Chapter 452

Unlike the journey in, the way out wasn’t as difficult as I’d expected.

Part of that was because the whirlpools of Tianling Falls mostly spiraled outward. It also helped that the veteran river bandits from Water Dragon Stronghold, who had spent years working aboard ships, were making full use of their skills.

“Turn to port!”

“Starboard! Don’t row until the signal!”

“More, more, more… Now!”

“Yaaah!”

Whoooosh! Splash!

“The boat—the boat’s tilting!”

“Great Hero Jin!”

“Help us!”

“…Damn it, you bastards.”

Come to think of it, maybe it was a little difficult after all.

Still, it was nothing we couldn’t handle. Even without powerful allies like Jeok Cheongang and Mungyeong, Cheongpung and I could overcome most crises if we stepped in.

The first time is hard. Why would the second be?

The river bandits weren’t the only ones who had grown accustomed to the violent whirlpools of Tianling Falls. I had prepared in advance as well, and thrust both palms forward with all my strength.

Boom!

The tilting swift ship regained its balance. Now it was time to pick up speed and escape this damned whirlpool.

I called out to the man I had stationed at the stern for precisely this situation.

“Cheongpung, now!”

“Yee-haw!”

“You crazy bastard! Stop hanging there and playing around!”

“Oh, sorry, Benefactor. I didn’t mean to. Before I knew it…”

“Just hurry up and do it!”

“Yes!”

Boom, boom, boom!

Cheongpung was about as far from normal as a person could get, but his skills were undeniable.

Dozens of palm shadows infused with powerful internal energy struck through the air and lashed the surface of the water. The resulting thrust sent the swift ship vaulting over the whirlpool of Tianling Falls before landing on the other side.

Boom! Splash!

A towering spray engulfed the hull. Drenched from head to toe in river water, Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin muttered under their breath.

“Damn it. Last time we got dunked, and now we’re getting drenched. We really do get everything.”

“I swear, once this is over, I’m never coming back to the Yangtze. Not ever. Every day feels like living the life of a goddamn beggar.”

“…Are you picking a fight with me?”

“No. Honestly, doesn’t it feel like we’re living as beggars?”

“That’s true. It pisses me off, but you’re right. You’re right, and it still pisses me off.”

“Damn. I really do feel like a beggar.”

“…I get it, so shut up.”

Those two acted like this every chance they got.

Leaving behind the bickering of our two human pieces of sweet-and-sour pork—dunked on the way in and drenched on the way out—the swift ship cleared Tianling Falls safely and sped across the Yangtze.

About three shichen¹ later, the ship that had departed at dawn reached the ferry landing at Zaoyang. By then, it was already close to noon.

“The waterways of the Yangtze do not reach Mount Longzhong, where the Zhuge Clan is located. From here, you will have to travel by land.”

The deputy Stronghold Lord of Water Dragon Stronghold had come in Mu Song’s place. I nodded at his explanation.

Hubei Province had highly developed land and water transportation, but that didn’t mean every tributary of the Yangtze was connected. A boat couldn’t travel where there was no water.

It’s not like these people are Vikings.²

Fortunately, the broad, level highways were well maintained. We could reach our destination quickly by carriage or by using movement techniques.

Zaoyang and Mount Longzhong were relatively close, so the journey shouldn’t take long.

The Zhuge Clan retainer whom Zhuge Feng had ordered to accompany us wasn’t standing around idle, either.

“I will send word to the Zaoyang branch immediately and have carriages prepared. Relay stations have been established all along the main roads, so if we change carriages along the way, we will reach our family home in no time.”

“Oh, right.”

The Zhuge Clan was a prestigious major faction that divided control of Hubei Province with Wudang.

The Jin Family of Taiyuan had also established branches and sub-branches throughout Shanxi Province to solidify its control over the region. The Zhuge Clan’s network was probably even more extensive.

It’s like a major brand opening chain stores.

Then we should arrive in half a day at the latest.

I had just stepped off the ship after roughly calculating the travel time in my head when—

Clack, clack, clack.

A group appeared to the sound of perfectly synchronized footsteps and surrounded the ferry landing.

I frowned as I stared at the unwelcome guests.

What is this now?

There were nearly thirty martial artists.

Every one of them wore a lustrous blue silk martial uniform and carried a high-quality steel longsword at their waist. Hyuk Mujin’s eyes widened.

“That’s…”

“What? Do you know them?”

“No. I was just surprised by those silk uniforms.”

“What?”

“That’s Shu brocade from Sichuan. It’s considered one of the finest silks under heaven. My father dreamed of filling an entire warehouse with it. That’s how expensive and precious it is… And they made martial uniforms out of it. I don’t know who their employer is, but they must be loaded.”

“…”

I’d told the bastard to identify them, and he was evaluating the quality of their silk instead.

As I stared at him in disbelief, Gung Gibang clicked his tongue and cut in.

“I can’t tell whether that bastard is a martial artist or a cloth merchant. Don’t expect anything from that Hyuk brat. Ask this elder instead.”

“I don’t know about making you an elder, but I can make you a cripple. Tell us before my fist gets there.”

“…They’re martial artists from Qingxia Hall. I told you, so please loosen that fist a little.”

“Qingxia Hall? What do those bastards do?”

Gung Gibang glanced at my still-clenched fist and answered.

“They aren’t an official sect, but they wield considerable influence in Hubei Province in various ways.”

“They look pretty pathetic for people with that kind of influence.”

