Monopolizing Fortunes (178)
xml
Monopolizing Fortunes (178)
And one more thing made Do Tong-dal draw his blade. The moment Do Tong-dal gripped his sword, the one-armed old man dropped his dumpling with a plop.
"Wh-why are you doing this? I-I'll give the money back."
"It is astonishingly natural, but let's stop now."
"P-please, spare this old man's life. What did I even do to deserve this?"
As the one-armed old man made a pleading gesture with his one hand, bits of the dumpling he'd been eating tumbled from his mouth.
"We'll know once I check."
When Do Tong-dal roused his internal power, a resonant hum—! rose from the blade. This was the fastest and surest way.
Do Tong-dal swung his sword at the old man. It wasn't merely a test; it was an attack made with the intent to kill.
He set aside the doubt: 'What if I'm killing an innocent old man?' He was certain, and he would move according to that certainty.
The blade split the air and reached just above the old man's head, but the old man didn't move. It looked as though he would take the blow and be cleaved in two.
But Do Tong-dal did not stop his sword. And in the end, his blade cut through empty air.
The one-armed old man, who had evaded Do Tong-dal's sword by a hair's breadth, straightened his back, and he seemed to grow a full ja taller.
"Where did the kind young man who gave charity to an old man at the restaurant go?"
"Where did the pitiful one-armed old man begging at the restaurant go?"
Do Tong-dal pointed at the fluttering sleeve.
"You're not even one-armed, are you?"
"You used a reverse disguise, so I did a little disguising of my own."
A hand suddenly shot out from the old man's empty sleeve. He had only grown an arm and gained height, yet the previous shabbiness was nowhere to be found.
"Will you reveal your identity, or shall we play twenty questions?"
"Wouldn't revealing your identity come first?"
"You must have approached me already knowing it, so is there any need to make a fuss about it now?"
"Even so, I'd like to hear it from your own mouth."
"If you insist on wasting time. I am called Bae Cheong-dong, and I serve as Hall Master of the Righteous Chivalry Sect. And who might you be?"
"A lucky old man who suddenly grew an arm."
Do Tong-dal, who had been staring blankly at the old man, turned his body.
"You picked the wrong person to play games with."
The old man spoke to Do Tong-dal's retreating back.
"You're more hot-tempered than I'd heard, Do Tong-dal."
He had no choice but to stop walking.
"Who... did you say?"
"You disbanded Hangzhou's Red Tiger Society, so you're no longer a thug, and since you're posing as Bae Cheong-dong, you're not a proper martial artist either. Now only the name Do Tong-dal truly remains."
Seeing the old man's faint smile, Do Tong-dal realized further denial was meaningless. The old man knew about him far too precisely.
"I have no choice but to ask again. Who are you, old man?"
"I had a hard time finding out, so you should put in at least that much effort yourself."
Do Tong-dal drew the sword he had just sheathed again.
"Good heavens! Drawing steel and going straight for murder without a word! This is unexpected!"
"If you have a weapon, draw it. If not, face me with your bare hands."
No more words were needed. Do Tong-dal rushed the old man at the highest speed he could muster.
Blade aura extended a full one and a half ja from Do Tong-dal's sword. He had not fully mastered the Three Severings Blade Art he had obtained from the Imperial Palace Secret Archive, but thanks to the elixir Ju Hyeong-seon had given him, his internal energy had grown by leaps and bounds.
The effect of that internal energy was manifesting as blade aura. The one-and-a-half-ja-long blue blade aura was enough to startle the old man.
With a sound that tore through the air, the blade aura descended toward the old man's crown. The old man, who had slipped left like a phantom, already held a sword in his hand.
Boom!
The spot where the old man had stood exploded with blade force, scattering debris in all directions.
"If I take this lightly, I'll end up in the grave!"
He said that, but the old man's face as he blocked the blade was composed.
Clang!
A thunderous sound rang out as sword met sword. Do Tong-dal currently possessed over sixty years' worth of internal power. If ranked purely by internal power, fewer than ten people in the martial world stood ahead of Do Tong-dal.
Yet he could not overpower the old man with strength. Of course, internal power was not the absolute measure of strength, but it still accounted for a considerable share.
