An Old Book and a New Disciple
Even after the Heavenslaying Demon Lord died, the war did not end.
That was only to be expected — the cultists did not cry out, "Ah! What more have I to live for!" and throw themselves into mass suicide the moment their leader fell.
Several sects of the Esoteric Cult went into hiding to preserve their line, and the campaigns to purge those who did not hide were still ongoing. The Jianghu, in other words, still harbored lingering dangers.
And so the Alliance's forces combed through the now-abandoned main compound from top to bottom. Gold, silver, and jewels became war funds for the Alliance. The bizarre talismans and ritual implements used in their sorcery were burned in the hands of high monks and Daoists of profound power.
And most importantly of all — the vast trove of scriptures, books, and secret manuals went to the Alliance's archive, where they were pored over and systematically dismantled by masters and scholars alike.
Jin Cheong-un, who had dealt with Esoteric Cultists more than anyone, was drafted into this work as well. No — conscripted into it.
The tyrannical landlord known as Alliance Leader Yeo had decided that rest was permitted only insofar as one hovered near death's door.
'I've forgotten the fine details, but.'
He remembered the broad strokes.
There was a strange sense of déjà vu. The Eight Desolations Formation of Palhwangmu, riddled though it was with questions — the more he looked at it, the more something gnawed at him.
'It seems connected to the Esoteric Cult's leader, somehow.'
Which meant he needed to confirm it.
Granted, these were the records of an evil sect that had plunged the Jianghu into chaos — but what kind of ordinary relationship did he have with the Alliance Leader? The man would hand them over gladly. Surely.
"Denied."
Hm. Apparently not.
"Just what kind of absurd request is this?"
Had this man lost his mind? Shamelessness had its limits. He was an outsider now — what business did he have asking for anything? Especially something connected to the Esoteric Cult?
"You clearly said back then that you would repay my service however I wished."
"Denied."
"I'll look through it quietly and return it in perfect condition."
"I said denied."
"Hmm. I do happen to know a few of the Alliance's and the Alliance Leader's little secrets, you see…"
"You dare blackmail the Alliance Leader? You, of all people?"
Yeo Woon-baek glared at Jin Cheong-un with an incredulous expression — then stopped short. The face he'd assumed was speaking half in jest was unsettlingly earnest.
"You do know me, don't you."
"……"
Yeo Woon-baek let out a short breath.
"Tell me what you have in mind."
"Do you remember the deepest chamber of the main compound's underground vault?"
"The place hidden behind formations and mechanisms."
The Esoteric Cult's archive — its innermost heart. A chamber whose approach alone took a full day, where monstrous demonic manuals were kept alongside not merely the scriptures of the Three Teachings — Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist — but their orthodox martial arts as well.
None of that was strange in itself. Even heterodox paths collected knowledge when knowledge was precious, and books were books; the Esoteric Cult in particular had been fanatically devoted to accumulating them.
"There was one old tome there, wrapped in oiled paper and silk. The conclusion at the time was that it originated from beyond the northern frontier."
"Did such a thing exist?"
Yeo Woon-baek looked puzzled for a moment, then at last wore an expression of pure disbelief.
"Surely you don't mean that miscellany?"
"Yes. As I recall, it was consigned to the miscellany shelf."
A book that read as profound at a glance, yet was stuffed to bursting with wild leaps of logic and glaring holes. They had picked it apart searching for some hidden secret, only to conclude it was third-rate nonsense.
"Then there should be no issue with releasing it."
"What is your reason?"
"……"
Here it comes.
A grim light flickered through Jin Cheong-un's eyes. There was no use spinning excuses — this man was no soft touch, and there was no need to try.
"It appears to be connected to my school."
"……!"
"The details I haven't unraveled yet either. It's still conjecture, and unconfirmed at that, so I can't explain further. That's precisely why I need to check — hence this request."
Yeo Woon-baek studied him in silence. Then, slowly, the words that left his mouth were heavier than any he had spoken that morning.
"Are you certain it is not something unrighteous?"
Jin Cheong-un nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"Yes."
"Hmm."
Yeo Woon-baek stroked his beard, murmuring low in thought. Not until dawn had broken and the thick mountain mist begun to thin did he finally speak.
"Even so, it cannot be done."
"Tsk."
Jin Cheong-un clicked his tongue.
"Naturally, a mere miscellany is mine to dispose of as I please, and no one would make an issue of it. But an Alliance Leader cannot bend principle and hand documents to an outsider."
"……"
"No matter that you are the Alliance's hidden hero. No matter that no one here thinks of you as an outsider."
So it really is a no. Then why did he hold my hand back there? Getting a man's hopes up, honestly.
