The Sleeping Beast of Jiujiang
Darkness filled a secret chamber in a rear hall of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion's back garden. Ouyang Qiangang drew the last golden needle from So Jin-woo's wrist. He no longer relied on Akasha's nanobots—with the profound acupuncture he had awakened to in the Life-and-Death Realm, he opened So Jin-woo's blocked meridians and poured in pure qi refined to the depth of a full sixty-year cycle, bridging the man's severed life force.
"He has passed the critical point." Ouyang Qiangang continued, looking to the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy, who had been watching with bated breath at his side. "After a day or so of deep sleep, he will regain consciousness. So long as he minds his recovery afterward, in about a month he should be able to move without difficulty."
"…Thank you, young master."
"Now I would like to collect my fee for the commission, Pavilion Master." Ouyang Qiangang turned the conversation to his original purpose. "We should move somewhere else for that, I take it?"
The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy smiled and led the way out of the room.
Once they had settled in the tea room, she handed him a cup of clear tea she had brewed herself and began to speak. "The old master Ju Pyo, the One Hand of Heaven and Earth, was last seen several years ago on the banks of Jiujiang, north of Poyang Lake. The witness was Sangchwi-gae No Hae, the Beggars' Gang's Jiujiang branch leader."
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes sharpened. "So you have obtained intelligence from within the Beggars' Gang itself. I cannot even begin to fathom where your information network ends, Pavilion Master."
"You must be curious how I came by it, but I would ask you to tuck that question away in your heart." The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy went on with a playful smile. "That, too, is one of my trade secrets."
Ouyang Qiangang smiled in return and answered in an even voice. "Of course. I have never explained the origins of my martial arts or my medicine to you either—so we're even, aren't we?"
At his answer, a radiant smile bloomed at the corners of the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy's eyes. Setting her teacup down on the table, she said, "Then, one piece of advice. Though Sangchwi-gae No Hae holds the post of branch leader, in truth he ranks among the elders of the Beggars' Gang. The only reason he stays in so lowly a position, it is said, is that he has no appetite for fame or profit. He is a man utterly indifferent to the ways of the world, wanting nothing. When you deal with him, a good bottle of wine and sincerity will serve you far better than anything else."
"Thank you for the invaluable advice."
Ouyang Qiangang bowed with full courtesy and rose from his seat. At last, the decisive clue to Ju Pyo's whereabouts was in his hands. He let out a long breath. 'So I've only just taken the first step.' His next destination was now clear—Jiujiang, north of Poyang Lake.
In the early dawn of the following day, Ouyang Qiangang stood before the main gate of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, his preparations for the long road complete. The only ones there to see him off were the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy and Nok-ju.
Kkiiing… kkiiing…… Geum Wang, seemingly unable to bear parting from Nok-ju, burrowed into her arms and refused to let go. Nok-ju, her eyes brimming with tears, stroked his silver fur over and over. It was a sight so achingly tender(?) that it was almost impossible to watch with dry eyes.
Watching the scene, Ouyang Qiangang wagged a finger and spoke in a teasing voice. "Brother Geum, if you don't let go soon, I really will leave you behind."
Kkii-! At those words, Geum Wang let out a mournful cry of resignation. Then, rubbing his cheek against Nok-ju's one last time, he leapt up onto Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder. And so, with the two women's farewell behind him, Ouyang Qiangang departed the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
After he was gone, the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy went straight to the secret chamber in the rear garden where So Jin-woo lay. When she lightly stimulated his meridians, So Jin-woo struggled back to his senses. Despite his grave internal and external injuries, he climbed down from the sickbed, knelt on the floor, and pressed his forehead to the ground. It was the rite of utmost reverence, offered to his master.
"Vice Valley Master……" Thick tears streamed from the prostrate man's eyes and soaked the floor.
"You have suffered."
The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy took him by the shoulders and raised him up. "So—did you learn anything of 'that matter'?"
Pain and fury mingled on So Jin-woo's face. "I beg your forgiveness. I barely confirmed a part of it, but the rest is kept deep within the Changcheon Murim Alliance Leader's secret archive, and I failed to reach it. In the process, Chu Myeong-geom detected me…"
"Half a success, then."
"My abilities were insufficient…"
"Nonsense. Don't blame yourself—and neither shall I. How could I blame a man who carried out his mission at the risk of his own life?"
"Thank you…"
"Now tell me what you learned."
So Jin-woo's expression hardened as he opened his mouth. "During the Righteous-Demonic War, a portion of the Changcheon Murim Alliance's leadership was in secret collusion with the Sacred Fire Cult."
"Hmm…"
"They fed one another information on rivals who stood in their way, eliminating them quietly amid the chaos of war—orthodox and demonic alike, all in service of their own interests. They… used the war itself to cement their power."
It was a secret that would have thrown the entire Murim into an uproar had it ever come to light. A heavy groan escaped the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy's lips. "Ah… I suspected as much, but to think it was the truth…"
She asked next, "And the list of the Sacred Fire Cult's traitors—did you obtain it?"
So Jin-woo bowed his head low. "…Forgive me, Vice Valley Master. The list… I could not find it in the end."
A sigh of regret escaped her lips. "Haa……"
Head still bowed, So Jin-woo went on. "I did confirm that the list lies in the deepest reaches of the Alliance Leader's secret archive. But it is protected by peerless masters and powerful mechanism formations, and with my abilities I could find no way whatsoever to approach it."
