A Ship to Cross Hell
In Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province, he had built not only warships but tower ships and merchant vessels as well. His hometown was Hwangdo, north of Gyounam, and he had only recently retired and returned there.
By a fortunate coincidence, a shipwright held in high regard as a master craftsman lived in Hwangdo—the very place where they had dealt with the Black Ship Sect.
After hearing the full account from Jo Pilseong, master of the East Sea Merchant Guild, Ja Gangcheon immediately set out for Hwangdo with Cheongu.
Though they hurried with anxious hearts, by the time they arrived it was already late evening. They called at the manor the master craftsman had established, left word that they would return the next day, and had no choice but to spend the night at an inn.
The next morning, coming down to the first floor for an early meal, they felt uncomfortable gazes upon them.
"You noticed too?"
Ja Gangcheon himself had of course sensed the awkward presence, but he hadn't expected Cheongu to pick up on it as well.
"This isn't martial arts—it's street smarts. It's what I'm best at."
"Can you tell me?"
Cheongu freely showed off his powers of observation.
"That street vendor peeking at us through the open crack of the door. He's got customers, but he keeps glancing our way. And those two men sitting in the corner, eating so leisurely at this hour—they're strange too."
"Why are those two strange?"
"No conversation, no wine, yet they're eating so slowly. If they were busy laborers, they'd be rushing through their meal. And for men who'd been drinking all night, their faces show no fatigue."
"They could just be awkward around each other."
"People like that don't meet to eat at this hour."
Ja Gangcheon was genuinely impressed.
"Anything else?"
"The waiter is suspicious too."
"Really? I didn't notice the waiter."
Ja Gangcheon called over the waiter, who looked to be about thirty.
"Over here!"
The waiter, meeting his eyes, hurried over.
"Yes, guest. Is there something you need?"
"I don't know much about Hwangdo."
"Of course. Please ask me anything."
"Who sent you here?"
"Pardon? I don't understand what you mean."
The words came after a fleeting silence. Ja Gangcheon was never going to miss that. Moreover, when his true intentions were exposed, the fine hairs on his forearms stood on end—and Ja Gangcheon saw it clearly.
"Your body already answered for you."
Ja Gangcheon gave Cheongu a thumbs-up.
"How did you know?"
"He couldn't settle into a waiting position. Anyone who's worked somewhere a long time develops familiar habits. Where they stand while waiting, the angle they set a teacup, the way they hurry over when a guest calls—all of it becomes established. But he kept shifting places, as if uneasy. Beyond that, he was watching us the whole time in a state of tension."
"How did you know he was tense?"
"He kept shifting the weight of his feet. And he would deliberately stare blankly at other places. He doesn't seem like someone who's done this kind of work often."
Ja Gangcheon realized something once again.
"As expected, the jianghu is more about experience than martial arts."
"You can say that because you have martial arts. Whatever you're lacking always looks bigger."
"My parents said the same thing about experience."
"And both of them are highly skilled in martial arts, aren't they?"
"Yeah."
"That's why they say so."
Hearing it put that way, it wasn't wrong, so Ja Gangcheon nodded in acknowledgment. Meanwhile, the waiter who had been listening beside them was so anxious he didn't know what to do.
"Which organization are you with? I still haven't heard your answer."
"Th-that's…"
"If I have to find out myself, things could get bigger."
"The Bangjin Association!"
In the end, he revealed his affiliation.
"Those people pretending to eat over there too?"
"Yes."
"And the one outside posing as a street vendor?"
"Not that one!"
"Then who does that one belong to?"
"For me to say that…"
Snitching on another organization was a somewhat different matter.
"Then…"
He had already confirmed everyone Cheongu had mentioned.
"What about that young lady on the second floor?"
"What?"
The moment the words left his mouth, a black shadow burst out toward the outside of the inn.
Crash!
Just as the black figure that had smashed through the second-floor window was about to hit the ground, Ja Gangcheon moved suddenly.
Thud.
Ja Gangcheon caught the figure by the shoulder the moment its feet touched earth. The other party instantly hunched their shoulder and tried to kick off the ground to flee—but Ja Gangcheon's foot was faster.
