Monopolizing Fortunes (183)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (183)
"Because it would have been possible if it were the Imperial Palace Secret Archive, full of elixirs and secret manuals. Of course, it wouldn't have been easy. Elixirs and secret manuals alone don't make someone one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven. Your training, Society Leader, must have crossed the line between life and death more than a few times."
"I stopped counting at ten. For a man with no talent for martial arts to learn them at such a late age is an ascetic ordeal, walking the path between life and death."
"But in the end, you succeeded."
"Wouldn't you say it was Heaven's will, telling me to take my revenge?"
"The opportunity for revenge arose."
Won Jung-bang leaned back in his chair.
"You won the bet."
"You're deliberating whether to keep your word."
"I have no choice but to."
"You don't have a choice. Do you think you can succeed in your revenge if you make an enemy of me as well?"
"That is what I'm curious about. Why didn't you become an enemy of the Revenge Society? You could have simply informed the orthodox sects... no, the entire martial world about us, and then you wouldn't have had to risk your life."
Do Tong-dal scratched his head. Fortunately, no dandruff like Baek So-gu's fell out.
"Because I'm a thug. Once I learned what Mount Hua and the Jongnam Sect had done, I understood the Revenge Society. A thug never forgets even a small grudge, so a grudge this great must be repaid without fail."
"They say a chivalrous hero never forgets a grudge, so a thug is a chivalrous hero. Heh heh heh!"
Won Jung-bang's laughter was hollow. Everyone has a plan. He had also made plans for what to do if Do Tong-dal joined the Revenge Society.
But Do Tong-dal never moved according to an opponent's plan. The moment anyone got entangled with Do Tong-dal, they inevitably became part of Do Tong-dal's plan. That was Do Tong-dal.
"I have a question as well. When you learned I was Do Tong-dal, not Bae Cheong-dong, why didn't you kill me?"
With Won Jung-bang's martial arts, he could easily have killed Do Tong-dal.
"At first, I intended to kill you. But your actions were strange. You didn't do what an enemy should obviously do, yet you weren't on my side either. So I decided to watch."
"You took a considerable risk."
"If I'd known it would come to this, I should have killed you."
Won Jung-bang admitted he had lost the bet. He had thought it was a bet he couldn't lose, but now that he had lost, he realized it had been a bet staking his life.
"Let me make this clear: at the very least, it must be a revenge I can accept. If not, I won't fear making an enemy of even the emperor, let alone you."
"You've staked your life on revenge, so that's only natural."
"Then shall I hear what you have to say?"
"Before that, there's something I want to ask."
* * *
Everyone gathered wore bewildered expressions. They had suspected there was something behind the destruction of the Won Merchant Company, but they had never imagined it would be something this sordid.
It was impossible to tell whether the white flakes on his head were dandruff or dust, but Baek So-gu had truly rushed over to the Righteous Chivalry Sect and was attending the meeting.
"If I didn't mishear, you're saying that at the time, two disciples of Mount Hua and Jongnam raped the wife of the Won Merchant Company's head? Not the eldest daughter."
Do Tong-dal said.
"Won Jung-bang never even had a daughter."
"And while the elixirs were a factor, the real purpose was to destroy the Won Merchant Company to hide that shame."
"If that rumor had spread, the honor of Mount Hua Sect and Jongnam Sect would have fallen to the ground. Two of the Nine Great Sects would have been pointed at and scorned by the public."
"Those sons of bitches! How could they do something like that! What the...!"
Every curse known to humanity erupted from Baek So-gu's mouth. There were so many curses that even Do Tong-dal, who had lived his whole life as a thug, was hearing them for the first time.
'Oh! That curse really sticks in the mouth. I'll have to use that one next time,' he thought.
Do Tong-dal said.
"Perhaps the former Sect Leaders of Mount Hua and Jongnam also knew about this. For a matter this serious, the Sect Leaders may have turned a blind eye."
Ha Su-ran said.
"The only person who can find out is you, Sect Leader."
"I'll meet them and talk, but what if they play dumb?"
"That's why I should go with you."
"You, Tong-dal? If you go along, what clever trick could you... well, you'd have one. Since it's you, you'd have one. By any chance, have you ever thought about being a beggar instead of a thug? Living with the earth as your pillow and the sky as your blanket isn't so bad."
