Chapter 331

Ship-Fire Boy. A child who lights the fires aboard a ship.

The term meant a boatman. It was also the sobriquet of one particular man.

“Stronghold Lord.”

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

A crystalline gleam flashed in them. His skin was bronze and his body muscular, befitting a hardened river man. His bulging temples marked him as a Peak master who had reached a considerable realm.

“What is it?”

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

“There’s a vessel fifty zhang¹ away.”

“A vessel? Brothers from our alliance?”

“No.”

Then there was only one possibility.

On the mighty Yangtze, there were only those who robbed and those who were robbed.

“How many?”

“A little over fifty. It doesn’t appear 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 again.

A warship sent by the imperial court might have warranted his personal attention. This matter was far too trivial.

As always, his subordinates would carry out his orders.

Interrupting my meditation over something so insignificant.

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 path.

He had tried consuming stolen elixirs and even smoking opium, which was said to reveal sights one had never experienced before. All of it had 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 had only just entered his forties, and his ambitions were greater still.

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 his circumstances might scoff at such a preposterous ambition, but the man possessed both the ability and the background to make it possible.

The proof was that he had become lord of Water Dragon Stronghold more than ten years ago, when he was barely 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 swift ship gradually slowing beneath him. 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 permission from us heroes. I assume you’re prepared for the consequences?”

“I-I’ve 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 his training interrupted. His men might be rough and ignorant, but he had not expected them to be incapable of following such a simple order.

The man’s eyes snapped open. He was about to spring to his feet when—

Boom! Crack! Thud! Th-th-th-thump!

A savage barrage of noise erupted, and then everything fell silent.

It seems to be over.

Somewhat mollified, the man closed his eyes again.

Or he would have, if not for the question that suddenly crossed 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 through a yawn.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming out?”

“…!”

An unfamiliar voice. He had never heard it before.

Alarm bells rang in the man’s mind.

An enemy!

Everything happened in an instant.

The man shot to his feet and streaked toward the door like a beam of light.

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

And then—

Kraaaang!

A deafening boom and its aftershock rocked the swift ship.

The man stared wide-eyed at his enemy.

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

A seething 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 flat on his back across 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 defeat the Ship-Breaking Fist so easily…?”

“Wait. Ship-Breaking Fist?”

Right. Now I remembered.

I had definitely seen that martial art somewhere before, but the memory had been so hazy that I couldn’t place it.

Intrigued, I looked the middle-aged man up and down.

“What’s your relationship with Cheol Soo?”

“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 spouted some bullshit 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 right afterward and went straight home.

It had happened only a month ago here in the Murim, 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 art as the Iron-Water Divine Dragon. He was also a Peak master, a cut above Cheol Soo in skill.

After blinking at me like a goldfish, he stammered in a trembling voice.

“W-were you acquainted with my youngest?”

“Your youngest?”

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

Huh. I had heard that before too.

People had gone on 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 man known as the Seafaring King.”

“Jang Bogo!”²

“…?”

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

“But why are you suddenly being so polite…?”

“Of course I should be polite. You’re my Senior in the martial world and a hero of the Yangtze River Channel League. Please, feel free to speak casually to me.”

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

But…

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

The Seafaring King would hardly be pleased to hear that I had beaten his Disciple black and blue to steal his swift ship.

At least with the Green Forest Alliance’s Heavenly Axe, I had been fully justified, so they couldn’t complain. In this case, though, it would be better to smooth things over.

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

“Look how dirty your clothes got. What a disaster. You’ll have to get them dry-cleaned.”

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

“I told you to speak casually with me. There was an unfortunate incident because of a minor misunderstanding on my part, but if I’d known you belonged to the renowned Yangtze River Channel League, I would have settled everything amicably through conversation. You understand, right?”

“…Really?”

“Of course. Do I look like the sort of ill-bred junior who would lie to his 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 words emblazoned across it were large enough to read from a hundred meters³ away.

Yangtze River Channel League.

“…”

“…”

I finally spoke in a grave voice.

“I’m illiterate. I can’t read.”

“…”

Yeah. I knew he wouldn’t buy it.

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

“Let’s just settle this amicably.”

“…Very well.”

Whoooosh.

The swift ship sliced powerfully through the water. Cheongpung, who had been sitting at the bow enjoying the wind, came racing over and began 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. It’s a river.”

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

“Of course they’re getting beaten—wait, what?”

What had I just heard?

As I doubted my ears, Cheongpung answered with an innocent smile.

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

“…”

It seemed Mu Song had lined up his subordinates and was beating them one after another 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 anything. You saw nothing.”

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

“No. Please don’t.”

Ignoring the surrounding sailors, who were staring at Cheongpung as if wondering whether he was even human, I turned to Gung Gibang.

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

“Am I some kind of fortune-teller? How am I supposed to know who’s stationed at every single stronghold?”

Gung Gibang stared at me incredulously, then muttered under his breath.

“The crazy bastard is the one who charged in after seeing the Yangtze River Channel League’s flag. Bit late to complain now.”

“Hey, I can hear you.”

“You were supposed to. You don’t fucking listen even when I tell you something. What the hell do you expect me to do?”

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

Hyuk Mujin answered.

“Uweeeeeegh!”

“…Your seasickness is pretty bad. Get some rest.”

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

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

“I want to get seasick too. I’ve never tried it before.”

“…”

Lucky you. So many things you still want to experience.

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?

As that thought crossed my mind, the hulking Mu Song landed on the deck using a light, elusive movement technique completely at odds with his massive build.

He tossed the blood-soaked oar to a subordinate and approached me.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Ah, yes. I’m comfortable, Senior.”

Mu Song glanced at Hyuk Mujin, who was still dry-heaving.

“That fellow doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“That’s all right. I’m comfortable.”

“…”

“Is there a problem?”

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

“Yes. How long will it take?”

“We’re currently at Guang’an, which could be considered the entrance to Sichuan. At this speed, three days. If we catch a favorable wind, two days will be more than enough.”

That was about the same speed as traveling with a movement technique, perhaps even a little faster.

An ordinary vessel would have taken much longer, but this was one of the swift ships for which the Yangtze River Channel League was renowned.

I sincerely clasped my hands in a respectful salute.

“Thank you.”

“Nonsense. It’s no great trouble.”

Mu Song was being so cooperative 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. 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!”

At that exact moment, faint cries drifted over from far away.

“Aaaah!”

“Kill them all and take everything!”

I muttered as the distant screams reached us.

“They seem pretty good at doing foolish things…”

Mu Song’s face flushed bright red.

“How dare anyone run wild on the Yangtze!”