Episode 5

I found myself staring blankly as the ronin skillfully built a fire and boiled some gruel. Suddenly, I stood up and approached them.

“Mind if I join you for a meal?”

Without hesitation, Master Jang nodded.

“Of course. But didn’t your beautiful younger sister pack you some food earlier? I thought you’d be eating that.”

I forced a bitter smile and replied, “She’s not much of a cook, despite her looks. The food wasn’t exactly fit for human consumption.”

The ronin burst into laughter.

“Huh? Hahaha! Well, that figures! It’d be unfair if a noble lady like her was also a great cook!”

“Ha! Whoever marries your sister, Gongja, is in for a tough time! Imagine how awkward it must be every time she offers to cook! Hahaha!”

“Gongja, you’re just like that, aren’t you?”

“What, man?! Yeah, I guess that’s true. That’s why I always sneak out early and come back late, even when there’s no work. I just want to see her at night. Hahaha!”

Amid their raucous laughter, my gaze drifted toward the bushes where I had discarded some rice balls. There, squirrels and insects lay dead, having eaten the food I’d thrown away.

The survival rate for comrades on the front lines was about thirty percent over three years.

In other words, if I was still alive after three years, two of the three people beside me would be dead.

“Well, that’s based on the next five years from now. After that, survival rates dropped even further.”

Of those two who died, one would fall to the blood cult’s demonic beasts, and the other would be killed by comrades—those who had been secretly turned against us by the enemy.

That’s why we had to watch each other closely.

Were there any changes in behavior? Could someone be planning to ambush me from behind?

Yeonha, who came to see me yesterday, looked very different from how I remembered.

And today, when she came to greet me, it was unlike anything from my past life.

In that life, she never came to meet me, let alone cook a meal.

This time, she even prepared food—something she never did before. It was enough to raise my suspicions.

Most of all, her eyes.

The way she looked at me, as if worried, carried emotions that didn’t match her words.

Unexplainable hatred and contempt.

Those who are turned by the blood cult lose all emotion in their eyes.

So Yeonha’s change wasn’t because she’d been turned.

I had to accept it now.

It wasn’t Yeonha who had changed—it was the foolish me back then who failed to notice.

From the start, she had never done anything for me.

When I thought about it, the only ones who might want Danhasang dead weren’t just my brothers.

I let out a deep sigh.

My chest felt tight.

It was like losing the one person I’d considered my only true family for the past thirty years.

Just when I thought I’d finally gained one by understanding my father’s true feelings, I lost another.

Maybe I was destined to have only one family member.

A bitter smile escaped me.

Restless, I stood and asked Master Jang, “Could I borrow a staff, by any chance?”

“A staff? I carry one as a spare. Here, take it. But don’t you usually use a sword?”

“Haha, honestly, I’m not very good with a sword. Thank you.”

While the meal was being prepared, I began swinging the staff.

My body wasn’t yet accustomed to either sword or staff, so trying to perform complex techniques would be pointless.

True masters rely on solid basics, not fancy moves.

The masters I’d seen could easily slaughter novices with just simple cuts and thrusts.

So I had to lose weight and train my fundamentals at the same time.

From experience, when my mind was troubled, cutting felt much more refreshing than thrusting.

The journey ahead was nothing but continuous training.

I ran whenever we moved, and once I got used to it, I ran while swinging the staff and sword.

During rest and sleep, I cut back on sleep to practice breathing techniques.

With the front lines drawing closer, I couldn’t afford to waste a single moment.

That place was a death trap.

In my past life, I was too weak and often excused from the front, but this time, I might die even sooner.

If I wanted to survive, I had to give it my all.

After watching me for several days, Master Jang suddenly spoke during a meal.

“I’ve never seen anyone train as relentlessly as you, Gongja. At first, I thought you wouldn’t last long, but now I’m ashamed of myself. Seeing you makes me want to work harder too.”

The other ronin nodded with warm, approving eyes.

I just smiled awkwardly and replied, “I’m just struggling because I don’t want to die. If I’d always lived like this, why would I have gained so much weight?”

Master Jang shook his head.

“Though I’m only a second-rate warrior at my age, I’ve earned some insight from years of swordplay. Watching you wield the sword and staff, you don’t look like a novice but more like a retired master.”

One of the other ronin asked curiously, “What do you mean, brother?”

“The way Gongja swings the staff is slow, but he already knows the path. He’s not blindly swinging and learning as he goes like a beginner. He’s repeating a path he already knows, so his progress is fast.”

“Ahhh.”

“Indeed, when I see Sunwoo Gongja wield the staff, he strangely looks very experienced.”

Master Jang looked at me again.

“I don’t know your story, but it seems your life hasn’t been easy. I thought the life of a nobleman’s son would be different from ours.”

His words made my head spin, and I gave a bitter smile, bowing slightly.

He was right—I was changing fast.

Though it took me a week to cover a distance that should have taken two days on horseback, I’d lost a lot of weight, and while I wasn’t yet satisfied, I’d become quite skilled with sword, staff, and bare fists.

Then, about seven days after we set out, as I was panting and running, an arrow suddenly flew toward me.

Fiiing!

“Ugh!”

A warrior of the Flying Dragon Corps always keeps their senses sharp. No matter how exhausted, I wasn’t about to be caught off guard by a curved arrow.

I could have deflected it with my sword, but just in case, I rolled to avoid it.

Thud!

“Hmm, what a graceful roll.”

I felt proud of how much more agile I’d become.

Then came laughter.

“Hahaha! What’s that? Looks like a bear rolling around!”

“Right? Boss! Even bears can roll like that!”

