A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 58

58. Saving Grace

“S-Son, Young Master Son…”

Eun Chobin said, looking flustered. She hadn’t expected Son Bin to draw his sword.

“Oh? He’s got two swords, does he? Thinks having two swords makes him twice as strong? Heh heh.”

The man spoke as if he couldn’t believe it. In his eyes, Son Bin was nothing more than a scholar. He was holding the sword quite bravely, but that was all.

“Listen, Mr. Scholar. Playing with sharp things can get you hurt, you know?”

The man strode confidently towards Son Bin, speaking mockingly.

Son Bin also took a few steps forward, standing protectively in front of Eun Chobin and the veiled girl. He held one of the steel swords straight with both hands.

“I don’t know if you’re doing this in front of the ladies, but I’ll give you credit. You’ve got guts, mister. I don’t hate people with guts.”

Thud, thud.

The man continued to walk towards Son Bin, chatting idly. In his eyes, there was nothing special about Son Bin.

First of all, his slender build was typical of a scholar, and he didn’t exude any particularly strong aura.

Even the way he was looking at him now was just a plain, direct gaze.

‘Looks like he’s swung it around a few times somewhere.’

The stance of holding the steel sword with both hands looked quite stable. But that was all.

“So, I’ll give you a special opportunity.”

The man walked on fearlessly. He approached Son Bin, close enough but still feeling a bit out of sword’s reach, and said with a sneer,

“A chance to die pathetically.”

The man raised his sword diagonally in a grand gesture, as if to show off. And as soon as he finished speaking, the man suddenly charged towards Son Bin.

Whoosh.

In reality, it was just a single step. But that one step could mean the difference between life and death.

Therefore, for a martial artist, judging distance is a matter of life and death.

Not to mention untrained ordinary people. If the distance suddenly closes, they are bound to panic and not even be able to respond properly.

Moreover, the speed of a martial artist’s descending sword is hard to follow with the eyes.

Without long training and experience, a real sword fight is out of the question.

Swoosh.

As the man lunged at Son Bin, his sword fell towards him.

The man was already certain. Son Bin would either be cut in two, or, if he was lucky, he would fall to the ground along with his wildly swung sword.

But the result was different.

Clang!

‘Ugh.’

A sharp metallic sound rang out, and a tremendous shock was transmitted to the hand holding the sword. A heavy sensation, as if hitting a solid rock.

The man realized that his sword had bounced up sharply and that his body was losing balance.

Thud.

The man took a step back and regained his stance.

“W-what is it…?”

A sharp pain was felt in his wrist.

He had clearly swung his sword down at that scholar, but what was this feeling and result?

The man looked at Son Bin with bewildered eyes.

Unlike before, Son Bin’s sword was now extended straight horizontally to the right. He had parried his descending sword with a horizontal slash.

‘He blocked my sword?’

“What are you doing, Brother?”

“That scholar is just lucky,” the other men behind the man said, chuckling. In their eyes, it was just a clash of swords.

It was unexpected that the scholar had blocked it, but it was just luck. To anyone, the difference in skill between the scholar and the man seemed obvious.

“Y-you bastard.”

But only the man knew that the scholar’s block was not just a coincidence.

Rather, anger began to boil at the opponent who had given him such humiliation.

“How dare you!”

The man’s face contorted. His slick eyes turned fierce, and a murderous aura began to emanate from him.

“Hey, take it easy. You’ll scare the scholar.”

“But even if we take it easy, he’ll still die. Heh heh.”

The other men laughed as if they were amused, now that the man was seriously stepping up.

However, Son Bin calmly drew back his sword and raised it vertically again.

Swish.

The straight blade of the steel sword stood between Son Bin and the man.

Son Bin’s breathing was already deep and continuous, but the man’s breathing was shallow and broken from the start.

Moreover, the man’s sword was completely out of sync with the natural flow from the beginning.

So no matter how fast his sword was, it was just swinging, and its movements were light and predictable.

‘This one doesn’t even have the basics down.’

Son Bin frowned slightly and looked at the man.

The man was glaring at him with murderous eyes, as if he would kill Son Bin right away, but the look in his eyes was nothing more than a thin, vulgar emotion.

The difference was so great that it was almost insulting to compare it to Okyong’s gaze, for example.

