Monopolizing Fortunes (190)
Monopolizing Fortunes (190)
"The Society Leader died taking Byeon Jung-man with him."
Won Jin-u, who had seen Won Jung-bang's body, showed no reaction to Do Tong-dal's words.
"I should have been the one to fight. I should have......"
"How could I presume to fathom a parent's heart? But any father would have made the same choice as the Society Leader."
After a long silence, Won Jin-u asked.
"Are all the enemies dead?"
"Yes. Every last one."
"So the vengeance is complete, then. By my father's own hand."
"The Society Leader seemed to have anticipated today's outcome."
"What? Anticipated?"
Do Tong-dal held out a letter he had prepared in advance to Won Jin-u.
"I found it while clearing out the Society Leader's office, since the Revenge Society needed to be reorganized. He left a letter addressed to you, Young Society Leader."
Of course, it was a forged letter written by Do Tong-dal, but Won Jin-u could never know that.
Won Jin-u took the letter from the envelope and read it. He had not read more than a few lines before tears welled up in his eyes.
The letter Do Tong-dal had written after agonizing over it again and again struck a deep chord in Won Jin-u's heart.
In the hour standing at the boundary between day and darkness, Won Jin-u read the letter over and over. The contents, so full of a father's aching love for his son, showed a side of Won Jung-bang he had never displayed before.
Won Jin-u, who had swallowed his tears until his chest felt full, opened his mouth with difficulty.
"My father knew I drew pictures."
"Even I knew, so there's no way the Society Leader didn't."
"And yet he never once let on. I hid it desperately, thinking that if Father found out...... he would scold me severely......"
Knowing Won Jung-bang, he might have gone beyond scolding and broken his fingers.
"He says that of the pictures I drew, he liked the one of a mountain shrouded in clouds and mist the most."
"Was there such a picture?"
Won Jin-u nodded.
"There were many. So many that I don't even know which one it was. I burned most of the pictures I drew."
Any painter draws landscapes, and a mountain shrouded in clouds and mist was one of the most common landscapes. Naturally, Won Jin-u would have drawn one at some point, so that was why he had written it that way.
"He tells me that since the revenge is over, I should forget it all now and live doing what I want to do."
Do Tong-dal nodded with an expression of finally understanding.
"So that's why he entrusted the Revenge Society to me right before he died."
"What exactly did he ask of you?"
"He asked me to look after the members of the Revenge Society. He couldn't say much because his wounds were so fatal, but his meaning was that he wanted me to help them become proper members of the martial world."
"What do you think, Hall Master Do?"
"Wouldn't your thoughts matter more, Young Society Leader? The Society Leader may have made that request, but now that he has passed, you are the one to succeed the Revenge Society."
Won Jin-u shook his head.
"I no longer wish to involve myself in the Revenge Society, or in martial-world affairs at all."
Won Jin-u's gaze turned back to Won Jung-bang.
"My father's wish that I live doing what I want to do is probably that, too."
"Then......?"
"It's shameless of me, but I'll have to leave the winding-up of the Revenge Society to you, Hall Master Do. The Young Society Leader of the Revenge Society died in that fight alongside his father."
"Still, it's an organization he built over a lifetime."
"It's also the shackle that bound my father and me for a lifetime."
Do Tong-dal inwardly rejoiced, but he did not drop his regretful expression.
"I don't know whether the Revenge Society people will listen to me."
"I'll contact everyone. I'll send you the organizational chart as well."
It was the moment an organization that did not fall short of any one of the Nine Great Sects came rolling into his hands whole.
"It would be good if all of them became members of the Righteous Chivalry Sect. Living as orthodox martial artists doesn't seem so bad."
"The Righteous Chivalry Sect was thrown together in a hurry because of Mount Hua, so......"
"Still, since you've made it, why not raise it well?"
"What do you intend to do, Young Society Leader?"
Won Jin-u's gaze turned toward the distance.
"After I finish settling the Revenge Society's affairs, I'm going to go wherever my feet take me. I don't really know where or how I'll stop."
Won Jin-u's face was full of relief. Do Tong-dal said.
"The Society Leader's funeral should be grand......"
