Monopolizing Fortunes (39)
Monopolizing Fortunes (39)
"What? A meeting?"
"Yes. Either way, we have to settle this mess, don't we?"
"Seems like the time for settling it with words has passed."
"We won't know that until we meet."
"You set up a meeting just to stab me in the back?"
Wang Chil let out a soft sigh.
"What would I get out of stabbing you in the back, boss?"
Jo Gwang-un himself knew better than anyone that this situation wouldn't end just because he disappeared.
"Still, he must have some reason for wanting to meet."
"Would he tell someone like me that? I'm just an errand boy who goes when told to go and comes when told to come. If it really bothers you, refuse."
When Wang Chil made as if to stand, Jo Gwang-un snapped.
"What's there for me to be bothered about! I'm just worried that timid little Chi-un will have a heart attack the moment he sees me!"
"Are you coming or not?"
"When and where do I go?"
* * *
"Tonight?"
"Yeah. Like you said, we agreed to meet at the Society Leader's house."
"Let's get there on time."
Wang Chil looked at Do Tong-dal, who was drenched in sweat, and asked.
"Is the martial arts training going well?"
"It depends on my own will, so it's better than treating my arm."
Wang Chil scratched his head with an awkward expression.
"But am I really going to become Society Leader?"
"Why?"
"I don't know, it just doesn't feel real."
"Thick and long. That's how we agreed to live, isn't it?"
"Heh heh heh...... Once I'm Society Leader, it'll get thick, so now I just have to live long."
"We've got to live until we're smearing shit on the walls. Heh heh heh......."
The two men's laughter had grown alike before they knew it. After Wang Chil left, Do Tong-dal devoted himself to martial arts training until the appointed time.
His footwork had stabilized now, and his kicking techniques had gained considerable power. The sound of his kicks splitting the air echoed all the way to the neighboring house.
"What kind of damn house beats its laundry out every single day!"
* * *
Do Tong-dal arrived at Jo Chi-un's house a little later than the appointed time. Two thugs standing in front of the gate bowed their heads to him.
Seeing them guarding the front of the house, everyone must have already arrived. The moment the gate opened, Jo Gwang-un's shout rang out.
"That seat was originally mine! Of course it should have been returned to its rightful owner!"
"Stop talking nonsense! I'm the one who protected the Red Tiger Society while you were in prison!"
"And you call protecting it leaving it in this state!"
"Who's the one who made it this state!"
Do Tong-dal stepped through the gate and simply listened to the pathetic squabble. Jo Chi-un's side numbered nine, including Wang Chil, Han Dong-san, and Hwang Seon-jung, while Jo Gwang-un had brought seven men with him.
Lanterns were lit on all sides, making the wide courtyard fairly bright. Do Tong-dal looked around the house, where three buildings stood arranged in the shape of the character 品, and muttered.
"I should ask for this house."
The lot was spacious, so noise would be less likely to carry to the neighbors. While Do Tong-dal was looking at the house, the argument had already died down.
Everyone's eyes were on Do Tong-dal. The quarrel had stopped because of him.
"Looks like you've finished fighting."
Jo Gwang-un asked.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to put an end to the Red Tiger Society's mess today."
"How?"
"Sometimes it's better to cut a tangled thread in one stroke than to keep straining to untangle it."
Jo Gwang-un's face said he had no idea what Do Tong-dal meant.
"My Arm."
At Do Tong-dal's call, Namgung Seol-rin answered immediately.
"Yes."
"You see those eight over there?"
Do Tong-dal pointed at Jo Gwang-un's group.
"Yes."
"Kill all but one."
Jo Gwang-un's group was startled, and Namgung Seol-rin, who had received the order, also opened her eyes wide.
"Wh...... what the hell are you trying to do!"
"My Arm. Don't leave Jo Gwang-un alive."
"Understood."
As Namgung Seol-rin drew her sword and approached, Jo Gwang-un's party shrank back. They already knew from experience how strong she was.
"L...... look, if you want something, say it instead of trying to scare us."
"My Arm, they're getting away."
At Do Tong-dal's urging, Namgung Seol-rin shook off her hesitation. This was no joke, and the order would not be rescinded. So hesitation would only make her weak.