The recoil Do Tong-dal felt in his hand told him the old man's internal energy was no less than his own.
Do Tong-dal's attacks did not pause for even a moment. Every time their weapons clashed, the residual force split boulders and shattered trees.
They had fought for barely one ke, yet the surroundings had been devastated as if a thousand geun of gunpowder had exploded.
Do Tong-dal had to admit it at this point. He was pouring out everything he had, but the old man had still not revealed his true skill.
The old man was a cut above Do Tong-dal, perhaps a master comparable to Won Dae-yeon. What Do Tong-dal wanted was not to kill the old man.
By now he had roughly grasped the old man's martial arts, and he had a guess as to his identity as well. So after exchanging one more round of offense and defense, he leaped back and put distance between them.
The old man gave Do Tong-dal a puzzled look as he sheathed his sword.
"We've only just begun. Is this surrender?"
"If I surrender, will you accept it?"
"No. Your surrender wasn't part of my expectations. Of all the people I've met, you're the one who most defies my expectations."
"Even so, I'm still in the palm of the Buddha's hand."
"Putting me on the same level as the Buddha. That's more than I deserve."
"You're qualified for it. You're the head of the Revenge Society, after all."
For a very brief moment, an expression Do Tong-dal could read appeared on the old man's face for the first time.
"Hm. This is rather embarrassing. Are you certain?"
"If I weren't certain, I wouldn't have brought up the name Revenge Society."
"Puhahaha—! I thought you were a cunning schemer, but are you saying you're a fledgling phoenix?"
"Some have called me Gongmyeong."
"Shamelessness is occasionally a fine virtue."
"If you had sent word to the Righteous Chivalry Sect and visited, I would have served you some astonishingly fine liquor."
"I enjoy conversation more than liquor, and fighting more than conversation. Shall we finish the fight we started?"
"Couldn't you just accept my surrender?"
"You're walking a tightrope between cowardice and wisdom."
"I'm just a coward who values his life."
"A coward couldn't have made the utterly hopeless Third Prince into the Crown Prince."
The Society Leader knew more than Do Tong-dal had expected. Do Tong-dal didn't waste time denying it.
"You know me inside and out, yet you haven't killed me immediately. May I take that to mean you want something from me?"
"First, I'm curious. The you before eighteen and the Do Tong-dal after that seem like completely different people. What happened?"
He couldn't say that he had died at sixty and been reborn at eighteen.
"Everyone has a turning point. I suppose that was mine."
Do Tong-dal shrugged.
"One thing led to another, and that's how it turned out."
"Is that all?"
"Haven't you already looked into me thoroughly?"
The Society Leader, who had been staring blankly at Do Tong-dal, spoke.
"I'll find that missing link someday. You made quite an insolent proposal to my son."
"What proposal do you mean?"
"To slaughter the orthodox faction figures with poison on the Jongnam Sect Leader's birthday."
Do Tong-dal forced a smile.
"Isn't it a good plan?"
"While making the Northern Unorthodox Alliance the mastermind behind it?"
"It would complete the perfect orthodox-unorthodox war the Revenge Society desires."
"Do I look like a fool to you?"
"Of course not."
"You're close with the Beggars' Sect Leader, and you must have deep ties with the Northern Unorthodox Alliance Leader as well. If it weren't for your request, that old horse would never have gone all the way to the Imperial Palace to guard the Third Prince."
The Society Leader truly knew a great deal. Do Tong-dal had read no suspicion about him from Won Jin-u. That meant all this information had not even been shared with Won Jin-u.
"Isn't the martial world a place where yesterday's enemy becomes today's friend, and today's friend becomes tomorrow's enemy?"
"Don't try to slip away with such a common saying."
Blind denial was not a wise choice. Seven parts truth and three parts lie—he must not forget that fact.
"Honestly, I had no intention of making the Northern Unorthodox Alliance the mastermind. Not because of my relationship with the Alliance Leader, but because it's too difficult a task. However, the operation I've set up this time won't be bad for the Revenge Society either. The atrocities Mount Hua and the Jongnam Sect committed in the past will be exposed to the whole world."
