Choi Sa-deuk did not come out to greet us when we arrived. At the banquet hall, he was too far away for me to get a proper look at his face. Up close, he had the slick and cunning look of an experienced merchant.
Although Choi Sa-deuk had boldly declared an all-out war with the Black Night Gang, his companions only exchanged awkward glances. After a moment of exchanging looks, a middle-aged man with a skinny frame like a dead tree mustered his courage and spoke.
"I fully understand the Manor Lord's feelings... but what if we prepared a bit more thoroughly?"
As if burdened by the thought of bloodshed, they nodded one by one in agreement. Choi Sa-deuk's eyes suddenly turned menacing. Everyone flinched and looked away.
“I sent word to the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect two days ago. They should be on their way by now. If we send them back, word will surely leak out.
Do you all intend to sit back and do nothing, only to be sucked dry to the bone and end up with nothing?" Though his words were semi-formal, his tone was clearly a rebuke. I didn't know the exact relationship between Choi Sa-deuk and his four acquaintances, but the hierarchy was clear.
“F-fine, let's do it. As long as that bastard Jeok Chu-yeong is alive, how can any of us sleep peacefully?” Lacking the courage to defy Choi Sa-deuk, the middle-aged man quickly changed his words.
“But will the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect really do as we wish?"
“That's right.
Aren't they a bunch of baseless ruffians from the dark path? They're greedy bastards who demand ten for every one thing you ask them to do. We could lose the very pillars of our house.”
Choi Sa-deuk narrowed his eyes and snorted. “Don't you worry. Not a single coin will leave our pockets.
There's a way to handle every sort of fellow. Do you think this is the first or second time I've dealt with men like them?” A servant hurried in and bowed.
"Master, men from the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect have arrived.” Choi Sa-deuk took a magnificent sword from the wall, where it seemed to hang as a decoration.
Shing!
When he drew the sword, contrary to its lavishly decorated exterior, the sharp, blue-tinged blade was extremely practical in its design.
It was not a weapon one would expect to find hanging in a merchant's house, not even a martial family's. Choi Sa-deuk held the foul-smelling saber and stared down his companions one by one, as if engraving their faces into his eyes. “From this moment on, we must unite and see this through to the end.
I will not forgive anyone who spouts nonsense or tries to trip us up.” After his firm threat, Choi Sa-deuk led the group outside. Ho Yeon-geom silently watched Choi Sa-deuk's back as he left without paying the price for the robbery.
His face was a displeased mix of disappointment and anger. He didn't stop Choi Sa-deuk, as if he had something else in mind. After a quick glance in our direction, Ho Yeon-geom and the women also disappeared outside.
In the empty inner room, only Ye Hyang and I remained. "So this was an affair of the Underworld Information Clan?”
“I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. The pavilion master ordered it to be handled in absolute secrecy."
"It's fine. I am not an Underworld Clan member, so it's only natural. Is the work finished?"
“No. It's just beginning. Let's go out.”
We passed through a long hallway and went out to the front of the main building. Dozens of martial artists filled the courtyard, split into two groups and facing each other down. Beside me, Ye Hyang covered her mouth with her hand and explained who they were.
“That giant with the great saber slung across his back is A-ryong, the Asura Saber, ranked third in the Blood Snake Gang. He's a belligerent follower of the dark path, known to always draw blood once his blade is out." I could roughly picture what kind of saber technique he would use.
Overbearing saber strikes that intimidated with the power from his large frame. There were fellows like him among the bandits I had dealt with before, and in the factions I had previously fought.
When my martial ability was low, I struggled to win, but after learning the saber art, I developed my own ways to counter them and cut them down with ease. It would be difficult to become number three in a mid-sized faction with just baseless swings that rely only on strength.
Seeing that his presence was considerable, he might know a few proper forms. The Blood Snake Gang members standing behind him were your run-of-the-mill underlings of the dark path. Cruel, vile, greedy, and petty.
The faces of the Heaven-Shattering Sect were no different from the average of the dark path. The man standing at the very front wore scholar’s robes and had a rather impressively grown beard, but his two eyes were cold as a snake's. She said he was Ki Bae-yong, the Wandering Guest, a master of the Heaven-Shattering Sect.
