Plum Blossom Swordsman, Have You Heard? (4)
“You damned bastard! I thought I was going to die from the pain!”
“You should’ve held back a little!”
As the Taehaeng Three Swords raised their voices in protest, Jin Yang-geon snickered with laughter.
“Do you know how many eyes were watching from over there? If I’d pulled my punches even a little, we’d have been exposed on the spot.”
“There’s a limit to everything! You want to try taking a hit yourself?”
Ma Wi-ryang twitched as if he were about to lunge at Jin Yang-geon, but Gwa Hyeok-so stopped him with a wave of his hand.
“Enough.”
“Big Brother!”
“Didn’t I say enough?”
Frowning, Gwa Hyeok-so said, “He’s right. If we’d done it half-heartedly, all we’d get was suspicion. We’re not dead yet. We can endure this much.”
“Good.”
Gwa Hyeok-so slowly nodded. Then he fixed Jin Yang-geon with a sharp look and said, “From here on, your role is important. You know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Of course, Big Brother.”
“At this point, even Geum-geom-bu won’t be able to sit still. They’ve already got a fire under their heels, and if they hear that a master of Mount Hua has appeared right next door, they’ll have no choice but to start itching with impatience.”
“Yes.”
“Remember this. If they reach out and you swallow the bait too eagerly, everything will go to waste. We must not give them the impression that we were waiting for them!”
Jin Yang-geon let out a faint laugh. “Don’t worry. I know that much.”
“What a mouthy little rat you are….”
Gwa Hyeok-so glanced around the surroundings. There was no sign of anyone nearby, but he still seemed restless for no reason.
“Go. If it’s discovered that you’re here with us, everything will be for nothing. Don’t come looking for us again until things move further along.”
“Yes, Big Brother. If Geum-geom-bu comes looking for me, I’ll contact you separately.”
“Good. I’m trusting you.”
Jin Yang-geon bowed his head slightly in farewell, then turned and left. With no lingering attachment at all, he walked out of Gwanjwa Temple and disappeared into the distance without once looking back.
“Tch.”
Once Jin Yang-geon was far enough away that he could no longer be seen, a click of the tongue slipped from Ma Wi-ryang’s mouth.
“He looks like a slippery bastard.”
Still wearing a thoroughly displeased expression, Ma Wi-ryang looked over at Gwa Hyeok-so.
“Big Brother. Can we really trust that punk?”
“I trust no one except our brothers.”
“……”
“But that rat doesn’t need to be doubted. He can’t do anything without us, either.”
“That’s true, but….”
“Enough.”
Gwa Hyeok-so waved a hand as if to brush the matter aside.
“He’s not someone we’ll ever see again after this is over, anyway.”
A thin, nasty smile crept across his lips.
“Still, things are going even better than I expected. Thanks to that Tyrant Lord personally visiting Mount Hua, this job just became twice as easy.”
“Isn’t Heaven helping us?”
“It is.”
Gwa Hyeok-so and Ma Wi-ryang exchanged smiles. But then the youngest of the Taehaeng Three Swords, Jong Yo, who had been quiet until now, spoke up with a reluctant face.
“But, Big Brother….”
“Hmm?”
“Is this really all right?”
“What are you babbling about now?”
Jong Yo let out a long sigh.
“I can’t shake this feeling. If this goes wrong, not only us but Jong-nam’s prestige will be dragged through the mud….”
“You little bastard!”
When Gwa Hyeok-so glared, Jong Yo hunched his shoulders with a flinch.
“Jong-nam? Damn it! Why should we be worrying about Jong-nam’s prestige? Have you already forgotten what those mighty Jong-nam people did to us?”
“That’s….”
“They knew the secular branches were active all over the martial world, and yet they shut the sect gates without so much as a word of consultation, didn’t they?”
“Big Brother… but isn’t the main sect like a parent to us?”
“A parent? Well said! Do children alone owe duty to their parents? Don’t parents have an obligation to protect their children as well?”
“……”
“Why should we care about the face of parents who abandoned their children without a word and ran off?”
Jong Yo couldn’t bring himself to answer and merely let out a quiet sigh.
He understood Gwa Hyeok-so’s feelings. How stunned had everyone been when they heard that Jong-nam was closing its gates?
The main sect was, to a secular branch, no different from a sturdy backing to rely on. To maintain that support, the secular branches sent a fixed yearly tribute to the main sect, and the main sect, in turn, handled any trouble that arose for them.
It was a master-disciple relationship, yes, but in another sense it was no different from a contractual arrangement.
Yet Jong-nam had unilaterally shut its gates without a word, effectively breaking that contract in an instant.
As a result, the secular branches that had trusted the main sect and gone about their lives were suddenly struck by calamity overnight.
The Taehaeng Three Swords had also roamed the martial world far and wide, and in the process they had accumulated no small number of enemies. There had always been those who dared not act against them because of Jong-nam’s prestige, but the moment they heard the news, they sharpened their blades and moved at once, leaving the three of them in all manner of trouble.
“There’s no need to ramble! Sect or no sect, we have to survive first!”
Seeing that Jong Yo still couldn’t shake off his discomfort, Ma Wi-ryang stepped in to soothe him.
