Woo Jintae raised his golden wine cup. Five men and women, including him, sat around a table laden with every manner of delicacy and fine liquor.
“Now, to the boundless prosperity of the Five Gates of Shanxi!”
“To prosperity!”
“To prosperity!”
After the wine made its way around once, smiles spread across all five faces.
“As expected of Honghwa Inn. I don’t know who the chef is, but the food is incredible.”
“Right? It practically melts the moment it touches your tongue.”
Woo Jintae let out a hearty laugh.
“Ha-ha! Loosen your belts and eat to your hearts’ content. I’m paying for everything again today.”
“Wow, as expected of you, hyung! At this rate, aren’t you going to pull up one of the foundation pillars of the Seongun Escort Bureau?”
“Oh my, can you afford all this?”
Woo Jintae chuckled as he looked at the two men and two women before him.
They were the scions of the Five Gates of Shanxi, the leading sects in an alliance of twenty small and medium-sized sects. Even so, they had to defer to him.
“Come now, I’m Woo Jintae. Woo Jintae of the Seongun Escort Bureau! I could buy this entire inn and it wouldn’t be a problem, so don’t worry and eat as much as you like.”
There was a touch of boasting in his words, but they weren’t entirely untrue.
The Seongun Escort Bureau dominated the area around Three Questions Gorge and raked in an enormous fortune each year from transportation, security, and various other businesses.
And Woo Jintae was its heir.
Money really is the best.
The Five Gates of Shanxi were still just a bunch of scions from similarly modest sects. With the Seongun Escort Bureau’s wealth behind him, nothing stood in his way.
“Thanks to everyone here, our Seongun Escort Bureau has risen another step. It’s only right that I treat you accordingly, wouldn’t you agree?”
Everyone hurriedly waved him off.
“Oh, how could that be thanks to us? It’s all because the Chief and you have worked tirelessly day and night for the Escort Bureau’s growth.”
“That’s right. We could never accept such praise from Young Hero Woo.”
They said money could make even ghosts do your bidding. How much easier would it be with the living?
Worked tirelessly day and night, huh? Well, that isn’t entirely wrong.
The Seongun Escort Bureau was neither a prestigious martial family nor a proper Murim sect. It had managed to join the Five Gates of Shanxi because it had thrown money around.
The Sect Leaders, senior members, and scions of more than twenty small and medium-sized sects…
Woo Jintae had stuffed all of them with liquor and money day and night, and the results had been undeniable.
The Five Gates of Shanxi.
It was a position that could be called the representative of the alliance of small and medium-sized sects in the south.
For an ordinary Murim sect, it would have been nothing more than a hollow honorary position. But for the Seongun Escort Bureau, which generated profits through all kinds of businesses, it was like growing wings.
Woo Jintae bowed his head with a deliberately solemn expression.
“No. The Seongun Escort Bureau is where it is today because of all of you. Until just a few months ago, those vile old monsters had us living without being able to hold our heads up… Once again, thank you.”
“Those old monsters? You mean the traitors?”
“Ugh, don’t even mention them. If this hadn’t happened, all of us would have been helplessly used by them.”
Everyone gathered here was now a scion of the Five Gates of Shanxi, but that hadn’t been true just a few months ago.
The Samdo Sect, the Gunggui Sect, and three others had made up the former Five Gates of Shanxi. But at the Battle of Eight Spring Gorge, they had been exposed as the Head Elder’s lackeys and annihilated to the last sect.
“Now that I think about it, those bastards were especially wary of the Seongun Escort Bureau.”
“They were clearly afraid that their identities would be exposed by the keen insight of the Chief and Young Hero Woo.”
Woo Jintae suppressed the laughter threatening to burst out.
The reason the former Five Gates of Shanxi had kept the Seongun Escort Bureau in check was simple.
They were worried about exactly this.
The Five Gates of Shanxi had been much stronger back then, and their bonds had been far tighter.