But then —
"However, if the Alliance happened to be in the process of disposing of the miscellany shelf's contents, and one volume slipped out along the way — well, that would be beyond even the Alliance Leader's ability to prevent, wouldn't it."
Huh?
Oh. Don't tell me—
"Alliance Leader, truly you are a man of loyalty. Magnificent. Generous beyond measure."
"Ahem! I haven't the faintest idea what you're going on about."
"Your face is positively glowing today, if I may say. While we're at it, perhaps a remar—"
"Cheong-un."
"Yes."
"Shut it."
"……"
Yeo Woon-baek sighed and set his staff atop Jin Cheong-un's head.
"Finding someone who won't cause complications will take doing, I suppose. Give me a few days."
"Yes."
"Shameless wretch."
Yeo Woon-baek trudged down the mountain.
"Sedan bearers — do not stray far."
Down the mountain path, far below, Ha Woon-seong was already waiting.
Jin Cheong-un watched the back of the descending old man for a moment, then called out once more.
"Alliance Leader."
"Hm?"
"I'm living well, so there's no need to worry about me."
Yeo Woon-baek glanced back up at him. Perhaps it was the mist that had not yet fully burned away — but all at once, memories a decade and more old flickered past his eyes like a revolving lantern.
The middle of a battlefield. Himself, lamenting a station no better than a scarecrow's. And the boy he had met there.
He squeezed his eyes shut, opened them, and turned sharply on his heel.
"The Alliance Leader has more work than he can count. When would I ever find time to worry about the likes of you?"
"Heheh."
"May your retirement be full of trials, and may everything you touch go wrong."
"What kind of curse is that?"
Watching his old subordinate's face sour on the spot, Yeo Woon-baek let out a rolling laugh.
Yeo Woon-baek and Ha Woon-seong walked on at a leisurely pace. Only when Yinghua Village had slipped from view did Ha Woon-seong speak, his tone grave.
"You didn't tell him."
Yeo Woon-baek glanced back at him.
"Tell him what?"
"You brought me along in the first place not just for the opening ceremony, but to discuss that matter. Did you not?"
Beneath his staff, Yeo Woon-baek's gaze sank.
"And how do you know I didn't?"
"Because if I had heard it, I would not have held my peace."
"Heh. When did the White Tiger of the Martial Alliance turn into a fox?"
Ha Woon-seong gave an awkward smile. But soon his expression turned serious.
"Will you be all right? If Boss Jin learns of it later, he may fly into a terrible rage."
"……"
"The incidents the White Tiger Unit encountered while pursuing the Esoteric Cult's remnants recently — it's only my feeling, but the methods were nearly identical to those of the people Boss Jin once pursued—"
"That will be quite enough."
Ha Woon-seong's mouth snapped shut at a voice colder than anything ever shown in Yinghua Village.
"It is suspicion, nothing more. Nothing is confirmed."
"……My apologies. I overstepped."
"Nothing to apologize for."
Yeo Woon-baek turned abruptly. His eyes were fixed toward Yinghua Village.
"That man has only just begun to live like a human being. I held my tongue because I feared dragging him back into the Jianghu for nothing."
"Yes."
"Besides — Cheong-un was a master in the old days, I grant you, but now? At a mere first-rate level, with internal energy that barely passes for late-stage mastery, he's small fry. What use would anyone have for him? Hahaha."
Ha Woon-seong smiled thinly.
'First-rate, he says.'
He remembered the missions a not-yet-twenty Jin Cheong-un had once handled. A dragon that briefly alights on the ground does not become a snake — Ha Woon-seong knew it, and so did Yeo Woon-baek.
"The Jianghu is peaceful again, at long last. Let's hurry back and get some work done."
"At once, sir."
"Dawdle, and the Grand Quartermaster may stage a mutiny. Move along."
"Yes."
Just then —
The ground rumbled. Looking ahead, they saw a column of men hauling carts toward them along the road from the opposite direction.
Yeo Woon-baek stepped to the side of the road to let them pass.
'An escort agency?'
Escort guards bound for Yinghua Village? His gaze drifted strangely toward them, and he watched in silence until Ha Woon-seong carefully asked, "Alliance Leader?"
"Hm. Nothing. Let's go."
Whoosh!
The two men vanished, leaving only a trail of wind behind.
Day two of the opening ceremony.
Jin Cheong-un's eyes flashed.
"You leeching parasite guests."
His patience had finally reached its limit.
"Chosam."
Chosam scrambled over.
"Yes, Master of the Hall."
"If I throw all of them out, that'd be a disaster, right? They've had a full day and night of partying — why are they still here?"
