It should be about time... Won Seo-gang pressed himself tightly against the side of the back door of the Destruction Pavilion, waiting for his chance. Even if Bok Ha-gyu had run to the burning Five Phoenix Pavilion, he would eventually come here.
It would also be fine if the Master of the Destruction Squad led his men out to strike at Bok Ha-gyu. Whatever happened, when only the minimum number of men remained in the Destruction Pavilion, he had to charge in at once and snatch Ban Ho-yang.
If he delayed even a little, that bastard Ban Ho-yang would run away with his tail between his legs again. That rotten son of a bitch of a traitor. I won't lose you a second time...
Won Seo-gang clenched his fists and sharpened his senses. A moment later, the commotion he had been waiting for erupted from the front of the pavilion.
"Bok Ha-gyu! You son of a bitch! Die!"
With Im Ja-gyeon's roar, the fight between the two sides began. The clang of clashing swords. Screams and shouts, curses filled with rage.
The dull thud of blows... Won Seo-gang quietly stood before the back door. After exchanging a signal with Hwang Kang-ju, he kicked the door in and entered.
The inside of the Destruction Pavilion was chaotic. Still, it wasn't so chaotic that they couldn't hear the sound of the door falling off its hinges.
"Who is it? Keuk!"
He cut down the dark path warrior who had spoken and pushed deeper inside before stopping. Three dark path warriors had drawn their blades, blocking his path.
"Step aside. If you don't want to die."
Won Seo-gang threatened, raising his blood-stained sword. The dark path warriors didn't budge. Even though their comrade had been killed in an instant right before their eyes, they did not flee or retreat.
They were that well-trained. The squad masters, too, possessed considerable martial ability for a countryside faction. Indeed, it had been a good decision not to climb over the walls of the Black Night Gang alone, but to gather men and wait for an opportunity.
"Kill them!"
The dark path warriors charged, blades in hand.
"Great Hero Hwang, let's begin."
"Very well!"
Hwang Kang-ju stepped forward and swung his broadsword in a wide arc.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
"Guh!"
"Don't fall back! Surround them!"
Won Seo-gang lowered his sword and charged down the opposite corridor. While Hwang Kang-ju dealt with the small fry, he would find Ban Ho-yang. They had agreed on this from the beginning.
Where could this son of a bitch be hiding? He didn't know the internal structure of the pavilion, so he had no choice but to search everywhere. He opened and checked the rooms lining both sides of the corridor one by one.
A hidden dark path warrior swung his sword without warning. Since he was prepared, he immediately parried the blow and stabbed the man in the neck. When he reached the end of the corridor and turned back, the three dark path warriors had already become corpses, scattered about.
Hwang Kang-ju, who had performed beyond expectations, was busy searching the pouches of the dead men. When their eyes met, Hwang Kang-ju put on an awkward expression and made an excuse.
"This... I will give this to those who were harmed by the dark path warriors or whose livelihoods are in danger."
"... As expected of Great Hero Hwang."
There was no need to ask, and no need to answer. Killing and taking was something every martial artist did. Ho Yeon-geom was probably doing something similar at the Five Phoenix Pavilion.
Hwang Kang-ju, who was no martial arts novice, feeling embarrassed about such a thing was what was strange. He remembered the first time he had met Hwang Kang-ju.
He had heard that he had a decent reputation as a righteous hero, so he went to see him, only to find him living in despair, caring for his family in a shabby hut. His family looked terrible. Hwang Kang-ju himself seemed half-ruined.
He had been at a loss as to how to persuade him. When he mentioned it was an act of a righteous hero, to punish the men of the dark path, Hwang Kang-ju showed no response at all. Rather, he looked at him with eyes full of disillusioned resentment, which was quite bewildering.
Only when he offered ten silver taels upfront did the look in his eyes change. His face looked much brighter now than it did then.
"I'll go up. Great Hero Hwang, please provide support."
"I understand."
Without a word, Hwang Kang-ju picked up his broadsword and headed for the main entrance on the first floor. Watching his back, a sense of regret washed over him. If they moved together, he would surely be of great help...
But it was too dangerous. If by some chance he overheard the conversation between him and Ban Ho-yang, it would become a headache. Won Seo-gang cast aside his lingering thoughts and ran up the stairs as if flying.
"Wh-what?"
A few dark path warriors, who had been holed up somewhere while a commotion raged outside and were only now crawling out, drew their blades. Won Seo-gang didn't stop, stabbing their legs and torsos wherever his sword landed as he rounded the landing.
