There are two kinds of people.
No, to be precise, it would be better to say there are two kinds of criminals.
The first are those who became criminals because they had no choice.
Those who stole for their mothers, or stabbed someone to save somebody else.
Namgung Yeon judged that such people could repent, and that at their core, they were good.
At least, during the dozens upon dozens of iterations Namgung Yeon had lived through, that was what he had seen.
Given a chance, they could rise back up and live decently again.
They were the first kind of criminal.
“But, Young Master.”
“Mm?”
“Isn’t this Dashu Mountain?”
“That’s right.”
Then what was the second kind?
The bastards who committed crimes out of malice.
People who could no longer even remember why they had committed crimes in the beginning.
They killed people for fun, stole things for fun, harassed women for fun......
People like that were garbage incapable of rehabilitation.
Across countless iterations, not a single person like that had ever been reformed.
Without a single exception, they stabbed him in the back, ran away, or caused trouble because a dog’s bad habits do not go away.
“This is where the Black Wind Gang is. Are you aware of that?”
“Did I not tell you? I said I was going to buy a few bastards to beat.”
“Young Master, surely you don’t mean.......”
Why bring this up now?
Because Namgung Yeon was heading straight for the den of those criminal bastards.
And because he intended to change their lives from top to bottom.
South of Hefei.
The mountain directly below the martial hall where they were staying.
People called that place Dashu Mountain, and deep inside it was a rugged valley.
Originally, it had been within the Namgung Clan’s territory, but it had gradually drifted beyond the clan’s interest.
The slums at least lay on the edge of the Namgung Clan’s domain, but this place did not.
Because of that, criminals active in and around Anhui Province had begun gathering there one by one.
Shielded by the mountain range, they could avoid the authorities’ eyes, and because there were quite a few wild beasts along the way, ordinary people could not reach it either.
A mountainside where human trafficking, drug deals, and all manner of black-market dealings took place.
“Why? Do you think I’m going to traffic people?”
“.......”
“What an honest nature. Seeing as you don’t deny it.”
“Please consider it the concern of a loyal retainer. I am truly worried.”
“I intend to change that place.”
Now what in the world did that mean?
That was even harder to understand.
The Black Wind Gang was a place even the Namgung Clan and the Hefei branch office had given up on.
So how could this young master possibly change it?
Whatever else, this truly looked like reckless bravado.
Jingle, jingle. Each time he stepped forward, the clear sound of bells rang out.
Whether he knew Manho was worried or not, his steps were nothing but leisurely.
“What exactly are you thinking? On top of that, are we not wearing these Dragon-Suppressing Shackles or Dragon-Breaking Shackles or whatever they are?”
“Do not worry. There will be no need to use that much force.”
For catching mere criminals, someone of Manho’s level was more than enough—a blade fit to slaughter an ox.
Namgung Yeon thought about the people of the Black Wind Gang.
Were those people the first kind, or the second kind?
During the many iterations in which he had visited the Black Wind Gang, every single one of them had belonged to the second kind without exception.
Perhaps money and life had muddied their true nature.
Still, that did not mean they could be forgiven.
There were no bastards inside the Black Wind Gang who could be rehabilitated.
Those who had any such possibility had either all died, or had left that hellish place.
“The more rotten a place is, the weaker it tends to be to money and material things.”
“.......”
***
Night fell.
A deep valley within Dashu Mountain.
Secretive lights began to appear there.
People who had been hiding here and there began gathering one by one, and in an instant, the black energy staining all of Anhui Province converged.
“Young Master, are you truly going there?”
“Why else would I have come this far? If you are going to keep nagging, go back.”
“I cannot do that.”
“Then be quiet.”
With those words, Namgung Yeon headed toward the place where dim light shone.
Had they not used internal energy to strengthen their eyesight, they would have lost their way.
The path was that treacherous, and if ordinary people had come here, they would have been stranded in an instant.
‘The Black Wind Gang. This place is the same every time I come. It almost feels nostalgic.’
At first, he had tried somehow to draw the people here over to his side.
At the very least, he had tried feeding and clothing them well enough to use them as meat shields.
But all of Namgung Yeon’s plans had ended in failure.
They were consistent in one thing: not once did they ever fail to betray him.
Thanks to that consistency, Namgung Yeon had realized one thing.
The most effective way was to begin by quickly discarding the bastards who needed to be discarded.
Even in the iterations where he had not personally intervened, he had still heard news from time to time.
<The Black Wind Gang caused trouble this time!>
<The martial artists pouring out of that place did such things to innocent commoners, honestly!>
<They say they drag off pretty women and young girls and sell them. They use them as playthings or slaves, apparently.>
A place where rumors like that continued to circulate.
That was the Black Wind Gang.
Criminals.