The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy nodded, and her eyes turned cold as ice. She asked again, "And information concerning the death of the Great Envoy Seol Hyang?"
So Jin-woo dropped his head once more. "That, too… appears to be within the Alliance Leader's secret archive. I am sorry."
The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy's gaze sank deep—very deep indeed. She quietly made her way to the window, where for a long while she simply gazed at the northern sky toward which Ouyang Qiangang had departed.
Meanwhile—before leaving Nanchang, Ouyang Qiangang had slipped into Bamboo Forest Manor as silently as smoke. He made his way to Heo Cho-ryeong's residence. It was still early morning. She stood leaning against the railing of the pavilion, gazing with vacant eyes at the brightening eastern sky. Loneliness and longing were written in the lines of her back.
Ouyang Qiangang stood in the shadow of a roof, no more than five jang—fifteen meters—from where she stood.
'Hoo……' A sigh escaped him before he knew it.
[Doctor, Miss Heo's current heart rate and hormone levels indicate a state of 'mild depression and sense of loss.' The probability that revealing yourself now and speaking with her would aid her psychological stability is 99 percent.]
Ouyang Qiangang quietly shook his head. 'No. If I appear before her now, it will give her not hope but a deeper attachment. In this life, sometimes not meeting is the better medicine, Akasha.'
He knew by instinct that if he met her now, parting would not come easily. He quietly turned his back. In Ouyang Qiangang's heart, too, a subtle feeling for her was pushing past his cold reason and welling up. But he had to walk his own path. The things he simply had to do stood stacked before him.
Three days after leaving Nanchang, Ouyang Qiangang arrived at the city of Jiujiang, north of Poyang Lake. True to its name, nine river channels converged here with the mighty Yangtze, making it a flourishing port where countless vessels came and went—a commercial city brimming with vitality. The damp wind blowing in from lake and river was laced with thick mist, wrapping the entire city in an air of mystery.
According to the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy's intelligence, the Beggars' Gang's Jiujiang branch was located in an old, derelict stockade on the riverbank, a dozen li—some three miles—from the city walls. When Ouyang Qiangang arrived at the branch, the sun hung high overhead. The stockade was half-collapsed and exuded a desolate air, but in one corner of the yard a dozen-odd beggars had lit a bonfire and were idly chattering—strays of the Beggars' Gang who had gathered to escape the bitter winter wind.
As Ouyang Qiangang approached, the largest and most ferocious-looking of the middle-aged beggars among them sprang to his feet and blocked his way. "What business brings you to a beggars' den?"
His manner brimmed with wariness, yet there was no hint of careless contempt in it. His gaze was fixed on Geum Wang, who sat on Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder flaunting his gleaming silver fur. The instinct of a beggar who had lived his whole life under others' contemptuous gazes told him that a young man who kept such a mysterious spirit beast at his side was no ordinary figure.
Ouyang Qiangang spoke in an even tone. "I have come to see Elder Sangchwi-gae No Hae, your branch leader."
The middle-aged beggar stared at him for a long moment. Finding no particular hostility in the young man, he sank into thought—then grinned and jerked his chin toward the city. "Our Branch Leader ain't here at this hour. He's got himself a regular haunt."
"And where might that be?"
"A tavern called Sangchunru. Loudest place in the whole city—can't miss it."
"Thank you."
The moment Ouyang Qiangang's back disappeared beyond the forest path, the artless expression was wiped clean from the middle-aged beggar's face. His eyes, gleaming deep and cold, were those of a seasoned warrior who had weathered every storm the gangho had to offer. He called over one of the beggars still lounging around the bonfire. "So-geol, come here."
A boy in his mid-teens, sweat trickling down his face as he roasted fish before the flames, looked up with an irritated expression. "What is it, Vice Branch Leader? The fish we caught from the river this morning is roasting just right."
"Go into the city at once. Tell the Branch Leader at Sangchunru that an unwelcome guest—one with a silver monkey—will be arriving shortly."
"Aw, what a chore. Why me? Can't you send that glutton brother of mine snoring over there?" Grumbling, the boy popped a well-roasted fish tail into his mouth.
In that very instant, the middle-aged beggar's face hardened. Without a word, he raised a fist the size of the boy's head and cracked his knuckles.
Crack—
At that bone-chilling sound, every noise around them died. "You want to die?"
"Tch… always with the threats." When the middle-aged beggar glared, the boy snatched up the branch strung with fish and sprang nimbly to his feet. Then, muttering something inaudible under his breath, he went on grumbling as he started running toward Jiujiang city. So-geol's movement art was as swift as any First-rate expert's.
The Sangchunru the middle-aged beggar had spoken of was the largest and most prosperous tavern in Jiujiang. Past the noon hour, it was a veritable human tide, Yangtze boatmen and gangho martial artists and merchants all churned together. At the stale air seeping through the door cracks, the deafening clamor, and the reek of liquor, Ouyang Qiangang unconsciously furrowed his brow.
He did not go inside. Instead, he looked at an old man sprawled against the sunlit outer wall, far removed from the tavern's din. His face was covered in age spots, and wild-grown white hair half-hid it—a shabby, wretched old man. Looking dead drunk, he hugged the gourd wine jug in his arms like a treasure and lay sunk in deep sleep. To any eye, he was nothing more than an ordinary old drunken beggar.
But Ouyang Qiangang's eyes, fixed on him, sank deep. Looking at the old man, he felt an instinctive, subtle dissonance. It was an indescribable pressure—as though he had come face to face with a great beast sunk in deep slumber.