The black-robed figure who emerged from the alley melted into the gloomy night street. The sun had set and a mountain breeze was washing away the heat, but it was still too early to sleep. It was a bit far from the main thoroughfare, so there were few passersby, but the taverns were bustling with noise.
I sheathed my willow blade and quietly followed him. The black-robed figure did not stop at a tavern. He entered an inn, came out a short while later, and began walking again.
He also visited a fortune teller's shop tucked away in a shabby corner, and even banged on the door of a closed clinic, waking the physician to go inside. After wandering the streets of the Western Village for a good while, he ducked into an alley between buildings.
I followed him, and after passing a few corners, a heavy silence descended. When the only sound I could hear was my own footsteps, it became clear that something was wrong. Trying my best not to make a sound, I carefully drew my willow blade.
I stared intently at the corner where the black-robed figure had disappeared and stepped back. As if sensing my hesitation, a black shape slowly revealed itself from beside the corner. From within the shadows, the glint of white eyes shot a sharp gaze at me.
"I wondered how far you would follow. You're quite perceptive. Did Ban Ho-yang send you?”
The voice, faintly simmering with murderous intent, was unfamiliar yet strangely familiar. "Have we met before?" "If you can escape from here, then perhaps next time we will be.
But that will not happen." The black-robed figure, who had already drawn his sword, kicked off the ground and charged. He closed the distance in an instant and aimed for my shoulder without warning.
I calmly swung my willow blade and blocked the sword strike. I tried to bring my blade down from above with that momentum, but the deflected sword strangely curved like a snake and slid over my blade. Startled, I flung the sword away and shot a kick at his groin.
The black-robed figure twisted his body to deflect the kick and aimed for my side. Gritting my teeth, I parried his sword with my willow blade, and this time, a sharp sword strike rained down on my thigh from an exquisite angle.
I fiercely pressed forward with the most powerful secret art among the forms of the Nameless Saber Technique, using my footwork to barely escape into his blind spot.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clang!
After exchanging five clashes in an instant, both the black-robed figure and I simultaneously took several steps back. As the black-robed figure swung his sword to shake off the remaining force, the bloodshot murderous intent in his eyes deepened. I was just as surprised.
How are there so many masters in a backwater village like this… As I clicked my tongue inwardly, the black-robed figure aimed his sword at me and slowly moved sideways, as if to gain an advantageous position. The moonlight shone at an angle, revealing the face of the black-robed figure beneath the bamboo hat.
Of course.
I hadn't misheard. He was a swordsman I had met before. What was his name again…
"Won Seo-gang?"
As if I had seen correctly, the swordsman flinched and glared at me. “So you are one of Ban Ho-yang’s men.” “I told you I don’t know such a person.
Didn't you get a bottle of wine from me once? At the tavern across from the gambling den in the back alley, on a rainy day."
I also took a step to the side, exposing my face to the moonlight. He didn't seem to be one to easily forget a kindness or a grudge, as he soon recognized me.
“...... Jeong Mo?" "It's Jeong Dae-cheon." The bewilderment was brief. Won Seo-gang's voice turned cold again. “Were you one of Ban Ho-yang’s men?” “I don’t know who that is, but I’ve never even seen his face.” “What was your purpose in tailing me?” “I saw you climbing the wall of the Deep Fragrance Pavilion and followed you out of curiosity.” “How did you know I would climb the wall?” "I saw you from inside." "What?" "I work there.”
It seemed he couldn't recognize my uniform in the dark. I pointed to the two characters, 'Dragon Sky,' on my left chest. Won Seo-gang's expression turned sour as he narrowed his eyes and stared.
“…An escort?”
“I just started not long ago. Though I’ll probably quit before the month is out.”
Won Seo-gang smirked as if seeing me in a new light and slowly lowered the tip of his sword. "I thought you were nothing but a swordsman, but you seem to be living a decent life.” It didn't seem like sarcasm, but genuine surprise.
