Chapter 5
"Oh my, Mr. Lee. Are you alright?"
"...Urgh."
The people of Sodam Village rushed to support Mr. Lee, who had collapsed on the ground and looked nearly dead.
Due to his large build, it took several hands to lift him, but everyone pitched in without hesitation.
When no one else dared to step forward out of fear, he had boldly stood up for the village and suffered this terrible fate.
The villagers' eyes were filled with a mix of gratitude, guilt, and sorrow as they looked at Mr. Lee.
"Quickly, take him for treatment."
As the villagers nodded and carried Mr. Lee away, someone quietly spoke up.
"Village Chief."
The chief turned his head towards the speaker.
The man who had spoken continued in a gloomy voice.
"Why on earth did you accept those thugs' proposal? What are you planning to do now?"
His tone was clearly accusatory towards the chief.
He looked utterly bewildered.
Everyone was shocked by his behavior, as he was usually one to quietly follow the chief's lead.
Soon, the other villagers tried to stop him.
"Hey now, how can you speak like that?"
"That's right. Mr. Lee was nearly beaten to death. What choice did the chief have?"
"I'm just saying what we're all thinking. Really, what are we going to do now?"
The atmosphere was incredibly gloomy.
The man looked around at the villagers and spoke in an anguished voice.
"We may have had some village funds saved up for other purposes this time, but how are we supposed to come up with that kind of money every month in this small village? At this rate, we'll all starve to death. Every last one of us."
Everyone fell silent.
It was an extremely pessimistic view, but also undeniably true.
What on earth were they going to do now?
They were all consumed by the same bleak thoughts.
But dwelling on it now wouldn't yield any answers.
The village chief, who had remained silent until now, looked at the villagers with an incredibly weary expression.
"We'll... discuss this matter later."
"Chief..."
With that, the chief trudged away.
His face looked as if he had aged years in just a moment.
The kind and composed demeanor he usually wore was nowhere to be seen.
Soon, the remaining villagers also dispersed to their homes one by one.
"Haah."
Paeng Seo-yeon, who had stayed until the very end, let out a quiet sigh.
It had certainly been a peaceful village.
Until just moments ago, before those warriors barged in.
To think that mere second-rate thugs could...
Was the peace of Sodam Village truly so fragile?
_And... what should be done now?_
Would she have to step in personally next time?
Seo-yeon shook her head.
If she did that, she might leave traces for her former family to find.
No matter how she looked at it, there seemed to be no good solution. Seo-yeon's head throbbed as she pondered the situation.
Just then,
_Whoosh-!_
A cool breeze blew.
The lush branches of the large zelkova tree at the village entrance swayed gently in the wind.
Yul, who had been holding Seo-yeon's hand and eating candy without understanding the situation, tilted her head curiously.
"Daddy?"
Seo-yeon didn't hear her daughter's words.
"This is great. Wonderful. Hahaha!"
At the foot of a mountain, quite far from Sodam Village.
Three warriors were walking along, jingling a heavy money pouch full of silver coins and laughing merrily.
"Didn't I tell you? Extorting these rural villages is the sweetest deal there is."
"You're right. We should have done this from the start. What were we thinking, trying to live honorably all this time?"
In truth, these three had belonged to a small Evil Faction that was suddenly defeated in a war between sects. They had barely escaped with their lives.
It had been a war fueled by great enmity, so everyone associated with their faction had been slaughtered.
They had fled all the way to this rural area just to survive.
"By the way, boss."
"Hm?"
"Those village idiots handed over the money so quickly. Don't you think we could have squeezed a bit more out of them if we'd pushed harder?"
"Tsk! You don't know what you're talking about."
The second-in-command clicked his tongue regretfully, but the leader shook his head.
"Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat. If you want to milk a village like that for a long time, you have to take just enough to keep them barely scraping by. If you push country bumpkins like that too far, they might just lie down and give up entirely. You see?"
"You're right, boss."
"Oh, I see. As expected of our leader. You really know your stuff."
"We've basically become mountain bandits now, haven't we? Should we just go all in and form our own gang?"
"What? Heh. That's not a bad idea. Hahaha!"
_Snicker._
They were in high spirits.
Among martial artists who carried swords, they had been nobodies who could barely breathe without permission.
But in this rural backwater, they were kings.
Who could possibly stand against them in this remote countryside?
"Oh, by the way, boss."
"Hm?"
"I noticed there was quite a pretty woman in that village earlier."
