A conversation Jin Cheong-un had long ago with the Alliance's Chief Strategist was racing through his mind.
—Would you take on this matter for me?
—What is it?
—Lately, a brazen merchant has been frequently committing land fraud by forging bills of sale.
It was a story about a swindler who exploited the law—buying land only for the deed to turn up with duplicate registrations, or selling fake plots, or having hidden debts entangled with the property.
Jin Cheong-un had answered.
—Since when does the Alliance handle that sort of thing? Getting scammed is the victim's fault for being stupid.
And yet.
'That's me now?'
Jin Cheong-un felt his mouth go bone dry.
Stay calm.
It was not confirmed yet. There was no way, was there?
'I'm sure it's just a minor mix-up.'
He could have simply gotten the address wrong in the first place, could he not?
The moment he thought that, a sense of calm rushed over him.
"Mister, what's wrong?"
"I'm not a 'mister,' I'm a 'big brother.' I must have gotten confused about my house after being away from my hometown for so long."
"It's okay. People come to our house a lot, actually."
"......A lot of people come?"
Why would a lot of people come?
'No. Right, that can happen.'
Jin Cheong-un forced a smile.
"Looks like we'll be neighbors, so I'll see you around."
He walked away and went through his property deed again, then wandered through the alleyways asking the locals in case he had gotten the address wrong.
And then.
"Oh? You're back again?"
......It was the right house after all.
Jin Cheong-un stared at the child peeking his head through the crack in the gate and sank into despair.
"Kid."
"I'm not a kid. I'm So-ryong. Jeong So-ryong."
"Fine, noted. Is there an adult inside? I'd like to come in and talk."
"No way. My sister said not to let strangers into the house."
This is maddening.
Jin Cheong-un made a deliberate effort to steady his breathing.
"Then I'll wait out here, so if there are any adults inside, could you ask them to come out?"
He needed to figure out what was going on first, at the very least.
To put it bluntly, it was entirely possible that he had bought the house fair and square, and these people were the ones living in someone else's property without permission.
But the boy answered with a blank expression.
"There aren't any adults at home."
"No adults?"
"It's just me and my sister."
***
A girl emerged from an inn in Yinghua Village, bowing her head repeatedly with a smile.
"Thank you for today!"
"You're the one who worked hard. Here, I wrapped up some leftover food. Take it with you."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Go on, go on."
Seo Do-seok, the owner of the White Cloud Inn, watched the girl's retreating figure with a bittersweet smile.
"Did So-so leave?"
His wife walked out and struck up conversation. Seo Do-seok nodded with a rueful expression.
"Just now. I packed her some food."
"Good. Oh, that poor thing, at the flower of her youth and already......"
Seo Do-seok gave a bitter nod of agreement.
The girl's name was Jeong So-so.
Eighteen this year, she was a Yinghua Village native and a local celebrity that everyone on this street knew.
"Still no word from So-so's father?"
"Not a peep. Tch, that good-for-nothing. Life gets hard so he up and abandons his own children......"
"That's enough. She'll hear you."
"Oh, right."
Around that time, a bitter smile settled on Jeong So-so's lips as she walked with light steps.
They must have thought she could not hear, but their voices were so loud that every word had carried.
'That's all in the past now.'
Jeong So-so fidgeted with her roughened hands and smiled bitterly.
She was doing all sorts of odd jobs now, but until a few years ago, things had not been like this.
It had all begun when her younger brother, Jeong So-ryong—born late to the family—came down with an incurable illness.
As if he had taken after their mother, who had departed early due to illness, her brother had been unable to leave his sickbed since childhood.
Perhaps it was the thought that he could not lose his child, too. Their father had abandoned everything else and devoted himself entirely to her brother.
After that came a story that could be heard anywhere—a tragically common one.
Right on cue, a trusted person betrayed them, they were swindled, debts piled up, the family fortune crumbled...... and in the end, the household went completely to ruin. That sort of common story.
She did not resent her brother.
If she resented anyone, it was the father who had secretly abandoned them and fled in the middle of the night.
—So-so? Why—why are you up?
—Father? Where are you going?