It felt as if he was thinking, 'I thought you were from the very bottom, but perhaps not quite so.' It wasn't a particularly pleasant reaction.
"By any chance, do you know that an escort was murdered inside the walls of the Deep Fragrance Pavilion last night?"
“I heard.”
“Do you know anything about it?”
“It has nothing to do with me.”
“What about the three guys from the Black Night Gang who met a violent end the night before last?”
“That might be somewhat related.”
When I looked at him with an expression that said, 'So it was you,' Won Seo-gang frowned.
“I didn’t kill them. I only witnessed them being killed. There was no mercy in his hand. He lopped off all three of their heads right there.”
“Was it Ban Ho-yang?”
It was just a guess based on what I had just heard, but Won Seo-gang did not deny it.
“If we’re going to keep talking, let’s not do it here. Don’t they say the night has ears.”
Won Seo-gang looked up at the buildings beyond the wall and sheathed his sword.
“Let’s do that.”
I also put my willow blade into its sheath.
“This way.”
Keeping a moderate distance, I followed Won Seo-gang out of the long alley. A quiet night street unfolded before us. We entered a nearby tavern and sat in a corner seat.
Won Seo-gang ordered drinks and took out his pouch.
“Thanks for the drink last time. Today, it’s on me.”
“I can’t be away from my post for long.”
“I have no intention of getting drunk either. Let’s just wet our throats until our talk is over.”
We filled our cups with the liquor the waiter brought. Both Won Seo-gang and I downed a glass without a word. As I let out a sigh with the strong spirit, the lingering excitement of the battle finally began to subside.
“Were you the house guest staying in the detached houses, Brother Won?”
“House guest… not exactly, but I suppose I have no room to argue if you call me that.”
“What kind of hobby is it to climb over walls when there’s a perfectly good door?”
Won Seo-gang chuckled and spouted some nonsense.
“Have you heard the saying, 'The great path has no gate'? For one who walks a great path, established rules are useless. Where I go is the gate and the path.”
“It’s not because you don’t want to face the gatekeepers every time you come and go through the main door?”
“That’s not entirely untrue. Wait a moment.”
Won Seo-gang took a small bamboo tube from his robes. He took out a rolled-up piece of oiled paper from inside and unfolded it. It was a portrait of a middle-aged man with droopy eyes and chubby cheeks.
Next to the face, his name, age, and physical characteristics were written in detail. Ban Ho-yang, 45 years old…
"Have you ever seen a man who looks like this?"
“Never seen him. Is he someone you’re going to kill?”
“Death won’t be the end of it for him.”
Won Seo-gang’s cold, sharp eyes seethed with deep-seated emotions. There is a saying that when a man begins to live as a martial artist, he spends half his life creating grudges and the other half avenging them.
Won Seo-gang claimed that this revenge was his, but like all martial artists, there were surely more than one or two people who held a grudge against him and were biding their time.
The same way he was tenaciously tracking his enemy to plunge a sword into his body and cut off his head, he too would one day meet the same end. Solving everything with strength and violence might feel satisfying and victorious in the moment, but in the end, that's how it goes.
Just like a bloodstain that won't wash away no matter how much you scrub, no matter how many you kill, you only accumulate more grudges. If you survive to the end, you will stand alone on a mountain of corpses, having become something other than human. Without loved ones, family, friends, or even a neighbor to exchange a word with.
Of course, it was none of my business. My own situation wasn't much different.
“What about the other house guests in the detached houses?”
“What about them?”
“The escort who died yesterday seemed to have been stealing. Judging by the single strike to his heart, his opponent must have been a martial artist.”
Won Seo-gang, in the middle of lifting his cup, let out a dry laugh.
“It must be that scoundrel who got a good scolding for loitering near the detached houses before. He hadn’t been seen around since. If he was caught climbing the wall and killed on the spot, they would have proudly informed the pavilion master. It was just catching a thief, what’s there to be afraid of and hide?”
“How many martial artists are in the detached houses?”
“If you want to know, ask the pavilion master.”
“What on earth is the Deep Fragrance Pavilion?”
