Smoke Split by Iron
Moonlight and starlight.
Beneath them—
From every direction, the lights of high pleasure towers poured down in cascades.
And beneath those—
Pale, billowing smoke rose from the manor, thick as fog, holding within it hues of red and yellow, blue and white.
Through that haze, a line was drawn—
A single, clean horizontal stroke.
Like black ink laid across blank paper, one swing parted the multicolored smoke that had bloomed in the empty air.
And then it continued.
The iron rod was recovered from the cut; the planted foot shifted, and a thrust followed without pause.
Again.
Cutting, thrusting, spinning, changing the position of the arm that held the rod, sending the whole body that bore that arm through every direction, twisting even the angles of fingertips and toes through dozens of variations—
Gwak Yeon unfolded his martial art.
Sometimes he tore the mist apart along the line of impact. Sometimes he swallowed it where it vanished. Sometimes he spat it out where it surged. Sometimes he scattered it to all eight directions—
Gwak Yeon swung the iron rod.
How long had it been?
By the time the shredded scraps of smoke fluttered up into the night sky like heat haze and dispersed, a nod came.
At the single word from the blacksmith who had been watching intently with arms crossed, Gwak Yeon finally turned his head.
"……That's not swordsmanship."
"It's a rod."
"That's not what I mean. Even in the cutting and swinging, there's a little spare room left at the wrist. I can see the branching points where an axe, a blade, or a staff would have felt just as natural. The lower body looks like basic footwork at a glance, yet it moves differently every time."
"You have a good eye."
"That big cut you made earlier while retreating—even if you'd been holding a dagger at the end of that hand, it wouldn't have looked strange at all. Flows like water. So this is the Manhyeong Swordplay of the Seoho Gwak Family that I've only heard about."
The blacksmith muttered with arms still folded. After a moment's thought, he looked up at Gwak Yeon and thumped his own chest with a rough hand.
"……Ha Mu-won."
Even at the belated introduction, Gwak Yeon answered without complaint.
"I am Gwak Yeon."
"I know that. But overall, you look quite different from the rumors I've heard."
"Brother."
This time the man who had come down in front of the pavilion spoke, looking at the blacksmith Ha Mu-won, who tilted his head.
"Rumors sometimes turn a perfectly sound man into a fool, do they not?"
"But kneeling to Ma Gwan-wol a few months ago wasn't just empty rumor. The one who told me that was……"
"That black-path man, Ma Gwan-wol."
Gwak Yeon cut into the Ha brothers' conversation.
"Have you seen him since?"
"……!"
"……!"
At those meaningful words, the Ha brothers let out small gasps and looked at each other. One of them turned back to Gwak Yeon.
"I am Ha Baek-gyeong."
A man with the air of a scholar had stepped out before the pavilion. Fixing his gaze on the nodding Gwak Yeon, he murmured as if to himself.
"This is why I love the jianghu. Uncovering the true faces of those hidden behind the fog of rumor is always a pleasure."
"This fellow even passed the provincial exams."
"Haha. For all that, I never made it through the metropolitan exams, so what of it?"
"That's not because of your ability—"
"Ah, enough of that."
Ha Baek-gyeong waved off Ha Mu-won's praise. Gwak Yeon looked slightly surprised.
……To meet a Geoin in a place like this.
This was rather rare. He knew full well how difficult it was to earn the title of Geoin—one who had passed the provincial civil service examinations held only once every three years.
"It's all in the past."
Even as he said so, Ha Baek-gyeong could not hide the pride on his face. Changing the subject, he addressed Gwak Yeon.
"I write."
"Write?"
"Stories of chivalrous heroes. Many in the world speak of xia, yet few truly enact righteousness with their own hands that is worthy of respect. I wish to write tales that might serve as a guide for this jianghu."
"A fine endeavor."
Ha Baek-gyeong looked a touch surprised at the reply, but in truth Gwak Yeon had already caught the thick scent of ink drifting from the pavilion the moment he arrived.
"My writing must contain true heroes. Young Master Gwak, I shall watch the chivalry your brother expresses through weapons."
"Ah. Right."
Ha Mu-won, who had been listening quietly, hastily asked Gwak Yeon at the word "weapons."
