Chapter 4

“…It was brother, wasn’t it?”

But as the saying goes, like brother, like sister. As sharp‑witted as Jaheon, Choseon pinpointed precisely who was behind the change of village headman.

“……”

Jaheon, who had been humming, grew quiet, watching Choseon’s face. At this, Choseon sighed. It was about time the siblings moved again. There was no one left in the village who didn’t know of Choseon and Jaheon.

Still, Choseon had not expected her brother to give the headman a timely fright. But who could stop her brother? In matters that concerned Choseon, not even Choseon herself could stop Jaheon.

“Brother.”

“Y‑yeah?”

Half resigned, Choseon asked with heavy‑lidded eyes,

“There won’t be any harm done to you, right?”

At that, color returned to Jaheon’s face as he gauged her reaction.

“’Course not. And Choseon, that old man—was it only once or twice he tried to drive me out and sell you off?”

Though Jaheon yielded everything to Choseon in daily life, he yielded not an inch in matters touching her safety or reputation. He had even handled “that matter” perfectly.

“In some sense, it was divine punishment.”

Watching Jaheon solemnly disparage the headman, Choseon added sternly,

“…Even so, please refrain from doing anything that might cause trouble.”

Choseon always trusted Jaheon.

Her brother would never do anything that would harm her. From the moment Choseon possessed memories, this had been the unwavering trust she held in him. But Jaheon was hard on himself.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Knowing this, Choseon spoke quietly. After a long silence, Jaheon opened his mouth.

“Choseon.”

“…?”

Startled by a gravity she had never seen in her brother before, Choseon looked puzzled.

“When I said this brother would tell you when he was ready.”

“…?”

“…May I tell you now?”

At Jaheon’s question, Choseon nodded. Hesitating, Jaheon sighed and began.

“The Registrar of Bing Province has no daughter and is said to be seeking an adopted girl.”

“……”

Adopted daughter.

How could she not know what that word meant. Thanks to her looks, she had heard it hundreds of times; in truth, it meant they wanted to buy her.

“…And the headman said he could recommend you as an adopted daughter. The details, he wrote, would be decided after the Registrar saw your face and observed your conduct.”

Choseon, who had been silent, asked in a voice with her head bowed and bowed again.

Registrar.

Choseon did not know the bureaucracy in detail, but if Jaheon spoke thus, it could not be a low post. Living with Jaheon and suffering all manner of hardships, she had thought herself inured to almost everything. It seemed she could not be indifferent to her brother speaking of sending her away. Her lowered voice trembled.

“…Brother, are you thinking of sending me away?”

But Jaheon answered firmly.

“No. This brother has no thought of sending you to another.”

“…!”

“Not a hair’s breadth, unless you desire it.”

Choseon lifted her head.

“However, this brother intends to use you as the pretext to meet the Registrar.”

Tears welled in Choseon’s eyes as she looked at him.

“To become his retainer‑guest.”

Retainer‑guest.

It referred to those who pledged service to a renowned official or a noble scion and were received as honored guests in their household, with room and board provided in exchange for their loyalty.

“If I become a great man’s retainer‑guest, we won’t have to wander anymore, and we can avoid those meaningless marriage proposals constantly raining down on you.”

“……”

“But, only….”

Jaheon’s throat tightened.

Recalling the future in which Choseon became Wang Yun’s adopted daughter, his eyes reddened. To escape that future, he had to roll himself into the arms of the very man who had created it—what sense did that make? And yet, without using Wang Yun, there was no way to break from that future.

“…There may come times when this worthless brother has to use you, just as he is now.”

With a distorted expression, Jaheon barely managed to speak to Choseon. He was deeply ashamed that he could offer her only such vague words.

“But when all of this is over…”

His voice shook with raw feeling.

“You and I will be able to live in peace.”

At that voice, Choseon remembered.

The day the village burned at the hands of bandits and their parents passed away.

—From now on, I will never leave you again.

The day her brother, face wet with tears, swore to her. All the sudden anxieties that had surged up at this unexpected talk gradually melted away.

“Then please promise me just one thing instead.”

Thus Choseon smiled calmly.

“Don’t get hurt.”

Offering the same answer she always had. At those words, Jaheon’s emotions surged up; his eyes flushed red. He grasped Choseon’s small hand.

“Choseon.”

Jaheon knew the future.

He knew a future where, as chaos arrived, countless commoners and countless soldiers would die meaningless deaths. He knew a future where, because his sister was beautiful, she would be toyed with by old men.

“…From now on, the hardships that come to us will be of a different kind than the hardships we met while wandering the world.”

Such is an age of turmoil.

It is a time when the lives of those of humble status, like Jaheon and Choseon, are treated as less than ants.

