His ankle was cut.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

Ucheol's scream, whose two legs were now useless, echoed sharply.

There was no one to help.

Because of the diarrhea?

No, now they were swallowed by fear at the sight of Cheonyeong.

That's how vagrants are.

They cling to the powerful like leeches, but the moment they lose their power, they don't even give them a glance.

In a world where it's hard to even save your own life, what's the point of being loyal?

"Don't try to be clever. There's no way for you to escape."

"Ugh..."

Cheonyeong approached the desperately crawling Ucheol.

"Don't come, don't come!"

Cheonyeong grabbed Ucheol's flailing arm.

"The kids, why did you sell them?"

Cheonyeong asked, and the terrified Ucheol began to pour out words like a madman.

"Money! I needed money!"

"Money?"

"Yeah... if I brought the kids, they gave me ten silver coins per person!"

Ten silver coins?

That's ten bags of rice.

It's not a small amount of money.

But, it's a ridiculously insufficient price for the lives of those who couldn't even bloom.

"I gave the kids sleeping pills so they wouldn't wake up. Makgae, yeah! That Makgae bastard fed them. I just transported them with Jangil and got the money. Please, please spare me."

He didn't even ask.

But Ucheol probably wouldn't even know what he was babbling about. He was so terrified of him that he was pouring out everything he knew in a desperate attempt to save his life.

But you did it with Jangil?

Good thing I killed him.

"You son of a bitch! What are you talking about! You ordered everything! No, Cheonyeong! I didn't know. I just did as that Ucheol bastard told me. I only fed them sleeping pills!"

As his name was mentioned, Makgae screamed as if in desperation.

Brother and younger brother?

What's the use of such a relationship when you're about to die?

They were just enemies who had to slander each other to survive.

"Where did you take those kids?"

"I don't know. They sent a different meeting place each time. It's true. Cheonyeong. I really don't know anything."

"..."

It's probably true.

The assassin organization called Jingagu always extremely disliked being known to the world.

They know that if a rumor spreads that they kidnap vagrant children and raise them as assassins, the organization will be exposed to danger.

"You son of a bitch..."

"Save me. Please... please save me. I'm begging you like this."

Ucheol begged, rubbing his remaining hand with his dangling one.

Cheonyeong, who was looking down at him, grabbed Ucheol's remaining hand.

"It's too late to atone."

Srrk!

There was no hesitation.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

Ucheol's scream echoed as his last wrist was deeply cut.

"You're not even worth killing. For the rest of your life... live on all fours like a dog."

It will be painful.

Because they won't leave him alone.

The gang that had been tormented by Ucheol until now, and the other vagrants.

As he stood up, leaving Ucheol, who was groaning painfully with the tendons of his limbs cut, Makgae bowed his head and begged.

"Cheonyeong, save me. Please. I'll live a good life from now on. Really."

"..."

He's a funny bastard.

What does it matter to him whether he lives a good life or not.

"Makgae."

"Why? What is it? Tell me. I'll do anything you ask! If you just save me."

"Does a dog have to be just one?"

"...What?"

Cheonyeong didn't hesitate.

Now that he knew that Makgae was involved in the kidnapping of the children.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

Leaving Makgae's scream behind, Cheonyeong left the vagrant village.

The grudge was settled for now.

Jingagu?

They are still too much.

Also, since Ucheol was defeated, they won't show up.

Because they were always fast with rumors and very cautious.

He has to build up his strength.

Even after slaughtering hundreds, he was eventually captured by their hands and died.

He has to become stronger than then.

Because he must settle his grudge with them.

"Tsk... the weather is terrible."

The bright moon gradually tilted, and at some point, it was hidden by the dark clouds that filled the sky.

Swoooosh!

Soon, it started to rain.

The ground was muddy with every step.

Thank you. Heaven.

I was worried that I might have to wash up before meeting the kids because I was covered in blood.

