“Betraying your client. Truly, you are like filth from the gutter. You've named your sect well.”
Even though Choi Sa-deuk openly scorned their sect, the Underworld Clan members didn't even reply. For there was another who would speak for the group. Ye Hyang stepped forward.
Everything was different from the previous evening, when she had faced Choi Sa-deuk with a pipa in her hands. She wore a sword at her waist, and her face, no longer hiding her emotions, was filled with deep-seated hostility. Her tone, too, was stiff and sharp.
“The Underworld Information Clan keeps faith with its clients until a request is complete. However, an enemy of our clan is an exception. We will surely exact a blood debt. By any means necessary.”
“Enemy? Don't give me that nonsense! Didn't you conspire with the Black Night Gang to swallow the manor whole? What grudge could I possibly have with the Underworld Information Clan?”
Ye Hyang glared at Choi Sa-deuk and spat out coldly.
“The Jiangxi Dogok Branch of the Underworld Information Clan.”
Choi Sa-deuk’s eyes twitched.
“You massacred them eight years ago. Branch Master Oh Jong-geum and all seventeen of his subordinates.”
At the mention of the massacre, the killing intent of the Underworld Clan members thickened. The blades in their hands trembled as if they had smelled blood.
“At first, the clan thought it was the work of the dark paths. Jiangxi is the territory of the dark paths, where even the Nine Sects have little power." "The Clan Lord searched through every sect and faction in Jiangxi as if picking out lice, but nothing came up." "Then, we found the tail of the beast in an unexpected place. The problem was the last request the Dogok Branch Master had taken…”
It was a request to obtain information about an opium crackdown. It came right after the newly appointed provincial commander, sent down by imperial order, had declared a large-scale sweep of the opium smuggling and sales organizations. The night he passed the information, which he had obtained by bribing an official, to the client, the Dogok branch was attacked.
“It was to silence them. By interrogating and investigating all the opium merchants in the Jiangxi region, we found out that the culprits had gone up the Yangtze River on a smuggling ship. After they burned the ship in the Hubei area and fled, their whereabouts were unknown. It was as if they had soared into the sky; we couldn't find a trace of them anywhere.”
Though Choi Sa-deuk glared at her as if to kill her, Ye Hyang did not stop speaking.
“Seasons changed, years passed, and still there was no news. We wasted seven years and came up empty-handed. Until last winter, when an acquaintance of the enemy placed a request with the Underworld Information Clan. Do you still think the Underworld Information Clan has broken its faith?”
Choi Sa-deuk gritted his teeth with a grinding sound.
“Damn it. I should have taken care of those bastards sooner.”
“Why did you massacre the Dogok branch?”
“Khahaha, you don't even know that? You foolish wench. The provincial commander offered a pardon and a thousand silver taels to anyone who provided information on the opium organization.”
Choi Sa-deuk narrowed his eyes with a grim expression.
“A thousand silver taels is enough to make anyone’s eyes roll back in their head. Parents would inform on their children, and brothers would strangle each other for that. A few of my own men were swayed. Things only calmed down after I chopped them all up and fed them to the fish.”
As if recalling that time, Choi Sa-deuk stared intently at the curved saber in his hand.
“Do you think the Underworld Information Clan is any different? If I had hesitated for even a moment, the Dogok branch would have tailed me and reported me to the provincial commander. I just made the first move. In the martial world, blaming your opponent for being slow is just the futile whining of a novice.”
Ye Hyang drew her sword.
“Since the enemy has confessed his crime, I will collect the blood debt in the name of the Underworld Information Clan.”
Choi Sa-deuk thrust his curved saber forward and took a stance. His bloodshot eyes glinted like a beast’s. “Fine. Come at me.
I’ll split your skull wide open too.” Ye Hyang kicked off the ground and charged. The twenty Underworld Clan members moved at the same time, as if they had been waiting.
No matter how great a master, when dozens of blades fly in from all directions, the mind goes blank. They often freeze up and are helplessly minced into meat. Choi Sa-deuk was not like that.
He paid no mind to the other blades. He rushed toward Ye Hyang like a predator and swung his curved saber without hesitation.
Clang!
