16. The Threat of the Immortal of the Two Regions (1)
Cha Seong-tae asked, "Now that your house has burned down completely, where will you sleep?"
"Any room in the Gi-ru is fine, so why do you ask?"
"Of course, I was asking to suggest that you use the best rooms where the Lu-ju stayed. There were three Lu-ju, after all. So there are three good rooms."
"I'll sleep wherever I want, just get those guys out of here."
Cha Seong-tae threatened those kneeling before him.
"You all will not go to Si-hwa-ru today, but stay at Mae-hwa-ru. I’ll see you later."
"Yes."
All of them were locals with families in Il-yang-hyeon, so they had no way to escape.
Once the frightened rabble had left, Cha Seong-tae looked at me.
"Is there anything else you wish to say...?"
I glanced at the ashes of the Ja-ha-guesthouse for a moment before replying, "Rebuild the Ja-ha-guesthouse properly. I'm not joking when I say to restore it."
"I will keep that in mind."
"If there’s a skilled builder during the process, keep an eye on him and let me know. That person will be the head of the Chuk-mun."
"Chuk-mun?"
"You will take charge of the regeneration gate of Gi-ru, the iron gate will go to Uncle Geum-cheol-yong, and the head of Chuk-mun will lead the various men who build and live there."
"Regeneration gate, Chuk-mun, iron gate... Is there more?"
"There should be more. First, enter the regeneration gate, then move workers to Chuk-mun or iron gate according to what each person wants to do."
Hao-mun was fundamentally thinking of organizing people so they could find work and make a living.
To survive, one must work.
If there is no work, Hao-mun will provide jobs.
This was the basic reason for establishing a sect.
Any disputes or harassment that arose would be resolved by the sect leader, which was my personal ambition.
I intended to grow stronger while fulfilling that ambition and repay all debts from my past life.
Cha Seong-tae replied, "Oh... That sounds good. Is it like a union?"
I responded in a low tone, "It's just a union of ordinary workers."
Cha Seong-tae smiled awkwardly, a different atmosphere from usual.
"Not bad. But if it grows larger, the rules and atmosphere will become a mess."
"I don't care. Even if it becomes a mess."
"But it’s an organization."
I was an enemy of the Murim Alliance and the Demon Sect, known for their strict rules.
Naturally, there was no need to create an organization following their example.
"The organization I create just needs to last long in the Jianghu. That alone will be meaningful. I’m not trying to build a grand empire; I just want to create the longest-lasting chaotic force in this ridiculous Jianghu."
Cha Seong-tae swallowed his curse inwardly.
‘What nonsense is this?’
Of course, once the foundation of Hao-mun was established, I planned to embark on other endeavors.
"Will the Black Cat Gang just sit idly by?"
In response to Cha Seong-tae's question, I smiled and replied, "Their organization is so chaotic that they probably won’t even know where to start. That’s the key. Everyone can just do what they can to survive. The backlash will only focus on the leader of Hao-mun."
"What about a military organization?"
"That requires a capable man to establish. That’s for later."
"Mm."
Once there were enough capable people, I could create a Sal-mun then.
So for now, I could say I was the sole leader of Sal-mun.
The members below me were the future strong individuals I knew, and it was my responsibility to recruit them.
Additionally, I planned to gather those with excellent information-gathering skills separately to create an Ear-mun later.
In this way, I planned to expand the sub-organizations like Saeng-mun, Cheol-mun, Chuk-mun, Sal-mun, and Ear-mun...
Then I would let everyone continue their livelihoods as much as possible.
I intended to create an organization without plans or rules, where people only contacted each other when needed.
I just wanted to ensure that no one would starve to death.
I felt that such madness could only be done by me in the Jianghu... perhaps.
When problems arise, the major forces in the Jianghu would seek out the leader of Hao-mun, and that’s when I would step in.
At that time, I would cause a ruckus just like I did when I became a hero of the Murim in my previous life.
