A Feast Before the Kill
“Kill and seize.”
It was hardly a grand statement.
To those who openly proclaimed themselves evil, it was only natural.
After all, it was the sort of phrase used by men who rejected the pretense of ritual and cast off the laws that bound people.
If they wanted something, they would take it by force. If they desired it, they would kill for it and seize it. Anyone who found that distasteful had no business calling themselves evil in the first place.
But no one in the room took Gal Cheon-lip’s words lightly.
“Here in the Northern River region?”
“That’s right.”
“……Easy for you to say!”
Negative reactions burst out from all sides.
The reason was simple enough. These people had no qualms about killing and stealing, yet even they balked at the idea.
The land they stood on was Northern River territory, under the control of the Gupailbang and the Odaesega.
If this had been just a few years ago, they might not have cared so much. Even if the Gupailbang and the Odaesega were formidable, they could always stir up trouble and, if things grew too hot, cross the Yangtze and head south.
The world was vast.
No matter how powerful the Gupailbang might be, they couldn’t chase men to the ends of the earth.
But now they were in no position to set foot in the Southern River region. The moment they did, the blades of Saperyeon would be at their throats. Wasn’t that obvious?
“We’re not being cautious because we like it. The moment we start acting as we please, those Gupail bastards will come running with fire in their eyes. How exactly are we supposed to kill and seize anything under those circumstances?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to fight the Gupailbang?”
“Don’t forget where you are, Ilsal.”
“……I shouldn’t have come. I didn’t come here to hear idiots spout nonsense.”
Even as voices of criticism rose from every direction, Ilsal, Gal Cheon-lip, merely chuckled. That low, soft laughter forced the entire room back into silence.
“……What’s so funny?”
At Danhon Hyeol-su’s question, Ilsal stopped chuckling and spoke.
“Funny? Of course it’s funny.”
He shrugged and twisted his lips.
“Watching a bunch of starving dogs drool over a feast laid right in front of them—how could that not be funny?”
The still room was instantly flooded with thick, murderous killing intent.
Everyone in the hall turned eyes like sharpened knives on Gal Cheon-lip. In response, the Seven Killers of Jiangxi behind him bared their teeth and stepped forward.
“Know your place, you—”
At that moment, Gal Cheon-lip raised a hand and stopped them.
“Quiet.”
“……Yes, Big Brother.”
Then he narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, “Did I say something wrong?”
“…….”
“Sure, you had no choice but to hold your breath for now. The Gupailbang bastards get even nastier when they smell blood in their own territory. So you decided to wait and watch the situation a little longer. But…… and what exactly did that accomplish?”
No one could answer.
It had already been two years.
For more than two years, they had done nothing but sit on their hands and gnaw their fingernails. But everyone could feel that even that had reached its limit.
“In the end, your future is obvious. You keep enduring until you either starve to death, or you can’t take it anymore and go off on your own, only to get caught by the Gupailbang bastards and suffer Dangeun-chammaek.”
Dangeun-chammaek.
It was a punishment that severed the muscles and tendons of the limbs, permanently crippling a martial artist. If a man had his dantian shattered, he could no longer use inner power, but he could still rely on the martial arts his body had memorized. Yet someone subjected to Dangeun-chammaek could barely use their hands and feet properly, and would be unable to handle even an ordinary peasant.
The Gupailbang reserved that punishment for evil martial artists who had committed heinous crimes.
At those words, a heavy revulsion settled over the faces of those listening. Still, no one openly objected, perhaps because they too had dimly sensed that such a future might well await them.
“So what exactly are you suggesting? Stop beating around the bush and say it.”
“I already did.”
Gal Cheon-lip sneered.
“If we gather in little clumps, we’ll only rob small places. If we’re going to rob something, we should do it properly. Somewhere that has enough money for everyone here to live without worry for the rest of their lives.”
“And the pursuit?”
“As long as you have money, there’s not much to worry about. Besides, maybe it was different in the past, but now they can’t chase us for long. We go out to Qinghai or Xinjiang for a while, wait until things calm down, then disguise ourselves and come back. That’s all.”
“Hmm.”
As they listened, different thoughts unfolded in each of their heads.
They won’t really chase me, will they?
As long as I get out to Qinghai, that’s enough.
