Monopolizing Fortunes (97)
xml
Monopolizing Fortunes (97)
"They knew Won Dae-yeon. The fact that you became a Red Tiger Society thug probably isn't much of a secret. Plenty of people know about it. But almost no one knows that Won Dae-yeon is here with the Red Tiger Society. What do you think it means that they knew?"
"That their information network is formidable."
"An information network isn't the kind of power you build in a day or two. With martial arts, if you get a lucky opportunity and an outstanding secret manual, you can become strong in a few years. But an information network is the power of time. There's no way a hidden faction could have built up strength in the dark for a hundred years."
"So you figured they must have joined hands with the Hao Sect or the Beggars' Sect."
"The Hao Sect didn't respond, but the Beggars' Sect did. Even if it wasn't the whole Beggars' Sect, someone fairly important must have gotten into bed with the hidden faction, to borrow your phrasing."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean, what am I going to do? I've handed the ball to the hidden faction, so now I wait for their answer."
"You're really not going to get involved?"
"What do you think?"
"You're saying you'll leave the people who tried to kill my brother alone?"
"For the record, I almost died too."
"Which is exactly why we should hunt them down and smash them."
"They've never belonged to my world. They're not some simple outfit like one of the many underworld groups in the Central Plains. To fight them, I'd have to put my life on the line, and I have no desire to fight that hard. If you want to fight the hidden faction as a member of the Namgung Clan, that's your choice."
"You're really fine with me going back to the Namgung Clan?"
"Because I have no right to bind your freedom."
Namgung Seol-rin, who had been glaring at Do Tong-dal, turned and walked out of the restaurant.
Won Dae-yeon spoke to Do Tong-dal, who was watching her leave with a blank expression.
"Why don't you go after her?"
"Are you also displeased with my decision, Won Dae-yeon?"
"Then I'll answer your question like this. Your decision is my decision."
* * *
Jeong Jong-un frowned at Jo Chung-mang's report.
"Those people are that strong?"
"Yes. They were absolutely not opponents we could do anything about."
Jo Chung-mang thought it was fortunate that he had sent the thugs in first after watching Do Tong-dal's group fight.
If he had recklessly brought the Seonui Sect disciples along, every last one of them might have been beaten senseless or killed.
"Seeing how they smashed the disciple who was hiding and watching, their Internal Energy is clearly far from ordinary."
"It seems we've poked a hornet's nest."
If Jo Chung-mang's report was accurate, eliminating them would require the Seonui Sect to accept considerable losses. And perhaps losses alone might not even be enough.
He had to decide whether saving the Sangmun Society was worth putting the Seonui Sect in danger.
Jo Chung-mang spoke cautiously.
"Isn't the Young Head of the Hwangbo Clan here?"
"What of it?"
"We've paid the Hwangbo Clan an enormous amount of money. Wouldn't they resolve a problem of this scale for us?"
"What do you think the Hwangbo Clan would say if they learned we're behind the underworld?"
"Of course we'd have to hide that. Couldn't we say the Sangmun Society Leader is a relative? If the Young Head of the Hwangbo Clan deals with them alone, there'd be no risk of exposure either."
"Hmm. That's not a bad idea."
No matter how skilled those people were, they would be no match for Hwangbo Jeong-uk. Even in the worst case, if Hwangbo Jeong-uk learned of the connection to the Sangmun Society, that was still better than putting the Seonui Sect at risk.
In the end, Jeong Jong-un chose Hwangbo Jeong-uk. Once he embellished the circumstances a little, it became an excellent lie even by his own estimation.
"You can't choose your family."
Hwangbo Jeong-uk nodded.
"Since it's your cousin's matter, I can't pretend not to know."
"We were like real brothers, so even if the Seonui Sect is put in danger, I can't turn a blind eye. Isn't that the loyalty of the orthodox path?"
"When the Seonui Sect is in peril, the Hwangbo Clan cannot pretend not to know."
Jeong Jong-un waved his hands in refusal.
"No. This is a matter involving the underworld. How could the Young Head of the Hwangbo Clan personally step forward?"
"You spoke of loyalty. If we pretend not to know of the Seonui Sect's crisis, the Hwangbo Clan would become a place without loyalty."