Thwack!
He hooked their ankle and yanked, and the fugitive's body flipped and sprawled across the floor.
"Aaagh!"
"If you run, I have no choice but to chase you. If you'd just stayed put, I would have said hello and let you go."
Ja Gangcheon walked over to the fallen figure and checked their face. The person glaring at him fiercely was, as expected, a woman.
"We don't seem to have any grudge between us. Is that look because you're angry at being caught?"
Dirt had smeared across her vicious expression, but it did nothing to hide her beautiful features. Looking at a beauty so striking it would stir any man's heart, Ja Gangcheon spoke again.
"You've been watching us since last night. Why?"
Even though she'd been found out about how long she'd been there, the woman said nothing.
"Just talk. I really don't want to do this."
Despite the clear warning, the woman kept her mouth shut to the end. In response, Ja Gangcheon gripped her shoulder.
"Aaagh!"
She screamed at a grip that seemed ready to crush her shoulder. Remarkably, there was no emotion whatsoever on Ja Gangcheon's face. It truly seemed his fingers would dig in and shatter her shoulder just like that.
He's really going to do it.
Even as that thought struck her, the woman kept her silence.
That was when it happened.
"Young hero. Would you forgive her for my sake?"
Ja Gangcheon turned his gaze. There stood a woman with skin white as fine paper, lips red as a craftsman's painted plum blossoms, and cool, clear brows. Beyond mere beauty, she possessed an untouchable dignity—and yet her smile carried a strangely sensual quality. She clearly held a mature charm one wouldn't expect from a young woman, yet her beauty was so outstanding it made her age impossible to guess.
"So who are you people?"
Ja Gangcheon's tone changed. Seeing the newly appeared woman, he instead showed wariness. His instincts warned that the woman who had just appeared was dangerous.
Then a voice slipped into his ear like a whisper.
We are of the Hao Sect. We came to verify the person who disbanded the Black Ship Sect.
It was sound transmission. When Ja Gangcheon didn't answer, the woman continued her explanation.
Beyond the purpose of gathering information, we had no other intent.
"And I'm supposed to believe that?"
Ja Gangcheon said, looking at the woman in black.
"You covered your face, so it wasn't a honey trap. Did you send her as bait to get me killed?"
The woman in black, who had suddenly become human bait, ground her teeth and glared at Ja Gangcheon.
"Don't follow me again. Next time, I'll kill you."
Ja Gangcheon turned and went back into the inn. When he sat down at the table again, the people watching them left the inn. Confirming this, Ja Gangcheon asked Cheongu.
"I hear the Hao Sect is everywhere. Do you know about them?"
"I don't know any high-ranking people, but meeting someone connected to the Hao Sect isn't hard. There are so many of them. Why do you ask?"
"The woman I just caught said she's Hao Sect."
"The Hao Sect is dangerous."
"She claimed it was just information gathering, so I let her live because it seemed like it would get annoying. My mother told me not to get involved with them if I could help it."
His mother had put it this way.
"They're shit. Avoid them."
When Ja Gangcheon asked back, "Then is the whole martial world covered in shit?" his mother had said firmly, "That's right. Get close and the stench is overwhelming."
Surprisingly, his father had agreed with that as well. It was one of the few moments when both of their opinions aligned.
"I don't want to fight with shit."
Imagining himself fallen into a latrine, Ja Gangcheon shuddered. Wouldn't it be better to just get covered in blood? He even thought that far.
"For today, let's focus on the shipbuilding."
After finishing their meal, they headed to the master craftsman's manor. The manor at the edge of the market, not far from the harbor, sat right on the boundary between residential and commercial districts. Standing at the corner of the district, making it all the more conspicuous, Ja Gangcheon stopped before the manor.
"Will we be able to meet him today?"
They had visited the previous evening, but they hadn't managed to set an exact appointment time. Two teenage boys showing up out of nowhere weren't the sort of people one simply met. Cheongu was preparing his own methods for negotiation when the gatekeeper spoke.