Her sword split the air, and one man's chest tore open. Jo Gwang-un's group hurriedly drew their weapons, but it made no difference.
The sword moved seven times, and seven men died. Even Jo Gwang-un, who had been throwing his weight around, could not withstand a single stroke from Namgung Seol-rin.
As Do Tong-dal had ordered, Namgung Seol-rin left only one man alive. The man in his mid-thirties was a Red Tiger Society thug, a turncoat who had gone over to Jo Gwang-un's side.
"I'll have a use for that bastard tomorrow, so put him to bed."
The turncoat, struck by Namgung Seol-rin's foot, blacked out. Her gaze turned toward Jo Chi-un's side.
It seemed to ask, 'Should I kill those ones too?' Do Tong-dal walked over to Jo Chi-un, who was trembling visibly.
"Society Leader."
"Uh...... yeah...... yes?"
"Leave Hangzhou before the night is out and do not come back. If you ever cross my sight again, that day will be the anniversary of your death."
If Jo Gwang-un's group had not been killed, he might have resisted. But in this space reeking of blood, the threat made clear that it would not end as a mere threat.
"Ah...... I understand."
"Leave the deeds to any houses, buildings, or land you own in the inner room. If they're not there, I'll have to come find you."
There was no need to add a threat of death.
"I'll...... I'll leave every last one of them...... and go."
"Then this settles the Red Tiger Society's fraternal feud, doesn't it?"
It was a clean conclusion. Now the Jo family's Red Tiger Society had drawn its curtain, and the Wang family's Red Tiger Society had opened its doors.
At Do Tong-dal's word to go, Jo Chi-un scurried into the house. There was no need to watch him leave.
Do Tong-dal left the disposal of the bodies to the remaining thugs and moved to the Namgyeong Branch with Wang Chil and Han Dong-san.
Jo Jin-ho, who had received Do Tong-dal's instructions, had remained at the branch despite the late hour.
"Huh? What brings you all swarming in like this?"
At Jo Jin-ho's question, Wang Chil realized that Do Tong-dal had told no one about today's events.
"Jo Gwang-un is dead, and the Society Leader has been driven out."
"Boss, don't cut out the beginning and end—tell me the whole story from the start."
It was all over, so there was no reason to hide it from Jo Jin-ho. Wang Chil told him everything that had happened at Jo Chi-un's house.
Seven people had died, yet the story took less than half a ke to tell. Jo Jin-ho's mouth, which had been falling open wider and wider, did not easily close.
Jo Jin-ho swallowed hard and asked.
"So now you're the Society Leader, boss?"
Wang Chil glanced at Do Tong-dal and nodded.
"So it seems."
Jo Jin-ho also looked at Do Tong-dal. In truth, even if Do Tong-dal himself became Society Leader, no one would have objected.
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Things moved fast because Jo Gwang-un dragged the Black River Blade Sect into it, but Wang Chil was going to become Society Leader anyway, wasn't he?"
"Feels like I'm just eating the rice cake without having done anything."
"It doesn't seem like time to eat the rice cake yet. The Deputy Branch Chief has to defeat the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect first......."
Han Dong-san, who had spoken that far, glanced at Do Tong-dal.
"That's how it will go."
Do Tong-dal's assurance put him at ease.
"Uniting the Red Tiger Society after it split in this fight won't be easy either. Are all the turncoats who sided with Jo Gwang-un dead?"
They couldn't kill everyone who had taken Jo Gwang-un's side. Proper punishment for them was a headache, and the matter of compensating the merchants who had been harmed by Jo Gwang-un was also one of the difficult problems.
One way or another, the new Society Leader was bound to gain wrinkles.
"For the record, Jo Chi-un's house is mine."
Everyone looked at Do Tong-dal, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. The only ones who didn't seem to know why they were laughing were Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin.
"Why are you laughing?"
Han Dong-san said, holding back his laughter.
"You turned the whole Red Tiger Society upside down, and all you want is Jo Chi-un's one house?"
"That house is big and nice. The land must be expensive too. Tch! People really don't know real estate."
Do Tong-dal rose from his seat.
"Then the rest of you make your plans for how to run the Red Tiger Society from here on. I'll be going."
"Hey, you should be making those plans with us."