"Since you put it that way, I cannot refuse your help."
Hwangbo Jeong-uk rose first.
"Shall we go, then?"
* * *
Her heart would not settle easily. She had spoken with conviction that Do Tong-dal's heart belonged to her, but in truth her heart was not as certain as her words.
Do Tong-dal felt like duckweed drifting on the water—staying by her side for now, but someone who could leave at any moment.
And then she had heard Do Tong-dal tell her to leave if she wanted to leave. It was not an extreme situation, but it was enough to wound Namgung Seol-rin.
And she hated Do Tong-dal for not knowing it would wound her.
"You rotten bastard!"
After saying the same thing about a hundred times, she downed another cup of liquor.
"Why is such a lovely young lady drinking alone?"
When she raised her head, she saw three men who looked to be anywhere from their twenties to their thirties.
"We don't know what troubles you, but if you'd share them with us......"
"Piss off."
The man in the middle burst out laughing.
"Heh heh heh! You must be in considerable distress. As your seniors in life, we'll counsel you with all sincerity."
Without permission, they took seats in front of Namgung Seol-rin and on either side of her.
"First, have a drink from me."
The man on the left poured liquor into Namgung Seol-rin's cup. Namgung Seol-rin spoke in a low voice.
"I'll say this once. If you don't get lost right now, I'll make sure you can't leave this place."
"Oh ho! We have no intention of leaving your side either, so this is a perfect meeting of hearts."
Namgung Seol-rin spoke as if sighing.
"I wish Tong-dal were as stupid as you lot. Then again, if he were, I wouldn't like him."
Namgung Seol-rin's hand moved. First she grabbed the back of the right-hand man's head and slammed his face into the table, then drove her fist into the face of the one on the left.
Finally, she kicked the leg of the chair belonging to the man in front. As he toppled forward, his nose struck the edge of the table and burst open, spraying blood.
Namgung Seol-rin, who had been about to lay into the men writhing on the floor, simply turned away.
"Consider yourselves lucky it ended at this."
After paying for the liquor, Namgung Seol-rin went outside. The nightlife district under the falling darkness glittered in every color.
'Is Tong-dal hurting as much as I am?'
The thought made her feel wronged. Because Do Tong-dal would never be hurting.
"Lady Namgung!"
At the sound of someone calling her, Namgung Seol-rin turned her head. Among the passing crowd, she spotted Ha Su-ran wearing a veil.
"Oh? Strategist Ha, what brings you here?"
"I went to Hangzhou to see Do Tong-dal, and I heard you were here."
"If it's because you feel sorry about Tong-dal, you didn't need to come all the way here, Strategist Ha."
"I didn't come alone. The person who should resolve this came with me."
"The Alliance Leader came too?"
"We split up to ask around. But why are you alone, Lady Namgung?"
Namgung Seol-rin poked at the ground with her toes.
"It just turned out that way."
Ha Su-ran, who had been studying her expression, asked in a suggestive voice.
"Want to have a drink?"
"Sure. I stopped mid-drink, so I was feeling regretful."
The two went to a nearby tavern and entered a room with a private table.
Once the ordered liquor and side dishes arrived, Ha Su-ran finally removed her veil. Even seeing her again, Ha Su-ran's face did not feel real.
She thought she now understood Do Tong-dal's words: 'Someone like you is perfect because you have a sense of reality.' Though it wasn't a particularly pleasant thing to hear.
After a couple of cups of liquor, Ha Su-ran asked.
"Did you fight with Do Tong-dal?"
"If we'd actually fought, that would be better. I just exploded on my own."
Namgung Seol-rin rambled on about what had happened with Do Tong-dal. The thought 'Why am I telling Strategist Ha all this?' crossed her mind, but she couldn't stop talking.
She couldn't tell whether she desperately wanted to unburden herself to someone, or whether she had been bewitched by Ha Su-ran's beauty. Namgung Seol-rin pulled out everything she had bottled up and dumped it onto the drinking table.
"That damn bastard doesn't know I'm suffering like this, does he? It wounds my pride that I'm the only one like this, and it feels unfair too. I've lived my whole life thinking I was something special, but now I feel so pathetic, getting like this over a man."
