A few days later.
Tang Yu-hyeon visited a Sichuan tavern once again.
It was the very place Seon U-yun had taken him to, where the commotion had broken out.
As he quietly tipped back his cup, all sorts of talk drifted in from around him.
"Did you hear, man? They say the Broken Saber Dog Ghost and the Chaotic Saber Ghost Guest are dead!"
"Were those two not famous for how cruel their hands were? There must be more than a few men holding grudges, so dying like that is only natural."
"Tsk, tsk. I knew it would come to that someday. Lopping off arms and legs the moment something displeased them, again and again. Serves them right!"
Tang Yu-hyeon wet his throat and smiled faintly.
Indeed, there is no one who dislikes seeing an enemy come floating down the river.
"Something pleasant happen?"
CLACK.
Seon U-yun set down a liquor bottle and sat across from Tang Yu-hyeon.
"A rival disappearing is always pleasant."
"A rival? Ah. You mean those bastards who died a few days back?"
"That is right."
"I was curious myself, so I went around listening in, and they say it happened in Deyang."
"Oho. Deyang of all places."
"Yes. And it's gotten even more dangerous now."
"Why is that?"
Instead of answering, Seon U-yun gestured with his chin toward the street outside the tavern.
"Damn it! If the Hundred Flower Pavilion goes under, where are we supposed to go!"
"Hey. Mind your mouth. It didn't go under, it vanished. Is the Hundred Flower Pavilion of today the Hundred Flower Pavilion of old?"
"A place that doesn't hire wanderers as guards is no tavern at all. Might as well go to the Moon-Crossing Pavil—"
CLAP!
Seon U-yun struck his palms together and turned the room's attention.
He seemed to think it still dangerous for the Moon-Crossing Pavilion to be spoken of aloud.
Not knowing it had all been worked out already.
"You heard that?"
"About the Hundred Flower Pavilion?"
"Yes. That's it. There's plenty of talk these days since the Hundred Flower Pavilion was scoured clean. The ones who used to hold their necks so stiff suddenly went under the Cloud Dragon Trading Company, or so they say."
The Cloud Dragon Trading Company was run by the family of Ju Ye-hwa, the mother of Tang San and Tang Yu-hyeon.
Others did not know it, but there was no chance a man who already knew Tang Yu-hyeon's identity had failed to grasp that much.
So bringing up the Hundred Flower Pavilion and the Cloud Dragon Trading Company was no different from saying: I know how deeply you are involved, so hand over your information quietly.
"So the ones who used to deal with the Hundred Flower Pavilion are dying or making a fuss about pulling out, they say."
"And what sort of place is the Cloud Dragon Trading Company?"
"It's famous as the most upright of all the trading companies stationed in Sichuan. Men who made their money killing people figured they wouldn't be taken in."
He shrugged as though it were nothing, but his eyes were sharp, as if watching for a reaction.
'Look at this.'
Tang Yu-hyeon twitched an eyebrow.
"Is that why you told me not to go to Deyang before?"
"That's right. There's a rumor going around that a sword ghost hired by the Cloud Dragon Trading Company is waiting there for wanderers."
"Is that so?"
Tang Yu-hyeon tilted his head back, tossed down his drink, and looked Seon U-yun straight in the eye.
"There was nothing much there."
".......!"
At that flat, ordinary voice, Seon U-yun's face stiffened in an instant.
A practiced man would long since have asked whether he had truly gone to Deyang, how he had come back unharmed, whether the sword ghost was there as rumored.
But Seon U-yun, caught off guard, could not say a word, as mute as a man with a mouthful of honey.
Moments like this made the difference in experience plain.
'This green? I had better carry the rest of the talk myself.'
But Tang Yu-hyeon, who had something to take back and meant to break the silence first, saw his effort come to nothing.
A man in threadbare clothes near the tavern's entrance began shouting at the top of his voice.
