What Will I Be Doing?
With a somber expression, he began to speak.
“The ones who attacked the Byeongmachong last night were from the Black Fan Gang of Hadong Province. I had my doubts, but it seems they ultimately accepted the request from the Hadong Amun.”
At that, Ma Yeong-dal, the leader of the Chamun branch, burst out furiously.
“While the heretic factions of Hadong Province are advancing all the way into Guannei Province! What exactly were the righteous factions of Guannei doing? Is the Xuanwu Temple blind?”
Hong So-gwang, the leader of the Amun branch, muttered with a sour look on his face.
“Would they have entered Guannei Province without the Xuanwu Temple’s permission? If they did, they wouldn’t escape total annihilation…”
“Are you saying they received permission from the Xuanwu Temple?”
“Even if they did, would they admit it? What kind of mess would that cause?”
“We cannot make baseless assumptions just because we cannot confirm it. This is a matter that concerns the very survival of our Guannei Haomun.”
When Ma Yeong-dal persistently pressed the issue, Hong So-gwang closed his mouth.
Truthfully, he only had suspicions and no concrete evidence.
Once the two men’s argument ended, Baek Cho-gong, the leader of the Jeommun branch, spoke up.
“There is some truth to what Leader Hong says. Even the Black Fan Gang must know that if the Hadong heretic factions advance into Guannei Province, the entire region will be thrown into chaos. Would the Hadong Amun really risk the destruction of an entire faction over a few coins? That is the truly absurd speculation.”
The faces of the five branch leaders darkened.
As Baek Cho-gong said, the Black Fan Gang’s entry into Guannei Province was a serious problem.
It was something that could only happen with the tacit approval of Guannei’s orthodox factions.
Go Won-bang, the leader of the Seonmun branch, asked the other leaders.
“Let’s assume the orthodox factions of Guannei allowed the Black Fan Gang’s advance. Why do you think they did so?”
Baek Cho-gong answered.
“Obviously to crush our Guannei Haomun. They don’t like the idea of the Ten Provinces’ Haomun uniting.”
“Let’s say that’s true. Then what should we do now? We lost seventy percent of our disciples in the attack on the Byeongmachong. It’s as if our roots have been severed. Even so, should we continue pushing forward with the One Hundred Year Plan? Or should we abandon it?”
Lee Jang-won, the leader of the Gakmun branch, raised an objection.
“Neither pushing forward nor giving up is easy. We don’t even have the strength to push forward, but if we give up, do you think the other provinces’ Haomun will sit still? The Hadong Haomun alone would try to devour us immediately…”
“Hah!”
“Good grief!”
“Ugh!”
“Sigh!”
Sighs escaped from the six branch leaders’ lips.
It was true—both advancing and retreating were difficult in this situation.
At that moment, Hong So-gwang spoke.
“We lost our disciples, yet not a single person is talking about revenge.”
“……”
The five branch leaders could only bite their lips, unable to say anything.
When the five leaders fell silent, Ha So-ran, the leader of the Gimun branch, stepped forward.
“I will close the Byeongmachong training grounds effective today. Since the location of the underground royal tomb has been revealed all the way to Hadong Province, government troops will swarm here soon. And…”
Ha So-ran paused for a moment, her heart heavy, before continuing.
“I intend to continue the One Hundred Year Plan. We cannot abandon it simply because the orthodox factions of the Jianghu don’t want it. No, the more they oppose it, the stronger my conviction becomes that we must unify. Don’t you all feel the same?”
Hong So-gwang asked in return.
“Do you have a clever plan?”
“First, I will negotiate with the Hadong Haomun to calm the situation. After that, we will quietly build our strength and join hands with those Haomun who share our vision. The other provinces’ Haomun must have felt something from this incident as well.”
The fact that the Hadong heretic factions had struck the Guannei Haomun was an enormous event.
With even a little thought, one could see that the orthodox factions of Guannei were behind it.
Leader Ha So-ran planned to use that very point to open a dialogue with the other provinces’ Haomun.
