I'd Better Go See for Myself
"That lunatic."
Hoga Jangju spat the curse at the closed door. Behind it were seven courtesans who, measured by beauty alone, would have taken first place in every pleasure house in Anhui Province.
"Just how insatiable is that bastard, going at it alone for hours on end..."
He clicked his tongue. Those weren't moans coming through the door. They were screams. The room was soundproofed, and yet every cry punched into his ears with unbearable clarity. The thought of Sun Wukong dragged another oath from his lips.
"That lunatic. Don't touch them, he said. Just feed them well and keep them safe. So this is why."
He clicked his tongue again — and whatever complaint he'd been muttering died mid-breath.
Sun Wukong stepped out looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"All finished?"
"Yeah. Went great."
"For several hours, no less..."
"Has it been that long?"
"Heh. I heard the Namgung Clan is hosting a rather important event. Is this really the time to be fooling around with women?"
"That's exactly why I came."
Sun Wukong grinned.
"Plenty of people back at the clan take an interest in my movements."
Not surveillance, exactly. Still, this particular business was nothing the Namgung Clan needed to know about. Right now, Sun Wukong intended to do something purely for himself.
"So, what brings you? I doubt you came just to share a cup of tea with me."
"Ah, tea instead of wine every now and then isn't so bad. Brew us something good."
"..."
A vein twitched in Hoga Jangju's forehead. This kid looked younger than his own son, and yet he was actually... But his body was honest. He went straight to brewing the tea.
"Jangju. You know Haomen."
"Huh? Of course I do."
"They have a presence here in Anhui?"
"They do, though they don't flaunt it. Factor in their hidden strength, though, and the scale is considerable. It is Haomen, after all."
"Right. So that's how it is."
A brief silence settled. Hoga Jangju tilted his head. He couldn't begin to guess what the boy was thinking.
"Jangju."
"Yes."
"I've got a job for you."
A gleam flashed through Sun Wukong's eyes. Hoga Jangju drew a long breath.
So the time has come, after all.
In his estimation, Sun Wukong was not a generous man. He would never help anyone without something in it for himself. He didn't help me keep the lordship of Hoga Manor out of the goodness of his heart. He'd done it because he'd judged him useful.
"What do you need?"
"I want Haomen driven out of Anhui."
"...What?"
Hoga Jangju's voice went slack with disbelief. He'd steeled himself. Whatever the order, he would obey. But this was beyond all reason. Drive Haomen out of Anhui Province?
"More precisely, I want you to beat them in a contest and seize control of this province's information network."
"...No."
That was even harder. Driving Haomen out was already absurd, but at least that had a sliver of possibility — harass them, push them into a fight, force them out. In theory, anyway.
"Even if you helped us drive Haomen out by force, Teacher — seize their information network?"
Fine, driving them out. He could swallow that. But take over their intelligence web?
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.
"I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm not telling you to drive them out by force."
"..."
Hoga Jangju exhaled in relief. That, at least, was something. Picking a fight with Haomen, whose reach spanned the entire Central Plains... Hoga Manor would be wiped off the map. Unless Sun Wukong himself stepped in, of course.
"I mean for you to slowly eat away at their network and push them out, bit by bit."
"So... you want us to compete with Haomen for information and gradually squeeze them out?"
"Now you're getting it."
"..."
Has he lost his mind?
Hoga Jangju barely swallowed the words rising in his throat. Wage an intelligence war against the legendary Haomen? Was that even remotely possible?
Sun Wukong snorted at the look on his face.
"A journey of a thousand li starts with a single step. They say even a fool can move a mountain if he keeps at it. Start small, and someday you'll get there."
"I... I can't say I follow, Teacher. Hoga Manor alone can already deliver most of the back-alley intelligence in Anhui, as much as you'd want."
"See? You're already in a position to compete."
"No, that's not — why do we have to push Haomen out at all?"
"Because I can't stand the sight of them."
Hoga Jangju's jaw dropped. That was the reason? Drive out a nationwide sect because he found them unpleasant to look at? He couldn't find his voice. Sun Wukong spoke with a face that brooked no argument.
