The Pleasure Boat (2)
Cheonhwa headed for the pier with Jang Sam, where the pleasure boat already waited. True to its name, the vessel was a towering, impressive thing.
As they approached to board, a sailor who looked every inch a Muksang Sect martial artist stepped forward.
"Please present your boarding pass."
"Here it is."
Cheonhwa drew from his robes the ticket he had obtained through the Hao Mun and held it out. Once the sailor confirmed it was genuine, he moved on to the next procedure.
"As previously explained, we will now conduct a verification check."
"…I know, but is that really necessary? A man would rather not have another man's hands all over his face."
"It is a necessary precaution against the unexpected. We ask for your understanding."
Cheonhwa exhaled and submitted to the search. The sailor patted him down thoroughly for hidden weapons, then turned his face this way and that to check for any human-skin mask or similar disguise.
They had expected exactly this. Both Cheonhwa and Jang Sam wore their bare faces, altered only by a special makeup that would not wash off. The one detail that might have given them away was the thick calluses of a martial artist's hands, earned through endless training.
"You have quite a few calluses on your hands. You must train hard in the martial arts."
"This body was once called the finest talent where I come from. Do you think becoming a first-class expert at my age is easy? Tch."
He pushed through with the shameless air of a spoiled young master, and that was enough.
"Verification complete. We will take custody of the weapon you are carrying."
"Tch. This is unpleasant."
Making a show of his irritation, Cheonhwa handed over the ornate Blue River Sword at his waist. In return, the sailor gave him a numbered claim tag and a mask.
"What is this?"
"A claim number for retrieving your belongings later, and a mask prepared for our guests' convenience."
"The claim tag I understand. But you want me to wear this gaudy thing?"
"Some of our guests prefer not to show their bare faces. We ask for your understanding."
"If those are the rules, so be it."
Cheonhwa pulled on the mask with a sullen look. Jang Sam, playing the attendant, took one as well and put it on. The two of them passed the sailor and climbed onto the pleasure boat.
The first hurdle of the infiltration was behind them.
"There still seems to be time before the auction. What would you like to do in the meantime, young master?"
"What a foolish question, Jang Sam. How often does a man get the chance to board a pleasure boat of this size? Of course we will explore every corner of the interior!"
Cheonhwa answered with the barely contained excitement of a spoiled young master. His true purpose was to map the ship's layout and gauge its security before the operation began.
Naturally, the guards posted throughout the vessel stopped them no matter what excuse they offered.
"My apologies, sir. This area is restricted to the crew."
"I paid good money for my ticket, and now you tell me I cannot even look around? What kind of nonsense is this?!"
Whenever that happened, he threw a childish tantrum befitting Dan Myeong-geuk, let his attendant pull him back with a stream of grumbling, and slipped away cleanly. The Dan Myeong-geuk act worked everywhere on the ship. By this point, Cheonhwa was starting to wonder what sort of creatures rich young masters really were.
Wait a moment. Senior Brother Myeonghwa is a rich young master too, when you get down to it. Does that mean…?
A sudden suspicion about his martial brothers flickered up, but he set it carefully aside. There were more important things at hand.
"Jang Sam, there are men among the guards whose uniforms do not match the rest."
"I noticed them as well. Likely wandering martial artists."
"Ha. Hiring wanderers for security? They must have money to burn."
While they traded lines for the performance, Cheonhwa and Jang Sam quietly shared what they had learned about the guards. Places like this usually kept outsiders out for the sake of secrecy. That they had brought in wanderers suggested a shortage of manpower.
At least I have confirmed that the guards are mostly second-class.
The absence of Muksang Sect first-class fighters and Peak Experts was strange, but weak security was good news for their side.
"The auction should be starting soon. Shall we head back, young master?"
"Has it gotten that late already? We have seen enough. Let us go have a drink."
Jang Sam's words were a signal that they had a rough grasp of the interior and it was time to move on. Cheonhwa took the hint, found a suitable seat, and began to drink.
"Not bad. Bring another bottle!"
"Young master, the auction has not even started. You have already had too much."
"You know perfectly well how strong my head is, Jang Sam. Hurry up and fetch more!"
Cheonhwa kept drinking on purpose, playing the part of a loud drunk. He reeked of wine, but he was not drunk in the slightest—thanks to a minor technique learned during infiltration training, the art of regulating alcohol with internal energy.
Posing as an ordinary guest, he studied the people who had come for the auction. There were more of them on the deck than he had expected. Masks hid their faces, but the fine clothes, the jewelry, and the habits written into their bodies all marked them as the wealthy.
Every last person here has gathered for human trafficking.
He knew the trade flourished in the shadows. Still, to pay a fortune and board a pleasure boat just to bid on human beings as merchandise… The Muksang Sect that had abducted them was vile enough, but everyone present was just as much a scum of the earth.
