The Arrogant Monk
Hong Jin stared at Dan Yeop with profound eyes.
It was a question of great importance to both Cheonlyeon and Dan Yeop.
Hong Jin did not personally dislike Dan Yeop.
Even though he was from Haomun and held the rather unsavory position of a constable, that remained true.
That was why Hong Jin hoped Dan Yeop would not become hostile toward Cheonlyeon.
Yet Dan Yeop proved unexpectedly stubborn.
“Before I am a constable, I am a member of Haomun. If the Blood Emperor brings his own head to Haomun and offers a hundredfold apology, only then will I consider improving relations.”
“How arrogant.”
“A man should possess at least that much spirit.”
“Because of you, Haomun within the province may suffer as well.”
“I hold no stake in the Haomun of this province yet.”
It was clear he did not care in the slightest.
Hong Jin changed tack.
“I hear Son Yu-baek is your patron. He will not escape unscathed either.”
“If you lay a hand on a man like Lord Son, many commoners will turn their backs on Cheonlyeon.”
“Even so, it will not hinder Cheonlyeon’s great cause.”
“Would it not be simpler to just kill me? Why go to such lengths?”
Dan Yeop regarded Hong Jin with cold eyes.
Only then did Hong Jin realize that no threat would work on Dan Yeop.
“Though you have interfered with Cheonlyeon’s affairs, we do not yet regard you as an enemy. We may change our minds later, but not at present.”
“There is only one thing I desire. Bring the Blood Emperor’s head and offer a hundredfold apology.”
“You are quite the sentimentalist. Your value cannot compare to the Blood Emperor’s. If forced to choose between the Blood Emperor and you, anyone would choose the Blood Emperor.”
“Then you will make an enemy of me.”
“Hmph!”
Unable to endure any longer, Hong Jin let out a cold laugh.
He had wanted to bring Dan Yeop along because he liked his way of thinking, but the youth’s arrogance was too great.
How dare he speak such nonsense before Cheonlyeon’s Dharma Speaker? Hong Jin could no longer tolerate it.
Enraged, Hong Jin slammed the table and shouted.
“They say a puppy knows no fear of tigers—those words were meant for you!”
His tone changed at once.
Killing intent dripped from Hong Jin’s bulging eyes.
Yet Dan Yeop remained unfazed.
“You have quite a lot of bloodlust for a monk. That must be because you eat meat.”
“You insolent brat!”
Hong Jin leapt to his feet and suddenly flipped the table toward Dan Yeop.
Crash—!
At the same time, he snatched up his steel folding fan and swung it.
Whoosh—!
Dan Yeop hastily retreated and drew his horizontal blade like lightning to block the steel fan.
Clang—!
The force behind the steel fan was so great that the horizontal blade was knocked upward.
The recoil exposed Dan Yeop’s upper body, and Hong Jin struck at his chest with the steel fan.
Whoosh—!
But Dan Yeop was not one to be struck so easily.
Like Magistrate Jo Mu-jin, he leaned his upper body backward to evade the steel fan.
Then, from his reclined position, he unleashed the first form of the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style—Horizontal Sweep Across the Mountains.
Shhhk—!
A crescent-shaped blade qi flew toward Hong Jin’s waist.
“Hmph!”
Hong Jin sneered again and struck the floor with his steel fan.
Vajra Subdues Demons!
Crack-crack-crack—!
The crescent blade qi shattered, scattering internal energy in all directions.
Chairs and tables inside the teahouse shattered and flew backward.
Having destroyed the blade qi, Hong Jin immediately thrust his steel fan straight forward.
Bodhi Annihilation!
The steel fan, wreathed in light, shot toward Dan Yeop’s chest just as he rose.
Dan Yeop did not dare meet it head-on and threw himself out the window.
Crash—!
Dan Yeop burst through the window and landed outside, waiting for his opponent to follow.
Hong Jin emerged after him, glanced at the people in the street, and vanished like a ghost.
As Dan Yeop scanned his surroundings, Hong Jin’s voice transmission reached his ears.
—I will take my leave for today. If you continue to oppose Cheonlyeon, I will return and kill you.
Dan Yeop clicked his tongue and returned to Mirim Pavilion to pay for the damaged furniture before heading back to the Jangan County Office.
