Episode 16: Jueul Village

“Run.”

Majon-gae whispered to Dang Mujin, his voice trembling with urgency.

“What about you two?”

“We’ll fight.”

“Can you win?”

”…I don’t know.”

Majon-gae’s voice lacked confidence, as if he already sensed defeat.

“Why don’t we all run? The old man in the village is a renowned martial artist, known as Goeui. He’s quite famous.”

“That’s fortunate. If we join forces with the villagers, we might be able to fend them off. Go to the village and inform the doctor of the situation.”

Majon-gae seemed unfamiliar with the name Goeui, which wasn’t surprising given that he had spent most of his life in Jueul Village with only his disciple, Hong Geol-gae, as company.

“He’s not just any martial artist. They say he’s a master. If we can just make it to the village, we might survive.”

“Dang Mujin.”

Majon-gae glanced ahead as he called out to Dang Mujin.

The Ja-yang Twins were approaching, weapons in hand.

“To be frank, with our skills, it’s not easy to shake off the Ja-yang Twins. Protecting you while escaping would be even harder.”

“But—”

“Dang Mujin.”

Before Dang Mujin could argue further, Hong Geol-gae interrupted.

“I’ve lived off the village my whole life, but I’ve never been ashamed. I always thought a day like this might come.”

“What do you mean?”

“The code of the Beggars’ Sect is to fight for the villagers in exchange for their hospitality. That time is now.”

With that, Hong Geol-gae gave Dang Mujin a firm shove.

“Go!”

Dang Mujin stumbled backward, losing his balance.

The Ja-yang Twins took that as their cue to charge at Hong Geol-gae and Majon-gae.

“Run? Over my dead body!”

“Kill them!”

Hong Geol-gae and Majon-gae stood their ground, wielding oak clubs against the Ja-yang Twins.

“Who said you could pass?”

The fight began, but Dang Mujin hesitated, stepping back.

It was instinct, a primal urge to survive.

Joining the fight would likely mean death, while running to the village offered a slim chance of survival.

Dang Mujin’s retreat turned into a sprint toward Jueul Village.

His heart pounded, and he was already out of breath after just a short distance. Gasping for air, he ran with all his might, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts.

‘If I run now, those two will surely die. Should I help?’

‘But what good would I be? I haven’t learned any martial arts. All I know is basic breathing techniques. I’d just be a burden.’

‘But the Ja-yang Twins didn’t seem like top-tier fighters.’

‘No, focus. I need to get to the village and bring back the old man. Maybe then we can survive.’

Deep down, Dang Mujin knew.

It would take at least a quarter of an hour to reach the village and return.

And in that time, the two with oak clubs could be torn apart by steel.

But the desire to survive outweighed his concern for them.

‘I’m not running away out of cowardice. Majon-gae asked me to go to the village. It might even be his last wish, to save Jueul Village…’

When you have to do something, there’s usually only one reason.

But when justifying yourself, you can come up with ten reasons easily.

And those ten reasons can easily outweigh the one.

Worry for Majon-gae and Hong Geol-gae, the guilt of running away—these feelings were gradually dulled by rationalizations. Dang Mujin ran on.

Soon, his pace slowed, and he came to a stop.

Panting heavily, he bent over to catch his breath.

‘I’ve run far enough. Even if the Ja-yang Twins follow, I should be safe.’

Relief washed over him, but he found it repulsive.

‘This isn’t why I left home.’

He had wanted to see the world, learn medicine from Goeui, but most of all, he wanted to learn martial arts. How many men haven’t dreamed of becoming a martial arts master?

Even if he couldn’t become a legendary figure like the masters of Wudang or Shaolin, he wanted to be someone who could stand against injustice.

If he ran now, could he live with himself?

No. Once you bow your head, it’s easier to do it again and again.

Even if he learned swordsmanship from Goeui, his core wouldn’t change. He’d still retreat in the face of danger, bow in fear.

No, now wasn’t the time to run.

‘If the three of us fight together, we might win. Numbers matter.’

Dang Mujin turned around, hesitating, then started running back upstream.

‘Let’s go back. I’ll watch from a distance, and if the fight’s over, I’ll sneak away.’

The way back felt surprisingly short.

He wished it were longer, so he wouldn’t have to join the fight, so it would be over by the time he arrived.

‘Is this the right thing to do?’

Regardless of his doubts, Dang Mujin kept moving. Actions mattered more than thoughts.

Soon, he returned to the scene of the fight.

‘I can hear them.’

Hiding behind a tree, he surveyed the scene.

In the distance, five figures stood.

The Ja-yang Twins, the two from the Beggars’ Sect, and the doctor.

‘No one’s dead yet.’

