Chapter 11: Those Who Want to Enter and Those Who Want to Send Them Away
At Ajusshi’s urging, I changed into the martial arts uniform that I had prepared a long time ago but had never worn.
It felt quite awkward, probably because it was my first time wearing a martial arts uniform.
After changing into the uniform, I gathered my bow, quiver, and old sword, and stepped outside. Just then, the next-door Ajusshi, who was also outside, looked at me with a strange expression.
“Dong-jae, where are you going? And what’s with that outfit?”
“I’m going to the Martial Alliance.”
The next-door Ajusshi’s eyes widened as if he was greatly surprised.
Then, he clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.
Hahahahaha……!
“You, becoming a martial artist of the Martial Alliance……”
It seemed like the next-door Ajusshi couldn’t believe my words about joining the Martial Alliance.
I waited for the next-door Ajusshi’s laughter to subside and bowed.
“Please keep an eye on my house while I’m gone.”
However, the next-door Ajusshi, perhaps thinking I was still joking, even waved his hand.
“Yeah, have a safe trip.”
I walked out of Crow Street and headed towards the main town.
Just until yesterday, whenever I walked through the town’s streets, people who recognized me would curse or spit behind my back.
But as I walked through the streets now, wearing a martial arts uniform and carrying a bow and sword, no one recognized me.
Two years ago, I walked down this street to watch the Eastern Heavenly Azure Dragon Unit entering the Martial Alliance.
At that time, they were returning after subjugating bandits, and all the townspeople came out to cheer and enthusiastically welcome them.
Even now, whenever the Four Divine Units return, people come out to the streets to cheer and watch.
“You will become a hero who receives the cheers of the people.”
Ajusshi spoke as if he had read my mind.
I wasn’t interested in becoming a hero or anything like that.
I will simply do what I have to do.
As I walked the long road and approached the Martial Alliance, Ajusshi, who had been walking quietly beside me, stopped.
“Go alone from here.”
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
This was because I thought Ajusshi would stick by my side and nag me for the rest of my life.
“Aren’t you going?”
Ajusshi smiled brightly.
“There’s nothing more I can do for you now. I’ll be waiting at home, so come and see me from time to time.”
At Ajusshi’s words, I suddenly felt a lump in my throat, and my vision blurred.
But I couldn’t show tears, so I forced myself to hold them back and smiled.
“Yes…… I’ll be back.”
Leaving Ajusshi behind, I walked alone towards the Martial Alliance.
The main gate of the Martial Alliance was gigantic and magnificent, resembling a fortress.
The stone wall, built by stacking stones thicker than an arm’s span, was over three jang tall, and on top of it stood a splendid and grand pavilion.
And in the middle of the stone wall was the entrance to the Martial Alliance, where guards stood, watching those who entered and exited.
As I approached the main gate, a guard with half-closed eyes, whether he was asleep or not, blocked my way.
“What brings you here?”
I took out the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque from my pocket and showed it to him.
At that moment, the guard’s eyes were no longer half-closed.
Ugh!
Letting out a groan like a scream, he opened his eyes wide and called out to the other guards.
“L-Look at this! Come here!”
At his urgent cry, the guards who were guarding the gate came running.
“What’s going on?”
But the moment they saw the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque I was holding, they froze in place.
‘This kind of reaction isn’t good……’
I was already starting to get anxious.
They should have let me in immediately after I presented the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque, but they were all flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“R-Report to the Chief Administrator immediately!”
A flustered guard shouted, and another equally flustered guard ran inside.
Until then, I couldn’t say anything, just holding the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque in my hand.
Zhuge Don enjoyed a leisurely cup of tea after a long time.
Though he had a mountain of work to do, his subordinates were handling most of it.
‘I wish every day could be like today.’
Having finished his tea, he wanted to go out with his sword and work up a sweat after a long time.
But his simple wish vanished as soon as he put down his teacup.
“Reporting to the Chief Administrator. An individual with a Hundred Martial Arts Plaque has arrived at the entrance of the Martial Alliance.”
He was momentarily stunned by the voice coming from outside the door.
‘What’s this? Everyone who was supposed to come in has already entered.’
The stunned Chief Administrator jumped to his feet and went outside.
“Are you sure it’s a Hundred Martial Arts Plaque? Did you see it clearly?”
“Yes. It looked certain to me.”
“What was the number on the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque?”
The guard couldn’t answer the Chief Administrator’s urgent question immediately.
He was so flustered that he hadn’t checked the number.
Unable to bear it any longer, Zhuge Don shouted.
“Bring that person here quickly!”
His face was decent enough.
He wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t particularly handsome either.
His physiognomy wasn’t bad either.
The only flaw was that he looked a bit naive.
Zhuge Don carefully examined the young man sitting in front of him and then turned his gaze to the iron plaque on the table.
This iron plaque was indeed a Hundred Martial Arts Plaque.
Moreover, it was the thirty-seventh Hundred Martial Arts Plaque that Elder Jang had lost.
He could tell at a glance that it was genuine, even without comparing it to other Hundred Martial Arts Plaques.
“What’s your name?”
At his question, the young man replied in a naive voice.
“My name is Kang Dong-jae.”
It was a name he had never heard before.
Usually, he had heard of most of the young martial artists who received the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque at least once.
“Which family are you from?”
“I don’t have a family. I live in Yangyang.”
“I see. You’ve been living in this town. Then where and from whom did you get this Hundred Martial Arts Plaque?”
