Chapter 331

“Ship-Fire Boy”: a child who lights fires aboard a ship.

It was a term for a boatman. At the same time, it was also a sobriquet belonging to one man.

“Stronghold Lord.”

At his subordinate’s call, the man sitting cross-legged in the center of the cabin opened his eyes.

A crystalline light flashed in his gaze. Like any tough river man, he had bronze-colored skin and a muscular body. His bulging temples revealed that he was a Peak master who had reached a considerable realm stage.

“What is it?”

A deep, low voice flowed between his dry lips. His subordinate answered with the utmost respect.

“There’s a vessel fifty zhang away.”

“A vessel? Are they brothers from our alliance?”

“No.”

If that was the case, there was only one answer.

The mighty Yangtze held only those who took and those who were taken from.

“How many?”

“A little over fifty. It doesn’t seem to be a merchant ship, either.”

“I see.”

“What should we do?”

“Deal with it quietly. Don’t cause a commotion.”

With that, the man closed his eyes once more.

If it had been a warship sent by the imperial court, that would have been different. Otherwise, the matter was too trivial for him to intervene personally.

As always, his subordinates would handle it according to his orders.

How dare they interrupt my meditation over something like this.

The man let go of his irritation and sank back into contemplation.

It had already been more than ten years since he reached the Peak realm. Now, however, an invisible wall stood in his way.

He had tried consuming stolen elixirs and even smoking opium, which was said to reveal sights one had never experienced before, but it had all been a waste of time.

This is going to be difficult at this rate.

Water Dragon Stronghold was one of the ten largest strongholds in the Yangtze River Channel League.

Thanks to its location in Sichuan, through which vast quantities of goods passed, it was known as one of the most lucrative strongholds in the alliance.

But the man, who had only just entered his forties, harbored even greater ambitions.

Alliance Leader.

His goal was to become the master of the Yangtze River Channel League—and, with it, the king of the Yangtze.

Anyone unaware of the circumstances might scoff at such an absurd ambition, but the man possessed the ability and background to support it.

The proof was that, more than ten years ago, he had become the lord of Water Dragon Stronghold while only just past thirty.

“Whooo…”

The man drew a long breath. As he drew in and circulated the natural qi permeating the air, his sharpened senses gathered information from his surroundings.

The damp smell of water. The movement of the fast ship as it gradually slowed. Even the shouts and laughter of his subordinates.

“Hahaha! Running into us means you bastards have the worst luck imaginable. Who owns this ship?”

“I-I do, sir.”

“You launched your ship without the permission of us heroes, so I assume you’re prepared for the consequences?”

“I-I committed a crime worthy of death by failing to recognize the heroes of the Yangtze. This isn’t much, but please accept it as a token of my sincerity…”

Wham! Crash!

A blow landed, and someone went sprawling. The man’s brow furrowed at the shrill screams that followed.

I told them not to make a commotion.

No martial artist enjoyed having their training interrupted. His men might be rough and ignorant, but he had not expected them to be this incapable of understanding a simple order.

The man opened his eyes wide and was about to spring to his feet when—

Bang! Crack! Boom! Brrrrrap!

A series of savage noises rang out, and the surroundings fell silent.

It seems to be over.

The man, somewhat mollified, closed his eyes again.

Or he would have, if not for the question that suddenly flashed through his mind.

But…why is it so quiet?

Step. Step. Step.

Low, resonant footsteps approached the cabin.

At last, someone stopped directly outside the door and spoke in a voice laced with a yawn.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming out?”

“……!”

It was an unfamiliar voice, one he had never heard before.

An alarm rang through the man’s mind.

An enemy!

Everything happened in an instant.

The man rose at the speed of a streak of light and shot toward the door.

His fist, carrying enough power to smash even a massive sailing ship, shattered the thick wooden door and raced toward the enemy beyond it.

And then—

Kraaaang!

A deafening boom and its aftershock shook the fast ship.