"It is bad. It's the worst thing in the world."
"Heh—! Young people these days only look for comfort."
"Sect Leader, please contact those two immediately. Both of them must be in the same place."
"Understood."
"I'll do some training in the meantime."
The people in the room looked at Do Tong-dal with puzzled faces. This was Do Tong-dal, who always said that his thug martial arts were more than enough. But now, out of the blue, training?
Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"Why? Do you have someone to fight?"
"I might. You should prepare too, just in case. Won Dae-yeon."
Do Tong-dal's gaze turned to Won Dae-yeon.
"Won Dae-yeon, you especially must prepare thoroughly."
Won Dae-yeon didn't bother asking what it was about. He just had to follow Do Tong-dal's orders.
"Understood."
Do Tong-dal said to Ha Su-ran and Baek So-gu.
"Spread the rumor properly. The raccoon won't come out of its den until the smoke is thick enough."
"Got it."
"Understood."
"We're in the final stretch now. Let's finish this quickly and rest easy. I'm sick to death of this damn martial world."
* * *
Bang Si-bo, who had received Baek So-gu's letter, was puzzled. It had been fifteen years since he had stepped down from the position of Sect Leader and gone into seclusion.
Of course, he hadn't gone without seeing Baek So-gu during that time. Baek So-gu would come to visit, or when he was bored, he would go to see Baek So-gu.
Those meetings had been casual visits; they had never formally sent a letter to set a place and time like this.
"What business could the beggar brother have?"
Bang Si-bo, the former Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect, was not the only one who received Baek So-gu's letter. Yeon Ju-yang, the former Sect Leader of the Jongnam Sect, received the same letter.
It was a matter of concern, but curiosity was greater. Among the renowned elders of the orthodox sects who had been on brotherly terms with him back then, Baek So-gu was the only one still holding a position.
Why would Baek So-gu, still active and vigorous, want to meet with retired has-beens?
So they left their quiet, scenic residences and went to the appointed place at the appointed time.
"Oh? You came too?"
"Sect Leader Baek called you as well?"
Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang, old friends, were surprised to see each other. Baek So-gu's letter had said nothing about meeting together.
The meeting place was an inn located in a quiet spot. It was an inn mainly used by merchants crossing the pass, a place to spend the night or satisfy one's hunger.
Entering the shabby inn with its old signboard, they came directly into the dining area. Only two people were seated in the dining area.
Seeing the two enter, Baek So-gu sprang to his feet.
"You've come."
"Heh heh heh! What wind blew to make Sect Leader Baek call us here?"
"If you were going to call me together with Si-bo here, you should have written that in the letter."
Baek So-gu made a fuss.
"You've been living in boredom, so I had to give you the pleasure of a surprise. Please, sit over here."
Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang looked at Do Tong-dal, who was standing, and asked.
"Who is this young man?"
Do Tong-dal introduced himself.
"I am Do Tong-dal, serving as Hall Master of the Righteous Chivalry Sect."
"Righteous Chivalry Sect?"
Because they were living in seclusion, the Righteous Chivalry Sect was news to them. So Baek So-gu elaborated.
"It's a newly established sect with a bright future. It will become a pillar of the martial world."
"I know you're sharp-tongued, but for you to give such praise."
"Seeing Sect Leader Baek speak so highly of it, it must be a sect with a truly bright future. Righteous Chivalry Sect—the name is good too."
Baek So-gu ordered drinks and food, and opened the conversation by asking how they had been. The small talk continued for half a shichen.
"But what business has brought old men like us, who are living on borrowed time, all the way here?"
Yeon Ju-yang asked what he had been curious about. Baek So-gu emptied his cup, picked up the wine bottle, and said.
"First, have a drink."
Baek So-gu's demeanor turned serious. As Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang drank, Baek So-gu refilled their empty cups.
"I invited you here to discuss something that will make you both very uncomfortable."
"This isn't like you. Don't beat around the bush; speak."
"The Won Merchant Company, eighteen years ago."
Bang Si-bo's and Yeon Ju-yang's faces hardened simultaneously. Do Tong-dal didn't miss the expressions on their faces. Both were surprised, but the direction of their surprise was subtly different.