"So you'll finish it with a fight between the Revenge Society, Mount Hua, and the Jongnam Sect?"
The Society Leader had hit the nail on the head.
"Do you truly want an orthodox-unorthodox war to break out and drown the martial world in blood, Society Leader?"
"What about you? I can't understand from the start why you jumped into this fight. You're no chivalrous hero—just a Hangzhou thug."
Do Tong-dal tore open his chest and showed the scar. Then he recounted in detail the story of how he had gotten that scar.
By the time the story ended, the Society Leader's face was deeply twisted.
"You resolved to fight the Revenge Society for just that reason?"
"As you said, Society Leader, I'm a thug. Thugs don't easily forget even small grudges."
The Society Leader, who had been staring at Do Tong-dal with a dumbfounded expression, suddenly burst out laughing.
"You really are an unpredictable man! To create this whole mess just because someone scarred your chest! Ha ha ha!"
It was impossible to tell whether he was in a good mood or simply amused. Then, as if it had been a lie, he stopped laughing and stared blankly at Do Tong-dal.
He was the first person Do Tong-dal had met whose mind was so hard to read. Compared to the Society Leader, the gamblers he had met in the old gambling dens were mere children.
Just as he was thinking, 'If he'd gone into gambling, he'd have made a fortune,' the Society Leader asked.
"You're certainly an enemy of the Revenge Society, aren't you?"
"That's how it started, but I can't say I'm simply an enemy now."
"If you've interfered with the Revenge Society's affairs and toyed with my son, I call that an enemy."
"If you do things your way, Society Leader, you won't be able to achieve your revenge. I can't say 'never,' but the possibility is very slim."
The Society Leader nodded as if in agreement.
"It's difficult. That's what revenge is. Even Won Dae-yeon under you took ten years for his revenge. The Revenge Society has walked the path of revenge even longer than that."
"You can finish the revenge for the Won Merchant Company this time. The scale will be smaller than what you planned, Society Leader, but what's the point of killing people who have nothing to do with the facts? You only need to repay your enemies."
"What did Won Dae-yeon say? About how it felt when he got his revenge."
"He said it felt refreshing. Like setting down a burden so heavy he could barely take a step, and then running."
"I'd like to feel that feeling soon, too."
It had been a full eighteen years. He had run all that long time for revenge alone, so of course he was exhausted. By now his breath must be catching in his throat and his legs trembling, wanting to collapse.
"But this time, it won't work."
"Society Leader..."
"Because the Jongnam Sect Leader's birthday banquet will be canceled."
"What?"
"Be grateful for your luck today. If my interest in you had been even a little less, you would have died right here."
With Do Tong-dal's current martial arts, he could never be a match for the Society Leader. In any case, it was a relief that the man said he wouldn't kill him.
"Thank you for your mercy."
The old man burst out laughing with a "Pfft!"
"You really are... a funny fellow."
"What... do you mean?"
"You made an emperor and achieved this much in the martial world, and you thank me for mercy? Isn't that a bit groveling?"
"All the wealth and glory in the world only matter if you're alive to enjoy them."
A complicated expression rose to the Society Leader's face. It seemed like regret, and also like greed—an emotion even Do Tong-dal could not quite pin down.
"I'll visit the Righteous Chivalry Sect later."
With those words, the Society Leader vanished. Only after confirming that the Society Leader was completely gone did Do Tong-dal let out a long breath.
"Fuck, I thought I was going to die of nerves."
He had deceived the Revenge Society until now, so it would not have been strange for the Society Leader to kill him. Rather, it was puzzling that he had left like this.
Do Tong-dal returned to the Righteous Chivalry Sect without looking back. Now that the Society Leader knew his identity, all plans had to be revised. And there was one important thing.
"Won Dae-yeon!"
Won Dae-yeon, who had been instructing Jang Yeon-seon, threw a puzzled look at Do Tong-dal as he came running breathlessly.
"What's the matter?"
"Let's have a spar."
"A spar, all of a sudden?"
"I'll explain the reason later. Let's just do it first."
Namgung Seol-rin, who had come around the corner of the building, asked.
"What are you doing?"
* * *