He wanted nothing more than to overturn the whole place on the spot, but that would destroy the plan. He soothed himself with more wine and waited for the auction to begin.
Before long, another ship was spotted drawing near. When it came alongside the pleasure boat, a gangplank was laid between them, and a middle-aged man in a black long robe crossed over.
Seo Mun-il.
The man in charge of the auction, and the architect of the many incidents tangled up with Yeonggang Mountain Stronghold. Just as the intelligence had said, he had arrived on a ship of the Yangtze Waterway Sect. And he had not come alone. Peak Experts and first-class martial artists stood around him like a living wall.
So the guards on the boat were weak because most of their strength was devoted to escorting Seo Mun-il.
Hiring wanderers had been a way to fill the holes left by pulling men for his personal guard. Thorough self-preservation, exactly as one would expect of a man like him.
Next came people with their arms bound by rope, transferred onto the pleasure boat—the victims the Muksang Sect had kidnapped to sell at this auction. Cheonhwa counted them with his senses stretched razor-sharp.
Forty-five.
That they had managed to hide so many until now was impressive, in the worst possible way.
Once the transfer was finished, the Waterway Sect ship pulled away. Seo Mun-il mounted a platform prepared on the deck and gathered every gaze.
"Thank you for waiting. We will now begin the auction."
At his declaration, Muksang Sect martial artists began to bustle about. Cheonhwa pretended to examine the merchandise while studying the faces that had been brought up onto the platform. There were men and women, young and old—an assortment of every kind. They had been dressed in decent clothes to make them look presentable, but every expression was dark and hollow.
Whatever their individual stories, they were dragged here against their will. Of course they would look like that.
Cheonhwa turned to Jang Sam.
"Jang Sam, is there anyone here who suits your taste?"
"No, young master."
The exchange was a code—checking whether any Hao Mun agents were among those currently displayed as merchandise.
If they are not on the platform, they must have been taken below.
The people transferred from the Waterway Sect ship had been split into two groups. One stood on the platform as auction goods. The other had been taken straight into the ship. The latter had almost certainly been moved to a hold inside the vessel.
Cheonhwa waited. Soon the signal came.
"Young master, my bladder is about to burst. Forgive me, but I need the privy…!"
"Tch. You barely drank anything. Go on, then, and be quick about it."
Using the toilet as an excuse, Jang Sam left his seat. It meant the other party had reached their ambush position. Cheonhwa lounged as if he had all the time in the world, while inwardly he stayed ready to move at any moment.
Then the signal for the assault team went up.
Fweeeee—bang!
A brilliant firework burst high overhead, marking the ship's position. In the same instant, something came flying out of the darkness toward the pleasure boat—grappling hooks trailing ropes. Dozens of them caught on the railings, and the vessel, which had been cutting through the river, jerked and slowed.
"We are under attack!"
A Muksang Sect fighter who finally grasped the situation shouted, and the cry sent the passengers into a panic.
"An attack? The Muksang Sect swore this would be safe!"
"Tch. Trusting their word and leaving my escort behind was a mistake."
"Damn it—even if we want to run, we are on the water! There is nowhere to go!"
Seo Mun-il stepped forward to quiet the murmuring guests.
"Do not be alarmed! We will have this under control shortly! What are you standing around for? Cut those ropes at once!"
At his order, the martial artists drew their weapons and rushed to sever the hooked lines. At that moment, figures burst from the dark and barred their way. Dull impacts rang out, and the men nearest the ropes went down in heaps. Torchlight spilled across the attackers, revealing white-robed swordsmen with long blades across their backs, and ragged beggars gripping wooden staves.
"How did they even get here?"
"The ropes! They used them as bridges and crossed with light footwork!"
"If they can do that, they have to be at least first-class!"
"Every single one of them first-class? Which sect are they from?"
"The ones in Taoist robes with longswords are almost certainly Zhongnan Sect. The beggars have to be the Beggar Sect!"
"Zhongnan and the Beggar Sect? Are two great sects about to start a war out here?!"
Confusion thickened with the arrival of Zhongnan and the Beggar Sect. Muksang fighters charged the intruders as one.
"Stop them! Do not let them push any farther inside!"
"Cut the ropes! Keep more of them from coming aboard!"
Zhongnan and the Beggar Sect were not about to stand idle either.
"Form the sword array and protect the ropes!"
"We are not sitting this out either. Form the staff array! Today we will have ourselves a proper river cruise!"
As Muksang martial artists and orthodox fighters locked together, the clash of steel and the thud of staves filled the air. Cheonhwa used the chaos to slip into the interior of the pleasure boat.
Jang Sam, who had already infiltrated, was waiting for him inside.
"This way."
Cheonhwa followed his lead. Most of the interior guards had been drawn outside by the uproar, so few remained. Anyone still standing watch in the middle of a crisis like this meant the place they guarded mattered. The two of them made a point of seeking those out.