With the name of the Seven Killers of Jiangxi, they’ll treat us like small fry.
Those who joined hands for a little while always scattered once the work was done. No matter how fiercely pursuers might give chase, they couldn’t hunt down everyone involved.
That meant they would have to focus on the more famous ones first. And among the people here, the most famous by far were the Seven Killers of Jiangxi.
“Not bad.”
“Definitely. I’m sick of sitting here and licking my fingers.”
“Damn it. The money isn’t the issue! It’s those Gupail bastards staring at us in plain sight—how long are we supposed to keep our mouths shut?”
“……It’s already bad enough now. If Wudang and Jongnam lift their seclusion, then……”
There was a reason the evil factions had gathered in the Southern River region in the first place. It was simply too difficult to make a move in the Northern River, where the Gupailbang held so much power.
The major sects guarding the heart of the Northern River were Shaolin, Wudang, Beggars’ Sect, Jongnam, and Namgung.
Even with two of those five sects in seclusion, the pressure was enough to make breathing difficult. Then what would happen if those two sects lifted their seclusion and came back out?
The answer was obvious.
“So?”
Gal Cheon-lip lifted his chin.
Danhon Hyeol-su stood with his arms folded, staring at him coldly.
“What exactly are you planning to rob with a gathering this size? It can’t be some ordinary place.”
“Of course not. We’re going after one of the Ten Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains.”
“The Ten Great Merchant Guilds?”
“Are you insane?”
At the mention of the Ten Great Merchant Guilds, everyone clicked their tongues.
“You’re talking nonsense.”
Danhon Hyeol-su shook his head as well.
“A place like that would naturally have ties to one of the Gupailbang or the Odaesega. The sect whose warehouse gets robbed would come after us with murder in its eyes.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. The place I’m targeting is one that’s unlikely to attract any pursuit.”
“Oh?”
“There’s exactly one place with no dogs guarding it and a warehouse fuller than any other.”
“……And where would that be?”
“Eunha Merchant Guild.”
At that answer, the men gathered there frowned and began murmuring among themselves.
“Eunha Merchant Guild?”
“……Is there such a place?”
“Ah. Would it be easier if I called it the Galaxy Merchant Guild?”
“……You mean to rob that place?”
“In recent years, it’s newly earned its way onto the end of the list of the Ten Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains. But that doesn’t mean the money it makes is at the end of the line. It’s a place that’s hauling in wealth by the cartload, plain and simple.”
“There’s no way a place like that wouldn’t have backing.”
“Of course it does. But not right now. Eunha Merchant Guild’s backer is none other than Mount Hua.”
“…….”
Only then did those who understood the situation finally look up sharply.
“……Mount Hua, in seclusion, is backing them.”
“Now that’s an interesting story.”
“And……”
At that moment, Iron Ghost, who had been listening silently, spoke up.
“Right now, Shaanxi is a land without an owner. Jongnam is in seclusion too.”
“……And Qinghai is close, too. Once you’re out of Shaanxi, Qinghai is right there.”
Those who had roughly grasped the situation could not hide their delight and let out low, eager laughs.
“They’ll have escorts, sure, but they’ll just be random rabble.”
“A Ten Great Merchant Guild without its master is nothing more than a treasure vault with its front gate thrown wide open.”
“Without its master?”
But Danhon Hyeol-su still didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. You think seclusion means they’re chained up and trapped? Even if they’re holed up, if fire breaks out in their own yard, they’ll come out to put it out.”
“Ah. I know that. Of course they’ll lift seclusion.”
Gal Cheon-lip nodded with complete composure.
“Hm?”
“But…… isn’t it the same thing? Surely you’re not saying—”
His gaze swept slowly across the people in the room.
“You’re not saying that with this many people gathered here, we still can’t handle Mount Hua alone?”
The men hearing that each gave low laughs.
Those gathered here were not everyone.
Some moved alone, yes, but about half of them led at least one small force of their own. If they could gather every last one of those men, dealing with a mere sect would be no trouble at all.
“If it were on the level of the Gupailbang, sure, it’d be a burden…… but Mount Hua doesn’t even belong to the Gupailbang.”
“Don’t underestimate them. Mount Hua is the leader of the Heavenly Alliance.”
“Just a nominal leader. Does anyone here honestly think that Mount Hua is stronger than the Sichuan Tang Family?”
