The Sword Emperor's Way of Establishing the Namgung Clan

Chapter 38 - The First Solo Mission (3)

Namgung Jun returned to Hefei with the Bright Talisman Caravan.

Of course, he was still in the shabby attire of a worker, just like at the beginning.

The Caravan Leader, Jang Il-su, and the other merchants, who had returned safely to the Bright Talisman Caravan, paid their respects to Namgung Jun.

“Thanks to you, Young Hero Namgung, we were able to return safely.”

“I have only done what was my duty.”

As Namgung Jun was about to turn and leave without hesitation, Jang Il-su stopped him first.

“Young Hero Namgung. By any chance, is there anything our caravan can do to help? If it is information about tracking the bank drafts or about the other caravans in Hefei, we can obtain it for you.”

“If you make a single misstep, you could fall out of favor with the Heavy Punishment Gate and meet with disaster. It is dangerous.”

As if he had already made his decision after repeated deliberation, Jang Il-su’s eyes did not waver in the slightest.

“The moment I refused their deal, I had already fallen out of their favor. Did the Blood Master Sword not come for us? As things have come to this, it is a situation where I can’t get off the tiger. The best course would be to help you, Young Hero, and bring down the Heavy Punishment Gate.”

Jang Il-su, who was gauging Namgung Jun’s reaction, asked.

“Young Hero. It may be a discourtesy to ask, but are you facing the Heavy Punishment Gate all by yourself?”

“Oh. I see.”

Originally, it would have been enough just to secure the proof that the Heavy Punishment Gate was committing villainous acts.

‘But looking at how things are unfolding, there is a high probability that the situation will worsen if I drag this out any longer.’

In the process of Namgung Jun reporting to the main fortress via a carrier pigeon and them dispatching personnel again, not only the Bright Talisman Caravan, but other victims as well might emerge.

It was not a situation he could turn away from.

Namgung Jun intuited that the time had come to use the authority that Gang Mong had spoken of.

After contemplating for a moment, Namgung Jun nodded his head.

“Yes. For now, it seems that will be the case. Of course, I will have to report the current situation and request support.”

It meant that for the time being, Namgung Jun had to step in alone. Despite this, Jang Il-su did not mind.

“If you say it is possible, Young Hero, then I will believe you.”

Jang Il-su nodded his head with eyes full of trust in Namgung Jun.

“It will take time to secretly track the bank drafts and combine the opinions and physical evidence from the various places that have suffered from the Heavy Punishment Gate’s villainy. What will you do in the meantime, Young Hero?”

“I too will look around Hefei alone and observe the conduct of the Heavy Punishment Gate.”

“I see. Please be careful.”

Namgung Jun added again.

“The same goes for you, Caravan Leader. Now that the Bright Talisman Caravan has returned safely, they will surely be paying sharp attention.”

“Do not worry. When it comes to secrecy, a merchant does not fall behind a martial artist. For that is the only way to make money.”

Namgung Jun, who had been watching Jang Il-su return with a resolute expression, organized his thoughts.

‘Thanks to them, I have been able to shorten the time greatly.’

The Virtuous Saber and Jang Il-su.

If not for the help of those two, he would have had to put in a great deal of effort to secure the circumstantial evidence against the Heavy Punishment Gate with just the items the Blood Master Sword had left behind.

Now that their lives had been saved once, no one would have said anything if they had just backed out, so he could only be grateful that they had stepped forward like this.

‘I cannot let this time go to waste.’

Though Namgung Jun had entrusted the matter to the two of them, he had no intention of completely letting go of it. He was thinking of digging into the affairs of the Heavy Punishment Gate from another angle.

……

Hefei, in Anhui Province.

A land where if one headed north, they could face the majestic flow of the Huai River, and if they advanced south, they could face the stately flow of the Yangtze River.

It was a strategic point connecting the Central Plains and Jiangnan, and a fertile place where all sorts of agricultural products could be harvested.

Naturally, countless commercial interests and businesses were bound to arise, and all sorts of sects were chaotically entangled. Especially in a state of affairs like the present age of chaos, the swords and sabers of martial artists were bound to become extremely light.

They would not hesitate to start a sword fight to obtain even the smallest and most trivial of commercial interests.

In the middle of all that, a boy wearing a black bamboo hat was standing.

‘It is as full of vitality as ever.’

Namgung Jun slightly lifted the brim of his bamboo hat.

Just as the Hefei of his past life had been, the present Hefei was still prosperous, and a diverse cross-section of humanity was bustling about.

Namgung Jun ordered a bowl of thin noodles and observed the people passing by on the street.

Though countless people were quickly scattering and gathering here and there, Namgung Jun’s pupils did not miss a single thing.

