The Water Bandits of Danpung
His insides were boiling over.
Water bandits?
Water bandits!
"I'm sorry. It's my fault for wasting an entire day…"
Having squandered a whole day, Mujin looked ready to die of shame.
Of all times, why did he have to gain enlightenment right then?
"A day? Even if we'd arrived earlier, we still would have been too late."
"What?"
"The attack happened two days ago."
"Ah…"
Mujin, who had been patting his chest in relief at Ham Yeong's words, flinched hard under Jegal Mun-Hyeon's icy glare.
"Happy about that?"
"…"
"Are you happy? A village just got attacked, and you're smiling?"
"S-sorry."
"Ugh, seriously…"
Letting out a long sigh, Jegal Mun-Hyeon turned to Ham Yeong.
"Where is it?"
"Pardon?"
"We're going to Danpung County."
"Danpung County?"
"What, should we just sit here and watch?"
The ascension method he had finally tracked down was about to slip through his fingers.
"Surely you don't mean to go after the people kidnapped by the water bandits?"
"Why not? Is that a problem?"
Extreme fatigue piled on top of the fear that he might never meet the old man at all left Jegal Mun-Hyeon's heart nothing but pure rage. That fury was written so plainly across his face that Ham Yeong recoiled and tried to stop him.
"Young Master, these are the water bandits of the Yangtze."
"And?"
"W-well, the Jegal Clan's influence has grown, but needlessly stirring up trouble with the water bandits—"
"So what?"
"Th-that is to say…"
Ham Yeong swallowed hard and could only shrink back.
What kind of look is that in his eyes…
And this killing intent…
"Where is Danpung County?"
"…"
"I asked you where it is."
The way he gritted the words out like a threat made Ham Yeong's knees go weak. He hurriedly pulled out a map.
"These goddamn water bandit bastards… Kidnapping? I will not let this stand."
Watching him grind his teeth and mutter under his breath, Mujin smiled and turned to Ham Yeong.
"That's the kind of person he is."
"Pardon?"
"Others call him the Violent Dragon, but look how overflowing with a sense of justice he is. You could call him the Benevolent Violent Dragon, I suppose?"
"Ah…"
"Come, let's hurry. As Young Master Mun-Hyeon said, we must rescue the people who were attacked as soon as possible."
"But if we end up clashing with the water bandits—"
"Branch Leader."
"Yes?"
"No matter who the opponent is, choosing the path of chivalry—isn't that what the Beggar Sect has always stood for?"
Mujin beamed and looked over at Jegal Mun-Hyeon.
"Am I wrong?"
"…Shut up."
"Yes."
He immediately wilted, of course.
Chivalry?
I don't know anything about that. I'm just the type who has to get whatever I want.
And they dared touch what's mine?
These filthy water bandit bastards…
In my previous life they begged so pitifully that I let them keep their miserable lineage going!
"That place over there is Danpung County."
Ham Yeong pointed.
It was a scenic stretch where a branch of the Yangtze curled inland away from the main current before rejoining it. A small island formed by the river's bend would once have sat before the bank, and the thatched cottages scattered here and there would have held a certain rustic charm.
But now, in the village that should have been peaceful, smoke still rose from embers that refused to die. Beggar Sect disciples were combing every corner, no doubt searching for traces of the water bandits.
All that remained, however, were the marks of small boats that had scraped across the sand as they came ashore.
Jegal Mun-Hyeon stared at the rolling river.
They probably moored a large ship in the deep channel and used small boats for the raid.
They came by water and left by water. Not over land.
We'll never find them.
His teeth ground together.
These goddamn bastards… Just when I was finally about to track down an ascension method, of all the places in the world they had to hit Danpung County…
Rage surged so hard that the fist he clenched trembled violently and no words would come out.
Sensing the mood, Mujin quietly asked Ham Yeong,
"Branch Leader Ham."
"Yes."
"We may not be able to find tracks, but we should at least be able to learn where the water bandits in this area are based, right?"
"That will be difficult."
"…"
"Our branch has only recently been established, and this region was never under our jurisdiction…"
Ham Yeong trailed off with an awkward expression. Hyogam, where he served as branch leader, lay a considerable distance to the north. The Beggar Sect had only just been reunited after being scattered, so they still lacked intelligence on areas outside their own territory.