I thought it would be good to have at least one man in this ruthless Jianghu who would go crazy for touching the weak.
That was all I wanted.
In any case, due to my crazy personality, it was only a matter of time before I would become a hero of the Murim again.
Thus, I planned to grow in sync with Hao-mun.
Cha Seong-tae, whose expression had changed from usual, suddenly called me informally.
"Ja-ha, can I say something?"
"Go ahead."
Cha Seong-tae spoke with a strange expression.
"I apologize for the past. I misjudged you. Honestly, I thought there might be a master behind you, but it seems that’s not the case. You’ve just changed."
"... Is that it?"
Cha Seong-tae nodded and asked.
"Is that all?"
"That’s it. What should we call the alliance we belong to?"
"Hao-mun."
Hao-mun was the organization I had created initially.
Naturally, at this time, it was not a sect that Cha Seong-tae could know about.
Cha Seong-tae slightly lowered his head and said in a small voice, "Hao-mun. Should I call you sect leader from now on?"
His tone had changed.
I nodded and replied, "Do as you wish."
Cha Seong-tae asked tentatively, "But why did you spare me? I don’t understand the reason."
"I thought of tormenting you a bit."
Cha Seong-tae seemed to understand my words immediately.
"I see. Better than dying. Got it."
That was true.
Life is like that.
I took one last look at the ashes of the Ja-ha-guesthouse and stood up.
"Let’s go."
Cha Seong-tae, having quickly organized his thoughts, replied with a different tone, "Let’s go, sect leader."
I was either watching the empty space of the Ja-ha-guesthouse like a young man with nothing to do or I entered a vacant room in Gi-ru and focused on the Jin-gu-so-yo-gong.
I needed to accumulate at least a handful of inner strength.
That handful of inner strength could save my life, as I had experienced in my previous life.
I didn’t just practice inner strength.
I also consistently refined my techniques in both body and mind.
However, I faced difficulties using my legs.
My joints, such as my waist, legs, and knees, were stiff from my previous life.
Thus, I secluded myself in various places in Gi-ru, dedicating eight parts to Jin-gu-so-yo-gong and one part to external strength training, immersing myself in practice.
During this time, all external matters were handled by Cha Seong-tae.
I didn’t trust Cha Seong-tae that deeply, nor did he like me very much.
However, the two of us managed to get along well as time passed.
Cha Seong-tae was introduced to a young architect who had recently begun to make a name for himself and placed an order for the Ja-ha-guesthouse.
Until they came to inspect, the men who had nothing to do with the rabble of Jo-sam worked together to build the outer wall of the Ja-ha-guesthouse.
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
I learned from Cha Seong-tae that the Black Cat Gang had come.
On one hand, I thought it was natural for them to come.
"Who came?"
"... The ones who used to come for hospitality. It seems they went to Yi-hwa-ru last night and heard about the recent events. They are the ones who used to be hosted by the Jo brothers."
"How many are there?"
"Two. For now, I’ve guided them to Mae-hwa-bang. How should we prepare?"
"We need to meet them."
Cha Seong-tae asked with a troubled expression, "Are you going to fight?"
"Well, they might say something like, 'Pay the tribute, or we’ll overlook the deaths of the Lu-ju. Come in and greet us properly at the Black Cat Gang.' I think they’ll say something like that first."
"What will you do if such words come out?"
"It seems difficult for us to fight the Black Cat Gang right now."
"It’s not difficult for me."
"Are we all supposed to die?"
"They’ll probably try to kill me first. But I won’t die. Where is Mae-hwa-bang?"
"It’s on the third floor. Still, it might be better to send them away with good words..."
"I’ll meet them and decide. And can good words even be exchanged? I’ve already beaten the three brothers to death."
"That’s true. But they are money-driven, so what they really want might just be money."
"Oh, those kinds of people?" I momentarily fell into old thoughts.