Cheonyeong slowly headed towards the mountain.

Hoping that the blood on his body would be washed away and he would become clean.

When he arrived at the mountainside, drenched in rain.

"Cheonyeong!"

"Captain!"

The children poked their heads out from the bushes.

"Huh? ...You guys?"

"We were waiting for you to come. If you didn't come... we were wondering if we should go for revenge."

"What?"

At Yongcheon's words, Cheonyeong laughed with a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing them holding bags full of stones... they must have really been thinking of doing that.

Idiots.

What help would you guys be?

"Here, wear this."

"Huh?"

Yongcheon took out something he had hidden in the bushes and held it out.

It's a Gaeui. (Protective Garment)

A crude one made by weaving leaves and branches.

"Is it just for me again?"

"You're the captain."

"Heh."

At the laughter of Yongcheon and the children, Cheonyeong didn't refuse and put on the Gaeui.

It was quite plausible.

Even though his body was already soaked, and it seemed to leak a lot of rain.

"Seeing you come like this... you must have wrecked Ucheol's gang, right?"

"Yeah. So they won't mess with us again."

Although Cheonyeong calmly said he had won against the Dongmun gang, the children didn't doubt it.

"Heh heh, good job."

"Serves them right, those sons of bitches."

Yongcheon and the children giggled and laughed.

"Those bastards... with this rain, they'll have to sleep in a field of shit."

"Hee hee."

Don't say such things.

It's dirty.

I can imagine it.

"But Cheonyeong."

"Yeah?"

"When are we eating meat? I even made a lot of toothpicks."

Cheonyeong looked at Yongcheon's face, full of anticipation, with a dumbfounded expression.

I didn't say we were eating meat, and it's not a toothpick, it's a Bimokchim.

"What? We're eating meat? Damn it... if I had known, I would have packed some rice wine lees in advance."

I didn't say we were drinking either...

"Heh, heh heh heh."

Cheonyeong just laughed for a long time. In the rain.

* * *

For the first time in a while, he slept so soundly that his body felt refreshed.

"Hap!"

"Hahap!"

"...?"

When he woke up late with a disheveled appearance, the children were in the middle of training.

As he was blinking his eyes, Yongcheon, who had noticed he was awake, approached and smiled.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah."

"Tsk, you beat us up for waking up late, but you're just lazing around."

At Yongcheon's grumbling, Cheonyeong smiled awkwardly.

He said it was okay because I was the captain.

"Well, whatever. You suffered alone last night... and you got soaked in the rain."

"But what about the kids?"

"I told them to."

"Huh?"

"To wake up in the morning, do the breathing method, and the horse stance... they were just doing Six Harmonies Fist now."

"Ah..."

Yongcheon was still faithful to his title of vice captain.

"But do we have to keep living here?"

"Huh?"

"Since we've already taken care of Makgae, Cheongseo, and the Dongmun gang, there's no need to live here, right?"

"Hmm, that's true."

"Are we going down?"

At Yongcheon's question, Cheonyeong thought for a moment.

Go down...

In the end, it's the vagrant village.

At first, he wanted to stay there and see the assassins of Jingagu who would come to pick up the kidnapped children, but now he can't.

Now that he has committed murder, a rumor will surely spread.

In the vagrant village, and maybe he'll even get the ardent attention of the beggars of the Beggars' Sect who live and die by rumors.

Also, the unorthodox organization that Ucheol had a connection with might step in.

He can't reveal himself yet.

At least until he gains enough strength to have confidence...

"What do you guys want to do?"

"Well... before you woke up, I talked with the kids."

"..."

"They all said they'll follow whatever you say."

"Whatever... I say?"

"Yeah. Because you're the captain."

You carefree bastards.

How long are you going to live so passively?

You should at least make your own decisions about your life.

"Yongcheon."

"Yeah?"

"Call the kids."

"Yeah!"

At Cheonyeong's words, Yongcheon stopped the training and gathered the kids.

