Perfect plan.
No matter how perfectly you plan in your head, when reality hits, you realize it wasn’t perfect after all.
A plan made with great ambition! My theory was flawless! How could it fail? My confidence is shattered, and I want to curl up in frustration.
But if I curl up, that’s the end of it.
If you’ve faced failure, after taking a deep breath, you need to shake off that feeling of frustration and get back up. You must revise and improve what you thought was a perfect plan and move forward.
“Inma Ilche (人馬一體)! New Hwarinho! Gaaaah!”
Just like my newly revamped Hwarinho.
“What are you talking about? Seriously!”
“Hahaha! Spotted a green head up ahead! Quickly, fire the revolution beam!”
“What is that again!”
“Shoot the new ammo I got!”
“Why didn’t you say that sooner!”
Lady Tang quickly unleashed the newly replenished ammo from her horse.
“Crrack!”
“Kurk!”
Tang’s ammo pierced the vital points of the Green Forest members even while galloping on horseback. Truly, the new armament of the New Hwarinho. A revolutionary beam deserving of completing the revolutionary task successfully.
Perfectly stocked moving artillery! Lady Tang with a magnificent horse of the Three-Month Bloodline, slightly better in performance than my own legs! And piloted by the Inma Ilche knight Kang Yoon-ho.
With sufficient time and budget, plans truly become more perfect.
I charged through the path made by Lady Tang firing the revolution beam, cutting through obstacles with prowess.
———
Taking advantage of the confusion, breaking through the battlefield was instantaneous.
Riding a fine steed and rushing about, I escaped the Black Tiger Society, arriving at a quiet mountain path before I knew it.
The night sky was sparkling with stars, and all you could hear were the sounds of insects, hard to believe we were in the middle of a raucous battlefield just moments ago.
Under normal circumstances, one would be advised to avoid driving on mountain roads at night, but thanks to the well-maintained toll roads of the Black Tiger Society, it seemed easy to escape if I just followed the mountain paths.
“Is this really okay?”
As I thought about not being satisfied with just being the knight of Inma Ilche and learning martial arts that could be used while on horseback like Yongkwon-chamham, Lady Tang spoke from behind.
“Did you want to join the revolution and become a righteous thief or something?”
I saw her eagerly fastening her red scarf because I was wearing a red headband.
“No, not really.”
There was a slight hint of dissatisfaction in Lady Tang’s tone. No way, could it be that you thought about turning the world upside down just because you were unhappy?
“With Chaeyoo and his subordinates being so strong, it would’ve been a Yangpa-guhyung even if they remained.”
Just with Chaeyoo’s strength alone, he could instill fear in the entire Black Tiger Society. I’d rallied them and infused courage, but I had to admit the objective skill gap.
The lacking combat force was filled with postmen, so the revolution would succeed, but being involved might have severely injured both of us.
“Thanks to us, it could’ve been an easy success.”
“Even if the revolution succeeds, what if we then go rob the corrupt officials? How will we handle the aftermath? If everyone is wounded or dead, we’ll have barely anyone left. If the government troops show up, it would be extermination.”
Government troops are inviolable.
The unspoken rule of the Martial Arts world is that the affairs of the government and martial artists do not interfere with each other, but if the Martial Arts world touches the government, that’s a different issue altogether.
Even corrupt public power is still public power. Directly challenging it would call forth a wrath of a million imperial troops; who would be insane enough to be there?
“But you were the one who started the revolution.”
“Aish. I just gave a nudge to the madness. I didn’t start it! And thanks to that, I managed to escape!”
This woman is uttering something dangerous. I merely created chaos to slip out.
I had no intention of becoming a two-time king after a coup!
“If the Hwalbindang robs corrupt officials, wouldn’t you get caught too, Yoon-ho?”
“How would they even know who the mysterious black-haired Kang is?”
“The Hwalbindang people should remember.”
