I Don't Handle Alcohol Well
Manhyangru had been rebuilt again and again.
After buying up the surrounding lots and buildings, they had even laid out a garden. A pond had been carved from excavated earth, framed by boulders that looked as if they had been torn from some distant mountain and dropped into place. Rare flowers and grasses had been transplanted throughout, creating a scene of exotic blossoms in full, extravagant bloom.
"Peaceful."
Even to Sun Wukong, whose eyes were long accustomed to the scenery of Heaven, the craftsmanship was more than respectable.
"This isn't Ojeong's work, and it sure as hell isn't that sly old fox Hoga Jangju's either."
"Well, that's a woman's touch, isn't it?"
The pleasant voice belonged to Neung — eldest of the Shandong Seven Beauties, now the proprietress of Manhyangru and overseer of Hoga Manor's entire intelligence network.
Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes. She looked nothing like she had before he left, that moment when she had just been freed from her seal. Back then she had been a single tragic blossom. Now she was a flower in full, dazzling bloom.
"Looks like life's treating you pretty well these days."
"It's been a long time since I could live without looking over my shoulder. Same goes for my sisters."
Neung met Sun Wukong's gaze without flinching. Before, she had been straining to appear composed. Now she simply was. Sun Wukong didn't mind that one bit. A person who was good at their work carried themselves like that.
"Unlike that idiot Ojeong."
"Pardon?"
"I said you seem to be doing well. How've things been?"
"It's the same work I've always done. Nothing too difficult."
"Building it all from scratch couldn't have been easy."
"It wasn't entirely from scratch. Work like this usually hinges on cooperating with — and keeping in check — the unorthodox factions. Here, we didn't need to bother."
Neung's faint smile was beautiful enough to justify the name Shandong Seven Beauties all on its own. It was like watching a brilliant flower unfurl — the very air around her seemed to grow warmer.
Unfortunately, it did not move Sun Wukong so much as a single grain of rice.
"Don't try that charm act in front of me."
"...I thought maybe you were just too tired last time. Seeing you still like this, you're practically a Buddha."
"So the Heart-Capturing Art just leaks out of you like breathing, huh?"
"It's a habit."
Sun Wukong snorted a laugh. But even with a smile on his face, he did not forget the warning.
"Don't pull that crap on anyone connected to me."
"...Of course."
Perhaps she felt the chill in his voice. Neung's expression hardened slightly.
"You mean that Ojeong fellow specifically, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Then don't worry. He's surprisingly free of desire, actually. Doesn't match how he looks at all..."
"That so?"
"He's got plenty of power here, and he doesn't seem afraid of anything — but he's never once made a pass at any of my girls. And it didn't feel like he was holding himself back... more like he just wasn't interested at all."
Neung made a peculiar face.
"Honestly. Between you and him, Teacher Sun — this place is nothing but strange people."
"You're all just as strange. Anyway, what's your take?"
Sun Wukong's question had no subject, but Neung didn't ask him to clarify. As a former Hao Sect operative, her instincts were sharp, and her mind was naturally brilliant.
"Just because we were both Hao Sect doesn't mean I know everything. It's the same with the Beggars' Sect. If anything, the Hao Sect probably has just as many members."
"So you don't know them?"
"No. I was Shandong branch. This is Anhui branch. That said... they're definitely not ordinary."
"Not ordinary?"
"They seem to have figured out who's backing this whole operation."
"Well..."
Sun Wukong scratched his chin.
"They didn't go looking for Hoga Jangju. Didn't go looking for Ojeong either. And they sure as hell didn't go to the Namgung Clan. Curious."
"Because they came looking for you specifically, Teacher Sun."
"Which means they've got a pretty sharp eye..."
Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed.
"Tougher than I expected."
"The Hao Sect's martial arts don't amount to much compared to other schools of the martial world. Even their so-called masters drop a rank or two the moment they step onto the wider jianghu. And yet they survive — they maintain influence across the entire martial world. There's a clear reason for that."
