At the Tip of the Blood Thread
Caught at the tip of a blood thread.
Thud.
With a sharp pop, the insect burst.
The moment the leech-swollen gu ruptured and a few drops of blood splattered around it, Gwak Yeon nodded.
As I thought.
He had seen it in his previous life as well.
Gu poison.
Even among the black paths and heterodox factions known for their vicious methods, only those of a certain scale could properly make use of this technique.
Of course, as a form of poison, the Sichuan Tang Family of the Central Plains was also said to know how to employ it…
…But it’s too early to decide. The Tang Family isn’t the only one strong against poison—
The thought was brief.
Just now, the staggering Jang Po had collapsed.
Thud.
He had drawn far too much internal energy and stamina in an instant. On top of that, while facing the vampire Gwak Yeon, countless blows had accumulated, and even a minor piercing from the blood threads had compounded the shock.
Huff… huff…
His mind hazy, Jang Po’s back and chest heaved as he gasped for breath. Watching him, Gwak Yeon withdrew the blood threads he had scattered in every direction and let out a small sigh.
To think such a monster existed.
This Jang Po possessed monstrous strength, yet most of his movements still relied on that raw power and instinct alone.
Ironically, that was why confusing his eyes and ears with a vampire’s abilities had made capturing him so easy.
Still, it doesn’t seem like he never learned martial arts at all—
That was when it happened.
To Gwak Yeon’s blood-soaked ears came a spine-chilling scream.
“K-kill him! Hurry—!”
“You stupid Jang Po bastard! Get up already—!”
“Aaaah! N-nooo—!”
The villain’s face had gone deathly pale.
Crawling backward on all fours, Yuk So-wan shouted so hard the veins stood out on his neck.
Step. Step—
Gwak Yeon approached, his body drenched in blood.
The full array of vampire abilities he had displayed must have been shocking; Yuk So-wan had already been driven back against the wall, terror filling his eyes. Even after forcing his trembling limbs to move while collapsed, there was nowhere left to go.
“G-great one—!”
Yuk So-wan flung aside the fan he had been clutching and prostrated himself flat on the ground.
“Th-this lowly and shortsighted Yuk dares to meet a great one like a dragon hidden among the clouds!”
“Your change of face is a little too fast.”
“Forgive me! I-I failed to recognize you! Not recognizing someone as valiant and great as you, Great One, is this Yuk’s mistake! But I am fully prepared to become your hands and feet and work day and night! If you would only show merciful generosity, you will not regret it!”
“Hmm.”
“I-I once even sat for the provincial examinations! Though the times and luck did not favor me and I never entered officialdom, I pride myself that no one can match this cunning and this mind of mine! D-did you not just see it yourself?!”
Point!
Yuk So-wan jabbed a finger at the fallen Jang Po and shouted, spittle flying.
“A-as you saw! Even a fellow like that Jang Po, I could handle as easily as flipping my palm! If you keep me by your side and use me well, I am confident I can earn my keep!”
His shamelessness exceeded expectations.
Even after betraying the master he had served until moments ago as casually as turning his hand over, he still dared to spout such words.
Yet.
“…You there.”
There was one strange thing.
“P-please speak! Anything—”
“You’re less surprised than I expected.”
“Pardon?!”
“The way I looked just now—I didn’t exactly look like a normal person, did I?”
“H-hahaha!”
Yuk So-wan laughed awkwardly at the question.
The vampire abilities Gwak Yeon had just displayed were more than enough for anyone to call them sorcery. If this had been the first time he had seen “something like this,” it would have been hard to switch sides so smoothly.
Whether he sensed the thought or not, Yuk So-wan kept smiling awkwardly, trying his best to answer favorably without souring the mood.
“W-what do you mean by that!”
“You’ve seen one before, haven’t you? Someone like me.”
“Th-that’s—”
What mattered to Gwak Yeon right now was not that.
“And more importantly, where did you get that gu you used?”
“I-I’ll tell you everyth—”
“Before that, look me straight in the eye.”
“Yes?!”
Gwak Yeon stepped closer to Yuk So-wan.
His eyes flashed crimson.
Flash.
He unleashed the vampire ability that induced confession.
One, two, three—
…Hmm?!
Whether it was his imagination or not, it felt as though the man had fallen under the thrall a little faster than before, when he had needed to count to five.
“…I’ll ask this first.”
Gwak Yeon decided to focus on the interrogation at hand.
“Tell me how you obtained that gu.”
At the answer that followed, his eyes widened slightly.
“From… Great… One… Goe…chok…”
…Goechok?
…Again?
At the same time.
A warehouse thick with the acrid scent of grass.
Whoosh.
As the flame inside the lantern flared to life, several faces that had been hidden in pitch-black darkness were revealed.
“…Great One Goechok. It is an honor to meet you.”
“…Speak only of the main matter.”
Receiving the courteous question from someone, Great One Goechok replied.
“Then I shall ask. Does the cult you belong to plan to monopolize every interest arising in Hangzhou’s underworld?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“That is—”
“Sseuhit! Shall I guess?”
Suddenly bursting into an eerie laugh, he rolled his eyes and stared at the one who had asked the question.
Those his gaze touched flinched.
Judging by their builds, the light in their eyes, and the auras they restrained, they too appeared to be martial artists of more than ordinary skill… yet the faces of those who had come after hearing the rumors of Great One Goechok were filled with tension and unease.
Gulp.
