Monopolizing Fortunes (158)
Monopolizing Fortunes (158)
It meant, So don't you force it either. When Do Tong-dal's expression showed no wavering, Jang Bu-ok's gaze shifted to Won Jin-u.
"Is there really any need for this? If the Hwangdae Merchant Company belongs to the Revenge Society, then everything we do would be for the Revenge Society."
"You know as well as I do, Company Head, that what we do is special. It's work that can never be accomplished by people who move for money alone."
Perhaps that remark had been the Revenge Society's view all along, the view behind their contempt for the Hwangdae Merchant Company.
"It seems the discussion is over."
As Do Tong-dal rose, Jang Bu-ok also awkwardly lifted his backside from his chair. Won Jin-u did not try to stop them, but when Do Tong-dal was about to leave the room, he spoke.
"You do know this isn't the end, don't you?"
"If this were the end, it wouldn't be any fun."
Won Jin-u stared blankly at the door through which Do Tong-dal and Jang Bu-ok had gone. He had thought that by analyzing the reports on Do Tong-dal, he had grasped him almost perfectly.
But the Do Tong-dal he had actually met had turned all that analysis into garbage.
"I expected him to play push-and-pull, but he cuts it off with a single stroke like that? Interesting."
He could not allow Do Tong-dal to leave the Hwangdae Merchant Company. What Won Jin-u had said so firmly had been for the purpose of using Do Tong-dal easily.
Do Tong-dal and the Three Beyond the World were an enormous force that had rolled into the Revenge Society. If the Revenge Society could use them intact, the day of revenge could draw a great stride closer.
After mulling it over for a long while, Won Jin-u let out a short laugh.
"From the start, there was only one road. The road that Bae Cheong-dong laid down."
If he became an enemy, he would be a more formidable foe than any figure of the orthodox sects.
* * *
Three days after entering the Revenge Society, the Hwangdae Merchant Company made ready to leave.
After that single meeting with Won Jin-u, Do Tong-dal never saw his face again. Various matters were passed back and forth, but all of them went through Protector Ha Jo-un.
Everything turned out as Do Tong-dal wanted. Do Tong-dal remained as a protector belonging solely to the Hwangdae Merchant Company, and he promised to lend aid when the Revenge Society needed it.
He had become something like an ally rather than a subordinate of the Revenge Society. And half of the Hwangdae Merchant Company's people remained with the Revenge Society.
The stated justification was financial management for the Revenge Society, but there was no one who did not know that they were hostages.
Rather, it was exactly what Do Tong-dal had wanted, and inwardly he rejoiced. Do Tong-dal slipped Byeon Hui-song in among the personnel remaining with the Revenge Society.
Byeon Hui-song, who had been forced by the Revenge Society's threats to become a spy, was a truly pitiful man. From now on, after all, he would be threatened by Do Tong-dal.
And so they departed for Luoyang. They had only to pass through three prefectures, so it was not a very long journey.
Since they had settled nearby, the Revenge Society had readily sent the Hwangdae Merchant Company on its way.
They set out in the morning and arrived before sunset. As befitted the capital of nine dynasties, Luoyang was antique in flavor and bustling.
With many sights such as the Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, and Guanlin Hall, Luoyang was a place where the footsteps of travelers and poets and calligraphers never ceased.
Before the decision to go to Luoyang had even been made, Do Tong-dal had ordered them to secure a house. The Revenge Society could not handle his nerve.
Thanks to paying more than the market price, they had easily obtained a residence with eight buildings.
While Jang Bu-ok unpacked, Do Tong-dal and the Three Beyond the World went out to the bustling streets.
The older a city is, the longer wealth has had to accumulate, and so the rich are always numerous.
Where the rich are numerous, there are bound to be rows of fine restaurants and pleasure houses where one can enjoy wine, song, and dance.
Do Tong-dal first stopped at a clothing shop.
"You're going to buy clothes?"
At Namgung Seol-rin's question, Do Tong-dal answered with a smile.
"I'm going to give you an outfit as a present."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
Namgung Seol-rin smiled softly.
"You don't have to go out of your way......"
"No? Then shall we just go?"
Namgung Seol-rin snatched the back of Do Tong-dal's neck as he started to turn away.
"Refusing a gift isn't polite either."
The quite large clothing shop was full of splendid garments made of fine silk. Namgung Seol-rin wandered here and there, thinking, Which clothes should I pick?
Won Dae-yeon asked Do Tong-dal.
