Chapter 54. We Shat Ourselves
Wise and cunning Hwa Cheon-un couldn't possibly have missed Jo Bang-un's betrayal. He must have kept the man alive for some future use.
Won Seung mulled it over briefly before asking the warrior,
"Are these honored guests from Geom Yak Jong, by any chance?"
The warrior said nothing, but his silence was as good as an admission.
Jo Bang-un snapped to attention. The arrival of Geom Yak Jong warriors was valuable intel. He cleared his throat and nodded.
"Ahem. No helping it."
Jo Bang-un turned and shook his head at Won Seung.
"Young Master Seung, as you just heard, this isn't a good time to meet."
"I've got important business too. Can't just leave."
Won Seung pulled a sealed document from his robe and handed it to the warrior.
"I'll be in the outer courtyard. Make sure to deliver this."
Jo Bang-un's eyes gleamed at the sight of the document.
Once they reached the outer courtyard's guest hall, Jo Bang-un poured tea himself under the pretense of hospitality, then casually probed,
"So, what was that document earlier?"
He tried to play it off as idle curiosity, but the desperation in his eyes was plain as day.
Spill it, you bastard! It was the look of a man who'd strangle the answer out if he could.
Won Seung savored the tea before replying.
"Jo Chief Steward, you need to work on your tea-pouring skills. What'd you ask? Oh... that? It's a proposal to solve Sangyang's martial world crisis."
Hwa Cheon-gang's office.
A middle-aged man who looked like a sword sat at the head of the rectangular table. His neatly trimmed mustache, smooth brows, and jet-black hair made him seem in his thirties, but he was nearing sixty.
Three men sat to his left. Closest was a handsome young man in his early twenties, his eyes flashing with sharp spirit now and then. Next to him, two men in their mid-thirties stared ahead with blank expressions.
Opposite them sat Cheongsu Gate's Hwa Cheon-gang, Hwa Cheon-un, and Hwa Cheon-baek's eldest son, Hwa U-cheon.
Four men who appeared to be his disciples stood behind him, vigilantly scanning the surroundings with emotionless faces.
A heavy silence hung in the air. They awaited the man at the head to speak.
At last, Geom Yak Jong's Twelfth Elder Yang Gwan spoke, his voice as cold as the glint in his eyes.
"I thought you three brothers had been doing well enough."
His tone was icy.
"But you couldn't handle some Dosanrim yard sweeper, forcing me to come all this way. What a disappointment. Though, I suppose for you..."
Yang Gwan trailed off with a sneer.
Hwa Cheon-gang's fist clenched, but Hwa Cheon-un reached under the table and placed a hand on his brother's to restrain him.
Hwa Cheon-un sighed inwardly.
Word had been that the Sixth Elder was coming, but it turned out to be Twelfth Elder Yang Gwan.
Geom Yak Jong's main sect disciples treated branch disciples like dirt under their nails—and Yang Gwan was the worst of them.
Yang Gwan was not much older than the Hwa brothers. Probably around Hwa Cheon-baek's age.
Yet he treated them like underlings, and he had the power to back it up.
Hwa Cheon-un knew what came next without hearing it.
'You shat yourselves.'
He didn't know if Cheon Il-hae had swept Dosanrim's yard or not, but the Hwa brothers had certainly shat themselves in Geom Yak Jong's eyes.
Yang Gwan was mocking them for it.
Memories of his time in Geom Yak Jong flashed through Hwa Cheon-un's mind.
Born the son of a Sang River boatman, he'd been on boats before he could walk. His father worked hard but was stubbornly honest.
He'd opposed the Yong family's grip on the Sangyang docks, and one night, he never came home. The next day, his bloated corpse floated up, the clear strangulation marks on his neck telling the tale.
Yet the officials ruled it a drunken drowning. His mother protested and got clubbed by a clerk, cracking her ribs. She lingered a few days before dying.
The day after her funeral, men came to evict them. They'd thought it was their father's house, but it belonged to the Yong family.
The man who'd come to throw out the three brothers told the wailing orphans,
"Get out. I don't want your blood on my hands."
In that moment, the Hwa brothers felt the terror of death. They knew continued protests meant certain doom.
Orphaned and without allies, they fled Sangyang in fear. Vowing revenge through martial arts, they endured hardships to join Geom Yak Jong—as latrine cleaners.
As branch disciples doing basic training, fortune smiled when Hwa Cheon-gang, robust from boyhood, caught a main sect elder's eye and learned arts.
He passed them to his brothers. They trained like madmen, but their lowly origins barred them from main sect status.
Yang Gwan entered later but became a direct disciple. Main sect had hierarchies too—direct vs. regular—and the gap was vast. From a prestigious Yang family, he'd donated heavily; it was only natural.
Even then, Yang Gwan mocked the shit-shoveling brothers. No wonder he acted so arrogantly now.
And... he had the strength to get away with it.
Geom Yak Jong elders weren't just anyone.
Hwa Cheon-un pondered.