Ye Hyang deflected the blow with her fluid sword technique, but she was pushed back a step by his superior strength. Having seized the momentum, Choi Sa-deuk’s eyes flashed as he thrust his blade. I moved in from the side, striking down on his arm with my long blade to break his rhythm.
Startled, Choi Sa-deuk quickly twisted his body to dodge. Seeing the blades close in, he swung his curved saber in wide arcs as if dancing, forcing the Underworld Clan members back. No matter how large their numbers, only a set amount could attack at once.
Choi Sa-deuk knew this well. He showed no signs of being intimidated, accustomed as he was to chaotic battles. Ye Hyang’s sword curved sharply like a snake, aiming for Choi Sa-deuk’s neck.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
It was a rather sinister sword form. Though not yet perfected, its foundation was solid. Choi Sa-deuk’s saber technique, honed by fighting river pirates on smuggling ships along the Yangtze River, prioritized killing intent over form.
Like all blade work learned through spilling blood in real combat, it was brutal but full of openings. There were quite a few parts that were needlessly flashy or recklessly sloppy, as if leaving things to luck. I could have ended it easily with the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique, but I focused on protecting Ye Hyang from the side.
Taking revenge on Choi Sa-deuk was the duty of Ye Hyang and the Underworld Clan members.
“Kugh!”
The Underworld Clan members’ blades began to reach Choi Sa-deuk’s back. Though not fatal, his back became soaked with blood, and growing anxious, Choi Sa-deuk gritted his teeth and threw himself forward. A desperate, all-or-nothing charge aimed for Ye Hyang’s throat.
The end was near. I used my footwork to move diagonally into his blind spot and slashed upward with my long blade.
Clang!!
With a heavy metallic clang, the curved saber was knocked into the air. For a moment, Choi Sa-deuk’s chest was wide open. Ye Hyang did not miss the opportunity.
She advanced quickly, putting her strength into a sword thrust. Tracing a sword path that looked strangely familiar, the blade pierced through Choi Sa-deuk’s left chest and emerged from his back.
“Keok!”
When the sword was withdrawn, Choi Sa-deuk collapsed. Ye Hyang kicked the curved saber that had fallen to the ground out of the way and knelt, pressing her sword to the neck of the fallen Choi Sa-deuk.
“Cough, cough, who are you? Yesterday, when you were playing the pipa, you were frozen stiff like a virgin. Today, you’re full of venom like a late autumn viper. Are you one of the girls I sold?”
Ye Hyang opened her mouth, her eyes cold.
“Ha Woon-gil. He was my father. A member of the Dogok branch of the Underworld Information Clan. He died at your hands. Kim Yeong-yeong. She was my mother. After the Dogok branch fell, she and I were kidnapped by nearby dark path members. During that time, my two older brothers fought back with swords and were brutally murdered. My mother died in a brothel. As for me…”
A knot of emotions welled up, choking her, and Ye Hyang’s voice grew hoarse. Taking a deep breath, Ye Hyang glared directly at her enemy.
“I am Ha Cho-yeon. With the help of my father’s old acquaintance who recognized me, I returned to the clan and have waited for this day, to cut off your head and chew on your innards.”
Choi Sa-deuk gave up his resistance and offered his neck.
“Khahaha, kill me then. I’ve lived a life without regrets, so to go like this must be a blessing.”
As if refusing to cooperate meekly in the completion of her revenge, Choi Sa-deuk grinned mockingly. At his brazen appearance, as if he had transcended life and death, Ye Hyang’s face contorted. Biting her lip, she raised her sword.
It seemed she intended to cut off at least one of his arms. To make him die writhing in pain. Then, as if she suddenly remembered what true pain was, Ye Hyang’s expression became placid.
Her sword slowly lowered back to its position. In a voice devoid of any emotion, Ye Hyang spoke.
“Don’t worry about your family hidden at your wife’s home. The Shaanxi Branch has already made its move, so you’ll meet them soon. I heard your only son is quite clever. He’s already finished the Thousand Character Classic, hasn’t he?”
At the threat to his family, Choi Sa-deuk’s expression turned savage.