I glanced at the martial artists standing in formation in the distance.

They wore uniforms made of expensive Shu brocade and carried quality swords, but that was all.

Most were Second or Third Rate swordsmen who fell short of First Rate. Perhaps they cared more about their appearance than their martial arts, because every one of them was well built and handsome.

They’re even wearing makeup.

At this point, weren’t they idols rather than martial artists?

It almost made me wonder if the K-pop craze that had begun in Korea had crossed worlds and spread all the way to Murim.

Qingxia Bulletproof Martial Artist Corps. Maybe they had come to play a gig under a name like that.

“Those guys’ group name—or rather, their organization’s name—was Qingxia Hall, right? They’re actually a big deal in Hubei?”

“I’ve heard they throw considerable weight around.”

“They look like they’d piss themselves the moment a real fight started…”

Did Hubei decide its sect rankings through popularity votes?

While I was seriously pondering the question, the Zhuge Clan retainer spoke.

“Qingxia Hall is a sort of social club.”

“A social club?”

“Yes. It was formed by the sons and daughters of influential people with varying degrees of power throughout Hubei Province. They are always running around together and causing all kinds of trouble, but they have such powerful backing that matters usually fizzle out without consequence.”

“Oh. A gold-spoon club.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing important. In that case, we can just continue on our way.”

So that was all they were. A noisy empty cart decked out in gaudy finery.

Pathetic people like that could be found anywhere. Having lost interest in Qingxia Hall, I took the lead and started walking.

“Which way do we go to reach the Zaoyang branch?”

“It will take less than fifteen minutes from here. First, we should head to the main road over there…”

The Zhuge Clan retainer trailed off.

An extravagantly luxurious procession was approaching from the main road he had just indicated—more lavish than anything I had ever seen.

“The heroes of Qingxia Hall are passing through!”

At the shrill cry of a middle-aged man with weasel whiskers, musicians walking along both sides of the procession began to play. Beautiful women scattered flower petals through the air.

The main road was instantly swept up in a festive atmosphere.

The commoners traveling along it watched the procession with expressions mingling anticipation and discontent.

Their countless gazes converged on ten young men and women riding in four-bearer palanquins carved with dragons and phoenixes.

Wreathed in the easy smiles only the rich could afford, they looked down at the poorly dressed commoners and tossed something from their hands.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Not hidden weapons… money. Gleaming silver nyang, each worth a hundred iron coins.

Only then did I understand the anticipation on the commoners’ faces.

“Waaah!”

“Silver nyang! It’s silver!”

“Jang-pal, you vile bastard! How dare you try to snatch someone else’s silver nyang? Take your hand off it right now!”

“Bullshit. Didn’t you see my hand get there first?”

“You fucking son of a—!”

Cheers and curses rose over the ceaselessly falling petals and silver nyang.

A woman bit into her unexpected windfall to test it. Men loudly insisted that they were the rightful owners, then promptly began fighting over it.

Meanwhile, the young men and women in the palanquins laughed as they watched the spectacle.

“What a complete shitshow.”

The sight made me shake my head.

The rich kids scattering money and enjoying the people’s reactions as if they were watching a circus looked pathetic. The sight of the commoners fighting tooth and nail for a single silver nyang left a bitter taste in my mouth and made me feel sorry for them.

But it had nothing to do with me.

“Forget about that. Let’s just get going…”

I trailed off and blinked.

What the hell was this?

Gone.

The bastards who had been beside me moments ago were nowhere to be seen. Only the Zhuge Clan retainer remained, standing there awkwardly.

“Wait, where did every one of those bastards go?”

The retainer hesitated, then raised a hand and pointed in one direction.

“They’re over there.”

“…?”

I turned my head and was rendered speechless.

Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh!

“No! You can’t!”

“My silver!”

One person was darting through the crowd with ghostlike movements, snatching silver nyang out of the air.

No. Not one person.

One fucking beggar.

The Myriad-Li³ Chasing Wind Movement Technique?

That lunatic was actually using a secret technique of the Beggars’ Sect for this?

He was faster and more agile than I had ever seen him. He had complained endlessly that he’d only mastered the technique to the fifth stage, yet the movements he was displaying now were at least seventh-stage.

That bastard is single-handedly disgracing the Beggars’ Sect.

Even for a beggar, how could he be this devoted to his calling?

But I had no time to worry about another sect’s reputation. The Jin Family of Taiyuan’s own dark horse was no less impressive.

“Haap!”

Whoosh! Rat-a-tat-tat!

Hyuk Mujin kicked off the ground and soared into the air, swinging his sword. The silver nyang caught in its powerful, fluid arc popped into the air, then showered down onto the flat of his blade.

Hyuk Mujin’s face lit up when he checked the silver.

“Wow! Ten silver nyang!”

“…”

That bastard had ten hits coming. Guaranteed.

I swallowed the curses rising to my throat and searched for the last remaining person.

Where is that Cheongpung bastard?

Unlike Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin, who were scooping up silver nyang with all their might, Cheongpung was nowhere to be seen.

But I knew the habits of the creature called Cheongpung inside and out, so it didn’t take me long to find him.

“First, ten sweets, please. Oh, and some jeonbyeong⁴ too. Not the ones you just picked up—the big ones over there, and give me plenty. Wow, thank you! By any chance, where’s the dumpling shop?”

Snap.

Something inside my head broke. My eyes rolled back until only the whites showed, and I roared.

“You fucking bastards!”