"This is getting long-winded."
"Teacher Sun. Driving out the Hao Sect is genuinely impossible."
"This is just Anhui Province."
"The Hao Sect's influence spans the entire Central Plains. Even if you push out the Anhui branch, it would only be temporary. They can project power indefinitely."
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue. Humans and their damn craftiness...
It wasn't that he had been criticizing Ojeong for doing a poor job. He'd just been annoyed that the man seemed to be slipping back into the same lazy, desireless existence he'd had in his previous life. Sun Wukong knew perfectly well this wasn't an easy task.
Even so...
Hoga Jangju had his shady side, but his competence was no joke. Even with Sun Wukong laying the groundwork, building the operation to this scale said plenty. And even he couldn't push the Hao Sect out.
And that wasn't all. They punched straight through to the heart of this operation in a single stroke. If they had pointed to the Namgung Clan as Hoga Manor's backer, that would have been one thing. Instead, they had put their finger on Sun Wukong himself.
He revised his thinking. The Hao Sect's skill is greater than I gave them credit for.
His attention settled on their intelligence network. Damn it all. The mortal realm is just as vast as Heaven. If a capable person decided to hide, even the great Sun Wukong would have a hard time finding them. Looking down from Heaven would be a different story — but he was under the sky now, not above it.
Baekgwiwang's entire faction vanished. The number of Baekgwiwang's subordinates who had died under Sun Wukong's iron staff had been considerable. But that couldn't have been all of them. This was an organization that had controlled an entire region. From what the Chuhyeon Merchant Group told me, the Nanheo Escort Bureau was one of their front businesses. It had been dissolved immediately, vanishing without a trace. They've all gone to ground.
Which was why he still hadn't found the remaining fragments of the Seven Star Sword that they had discovered. In the end, they're human now too. Baekgwiwang, Honghaea, and their like had awakened to their previous lives — demon minds in human bodies. Their subordinates were all human. The so-called Hidden Ones — those who had been demons in a past life. An organization made of humans. To hunt them, you need intelligence.
Sun Wukong's mind spun. Originally, he had planned to seize control of Anhui's information networks so he could place the Namgung Clan firmly in the palm of his hand and use them as he pleased. Quietly peeling Hoga Manor away from the Namgung Clan had been part of the same design.
Time to change the plan.
His eyes gleamed. He spoke to Neung, who stood waiting.
"Bring them."
"Which of their four limbs should I leave attached?"
Sun Wukong's face went blank.
"Come again?"
"Threats work better if you set the mood first."
"Did you learn that from Hoga Manor? No. Wait."
You were a demon in your past life too.
Sun Wukong glanced at Neung's dazzling face and nodded. Whatever meaning she took from that nod, she let out a small sound of admiration.
"Ah. You intend to handle it personally."
"..."
"I'll bring them in one piece."
Sun Wukong felt a little wronged.
Neung brought three people. Two middle-aged men and one young fellow. The young man appeared to be attending the two older ones.
"Gang Ok of the Hao Sect."
"Yang Jeok of the Hao Sect."
Gang Ok's tone was rather insolent. Yang Jeok observed a measure of courtesy, but his eyes were another matter.
"Ah. Now I get it."
Sun Wukong understood instantly why Neung had said what she said.
"You've got no manners."
"What did you just say?"
They had offered greetings and gotten an insult in return. Gang Ok's face flushed red. His features were already quite vicious; with his brow furrowed on top of that, the atmosphere he created could have put the entire unorthodox path to shame.
"Were you unorthodox originally?"
They said every man of the unorthodox path might be Hao Sect, and every Hao Sect member might be of the unorthodox path.
"I don't see why I should tell you that."
"'I don't see'? Did someone cut your tongue in half?"
"If anyone's tongue is cut, it would be yours."
"When a superior speaks casually to an inferior, we don't call that a cut tongue. Want to find out what a real one feels like?"
"..."
Gang Ok and Yang Jeok turned to look at each other. This lunatic is the real deal. The thought flashed through both their minds at once.
