Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Embracing the Sun Moon Sword Sect and Gold Star Group
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Go Un-hyo said he had a place for us to go, so we left the Purple Cloud Pavilion.
The streets were bustling with people. Normally, the streets of Dong-ro County were quiet, so this was the first time I had ever seen such a large crowd.
There were many families who looked to be carrying all their belongings on carts, as well as people who seemed to have come from out of town. Here and there, I could also spot martial artists.
It looked like a procession of refugees fleeing a war.
We entered the same inn and tavern where we had met U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang before.
But unexpectedly, the first floor of the tavern was packed with customers, among them several martial artists.
The tavern manager guided us to a room on the second floor and spoke.
“My Lord, many martial artists have been visiting our tavern lately. We get about thirty a day on average, and it’s the same for the other taverns. This is the first time we’ve seen anything like this.”
The people at the taverns, inns, and entertainment houses run by the Crouching Dragon Group addressed me as ‘My Lord,’ as instructed by Jang Ung.
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know the details, but… it seems the martial artists have come to see you, my lord.”
“Me?”
“Yes. In the conversations I’ve overheard among the martial artists who come to the tavern, the names Fire Dragon Sword, White Jade Hands, and Ak Bi-ryong come up frequently.”
“Hmm!”
I had a feeling I knew why martial artists were gathering in Dong-ro County. I had seen a large crowd on the street, and a good number of them were martial artists.
As my titles, Fire Dragon Sword and White Jade Hands, became widely known, they were likely coming to test their skills against me.
The greatest desire of any martial artist is to make their name known far and wide.
The best way to do that is to defeat a renowned master. By doing so, their name instantly spreads throughout the martial world.
I was the rising new expert who had recently caused a stir in Zhejiang Province. That must be why so many martial artists were gathering to defeat me.
It was a strange feeling, but not a pleasant one. Because a true master would not reveal themselves in this way.
The masters I had defeated so far were the Sword Demon King Nu Jin-sang, the Red Snake Divine Sword, and the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable. The Black Slaughter Sword, the Zhejiang Heavenly Lord of the Unorthodox Path, was not even worthy of a fight.
The Sword Demon King Nu Jin-sang, the Red Snake Divine Sword, and the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable—all three died by my hand. Perhaps, without realizing it, I had developed a habit of killing the strong and sparing the weak.
U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang, who were staying at this inn, came to the room where Go Un-hyo and I were.
U Mun-rak was the sect leader of the Sun Moon Sword Sect, which until recently was the Blood Shadow Sect but reclaimed its old name after the death of the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable.
And Jo Wi-yang introduced himself as the head merchant of the Gold Star Group.
U Mun-rak spoke first.
“The Sun Moon Sword Sect was originally a mid-sized orthodox sect with over three hundred members, but now, only forty-six remain, including myself.”
“What happened?”
“Eight months ago, we attempted to take revenge on the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable under the chief steward’s plan, but it failed, and over fifty of our men were killed.”
In that plan, U Mun-rak and the other subordinates had been tasked with blocking the escape routes, expecting the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable to flee after being ambushed. Only later did they learn that the plan had failed.
They had underestimated the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable. When attacked relentlessly by the chief steward and fifty of his men, the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable slaughtered every last one of them.
U Mun-rak was filled with grief and indignation upon learning this, but it was irreversible.
The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable never knew that U Mun-rak and the others had laid in ambush along the escape routes, so he did not retaliate against them. Had he known, he would have killed them all.
Afterward, U Mun-rak planned several more times to kill the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable, but he could never bring himself to execute them.
“After that incident, our members began to leave one by one, either out of fear or weariness from the grudge, until only forty-six of us remained.”
U Mun-rak could not hide the bleak expression on his face. With only forty-six members, they were at the level of a martial arts hall, not even a small sect. You needed at least a hundred members to be considered a small sect.
Jo Wi-yang, who had been waiting, spoke up.
“The Gold Star Group originally had businesses in eight different sectors, but the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable dismantled them piece by piece, selling them off to other merchant groups. Now, only our shipping business remains. The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable didn’t know the Gold Star Group had a shipping business. If he had, he would have sold that off too.”
“Can you make a living with just the shipping business?”
“We own three large ships, nine medium ships, and over thirty small ships, focusing solely on transportation. In terms of size, we’re mid-tier.”
“Hoh! Not bad.”
I nodded.
“That should be enough for the people of the Gold Star Group to live on.”
Jo Wi-yang stood up and bowed his head deeply.
“My Lord! Please take the Gold Star Group under your care.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I spoke to him soothingly, taken aback by his sudden words.
“Didn’t I say last time that I would set the Sun Moon Sword Sect and the Gold Star Group free?”
“Our Gold Star Group is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“Bankruptcy? Why is that?”
It didn’t make sense for a group of that size to go bankrupt.
“It’s because we are falling behind in the competition with other shipping companies.”
“How so?”
“Shipping is the business of transporting goods. If you establish a relationship with a major merchant group, you can maintain that relationship for a long time as long as you don’t make any major mistakes.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“We can’t establish relationships with merchant groups because we keep losing out to competitors. They all have powerful sects or factions, or groups of escort warriors, backing them.”
“Doesn’t the Gold Star Group have escort warriors?”
“We have about ten, but their skills are pitiful compared to those of other shipping companies.”
“Is force usually necessary to compete in the shipping business?”
As he explained, Jo Wi-yang’s voice grew agitated.
