Leasing, or pledging as collateral.
They were institutions of long standing.
As far back as the ancient Zhou dynasty, over two thousand years ago, private land had been used as capital for moneylending, and the extension of that practice--renting out buildings--boasted an equally venerable history.
The point being that leasing a building was not a novel concept in the slightest.
And so the suffocating silence that hung in the Martial Emperor Hall was not because those present failed to understand Dan Sahyeok's words.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
"H-how dare he...... with the Martial Alliance's own headquarters, Yellow Dragon Fortress......"
"He means to run a money-making venture?"
"Does he take Yellow Dragon Fortress and the Martial Alliance for a joke?!"
Indignant voices leaked from every corner, but that was the extent of it.
Great Master Gomok merely nodded, a look of comprehension on his face.
"I see."
"Abbot!"
Once again, Sama Jin could not hold back his outburst.
"You hear such a thing and simply let it pass?"
"What is there to let pass or not, Strategist? When the owner of a building wishes to use his own building as he pleases, who has the right to object?"
"Yellow Dragon Fortress is not just any building!"
"If it is not just any building, then what is it?"
"It--it is......!"
Sama Jin's words caught in his throat.
Great Master Gomok continued, unperturbed.
"It is rather wide and grand and imposing, I will grant you that. But when all is said and done, it is still a building--just an oversized fortress."
"......"
"Come to think of it, the possibilities for its use are endless. If this was once the Martial Alliance's headquarters, the wealthy and officials of Xi'an would open their purses without hesitation."
"A-Abbot!"
"Strategist, as I said, this young man's position is without fault. The Martial Alliance vowed to give anything it possessed in exchange for the Blood Sky Demon's death, and this young man has upheld his end. Is that not so?"
"B-but......"
"There are only two ways that vow can be broken. Either Cheon Muyeol is in fact alive, or the Martial Alliance reneges on its promise."
Great Master Gomok's gaze turned momentarily grave.
"The first is a matter beyond our control. But the second is not. If you are prepared to bear the infamy that will be passed down for generations, then it is not something that cannot be done."
"......"
"What will you do, all of you?"
Great Master Gomok posed the question to the room, but not a single person could answer.
***
"So, how did it all turn out?"
"For now, it ended without any clear resolution...... would be the way to put it."
A dwelling in the southeastern quarter of Yellow Dragon Fortress.
A man and woman who appeared to be father and daughter sat across from each other, a tea table gently fragrant with incense between them.
One was a middle-aged man of refined appearance in a scholar's robe.
The other was a woman who, though she had not quite shed her girlish air, was unmistakably a beauty by any measure.
"First, a delegation has been assembled to investigate the facts. For fairness, it was composed of one representative from each of the Nine Sects and One Clan, plus five delegates from the Five Great Clans, and dispatched to Gansu."
"Fourteen members--a sizable party."
"Indeed. Carrier pigeons have also been sent to the Gansu Branch, so they should handle things appropriately on their end."
"And in the meantime?"
"For now, it has been left to each sect and clan's discretion. The discussion more or less drifted toward everyone doing as they see fit during the fifteen-day grace period."
"Then what does Father intend to do?"
"Truthfully, I am not sure."
The scholar-robed man let out a sigh.
"It is hardly an ordinary situation when some young man storms in out of nowhere and demands Yellow Dragon Fortress be handed over."
"There are rumors in certain circles that Great Master Gomok and Shaolin Temple are backing that man."
"Word travels fast. Then again, there were well over a hundred people in the Martial Emperor Hall, so it is only natural that news would spread in the blink of an eye."
"How did the Wudang Sect react?"
"Hm? Why the sudden question about the Wudang Sect?"
"I heard that before Great Master Gomok intervened, it was the Namgung patriarch who was leading the discussion."
The saying about Shaolin revered in the north and Wudang honored in the south was too well-known to require explanation.
In keeping with that common perception, the unseen rivalry between Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect had endured for ages--a fact hardly worth remarking upon.
Among those suspected of maintaining close ties with the Wudang Sect was Anhui's dominant power, the Namgung Clan.
"A man of Namgung Un's caliber would not have stepped forward out of simple ambition. There was most likely an understanding with the Wudang Sect beforehand."
"I cannot say. Namgung Un has always been the type who enjoys placing himself at the forefront."
"Then let us table that matter for now."
"Let us."
The father and daughter paused their conversation briefly and sipped their tea.
They were Jegal Unseong, the patriarch of the Jegal Clan, and his daughter, Jegal Seoyeon.
The Jegal Clan was a house long renowned for producing the finest strategic minds of any generation.
Together with the Sama Clan, they had held the real power within the Martial Alliance's advisory staff for generations.
Though in this generation they had lost the Strategist's seat to Sama Jin, praised as the Seven-Step Divine Strategist, Jegal Unseong harbored no bitterness over it.
He was simply too composed a man to resent others over a matter so trifling.
His daughter Jegal Seoyeon found her father's temperament somewhat wanting in that regard, but one's inborn nature could not be helped.
"In any case, what manner of man is this Dan Sahyeok?"
"Mm, well. At this point, I can only say he is impossible to read."
"His personality is of little concern. What matters is whether he possesses the caliber to stake our clan's future on."
"Mm......"
"The Wudang Sect already has an ironclad grip on Hubei, leaving us no room to maneuver. Nor can we set our sights on Shaanxi or Henan, given their proximity."
The Mount Hua Sect in Shaanxi, and Shaolin Temple in Henan.
Both ranked among the foremost of the Nine Sects and One Clan.
On top of that, the Wudang Mountains loomed directly beside Longzhong, where their clan was based, leaving the Jegal Clan no better off than a shrimp caught between three whales.
