Chapter 212: Baek Gyobang
Chapter 212: Baek Gyobang
Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Myo family, approached his daughter Myo A-ran, who had been waiting while reading a book in the garden, and spoke.
"Things went exactly as you predicted once again. The delegates have been decided after gathering opinions from both sides. I, along with Ja Gaju and Sul Gaju, will be going."
At her father's words, Myo A-ran smiled faintly and closed her book.
'It turned out exactly that way. The balance is perfectly struck.'
Myo A-ran had predicted even before the family heads met Jin Tae-do that both sides would want to go meet Inparang, and that the delegation would likely be decided from among those excluding Jin Tae-do, Yu Hae-eung, and Oh Ik-deok.
"So they chose three: Sul Gaju-nim, who is on Jin Jangmunin's side; Ja Gaju-nim, who is on the opposing side; and you, Father, who are neutral?"
"That's right, just as you said."
But inwardly, Myo A-ran thought that was not the whole story.
Was Sul Gaju not the one with the highest martial prowess among Jin Tae-do's supporters?
And Ja Gaju was the one with the lowest martial prowess and the most advanced age among Jin Tae-do's opposition.
Most likely, the martial prowess of the two men had also factored into both sides' calculations.
Having thought that far, Myo A-ran opened her mouth again.
"In any case, it's turned out well. Since you're going, Father, there should be no issue with me accompanying you, right?"
Her tone was casual, as if asking about something utterly self-evident.
But at his daughter's question, Myo Cheong-ju hardened his expression and shook his head firmly.
"That is absolutely out of the question. How can you follow me to a place like that?"
At that, Myo A-ran smiled brightly and asked again.
"Why? Do you think something dangerous might happen?"
At that question, Myo Cheong-ju could not answer right away.
Since there was no way his daughter hadn't thought of what he himself had considered, he couldn't bring himself to lie to her.
"Hmm...."
His daughter's words were accurate.
If that man were to be revealed as the real Inparang, there was absolutely no way that meeting would end simply with confirming his identity.
Something, anything, was bound to happen without a doubt.
Then Myo A-ran smiled faintly and spoke as if to reassure her father.
"Don't worry. You know I am capable of protecting myself. And... if he truly is Inparang, my betrothed In orabeoni, then wouldn't I, his fiancée, be the one best able to recognize him?"
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju spoke with a flustered expression.
"No, A-ran! That betrothal is...!"
"Why? If he truly is alive, then the betrothal hasn't been rendered null and void, has it?"
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju could say nothing more.
And Myo A-ran watched that expression on her father's face with a meaningful look in her eyes.
Myo A-ran still vividly remembered Inparang's appearance from her childhood.
It was because she had spent a very long time playing together with him when they were young.
Myo A-ran and Inparang had been very close.
So close, in fact, that it was why the two families had arranged their betrothal.
And so, Myo A-ran had never once considered another man besides Inparang as her marriage partner.
At least, that had been the case until the relationship between her father Myo Cheong-ju and In Gye-un soured.
Under Myo A-ran's gaze demanding an answer, Myo Cheong-ju could only swallow dryly.
***
Jin Tae-do suppressed his boiling rage and returned to his office.
His fury was not solely because he was prevented from going personally, nor just because Yu Hae-eung's faction had opposed him.
Inparang.
The very fact that this damned bastard had appeared in the world was too immense a threat to Jin Tae-do.
'That bastard was really alive....'
Jin Tae-do ground his teeth, recalling the events of that day.
How bitterly he had regretted letting Inparang, that bastard, slip away on the day he dealt with In Gye-un.
And so, even over the dozen or so years that passed, he had maintained close contact with the Hengshan Sect and never relaxed his vigilance against the bastard—yet that bastard had finally shown himself....
Moreover, it wasn't just that he had shown up; he had destroyed the Hapsan Sect, a force Jin Tae-do had kept hidden, and spread the story of that day's events across the entire martial world. He was so enraged that his mood was such that he wanted to draw his sword right then and there and open a path of slaughter.
But Jin Tae-do soon composed himself.
'Nothing is decided yet. All the bastard did was just talk, and there's no evidence whatsoever. On the contrary, it might even be a thankful thing that he's finally come out into the open now. Because at last, I can cleanly finish this off once and for all.'
That was true.
The worry that the bastard might be alive somewhere had always gnawed at his nerves in a corner of his mind.
So if he could completely rid himself of that worry this time, it would feel as refreshing as pulling out an aching tooth.
