"Kuh-euhm."
Bok Ha-gyu frowned and pushed his back off the inn wall. Because it was a kick delivered while his body was leaning back, he could not put his weight into it properly. Still, it seemed to have caught me off guard quite nicely.
My left arm, which had blocked Bok Ha-gyu's fist, was throbbing. I tried to look nonchalant to hide the pain as I looked at the opponent.
"Do you want to continue?"
"Why? Are you tired?"
"If you want, I can do this all day."
I straightened my shoulders confidently and held up my long blade. Bok Ha-gyu seemed to savor the exchange for a moment, then sheathed his sword.
"Your skills are too wasted to be wiping the asses of the Underworld Information Clan."
"I am not affiliated with the Underworld Information Clan."
"That is why the Underworld Information Clan won't back you up."
"Right now, the Alliance Inspector is my backer."
"Hmph, relying on the Alliance because there is nothing else to trust?"
"Bring that woodcutter here tomorrow morning."
"What are you plotting?"
"Aren't you going to catch him? The opium merchant."
"We are combing through Western Village like hunting for lice. He will be caught and dragged here soon."
I looked at Bok Ha-gyu closely with fresh eyes. His martial arts are decent and he has grit, but his scheming was terrible. Should I call this honest or just simple and ignorant?
The fact that minions of the Black Night Gang came to find me just because I bought firewood from a woodcutter who bought opium was already wrong from the start. Then again, if his scheming was excellent, he would have become a guild master, not just a leader.
"If you light a fire in your eyes and capture and torture anyone randomly, he will hide even more secretly. Judging by the fact that he hasn't been caught yet, he is no ordinary guy. In times like this, you have to use bait to fish him out. See you here tomorrow with the woodcutter."
I explained it so he would understand and left the Wandering Swordsmen Inn. Perhaps Bok Ha-gyu took prior measures, but there wasn't a single passerby, let alone dark path members, around. * I immediately met Geuk-hwan, explained the situation, and went to the detached houses together.
While Geuk-hwan met the inspector, I waited outside. A Murim Alliance member guarding the door caught my eye.
"Brother, which sect are you from?"
"None of your business."
The Murim Alliance member retorted bluntly. Not just anyone can join the Alliance. The younger generation of the Nine Sects and Five Great Families have connections, but I heard that small and medium clans compete fiercely to step over each other to get in.
So even ordinary Alliance members had great pride, like those who passed the military exams. Usually, if asked about their school, they would boast and list their sect's pride and heroic tales.
It was strange for him to be so cold to someone who isn't a dark path member met on the street, but a house guest acknowledged for martial arts by the Underworld Information Clan. Is he looking down on me for being a wandering swordsman? Observing carefully, the wariness was evident.
I was thinking of provoking him a bit more when Geuk-hwan came out.
"Let's go in."
"Aren't you coming in together?"
"He wants to see you alone."
Inspector Pyo Hol-deuk asked immediately without offering a seat as soon as he saw me.
"You contacted the Black Night Gang? Was there any result?"
"It seems the Black Night Gang was also having a headache because of the guy selling opium in Western Village recently..."
I described the appearance of the opium merchant I saw at the Wandering Swordsmen Inn. Pyo Hol-deuk's two eyes flashed sharply.
"Sounds like he is the one. Where is he now? Did the Black Night Gang catch him?"
"We decided to set a trap to catch him tomorrow."
"Are you sure? There must be no mistakes."
"In exchange for cooperation, the Black Night Gang wants their safety guaranteed. They ask the Alliance to acknowledge that they are unrelated to the opium merchant."
"Understood. I will do so."
Pyo Hol-deuk accepted readily. Even though it was a deal with the dark path, there was not a shred of hesitation.
"The Black Night Gang wants a written confirmation."
"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of the dark path, so suspicious."
Pyo Hol-deuk sat at the table and picked up a brush. He scribbled on the paper without hesitation and took out a seal from his bosom to stamp it.
