On the road to Jeong Manor.
Jeong So-so walked a step or two behind, following Jin Cheong-un.
She watched his back and her brother's in silence.
"Master, Master."
"Yeah."
"Where did you go for the past few days?"
"Just took care of some business."
"I thought you'd run away, Master."
"Why would I leave my own house behind?"
"Our father left us behind and went."
"......Are you doing that on purpose?"
Jeong So-ryong, his face brimming with excitement, stuck right to Jin Cheong-un's side as they walked.
All the while, he kept stealing glances and imitating the man's every little mannerism.
When Jin Cheong-un looked around, he looked around too. When Jin Cheong-un yawned, he yawned along. He even copied the way Jin Cheong-un scratched his head.
'When did he start following me like that?'
A smile tugged at her lips, seeing how much her brother's condition had improved in that short time.
But the expression on Jeong So-so's face, watching the two of them from behind, quickly darkened again.
The road.
The road home—the familiar path she had walked her whole life.
For some, that road might be welcome and dear, but for her right now, it was nothing more than a path leading toward a reality she wished to avoid.
'What's happened to the house?'
Tears pricked at her eyes, and Jeong So-so hurriedly scrubbed at them with her sleeve.
It had been quite run-down, honestly, and there were debts, and as it turned out, half of it now belonged to Jin Cheong-un.
But...... it was her home.
The place she had lived her whole life, the last precious refuge she had fought so desperately to protect.
'The outer wall and the front yard were half-burned, and the main gate and the annex were completely......'
What was she supposed to do now?
What about the debts? The Black Tiger Gang?
And...... her family?
'It's so heavy.'
It was overwhelming.
Living was simply too overwhelming.
Had she perhaps been punished by the heavens for being greedy?
For trying to protect her brother, her home, her family—all of it?
'No! Don't talk like that!'
She clenched her eyes with force and pressed her lips shut in stubborn defiance.
'I'll do what I've always done. If it really doesn't work...... I'll sell the house.'
No matter how hard things had gotten, she had never once crumbled—did she really think she'd let something like this bring her down?
Besides, didn't she now have someone she could trust and rely on?
"Um, Master."
"Hm?"
"I think it'd be best to...... hand over the manor after all."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes went wide.
"Out of nowhere?"
"I can't keep being stubborn forever."
"You mean it?"
"Yes."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes lit up.
"If you'd do that, I'd be grateful! Ha ha ha! Good thinking! Great decision!"
"......?"
What? Why is he so happy about it?
"What made you decide so suddenly?"
"It's nothing special. It was a run-down house anyway, and if this is the only option...... there's no helping it."
Jeong So-so said with the most nonchalant smile she could manage.
"The Black Tiger Gang set fire to the place—who knows what they might do next?"
Jin Cheong-un faltered.
"Why is the Black Tiger Gang coming up?"
"Huh? What do you mean, why?"
Jin Cheong-un's expression was growing harder by the second.
Misreading the look as pity, Jeong So-so hastily put on a smile.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm fine!"
"......"
"You don't avoid dung because you're scared of it—you avoid it because it's filthy! I'll work hard and buy the manor back! I'm really fine!"
Jin Cheong-un's face crumpled at last.
'Don't tell me she doesn't know.'
Why wouldn't she know? Did no one tell her?
Come to think of it, he had brought the children straight from the magistrate's office.
His disciples hadn't heard the news that the people hauled into the office today were Black Tiger Gang members!
"Well, that went from good to bad. Tch! Let's just go see for ourselves. You'll understand once you're there."
Jin Cheong-un grumbled as he strode forward.
Then, after a moment, he tossed out a single remark.
"I'm proud of you, though."
"......Pardon?"
"I said I'm proud of you."
Jin Cheong-un's expression turned faintly serious.
"Giving something up takes more courage than people think."
Jeong So-so stopped short at the unfamiliar gravity in his manner.
Jin Cheong-un absently gripped the scabbard at his waist.
