Chapter 3 Pinwheel

My hometown, Western Village, was as unremarkable as its name suggested, a place with nothing to boast of. The farmland was quite vast, but the soil was poor, so the harvest was small. There were no scenic views worth visiting.

The surrounding mountains were high and rugged, but they could not compare to the Five Great Peaks. The stream winding through the village was too narrow and shallow for boats. Looking back, it's a wonder that some twenty households managed to live together in such a barren place.

The hometown I returned to after only ten years had changed beyond recognition. The path from the main road was different. The narrow mountain path had been widened enough for two carriages to pass.

The sight that greeted me at the end of the road was also incredibly unfamiliar and complex. High buildings and pavilions, proper shops lining the main street, a road bustling with pedestrians, an escort agency's carts, a brothel...

“A brothel.

What in the world..." Walking amidst the crowd and looking around, I was so bewildered that I rubbed my eyes and looked again. No matter how many times I looked, it was a real brothel.

The sun had not yet set, so no red lanterns were hung, but the magnificent eight-story pavilion was clearly the kind of brothel one would only see in a large city. Feeling lost, I stood to one side for a moment before heading to a stall right in front of me.

"Let me ask you something."

"Ah, yes. What can I help you with?"

The shabby-looking stall owner, who seemed to be in his forties, quickly raised his head. After a quick glance up and down, he noticed the sword at my waist, flinching and looking away.

"Is this Western Village?"

"That's right."

"Since when has it been so prosperous?"

"Well, this is my third year here, and it was already about this size back then. I came because I heard it was a good place to make a living..."

The answers were similar when I asked other stall owners and shops. How could this remote village, from which it took at least two full days of walking at the fastest pace to reach a town with a physician, change so much? And in just ten years.

I would have been less surprised if the villagers had been wiped out by a flood or a plague and the place had become ruins. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't believe it. It felt like I was having a strange dream with my eyes wide open.

Nowhere could I find the hometown I once knew. Among the many pedestrians buying, selling, and browsing, there wasn't a single familiar face. I wondered if I would even recognize anyone from my hometown if I met them.

After all, I had changed beyond recognition myself. The small boy who had lost his parents long ago and was forced to leave his home, led away by a fake relative, had returned as a martial artist reeking of blood.

It should have been me returning in glory, but the fact that it was my hometown that had become so successful left a strange, bitter taste in my mouth. * Fortunately, the lay of the mountains and the river remained the same. Once I left the bustling streets, the scenery of my remembered hometown slowly came into view.

My feet naturally led me to Sister Soso's house. Since the village is so prosperous, she must still be living well, right? Even if she married into another village, Sister Soso's parents would still be here.

My heart swelled with emotion at the thought of seeing Uncle and Auntie again. No matter how much I had changed, those two would surely welcome me warmly. Just like when they took me in without a moment's hesitation after I became an orphan, having lost my parents in a flood.

Even if Western Village was no longer the hometown I once knew, that alone would be enough. My quickened steps of anticipation froze in front of a gate with one of its doors torn off. As I stepped inside, the yard where they used to let the chickens roam freely was overgrown with weeds.

The three-room house was also broken and full of holes here and there, as if it hadn't been touched by human hands for a long time.

"Sister! Uncle! Auntie!"

I called out, but only a heavy silence answered. I stood dumbfounded in front of the abandoned, ruined house. In the countless nightmares I'd had until now, I might have been soaked in blood, but Sister Soso's family was always fine.

There was never anything like this.

Never...

I stepped on the stone step and entered the house. With a nervous heart, I opened the door to a room. There were no corpses.

No severed limbs, no traces of a bloody battle where blood had dried. It seemed I had been tense with the thought that I might see the bodies of Sister Soso's family. A sigh escaped me, and my shoulders slumped.

Not a single useful household item like blankets, clothes, pots, or bowls remained. It looked like they had packed everything when they left. Or perhaps a thief had swept through.

Sunlight poured through the window, its lattice and paper torn away.

Swoosh.

Drawn by the refreshing sound, I turned to see the bamboo forest on the back mountain swaying in the wind. As I stared blankly at the nostalgic and heartwarming scene, something suddenly crossed my mind. I went into the small room where I used to stay.

