Monopolizing Fortunes (51)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (51)
"Which is right for Hangzhou's nights—the martial world's unorthodox sects, or the Red Tiger Society?"
"Even if the Black Dragon Society thugs who share my views side with the Red Tiger Society, can you make the Red Wind Sword Sect or the Black River Blade Sect back off?"
"If I've done it once, would doing it twice be hard?"
If you had to name one person in the Underworld who could fight a martial sect and win, it could only be Do Tong-dal.
"What do you need me to do?"
* * *
"We've currently dispatched two Hall Masters, and two more are scheduled to join them shortly."
Hwang Tae-gun gave a short nod at Baek Jong-yeon's report. It was not a pleasant operation.
Since it meant coveting the Underworld's territory, the uneasy feeling was only natural.
"Sect Leader, it isn't a welcome task, but it is a necessary one."
"I know. That's why I approved the operation."
Running a sect was prestigious, but it also cost a great deal of money. They leased out land they owned, operated money exchanges and escort agencies, and owned a fair number of inns. They had various other small sources of income as well, but at some point their finances had grown tight.
Then, a mouthwatering prize called the Hangzhou Underworld came into view. Rolling around in it were lumps of gold far greater than the money the Red Wind Sword Sect brought in.
All they had to do was bend over to pick it up. But bending over was not easy.
No matter how unorthodox they were, there were lines they would not cross. They could not extort protection money from merchants, traffic people, or sell drugs.
On top of that, the Underworld was not the martial world's domain. It could clash with the authorities at any time, which made involvement there the ultimate taboo for the martial world.
Both principle and practical reality told them to stay out of the Underworld.
But then trouble broke out on the Underworld's side first. Baek Chang-gi ended up dead.
The first step had been forced on the Red Wind Sword Sect against its will, but either way, it had now set foot in Underworld territory.
And once they did, the lumps of gold rolling around there looked far too tempting.
"How do you plan to deal with Do Tong-dal?"
He was the one who had blocked the Red Wind Sword Sect's second step.
"That's why we're sending Hall Master Yeo."
Yeo Cheol-seon was a master ranked within the top three of the Red Wind Sword Sect. Unusually for the Red Wind Sword Sect, where most used swords, Yeo Cheol-seon used a spear.
His nickname, Lightning-Flash Spear, gave a sense of his spear technique.
"Expulsion from the sect... is that it?"
To manage the Underworld, one had to become part of the Underworld. Since that was impossible while remaining on a martial sect's roster, this was a desperate measure.
"It's a formality, and Hall Master Yeo agreed to it."
"There must be quite a few disciples being expelled."
"Forty-two."
"Make sure they're compensated sufficiently."
"Understood."
Once they took over the Black Dragon Society, they could secure as much money as they needed.
"What about the Black River Blade Sect's movements?"
They had not been on friendly terms with each other, and Baek Chang-gi's death had nearly brought them to blows, but in this matter they were keeping in step.
The martial world was a place with neither eternal enemies nor eternal friends.
"They seem to be moving similarly to us."
"Well, their options probably aren't wide either."
"For now, we've agreed not to clash until the Red Tiger Society is destroyed."
"If possible, I'd like us to join forces in dealing with Do Tong-dal as well."
"I'll speak with the Black River Blade Sect."
* * *
"What? The Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect? Those bastards are going to take over the Black Dragon Society and the Haerang Society?"
For Wang Chil, it was news like a bolt from the blue. Yet Do Tong-dal, who delivered it, wore an expression utterly untroubled by the world.
"I expected it would turn out this way."
"Expected? If you expected it, you should have stopped it somehow!"
"Why?"
"Are we any match for those bastards in force?"
Do Tong-dal glanced at Namgung Seol-rin, who was leaning against the wall.
"If she fought the Red Wind Sword Sect Leader, who do you think would win?"
"It's not 'she,' it's Protector Namgung."
"Yes, Protector."
Wang Chil looked back and forth between Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin, then spoke.
"Hard to say."
"Oh dear, our Protector Namgung is being underestimated."
Namgung Seol-rin walked over to Wang Chil with deliberate steps. Sensing something ominous, Wang Chil edged backward, but the office was not very large.
Wang Chil backed into the desk and stopped. Namgung Seol-rin asked him.
