Before telling Gu Ak his plan, Yanghwi reminded himself of the conditions he had to satisfy.
Rangrang’s father has to become an enemy of the Red Bridge Gang—and an ally of the Baek Family instead.
The first was necessary to keep the Black Path fighters from growing stronger and more numerous. The second would bring the Baek Family one step closer to becoming the Greatest Clan Under Heaven.
So for now, I’ll keep things vague. There’s no reason to reveal everything right away.
Yanghwi smiled mysteriously and spoke.
“Brother Gu. In the end, the problem is that Sister Rang is nothing more than a courtesan without anyone powerful behind her. So…… let’s give her a background.”
“What?”
“Does Sister Rang have any family?”
“No. She’s an orphan with no one in the world.”
Gu Ak answered without hesitation.
Just as I thought. Even she believes she has no family. Everyone around her thinks the same.
“Then let’s make her one. Say, for instance, that it turns out her father was alive all along.”
“……Is that the method you mentioned before, Younger Brother?”
Gu Ak’s expression visibly chilled.
He looked beyond merely deflated or disappointed. There was anger in his eyes now.
“Tell me. After putting that clever little head of yours to work, the best answer you came up with was to fabricate a father for Rangrang?!”
He clearly had not asked because he expected an answer, because he immediately continued shouting.
“You think I never considered something that simple? The reason my father wants Rangrang gone is because she brings us no power! Why would anyone influential enough to benefit the Red Bridge Gang pretend to be Rangrang’s father? And even if we somehow fooled my father, without continued support from that man, he’d simply cast Rangrang aside again!”
Yanghwi watched Gu Ak’s face turn crimson with fury and grinned.
“You’re laughing? You little bastard. Want me to make sure you can never laugh again?”
The instant Gu Ak reached for his collar, Yanghwi threw out one sentence.
“What if there’s a perfect way to solve every one of those problems?”
Gu Ak’s hand stopped dead.
“There is? What kind of method?”
Instead of answering, Yanghwi leaned his neck forward into Gu Ak’s grasp and even helped him seize his collar.
“Brother Gu! Once a man draws his blade, he ought to cut something with it, even if it’s only a radish! Please, finish what you started!”
“…….”
Gu Ak felt his temper flare for an entirely different reason.
This little bastard had an uncanny instinct for knowing exactly when he held the advantage—and exactly when he could afford to be insolent.
“Ahem. Younger Brother. I got a little carried away. My feelings for Rangrang run rather deep…… You’re a man too, so I trust you understand.”
“I do! Of course I do!”
Despite nodding agreeably, Yanghwi had both hands wrapped around Gu Ak’s wrist and was dangling from his grip to stop him from pulling it back.
“…….”
“Younger Brother.”
“Yes, Brother Gu!”
“As you know, I’m a Black Path fighter. My mouth can be rather foul.”
It was not exactly satisfying, but by Gu Ak’s standards, it was close enough to an apology.
Yanghwi finally released his wrist.
He did not, however, forget to add one last remark.
“As the eldest son of a righteous martial family, I shall graciously understand!”
“……Ugh. So what exactly are you planning?”
“It’s simple. We put up notices everywhere saying Sister Rang is searching for the father she lost, and then we ask around.”
“And then you bring in someone who can persuade my father?”
“Something like that.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“Well, shall we do what we did before? I’ll wager my neck on it.”
Does this little bastard think his life is a silver piece he picked up off the street?
Gu Ak stared at Yanghwi, who was grinning as if nothing could possibly go wrong.
“Even if the plan fails, nothing really happens, does it? Do many people know Sister Rang is your lover?”
“At least my father does.”
“He already disapproves of you, then. Disappointing him one more time hardly counts as a new humiliation.”
Gu Ak dropped heavily into his seat, lifted a bottle of liquor, and drank straight from it.
“Haa…… Younger Brother. Rangrang is…… truly precious to me.”