But not anymore. Everyone here had already gotten a taste of the Seongun Escort Bureau’s money. From there, it was only a matter of time before he used that leverage to nibble away at their various business interests.
“Now, let’s raise a toast to our friendship.”
“To friendship!”
The lively drinking continued, and Woo Jintae occasionally handed out bribes under the guise of gifts.
“This is Shu brocade I brought in from Sichuan. I thought it would suit Young Lady Hwang, so I set some aside for you.”
“Oh my! You mean the Shu brocade I know?”
“Yes. It’s the finest grade, and perhaps that’s why the color is so exceptionally beautiful. I told a servant to load it into the carriage beforehand, so please take it with you.”
“My goodness, Young Hero Woo. Thank you so much.”
“Is there any need to thank me? Just think of it as the feelings I have for you and put it away.”
“Wh-what?”
“Ha-ha, that came out wrong. Pretend you didn’t hear it.”
At Woo Jintae’s charming smile, the only daughter of a martial sect with more than a hundred affiliated martial artists blushed.
Once I make her indebted to me, there will be a day when I can put that debt to use.
“Hyung, now I’m hurt. How can you only look after the young ladies?”
This time, he winked at the scion of a martial family who had become close enough with him to call each other hyung and little brother.
“As if I could forget you, Little Brother Hyuk. Just wait. I’ve prepared an absolutely incredible gift for you.”
“Damn, as expected of you, hyung.”
“Ha-ha, Young Hero Woo, you haven’t forgotten me, have you?”
“What a hurtful thing to say. I only planned to tell each of you separately because I chose a gift suited to each person.”
It was easy. Expensive silk and jewelry for the women, and peerless beauties and wealth for the men.
Honghwaru, reputedly the finest pleasure house in Shanxi Province, happened to be nearby. It was perfect.
Woo Jintae smiled as he watched everyone’s delight.
“Now that everyone’s had a chance to unwind, I was thinking we might end tonight’s drinking here… What do you all think?”
They might have been disappointed before receiving their gifts, but things were different now.
The women nodded, eager to check the silk and jewelry loaded into the carriage, while the men’s hearts pounded at the certainty that they would be moving to the pleasure house.
“Then let’s have a few final cups before we leave. And don’t forget tomorrow’s luncheon.”
Everyone chuckled at Woo Jintae’s words.
“How could we forget that, no matter how drunk we get?”
“You really underestimate us, Young Hero Woo.”
“I only mentioned it just in case. Ha-ha-ha.”
A luncheon with the City Lord of Shanxi.
That was why the scions of the sects with some clout in Shanxi had gathered in one place. Woo Jintae emptied his wine cup and thought,
I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
The City Lord was a mere ten years old.
Woo Jintae was already a master at catering to people’s whims, and he had finished making every possible preparation to win the City Lord over.
I hear he’s quite a mischievous little fellow… He’s a member of the imperial family, so I wonder what he’ll be like.
Just as Woo Jintae was lost in thought, a booming shout erupted from downstairs.
“The greatest young prodigies of the Murim’s orthodox faction! The dragons and phoenixes who will lead the Murim of the future! How can you say you don’t know the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes?”
“Hey, hey. Keep your voice down. People are staring.”
At the words Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, five pairs of ears perked up.
Who were the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes? They were geniuses already writing the first page of their legends—the future of the Murim’s orthodox faction.
They were the objects of every rising martial artist’s admiration, and those gathered here were no exception.
“Who are they? Martial artists?”
The person seated closest to the railing craned his neck and looked down at the first floor.
“There are three of them. One’s a young master, another looks somewhat like a martial artist… and the last looks like a beggar.”
“What kind of combination is that?”
“Shh. Let’s keep listening.”
At Woo Jintae’s urging, everyone fell silent and pricked up their ears again.
They had all trained in martial arts as befitted scions of martial families, so overhearing the conversation was not difficult.
“Please continue.”
“It’s nothing important. I just had a childish thought for a moment.”
There was a brief silence. Then another statement followed.
“Who would be stronger, me or them? I wanted to find the answer to that question.”