I opened the wardrobe, which was much smaller and older than I remembered, and reached my hand toward the top.

It's here.

The hair on my head stood on end, and my heart pounded. I took out a small wooden box and wiped the dust off with my hand. As I opened the lid, a part of my memories that had been waiting for me in this very spot since I left came back to life, perfectly preserved.

A pinwheel with wings made from folded bamboo leaves, pinned to a bamboo stick with a needle. Sister Soso had skillfully made this for me when we were all gathering bamboo shoots in the forest. The memory from that distant time was as vivid as if it were yesterday.

When I was being helplessly dragged away by that scum of a fake relative, I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't take it with me. I had been so regretful and resentful, but now I felt it was better that I had left it behind.

If I had taken it then, it probably would have been lost or broken long ago. Holding the pinwheel, I blew on it with a whoosh. It spun a few times before a wing fell off.

"Oh."

I quickly picked it up and carefully reattached it to the bamboo. After looking at it for a long while, I placed the pinwheel back in the wooden box. My hand, clutching the box, trembled.

Sister Soso, Uncle, and Auntie. Where did they go, abandoning the house they had lived in for generations? Did they turn their backs on their hometown like me?

Or perhaps...

I shook my head, clearing away the premature speculations, and went outside. Leaving the gate, I ran along the path. I felt a sense of urgency.

The people of my hometown would know. They would know what happened to Sister Soso's family. Following my memory, I went to the houses of familiar neighbors, but there wasn't a single face I knew.

It wasn't just Sister Soso's family that had disappeared from my hometown. The houses of other villagers were either abandoned or occupied by unfamiliar outsiders who said they had moved in a few years ago. Every single house, without exception.

What happened to the villagers who used to live there? Everyone just shook their heads, saying they didn't know. Only one old man, who seemed quite stern, vaguely remembered the situation.

"I heard that during a severe famine, they all sold their houses and land and left..."

"A famine? Do you know where they went?"

"That I don't know. It happened a few years before we moved in."

"Who did you hear this from?"

"I heard it from the broker who introduced me to this house."

"What was the broker's name?"

"Who was it now..."

The old man frowned and tilted his head, as if trying to recall something that didn't come to mind easily. His eyes, however, kept darting to the long blade at my waist. It seemed he had opened his mouth, glad to have someone to talk to after a long time, but was now hesitant, worried about getting into unnecessary trouble.

I stared at him intently, waiting for an answer. Unable to withstand the silent pressure, the old man let out a long sigh as if in defeat.

"... Was it Yeon Jin-won, or Yeon Jin-hyeon? Anyway, that's what I heard. You should be able to find him if you go to the market street in the bustling part of town and ask around."

It wasn't uncommon for a small village to disappear due to a famine. I, too, would have had to wander as a beggar after losing my parents in the flood if Sister Soso's family hadn't taken me in. It wouldn't be strange if such a disaster had befallen the entire village.

My family's house, which had been destroyed in the flood, was now a ruin covered in undergrowth. The roof and walls had all been washed away, with only faint traces remaining. My parents had been swept away by a landslide while trying to move grain from the storeroom.

Two days after the rain stopped, with the help of the villagers, we managed to recover their bodies and bury them in the mountain. I was sure I had erected a small gravestone made of a wooden plank, but I couldn't find my parents' graves.

Ten years is enough time for the terrain to shift slightly from several floods and for a wooden gravestone to rot away. After wandering through a field of weeds that came up to my waist, I gave up and sat on a rock. As I wiped my sweat and drank some water, I felt a presence in the distance.

I held my breath and sharpened my senses. Beneath the chirping of mountain birds, there was a faint, regular vibration of the ground being struck. It wasn't an animal.

It was human movement. Shouldering my pack, I stealthily approached the source of the sound. Over a wooded hill, I saw a group of men gathered in the distance.

All five of them had swords at their waists and backs, and they were chuckling with villainous faces. Thinking they might be bandits, I watched them quietly. I could see someone among the men digging the ground.