Startled by the sudden attack and voices, Master Jang and the ronin drew their swords and shouted.

“Who’s there?! What kind of fool attacks without knowing the code of the martial world?!”

From the surrounding forest, armed men began to emerge.

“Hahaha! You fools looking for chivalry when you’re about to die! Drop your weapons and surrender!”

There were over thirty of them.

The largest and most menacing among them wore a leopard skin and carried a huge axe—clearly not a mere foot soldier.

Master Jang muttered under his breath.

“Nokho Dae-bu Mak Gu-sam? Why is Nokho Chae here?”

Nokho Chae?

I’d heard of them.

They were a mountain bandit group based near Nokho Mountain in Heungin, notorious in Guizhou for their leader’s brute strength and violent temper.

Among the usual third-rate bandits, he was a rare second-rate martial artist.

Master Jang stepped forward, raising his voice.

“I’ve heard of the Nokho Chae leader’s reputation! It’s an honor to meet you!”

He was probably trying to negotiate.

We were outnumbered—six against over thirty—and our skills couldn’t match theirs.

But these were the same people who had just shot an arrow at me. They had no intention of talking.

“Hahaha! Honor to meet this elder? You’ll be even more honored when you die!”

“Hahaha! That’s right, boss!”

“Better kill them quickly, boss!”

Their cruel laughter and jeers filled the air.

Master Jang gritted his teeth and shouted again.

“If you want, we’re willing to pay a toll! Why spill blood when we can settle this peacefully?”

Then, in a low voice, he said to me,

“Gongja, if a fight breaks out, mount the horse and flee. We won’t be able to hold them off for long.”

His words moved me deeply.

Most ronin only look out for themselves and stab you in the back without hesitation.

What luck had I had to meet people like these?

I guessed my father had carefully chosen trustworthy men for me.

Mak Gu-sam sneered and shouted back.

“Toll? Fine! Your entire fortune—clothes, horse, sword, everything! Strip it all off here and run, and we won’t chase you!”

“Hahaha! You better hurry and strip!”

“Boss, if the back looks tempting, can we attack? Hahaha!”

Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Master Jang urgently whispered to me,

“Gongja! Mount the horse quickly! There’s no time!”

But I didn’t listen to him.

Instead, I stepped forward and shouted.

“You bastard! How dare you attack me, the third son of the Sunwoo family! Do you really want to be utterly annihilated?!”

They immediately stopped laughing and stared at me.

Their expressions clearly said, What kind of nonsense is this?

Mak Gu-sam frowned and asked.

“Hey, you big oaf! You say you’re the third son of the Sunwoo family?!”

“That’s right! Mak Gu-sam of the Nokho Corps! How dare you attack me and try to dig your own grave?!”

I’d heard rumors in my past life.

About bandits who targeted the sons of martial families heading to the front lines—picking off only those who seemed easy prey.

I had already arrived at the front and started my activities, and those bandits had attacked and killed quite a few sons of martial families before they were finally tracked down and wiped out.

They preyed on the fact that these young heirs from small to mid-sized martial families traveled in small groups, confident in their own strength, and carried plenty of money since they expected to be away from home for a long time.

“So they wouldn’t leave any witnesses, of course.”

Even small martial families wouldn’t want to make enemies of those bandits.

Anyway, they didn’t just attack anyone.

They only targeted those who seemed like easy marks.

And apparently, I looked like one of them.

Look at them now.

They’re clearly thrown off by the claim that I’m the third son of the Sunwoo family.

I shouted at them again.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?! Aren’t you going to ask if I’m really the third son of the Sunwoo family whom you attacked?!”

One of them, with a scowl like he’d just tasted something foul, shouted back.

“How can we believe that a big oaf like you is the third son of the Sunwoo family?! If it’s not a lie, prove it!”

I scoffed at his words.

“If I’m clearly a member of the Sunwoo family, why should I have to prove it? And how exactly do you want me to prove it? Should I bring my honorable father, the head of the family, here for you?”

He shouted back, furious.

“You’d better prove it right now! If you can’t, whether you’re the third son or the eldest, you’ll die right here!”

I hesitated, then fished through my belongings and pulled out a bronze token.

“Will this family token suffice?”

But there was no way he could recognize it from five or six jang away.

He pointed at the token and shouted.

“Throw it to me! I want to check it!”

I shouted back, incredulous.

“You want me to throw the family symbol? What nonsense is that? If you can’t see it, come over here and look for yourself!”

He scowled deeply and shouted.

“Are you kidding me? You come over here and show it!”

His furious roar made me flinch, and with a slightly trembling voice, I asked.

“If I come over there, won’t you suddenly attack me?”

He yelled back.

“If you don’t come right now, I’ll attack you!”

I hesitated, then reluctantly staggered forward.

But when I was about two jang away, I shook my head with a look that said this just won’t do.

“I’ll just throw it here! But you have to look at it carefully and return it!”

He looked at me with a disdainful expression as I approached hesitantly, then snapped irritably.

“Just throw it already!”

“Alright.”

I threw the token up with all my might.

Maybe I overdid it a bit, because the token soared high into the air and fell just behind his head.

He tilted his head back to catch it.

“Whoa!”

Thud!

As he caught it, he suddenly read the characters inscribed on it.

“Huh? Gwiyang… Banjeom?”

He probably didn’t know, but this was a token given only to regular customers at Gwiyang Banjeom, a famous restaurant in Gwiyang.

At that moment—

Pfuuk!

“Kerrrk!”

My sword closed the distance in an instant, piercing his heart.

It was the Jeolcho Ilsi Sail technique of the Saille Sword Style, which the Jeomchangpa disciples prided as the fastest thrust in the world.