Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 38
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#038
The port in the early dawn as the sun was just rising.
“Whew.”
This was Han Pilsaeng’s favorite time.
At first, he liked it because there were fewer people, but now he had come to enjoy the cold dawn air and the sea at daybreak.
“Mother. Just a moment.”
The wheelchair stopped.
“Huu.”
Han Pilsaeng let out a long breath, gripped the wheelchair’s handles tightly, and applied force.
Watching her son’s trembling body, Song Ja-in held her breath. She wanted to help, but now was not the time. She tensed up in case he might fall, then let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Ah…”
Precariously but surely, Han Pilsaeng stood on his two feet.
It was only for a moment though.
“Huh?”
Song Ja-in caught her son’s collapsing body.
“It’s nice having a martial arts master mother for times like this.”
“Now you’re even making jokes.”
“Does it sound bad?”
“No. It was the most touching joke of my entire life.”
“I meant it to be funny. Gangcheon taught me.”
“It was funny too. Look, I’m smiling, aren’t I?”
“But you’re crying.”
Song Ja-in wiped away her tears and seated her son back in the wheelchair.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. We have plenty of time now.”
“I need to move diligently to repay the kindness I’ve received.”
“Your mother can share that burden.”
“But shouldn’t becoming part of the manor family come first? What do you think, Mother?”
Ja-gang-cheon had already called them family. But still, their relationship remained ambiguous.
“Strictly speaking, we’re long-term guests staying here.”
“I’d be fine wherever you go, Mother. But I don’t think there’s anywhere better than Deungmyeong Manor.”
“Why do you think that?”
“In my memory, Deungmyeong Manor is the only place where I’ve seen you happy without struggling, Mother.”
“That’s because I had peace of mind since you got healthy.”
“It was also the first time you interacted with other people. You played not just with Gangcheon and Cheon-gu, but with So Cheon-u too, didn’t you?”
Song Ja-in nodded in acknowledgment and asked her son.
“What about you?”
“I wish Deungmyeong Manor could be our home.”
Song Ja-in smiled kindly at his honest feelings.
“I’ll ask about it.”
“Gangcheon will definitely accept us.”
Song Ja-in pushed the wheelchair again.
“We’ll be late for morning exercises. Let’s hurry.”
“Yes. If we’re family, everyone should attend.”
They returned to Deungmyeong Manor.
***
After the morning exercises ended, Ja-gang-cheon visited the black market.
-Currently, there are five representatives negotiating for the reconstruction of Chosuhoe. They need to reach an agreement for Chosuhoe to be revived. Right now, the power struggles are so intense that it’s not very hopeful.
Yeon-hee actively shared information while seeking confirmation about her compensation.
-I’ve found a location for the tea house to open at the port. Should I proceed?
Ja-gang-cheon gave permission, and their transaction ended there.
“You can’t skip exercises even when I’m not here! Pansuk! You’re responsible!”
“Yes! Big brother!”
After finishing exercises, Ja-gang-cheon immediately packed his things. But Cheon-gu beside him looked worried.
“Think about it again. Going alone is dangerous.”
Ja-gang-cheon had said he would leave alone. Cheon-gu couldn’t hide his anxious feelings.
“I’ve learned a lot from you during this time. And this time, I think I need to move quite quickly.”
The reason Ja-gang-cheon decided to move alone was to handle things quickly. Although Cheon-gu’s martial arts were developing rapidly, they weren’t at a level to compare with Ja-gang-cheon’s lightness skill.
‘There might be fights.’
Yeon-hee from Hao-mun had warned him about one thing.
-Various groups are targeting Chosuhoe. Rather than Chosuhoe’s reconstruction, they want to break them apart and divide them up. Medicinal herbs, leather, and quality timber aren’t only coveted by merchant guilds.
Since a honey pot had been discovered, greedy bears were bound to compete.
-From the hunters’, woodcutters’, and herb gatherers’ perspective, as long as the conditions are good, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Chosuhoe. After all, the reason they dream of Chosuhoe’s reconstruction is to escape disadvantages.
Ja-gang-cheon’s position was the same.
Even if it wasn’t Chosuhoe, he just needed to secure a medium-sized organization that could provide sufficient medicinal herbs.
‘Since I don’t know what might happen, I need to move alone.’
Just as he was thinking that.
“Since we don’t know what might happen, it’s better to go together.”
Ja-gang-cheon flinched at Cheon-gu’s words, as if he had read his mind.