"Here it is. Give it to them."
He wrote it hurriedly, but since it wasn't cursive script, it wasn't hard to recognize. The content stated that the Black Night Gang cooperated with the Alliance's investigation, and the Murim Alliance Inspector guaranteed they were unrelated to the opium. At the bottom, Pyo Hol-deuk's name and seal were stamped.
Suspicion deepened in my mind. In any organization, the higher-ups always only promised with their mouths. If asked to write it down, they would get annoyed asking if they weren't trusted, or get angry like fire.
It was a calculation to avoid creating room for future problems, with the nasty intention of swindling money if push came to shove. Even if he is blinded by achieving credit, to write a document with his name and seal so carelessly. Moreover, the opponents are dark path members whom the Alliance doesn't treat as humans.
The dark path is a target for eradication, not negotiation. Even if exchanging something, one must solve it verbally as much as possible to leave no evidence. That way, one's name does not get dirty for colluding with the dark path, nor can it be used against them later.
An ordinary inspector would have promised verbally and then feigned ignorance after catching the merchant. Then he would frame the Black Night Gang as the opium merchant's backer in the report. The Black Night Gang would claim they cooperated, but without evidence, it would be dismissed as dirty lies, and they would be crushed by force.
Whether it is the authorities or the martial world, the higher-ups always handle things that way. If the Black Night Gang plays tricks with this document, it will be a headache for a long time. Pyo Hol-deuk shouldn't be unaware, but there was no worry on his face.
Only the anticipation of capturing the opium merchant. As if he doesn't care even if problems arise later because of this document.
"I won't forget your contribution when we catch the opium merchant."
Pyo Hol-deuk smiled benevolently and spoke generously. Shall I test him? It seemed he would readily write one if I asked for a written guarantee for myself.
My throat itched to ask, but I didn't want to get involved deeper, so I turned around there. Walking through the alley after leaving Deep Fragrance Pavilion, subtle gazes stuck to the back of my head. Looking back, gatekeepers wearing Dragon Sky Escort Agency uniforms whispered something, then flinched and looked away.
* Next morning, I went straight to the Wandering Swordsmen Inn. Bok Ha-gyu brought the woodcutter as I said. I handed over the document received from the inspector yesterday.
"Is this enough?"
Bok Ha-gyu read the document silently and stared at me with suspicious eyes.
"Did the inspector write this easily?"
"It wasn't easy."
I shook my head and pointed to the woodcutter held among the dark path members.
"I will take this friend out for a moment."
"Where?"
"To eat."
"There is food here too, isn't there?"
"With such scary faces watching, do you think rice will go down his throat?"
Bok Ha-gyu glared for a moment then let us go. I received the document guaranteed by the Murim Alliance Inspector, and he probably knows where this woodcutter lives. If I fail to keep my promise to him, I wouldn't be able to meet Jeok Chu-yeong.
I took the woodcutter to Wind River Inn and fed him. He devoured dumplings and noodles like a starving man. Since the money earned from selling firewood isn't much and he bought expensive opium, he probably has many debts here and there.
"How did those guys know to come find me at Wind River Inn the other day?"
The young woodcutter stopped eating the dumpling and answered hurriedly.
"I didn't know. You said you stopped by Wandering Swordsmen Inn that day? They caught all martial artists who were at the inn and beat them. Some of them recognized you, Hero. I know that the guys collecting tribute mentioned Wind River Inn after hearing your name and description. I was caught on my way home."
I recalled the unpleasant faces I saw at Wandering Swordsmen Inn when I went to buy dry rations and jerky.
"There shouldn't be anyone there who knows me?"
"Didn't you fight evenly with Escort Leader Pung Kang-ik and slice through dozens of bandits? They say you use the long blade like a ghost..."
