The Black King Sect
Yeo Mong was the leader of the Black King Sect.
The Black King Sect was an underworld faction operating in Jiangxi Province. Originally it had been nothing more than a third-rate gang of thugs.
Yet thanks to Yeo Mong’s exceptional management skills and personal strength, they had barely secured a foothold in the black path and established a real presence in Jiangxi.
Even with the mighty Ju Family—the undisputed greatest clan in the province—standing like an immovable mountain, the Black King Sect had grown to its current size only because of Yeo Mong and her chief steward Gaepyeong, the man they called her brain.
After Woo-jin left, Yeo Mong immediately began investigating him.
The results now lay on the small slip of paper before her.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She drummed her fingers on the desk, lost in thought, then read the letter’s contents once more.
The Sword Sovereign’s Youngest
There was nothing particularly noteworthy. Nothing beyond the obvious facts that anyone could learn, save for the special status of his identity.
She needed something deeper than surface information. But that came with its own problem.
This was the heavenly Ju Family. Investigating the youngest young master of the Ju Family meant staking not only her own life but the entire fate of the Black King Sect.
How did he know?
Moreover, she was curious how that little young master had learned about her and her brother’s affairs. No—how much more he might know.
In the end, the answer was clear.
Not only for her brother’s sake, but for the Black King Sect to survive, they had to join hands with Woo-jin. She believed it was the only path that would let them remain in Jiangxi Province.
There’s no choice. For now, I have no option but to trust him.
In the black path, where betrayal and counter-betrayal were everyday occurrences, Yeo Mong had survived to this position precisely because she understood that world. This time would be no different.
She would cooperate just enough, take what she could get, and then cleanly wash her hands of the matter.
Knock, knock.
At that moment someone rapped on the door. The expected guest seemed to have arrived.
“Leader, that arrogant bastard from the Ju Family… I mean, whatever he’s called. Anyway, a guest from the Ju Family is here.”
“…Ha.”
Yeo Mong pressed a hand to her forehead at her subordinate’s words.
“Show him in.”
“Yes.”
The voice was thick with displeasure. He was clearly doing it on purpose.
Soon the door opened and Woo-jin stepped inside.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
Yeo Mong rose from her seat and offered it to me. She was still wearing the same stealth outfit from our last meeting. Because it concealed everything except her eyes, it was impossible to read her expression.
Besides her, another man stood inside the room. It had to be Gaepyeong, the so-called brain of the Black King Sect and its chief steward.
“Cut down the man waiting outside.”
At my words Yeo Mong gave a small laugh.
“He carries quite a grudge against the Ju Family. Please understand.”
“Let’s set trivial matters aside.”
I sat down.
It would be a waste to mobilize them for all of Jiangxi, but at least within Nanchang the Black King Sect was the foremost underworld faction. The Ju Family had never seen them cross the line, so they had watched the group with a measure of tolerance. The Black King Sect knew how to observe a proper degree of restraint.
And that was exactly why I had come to them.
The moment I sat, I pulled something from my robe and tossed it onto the table. It was a fragment from the carriage I had taken from the black path.
“Straight to the point.”
We were not yet close enough to waste time on pleasantries.
“What is this?”
Yeo Mong showed immediate interest.
“Something I need you to investigate.”
“Me?”
“Several merchant groups are financially entangled with both the Zhushan Archipelago and the Ju Family. One of them is the Yu Merchant Group from my mother’s side. In any case, I want you to comb through every one of those groups and find who is operating carriages built with materials like this.”
“Hm. If that’s all, do you truly need us?”
Yeo Mong set the fragment down with a disappointed look. The reaction made me frown despite myself.
“I’d prefer you simply do it without questions. I wouldn’t call on you for anything unimportant.”
“Let’s speak plainly. Isn’t this purely a test to see what we’re capable of?”
Her words struck home. I was genuinely surprised. How did she know?
“You could have handled it yourself, could you not? This level of work is hardly worthy of being called a task.”
She was right. It seemed I had underestimated the Black King Sect.
“I need to gauge your level as well.”
“Mm… that is true.”
Yeo Mong accepted my words without resistance.
“What is the deadline?”
“As quickly as possible.”
Yeo Mong nodded.
I fixed my gaze on Gaepyeong, who stood motionless behind her. He was the sole brain of the Black King Sect—the man responsible for every aspect of their livelihood and business operations.
So the reason the Black King Sect is so skilled at business is entirely because of him.
The calculation was obvious. Yeo Mong moved with decisive action while Gaepyeong orchestrated everything strategically. Geungnakru must have been his creation as well. In short, Gaepyeong was a man born with innate business talent.
“Huh. Why are you staring at me like that?”
Gaepyeong asked bluntly, clearly uncomfortable under my gaze.
“You’re the one managing the Black King Sect’s household, correct?”
“Household? Please, call me chief steward.”
Gaepyeong grumbled with a sour expression.
“Chief steward, household manager—it’s all the same. In any case, I hear Geungnakru is your work?”
“Yes. What of it?”
As Gaepyeong continued to grumble, Muyoung’s face twisted and he stepped forward.
“You are being insolent toward the young master. Show proper respect.”
Gaepyeong let out an even more crooked sigh.
“What is this, are we playing house now?”
“Steward, it would be wise to refrain from rudeness toward the young master.”
Only after Yeo Mong rebuked him did Gaepyeong finally fall silent.
“Anyway. What exactly are you selling at Geungnakru?”
