Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Black Path Assembly (1)
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The sun rose above the horizon.
"You lot!! Get your spirits up!"
At the stronghold lord's command, the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold crew, fully prepared for departure, raised the anchor and unfurled the sails.
"Turn the bow!"
"Yes, sir!!"
The flagship of the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold, the Wind and Cloud Ship, slowly set forth along the waterway, proudly displaying its majesty.
The fierce current soon boosted the ship's speed, carrying it downstream along the river connected to the mountains, almost as if it were falling.
Following this tributary of the Yangtze would lead to the vast main river, as wide as the sea itself. That was precisely why the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold had made this their base.
To build up speed along the tributary and ambush merchant ships crossing the Yangtze.
However, this time their destination was Jagu County, midway through Xiling Gorge, so they avoided excessive speed and stuck to a stable course.
"Young hero, are your preparations complete?"
Baek Eunhwa approached and stood by my side as I gazed at the churning waves from the deck.
"I'm always ready, same as ever."
"Have you foreseen everything from the start up to this point?"
She asked with a subtle smile.
"I'm not that exceptional a man. I just decide my direction while drifting along the water like this ship. If you understand the flow, the direction becomes obvious."
To her, it might seem like I'd pierced through every event smoothly, thanks to my memories of my past life.
But I'm human too. I can't predict the future. I simply knew what needed to be done in advance, allowing me to prepare a step ahead of everyone else.
"Still, among us, you're the only one who truly knows what must be done. I'll place my full trust in you for this matter as well."
Matching the ship's sway in the Yangtze's current, she gently leaned her head on my shoulder. I could feel an inexplicable tension in her heartbeat.
Right now, we were walking into a death trap. It was only natural for her to tremble.
I took her hand and gripped it tightly.
"Trust me and leave it to me."
After half a day of sailing, we finally dropped anchor in front of an inn in Jagu County.
Deep within Xiling Gorge, shrouded by cliffs along the Yangtze, the inn sat peacefully like an isolated island cut off from the world.
Anyone seeing it might wonder why a building stood in such a place.
This was Drunken Soul Tower, the venue for the Black Path Assembly, in Jagu County.
"Let's go."
With Stronghold Lord Jang Seokhyeon in the lead, we disembarked and climbed the steep gorge path. The Waterway Stronghold crew followed behind as escorts, but only I, Baek Eunhwa, the lord, and Chief Officer Baek Hanseong would enter the Drunken Soul Tower.
Along the path to the inn, black-clad warriors lined both sides, eyeing us warily.
Armed to the teeth and on high alert, they were clearly members of another faction who had arrived first.
Their sharp gazes suggested they'd draw their blades at the slightest provocation.
"What are you staring at, you bastards? Lower your eyes!"
But that lasted only a moment. At the stronghold lord's thunderous roar from the front, they began averting their gazes one by one.
As fellow members of the Four Black Alliance, they had no choice but to heed the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold's representative.
"Sorry about that. Every year at this time, the lads get all on edge."
From the way the lord spoke so casually, it seemed this happened every time without us along.
Even in the same alliance, it was natural to be wary of outsiders from other groups.
Before long, the Drunken Soul Tower loomed before us. Though it looked like an inn, it served as a stronghold for the unorthodox factions, so no ordinary guests were in sight.
Only the crew guarding the entrance stared at us with fierce glares.
"That face trailing behind doesn't look familiar. Mind if I ask who it is, Lord?"
"Did your veil lord tell you to act like that? Know your place before you yap."
Members who appeared to be from the Death Veil blocked the entrance and questioned us. The lord didn't answer but unleashed his killing intent at them instead.
True to the Death Veil's principle of showing no emotion, they didn't flinch at the lord's pressure.
After a tense standoff, a voice came from inside the inn.
"Let them in."
A low, chilling voice heavy with authority. Just hearing it made my senses sharpen all over. I knew who it belonged to.
"Yes!"
At the command, they stepped aside, and we followed the lord into the inn.
The Drunken Soul Tower was far more spacious inside than its exterior suggested. The peculiar thing was that in this vast space, there was only a single round table with four chairs.
Three of the chairs were already occupied. A quick glance revealed familiar faces.
The Death Veil's veil lord, the Green Forest Thirty-Six Strongholds' grand stronghold lord, and the Four Black Alliance leader, who was also the Black Water Hall master, Han Do-hyeok. He was the owner of that voice from moments ago.
The difference from my memory was that he looked thirty years younger.
Unlike the white-haired elder I'd faced back then, he now had dark hair and the sturdy look of a man in his prime.
