.
'This may be life, but it's not the end. I will definitely go back.'
He did not know when it would be.
He did not know what he would learn in the world.
He did not know how much stronger he could beco even more.
But there was one thing that was certain.
That he had a place to return to, and that he would definitely return.
"What are you thinking so much about?"
"I'm thinking that I will definitely return ho soday."
Cho Myung answered Ilpyeong's question.
"Co to think of it, I didn't even ask about your ho."
"It's the Hua Family Clinic in An, Sichuan Province."
"That Hua Family Clinic that was called the Divine Doctor's Clinic of the Divine Land?"
"Yes."
At Cho Myung's answer, not only Ilpyeong, but also Eom Tak and Gwak Gyeong showed a surprised reaction.
"Was your real surna Hua?"
"No."
Cho Myung explained that he had gone to the Hua Family Clinic with his seriously injured grandfather and had t his big brothers and sister there, and they had treated him like a real younger brother, so the clinic had beco his ho.
"Wow, you t really good people! That's a relief."
"Yes. They are really good people."
"Then is your martial art a family martial art?"
"What's a family martial art?"
"It ans a martial art of the family that you learned from your grandfather."
"Ah, no. I t my master at the clinic. My master was also very sick."
"Oh dear..."
Not only Ilpyeong, but also Eom Tak and Gwak Gyeong were saddened.
"Hey, then you should be taking care of your sick master, is it okay to be wandering around like this?"
"He passed away."
"Ah...!"
The faces of Ilpyeong, Eom Tak, and Gwak Gyeong beca even more sad.
They could not speak for a while.
"It's okay now. It still hurts, but I'm accepting that he passed away."
Cho Myung made a slightly gloomy face.
Ilpyeong felt sorry for having brought up sothing unnecessary. So he patted Cho Myung's shoulder.
"Cheer up. Your master will always be watching over you from the sky above."
"Yes."
Consolation is for the person giving it to feel at ease, it does not actually help much. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to console him like that.
"I'm from Hebei Province. It's been a long ti since I lost my parents, and I'm alone because I don't have any siblings and I'm not married."
Eom Tak said.
"Penglai, Shandong Province. The seaside is my hotown."
Gwak Gyeong also said.
"I'm a wandering orphan, so I don't know my hotown, and I don't know if I have parents or siblings."
Ilpyeong said with a smile.
He did not look pitiful. It was a smile that felt as if he had transcended such emotions.
Cho Myung looked around at the three.
They seed to be no different from himself. In so ways, they seed even more unfortunate. The feeling of sympathy and gratitude arose at the sa ti.
"Now! That's enough of this conversation. In life, if there are sad things, there are also happy things, so let's be faithful to reality."
Ilpyeong said with a smile, intending to change the mood.
"Yes, let's go. They say swordsn are gathering in Guiyang, so let's go quickly. If we're lucky, we might be able to earn so money."
Eom Tak quickened his steps.
Ilpyeong quickly followed and asked.
"How much have you saved?"
"I haven't even saved half yet."
"Even after saving for five years?"
"Don't be impatient. I told you we have to save for ten years."
"We have to push ourselves a little more. At this rate, it won't be enough even after ten years."
"No dangerous jobs!"
Gwak Gyeong, who was following behind, suddenly shouted and interjected.
"That's right. No dangerous jobs. If even one of the three is gone, what's the use of opening an inn?"
Eom Tak said.
At those words, Ilpyeong just pouted and stopped.
Because it was the right thing to say.
If even one of his two big brothers was gone, he did not think he would be happy even if he opened an inn.
Still, it was frustrating that they had not even saved half after five years of dreaming of opening an inn together.
'Ha! In what millennium will we save all that?'
***
A little further and it's Guiyang.
If you just cross the mountain ridge with large lakes on both sides, you can see the land of Guiyang.
The problem is that on the ridge of the mountain that stretches out that mountain ridge, there is a Green Forest mountain fortress that is bold enough to be located not even half a day away from Guiyang, the center of Guizhou Province.