"What are you thinking? Surely you don't actually mean to give Protector Namgung a clothing gift."
Jang Yu-seom also looked at Do Tong-dal with a curious expression. Just then, from a little way off, Namgung Seol-rin said, "Tong-dal, can't you pick for me?"
Women always fall into decision paralysis when they come to a clothing shop. So Do Tong-dal had been waiting for Namgung Seol-rin to say that.
"All right. I'll pick you some fine clothes."
It did not take long. It was an extremely flashy garment that exposed a great deal of skin.
Namgung Seol-rin, who had changed inside and come out, tilted her head.
"Do you really want me to wear something like this?"
"You look truly beautiful. Don't you two agree?"
Jang Yu-seom and Won Dae-yeon nodded with awkward expressions.
"W-well, yes."
"Y-yes, she's pretty."
"See? Everyone's eye for people is the same."
"Still, I'd like to throw something over it."
Her shoulders were fully exposed, and below her thighs felt bare. So he picked out one more long outer robe worn by women.
The clothes were seriously provocative, but what mattered was that Do Tong-dal had given her a gift.
Namgung Seol-rin, now in a good mood, chattered away with a smiling face the whole time, then frowned when she saw where Do Tong-dal had stopped.
"What? The first place you stop as soon as we get to Luoyang is a pleasure house?"
The pleasure house, racing toward deep night, was crowded with people. In particular, the Hongrak First Pleasure House was famed as the largest and most splendid pleasure house in Luoyang.
"For getting a read on the Luoyang Underworld, a pleasure house is the best place, isn't it?"
Because there was a plausible reason, Namgung Seol-rin voiced no further complaints.
The claim that all reservations were full slipped away at the price of one nyang of silver. As with any pleasure house, they always kept two or so rooms empty.
In the room of a little over ten pyeong, there was a large table and a space where a entertainer could perform.
The eight courtesans who came in were not very satisfactory compared to the reputation of the foremost pleasure house in Luoyang.
With the thought, The pretty courtesans must all have gone into rooms already, he picked two.
Because of Namgung Seol-rin, Do Tong-dal was not even given the chance to choose. The skill of the entertainer who came in next was also merely passable.
Do Tong-dal, who had said he was going to learn about the Underworld, did not, however, so much as bring up the word "Underworld" to the courtesans.
He simply kept pouring and drinking, pouring and drinking, doing nothing but gulping down liquor.
"I'm going to take a piss."
The moment Namgung Seol-rin left the room, Won Dae-yeon asked.
"What in the world are you thinking?"
Do Tong-dal answered while looking at the door Namgung Seol-rin had gone through.
"Around this hour, there's always some blind drunk who can't tell whether what he's drinking is liquor or piss. Isn't a protector of her level practically a celestial maiden here? A half-naked celestial maiden. In a pleasure house full of men who love women, would a drunk who can't tell shit from piss just let a protector like that walk by?"
"Protector Bang" meant Namgung Seol-rin's alias, Bang Su-yeon.
"A honey trap...... is it?"
"A kind of one?"
In Won Dae-yeon's head, a scene played out of a drunken lout getting his jaw sent flying. And sure enough.
"Aaaack—!"
Crack! Thud!
From outside came a scream and the sound of something breaking.
"A toast to Protector Bang, who never disappoints our expectations."
Jang Yu-seom and Won Dae-yeon clinked their cups in a daze.
"Has that bitch lost her mind?! Do you know who we are, how dare you...... Aack!"
After that, three more screams rang out, and the sound of furnishings breaking continued.
"Is it all right not to go out?"
"She wouldn't kill them, surely."
"True enough. Worrying about Na—no, about Protector Bang is foolish."
They simply drank, passing the cup back and forth. Then Namgung Seol-rin flung the door open, fuming.
"Hey! Do—! No, Bae Cheong-dong!"
Even in the middle of this, Namgung Seol-rin faithfully used Do Tong-dal's alias.
"Yes? What's wrong......? Did something happen outside......?"
"You made me wear these clothes on purpose, didn't you!"
"You're beautiful, Sis. Heh heh heh...... Aack!"
Do Tong-dal's laughter turned into a scream when he was struck on the back. Won Dae-yeon poured liquor into Namgung Seol-rin's cup and asked.
"You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
"I wanted to kill them so badly that I think I've become a piece of the Buddha's robe from holding it in."
Namgung Seol-rin downed three cups of liquor in one breath, then glared at Do Tong-dal.
