Monopolizing Fortunes (71)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (71)
It was unmistakable. This was definitely Namgung Seol-rin, whom he had seen two years ago when he went to Namgung Baek-jung's birthday celebration.
"Ah...... why is the young lady here?"
Namgung Seol-rin drew her sword.
"You said you wanted to fight, so shall we start with that?"
"N-no, not at all. How could we dare...... Put your weapons away! Quickly!"
The disciples frantically shoved their swords back into their scabbards.
"How disappointing. To think the Namui Sword Sect was nothing more than this. Drawing swords not for righteousness, but only after weighing the opponent's strength. Can you still call yourselves descendants of the Namgung Clan?"
Namgung Seol-rin sheathed her sword and continued.
"The 'Nam' in Namui Sword Sect must come from the Namgung Clan's 'Nam,' right? If you intend to keep running this sect like this, you'd better drop that name."
No matter who said it, even Namgung Seol-rin, the words were too humiliating for Ma Chang-bong to bear.
"I don't know what offense my disciples have committed against you, young lady."
Just then, two people burst out of the restaurant. They were Bae Jeon-o and No Du-bong, the ones who had been tricked by Do Tong-dal into smashing their heads together.
"We have to catch that whore and that punk!"
Their fingers were pointed squarely at Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin. Namgung Seol-rin spoke to Ma Chang-bong.
"They committed that offense, and from what I can see, that's the level of character the Namui Sword Sect's disciples possess."
Ma Chang-bong clenched his molars. It was a situation where he had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths.
Calling the treasured jewel of the Namgung Clan a whore! He should be grateful his head was still attached.
"I apologize. I will strictly discipline my disciples to ensure this never happens again."
"Do as you please. I don't care about the Namui Sword Sect in the slightest."
Namgung Seol-rin spoke coldly and walked away, and Do Tong-dal followed behind her.
"Reducing a sect leader to shreds with that vicious tongue. Brutal."
"I know. Why did I do that? I'm not even part of the Namgung Clan anymore."
"You're not part of the Namgung Clan?"
"Right. I'm with the Red Tiger Society of the Underworld now."
"If you went back to the Namgung Clan, you'd call the clan head father, wouldn't you?"
"Of course."
"And you call Namgung Cheol-hyeon older brother. But you're not part of the Namgung Clan?"
"They're family."
"That's my point. No matter where you are, you're a Namgung. No matter how much you deny it, you can't choose your family."
"Damn it! Should I ask them to strike me from the family register?"
"Why give up such a great background?"
"I don't want to play both sides."
"What do you have two legs for? The Underworld is about using whatever you can to the fullest. You're still far from being a real part of the Underworld. You think just cursing up a storm makes you Underworld? Do you know how hard it is to become an Underworld thug? Tsk, tsk, tsk......."
Smack!
Do Tong-dal collapsed from the pain that shot through his back.
"Ugh...... this wench, all of a sudden......."
"Honestly, a man who can't let a woman have the last word. Want to go a round?"
A spar with a bloodthirsty Namgung Seol-rin was out of the question.
"Seeing you try to solve everything with violence, you're halfway to being a thug yourself. Happy now?"
* * *
"Squads 12 and 18 were hit too? How the hell did they know to attack us? How did they know about the goods we're secretly transporting at night?!"
The Blue Cloud Escort Agency's shipments were completely cut off in Hangzhou. Even returning shipments were robbed before they could set foot in the city.
The Blue Cloud Escort Agency had already suffered damage that would be difficult to recover from. To pay the penalty for the goods stolen by bandits, handing over the entire agency wouldn't be enough.
"What the hell is that bastard Gong Myeong-un doing!"
He blamed the innocent Gong Myeong-un, but Gong So-yang knew that Gong Myeong-un couldn't do anything either.
Trembling with rage, Gong So-yang summoned his steward, Oh Pil-jin.
"Bring me someone well-informed about the martial world."
Following the order, Oh Pil-jin returned one shichen later with a head constable from the Blue Cloud Escort Agency.
"This is Constable Ha Yeong-jin."
"I greet Lord Gong."
"Who is the strongest master in the current martial world that money can buy?"
