Ten-Battle Assassin No. 50

Episode 1: Where Am I?

Clatter!

“Ouch!”

Won Seung woke up to the shock of his head hitting something. Thick fabric swayed, letting light in and out.

‘A carriage?’

He was lying on his side, staring at the carriage wall. Cold air seeped in from under the curtain, giving him a chill. He tried to turn over, but someone behind him prevented him from moving.

‘Why am I in a carriage…?’

What on earth is going on? He frowned in confusion.

‘It’s Sochu’s doing!’

He had played all sorts of pranks with his half-brother, Won Sochu, who was a year younger. Recently, he had locked Sochu in the storage room for a day, and this must be his revenge.

It seemed they had loaded him onto the carriage while he was asleep.

Someone tapped his head.

“Hey, if you’re awake, get up. You’re making it more cramped.”

“Huh?”

As Won Seung struggled to get up, the person behind him made some space. When he turned and sat up, he realized he was indeed in a carriage. But he wasn’t alone.

There were about ten children, looking around five or six years old, packed inside.

Won Seung blinked in surprise.

‘Who are these kids?’

The child next to him spoke.

“So you weren’t dead.”

“What? Why would I be dead?”

Won Seung coughed mid-sentence. The carriage was filled with the smell of children’s sweat and the stench from their ragged clothes. The surprising part was that his own body emitted the same odor.

He looked down at his clothes and was startled. Instead of his usual luxurious silk garments, he was wearing shabby clothes.

‘What happened?’

Won Seung tried to recall. He remembered sneaking into the kitchen to eat dried fruits while his parents were out. Then he returned to his room and took a nap—that was his last memory.

‘Darn you, Sochu! What did you do to me?’

He had a rough idea of the situation but wasn’t too worried. His father, Won Seongji, was a high-ranking official with considerable power. If he sent people to search, they’d find him quickly.

Won Seung vowed to get revenge when he returned. Pranks between half-siblings sometimes went too far, ending in such dire situations.

As he absentmindedly scratched his itchy head, he was shocked again. His once sleek, long hair had been haphazardly cut, resembling a chestnut burr.

‘This time, it’s really bad. Ragged clothes and even my hair cut.’

He worried that the people his father sent might not recognize him. On the other hand, he thought this experience might not be so bad.

His father’s estate was large, but it felt small to an active six-year-old.

Won Seung often played in the market from morning till night.

‘Since I’m out, I might as well explore before going back.’

The thought of being able to play freely outside the confining house made Won Seung’s eyes sparkle.

First, he needed to know where he was and where they were headed.

“Where is this carriage going?”

He asked the children, but no one answered. Some sat with their knees up and heads down, not moving at all.

The child next to him replied curtly.

“I don’t know. We’ve been traveling for four days without stopping.”

Won Seung was taken aback.

“Four days? I’ve been asleep for four days?”

“Yeah. That’s why I thought you were dead.”

Suddenly, he felt hungry. If he had been asleep for four days, it meant he hadn’t eaten anything during that time.

He looked around but found nothing to eat.

Just then, the carriage stopped, and the door opened. A burly man in black clothing peeked inside and said,

“From now on, we’re walking.”

The burly man had a large sword at his side and a very intimidating demeanor. When the children hesitated to get up, he suddenly drew his sword and struck the carriage floor with a loud thud.

“Move quickly!”

The children, startled, rushed out. Won Seung also stepped out of the carriage.

All around were mountains. The carriage had stopped on a mountain pass, and a small uphill path led to the ridge.

There was another person besides the burly man. A man with a long face, resembling a horse, was also dressed in black.

“Follow me.”

As the burly man led the way, the children followed in a line. The horse-faced man followed at the back, as if keeping watch.

‘This is unbelievable! It’s too much!’

Having not eaten or drunk anything for four days and now being told to walk a mountain path, Won Seung felt despair.

He slowly fell back and spoke to the horse-faced man.

“I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten for four days.”

The horse-faced man frowned.

“Say that again. What?”

“I’m hungry…”

The man took a steamed bun from the bundle on his back and handed it to him.

“You’re lucky you woke up. Otherwise, we would’ve left you for dead. Eat while you walk.”

Though the man threatened, Won Seung didn’t believe him.

‘No way. There must be a reason they’re taking us.’

The horse-faced man handed out steamed buns to the other children as well.

Won Seung ate the bun while following the children.

‘They’re taking kids into the mountains. This is strange. It’s not like they’re making us beg.’

He recalled an old servant’s warning about how the king of beggars would kidnap children to make them beg.

‘At least they’re not making us beg.’

The young master of the Won estate couldn’t be seen begging on the streets.

As the rough mountain path continued, the children grew exhausted. It was a grueling journey for five or six-year-olds, but none dared to complain due to the burly man’s intimidating presence.