Furthermore, hadn't the White Religion Sect, which he had focused on cultivating, not yet collapsed?
The Hapsan Sect was a loss, but it was a place where the Hengshan Sect's power was more heavily invested than his own, so it wasn't that fatal.
'Yes, I will deal with this very cleanly this time. Before the delegation finds him, I'll make him disappear cleanly first.'
He suspected the Hengshan Sect was probably already moving even without him doing anything.
Because their decision-making was far simpler than his own.
The system of the Hengshan Sect, with its perfectly established vertical hierarchy centered around its sect leader, was something Jin Tae-do had always envied.
'But that doesn't mean I can just sit idle either. Let me think. A usable place on the Guangxi Province side is....'
Jin Tae-do slowly reviewed the usable blades at his disposal.
Since the bastard had single-handedly destroyed the Hapsan Sect, he felt he would need to choose a particularly sharp blade.
It was then.
Suddenly, a subordinate of Jin Tae-do called out to him urgently from outside the office.
"Jangmunin! It is your subordinate! A great calamity has occurred!"
Jin Tae-do involuntarily frowned.
Because the last time, that bastard had used the exact same tone of voice when delivering the news of the Hapsan Sect's destruction.
The memory of that time surfaced, and his mood turned utterly foul.
"What is the matter?"
Then his subordinate burst in, face pale, and shouted.
"Jangmunin! ......!"
At that, Jin Tae-do's face, upon hearing his subordinate's words, could only harden like stone.
"...What did you say?"
***
The Zhu River, the lifeline of Guangdong.
This vast waterway, loosely connecting regions like Cheongwon, Bulsan, Gangmun, and Guangzhou, was a precious foundation of life that had been inseparable from the livelihoods of Guangdong's people since ancient times.
The people of Guangdong traveled to other cities via the Zhu River, made their living catching fish, and always sustained their lives through the Zhu River.
However, the situation for those living along the Zhu River had become exceedingly dire recently.
Because lawless river bandits had completely seized control of the Zhu River's waterways.
One fog-choked dawn, a group of people were hurriedly boarding a boat.
The ferryman looked around anxiously into the fog, where visibility was barely ten feet, and urged the people on.
"Quicker! Hurry up! We must cross the river while the fog is still thick!"
Then one man, who had been cautiously trying to board the boat, asked with a frightened face.
"C-can we even cross safely in fog this thick? Couldn't we hit a rock on the way?"
At that question, the ferryman sneered and replied.
"Ha. Your chances of surviving a river crossing in this fog are a hundred times higher than crossing in broad daylight."
Then he glanced furtively at the women among those already aboard and muttered quietly.
"And with women aboard to boot, that makes it a thousand times higher."
Following the others, the ferryman climbed aboard himself and called out quietly to the hesitant man.
"If you're scared, then get off quickly! Dawdling here could get us all killed!"
At that, the man hastily replied.
"Get, get off? Who's getting off! I'm getting on right now!"
With the last man clambering aboard in a fluster, the ferryman's boat was now packed with a dozen or so people.
The ferryman pushed off the ground with his punt, set the boat adrift, and spoke to the people.
"Alright, we're off! We should reach the other side in half a shichen. Everyone, pray to the gods of heaven and earth for a safe passage."
With those final words, the boat began silently parting the fog and heading toward the opposite shore.
With uneasy expressions, the people merely stared at the fog-blanketed river water, and no one opened their mouths.
Kkiiik! Kkiiik!
Now, only the sound of the ferryman working the punt echoed quietly across the fog-choked river.
This was a ferryboat, carrying people who were trying to cross the Zhu River to head toward Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong.
In the past, it would have been an utterly ordinary sight—dozens, hundreds of boats traversing the Zhu River daily.
But now, witnessing that ordinary sight was not easy. That was because recently the Zhu River had fallen under the control of river bandits known as the White Religion Sect.
Kkiiik! Kkiiik!
After a long stretch of silently crossing the river, the man who had boarded last could not endure the boredom and asked the ferryman.
"Are those White Religion Sect bastards really that fearsome?"
At that, the ferryman started in alarm, quickly glanced around, and then berated the man in a low voice.
"Are you insane?! Don't even speak that name aloud!"
The man was flustered.
He had only asked a question, but the reaction seemed excessively strong.
"N-no, I was just asking! Why make such a fuss over that?"
At that, the ferryman scanned the surroundings with fearful eyes and spoke to the man.
"Are you trying to cause trouble? What if you speak that name carelessly and we end up encountering the bastards! If we meet them, I guarantee that every man aboard this boat will end up as fish food! So please, shut that mouth!"