And among criminals, they were quite vicious ones.
They were like worms that grew by feeding on the foulest things at the bottom.
Those worms could not affect the entire murim, but they quietly spread disease here and there.
They would play an important role in helping Hoho develop real combat sense.
And for that, an obscene amount of money had to be thrown around.
“Welco...... Who are you?”
“I came from Hefei. I heard there are amusing things here.”
“......Do you know what kind of place this is?”
The gatekeeper paused when he spotted Namgung Yeon.
Then he looked troubled.
They made sure to station gatekeepers who knew their letters.
That was because if any honored guests came, they had to report it at once.
And now, a rather troublesome guest had come.
He looked young, as if he knew nothing of the world.......
But at the same time, the aura of the warrior beside him was anything but ordinary, making it difficult to drive him away here.
The gatekeeper had meant to frighten them into turning back on their own, but that did not work either.
“Do you think I came without knowing? It is fine. What would I gain by ratting you lot out?”
“.......”
“Go call your gang leader. Tell him I have something important to say.”
“Understood.”
The gatekeeper glanced at Namgung Yeon once, then slipped away.
Namgung Yeon tried to head inside.
“If you go too far in, we will not be able to find you.”
“I will just look around up ahead. Think of it as a young boy’s curiosity.”
“Do that.”
One of the two gatekeepers had no choice but to nod.
The Namgung Clan.
There was no one in the Black Wind Gang who could not read those characters.
That was why they could not dare treat him carelessly.
From the look of him, he seemed to be some noble young master of the Namgung Clan.......
Would there be any clan member who did not know he had gone out?
No, there would not.
If he remained away from the clan estate for a long time, a search party would be dispatched, and they would surely come to the Black Wind Gang.
‘Then it would all be over.’
They surely knew this place existed as well.
Why would people like that leave a den of criminals alone?
There was only one reason.
[Because they had not yet come out into the world and were still holed up.]
They, too, were a group that understood the dark side of this world.
Though they stood at the very top of murim society, they understood the workings of its darkest places.
That was Namgung, the foremost among the murim clans.
Did they think that because this was a den of darkness, they could do whatever they pleased with a member of the Namgung Clan?
Not a chance.
Rather, because the Black Wind Gang lived in hiding, they had no choice but to watch quietly.
It would take only a single word from someone for this place to burn to ash.
‘As expected, the scenery here is the same every time I come.’
From one side came strange sounds.
From another, the sound of someone being beaten.
In one place, people sat collapsed in groups, staring blankly into empty air.
The lights were muted red lanterns that swayed here and there, like those of a red-light district.
Just as the color of those lanterns was murky, the lives of these people must also have been stained black.
He could feel Manho frozen stiff beside him.
“Is this your first time seeing something like this?”
“......Yes.”
“Some say these people are also members of society. What do you think?”
“.......”
With so many ears around, Manho could not bring himself to speak.
The fact that he could not firmly agree was as good as an answer.
Namgung Yeon merely smiled.
As he stood there for a moment, blankly considering what should be done with this place, he saw someone hurrying toward them in a fluster.
“Oh dear, what brings such an honored guest to a place like this.......”
“Are you the gang leader?”
“That is correct. I am the gang leader who leads this Black Wind Gang. Please call me Mr. Heuk.”
Namgung Yeon looked over Mr. Heuk’s appearance, then asked.
Very directly.
“How much did you spend to become the gang leader of this place?”
His deep, black eyes stared as though they would swallow the leader of the Black Wind Gang whole.
***
At first, Mr. Heuk was startled.
He had rushed over after being told that someone seemed to be an honored guest from the Namgung Clan, only for that to truly be the case.
Why had he come to a place like this?
‘Normally, anyone who comes here does so with impure intentions.......’
Perhaps this could be a chance for the Black Wind Gang to make a leap forward.
That was what the gang leader thought.
What could people of the Namgung Clan possibly lack that would bring them to a place like this?
A half-baked sense of justice?
That was even less worth expecting.
They were mad bastards who pursued nothing but strength.
So, filled with expectation, he asked.
What was it that the guest needed?
But what came back was a question out of nowhere.
“How much...... it cost to become the gang leader?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you ask....... Well, to answer first, it was quite expensive.”
“Would this be enough to buy the Black Wind Gang?”
Namgung Yeon handed him a heavy pouch.
Clack. A strange sound came from inside.
If it were ordinary gold or silver pieces, there should have been a jingling sound.......
Curious, Mr. Heuk opened the pouch slightly.
“Haaah!?”
“It seems enough to buy this whole place. Is it not?”
“Y-y-y-y-yes, that is correct!”
Namgung Yeon grinned.
Then he spoke.
“Then bring everyone you have dragged here and everyone you have captured before me.”