Monopolizing Fortunes (231)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (231)
Do Tong-dal climbed onto the large rock where Won Jin-u was sitting.
"Seeing as you haven't caught a single fish, your skills must be nothing special."
Won Jin-u flinched and slowly turned his head. No matter how much time passed, he could never forget Do Tong-dal's voice.
"Young Sect Leader, it's been a while."
"That's a title I haven't heard in a long time. I was hoping you wouldn't come looking for me."
"It's not as if we're enemies......"
"You killed my father, and you say we're not enemies? You shameless bastard."
He had thought too simply of the hostility Won Jin-u had shown the moment he saw him. He had assumed it was because of their tangled past, but Won Jin-u knew the truth.
Do Tong-dal didn't waste time denying it.
"How did you find out?"
"Does that matter?"
"It seems to matter right now."
There was no way the truth had leaked from the mouths of those who had witnessed the fight. They had no connection whatsoever to Won Jin-u.
Nor was there any chance Baek So-gu had told him. That left only one dark source he could think of.
"They told me. That you might come looking for me."
If he said "they," it had to be the hidden faction.
"I won't apologize. There was no other way."
"Then why did you leave me alive? You should have killed me and cleanly removed any future trouble."
"I just...... didn't want to kill you. That's all."
Won Jin-u's face flushed red.
"Was it pity?! Did you think I was so pathetic that I wasn't even worth killing?! Did you believe that even if I swore revenge, I would never be a threat to you because I'm so incompetent?!"
Unlike Won Jin-u, who looked ready to vomit his uvula, Do Tong-dal's voice was calm.
"Then why didn't you come find me, Young Sect Leader, knowing I was your sworn enemy?"
"Because I wasn't ready."
"Liar."
Won Jin-u's expression twisted violently. He looked pitiful, wanting to say something but unable to find the words, only spitting out anger.
"You didn't want to set foot on that terrible path of revenge again."
"Are you mocking me as a coward?"
"I'm trying to say you're wise. That fight in the mountains settled all debts. The Society Leader died by my hand, but even if it hadn't been me, his life was already forfeit."
"If it hadn't been you, my heart wouldn't be in such torment! Do you have any idea how painful it is to chew over the years I spent thinking of you, the man who killed my father, as a friend?!"
"I have no interest in your torment, Young Sect Leader. If not for the hidden faction targeting me, we would never have met like this. It was they who disturbed your peaceful life, not I."
"Sophistry! You're the one who killed my father!"
"Then why didn't you go with them? If you wanted revenge on me, you should have accompanied them."
The hidden faction's contact with Won Jin-u wouldn't have been solely to tell him that his enemy was Do Tong-dal.
They would have wanted a blade to stab Do Tong-dal with, so naturally they would have tried to take him with them. The fact that Won Jin-u was here meant he had refused their offer.
"Are you telling me to walk my father's path? Yes, I could have chosen that path. But the path I chose is this."
Won Jin-u pulled a small wooden case from his grimy trouser pocket. When he opened it, a black pill was revealed.
It was odorless and as small as a thumbnail.
"According to them, this is called Jinseong Gyeokbaldan."
Judging by the name, it was a drug that drew out even one's true origin qi to unleash martial arts far beyond one's original level. Of course, such drugs always came with side effects.
One might have to rest and recover for months, or in severe cases, exhaust all true origin qi and lose one's martial arts, or even die.
"Are you really going to take that?"
Before Do Tong-dal's question had even finished, Won Jin-u tossed the Jinseong Gyeokbaldan into his mouth. Then he untied the long bundle beside him.
Among the painting supplies, a sword was visible. Won Jin-u picked up the sword and muttered.
"I put this sword among my painting tools three days ago."
That meant the hidden faction had come to him three days ago. Since Do Tong-dal hadn't told anyone he was going to meet Won Jin-u, the hidden faction had predicted Do Tong-dal's destination on their own.
'They're not fools.'
Shing—.