Amidst that, there were a few figures on whom Namgung Jun’s gaze lingered for a moment. They were all carrying weapons.

There were those who had slung them over their shoulders as if to show them off, and the commoners who saw this would avert their eyes and give them a wide berth.

‘So those are the disciples of the Heavy Punishment Gate.’

The eyes of Namgung Jun, who was eating the thin noodles sold on the street, narrowed.

He could see children following behind the disciples of the Heavy Punishment Gate. Their ages and genders were all different, but the common point was that all of them were holding farming tools.

‘The Heavy Punishment Gate. They have their hands in many places.’

Namgung Jun, who had cut the noodles he was holding in his mouth by stirring his chopsticks, moved his feet with a calm air.

Though he stealthily followed behind them, not a single disciple of the Heavy Punishment Gate noticed him tailing them.

‘So this is the place.’

Namgung Jun lifted his bamboo hat and widened his field of vision.

Hefei was a landform where gentle hills and low-lying mountains continued without end.

This was called the Huadong (East China) Hills, and because the mountains and hills that formed the area were so fertile, there were many times when there was a rich harvest.

Of course, to achieve a rich harvest, it was something that was only possible by pouring out a corresponding amount of blood and sweat.

“Move diligently!”

“Don’t think you’ll be able to go home if you can’t fill your quota for today!”

The disciples of the Heavy Punishment Gate, who had taken up positions in the paddies and fields scattered throughout the hills and mountains, were walking around here and there, letting out shouts.

The way the disciples of the Heavy Punishment Gate hurried the children along was rough.

If a hand tending to the grain was slow, it was a common occurrence for them to jab the children’s waists or backs with their scabbards, and if they could not dig up the ground properly, they would sometimes strike their behinds.

Despite this, the children had no choice but to hold back their tears and work sorrowfully. It was because they knew well that they could absolutely not defy the disciples of the Heavy Punishment Gate.

“Huu-uk.”

Unchan, who was diligently moving his sickle, caught his breath.

His thighs ached as if they would burst at any moment, and his back throbbed as if his very bones were being pulled out.

Despite this, Unchan moved his hands swiftly with his teeth clenched. He had to.

“Older brother… my hands won’t move properly.”

“It’s so hard.”

At his younger siblings’ quiet cries, Unchan showed a faint smile.

“We’re almost done now. Older brother will help you, so sneak in a little rest.”

Unchan subtly moved his body to slightly shield the bodies of his tired siblings. Though Unchan’s own body was drenched in sweat, he paid it no mind.

“The sun is setting soon! Move!”

Unchan could not rest for even a moment. He just silently lowered his head and moved his hands and feet.

Only after the sun had set were the children able to return home. But what was held in their hands was only a very small amount of grain.

‘Those bad bastards. There’s sand mixed in again today.’

If he were to throw away the sand at the bottom of the grain, it seemed the amount would barely be over half. This much was not even enough to boil a thin rice gruel to solve a single meal.

It was then.

The shabby door of the thatched-roof house burst open, and a boy revealed himself. An appearance that, at most, looked to be two or three years older than himself.

Despite that, an indescribable, overwhelming atmosphere made Unchan’s mouth close.

‘A sword.’

Unchan, who had been staring blankly at Namgung Jun for a moment, snapped to his senses.

He confirmed the sword at Namgung Jun’s waist and was the first to block the path in front of his siblings.

“There’s nothing to take from our house!”

“It seems I have caused a misunderstanding.”

Namgung Jun, who was looking at Unchan’s grimly determined face, set down the bundle he was holding.

The first to react were Unchan’s younger siblings. It was because the thick smell of food rising from between the bundle had stimulated their appetites.

Namgung Jun, who had given a bright smile, untied the bundle as if to show them, and the food that had been packed from an inn popped out.

“It’s meat!”

“There are dumplings, too. More than ten of them!”

There were over five different kinds of food. Not only the younger siblings, but Unchan’s eyes also went round with surprise.

“Eat.”

Just as his younger siblings were about to rush to the food, Unchan roughly grabbed them.

“Stop!”

“Older brother!”

“Listen to me! Stay still!”

At Unchan’s shout, his siblings’ bodies froze in place. Unchan, who had calmed his siblings, glared at Namgung Jun.

“What do you want? Why the sudden food?”

“You’re very wary.”

“Because there are no trustworthy people among those who wear a sword.”

Unchan was still staring piercingly at Namgung Jun’s sword.

Namgung Jun let out a bitter smile.

This was the way the common people viewed martial artists.

‘This is why responsibility is needed in the Martial Arts.’

Just by looking at Unchan’s gaze, he felt he could understand what kind of existence the Heavy Punishment Gate was in Hefei.

So that the children would not be frightened, Namgung Jun untied the sword from his waist and hid it behind his back.

