Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Drinking
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The masked man's pupils contracted sharply. Hyeon-gak turned to Heuk Do-san with a look that said, "What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?"
"It's true, isn't it? Yeom Jin-sang."
"Shut up!"
The masked man shot to his feet with a shout.
His subordinates attacked all at once. Or rather, they tried to. That was until Heuk Do-san ripped off his mask.
"Gah!"
The moment they saw Heuk Do-san's face, screams erupted from the masked men's mouths in unison. Startled, they halted their sword swings and stumbled backward in panic. It was because they had clearly seen that terrifying face during the Blood Sea Gang's ambush two days ago.
The most shocked was Yeom Jin-sang. His eyes bulged as if they might pop out from the holes in his mask.
"Y-You... why are you here...?"
"Why don't you take off your mask?"
"What? Is that really Yeom Jin-sang?"
With those words, Hyeon-gak removed his own mask. His shiny bald head and thick beard—his true face—emerged.
"Y-You!"
Having confirmed Hyeon-gak's face as well, Yeom Jin-sang was so stunned he nearly fell flat on his butt.
"Wh-What in the world are you two doing together?"
Yeom Jin-sang alternated his gaze between Heuk Do-san and Hyeon-gak with eyes that screamed madness and disbelief. Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, his eyes widened, only for him to shake his head vigorously in denial.
'No way. That can't be. He was clearly crushed by the mountain on Snowy Peak. How could he...? But why does the face and voice match so perfectly?'
"The thought in your head is spot on."
Heuk Do-san said with a sly chuckle.
Yeom Jin-sang stared at Heuk Do-san with even greater shock. Then, preparing to bolt at any moment, he shuffled closer. He wanted to inspect the face more closely.
"Really... Heuk Do-san...?"
"How's the butt that got bitten by the Blood Wolf?"
"Th-This can't be!"
An impromptu drinking party broke out in the abandoned temple courtyard.
Yeom Jin-sang's subordinates split apart the wooden Buddha statues scattered in the hall and built a roaring bonfire. Meanwhile, another subordinate dashed down the mountain and returned with armloads of liquor and meat.
"You know, I suggested we go to one of my brothels. They've got girls, it's great. I just don't get why you'd insist on drinking in this godforsaken dump."
Yeom Jin-sang joked.
"Is that your way of bragging about your success?"
"It's just that I'm happy to see you. Really happy."
"Yeah, right. Hyeon-gak told me everything you've been up to. The second you confirmed I was dead, you ran straight to Seop Dae-gang, huh?"
"I had to survive somehow. But I didn't harm anyone, did I? In fact, I helped. I even arranged for you to meet the great monk here and Bing-seol."
"That's help? It was for the money."
Hyeon-gak interjected bluntly.
"Anyway, thanks for the Blood Sea Gang. I took it over without spilling a drop of blood. Here, have a drink."
Yeom Jin-sang poured liquor into Heuk Do-san and Hyeon-gak's cups. The thick, murky rice wine looked utterly appetizing.
"By the way, how did you survive the Snowy Peak cave? I saw the mountaintop collapse with my own two eyes."
"It's a long story."
"I'm really glad to see you again like this. You might not believe it, but this is sincere."
"I didn't know you thought of me that much."
"I know what you did at the end in that Snowy Peak cave, brother Heuk. That's how I made it back to the Central Plains. I leaned on Seop Dae-gang just to stay alive, but I'm not so low that I'd forget a life debt."
He used to pay proper respect before, but now he was playing the gang leader and demanding it instead.
Heuk Do-san didn't mind. Truth be told, Yeom Jin-sang was probably a few years his senior.
"Can I believe that?"
"Why wouldn't you? Go ahead."
"Shall we all have a drink?"
Heuk Do-san raised his cup high, and Yeom Jin-sang and Hyeon-gak matched him. The three cups held three moons reflected against the night sky. The three men swallowed the moons at once.
"Kuh, good stuff."
Hyeon-gak exclaimed in admiration.
