The master of Aso Stronghold—Gwang Hyeol-chang (Broad-Blooded Spear).
One of the Eighteen Heroes of the Green Forest.
He carried three long spears on his back and two short spears at his waist, and had once served in the military.
Stationed at the foremost front lines of the Northern Expeditionary Armies, he had started from the lowest rank and, in just ten years, risen to the position of Commander of Five Hundred—leading five hundred men under his command.
But for a man of his station, that was the limit.
Nobles with neither skill nor experience were appointed as Commanders of One Thousand purely because of their family connections, sending him again and again into suicidal missions. In the end, he abandoned the army.
Though he had returned alive from countless near-death situations, the meaningless deaths of subordinates he cherished had left him seething with rage.
Like many career soldiers who leave the army and find civilian life difficult, Gwang Hyeol-chang was no exception.
He moved from martial sect to martial arts hall to escort company, only to find that each was full of arrogant youngsters flaunting their so-called postnatal talent and lording it over others. Disgusted, he walked away from them all.
He became a Green Forest bandit—answerable to no one, bound by neither manners nor hollow principles, where only martial skill determined how far a man could rise.
He was, to the bone, a man born to the outlaw's path.
The deputy chief approached Gwang Hyeol-chang quickly and asked,
"Are you injured, by any chance?"
Seeing steam rising from the blood-soaked clothes of his chief, the deputy worried.
Gwang Hyeol-chang tossed aside the severed head he was carrying.
"It's not my blood. It's the blood of those escort warriors who rushed at me without knowing their place. Heh heh… I killed them all for the crime of insulting us."
Even in the harsh winds of February, he wore only a sleeveless vest, his massive arm muscles bulging as he shook the blood from his spear before slotting it back over his shoulder. Then he frowned.
By the still-blazing wagon, a cluster of porters stood huddled together.
"What's this? This place hasn't been dealt with yet?"
There was irritation in his voice. The deputy chief quickly replied,
"One of the porters said he had something to say to you, Chieftain…"
The corner of Gwang Hyeol-chang's mouth twitched—that was a bad sign.
"Deputy Chief, I already gave the order to leave no one alive. To send a warning to the merchant groups and escort companies who scheme to avoid paying our tolls! Do you still not understand how they've been mocking us all this time?"
As his voice rose, the deputy flinched and bowed his head.
"How could I not understand? But please—hear me out for a moment."
The deputy recounted, without leaving out a single detail, everything Cheon Ryu-yeong had said and done. A flicker of interest passed through Gwang Hyeol-chang's eyes.
"Four reasons, you say?"
"Yes. I thought there'd be no harm in waiting for you to arrive before deciding what to do with him."
"Hmm… I see. Interesting."
Stroking his half-white beard, Gwang Hyeol-chang strode toward Cheon Ryu-yeong's group.
Seven feet tall and solid muscle from head to toe, he radiated the oppressive presence of a moving mountain.
His gaze swept over the porters before stopping on Cheon Ryu-yeong, who stood in the middle with a faint smile. Among the trembling, terrified men, this one's composure was both irritating and—strangely—commendable.
Eyes neither too big nor too small, lids slightly drooping under gently curved brows, a straight nose of moderate height, lips of moderate fullness, and a face somewhere between oval and round.
The sort of ordinary face one could see anywhere on a busy street—except for the sharp, clear light in his eyes, which Gwang Hyeol-chang found pleasing.
"So you're the one who claims there are four reasons for us to spare your lives?"
Cheon Ryu-yeong clasped his fists respectfully.
"I pay my respects to Chieftain Gwang Hyeol-chang, first among the Eighteen Heroes of the Green Forest."
"First, eh… You've honeyed your tongue well, flatterer."
The sharp rebuke made the porters' faces go pale. One who had barely managed to stand after falling on his backside promptly sat down again.
But Cheon Ryu-yeong's expression did not change, which only made Gwang Hyeol-chang raise his voice further.
"You are wrong. The chief of all the Green Forest, my sworn father, the Supreme Green Forest Chief, is still very much alive. You would have me diminish my own father by calling me the first?"