"It doesn't have to happen overnight. But Haomen's presence in Anhui needs to shrink, steadily."
This was not something he would yield on.
Ojeong was skeptical that all of Haomen had fallen into that shadow organization's grip.
Haomen was a colossal sect. More precisely, a sect spun across the entire Central Plains like a spider's web — a sect built by people from the lowest walks of life. Waiters, courtesans, street thugs, porters, palanquin bearers, woodcutters. Every kind of lowborn soul gathered there.
Rather than the whole of Haomen being in their pocket, they'd more likely infiltrated parts of it.
The most plausible theory was that the Shandong Seven Shadows — and the martial artists Muhwa had killed — had been plants, infiltrators posing as Haomen members. There was no need to strike Haomen as a whole. Frankly, even Sun Wukong had no desire to pick a fight with an organization of that scale. Not because he was afraid — because it would be stupid.
That didn't mean he could just leave them be.
If they'd planted people in Haomen the way they had the Shandong Seven Shadows, there could be more of them still inside.
At the very least, here in Anhui Province, Haomen needed to be pushed out, slowly but surely. And on top of that...
"I need an information network of that caliber."
"Hmm..."
Hoga Jangju swallowed a low hum. His heavy-lidded, wrinkled eyes sharpened to a keen edge.
He's not joking. He's actually decided this.
If he refused, Sun Wukong would remove him on the spot and install his son instead. What did a pretext matter? If he didn't have one, he'd invent one and replace him anyway. So Hoga Jangju thought it through in earnest.
This isn't... entirely absurd.
He swallowed another hum. Amazingly, it wasn't a story without any chance of success.
If the underworld of an entire province united as one...
The back alleys and the lower classes were tightly bound. Plenty of thugs kept a name on Haomen's rolls while living the underworld life on the side. That was Haomen's weakness, too. Many members registered in name only and felt no real loyalty. In provinces where the underworld factions were strong, Haomen often couldn't even lift its head.
And Hoga Manor... we're currently the only underworld faction in Anhui worthy of the name.
Hoga Jangju studied Sun Wukong in silence. Sun Wukong grinned.
"It happened by accident, but you're Anhui's only real underworld faction. Swallowing up the leftover scraps shouldn't be hard, should it?"
"...!"
"If an underworld faction backed by the Namgung Clan — the overlords of Anhui — unifies the province's dark path... I don't see Haomen being much of a problem."
He was right. However it had come about, Hoga Manor was the only underworld group in Anhui that could even be called a faction. The rest were just clusters of street gangs. If they set their minds to it, absorbing them would be nothing. And Hoga Manor already had the recognition of the Namgung Clan, Anhui's undisputed champions. Their backing was solid.
The true object of that loyalty was Sun Wukong, but that wasn't Hoga Jangju's problem to worry about.
He's saying he'll help if anything goes wrong while Hoga Manor unifies Anhui's underworld. Whether directly or indirectly.
The moment that thought landed, Hoga Jangju's eyes lit up.
This is an opportunity!
Not just another mediocre underworld outfit among Anhui's many — a chance to leap forward as a powerhouse with an intelligence network on par with an entire Haomen branch!
"Well? Starting to see it?"
Sun Wukong's eyes curved into crescents.
He's already measured everything out before giving the order.
This wasn't some impulsive outburst. The thought of what would have happened if he'd refused outright sent a chill down his spine. He'd have been replaced for being too shortsighted. It still wouldn't be as easy as it sounded. That much was certain.
Hoga Jangju carefully raised the concern that had immediately come to mind.
"We can expand Hoga Manor and grow our numbers, no problem. The issue is we have no secret method."
"Secret method?"
"Haomen and the Beggar Sect don't just gather good intelligence because they have a lot of people planted everywhere."
Instead of answering, Sun Wukong folded his arms. Go on, the gesture said.
"No matter how clever a waiter is, a waiter is still a waiter. Martial artists have no reason to suddenly spill important information in front of one."
The point landed clearly enough. They could pick up all sorts of scraps, but the truly vital intelligence would be hard to come by.
