Chapter 16
“……!”
“……!!”
“……!!!”
Why on earth?
Why are people reacting like this?
I risked the stares and whispers of the townspeople and brought 100 bandits to the government office in chains, all for the bounty.
Moreover, didn’t I already reveal my purpose without hiding it?
But why are they all looking at me with bewildered expressions when I ask for the money?
“Is…… is there a problem?”
“Ah, no, not at all. What problem could there be? But…… Jin Daehyeop.”
“I’m not a Daehyeop, but please speak.”
“The Daehyeop’s contribution to arresting the bandit group is not insignificant, but it seems difficult to pay the bounty right away.”
“What do you mean, Provincial Governor?”
“Well……”
“……???”
“These men don’t have a bounty on their heads.”
◈ ◈ ◈
It was like a bolt from the blue.
I heard that the Iron Blood Gang routinely kidnapped civilians and sold them to the Black Path, and they committed unspeakable acts like it was nothing……
Does it make sense that there’s no bounty on such people?
Then what in the world are the taxes collected from the people used for?
Fortunately, my bewilderment and questions were resolved by the Provincial Governor’s request for a private conversation.
“Jin Daehyeop. I’d like to have a private conversation with you……”
“Governor. How?”
“Jin Daehyeop. Shaanxi Province is currently in a state of calm before the storm. Due to the recent rise of an organization called the Black Society and the forces behind it, not only has public security become unstable, but the government has no way of knowing what they are up to. Until now, we haven’t had to manage them because the Righteous Path of the martial world has kept the Black Path in check, but recently the martial world has been in turmoil, and we are unable to receive support from the Righteous Path sects. That’s why I was appointed here on a special mission. Originally, there was an unwritten rule of non-interference between the government and the martial world in the Central Plains, but I’m thinking of making an exception this time because the situation is serious.”
“……I understand that, but what I want to hear about is the bounty……”
“Of course, there is.”
“Huh?”
“The bounty, I mean. I said there wasn’t one because the amount and the scope of support haven’t been quantitatively determined yet, but I can set that part within my authority.”
“……Then?”
“Jin Daehyeop. I hear you’re going to round up the troublemakers in the Shaanxi region one by one. Can I trust that commitment?”
“That’s the plan for now.”
“Then let’s do this.”
“……”
“Become the temporary Constable of Chang’an.”
“……???”
“Of course, the position of Constable isn’t a high one. So, you may not be happy about it, but I promise you that you will enjoy a special status different from that of an ordinary Constable. For example, your salary will be paid differentially according to your performance, and I will arrange for you to be able to command Pokwae, Pojol, and Jeongyong workers as needed.”
“Provincial Governor……”
“Also, I will grant you the authority of a separate unit that does not receive commands from the Sungeom and Chugwan, so that you can operate freely. This is the most drastic personnel action and administrative measure I can take.”
They say that if a person is too bewildered, they can’t speak.
That’s exactly how I am right now.
Constable……
Throughout my life, I’ve been a free spirit who never thought about things like a historical mission to revitalize the nation.
But me, doing government work?
No way.
Besides, a Constable?
I may have been an orphan from the streets and kidnapped by the Demonic Cult to spend my life cutting off people’s heads, but I’ve studied well and in terms of martial arts, I could crush the head of an army general in an instant. But a mere Constable, not even a Sungeom?
It was so absurd that I almost scoffed.
“Governor.”
“Speak, Jin Daehyeop.”
“I have no intention of accepting a government position.”
“Jin Daehyeop. The position of Constable isn’t that special. It’s not as grand as it sounds to be called a government position……”
“That’s why.”
“……???”
“Literally, a Constable is nothing, isn’t it?”
“Ah…… that’s true, but…… it’s not a bad offer. Can’t you reconsider?”
This young man who became a Provincial Governor seems a bit slow.
Do I really have to ask him, ‘How can a tiger be under a dog?’
“I won’t change my mind.”
“Sigh…… Since you’re so adamant, I can’t help it. Then, please keep your promise to suppress the troublemakers in the private sector.”
At that moment.
The Provincial Governor, who had let out a deep sigh, suddenly bowed to me.
Honestly, it was unexpected.
I don’t know the organizational chart of government officials, but judging by the atmosphere, the Provincial Governor seems to be the highest-ranking person here.
Seeing that such a person is consistently polite to me, who is not even a well-known martial artist, means that either this person is naturally easygoing, or the current situation in Shaanxi is that bad.
“I understand. But before that, there’s something I want to confirm.”
“Speak.”
“As I arrest and hand over the troublemakers, various problems will arise. I’d like you to overlook those.”
“For example?”
“What kind of people are troublemakers? They are very vicious, right?”
“That’s right.”
“So, while catching those guys, I might inevitably have to crack a few skulls, cripple a few legs, and maybe even pull out some tongues or burn off all their hair.”
“……???”
“Please overlook those things.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“So, So-cheon Older Brother? Is that true?”
“Wow! Big Older Brother, I didn’t know you were a master negotiator.”
“Amazing, Older Brother. Hahaha.”
The Dongdong brothers praised me as if I were someone great, but honestly, I didn’t do much.
I just roughly explained what I was going to do and coordinated what I wanted with what the government wanted.
But I guess I was lucky.
The reward for handing over the bandits from the Iron Blood Gang was not insignificant.
Of course, the bounty wasn’t as big as I initially thought.
But through a private conversation with the Provincial Governor, who is like the chief of Shaanxi Province, I was granted the implicit ‘authority to manage public security’ and resolved issues related to profits, unavoidable violence, and killings in one fell swoop. It’s like getting something for nothing.
