Chapter 46: Clash (2)
Do Mak-saeng, the Hegemon Society Leader.
In the world, people referred to him by the alias of Giant Force Tyrant Blade.
His martial prowess was enough to claim himself as the hegemon of a city, and in his youth, he was a great figure who was known as a worthy rival to the Blade King of the Peng Clan of Hebei.
And there was one more thing for which Do Mak-saeng was famous.
It was, indeed, his extreme fatherly love.
Do Mak-saeng was rumored to cherish his son, Do Jwa-yoon, terribly, which was because he himself had grown up preciously as an only child for four generations, and Do Jwa-yoon, who was barely obtained as an only child for five generations, was a late child born prematurely in the seventh month.
Perhaps because of that, the drunkards who were mocking the miserable end of Do Jwa-yoon just a moment ago could not even breathe properly.
It was only natural, as their necks might be cut off by Do Mak-saeng’s giant saber if they made a mistake.
However.
“If you will not come out, fine.”
Do Mak-saeng’s attitude was somewhat strange.
He was speaking as if someone was hiding inside the tavern.
“If I kill the bastards here one by one, they will eventually come out.”
Hearing Do Mak-saeng’s words, the warriors of the Hegemon Society drew their swords and surrounded the tavern.
Now, the drunkards inside the tavern were in the same position as minnows caught in a net of sword blades.
Meanwhile, Oh Ja-woon silently looked at those warriors of the Hegemon Society.
Before long, he gestured with his eyes toward Chui, who was next to him.
“It seems we have been caught. Would it not be better to overturn things at this point?”
“…….”
However, Chui was only chewing on a plum with crunching sounds, showing no reaction.
Oh Ja-woon opened his mouth halfway as if dumbfounded.
How could he show no reaction in this kind of situation?
“Hey. I know well that you have plenty of audacity, but…… if we do not go out, innocent people will die.”
“Calm down.”
Chui raised his head toward Oh Ja-woon.
And then he continued in an indifferent tone.
“They did not come looking for us.”
“……?”
At the moment Oh Ja-woon tilted his head.
Creak—
The sound of someone pulling back a chair on the second floor was heard.
“The Hegemon Society greets guests quite noisily.”
The one who stood up was a woman.
However, since her hair was cut short like a man’s and her skin was tanned by the sun, she looked at a glance like a pretty, graceful boy.
She sneered, twitching the scar that crossed the bridge of her nose.
“I think the one to be displeased should be me, yet for you to accuse me conversely like this. It is utterly absurd.”
“Who are you? Why did you come here?”
Do Mak-saeng spoke as he glared at the short-haired woman.
Then, the woman’s reaction was one of absurdity.
“Did you come to capture me without even knowing who I am?”
“I know you are a water bandit from the Yangtze River. I hear my son was indebted to you at Fuchai Pavilion?”
“Fuchai Pavilion? What on earth is that about?”
As the woman knitted her brows, Do Mak-saeng gritted his teeth.
“Do not pretend to be ignorant! The one who crippled my son was you!”
Do Mak-saeng’s sword was drawn.
He swung his sword with a terrifying momentum, drawing a diagonal semicircle from bottom to top.
Boom, crash, bang!
The tall tavern building was split whole.
Startled by the terrifying slash extending toward the sky, several drunkards fell down from the railing in surprise.
However, the woman standing at the second-floor railing did not look surprised in the least.
“Giant Force Tyrant Blade…… as expected, your reputation is not in vain. But so what?”
She drew two swords from her waist.
They were too short to be called ordinary swords, yet too long to be called daggers.
Two blades, one red and one blue, flashed in her hands.
Clang, clang! Clang!
Do Mak-saeng raised his saber and blocked two streaks of sword qi flying toward his neck.
Taking advantage of that gap, the woman leaped down from the railing and stood in front of Do Mak-saeng.
“I am Hae Baek-jeong, a Thousand-Head of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union.”
“……!”
At those words, Do Mak-saeng’s eyes widened.
In the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union, there were twelve bands in total.
These bands were composed of approximately one thousand water bandits, and the one who led ten water bandits was called a ‘Ten-Head,’ the one who led a hundred water bandits was called a ‘Hundred-Head,’ and the one who led a thousand water bandits was called a ‘Thousand-Head.’
And above the twelve Thousand-Heads who led the twelve bands, there existed only a single Union Master.
“…….”
Do Mak-saeng swallowed a low groan.
The one before his eyes right now was one of the twelve pinnacles of the Twelve Yangtze River Water Fortresses, a Thousand-Head rank, and among them, the one known to be the most mysterious, ‘Hae Baek-jeong.’
Do Mak-saeng spoke.
“I did not know. To think the rumored Hae Baek-jeong was a woman.”
“Now that you know, why do you not sheath your sword?”
“I cannot do that. No matter how much you are a water bandit of the Yangtze River who does not know the laws of the land, what cannot be done cannot be done. I can never just let it pass that you made my son look like that.”
“I do not know what kind of nonsense you have been talking about since earlier. I was not here when Fuchai Pavilion burned down. I was staying at a tavern far away from here. Ask anyone around there.”
“……?”
It seemed that the Hegemon Society Leader, Do Mak-saeng, and Hae Baek-jeong, the Thousand-Head of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union, were misunderstanding something.
Do Mak-saeng asked.
“If so, why did you come here?”
“I came to capture the bastard who killed my subordinate.”
Hae Baek-jeong. She shot a murderous glare at Do Mak-saeng.
“I heard a Hundred-Head under me secretly embezzled public funds to buy a few discarded girls of the Hegemon Society. I intended to punish him with my own hands, but when I heard he was killed by some unexpected bastard, I only came to verify it.”