"If you wait about half a shichen, you will be able to meet him. Refreshments have been prepared—please come inside."
Unlike yesterday, when they had shown annoyance, the servant in charge of receiving guests guided them courteously. It was a puzzling situation, but once they entered, the servant led them to a pavilion where refreshments had been laid out.
"This means they know who we are. But is there a reason to treat us this well?"
Cheongu's expression was full of wariness, but Ja Gangcheon wasn't particularly tense.
"We'll find out soon enough."
"Just in case, it would be better not to mention Guigokdo directly."
"Got it. I'll do that."
As promised, half a shichen later, the master of the manor entered with a greeting.
"Forgive my lateness. I am Man Pil-ung."
He was a man of such skill that the imperial court had bestowed upon him the honorary post of Court Gentleman. His solid build was such that one might call him a general if he donned armor, and he was so vigorous it was hard to believe he was sixty years old. Even the fact that half the hair tied back behind his head was still a deep black was enough to show his robust health.
"I hear you are conducting major business at Gyounam Harbor. The master of the East Sea Merchant Guild even sent a personal letter."
Only then could they understand why they were being treated so well. It probably hadn't ended with a mere letter. He must have received a gift substantial enough to warrant treating people he had ignored yesterday.
"So what brings you to see me?"
"We have some questions about ships."
"Please, ask me anything."
"Is there a ship that can cross a sea where typhoons rage?"
"What magnitude of typhoon?"
"The most powerful typhoon you can imagine."
Without the slightest hesitation, Man Pil-ung answered the absurd question.
"Even if such a ship existed, one must not pass through a typhoon."
"And if one absolutely must pass through?"
Man Pil-ung thought, That's preposterous, but looking into Ja Gangcheon's eyes, he couldn't say so. The boy's gaze was terrifyingly intense.
"Do you truly need such a ship?"
"Yes. Size and speed don't matter. As long as it can pass through a hellish sea."
Man Pil-ung was puzzled. His expression looks as if he's experienced that hell firsthand.
Man Pil-ung pulled a chair close and sat down properly. It meant he intended to have a real conversation.
"With good fortune, one can pass through any sea. But if it's the worst kind of typhoon, you would need the Dragon King himself to answer your prayers."
It was a roundabout way of saying a miracle would be needed. Even so, Ja Gangcheon couldn't give up.
"Is there no way to raise those odds?"
"There is. The larger and heavier a ship is, the sturdier it becomes. So the larger the ship, the greater the possibility."
"Then we'd need the largest ship in the world."
"Unfortunately, building such a ship is impossible. Even with the manpower, we lack the tools—and even if the ship were built, you wouldn't be able to find a crew to sail it."
What sailor would join a voyage where death was certain?
"The larger the ship, the more crew it takes to move it."
Man Pil-ung didn't offer a single hopeful word, but Ja Gangcheon was the opposite.
"If all the conditions you just mentioned were met, what would the odds be?"
"Unlimited funding and a crew—is that the condition?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then you could expect half a chance."
Unlike Man Pil-ung, Ja Gangcheon spoke of hope, and in the end he obtained the answer he wanted.
On the road back to Gyounam.
"Gangcheon. What was it like when you escaped Guigokdo? You experienced that sea firsthand."
"If hell exists, I thought it would look like that."
"It couldn't have been easy to escape."
"Honestly, I don't think I could do it again if I had to."
That was why Ja Gangcheon couldn't wait for his parents with an easy heart.
"Unlimited gold and sailors willing to challenge death…"
Man Pil-ung had said there was a fifty-percent chance. After that conversation, there had been no concrete proposal or negotiation.
"We'd need a certain level of preparation before we can make an offer, right?"
"Do you have a plan?"
"Not yet. But at least we know it's not impossible."
Some people see despair; some people see hope. Those who see despair are always careful and avoid the worst, but they cannot surpass their limits. Conversely, those who see hope take great risks and challenge their limits. Which is right cannot be known, but for Ja Gangcheon there was no choice.
"It's a problem we could never give up on to begin with."
Having reached that conclusion, the two returned to Gyounam.