Hongryun Sect (1)
Hongryun Sect (1)
He had a daughter. Before long, the Sect Leader would be vacating his seat.
Two pieces of information weren't enough. I took advantage of the lull while the bastards were sorting out the aftermath and headed back to the village with Sannyeo. It was a perfect chance to make some inquiries in the village now that the Crimson Ring Sect had left the area.
"Looking at it this way, it's kind of nice."
Having traveled back and forth between the mountain stronghold and the village, the town with its intact houses felt nostalgic and beautiful. Sannyeo nodded at my sentiment and said,
"I wonder about the accommodations."
"We'll have to see about that."
I pointed to the inn that stood with a sign planted brazenly at the village entrance. The board read 'Crimson Ring Inn,' as if it were the only one around. On top of that, they'd carved the Crimson Ring Sect's emblem next to the sign, and inside, a man in Crimson Ring Sect robes sat dozing off, bobbing his head.
As soon as Sannyeo saw the building's exterior and the clerk, her face hardened for a moment, but she quickly composed a nonchalant expression and said,
"It'll be better than sleeping outdoors, at least. I'm fine."
"Sure."
I smiled and took her at her word. Since we needed to investigate, I didn't want to get into a pointless power struggle with her. When I let it slide like that, Sannyeo shrugged and said,
"Then I'll do a little investigating in a different direction. Two is better than one."
"What, you're going to help investigate?"
I hadn't expected Sannyeo's help, so I was a bit surprised. I'd assumed she'd naturally say something like 'You have to investigate on your own' and just watch me. When I showed genuine surprise, she tilted her head and asked back,
"Oh my, we're in the same boat. That would be a shame. Didn't you trust me?"
I shook my head and said,
"Of course I trusted you."
"Then, I'll go this way."
Sannyeo hid her manacled hands inside her sleeves and pointed toward a quiet part of the village. I waved to her, then moved toward the main road. What I noticed most prominently in this village were the signs for 'Crimson Ring Inn' and 'Crimson Ring General Store.'
And on one side of the main road, people who were gaunt and sun-tanned had gathered, grumbling in conversation.
I casually slid in among the chattering people and cautiously posed a question.
"Excuse me, may I ask you something? I'm interested in martial arts and wander from place to place, and I see many signs for the Crimson Ring Sect around here. What kind of place is the Crimson Ring Sect?"
The chatting people turned their heads at my words. They exchanged glances, looked over my appearance, and mumbled to themselves, then one of them opened his mouth as if a dam had burst.
"Curious about the Crimson Ring Sect? Oh, don't get me started. Since everyone's out on the mountain right now, I'll say this. They're nothing but money-crazed devils. They jack up prices on every merchant guild that comes through, and they've turned the inns and restaurants into a complete mess. Thanks to that, the merchant guilds have started taking other routes, and we're the ones left to pay the price."
The villagers seemed to dislike the Crimson Ring Sect even more than I'd expected. I blinked at the sudden flood of badmouthing, and other villagers chimed in with rising momentum.
"Even if we wanted to move, we'd need the means. With protection fees and taxes to pay the state, they're squeezing people twice over—there's not a drop of moisture left. I mean, why is a man who supposedly cultivates martial arts so goddamn crazy about money?"
With that momentum, they continued, calling the Crimson Ring Sect's sect leader a money-crazed bastard, a son of a bitch who ought to be fried in shit water, pouring out all sorts of curses and complaints. I collected myself so as not to get swept up among those excited people.
I took a deep breath and spoke in a sympathetic tone.
"Oh dear, a man so utterly heartless and ruthless must have made life very hard for you. Does that sect leader have no family? Do his children or other family treat people just as coldly?"
The villager shook his head and said.
"I've heard rumors that the sect leader has a daughter, but she's never let out, so I don't know what she looks like. Rumor has it that after his wife ran away, he cut the tendons in his daughter's feet so she'd be a cripple, for fear she'd run away too. Well, that's the kind of bastard he is. Who would expect any sense of shame from a man who treats his own family like animals?"
I inwardly cheered. If the daughter was being abused to that degree, it would be easy to sweet-talk her into going along with my words. I lowered my head and wiped my mouth to hide my twitching lips, then said,
"So the Crimson Ring Sect dominates this entire village? Truly a fearsome force."
The most taciturn man nodded and said.
"The Crimson Ring Sect dominates this whole village. I've heard that the Crimson Ring Sect Leader was entrusted by the government office to manage this village and its surroundings, but I don't know exactly how that came about. Didn't they say the government and the martial world don't interfere with each other?"
I shrugged at his words. I had my own guess about how he'd gotten a connection with the government. Given that he had to vacate his seat this time, it meant the bastard had higher-ups.
"Go carefully. The sect leader is a real black-hearted bastard."
"We'd best be on our way too. When those bastards come down from the mountain, they'll surely start harassing people again."