—I...... I'm just stepping out to get medicine for So-ryong, so don't worry and go back inside and sleep. Okay? Hm?
"Hah!"
SLAP! SLAP!
Jeong So-so smacked her own cheeks to shake off the tangled thoughts.
"I earned extra today, so the medicine is covered! Just keep going like this!"
If she worked diligently, things would work out somehow, would they not?
Just as Jeong So-so arrived near her house at a brisk pace, the sound of someone bickering reached her ears.
"I keep telling you I'm not a suspicious person."
"Saying that just makes you look more suspicious."
"This is really frustrating."
Jeong So-so's face went white.
'So-ryong?'
She rushed over—and stopped dead in her tracks.
There was someone in front of the house.
Tall, wearing a worn long coat smeared with grime, and...... a battered scabbard dangling at his waist.
Even at a glance, the man exuded a dangerous air. He let out a deep sigh, then pulled something from inside his coat.
"Kid. You like sweets?"
He then held out a candy treat with the most suspicious smile imaginable.
"I'll give you this, so keep it a secret from everyone else and let's have a nice heart-to-heart, yeah?"
What kind of picture was that supposed to paint?
That was clearly......!
"So-ryong!"
Jeong So-so hurled the basket she had gotten from the inn aside and sprinted over.
"Sis, you're home?"
"Are you okay? Why are you outside! What happened!"
That was when.
"Perfect timing. Are you this boy's sister?"
"Y-Yes...... and, and you are......?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jin Cheong-un. The thing is......"
Jeong So-so looked at the man and froze solid.
'Eek!'
Scars covered the backs of his hands, and his gaze was so intense that it felt as though a wild beast stood before her.
Above all, that smile!
It was unmistakably the kind of savage grin worn by a villain who could casually bury a person without batting an eye!
"A k-kidnapper!"
"......Huh?"
"You're from the Black Tiger Gang, aren't you! Did you think I wouldn't know?!"
"Now look here."
"What were you trying to do to my So-ryong! Absolutely not! If you think I'll hand over this house because of that, you've got another thing coming! Take me instead!"
"......"
Jin Cheong-un looked up at the sky.
'And now I'm a kidnapper too.'
Ha ha ha.
***
"This is Mister Jin Cheong-un. He says he wants to talk to my sister."
Jin Cheong-un's brow twitched.
"I told you, I'm not a 'mister,' I'm a 'big brother.'"
"How old are you, exactly?"
"Old enough to know I definitely shouldn't be called 'mister.'"
"I'm ten. Aren't you at least twenty years older than me?"
"......And?"
"Then you're practically old enough to be my father. Calling you 'brother' is a bit......"
Jin Cheong-un's expression went blank.
Is that really something a ten-year-old should be saying?
At that moment, Jeong So-so glared daggers at her brother and scolded him.
"So-ryong! I told you not to open the door for strangers, no matter who they are!"
"I could tell they weren't Black Tiger Gang people."
"How could you possibly know that!"
"I just looked at him and could tell...... Cough! Cough!"
When Jeong So-ryong started coughing, Jeong So-so flinched in alarm and rubbed his back.
"Why is your body so cold? Did you come outside again without listening to me? Get inside right now!"
"But......"
"Now!"
A dejected Jeong So-ryong walked into the house.
But he paused, turned around, placed his hands neatly together at his waist, and gave Jin Cheong-un a proper bow.
'Spirited little one for his age.'
Yet the boy's body had felt cold on such a warm day.
Just then, Jeong So-so fidgeted awkwardly before bowing low.
"I'm sorry. I was terribly rude in many ways."
"......It's fine. But what about me made you think I was a kidnapper, exactly?"
Jeong So-so stole a glance at Jin Cheong-un.
'I mean...... just everything about you......?'
In truth, up close he had a handsome face you would not often see in a village like this.
The problem was not his features but his aura.
How could a person's eyes be so deep and cool?
It was like peering down into a well at midnight—just meeting his gaze made her heart shrivel.
"You're really not from the Black Tiger Gang, right?"
"I don't even know what this Black Tiger Gang of yours does."