"No. I'll lay him to rest somewhere no one knows. Not as the Society Leader of the Revenge Society, but as Company Head Won Jung-bang of the Won Merchant Company."
Won Jin-u departed hurriedly for the Revenge Society with Won Jung-bang's body. He had the air of someone who wanted to finish the Revenge Society's business quickly and cast off the robes of Young Society Leader.
Do Tong-dal saw Won Jin-u off until he disappeared from view. He had also given him plenty of money so that he would not be uncomfortable living anywhere, so Won Jin-u would be able to live doing what he wanted.
The Revenge Society, which had long tormented the martial world, vanished just like that. Jang Yu-seom, who had been standing shoulder to shoulder with Do Tong-dal, asked.
"Are you really sure it's all right to leave it like this?"
"What is?"
"If the Young Society Leader ever learns the truth later, he might come looking for revenge."
It could easily lead to a sequel to the Revenge Society.
"If that happens, we'll deal with it then."
Beside him, Baek So-gu muttered, "They say a real man has to be ruthless."
"I suppose I'm not a real man, then."
"A chivalrous hero is better than a real man. Heh heh heh......"
Baek So-gu was very pleased with Do Tong-dal's decision. Without compassion, he could not have made the choice to spare Won Jin-u.
'This is a great blessing for the martial world. A truly great blessing.'
Do Tong-dal was more outstanding than any figure Baek So-gu had ever seen. As far as Baek So-gu knew, Do Tong-dal was the only person who could shake the martial world by his very existence alone.
"Chivalrous hero, my ass. I'm a thug, I tell you, a thug!"
"So you're going to keep on being a thug from now on?"
"A caterpillar has to live on pine needles. Just like you beg for a living, Sect Leader."
"In that sense, how would you feel about becoming a beggar of the Beggars' Sect......"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin shouted at the same time.
"The Revenge Society matter is wrapped up, so what will you do now?"
At Won Dae-yeon's question, Do Tong-dal looked up at the Righteous Chivalry Sect plaque behind him.
"First, I need to stabilize the Righteous Chivalry Sect. Once we absorb the Revenge Society, it's going to become enormous, so there'll be no end of work."
"There were many twists and turns, but in the end you swallowed the Revenge Society just as you originally planned."
"Heh heh heh...... I've gained a solid backing in the martial world."
Baek So-gu said.
"Backing? Isn't it simply yours?"
"What do you mean? There's clearly a Sect Leader named Jang Yeon-seon. I'm just that child's master. Well, the martial arts are all being taught by Protector Won here."
"In any case, now we'll have to call it Ten Sects and One Gang, or Nine Sects, One Gang, and One Sect."
"The fact that the members used to belong to the Revenge Society must be kept strictly secret."
"That secret won't leak from the Beggars' Sect."
Ha Su-ran also said, "The Northern Unorthodox Alliance is the same." But a secret would not remain secret forever.
'I'll worry about that when the time comes.'
Just then, Jang Yeon-seon came running up from behind, calling out to Do Tong-dal.
"Master!"
Jang Yeon-seon, who had come running breathlessly, spoke with a thoroughly flushed face.
"A suitable place has come up in Beijing! There are thirty buildings, and there's a wide open lot that can be used as a training ground, and since it's in the city, it's close to the pleasure houses you'd go to, Master!"
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned that last part about the pleasure houses; he could feel Namgung Seol-rin's and Ha Su-ran's sharp gazes.
Jang Yeon-seon had been looking around in her spare time for a place in Beijing where the Righteous Chivalry Sect could be established, since Do Tong-dal had said he was going to Beijing.
Do Tong-dal scratched his head with a troubled expression.
"Thirty buildings is nowhere near enough."
"What? How many people are coming from the Revenge Society?"
"At least eight hundred, and it could be over a thousand."
Jang Yeon-seon was horrified.
"What? That many? The only place in Beijing that many people could live is the Forbidden City."
Of course it would be. But building new structures in a quiet spot on the outskirts would take far too long.
"What do we do? Could you maybe talk to the emperor and buy part of the Forbidden City?"
Do Tong-dal let out a quiet laugh.
"No matter how close I am to the emperor, that's not possible."
He had a feeling that if he asked, Ju Hyeong-seon might actually grant it.
