Two Drops and a Handshake
Even I knew precious little about Geom Bigak, once the frontrunner to become the next Master of Haomun. However many rumors I had spread about the succession struggle within Haomun, I had never managed to gather much.
But there was one thing I did know.
Seven years from now, Yeo Wol, Mistress of the Hwawollu, would crush Geom Bigak and take her seat as the next Matriarch of Haomun.
The history of the Jianghu is written by its victors, and so once she became Matriarch, information about Yeo Wol had flowed freely into my hands. Which was precisely what made her the right person to deal with.
"And what exactly do you intend to trade with me?"
Yeo Wol, her composure recovered, asked me.
With her veiled secrets laid so thoroughly bare, she must have decided it was worth hearing me out properly.
Everything was going according to plan.
"One moment."
I knew nothing about Geom Bigak — but that did not mean I had come empty-handed. I slipped a hand into my breast to draw out the weapon I did hold.
Just then—
"That's far enough."
The servant of Hwawollu — the one I could have sworn had escorted me in and left — was standing soundlessly at my back. The edge he held against my throat sent a chill down my spine.
I had wondered. And so it was.
It seemed the peerless master of Haomun, once called the shadow of its Matriarch — Soul-Chasing Life-Taking, Ma Sok — had been none other than a mere waiter of the Hwawollu.
"Your establishment's hospitality leaves something to be desired."
Feigning calm, I smiled and slowly withdrew my hand from my breast.
I wore composure like a mask, but inside, my stomach churned a little. Uncle Yeobaek had been the same, and now Soul-Chasing Life-Taking Ma Sok as well. I had completed the first stage of the Yakseon Heart Decision, yet I could not so much as match their smallest gesture.
Part of it was my still-shallow martial skill and lack of real combat experience; part of it was that the Jianghu was crawling with every manner of prodigy and eccentric.
"If you're that suspicious, then why don't you reach into my breast and take it out yourself?"
I spread my arms slightly, letting my robe fall open at the collar.
Ma Sok hesitated a moment, then slipped his hand into my robe. Presently he held two small glass vials, each no larger than a single joint of an index finger.
Inside each swirled a liquid of uncanny hue. Judging it some lethal poison, no doubt, Ma Sok fixed me with an even sharper gaze for a long moment.
"That is Empty Blue Stone Milk."
"…!"
The very instant the words left my mouth, the air in the room changed. Neither Yeo Wol nor Ma Sok was a dull one.
From Ma Sok especially, I felt a killing intent come surging out — sharper than the blade he had pressed to my throat.
Empty Blue Stone Milk is called the supreme elixir, or the peerless elixir. The important thing is that anything bearing the name supreme or peerless generally cannot be bought with money. Demand so utterly outstrips supply that no proper price can even form.
There were, perhaps, two ways to obtain what money could not buy: be born under a heaven-blessed star and stumble upon it yourself, or kill its owner and take it, silencing every last witness.
Before Ma Sok and Yeo Wol could make the second choice, I hurried on.
"You haven't been thinking of killing me, have you?"
A moment of silence.
"Of course not."
Yeo Wol answered with feigned composure, but she could not hide the gap that had opened between my question and her reply.
"Do you take us for such ruffians?"
I said nothing, only stared at her.
"Ahem."
Yeo Wol cleared her throat, embarrassed.
I decided to let it pass. I had come to make a deal, after all.
"Do not forget — as you well know, I am the second son of the Dancheon Clan."
That hollow title had become the sturdiest shield protecting me now. Not a soul in the Dancheon Clan knew I had come here — and how was she to prove otherwise?
"We are not so reckless as that."
At her words, Yeo Wol gave a small nod, and Ma Sok withdrew his blade.
However she pretended otherwise, Yeo Wol was surely running furious calculations through her head at this very moment. Swallow the Empty Blue Stone Milk, or make an enemy of the Dancheon Clan — which was gain, and which was loss.
So it fell to me to tip that scale ever so slightly.
"Here, hand those over."
I held out my hand to Ma Sok, and he blankly passed both vials back to me.
"Here are two drops of Empty Blue Stone Milk."
Each vial held a single drop.
I held one of them out to Yeo Wol.
"One is a gift."
As if to ask whether she had heard me right, Yeo Wol's veiled face drew close to mine.
As if in answer, I held out the remaining vial as well.
"And this last one, I wish to sell. Buy it yourself if you like — or sell it on to someone else and give me the money. Either suits me."
Either way, she walked away with a vial of Empty Blue Stone Milk. There was nothing in these terms for her to lose.
"Hm. How much do you want?"
Her throat had gone dry in that short span, it seemed; Yeo Wol asked with a little cough.
"A hundred thousand nyang in gold."
With that, I fell silent.
A hundred thousand nyang in gold was an enormous sum. But was it an unreasonable price for this deal? Not at all. Provided the transaction stayed confidential and safe, the names of more than a few people who would pay a hundred thousand nyang for the Empty Blue Stone Milk must have already flashed through her mind.
"Give me a moment to think."
"Take your time."
It was safe to say the outcome of her thinking was already decided.
Yeo Wol had two choices before her.
The first was to keep the gifted vial — a broker's fee, in effect — and merely mediate the sale of the second. She would obtain one vial at modest cost and incur a debt from some powerful figure; whoever the buyer, merely offering to sell them the Empty Blue Stone Milk was itself an act of bestowing favor.
The second was to take the gifted vial and purchase the other with her own money. Then she would hold two drops of the Empty Blue Stone Milk, and her grand design would grow wings.
Either of those options was plainly superior to killing Dancheon Myeong and making an enemy of the Dancheon Clan.