"The fact that you'd say that about the Black Tiger Gang in Yinghua Village proves you're definitely from out of town."
Jeong So-so let out a breath of relief.
"So what brings a martial artist to our house?"
Jin Cheong-un muttered.
"Your house......"
"......?"
"The truth is, I came here looking for my own house."
"Your house?"
Jin Cheong-un then explained the situation from the beginning, step by step.
After listening carefully, Jeong So-so was finally able to smile with relief.
"Oh dear, there must have been some kind of mix-up. I'm sorry, but we've lived here practically since birth. If you say you bought the place...... that just doesn't make sense, does it?"
Jeong So-so spoke in an exceedingly polite tone and dipped her head.
"I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but I do hope it gets sorted out."
With that, Jeong So-so turned to go back inside.
But Jin Cheong-un did not back down.
"This house is mine."
"As I said, I've lived here practically since......"
"I already have the identification tablet issued, and I have the property deed."
Jin Cheong-un reached into his coat and held out the tablet and the deed.
Jeong So-so took them reflexively, read the documents, and her eyes went wide.
"Wh-what is...... This can't be!"
"That's what I'm saying."
Jin Cheong-un nodded emphatically.
"But there's no proof any of this is real!"
"Is that not the official seal of the Yichang County magistrate stamped right there? I went and received that stamp in person."
"Wh-what is this! This is a scam!"
"That's what I'm saying!!"
Jin Cheong-un burst out in sympathetic fury, and Jeong So-so recoiled.
'What is with this man? What's going on?'
She stammered in confusion.
"I-I'm sorry for raising my voice. But if we're going down that road, I have a land deed too!"
At last, Jin Cheong-un was able to say what he had been wanting to say.
"Perfect. Then let's go to the government office right now and settle this."
"......?"
Sorry, but I've got nothing to hide.
He had looked into it as much as there was to look into, and he had paid every last coin.
This house belongs to me, Jin Cheong-un!
***
The result was as expected.
"Hm, the bill of sale checks out, the seal shows no signs of forgery. And the household registry lists the estate's owner as the Jin family."
THUD!
Jeong So-so collapsed to the ground.
"N-no way......"
Watching her in her dismay, Jin Cheong-un felt a pang of sympathy.
But what could he do about it?
He cleared his throat and asked.
"Then the estate is confirmed as my property, correct?"
"The estate, certainly. The estate, that is."
Jin Cheong-un froze on the spot.
"The estate......is?"
Jeong So-so, who had slumped to the ground, snapped her head up.
The official tapped the registry book and spoke.
"The land is not yours, however."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes went wide.
"What do you mean by that?"
"See here. It is registered under the Jeong family, not the Jin family."
"......!?"
The official chuckled knowingly, as if it all made sense now, and stroked his beard.
"It appears the Jeong family's estate and land were put up as collateral...... and the creditor sold only the house deed separately to you."
"How can such an absurd thing happen?! Then this—this land deed I have—is it fake or something?!"
The official clapped his hands together.
"Oh, that is precisely it."
What did you just say?
"It was a remarkably clever forgery, enough to fool most people. It takes a discerning eye like mine to spot the tampering. Ha ha ha!"
You're laughing? This bastard is actually laughing right now?
Wait. More importantly, did he just say it was fake......?
'I really got scammed?'
Jin Cheong-un felt the back of his neck go stiff.
The peaceful and comfortable retirement he had dreamed of for so long?
The retirement fund he had scraped together over a decade of grueling work?
"Tsk tsk, you were swindled good and proper. Judging by the method, it is likely that fellow. Consider yourself unlucky."
Jin Cheong-un's voice shook with rage.
"That fellow? What fellow?"
"You have not heard? There has been a remarkable swindler roaming the Central Plains of late, forging bills of sale. What was his name? He even had an alias like a martial artist......"
In that instant, a conversation with the Chief Strategist flashed through Jin Cheong-un's mind once more.
—I hear the scoundrel swaggered around calling himself the Building King?
"He went around calling himself the Building King?"
As if to herald the future that lay in store.
Jin Cheong-un's retirement had gone spectacularly sideways from the very start.