Inn Disturbance (3)
Ooooooh!
At last, Seok Geum-ryong’s identity and status were revealed, and even the onlookers who had been watching from the sidelines were stunned.
“Who? Seok Geum-ryong?”
“You mean the fifth son of Seokga Manor?”
“Ah, the fellow they call the saint of the Hebei slums?”
In particular, Shanxi bordered Hebei, so word of Seok Geum-ryong had already spread here and there in whispers.
Few people knew him well, but a few did.
“Seokga Manor!”
Even Gun Gyeong-mun, the Blood Ghost Scholar, was startled speechless when he realized that the young master driving dozens of blood-sweating horses was none other than the heir of Seokga Manor.
No matter how prominent the Blood Ghost Sect might be, and no matter how much of a presence it had in Shanxi, it was madness to dare lay a hand on Seokga Manor.
“Ha Gong-sam of the government troops greets Your Honor the magistrate!”
The official troops were no different; shocked by the unexpected identity, they hurriedly bowed in deep obeisance.
From the commander of the government troops down to the common soldiers, they all had no choice but to lower their heads politely before Seok Geum-ryong.
That was only natural. The appointment letter for the rank-seven magistrate, bearing the seal of the current governor of Hebei, outranked most officials, and even the head of a county office would find the magistrate’s authority awkwardly troublesome.
Besides, if even a few government troops were corrupt and the magistrate happened to come inspecting, the governor of Shanxi could end up in serious trouble.
“Right. Whose horse is this, then?”
Seok Geum-ryong clicked his tongue as he looked at the corrupt troops, who had immediately begun to show him proper deference the moment he produced the magistrate’s appointment letter.
“S-sorry!”
Ha Gong-sam, the leader of the government troops, was visibly flustered and scrambling.
If the magistrate went to the county office because of him, then whatever happened afterward would be out of his hands and the whole thing would explode into chaos.
“Please forgive us, Magistrate. We failed to recognize you.”
“Please forgive us!”
One after another, the troops lay flat on the ground, pressing their bellies to the earth, begging only for Seok Geum-ryong’s mercy.
“Government troops, acting like this...”
Even Gun Gyeong-mun and the men of the Blood Ghost Sect looked troubled at the strange sight.
Thanks to the unwritten rule that martial groups did not interfere with officials, even they could not treat government troops lightly, and yet this was the first time they had ever seen such a cringing display.
More than anything, the encouraging part was that this was no time to worry about mere troops.
“Right now, the Blood Ghost Sect of Shanxi is targeting Seokga Manor’s property. Are you aware of that?”
Seok Geum-ryong, younger than even Gun Gyeong-mun’s youngest brother, burst into easy laughter while looking at him, and it was so embarrassing that the man hardly knew what to do with himself.
Thinking it over, this was rude enough to threaten the very existence of the Blood Ghost Sect.
“N-not at all. I merely... became curious about the blood-sweating horse... and made an error in judgment.”
So Gun Gyeong-mun frantically waved his hands and focused on cooling Seok Geum-ryong’s anger by any means necessary.
He glanced around, visibly cornered.
“Ah, yes! Innkeeper! Hurry and bring these guests some fine delicacies and excellent wine! I’ll cover every coin myself, so quickly now!”
The moment his eyes met the Shanxi inn, he tried to buy favor with food and drink, taking advantage of the fact that they must be hungry.
Of course, any hunger had long since been forgotten, and the looks from Seok Geum-ryong and his group were positively cold.
“How could I casually accept food provided by your side?”
“Pardon?”
“Who knows? You might have slipped in sleeping powder, stolen the blood-sweating horses, and run off.”
“Urk.”
Gun Gyeong-mun was facing a life-or-death crisis, and humiliation on top of humiliation, as Seok Geum-ryong shredded him with such dazzling verbal skill.
He trembled.
Being treated like some rude thief was more than he could bear, and his hands shook uncontrollably.