"Aaaaagh, Father! Save me!"
"You bastards! Not my daughter! Take me if you must, but not my daughter!"
It was a common enough thing near the red-lantern district.
Tang Yu-hyeon finished his deliberation in the space of two blinks and gestured with his chin toward the source of the noise.
"Is that what froze you?"
".......The voice is familiar."
"Then let us step out for a moment."
Tang Yu-hyeon went outside ahead of Seon U-yun.
"Has this one lost his mind? Who are you raising your voice at! If you can't pay the money back, you sell your family!"
"If your daughter is so precious, you should not have gambled!"
"When did I ever say such a thing! You demanded it as you pleased, and now who are you trying to deceive!"
The two men, Jo Chil and Jang Bok, gripped a young girl's arm roughly.
Tang Yu-hyeon's gaze swept over the situation quickly and settled on their clothes.
Embroidered on the chest, a crescent moon and a waning moon divided in two.
The symbol of the Moon-Crossing Pavilion.
'Now I understand.'
The man on the left had been played beautifully by the Moon-Crossing Pavilion.
He seemed to be a man who ordinarily enjoyed a light wager, and it is precisely those who are not addicts who most easily become targets for swindlers.
Such men usually hope their beginner's luck will last. Not knowing that in truth the luck was arranged.
Tang Yu-hyeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
Seon U-yun, arriving late, looked at the man and muttered.
"Uncle Jeong?"
Catching the small voice even amid the clamoring crowd, the man, Jeong Chun-sam, whipped his head around.
"A-yun? Is that truly you, Yun?"
"Uncle? Why are you here.......?"
"I had a little to spare and meant to play just a few rounds at the gambling house, and I lost it all....... I said I would repay within seven days, but in that time the sum doubled. How is a man who scratches out a day's living tilling a field supposed to repay that? And then they told me to hand over So-hui. Hhngh!"
"That's......."
His gaze wavered beyond any comparison to the moment Tang Yu-hyeon had said he had gone to Deyang.
Someone close enough to recognize by face alone had fallen prey to the Moon-Crossing Pavilion of all things, and he was in no position to step forward and help; it must have been an unbearable spot.
'About time I stepped in.'
Tang Yu-hyeon moved a pace forward, putting Jeong Chun-sam behind him.
"What is all this racket in front of a shop?"
"Are you the pavilion master here? If not, mind your own business and clear off."
"M-my lord! Please do not go!"
Jeong Chun-sam clutched at the hem of Tang Yu-hyeon's clothes.
While everyone else turned away, this man alone had stepped forward, so he took him for a fighter who could match the Moon-Crossing Pavilion.
"Please help me. I truly did not sell my daughter. They tacked the words on as they pleased!"
Tang Yu-hyeon did not answer at once; he turned slightly and looked at Seon U-yun.
"Is he trustworthy?"
"Yes. He likes his luck, but he is not the sort to drown in it."
"Then what are you agonizing over?"
Tang Yu-hyeon cracked his neck to either side and went on.
"If you want to help, help. I will be with you."
"Then......."
The round eyes wavered from side to side.
But the deliberation was not long.
Head hanging low, and yet clearly, Seon U-yun made his wish known.
"Please help him."
"I shall."
Tang Yu-hyeon answered readily and gestured with his chin.
He had always liked those who pursued the good with death accepted.
"Can you handle one of the two?"
".......No. It would be difficult."
"I see. What do you use most?"
"My fists."
"Good. Just hold one of them well enough while I deal with the other."
"You lot! What are you babbling about right in front of us?!"
FWIP!
Jo Chil and Jang Bok drew their swords and leveled them at Tang Yu-hyeon.
But Tang Yu-hyeon only lifted his cheeks in a smile; his hand did not go anywhere near the sword at his waist.
Tang Yu-hyeon's martial attainment was the peak realm.
Against that, these two stood at first-rate at best, or the threshold of the peak realm.