Suddenly, I thought of Gu-sam. I also recalled Pung Oh-bok, who learned fist techniques from him, looking up at me with sparkling eyes. I am nameless without a title, but looking back, I was somewhat active in Western Village.
It is nothing great, but it seems I am talked about enough by martial artists who live by the sword. No wonder the minions of the Black Night Gang hesitated to draw their swords.
"Did you tell them where my house is?"
The woodcutter stopped his chopsticks and looked straight into my eyes.
"I did not say. If I had answered meekly, my face wouldn't be like this."
Good eyes.
He is not cruel enough to harm others carelessly, but he has the strength to shake his head and resist violence. Whether this woodcutter told them or not, the Black Night Gang would have found out my residence eventually.
He wouldn't be unaware of that, but he kept his mouth shut even when he was dragged to Wind River Inn and faced me. I realized then. He might be beaten due to weakness, but he is not a man whose spirit breaks.
I don't know how many people the opium merchant traded with in Western Village, but right now, this woodcutter is the only way to contact him. I must open this friend's mouth and get his cooperation. Even if I beat and pester him, if he denies knowing until the end or makes up lies, there is no solution.
In fact, that is how he answered the Black Night Gang guys. He said the opium merchant approached him first when he was coming out of a clinic, and he only bought opium once at Wandering Swordsmen Inn. That was not true.
From the first time I went to buy firewood, the woodcutter's body smelled of opium. Since I saw him trading at Wandering Swordsmen Inn after that, he purchased it at least twice. There must be a separate way to meet the opium merchant.
As I talked and coaxed him gently, it was as I expected. If he goes to a specific place and does a specific action, the opium merchant confirms it and comes to sell opium.
"What do you want?"
"I need to get back the opium the Black Night Gang guys took."
"Anything else?"
The woodcutter closed his mouth and looked at the table for a while before continuing.
"For treatment fees, the days I couldn't work, and adding this and that... I must receive 3 taels of silver."
"What is your name?"
"I am called Hwang Hae."
"Have you seen the sea?"
"No. My father named me to live broadly like the sea, but I haven't even seen Dongting Lake, let alone the sea."
It is probably due to his sick mother who is on the brink of death. To some, family is a support that lets them settle in one place and live with a stable mind, but to others, it becomes a shackle that prevents them from leaving.
"If you rip off money from the Black Night Gang, it will be hard to live in Western Village anymore."
"It doesn't matter. Dying this way or that way..."
"If I get all that for you, will you cooperate in catching the opium merchant?"
"Of course."
I finished the meal and came out. The minions of the Black Night Gang who came to watch followed at a distance, hesitating. I went to Wandering Swordsmen Inn and held out my hand.
"Give me the opium you took from that friend and add 10 taels of silver."
"Give it to him."
At Bok Ha-gyu's order, a subordinate opened his pouch without a word. I received the opium and silver and took Hwang Hae out the back door. Hwang Hae's eyes widened at the large sum he had never seen in his life.
"This is too much..."
"Whether it is 3 taels or 10, the fact that you took money from the Black Night Gang is the same. Since you are already marked, it is better to have a heavy pocket. You should leave immediately after the job is done."
"... Yes. It will probably be so. Since this will be the last opium."
Hwang Hae clutched the opium wrapped in paper with a heavy expression. Now that he can no longer find opium in Western Village, Hwang Hae's dying mother will take this all at once and cross the river of the underworld without pain. If things go well, Hwang Hae will leave Western Village within tonight.
"Do not go to Dongting Lake. It is swarming with martial artists. You will meet three bandits before you take ten steps. Head east and go to Hangzhou. The sea there is exquisite. There are many beauties, and the shrimp and crab dishes are delicious."
The memory of staying in Hangzhou and learning the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique from the one-armed saber wielder Mun-hwi came back faintly. Hangzhou was a completely different world from my hometown, Western Village. I acknowledged that the saying 'heaven on earth' wasn't coined for nothing, but I couldn't get attached to it in the end.
