A Stranger's Promise
Gwak Yeon stared at Ha Baek-gyeong as he entered the hidden workshop.
“Have you already heard?”
“People with keen ears already know,” Ha Baek-gyeong replied. “The warriors and sect members of Hangzhou who waited for this duel outcome are not a few. They are all those who suffered at Baek Jung-hyeok’s hands.”
Understood.
How many such banners had he already seen in Hangzhou.
『 The Zhoushan Baek Family is the best! 』
Among the renowned sects and warriors of Hangzhou, only those who had hung that banner before the signboard were a few.
They were all those who had lost in their wager with Baek Jung-hyeok. As those who had been gnashing their teeth and listening closely to the movements of the Zhoushan Baek Family, the rumor that Gwak Yeon had won had already begun to spread.
Gwak Yeon of Hangzhou had beaten Baek Jung-hyeok. And he had done so by making the Zhoushan Baek Family suffer exactly the same humiliation they themselves had endured.
『 The Seoho Gwak Family is the best! 』
When he had first heard that this banner would be hung before the Zhoushan Baek Family, quite a few of the wandering righteous heroes of Hangzhou had clinked their cups in toast.
Excitement and satisfaction.
Some had even called the Seoho Gwak Family the righteous hero that had come down a strict punishment upon the Zhoushan Baek Family, the representative sect of Hangzhou’s righteous world.
“At least the members of sects that can raise their banner proudly in Hangzhou will feel gratitude toward Young Master Gwak. They have honored their face as fellow Hangzhou warriors. The rumor will soon spread even to the common people who are not martial artists—”
“Hah! So how did it feel?!”
Ha Mu-won cut off Ha Baek-gyeong’s words and approached.
With brisk steps.
His sweat-drenched face was filled with curiosity that could not be contained as he drew near.
“The poison-brewing weapon I made for you.”
“It was tougher than I expected. Especially the sword scabbard—its edge looked quite special, and when I placed its center against the blade, it did not break.”
“Cheonwolbu.”
Ha Mu-won let out a laugh.
“That is the name of the weapon Baek Jung-hyeok boasts of. But how did you acquire it and turn it into a scabbard to oppose the axe?”
“It seemed different from an ordinary scabbard, given its weight. The feel of it gripping the hand was quite pleasant.”
“Oh ho.”
“And I used it together with the sword. Holding the two separately and fighting felt surprisingly well-balanced in weight.”
“You used the scabbard and the sword separately? A two-weapon style?”
“Well, there’s nothing grand about it—I just use what I feel like.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Ha Mu-won’s lips twitched as he looked at his younger brother Ha Baek-gyeong.
His expression showed he wanted to say something, yet could not quite find the words.
“Good. Good. You have earned the right to wield a weapon soaked in my blood and sweat.”
With that casual remark, he threw a single sentence.
“How did it feel when you drew the sword from the scabbard?”
“Nothing special… it was ordinary.”
“That makes sense now. But someday you will find the angle that adds the weight of a single bean. By then, tilting the upper body like this will also help. When you think of the stance used by the splendid inspection swordsmen of the Cheongmyeong School—”
“Brother.”
“Ah.”
Ha Baek-gyeong opened his mouth, and Ha Mu-won, who had been muttering unconsciously, smiled awkwardly. This was… for once, he had found something. The excitement must be higher than expected.
“Anyway, even if it looks ordinary, both the sword and the scabbard are uncommon items. Use them in various angles. That is the new soldier that can easily contend with opponents three steps higher.”
“Actually… I do not quite understand.”
“Hm?”
Ha Mu-won’s face began to twist, but it soon smoothed again at Gwak Yeon’s next words.
“It is hard to judge by Baek Jung-hyeok.”
“What do you mean?”
“To know how well a butcher’s knife cuts, one must try catching a cow, not just a chicken.”
“That means—”
“To truly feel the greatness of the weapons you made, you will need to fight someone stronger.”
“Baek Jung-hyeok is quite strong for a chicken-plucker, though?”
“Even if you call him a fighting chicken, he is no bull.”
“…”
Ha Mu-won, who had been stunned for a moment, burst into loud laughter. Ha Baek-gyeong’s lips also curved into a small smile as he watched the two of them alternately.
And he understood.
『 Oh? 』
That remark was no mere matter of appearances but sincere.
So.
“Anyway, that is where my impression ends as promised.”
Everyone had been satisfied with the report.
As promised, Gwak Yeon had come to share his impressions of using the sword and scabbard in the duel, and this report was more than enough to repay the value of the new soldier it had created.
“Good. That is sufficient. Keep building your righteous deeds with my weapons and occasionally stop by here again.”
“There is one more request.”
“A request?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Well…”
This time Gwak Yeon had a mission.