“Did you secretly learn mind reading?”
“I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your face.”
“R-really?”
“Since you know, stop being stubborn and let’s go together.”
“But it’s true that I need to hurry. Right now they’re gathered in one place, and I can’t miss this opportunity. Unfortunately, your lightness skill won’t be able to keep up.”
At this point, Cheon-gu had no choice.
“How much stronger do I need to become to fight alongside you?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s time yet.”
“Tch.”
As Cheon-gu stepped back, Song Ja-in approached as if she had been waiting.
“Lord. Please take this.”
She held out a wooden box.
“What is this?”
When he opened the wooden box, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.
Inside, three pills were neatly arranged, and unusually, they had a red tint.
“Universal Antidote Pills. They’re called Dogok Sacred Pills.”
At those words, not only Ja-gang-cheon but also Cheon-gu beside him opened his mouth in surprise.
“Wow! These are Universal Antidote Pills? Huh? Then Auntie really is from Dogok?”
“Yes. I am the last Valley Lord who dissolved Dogok.”
“What? Dogok was dissolved? And you were the Valley Lord, not the Deputy Valley Lord as known?”
“When you return from this trip, I’ll tell you everything. Since Chosuhoe members are skilled in medicine preparation, please use those pills as precaution if you’re suspicious.”
“Thank you so much, Auntie.”
“And when you return, I have one request.”
“You can tell me now.”
Song Ja-in didn’t delay and spoke immediately.
“Is there a place for my son and me to stay in this manor?”
“I’ve already provided one…”
As Ja-gang-cheon tilted his head in confusion, Cheon-gu beside him explained.
“She’s asking if she can make our manor her home.”
“Ah! Welcome! You made a great decision!”
He had asked for time to think it over, but Ja-gang-cheon accepted without any hesitation.
‘Everyone else avoided me after hearing my reputation.’
He had inwardly thought there might be a rejection, but it was just needless worry.
“Thank you, Lord. Please take good care of me from now on.”
“I should be the one asking that. While I’m away, please look after my family too.”
“I will.”
Song Ja-in’s presence was incredibly reassuring to Ja-gang-cheon.
“Ah, this feels great! My heart feels much lighter!”
And so Ja-gang-cheon set out alone for the Martial Arts World.
***
His heart felt empty.
‘Ah, should I have carried him on my back and brought him along?’
Thoughts of Cheon-gu came to him dozens of times a day, but each time he recalled his destination and picked up his pace.
‘I’m almost there now.’
Ja-gang-cheon recalled the information he had received from Hao-mun once more.
Due to the nature of Chosuhoe being spread nationwide, people had no choice but to group together by region, divided into north, south, east, and west with Hubei in the center.
The person who proposed reconstruction was from Hubei, but the northern region had the most influence.
Perhaps for this reason, the meeting was taking place in Hanan in the north, and true to their Chosuhoe origins, a quiet village near Daebyeolsan was the meeting place.
This was already the fifth meeting, and since it had been three years since the first meeting, they had gathered with the thought that this would be the last.
‘There it is.’
Fortunately, it wasn’t far from the main road and even had a small path, so it wasn’t difficult to find.
Jaehyang Village, viewed from a high hill, was a small village of about fifty households living together within wooden fences.
But as he tried to approach the village, he felt countless gazes upon him.
‘What’s this?’
Jaehyang Village was built near a valley that came down between the peaks.
However, many groups had already taken positions in the forest outside Jaehyang Village’s fence.
‘There are too many people?’
The problem was that their auras were quite sharp.
They were being wary of the appearance of a new person.
Now seventeen years old, Ja-gang-cheon looked like a proper young man, so no one would underestimate him for being young like before.
He deliberately entered the forest, concealed his presence, and looked around the vicinity of Jaehyang Village.
‘Something’s strange?’
Changing his plan from just looking around the vicinity, Ja-gang-cheon spent quite a long time carefully searching a wide area.
‘There are at least five martial arts groups.’
He could understand why no agreement had been reached for three years.
‘There’s no negotiation in the world that satisfies everyone.’
As interests became complicated, reaching an agreement became difficult. The problem was that the visible groups weren’t everything.
‘There’s even a merchant guild.’
They had many people and the waiting figures wore splendid clothes. This meant it was definitely not a small merchant guild.
After confirming their appearance, Ja-gang-cheon realized one thing.
‘This is a much bigger game than I thought?’