Clink.
The battered old sword he had recovered from the Black Tiger Gang Master's study let out a heavy metallic sound.
"I saw it all the time in the jianghu. People who couldn't do that. There were so many pathetic souls who lacked the courage to even flee, drifting through life because they couldn't let go."
Some missed the moment to release their grip, and wandered a cold, dark road for far too long.
Only after wasting all those years did they realize how much they had lost by refusing to part with that one thing.
Perhaps he had been one of those people himself.
Then Jeong So-so smiled bitterly and said:
"Courage? I'm just running away because I'm scared."
"Running away takes courage too."
"......Thank you for saying that."
Jeong So-so stole a glance at Jin Cheong-un, then shifted her gaze to her brother.
Courage.
Yes, perhaps it truly did take courage.
After a deep breath, she spoke with a serious expression.
"There's actually a reason I didn't want to sell the house. I'm only telling you now, but the truth is......"
"Ah—you were holding onto it because you thought your father would come back?"
Jeong So-so froze.
"H-how did you know that?"
Jin Cheong-un clamped his mouth shut with a hup, and Jeong So-ryong looked up at him as if to say, How could you say that?
'What?'
It was as though a secret shared between just the two of them had been found out.
Jin Cheong-un said:
"Ahem! I was actually meaning to talk to you about that. Let's keep going. I think we can find out what happened with all of this."
"What?"
"Your father. You might be right about what you believed. And if you're thinking of selling because of the Black Tiger Gang, you don't have to."
"What?"
It was then.
Jin Cheong-un suddenly turned his head.
"They can't have arrived long ago, but they've already started? Did Carpenter Jang arrange that out of consideration?"
Soon, when Jeong So-so arrived at the front of the house, her eyes grew as wide as lanterns.
"Haul it this way!"
"Hold on tight over there!"
"Bring the bricks, hurry! Move it!"
Jeong Manor.
The manor she had expected to find abandoned like a ruin after the fire was now—
"Tear that part down! The fire reached the interior, so we need to demolish it and rebuild!"
—a bustling construction site swarming with workers going in and out.
"Oh ho ho! Nice to have plenty of strong young men around! Hey, wait! That goes the other way!"
"......Damn it. Why am I doing this?"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
From the direction of the completely destroyed annex came the raucous sound of hammering wood.
The ashes had been cleared away—when, she couldn't say—and only lumber for building materials was stacked here and there.
Just then, a dark-complexioned old man who had been directing the construction from afar approached them.
"Ah, School Master Jin! You're here?"
"You've already started?"
"You brought me enough pay and even workers on top of that—of course I started right away. Ha ha!"
"If any of them give you trouble, please let me know. I'll educate them properly."
"Give me trouble? They're falling over themselves to obey—practically tripping over their own feet. Where on earth did you find them?"
Just then, someone shouted.
"Master Carpenter! Should we start raising the frame?"
"Yes, yes! Go ahead! Oh my, we'll have to talk another time."
"Of course."
After Carpenter Jang left, Jeong So-so asked in bewilderment.
"M-Master? What is all this?"
"We're fixing a house that burned down."
"This doesn't look like it costs just a coin or two...... We don't have any money, so don't ask us for it! We couldn't pay up even if our lives depended on it!"
"What kind of child says things like that......"
Jin Cheong-un said with a wry face.
"I'm not going to ask you for money, so stop worrying. I happened to come into a bit of spare cash and used it."
And that spare cash had come from his old acquaintance, the Black Tiger Gang Master.
Of course, he hadn't been able to pocket all of it.
The Beggars' Sect members had been watching him like hawks, and there was money that needed to be handed over to the authorities. Given what the Black Tiger Gang had done, pilfering carelessly would only invite trouble.
'Still, I should at least get enough to cover an apology fee. Otherwise the numbers don't add up.'
Jin Cheong-un smoothed a hand over his chest.
The bearer promissory notes he had quietly tucked away were a great comfort.