Zhuge Don felt his mind becoming hazy again at the young man’s answer.
“I found it in front of an inn.”
‘D*mn it. Elder Jang must have dropped the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque in front of the inn while drunk.’
As his anger started to rise, his voice gradually grew louder.
“Alright. Tell me what you want.”
The young man revealed his desire without hesitation.
“I want to join the Four Divine Units of the Martial Alliance.”
Zhuge Don nodded as if he understood.
Of course, he would.
Any young person living in the Jianghu would want to join the Four Divine Units of the Martial Alliance.
“Do you have any martial arts skills?”
“Yes. I’m quite good at archery and fist and foot techniques.”
Ugh……
Zhuge Don groaned to suppress his rising anger.
Quite good at archery and fist and foot techniques?
There were countless young people in the world with such skills.
And with that level of skill, he could never join the Four Divine Units of the Martial Alliance.
This was because he would d*e immediately upon being deployed in actual combat.
“How far did you go with your studies?”
“I can read and write.”
Sigh……
“What have you been doing until now?”
“I’ve been making a living by traveling to battlefields, stitching up corpses, and placing them in coffins.”
Zhuge Don stared at the young man in a daze.
“……A crow?”
“Yes.”
I had already heard of Chief Administrator Zhuge Don’s reputation.
He was known as a man who was not only proficient in military strategy and arithmetic but also well-versed in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and even possessed formidable martial arts skills.
But I didn’t know he would be this large.
I had heard that he was big, but he was much larger than I had imagined. With his fierce eyes, bushy mustache, and beard, he looked like a tiger.
No, a wild boar would be more accurate.
I answered the Chief Administrator’s questions honestly.
This was because there was no point in lying, as he would find out everything if he investigated.
But the reaction was not very good.
Especially when I revealed that I was a crow, he looked as if his soul had left his body.
“Impossible.”
Finally, the words I had been dreading came out of the Chief Administrator’s mouth.
“Why?”
When I countered, his voice rose.
“Think about it! Which of the Four Divine Units would accept a crow as a comrade?”
I calmly responded to his words.
“I’ve never considered my work to be lowly. On the contrary, I’ve always considered it noble.”
“I know that…… I know, but how many unit members would accept it that way? Do you think your comrades would risk their lives to save you if you were in danger?”
Ah……
It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about this.
But it was a problem I had to solve on my own.
If they wouldn’t accept me, I had to make them accept me.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
That was all I could answer.
“How! How are you going to handle it yourself?!”
But the Chief Administrator suddenly yelled.
I couldn’t readily find an answer.
But one thing was certain: the Chief Administrator seemed to have a formidable temper, just like his appearance.
Sigh……
He, who had suddenly burst out yelling, took a breath and lowered his voice.
“I’m saying this for your own good.”
Then, he opened a drawer and took out a bundle of silver.
Clank……
“This is one hundred nyang of silver. Take it as a reward for finding the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque and leave the Martial Alliance.”
I was deeply offended.
I hadn’t come to the Martial Alliance to receive one hundred nyang of silver.
I took out my money pouch from my pocket and placed it on the table.
“This is ten nyang of silver. Take it and accept me.”
The Chief Administrator’s face contorted into an unsightly grimace.
As his already fierce-looking face became distorted, he truly resembled an enraged wild boar.
‘What kind of guy is this?’
He felt like punching that naive-looking face with his fist right then and there.
But thinking back, maybe this guy was more formidable than he looked.
Who in the world would dare to speak so freely in front of him?
But what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.
It was clear as day that he would be ostracized by the members of the Four Divine Units.
The bubbling anger subsided in an instant.
“I’m doing this for your sake. So don’t take it the wrong way.”
“How can you accept me? I’ll do anything if you just accept me.”
Zhuge Don felt both sorry and sympathetic for this young man named Kang Dong-jae.
“I can accept you as a martial artist of the Martial Alliance, not as a member of the Four Divine Units. The Martial Alliance has many martial artists working besides the Four Divine Units, so how about trying that?”
He had conceded as much as he could.
But the young man’s stubbornness was remarkable.
“I really want to join the Four Divine Units.”
Ugh……
Zhuge Don felt his temper flaring up again.
‘Should I just accept him?’
In fact, there wouldn’t be any problem if he simply accepted him into the Four Divine Units.
Whether he was ostracized by the Four Divine Units or died immediately upon entering actual combat, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t care.
But if this naive and unskilled young man died as soon as he was deployed in actual combat, he felt like it would weigh on his mind.
As he was about to refuse again, his eyes suddenly fell upon the Hundred Martial Arts Plaque on the table.
The thirty-seventh Hundred Martial Arts Plaque.
Two years ago, Elder Jang had lost the thirty-seventh Hundred Martial Arts Plaque as well.
“You…… said you would do anything if the Martial Alliance accepted you, right?”
“Yes. I’ll do anything.”
Hearing the naive young man’s answer, Zhuge Don felt a pang of guilt, but he eventually spoke his mind.
“Then I’ll accept you into the Martial Alliance, so find me another Hundred Martial Arts Plaque. Actually, two years ago, I lost a Hundred Martial Arts Plaque that looks exactly like this one. If you find it and bring it to me, I’ll put you in the Four Divine Units without a second thought.”
The naive young man’s eyes widened in surprise at his words.
Feeling guilty at the sight, Zhuge Don subtly averted his gaze.
This was because he knew that the condition he had set was impossible.