Short of the heavens intervening, losing would be the harder task.
"Children ought not to butt in while an adult is speaking."
THWACK!
A fist wrapped in qi drove into a jaw.
With that single blow Jo Chil's eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
"Harder bones than he looks. I thought there'd be nothing but fat."
Tang Yu-hyeon shook out his hand and snatched the other one, Jang Bok, by the scruff of the neck.
"Urk."
Jang Bok lost his balance and let go of Jeong So-hui's arm.
Tang Yu-hyeon did not miss the opening; he hid the girl behind himself and shielded her.
In that moment Seon U-yun watched for Jang Bok to topple backward and drove his fist into the man's heart.
THWAAACK!
CRACKLE-SNAP!
Along with the dull sound of impact, small flames leapt from his fist.
'That is.......!'
A man is not a piece of iron; swinging a fist about does not throw sparks.
Which meant there was a strong chance what Seon U-yun had unfolded was not fist arts but fire arts.
'They say the Mistress of the Moon-Crossing Pavilion's obsession with the color red comes from her fire arts.'
If he could unfold something stolen over another's shoulder to this degree, what would he be like at complete mastery?
A chill ran down Tang Yu-hyeon's spine.
Tang Yu-hyeon drew down the corners of his mouth and slammed Jang Bok into the ground.
"Gaaaaah! Save me, save meeee!"
"Tch. Noisy."
Tang Yu-hyeon drew a poison needle from his sleeve and stabbed it into Jang Bok's neck.
Jang Bok, thrashing at the pain of his belly burning away, went silent in an instant.
'My ears were about to suffer. Good thing I brought it along.'
The Seven-Kill Needle.
A needle that spreads poison and kills in a flash, as though one had suddenly met the Seven Killings — that is, great calamity.
Tang Yu-hyeon recovered it before anyone could see and returned it to its place.
"What was that?"
Asking when he already knew.
It was rather amusing, this asking when he already knew who Tang Yu-hyeon was and where he came from.
Tang Yu-hyeon shrugged shamelessly.
"I borrowed it somewhere."
At that Seon U-yun screwed up his face.
The reaction was exactly as expected, and Tang Yu-hyeon laughed quietly.
Once the commotion had run its course, the people scattered to go their separate ways.
Then Jeong Chun-sam and Jeong So-hui approached Tang Yu-hyeon and bowed deeply at the waist.
"Oh, my lord. Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
"Thank you for saving me."
"It was no great feat. Never mind the thanks."
Tang Yu-hyeon gently pried Jeong Chun-sam's hand away.
This matter was not over yet, and he had no intention of ending it here.
"I hear your daughter was taken as collateral?"
"Shamefully, yes. But I truly do not wish to sell my daughter. What father could ever do such a thing......."
"I understand the feeling well enough. So tell me. How much is the debt you owe?"
"Five hundred taels."
"Just right."
Tang Yu-hyeon drew a heavy pouch from his robes and handed it to Jeong Chun-sam.
"Exactly five hundred taels. Do not go to the gambling house; go and repay it at once."
"Hh. Th-thank you! How could I ever repay this kindness......."
"Do not repay it. If you insist, then repay it by living with your wits about you from now on."
"Yes. Of course, of course. I will never set foot near a gambling house again!"
"That will do."
Tang Yu-hyeon settled the situation lightly and shook out his collar.
"I have run out of money today, so I will take my leave. Let us meet again."
"Yes. Let us meet again."
Leaving a dazed Seon U-yun behind him, Tang Yu-hyeon gave an easy wave and slung the corpses over his shoulder.
Once he had turned fully away, the face hidden behind the two bodies turned cold.
Today's affair would certainly reach the ears of the Mistress of the Moon-Crossing Pavilion.
Once she learned that the man she had meant to roll along gently and fleece had changed, and that he clashed with her at every turn, her attitude would change.
So he had to move quickly.