The people threw some well-wishes and warnings my way, then each slipped away in a different direction. I stretched, wandered around as if nothing had happened, and then spotted Sannyeo at the mouth of an alley, reaching her hand toward the inn. I went over and headed to the inn with her.
******
"The room is dirtier than I thought."
After sharing what we'd learned about the Crimson Ring Sect, we went to the inn and got a room. The money we'd skimmed from the bandit lair was more than enough for two people to take a spacious room, but this small village didn't seem to have any decent accommodations.
As soon as Sannyeo entered the room, she grimaced and complained. I waved my hand through the dusty air and said to Sannyeo,
"Why is a girl who was living behind iron bars until recently so fussy? What a lot of fuss."
Sannyeo's eyes widened and she said to me,
"Oh my, that's why I want better treatment. I didn't live in poverty by choice, and here you're scolding me for being mopey in our lodgings. How heartless of you."
What was a woman who'd been in a cage by choice even talking about? This woman, who couldn't possibly have been cowed and locked up by a mere bandit chief at the peak of second-rate, was tossing out careless words that didn't match her heart, so it was hard to know her true intent.
I stirred up a breeze with my hand to drive the dust outside, then sat down on the floor that looked relatively cleaner and leaned against the bed. While I was staring at the ceiling, Sannyeo flung herself onto the bed. Since it wasn't a soft bed, a dull thud sounded.
The hard bed made Sannyeo grimace; she crawled along with her back pressed against it as if doing guerrilla training. Then she stuck her head out to the point where our eyes met and let her head drop, meeting my gaze from an upside-down position.
"From what I heard, the sect leader here isn't from this village. He appeared suddenly about two years ago and founded a sect here. And the building originally belonged to a wealthy man who lived in this village, apparently."
Sannyeo recited the information she'd heard while still in that position. Since it was news to me, I nodded and said,
"A second-rate martial artist had the nerve to think of founding a sect. That must mean he has higher-ups."
Second-rate is stronger than me, but in other words, the realm of second-rate just means being stronger than someone like me. Anything involving money has a clear intention. A second-rate nobody wouldn't 'just' spend a fortune to found a sect without some intention.
"Smart."
Sannyeo said that in the tone of a tutor praising a child. When I let out a dumbfounded laugh, she looked up at the air with feigned innocence and continued.
"And this sect leader is a real scumbag who brings people in claiming he'll train them, then just works them without pay. Even those who swarmed in earlier, most of them had weak internal energy and only a few had any foundation. I asked the inn clerk here, and he said only about two people that the sect leader uses as his trusted aides are third-rate. The rest aren't even at that level."
"A truly extreme scumbag. A guy like that should be easy to rob."
I was delighted that the sect leader was a bad guy. If he were a righteous man, cleaning up after smashing his sect would be complicated, but he'd built up a bad reputation in the village and had only founded a sect to exploit people, so his own forces were weak.
The scale was decent, but it was the kind that would crumble in an instant if you just hit the head.
"So what are you going to do now?"
I looked straight at her. Sannyeo was waiting for my answer. She blinked, and her black hair hung over the edge of the bed, swaying like a canopy.
"He has a daughter, you know. And the sect leader is going to be away again."
We'd just gathered enough information. The sect leader has a daughter, and that daughter isn't being treated well at home. Moreover, the sect leader planned to be away for a while. Apart from the sect leader, the bastards' forces are weak.
All the villagers hate the Crimson Ring Sect.
"So?"
"I'll sweet-talk the daughter. Make her mine."
Hearing my words, Sannyeo slowly closed her eyes, nodded, and then made a sound by tapping her fingers together.
Tak
Tak
Tak
The frivolous rhythm echoed through the room.
"And then?"
"And then, after making the daughter mine, I'll hide in the house and kill the bastard when he returns."
I mimed swinging an axe in the air. When I said I'd kill him, Sannyeo cocked her head and asked,
"The opponent is of a higher level than you, you know? With your current skills, you can't win."
"He'll do his breathing meditation at home. The daughter will at least know where the sect leader does his breathing meditation. Listen. When the sect leader is gone, I'll sneak into the spot where he assumes his breathing meditation posture. I'll pack dry rations, wait, and then the bastard will return, right? One thing I've perfected over the past two years is concealing my body's ki and climbing walls. Even though I'm only third-rate, in this area I'm more outstanding than others like me. I'll hide, and the moment the bastard comes home and settles into his breathing meditation posture, I'll split his head in two."
It was quite a perfect plan. Sannyeo nodded and said,
"A splendid plan. So, when will you put it into action?"
I extended my finger. I slowly stretched my finger toward Sannyeo's cheek. Sannyeo stared at my finger like a statue, then turned her head to dodge. I waggled the finger that poked the air and said,
"Once that sect leader leaves."