Mount Hua had once been a prestigious sect in the distant past, and a few years ago it had made its name again by standing at the center of an event that shook the world.
But objectively speaking, Mount Hua was still nothing more than a mid-sized sect far below the level of the Gupailbang or the Odaesega. Fame and skill did not always go hand in hand.
During the years of seclusion, the reputation of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero had faded, and though he had later confronted the Saperyeon’s leader, Jang Il-so, and restored some of that fame, to speak bluntly, that was the Plum Blossom Sword Hero’s achievement—not Mount Hua’s.
“Even so, it’s still part of the Heavenly Alliance, isn’t it?”
“It’s the Heavenly Alliance, so there’s no reason to worry. The Dang Family, which could be considered the alliance’s main force, is tied down at the Yangtze, so we don’t need to fear any pursuit from that side. As for the outsiders, they’re far away from the Central Plains.”
After roughly finishing their calculations, the men exchanged meaningful looks.
“Then if we can just deal with Mount Hua, there’s nothing else to worry about.”
Gal Cheon-lip nodded firmly.
“Now you all seem to understand.”
“Is it really all right?”
“If you’re scared, you can back out now.”
“…….”
The gathered men glanced at one another. It was clearly a tempting proposal. But that didn’t mean there was nothing to worry about.
One of those looking around slowly raised a hand.
“I’ll pass.”
“Hm?”
Gal Cheon-lip looked at the raised hand with a faint, strange smile.
“I’ve never heard that Shadowless Fighting Killer was a coward.”
“I’m not backing out because I’m scared. Even if we flee to Qinghai, we’ll eventually have to return to the Central Plains. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running.”
“Good. That’s not a bad choice either. But……”
In that instant, the dao at Gal Cheon-lip’s waist flashed out like a streak of light.
Swish!
At the same time, Shadowless Fighting Killer’s raised arm flew cleanly into the air, severed at the shoulder.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
A wretched scream tore from Shadowless Fighting Killer’s throat. Clutching the stump where his arm had been cut off, he toppled from his chair and rolled across the floor.
Step. Step.
Gal Cheon-lip approached with an expression of perfect calm and ground his foot into the man’s face.
“Kh, kuh…….”
“That’s what a coward looks like. And I don’t like cowards.”
“S-stop…….”
Swish!
In one stroke, Shadowless Fighting Killer’s head was severed, and his body went limp on the floor.
“…….”
Everyone fell silent as if they had agreed to it beforehand.
Among those here, Shadowless Fighting Killer was one of the stronger men—someone most of them could not have confidently defeated in a straight fight. And yet he had died like a fly in an alley, without even managing a proper resistance.
Heartless Ghost Blade.
This was why he was one of the Seven Killers of Jiangxi, why the world trembled at the name Heartless Ghost Blade.
“Tsk.”
Gal Cheon-lip shook the blood from his dao and looked around the room with a faintly glistening smile.
“Anyone else want to back out?”
No one answered.
In truth, even if Gal Cheon-lip hadn’t made this move, the people here would have done something soon enough. After seeing something like this with their own eyes, they had even less reason to leave.
“No one’s backing out.”
Danhon Hyeol-su stared straight at Gal Cheon-lip, arms still folded.
“Just make one thing clear. If you gather this many men and move, don’t expect any kind of discipline. It’ll probably turn into a living hell.”
“Good. Very good.”
Gal Cheon-lip bared his teeth in a grin.
“Then I give you permission in the name of the Seven Killers of Jiangxi. Rampage as you please. It’s not as if I’m the one who’ll be cleaning up the mess, after all.”
“If you put it that way.”
The moment Danhon Hyeol-su nodded, everything was decided.
“Since we gathered here, word has already reached the Gupailbang through those little beggars. We can’t stop them even if we wanted to, but dragging things out won’t help us.”
“Then when do we move?”
“Tomorrow.”
“……In just one day?”
“Why? Is there a reason we can’t?”
At that, Hyeoldosal slowly licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
“That’s welcome news. I was already about ready to go crazy from boredom.”
“You’re not the only one. Bring everyone you’re interested in with you. I’ll make sure this turns out spectacularly.”
The wolves who had endured hunger for far too long showed cruel smiles at the scent of blood drifting toward them.