Do Tong-dal waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't make me do that kind of thing; it gives me a headache. Just toss me a position with no real work and a big monthly salary. I'm off."
* * *
Both the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect could only be dumbfounded. Jo Gwang-un was dead, and the ousted Jo Chi-un had fled somewhere.
The people who had caused this fight were dead or gone, so the two sects were, quite literally, left hanging in midair.
But they couldn't simply back down now, so they had to find a string to keep holding onto the Red Tiger Society.
"Hm. What plan could they be hatching?"
Baek Ju-il, Hall Master of the Black River Blade Sect's Haryong Hall, had been staring at the letter for over one ke. It was a simple message, just one line.
"Won't we know once we go?"
At Deputy Hall Master Jang Seo-un's words, Baek Ju-il fluttered the letter.
"If the Red Tiger Society's new Society Leader suddenly contacts us asking to meet, there's obviously something behind it, isn't there?"
"There must be something. If you want to know in advance, go see a fortune-teller."
"This brat always has to mock me to my face."
"If you don't want to go, you don't have to. If we just sit around here, whatever response they have will come on its own."
"They're sinister bastards. They called Jo Gwang-un out like this and killed him. And now they're calling me to Jo Chi-un's house, where Jo Gwang-un was killed. The more I think about it, the funnier they are."
"It must be Do Tong-dal's scheme."
"We learned about Do Tong-dal's existence far too late."
"We never imagined the Underworld had a master of that caliber. Though in the end, it's still just the Underworld."
"Right. In the end, it's just the Underworld, so it would be laughable not to go when they call. Tell them I'm coming."
* * *
Yang Su-pan looked back and forth between the man kneeling in the government office courtyard and Do Tong-dal standing beside him.
"So you're saying this man is the real culprit who killed that prostitute?"
"Yes. Tormented by his guilty conscience, he came to me last night and confessed everything."
Yang Su-pan asked the kneeling man.
"What's your name?"
"O...... Oh Chang-do, sir."
"Did you really kill her?"
"Yes."
"What was the name of the prostitute you killed?"
"Seol-ran......."
"Her age?"
"Twenty-four."
"Her hometown?"
"I heard it was Henan Province."
"Do you know the personal details of all the prostitutes in Hangzhou that well?"
"W-well, I was such a regular customer that I naturally came to know those things."
"A thorough investigation would reveal whether your words are true, but......."
Yang Su-pan glanced at Do Tong-dal, who stood there blankly, then continued.
"Since he's already turned himself in, there's no need to waste investigative resources."
Do Tong-dal asked.
"Then when will Baek Jung-sik be released?"
"Once the paperwork is done, I'll have him sent out right away. But that fellow won't retract his confession, will he?"
A confession was the strongest evidence, and if it got overturned, it would become a headache later. Do Tong-dal thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Would you give me a moment alone with him in the prison?"
"Go ahead. Don't forget to stop by me on your way out."
The walk to the prison was enough time alone with Oh Chang-do.
"You know you should have died yesterday, right?"
Oh Chang-do was the sole survivor of Jo Gwang-un's group, chosen(?) by Namgung Seol-rin.
"If you retract your confession, it will reach my ears immediately. If you're very lucky, you might get out. And outside, I'll be waiting."
Oh Chang-do shook his head vigorously.
"I will never come out. I won't escape either."
"Good attitude."
While he was at the prison, Do Tong-dal stopped by Baek Jung-sik. Baek Jung-sik had grown gaunter than when they first met and was closer to a corpse. He was a demonstration of how quickly despair could wear a person down.
"Get ready to leave."
As if he hadn't understood Do Tong-dal's words, Baek Jung-sik just blinked. When Do Tong-dal said again, 'Get ready to leave,' he rose unsteadily.
"What do you mean?"
"The culprit turned himself in, so you'll be released."
"What? They caught the real culprit?"
"You go out and catch the real culprit yourself. Revenge only has meaning that way."
Baek Jung-sik still wore an expression of incomprehension. There was no need to force his sluggish mind to work right now.
"You're getting out, so catch the real culprit yourself and take your revenge."
Do Tong-dal left Baek Jung-sik standing there awkwardly and walked out of the prison.
* * *