The young prodigies of the Five Gates of Shanxi looked at one another.
“Did you all hear that?”
“Yes. Who said it?”
“That beggar I mentioned. You really do see all kinds of lunatics these days.”
Woo Jintae shook his head.
“He’s probably a martial artist, not a beggar.”
“A martial artist…?”
“If he’s talking about the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, that must be it. As for how he ended up looking like a beggar, well, I can guess without even seeing him.”
A mocking laugh escaped Woo Jintae’s lips.
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s the type who picks up a few Third Rate martial arts moves by chance, puts his faith in them, wanders aimlessly through the martial world, and winds up dead.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right. As expected of Young Hero Woo.”
“The more I think about it, the funnier it gets. How did someone like that dare mention the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes?”
The young prodigies snickered at one another, and their laughter gradually grew louder.
“That tells you all you need to know about the people who associate with a lunatic like him. Or maybe they’ll slap him across the face, call him crazy, and walk out.”
“What are the young master and the martial artist sitting with him doing?”
The young prodigy who glanced downstairs again answered while stifling his laughter.
“I don’t know about the martial artist, but the young master is nodding to himself.”
“Well, now.”
“Really?”
“Wow, you should all see his expression. He genuinely seems to believe that beggar.”
The young prodigies rose and approached the railing. Woo Jintae, unable to contain his curiosity, went with them.
Let’s at least see what these fools look like.
The moment he saw the young master nodding with a serious expression, a loud laugh burst from his mouth.
“Puhahaha!”
At the same time, the other young prodigies began laughing loudly as well.
“Pfft, ha-ha-ha! I almost died trying to hold that in.”
“Ha-ha-ha! They don’t know the first thing about martial arts, yet they’re talking about the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes?”
How long did they laugh?
When they finally managed to stop, what they saw was one person staring quietly up at them.
“Finished laughing?”
At the ‘young master’s’ words, the young prodigies froze.
They had all been raised precious and pampered. How long had it been since anyone had spoken down to them like that?
Woo Jintae’s dry voice broke the sudden, icy silence.
“And if we have?”
The ‘young master’ smiled brightly.
“Get down here right now, you fucking sons of bitches. My neck hurts.”
Hyuk Mujin asked with an expectant look in his eyes,
“Are you going to fight them?”
“Depends on what they do.”
“Once you’ve called them fucking sons of bitches, isn’t that asking for a fight?”
“That works, too. See all the spit those bastards sprayed on my face?”
“You’re completely drenched.”
Hyuk Mujin briskly wiped my face with his sleeve.
“What if they don’t apologize?”
“They’d better.”
“Look at their faces. They’re never going to apologize.”
“Then they’ll get the shit beaten out of them.”
“There are women among them, too…”
“I believe in gender equality.”
“What?”
“I beat everyone equally.”
Cheongpung, who had been watching blankly, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Oh. I don’t really understand, but it sounds cool.”
“It’s nothing special… Anyway, thanks.”
I might have said more, but there was no time.
The five bastards—or rather, the five sons and daughters of bitches—had jumped down from the second floor.
Tap.
They landed lightly, as befitted First Rate masters. One of them stepped out from the group as they glared at us.
Level 45. Tall and good-looking. The same bastard who had laughed first.
“I am—”
“You the head?”
“The head?”
“Are you the boss of these five?”
He let out a short laugh.
“You’d better watch your mouth. If you knew who the people here were, including me…”
I smiled back and scanned through their Level windows.
“Seongryong, Cheonwoo, Myeonghwa, Sohye, and finally, you—Jintae. Want me to tell you your family names, too?”
“…!”
“…!”
Five pairs of astonished eyes turned toward me. No, seven, counting Hyuk Mujin and Cheongpung.
“Oh, and this is a personal request, but please don’t ask how I knew. I’m sick of that line. If you ask, I’ll hit you.”
“How did you…?”
“Did you stuff radishes in your ears?”
The next moment, my palm met his cheek.
Smack!
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