"If Beijing is difficult, what about Hebei Province, which is close to Beijing?"
"But no matter how close it is, I couldn't see you every day, Master."
"We can just visit each other often."
"Can't we just reduce the number of people?"
"You want to abandon the people who will become your family from now on?"
Jang Yeon-seon's expression flickered with surprise.
"You're right. My sect members are no different from family. I almost became trash. I'm sorry."
Do Tong-dal patted the apologizing Jang Yeon-seon on the head.
"That's how you learn, one thing at a time, and become a fine Sect Leader. First, let's gather the Revenge Society people scattered across the regions. We need to bring them together and find out whether they want to become members of the Righteous Chivalry Sect."
"What if they say they don't want to?"
"Then we let them go. You can't force people who don't want to stay. Let's go inside for now and discuss what comes next."
At Do Tong-dal's air of seeming to be in a hurry about something, Namgung Seol-rin quietly came over and asked.
"Do you have something else to do?"
"Why?"
"No reason. You just look that way."
"Have you learned the Mind-Reading Art or something?"
"Have I only been watching you for a day or two?"
Do Tong-dal did not bother to deny it.
"There is something I want to do, but first I'll deal with the urgent matters in front of me."
The next day, Won Jin-u sent a box. It was a document densely filled with the names of the Revenge Society branches and members scattered across the regions.
Won Jin-u also sent a letter addressed to Do Tong-dal. It contained his request regarding the Revenge Society warriors and his gratitude toward Do Tong-dal.
Since Do Tong-dal was the enemy who had killed his father, he felt a little sorry about it. But thinking about it another way, it was as good as Do Tong-dal having saved Won Jin-u's life.
However, one thing Do Tong-dal had wanted was missing.
'Did he leave this out on purpose? Hmm....... It'll probably come tomorrow?'
As Do Tong-dal expected, the Hwangdae Merchant Company personnel who had been dispatched to the Revenge Society returned the next day. Since the Revenge Society had been absorbed into the Righteous Chivalry Sect, their return was a natural course of events.
Do Tong-dal sent someone to the Jang Merchant Company to summon Byeon Hui-song. Everyone was glad to return, but Byeon Hui-song, who had played the role of a spy in the Revenge Society, could not be.
Byeon Hui-song's face was full of fear when he was summoned before Do Tong-dal.
"There's no need to be that frightened. As long as you did your job properly."
"I...... Of course I did it properly."
Byeon Hui-song took out a ledger he had prepared from his chest. It was a thick ledger, more than two finger-joints thick.
Do Tong-dal took the untitled ledger and opened it. The first name that caught his eye was Shaolin Temple, followed by Wudang, Mount Hua, and the rest of the Nine Sects and One Gang, as well as not only the Northern Unorthodox Alliance but the names of quite prominent sects in the martial world.
For each sect, where there were many names and positions, more than twenty were written down. They were the spies the Revenge Society had planted over the years.
Judging by the condition of the book and the color of the ink, it had not been long since it had been revised and newly made. In other words, it was fresh information.
"Good work."
"Then what happens to me?"
He was hoping it would end with him simply being kicked out. As long as he survived, he could start over anywhere.
"You'll have to work hard at the Jang Merchant Company. I'll ask them to raise your monthly pay a bit."
Do Tong-dal shook the ledger and said, "You did a good job, after all."
"I...... Am I really not going to receive any punishment?"
"From now on, if your family is taken hostage, come tell me right away. No matter what happens, I'll rescue them safely."
For Byeon Hui-song, it was an ending so good he could hardly believe it. So he said thank you at least a hundred times before leaving.
The Revenge Society had collapsed, but there was no way the spies in each sect would return to the Righteous Chivalry Sect.
They had established themselves in those sects in their own way, and they would live on under their current identities, no longer as Revenge Society spies.
Even if the names in this ledger were not needed right now, they could prove useful someday.
"The more burrows you can use, the better."
Do Tong-dal handed the ledger to Jang Yeon-seon.
"What should I use this for?"
"There's no use for it right now, but it might be needed someday."
"Master, you're too thorough about preparing for the future."
"That's what helps you live a long, healthy life. Keep it safe."
"Yes!"
* * *