The Pleasure Boat
As darkness settled and lanterns began to light the streets, Cheonhwa followed Muwol out into the avenues of Hanzhong.
Walking at an easy pace, Muwol asked him, "How much do you know about the Haomen?"
"I've heard they're a major sect that specializes in gathering information, much like the Beggar's Union."
The Haomen—the Lower Filth Gate.
A great sect standing between the orthodox and the unorthodox, made up of those society called the dregs of life. Where the Beggar's Union drew its intelligence from beggars found anywhere across the Central Plains, the Haomen drew theirs from thoroughly ordinary people under its banner. Coachmen, boatmen, shop clerks, porters, courtesans—its membership was so varied that information flowed in from every corner of the world.
"You're not wrong, but that isn't all the Haomen is. They put that diversity to use and take on all kinds of commissions."
"Like finding us passage on the pleasure boat?"
"Exactly. And they'll be able to help with the preparations for infiltrating it as well."
So long as the price was right, the Haomen treated clients from the orthodox and unorthodox paths alike as guests—which was precisely why they were said to stand between righteousness and wickedness.
Before long their steps came to a halt before a wine house in Hanzhong: the Water Moon Tower.
Muwol spoke to the waiter who came forward to greet them.
"A man in a mask told me this place serves liquor even the bottom rungs of society can drink with pleasure."
"Ah, the brew our regulars favor. As it happens, a fine batch has just come in. Allow me to show you to a private room."
Guided by the waiter, they arrived at a windowless chamber. Inside, a middle-aged man in a mask was already waiting.
"Welcome. I am the branch master of the Haomen's Hanzhong office, and also the proprietor of this Water Moon Tower. Feel free to call me Tower Master."
With that introduction he gestured them to sit, and Cheonhwa and Muwol accepted.
When Cheonhwa regarded the man's mask with open curiosity, the Tower Master spoke with a smile in his voice.
"That interest in my mask tells me this is the young master's first visit to the Haomen."
"Ah—forgive me."
"Not at all. It's natural, if you've never seen one before."
In a kindly tone, the Tower Master explained.
"In our Haomen, once a person rises past a certain rank, the rule is to wear a mask and give only one's office in place of a name."
"An unusual rule."
"Isn't it? I think so myself."
He was about to continue on the subject of the masks when Muwol cleared his throat lightly beside them.
"Ahem."
"I nearly committed a discourtesy before guests. Back to business—what brings you here today?"
"We wish to board the Muksang Sect's pleasure boat departing from the Hansu River in Yeonggang County. We would like you to secure us places."
"Ah, that pleasure boat. Indeed, one can only board with a ticket obtained through connections. That, I believe I can arrange. And what will you offer as payment?"
"Information, if that will do."
"Very well. I will need to hear the information first and set the price accordingly. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course. I expect you'll find it more than satisfactory."
So saying, Muwol began to lay out the entanglement between the Yeonggang Mountain Stronghold and the Muksang Sect. The longer he spoke, the heavier the Tower Master's manner became.
"…That is all. Well? Is it useful information?"
"This is something even we did not know. As payment, it more than covers the cost."
"I'm relieved. I was half worried you might try to haggle us down."
"I haven't the nerve to attempt such a thing in front of the Zhongnan Sect's Shooting Star Sword."
Though neither of them had revealed their identities, the Tower Master spoke Muwol's epithet as if it were the most natural thing in the world—a display of the Haomen's intelligence, and a signal that he meant no hostility.
"If the payment is more than enough, there is one more commission I would like to make."
Muwol glanced at Cheonhwa and continued.
"I would like you to help this boy with a disguise, so that he can slip aboard the pleasure boat."
"You mean Cheonhwa, senior disciple of the Zhongnan Sect's third generation—the one who distinguished himself at the Shaanxi Sword Assembly, and who recently half-destroyed the Yeonggang Mountain Stronghold and freed its captives?"
What came from the Tower Master's mouth was a full accounting of Cheonhwa. True to his station as a Haomen branch master, he had the young man's record at his fingertips.