"Haomen and the Beggar Sect can do it. They train the clever ones, the ones with potential. How to open a heart, how to get close, how to make someone spill what's inside... We don't have any of that."
They could grow Hoga Manor large enough to rival Haomen in size, but their intelligence capability wouldn't even be in the same contest.
"So you need someone who can teach you those secrets."
"Yes. The trade secrets of a seasoned informant."
"Then start by setting up a pleasure house."
"A pleasure house?"
"We'll start by running a pleasure house."
"Running one isn't hard. We could renovate Manhyangru into a proper pleasure house tomorrow. The problem is the heart of any pleasure house — the supply of courtesans..."
Hoga Jangju's voice trailed off. Then his eyes flew wide.
Sun Wukong cackled and pointed behind him.
"How about those girls?"
"Well of course they'd—!"
Need he even say it? If Sun Wukong hadn't issued that stern warning not to touch them, even a man of his years would have thrown himself at beauties like that.
"What's more, those girls came from Haomen."
"...!"
"Start with them. Run one pleasure house, then expand from there."
A fine tremor ran through Hoga Jangju's body.
He's already calculated all of this in his head.
There was no room left to argue. He had to obey. Hoga Jangju nodded, his face set with resolve.
The ambition of the underworld. To grow one's power and reign like a king. There was an overlord named Sun Wukong sitting above him, but so what? A king was still a king. It was Sun Wukong's order — but it was also the means to fulfill his own ambition.
Seeing that resolute face, Sun Wukong's eyes curved into crescents.
I'll leave this with him for now.
He didn't trust Hoga Jangju completely. Ojeong's skills have come along nicely. I'll hand the management over to him when the time is right.
Sun Wukong understood the value of information better than anyone. The pilgrimage through Tianzhu. He had endured a brutal journey of countless trials, hardships, and demons at every turn. Even for Sun Wukong, it had not been an easy road — and he'd had the dead weight of Sanzang to carry besides. Dangers had lurked at every step.
Every time, it was the Earth Deities and mountain spirits who had come to his aid. They watched and monitored every movement through their domains. When Sun Wukong slammed the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the earth and bellowed, they became his hands and feet, moving in a flash.
The Namgung Clan's intelligence apparatus is on the thin side.
Namgung Cheonyeong, lord of Myeong-i-dang, was a brilliant man, but the organization was far too small. Sun Wukong couldn't treat it as his own limbs. Even if he used it, word would reach Namgung Jinbaek's ears.
Sun Wukong felt the need for an information network that belonged to him alone. Just as the Earth Deities and mountain spirits had been in the past.
Hoga Manor, which had unified Anhui's underworld almost by accident, would be the foundation stone. And those Shandong Seven Shadows, originally of Haomen, would be the pillars.
Those spiders are a two-for-one. Useful as an intelligence network, and useful as bait for whoever comes looking for them later.
Sun Wukong drank his tea, satisfied.
That was when it happened.
Tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tap.
Someone was knocking on the wooden window.
"Is someone throwing rocks at the window...?"
Hoga Jangju frowned. Sun Wukong waved him off.
"That's my guest."
"What?"
Sun Wukong opened the wooden window, and a snow-white owl shoved its head through.
Mrow.
The instant the owl appeared, the cat in his robes poked its face out and hissed. Sun Wukong sighed.
"When are you two going to get along..."
"I was sitting here perfectly still! That scrawny little thing hissed at me first!"
Myodu-eung chattered indignantly. Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.
"What'd you come for?"
"Ah, right! There's trouble, Great Sage Sun!"
"Trouble?"
"Yes! Something strange is happening at the Namgung Clan Estate right now!"
Sun Wukong's face went sour.
"Namgung Jinbaek's there. So what?"
What problem could there possibly be? Even if a couple of great demons attacked, it shouldn't matter. When Sun Wukong's reaction stayed lukewarm, Myodu-eung squawked.
"A spiritual presence appeared!"
Sun Wukong's eyes sank low and cold.
"It's Yeongryeok I can't even begin to handle with my power. I've never seen anything like it!"
Yeongryeok that even an Earth Deity like Myodu-eung couldn't manage...
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.