But Majon-gae and Hong Geol-gae were in bad shape.

Their clothes were stained red from multiple hits.

Hong Geol-gae still had a weapon, but Majon-gae was empty-handed. Two broken clubs lay on the ground.

The Ja-yang Twins seemed confident of their victory, circling the two with a leisurely air.

The man with the hatchet spun his weapon and taunted them.

“Feeling dizzy yet? Why not give up?”

“Nonsense!”

“Even if you don’t, the result’s the same. You’ll just die more painfully!”

The hatchet-wielding man swung at Majon-gae, who dodged and rolled to avoid the attacks. The man spat in frustration.

“Old man, you’re pathetic.”

The attacks continued, with Majon-gae twisting and turning to evade. It was a one-sided fight, with no chance of reversal.

But suddenly, Majon-gae lunged at the hatchet-wielder, wrapping his arms around the man’s torso and entangling their legs.

“What the—are you crazy?”

Majon-gae’s move was more of a hindrance than a full block. The man could still move his arms.

So the hatchet-wielder did the obvious: he struck Majon-gae’s back.

Thud!

The hatchet embedded itself in Majon-gae’s back, blood spurting out.

It was a desperate move, a losing gamble. If it were a one-on-one fight.

“Hong Jusaaan!”

Majon-gae coughed up blood, calling out to Hong Geol-gae.

Ignoring the swordsman he had been fighting, Hong Geol-gae turned and ran toward Majon-gae.

He still held a hefty wooden club. The Ja-yang Twins quickly grasped the situation.

“Damn it!”

If the fight continued like this, Majon-gae and Hong Geol-gae would die, and the Ja-yang Twins would remain unscathed.

Majon-gae’s choice was to sacrifice himself to take one of the Ja-yang Twins with him. The cost was his life, and likely Hong Geol-gae’s too.

Two lives for one. A losing trade, but better than none.

“Die, die!”

The hatchet-wielder struck Majon-gae’s back repeatedly. His once-yellow clothes were now completely red.

Yet Majon-gae held on, gripping the man with all his might. With his life on the line, he clung to the man’s shoulders, making it hard for him to swing the hatchet.

“Argh!”

Hong Geol-gae used his momentum to swing the club with both hands, aiming for the hatchet-wielder’s head.

But he couldn’t be sure it would hit. Behind him, the swordsman was swinging his blade at Hong Geol-gae’s neck.

Would the sword take Hong Geol-gae’s head first, or would the club crush the hatchet-wielder’s skull? It seemed Hong Geol-gae would die first.

At that moment, a fist-sized rock flew in, striking the swordsman’s head.

“Ugh!”

The unexpected blow made the swordsman stagger, giving Hong Geol-gae the chance to land his strike on the hatchet-wielder’s head.

“Right between the eyes!”

There was a sharp crack, like something breaking or shattering. The man with the axe twisted his neck at an unnatural angle, and the life drained from his eyes.

The swordsman turned to see where the stone had come from.

There stood Dang Mujin, frozen in the same awkward stance from which he had thrown the stone.

“You little punk, didn’t you run off?”

“A man of the Dang family never runs!”

“Is that so? Then stay right there and wait for me!”

The twin-blade swordsman charged at Dang Mujin.

‘He’s targeting me instead of Hong Geolgae?’

Dang Mujin hadn’t thrown the stone without a plan. He aimed to thin out their numbers and then take advantage of the chaos when Hong Geolgae and the swordsman clashed.

But the swordsman decided it was easier to deal with Dang Mujin first.

Dang Mujin quickly scanned his surroundings. There wasn’t even a decent rock or branch to use as a weapon.

He reached into his pocket and felt the needles.

‘Can I use these as weapons?’

He pulled out the needles and gripped them tightly in one hand. With enough of them, maybe he could wield them like a dagger.

The swordsman was almost upon him. Fear gripped him, and he instinctively wanted to turn away and shut his eyes.

But Dang Mujin forced himself to keep his eyes wide open, staring down his opponent.

The skill gap was already vast; closing his eyes would only ensure his death.

The swordsman’s blade swung at chest height. As Dang Mujin stepped back to dodge—

Clang—

The sound of metal clashing rang out. Someone had stepped in beside Dang Mujin and blocked the swordsman’s attack.

‘Who is it?’

Dang Mujin glanced to his side. There stood Gwai, looking remarkably calm.

“Wondered where you’d gone off to. You’ve come quite a distance.”

“Master!”

“Blood’s gonna splatter. Step aside for a moment.”

Gwai nudged Dang Mujin out of the way.

In the next instant, Gwai’s arm blurred, and the swordsman’s head flew into the air.