“Didn’t I appoint a new leader for just that reason? That guy will lead the Hwalbindang. Plus, as people betray each other and the leader keeps changing, even if they remember Hong Gildong or the Hwalbindang, they won’t remember who the previous leader was.”
Honestly, there’s no need to worry about this.
While the Green Forest, though powerful, is just one mountain band. The government troops wouldn’t bother putting effort into subduing merely a band of righteous thieves.
“…Is that so?”
Lady Tang accepted my words with a bitter expression. When I stole a glance back at her, she had turned her head to look back the way we came.
Really, you weren’t planning to burn down the entire world that makes me unhappy after hearing my speech, were you!?
“Tang-ah.”
“Hmm?”
“You don’t need to hold a weapon and change the world for happiness. People just need someone to hold their hand. You can rise again and be happy.”
So let’s not have any frightening thoughts. I don’t want to see you turning into a revolutionary Lady Tang after saving her from a grim fate.
Turning her head, Lady Tang met my worried gaze. Had she truly entertained such thoughts?
She wore a slightly surprised expression but quickly nodded, lowering her head shyly.
Did we have a heart-to-heart moment? I looked ahead again, guiding the horse.
“…I don’t know if you’re amazing or crazy.”
She muttered softly, but her tone carried a friendly hint.
“Where else can you find someone as ordinary as me?”
I spoke lightly, like the protagonist in a light novel introducing himself as an ordinary high school student.
“Heh heh. Nonsense.”
Lady Tang laughed at the joke like a charm had fallen away, firmly wrapping her arms around my waist.
There aren’t any front airbags here, but I can sure feel the rear ones.
The ride is so comfy; it seems like we’re in for a safe journey.
As we laughed and joked about whether we should name the horse Biryung, Jojo, Geumseon, or Pungunjaegi, we headed toward Yichang.
*
“Waaaah!”
The Black Tiger Society, having completed the revolution in success. In their midst, the Green Forest members, wearing red headbands, were shouting in celebration.
In the center of the crowd stood a man named Chulrin, who had a red spot somewhere on his body upon birth, his father carelessly naming him Chulrin (赤鱗).
“The leader has left.”
Chulrin calmly conveyed the heavy message to the crowd.
“Why did the leader leave!”
“Did he really run away!”
“The leader disappeared!”
The mountain bandits, intoxicated with victory, turned to Chulrin in surprise.
“If he stayed, he worried he’d become a bourgeois head of the Hwalbindang like the late Chaeyoo. He left everything behind, including any rank, power, and wealth.”
At Chulrin’s words, the Green Forest members in red headbands recalled the leader’s remark that they didn’t need a head for the Hwalbindang.
“So what do we do now?”
“If the leader’s gone, who will lead us!”
“The leader! Why would he leave, while requesting us to uphold the spirit and banner of this revolution! He wished it! I’ve written down his every word and etched them into this red chest. He commanded me to lead the party! So! With this book containing the leader’s words, I will guide you!”
Chulrin held the book filled with Kang Yoon-ho’s words high, showing it to the Hwalbindang members.
“Leader! What do we do from now on!”
A sharp-eyed member of the Green Forest attempted to fawn over the new leader.
“Silence! How can you call me a leader while the true leader is still alive!”
Chulrin barked angrily at the fawning Green Forest member.
“Then what should we call you?”
“I am but the clerk who takes note of all the leader’s words and acts accordingly. So from now on, call me Seogijang! (Secretary-General)”
Chulrin held the book with Kang Yoon-ho’s words close to his heart as if to engrave them into his very soul.
“Seogijang! What shall we do from now on!”
“We will not rob the corrupt officials right away.”
Chulrin explained his plan inside, as some wavered at the unexpected declaration.
“I have sworn to be a righteous thief! How dare we not rob the corrupt officials!”
“Then we’re not revolutionizing at all!”
“If we rob them now, the government troops will show up! And we’ll be unable to carry out the leader’s final command!”
“The leader’s final command was what?”
“Didn’t you all hear? Green Forest members of the Central Plains, unite! Did anyone not understand what that meant? The leader instructed us to educate the small bourgeois before we catch the big bourgeois!”