But for some reason, Yeom Jin-sang tilted his head.
Hyeon-gak asked.
"What's wrong?"
"No, the taste of the liquor is a bit off..."
"You didn't get poisoned, did you?"
"You think I'd poison my own drink and down it? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Then why?"
"Maybe I talked too much."
"Never mind that. How do you know so much about the Righteous Alliance's internal affairs?"
Heuk Do-san changed the subject.
"That's the power of money."
"Money?"
"With enough money, you can find out if the emperor shits in the morning or evening. Something as simple as the Righteous Alliance's movements? Piece of cake. I've got some lines laid out from my busy dealings."
"Why do you need that kind of information? You doing black marketeering and info brokering on the side?"
"You wouldn't know. For small gangs like ours to survive, knowing which way the wind blows is crucial. That's how you pick sides or stretch out flat. It's what let me rebuild the Sea Dragon Gang and take down the Blood Sea Gang."
Heuk Do-san and Hyeon-gak were awed by Yeom Jin-sang's bat-like instincts that ran bone-deep.
"So, which side did you pick?"
"Seop Dae-gang, obviously."
"You're that close with him?"
"You really don't know anything. Seop Dae-gang isn't the old Seop Dae-gang anymore. Though he was always impressive."
"I've heard about Seop Dae-gang."
"Then you can guess. You think a big shot like that meets trash like me? He ignores me unless he sends Hong Gong-tak when he needs dirty work done. In return, I handle his tough jobs. If that's a connection, it is."
"Tough jobs?"
"In this business, sometimes you accidentally brush up against brothels or gambling dens backed by martial clans. They hit back hard. That's when Hong Gong-tak steps in to smooth things over."
"You have it rough."
"It's gotten even rougher lately. Hong Gong-tak suddenly kicked the bucket. So now I'm scouting for new lines."
"Hong Gong-tak is dead?"
Hyeon-gak asked in surprise.
"You didn't know? The Shaanxi Hong Clan is in ruins over it. Tsk tsk. With intel like that, how do you plan on doing big things?"
"What happened? Why'd he die? Explain it clearly."
"Rumors spread recently that a Demonic Cult treasure ledger appeared near the Yellow River. The Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts—who'd been tracking Demonic Cult ledgers for ages—were dispatched. Oh, you know Hong Gong-tak became the new sword master of the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts?"
"I know that."
"Anyway, the Blood Devil and the rest of the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts were sent out. Given the stakes, the nearest Kongdong Sect dispatched Cheongjin Dojang too. But somehow, they didn't secure the ledger, and only Cheongjin Dojang returned—with Hong Gong-tak's corpse."
"Is that true?"
"Do I look like someone who'd lie for no reason? It wasn't just Hong Gong-tak. The Sichuan Poison Buddha, Red Wind Killer, and all the martial artists who gathered for the ledger were massacred."
"Who did it...?"
"No idea. Cheongjin Dojang, the sole survivor, clammed up."
"Clammed up? Why?"
"Beats me. Seop Dae-gang even sent men to poke around, including to me, asking for black market rumors. No luck, apparently."
"Cheongjin Dojang was the only survivor?"
Heuk Do-san cut in.
"That's what I heard."
"What about the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts?"
"Dead, I suppose."
No way. Back then, clearly three or four more of the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts had survived alongside Cheongjin Dojang.
It was Cheongjin Dojang's doing. He couldn't have killed them, so he must have chased them off to low posts to silence them or hidden them somewhere.
The cause was what he himself had said that day.
Why?
To protect the Shaanxi Hong Clan's honor?
Or to uncover the deaths of those two later-generation disciples who died under the waterfall over a decade ago?
Or perhaps to dig into the one name he never revealed until the end?
Either way, it worked out well. At least Seop Dae-gang wouldn't bother him now.
'Things are falling into place.'
"So?"
Hyeon-gak asked again.
"We managed to track down another survivor. Some Heavenly Wind Young Master, disciple of the Golden Arm Thrower King—the one who supposedly grabbed the Demonic Cult ledger first. Notorious playboy too."
