To Live Like a Dog, or Die Like a Wolf (4)
Thunk!
As Heukryongwang climbed the final steps, he shot Jang Il-so a glare sharp with the fury of a tiger.
“You little brat... you’ve got it easy, don’t you? Coming all the way out here to Hangzhou and playing immortal.”
A look like that would have stopped the heart of an ordinary man. But his opponent was Jang Il-so.
Fssshhh.
Unfazed by the savage stare, Jang Il-so calmly filled his cup and smiled.
“Please, sit.”
“...”
“You came all this way. Surely it wasn’t just to stare at me.”
“I might have come to cut your throat.”
“Hahahahaha!”
Laughing loudly into Heukryongwang’s face, Jang Il-so slowly rubbed at his own neck. The ornaments on his wrists chimed softly.
“I never knew this neck was worth that much. To think even the great Heukryongwang would come all this way in person. Looks like I haven’t wasted my life after all.”
At the slick, slippery way Jang Il-so spoke, Heukryongwang’s eyes narrowed.
A snake.
Living as a member of the heterodox factions meant enduring every sort of scheme the world could throw at you. Unlike the righteous sects, who at least pretended to uphold fairness and preserve some shred of justification, the evil factions didn’t care what methods they used to bring an opponent down.
The leaders of the Five Hegemons of the Jianghu were men who had clawed their way to the top through devious plots and traps no ordinary person could even imagine.
But...
Heukryongwang’s cold gaze swept over Jang Il-so.
This man stood on a different level.
The eighteen water bandit factions of the Yangtze, the seventy-two Green Forest fortresses, and the Hao Sect.
Each of those factions had its own history. The leaders of the present Five Hegemons had inherited their power from those who came before, or seized it from others. That process had never been easy, of course, but there was still a clear difference between that and crawling up from the very bottom.
Jang Il-so was different.
This man had literally climbed up from nothing, built Maninbang with his own hands, and even dragged it up into the ranks of the Five Hegemons.
That was why, though Jang Il-so was the youngest of the Five Hegemons and had the thinnest résumé by far, no one laughed when the title of the Five Hegemons was attached to him and Maninbang.
The thought of what might hide beneath that bright, polished smile made his stomach churn.
“Now that I know this neck is worth something, I suppose I won’t feel too wronged if it gets cut off.”
“Parting with it won’t be difficult.”
“...”
Jang Il-so smiled sweetly and went on.
“But if I lose my head and leave here, how do you plan to stop those righteous bastards tearing the Yangtze to pieces?”
“You bastard!”
The instant Heukryongwang flared, killing intent burst from his eyes.
“He’s right.”
At the voice from beside him, he hurriedly turned his head.
When did he...?
A middle-aged man with a perfectly ordinary face had appeared beside them without anyone noticing.
His goatee was distinctive enough, but not memorable. He had such a plain, forgettable appearance that he looked like someone who would pass by ten times a day on a crowded street, and he was now seated comfortably in one of the empty chairs around the low tea table.
“Anyone can raise their voice. Solving the problem is a different matter.”
“...Cheonmyeon Susa.”
Heukryongwang ground his teeth.
No one knew the man’s real name.
No one even knew what his true face looked like.
The face before them now was merely one he had created. If he wanted, he could disguise himself as anyone, even alter his voice and build as he pleased.
The reason was simple.
He was the current leader of the Hao Sect: Cheonmyeon Susa.
“Care for a drink?”
Without a word, Jang Il-so picked up an empty cup beside him and set it down before himself.
Fssshhh.
Then he lifted the filled cup and casually flicked it toward Cheonmyeon Susa as though offering it to him.
Though it flew through the air, not a single drop spilled from the brim.
Cheonmyeon Susa took the cup, drank it down in one go without delay, and set it back on the table with a sharp clack.
“Not bad. Chuihyang liquor, is it?”
Heukryongwang gave a low snort of contempt.
“You usually hide yourself like a rat in a cat’s den, acting all careful and prudent, but someone offers you a drink and you just gulp it down.”
“If it were a cup from you, Heukryongwang, I might have thrown it away.”
“...What did you say?”
Cheonmyeon Susa smiled as though he were a pleasant, friendly man.
“But if it’s liquor from Paegun, then it can be trusted. Paegun is not the sort of man who loses a mountain for the sake of a pebble.”
“You honor me.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“You bastards...”
Fuming, Heukryongwang trembled with rage and ground his teeth.
Cheonmyeon Susa kept smiling at him.
“You really ought to rein in that temper, Heukryongwang. Of everyone here, aren’t you the one with the most urgent matters?”
“Are you mocking me?”
“Not at all.”
Cheonmyeon Susa gave a slight shake of his head.
At the same time, his expression changed completely. The endlessly mild and generous face from a moment ago vanished, replaced by eyes sharpened like blades.
“It means the situation is that bad. If you’re going to act rashly, then don’t stand in the way—get lost.”
“You ratlike bastard!”
Just as Heukryongwang was about to explode in fury, Cheonmyeon Susa turned back to Jang Il-so.
“The Green Forest won’t be coming... ah, have you already asked?”
“That would be a useless effort.”
“I thought as much.”
Cheonmyeon Susa nodded as if everything were perfectly clear.
He was the leader of the Hao Sect. Along with the Beggars’ Sect, the Hao Sect divided up the world’s information. There was no way he wouldn’t already know that the Green Forest’s heart had turned and that they had joined the Heavenly Alliance.
“I thought they might at least have that much backbone, but I never expected they’d put on a dog collar themselves and walk into a kennel. Did Paegun bully them too much?”
He was referring to the war between Maninbang and the Green Forest in the past.