“Or do you want me to hit you once?”
When Seok Geum-ryong pointed that out in his still smooth, easy tone, Gun Gyeong-mun bowed respectfully.
“How could that be? My Blood Ghost Sect has always respected Seokga Manor’s property and talent, and we are always prepared to be friends.”
The only thing he could do was flatten himself and apologize.
Part of him wanted to kill Seok Geum-ryong without anyone the wiser, but far too many eyes were on them now.
“Good heavens! This is the first time I’ve seen the illustrious young sect leader of the Blood Ghost Sect come at someone so low and deferential.”
“Exactly. He always acts so tyrannical when bullying people.”
“Puhahaha! I knew it from the moment he started strutting around. If you swagger about long enough, sooner or later someone bigger than you comes along and eats you alive.”
Residents who had suffered under the Blood Ghost Sect and Gun Gyeong-mun’s arrogance burst into laughter behind his back, relishing the rare sight and feeling a decade’s worth of blockage finally clear from their chests.
And then a sharp look snapped toward the source of those voices from Gun Gyeong-mun, the Blood Ghost Scholar.
But his dignity and face had already fallen into the gutter.
“If you’ll only forgive my offense once, I’ll withdraw quietly.”
Only after Gun Gyeong-mun had bowed and scraped again and again did Seok Geum-ryong finally nod.
“Just looking at your face is uncomfortable. At the very least, please get ten li away from here.”
“...Yes.”
And so Gun Gyeong-mun retreated in full disgrace, humiliated before the entire world.
“Woooooah!”
“Long live Young Master Seok Geum-ryong!”
“As expected, the heir of Seokga Manor really is different.”
The local residents of this stretch of Shanxi erupted in cheers after watching the Blood Ghost Scholar, who ruled the area like a king of hell, be completely broken apart by nothing more than a sharp tongue and a magistrate’s appointment letter.
That alone showed just how much grief they had suffered under the Blood Ghost Sect.
So much so that...
“You’ve suffered enough in my inn. Let me take responsibility and host you properly. Please accept the food and wine!”
The innkeeper himself, one of Gun Gyeong-mun’s regular victims, stepped forward and even offered a lavish spread.
That was the moment Seok Geum-ryong used his wits to slip through a tricky crisis.
* * *
After Seok Geum-ryong and his group left Shanxi Inn with a generous reception behind them, the one who had been humiliated that day, Gun Gyeong-mun, sat alone nursing a cup of wine and fuming.
“Damn it, damn itttt!”
Bang!
At last, he hurled the cup with his inner force and vented his rage.
He was only in his early twenties, yet if he were to sum up his life in one line, it would be smooth, triumphant advance after smooth, triumphant advance. It was the kind of enviable life everyone looked up to.
Because of that, he had never once in history been reduced to a laughingstock for commoners.
But the humiliation he had suffered in broad daylight had dealt a heavy blow to his pride.
Above all, the image of that young noble’s eyes glaring down at him kept surfacing in his mind whenever he tried to eat something delicious or go about ordinary life.
That look of disgust, as if staring at a cockroach. That cold dismissal.
It was exactly the same way Gun Gyeong-mun himself treated those beneath him.
Now that he was the one being looked down on, he could not endure it.
“Young master.”
“Well? Where did that pompous fifth son of Seokga Manor go?”
Even though he knew it was beyond what he could handle alone, Gun Gyeong-mun still burned with desire for the blood-sweating horses, humiliation notwithstanding.
If only I had that blood-sweating horse, no, even one of them!
If he could just get his hands on that legendary steed, he could enter horse races and make an enormous profit. Clinging to that thought, he secretly traced Seok Geum-ryong’s movements.
And sure enough, since this area belonged to the Blood Ghost Sect, he could tell exactly where they had gone without even making much effort.
“They’ve crossed western Shanxi and entered the direction of Forbidden Stone Valley.”