The blade, recently polished, was razor-sharp.
"They told me your martial arts have grown incomparably stronger than before. My sword, on the other hand, has rusted and dulled over the past three years."
The tip of Won Jin-u's sword pointed at Do Tong-dal's forehead.
"Shall we see just how much stronger you've become?"
As he spoke, spiderweb-like veins began to appear in Won Jin-u's eyes. As Won Jin-u raised his power, the veins burst one by one, and the whites of his eyes turned entirely red.
"Before we fight, can't you tell me about the hidden faction?"
"Heh heh! Shameless to the very end."
"That's what a thug is. I'm giving you a chance to take revenge on the hidden faction that pushed you into the pit of death. Just as they gave you a chance to take revenge on me."
"Run that mouth of yours after you've beaten me!"
Won Jin-u thrust his sword at Do Tong-dal, who was less than one jang away. He didn't know what Won Jin-u's original martial arts level had been. He had only vaguely guessed, 'Probably around the level of an Elder of the Nine Great Sects.'
But from that single thrusting motion alone, he could tell that his level had soared far beyond that.
It probably wasn't his original skill. A drug like Jinseong Gyeokbaldan made martial arts leap dramatically stronger the greater its effect on the human body.
From his blood-red eyes and the tendons bulging in his limbs, he could tell how vicious a drug Jinseong Gyeokbaldan was.
Do Tong-dal lightly deflected Won Jin-u's sword. With a clear ring, the sword that had been aimed at Do Tong-dal's neck was knocked aside.
The next swing was also blocked by Do Tong-dal's Makya Blade and could not move. The two blades strained against each other in midair.
Screech! Screeeech!
The sound of two sharp pieces of metal grinding against each other made his molars clench involuntarily.
Even if Won Jin-u had become twice as strong as before after taking Jinseong Gyeokbaldan, he still couldn't be a match for Do Tong-dal.
Dragging out the fight here would only torment Won Jin-u further.
"I won't apologize. It's just fucking awful that I have to kill even you, Young Sect Leader."
The Makya Blade slipped past the sword and plunged into Won Jin-u's chest. The fight, utterly simple with no exchange of powerful or elaborate techniques, ended just like that.
"Gurgle......! Gurgle......!"
Won Jin-u, making a sound like blood boiling in his throat, reached out and grabbed Do Tong-dal's hand that held the Makya Blade.
"My revenge...... can it...... be done?"
He hadn't expected such a question before death.
"I'll have to fight them to find out."
"My collar......."
Those were Won Jin-u's last words. Do Tong-dal pulled out the Makya Blade and laid Won Jin-u down in the reed field. His wide-open eyes were still stained red.
Do Tong-dal closed those eyes. His palm felt warmth, as if he were touching someone still alive.
"They say the martial world is the cruelest place in the world. Fuck, the back alleys are way better."
Do Tong-dal watched Won Jin-u grow cold for a long while, then moved his hand to the collar. His groping fingers caught on something stiff.
He tore open the collar and took out the contents: a neatly folded piece of paper. When he unfolded the thin paper, folded several times over, it was about one ja square.
A maze-like drawing was on it, and Do Tong-dal recognized the place immediately.
It was the former headquarters of the Revenge Society, now abandoned. Do Tong-dal ran his fingers over a small circle drawn in the corner of the drawing.
That place was definitely Won Jung-bang's office.
"Is there something here?"
Otherwise, Won Jin-u would never have put such a drawing in his collar, nor handed it over to Do Tong-dal.
Henan Province bordered Shandong Province, so it wasn't very far. Still, it meant moving away from Beijing, so he might not be able to attend tomorrow's banquet.
Many people would be disappointed if Do Tong-dal didn't show up, but the hidden faction was far too important to compare to a celebratory banquet.
Leaving behind Won Jin-u's corpse, growing cold, Do Tong-dal set off toward Henan Province.
Since he had departed from Shandong Province, he had to cross Henan Province to reach Yeongbo County, where the Underworld headquarters had been.