He looked Cheonhwa over once and said, "It shouldn't be too difficult. With cosmetics, a change of hairstyle, and different clothes, boarding the pleasure boat without trouble should be well within reach. It's fortunate he doesn't have a particularly striking face."
"Is that… a compliment?"
"Of course it is. Handsome or ugly, either extreme makes disguise far more troublesome. In that sense, young master Cheonhwa is well suited to infiltration. However…"
A note of concern entered his voice.
"Succeeding in a disguise and actually achieving your purpose are two different matters. Unless, of course, a specialist is attached to him."
"Are you saying you will provide a specialist?"
"Yes. Exactly that. Our Haomen will assist in this matter."
The offer came without warning. Muwol eyed the Tower Master with open suspicion.
"I wonder at your motives. The Haomen is famous for never involving itself directly."
"Yes. There is only one case in which we move ourselves—when disciples of the Haomen have come to harm."
The Yeonggang Mountain Stronghold, seizing people at random. The Muksang Sect, which had bought that stronghold for the sake of human trafficking. And this sudden offer from the Haomen, a sect filled with ordinary folk. Put together, the three facts pointed to only one conclusion.
"Don't tell me some of your disciples were among those taken?"
At Cheonhwa's question, the Tower Master nodded.
"We had been investigating on our own, but we couldn't find a single lead. To think we would catch the trail here of all places."
A cold flash of vengeance lit his eyes and was gone.
"I've said more than I should to guests. It seems I still have much to learn. Well then—what do you make of the proposal?"
"I cannot decide at once. I would prefer to discuss it with the others first, if that is all right."
"Of course. I shall wait."
Cheonhwa and Muwol took their leave of the Tower Master and stepped out of the private chamber.
"This has grown larger than I expected."
"Indeed. I never thought the Haomen would be the ones to ask for cooperation first."
"Will you accept?"
"We'll have to speak with the Beggar's Union as well, but I expect we will."
They were already working with the Green Forest, an unorthodox force. Why should they refuse the Haomen, which stood between the two paths?
Cheonhwa and Muwol left the Water Moon Tower and returned to where the others waited, carrying the good omen of the Haomen's aid.
Even in broad daylight, before business had properly begun, the Water Moon Tower was crowded with people—because the Zhongnan Sect, the Beggar's Union, the Green Forest, and the Haomen had all gathered in one place to seize Seo Mun-il, the man hosting the Muksang Sect's auction.
Who could have guessed that a single branch of the Muksang Sect would forge an alliance that made no distinction between orthodox and unorthodox? Even Seo Mun-il himself, the architect of it all, could hardly have imagined things would come to this.
"I am Muwol, second-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect. Before we begin the formal council, I will briefly outline the operation."
He offered a short bow before them all and began.
"The goals of this operation are twofold: the capture of Seo Mun-il, and the rescue of those still held captive. To that end, we will need to board here."
He pointed to a spot on the map spread across the table—Yeonggang County, more precisely the pier on the Hansu River from which the pleasure boat would depart.
"From this pier, we must board the pleasure boat and infiltrate the auction hosted by the Muksang Sect. The infiltration will be handled by Cheonhwa, third-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, together with the Haomen."
At those words, every gaze turned toward Cheonhwa. He answered with a light bow of acknowledgment.
"The pleasure boat is scheduled to sail at midnight, making its exact position difficult to pin down. Therefore the infiltration team's role will be to fire a signal flare once the boat has reached a suitable stretch of water, revealing its location."
Muwol traced a finger along the river and stopped at a particular point.
"The rest of us will lie in ambush here, where the river and the shore come closest. When the flare goes up, we strike the pleasure boat as one. That is the rough outline of the plan as it stands. The explanation is finished—if you have questions, ask freely."
The moment permission was given, a question flew from the Green Forest side.
"With numbers like these, why not simply force our way through? Why fight on the water at all?"
"A fair question. We considered that approach as well, but it proved impossible."
"Why?"
"Because the whereabouts of Seo Mun-il and the captives remain unknown."