Jangan County Office.
Constable’s quarters.
While Dan Yeop was pondering Hong Jin’s identity, Captain Do Gyeom came to see him.
“I heard you encountered a suspicious monk while patrolling with the Da’an Branch. Were you with him until now?”
“Yes.”
“Was he from the Five Peaks Sword Sect?”
At those words, Dan Yeop gave a bitter smile.
If even Captain Do Gyeom thought of the Five Peaks Sword Sect, then people’s minds worked similarly after all.
“I also thought he was a Shaolin monk, but he was not.”
“Then?”
“He did not reveal his sect, but from crossing hands with him, his martial arts seemed Buddhist in origin.”
“You fought him?”
“Yes. The way he spoke made him sound like a high-ranking member of Cheonlyeon.”
“What did he say?”
“He claimed that killing corrupt officials is not a sin but the will of heaven. He also asked why a constable would protect criminals instead of arresting them.”
“He is definitely a follower of Cheonlyeon. Was he so skilled that you could not apprehend him?”
“That, and he suddenly vanished right before my eyes.”
“Hah! If he can evade your eyes, his movement technique is no ordinary one. His name?”
“He called himself Hong Jin. Do you know him?”
“It is the first time I have heard the name as well. I will have to inquire with Shaolin. Before I forget, summon a painter and have a portrait of him drawn.”
“Yes.”
“How would you compare Hong Jin’s martial arts to those of the Unblemished Immortal?”
“He felt stronger than the Unblemished Immortal. He seems to hold quite a high position within Cheonlyeon.”
“This has become troublesome.”
“Just before he left, he told me not to oppose Cheonlyeon. If I did, he would return to kill me……”
“That means he still wishes to resolve matters through dialogue for now.”
“He tried to win me over.”
“……”
Captain Do Gyeom looked at Dan Yeop with a startled expression.
‘Good heavens! Cheonlyeon has suffered greatly because of Dan Yeop, so why……’
That afternoon.
Before leaving work, Captain Do Gyeom took Hong Jin’s portrait and went to see Magistrate Jo Mu-jin.
“His name is Hong Jin. He approached Constable Dan and attempted to recruit him into Cheonlyeon.”
“Recruit him? After suffering such heavy losses because of Constable Dan?”
“What they truly despise are corrupt officials, are they not? Constable Dan has committed no crimes and is competent, so they seem to covet him instead.”
“That makes sense. How did Constable Dan respond?”
“He still hates the Blood Emperor and Cheonlyeon.”
“Because of the woman killed by the Blood Emperor?”
“Correct. Unless Cheonlyeon revives that young lady, Constable Dan will never be recruited by them.”
“Hmm! Even so, keep a close watch on Constable Dan. Not because we distrust him, but because we must quickly see through Cheonlyeon’s schemes.”
“Yes.”
“And send Hong Jin’s portrait to the Mount Hua Sect via the mounted constables. It will be faster to entrust it to them than to send it directly to Shaolin ourselves.”
The Five Peaks Sword Sect consisted of Mount Tai in the east, Mount Hua in the west, Mount Heng in the south, Mount Heng in the north, and Shaolin in the center; they used messenger pigeons among themselves.
Since the Mount Hua Sect was within the province, the idea was to make use of them.
“Understood. By the way, what happened to the proposal to entrust the subjugation of Cheonlyeon to the Five Peaks Sword Sect? It has been quite some time since that discussion arose at court, yet nothing has happened.”
“According to what I heard from Commissioner Seol, the Five Peaks Sword Sect’s response has been lukewarm, so progress is slow.”
“Because it is not their problem?”
“More than that, since many commoners support Cheonlyeon, they find it burdensome. Martial artists place great importance on public opinion.”
“Then the Five Peaks Sword Sect will not move for the time being?”
“They will likely observe the situation and dispatch experts only if the government requests cooperation. The age of chivalry is long gone. These days, the Five Peaks Sword Sect is far too political.”
“Is that not because they are managing the martial world?”
“That is precisely the mistake. Why should the Five Peaks Sword Sect manage the martial world in the first place? What is the Jianghu? Is it not a gathering of people who wish to live freely, away from official control? How strange that such people now dominate the martial world.”