"My lord, martial artists are proud, so those who move for money are mostly assassins."
"Then we can just hire an assassin."
"Is this because of the Red Tiger Society?"
"Who is the assassin who can kill all of those bastards?"
"There is no one."
"What?"
"The Baekeum Assassin who went to kill Do Tong-dal was killed instead. The Baekeum Assassin was a first-class assassin who made even first-rate martial arts masters tremble."
"Are you saying there is no assassin in the martial world stronger than the Baekeum Assassin?"
"Of course there is."
"Then summon him!"
"There is no way to summon him. Assassins hide themselves thoroughly and take contracts through intermediaries. And even those intermediaries are known to very few people. To contract an assassin stronger than the Baekeum Assassin, we would first have to find the intermediary, which would take at least two or three months."
In two or three months, Gong So-yang's blood would dry up and he would crumble to dust.
"Are you saying that among the countless martial arts masters, there is no one who will kill a thug from the Red Tiger Society?"
"Why wouldn't there be......."
Gong So-yang pressed the evasive Ha Yeong-jin.
"What's the problem?"
"It will cost an enormous amount of money."
"How enormous?"
"You will have to pay at least five hundred nyang of silver."
"Why is it so expensive just to kill a few thugs!"
"I don't set the price. But his skill is certain."
"Who is he?"
"It is the Blood Sword Demon, Oh Chang-jung."
Upon hearing the name, Oh Pil-jin spoke.
"I've heard the epithet Blood Sword Demon before. They say he doesn't make the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven, but if you were to name the Ten Greatest Demonic Masters, he would be among them."
"That's right. The strongest master in the martial world that money can buy is the Blood Sword Demon."
"Five hundred nyang of silver, you say?"
It was a fortune that made his hands tremble, but if it could eliminate the scourge of the Red Tiger Society, it wasn't too high a price.
"Good. Bring him here."
"Payment is upfront."
"What?"
"A man of his standing in the martial world cannot be brought here on a promise alone."
"But that bastard is receiving five hundred nyang on a promise alone?"
"The weight of a promise differs. Of course, I don't mean to say your promise is light, but the other party is the Blood Sword Demon, Oh Chang-jung."
"Hah—! The world is full of bastards trying to squeeze money out of me one way or another. Steward Oh. Write out a promissory note."
"Understood."
As Oh Pil-jin and Ha Yeong-jin left, Gong So-yang sank deep into his chair.
"Right, if I can solve this with five hundred nyang, that's fine. Once those bastards are dealt with, I can earn ten times that within a year."
While Gong So-yang soothed his aching insides with hopeful thoughts of the future, Ha Yeong-jin was soothing Oh Pil-jin.
"Think about it. Who can guarantee that the Blood Sword Demon will eliminate the Red Tiger Society?"
"What do you mean? How could an Underworld group like the Red Tiger Society possibly handle the Blood Sword Demon?"
"Of course, if the Blood Sword Demon comes, he might be able to bring down the Red Tiger Society. But the Blood Sword Demon won't come."
"He won't come?"
"I don't even know where the Blood Sword Demon is."
"Wh-what did you say? What on earth were you thinking, telling the lord such a lie?"
Ha Yeong-jin lowered his voice.
"It's five hundred nyang."
"You intend to embezzle the lord's five hundred nyang?"
"Five hundred nyang is enough money to live comfortably anywhere for the rest of your life. Honestly, Lord Gong is finished. The Blue Cloud Escort Agency is ruined, and the warehouses for silk, tea, grain, and ceramics are gone. Do you think the Red Tiger Society's attacks will stop here?"
"What nonsense! Do you think his nephew, the magistrate, will just stand by?"
"Can't you tell from the fact that the Red Tiger Society's leadership was released? The authorities are already in the Red Tiger Society's hands. The only people who don't know that are Lord Gong and the magistrate."
"So you're going to take the five hundred nyang and run?"
"The escort agency is ruined, so shouldn't I also find a way to survive?"
"You've told me all that, and you expect me to give you the money?"
"I'll give you a hundred nyang. In return, send my family safely to where I am. If I leave with my family, Lord Gong will surely be suspicious, so I'm leaving them with you, Steward Oh."