“You bitch. If you touch a single hair on Won’s head, I’ll tear you to piec—” Slice.
Ye Hyang’s sword cut through Choi Sa-deuk’s neck. Rolling once on the ground, Choi Sa-deuk’s face stared up at the sky, his eyes wide with a terrifying glare. As if he couldn't close his eyes in death, thinking of the harm that would come to his family.
That expression seemed to please her. For the first time, something resembling a smile formed on Ye Hyang’s lips. I suddenly understood why Hong Hee had entrusted this mission to Ye Hyang.
It wasn't just to give her cherished adopted daughter a chance to resolve her grudge and take revenge. It was a test of sorts, for her to achieve merit and grow stronger. The position of an Underworld Clan Branch Master was not something that could simply be handed down to a favorite.
One had to receive permission from the Clan Lord above and prove their ability to lead the organization below, earning the trust and loyalty of its members. The story was perfect, too. The daughter of a wrongly murdered Underworld Clan member personally taking revenge on the enemy.
This matter would be reported to the Underworld Clan Lord, and Ye Hyang would be acknowledged as Hong Hee’s successor. Ye Hyang bent her knees and grasped Choi Sa-deuk’s hair with her long, slender fingers. As she stood up, blood trickled from the severed neck of the head in her hand.
She turned and headed for the carriage. With each step, drops of blood fell, leaving a long trail. Having faced the fear of a lifetime head-on and walked this far, Ye Hyang held the enemy’s severed head in one hand and the blood-stained sword in the other.
That was the path the next master of the Western Village branch of the Underworld Information Clan would walk. * The Choi Family Manor changed its sign to that of a small escort agency. It wasn't a real escort agency, but a front company and safehouse for the Underworld Information Clan.
Every servant and maid working at the Choi Family Manor became a member of the Underworld Clan without exception. They had nowhere else to go even if they were told to leave, so they all meekly accepted their new master. To the outside world, Choi Sa-deuk was said to have died of illness.
As rumors were bound to arise, the pavilion master invited the county magistrate and local dignitaries to the Deep Fragrance Pavilion. Crates filled with silver ingots were loaded onto carriages, and the prefect also graced the occasion with his presence. That night, all the connections that could have spoken to the authorities on Choi Sa-deuk’s behalf were severed.
Everything was wrapped up as smoothly as flowing water. The clash between dark path members that occurred in the mountains near the Western Village in the middle of the night was settled even more easily.
Gossipmongers were excited to have new material for their conversations, but the authorities merely glanced at the bodies scattered at the foot of the mountain and left. The Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect collected dozens of bodies. Not a single body went to the Black Night Gang.
The bodies that were ultimately left unclaimed were taken by crows and mountain beasts. An incident of this magnitude was bound to become a rumor, no matter how thoroughly it was kept secret. So the Underworld Information Clan did not try to silence people.
Instead, they skillfully embellished the content and direction of the rumors to their advantage, creating a tale of revenge. Was the Underworld Information Clan criticized by martial artists for betraying a client's trust? Not at all.
The martial world is a place where debts of kindness and grudges are settled more clearly than anywhere else. By properly avenging their unjustly killed members, the reputation of the Underworld Information Clan actually rose a little. Ye Hyang's pipa playing was already famous, but it became even more so after that.
Before, it was simply sorrowful and heart-wrenching, but now, they say the breadth and expression of her emotions have become richer. They say a freshness has been added, like a new sprout after a harsh winter wind, but I can't really tell the difference when I listen. This request was quite troublesome and had many twists and turns.
Not being a member of the Underworld Clan, I couldn't know the detailed circumstances or how things were handled. Still, the reward for the job was satisfying.
“You mentioned before that you were looking for a spiritual herb, didn't you?”
In the wooden box that Geuk-hwan presented, there was a fist-sized herb with a bright red fruit. Unlike the Heavenly Mountain Snow Ginseng, I could feel a faint Yang energy from it, but it was clearly a spiritual herb.
“This is the Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng. It was difficult to obt—” “Do you have another root?”
“…I do not.”
I put the spiritual herb in my robes, left the Deep Fragrance Pavilion, and went straight to Physician Sang.