Won Seo-gang looked at me with a pathetic expression, as if to say, 'You don't even know that?'
“What do you think they do in a brothel? The high and mighty, the drifters with nothing but money, they spend their good days drinking, singing, and dancing.”
“Isn’t it too large for a simple brothel? There are five detached houses, and the pavilion master’s guards are no ordinary men.”
“If you’re really that curious, ask the pavilion master.”
Won Seo-gang avoided a direct answer and sipped his drink. It didn't seem like he was holding his tongue because he didn't want to get involved in troublesome matters. What I sensed from his tone and expression was caution and a hint of fear.
As if he was taking a step back, not wanting to displease the pavilion master. Martial artists are criminals who live for their own pride. Even street thugs would glare and throw a punch before their noses got broken; it was their daily routine.
The pavilion master I had just met was not such a big shot that a master of Won Seo-gang's caliber would be so careful with his words. Then, as I suspected… Does the Deep Fragrance Pavilion have a true owner?
Villains who trample on and tear apart others when they show a weakness to fill their own bellies don't just exist in the martial world.
No matter how magnificent and wealthy a household, if the master died leaving only a wife and young children, it was common for distant relatives, servants, and all sorts of scoundrels to seize the property and ruin the family. A brothel the size of the Deep Fragrance Pavilion was not something a not-so-famous courtesan could build on her own.
The pavilion master was just the public face; someone powerful was clearly behind it. As I pondered how to coax this man into talking, Won Seo-gang asked nonchalantly.
“Are you working as an escort for the money?”
“Isn’t that why everyone does it?”
“If you need money, how about working with me?”
"I don't think we know each other that well, Brother Won?”
“Isn’t this world a place where a friend of ten years can stab you in the back, and a man you met today for the first time can become your savior? I have a good feeling about you, Great Hero Jeong. That sword art just now was quite good.
I didn’t use killing moves, intending only to subdue you and ask questions, but it was surprising that I couldn’t even leave a scratch on you during our five clashes. That attack to the groin was also impressive. Twenty silver taels.
What do you say? I'll give you ten silver taels as a down payment.”
"The Black Night Gang job? That enemy from before?"
Won Seo-gang slowly nodded.
“He’s hidden himself away very deeply. I may be second to none with a sword, but it won’t be easy to break through alone.”
"Is the Black Night Gang that formidable? I heard their master is a master of the dark paths with a title.”
"You mean Jeok Chu-yeong, the Black Killing Sword?"
“That sounds like him.”
“Hmph, even so, he's just a black-hearted murderer, true to his title. Shouldn't I cut his lifeline as soon as possible so he can accumulate less evil karma and be reborn as an animal in his next life?”
"Have you met him?"
"I will soon enough."
Won Seo-gang answered with displeasure and filled his own cup.
"It seems the Black Night Gang has more than a few masters?"
“It’s not what it looks like on the surface. Besides Jeok Chu-yeong, there are a few other troublesome guys. They have a lot of grunts too, and for a dark path gang in a neighborhood like this, their strength is considerable.”
"So you're saying I'll get stabbed even if things go well."
“Does a martial artist who carries a sword fear getting stabbed?”
“I’m trying to wash my hands of it.”
When I pointed to the name of the escort agency on my left chest, Won Seo-gang’s eyes clouded over for a moment before clearing up again. Just like that time in the dead of night, amidst a downpour, when he seemed to be chewing on a bitter past in front of an empty cup.
"If it could be washed away just by washing, I would have quit long ago."
Won Seo-gang shook his head and drained his drink.
“Anyway, think about it carefully. I’ll have to stay in the detached houses for a while. If you mention my name, those friends of yours won't treat you carelessly either.”
Won Seo-gang fastened his sword to his waist and put on his bamboo hat. I also emptied my cup and went outside. I watched Won Seo-gang disappear into a back alley and then turned away.