The man stared at the enemy with his eyes wide open.

More precisely, he stared at the palm that had stopped his fist.

A boiling voice escaped between his clenched teeth.

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

The young man answered with a faint smile.

“The owner of this ship.”

Flames poured from the eyes of the man known as the Ship-Fire Boy, Mu Song.

“How dare a little pup like you… I’ll show you the sky.”

I kicked the leg of the middle-aged man sprawled out on the deck.

“How long are you going to keep staring at the sky? Get up. Quickly.”

Focus returned to his hazy eyes. The middle-aged man propped up his upper body and stared at me with a dazed expression.

“H-how did you make such easy work of the Ship-Breaking Fist…?”

“Wait. Ship-Breaking Fist?”

Now I remembered.

I had definitely seen that martial art somewhere before, but my memory had been so hazy that I had been wondering about it.

I looked the middle-aged man up and down with renewed interest.

“What’s your relationship with Cheol Soo?”

“Cheol, Cheol Soo? Who are you talking about?”

“You know. Cheol Soo. Cheol Soo…”

Gung Gibang quietly cut in.

“The Iron-Water Divine Dragon.”

“Right. The Iron-Water Divine Dragon. When I met him at the Star-Array Grand Banquet, he kept going on about the Ship-Breaking Fist, too.”

If I remembered correctly, it had been during the first preliminary round.

He had gone on about how I should consider it an honor to witness the Ship-Breaking Fist, so I had smashed a cliff apart with the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist.

I heard he forfeited after that and went straight home.

In the Murim, it had happened only a month ago. But after everything I had been through, it felt like the distant past.

In any case, the middle-aged man before me had learned the same martial arts as the Iron-Water Divine Dragon, and he was a Peak master with skills a level above Cheol Soo’s.

The middle-aged man blinked like a goldfish, then asked in a trembling voice,

“W-were you acquainted with my youngest?”

“Your youngest?”

“The Cheol Soo you’re talking about is the youngest of us three martial brothers. He’s the third Disciple, and I’m the second.”

Huh. I had heard this before, too.

People had talked endlessly about the Iron-Water Divine Dragon’s Master.

“Then, could it be…?”

The middle-aged man nodded.

“That’s right. My Master is the one known as the Seafaring King.”

“Jang Bogo!”¹

“……?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

“But why are you suddenly speaking so formally…?”

“Of course I should speak formally. You’re a Senior of the martial world and a hero of the Yangtze River Channel League. Please speak comfortably with me as well, Senior.”

To be honest, the Yangtze River Channel League and the Green Forest Alliance both looked like criminal groups full of social misfits to me.

But…

If he was the Seafaring King’s Disciple, that changed things.

If the Seafaring King heard that I had thoroughly beaten his Disciple to steal his fast ship, he would not be pleased.

At least the Green Forest Alliance’s Heavenly Axe had possessed a clear justification, so they could not say anything to us. But in this case, we needed to smooth things over.

I helped the dazed middle-aged man to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes.

“Look how dirty your clothes are. What are we going to do? You’ll need to take them to the dry cleaner.”

“W-why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“I said you could speak comfortably with me. A minor misunderstanding on my part led to this unfortunate incident, but if I’d known you were with the renowned Yangtze River Channel League, I would have settled everything amicably with words. You understand, right?”

“……Really?”

“Of course. Do I look like some ill-bred junior who would lie to a Senior?”

The middle-aged man stared at me for a moment, then cautiously shifted his gaze upward.

I followed his eyes and saw a flag rising high above the fast ship.

The writing on it was large enough to be visible from a hundred meters away.

Yangtze River Channel League.

“…….”

“…….”

I slowly parted my lips.

“I’m illiterate. I can’t read.”

“…….”

Yes. I knew that excuse wouldn’t fly.

I clenched my fist and looked at the middle-aged man.

“Let’s just settle this amicably.”

“……Very well.”

Whoooosh.