Forbidden Stone Valley in Shanxi was a vast gorge where no human could reasonably enter, a place where only stone itself was permitted to exist, and that was how it earned its name.
In other words, unlike the area around Shanxi Inn today, there would be no watchers and no eyes there.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Given the harsh terrain, they’ll almost certainly be camping there for the time being.”
“Then... the blood-sweating horses will be there too.”
“Most likely.”
The greed that should have been cut off flared up again in response to his subordinate’s report.
From what I saw, there were hardly any escorts.
Even knowing he should not, he kept calculating the possibilities.
After all, there was only Gong Sang-pil, Jang Sam, the old woman Wol-papa, and the very pretty Im So-gun. The only one who looked truly strong was Shadowless One Shin Dan-woo.
Of course, that was only because Gun Gyeong-mun’s level was too low for him to recognize masters like Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae and the others.
And the most insignificant, lowest-ranking position in Seokga Manor belongs to the fifth son, Seok Geum-ryong, doesn’t it?
Then what if he struck Seok Geum-ryong in some secret blind spot no one knew about and quietly took the blood-sweating horses for himself?
By Gun Gyeong-mun’s reckoning, if he slipped into Forbidden Stone Valley, which was practically the front yard of the place, with a few of the Blood Ghost Sect’s subordinates at his back and attacked from behind, it seemed almost too easy.
Do it? Or don’t I?
He worried and worried.
To be honest, he already knew the answer to that question very well.
What did that mean?
From the moment he failed to report it to his father, the sect leader of the Blood Ghost Sect, he had already been preparing to commit a major deed in secret.
“You there. Bring every available fighter at once.”
At last, Gun Gyeong-mun made his decision.
This was a decision of life and death.
“Pardon?”
The subordinate asked back in surprise.
He was wondering whether this was really acceptable without the sect leader’s permission.
“No matter how frightening Seokga Manor may be, if we bury this in the world’s shadows, how would those people ever know?”
Gun Gyeong-mun smiled darkly, having made up his mind.
How dare you look down on me as nothing? Just you wait, Seok Geum-ryong.
Grinding his teeth, he took dozens of subordinates and slipped out toward Forbidden Stone Valley in the dead of an unseen dawn.
* * *
Step, step.
Meanwhile, Seok Geum-ryong’s group was moving slowly through the Forbidden Stone Valley region.
They had eaten heartily thanks to the innkeeper’s generosity at Shanxi Inn, and now they went on while continuing to enjoy good dried meat and food.
“Now then, isn’t it about time?”
During that peaceful, leisurely moment, Seok Geum-ryong spoke to his companions.
What did he mean by that?
In truth, the moment he saw Gun Gyeong-mun bowing his head to him while still harboring murderous intent in his eyes, he had sensed it instantly.
This guy isn’t the sort to give up easily.
Far from giving up, he was the kind of man who would gladly plunge into despair because of his own greed.
So Seok Geum-ryong had deliberately lured him deeper into the hidden gorge of Forbidden Stone Valley, and as expected...
Heeeeee-ing!
Along with the sharp whinny of the blood-sweating horses, a force of men emerged on the opposite side of Forbidden Stone Valley beneath the moonlight.
“Seok Geum-ryong, you bastard!”
Having combed through Forbidden Stone Valley inch by inch since childhood, Gun Gyeong-mun had reached the place first by taking a shortcut around it, and now he laughed boldly with dozens of Blood Ghost Sect troops at his back.
He had clearly expected the young Seok Geum-ryong to be trembling in fear, but that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
“As expected, insects are insects.”
Just as Gun Gyeong-mun had sensed, Seok Geum-ryong regarded him as no more than a cockroach.
“Huh? What?”
He had expected fear, but instead of trembling, Seok Geum-ryong treated him like a cockroach no better than a moth flying straight into a flame, and Gun Gyeong-mun blinked in confusion.
“What do you think it means? It means I’m about to start exterminating pests.”