“Then, what about my son?”
“Unrelated. We only met once a few days ago to talk, in order to hear exactly who sold the discarded girls and who bought them.”
Hae Baek-jeong had met Do Jwa-yoon a few days ago to ask to whom the discarded girls were sold, and who of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union had bought them.
Probably because of that, Do Mak-saeng seemed to think that the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union had touched his son.
Before long, Do Mak-saeng, whose misunderstanding was somewhat resolved, shifted his saber behind his back.
“I will investigate whether that is true.”
“Do as you wish. However, if my words are true, what do you intend to do?”
“If your innocence is proven, I will formally apologize. And I will treat you as a special guest of our Hegemon Society. Also, I will support your activities both materially and spiritually.”
“Good. Since I am truly innocent. Getting the cooperation of the Hegemon Society like this will make it easier to find the culprit.”
Hae Baek-jeong shrugged and put the twin swords back to her waist.
It seemed that she too found it burdensome to deal with the Hegemon Society Leader, Do Mak-saeng, and his subordinates all at once.
Before long. Do Mak-saeng and Hae Baek-jeong left the tavern.
The warriors of the Hegemon Society also tried to put their swords back into their sheaths.
“Wait.”
Do Mak-saeng stopped his subordinates.
He narrowed his eyes, which had turned red with bloodlust.
And then he gave a short command to his subordinates.
“Do not sheath your swords yet.”
The fire in Do Mak-saeng’s resentment had not yet died down.
“Cut out all the tongues of the bastards who were badmouthing my son in the tavern just now and bring them to me.”
At those words, the warriors of the Hegemon Society drew their swords again, which they had been about to sheath.
Screams began to run rampant along with blood in various parts of the tavern.
Only after watching that gruesome scene to the end did Do Mak-saeng turn his head.
Hae Baek-jeong, who was next to him, frowned as she watched that scene.
“Is it all right to torment innocent commoners like that in broad daylight?”
“Not something to be heard from a water bandit of the Yangtze River. Well, it does not matter. This area is my domain. Is it not natural logic for a father to protect his son’s honor and wash away his disgrace?”
Hearing Do Mak-saeng’s answer, Hae Baek-jeong shook her head.
However, she was in a situation where she had to find and kill the culprit who killed her subordinate, and for that, she needed the cooperation of the Hegemon Society, which was well-acquainted with the circumstances of this vicinity.
‘Did they say he is the Three Calls of the Yellow Springs? That bastard…… I will definitely catch and kill him.’
Hae Baek-jeong originally did not like her subordinate, the Hundred-Head Gongson Hap.
It was from the moment she received a report that he had embezzled public funds, bought discarded girls of the land with that money, and engaged in philandering.
She was planning to announce Gongson Hap’s shameless acts someday and execute him formally.
However, Gongson Hap was defeated by some drifter and died in vain.
To the water bandits of the Yangtze River, dying in battle on the water was grand and sacred.
Gongson Hap was supposed to be caught while whoring with embezzled money and executed disgracefully, but because he died in battle on the water of all things, he met a honorable death.
Thus, Gongson Hap’s subordinates still walked around with their chests puffed out, saying their former boss met a noble end.
Hae Baek-jeong did not like that point.
‘In any case, since a subordinate died, it is natural for the boss to step forward, but…….’
Having to step forward to avenge the death of someone like Gongson Hap was a serious annoyance to her.
If she had just announced him as an embezzler and a philanderer and cut off his head, it would have been simple.
‘Sigh—this is extremely annoying. If it were not for the special command of the Union Master.’
Hae Baek-jeong followed Do Mak-saeng out of the tavern with a furrowed brow.
‘But why did the Union Master order me to bring that Three Calls of the Yellow Springs or whatever bastard back alive? And only me going out alone…….’
Naturally, she had no choice but to become interested in the expert named Three Calls of the Yellow Springs.
* * *
Do Mak-saeng was a man who eventually got what he wanted.
Only after holding all the tongues that had tasted sweetness in his son’s misfortune in his hand did he leave the tavern.
Only then did the warriors of the Hegemon Society sheath their swords and exit the tavern.
“Aigoo…… Aigoo……”
“Cal-Call a physician, please!”
“People are dying! People are dying! Oh my!”
Where the Hegemon Society had left, only groans and wailing remained to flow.
Meanwhile.
Chui and Oh Ja-woon watched this entire scene from beginning to end.
Oh Ja-woon nudged Chui’s arm.
“In this place, you are indeed more popular than I am.”
“…….”
While the group chasing Oh Ja-woon was just Mount Hua, the groups chasing Chui were already three.
The Namgung Clan. And the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union and the Hegemon Society.
Already, three prominent groups had their eyes lit up to find Chui.
Before long, Oh Ja-woon spoke.
“To go easily to the plank pathway, we must reduce at least one annoying pursuit group, right?”
“…….”
Chui thought for a moment.
Now the Hegemon Society had served its purpose.
They were helpful when entering Hubei Province, but they would be a hindrance when leaving Hubei Province.
“…….”
Chui briefly recalled the courtesans of the Wave Market.
And then he silently nodded.
The corners of Oh Ja-woon’s mouth curved into a smile.
However, his eyes, looking toward the people in the tavern groaning in pain, were not smiling at all.
“Since I ate meat and drank liquor, I feel like my body might grow sluggish.”
“Then we must loosen up.”
“Let us do some night exercise later.”
Chui’s thoughts were exactly the same as Oh Ja-woon’s.
It was a quite well-fitting clash.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost