The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 69 : A Heroic Journey (1)

Jang So-gil finished his preparations and set off on his journey. His companion this time was also Yang Gwan.

Ye-er was left behind to stay and protect Jin Sangran and learn the lacking Han language.

The road to Kaifeng was very comfortable compared to the road to Yunnan. The mountain terrain was not terrible, the roads were not a mess, and the public order was not so bad that bandits swarmed or a black village, not just a black shop, would be brazenly established.

"It will be a comfortable journey."

"But why do we have to ride the post station's horses, leaving behind the good ones?"

Yang Gwan said in a sullen voice. He seemed quite disappointed to have left his cherished horse, Yanghwangbijeon, at home and to be riding a dwarf horse provided by the Martial Alliance's post station.

They say that for a government official's warrior, a horse is a weapon and a lover. He had thought that was only for warriors. But Yang Gwan, perhaps because he used the cavalry spear, the Yang Family Spear Art, seemed to have a great attachment to horses.

"Are you so attached to the partner you left at home?"

"No, that's... yes."

He didn't even hide it anymore. Yang Gwan continued to grumble.

"I'm scared that the child I trained so hard will forget what I trained if I leave, and when the body leaves, the heart also leaves. A horse, in the end, has to serve a new master when its owner leaves. If I'm away for this long, that, loyalty or solidarity, might be shaken..."

"Th-that's enough. My goodness, you're something else. You're really something else. I left it behind to take a boat, you punk."

"A boat? What boat?"

"You ignorant fool. It's several times faster and more comfortable to take a boat on the Yellow River from Luoyang to Kaifeng than to walk."

"Is that so?"

"So I heard."

"...You heard?"

"It's my first time on a boat too."

"..."

Taking a boat was something Jang So-gil had always wanted to do.

When he was in Sichuan, he had no occasion to take a boat. Before entering the Great Cloud Guild, he was an orphan beggar, so he couldn't even afford the boat fare.

"Do you like boats?"

"I like the potential of boats."

"What does that mean?"

"Let's say an item is sold and needs to be delivered. The amount of goods that can be loaded onto one cart is not as much as you think. On top of that, if you calculate the horse to pull the cart, the driver to handle it, and the escort warriors to protect the cargo, it's not an easy task to make a profit."

"Well, that's true."

"But a boat can carry the goods of forty carts at once. On top of that, it runs smoothly with the power of water and wind without needing horses, and it arrives at the destination much faster than a horse. Isn't that cool? It was my dream to one day buy a few boats and roam the Yellow River and the Yangtze River."

Jang So-gil smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Y-you are?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I heard that taking a boat is not that easy."

"Who said so?"

"The head monk."

"Hmm, I've also looked into the water bandits carefully. They're worse than mountain bandits or the Green Forest."

"So I heard."

"So."

Jang So-gil, who had opened the death list, raised the corners of his mouth eerily.

"I'm going to catch the water bandits first."

* * *

The Gwak Inseonbang was small in scale, but it was famous for being run by a sect leader who hated speculation and trickery and had an outstanding character. In terms of transactions and operations, it could be said to be a place that perfectly suited Jang So-gil's taste, who liked safety and solidity.

Moreover, the Gwak Inseonbang had a captain who was so skilled at handling boats that he would be sad if he were second in the Yellow River. This captain had never caused an accident while going anywhere if there was a customer's request, so he stood out like a crane among chickens among those who traveled the Yellow River. So some people called him the best sailor in Henan Province, the Henan Number One Captain.

But this story was all in the past tense. The current Gwak Inseonbang had become a place that Jang So-gil would never choose.

Yang Gwan blinked his eyes. It was because the boat Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan were on was the boat of the Gwak Inseonbang.

"Why did you take this boat? The fare wasn't cheap either."

The boat fare was a whopping ten taels. The two of them had paid twenty taels in total. The fare for other boats was five taels, so they had paid double.

If it was a boat steered by the number one captain in Henan, it was certainly money worth receiving, but as mentioned before, the Henan Number One Captain was also in the past tense.

The famous number one captain in Henan was already fifty years old. There were people who worked even after turning fifty, but he was not one of them.

The doctor had said that water had collected in the old captain's bones. Due to his arduous life on the boat, he could no longer walk properly.

So the old captain had retired, and his son was the current captain.

But the old captain's son had kept that fact a secret. Why? Because there were more than one or two customers who came to take the boat after hearing his father's fame.

Jang So-gil the son was pretending to be his father while selling his father's name.

People found out this fact after getting on the boat. But don't they say that under a tiger father, there are no dog sons? He'll be average, right? They thought so nonchalantly and let it go.

In fact, even if they protested, there was no way to do anything. Could they get off a boat crossing the Yellow River?

Yang Gwan asked again with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't you say this boat wasn't worth paying that much money for?"

"That's right. The old captain's son is very incompetent."

He had no ability, but his ambition was great. So he had a war of nerves with the sect leader of the Gwak Inseonbang day after day.

The sect leader of the Gwak Inseonbang was a sincere and gentle person. He had a timid side, but his humility was a virtue and also a factor that did not create enemies.

"Who would welcome the current situation of the Gwak Inseonbang, where such a sect leader and an incompetent captain are at odds? It's the water bandits. How much do you think those bastards will like this boat?"

Since he was at odds with the sect leader, he couldn't receive proper support.

Even though he was a captain, his skill at handling boats was poor, so he had no way to shake off the water bandits.

Then he would have to share the expensive boat fare he had received with the water bandits to reduce the damage, but he didn't have the wits for that either.