His calm, dignified face showed no hesitation, and his aura suggested he possessed skills on par with mine—or superior.
But I couldn't gauge his exact level. That meant he was at least a transcendent master.
"Welcome, Lord. Seems you've made some new friends."
The alliance leader shot us a piercing glare. For some reason, it felt directed at me.
"Friends? Don't say it like that."
Grinning nonchalantly, the lord strode forward confidently. He pulled out a chair but didn't sit, instead turning to Baek Eunhwa.
"Not friends—this is the master I serve."
Understanding his intent, Baek Eunhwa stepped forward and took the seat. Every eye in the inn turned to her.
"Who the hell is this woman?"
"Ha! The Yangtze Waterway Stronghold lord yielding his seat to some wench?"
"Shut your mouths. She's not someone you rabble can speak of."
The lord silenced their clamor with one sentence, and Baek Eunhwa spoke next.
"Pleased to meet you, members of the Four Black Alliance. I am Baek Eunhwa, the 37th Lower Five Gates Lord."
The words barely left her lips when an uproar far greater than before erupted from all sides.
"Lower Five Gates?"
"Why are Lower Five Gates scum here...?"
"Wait, does that mean the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold has submitted to the Lower Five Gates?"
Their bewildered mutterings showed no sign of stopping. Knowing the deep enmity between the Four Black Alliance and Lower Five Gates, even the lord could only watch this time.
"Enough!!"
It was the alliance leader, Han Do-hyeok, who quelled the chaos.
"I won't tolerate noise. I'll ask the lord myself. What are you thinking?"
"No thinking to it—it's my decision. My Waterway Stronghold has joined the Lower Five Gates as a subordinate."
"You're aware of the bad blood between our Four Black Alliance and the Lower Five Gates."
The alliance leader's face darkened menacingly, his eyes narrowing as if ready to behead the lord on the spot.
"Hear the reason first."
"For those who've lived our whole lives on the Yangtze, following the flow is only natural. I merely entrusted myself to the mighty current."
Undaunted by the pressure, the lord met his gaze squarely, facing all the intimidation and scorn head-on.
"For the lord to crawl under some woman's skirt—no, the Lower Five Gates' hem—it's disappointing as a fellow Four Black Alliance leader."
The Death Veil lord sneered mockingly.
Boom!
A massive crash followed, splitting the table they sat at in two. It wasn't the lord's doing—the alliance leader had done it.
"I said no noise."
"...This one has been rude. Please forgive me."
True to the unorthodox world's hierarchy obsession, the alliance leader's word was law.
Or perhaps no one dared defy the man who rose from the bottom with a single blade, uniting all these forces.
One thing was clear: even if everyone here except the Lower Five Gates attacked him, he wouldn't take a scratch.
"I understand your intent. But the Four Black Alliance and Lower Five Gates can no longer share a table. I won't reprimand you, so withdraw from the alliance and leave this gathering."
A faint loneliness tinged his expression as he addressed the lord. Though unspoken, regret laced his tone.
He must have quite favored this subordinate.
"That won't do."
At that moment, Baek Eunhwa, who had been silently listening, spoke up.
"The Lower Five Gates came here not just to announce this, but to ask for a favor."
"What favor?"
Baek Eunhwa glanced around cautiously, as if weighing whether to mention Murim Alliance spies possibly hidden among the Four Black Alliance here.
Now it was my turn.
"We know your secret, Four Black Alliance Leader Han Do-hyeok."
His eyebrow twitched at my words. The air grew heavy in an instant under his irritated aura.
"What nonsense is that?"
"Talking here would put you in a bind too. It's about the treasure you've hidden away in Black Water Hall."
Bang!
No sooner had I finished than he unleashed a ferocious burst of qi wave from his seat. I countered it with my palm strike.
The shockwave turned the inn into chaos, sending several people flying outside.
Standing guard right beside Baek Eunhwa, I flashed a slight smile. That reaction confirmed my suspicions.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Yi Sowol, Sword Dragon and Lower Five Gates escort captain. I'm here to repay a debt and ask for your help."
After glaring silently for a moment, the alliance leader raised his hand, signaling his men to withdraw, as if resolved.
"The Black Path Assembly ends here. You—talk with me alone."
Eventually, all the others cleared out of the inn, leaving just me, Baek Eunhwa, and Alliance Leader Han Do-hyeok.
"Now then, speak. About this secret of mine you claim to know."
I shrugged and pulled up a chair, sitting down and drawing it out slowly before meeting his eyes.
"You're the spy from the Hidden Blade Party."
The remnants of the past, never uncovered in my previous life, finally clicked into place, revealing the truth.