Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (16)
Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (16)
"Bring two more bottles of bamboo leaf liquor over here!"
That's how the world was—no matter how much you agonized, if you did nothing, nothing would happen. If I refused the hand of friendship the Eight Trigrams Association was extending now, they would grow wary of both me and the Zhuge Family. Later, if the Eight Trigrams Association grew larger, it could turn into a troublesome matter.
"Over here! We're out of food to go with the drinks! Boil us some more meat!"
Those kinds of thugs understood gratitude and grudges backwards—they carried grudges to the bitter end and forgot favors in the blink of an eye. What's more, Hwang Ryong-seong, though he was a bit of a dumb, gangster-like bastard, had genuine martial talent. From the rumors going around, it was said that if he kept up his current rate of growth, breaking through to the next realm wasn't far off either.
"Here, here! Take your cups! Uwahahaha! Hey! You there! Sing us a song!"
Not just a peak master, but a master who had reached the transcendent peak realm, backed by the Murim Alliance and beginning to antagonize me and the Zhuge Family? Even if it was pure malice with no schemes behind it, living in this world would be exhausting. Rather than worrying about smoke screens and leaving a future villain unchecked, it was right to throw myself into the fray and see what I could do.
"Truly, truly, it gladdens my heart to meet the Sect Leader of the Crimson Ring Sect and share a drink like this."
And so, I was now at the brothel where the Eight Trigrams Association was carousing, sharing drinks with them. Hong Ye or Im Seo-ryeon would clearly be shocked if they heard about this, so I had left the cleanup to Zhuge Yeong-yu. Hwang Ryong-seong, drunk, was cackling and slapping my back, and I played along with his words.
"Doesn't a great man recognize another great man? When I received an invitation from a master acknowledged by the Murim Alliance, how could I possibly avoid this gathering?"
Hwang Ryong-seong laughed even louder at my words. The way he threw his head back, mouth gaping open and teeth bared, made him look just like a local neighborhood thug.
"Uwahahaha! That's right. Let's get along well from now on. You there! What are you doing! Pour us some more wine!"
While drinking, I assessed the faces of the masters who had joined the Eight Trigrams Association. True to the name Eight Trigrams Association, the bastards gathered here numbered seven, excluding me and Hwang Ryong-seong. Among them, three were at a higher level than me, and four were at a realm similar to mine.
Three peak masters. Four first-rate.
And on top of that, their leader Hwang Ryong-seong was a monster considered one of the very best among peak masters.
Certainly, for a social club formed by young men, they were a force with considerable strength. Any ordinary mid-sized sect would be hard-pressed to handle these bastards. They seemed to have no particular thoughts about me joining their drinking party, but the man seated at the lowest place kept narrowing his brow and glancing at me, openly showing his displeasure.
He was the bastard who had mocked Hong Ye in front of me last time. He had done something deserving of a verbal thrashing, and after receiving it, had backed off—yet he seemed to be nursing considerable resentment about having been pushed aside by me then. He kept fidgeting with his fingers, watching for an opening, while the other Eight Trigrams Association members paid no attention whatsoever to their low-ranking member's behavior, carousing among themselves.
For my part, as long as the bastard didn't pick a fight first, I had no desire to provoke him in this setting. He was first-rate, and so was I. If a fight broke out in the brothel and I ended up losing, it would be a disaster.
But Hwang Ryong-seong, as if he had seen right through my thoughts, smiled and pointed precisely at the low-ranking member.
"Why are you half-heartedly drinking with that sagging expression on your face?"
When Hwang Ryong-seong pointed directly at him, the Eight Trigrams Association's low-ranking member flinched in alarm, straightened his back, and answered hesitantly.
"N-no, not at all, brother. How could I possibly...?"
At the same moment, the gazes of all the other Eight Trigrams Association members turned to the low-ranking member. Outside, he had been throwing his weight around in the name of the Eight Trigrams Association, but within the association, he was apparently being subtly disregarded. His face flushed red, and he drummed his fingers on the table, hesitating.
Even though he had denied it, Hwang Ryong-seong did not let him off. Instead, he addressed him in an even sterner tone. The laughter vanished from his smiling face, and the hand holding his cup came down onto the table. Those who train in palm techniques develop calluses on their palms, and because of that, his hand looked like an animal's forepaw.
"...The little shit, ruining the taste of the drink."
When a remark befitting a neighborhood gangster flew out, the low-ranking member froze even more. The courtesans in the brothel also began reading the room, wary of the menacing atmosphere and the hardened expression Hwang Ryong-seong wore. The Eight Trigrams Association members who had been sharing drinks also set their cups down, carefully watching the mood.
He swept his gaze once over the people who had stiffened at his stern expression, then smiled again as if nothing had happened, and spoke.
"Hahaha! I was just joking! Hahahaha!"
As he said this and pulled a courtesan beside him into his arms, the other Eight Trigrams Association members finally laughed and shouted.
"Uwahahaha! Brother! Your jokes go too far!"
"Oh my! I thought you were serious!"
But even in this situation, the low-ranking member couldn't laugh properly. It was as if someone had held a knife to his throat and ordered him to laugh—he was awkwardly caught between laughing and not laughing, his lips merely trembling.
"Hahahaha..."
Even his laugh was like a mosquito's, and I could feel it quavering. I raised my cup, observing the situation between Hwang Ryong-seong and the bastard. Hwang Ryong-seong stopped laughing and opened his mouth. He only spat out a single word, but within the brothel, its weight felt like a thousand pounds.