Then, he plopped down on the spot and offered the food to Unchan.

“I want to hear your story.”

“What story?”

“The Heavy Punishment Gate. And all of your story.”

Unchan glared at Namgung Jun for a long while.

‘There is no wavering. He’s upright. He doesn’t seem to be that much older than me, but how can he have such a gaze?’

Though the life he had lived was short, he had experienced that many more people, so Unchan prided himself on having developed a decent eye for people.

Though he had seen countless martial artists until now, there was no one who had a gaze as clear as Namgung Jun’s. The light in his eyes, which flickered like a flash of lightning, was spotlessly clear.

“...…”

Unchan, who had been looking at Namgung Jun and his siblings, thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Last year, a great famine came to Hefei, and because it was a famine the likes of which had rarely been seen, the damage was immense.”

Even if one had wealth, one could not obtain food.

The majority of Hefei had a hard time, but the ones who had it the hardest were the orphans, who had no one to rely on.

There were no jobs, and even if they begged on the streets, they could not get food.

As they were slowly dying like that, the one who had held out a hand was the Heavy Punishment Gate.

“The Heavy Punishment Gate opened its granaries and released its food supplies. Of course, even then, it wasn’t that they gave it for free.”

The Heavy Punishment Gate made the orphans work and gave them food supplies as payment. The orphans were just grateful for the fact that they could receive food.

“Was the problem what came after that?”

“That’s right. The problem was what came after we had overcome the famine.”

Though it was work in exchange for food supplies, the work that the Heavy Punishment Gate demanded was often too overwhelming for children to do.

The intensity of the work was high, and they did not give them separate meals or resting times, so it was truly forced labor.

For that reason, once the famine had passed, orphans began to appear who tried to do other work or return to the way they had originally lived.

But the Heavy Punishment Gate thoroughly blocked their desertion.

They absolutely refused to let go of the manpower they had once gotten their hands on.

“If we tried to do other work, they would interfere in any way they could to make us work under the Heavy Punishment Gate.”

Though there were occasional orphans who voiced their complaints or tried to run away, they were either given a beating or would, at some point, quietly disappear.

Unchan, who had been calmly unraveling his story, was, at some point, whimpering.

“And those bastards slowly reduced the payment. They would give us very little food, or things that were on the verge of rotting, or mixed with sand or dirt.”

Namgung Jun asked with eyes that had grown cold.

“Could you not ask for help from another place, from the other Orthodox Faction sects of Hefei?”

“Because on paper, it looks like they are giving compensation and legitimately employing workers. Besides, the Heavy Punishment Gate is a big organization, so the other Orthodox Faction sects can’t easily interfere.”

Unchan’s fists trembled.

“And those bastards intentionally gathered only orphans. They only targeted us, who have no one to rely on.”

“I see.”

Namgung Jun looked for a long while at Unchan’s younger siblings, who were gobbling down the food, then rose from his spot.

“You have worked hard to protect your younger siblings in the middle of all this. You have suffered.”

Unchan’s eyes widened at Namgung Jun’s low-voiced words.

It was the comfort of a boy who did not seem to be that much older than himself.

Even though it was a stoic comfort, his emotions welled up as if he had been acknowledged by an adult.

“Endure it for just a little while longer.”

Unchan stared blankly at the side profile of Namgung Jun, who was fastening his sword to his waist again, and then asked.

“What are you going to do?”

Namgung Jun, who had put on his bamboo hat, completely turned his back.

And so, even though Namgung Jun’s face could not be seen, Unchan suddenly thought.

That the face of Namgung Jun, who was looking the other way, must be contorted.

Though he could not know the reason, he could know it instinctively.

*Click.*

As Namgung Jun placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a chilling sound settled.

“They must be made to take responsibility.”

Though Unchan tried to ask something more, he could not.

It was because Namgung Jun’s silhouette had disappeared in an instant.

As if he had been talking with a ghost.

Unchan suddenly lowered his gaze.

The warmth of the food that remained in the thatched-roof house was insisting that Namgung Jun was not a ghost.

……

As Namgung Jun returned to the Bright Talisman Caravan, Jang Il-su rushed out urgently.

“Young Hero. The Heavy Punishment Gate has sent a banquet invitation.”

“A banquet, you say?”

“But it does not seem to be an ordinary banquet.”

Namgung Jun personally read the invitation card that Jang Il-su gave him.

It seemed that most of the major powers of Hefei were gathering.

“Both those who are subservient to the Heavy Punishment Gate and those who are at odds with them have all been invited to the banquet.”

“Hmm.”

“What should we do?”

Namgung Jun saw the phrase where a threat for non-attendance was written and smiled coldly.

“Let us try going.”