Seo Mun-il was an exceedingly cautious man. Even with the Beggar's Union and the Haomen pressing him at once, they had yet to locate him—and the same held true for those he had taken. The only occasion on which his appearance was certain was the auction aboard the pleasure boat.
"And according to the Haomen's intelligence, he joins the vessel separately after it has already cast off."
"The same reports say he will be escorted by the Yangtze Waterway Sect."
The Tower Master stepped in to supplement Muwol's words, and those present clicked their tongues at Seo Mun-il's thoroughness.
The Hansu was a tributary of the Yangtze, and thus lay within the Yangtze Waterway Sect's sphere of influence. That he would use them as carriers to board the pleasure boat was a plan no one had expected.
"As you can see, the burden on the infiltration team is heavy."
"Do not trouble yourself over it. Our Haomen will give every effort to assist."
The Tower Master cut across Muwol's concern with a firm assurance.
"The Haomen is a sect of ordinary people. Precisely because of that, none can match us at playing ordinary. We will see that young master Cheonhwa blends in flawlessly."
He turned his gaze on Cheonhwa.
"Young master Cheonhwa."
"Yes."
"From this moment on, you will need to become a spoiled young master."
"…Pardon?"
On the day of the auction aboard the pleasure boat, Cheonhwa stood in a wine house belonging to the Haomen in Yeonggang County, checking his disguise.
The feel of the antique silk robes he had changed into from his martial clothes still refused to settle on his skin. At his waist hung a Blue Steel Sword loaded with unnecessary ornament. The hair he usually bound roughly had been combed neat and smooth, and after a light application of cosmetics his face carried a refined air—the very picture of a wealthy young master.
Even someone who knew Cheonhwa well would have been hard-pressed to recognize him. Cheonhwa himself found the stranger in the mirror thoroughly unfamiliar.
No wonder the Haomen spoke with such confidence.
His disguise was the work of courtesans belonging to the Haomen. A skilled courtesan was, by nature, a master of the cosmetics with which she adorned herself—which was to say, she possessed an extraordinary gift for altering a person's appearance.
The exterior is perfect. All that remains is the acting…
The Haomen had recommended the role of a thoughtless young master. For a youth to take part in an auction hosted by the Muksang Sect, the brazen son of a rich house was the most fitting cover.
I received instruction for the performance over the past few days, but it was far from easy.
That was only natural. In all his life, neither infiltration nor acting had ever been required of him until now.
Fortunately, I had a suitable example of a spoiled young master already fixed in my memory.
When they said "brazen young master," one face rose in Cheonhwa's mind: Dan Myeong-geuk, the childish young lord of the Dan Family Manor, whom he had met when he visited the Hyeonhwang Blacksmith to have Okgyeong made. Their encounter had been brief, but in the worst sense unforgettable—and when he tried imitating Dan Myeong-geuk's manner, the response had been immediate.
"Whoa, young master Cheonhwa. That was a truly magnificent bast—er, spoiled-young-master performance!"
"I nearly hit you without thinking."
Rave reviews, every one of them.
He had never imagined that his ill-fated meeting with Dan Myeong-geuk would prove useful in a place like this.
While Cheonhwa was lost in thought, a Haomen disciple costumed as a servant approached.
"Young master, it's nearly time."
That was the signal to begin the performance—and the final check of his acting.
Cheonhwa spoke not as a senior disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, but as a spoiled young master of a rich house.
"Jang Sam, why are you so late? I've waited until nightfall. How do you intend to answer for this?"
"Eh? But the pleasure boat doesn't depart until night, does it?"
"Does a servant talk back to his master? That's why you're always getting an earful."
When Cheonhwa turned the tables on him without a blink, Jang Sam shrank in on himself and begged forgiveness.
"Aiya, young master! Forgive me—this humble one must have taken leave of his senses for a moment! Please, just this once, spare me!"
"Tsk. I'll let it pass this once. But know there will be no next time."
Having exchanged one round of performance, Cheonhwa asked the Haomen disciple going by the alias Jang Sam with a look.
Is this enough?
Jang Sam answered with his eyes.
More than enough.
Fortunately, the result was a passing grade.