At those words, the man pouted his lips and muttered.
"There are plenty of women aboard too, so why only the men...."
At that, the ferryman worked his punt a little faster and said.
"Hmph! The men are fish food, and the women are the bastards' food. If I had to choose between the two, I'd rather choose the fish food."
At those words, the women aboard the boat shrank back with uneasy eyes.
After the White Religion Sect seized control of the Zhu River's waterways, they had begun collecting tolls from every vessel that traveled the river.
And outrageously excessive tolls at that.
Such conduct was utterly contrary to the attitude of previous powers that had controlled the Zhu River, who had at least spared small fishing boats and ferries from their grasp.
Of course, collecting tolls from every single boat on the Zhu River was naturally an impossible task.
No matter how numerous they were, they could not monitor the entire expanse of the Zhu River.
But the White Religion Sect was a viciously persistent lot.
They filled the gaps in their power with terror.
They declared that those who wished to cross the river must come forward in advance and voluntarily pay the toll.
And should anyone be caught fishing or ferrying passengers without having paid them the toll, they would brutally slaughter every last one without a single exception.
So now, people were left with only one of two choices.
Either pay the White Religion Sect an exorbitant price to set sail upon the river, or risk their lives to cross it in secret.
The ferryman gazed into the mist and spoke.
"We've come about halfway now. If only we can go the rest of the way without incident..."
That was when it happened.
A man who had been sitting quietly in a corner wearing a bamboo hat suddenly grinned fishily and muttered.
"Keukeukeu, keep dreaming."
The man removed his bamboo hat and slowly rose from his seat.
Then he pulled a firecracker from his bosom and abruptly set it off toward the sky.
Pwoooong!
A thunderous boom echoed through the silent mist.
At that sudden explosive sound, everyone aboard felt their hearts plummet.
They cried out in alarm.
"Kyaaaak!"
"Wh-what is that?!"
"Wh-what is the meaning of this!"
But among them, the ferryman alone could immediately grasp what was unfolding.
Because the vicious face of the man who had removed his bamboo hat told him exactly who he was.
The ferryman muttered with a face full of despair.
"The White... Religion Sect?"
At that, the man cackled and replied.
"That's right, the White Religion Sect. This old man right here is a member of the White Religion Sect."
That was when it happened.
A rough voice cut through the mist.
"Heyyy!"
It was a voice coming from not far away.
At that, the man also shouted loudly.
"Heyyy! Over here!"
The people could no longer make a sound and stared toward the direction of the voice with terror-stricken eyes.
Then something began to come into view.
Beyond the mist, something massive was approaching.
The man who had boarded last muttered with an expression as if he was about to burst into tears.
"Boats... boats?"
He was right.
That massive shadow was a large ship—no, not just one, but three ships.
Three ships of the White Religion Sect were closing in on the ferry.
At that, the White Religion Sect man aboard the ferry cackled and said to the ferryman.
"What was it you said earlier? Men become fish food, women become our food? I like the sound of that. I'll have to keep using it from now on, keukeukeukeu!"
Then he licked his lips as he gazed at the women aboard with greedy eyes.
"Today's haul isn't bad. It's going to be a very enjoyable day. As they say, fishing's best at the crack of dawn."
The people aboard the ferry could no longer utter a single word.
They merely stared blankly at the large ships surrounding the ferry with eyes full of despair.
On the large ships closing in on them from three sides, the shadows of the pirates were densely packed.
There was no escape route in sight anywhere.
Someone muttered in a voice steeped in despair.
"No..."
At that moment, a man who appeared to be the leader among the pirates aboard the ships looked down at the ferry and shouted.
"You dared to try crossing the river without paying us the toll! The price is your lives! You're prepared for that, right?! Ah, the women are an exception! You can pay with your bodies! Keuhahahaha!"
Upon hearing those words, despair sank deep into the faces of all the people.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a man who had been sitting in a corner wearing a bamboo hat slowly rose to his feet and muttered.
"Every damn one of you acts exactly the same. Just what you'd expect from Hainan Sect scum."
Then he shouted toward the White Religion Sect pirates.
"I am a man of the Jin Family Stronghold! Do you dare lay a hand on someone from the Jin Family Stronghold?!"
At those words, a light of surprise flickered in the eyes of the ferry's passengers, soon shifting to a light of hope.
They murmured amongst themselves.
"Jin Family Stronghold?"
"He says he's from the Jin Family Stronghold?"