“Little brother. If this is handled properly, there’ll be no stain on the main sect. That’s exactly why we need that bastard, isn’t it?”
“That’s… true….”
“If everything goes according to Big Brother’s plan, then every bit of trouble caused here will fall on Mount Hua, not Jong-nam. So this can actually be called helping the main sect.”
“He’s right!”
When Ma Wi-ryang and Gwa Hyeok-so said the same thing at once, Jong Yo could only nod reluctantly.
“It really has to turn out that way.”
“You can say that again.”
Gwa Hyeok-so’s eyes gleamed.
“I’m sick of making a living by the sword. If this goes well, we’ll be able to take a huge sum and leave the martial world behind. Then all that’ll be left is to live comfortably for the rest of our days.”
Jong Yo asked with an uncertain face, “But what if that guy talks?”
“Talks?”
Gwa Hyeok-so smiled crookedly.
“That could happen. But once this is over, the only one left to listen to him will be King Yama.”
“……”
“Don’t worry too much. To me, this situation looks like Heaven arranged it to help us. Without Heaven’s aid, would we ever have found a fellow who happened to use a sword similar to the Plum Blossom Sword Art, or had that Jang Il-so personally come to Mount Hua?”
Ma Wi-ryang nodded along repeatedly. “Exactly, Big Brother.”
Gwa Hyeok-so looked at Jong Yo with a somewhat softened expression.
“If you’re still truly worried, then after this is over, we can send part of the money we make back to the main sect.”
“Understood, Big Brother.”
When Jong Yo answered so obediently, Gwa Hyeok-so nodded.
“Then go and tend to your wounds. We’ll need to keep watch so that rat doesn’t do anything foolish.”
“Yes!”
Watching his brothers settle down at once and begin circulating their qi, Gwa Hyeok-so’s eyes flashed.
I found one stupid rat, and everything’s falling into place so easily. Geum-geom-bu had better bite this bait.
* * *
Leaning by the window of a tall tavern and looking down below, Jin Yang-geon let out a snort of laughter.
Fools.
Just thinking about the state of the Taehaeng Three Swords, who had been making such a fuss yesterday, kept making laughter bubble up inside him.
By rights, a martial artist should know how to conceal his true feelings in any situation. These blockheads had been showing their hostility all along while working together, so Jin Yang-geon couldn’t understand how they’d earned such a reputation in the first place.
Once the job is done, they’ll probably try to kill me and pocket all the money for themselves.
Jin Yang-geon laughed again.
Those bastards would surely pin all the blame on him, eliminate him, and try to bury what they’d done, but he was not the sort of man to fall for such an obvious scheme.
When everything was over, they would be left with not a single coin in hand, stunned and hollow-faced.
Mount Hua. Mount Hua, huh….
A satisfied smile bloomed on his lips.
Who could have imagined that Mount Hua would become this successful?
Thanks to that, he’d been able to take part in something big. It was more than enough reason to be grateful. If this went well, he was even willing to bow three times every morning in the direction of Mount Hua when he woke up.
“Anyway, it’s basically my sect now. Heheh.”
A sinister laugh murmured softly into the air. Just then, a group of people appeared through the tavern stairs.
Jin Yang-geon quickly set his expression straight.
His face had turned calm and composed in an instant, but his heart began hammering as though it had just finished a desperate sprint.
On the left chests of the people who had appeared, he could see the outline of a sword embroidered in gold thread.
Geum-geom-bu!
Jin Yang-geon, suppressing the shout of triumph rising inside him, clenched his fist beneath the table.
He had expected them to come, and he had set all this up for that very purpose—but for them to move this quickly!
The men who had come upstairs and were scanning their surroundings quickly noticed Jin Yang-geon and approached him. Then they bowed with utmost courtesy, clasping their hands in salute.
“Might you be Jin Yang-geon, Jin Daehyup?”
Jin Yang-geon, who had been deliberately looking out the window, slowly turned his head with maximum leisure and regarded the people standing before him.
“I am Jin. And you are?”
“We’re people from Geum-geom-bu. The Vice Manor Lord has invited Jin Daehyup as a guest and wishes to speak with you. If it would not be an imposition, would you honor Geum-geom-bu with a visit?”
“Hmm….”
Jin Yang-geon gave a low hum as if thinking it over, then lifted the wine cup before him and slowly drank from it.
Clack!
He set the cup down with a sharp sound and nodded.
“I don’t know what this is about, but I’ve long heard of the character of the great hero Shang, Vice Manor Lord of Geum-geom-bu. It would be impolite to refuse the invitation of such a man.”
Jin Yang-geon rose from his seat with easy grace.
Then, with a gentle smile on his face, he gestured politely.
“Lead the way.”
“Thank you! Escort the hero!”
“Yes!”
Surrounded by the escort of the Geum-geom-bu masters lined up to his left and right, Jin Yang-geon slowly began descending the tavern stairs.
Not much longer now.
A faint smile brushed his lips where no one could see it.
But unfortunately, he had no idea at all.
That a catastrophe he had never once faced in his life was now racing toward him at an unimaginable speed.
---