The Swarm of Hangzhou Ghosts
There were so many of them.
The black-path gangs that swarmed this city of Hangzhou.
Especially the ones who claimed the name of the Hangzhou Ghost and brazenly encroached on one another’s territories.
“There’s another one over there! The owner of that shop with the sign for the Hoban Inn just past that street has changed three times already—all of them Hangzhou Ghosts. In truth they’re running a private prison down below, locking people up. The profits are excellent! And that two-story inn you see if you keep going down the main road? Their real income comes from selling decent-looking guests to pirates. Of course, the one who seized that spot last month is a brand-new Hangzhou Ghost!”
“Huh.”
“And I know the fabric shop behind the crossroads where the Hangzhou Ghost has his men out robbing people on dark nights! More than a few drunks wandering that district have died at their hands! Oh! And the silver shop you see after crossing the main avenue twice—they run a gambling den and a loan-sharking operation underneath. That Hangzhou Ghost has already changed four times! And—”
The black-path thug’s revelations poured out without pause.
Among the black path there were hardly any secrets worth keeping; the factions that had thrown themselves into this city’s shadows while claiming the Hangzhou Ghost name spilled out one after another.
Wearing faintly dazed expressions, Cheon Gang and Gwak Yeon looked at each other.
“At this rate… if we just gathered all the ones calling themselves Hangzhou Ghost, we could slap together an entire faction overnight.”
“You’re telling me.”
Gwak Yeon even felt a touch of hollowness.
Did I… do something pointless?
He hadn’t coined the name himself, but he had been the first in recent times to earn the moniker.
As the original Hangzhou Ghost.
Watching black-path gangs “use” the justification he had once carried for their own turf wars drained the strength right out of him.
“Ha… hahaha! Isn’t this a fine city for working the black path? E-especially! For strong men like you two great heroes, you could claim a pretty nice share as Hangzhou Ghosts!”
The kneeling thug, misreading Gwak Yeon’s expression, laid on the flattery.
Naturally, Gwak Yeon’s face did not soften in the slightest.
I’ve handed these disgusting bastards a justification…
The struggle for supremacy among Hangzhou Ghosts.
It had changed from before.
The last time he had walked Hangzhou’s shadows, the number of those who openly kidnapped or tormented ordinary people had dropped considerably.
They might have operated in secret out of fear of the real Hangzhou Ghost, but they had never been this blatant.
Of course, the blame did not rest solely on Gwak Yeon for giving them the name.
There must be… someone.
He had experienced it in his previous life as well.
Even when a five-story restaurant burned with flames anyone could see, Hangzhou’s magistrates never so much as submitted a report to the court about certain major black-path figures.
The true giants who moved the city’s darkness.
Wherever small black-path gangs swarmed this thickly, it was only natural that someone behind the scenes kept order among the small fry.
Even when he had rampaged as the Hangzhou Ghost, the ones he had caught had only been the relatively well-known black-path groups, had they not?
Back then Gwak Yeon had clearly heard of them.
The forces beneath the surface that only showed themselves at Hangzhou’s secret auction, held once every few months.
…They’re just watching.
The real players he would only be able to meet in a month and a half.
If giants of the same caliber as that freak they called Lord Goechok among the wicked truly existed, then why on earth were they standing by while these fake Hangzhou Ghosts threw the underworld into chaos?
“You don’t know any bigger ones?”
“What?!”
“Besides the ones you’ve listed so far—the real heavyweights of the black path.”
“B-besides the ones I’ve told you about so far? Ah, I haven’t been in Hangzhou long, so I don’t really know about that—”
The thug hemmed and hawed, picking his words carefully.
Then, with an “Ah!” expression, he finally squeezed out one answer.
“Jang Po! Th-that man is the biggest heavyweight I know!”
“Jang Po?!”
“Yes! Right now he’s rumored to be the strongest among the Hangzhou Ghosts!”
Another Hangzhou Ghost.
Not the answer he had hoped for.
Yet for a moment Gwak Yeon’s brow twitched.
“…Jang Po? Jang Po.”
He was certain he had heard that name somewhere before.
Jang Po, Jang Po…
As Gwak Yeon frowned and tried to dig through his memories, the thug suddenly lifted his head high and shouted.
“B-but it’s fine!”
“Now that the two of you have met me, the ‘true’ Hangzhou Ghost of this underworld will become your title, brothers!”
“What?”
“I’ve never met him, but I’m sure of it! With the two great heroes’ ghostly martial prowess, that Jang Po fellow won’t walk away unharmed either!”
“……”
“Actually, I have a proposal! The two of you won’t regret it in the slightest!”
Looking at Cheon Gang and Gwak Yeon as they glanced at each other again, the kneeling thug flung both arms wide and cried out in praise.
“The two of you will become the new Hangzhou Ghosts!”
“Oh.”
“Ha, haha! Isn’t that fine? Once the two of you achieve great things, you’ll put every Hangzhou Ghost raising hell in this city under your feet!”
“Including that Jang Po fellow?!”
“Need you even ask?!”
“Where is he?”
“Th… that I don’t really know. The truth is, even among the Hangzhou Ghosts, the heavyweights often don’t have fixed residences.”
“Hmm.”
“B-but! If you diligently sweep away the other Hangzhou Ghosts, you’ll eventually run into him! Just like the age of heroes in the old Warring States period!”
“Something like unifying the realm?”
“Heh, hehkyakyakya! You know a thing or two! Yes! The two of you will become the Twin Ghosts of Hangzhou! And I’ll handle the tedious work while gathering a real force under you! Kyakya, I’ve already decided on the name of the sect! True Ghost Gate—how does that sound? My blood’s already boiling!”