"Do you have any preference in arms?"
"Something that can take rough handling, and gets better the more you grow used to it."
"I like simple."
He laughed heartily, then sank into thought for a moment. Before long he looked at Gwak Yeon again and spoke in a frank tone.
"Come back in ten days."
His eyes blazed with creative fire.
"I'll make you a magnificent unique weapon."
Step.
Step.
Winding through alley after alley that led toward the night-forge manor, Gwak Yeon emerged once more into Hangzhou's pleasure quarter.
"Strange ones."
A peculiar smile rose on his face as he was swallowed by the thronging crowds on the main street.
What about the price?
We'll see as we go.
A eccentric blacksmith who had not even asked for payment.
Ha Mu-won.
Calloused, rough hands and nails stained with iron rust. The hands of a true master, shaped by gripping iron and hammer from dawn to dusk.
And that was not all.
Ha Baek-gyeong.
A Geoin, of all things. A eccentric scholar whose middle fingertip had clearly bent from years of gripping a brush—something that had leaped straight to the eye.
Seeing the descendants who seemed each to have inherited, in different forms, the craftsman's spirit of an old friend from his previous life left him with a strange feeling.
So at last I receive the unique weapon you once sang about.
A complicated expression crossed Gwak Yeon's face as he thought of their grandfather. It was not simple nostalgia alone.
Just like this—
There would surely be other chances to meet again the ties he had formed in his past life, leaping across a span of eighty years.
There are a few I'm curious about.
As he considered the connections from his previous life that might even now be rooted somewhere across the jianghu—
A small shadow flashed past beside his own, cast on the ground.
Heh.
Glancing up at Hangzhou's night sky, he smiled and slipped a hand into his robes.
By the way, before I go, may I buy a net?
A net?
Something suitable for hunting a small bird.
Recalling the last exchange before leaving the night-forge manor, he quickened his steps toward somewhere off the main road.
Flutter-flutter.
Then he felt it faintly—the urgent beating of wings, lower than before.
……Getting impatient?
Thinking that it had never followed this closely until recently, Gwak Yeon deliberately began to run as if in a hurry.
Behind a rather large pleasure house.
Past a kitchen where smoke drifted lazily from a window.
Beside a warehouse crowded with carts of wine casks.
Vaulting a wall.
He launched himself from alley to alley.
In the deep darkness where the shadows of buildings to either side lay thick—
As a black shape carefully flapped after the figure of Gwak Yeon, who seemed to have vanished beyond it—
Whoosh—!
"Looking for me?"
"Craaawk—!"
In that instant a net bloomed in the empty air.
Flutter! Flutter!
Inside the net that had already fallen to the ground was a bird thrashing its wings noisily.
Grinning, Gwak Yeon approached the creature.
"Craaawk—! Craaawk—!"
He pulled it free of the net and gripped its neck with both hands.
It was so strong that a few thrashing twists of its wings and body threatened to tear free even the grip of a vampire.
……One look and it's a spiritual beast.
He could tell at once.
It was large, closer to a falcon than a crow; the cry it had been using to imitate a crow since before was strangely luminous; and the sheen of its glossy feathers was anything but ordinary.
"A spiritual beast? Hmm. To check for an inner core, I'd have to kill it, wouldn't I."
At the deliberately dropped words, the creature's eyes suddenly widened like lanterns and its beak began to work nonstop.
"Nooo! Don't kill me! I'm pitiful!"
"Oh?"
Gwak Yeon was mildly surprised at a spiritual beast that spat human speech like a myna. Hiding the surprise, he continued with unruffled calm.
"A spiritual beast, was it? Well, the luster of the feathers is radiant, and the bearing is as mysterious as a phoenix—I knew you weren't any ordinary bird."
"Really—?! Truly—?!"
"I can tell at a glance. You're no crow or myna, are you? Something far more special than that?"
"I'm Heoksijo! Heoksijo!"
Even in this situation the creature seemed delighted by the praise. Barely holding back a laugh, Gwak Yeon finally asked what he wanted to know.
"Good. Heoksijo—why have you been following me?"
"I-I didn't! I didn't!"
"Who sent you."