“A man who visited so often suddenly asking the obvious… We sell liquor and laughter. We also sell food and rooms.”
In other words, they ran the place as an inn, tavern, and gisaeng house all at once. Muyoung’s eyebrows twitched again at the man’s curt tone.
Before he could erupt, I quickly continued.
“Use that location as the main base to gather information. Any kind of information—gather everything. From trivial local rumors to major martial world news. Even if it’s mere hearsay, buy it even if you have to pay.”
“Pardon? What kind of information are we supposed to gather? And in the first place, does that even make for a viable business?”
Gaepyeong frowned openly and voiced his complaints.
Geungnakru was fundamentally a gisaeng house that sold alcohol and laughter. What useful information could possibly come from such a place to justify this madness?
“It works. Have them report everything they hear, see, and sense, no matter what it is. Station people inside Geungnakru to record it all consistently.”
“Why go to such lengths?”
At Gaepyeong’s grumbling I let out a small sigh. These people still did not understand the value of information—even though they had already used Geungnakru to obtain information on the Ju Family.
I leaned forward and spoke in a low, persuasive tone.
“Think carefully. Geungnakru sits at the northwest edge of Nanchang. Poyang Lake is right there. Idlers and wanderers from every direction come to enjoy its famous scenery. Correct?”
“Yes. The location is excellent, which is why we bought that worthless inn at a high price and turned it into Geungnakru.”
“They like to drink, to talk, and in the end to embrace a woman. It’s practically a habit.”
“Ah, like you, young master?”
“……”
This bastard. For a moment I nearly threw a punch. Gaepyeong really seemed to be the type that invited fists.
“Men drunk on liquor, lost in the mood while holding women, sometimes let careless words slip.”
I had done it myself. Having experienced it, I understood perfectly.
“Yes, yes, of course. But you also know that most of it is useless nonsense, don’t you?”
Gaepyeong openly mocked my explanation.
“What if there were people whose job was to sift through that nonsense and pick out the useful parts?”
“To extract the truly valuable information from among it?”
“Of course. And then we would need separate personnel to verify whether that information is genuine.”
At those words Gaepyeong’s expression froze solid.
“Buy information cheaply… and then turn around and…”
“Sell it. To those who need it.”
Information could generate enormous wealth. Whether one sought power or strength, one needed corresponding information to obtain anything. It was an era in which only those who stayed ahead could grasp everything.
Merchant groups, martial families, and sects all maintained their own independent intelligence networks for that very reason.
Look at the Beggars’ Sect. With more than a hundred thousand beggars, they handled every piece of information across the Central Plains. The idea that they were simply chivalrous beggars was laughable. Anyone with sense already knew they plotted far worse things behind the scenes.
Of course, one might wonder what use that was now, but once information power began to grow, its scale could no longer be restrained. If properly controlled, it would become a mighty weapon no one else could obtain.
Information could become money, but it could also become a lethal blade.
“Wow… damn.”
Gaepyeong, who had been thinking in silence, slowly flushed with excitement. He looked at me with bright eyes and burst out.
“The more I hear, the more it sounds like this could actually make money. No—we could rake in a fortune, couldn’t we?”
……
This idiot from the black path seemed to see nothing but money. The real point was controlling information no one else could obtain, yet all he saw was profit.
Well, it didn’t matter. We would take the money and the information of the Central Plains. If we could swallow both, all the better.
“Yes. Keep that in mind and draw up a business plan. The starting point must be Geungnakru.”
“I will prepare a detailed proposal.”
Yeo Mong bowed her head respectfully.
“Then we’re finished here?”
I rose from my seat.
“Young Master Ju.”
Yeo Mong called out urgently.
“What is it?”
“My brother… where is he?”
“Ah, right. I hadn’t told you.”
Yeo Gwak—Yeo Mong’s brother. I knew exactly where he was.
“Don’t worry about him for now. He is eating well and resting comfortably. I will inform you when the time is right.”
It was not yet the right moment. Rather, staying where he was would benefit both Yeo Gwak and Yeo Mong.
“If you could just tell me the location…”
“No. If you search clumsily, he may run away.”
……
Yeo Mong bit her lip hard.
“Is he alive?”
Her voice trembled. The hand holding the paper crumpled it tightly.
“He is alive. Do not worry. He is completely safe right now.”
I could not hand that information over easily. Not until the Black King Sect fully submitted to my words would I reveal Yeo Gwak’s location.
“One more thing. Gather every usable man you have.”
“How many men are we talking about?”
“How many can you mobilize?”
“If we recall everyone from external operations, we can gather roughly two hundred.”
“Two hundred…”
It was tight, but still a usable number.
“May I ask what you intend to use them for?”
At Yeo Mong’s question I gave a faint smile and answered.
Secretly from the family. Secretly from my father. In a place beyond anyone’s gaze, I would create my own force.
Not men who followed the righteous path of the white way, but savage hunting dogs that would tear apart anything without hesitation the moment an order was given.
The foundation, of course, would be the Black King Sect.
At the word “war” Yeo Mong’s complexion stiffened, yet she eventually nodded. She too was, after all, a child of the black path. To survive and to profit, one sometimes had to prostrate oneself before the strong and climb onto their backs.
Therefore this was not a relationship built on mutual trust, but a temporary alliance hastily formed for differing goals.
I met Yeo Mong’s eyes. She smiled. I smiled in return.
In the end, I am the one holding the leash.
They were the eyes of a beast that would soon devour everything in its path.