Faced with the dazzling, snake-like trajectory of his sword, the dark path warriors helplessly spewed blood and collapsed onto the stairs. There were only a few rooms on the second floor. He quickly searched them and went up to the third floor.
Ban Ho-yang was nowhere to be seen. His heart grew anxious. Passing the fourth floor and reaching the final fifth floor, his impatience reached its peak.
Had he already escaped... He wasn't even a member of the Black Night Gang, just a house guest mooching off their food. It was only natural that he would flee upon seeing trouble.
The thought that he might lose him again brought a wave of dizzying vertigo. Won Seo-gang took a deep breath. He let out a shout like a scream, filled with boiling resentment and anger.
"Ban Ho-yang!"
The three characters of his name, etched into his very bones, resounded thunderously through the empty corridor. The door of a room in the middle of the corridor creaked open. A middle-aged man wearing a sword came out, recognized Won Seo-gang, and was terrified.
His drooping eyes and chubby cheeks twitched as if in a seizure.
"So there you were."
Thrilled with overwhelming joy, Won Seo-gang smiled brightly. Ban Ho-yang, his face pale, darted to the opposite end of the corridor.
"I won't lose you this time!"
Won Seo-gang quickly gave chase. The distance between him and Ban Ho-yang rapidly closed. There were no more dark path warriors to block his path.
At the end of the corridor, Ban Ho-yang opened a window and jumped out without hesitation. Caught off guard by his unexpected boldness, Won Seo-gang's eyes widened. Falling from the fifth floor to the ground, one could never be unscathed.
A broken bone or two was fine. But his head shattering for an instant death was unacceptable. He hurriedly grabbed the windowsill and looked outside.
Ban Ho-yang hadn't fallen to the ground. He was running across the roof of a warehouse attached to the side of the pavilion. The height to the roof was only about ten feet.
Won Seo-gang felt relieved. Yes, that bastard shouldn't die so easily. He sheathed his sword and, without delay, stepped on the windowsill and leaped.
Thump!
Bending his knees to absorb the impact with his lower body, he landed safely on the roof. The tiles under his weight shattered with a loud noise. Though he must have heard the sound, Ban Ho-yang didn't look back.
As if knowing he would be caught if he stopped, he ran for his life. Won Seo-gang also kicked off the roof and gave chase. The life granted to the traitor would end tonight.
I will catch him. I will kill him. * Hwang Kang-ju patted one side of his full chest.
The unfamiliar sensation brought a fresh wave of mixed emotions. Every time he searched the pouches of the dark path warriors, he found at least one silver tael or banknote.
"The bad guys live better, I see."
It couldn't have been money earned through honest sweat. It was the blood and tears of good people, squeezed out through things like protection fees and tributes. Carrying it in his bosom made him feel as if he had received tribute from these bastards.
He felt strangely unpleasant and uncomfortable, as if he had become one of them. Hwang Kang-ju shook his head vigorously, brushing off the useless thoughts. This wasn't just money.
It was medicine money for his son. It was food money for his wife and family. It was the price of the blanket his family would sleep under this winter.
And for the people who suffered unjustly at the hands of the dark path warriors, the orphans, the elderly... For those who lived each day with difficulty, it was a single meal, a single bundle of firewood to warm their frozen bodies.
When he walked around with his shoulders squared, calling himself a righteous hero, intoxicated by people's praise and admiring gazes, he had not known. That being a righteous hero wasn't just about coolly beating up villains.
When his family was driven from their beloved home into a hovel fit only for beasts, Hwang Kang-ju decided to cast aside his empty fame. Looking back, there were many times he had been deluded by sweet words of praise and used as a free problem-solver or a swordsman.
No matter how he thought about it, that was not the life of a righteous hero. From now on, it would be different. That didn't mean he had abandoned his heart as a righteous hero.
He would provide for his family, help those in need, and if absolutely necessary, he would use his blade with caution. The priority of his work began with his family. Outside the pavilion, Bok Ha-gyu and Im Ja-gyeon were engaged in a fierce battle.
Their subordinates were also viciously trading sword blows, killing and being killed. The squad masters were evenly matched, but among the subordinates, Im Ja-gyeon's side had the upper hand. The majority of the dark path warriors who were struck down or retreated were on Bok Ha-gyu's side.
Now was the perfect time for a pincer attack. Hwang Kang-ju lowered his body and stealthily moved outside the pavilion. The moonlight was bright, but everyone was fighting so frantically that no one noticed his presence.
