O Seokryong went blank for a moment.
"......What did you say?"
"I said I do not care who you are or whether you stand idly by or glare daggers at me."
"......"
"Are you finished?"
"Not yet!"
O Seokryong's voice rose of its own accord.
"So you are saying you will not retract what is written in this notice?"
"There is nothing to retract. It is within my rightful authority as lord of Yellow Dragon Fortress."
"Yellow Dragon Fortress does not belong to you!"
O Seokryong shouted in indignation.
To some extent, he was putting on a louder show of fury for the benefit of onlookers.
Stamping impressions like this, one after another, was how one built a reputation in the martial world.
In the Martial Alliance of the present day, such renown--such fame--was more important than one's actual skill.
That was precisely why he had stepped in front of Dan Sahyeok before anyone else.
It was to raise the profile of the Taebaek Sect and his own name, both of which lacked recognition.
What he had failed to account for, however, was the man called Dan Sahyeok.
"You are wrong."
"What?"
"Yellow Dragon Fortress is mine."
Dan Sahyeok spoke without a trace of emotion.
"If you take issue with that, you are welcome to come at me."
"......!"
O Seokryong was struck speechless for an instant.
'This bastard, did he just......?'
Yellow Dragon Fortress is his. And if that bothers you, come at him.
The words were so disarmingly plain that his mind went blank.
"H-how can you claim Yellow Dragon Fortress is yours?"
"Because it is a fact."
"A fact? Nothing has been decided yet!"
"It will be."
Words that could not be spoken without absolute conviction.
Even his gaze was so still and settled that one had to wonder if he was truly insane.
But the water was already spilled.
Too many eyes had gathered for him to tuck his tail and retreat now.
"You intend to drive out every sect and clan from Yellow Dragon Fortress?"
"If I must."
"And you have the right to do so?"
"I told you. If you take issue, come at me."
Dan Sahyeok's single remark narrowed O Seokryong's choices to two.
Attack, or tuck his tail and retreat.
It was too late to become a laughingstock.
"In that case......!"
SMACK—!
A strike that outpaced thought itself.
A lightning-fast punch grazed the broad expanse of O Seokryong's jaw, and with that alone, his consciousness sailed far, far away.
THUD!
A man a full head taller than Dan Sahyeok crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"H-how can this be!"
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
The Taebaek Sect disciples cried out in horror, their faces drained of color.
Dan Sahyeok looked down at the fallen O Seokryong in silence.
The disciples did not dare so much as approach.
"A c-cowardly......"
"Not at all."
Dan Sahyeok answered one disciple's muttering.
"He had already made up his mind to attack. The fight began the moment he did."
"Y-you could have at least yielded the first move!"
"Not really my style."
Dan Sahyeok said flatly.
"If you want to play at being masters, trading courtesies over who strikes first, I suggest you do it with your own kind."
"Gah!"
"I am not saying I will throw you all out without recourse. If you wish to stay, rooms and buildings can be leased, so come find me to negotiate."
"......"
"Well, you would have to be to my liking first. But the Taebaek Sect's chances are not entirely nonexistent."
Dan Sahyeok looked the Taebaek disciples squarely in the eye and spoke.
"Now leave."
It was a command, nothing less.
The Taebaek disciples retreated without so much as the customary vow of revenge, not daring to utter a single sound.
Those who had witnessed the scene were likewise forced to revise whatever thoughts had been forming in their minds.
'That movement just now--I could not follow it with my eyes, let alone with my senses.'
'Speed and agility like that are not the markings of a mere First-Class Warrior.'
'Perhaps he truly did bring down the Blood Sky Demon......'
The situation left their heads spinning.
Those who had come harboring ideas similar to O Seokryong's gulped down their dry saliva and withdrew.
Those with no such intentions retreated as well, unwilling to give Dan Sahyeok cause to take issue.
Before long, not a soul remained near Dan Sahyeok.
He surveyed the empty space around him, then set off walking once more.
***
"Wh-wh-wh-what?"
"Me."
At Dan Sahyeok's quiet answer, Jang Ucheol went blank.
"You?"
"You asked 'what.' So I answered 'me.'"
"......"
"Startled that I showed up out of nowhere?"
"O-of course I am!"
Jang Ucheol sputtered back, feeling vaguely aggrieved.
His voice, however, was less than half its usual volume.
Because Dan Sahyeok frightened him.
"Have you come to apologize?"
"For what?"
At Dan Sahyeok's retort, Jang Ucheol found himself with nothing to say.
When he thought about it, all he had gotten was a slight nosebleed.
If he were going to carry on about apologies over something like that, he might as well lop off both his stones.
"Then why have you come?"
"To put you to work."
"Work? Me?"
"Who else is here besides you?"
"......Why me?"
"I can hardly give errands to the Strategist, the Shaolin Abbot, or the Namgung patriarch."
"Wh-what?"
Dan Sahyeok clicked his tongue at the relentless questions.
"The only people I have met since arriving here are those three and you. I did run into a fellow called O Seokryong just earlier."
"O Seokryong? Of the Taebaek Sect?"
"So it seems. Anyway, of the lot, you are the only one I can actually put to work."
"......"
"O Seokryong was an option too, but he is out cold, so I will have to make an exception."
It seemed Dan Sahyeok had already put someone on the ground since they last met.
The thought that he had gotten himself tangled up with the wrong person crept up the back of Jang Ucheol's skull.