“Hearing you say that, it does seem so. Freedom is just a plausible excuse, and they have rejected the dragon’s tail only to become the serpent’s head.”
The two men—one an official and the other a martial artist—found rare common ground and continued criticizing the Five Peaks Sword Sect, unaware that quitting time had already passed.
At the same time.
Da’an Branch.
Jinbo Trading Company.
Early evening.
A man staggering toward the main gate knocked weakly on the door.
The gatekeeper who opened it soon cried out in shock.
“Heavens! Master Yi! Goodness, what on earth happened to you?”
The gatekeeper supported the man called Master Yi and helped him inside.
Shortly afterward, a clamor of voices arose as people gathered in the inner courtyard.
Master Yi Jin struggled to continue speaking before the Jinbo Trading Company officials.
“……The Company Head personally negotiated a supply contract for Cheongsu Wine and Baekwol Bright Wine with the Cheongsu Wine House in Jeoksu Village, Menghua Prefecture, Nanyun Province. To avoid conflict with the Taihua Merchant Guild, we never set foot in Hwaryeong Prefecture and headed straight for Menghua Prefecture from the start. We also concluded negotiations smoothly with the Eunwol Faction, the foremost faction in Menghua Prefecture. All that remained was to load the first batch of Baekwol Bright Wine and return……”
Overcome with emotion, Master Yi Jin could not continue and trembled violently.
The branch masters of Jinbo Trading Company waited for him to calm down.
“Suddenly, the Naphhae Sect intervened and overturned everything. They claimed Menghua Prefecture was under their jurisdiction, so any dealings made without going through them were invalid. They said that since Jinbo Trading Company had ignored the Naphhae Sect, we must pay the price, and they dragged the Company Head and all the branch masters away to the Naphhae Sect. Master Shin and I escaped during a lapse in their watch, but Master Shin was soon struck by an arrow and killed…… I barely managed to get away.”
When he finished, Chief Branch Master Yu Man-seok asked urgently.
“Does that mean the Eunwol Faction stood by and did nothing even in such a situation?”
“The Eunwol Faction may hold some sway in Menghua Prefecture, but the Naphhae Sect, alongside the Cheongran Sect, is one of the two great sects that divide Nanyun Province. When the Naphhae Sect stepped in, they quietly backed down.”
“Tsk! Typical of barbarians to lack integrity.”
“In the Baekwol Kingdom, the sword comes before integrity or law. I never expected such a large sect to commit robbery in broad daylight. As soon as I escaped, I went to the Joyang Trading Company branch in Hwaryeong Prefecture to complain, but they told me that is simply how things are in the Baekwol Kingdom.”
“Did you ask the Joyang Trading Company for help?”
“They said they had no connections with the Naphhae Sect and looked troubled.”
Na Bu-gang, who had been listening to the conversation between Chief Branch Master Yu Man-seok and Master Yi Jin, interjected.
“Master Yi, is there nowhere else we can turn for help?”
“The Joyang Trading Company branch master said that the Taihua Merchant Guild experienced something similar last year. He suggested that since the Taihua Merchant Guild resolved it well, we should inquire with them.”
At that, Na Bu-gang shot to his feet.
Time was of the essence, so he intended to head straight to the Taihua Merchant Guild.
Chief Branch Master Yu Man-seok also rose from his seat.
He could not entrust matters between trading companies to the young master.
“Young Master Na, calm yourself. I will go meet with Taihua Merchant Guild’s Guild Master Lee Won-bang right now.”
“Thank you. Please take me with you as well. I beg you.”
“Very well.”
Chief Branch Master Yu Man-seok and Na Bu-gang hurriedly left the trading company before it was too late.
Jwa Province (eastern region), Seuncheon Branch.
Taihua Merchant Guild.
Reception hall.
Chief Branch Master Yu Man-seok explained to Guild Master Lee Won-bang what had befallen Company Head Na Jin-geum and the branch masters in the Baekwol Kingdom and sought his help.
“……I heard from the Joyang Trading Company branch master that the Taihua Merchant Guild experienced something similar to our situation last year. Please share your esteemed opinion on what Jinbo Trading Company should do.”
“There is no need to call it an esteemed opinion. We followed proper procedures and were fortunate enough to resolve it well—”