“Therefore, I ask you as well.”

For that reason, Jaheon intended to obtain power.

“No matter what happens, believe that I will come back to you.”

In this age of chaos, he intended to obtain the power to raise Choseon to the highest of ranks.

Thus, the journey of Jaheon and Choseon to Jinyang was decided.

The center of Bing Province, Jinyang.

It was because Wang Yun, the Registrar, was staying there. Once it was decided that Jaheon would set out with Choseon, the villagers—who had trembled with fear of Jaheon—cheered sincerely.

But among them, there was precisely one person

who felt genuine regret at Jaheon’s departure.

It was Go Sun.

“Will I really be unable to see you for a while, big brother?”

He was a young boy who always trailed after Jaheon.

“Seems that way.”

“Are you not the least bit sorry to part with me, big brother?”

“No.”

“Biiig brooother!”

Go Sun truly regretted parting from Jaheon. Wasn’t Jaheon the only one in the village who took Go Sun’s side? Pouting, Go Sun asked,

“When you leave, who will take my side?”

Jaheon answered offhandedly,

“You can take your own side.”

“…That’s only possible for someone like you, big brother! A guy like me… a guy like me….”

Go Sun had been raised by a widowed mother. He had no relatives either. In this Han where everything ran on school ties, regional ties, and blood ties, though he was not a slave, he was treated little better.

“…I can’t bend like you can, big brother.”

That was why Go Sun liked Jaheon.

Though Jaheon’s background was no better than Go Sun’s, Jaheon had never once cowered before the villagers. If anything, he made others cower. Fixing his gaze on Go Sun, Jaheon offered an extremely simple solution.

“Cultivate a wicked heart.”

Of course, it was a method only Jaheon could suggest.

“…?”

“Climb the mountain every day and train your martial skills and body. Become strong, and do to those who bully you exactly as they do to you.”

But Jaheon’s face was brazen.

“Then you’ll become the byword for terror, and in the end no one will bully you.”

Go Sun cried out in disbelief,

“That’s exactly the kind of thing only you can do, big brother!”

It was enough to drive one mad and make one stomp one’s feet. Wasn’t Jaheon the one whose cunning was sharp enough to take the wind out of even a flourishing clan, and whose nimbleness let him elude pursuers with ease. Without Jaheon, his future was obvious. Go Sun was clever, but not like Jaheon. If he relied only on brute force, one day he would be hauled off by the authorities and die. Crestfallen, Go Sun muttered,

“Forget it. Without you, big brother, my life will just go back to how it used to be.”

Clicking his tongue at this sight, Jaheon called to him.

“…Sun-ah.”

“Do you think calling me that will make me come around?!”

“Why, haven’t you already come around?”

“That’s only when you’re here, big brother!”

By nature, Jaheon was not one to grow attached to anything except Choseon—be it man or beast.

“Don’t worry.”

Attachment only ever ends up grabbing one by the ankle someday. And yet, for some reason, he wanted to grow attached to Go Sun. Perhaps he had been attached even before he recalled the modern man’s memories. Because this brat Go Sun had no interest in Choseon. That alone meant he was worthy of attachment. For not being a lecher who ogled Choseon, he was worthy of attachment.

So Jaheon spoke of the future that was to come.

“Soon an age will arrive when people will be used regardless of base or noble birth. If you hone your abilities….”

The age of chaos to come would be a world where even a Son of Heaven could not endure without ability. If one had ability, one could be valued highly. What reason was there that Go Sun could not be employed? Come to think of it, in the Three Kingdoms there had been a general named Go Sun….

“……?”

Jaheon suddenly remembered.

“Go Sun?”

And he stared at the Go Sun before him.

A grubby young boy stared back at him with shining eyes. Come to think of it, this boy’s wits were quite keen. And not just that. His reflexes were almost inhuman. Considering how many scrapes he and Jaheon had gotten into together without once being caught.

To be frank, Jaheon had used Go Sun as bait and bolted more than once or twice.

And yet Go Sun had returned alive every time.

“In that case, this brat….”

Moreover, the village where Jaheon and Choseon were staying was in Bing Province. Bing Province was Lü Bu’s homeland, and Go Sun was Lü Bu’s stalwart retainer. Go Sun, too, was a native of Bing Province. That is to say, Go Sun—the renowned general whose name would be widely known to later generations despite being Lü Bu’s loyal retainer—

“Is he the real Go Sun?”

It meant that the boy before his eyes might be that very one.

Footnotes:

1. “Retainer‑guest” translates the classical practice of keeping talented followers as honored household guests (문객), common among officials and great families; such clients provided counsel or service in exchange for patronage and protection.