"S-so let me get this straight...... You have some work that needs doing, but you do not know anyone here, so you came to me because at least you have seen my face once?"
"More or less."
"What if I refuse?"
"Then I will have to find someone else."
"......Huh?"
"What, were you expecting me to say I would beat you within an inch of your life if you refused?"
"N-not exactly......"
"I would not rule it out entirely, but I would rather not. I did not come here to fight, and I did not come here to tear the place apart and beat everyone senseless."
"Mm."
"Though I will say this much: the work I would give you would not be a bad deal for you, either."
"R-really?"
"Really."
Jang Ucheol found himself piqued.
"What sort of work is it?"
"Odd jobs."
"Odd jobs?"
"Yes. Various small tasks. Things I do not need to handle personally."
"For example......?"
Dan Sahyeok's expression turned serious.
"The food at the warriors' mess hall in this place tastes like absolute dog shit. If you have a tongue in your mouth, I am sure you can relate."
Jang Ucheol did not answer aloud, but he nodded inwardly.
The food was provided gratis by the Martial Alliance, so everyone endured it. If they had to pay for it, no one would have touched it.
"If the ingredients are fine and the portions are adequate but it still tastes like that, there can be only one reason. The cook is utter garbage."
"Actually...... we used to say the same thing all the time."
"Whether he is holding on through connections or bribery, a cook with no skill like that cannot be left in place."
"S-so then......?"
"Even after Yellow Dragon Fortress changes hands, inns and dining halls will still be needed. To prepare for that, I want to bring in a skilled cook."
Dan Sahyeok said evenly.
"I want you to handle finding one."
"Uh......"
Jang Ucheol hemmed and hawed for a while.
In short, he was being told to go find a good chef.
Xi'an was vast and full of people, so finding a single cook would be no great challenge.
The only real problem, then, was one thing.
"Would the higher-ups in the Martial Alliance even allow something like that?"
"Irrelevant. The Martial Alliance will be vacating the premises."
"......!"
Jang Ucheol was well aware of the notices scattered across Yellow Dragon Fortress.
With everyone talking about nothing else since the crack of dawn, not knowing would have been stranger still.
Reactions to the notice ran the gamut, but in truth, few took it seriously.
And for good reason--who would dare tell the Martial Alliance to leave?
From its own headquarters, Yellow Dragon Fortress, no less.
If anyone genuinely entertained even a sliver of such a possibility, they had to be one of two things.
Unbelievably stupid, or utterly, thoroughly mad.
And in Jang Ucheol's eyes, Dan Sahyeok was anything but stupid.
"Mmmngh......!"
"Can you do it?"
At Dan Sahyeok's question, Jang Ucheol felt a sudden stab of fear.
"Wh-what if I say I can not......?"
"I told you, I will find someone else."
"You know what? That is actually scarier than being told you would kill me."
"Do not overthink it. All you need to decide is whether to take my offer or not."
That is precisely why it is so hard.
Jang Ucheol objected, but only in the privacy of his own mind.
"W-well, if it is just finding someone suitable...... I think I could manage that much."
"Good. Understood."
Alongside his answer, Dan Sahyeok held something out.
Thinking it might be a concealed weapon or poison, Jang Ucheol flinched.
But on second look, it was a silver tael.
Then again, there was no reason a supreme master like Dan Sahyeok would resort to concealed weapons or poison against the likes of him.
Jang Ucheol's face turned beet red with embarrassment.
"Wh-what is that for?"
"An advance. Give half to whoever you hire as a signing fee, and keep the other half as payment for the trouble."
"......!"
Jang Ucheol's eyes went wide.
The sum was far too generous, whether as a signing fee or as compensation.
"Th-this much......?"
"That is why I told you. It would not be a bad deal for you."
Dan Sahyeok said calmly.
"So, are you feeling more inclined?"
"Sir!"
Jang Ucheol performed a clasped hands greeting that did not suit his nature in the slightest.
"I will serve you as my elder brother from this day forward! Please, allow me the honor of calling you so!"
Even as he shouted the words, Jang Ucheol was privately uneasy.
Doing a complete about-face over a few coins was not, generally speaking, a good look.
Especially within the Martial Alliance, where such people abounded.
Men who were just as fond of money, women, and liquor as anyone, yet would scowl and lecture whenever someone else showed it.
'Those people, in other words......'
"Better than a hypocrite."
At Dan Sahyeok's words, Jang Ucheol found himself nodding inwardly.
'Right. Hypocrites.'
"A person moved by money is, in fact, the more honest sort. Give them money and they will be a steadfast ally."
The words that spilled out so frankly would have made any righteous martial artist faint dead away.
And yet Jang Ucheol was far from shocked--if anything, he stared fixedly at Dan Sahyeok's face.
His expression was utterly untroubled, as though he had not a thing to hide.
"Better than those who bandy about shapeless, substanceless notions like loyalty and chivalric spirit."
"Mm, mm......"
"In short, I am saying I will allow the brotherhood."
"I-is that so!"
"Yes. So......"
Dan Sahyeok turned away.
"Hurry up and go finish what I told you to do."
"Understood, sir!"
Jang Ucheol hastily paid his respects, pocketed the silver, and dashed off.
And then, a short while later.
Several pairs of eyes covertly trailed after him as he raced out through Yellow Dragon Fortress' gates.
"What should we do, Senior Brother?"
"What do you mean, what should we do? It is obvious."
In the shadows, a handful of men whispered among themselves.
"Let us rough that bastard up first."