The more flashy and rich the city was, the greater the emptiness felt because the people I really wanted to see weren't there.
"If you go to Hangzhou, beware of one martial artist."
"One must be careful of all martial artists."
"Well, that is true... but there is one man you must be especially careful of."
"Who is it?"
"You will know when you go. He is a man notorious for corpses piling up wherever he goes."
I went to the local clinic with Hwang Hae. Hwang Hae pulled out a stone stuck in one side of the wall and moved its position.
"If I do this, the opium merchant will come to Wandering Swordsmen Inn in the evening. We met like that before. May I stop by my house for a moment?"
I looked up at the sky and nodded. It was still a long time before the sun would set. A slum on the outskirts where shabby shacks rubbed their narrow shoulders together.
When the straw mat hanging instead of a door was lifted, a few rats scattered into the blurry darkness. A gaunt, hollow-eyed white-haired woman lay alone on the messy dirt floor. She was a patient dying slowly and persistently, as if being eaten by an incurable disease.
"I am here."
Hwang Hae went inside, and the mat was lowered. I stepped back to one side and waited, watching the back mountain colored with autumn leaves. Two dark path members who had been tailing us from Wandering Swordsmen Inn chewed on something and stared from a distance.
After a long while, Hwang Hae came out smelling strongly of opium.
"Is it done?"
"... She went peacefully."
A voice thick with emotion. His face, unable to lift his head, was clearly wet. With the money ripped from the Black Night Gang earlier, Hwang Hae hired a laborer and buried his dead mother in the nearby hill.
It was closer to disposing of a corpse than a funeral, but just not being eaten by wild animals was a good ending. We returned to Wandering Swordsmen Inn in the late afternoon. I had baited the hook and thrown it, so now it was time to wait and fish.
The sun went down, and the inside of the inn became dark. It was the time when it should be bustling, but the tables were half empty. The guys planting their butts on the seats were all members of the Black Night Gang.
Since the opium merchant might notice, we didn't block entry. Martial artists who entered unknowingly noticed the sharp atmosphere and fierce eyes, stepped back slowly, and were inevitably caught. When Hwang Hae shook his head, instead of releasing them, they were tied up and shoved into the kitchen.
When about seven people were piled up, a martial artist covering his face with a bamboo hat entered through the back door. He scanned the interior quickly from under the wide brim and walked to the table where Hwang Hae sat. He sat opposite without taking off the bamboo hat.
Hwang Hae confirmed the face, nodded, and lifted his teacup then put it down.
"Catch that bastard!"
The Black Night Gang guys stood up all at once and raided the opium merchant. The opium merchant gritted his teeth, kicked off his seat, and ran for the back door. He rammed a blocking dark path member with his shoulder to open a path.
The dark path members swarmed out. Dark path members hiding in the alley also poured out. Chaotic footsteps, curses, and shouts continued until finally, a cheer erupted.
After a brutal beating followed, the opium merchant was dragged into the inn and slammed onto the floor. Because he was surrounded by dozens in an instant, it ended without him even being able to draw his sword once.
"Cough, cough."
The bloodied opium merchant curled his body tightly and convulsed. It was the face I saw before.
"Thinking about how much I suffered because of this damn son of a bitch..."
A large dark path member, eyes rolled back in rage, pulled out a dagger. Since the order came from above, they couldn't kill the opium merchant. He seemed intended to cut off a few fingers to vent his anger.
I blocked his front, holding out my long blade.
"Back off. From now on, this guy is mine."
When I glared with cold killing intent, the face of the dark path member, whose honor was damaged in front of his subordinates, distorted violently.
"If you are confident, come at me. I don't think Grand Venom Master will say anything if I cut down one of you."
Only then did the dark path member swallow dry spit, sheath his knife, and retreat. I sent the waiting Underworld Clan member to call a carriage, loaded the opium merchant, and headed to Deep Fragrance Pavilion.