When I reached the alley with a view of the main gate of the Deep Fragrance Pavilion, I realized that things had become troublesome. If the guy who was summoned by the pavilion master walked in from the outside, it would look suspicious. Perhaps I should have asked Won Seo-gang how he secretly returned to the Deep Fragrance Pavilion.
On the other hand, I felt like it didn't matter. After all, no one even tried to talk to me. When I appeared, the two escorts guarding the gate looked at me with bewildered expressions.
As expected, they didn't ask why I was coming from there. When I went to my post, the escort who had filled in for me yawned and moved aside.
“Your replacement is here, so I’ll be going.”
The middle-aged escort narrowed his eyes and glanced at me before shaking his head. I should go to Jo Gyeong-jik and report my conversation with the pavilion master. But I didn't feel like it right now.
If it was urgent, he would call for me himself. Having had a few drinks, my mind was relaxed, and I carefully mulled things over. The events in the pavilion master's residence.
The short exchange with Won Seo-gang. The information I got from him. One by one, meticulously, various questions and impressions intertwined like knots and converged at one point.
I turned my body and looked up at the main hall, brightly lit with red lanterns. What on earth is the Deep Fragrance Pavilion? * The next morning, after my shift ended, I took the jade fragment I had found near the detached houses and wandered the streets of the Western Village.
Although the Western Village was quite prosperous, there were no jewelers who specialized only in gems yet. After asking around, I found a shop that dealt in antiques like old books and pottery.
The elderly man sitting in front of the shop, with a long pipe in his mouth, gazing blankly at the passing time, recognized the jade fragment at once. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of these.”
"Do you know what it is?"
The old man nodded his head.
“This is a Mak Jade.”
“Is there such a type of jade?”
I knew of jadeite and sapphire, but this was the first time I had heard of Mak Jade.
"It's not a type of jade, but jade carved into the shape of an animal called a Mak."
“What’s a Mak?”
“It’s not a real animal. It’s a mythical creature like a qilin or a dragon. It has the trunk of an elephant, the tail of an ox, and the paws of a tiger, and is said to live by eating human nightmares.”
“Then is this just a simple ornament?”
“I believe it was an item used in the Hubei region in the past. They used to put it under their pillows when they slept, believing the Mak would devour nightmares and evil spirits. It was often given as a gift to newborn babies to wish them a long and healthy life.”
The old man brought the Mak Jade close to his eye and examined it carefully.
“This one has been handled so much that the jade is worn down. If you don’t look closely, you wouldn’t even know it’s a Mak. Seeing that the broken piece was mended with gold, it seems to be an item used for a long time in a fairly well-off household. The jade itself is of medium quality. The carving isn’t very skillful either, but they probably paid at least ten silver taels for it when they bought it.”
“How much is it worth now?”
The old man shook his head immediately without much thought.
"Well. I don't know if there's anyone who would buy it even if they knew it was a Mak Jade. Because there's no good in having a Mak Jade that someone else used. Since it's a Mak that has eaten nightmares, they say it's tainted, so no one will touch it. It would be best to get rid of it quickly or just throw it away. It may be a superstition, but it’s better to keep unsettling things far away for peace of mind."
The old man returned the Mak Jade and put the long pipe back in his mouth. He didn't try to stop me as I left the shop, so it didn't seem like he was trying to lowball the price. On my way back home, I tried to guess who the owner of this Mak Jade might be.
It wasn't Bang Jo-in's. If he had something like this, it would have been on the gambling table as a stake long ago. If he had stolen it, he would have put it in his robes with the silver taels. It was strange that his pouch was intact but only this Mak Jade was dropped.
It was more likely that it was an item lost by someone else. Could the culprit who killed Bang Jo-in have dropped it during the struggle? Or did an esteemed guest visiting the Deep Fragrance Pavilion lose it while drunk?
When I arrived home and took off my clothes, I dropped the Mak Jade on the floor. Fortunately, it didn't break or crack. As I bent my knees to pick it up, something suddenly flashed through my mind.
Tiles.
The gambling tiles that Bang Jo-in always held and fiddled with in his hands, where did they go......