Remaining in their current position was not the worst outcome.
But Jegal Seoyeon had no intention of settling for that.
"If that man truly has the strength and ability to have defeated the Blood Sky Demon...... he could serve as the wedge to shatter the current balance of power."
"Seoyeon."
"Father, all of this is for the Jegal Clan's sake."
Jegal Seoyeon spoke, her expression turning grave.
"We cannot spend the rest of our days looking over our shoulders, cowering under the pressure of Wudang and Mount Hua."
"Mm."
"This is not born of selfish desire, so I hope you can understand."
"Very well."
In the end, that was how Jegal Unseong answered.
***
Similar conversations were taking place throughout Yellow Dragon Fortress.
Those who watched the Martial Alliance's internal dynamics with keen eyes, ever seeking to elevate their own standing.
Nearly all of them were desperately trying to uncover the identity and backers of the uninvited guest called Dan Sahyeok.
"So what the hell is that bastard, anyway?"
"Beats me. Whether he's really strong enough to take down the Blood Sky Demon, or just some fraud somebody propped up."
"Anyone here from Gansu? Not a single person who's heard anything about the guy?"
"The Third Squad Leader of the White Tiger Corps is from the Gansu Branch, actually......"
A noisy, bustling scene.
It was one of the dining halls inside Yellow Dragon Fortress.
The space could seat over a hundred, and with roughly half of that capacity filled, the racket was inevitable.
The crowd's composition only made it louder--the majority were warriors of First Class or above.
A First-Class Warrior of the Martial Alliance headquarters could walk through most towns with a swagger and no one would bat an eye.
Given Yellow Dragon Fortress' nature as a gathering place for each sect's key personnel, even a rank-and-file warrior often turned out to be some renowned sect's senior disciple once you scratched the surface.
"So in the end, which is it?"
"Who knows? If the big brains upstairs can't figure it out, how're we supposed to?"
"In other words, he's good enough to fool even the eyes of all those sect leaders and patriarchs......"
"Well, if Shaolin's backing him, he can't be nobody."
"Hmph! He's nothing special, I'll bet. Looks the part, maybe, but there's nothing real behind it."
"If you really believe that, why don't you go take a crack at him? Exposing a fraud who shook the Martial Alliance would put you on the fast track."
"I'd love to, but I don't even know where the bastard is. If he were right in front of me, I'd--"
CREEEAK.
The door opened, and the dining hall fell silent as if by magic.
A single figure stepped into the hushed room.
It was Dan Sahyeok.
Every warrior in the room recognized him at once.
The two blades slung across his back in the shape of a cross were eye-catching enough on their own, and one of them stood out in particular.
The blood-red dragon head ornament at the end of the pommel.
No swordsmith of the Martial Alliance would craft such a decoration, even in jest.
"Is that really......?"
"The Blood Dragon Blade?"
The warriors whispered amongst themselves, their voices noticeably smaller than before.
Dan Sahyeok walked in and headed for where food was being served.
Before long, the group of warriors who had been chatting glanced silently at their boastful comrade.
The man, already pricked by guilt under their stares, surged to his feet in a flash of temper.
"Fine, I'll go. I'll go!"
"N-no, that wasn't what I meant......"
"Shut it. This Jang Ucheol is no petty man who says one thing and means another!"
Jang Ucheol rose with an angry huff, his head nearly brushing the ceiling.
At a glance, he stood well over eight feet tall.
He hauled his massive frame forward in great strides and planted himself behind Dan Sahyeok.
"Is that the Blood Dragon Blade?"
"It is."
"That thing is really the Blood Sky Demon's prized weapon?"
"So its owner claimed."
"Its owner?"
"The Blood Sky Demon."
Dan Sahyeok answered without looking back.
Jang Ucheol quickly found himself at a loss for words, and his gaze shifted slightly to the side.
"The sword you've got strapped alongside it--that one yours?"
"It is."
"If that sword went up against the Blood Dragon Blade, it must be some legendary blade."
"Who knows."
"Then."
Jang Ucheol reached out and grabbed the hilt of Dan Sahyeok's sword.
He did not dare lay a hand on the Blood Dragon Blade, so he seized the other one--and since Dan Sahyeok did nothing to stop him, the blade slid free with ease.
"Huh!"
"What is he doing?"
Exclamations burst from all around.
The most startled of all was Jang Ucheol himself, who had drawn the sword.
"This is...... a sword with its blade broken off?"
A bladeless sword, if one had to name it.
The thick blade had snapped off at the root, leaving barely a stub behind, and for whatever reason, it did not appear to have been broken recently.
In the meantime, Dan Sahyeok had collected his meal and turned his head.
"Put it back. Or hand it over."
A flat, expressionless voice.
After a moment's hesitation, Jang Ucheol steeled his resolve.
"And if I refuse?"
"You would be dead."
"......What?"
"If this were Gansu."
Dan Sahyeok spoke with quiet composure.
"But this is not Gansu, and we are not at war. You are lucky, big man."
"So you're saying you'd let this Jang Ucheol off the hook? If you really have the skill, then--"
WHOOSH—!
In an instant, a gust of wind lashed across the bridge of Jang Ucheol's nose.
Nothing but wind, quite literally.
Yet the sword that had been in his hand a moment ago was now hanging on Dan Sahyeok's back.
Then, a thin trail of blood trickled down from his nostril.
Realizing belatedly that he was bleeding, Jang Ucheol shuddered, seized by a deathly chill.
"......"
"......"
The warriors who had been watching were equally lost for words.
Oblivious to all of it, Dan Sahyeok glided past Jang Ucheol, found an empty seat, and began to eat.
"......Tastes like crap."