Bang Si-bo said.
"I don't know why that name is coming from your mouth."
Yeon Ju-yang also spoke.
"That matter ended long ago. I would prefer not to speak of it."
"What makes you uncomfortable?"
"Why are you taking an interest in that matter? It's a painful incident for both Mount Hua and Jongnam."
In answer to Yeon Ju-yang's question, Baek So-gu emptied his cup and replied.
"Because the safety of the martial world hangs on that matter."
"The safety of the martial world hangs on an incident that was concluded eighteen years ago?"
"It wasn't concluded. Was there not a single survivor of the Won Merchant Company at the time?"
Yeon Ju-yang and Bang Si-bo looked at each other once. In the end, Bang Si-bo answered.
"I heard that the head of the family and his youngest son escaped at the time. If you're asking about the inside story of that matter..."
Baek So-gu cut Bang Si-bo off.
"I am well aware of Mount Hua's and Jongnam's claims."
"Claims, you say? They are the truth."
"Do you truly believe that?"
"What else could there be? Of course, our handling of it was harsh. Haaah—! The reason this friend and I stepped down as Sect Leaders early was, in truth, because of the Won Merchant Company incident. Looking back now, there might have been other ways to resolve it."
Yeon Ju-yang also nodded, agreeing with Bang Si-bo's words. Baek So-gu asked a surprise question.
"Did you not know about the Stone Milk Essence and the Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb?"
Bang Si-bo wore a puzzled expression.
"Stone Milk Essence and Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb?"
Yeon Ju-yang also had a face that said, 'What nonsense is this?' Baek So-gu glanced at Do Tong-dal. Looking at their faces, it was clear they knew nothing about the elixirs.
"The Won Merchant Company had the Stone Milk Essence and the Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb at the time. And those elixirs disappeared in the attack by Mount Hua and Jongnam."
Bang Si-bo asked, his voice like a scream.
"Are you saying Mount Hua and Jongnam took those elixirs?"
"Is that not obvious?"
Bang!
Bang Si-bo slammed the table, cracking the grease-caked wood. That was the extent of it, without even using his internal energy.
"Preposterous! The Won Merchant Company was destroyed for their own crimes! Stone Milk Essence and Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb! Don't speak such nonsense!"
As Bang Si-bo sprang to his feet, Yeon Ju-yang also lifted his bottom from his chair.
"I rushed here, glad to see you after so long, and you spout absurdities. Don't ever seek me out again."
As Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang took a step, Baek So-gu's voice fell upon them.
"How do you explain the martial arts of Byeon Jung-man and Wang Jo-hyeong, the current Sect Leaders of Mount Hua and Jongnam, improving so dramatically at that time?"
"That's thanks to their own painstaking efforts!"
"Do you think that's possible at middle age without some extraordinary opportunity? You two know better than anyone that that's bullshit."
"So you're saying that for mere elixirs, Mount Hua and Jongnam committed such an atrocity that would anger both heaven and man!"
"What about the rape?"
Finally, Baek So-gu threw out the last question.
"That family was ruined because of the atrocity committed by the eldest son of the Won Merchant Company."
Bang Si-bo moved to leave, and Yeon Ju-yang hesitated. Listening to the back-and-forth, Do Tong-dal was able to discern what Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang knew and what facts they were ignorant of.
Do Tong-dal broke the long silence.
"Mount Hua and Jongnam coveted the elixirs and destroyed the innocent Won Merchant Company. Such rumors are quietly circulating in the martial world these days."
When the topic of the two sects' reputations came up, the two men stopped their steps to leave.
"What? That's absurd...!"
"And there was also an incident where two disciples of Mount Hua and Jongnam raped the wife of the Won Merchant Company's head. That's a rumor that will spread from now on."
Bang Si-bo's furious gaze shifted from Do Tong-dal to Baek So-gu.
"Should I take it that the Beggars' Sect is spreading these rumors right now?"
Baek So-gu said.
"The Northern Unorthodox Alliance is also spreading the word."
"Why in the world! Why are you spreading such false rumors! What grudge do the Beggars' Sect and the Northern Unorthodox Alliance hold against us!"
* * *