“Il-dong, Yi-dong, Sam-dong. It’s nothing special. It’s just the beginning, so don’t get too excited or things won’t work out. Calm down.”
“Yes, Older Brother.”
“Yes, Big Older Brother.”
“Yes, So-cheon Older Brother.”
“We’ve achieved our goal for now, having secured the goods from the Golden Tiger Lodge and the bounty. But don’t be satisfied. I hear that bad guys have been causing chaos in Shaanxi recently. We have to exploit those guys, practice our martial arts, and live our own lives, so we’ll be very busy from now on. Let’s go back today and have a drink. We’ll start our first training tomorrow, so be prepared.”
“Fi, first training?”
“Are we finally going to learn martial arts?”
“Ha! If I learn martial arts from So-cheon Older Brother, I can become a fighting demon too, right? Hehe!”
Il-dong, Yi-dong, and Sam-dong couldn’t hide their excitement at the mention of training.
It was understandable, since their purpose in coming to me in the first place was to learn martial arts.
“Being strong is relative. So, I don’t know how strong you’ll become. For example, if your opponent is a weak bandit, you can become stronger than them. But what if your opponent is me? You’ll never become stronger, even if you die and come back to life. Why? Because you can never defeat me. But if you train under me until you bleed, sweat, and gnash your teeth, you won’t be easily beaten up anywhere. That’s the essence of martial arts. Will you be the one who hits, or the one who gets hit? If possible, be the one who hits. In other words, if you meet someone stronger than you in life, run away. The best thing in the world of martial arts is to live without getting hit and by hitting others.”
“Yes, Big Older Brother.”
“Understood, Older Brother.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, So-cheon Older Brother.”
After parting ways with the Dongdong brothers, I headed straight to the market.
I wanted to go home and see So-yun right away, but I didn’t want to go back empty-handed after my first ‘labor’ as a ‘father.’
Selling jewelry! Selling jewelry imported from Tianzhu (India)! Come and take a look!
Just then, a peddler’s stall selling rare jewelry caught my eye.
I carefully examined the items displayed on their stall, and a necklace with a vivid green hue caught my attention.
“Is this necklace…… really imported from Tianzhu?”
“Of course, sir. You can’t find a necklace made of such high-quality jade in the Central Plains. Moreover, one of the necklace beads is made of a night-shining pearl, so it’s an extremely rare piece of jewelry!”
I immediately realized that the peddler was lying.
What?
High-quality jade isn’t found in the Central Plains?
Does he think I’m a fool?
Even though I was an assassin in my past life, I’ve traveled all over the world and broadened my horizons due to the nature of my profession.
You can easily find good quality jade even in the southern part of Junggyeong, but to say it’s only found in Tianzhu?
What’s even more absurd is the claim that one of the necklace beads is a night-shining pearl.
A night-shining pearl is a gem that’s worth more than ten times its weight in pure gold. How could a mere peddler be selling it so casually on a street stall?
For your information, I have the ability to distinguish a genuine night-shining pearl.
Well, it’s not that I’m a jewelry expert, but when I was a novice assassin, my clairvoyance wasn’t fully developed, so it was difficult to kill in the dark night. So, I carried a night-shining pearl with excellent luminescence to secure minimal visibility.
“Merchant, aren’t you being too blatant with your scam?”
“Sir! What are you talking about? I’m not someone who knows anything about scams!”
I was speechless and sent a voice transmission to the peddler.
『Merchant. My hobbies are buying jade, collecting night-shining pearls, and making necklaces with the jade and pearls I’ve collected. And you happened to lie to me, who has those hobbies. If you and I start shouting and arguing here, your business for today will be over. Are you okay with that?』
The peddler, upon hearing my voice transmission, widened his eyes and whispered to me.
“Si, sir…… why are you doing this? Please let me off just this once, I need to make a living.”
“Of course. I’m not a righteous crusader, a maintainer of transparent trade order, or a pioneer of the market economy. Why would I needlessly interfere with the livelihood of a mere peddler?”
“Th, then……?”
“Just give me the necklace for free.”
“……???”
“I’ll quietly disappear.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Daddy! It’s so pretty! It’s so, so pretty!”
“You like it that much?”
“Yeah! So-yun is so happy right now.”
So-yun is lucky.
To be happy with a mere necklace.
But there’s no need to be envious.
Someday, I’ll also be happy with the simple things in life.
“Ye-rin. This is your gift.”
Upon arriving home, I gave the necklace I received for free to So-yun and handed a bundle of iron coins to Ye-rin, our live-in housekeeper.
To be honest, giving money as a gift can seem cheap, crude, vulgar, and uneducated, but that’s just the prejudice and b*llshit of those who pretend to be sophisticated.
Isn’t a gift relative as well?
I gave So-yun a necklace because jewelry is appropriate for her, and my theory was that since Ye-rin’s purpose in coming to our house was money, there’s no better gift than cash.
“Master. This much money……”
“It’s not much. You’ll often receive even larger sums of money as gifts in the future, so don’t get too excited. Just take good care of So-yun.”
“Yes, Master. Thank you.”
After that, I held So-yun’s hand and took a walk along the lakeside.
As the reddish sunset dyed the surface of the rippling lake, it felt quite pleasant.
Come to think of it, I’ve changed a lot too.
A former professional killer appreciating the sunset……
“Daddy.”
“Yeah?”
“Give So-yun a piggyback ride! Piggyback!!”
“Ah.”
Of course……
“Hop on, So-yun.”
Being a ‘father’ is too busy for such appreciation, but.
“Hehehe. Yay!!!”
Well, it doesn’t really matter because seeing So-yun smile is better than seeing a beautiful view.