Chulrin reminded the Hwalbindang members of what Kang Yoon-ho had said, albeit as a mere figure of speech.
“Small bourgeois? But hasn’t the Black Tiger Society now become the Hwalbindang? Isn’t that the end of it?”
“A lot of people misunderstand things! The leader bestowed upon me the duty of Seogijang! We are not yet one party! The Green Forest consists of 72 factions; we are only one party out of 72 right now!”
The Black Tiger Society is indeed one of the strongest factions among the Green Forest, but it is merely one out of 72.
“Unite all Green Forest into one party?”
“Into one single party?”
“That’s the leader’s wish to make all of Green Forest into the Hwalbindang?”
All members of the Hwalbindang, realizing the true meaning behind their leader’s words, looked at the Seogijang in astonished disbelief.
“Before catching the big bourgeois, we will first educate the small bourgeois in the 71 factions!”
“The day the Green Forest becomes one party! As the true one party! We will turn this world upside down as the Hwalbindang!”
“Woaaah! Seo Chulrin Seogijang! Truly the person designated by the leader!”
“Seo Chulrin Seogijang will lead us!”
“Wait!!! From now on, I am Chulrin (赤鱗) with the surname Su. I am not Soo Chulrin (洙赤鱗)!”
Chulrin raised his hand, stopping the Hwalbindang members’ cheers.
“Soo Chulrin? Are you seriously discarding your name?”
“Indeed! The leader gently touched my face, causing my red scales to shed! And thus! He made me truly a person of one party!”
“Made you?”
Chulrin, placing his fist on his chest like the vanished leader, opened his mouth to announce his new name to all the Hwalbindang members.
“From today onward, you shall call me Su Tal-lin (洙脫鱗), Seogijang!”
*
With Lady Tang’s fully loaded ammo, a fine steed, a hefty purse, and rear airbags for safety.
With everything sorted, we arrived at Yichang without a care.
“Over there, that big house is my maternal grandfather’s place.”
The impressive mansion visible in the distance looked like the kind of place where a generous owner would lend out a printing press after hearing that their granddaughter needed help.
“Good work.”
“…You too.”
Lady Tang clung tightly to me so as not to fall off the horse. While I wanted to enjoy the soft sensation of the airbags on my back, this truly was the end of our journey.
I arrived at the mansion with a mix of joy and disappointment.
“Damn it! This is mine!”
“I got it first!”
“How could you clean out everything from the storeroom?”
What’s going on now?
Upon arriving, I saw the main gate broken, and a crowd of people was fighting over the household items inside.
“What is going on here?”
I asked a man watching the situation with a stern face in front of the door.
“Do you know the mansion’s owner?”
I directed the man’s gaze to Lady Tang, indicating she was related.
“Yes. He’s my maternal grandfather.”
Lady Tang nervously glanced into the mansion and replied.
“Hey!!! The family of this house has shown up!!!”
The man shouted loudly to the crowd inside the mansion.
“What? Really?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the granddaughter! The daughter of that woman!”
The crowd inside the mansion quickly surrounded us.
This isn’t a mountain bandit group; what kind of nonsense is this?
“What’s happening here?”
I asked the well-dressed man representing the situation.
“Name!”
The well-dressed man irritably looked up at us and asked for Lady Tang’s name.
“Excuse me?”
“What’s your name?”
“Tang Hwa-rin.”
“Tang, Tang, Tang! Here you are! Lady Tang Hwa-rin. After marriage, her mother changed her surname to Hwa-rin, inheriting a bookstore on the main street as her estate.”
The man flipped through a book he was holding, confirming that Lady Tang belonged to this family. By the way, inheritance?
“What on earth is going on here?!”
I shouted fiercely at the absurd situation, but the man responded with equal intensity.
“The mansion owner died of illness two months ago! The daughter appeared and bolted with our property without paying back any debts! If you’re the granddaughter, repay our debts!”