The fast ship cut powerfully through the waterway. Cheongpung, who had been sitting at the bow and enjoying the wind, came running over, chattering excitedly.

“Benefactor! It’s so refreshing!”

“Of course it is. It’s still early spring.”

“There are so many fish, too!”

“There should be. We’re on a river.”

“There are so many people on the ship over there, and they’re getting beaten so much!”

“They should be getting beaten, of course—what did you say?”

What had I just heard?

As I questioned my ears, Cheongpung answered with a bright smile.

“Every time the captain swings that huge oar, skin is torn and blood sprays everywhere!”

“…….”

It seemed that Mu Song had lined up his subordinates and was beating them one by one with an oar.

They had mistakenly attacked a passenger ship and suffered a tremendous humiliation, so I supposed it was understandable.

“Pretend you didn’t see it. You didn’t see anything.”

“Can I ask him to let me hit one of them just once?”

“No. Please don’t.”

I ignored the looks from the surrounding sailors, who seemed to be wondering if Cheongpung was even human, and spoke to Gung Gibang.

“Hey, if you knew, you should’ve told me beforehand.”

“Am I some kind of fortune-teller? How would I know every single person stationed at every stronghold?”

Gung Gibang answered with an incredulous expression, then muttered,

“The crazy one is the bastard who charged in even after seeing the Yangtze River Channel League’s flag. And now you’re complaining?”

“Hey, I can hear you.”

“I meant for you to hear it. Even when I tell you something, you don’t fucking listen. What the hell do you expect me to do?”

“Damn, you’ve gotten awfully bold. What do you think of this insubordinate behavior, Mujin?”

Hyuk Mujin answered,

“Uweeeeeegh!”

“……Your seasickness is pretty bad. Go rest.”

For someone who was supposedly a First Rate master, he was still in terrible shape.

Cheongpung watched Hyuk Mujin cling to the railing and dry-heave over and over, then twisted from side to side.

“I want to get seasick, too. I’ve never done it even once.”

“…….”

You sure are lucky. You have so many things you want to try.

Maybe it was because I was on a boat, but today I was experiencing the power of the Bermuda Triangle all over again.

Am I going to end up adrift on the Yangtze?

I was thinking that when the massive Mu Song landed on the deck with a light, elusive movement technique completely at odds with his build.

He tossed the blood-soaked oar to one of his subordinates, then approached me.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Ah, yes. I’m comfortable, Senior.”

Mu Song’s gaze passed over Hyuk Mujin, who was still dry-heaving.

“That fellow doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“I’m comfortable.”

“…….”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no. In any case, you’re headed to Chengdu?”

“Yes. How long will it take?”

“Our current location is Guang’an, which could be considered the entrance to Sichuan. At our current speed, three days. If we catch a favorable wind, two days will be more than enough.”

That was about the same speed as using a movement technique, or perhaps a little faster.

An ordinary ship would have taken much longer, but that was possible because this was one of the fast ships the Yangtze River Channel League prided itself on.

I sincerely clasped my hands in a respectful salute.

“Thank you.”

“What are you talking about? It was no trouble.”

Mu Song was cooperating because he had learned who our group was.

I was the Disciple of the Fire King, Jeok Cheongang; Gung Gibang was the Successor Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect; and Cheongpung had inherited the true transmission of the Sword Saint, Mae Jonghak.

And finally, the great Jin Family of Taiyuan’s…

Ah, let’s leave that last one out.

“In any case, Chengdu is close, so rest comfortably while you wait. This Mu Song has the rivers flowing through Sichuan firmly under his control.”

“Wow. That’s impressive, Senior.”

“Without my orders, no one dares do anything foolish on the Yangtze. Hahahaha!”

That was when faint cries drifted over from far away.

“Aaaah!”

“Kill them all and take everything!”

I muttered at the distant screams,

“They seem pretty good at doing foolish things…”

Mu Song’s face flushed bright red.

“How dare anyone cause trouble on the Yangtze!”