“Yes. Other shipping companies constantly interfere to prevent us from doing business with merchant groups. It’s also common for them to attack our transport ships and plunder the cargo.”
“How vile.”
“Currently, we are only operating two medium ships and about ten small ships. The rest of our fleet is sitting idle at the port. We are also significantly behind on paying the wages of our sailors.”
Since Jo Wi-yang had hidden the shipping business from the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable, he wouldn’t have received any military support.
Jo Wi-yang looked at U Mun-rak and said.
“It was only after coming here that I learned the Blood Shadow Sect—no, the Sun Moon Sword Sect—was under the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable’s command.”
“This is also the first I’ve heard of the Gold Star Group.”
Jo Wi-yang bowed his head again.
“I implore you, my lord, to take the Gold Star Group under your wing and provide us with military strength. Only then can the Gold Star Group avoid bankruptcy. Our group alone has over two hundred members. All of their families are starving.”
This time, U Mun-rak stood up, clasped his fist, and bowed his head.
“My Lord, with only forty-six members, it is difficult for us to maintain our sect.”
I guessed what U Mun-rak was about to say. He was going to ask me to take in the Sun Moon Sword Sect. This was a headache.
“What about disbanding the Sun Moon Sword Sect?”
“The remaining members are very attached to the Sun Moon Sword Sect. Why else would they have stayed when everyone else left? Therefore, disbanding seems like a last resort.”
If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t want to think about disbanding the Sun Moon Sword Sect either. It was the worst option.
The situations of the Gold Star Group and the Sun Moon Sword Sect were pitiful.
Therefore, this was a matter not for me, but for Jang Ung, who would handle it well.
***
I brought U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang to the Peerless Sect.
When Jang Ung saw me for the first time in a fortnight, his beard was overgrown and his face was haggard. He looked so relieved he seemed on the verge of tears.
“My Lord! Where have you been?”
“You, why do you look like this?”
Jin U-gun, who was nearby, explained.
“The Chief Steward has become half the man he was from the hardship of searching for you, my lord. He’s barely eaten or slept for the past two weeks while looking for you.”
Jang Ung gently scolded Jin U-gun.
“Hold your tongue.”
I felt a pang of guilt toward Jang Ung but said nothing.
We went to my office in the Peerless Sect.
I briefly explained the situation regarding the Sun Moon Sword Sect and the Gold Star Group to Jang Ung and then asked for his opinion.
“What are your thoughts, Chief Steward Jang?”
“Take them in.”
“You think so?”
“Taking them in is a win-win.”
In other words, a victory for both sides.
Jang Ung didn’t need long to think. It meant he had already done the calculations while listening to my explanation.
“Alright.”
“Take them in and leave them to me.”
“I will.”
I spoke to U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang.
“I will take in the Sun Moon Sword Sect and the Gold Star Group.”
“Thank you!”
I stopped the two of them as they were about to prostrate themselves.
“You two will follow the words of Chief Steward Jang.”
U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang were overjoyed and paid their respects to Jang Ung.
“We are in your care.”
I introduced Go Un-hyo to Jang Ung.
“This is my younger brother.”
“Ah! Is that so?”
Go Un-hyo politely clasped his fist.
“I am Go Un-hyo. It’s a pleasure.”
“I am Jang Ung.”
Jang Ung was not one to ask questions. Even now, he didn’t ask who Go Un-hyo was or why he was my younger brother.
He probably just guessed that since my surname was ‘Ak’ and Go Un-hyo’s was ‘Go,’ he wasn’t my blood brother.
But a man as clever as Jang Ung might have guessed that Go Un-hyo was a Ghost Dragon.
Even so, Jang Ung would never ask about Go Un-hyo unless I told him first.
It was interesting, however, that Jang Ung, who seemed to know everything about every incident, accident, and piece of information, had been unaware of my whereabouts.
“You didn’t know where I went?”
“I only knew that you flew across the river with someone near the Qiantang River port, my lord.”
Several people at the port must have witnessed the sight of me taking Go Un-hyo’s hand, soaring into the sky, and crossing the Qiantang River.
“I have something to report.”
“Speak.”
“People are flocking to Dong-ro County.”
“I saw that as well. What’s happening?”
“Two things are occurring.”
I already suspected that martial artists were gathering in Dong-ro County to fight me.
“One is the migration of the common people.”
“Migration? What do you mean?”
The migration of common people was something I had not expected at all.
“A rumor has spread that Dong-ro County is a place where one doesn’t have to pay tribute and taxes to the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path. As a result, people from nearby areas and even from far corners of Zhejiang Province are moving to Dong-ro County to live.”
“Is that so?”
“Dong-ro County is one of the smaller counties in Zhejiang Province, with a population of thirty-five thousand. But now, it has surpassed fifty thousand. At this rate, it will exceed one hundred thousand within a month.”
“Hmm!”
“It’s because you drove out the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, my lord. Furthermore, when the Zhejiang Demonic Union and the Zhejiang Heavenly Lord of the Unorthodox Path attacked, you drove them away as well. Because of this, a rumor has spread that Dong-ro County is a paradise on earth.”
U Mun-rak and Jo Wi-yang looked at me with expressions of astonishment and respect.
Rather than feeling proud or happy, I was a little worried. It felt as if Dong-ro County was a house built on sand.
One day, when I leave Dong-ro County, this phenomenon will vanish like a mirage.
But my worry soon faded. I just had to walk my own path. Worrying was the burden of those who remained.