After finishing, Namgung Seol-rin knocked back three cups in a row.
"Men are all like that. Insensitive and stupid."
"Exactly. And on top of that, he acts like he's so smart. The unfair part is that bastard Tong-dal actually is fucking smart."
"He may be smart about other things, but when it comes to women, he doesn't know......."
"Huh?"
"He doesn't know."
"I think there was something before that."
"D...... d......."
"Dick."
"Well...... that."
"Pfft! Puhahaha!"
When Namgung Seol-rin burst into laughter, Ha Su-ran burst out laughing too. Namgung Seol-rin raised her cup and said.
"Sis, I like you so fucking much."
Pleased by being called "sis," Ha Su-ran could not wipe the smile from her face.
"Why?"
"How could anyone dislike you with a face like that? And your personality seems good too."
"It sounds like you're describing yourself, Lady Namgung."
"Oh ho! Hearing that from you, sis, it actually sounds like a real compliment. Let's drink to women's friendship."
Ha Su-ran touched her cup to Namgung Seol-rin's and asked.
"Is friendship possible between the Northern Unorthodox Alliance and a daughter of the Namgung Clan?"
"I don't see why not. And right now I'm not the Namgung Clan, I'm the underworld."
"Then a toast to the friendship between an underworld thug and an unorthodox woman!"
After emptying her cup, Namgung Seol-rin suddenly remembered something and asked.
"By the way, why did you come looking for Tong-dal?"
* * *
"It would be better to go find her."
At Won Dae-yeon's words, Do Tong-dal replied sullenly.
"I don't even know where she is. How am I supposed to find her?"
"She'll be somewhere nearby, so it won't be hard to find her. Want me to look?"
"Forget it. She's the one who blew up and stormed off on her own. Why should I bother......."
"I'm not in a position to give advice about women, but one thing is certain: there will be consequences later."
"What did I even do......."
Just then, a thick voice rang out.
"Are you the underworld from Hangzhou?"
When he turned his head, a man who looked to be in his mid-forties came into view. Behind the middle-aged man stood eight broad-shouldered, fierce-looking men in a row.
"And you are?"
"I am Jeong Jong-un, Sect Leader of the Seonui Sect."
"So you're that Seonui Sect that's backing the Sangmun Society. I was planning to come find you tomorrow, but you've saved me the trouble."
"Did you really come to swallow Fuyang?"
"To put it bluntly, you could say that."
"It seems our Seonui Sect isn't even visible in your eyes."
"I don't care to pay much attention to hypocrites who wear the mask of the orthodox path on their faces while whipping the underworld behind the scenes to fatten their own bellies."
"You wretch! You run your mouth recklessly! Disrespecting our Seonui Sect is disrespecting the Hwangbo Clan!"
"I've heard the Seonui Sect has its roots in the Hwangbo Clan. So what? Do you think the Hwangbo Clan will actually come to help you?"
"Hmph! Our Seonui Sect and the Hwangbo Clan are as close as brothers!"
"If I beat you into a pulp, I'll find out just how close you are."
A smile spread across Jeong Jong-un's lips.
"You won't be able to lay a single finger on me. Because......."
Jeong Jong-un stepped aside and continued.
"When you see that person, you'll piss your pants."
As if waiting for those words to end, a figure revealed himself.
"Do you know who that is? Well, there's no way scum like you would know......."
"Hwangbo Jeong-uk, Young Head of the Hwangbo Clan."
"Huh? How do you know that?"
Hwangbo Jeong-uk, who was stepping through the restaurant door, stopped in surprise.
"Do Tong-dal?"
Do Tong-dal raised a hand in greeting.
"It's been a while."
"Indeed. But is the lawless underworld that Sect Leader Jeong mentioned perhaps you, Do Tong-dal?"
"I'm sure mine isn't the only lawless underworld outfit in the Central Plains, but yes, it's probably the one you mean."
Hwangbo Jeong-uk was surprised, but the most surprised person here was surely Jeong Jong-un.
"Young Head, is this someone you know?"
"I do know him, but......."
* * *