Every one of them is money walking!
"Well… a proper feast is supposed to be at its wildest on the first day, wind down from the second, and wrap up on the third. Today is only the second day, so…"
The opening ceremony itself dragging on for two days was annoying enough, and once you counted the cleanup, it was effectively three. It was all convention and custom — but in a rural backwater like this, honoring such things mattered, apparently.
"Phew. Fine. At least they're coming less than yesterday."
Jin Cheong-un flopped down and beckoned to Chosam.
"Tell the Black Tiger Hall boys to get some rest. But first, sit here a moment."
"Yes? Ah — yes."
Chosam shuffled over and knelt.
"You can sit comfortably, you know."
"Ah, yes sir."
Jin Cheong-un wiped a cup clean with his sleeve and set it down in front of Chosam, then held out the bottle. Chosam froze, flustered and utterly at a loss.
"Take the cup in your hand. There you go. No need to bow your head like that, though."
"Yes sir."
"Now you pour. When you pour, don't fill it to the brim — about seven-tenths. Good. Hold it with one hand so your sleeve doesn't drag in it. Yes, just like that."
"Ah — yes sir."
Having had pouring etiquette drilled into him on the spot, Chosam tipped the wine back in slow, careful swallows.
"……!"
His face instantly puckered.
Jin Cheong-un grinned.
"Tastes awful, doesn't it?"
"Yes? No."
"Hm?"
"It's delicious. Ohh!"
Ah. So THAT was his smiling face?
"Could I… perhaps have another cup?"
"Sure, sure, drink up."
A blossom of a smile spread wide across Chosam's face.
"Thank you. Back then, I mean."
"Don't mention it. I barely did anything."
"How have things been lately?"
Chosam scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Honestly, the Youth Society and the Janggeum Hall boys have been getting a bit rowdy lately."
"The black-market folk from other regions, you mean?"
"Yes. And some of the older brothers who couldn't adapt… well, some of the hall members have run off to other territories, so the mood's been a bit unsettled too."
"Hm."
They'd tried to reform them, but you couldn't save everyone.
"Just draw up a list."
"A list of what, sir?"
"Of the ones we need to go pick up."
Ah. So we're bringing them IN, not sending them off.
Chosam broke into a cold sweat, then ventured a careful question.
"Master of the Hall."
"Yes?"
"The alliance business is finished now. What are we supposed to do going forward?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"…Sir?"
"That's for you lot to figure out."
Jin Cheong-un answered dismissively.
"The ones who stayed seem to have mended their ways, so keep order in the neighborhood, do some cleaning, train your martial arts, that sort of thing. Collect protection fees in moderation too."
"Protection fees, sir?"
"Keep the merchants safe and they'll hand it over voluntarily. And open a few legitimate businesses in the back alleys. You all have to eat too, don't you?"
Are we really allowed to do this?
Chosam bowed his head, looking slightly unsure of himself.
"And you? Going to keep running the Black Tiger Hall?"
"Ah, well, actually…"
Chosam opened his mouth several times as if he had something to say, but in the end only managed an awkward smile.
"…Yes, well. I suppose I must. Haha."
"Ah. Shame, then."
"…Sir?"
"I was thinking of taking you on as a disciple."
"……!"
THUNK!
Chosam jerked back in shock. He was such a hulking specimen that the entire table lurched with him.
"Your — your disciple?"
"That's right. Well, if you'd rather not…"
"N-no! The truth is I've wanted to be your disciple all along! It's just…"
Watching him stammer, Jin Cheong-un chuckled.
"Take the cup."
"Yes? Ah — yes."
The wine filled the cup slowly.
"I understand why you hesitated. But I've taken quite a liking to you. You're a better man than you give yourself credit for."
"……!"
"They say the bond of master and disciple hinges not only on the master's will, but on the disciple's as well. I'm willing — so the choice is yours. If you'll do it, drain the cup. If not, just set it down."
"Do you truly… mean that?"
"I do."
Moisture welled at the corners of Chosam's eyes, then spilled down in fat drops. Seeing that, Jin Cheong-un thought, he really is still just a kid.
Chosam drained the cup without a moment's hesitation, and Jin Cheong-un spoke.
"Looking forward to working with you, disciple."
"…YES SIR!"
Just then —
Jeong So-ryong came looking for Jin Cheong-un.
"Master, you should come outside and see."
"Hm? Why? More visitors?"
"Not guests, exactly. Something has arrived."
"……?"
Tilting his head, Jin Cheong-un went out — and found himself presented, by a cluster of escort guards, with a baffling pile of gifts as tall as his arm.
'Who sent these?'