The children sat in a circle in front of Cheonyeong.

"Hey guys."

"Yeah, captain."

"I'm thinking of leaving."

"Alright."

The answer is simple.

You damn bastards, I thought you'd be a little sad. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Then shall we pack our straw mats?"

"What?"

"Wherever we go, we need a straw mat to sleep."

At Chunil's words, Cheonyeong blinked and looked at him.

"Damn it, I set a snare yesterday..."

"Just leave it. We can make another one with tree branches. We're good at it now."

"That's true."

"But, what about the grass? Shouldn't we make a bag to pack it?"

"Come on, just leave that too. There's grass everywhere. We can now distinguish between edible and inedible grass even with our eyes closed."

"Let's do that."

The children each said a word and exchanged opinions.

But something... I don't think we're communicating at all right now.

"Hey guys, that's not it..."

"Huh? Why? Should we pack it? All of it?"

"Haa..."

At the sight of the children staring blankly, Cheonyeong sighed.

"First, listen to me."

"Huh?"

"What I've taught you guys so far is not edible grass and inedible grass, but how to distinguish between medicinal herbs and poisonous plants."

"Ah, so that's... what it was."

"You haven't learned much, but with that, you can get a job at a pharmacy and live as a wild ginseng digger."

"Do we have to get a job?"

The children tilted their heads, but Cheonyeong continued to speak.

"And since you've learned how to hunt, you'll be able to catch a rabbit. That's a pretty good skill. You can make money by skinning it and selling the fur."

"We're always grateful."

"So... let's part ways here."

"...?"

At Cheonyeong's words, the children fell silent.

They just stared blankly.

"Part ways?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? We have to live our own lives."

"So why do we have to do that?"

Baekgang asked.

If you ask why we have to do that... what should I answer?

I've lived for over thirty years, but I can't answer the question "why."

I was often called a prodigy, and I had accumulated as much knowledge as any scholar, but I don't know what to say in a situation like this.

Damn Confucius and Mencius.

Why didn't they write this kind of thing in their books?

No, even if they wrote about parting, how should I talk to persuade a thirteen-year-old?

Anyway, they are useless humans who don't even know about eye-level education.

"Cheonyeong."

"Yeah?"

"We'll just follow you."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

At Yongcheon's words, the children nodded as if they had the same thought.

He had thought of it too.

To teach these guys well and use them to rebuild his family.

If their abilities were lacking, they would be useful as workers.

But it's impossible.

The path he is trying to take... is not a path of fighting a few vagrants, is it?

He has to take revenge on the creditors and reclaim his family.

Furthermore, with Jingagu...

It's a path full of blood and death.

For them... it will surely be a very rough path.

"Hey guys, it's not an easy path."

"When was it ever easy?"

"What?"

"Makgae, Cheongseo... and Ucheol. It wasn't that easy. In the first place, living as a vagrant wasn't easy."

Of course...

Most of them are abandoned children.

They have lived a tenacious life, wandering after being born or losing their parents somewhere.

"But, it's easy now."

"..."

"You teach us. More easily. We just have to work hard."

"We trust the captain."

At the children's bright smiles... Cheonyeong sighed.

How long has it been since he became the captain.

"Cheonyeong."

"Yeah?"

"Let's just go together. I'll definitely repay my debt."

"..."

"Yeah, captain. We have to repay our debt too."

Cheonyeong stared at the children and said.

"You guys... can you handle it?"

"Yeah!"

"It'll be much harder than the training you're doing now."

"It's okay. We can endure it."

The children answered with even determined expressions.

You damn bastards...

You little things.

I've learned in vain too. I've learned in vain.

To think that after studying so much and living for over thirty years, I can't even persuade a single kid.

But keep this in mind. This is the life you guys chose. I won't let you back out now.

In the end, Cheonyeong decided to go with them. Even though he had the ability to leave them behind.

(End of Chapter)