The dark path is a place where a mere meeting of eyes can lead to murder. Yet, the two armed factions just glared at each other, as if in a staring contest. The Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect were said to be mortal enemies, based in the same region and always at each other's throats.
They were desperate to destroy each other, yet Choi Sa-deuk had somehow managed to gather both factions in one place. This was because all three had a common target they were after. The Black Night Gang.
When the first escort agency was established in the Western Village, and people began to gather and money began to circulate, followers of the dark path sprang up like mushrooms after rain. It was unclaimed territory for anyone to see, so the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect also rushed in, drooling.
And then they were annihilated by the Black Night Gang, led by Jeok Chu-yeong. In the process, the eldest son of the Blood Snake Gang's master and the top disciple of the Heaven-Shattering Sect ended up as dismembered corpses tossed in a gutter. Choi Sa-deuk handed over the two books he had acquired earlier, one to each side.
A-ryong held the book upside down, pretended to read it, and then passed it to his subordinate. Seeing this, the corner of Ki Bae-yong's mouth from the Heaven-Shattering Sect twitched. He looked like he was forcefully suppressing the urge to openly mock him for being illiterate.
When the subordinate whispered the contents into his ear, A-ryong's eyes widened. “Manor Lord Choi. Is what's written here true?
Is this really the... heart method our master was looking for?"
“It is true. What would I gain by deceiving the Blood Snake Gang.”
Ki Bae-yong held up what was in his hand and spoke.
“The Heaven-Shattering Sect will be taking everything written in these ledgers. It would be troublesome if you said otherwise later.”
"What? Ledgers? What ledgers? If it's the Black Night Gang's assets, the Blood Snake Gang has a right to them too!"
A-ryong's eyes flashed as he revealed his greed. Ki Bae-yong stared at him with contemptuous eyes and sneered.
“A right, you say. An uneducated, illiterate fool like you, try writing your name in this ledger. If you can, I'll specially give you about five percent.”
"What? Illiterate? You son of a bitch! Should I gouge out your eyes and see if the words can get in then?"
“Enough."
Choi Sa-deuk glared at both sides with chilling, sharp eyes. Even among the fierce followers of the dark path, his presence was not overshadowed in the least.
“We must hurry if we're to reach the Western Village before dawn. Do you intend to ruin things by arguing? All I need is that bastard Jeok Chu-yeong's head. You can divide the rest of the Black Night Gang's assets amongst yourselves.”
They could avenge their factions, gain merit, and make money. There was no reason to refuse. It would be difficult for the Blood Snake Gang or the Heaven-Shattering Sect alone, but if they joined forces, it was doable.
The fact that they had brought their subordinates this far meant that the order had already come from above.
“Shit, just you wait.”
“Kekeke, even if you look with your illiterate eyes, you'll only see blackness. What could you possibly see properly?" Once the deal was struck, they all rushed out of the Choi Family Manor.
They boarded the carriages scattered messily in front of the gate and hurried to the main road as if in a race. Choi Sa-deuk and his companions also boarded their own carriages, taking their guards and swordsmen with them. Ho Yeon-geom's group had disappeared somewhere in the meantime and were nowhere to be seen.
With no host or guests left, there was no reason to remain in the manor, so Ye Hyang and I also got on a carriage. The moonlight was dim and the night road was dark, so the driver drove the carriage as slowly as possible. Naturally, the distance between us and the carriages ahead grew wider.
I did not urge him to go faster. Arriving early would only mean more time watching the streets of the Western Village be stained with blood. I had no good feelings for the Black Night Gang, but I wasn't pleased to see them destroyed either.
Even if all those bastards were killed, the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect would just fight to the death over the remaining assets. The streets would become a scene of carnage, and innocent people would fall to stray blades.
Whoever won, once the situation settled down, they would bribe the authorities and repeat the same things the Black Night Gang had done. This was something that often happened in other cities as well. Because it wouldn't be the dark path if blood wasn't spilled when factions or generations changed.
The only difference here was that there was a separate mastermind who had orchestrated the whole thing. "The lord of the Choi Family Manor seems to hold a deep grudge against the Black Night Gang?" Without taking her eyes off the window, Ye Hyang replied.