Only that young man had a different expression from the others. With a pale face, he trembled as he continued to dig. Whenever his shoveling paused even for a moment, the other men would fiercely threaten and mock him.

I could guess what was going on. It seemed they had dragged a delinquent debtor here and were scaring him by making him think he was about to be buried alive.

When I was at the gambling den, I had seen them drag incorrigible debtors to the mountains like this a few times to forcefully instill in them a will to live. I shook my head bitterly and was about to retreat when I froze. It wasn't that a sense of pity or justice had been stirred.

The face of the man digging the ground seemed somehow familiar. The guys with the swords were clearly outsiders, but that man strangely seemed to be in my faint memories. It was a small village with only about twenty households.

If he was really from my hometown, there was no way I wouldn't recognize him. I stared intently, comparing his face to my memories from ten years ago. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out who he was.

Seeing as I didn't feel any particular sense of recognition, maybe it was a mistake. He could just have a face that resembled someone from my hometown. I had no intention of getting involved in this mess and risking my life in a sword fight just to find out who that man was.

It was obvious they had brought him here to scare him. Even if they killed and buried him, it was none of my business. Cautiously concealing my presence, I retreated the way I came.

I went down the mountain and returned to Sister Soso's house. Though it was old and broken in many places, the roof and walls were intact. The pillars and beams were also sturdy.

If I just repaired the broken doors and windows and cleaned up, it would be more than enough for me to live alone. I could leave the collapsed wall as it was. As I was setting up one of the torn-off doors, I noticed a piece of faded cloth attached to it.

It was tattered and frayed from the wind and rain, but the words written on it were still legible. 'This house is the property of the Righteous Fortune Merchant Guild. Trespassing is forbidden.

Those wishing to purchase should inquire at the guild.' Did they really sell the house and leave? I suppose I'll find out from now on.

I tore off the piece of cloth, tucked it into my robes, and turned to head toward the bustling street. Avoiding the crowded town center, I entered a quiet inn located on the outskirts, near the farmland.

"Welcome!"

A young waiter ran out from the kitchen. From the entrance, I quickly scanned the interior. It was an awkward time for dinner, so the spacious inn had guests at only two tables.

On the kitchen side were two men who looked like farmers. In the seats by the back door, preferred by martial artists, sat three men who looked like thugs. I chose a seat by the window overlooking the road, farthest from the back door.

I untied the long blade from behind my waist and leaned it against the chair next to me. The waiter came with a teapot and a teacup.

"This village has changed a lot."

"Are you from here, Great Hero?"

"I left when I was a child. Were you born here?"

The waiter looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. If he was from my hometown, he would have been a snot-nosed kid ten years ago, so it was possible I wouldn't recognize him.

"No. I don't really know where my hometown is, but I wasn't born here. Would you like to order?"

"Any empty rooms?"

"Of course. How many days are you planning to stay?"

"About two days. And please have some bathwater brought up in the evening."

"Yes, I'll see to it. Will you be eating right away?"

"A catty of boiled pork, dumplings, and stir-fried vegetables. As for wine... never mind."

I put down two coins, a gesture to tell him not to mess with the food. Wiping the table with a cloth, the waiter expertly pocketed the money.

"Thank you, Great Hero. I'll bring your food right out."

I quenched my thirst with cheap tea that had almost no scent or flavor and watched the scene outside the window. Unfamiliar faces flowed fleetingly between unfamiliar buildings. Where could Sister Soso have gone?

I should look for her after I finish my meal. That broker, Yeon Jin-won or Jin-hyeon, and the Righteous Fortune Merchant Guild...

"Hey, you over there."

Even though there were two farmers in the inn and no name was mentioned, it was obvious who they were talking to. With the teacup still in my hand, I turned my head. One of the idiots sitting by the back door was glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

He had been glancing at me ever since I entered the inn, and it seemed he had decided I was an easy mark to try his luck with. For guys like that, this is their job.

Scoundrels who live by drinking in an inn from broad daylight and picking fights with anyone who looks like an easy target to squeeze some money out of. To get tangled up with these half-wits when I haven't even been in my hometown for a full day... This is driving me crazy.

How on earth did my hometown of Western Village become like this? A sigh escaped me on its own.