“…Could you also procure some other weapons? This time, there is no need for them to be new soldiers.”
.
.
.
The manor left by Gwak Yeon.
Amid the mist drifting like clouds, Ha Mu-won muttered toward his younger brother Ha Baek-gyeong, who was fanning himself with a fan.
“Why did you spill that rumor?”
He had pointed out the act of casually dropping a rumor about Hangzhou’s secret auction house to Gwak Yeon, who had just requested other weapons.
“The weapons I asked for were not poison-brewing items but ordinary ones. There was no need to mention their price.”
“I was not talking in terms of price.”
“So…”
Ha Mu-won grumbled.
“Why spread a rumor without any real purpose? You look foolish. We have only seen it twice, and if we talk only rumors without proper information, our weight drops. I remember our principle is to only do this after we have seen it at least five times.”
Ha Baek-gyeong smiled slightly as he answered the rebuke.
“Then, brother, why did you bring up the scabbard?”
“What?”
“The poison-brewing weapons you make. Telling the awakening conditions is, as you said, something to do only after having seen it at least five times.”
“Hah!”
Ha Mu-won snorted, but he had no particular objection. By principle… he himself had not needed to tell Gwak Yeon the clue about the scabbard in the first place.
Ha Baek-gyeong smiled and opened his mouth.
“…You were curious, weren’t you?”
“…”
“You damn bastard.”
Ha Mu-won grumbled and chuckled.
He nodded and said,
“If you were me, would you have thought of that after seeing such an item?”
“I agree. That is why I told you out of curiosity.”
Yes.
In this vast Hangzhou, the righteous heroes they had secretly kept an eye on were not a few… but Gwak Yeon was something special. Even with the immense background of being the second young master of the Seoho Gwak Family, the atmosphere could not be explained.
Haek Family brothers who had been captivated by that atmosphere had told the young warrior whom they had seen only five times the rumors of Hangzhou and the awakening conditions of the poison-brewing weapons. As they wondered how Gwak Yeon’s subsequent actions would unfold after hearing it.
“By the way, I am curious. Why did you ask for the big axe and the iron rod? They are not especially special weapons.”
“Well…”
Ha Baek-gyeong raised another point, and Ha Mu-won answered casually.
“Are you planning to make a companion?”
Both wore expectant expressions.
***
The entertainment district of Hangzhou.
Red and blue lanterns flashed like stars from all sides beneath the towering tall pavilion. On the roof of one such building, Gwak Yeon stood, gazing at the unusually large moon tonight.
‘Companion… companion…’
Fact was, he had asked Ha Mu-won for weapons suitable for Cheon Gang and Heoksijo.
But.
“…”
He was not yet certain whether they could become his true companions. Recalling the memories of the Geumuiwi comrades and the evil-doers he had slain together in his previous life only made it clearer.
How far would the task of finding the roots of the major evil he pursued in this vast Central Plains have progressed? Of course it would be good to have another companion, but such a companion must possess certain qualifications.
Gwak Yeon, who had decided to judge that qualification during this upcoming escort to the Hebei Pang Family, had ordered weapons suitable for those two to be used. Although they were not new soldiers, this time it should be enough.
“For now…”
After deciding to set aside the question of whether the two would later learn the secret of this body, he shook his head and swept away his worries.
That was all for now.
The rest could be thought about again later. After all, the start of the escort was more than ten days away, and the time to give them the new weapons would be around then.
More than that.
What worried Gwak Yeon more as he stared at the star-filled night of Hangzhou was the story he had heard in the secret manor earlier.
‘A secret auction house where strange talismans are being circulated.’
Even if it was only a rumor, it did not matter.
Because he was prepared to catch even the slightest idle gossip in order to find another clue about the Blood Cult.
Yes.
And Gwak Yeon took the mask from his pocket.
Black mask.
His lips, hidden behind the mask, began to form a small smile.
『 A bloody grin 』
His heart raced with anticipation for the things he had not been able to do while away from Hangzhou.
Strange talisman? Secret auction house? Those suspicious things that might be in Hangzhou? The possibility that they might yield a new clue about the Blood Cult? Of course there was that too.
“Well, if I look into them, something will come out.”
Right now, what excited Gwak Yeon was something else.
『 A wild laugh 』
That was not only the relief of being able to use his vampire ability without anyone noticing. It was also the curiosity to test the effect of the newly created Body Protecting Strong Blood.
Khukhu━━
What the mad laughter that flowed from the mask he had just put on, accompanied by white mist, meant was exactly one thing.
“…”
The trash.
Evil must be cut.
So.
Before heading to the Hebei Pang Family for the escort, he would drain the blood of the evil-doers living in this city, even one drop more.
Tatak━━
The vampire in the black mask flew toward the night of Hangzhou.