He easily slipped behind the dark path warriors of the Destruction Pavilion. Just as he was about to attack from behind, he instinctively hesitated, thinking it was cowardly. Hwang Kang-ju gave a bitter smile at his own reflection, still seeming to cling to a reputation that amounted to nothing.
To face many alone, it couldn't be helped. Besides, his opponents were men of the dark path who would stop at nothing. No one would curse him for being a coward for this.
Hwang Kang-ju readjusted his grip on his broadsword and struck at their backs.
"Aargh!"
"What?"
"An attack from behind!"
The members of the Destruction Squad, caught by surprise, jumped to the side. Bok Ha-gyu's subordinates didn't miss the opportunity and thrust their swords relentlessly. Attacked from both sides, one flank of their formation was breached in an instant.
As three of his subordinates collapsed, spewing blood, fire ignited in Im Ja-gyeon's eyes. He swung his sword wide to create distance from Bok Ha-gyu and quickly assessed the situation. His eyes fell on the son of a bitch who was running wild, cutting down his men.
"These damn bastards..."
Grinding his teeth, he charged at Hwang Kang-ju, but Bok Ha-gyu lunged from his blind spot. Im Ja-gyeon hastily bent his back and parried with his sword. His reaction was nimble and beast-like, but with his feet planted, he couldn't withstand the continuous storm of sword strikes.
"Kaaargh!"
With a deep gash on his shoulder, Im Ja-gyeon retreated. In that short time, another of his subordinates had died, and the tide of battle had turned in an instant.
"Don't stop, push forward!"
Bok Ha-gyu roared thunderously and unleashed a furious barrage of strikes as if to sever his lifeline. * The area around the burning Five Phoenix Pavilion was overflowing with people. Not only the gang members but also the servants had all been called out and were dousing the flames with sand and water.
Thanks to their efforts, the fire had yet to climb even halfway up the pavilion. From the place where Bok Ha-gyu had led his men, the sounds of clashing steel and screams boiled up. It seemed he had immediately launched a surprise attack on the Destruction Pavilion.
Won Seo-gang and Hwang Kang-ju must have started their pincer attack as well. The inside of the Black Night Gang was a scene of chaos with the fire and fighting, but the Crouching Dragon Hall alone was peaceful. Only about ten of Bok Ha-gyu's subordinates stood guard in front of the pavilion.
All of them, with tense faces, were watching the burning Five Phoenix Pavilion and the darkness-shrouded Destruction Pavilion. A while later, a group of martial artists came running this way. Judging by the fire at their backs, they were the dark path warriors of the Five Phoenix Pavilion.
"Who is that?"
"The Master of the Five Phoenix Squad."
"Seon Do-mu?"
"That's right."
"What is everyone going to do?"
Without taking his eyes off the approaching enemy, Bok Ha-gyu's subordinate answered.
"We must protect the Master."
The other nine men also did not turn their heads. He didn't know how he had picked only men like these, but for dark path warriors, they were quite full of loyalty. Of course, I had no intention of doing so, nor any reason to.
I went inside the pavilion and watched from a window.
"Stop! This is the Master's residence! Come any closer and I will cut you down!"
Seon Do-mu shouted like a roar in front of the Crouching Dragon Hall.
"Bok Ha-gyu! Where is that bastard! How dare he set fire to my pavilion? That son of a bitch who deserves to be drawn and quartered!"
"The squad master is currently out."
"Hah, out, my ass. He must have gone to strike at Im Ja-gyeon. I'm not one to be fooled by such a pathetic feint."
Seon Do-mu glared at the dark path warriors guarding the Crouching Dragon Hall with eyes blazing with murderous intent. He had thought they would be tied down putting out the fire, but for them to move so quickly was unexpected. It seemed they had heard the sounds of fighting from the Destruction Pavilion and figured out their plan.
To think he would attack the Crouching Dragon Hall, expecting it to be empty, he was smarter than he looked.
"Are you all that's left?"
When there was no answer, a sneering smile spread across Seon Do-mu's gloomy face.
"This is good. Once I become the master, there's no reason to stay in the Five Phoenix Pavilion anyway. Becoming the master of the Crouching Dragon Hall tonight doesn't sound so bad."
"How dare you betray the Master's grace and the gang?"
"Hmph, what kind of master is a cripple who doesn't even have the strength to lift chopsticks?"
Seon Do-mu drew his executioner blade and pointed it at the Crouching Dragon Hall.
"Bring me the head of Jeok Chu-yeong."
"As you command!"
The subordinates standing behind him all drew their blades at once and charged.