It was a total mess.

"So you chose this boat. You thought you would meet the water bandits easily."

"That's right."

"Then what are you going to do now? Are you going to fight the water bandits?"

Yang Gwan, who was standing guard, asked.

Jang So-gil leaned his body against the wall of the cabin and watched the situation.

"Those bastards are swarming in!"

"What are you doing, you have to block them with your bodies!"

"Remove the hooks!"

The attack of the water bandits continued. Two small boats had hooked onto the sailboat, and the water bandits were continuously crossing over on the ropes connected to those hooks. Their number was over forty even at a rough estimate. They threatened with weapons, roaring, and actually swung their swords.

Jang So-gil crossed his arms and half-closed his eyes.

At his endlessly leisurely behavior, Yang Gwan became anxious and urged him.

"The water bandits' momentum is stronger. This is going to be a big problem."

"You have to speak correctly. It's not that the water bandits' momentum is strong, but that the sailors' momentum is weak."

"Did the two of them collude?"

"No. The captain is just incompetent."

As soon as the captain saw the water bandits, his body froze like ice, and he didn't give any orders.

When the hooks were on the boat and the water bandits were rushing in, he just tried to run away to a corner of the boat.

"Where is he going to run to on this small boat? He's not a beast that thinks it won't be seen if it just hides its head."

If the person who should be in command is incompetent, even a sailor who has been through a hundred battles cannot display all their skills. Looking at them, all sorts of people were moving as they pleased, such as sailors trying to protect the customers, sailors trying to fight the water bandits, ambitious sailors trying to kill the captain and become the captain themselves, and sailors who were fulfilling their own desires in a desperate situation.

"Sh-shouldn't we help quickly?"

"There's no need for that. Look, there's no major damage yet, is there?"

It was true. Even though over forty water bandits and over twenty sailors were confronting each other, and it was noisy, busy, and full of curses, shouts, and screams, there were no seriously injured people.

"...That's true. Why?"

"Why... I don't know about the Demonic Cult, but among the bad guys who try to take things from others, like water bandits or mountain bandits, there are surprisingly few who try to kill people indiscriminately."

"Why are there few?"

"Is 'why' stuck to this fellow's mouth... Tsk. If you see blood and kill someone, you get a wanted notice. If someone dies, a grudge is also formed. Those damn bad guys also hate to be avenged. Even a worthless person's life is precious."

"Well, that's true. No one's life is more precious than their own."

"Yes. But what if you extort money by threatening and blackmailing? If you just give the money and leave, thinking you were bitten by a stray dog, the victim just loses money and it's over. The bad guy only gets a small grudge and can get the money."

"Uh... uh, that seems to be the case."

"So it's the custom of the bad guys to threaten first rather than killing without asking any questions. They've just boarded the boat, so it's the perfect time to threaten. If this negotiation breaks down, they'll have no choice but to see blood, but for now, it's fine."

Yang Gwan opened his mouth slightly and nodded his head blankly.

Listening to it, it made sense.

"Aha, I understand. But Young Master So."

"What now?"

"Still, those guys are water bandits, so they're bad guys, aren't they? Shouldn't we fight?"

Even if it was threats and blackmail, it was a type of negotiation. A negotiation can only be done when there is someone who takes responsibility.

But the captain of this boat had already hidden somewhere. Since there was no one to take responsibility for the negotiation, the end of this negotiation was ultimately a catastrophe. They would end up brandishing their weapons.

Then whether the sailors were injured or the customers on the boat were injured, they would see blood anyway.

So shouldn't they fight before that?

Jang So-gil frowned.

"The captain ran away."

"What?"

"In the first place, it's true that I came to catch the water bandits. It's also true that I plan to clean up the surroundings on my way to Kaifeng. But there is a procedure for things."

"That is..."

"The customer pays the money, and the sailors and the captain sell their skills. It's a very simple contractual relationship. Since the captain received the money, he has an obligation to protect the customers. If he doesn't have the skill to protect people himself, he should at least have the skill to persuade the water bandits by bowing his head, or at the very least, he should ask us, who have the ability to fight, by promising a reward. But he's not doing anything and is running away?"

He didn't like it.

As a merchant, Jang So-gil was a person who thoroughly distinguished between public and private affairs and took his profits like a knife.

In his eyes, the captain's behavior of taking everything he should have received and not taking responsibility was not just ugly, but nauseating. To the point where he wanted to beat up the captain before the water bandits, it was only natural that he didn't want to step in!

"I'm working for free? For that captain who's not doing anything? Are you kidding me? I'm not working until that bastard comes, bows his head, and begs, saying he'll give me all the silver he has."

Yang Gwan scratched his head awkwardly and replied.

"But Young Master So, I'm very sorry to say this, but..."

"Why."

"You didn't just come here as a customer, Young Master So. You came on a heroic journey as an inspector."

"...Ah."

"A heroic journey is originally not something you do for a reward. Isn't it about protecting the common people and pursuing heroism? There are common people in distress over there. We have to save them."

Listening to that, it was also true.

If you were to calculate profits and gains in a heroic journey, it wouldn't be a heroic journey.

Jang So-gil scratched his head roughly.

"Ah, I can't do this. Then what, I have to do a good thing for that idiot captain?"

"In the end, it will be like that."

"I can't do that."

"Then what do we do? Do we just protect our own bodies no matter what happens?"

"No. First, we'll drive out the water bandits as originally planned. But I must receive a reward from the captain. If not, I will make him my slave until he dies and get that price out of him."

(End of Chapter)