"I don't know! I'm just an ordinary crow!"
"Is it a secret?"
"Big trouble! Big trouble!"
"Don't worry. Whatever you tell me, I'll keep it secret."
"Craaawk—! Craaawk—!"
It went back to pretending to be a crow, dodging answers with desperate energy.
"Fine, then never mind that."
But Gwak Yeon was unperturbed.
In a situation like this, he had a confession technique more effective than any interrogation he had ever tested on countless black-path thugs.
"By the way, your eyes are truly beautiful. They shine like jewels."
"Really—♬ Truly—♬?"
Even now the creature turned its head in pleasure. Gwak Yeon met its eyes.
His pupils flushed red.
Holding the gaze of the beak-twitching creature, he manifested a vampire's strange ability.
One, two, three, four, five……
Before long Heoksijo's eyes went slack. Looking at the creature, Gwak Yeon began his questions again.
"You—were you sent by the Jusan Baek Family?"
"Yes!"
"Baek Jung-hyeok?"
"Yes!"
Having heard the answers, he glanced up at the night sky.
A bright white moon hung full.
Before that moon sank completely beyond the buildings—
"Good. Then tell me everything you know about what he's plotting right now for the duel……"
He meant to uncover Baek Jung-hyeok's schemes.
Already the moon had tilted toward the far side of the sky—dawn.
One of the warriors guarding the main gate of the Seoho Gwak Family manor suddenly cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
"What."
He guided the other warrior's gaze with his chin.
Step.
Step.
Far off, the second young master could be seen returning late.
Nod.
Exchanging a look and a nod, one of the warriors tapped the gate with the tip of his spear. Something bustled into motion on the inside.
"He's here, he's here!"
The gate burst open.
Those who had been gathered around a brazier with a fire going inside came out one by one.
"Young Master! You're only just arriving?"
"Have you eaten?"
"These are the dumplings we made earlier. You must be hungry—please eat before you sleep."
The kitchen hands, the maidservants, and his escort warrior Cheon Gang had all been waiting for Gwak Yeon, who had returned at dawn.
"……None of you slept?"
Gwak Yeon wore a puzzled look. Toward him, Cheon Gang heaved a frustrated sigh and raised his voice.
"How could we sleep not knowing what danger Young Master might have faced outside!"
"It wasn't particularly dangerous."
"By the way, how did you shake me off again today? I'm supposed to be your escort warrior—if you keep doing this every time, I won't have the face to draw my monthly pay."
"Haha. I'll be careful next time."
Worry lit the eyes of those who had drawn near.
Not long ago, rumors that Gwak Yeon had fought several of Hangzhou's black-path men without hiding his identity had reached even here.
"Anyway, please have some of this. This fellow says he stayed up late making them because he wanted to give them to Young Master."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy them."
"We've drawn a bath, so please wash and rest, Young Master. We changed the incense in your quarters this time—I hope it helps the fatigue leave you quickly."
"Thank you. You've worked hard as well."
"Not at all."
"But everyone—from now on, you don't need to wait up this late. I'm grateful, but it makes me feel bad."
"If you feel bad, Young Master, just speak to those above and raise our monthly pay! Kahaha!"
With the others shooting Cheon Gang looks of mild reproach as he laughed heartily, Gwak Yeon headed toward his quarters deep in the manor.
Step, step, step……
He felt that something had changed.
Across the vast manor grounds, among the many halls, places where bright light spilled from the windows here and there could be seen.
Places that, at this hour, would originally have been dark.
Which meant—
Could it be…… they've been waiting for me to return?
People who lit bright lamps and waited for Gwak Yeon to come home had begun to appear.
Not only the way they looked at him, but the very attitude with which they treated him had begun to change in some of them.
Little by little—
But it was not only they who had changed.
Chirp-chirp-chirp—!
The next day.
At this point, with less than half a month left until the duel with Baek Jung-hyeok—
"……Elder Brother."
Gwak Ho-shin sought out Gwak Yeon.
"Will you…… spar with me?"
"Spar?"
"……Yes."
"Good. Let's go."
A frigid expression and clenched teeth. To others it looked like a ferocious resolve for revenge after his previous defeat, but Gwak Yeon could tell that the boy's whole body was trembling under an enormous weight of pressure.