Thinking about it, it was natural.
One organization could manage twenty percent of medicinal herbs, wild leather and meat, and timber produced nationwide.
When most mountain people were members, it was said to exceed fifty percent.
On a national scale, the power that twenty percent held was enormous.
After checking the external situation, Ja-gang-cheon realized what he had to do.
-There’s only one person who doesn’t represent any group’s position. He’s the central region leader who started this whole thing, but he refused cooperation with other groups, saying the pure intention was being corrupted.
His intention was pure, but his power was the weakest. Anyway, Ja-gang-cheon decided to meet him first.
-He won’t want to meet outsiders.
Despite hearing the warning, Ja-gang-cheon’s decision didn’t change.
Night came as the sunset faded.
Torches blazed around the central guest quarters of Jaehyang Village.
The torches were sufficient to push back the darkness, but they couldn’t brighten the shadowed expressions of people coming out of the guest quarters.
With deeply furrowed brows, they sighed tiredly and returned to their respective lodgings.
They might have exchanged greetings, but no one looked at each other’s faces. That alone revealed what the result of today’s meeting was.
-It’s really over now.
Everyone thought so. It was a situation that had been repeating for ten days already.
Among them, the sigh from the person who had led this effort had to be even deeper.
“Sigh. Was it truly impossible after all?”
The lodging he arrived at was a small log cabin with just one room.
While others had come with several people, he had brought only one person with him to this place.
“Lord. I think it’s right to give up at this point.”
That one person suggested they should retreat.
“Was it just my stubbornness after all?”
“Even if we reunite like this, it’s no longer Chosuhoe. The north will be owned by Nokrim, the west by Heukpungdang. The south also seems to have joined hands with Geumryong Merchant Guild, so even if we reach an agreement, it will eventually be torn apart by internal strife.”
That was why the meetings were going in circles.
Before even having proper negotiations, they first discussed the rights they could guarantee for themselves.
There was no way negotiations could work.
“How about forming an alliance with the east, who we can communicate with?”
“That wouldn’t be worthy of being called Chosan Association, would it?”
“Lord. You shouldn’t be obsessed with the name but look at practical benefits.”
“Do you think I’m obsessed with the name? I need the power that name holds. Even if we create an organization with a different name instead of Chosan Association, would people acknowledge it? Would the treatment of us mountain people change?”
Gashin couldn’t answer.
Many organizations had united so far, but they were still being ignored, which is why they had come this far.
“It must be Chosan Association. And only when as many people as possible gather can we exert power.”
“But…”
Gashin stopped speaking, thinking they would just repeat frustrating words. As the heavy silence continued, Gashin sighed.
“Lord, why did you start this work? Weren’t we eating well and living well among ourselves?”
“You were the one who started treating injured herb gatherers.”
“You were the one who let them stay for free, Lord.”
“I have no regrets. I gave as much as I could.”
“I have no regrets either.”
They comforted their hearts briefly, but that was all. Reality remained the same.
That’s when it happened.
“Hello there.”
A bright greeting completely unsuited to the atmosphere was heard.
“I’m coming in.”
The door opened instantly, wind seemed to blow, and then a person was standing there.
“Hello. My name is Ja-gang-cheon.”
“Wh-who are you?”
The old Gashin, recognizing a master, blocked the Lord and asked.
“I apologize for eavesdropping on your conversation. I had to move carefully too. Instead, I have a solution, so would you like to hear it?”
“I must decline. My nature is that of a stubborn loner, so I don’t like joining hands with anyone.”
At the Lord’s rejection, Ja-gang-cheon tilted his head.
“That’s very different from what I overheard.”
“That’s how I am with uninvited guests like you.”
Even after seeing the outstanding lightness skill, the Lord’s refusal remained unwavering.
“Father told me. If you can empathize with a conviction worth risking one’s life for, then you can trust that person.”
“What do you mean by that….”
Ja-gang-cheon took something out from his chest and held it forward.
“I think it would be alright to show you this, Uncle.”
What Ja-gang-cheon held out was an object with a palm-sized iron plate attached to a handle about one foot long.
It was exactly the hand shovel that ginseng diggers use when harvesting medicinal herbs. However, the shovel that Ja-gang-cheon presented had a subtle reddish hue, and as the lamplight flickered, a pattern engraved on the metal surface became visible.
“Huh!”
“Ugh!”
Upon seeing this, the two men reflexively dropped to their knees on the spot.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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