Cheon Ryu-yeong scratched his temple and replied,
"The man holding the lives of myself and my ten companions right now is you, Chieftain. At this moment, to us, you are equal to King Yama of the underworld himself. As great as the Supreme Chief's fame may be, surely you wouldn't compare him to King Yama?"
"Hah!"
Gwang Hyeol-chang let out a laugh of involuntary admiration. Clever wordplay, but skillfully flattering nonetheless.
"You have a gift for speech. But don't think that such sweet words will save you. I've hated flatterers all my life—you've picked the wrong approach."
The deputy chief and the other bandits grimaced, realizing they'd made a mistake. Gwang Hyeol-chang valued bold, straightforward men and despised those whose words were empty.
Yet Cheon Ryu-yeong's flattery continued.
"Of course. There's no way the great Chieftain Gwang Hyeol-chang would be swayed by such hollow talk."
"Hmph! You mean to toy with me to the end with your three-inch tongue. Enough of this worthless chatter—give me a concrete reason why you should live—"
Cheon Ryu-yeong cut him off with a serious tone.
"That is the first reason."
Forgetting to be angry at the interruption, Gwang Hyeol-chang blinked.
"What? That's your first reason?"
The bandits and porters alike stared, bewildered.
"Yes. As you yourself just said—flattery is just empty words. You're not the sort to be deceived by it. What matters is gaining practical benefit. That is why you should spare us."
"...?"
"Would you throw away much for the sake of little?"
Everyone fell silent, listening to his clear, ringing voice.
"You could kill us all and send a warning to the merchant groups and escort companies that use this road. But then what?"
The deputy chief couldn't resist interjecting.
"What do you mean, 'then what'? They'd never dare try such tricks again."
Cheon Ryu-yeong shook his head.
"That's a naive thought. The people of the world will condemn Aso Stronghold for massacring an entire escort company."
"What nonsense! Every one of them made a verbal agreement to pay the toll for using Mount Aso. You broke it first with your schemes."
"That's true. But people care more about results than process."
Gwang Hyeol-chang scoffed.
"I've never feared the world's opinion."
"That's not my point. I'm talking about what happens next. No merchant group or escort company will pass through Mount Aso again."
"...!"
"Because even though Jinshan Escort Company broke the agreement, they'll still present themselves as the victims and slander Aso Stronghold. The others who used this detour before will join them. You're bound to Mount Aso, but they're spread all across the land. They can shape the rumors however they please."
Gwang Hyeol-chang's face hardened.
"But they can't move goods without passing through us—"
"They can forgo these routes for several years. The sympathy they gain will bring them more than enough work elsewhere."
The bandits' eyes wavered.
If things unfolded that way, they'd be left to starve.
"The agreement was broken by the merchants and escorts first, but without any survivors to testify why you killed them all, the story could easily be twisted to paint them as the victims."
The air was heavy with silence until Gwang Hyeol-chang spoke again.
"So you're saying I should keep you alive so the world knows why this happened."
Cheon Ryu-yeong clapped his hands and smiled.
"Exactly. We'll spread the truth on our way home. If you don't trust us, send your men to follow us secretly. Then the world's blame will fall on the escort company and the merchants, not Aso Stronghold."
"..."
"For the cost of sparing just eleven porters, you can gain both honor and advantage."
Gwang Hyeol-chang folded his arms, looking at Cheon Ryu-yeong with new eyes.
"Jinshan Escort Company had a jewel and didn't know it. To use a man like you as a porter… heh heh heh."
In his gaze, Gwang Hyeol-chang saw a reflection of his own past—no matter what merits he earned, those above had never recognized him.
Shaking off his thoughts, Gwang Hyeol-chang spoke.
"Very well. Then what's your second reason for sparing you?"
"We have already given your honorable stronghold no small amount of profit."
His brows furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
The deputy chief quickly supplied the answer.
"He must mean putting out the fires."
At that, Gwang Hyeol-chang snorted.
"Hmph! Even without you, we would have extinguished them ourselves."
"That's true. But the host and the guest are different."
"The host and the guest?"
"Yes. We knew exactly which wagons carried the most valuable goods. That's why we put out the fires on those first."
"Heh… Whereas we, as outsiders, might have put them out at random, losing the valuable ones in the process—so that's what you mean."
Cheon Ryu-yeong nodded.