Look! The orthodox factions fear the unity of the Haomun this much! How long will we continue to be used and discarded by them?
Anyone with even a little sense would agree with her.
Just as the other provinces’ Haomun had formed a vertical alliance to resist the Guannei Haomun, the Guannei Haomun could form a vertical alliance with the other provinces’ Haomun.
Hong So-gwang was the first to express agreement.
“Let’s do that. I want to take revenge for the disciples we lost in the Byeongmachong.”
Although he did not specify the target of his revenge, the other five leaders did not ask.
After the meeting ended, the six branch leaders left first.
Ma Sang, the supervisor in charge of the Byeongmachong, gathered the four surviving instructors.
“The six branch leaders have decided to close the Byeongmachong. Since the existence of the underground royal tomb has been revealed, government troops will arrive soon. Hurry and take the trainees back to your respective branches.”
Then Ma Sang’s gaze turned to Instructor Dan Bul-wi.
“The first-generation trainee Dan Yeop needs to be assigned to one of the six branches. What are your thoughts, Instructor Dan?”
Instructor Dan Bul-wi answered without hesitation.
“He wishes to go to the Jeommun branch.”
“Then let it be so.”
On the day the Byeongmachong closed its doors, Dan Yeop’s dream came true.
26. What Will I Be Doing?
Guannei Province.
Chang’an Castle.
Chang’an Castle was a massive planned city.
A great road that began at the Vermilion Bird Gate in the exact center-north of the capital stretched straight to the southern end, and it was called the Vermilion Bird Avenue.
Based on the Vermilion Bird Avenue, the city was divided into the Left City in the east and the Right City in the west, and each contained fifty-two ‘wards’.
Yang Hoi, a manager from the Chang’an Jeommun branch, took Dan Yeop to the Buseon Ward in the Right City.
“This is the Buseon Ward. From now on, you will live here. Since you don’t know anything yet, I’ll decide on your lodging for you. If you want a better house later, you can earn money and move.”
“Yes…”
Dan Yeop looked around with curious eyes.
The Buseon Ward was a village enclosed by walls about seven cheok (roughly two meters) high.
“The gates of the Buseon Ward open at the drumbeats that announce morning and close at the bell that signals night. Not only the Buseon Ward—all the ward gates in the capital open and close at those times, so be careful.”
“Morning and evening?”
“They strike the drum five times around the beginning of the Myo hour (around 5 a.m.) and ring the bell five times around the beginning of the Hae hour (around 9 p.m.).”
There were slight variations depending on the season and emergencies, but generally the drum and bell were struck five times at set times.
“Ah, what if the gates close?”
“If you’re unlucky enough to be caught by the street patrol officers while wandering inside the city, you’ll spend the night in jail. If the ward chief catches you, you’ll get an earful. The patrol officers are officials, but the ward chief is a resident. In any case, it’s best for your health to come back before the gates close. Now then, shall we go find you a place to stay?”
Yang Hoi took Dan Yeop to the outskirts of the Buseon Ward.
When they arrived at a shabby house and he called for the owner, an old man came out.
After speaking with the old man for a moment, Yang Hoi gestured for Dan Yeop to come over.
As Dan Yeop quickly approached, Yang Hoi introduced him to the old man.
“Old sir, this is Dan Yeop. He’s like a nephew from my wife’s side. Please take good care of him. Dan Yeop, this is the owner of the house where you’ll be staying. Greet him properly.”
The old man called Grandfather Lee smiled and nodded at Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop offered a polite greeting.
“My name is Dan Yeop. Please take care of me.”
“Heh heh, welcome. If Manager Yang introduced you, I’m sure you’re reliable. I’ll show you to your room. Follow me.”
As Grandfather Lee turned around, Yang Hoi gestured for him to go ahead and said.
“You can sleep here starting tonight. You’ll have to take care of your own breakfast and dinner. They’ll provide lunch at the shop, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Dan Yeop nodded and followed Grandfather Lee.
As expected of a shabby house, the small room was narrow and smelled musty.