"By the way."
Everyone turned, still smiling. Hwang Ryong-seong was still looking at the low-ranking member as he spoke.
"Even if it was a joke, you're still not laughing. How much longer do I have to act like your fucking subordinate before you'll laugh for me?"
The atmosphere sank again. Hwang Ryong-seong was still smiling, but this time, even his smile couldn't lighten the mood. Those familiar with him knew that Hwang Ryong-seong's smile didn't come from being in a good mood.
The low-ranking member opened his mouth wide and shouted. Cold sweat was streaming down his face, and he even sprang to his feet.
"I-I am laughing! Brother!"
Hwang Ryong-seong waved his hand dismissively. Then he lightly smacked my back. As expected of a bastard who had trained in palm techniques, even without putting inner energy into the strike, the impact that transmitted through my body was weighty.
"No, forget it. I've made things awkward for you. Sect Leader Docheol. I took the trouble to invite you to a drinking party, and that bastard ruined the atmosphere."
"No, it's fine. I truly am fine, so please, just forgive him."
He emanated an intimidating energy. Something was strange. The bastard approaching me, the current situation—somewhere, something felt off. But I couldn't back out now. If I fled now, everything I had done—coming here and even matching the mood at the drinking party—would turn to foam. Hwang Ryong-seong shook his head at my words with an exaggerated gesture. The way he shook his head made it look like a bug had latched onto it.
"No, I can't let it be. How could I? How could I? At a drinking party where I've invited the Sect Leader, with one of our Eight Trigrams Association men starting trouble, how could I just let it go? That wouldn't be right. No, that wouldn't be right at all."
Hwang Ryong-seong pointed his finger at the low-ranking member. I held wine in my mouth and watched the situation unfold. What was this bastard's intention? It didn't seem like he was just doing whatever he felt like.
The low-ranking member drew the weapon at his side and stood in the center of the brothel where the drinking party was in full swing. His face looked tense, but there were clear signs that he had prepared for something.
This brothel had a wide performance space in the center, which could be used for martial bouts and where the courtesans also performed. As someone stepped up onto the performance space, which happened to be empty at just the right moment, the patrons at other tables began to discreetly turn their gazes.
And this was not a good situation. I could also guess, more or less, what the bastard wanted.
I had vaguely thought that since he wanted to get friendly with me, he wouldn't bother me. I had also thought he had no way to bother me. That wasn't it. The bastard had connections and power in Hubei Province. He could distort the chain of cause and effect in an incident that occurred at this drinking party however he pleased.
"I've heard that the Sect Leader of the Crimson Ring Sect possesses exceptional martial skill. That low-ranking bastard, toward the Sect Leader, that... what was it? What do you call it?"
Hwang Ryong-seong broke off mid-sentence and looked to his side. Another Eight Trigrams Association member whispered.
"[Suppressed Resentment]."
"Right, [Suppressed Resentment]. He seems to be nursing [Suppressed Resentment]—could I possibly let this pass? We agreed that the Eight Trigrams Association and the Crimson Ring Sect would get along well from now on. If our low-ranking bastard here keeps bottling up ill feelings, every time we meet, this sort of thing will repeat itself."
There were many ways to refuse. If I immediately seized on the fact that the low-ranking bastard had mocked my wife and kept pulling at that thread, dragging it out, I could avoid the bout easily enough.
"So, I thought, why not just settle everything here and now by having one bout? I would also like to see for myself the martial skill of the Crimson Ring Sect Leader, which I've only heard of through rumors, and it's not good for our youngest to keep wrecking the mood like this. This seems like the best solution to me."
But that son of a bitch, after ridiculing Hong Ye for being of southern barbarian blood, was hiding behind the name of the Eight Trigrams Association and glaring at me with his eyes slanted upward as if he was the one who had been wronged.
But in a situation where they were setting the stage for me, why the hell should I run?
"Worry not. Win or lose, all conflicts will be shed here."
As Hwang Ryong-seong said this, he spread his arms. What the bastard wanted was unknowable. Was he testing me? Or did he truly believe that the low-ranking member could beat me? If it was a move to test me, there was no reason to avoid the challenge, and if he believed the low-ranking member would beat me, then the moment I fled, I'd just be boosting that bastard's standing.
Fighting was the answer.
Hwang Ryong-seong laughed loudly, looked around, then raised his hand and began drumming up support.
"Come, come! Let's give our Sect Leader Docheol some spirit! Come! Come, come!"
"There's no need for that."
I raised my hand and stopped Hwang Ryong-seong. As the bastard's eyes widened into circles, I grabbed the axe at my waist and leaped over the table.
"Ooooooh!"
"Waaaaah!"
The cheers of the Eight Trigrams Association bastards rang out.
"What kind of great man would show himself being dragged out?"
"Woooooooh!"
"Uwahahahaha!"
The atmosphere heated up. Hwang Ryong-seong, his eyes still wide, had the corners of his mouth twisted up.
He was first-rate, I was first-rate.
What did it matter that he was first-rate?
I was first-rate too.
I was not the same as a bastard who was content being the low-ranking member of the Eight Trigrams Association.
I would become the Number One Under Heaven.
I was the man who would bed the Princess.
"Twin Axes Docheol."
I revealed the other axe at my waist as I spoke.