Goechok quietly watched them, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Two of the Six Great Heterodox Sects are about to collide.”
“……!”
“……!”
The martial artists of the jianghu could not hide their shock.
It was only natural.
To arrange this meeting with Great One Goechok, they had spent no short time disguising themselves as an ordinary sect in Hangzhou.
Yet Goechok had immediately discerned the group they belonged to.
The Six Great Heterodox Sects.
If the orthodox path had the Nine Great Sects and the Seven Great Families, the heterodox path had these six heavens that represented them. Among them were forces of weight comparable to the greatest assassin organization in the jianghu, the Valley of Killers. One of those six was Cheonyoungmun—the very heterodox sect to which the men who had come to find Goechok now belonged.
“How… did you know our identities?”
“Sseuhhihihihit!”
The bizarre laughter continued, then—
Snap.
In an instant Goechok’s expression turned serious as he looked around at those who had asked the question and muttered,
“That is not something to tell mere errand boys.”
The words were insolent, yet no one grew angry.
Because they were true.
The men here could be called experts wherever they went in the jianghu, but compared to the true giants of Cheonyoungmun—a colossal sect whose name currently shook every corner of the martial world—they were nothing.
“However, at the auction we were more—”
“Enough.”
Cutting him off, Goechok looked with satisfaction at their flustered faces before continuing.
“Let us consider this meeting the first connection between myself and Cheonyoungmun and leave it at that. In addition to the earlier question, I will give you two answers. Return with those for today.”
They nodded.
“First, the cult you are thinking of… has no interest in mere rights and interests.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I said. What the cult pursues is chaos. The reason I decided to participate in Hangzhou’s secret auction is not the matter of interests you worry about.”
The martial artists of Cheonyoungmun wore puzzled expressions.
Paying them no mind, Goechok continued.
“Second, I am not currently a member of the cult. I have merely joined hands with them. You must not misunderstand that, sseuhhihihit!”
“……”
A heavy silence fell.
Then, more cautiously than before, one of the martial artists raised his hand and opened his mouth.
“I-if I may ask just one more thing… the cult with which you have joined hands is which—”
“Answers end here.”
Goechok smiled thinly and shook his head.
He knew all too well why these men had sought him out.
Cheonyoungmun, one of the Six Great Heterodox Sects, was eyeing the interests of another heterodox force among the Six that was based in Hangzhou.
“I have no intention of helping you, sseuhit!”
“Great One!”
“However.”
In this situation—
“I also have no intention of hindering you.”
“……!”
“If you show an impressive performance at the upcoming auction, I am even willing to throw my weight behind Cheonyoungmun’s subsequent moves.”
“……!!!”
Goechok had turned the proposal around on them.
He was asking whether, at the secret auction in Hangzhou that these men would also attend, they could deal a meaningful blow to the great Hangzhou-based force that was likewise one of the Six Great Heterodox Sects.
At that proposal the men of Cheonyoungmun looked at one another.
Already—
Already the greed deep within them had begun to stir, and Goechok knew it. Laughter spilled from his lips.
“Sseuhit!”
Chaos.
Having come to Hangzhou for that purpose, Goechok thought of the secret auction he would soon attend and twitched the corners of his mouth.
In addition to those fools he had left behind in Hebei, now these fellows as well. With so many pieces already in his hands, he was beginning to feel his heart race at the thought of what entertaining spectacle he might create by using them all.
Ah.
Come to think of it.
Soon that fellow’s Hangzhou Ghost would also become a new piece in his hand.
That Yuk So-wan… he should be doing well, right?
After crushing every fake Hangzhou Ghost in the city—the one and only real Hangzhou Ghost.
The next morning.
Above a window overlooking all the pavilions of Hangzhou.
Flutter.
A hawk flew in.
Even in a situation where its blade-sharp beak and large wings could have looked quite threatening,
Sip.
the white-haired old man sitting leisurely at a nearby tea table, drinking tea, wore a gentle smile on his lips.
Slowly he extended one arm.
As if taking that as permission, the hawk fluttered over. A white letter was tied to its leg.
A messenger hawk.
The old man who used a hawk rather than a pigeon as a letter carrier untied the letter from its leg and looked at it.
“Hmm.”
On the letter was written only a single person’s name.
Gwak Yeon
Still smiling, the old man nodded.
“In the end… the real Hangzhou Ghost has been claimed by the second young master of the Seoho Gwak Family.”
Indeed.
This was a letter informing him who had claimed the summit in the “Hangzhou Ghost struggle” that had been taking place in Hangzhou’s shadows all this time.
“I suppose I ought to pay my respects to our Seoho Gwak Family’s young master somehow, but I’ll think about that later.”
The white-haired old man muttered into the empty air.
“For now, using this uproar as an opportunity to create a new order in the empty seats left by the trash we weeded out comes first.”
He turned his head.
“And we should also thoroughly settle who has been eyeing this position… don’t you think?”
“Yes!”
A man in black clothing dropped from the ceiling and bowed his head as he murmured. At that moment the white-haired old man quietly let out a laugh.
“Heh heh heh.”
Hangryonghoe—the Dragon Subduing Association.
A heterodox sect called one of the Six Great Heterodox Sects.
In other words, the sole backer who moved Hangzhou’s darkness—the lord of Hangryonghoe—opened his mouth with a smile.
“Well then… shall we begin the full-scale preparations for the auction?”
“As you command!”