Oh Pil-jin glared at Ha Yeong-jin, then spoke.
"Fifty-fifty."
"Look here. I'm abandoning my livelihood and running away, and you want to take the same amount as me? Isn't that the mindset of a thief?"
"The one trying to run off with Lord Gong's money isn't me, it's you, Constable Ha."
Ha Yeong-jin let out a long sigh and spoke.
"I'll give you two hundred nyang."
It was an amount Oh Pil-jin couldn't complain about either.
"Fine."
And so, another five hundred nyang of Gong So-yang's silver scattered into thin air.
* * *
Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin did not urge their plodding horses onward. Even though they didn't want to hear it, news of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King's current location kept reaching them.
There was still time before the person holding the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King would fall from the cliff.
They planned to wait in Jigang County, Hubei Province, where the cliff was, and then head to Sohyeon Lake once the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King fell from the cliff.
"What? You come from some backwater in Henan Province and you're talking about what?"
The voices came from beyond the pass on a quiet mountain road, so the speakers were not yet visible.
"You're the ones who crawled all the way here from Guangdong Province, which doesn't even have a decent martial sect, because you thought there'd be something to eat!"
"Then remember this clearly! We are the Guangdong First Sect from Cheongwon County, Guangdong Province!"
"Fuck, Guangdong First Sect? You're worse than a Beggars' Sect branch!"
"You rotten old bastard!"
Judging by the sound of ten weapons being drawn, there were quite a few people involved in the dispute.
When they crossed the pass, they saw four people on one side and six on the other, facing off. Given the shouting and cursing, a fight seemed about to break out at any moment.
"Hmm. Shall we see what a fight between martial artists looks like?"
Do Tong-dal had only seen duels between masters; he had never experienced a fight between ordinary martial artists.
Namgung Seol-rin said indifferently.
"Do you think you'll get to see one?"
"Huh? The atmosphere is that hostile?"
"The atmosphere is always hostile. Just the atmosphere."
She was right. For a little over one ke, they hurled insults and pointed fingers at each other, occasionally making threatening gestures, but in the end, they sheathed their weapons and went their separate ways.
At the anticlimactic ending, Do Tong-dal stared blankly at the spot where the martial artists had disappeared.
"Even back-alley thugs would have drawn blood by now with that kind of posturing."
"Fights don't break out easily in the martial world. You don't know how strong your opponent is, and if you fight, you're likely to die. Besides, most people belong to sects, so a fight could easily escalate into a larger conflict. That's what sect leaders always tell their disciples when they leave the sect. Don't act rashly. Be careful not to bring harm to the sect."
"I heard fights are common in the martial world?"
"Compared to ordinary people, that is."
"Damn, I thought if I came looking for the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King, I'd get to see plenty of fights."
"With this many martial artists chasing the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King like moths to a flame, the death toll so far hasn't exceeded ten. The Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King is a rare treasure rarely seen in the human world, but the most important thing is one's own life."
"Then how did the bloodbath that killed over five hundred people happen?"
"Huh? Over five hundred people died?"
Oops! That was a secret known only to Do Tong-dal, who had lived a past life.
"I-in my dream, a huge number of people died."
Namgung Seol-rin chuckled.
"I told you it was a dog dream. There's no way that many people died."
'Then what about the rumor I heard in my past life?'
It could have been exaggerated. The martial world was a place where worms turned into snakes, after all.
Even so, if the number was far less than five hundred, the word "bloodbath" would never have been used.
'If the rumor about the bloodbath is true, it means something no one expected happened.......'
Do Tong-dal racked his brain for a moment, then thought, 'What does that have to do with me? I just need to get the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King,' and emptied his mind.
Traveling leisurely as if on a sightseeing trip, they entered Yeongju County, not far from Jigang County.
From the outskirts, martial artists carrying weapons were visible, and once they entered the town, all the pedestrians seemed to be martial artists. Because of the crowds, they left their horses at a stable and walked.
"It seems like every martial artist in the Central Plains has gathered here. I see quite a few masters too."
"Oh-ho, you can recognize masters now?"
"Aren't you underestimating me too much?"
"I see you as about the level of a back-alley thug from Hangzhou."
"We might run into someone you know here."
* * *