"We worked for the benefit of your stronghold. So… must you really kill us?"
Gwang Hyeol-chang stood with arms folded, silent for a moment, then spoke.
"You only did it to save yourselves. We didn't order you to."
The bandits chuckled in agreement with their chief's words. But Cheon Ryu-yeong put on a sorrowful expression.
"Is that wrong?"
"What?"
"Is it wrong to struggle desperately to survive? If we had the strength, we would have fought alongside the escorts. But… we don't have that strength. So we did what we could to live. Just to see our families again, we clung to the faintest shred of hope. Is that really something to be mocked?"
"…"
"I admit the second reason is the weakest of my four. But… it is also the most urgent. Because we must live. No matter what, we must live."
A few of the porters lowered their heads, eyes reddening. Seeing this, the bandits who had been snickering pressed their lips shut. Even the most hardened rogue had—or once had—a family.
A subdued mood began to ripple through the air.
Gwang Hyeol-chang worked his mouth for a moment, then let out an unreadable sigh.
"I want to hear the third reason."
His voice had lost much of its earlier edge.
Thinking of his widowed mother and younger sister, Cheon Ryu-yeong fought to keep the sting out of his nose and said evenly,
"The first reason was to point out the danger your stronghold would face and urge you to secure both honor and future profit. The second was about immediate gain and our desperate need to live. The third…"
Both porters and bandits swallowed, eyes fixed on him, wondering what would come next.
Cheon Ryu-yeong drew a deep breath and continued.
"The third is about the ambition of you, Chieftain, and of Aso Stronghold."
Gwang Hyeol-chang's eyes flashed.
"My ambition, and the stronghold's?"
"Do you not wish to become the Supreme Green Forest Chief, master of the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds?"
Every gaze swung toward him, wide-eyed.
"Living freely at the fringes of the continent isn't bad… but wouldn't you like to rise to the very top? To make your stronghold one that all outlaws in the land look up to? As a man born into this world, is it not a worthy dream?"
"...!"
Everyone held their breath. For a mere porter to say such a thing—it was staggering, almost absurd.
Gwang Hyeol-chang suddenly threw back his head and roared with laughter.
"Hahahaha! Kahahahaha!"
Bandits and porters alike stared, eyes darting between the laughing chieftain and Cheon Ryu-yeong's serious expression.
After half a minute of wild laughter, Gwang Hyeol-chang fixed his gaze on him.
"So you're saying you can make that happen?"
"I can only offer advice. The choice is yours, Chieftain."
"I've accepted your first two reasons. But the third is wrong."
Cheon Ryu-yeong straightened his back and asked,
"You have no ambition in your heart?"
"No! Of course my heart burns hotter than anyone's. But! It's something that must not be done. The next Supreme Chief will be chosen between my two sworn elder brothers."
It was common knowledge that the chieftains of Bangju Stronghold and Suhan Stronghold were locked in a fierce contest for succession.
Gwang Hyeol-chang shook his head.
"The fight for the successor is already chaotic enough. If I jumped in, I'd only end up killed by the two brothers joining forces against me."
Cheon Ryu-yeong smiled faintly and stepped closer.
"All I need is a quarter of an hour. Will you take a short walk nearby with me? If your mind hasn't changed by then, I'll give up."
"…!"
"I've staked my life on these four reasons. Can't you spare even that little time?"
Gwang Hyeol-chang chewed his lip, then—as if bewitched—fell in beside Cheon Ryu-yeong.
Bandits and porters alike stared in blank astonishment.
Moments ago they had been predator and prey. Now they walked side by side like old comrades.
The deputy chief scratched his head and asked the porters,
"What is that fellow's real identity? I've never met anyone like him in my life."
The youngest porter, startled from his daze, blurted out,
"A porter."
"…"
The deputy chief's expression twisted, but the porters had nothing more to say—they had never seen Cheon Ryu-yeong like this before either.
One thing, however, was certain.
Cheon Ryu-yeong—
He was a man whose true worth emerged in a crisis. And Jinshan Escort Company had no idea they had been neglecting such a talent.
The youngest, in particular, kept turning over Cheon Ryu-yeong's earlier words in his mind.
"The vessel was too large to see. Not just for Jinshan Escort Company, but for me, and for everyone around him."