Bonds of Fate (5)
The man who approached Kang Yeon was a very young youth. He had an exceptionally handsome face and wore a sly, teasing smile as he looked at Kang Yeon.
“Yeon hyung, so you’ve finally come back to Hangzhou?”
Kang Yeon made a face that said he could not understand this situation at all.
“Whether I’ve come back to Hangzhou or not isn’t the point. Why the hell are you here right now?”
“Because I heard hyung was returning here?”
Kang Yeon let out a hollow breath.
“Ha? The Alliance actually gave you permission to set up shop here??”
“What’s wrong with that? Experience is what matters anyway. This counts as experience too.”
“Heh… You really are something else. Completely different.”
“Of course. A place that boasts history and tradition is bound to be different. So, how’s the food? Suit your taste?”
“It suits my taste so well it’s making me a little angry, actually.”
“Naturally. We gathered every top chef in the Central Plains.”
Kang Yeon let out a disbelieving chuckle, as if he found the whole thing absurd.
“You’re seriously all-in on this inn business?”
“Of course I am.”
“Why? Why go this far?”
The young man grinned.
“To try beating hyung once? Figured this was the only way that might work.”
“That’s taking the joke too far.”
The young man kept smiling as he answered.
“I’m not joking.”
Kang Yeon rose from his seat and walked toward the youth.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Fine by me.”
Kang Yeon and the young man headed to one side of the top floor. With a casual wave of his hand, Kang Yeon released a stream of blue energy that formed a small enclosed space. The young man clicked his tongue in open admiration.
“Hyung’s power is still amazing every time I see it. Blocking off the outside with a barrier membrane like that…”
The space Kang Yeon had created was a barrier formed from qi. He looked at the young man and asked,
“Ak Hu. I’ll ask you again. Setting up an inn here to keep an eye on me—is that the will of the Sado Alliance?”
The young man’s name was Ak Hu.
His true identity was the Second Young Master of the Sado Alliance.
“I already told you it’s not. Really. This is purely my personal business. And who in the world would have the guts to try monitoring hyung anyway?”
Kang Yeon’s briefly impassive expression softened again.
“Then that’s a relief. Anyway, pass this on to the Alliance Leader. The seal on the gates is still in effect.”
“Sure, sure. Of course. Master has no intention of breaking the seal either.”
Kang Yeon waved his hand once more and the blue barrier vanished. Young Master Ak Hu could not hide his astonishment.
“Honestly, only hyung could do something like that as casually as kicking a rock on the roadside. Anyway, if I stick around any longer you’ll get mad, so I’ll head out. Good to see your face after so long. Enjoy yourself. I already told them to take special care of you.”
“Yeah. I’m actually resting, so I don’t want any interruptions.”
Kang Yeon and Ak Hu returned to their seats. Ak Hu looked at the waiter and spoke in a cold voice.
“Take good care of him. If you make even one mistake, you’re finished.”
The waiter flinched and answered hastily.
“Yes, sir. Since he is your guest, we will serve him with the utmost care.”
“No. Whether he’s my guest or not isn’t the point. If things go wrong, this entire inn could get blown away. Do it properly.”
Ak Hu turned and disappeared. Jo Hwan, wearing a dazed expression, asked Kang Yeon,
“Yeon-ah, who was that young man? How do you know him?”
Kang Yeon knew the owner of Ilyeong Inn, currently the most successful establishment in Hangzhou.
“That’s Young Master Ak Hu, Second Young Master of the Sado Alliance. We crossed paths once in the past, so I know him.”
Jo Hwan’s face filled with pure shock. Even someone as ignorant of the murim as Jo Hwan could not fail to know the Sado Alliance. If the Orthodox Path had the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Path had the Demonic Cult, then the Unorthodox Path had the Sado Alliance.
“The… Sado Alliance??? The Second Young Master??”
Jo Hwan staggered as a wave of dizziness hit him. Just hearing the name made one’s knees weak, and Kang Yeon had once fought them. Did that mean they had walked straight into a tiger’s den? Kang Yeon spoke calmly as he watched Jo Hwan’s reaction.
“Don’t worry too much about it. We’re not on bad terms right now.”
“Ah… r-right. Okay.”
Kang Yeon returned to his meal.
Jo Hwan continued staring at him, still completely stunned.
After that, Kang Yeon thoroughly enjoyed Ilyeong Inn’s cuisine for quite some time. The alcohol selection was equally excellent, making for a truly satisfying meal.
“That was delicious.”
As Kang Yeon and Jo Hwan left the inn, the waiter bowed deeply and politely.
“Please take care on your way. We would be grateful if you visited us again.”
Kang Yeon raised a hand in a light farewell.
“From now on we’re competitors, so I’m not sure I’ll be back. We’ll be going.”
Jo Hwan spoke to the waiter.
“Good work.”
Finished with his goodbyes, Jo Hwan hurried after Kang Yeon.
“Yeon-ah, wait up.”
“Ah… I walked a bit fast, didn’t I?”
Kang Yeon slowed his pace. Lost in thought for a moment, he had forgotten to match Jo Hwan’s stride.