Then—
"Branch Leader."
"Yes?"
"The area around Wuhan used to belong to the old Hanyang Prefecture branch, didn't it?"
"That's… Ah!"
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon's words, Ham Yeong's eyes flew wide as realization struck.
The old Hanyang Prefecture.
"You're right. That could work. The current Sect Leader once served as branch leader there, so if the locations of the water strongholds haven't changed, he may still know them."
Hanyang Prefecture. The territory Ja-gwi had managed until he was driven out by the betrayal of those who surrendered to Hukgangmun—the same Ja-gwi who, with Jegal help, had now established the Beggar Sect headquarters on Yungjung Mountain. The Beggar Sect would have kept records on the water strongholds, so he would know where the bandits were.
"I will send a messenger pigeon to the Yungjung Mountain headquarters at once and request information on the nearby water bandits."
That was one possibility, of course. But it was not the answer Jegal Mun-Hyeon had been fishing for.
He knew the water bandits better than anyone. Once, during his wanderings through the Central Plains in his previous life, friction with them had led him to smash every single water stronghold along the river from Sichuan at the headwaters of the Yangtze all the way through Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu—until even the Grand Chief of the Yangtze Waterways had been forced to apologize.
Moreover, water bandits never kept only a single stronghold. They built several villages and called them the true stockade and the false stockades. That was why government troops, even when launching pacification campaigns for the sake of public order, never found so much as a trace and wasted their efforts. Worst of all, if what you found was a false stockade, you would never locate their true one—they simply sensed the threat and vanished.
To find them, you had to hit the true stockade in one stroke.
And they wanted him to rely on the memories of a Ja-gwi who had already been driven out?
Ridiculous.
To locate them he needed more certain intelligence, and the people who possessed it were exactly one group.
"Where is the nearest Beggar Sect branch?"
"That would be us. For now, the Hyogam branch is the closest to Danpung County."
You idiot. Do you think I asked because I didn't know that?
He needed a more realistic answer, so he rephrased the question.
"I've heard there are Beggar Sect disciples who betrayed Sect Leader Ja-gwi and surrendered to Hukgangmun."
"Pardon?"
"Wouldn't the people who operated in this area until recently know the water bandits' locations best? They've already stepped into the unorthodox shadow. Birds of a feather flock together, after all—and blood is thicker than water."
"Well… they are across the river in Ezhou County, but we won't be able to get any help from them. They've already switched sides to the unorthodox path."
"I see."
"In any case, Young Master, please stay in a nearby village. Once we have the locations of the water strongholds, we will contact the nearest Jegal Clan branch and draw up an attack plan."
Jegal Mun-Hyeon nodded, and Ham Yeong immediately began issuing orders to his subordinates.
Wait, he says?
Sending a pigeon to Yungjung Mountain, going through all the report procedures, and then actually moving would take at least a day or two even if everything went smoothly. Gathering martial artists from the nearest Jegal branch and getting them to Danpung would take even longer.
In short, even if they found the water bandits, it would be five days before they could act.
But a ninety-year-old man was suffering right this moment, his remaining lifespan shrinking with every breath… and why exactly had the water bandits kidnapped people in the first place?
To sell them.
What if they found a buyer quickly and offloaded everyone?
Then the old man would be gone forever.
The precious clue to ascension he had finally uncovered would vanish into thin air.
There's no way I'm waiting. Absolutely not!
Watching Ham Yeong and the Beggar Sect disciples bustle about, Jegal Mun-Hyeon quietly clenched his jaw and spoke to Mujin.
"Mujin."
"Yes?"
"First we change clothes."
"Clothes… why? They aren't dirty yet."
Mujin tilted his head.
But they absolutely had to put on fresh clothes. Ezhou was unorthodox territory. He could not go around causing trouble in unorthodox lands while wearing a scholar's robe.
Right now I'm only out for a stroll, after all.
It's better if the main family only hears that much. Saves me the hassle later.
This aging body of mine—is there truly nowhere under heaven and earth for me to rest my head?