"The master of the Black Night Gang found Choi Sa-deuk's weakness and has been continuously blackmailing him for money." To have a weakness found by someone from the dark path… A tycoon of his stature would surely have connections high up with the authorities.
And yet, instead of turning to the authorities, he deliberately brought in other dark path factions to resolve the matter in the way of a martial artist. I had a rough idea of the situation. Even if you worked your fingers to the bone your whole life, it wasn't easy to escape the mire of poverty.
Raising a fallen family on your own was only possible with extraordinary talent combined with heavenly luck. Passing the civil service exam was like plucking a star from the sky, and amassing wealth through business was just as difficult. No matter how wide the world was, wherever you set foot, certain merchant guilds had already taken root.
There were already many mouths feeding on any profitable business. Carelessly stick your spoon into someone else's territory, and you were likely to get a hole in your gut. The only things latecomers could do were jobs that made money but required risking one's life.
Things strictly forbidden by national law. "Was Choi Sa-deuk a black market merchant?”
At my guess, Ye Hyang flinched and turned her head. Her already large eyes widened so much that the whites showed clearly. “Just as the pavilion master said, your insight is extraordinary.
I merely said he had a weakness......"
“He must have paid a considerable amount in bribes to the authorities while amassing his wealth. So, if he's in such a rush to use the dark path to have others commit murder, isn't it obvious? That weakness must be something that can never be known to the authorities.”
As if she understood how I had deduced it, Ye Hyang nodded her head.
“That's right. Choi Sa-deuk is a black market merchant. After greatly raising his family's fortune, he laundered his identity into a legitimate business, but before that, he was a notorious figure of the dark path known as the Money Ghost, and Face of Evil, Heart of Evil. Salt smuggling, human trafficking, opium distribution. He wouldn't hesitate to do anything that made big money. The four companions with him earlier were his business partners or investors.”
Not a single one of those crimes was minor. Salt smuggling was equivalent to high treason. Beheading was the basic punishment, and if the law of collective responsibility was applied, every head in the entire family would fall.
Human trafficking and opium distribution also meant the death penalty if caught. If they found evidence and threatened to report him to the authorities, he would have no choice but to pay up.
He couldn't ask the authorities for help, but it was also unlikely that a vicious man of the dark path who had smuggled salt and trafficked people would just meekly let himself be extorted.
Hooo-oot. Hooo-oot.
When we reached a dark valley, the hoot of an owl could be heard from somewhere. The driver cupped his hands and made a similar sound. The eastern forest rustled, and a martial artist jumped out.
The driver stopped the carriage. As I stood up and reached for my long blade, Ye Hyang grabbed my wrist.
“It's alright. They are Underworld Clan members.”
The martial artist, having confirmed the driver's identity, sent a signal. About twenty Underworld Clan members, armed with sabers and swords, stealthily appeared. Among them, I saw a few familiar faces I had encountered at the Deep Fragrance Pavilion.
Ye Hyang got out of the carriage. She took out a sword from under the driver's seat, strapped it to her waist, and stepped forward.
“What about the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect?" A senior Underworld Clan member stepped forward a few paces and answered. “They passed by a quarter of an hour ago.” "And Choi Sa-deuk's group?" “They followed a short distance behind.” "Any signs they've noticed anything?”
“None. They were all too busy rushing ahead to be on guard.”
Ye Hyang took a silver token from her robes. The Underworld Clan members all dropped to one knee at once. It seemed to be a signifier that she was acting on the authority of Hong Hee, the Western Village Branch Master.
“Tonight, our clan will take over the Choi Family Manor."
“We obey the order.”
Acknowledging the command, the Underworld Clan members went into the thicket and brought out horses and carriages. The driver also got on the driver's seat and turned the horses around. The Underworld Information Clan sells information and sells wandering swordsmen.
They sell everything, but there is only one case where they project their military force under the name of the Underworld Information Clan.
"Revenge for the Underworld Information Clan?"
Ye Hyang bit her lip and nodded with a grim expression. The carriage turned back the way it came, heading for the Choi Family Manor. Ye Hyang gripped the scabbard of the sword at her waist and stared into the darkness outside the window.
I remembered what she had said during the day. To see a path to live, one must face their lifelong fear head-on and break through it. Through the depths of the dark night where all was asleep, the carriage moved on without rest.