When they looked back at Sun Wukong, something in their eyes had shifted. They had eased off — their expressions now carried a measure of genuine courtesy.
"Our apologies. We have been discourteous to the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven — sworn brother of the Sword Saint of Heaven's Edge."
"..."
Sun Wukong's eyebrow twitched, just slightly. The corner of his mouth curled up. So the high-handed act was a test.
Interesting humans, these. He twisted a lock of his hair around his finger. These types are a pain.
Sharp, clever, and capable of transforming themselves mid-conversation. Dealing with people like this was genuinely tedious. Even among the demons Sun Wukong had faced on the pilgrimage west, the ones who maintained this kind of posture had been the most troublesome.
The method for dealing with them was simple. No need to circle around. Just charge straight through.
"You already know everything, so let's skip the dancing around. Well? Negotiation or surrender?"
The two glanced at each other, then Gang Ok answered.
"We're aware you're building an intelligence network in Anhui. We have no intention of stopping you. What we don't understand is why you insist on making an enemy of the Hao Sect."
"Obvious, isn't it? I don't want anyone else doing business in my territory."
"Do you truly believe you can drive the Hao Sect out entirely?"
"Looking at how you came running over here, I'd say time will take care of it."
Gang Ok shut his mouth as if he'd taken a hit. Yang Jeok picked up immediately.
"Hoga Manor's competence is certainly no ordinary thing. They even have the Shandong Seven Beauties — formerly of the Shandong branch. We figured as much. With the Namgung Clan behind them, nothing seemed beyond their reach."
"..."
"But we dug like mad just to survive, and it turns out the Namgung Clan knows nothing about any of this."
"They know some of it."
"I don't mean to disparage Myeong-i-dang, the Namgung Clan's intelligence hall. But they likely see this as nothing more than Hoga Manor expanding its influence. The Namgung family believes Hoga Manor is still in the palm of their hand, after all."
Sun Wukong crossed his arms, looking amused. They've swapped roles from what their faces would suggest. One talks like he's trying to reason things out. The other slides in a quiet threat. Smooth. Practiced.
Their skill was no ordinary thing. Their rhythm flowed as naturally as watching two formidable masters perform a paired technique.
"The Namgung Clan intended to control Anhui's unorthodox factions through Hoga Manor. But lo and behold — these bottom-feeding lowlifes who were supposed to do as they were told have gone and taken someone else's hand instead."
"So you're going to go running to the Namgung Clan and tattle?"
"Ah, of course we know that a formidable martial master bearing the title Great Sage, Equal to Heaven is the young clan head's teacher and the clan head's sworn brother. It's not as if our telling them would change much."
"However... wouldn't it put a small crack in that absolute trust you've built?"
Sun Wukong scratched his chin. A brief silence settled. He studied both their faces with calm eyes. The gaze should have been uncomfortable, but neither Yang Jeok nor Gang Ok looked away.
Sun Wukong suddenly grinned and asked,
"You drink?"
"Can't get enough of it."
Meaning he was willing to keep talking. Yang Jeok smiled in satisfaction.
Sun Wukong clapped his hands and called for Neung.
"Bring us some wine."
"Shall I bring the poison wine?"
"Yeah. The kind so lethal they could both drink themselves to death and nobody'd be the wiser."
"How many cups?"
"Just two. I don't handle alcohol well."
"..."
"..."
Gang Ok and Yang Jeok fell silent. Sun Wukong looked at them and grinned.
"It'll be very strong."
"Now hold on, you—"
"I don't need to talk to you two anyway."
"...?"
"Were you going to come to the table only after these two were dead?"
Sun Wukong's question was not directed at Gang Ok or Yang Jeok. It was aimed at the young man standing behind them with his head bowed.
He spoke with a bitter expression.
"As expected. You are no ordinary man."
"You're the one who's no ordinary man. Not bad for someone so young. Anhui Branch Leader."
Sun Wukong grinned.