Yang Gyeongpil, who was riding a horse in the front, prayed that they would pass without any trouble.
Even if the mountain bandits appeared, it would be enough to pay a certain amount of prepared toll, but he had a strong desire not to face the people who were following behind.
The brat who had knocked him out in one blow.
The more he thought about it, the more his anger rose, but he was afraid that the sa thing would be repeated, so he could not even dare to fight and had no choice but to swallow his tears of anger.
At the ti when the sun was setting.
At the ti when the shadows were lying long before dusk.
When they stood on the mountain ridge, a group of several dozen people blocking the road was visible.
"Ha!"
A heavy sigh flowed from Yang Gyeongpil's mouth.
"Hey! We are the heroes of Dongjia Fortress! If you don't want your necks to be cut off, prostrate yourselves!"
At the roaring shout, Yang Gyeongpil stopped the escort and got off his horse.
As he slowly approached with the Head of the Escort, Gam, he saw that the number was so large that it was beyond a burden and was worrying, as if they had all crawled out of the mountain fortress.
"This has never happened before, I'm worried that sothing might have happened."
The Head of the Escort, Gam, said in a low voice from the side.
"Unless they're thinking of starting a war with the escort agency alliance, a sword fight won't happen."
"That's right, isn't it?"
Yang Gyeongpil, who was nodding his head.
Although he said so, it was a matter in the martial world where you could not just be at ease.
Because it was a place where it was common for soone to stab you in the back the mont you turned around after smiling in front of them.
But he could not bow to the mountain bandits, so he approached with his back straight.
As he went, one person caught his eye.
The man standing in the middle of the front with his arms crossed.
Right next to him, a large axe was standing alone on the bare ground.
'A bear-like build and an axe...!'
Dongjia Fortress Master, Xiong Fu!
It was him!
Yang Gyeongpil's eyes widened.
It had been three years since Dongjia Fortress was established. He, who had not seen his face even once during that ti, had appeared.
What did it an?
Had sothing really happened?
He approached him straight, carrying a lot of worry and doubt.
"Are you perhaps the Dongjia Fortress Master?"
"That's right."
"Ah! It's a pleasure to et you. I am Yang of the Taegang Escort Agency. Here is the toll prepared by the head of the agency."
Yang Gyeongpil took out a purse from his bosom.
Then the vice fortress master, who was standing next to the Dongjia Fortress Master, Fan Zhong, approached and took the purse. But he did not even check inside the purse.
'There really was another reason!'
Yang Gyeongpil, whose heart had turned cold, forced a smile and asked.
"We have to get an inn before the sun sets, can we pass?"
"Is there a brat in your party? I heard he's in his teens."
"Among the escorts and the laborers, there is no one under twenty."
"Is there really no one? The brat who knocked down Daerang of Pyeongsan Fortress in one blow."
The mont he heard Fan Zhong's words, Yang Gyeongpil looked back without realizing it.
'It wasn't that Daerang had sent them away obediently, but that he had been hit in one blow!'
The mont he finally realized the reason why the Eom Tak party had escaped from the hands of the Pyeongsan Fortress Master and looked back without thinking, Fan Zhong took a big step forward.
"There is!"
It was when the Cho Myung party had arrived at the tail of the Taegang Escort Agency.
The people in the front moved aside one by one. Then the front of the four was clearly revealed.
"Is it you?"
Fan Zhong, who had found Cho Myung, shouted loudly and asked.
When Fan Zhong, with his bear-like build, stood with his arms crossed and shouted loudly, his montum was so great that it seed to overwhelm everyone in this place.
"I think so."
Cho Myung answered.
Cho Myung, who had good hearing even from a distance, had heard everything. And although he did not know exactly, there was sothing called intuition.
The young brat in his teens who had knocked down Daerang of Pyeongsan Fortress in one blow.
It seed he was referring to himself, who had beaten up the mountain bandits two days ago. Since he could not be sure, he answered vaguely and observed the opponent's reaction.
"If it's you, it's you, what's with 'I think so'?"