Such is the way of the world—you come with nothing and leave with nothing.
Gang Master of the Black Tiger Gang, thank you for the inheritance. May your journey to the afterlife be a peaceful one.
"Master. But if the Black Tiger Gang comes, then in the end......"
"Those guys are already right over there."
"What?"
"Those are Black Tiger Gang members."
"......?!"
"Yeah, it seems you didn't know. The men who were hauled into the magistrate's office in a line today? Also Black Tiger Gang. Last night, those bastards went out of business."
She couldn't keep up with the story.
Without the faintest idea of where to even begin asking questions, Jin Cheong-un continued.
"Evidence of illegal business practices was found, and the authorities will be confiscating their assets. That means the debts they had you saddled with will be settled too."
"H-how is that even possible? Who could have done all this in a single night......?"
Jeong So-so stopped mid-sentence.
Her head creaked as it slowly turned toward Jin Cheong-un.
"D-don't tell me!"
Jin Cheong-un answered without a beat.
"It wasn't me."
"Wh-what wasn't you?"
"It just wasn't."
"Then who did it?"
Jin Cheong-un paused a moment for effect, then said:
"I hear a passing swordsman took care of it."
Jeong So-so's eyes dimmed.
Never in her life had she seen someone lie with so little effort.
"Then where were you all this time, Master? And why are Black Tiger Gang members working as laborers at our house?"
"......Wow! So-ryong, look at that. They've already got the frame up!"
He's changing the subject! He just changed the subject!
A brief silence fell.
Jeong So-so stared blankly at the house.
Then, her head drooped.
"Hk."
And then came the sobs.
"Hk...... hkk."
Jeong So-so's shoulders trembled faintly.
"......this much."
"Hm?"
"I never imagined...... you'd go this far for us."
The debts were gone.
The Black Tiger Gang was gone.
Like the house being rebuilt atop the ashes, it seemed as though hope was shining on a life she had believed was in ruins.
Thump—!
Jeong So-so clapped a hand over her mouth and sank to the ground.
Jeong So-ryong blinked and pointed at his sister.
"Noona's crying?"
"Hk! Hk! Waaah!"
Jeong So-so could no longer hold back and began pouring out great, fat tears.
"What's this, why are you crying?"
"I-I'm sorry, Master!"
She bawled her eyes out as though determined to wring out every last tear and drop of snot.
"I did nothing but yell and argue from the v-very start! I was such a terrible person! Hwaah!"
"Mm, you did have a bit of that."
"I thought you were some clueless adult who just got scammed all the time and spouted nonsense at odd hours, and I didn't even believe you were from the Murim Alliance! Hk, hkk!"
"......?"
"I never dreamed you'd go this far. Hk! Hkk!"
"Wait—are you using this moment to roast your master?"
More importantly, people were watching!
He could feel an enormous amount of staring directed his way right now!
'Seemed like such a decent person, but a full-grown man making a young girl cry?'
'Should we report this to the authorities?'
'A-as expected, a ruthless man. Cut the Gang Master down with a single stroke and now he's tormenting a young girl......'
Whispers reached his ears.
At this rate, things would spiral beyond control, so Jin Cheong-un hurried to calm Jeong So-so.
"What do you have to cry about? That's enough now—stop."
"I really, truly...... thank you. For showing us such kindness—this debt of gratitude, I absolutely will......"
"Gratitude? What gratitude?"
"Sniffle! ......Huh?"
Jin Cheong-un tilted his head and said:
"I'm the owner."
"......?"
"That's my manor."
"......"
"I'm fixing my own house—why would you thank me?"
"......"
Whatever the intention—
Jeong So-so's tears stopped on the spot.
***
There was a brief commotion.
Still sniffling, Jeong So-so had come to sit in the main hall—and heard yet another unbelievable piece of news.
"Wh-what did you just say?"
"I'm not certain yet, but I think I've found your father."
Jin Cheong-un smiled bitterly.