They walked along the ridge all day and descended into a valley by evening. The valley was quite spacious, with several large wooden houses.

The burly man pointed to a row of identical wooden houses.

“Pick any place to rest. When the bell rings, come to the dining hall for a meal.”

Inside the wooden houses, there were wooden bunks lined up on either side of a central aisle. Some children who had arrived earlier were lying or sitting on the bunks. There were quite a few girls mixed in, but they were all so dirty that it was hard to tell them apart by face alone.

“There are too many kids here. I should find another house.”

He went to the second wooden house, but it was the same. The last house on the edge was somewhat empty.

Won Seung flopped down in a corner of the bunk. After walking for half a day, his feet were blistered and sore. At least he hadn’t lost his leather shoes.

The child who had been next to him in the carriage lay down beside him, not looking particularly tired. He was small but seemed sturdy.

“You’re really good at walking. I have blisters on my feet.”

Won Seung took off his leather shoes and showed his blisters.

“I can walk for days without a problem.”

The child showed his bare feet, which were covered in thick calluses. They looked like they could walk over rocky ground without issue.

“What’s your name?”

“Achil.”

“Your surname?”

“Surname? Oh! My father’s surname is Jang.”

“Then you’re Jang Chil.”

“Were you also loaded onto the carriage while sleeping?”

“No.”

The child picked his nose and said,

“My father got a silver coin. He said if I followed, I wouldn’t go hungry and told me to live well wherever I went.”

“Your father sold you?”

Won Seung asked in shock, but Jang Chil replied as if it were no big deal.

“We have a big family, so they won’t miss me.”

Won Seung recalled something Master Gong had said.

─The world has gone mad. The king neglects the people, and the people mock the king. So it’s become a world where parents sell their children, and children abandon their parents without a second thought.

Master Gong was the tutor his father had hired when Won Seung was three. He taught him more about how messed up the world was than actual studies.

Won Seung had thought Master Gong was just bitter because he had failed the civil service exams countless times and ended up as a tutor for a child. But now, it seemed he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Won Seung suddenly wondered if he had also been sold for a silver coin. His father was so wealthy that he wouldn’t bend down to pick up a silver coin on the street, so he couldn’t have sold him.

‘Who would need a silver coin?’

His mother loved him, so she wouldn’t sell him for any amount of silver. The servants in the house were the ones who needed money. Won Seung shook his head.

‘No, the servants like me. They wouldn’t have done it.’

Then he thought that the servants in the inner quarters might hate him. His aunt, Lady Ju, despised his birth mother. So the servants of the inner quarters and the separate quarters didn’t get along.

‘The inner quarters’ servants would definitely sell me.’

The thought of being sold for just a silver coin suddenly made him feel miserable.

‘I have hundreds of silver coins hidden away. They should’ve just asked me.’

As Won Seung got lost in his thoughts, Jang Chil started snoring.

Before long, a bell rang. Won Seung shook Jang Chil awake.

“The bell rang. Let’s go eat.”

The children rushed out. About a hundred children headed to the dining hall on a low hill.

Won Seung and Jang Chil hurried to the dining hall.

“Wow!”

Jang Chil exclaimed as soon as he entered. It wasn’t just Jang Chil; most of the children were so surprised that they shouted in amazement. The dining hall had several long tables, each with a boiled chicken.

“Take your rice porridge and vegetables from here.”

Two men in gray clothes distributed rice porridge from a large pot. The children beamed as they held out their trays. They had to serve their own vegetables, but no one was taking any. They were all eager to rush to the tables with the boiled chicken.

Won Seung and Jang Chil quickly claimed a table and sat down.

“I’m glad I got sold.”

Jang Chil grinned as he tore a chicken leg and placed it on his rice porridge.

“Don’t be swayed by just one chicken.”

Won Seung commented, but he quickly tore a chicken leg and bit into it. The child who sat down later looked at the chicken without legs and pouted.

There was one chicken for every four people, but only two legs. The children who sat down later tore into the wings and breast meat.

The children ate to their heart’s content. Once full, they started chatting, relieved that they hadn’t been sold to a terrible place.

Won Seung thought of pigs. There’s no reason to treat them well without a purpose. Pigs are fed well so they fatten up, yielding more meat when slaughtered.

‘They wouldn’t be planning to eat us, would they?’

Won Seung looked around, pondering. Master Gong had mentioned that in remote areas, people were used as dumpling fillings, but he hadn’t believed it. Why use people, who yield less meat than pigs, as dumpling fillings?

Now… he thought it might be possible. As he shuddered at the thought of becoming dumpling filling, a man in gray clothes spoke.

“If you’re done eating, stop chatting and go to sleep. Rest well tonight because training starts tomorrow, and it might be your last chance to sleep comfortably.”