What about Saja Hyuk? Of course, it was out of the question.

‘He’s probably going to get angry.’

“Hmph.”

He didn’t intend to let out a slight laugh, but it wasn’t intentional.

However, it was enough of an insult to the man, who was already seething with shame and anger.

“You bastard!”

Thud.

With an angry shout, the man’s sword struck sharply towards Son Bin.

It was a blow with all the man’s power, and the momentum was unusual, but it was still a light sword to Son Bin.

Clang.

Once again, a sharp metallic sound rang out, and the man’s sword bounced up. But this time, he didn’t back down.

As if he had expected it, the man’s sword fell towards Son Bin. The blow that seemed to have been made with all his might was just a feint [a deceptive or pretended blow].

Whoosh.

The sharp blade struck towards Son Bin’s empty chest. But to Son Bin, it was still too light and too obvious a path.

Claaang.

The man’s sword bounced far to the side.

‘I-impossible. I was definitely faster.’

His sword was definitely faster. But somehow, Son Bin’s steel sword was blocking it. No, it was knocking his sword away as if it had been waiting, as if it had been there from the beginning.

“Kugh.”

The man, whose posture had collapsed, staggered back three or four steps, his face filled with dismay. Only then did the other men realize that the situation was serious.

“W-what?”

The men, who had been relaxed as if it was already over, tensed up at once. The result that was happening before their eyes was an undeniable fact, even though they couldn’t believe it.

The most confused of all was the man who had been pushed back. But the result was clear, and it meant only one thing.

The man, glaring at Son Bin with a face contorted in pain, blurted out in a low voice without realizing it.

“T-that guy… is a master.”

The faces of the attacking men hardened at once.

“A master!”

The word ‘master’ means a great deal in the world of martial arts. It is like a deep valley that divides the earth, and like a high wall that separates this side from that side.

No matter how much you show off your sword skills on the ground, the world of masters is high in the sky.

Only a select few or those with unbelievable luck can reach that place, and they are fundamentally different from people like themselves.

“N-no way…”

Suspicion spread across the faces of the other men, and everyone’s eyes turned to Son Bin.

But Son Bin was just staring straight at the man in front of him with a calm look. The blade of the steel sword in his hand shone sharply.

Clang.

Starting with someone drawing their sword, all the men drew their weapons again. They didn’t dare to take Son Bin lightly.

They were also martial artists who carried swords. They weren’t fools enough to doubt the results that were happening before their eyes.

They immediately became wary of Son Bin and tightened their grip on the swords and blades in their hands. But one crucial and fatal problem remained.

“W-what should we do?”

Could they defeat that scholar even if they all attacked him?

And that decision had to be made by the man who was the strongest here and effectively led them.

The very man who had been pathetically pushed back by Son Bin just now.

‘What should I do?’

The man was thinking the same thing as the others.

They were superior in numbers. Besides, Son Bin was just an ordinary scholar on the surface.

Even looking at him again, he didn’t feel an overwhelming aura or an unapproachable dignity.

He just looked like a scholar holding a steel sword, calmly watching him.

‘But…’

Even though so many men were surrounding him, his eyes were as calm as before. It was absolutely impossible to regard it as ignorance.

Rather, considering the sword fight just now, it seemed like an expression of even greater confidence.

Throb.

‘Ugh.’

The man grimaced and looked down at his hand as he suddenly felt the pain. Blood was flowing from his torn wrist.

When he clashed with his seemingly ordinary steel sword, he vividly remembered how heavy it was, as if he had hit a rock.

‘Kugh.’

It was when the man was hesitating like that.

“Aaaagh!”

A piercing scream was heard. The man turned his head, and he saw an unbelievable sight.

“B-Brother! Brother! Save me!”

He was one of the men who had attacked the escort with the man.

But now, both of his hands were literally turning red, as if he had dipped both arms deep into red dye and pulled them out.

“Brotheeer!”

In front of him, screaming in pain, was a heavy box that had been loaded onto the carriage, left open. The cloth that had been covering the box was roughly untied, and the large lid of the box was hanging askew, so it seemed that the man had ripped it open.

Several other men were pulling the box down, but they were all frozen as if they were frozen by his appearance.

“Aaaagh!”

The man who had been screaming for help fell backward, unable to bear the pain, and fainted.