The desire to be of even some small help to Gwak Yeon before the fight with Baek Jung-hyeok of the Jusan Baek Family weighed far heavier on him than the burden itself.
And—
Those who wished to aid him ahead of a clan-level contest were not limited to Gwak Ho-shin alone.
"Young Master. This is something I sometimes prepare for the Family Head…… I'm giving it to you in secret. Please take heart."
The clan's head cook.
Having looked favorably on Gwak Yeon ever since he had begun eating the man's food with real appetite some time ago, the cook prepared a nourishing dish for him ahead of the match.
"Young Master. Would it be all right if I looked over your form for the first time in a while?"
The hall master of Biryongdang, who had been his childhood martial arts teacher—Wi Jong-geuk—also appeared out of nowhere, seeking to instruct him.
And that was not all.
"Young Master. You must have expenses these days, no?"
Even people who had been complete strangers until now approached and quietly filled his money pouch, trying to build a connection.
And so—
One day, two days, three days……
Those who wished to help Gwak Yeon as he bore the family's name began to increase little by little.
Which meant that this duel was of tremendous importance not only to Gwak Yeon personally, but at the level of the entire clan.
"Start packing your things."
A few days before departure for the site of the duel.
"By the way…… is it going well?"
Even Family Head Gwak Seo-ryong, who until now had remained indifferent, casually brought it up—that was how far things had come.
Flutter!
A messenger pigeon flew in through a window and settled on a perch. The person who untied the note from its leg dropped the slip into a basket he was holding and shouted.
"Here—one for Gwak Seo-ryong!"
This time someone who had untied a note from a pigeon that flew in through the opposite window raised his voice.
"Here—one for Baek Jung-hyeok!"
In a wide room with windows open on every side, whenever a messenger pigeon with a note tied to its leg arrived with a flutter of wings, the strange calls continued.
"Three for Gwak Yeon!"
"Two for the Jusan Baek Family!"
"Two for Baek Jung-hyeok!"
"Three for the Seoho Gwak Family!"
"One for Gwak Jeong-pal!"
At least several dozen perches held messenger pigeons. Baskets of notes sorted from each bird's leg passed from hand to hand until at last they entered the hands of someone in silk robes.
"……Good."
The one who had compiled every rumor related to the duel between the two great clans ranked each piece of information by priority.
Then he immediately turned, left the room, walked a corridor lavish with decoration, and stopped before a great door.
Knock, knock.
Entering through the door that opened, he found people with grave expressions seated at long tables of gleaming obsidian, all looking at him.
Nod.
When the man with a salt-and-pepper beard seated immediately beside the head seat nodded, the one who had classified the information by priority opened his mouth toward the council chamber.
"Near the island where the duel will be held, personnel from the Jusan Baek Family disguised as fishing boats are already at work. On the Seoho Gwak Family side, other than the carriages preparing to depart, there are no particular points of note."
After the seemingly simple report ended, everyone waited.
Tap…… tap……
For the answer of the man who drummed his index finger on the armrest of a gleaming platinum chair.
……Tap.
The finger stopped, and the answer came.
"Quietly tip the Seoho Gwak Family to take precautions against poison."
"Shall we keep it from the Jusan Baek Family's notice?"
"No."
"Understood. We will handle it so that both clans receive the impression that the right of choice lies with us."
Nodding quietly at the words of the salt-and-pepper-bearded chief steward who seemed to have grasped his intent, the man wore a peculiar smile.
"On a long road, there come times when one must change horses."
"Do you regret it?"
"I only wish the stolid horse were a little cleverer."
Regret over the Seoho Gwak Family, which seemed to have no particular countermeasures even though the Jusan Baek Family—who would stop at nothing to achieve their aims—had already begun tampering with the dueling ground.
He brushed it off with a single laugh.
"But it does not matter. From of old, the will of the world has always clung to money, not to men."
Zhejiang's foremost great merchant.
The master of the Cheonhae Merchant Group, known for wielding wealth like a treasured family sword, rose his bear-like massive frame.
"So leave the duel talk there, and report instead on how the two clans align with this coming trade journey."