“Why… would we do that?”
“Because you can swallow every interest in Hangzhou! Anyone you want dead, you can kill with a flick of the chin. You can stroll into Hangzhou’s most luxurious brothels and restaurants as you please, and if there’s a woman you want, taken or not, she’s yours. Everyone will bow and scrape, and any arrogant bastard—old or young—you can drag off, strip naked, and humiliate! You can become the kings of Hangzhou!”
“If there’s someone we don’t like, we kill them as we please?”
“Yes!”
“Make complete strangers tremble in fear?”
“That’s right! If you want, you can even make them piss themselves! Just last week we crippled both arms and legs of some punks who looked at us with insolent eyes!”
“Is that so?!”
“Yes! Together with you two brothers, we can do even more! Unify the Hangzhou Ghost title and become the kings of this underworld!”
“Cheon Gang.”
“Yes.”
Having heard enough, Gwak Yeon gave a small nod. Cheon Gang stepped forward and swung his arm.
“W-wait, waitwaitwait, ho—”
—Crash!
He flicked his arm as if swatting a mosquito; the iron staff that followed the motion smashed into the man with crushing force.
Thud.
The black-path thug collapsed without another word.
Recalling the last disgusting words he had heard, Gwak Yeon looked down at him as if at a bug, then calmly turned his back.
“…Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Following behind Gwak Yeon, Cheon Gang thought to himself.
When it came to killing every Hangzhou Ghost in this underworld and unifying the title, a worthless black-path thug like that was completely unnecessary.
No.
To be honest…
Young Master could probably handle it alone.
…He thought, without much confidence, that Young Master alone would be more than enough.
Step.
Step.
Gwak Yeon and Cheon Gang set out in earnest to hunt down yet another black-path figure wearing the name Hangzhou Ghost.
How much time passed after that?
Little by little, rumors began to circulate throughout Hangzhou.
In inns and restaurants.
In brothels, wine houses, taverns, and teahouses.
“……Hey, did you all hear?”
Whenever someone quick with gossip was in a group, they would glance carefully around and then whisper the story.
“They say another new Hangzhou Ghost has appeared?!”
“Aigoo.”
“What’s so special about that? I thought it was something new.”
“Exactly.”
“These days there are more black-path types running around calling themselves Hangzhou Ghost than you can count—”
“What are the constables and captains even doing? Just taking bribes and stuffing their faces.”
“It’s not a problem those people can solve. Arrest one and someone else just sits down in the same spot. Unless they turn out the army and wipe them all out, it won’t end.”
“That’s what I’m say—”
“That’s not it!”
The one who had first brought it up raised his voice.
He had quietly watched the others argue over the topic of “Hangzhou Ghost,” which these days grew flesh the moment anyone so much as mentioned the bone.
Then, with a slight smile, he opened his mouth.
“They say it’s the second young master of the Seoho Gwak Family.”
“……What?!”
“……What are you talking about?!”
“……G-Gwak Yeon, Young Master Gwak?”
“……Young Master Gwak is doing Hangzhou Ghost work?”
Satisfied by the sudden uproar, the man nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Impossible. The Seoho Gwak Family isn’t some neighborhood black-path gathering—”
“That’s not what I mean!”
He quickly snatched away the counterargument someone was about to unfold and gave the whole group a meaningful look.
“The Hangzhou Ghost we used to know. Like a ghost that catches and kills those vicious black-path bastards—he’s jumped into this underworld. That’s what I’m saying.”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
Only then did the listeners understand.
The man who had started the story drained a cup of wine with a proud expression and looked around at them.
……That was how it was.
The Hangzhou Ghost the common people had originally known.
The ghost of Hangzhou who punished the wicked, stood against injustice, and raised up the fallen spirit of chivalry.
Because the title had been so thoroughly polluted by black-path scum, the second young master of the Seoho Gwak Family was not a bad fit for it.
But they still could not be certain.
Gwak Yeon’s powerful martial arts were gradually being proven, yet he was not someone known for the bearing of a chivalrous hero.
Yet that worry proved groundless.
Time passed again after that day.
One day, two days, three days—
As Hangzhou’s nights unfolded again and again, the exploits of the newly appeared Hangzhou Ghost grew steadily bolder.
Thud.
“Y-you… why are you…”
The black-path thugs who had built a private prison in an inn’s basement and locked up commoners.
Slash.
“A-an ambush!”
The ones who kidnapped people from inns and sold them off to the sea.
Crunch!
“You crazy bastards, how much more do you think you can swallow?!”
The ones mixing and selling horrific drugs from a pharmacy—all of them were smashed to pieces.
“Whew.”
Using the information they had heard from the black-path thug they met in Banwi Cave, they literally swept away like a storm those who had claimed the Hangzhou Ghost name and seized the illegal businesses other black-path groups had been running.
Saryeonbang, Ambaekhoe, Opungyukmun, Heukyeoncheon—
Punishing the various black-path groups led by fake Hangzhou Ghosts, Cheon Gang and Gwak Yeon swung sword and staff almost every day as they climbed toward the top of the hierarchy of Hangzhou Ghosts operating in secret throughout the city.
It was during one such raid on the stronghold of another black-path figure calling himself Hangzhou Ghost.
Crunch—!
“W-who the hell are you?!”
“What bastard dares wake this Hangzhou Ghost elder from his sleep without fear?!”
“Who is it?!”
“Two of them?”
“Just kill them all!”
Beyond the shattered main gate, black-path thugs poured out with fire in their eyes, charging toward them.
“Young Master? Wh-what was that just now?!”
Gwak Yeon had finally figured it out.
“……Huh?”
…One of the strange hidden techniques his unique weapon had been concealing.