"Money..."
I knew a bit about the martial artists of the Black Cat Gang who frequently visited Il-yang-hyeon during this time.
It wouldn’t have been the case that the person in charge suddenly changed from what I knew of the future.
Especially with the mention of money-driven individuals, several faces came to mind.
Cha Seong-tae lowered his head and said, "Then please speak with them."
As I entered Mae-hwa-bang and plopped down in an empty seat, the two men slowly examined me as if dissecting me and introduced themselves.
"I am Jeon-pung from the Gold Phoenix Pavilion of the Black Cat Gang."
"I am Han Go-wook from the Gold Phoenix Pavilion."
Jeon-pung and Han Go-wook introduced themselves in a high-handed tone.
It was only natural for them to have such a tone since they didn’t even regard the Jo brothers.
They were indeed the tax collectors of the Black Cat Gang that I knew.
Although the title of tax collector sounds impressive, in reality, they were just money collectors, so they weren’t particularly skilled individuals.
Meeting them in person after a long time was pleasant, but I had to bite my tongue to suppress the rising killing intent.
The reason for the rising killing intent was simple.
The Ja-ha-guesthouse had originally been burned down by one of their successors or colleagues.
Now, I was meeting them earlier than in my previous life, and they were just tax collectors.
Jeon-pung continued, "Recently, I heard you recklessly killed the Jo brothers. Is that true?"
I glared at the two and replied, "It’s true."
"Why? Explain in detail."
When asked to explain in detail, my willingness to do so vanished.
"They tried to kill me, and they died. I was simply stronger, so I couldn’t let them die."
As I continued to glare, Jeon-pung and Han Go-wook felt the atmosphere had turned a bit strange.
I continued in a more rigid tone, "And since you’re not judges, why should I explain in detail? Are you perhaps relatives of the Jo brothers? I don’t think so."
Jeon-pung and Han Go-wook looked at each other.
A sense of absurdity created a silence.
"..."
Then I looked at the two.
"What? Speak."
If Jeon-pung and Han Go-wook attacked me right now, I was prepared to kill them on the spot.
A long silence ensued.
These two were the ones who collected tribute in Il-yang-hyeon.
They had accumulated quite a bit of wealth just from the money they embezzled, and they had also completed generous tributes to the Black Cat Gang, promoting themselves to middle management.
This meant they were not the type to rise purely through martial prowess but through administrative tasks of the sect.
In short, they were money-crazed monkeys.
Jeon-pung opened his mouth.
"We are the ones authorized to establish a barrier, and you killed one of us."
I replied in a nonchalant tone, "So?"
"If this report goes up to the Black Cat Gang, it will be hard for you to survive. You’ve obstructed the work of the Black Cat Gang. Do you want us to go back and report as is?"
These guys seemed to have nothing but money on their minds.
Even in this situation, they had an attitude of saying they would speak well if I bribed them.
"I understand what you mean. I guess I need to give you a bribe. Let’s have a drink first. Miss Son?"
Miss Son opened the door to Mae-hwa-bang and stared at me blankly.
"..."
"Bring out that stupid two-kang-ju. And bring some snacks as well."
Miss Son nodded and went out.
The stupid two-kang-ju referred to the third-grade two-kang-ju.
After all, these guys wouldn’t pay for the drinks.
So serving them first-grade two-kang-ju would be a waste.
As the woman in charge of hospitality left without saying a word, Jeon-pung asked curiously, "Is that woman mute?"
"That can’t be."
"Then why isn’t she speaking?"
"I told her before that if she talked too much, I’d tear her apart, so she’s been keeping her mouth shut since then."
"..."
I glared at the two and pointed to my mouth with my finger.
"In the Jianghu, whether man or woman, it’s necessary to speak well. Isn’t that right?"
The two briefly averted their gazes.
The two, who had been trying to extort money through intimidation, had no choice but to revise their strategy.