The Guangdong Jin Family Stronghold—though not counted among the Five Great Families, it was a prestigious martial clan always named as a candidate for inclusion.
It was also, by reputation and in fact, the most powerful sect among the martial forces existing in Gwangju of Guangdong Province.
Hope rose in the hearts of the ferry's passengers that they might survive this.
For the common assessment was that even though the White Religion Sect had seized the Zhu River's waterways, they were still no match for the Jin Family Stronghold.
In that moment, they all shared the same thought.
'No matter how much these bastards are from the White Religion Sect, they wouldn't dare harm someone from the Jin Family Stronghold...'
But that very moment.
The pirates aboard the ships burst into laughter all at once.
"What? A Jin Family Stronghold bastard? Keuhahahahaha!"
"What a curious twist of fate! Keuhahahahaha!"
The people looked around at the pirates with fearful eyes.
The inexplicable laughter coming from the three ships surrounding them was squeezing their hearts.
Then the leader, having stopped laughing, shouted.
"As it happens, today was the very day we planned to knock the Jin Family Stronghold down a peg! You may not die at the exact same hour as your family, but you'll die on the same day! Keuhahahahaha!"
At that, a girl also wearing a bamboo hat, who had been seated near the man who first wore the bamboo hat, spoke to the Bamboo Hat Person sitting beside her.
"Grandfather, they say the White Religion Sect is planning to strike the Jin Family Stronghold today."
"So it seems. It appears the White Religion Sect's forces are far greater than what has been made known to the world."
The old man who had spoken then asked the young man wearing the bamboo hat.
"What will you do, Young Master Yin? Even for you, Young Master, facing them on the water is..."
That was when it happened.
The man in the bamboo hat, Seonwoo Jin, suddenly launched his body upward.
Paaak!
In the thick mist, it was a startling movement technique that made it seem as though his form had vanished in an instant.
The people around him cried out in shock.
"Uheok?!"
"A-a person suddenly disappeared!"
The ferry's passengers were crying out in panic and looking around when it happened.
The Bamboo Hat Person, Seonwoo Jin's form, had already pierced through the mist and soared into the empty air.
Beneath his feet as he rose through the mist, a sea of silver fog lay spread out, shimmering mysteriously.
And below that, the black shadows of the ships fleetingly met his eyes.
Having floated upon the empty air as if in flight for a brief moment, Seonwoo Jin now began his slow descent and muttered quietly.
"Leaving just one ship should be enough, right?"
And the moment his hand gripped the sword hilt, the blade of the White Tiger Sword revealed its brilliant sword light.
Ssheeeng!
The first stroke of the Mukrang Sword Technique.
Opening Heaven.
Chwaaaaaak!
It was a single stroke like a divine punishment descended from the heavens.
An invisible blade had cleaved the sea of mist and the ship hidden within it entirely in half.
Kwajijijijik!
On the ship suddenly split in two, the pirates aboard lost their balance and had no choice but to tumble into the river.
"Uwaaaak!"
"Wh-what is this?!"
"Th-the ship!"
"We're falling!"
They fell into chaos and cried out.
But the pirates aboard the other ships were equally panicked.
They could not comprehend at all what had suddenly happened.
Moreover, the situation did not end there.
Chwaaaaaak!
Once again, the sea of mist split apart with a chilling sound, and another ship was severed into two pieces.
Kwajijijijijik!
"Uwoaaaaak!"
"Wh-what is it?!"
"I-it's the Dragon King! The Dragon King is furious!"
"Aaaaak! Save me!"
Seonwoo Jin had stepped on the split ship to leap up again and cleave yet another vessel, but from the pirates' perspective, they could not perceive his form at all.
Having bisected two ships, Seonwoo Jin now landed upon the one remaining vessel.
He landed right where the one who appeared to be the pirate leader was turning his head this way and that with panicked eyes.
"Wh-what is it?! What in the world is it?!"
Tadak!
It was the moment Seonwoo Jin landed beside the pirate leader.
Shaaaak!
Thin red lines were suddenly drawn across the throats of the other pirates nearby.
Those lines gaped open and spurted blood only a single breath later.
Puhwaaaaak!
"Keuaaaak!"
"Kkeoeeok!"
The pirate leader now stared at his subordinates collapsing, spurting blood simultaneously, with eyes filled with terror.
He could not fathom at all what was happening and how.
At that moment, Seonwoo Jin slowly removed his bamboo hat and spoke to him.
"There's something I want to ask you. If you feel like answering, just blink your eyes."
It did not take long for the pirate leader to grasp the situation.