Why had the Sixth Elder been swapped for Yang Gwan? A bone-deep aristocrat with no humanity—for Cheongsu Gate's sake? Unlikely.
Main sect's intent, or Yang Gwan's initiative? He wondered, but first, they had to survive this.
"Cheon Il-hae is no match for us, of course. The problem is Dosanrim's five experts. The Yin-Yang Twin Blades and Three Mountains Heroes are mid-tier pillars—formidable foes."
"Hm. Their blades are decent enough. That's why I'm here personally. And the sect leader sent his prized direct disciple too—no need to worry."
Yang Gwan glanced at the handsome young man to his left, who merely smiled faintly.
Hwa Cheon-un found him burdensome too.
The man was the sect leader's third disciple, Byeok Gyo-un. As a direct disciple, his skills would be exceptional. But the jianghu wasn't decided by martial prowess alone.
If anything happened to Byeok Gyo-un... the fallout would be unbearable.
Oblivious, Yang Gwan strutted on.
"Drive out Dosanrim first. We'll talk other matters later."
Other matters? Realizing the intent, Hwa Cheon-un groaned inwardly.
Chasing off wolves only to invite tigers. As the thought crossed his mind, Yang Gwan chuckled oddly.
"The third still overthinks. Too much drains your yang energy—moderation's best."
The sarcasm was thick, but Hwa Cheon-un kept his composure.
"With so many crises at hand, thoughts don't stop."
"No more worries. First, accept that Yong descendant's challenge. Refusing a duel from someone seeking revenge? Even branch disciples can't tarnish main sect honor."
Yang Gwan eyed Hwa Cheon-gang.
"You won't... lose, will you?"
Crunch.
Hwa Cheon-gang ground his teeth. He wanted to beat the man to death right there.
Treating a Central Plains top hundred expert like street trash.
Hwa Cheon-un gripped his brother's fist under the table again.
"As if."
Hwa Cheon-gang bit down hard, then spat reluctantly,
"You've come far. Wash up and rest first."
Hwa Cheon-un urged Yang Gwan.
"Very well."
"I'll guide you."
Hwa U-cheon rose and led Yang Gwan, Byeok Gyo-un, and their group toward the annex.
"That fucking dog... Can't smash his mouth, and it eats at me."
Hwa Cheon-gang glared at Yang Gwan's retreating back and growled.
"Yang Gwan seems to have impure motives."
Hwa Cheon-un stared grimly at the same back.
"Impure?"
"He might be after Cheongsu Gate's business."
When they founded Cheongsu Gate, they managed just one Sang River ferry. After toppling the Yong family, they seized the lower river, exploding their operations. The brothers personally subdued river pirates and bandits, solidifying the dockers' guild—and logistics boomed. Now, it was prime territory everyone coveted.
"No way... If so, I'll kill him first."
Hwa Cheon-gang gnashed his teeth, but Hwa Cheon-un's heavy heart lingered.
He knew main sect elders' power better than anyone. And the sect leader's third disciple... Main sect's intentions felt ominous.
Then, a guarding warrior rushed in.
"Young Master Seung is here. He left this envelope to deliver and said he's waiting at the guest quarters for a reply."
Hwa Cheon-un opened it, frowned at the document inside.
"Three-way duel?"
He passed it to Hwa Cheon-gang, who scowled after reading.
"They're ganging up."
"No. They wouldn't push something so obvious."
Hwa Cheon-un thought, then said,
"Maybe... we won't even need Yang Gwan's help."
He ordered the warrior,
"Fetch Young Master Seung."
Jo Bang-un tilted his head.
"Sangyang martial world's crisis?"
"You know about the standoff over Sang River hegemony—Yong descendant vs. Cheongsu Gate vs. Gwancheonbang, right?"
Won Seung explained the three-way duel. Jo Bang-un feigned admiration while sneering inwardly.
Who'd accept a duel like that?
Then Won Seung's next words perked his ears.
"The taesu says it'll be fair, so all three must accept. Yong Jo-un's already signed. This is his signed three-way duel memorandum."
"The taesu's pushing this?"
"Sangyang's four great families suggested it to sort the chaos. I'm just the messenger."
Jo Bang-un couldn't grasp it. Government meddling in jianghu affairs was unprecedented, but why was this guy delivering the taesu's will?
"That day of the three-way duel! Two will die."
Won Seung sighed.
"I came myself today to warn Second Master—by any means, don't accept the duel. Make sure to pass it on."
"!"
"Truth is, the taesu already has the winner picked."
Jo Bang-un's eyes widened. He glanced around, lowered his voice.
"Who does the taesu favor?"
"Can't say."
He stared into space with a pained expression.
"What am I to do..."
"...?"
"You know I'm friends with Hwa Yeo-wol. Even for the greater good, I can't stand by while a friend's family falls into crisis."
"Right."
Jo Bang-un nodded half-heartedly.
"So convince Second Master to back Seongwangbu. Do that, and I can sway the taesu."
"!"