Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 53

053. Things Rarely Go as Planned

Around that time, Unhyun was wandering along the main road between Kaifeng [a major city in Henan province, China] and Hangzhou [a major city in Zhejiang province, China, known for its scenic West Lake].

“Haa, where exactly is this…?”

Unhyun muttered, trudging along.

“This wasn’t the plan…”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily, but perhaps it was only natural.

He had meticulously planned a decent trip, but he was already lost from the very beginning.

After leaving the Moryong Clan, Unhyun spent a day in Kaifeng, devising his travel itinerary.

“They say the best food is in Guangzhou [a major port city in Guangdong province, China] and the best scenery is at West Lake… Even if it’s a bit out of the way, I have to visit West Lake, right?”

Unhyun was filled with anticipation.

His plan was to visit Hangzhou and Suzhou [a city in Jiangsu province, China, known for its canals and gardens], then travel up the Yangtze River [the longest river in Asia] to Dongting Lake [a large, shallow lake in Hunan province, China], and from there, head to Zhangjiajie [a scenic area in Hunan province, China, known for its unique sandstone pillars] before descending to Guangzhou.

Rustle, rustle.

To forget his disappointment with the Moryong Clan, Unhyun sat in an inn, diligently writing down his travel plans.

“It is said that if a person is born and doesn’t visit Zhangjiajie, they can’t be considered old even at a hundred years old. I must take this opportunity to go, yes, indeed.”

Unhyun muttered to himself, writing down his plans.

In truth, he also wanted to travel further up the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges [a scenic area on the Yangtze River known for its dramatic cliffs and dams], but he decided against it as it would make the journey too long.

Besides, it was fortunate that his brother Ilchunghyun’s family home was near Dongting Lake.

“I should take it easy.”

Guangzhou was still a long way off anyway.

When else would he have the chance to see such magnificent scenery, if not now with his ample savings?

Unhyun planned his trip with a light heart.

After the incident at the Moryong Clan, he even gave up the idea of finding the people he had sent letters to, making his steps even lighter.

“Alright, I’m going to see all of this.”

Rustle.

Scanning the place names written all over the paper with a satisfied expression, Unhyun smiled contentedly.

That was just a few days ago.

“But now…”

Now, he had no idea where he was.

“Is this really the way to Hangzhou…?”

It was a mistake to listen to the old man he met at the inn yesterday.

The old man had said that if he took a carriage heading out of the city, he could see wonderful scenery and that there was also a direct carriage to Hangzhou.

Unhyun was already tired of changing carriages.

He changed his plans on a whim.

The excitement of traveling probably played a part as well.

But something went wrong, and Unhyun ended up in a very remote small village.

The scenery might be nice, but it was an extremely isolated place with not even a proper inn.

“I shouldn’t have listened to others without knowing properly…”

Perhaps the old man had given him the information with good intentions, and he was the one who made a mistake.

However, that was no longer the issue.

Because things had become even more complicated since that village.

“It would have been better if I had just gone back…”

The carriage returning to the village he had come from was said to be leaving in a few days.

But Unhyun, feeling impatient, didn’t wait and instead caught another carriage heading to a different village that day.

As a result, Unhyun ended up in this even more remote place where carriages barely traveled.

“Hoo…”

Unhyun sighed.

“They said it was just a little further, but haven’t I gone too far?”

Trudging along, Unhyun stopped and looked back at the path he had taken.

The village elder had said that he could find a main road with frequent carriage traffic if he went just a little further.

He had believed those words and continued along the path, so he couldn’t have missed it. He had indeed found a main road.

But all he could see was a desolate main road, with not even a shadow of a carriage.

“Is this even the right main road?”

Unhyun shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had never thought of himself as someone who couldn’t find his way, but strangely, things kept going wrong.

Looking ahead, there wasn’t a soul in sight, making him feel as if he were standing alone in the world.

“It’s peaceful and nice, but…”

If only he weren’t lost.

Unhyun sighed once more and started walking again.

It would be better to take even one step forward than to waste time here.

Trudge, trudge.

The surrounding scenery was monotonous, and the walk without company was even lonelier.

Unhyun carried the feeling of being alone in a strange world, moving forward with a sense of emptiness.

“Hmm?”

After walking for a while, Unhyun frowned slightly.

“What is it? I feel strange.”

A strange and uncomfortable feeling tormented Unhyun.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it felt as if he were being watched by a very unpleasant gaze.

Unhyun stopped walking and tried to find the source of this awkward feeling.

But there was nothing unusual.

All he felt was that he didn’t want to go down that road.

No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing strange or particularly different about the main road, but he couldn’t understand why he suddenly didn’t want to go.

‘Hmm. But I can’t just not go.’

He couldn’t turn back just because he felt bad.

Unhyun forced himself to take the reluctant steps and hurried along the road.

As he was walking along the main road, it happened.

Rustle.

Suddenly, he heard a noise from the bushes beside the road.

Unhyun, who was already uneasy, was startled.

“Wh, who’s there!”

Crash.

“Damn it!”

Along with a rough voice, about half a dozen men appeared from the bushes.

The men, who looked menacing, were frowning and holding swords and clubs.

“What is it? We waited all day and this is all we get?”

The men grumbled with dissatisfied expressions.

“I told you we should have gone somewhere else… Ah, how are we supposed to do business if nothing passes by?”

The men grumbled as they approached Unhyun.

Unhyun didn’t ask them who they were. He knew what the answer would be without hearing it.

“Hey, you there. Scholar.”