Cheonhwa spread the Six Harmony Sensory Path and combed the area for living presence. Before long, they reached their target. Only two guards stood at the door, and no one else was nearby, so they forced the approach at once.
"We are under attack! Intruders from outside! Someone help me!"
Cheonhwa played a guest who had fled into the ship to escape the assault. The guards hesitated for a heartbeat at his frantic act—and that was all Cheonhwa and Jang Sam needed. Cheonhwa unleashed the Wood Crushing Fist of the Five Elements Fist and struck one guard's vital point, dropping him cold. Jang Sam closed in with him and shattered the remaining man's skull with a palm strike.
Cheonhwa shot Jang Sam a sidelong glance of surprise.
Until the fighting started he looked like an ordinary man who had never learned martial arts. Now he radiates the full presence of a first-class expert.
Hao Mun arts specialized in concealing one's strength. That was how it was possible.
With the guards down, the two of them took their weapons. Fist techniques had only ever been a stopgap; a proper weapon was better in every way.
Shorter than the longsword I usually carry, but better than nothing.
Cheonhwa gave the sword a few experimental swings. Accustomed to Okgyeong, he found it light and easy in the hand. Armed, they entered the room the guards had been protecting—and the moment Cheonhwa saw the interior, his face twisted.
Just as expected, a great many people were locked inside. Hidden by the dark before, their condition was nothing short of horrific. Emaciation from near-starvation was the baseline. Some bore signs of broken limbs, crippled so they could not resist. On top of the ropes binding their arms and legs, they had been gagged so they could not speak and blindfolded so they could not see. It reeked of a single purpose: keep them alive, and nothing else—merchandise value be damned.
Cheonhwa asked Jang Sam,
"Are the people you were looking for here?"
"Yes. All of them are here."
There was a quiet anger under the words. Among the captives, it seemed, were people he knew personally.
Cheonhwa counted those locked in the room.
About thirty.
Fifteen had been displayed as merchandise above. That accounted for every captive's location.
These look like people prepared separately from the auction. What could they possibly need this many for?
He could not know the reason, but looking at people gathered as if headcount alone were enough, he was certain it was nothing good.
"What do we do?" Cheonhwa asked. "The original plan was to get these people out with us, but in this state, taking them will be difficult."
"We will likely have to hold this position and endure until the fighting above is settled."
"Holding out is one thing, but let us free them first. It will make things cleaner when we finally leave."
"You are right, young master."
Jang Sam nodded at the suggestion, and the two of them set to work untying the captives. Those whose ears were free realized rescuers had come and began to thrash in their bonds.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Please stay calm. If you thrash about, we cannot undo the ropes."
"…"
"There is a battle raging outside right now. If anything goes wrong, you could be caught up in it. Once we free you, wait quietly here."
Cheonhwa was loosening bonds and explaining the situation when the Six Harmony Sensory Path suddenly caught a presence racing straight toward them.
"Everyone, get away from the door!"
The instant the words left his mouth—
CRASH!
The firmly shut door exploded into splinters. Through the swirling dust stepped a giant of a man with a greatblade in his hands. He swept the room with his eyes, spotted Cheonhwa's party, and clicked his tongue.
"What is this? I came because they said there were intruders, and it is only two of you."
He cursed the guards for failing to stop even this much, as if he belonged to an entirely different outfit from the men who had been watching the door. Sure enough, the moment Jang Sam saw him, he called out,
"A wandering martial artist active near Hanzhong. His moniker is the Blood Wind Blade. A first-class expert who specializes in blade wind!"
The Blood Wind Blade looked surprised that Jang Sam knew him.
"You know me? For an intruder, you are well informed."
Qi pressure boiled off the greatblade in his grip—the unmistakable prelude to blade wind.
Using blade wind in a place like this? Has he lost his mind?
Jin Release shockwaves affected a wide area; they were a poor fit for a cramped space like this. One wrong move and the hull could be breached, flooding the ship. The Blood Wind Blade seemed to have no such concerns. Whether the boat shattered or people were cut down, so long as the intruders were eliminated, nothing else mattered.
I cannot dodge.
The moment he stepped aside, the people behind him would take the blade wind full on. Ordinary folk with no martial training, struck by a first-class expert's blade wind, would be lucky to lose limbs—and unlucky, would die on the spot.
Blocking it the ordinary way is just as dangerous.
The force scattering from a block could sweep the surroundings. If the hull was holed, they would all go down with the ship.
I have to meet the blade wind without letting the damage spill into the space around me.
It would not be easy. For everyone to live, it had to be done.
Cheonhwa poured his Equal Heaven Qi into the sword taken from the guard. Energy shimmered along a blade thick with internal power as the Blood Wind Blade loosed his blade wind.