“If their vessel can hold only that much, then there’s nothing to be done.”
Jang Il-so smiled faintly.
“And that wasn’t entirely my fault. If you hadn’t held a dagger to their backs, Cheonmyeon Susa, I’d have swallowed the Green Forest whole long ago.”
“And then we would have been next. Or Surachae would have marched south at the first opening.”
Cheonmyeon Susa chuckled.
That was the evil factions for you.
A world of every man for himself.
Yesterday’s enemy wasn’t today’s ally, nor was yesterday’s ally today’s enemy.
In the first place, there were no allies among the evil factions. Even when they fought side by side, they still had enemies in front of them—and other enemies lurking behind. If someone was fighting a war, then of course you had to take advantage of the opening. Exploiting that opening wasn’t cowardly; failing to do so was naïve.
That was why the Five Hegemons had each guarded their own territory and engaged only in scattered skirmishes. If they ever truly went to war, someone would inevitably come lunging for their backs.
“Then what about the others?”
“I sent letters.”
“Hmmm.”
Cheonmyeon Susa shook his head.
“Then waiting longer is pointless. So, Paegun, what business brings us here?”
Heukryongwang bared his teeth.
“I never said I’d listen.”
“Then leave, Heukryongwang. I won’t stop you.”
Cheonmyeon Susa clicked his tongue.
“There’s no point in a contest for control in a place like this. A fire is already at everyone’s feet. No, maybe it’s a dagger already pressed to their throats. And...”
Cheonmyeon Susa’s gaze on Heukryongwang was as sharp as a blade.
“No one knows that better than Surachae.”
“...”
Heukryongwang bit his lip and swallowed his anger.
“So? Did those great men gather us here just to sit around and count coins?”
“If that were all, it would still be a priceless meeting.”
At the unfamiliar voice, Heukryongwang turned toward the stairs.
Someone was slowly ascending them.
When his face finally came into view, there wasn’t a hint of expression on it.
There was not a single trace of emotion, and not even the faintest flush of blood colored his pale face. Yet that only made him feel more oppressive to look at.
The man in the blue silk robe stepped onto the top floor and spoke in a cool voice.
“What matters is what benefit this meeting brings. If we’re not here to flick the abacus beads, then it’s meaningless.”
“...Damn bastard.”
Heukryongwang cursed him, but Cheonmyeon Susa nodded in agreement.
Of course, the benefit he imagined and the benefit that man imagined were probably a little different. That man divided the entire world into profit and loss.
Not all evil men were obedient to their own desires.
Sometimes they endured for something greater, and sometimes they hid themselves and disguised their intentions in order to set the perfect trap.
But this man was different. In his head, there was only immediate gain.
Of course, there were countless people in the world crazed for money, and the ones most obsessed with it were naturally merchants. Men who were willing to sell their souls for dazzling gold, men who would travel a thousand miles without hesitation if gold was the reward. That was why merchants were often called money ghosts.
But those who truly knew the world’s inner workings did not use the term money ghost for people like that. The real madmen were elsewhere.
People who would do anything for money.
Those who followed the world’s order staked their necks on yellow gold, but those who mocked even the world’s order staked their lives on the “real gold.”
Gold was nothing more than a luxury.
The gold that truly controlled people was not gold at all, but salt.
That was why, in any nation, salt was usually kept out of merchants’ hands. Touching salt was often treated the same as treason.
The black ghosts who dared lay hands on hidden salt despite all that risk.
That was Black Ghost Fort.
And this man was the fort’s master, Man-geum Daebu Gongya Wol.
Maninbang. The Hao Sect. The eighteen water bandit factions of the Yangtze. Black Ghost Fort.
The leaders of four of the Five Hegemons had gathered at the very top floor of Chuihyang Pavilion in Hangzhou.
Anyone who knew even a little about the Jianghu would have found it hard to breathe at the sight.
“Money ghost...”
Just as Heukryongwang tried to say something, Man-geum Daebu cut him off with a short wave of his hand.
“Enough useless talk, Heukryongwang. I’m a busy man. Get to the point.”
“...”
“Paegun. Tell us why you summoned us here. If you’re only going to spout nonsense, then you’ll pay dearly for it. Wasting my time is a serious offense.”
Paegun smiled strangely in reply.
“If there’s one thing lacking in Daebu, it would be a sense of style and leisure.”
“Things that don’t make money are worthless to me.”
“Then sit down first.”
Man-geum Daebu glanced at Jang Il-so, but didn’t really object. He simply took the seat opposite him as instructed.
Cheonmyeon Susa also walked over and sat in the prepared seat, while Heukryongwang, who had remained standing until the end, came striding over with a thoroughly unpleasant expression and dragged out a chair with a loud scrape. Only after sitting did he growl again.
“If you’re going to spout meaningless crap, I won’t let it slide, Jang Il-so!”
“Meaningless crap...”
Jang Il-so smiled, lightly stroking the cup in front of him with a gentle hand.
“Face matters.”
His gaze settled on Heukryongwang.
“Money is, of course, priceless.”
This time he looked at Man-geum Daebu.
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that nothing is more important than information.”
Finally, Jang Il-so shifted his eyes to Cheonmyeon Susa and filled his own cup.
Fssshhh.
In the top floor of Chuihyang Pavilion, quiet to the point of stillness, the sound of pouring liquor spread out with eerie clarity.
“But all of those things...”
Jang Il-so’s mouth twisted as he lifted the cup. This time, his smile was unmistakably mocking. His crescent-shaped eyes shone pale as moonlight.
“Are only worth talking about while the head is still attached, aren’t they?”
The atmosphere on the top floor turned ice-cold in an instant.