Heuk Do-san was slightly surprised.
'That blabbermouth survived?'
Hyeon-gak asked again.
"What did the Heavenly Wind Young Master say?"
"He said something happened at Tongman Old Fortress. A disheveled freak in a cauldron pot slaughtered people left and right. When he woke, everyone was torn apart like beast kills—most gruesome sight he'd ever seen. If Hong Gong-tak died, that freak did it."
'Tongman Old Fortress... disheveled freak...?'
Hyeon-gak glanced sideways at Heuk Do-san, his face paling. He licked his lips.
'No way this guy...?'
"What's the mood in the Righteous Alliance?"
Heuk Do-san shifted the topic again.
"Hong Gong-tak's death is no small matter, but not enough to shake the Righteous Alliance. Plus, they're dealing with serious internal strife right now."
"Strife?"
"Anyone who matters knows this: the Righteous Alliance is split between moderates and radicals. The moderates prioritize repairing the damage from the war across sects—including Demonic Cult survivors. In short, measures against the indiscriminate revenge killings of Demonic Cult remnants across the Central Plains martial world."
"That view makes sense."
"Of course? The Righteous Alliance isn't a den of evil. Though it doesn't concern me."
"What's the radicals' stance?"
Heuk Do-san already had guesses but asked anyway. He wanted precise confirmation through Yeom Jin-sang, who knew the insides.
"They're hands-off about the revenge against Demonic Cultists. Sure, they crushed the Demonic Cult and won, but a decade of Righteous-Demonic Great War left the righteous martial world in ruins. Especially the mid-to-small sects—most lost half their forces. Basically cannon fodder."
"So?"
"Those mid-to-small sects are wavering. Justice alone doesn't console such massive losses. It ties directly to their sects' survival..."
It takes at least twenty years to raise one disciple to decent level. Losing half the force means waiting twenty years to recover.
Sure, you could hire mercenaries with money. But in martial sects where skills pass through master-disciple bonds, that's just branches—not the core trunk.
"That's why the radicals take a hands-off stance on revenge against scattered Demonic Cultists. If you can't compensate losses and block revenge too, won't that force implode inward?"
"And it's not just pure revenge driving those acts?"
"Sharp as ever. Spot on. Plenty of Demonic Cultists ran merchant houses or martial clans. Revenge includes plundering their wealth."
This is war.
Clashing blades is brief, but the aftershocks are a hell passing through generations.
"That's the only issue pitting moderates against radicals?"
"Of course not. The differing views on Demonic Cult survivors just illustrate their values. The real reason for conflict is elsewhere."
"What is it?"
"The Righteous Alliance's future path. On maintaining martial peace and order: moderates want to heal wounds and strengthen internal bonds; radicals want to build more forces and grow power. That's why they're desperately hunting the Demonic Cult's treasure ledger too. Money means military might."
"They already hold the realm. Why grasp for more power?"
Hyeon-gak asked.
Was it from hiding out, or lack of lines into the Righteous Alliance like Yeom Jin-sang? He truly knew nothing.
"I don't get it either. Redirecting power to unify internals feels off somehow."
Heuk Do-san sank into thought.
The situation made no sense to anyone. Especially from governance: growing the body while ignoring internal boils was utterly wrong.
The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families teem with experts like clouds. They must abound in governance and leadership talent too, honed managing vast martial organizations for ages.
Yet they ignore this simple truth? Everything has a reason. Meaning there's cause to urgently build power.
What could it be?
'No way...'
Heuk Do-san asked Yeom Jin-sang.
"Still no trace of the Heavenly Demon?"
"The Heavenly Demon? The Protector Ten Armies, the Twelve Star Lords—or Eleven now, with Seventh Star Lord Gong Cheon-ak missing. Anyway, all the Demonic Cult's top brass fled. How desperate? The highest-ranking captive is that Seventh Star Lord Gong Cheon-ak."
"Did they flee, or are they missing?"
"Same difference, isn't it?"