"I don't know who Daerang of Pyeongsan Fortress is. But there was a mountain bandit I beat up two days ago."
"Beat up?"
"He said he would kill us even though we did nothing wrong, so I beat him up."
There is sothing called nuance.
It's the feeling that the sound of the words or the tone of the voice gives.
The nuance of 'beat him up' was sohow like the way children talk.
Fan Zhong's brow furrowed.
Beat him to a pulp, smashed him, sent him flying in one blow, made a ss of him, destroyed him.
How many manly expressions are there?
But to say 'beat him up'...
"Co here."
Cho Myung approached.
The three, including Eom Tak, also followed.
When the four approached at Fan Zhong's call, so of the rchants at the rear of the Taegang Escort Agency clicked their tongues.
They were the people who had grumbled that Cho Myung ate a lot.
Only O Chungyang watched with a worried face.
On the other hand, the escorts of the Taegang Escort Agency had puzzled faces.
They did not know that Cho Myung had knocked out Yang Gyeongpil with one punch. Because the parties involved, Yang Gyeongpil and the Head of the Escort, Gam, had kept their mouths shut. So they watched with a puzzled face, wondering who Cho Myung had beaten up.
"How old are you?"
When Cho Myung stopped in front of him, Fan Zhong asked.
"Seventeen."
Since he could not say he was eight with this appearance, he had decided to be seventeen wherever he went.
"If you're seventeen, you're all grown up."
Nod, nod!
"Just nodding your head is what kids do. A man says 'yes' or 'no' with words. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Good. Are you a novice in the martial world?"
"Yes."
"Take two steps back."
Cho Myung took two steps back as Fan Zhong had told him to.
"Good, look from there. What's my weapon?"
"The axe next to you?"
"That's right. If you co in one more step from where you're standing, it's a space where my axe can split you. You and I are not friends, are we?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to look at the opponent's weapon and grasp the appropriate distance first. Got it?"
"Yes."
When Cho Myung answered obediently like a well-behaved child, Fan Zhong's desire to fight disappeared even more.
"But is it you who knocked out Daerang?"
"I don't know."
When he was told sothing about the answer 'I think so', Cho Myung answered differently.
Fan Zhong looked down at such a Cho Myung and was lost in thought.
'From the circumstances, it seems it's this brat...'
Fan Zhong, who had been staring at Cho Myung for a while, made a surprised face.
When he looked closely, he felt sothing inexplicable from Cho Myung's body.
"You have sothing!"
"......!"
"Is it really you who beat up Daerang?"
"Probably... yes."
No matter how much he thought about it, it seed it was him, so Cho Myung answered so.
"If you have the skill to beat up Daerang, you're qualified. Everyone, step back!"
When Fan Zhong shouted loudly, the mountain bandits rushed back and made space.
Yang Gyeongpil also gestured to the Head of the Escort, Gam, and moved the group of the Taegang Escort Agency to one side.
"What should we do?"
Ilpyeong asked Eom Tak in a low voice.
"Let's step back and watch for now."
Eom Tak took Gwak Gyeong and Ilpyeong and stepped back to one side.
When the three groups stepped back like that, only Fan Zhong and Cho Myung were left in the middle.
"If you're seventeen, you're all grown up, and you're skilled enough to beat up Daerang, so it's not like I'm bullying a kid. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Good. I also have a position, so I can't just let you go, so get ready."
"What preparation?"
"What preparation would it be? Preparation to fight."
"Ah!"
Cho Myung made a face that said he understood and took a stance.
It was a stance where he stood with his two feet shoulder-width apart, turned his direction slightly, crouched his upper body, and held his two fists close to his face.
"What kind of stance is that?"
"It's a stance for hitting people."
Fan Zhong, who was making a blank face at Cho Myung's answer.
But he soon recalled that Daerang had been knocked out in one blow and nodded his head.
"It doesn't matter what the stance is, as long as you fight well. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Good. Co!"
It was the mont Fan Zhong's words ended.
Cho Myung kicked the ground and shot out.
Thwack
(End of Chapter)
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