One of them spoke to Unhyun curtly.

“Hand over that bundle and disappear while you still can.”

“Hey, we should check his pockets, hyung [older brother or respected male figure in Korean],”

Another bandit interrupted.

“Those scholars always hide their money pouches between their legs. Disgusting…”

The bandit who spoke first addressed Unhyun again.

“Did you hear that? You’ll have to put down the bundle and stand still.”

Unhyun stepped back, faltering.

“H, how can you do such a violent thing in broad daylight? Aren’t you afraid of the law…?”

“Hey!”

Unhyun’s timid resistance was silenced by the loud voice of another bandit holding a sword.

“I’m not afraid. Got it? I’m not scared! Is that enough?”

The bandit approached, striding forward with a large sword.

“Just put down the bundle. We don’t want to say it more than once.”

Unhyun didn’t put down the bundle.

He didn’t want to lose his money, but more importantly, it contained his brother Ilchunghyun’s keepsakes.

He couldn’t just hand it over.

“N, no.”

“What?”

The bandits were dumbfounded by Unhyun’s answer.

“Seriously, this guy is resisting. Do we look like a joke?”

“Well, maybe we do look like a joke to a great scholar like him. But…”

The expressions on their faces began to twist.

“Does this sword also look like a joke? Huh?”

It was at that moment.

Tap.

Before the bandit could finish speaking, Unhyun immediately turned and kicked off the ground.

“Oh, he’s running!”

“Hey! Catch him!”

“Damn it, I told you we should have blocked the back!”

Leaving their voices behind, Unhyun began to run back the way he had come with all his might.

He had no time to look back.

If he lost his money pouch here, his trip would be ruined.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

“Hey, you bastards, run faster! We have to catch him!”

He could hear shouts and the sound of bandits chasing him from behind.

Unhyun paid no attention to the sounds behind him. He just sprinted with all his might along the path he had come from.

Dada dada.

Suddenly, a fierce chase began on the deserted main road.

The bandits chasing and Unhyun being chased were each running at full speed.

“Hey, you bastard! I said stop!”

‘No way.’

Unhyun muttered inwardly at the sound from behind.

He couldn’t stop. Who would stop in this situation?

Unhyun focused only on running away, sprinting with all his might.

It was then.

Swish.

Hearing a faint, chilling sound in his ear, Unhyun twisted his body with all his strength.

He didn’t even know what was happening, but the decision was right.

Whir.

A large club brushed past Unhyun’s head.

If he hadn’t quickly twisted his body, he would have been hit in the head.

It was truly a narrow escape, but as a result, Unhyun completely lost his balance.

“Oops.”

Unhyun tumbled to the ground with the momentum of his run.

Thump.

When Unhyun got up again, a burly bandit was lunging at him.

‘Ugh!’

Even in the midst of all this, Unhyun quickly dodged.

Thud.

The bandit who had lunged at Unhyun fell awkwardly on the road.

But the bandits following behind were not just one person.

“You!”

Unhyun dodged once more.

But he was already surrounded by the bandits.

“Y, you bastard. Huff, huff… Y, you made me run. Huff, huff…”

The bandit who had blocked his escape threatened Unhyun with a breathless voice.

Unhyun gritted his teeth. There was nothing he could do now.

“Wait a moment,” Unhyun shouted.

The bandits’ attention focused on him, and Unhyun, who was the only one not out of breath, carefully continued.

“I’ll give you all the money I have without hiding anything, so can’t you just leave the luggage alone?”

At Unhyun’s words, the bandits looked at each other.

The word ‘keepsakes’ seemed to bother them.

Then another bandit spoke up.

“Hyung, this guy is playing tricks on us.”

He continued with a sly smile.

“Keepsakes is just an excuse. That luggage must contain valuable items. Look at him offering all his money to protect it.”

“That’s not true!” Unhyun protested, but the bandits’ eyes were already full of suspicion.

Moreover, the bandit wasn’t finished speaking.

“And why should we listen to this guy when it’s going to be ours anyway? We can just take everything.”

The bandits’ eyes began to gleam.

He was right.

Since it was already in their hands, there was no reason for them to accept Unhyun’s offer.

“Yeah. Let’s just beat him up and start.”

Whoosh.

There was no warning.

As soon as the words were spoken, a large bandit swung a huge club.

“Gasp.”

Swish.

However, the club only cut through the air. Unhyun had quickly moved his body to the side.

“Damn it.”

The bandit, who had staggered because Unhyun dodged, gnashed his teeth as if his pride had been hurt.

As if trying to make up for his mistake, he swung the club at Unhyun again.

Whoosh.

“Oh, again?”

This time, too, the club only cut through the air.

Unhyun had slightly twisted his body to avoid the club.

“Hey, you bastard. Can’t you even hit him once?”

“Tsk, tsk, what a waste of a physique. You idiot!”

“Ah, I told you we should leave him out, hyung.”

The faces of the surrounding bandits turned ominous as they snickered.

The bandit holding the club turned red as if he was determined.

He gripped the club with both hands and carefully approached Unhyun.

“Eat this!”

Whoosh.

The club, filled with all his strength, cut through the air.

If hit, his bones would have been broken, but thanks to the full force, Unhyun could predict the direction of the club more easily.

Swish.

Of course, Unhyun avoided the attack, and the bandit fell on his own.

Thud.

“Oops!”

The faces of those surrounding him changed ominously as the bandit tumbled.

Squeak.

The bandit with the sword gestured, and the other bandits tightened their grip on their weapons and surrounded Unhyun.