"Are you really comparing me to someone like the Red Wind Sword Sect Leader?"
"I—I'm not the one who compared you. Tong-dal did."
"You said you didn't know who would win, didn't you?"
"Miss Namgung... no, Protector Namgung would probably win... I suppose...."
Wang Chil sent Do Tong-dal a look begging for rescue, but Do Tong-dal seemed to have no intention of saving him.
"Then why don't you go and fight him yourself!"
The words came out before he thought, and Namgung Seol-rin spun around.
"Fine."
Wang Chil realized his mistake. Namgung Seol-rin was unpredictable enough that she might march straight into the Red Wind Sword Sect right now.
"W—wait!"
Wang Chil moved with a speed that surprised even himself and blocked Namgung Seol-rin.
"You're not really thinking of going, are you?"
"If I kill their Sect Leader, wouldn't that end things simply?"
"Then it'd just be war!"
"It seems war has already broken out, hasn't it?"
Do Tong-dal said.
"Protector Namgung is right. It's only a difference between a big war and a small war."
"Then let's make it a small war. I don't want to see a lot of blood while I'm Society Leader. I became a thug to eat well and live well. If people die off because of fighting, that'd be unfair."
"Got it. But even if three Red Wind Sword Sect Leaders came, they wouldn't be a match for Protector Namgung."
"Five."
"She says five."
Wang Chil was startled.
"That much?"
"She's from the Namgung Clan."
Wang Chil looked upward in thought, then nodded.
"Well, that's true."
Comparing a small unorthodox sect in Zhejiang Province to the Namgung Clan, a titan of the martial world, was absurd in itself.
Perhaps Namgung Seol-rin had said five out of modesty.
Wang Chil asked Do Tong-dal.
"So what do you plan to do?"
"First, we have to drive out the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect."
"If you expected those bastards to come at us like this, you should have stopped the martial sects from getting involved from the start."
"There were two options. The first was to exclude the martial sects and take over the Black Dragon Society and the Haerang Society."
"I like that one."
"It would take a long time. And it would be hard."
"Harder than dealing with the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect?"
"You know how the Underworld works, boss. It might seem like the Underworld only needs strength, but you can't ignore the relationships tangled up inside it, the interests, and the loyalty of the thugs. Making all of that ours would take years."
"That's true."
"On the other hand, what happens when martial sects try to dominate Hangzhou's nights like this?"
"Obviously the Underworld thugs won't like it."
"Wouldn't their hearts lean toward fellow Underworld people rather than martial sects?"
"Oh-ho! So if we just drive out the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect, the Black Dragon Society and the Haerang Society, left without leaders, will come into the Red Tiger Society's arms."
"Two tigers attacked, so it's only natural for the wolves to band together."
"But how do we beat the two tigers?"
"To ordinary Underworld groups, the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect might be tigers, but not to us. They're no more than wildcats, so don't worry."
Wang Chil let out a soft sigh.
"Hearing you guarantee it like that eases my worries, but they haven't disappeared completely. Just hearing about the martial world makes my heart pound."
Wang Chil left the office, muttering, "Maybe I should have lived thin and long after all."
Namgung Seol-rin asked Do Tong-dal.
"You make it sound simple, but this fight doesn't seem like it'll be that simple."
"What part?"
"The two sects will dispatch masters to the Black Dragon Society and the Haerang Society. If those masters die by our hands, they obviously won't stay quiet."
"They'll have no choice but to stay quiet."
"Why?"
"They're martial artists, and even if we're part of the Underworld, we're still civilians."
* * *
"Fuck!"
Won Tae-hyeon flung the documents to the floor, then picked them back up with a soft sigh. Deputy Branch Chief Seo Hyeong-do, who happened to come up to the second floor just then, helped gather the papers.
"This fucking sucks."
"Isn't it unavoidable?"
Won Tae-hyeon glared at the office he had just come out of. It had originally been his, but now someone from the Black River Blade Sect occupied it.
"Why should our Underworld have to play errand boys for martial sects? We clearly swim in different waters."
"It's the Society Leader's decision, so what can we do?"
"Fuck, the Society Leader who went to prison and might as well not exist anymore?"
"Branch Chief...."