"Oh ho, is that so?"
The leader's eyes flashed with interest.
"You rascal, you even had time to check that out?"
"You know I've always had an eye for these things. Heheh."
The youngest warrior continued excitedly.
"She seemed to be a mother, but what does that matter? Heheh. If they can't come up with the money someday, why don't we take that woman instead? What do you think, boss?"
"That's not a bad idea at all."
Lewd smiles spread across the warriors' faces.
Just then...
"My, what interesting conversation you're having."
The man who appeared blocking the warriors' path looked unmistakably like a scholar.
With a handsome face and slender build.
"What's this? Who are you?"
The youngest warrior, outraged that a mere scholar dared to block their way, asked with a fierce aura.
But for some reason, the man showed not the slightest hint of fear, merely smiling faintly.
"All of you, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
"What?"
"I'm going to give you a chance."
Yeo Un-hwi calmly continued, looking at each of the men in turn.
"Take that money pouch and return to the village you just came from. Give back all the money, bow your heads, and apologize. Then tell them you'll never show your faces around here again."
"What? You must be crazy. Do you have any idea who we are?"
_Shing._
Just as the youngest warrior was about to draw his sword against this scholar who had suddenly blocked their path and started spouting nonsense,
"Wait."
The leader of the three warriors stopped him for a moment.
He carefully observed Yeo Un-hwi with a suspicious look.
"Why are you stopping me, boss?"
Ignoring the confused look on the youngest's face, the leader cautiously spoke.
"Who might you be? Are you perhaps a martial artist?"
He had felt an odd sense of discomfort seeing how Yeo Un-hwi wasn't intimidated at all by their armed presence.
Moreover, to issue such a bold warning? Perhaps...
_But..._
"I am."
The answer that came from Yeo Un-hwi's lips was different from what he had imagined.
"A man who teaches writing in a nearby village."
"...What? Writing?"
"I'm also an ordinary farmer living in that Sodam Village you just robbed, and the husband of the woman you were lusting after earlier."
"Ha..."
The leader's face filled with exasperation.
He felt ashamed of the brief moment of tension he had felt.
Without even realizing it, his hand gripping the sword tightened.
"So you're saying you're not a martial artist or anything of the sort, but just a measly scholar who teaches writing, and you dare to stand before us and spout such nonsense? Is that right?"
The leader's face twisted with rage.
He glared at Yeo Un-hwi with eyes glinting with killing intent.
"You madman. I was in a good mood today and didn't want to see any more blood, but it seems I have no choice. Boys."
"Yes, boss."
"Kill this fool who dares to stick his liver out. Make it as painful as possible. Then hang his body at the entrance to that village. We need to make sure no one else dares to defy us like this again."
The two subordinate warriors nodded and approached Yeo Un-hwi without hesitation.
Just as the second-in-command was about to grab Yeo Un-hwi by the hair,
"I'll say it once more."
_Thud._
"...Huh?"
Something fell to the ground with a thud.
It was the second-in-command's hand.
No, his entire arm.
_Splatter._
Belatedly, blood sprayed out, and at the same time,
"...Gu, guaaaah!"
The second-in-command, who had been looking confused for a moment, let out a terrible scream.
"How noisy."
_Thud._
_Splatter._
The screaming warrior's head fell to the ground.
Once again, the blood spray followed a moment later.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, before anyone could even react.
"Hiiieek!"
The youngest warrior, who had been standing right next to him, instinctively stumbled backward before his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
Yeo Un-hwi, who had been looking down at him with cold eyes, turned his gaze to the leader.
"It would be best if you take that money and go back to do as I said."
Yeo Un-hwi's manner of speech had completely changed, as if he were a different person.
"Hiiieek! H-help! Someone help!"
Taking advantage of the moment Yeo Un-hwi's gaze shifted, the youngest warrior who had fallen to the ground turned and began to flee frantically.
With the sole thought of survival.
But that was an extremely foolish choice.
Yeo Un-hwi's gaze slowly turned to the warrior's back.
_And then..._
"I didn't give you permission for that."
The fleeing warrior's head fell to the ground.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
That fact sent chills down the spine of the one watching this scene unfold.
"Now only you remain."
Yeo Un-hwi's eyes turned to the sole survivor.
"What will you do?"
The warrior who had been the leader until just moments ago now wore an expression as if his soul had left his body.
Above all, those eyes.
They were eyes unlike any he had ever seen in his life, as if they contained... an endless abyss.