"I should have known from the moment you bought me clothes. You're not the type to give me presents."
Do Tong-dal whispered.
"If things go well here, I'll give you a present you really like."
"Yeah? Promise."
Just as the two were linking pinkies, four men strode in through the already-open door.
"Who dares cause a disturbance in the Hongrak First Pleasure House?"
The three men, led by a sturdy fellow in his forties, had appearances quite excellent for thugs.
Do Tong-dal grabbed Namgung Seol-rin's arm as she was about to spring up from her seat. They needed to exchange at least a few words to extract information.
"The disturbance was started by their side. They dared touch our Sis's backside, so they're lucky not to be dead."
Namgung Seol-rin asked, "How did you know it was my backside?" and he answered, "If they'd touched somewhere worse, you'd have killed them."
"If a woman comes to a pleasure house dressed like a courtesan, she can be mistaken for a courtesan. And since you injured important guests over that, you'll have to take responsibility. You'll also have to pay for the broken furnishings."
"Defending men who did something deserving a beating. Is that the law of Luoyang?"
"The law of Luoyang is our Songrak Society."
The name of the Underworld had come out.
"Songrak Society? The Underworld?"
"And who are you people?"
The reason the sturdy man did not rush in recklessly was that, in the off chance, Do Tong-dal's party might be martial artists.
"We're just people passing through, and we've no intention of paying for anything, so get lost."
At this point, from the standpoint of an Underworld group collecting protection money, they could not simply let it pass.
"It's something that could be settled with money, but if you insist on getting holes put in your bodies, I'll gladly oblige. Boys, bring out the tools."
The fact that they knew they were the Underworld and still were not afraid meant they had that much confidence.
In twenty years of living as a thug, he had come close to death three times.
Of those, the one time he had nearly kissed the feet of the grim reaper had been a fight with a martial artist.
In truth, it could hardly even be called a fight. He had simply been hit once, and that one blow had broken five ribs.
If the broken bones had punctured even one internal organ, he would have died back then, fifteen years ago.
'As long as they're not martial artists.'
Praying only for that, he shouted.
"Skin those bastards!"
With the words, "I'll handle this myself," Do Tong-dal vaulted over the table. Handling four thugs was as easy as using chopsticks.
He did not treat them harshly. He broke the legs of two and smashed the arms of the other two. For men who swung weapons around, it was a merciful disposition.
Over the four thugs rolling on the floor, Do Tong-dal's voice fell.
"Songrak Society, was it? You've spoiled the old folks' rare good mood. How are you going to take responsibility?"
The sturdy man, Song Tae-sik, felt goosebumps rise at that voice. A martial artist. An ordinary person's physical strength could not possibly be like this.
"R-responsibility......?"
If they were martial artists, then this should end with the thugs being punished to this degree.
"Look here, are you going to wreck our time and then wipe your mouths clean? Precious time, once it passes, never comes back."
This was fault-finding. This was talk fit for an Underworld thug, not the language of a martial artist.
"H-how should we take responsibility......?"
"First, set the drinking table right again properly. An overturned drinking party gets settled that way. As for wasting our time, that's a problem for your Songrak Society to worry about. You'd better resolve it well. If we don't like your solution, we'll be coming to the Songrak Society."
It was familiar. This was the threat he had always made or heard among the Underworld.
'Fuck! He's a martial artist! Why is he threatening us like an Underworld thug!'
He barely managed to hold back the urge to shout that. In any case, they were saying they would not end it at this, and this was not a problem that could be settled at the level of a mere branch chief like him.
'I'm caught up in some fucked-up mess.'
Song Tae-sik called the floor manager and ordered him to prepare a new table. In the finest room of the Hongrak First Pleasure House, the most expensive food and liquor were laid out.
Song Tae-sik, who had only half-treated his broken arm, rushed to Society Leader Wang Il-seok.
"What? With martial artists?"
"It seems there was a quarrel with Merchant Yu at the pleasure house."
"Merchant Yu? The silk merchant?"
"They're fairly large merchants who sell silk and also tea and sundry goods. Their people got hit, so we stepped in...... and it turned into this mess."
"Martial artists, you say. Bad luck. Get that treated properly."
Song Tae-sik had gotten into a quarrel with martial artists and been beaten. The matter should have ended there. It was nonsense for Underworld riffraff to talk of revenge just because they had been beaten by martial artists.
"Er...... well, the thing is......."
* * *