Only when the shadows had grown long did Do Tong-dal set foot in Yeongbo County. More than three years had passed, yet the scenery and even the scent of the blowing wind were exactly the same as then.
It was only upon arriving at the Revenge Society that he could feel the passage of time. The abandoned village had become a ruin.
The houses, thickly draped in cobwebs, were half-collapsed and gave off an ominous air.
Do Tong-dal stepped onto the stairs leading underground through a secret door. The dust on the floor and the cobwebs hanging everywhere told him no one had been here.
No matter how much time passed, Do Tong-dal could recall the maze-like underground passages as if it were yesterday. So he found Won Jung-bang's office without wandering once.
When he broke down the firmly shut door and entered, the smell of dust rushed in.
Papers and books were scattered on the floor, and the desk and bookshelf had been moved out of place.
Standing in the center of the office, Do Tong-dal turned in a full circle and examined his surroundings. The fact that nothing stood out immediately meant there was a hidden spot.
So he moved the desk and bookshelf and even lifted the chair, but he couldn't find the hidden space.
"They wouldn't have told me about this place just to make me suffer."
Do Tong-dal moved along, stomping the floor with his feet and tapping the walls with his fists. Then, at the spot where the bookshelf had originally been, he felt the sensation of empty space.
When his fist struck the wall, a hole appeared with a crumbling sound. After clearing away the debris and widening the entrance, Do Tong-dal found himself facing a space about two ja square inside the wall.
Inside, there was only a single book, like a ledger. It wasn't very thick, about the width of a finger joint.
He picked up the book and blew the dust off it, revealing the title.
—Baekjong Sepyeong Sect.
From the title alone, he couldn't tell what it meant. When he turned the page, Won Jung-bang's familiar handwriting appeared.
It was Won Jung-bang's diary. It was no different from any other diary, recording his daily life and jotting down his mood for the day.
Do Tong-dal righted the fallen chair and sat down, then flipped through the diary. Reading the diary of a man he had killed gave him a strange feeling.
Won Jung-bang's diary was full of human anguish. The diary, dense with writing, proved that Won Jung-bang had not simply been a man crazed by revenge.
As he read Won Jung-bang's diary, a question arose: 'Why did the Young Sect Leader give this to me?'
It probably wasn't to show him that the dead Won Jung-bang hadn't been a complete monster.
Then, near the end of the diary, he understood why Won Jin-u had given the diary to Do Tong-dal.
The five characters "Baekjong Sepyeong Sect" appeared again.
—The claim that Baekjong Sepyeong Sect's grand goal is peace for the people is bullshit. If that were true, wouldn't it be right for them to eliminate me rather than help me?
Controlling others through others is nothing but a hollow word game. Their real goal must be to rule the world from the shadows. If I succeed in my revenge, I'll most likely be discarded once I've served my purpose. Even so, I have no choice but to move according to their will.
But I can't be taken down easily either, so I need to hold at least one or two of their leashes.
If I negotiate well with them, after completing my revenge, Jin-u will survive and grow the Revenge Society into a formidable force in the martial world.
Please, let my will be done.
The date on the next page was ten days later.
—Is it my incompetence, or Baekjong Sepyeong Sect's perfection? Even though fifteen years have passed since I came under their control, I know almost nothing about them.
I know that some of the eunuchs in the imperial palace belong to Baekjong Sepyeong Sect, but that's something I already expected. I need to dig into Baekjong Sepyeong Sect quickly and protect Jin-u.......
The next page was dated fifteen days later.
—Was I lucky, or did Baekjong Sepyeong Sect finally trust me? Either way, today I saw a ray of hope.
They took me to the Wonheung Merchant Company in Beijing. I learned for the first time that it was Baekjong Sepyeong Sect's Beijing branch. To think that the largest merchant company in Beijing is merely a branch.
Won Jung-bang's diary flowed calmly, as if he were telling a story to someone.
* * *