Those words had been spoken by an old senior of the Beggar Sect in some bygone age, content with his free and unfettered life. From that day on, disciples of the Beggar Sect never fretted over lodging. With the sky as their ceiling and the open fields as their floor, heaven and earth themselves became their home.
It was a saying that revealed how, though their bodies were poor, their hearts were rich. But it no longer applied to the Beggar Sect disciples of Ezhou who had thrown in their lot with Hukgangmun.
The official road cutting straight through the center of Ezhou County. And on that road, the tallest, grandest pleasure house of all—two signboards hung from its eaves.
Xiaoxiang Tower.
A rather elegant name drawn from the place where the Xiao and Xiang rivers met.
And the other: Black Cat Branch, Ezhou Division.
The new faction name of the Beggar Sect disciples who had gone over to Hukgangmun.
"Honestly, they call this a Beggar Sect branch?"
Having crossed the river and arrived before it, Jegal Mun-Hyeon could not hide his snort of laughter.
The Beggar Sect that had once raised the banner of chivalry by beating down the dogs of the underworld now styled itself the Black Cat. If their predecessors knew, they would beat the ground and weep with rage.
And the owners of a pleasure house, no less?
"They've lost their minds. Have they decided to become the Lower Heaven Sect outright?"
The Lower Heaven Sect had long stood as the other great pillar of information networks in the Central Plains alongside the Beggar Sect. They typically took over pleasure houses, collecting the secrets that flowed over wine cups for a living, and served as a sturdy pillar for the wretched and downtrodden.
"Bastards who used to live in a ruined Temple of Lord Guan have gotten far too fat."
It was absurd.
Why did the Beggar Sect wear those heavily patched rags known as the Nine-Lapel Hundred-Patch robes?
Because they were poor?
The name had all but vanished now, but there had been a time when the Beggar Sect amassed enormous wealth selling information. Most of it went to relieving the poor, of course. The reason they wore the Nine-Lapel Hundred-Patch was a vow not to be ruled by greed. Once a man went blind for wealth, he lost his original heart and only craved more and more.
Even if they had to beg and wander the streets, they would never forget the heart that revered chivalry. That was the resolve the Nine-Lapel Hundred-Patch expressed.
But these fools who had turned from dogs into cats seemed determined to throw their past away. Running a pleasure house for income, stuffing their faces until grease coated their bellies… and under the unorthodox power of Hukgangmun, they would not have hesitated to do filthy work either.
It was obvious without looking.
"No wonder they betrayed Ja-gwi. They must have hated the beggar life that much."
"Indeed. It's only that north and south are divided around the central thoroughfare, yet the atmosphere of the Beggar Sect is completely different."
"Beggar Sect? These bastards no longer have the right to use that name. They call themselves Black Cats."
"True enough."
At Jegal Mun-Hyeon's words, Mujin gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"Let's go in. Time to look at a few cat-faced bastards."
"Understood."
Clicking his tongue at the hanging signboards, Jegal Mun-Hyeon strode straight into the pleasure house.
"Welcome! This is Xiaoxiang Tower, the finest pleasure house in Ezhou County. What are you looking for today?"
A greasy waiter beamed as he asked. Most who came to Xiaoxiang Tower were after wine, courtesans, or gambling.
But—
"Is the branch leader in?"
"Huh?"
"Your black-furred cat of a master."
"…"
In an instant the smile vanished from the waiter's face, replaced by a chill.
"Who the hell are you?"
His brows twisted in opposite directions as he immediately turned threatening.
"Honestly, you little brats—are your eyes crooked? Do you even know where you are?"
"I know. Black Cat Branch, Ezhou Division."
"And you still come looking for the Branch Leader? Is he your friend?"
"Hardly. A human and a beast can't be friends… and black ones are bad luck. I wouldn't even keep one as a pet."
"What did you just say, you bastard?!"
The enraged waiter balled a fist to swing.
Or rather, he only clenched it—he never got the chance to throw the punch.
Grab!
A hand seized him by the hair without warning and slammed him straight into the floor.
CRAAAASH!
The floorboards shattered. The waiter crumpled.
Jegal Mun-Hyeon's eyes swept the surroundings.
"Anyone care to tell me who the branch leader is?"