"No matter how frightening the Red Tiger Society is, this is wrong. Does it make any sense to hand the Haerang Society over to the Black River Blade Sect on a silver platter?"
He was not the only branch chief or officer nursing such grievances.
"Branch Chief, then would you like to meet someone from the Red Tiger Society?"
"What? The Red Tiger Society?"
"Yes. Actually, someone from the Black Dragon Society contacted me yesterday. He's a friend I've been close with even though we belong to different groups. It seems the Black Dragon Society side is also full of complaints about the Red Wind Sword Sect barging in."
"They're no different from us. So he's suggesting we side with the Red Tiger Society?"
"Honestly, we're part of the Underworld, not martial artists, aren't we? What happens if the Black River Blade Sect takes over the Haerang Society like this?"
The income flowing into their pockets would shrink noticeably. The bigger problem was that the Black River Blade Sect did not understand the ways of the Underworld.
They would surely try to lead the Underworld like a martial sect, but the Underworld was absolutely not the kind of group that could run that way.
"Who are you meeting from the Red Tiger Society?"
"His name is Do Tong-dal."
"The Red Tiger Society's tiger?"
"Yes."
He had met him exactly once. That meeting, where he had gone to spar with Jang Yu-seom, had left him more astonished than humiliated.
It had also been a time when Do Tong-dal had left a stronger impression than Jang Yu-seom, the one he had dueled.
"Do Tong-dal, you say?"
"The name Haerang Society may disappear, but honestly, if the Black River Blade Sect takes over the Haerang Society, what meaning would the name have?"
"First, I'll need to talk with the other branch chiefs and officers."
* * *
Namgung Seol-rin was picking up vegetables with her chopsticks when she glanced at Do Tong-dal, who sat across from her.
His hand trembled faintly, but Do Tong-dal managed to get a full spoonful of soup into his mouth.
"Congratulations on being able to eat by yourself."
Do Tong-dal grinned.
"Now you can wipe your own ass properly too."
Namgung Seol-rin started to ask, "If you weren't wiping properly, how have you been wiping all this time?" but gave up.
"Shouldn't you start learning some hand-to-hand martial arts soon?"
"I don't know. Do my martial arts really need to get any stronger?"
"Within the Underworld, you might have no equal, but you can't choose your enemies."
"That's true, but I've got a backlog of things to deal with. I'll think about martial arts later. Right now I need to deal with the most urgent problem first."
"If it's fighting, I'm ready anytime."
"Aren't you a little too fond of fighting?"
Namgung Seol-rin let out a soft sigh.
"My martial arts feel like they're slipping. Back in the clan, there were plenty of people to spar with."
"Go find Jang Yu-seom."
"Would that be all right?"
"That old fellow probably wouldn't mind."
* * *
Won Tae-hyeon, stepping onto the second floor of the tea house, stopped in surprise. He could see several thugs from the Black Dragon Society.
The Black Dragon Society side was just as surprised.
"Oh? What brings you here?"
The person who asked Won Tae-hyeon was Hwang Chan-seok.
"What brings you here, more like?"
Eight from the Black Dragon Society and seven from the Haerang Society—fifteen thugs in total—stared at one another with bewildered faces.
"Everyone's arrived early."
Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin came up to the second floor. Won Tae-hyeon asked.
"Didn't you make the appointment only with the Haerang Society?"
"We'd have to meet anyway, so there's no need to waste time. We're going to be one family from now on, so let's use this chance to build some camaraderie."
But the tension in the room made camaraderie seem unlikely. Hwang Chan-seok said.
"This gathering doesn't seem right. Depending on the outcome, we could end up enemies."
"Haven't we been enemies all along anyway? And what we have to say to each other is obvious, so there's nothing to hide. Let's not do that and just take a seat."
When Do Tong-dal took his place before the large table, the people from both sides had no choice but to gather around him and sit.
Do Tong-dal said.
"Since no one seems in the mood for pleasantries, let's get to the point. Let's have just one person speak on behalf of each side. If too many people talk, it'll get noisy."
The people who had led this gathering from the Black Dragon Society and the Haerang Society were Hwang Chan-seok and Won Tae-hyeon.
When the two stepped forward, Do Tong-dal nodded as if he had expected it.
"Then shall we hear what you have to say?"
* * *