As they say, seeing the treasure stirs the heart — and her mind was tilting toward the second choice. The Empty Blue Stone Milk was far too coveted a thing to hand over to another.
The problem was that no matter that she was the Young Mistress of Haomun and mistress of the Hwawollu, she could not raise a hundred thousand nyang in gold on the spot. A hundred thousand nyang was simply that kind of money.
At that, Dancheon Myeong tossed her a line.
"If you're the buyer, I'd be willing to let it go for fifty thousand. Installments are fine too — twenty thousand down, then ten thousand a year over three years."
Those were, frankly, outrageous terms.
"In exchange, there'll be conditions, I take it?"
Every kindness comes with a reason. She had survived a den of schemes and trickery to rise to Young Mistress, and she knew this truth well.
"Naturally, there are a few conditions."
Yeo Wol nodded, as if to say, go on.
"First — the fact that I handed you the Empty Blue Stone Milk must be kept under the strictest secrecy."
Yeo Wol nodded.
"That much goes without saying. What else?"
In dealings like these, absolute discretion was iron law for Haomun. For her own sake, too, this matter had to stay buried.
"Second — when the chance arises in the future, help me with a few more affairs like this one."
"That too is only natural."
By affairs like this one I meant the sale of elixirs — if anything, a favor she might have begged of me herself.
"And finally."
At those words, Yeo Wol tensed. She believed this last condition would be my true purpose. What demand could be worth surrendering a drop of the Empty Blue Stone Milk? She could not even guess.
But at what followed, she felt strangely deflated.
"Someday, when the chance comes, grant me a single favor."
Before Yeo Wol could speak, Dancheon Myeong added quickly,
"If, in your judgment, the favor is worth fifty thousand nyang or more, you may feel free to refuse it."
Yeo Wol's head tilted. She simply could not understand.
"Why are you showing me such generosity?"
A question that could not help but follow.
"Did I not tell you? I believe you will seize the seat of Matriarch. Think of this as forging a connection in advance."
His certainty only bewildered her. As it stood, Yeo Wol was somewhat behind Geom Bigak in their contest.
"Well, even if it's empty talk, I'm grateful."
So Yeo Wol replied — but Dancheon Myeong looked utterly certain. Her instinct, honed through countless brushes with death, told her so.
I am certain Yeo Wol will become the Matriarch of Haomun. Had I not lived through that future myself?
With the power of two drops of the Empty Blue Stone Milk added to her arsenal, the Matriarch's seat would be hers for the taking. To bind the next Matriarch to me with a favor this modest — that alone made this a trade I could be more than satisfied with.
"And if any of this proves false... you understand, I trust?"
Yeo Wol asked, giving the vial of Empty Blue Stone Milk a little shake.
"Then this Ma Sok here will come for my life."
This time it was Ma Sok who looked startled. Soul-Chasing Life-Taking Ma Sok had only become famous after Yeo Wol ascended to Matriarch — he had never imagined I would know his actual name.
"You really are a fascinating, amusing man."
Yeo Wol laughed behind her veil.
"I hear that often."
Not now — back in my days as Myeong-gae.
"Ma Sok. Bring it here."
"Yes, my lady."
Ma Sok cupped his hands in a formal bow and vanished, reappearing before more than a few breaths had passed. That man was as uncannily elusive as Uncle Yeobaek.
"A draft for twenty thousand nyang from the All-Under-Heaven Money House. Laundered directly by Haomun — completely untraceable. You needn't worry."
"My thanks."
One last thing remained.
"Might I ask one more favor?"
"Ask away."
She nodded. I could feel her goodwill toward me.
"Get me some Blue Phosphor Liquid. About one do's worth — roughly eighteen liters — will do."
She accepted this request readily as well.
"Very well. Call that the interest on your thirty-thousand-nyang balance — I'll simply provide it."
She didn't ask why. Excellent negotiating form, that.
"My thanks."
The money was secured, and the Blue Phosphor Liquid arranged.
"I believe you and I could make fine partners."
Yeo Wol said so, extending her hand to me.
"I think so too."
"I look forward to working with you."
For a martial artist to offer a handshake rather than the cupped-fist salute was the same as saying, let us be friends. It was a mark of trust.
"And I with you."
Without hesitation, I clasped Yeo Wol's hand.
"Ma Sok."
"Yes, my lady."
"What do you make of him?"
A question with its object omitted — but Ma Sok understood her perfectly. And yet he could not answer easily.
"I... honestly don't know."
"It's the first time I've seen you — so certain about everything — say such a thing."
"So it is."
Yeo Wol and Ma Sok traded smiles like an older sister and her younger brother. With her veil removed, Yeo Wol's face was remarkably clear.
"But there is one thing I can state with certainty."
"What is it?"
"He looked my blade in the eye — all the way to its very tip."
At that, Yeo Wol's face registered surprise.
Soul-Chasing Life-Taking Ma Sok was Haomun's hidden blade. Had he not come to her side, Yeo Wol would never have dreamed of the Matriarch's seat in the first place. And this man had looked that blade — Ma Sok's blade — in the eye, to its very end.
Yeo Wol knew that only a handful within Haomun could manage such a thing.
"Is he a supreme master, then?"
Had the Dancheon Clan been secretly raising a monster all along?
But Ma Sok shook his head.
"He is not a supreme master. No — in truth, I am not sure of that either."
"To confuse you to this degree... how remarkable."
He was, in many ways, a remarkable man.
Her gaze drifted to the window, where Dancheon Myeong's back could be seen receding from the Hwawollu with a spring in his step.
"It seems things are about to get interesting."
For her, it was not an unpleasant feeling at all.