“D-Disciple!”

Several men rushed to him. And the man who was facing Son Bin made a decision.

“Retreat!”

“Brother!”

Several men looked at him with surprised eyes, but he did not reverse his decision.

Instead, he looked at Son Bin’s expression. Son Bin was also frowning as he looked at the man whose arms were turning red.

He was sure that Son Bin would not stop them.

“Support the disciple and leave this place. Quickly!”

Swish.

The man turned his head and glared at Son Bin.

“I will not forget today’s humiliation.”

“Your humiliation.”

Son Bin’s voice caught the man who was about to leave.

“It started from the beginning when you tried to do something unjust.”

Son Bin said, looking straight at the man.

“If you had tried to do the right thing, you would have been proud of yourself even if you had been broken and bent, and you would have had no shame in the face of heaven.”

Gritting.

The man gritted his teeth instead of answering, and he turned his head and left.

“Let’s go!”

The men supported the unconscious man and disappeared in an orderly fashion.

Whirr.

In an instant, all the situations were sorted out, and only the chaotic scene and the party of Soeun Escort Agency were left. But the danger had not yet disappeared.

“What should we do with that?”

Eun Chobin’s voice was heard from behind. She was referring to the box that had been left open.

But after seeing that sight just now, no one dared to approach it. Moreover, most of the people were still unable to escape from the shock of the attack.

“I’ll do it.”

A low, subdued voice answered Eun Chobin.

Son Bin turned his head. From the beginning, the person Eun Chobin had asked was not Son Bin.

Shuffle, shuffle.

A slender girl with her face covered in a veil walked towards the open box. And then, she reached out her white, slender hand towards the open box.

Everyone’s eyes were on the veiled girl’s hand.

“Miss! It’s dangerous…”

Son Bin was surprised and shouted when he saw her reaching out her hand without hesitation. But before Son Bin could finish speaking, her slender, small white hand closed the box.

Thud.

The girl’s hand remained white. The jade ring hanging on her wrist sparkled.

Shuffle.

The girl who closed the box turned around and walked quietly towards Eun Chobin. “It’s okay now.”

A rough, subdued low voice. It was a voice that was hard to believe belonged to a slender girl.

Click.

The veiled girl passed by Son Bin and Eun Chobin and went into the carriage and closed the door. No one opened their mouths as they looked at the closed carriage door.

“What are you all doing? Quickly check on the injured people.”

The first to come to her senses was Eun Chobin. The surroundings were a mess. Above all, many people were injured in the collision just now.

She first treated the people and emptied one of the carriages to put the injured people in.

The embroiderers didn’t even want to touch the goods, but when Eun Chobin took the lead in moving the boxes, they soon began to carry the goods one by one.

*

*

*

“Haa.”

Eun Chobin took a sip of tea and let out a long sigh. Only now was she barely able to take a breather.

“Are you okay? Chief Jang.”

“I can bear it.”

Chief Jang said with a calm expression, but he had a long gash on his side.

He had been treated by a doctor, but he said that it was absolutely impossible to move too much for a while.

“How many people are injured in total?”

Eun Chobin directed the escort to a nearby inn. She hired a doctor from a nearby village to treat the injured escorts.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but that didn’t mean they were minor injuries. Above all, the escorts were the most injured.

“Five escorts, two embroiderers, and Chief is injured.”

Son Bin answered. He had a small booklet in his hand as always.

“The medical expenses have already been paid, and I have also given you the cost of the medicine. And…”

Son Bin suddenly realized that Eun Chobin was staring at him intently.

“Thank you.”

Eun Chobin said, but she soon shook her head.

“No, I shouldn’t say it like this.”

Click.

Eun Chobin got up from her seat. Eun Chobin, who stood neatly with her hands together, knelt gracefully on the floor of the inn.

“Thank you for saving the escort, Great Hero Son.”

Rustle.

Her collar fell on the floor of the inn, and her long black hair poured down her neck.

But Eun Chobin did not raise her head. The silver hairpin stuck in her bowed head sparkled.

Thump.

Chief Jang also got up from his seat, and he knelt on one knee with Eun Chobin.

“I owe you my life. Thank you, Great Hero Son.”

“Ah, well. It’s not like that…”

Son Bin was very embarrassed by their sudden actions, but the two did not raise their heads.