“By the way, Yeon-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Wasn’t Ilyeong Inn’s cooking truly impressive?”
Kang Yeon shrugged.
“Of course. They must have brought people in on the Sado Alliance’s full authority.”
“But still. Why would someone as important as the Second Young Master of the Sado Alliance open an inn here?”
It could not simply be that he wanted to beat Kang Yeon with an inn. Ak Hu was, after all, the Second Young Master of the Sado Alliance—the second son of the Alliance Leader who ruled the entire Unorthodox Path. Why such a person would try to defeat Kang Yeon while posing as a mere innkeeper was hard to understand.
“Him saying he wants to beat me is a lie. The Alliance Leader probably sent him.”
“Hmm… Have you made a lot of enemies in the Sado Alliance?”
“Not so much enemies as a serious difference of opinion at one point.”
“Difference of opinion?”
Kang Yeon nodded.
“Yes. Difference of opinion. So we tussled a bit. Of course, I won.”
“You fought the Sado Alliance and won?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
Jo Hwan’s face went blank. Kang Yeon was speaking of defeating the Sado Alliance as casually as if he had won an argument with the neighbor next door.
Kang Yeon looked at Jo Hwan’s dazed expression and grinned.
“What? Do I suddenly look scary or something?”
Jo Hwan shook his head vigorously.
“Ahem… Of course not. I was just curious how you’ve been living all this time before you came back.”
“You’ll find out when the time is right.”
Kang Yeon and Jo Hwan walked through Hangzhou’s night streets and returned to the inn. Even though it was late, renovations were still in full swing.
“Yo~ Back already?”
Dan U-ryeong, who had been supervising the repairs, spotted Kang Yeon, lifted one corner of his mouth in a small smile, and walked over. Kang Yeon strode straight up to him and asked,
“You knew, didn’t you?”
Dan U-ryeong’s pupils shook violently for a second. He answered with forced calm.
“Knew what?”
“That Ak Hu opened Ilyeong Inn. I thought it was weird you actually did work for once. The top-floor privilege was his idea too, and you planned to yield it to me from the start, didn’t you?”
Dan U-ryeong answered immediately.
“Oh? You’re sharp. Figuring all that out in one go.”
“Haa… I was too naive. I just took the bait and went.”
“So what? You’re going to keep running into each other while living in Hangzhou anyway. And thanks to that you got to eat as much delicious food as you wanted, right?”
Kang Yeon shrugged.
“True enough. But didn’t you put way too much effort into that building?”
“Ahem… I simply did the amount of work I was paid for.”
“Oh? Then please take good care of our inn too?”
Kang Yeon went inside the inn. Dan U-ryeong muttered under his breath.
“Pay me properly first before saying stuff like that.”
At that moment, Jo Hwan, who had been watching with blinking eyes, carefully asked Dan U-ryeong,
“Um… Young Master Dan.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Just what has Yeon been doing all this time before he came back?”
Dan U-ryeong’s eyes sparkled.
“Yeon didn’t tell you?”
“He wouldn’t give me the details.”
“Since Yeon didn’t speak of it, it probably isn’t right for me to explain in detail either… but if I were to say just a little, Yeon is…”
At that exact moment, Kang Yeon’s voice rang out from inside the inn.
“Don’t say unnecessary things.”
Dan U-ryeong flinched, then said,
“Yeon was one hell of a guy.”
Jo Hwan made a regretful face and stepped into the inn.
Renovations of the inn began in earnest. Dan U-ryeong stared at the building with a serious expression. He had only been asked to handle some simple repairs.
“This place needs to be completely torn down and rebuilt. I don’t like a single thing about it.”
As a perfectionist, Dan U-ryeong simply could not stand the sight of the inn’s current state. Of course, if his hands touched it, the building would be reborn into something incomparably fine—but it still would not be perfect.
“Hmm.”
After a brief moment of thought, Dan U-ryeong reached a decision.
“Everyone just happens to be out right now.”
Kang Yeon and Jo Hwan had left early that morning for more market research, and Jo Seol had gone out a short while ago saying she had somewhere to be. That meant there was not a single person around who could stop Dan U-ryeong.
“I’m only doing this much because it’s for you, Yeon.”
Dan U-ryeong shouted at the laborers.
“Everyone step back for a moment.”
The hired workers followed Dan U-ryeong’s order and filed out of the inn at once. After confirming no one remained inside, Dan U-ryeong pulled several black beads from his robes.
“Cover your ears.”
The laborers tilted their heads at his words.
“Unless you want to go deaf, cover your ears.”
At that, the workers hurriedly clamped both hands over their ears. Dan U-ryeong drew in a deep breath and let it out.
“Huu… Right. If I don’t like it, I can just remake the whole thing from scratch. A little annoying, but it can’t be helped.”
With that, Dan U-ryeong swung the hand holding the black beads toward the inn. The beads scattered through the air toward the building.
And then—
KWA-AAAAANG—!
With a tremendous explosion, the entire building was blown clean away.
Debris rained down in every direction with a series of heavy thuds, and a thick cloud of dust billowed upward before slowly settling. Looking at the completely collapsed structure, Dan U-ryeong wore a satisfied expression.
“Nice and clean.”