But Dan Yeop didn’t even notice the room.
His heart was completely filled with the thought of reuniting with Baek Yu-hwa of the Jeommun branch.
A short while later, Yang Hoi took Dan Yeop outside the Buseon Ward.
“The place you’ll be going now is the Posi Ward in the Right City, the western market district.”
“The Right City?”
“The area with the eastern market is called the Left City, and the area with the western market is called the Right City. You’ll learn the rest gradually, so don’t worry about it. Just remember Posi Ward.”
“Is the Posi Ward the same as the Buseon Ward?”
“Not at all. If you think of it like the Buseon Ward, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.”
Yang Hoi, who had been heading north along the Vermilion Bird Avenue, turned west.
After walking a little further west, a bustling street filled with splendid buildings unfolded before them.
Dan Yeop’s mouth fell open at the sight.
Objects he had never seen in his life were laid out all over the street. And it wasn’t just the goods—the people were incredibly diverse as well.
Han people, of course, but also Turks, Tibetans, Sogdians, Persians, Arabs, and Indians…
The women walking the streets were all beautiful, and music flowed from the tall pavilions.
Pipa, konghou (a type of harp), flute, pipe, and janggu—sounds Dan Yeop had never heard in his life.
When Dan Yeop’s eyes were spinning, Yang Hoi puffed out his chest and said.
“The Posi Ward is different from the Buseon Ward, isn’t it?”
“Extremely…”
“Goods and people from all over the world gather in the Posi Ward. The area where the Posi Ward is located is called the Western Market, and there are a whopping forty thousand shops in the Western Market alone.”
“Forty thousand? In the Posi Ward?”
“It’s not just the Posi Ward in the Western Market. There are many other wards clustered together—Boin Ward, Geonbok Ward, Daeheung Ward, Geumcheon Ward, Boryong Ward, and so on.”
“Ah…”
“The place where you’ll be working is in the Posi Ward.”
“Um, Elder Yang, are the people who graduated earlier also scattered throughout the Western Market?”
Curious about where Baek Yu-hwa was, Dan Yeop circled around the question.
“The previous graduates? Ah, they’re spread across several groups, but they’ll be reassigned to shops in the Western Market soon. Why? Is there someone you want to meet?”
“No. I was just wondering if I might run into them while working.”
“Unless you’re doing the same kind of work, you probably won’t run into them.”
“What kind of work will I be doing?”
“For now, learn the job at the Yang Family Fabric Shop.”
“A fabric shop?”
“If you have talent, you might be moved to an inn later. Inns make better money. You can earn some pocket money serving drunk customers. Fabric shops don’t have that kind of opportunity…”
Yang Hoi trailed off and glanced at Dan Yeop’s expression.
The place he would be working was a fabric shop run by his relative, and the owner was rather stingy.
“Ah, I see…”
Since Dan Yeop didn’t know what kind of work Baek Yu-hwa was doing, he simply accepted it for now.
A short while later, Yang Hoi stopped in front of a fabric shop.
“This is the place. Wait here for a moment.”
Leaving Dan Yeop standing outside, Yang Hoi entered the fabric shop and came back out with a middle-aged man with a goat beard.
Yang Hoi then introduced the middle-aged man to Dan Yeop.
“This is Master Yang Bok, the owner of the Yang Family Fabric Shop. Call him Master Yang. Master Yang, this is the Dan Yeop I told you about. He’s still a bit clumsy, so please guide him well.”
“Master Yang, my name is Dan Yeop.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. If you work hard, good days will come. Manager Yang, I’ll teach the boy from now on, so you may leave.”
“Understood. Please take good care of him. If this fellow causes any trouble, contact me anytime.”
Yang Hoi gave Master Yang a polite nod, bid farewell to Dan Yeop, and disappeared.
When Dan Yeop, now left alone, looked around awkwardly, Master Yang turned and said.
“Follow me.”
Dan Yeop politely followed him into the fabric shop.
***
Master Yang began explaining things to Dan Yeop in a careful, step-by-step manner.