“Well, the fact that someone as violent and willful as Brother Gu is listening to a cheeky little brat like me already proves this isn’t some passing affection.”
“So you do know you’re cheeky.”
“Isn’t knowing oneself one of the basics for any martial artist?”
“For someone who says that, you’re remarkably bad at knowing your place.”
“If I truly didn’t know my place, I doubt I’d be sitting here alone with Brother Gu!”
“…….”
Even after Gu Ak had revealed a glimpse of his melancholy, the brat refused to yield so much as a single verbal exchange.
And since he no longer even felt the urge to lash out, Gu Ak realized he had somehow grown accustomed to the brat’s way of speaking.
No.
He had simply given up.
“Let’s discuss the details.”
“Good. But to save ourselves trouble, why don’t we talk with Sister Rang present?”
“Hmm. You want to meet Rangrang?”
“I am curious what sort of woman managed to capture the heart of such a fine man as Brother Gu.”
“So you do know how to flatter someone.”
“If I put my mind to it, I can work my tongue until it’s polished smooth.”
Gu Ak snorted with amusement, hoisted Yanghwi over his shoulder, and leapt out the window.
“If you’re suddenly sent flying through the air like this, couldn’t you at least pretend to be surprised? What kind of brat are you? There’s no fun in startling you at all.”
“Try doing something more surprising.”
“Good grief. Why do I even bother talking to you?”
After traveling across the rooftops for roughly a quarter of an hour, Gu Ak stopped before a small, modest tile-roofed house that had nevertheless been beautifully kept.
“Rangrang. I’m here.”
A moment later, the door creaked open.
The woman who appeared was dazzlingly beautiful.
“Darling!”
She smiled like a blossoming flower, threw herself into Gu Ak’s arms, and looked up at him.
The affection passing between their gazes was so obvious that there was no need to see anything more.
They were unquestionably in love.
This is my first time seeing her in person, but I can understand why Gu Ak fell for her.
She was not merely beautiful.
Her affection was so openly and intensely expressed that even a man as dense as a bear could recognize it.
Rangrang was the sort of woman a man would find almost impossible not to fall for.
“Oh? And who is this young master?”
“Hmm. Just a child I happen to know……”
Yanghwi immediately cut in.
“I am Brother Gu’s younger brother! Baek Yanghwi of the Baek Family greets my sister-in-law!”
Gu Ak fell silent.
Rangrang gave a soft laugh.
“Darling has sworn brotherhood with someone as young as you, Young Master? Oh my, how adorable!”
It was painfully obvious that Yanghwi was not the one she was calling adorable.
So it is possible to use the word ‘adorable’ for a man who looks that vicious. She really is blinded by love.
“Heh heh. Our Brother Gu is rather adorable. Brother Gu, are you aware of just how adorable you are?”
Unable to lose his temper in front of the woman he loved, Gu Ak merely lowered his bright red face and trembled.
“You’re even adorable when you’re embarrassed, Brother Gu!”
“Young Master, I see you understand Darling’s charms too.”
“Of course, of course. How could I not?”
“It’s so strange. Everyone else seems afraid of him.”
“They simply lack the eyes to see the adorable heart hidden beneath that ferocious exterior!”
Yanghwi had meant every word purely to torment Gu Ak, yet Rangrang appeared to agree with him in complete sincerity.
This is entertaining, but he’s about to explode. Better stop here.
“Sister Rang, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might I impose on you for a cup of tea?”
“I could hardly send Darling’s younger brother away without offering him anything. Please come inside, Young Master. You too, Darling.”
Rangrang linked her arm through Gu Ak’s and led the way.
Gu Ak, who had been planning to remain outside and beat Yanghwi black and blue, was dragged inside by a slender woman despite his enormous frame.
“Here, have some tea. Darling must have come to see me…… but what brings you here, Young Master?”
Instead of answering directly, Yanghwi glanced at Gu Ak.
It was a look asking him to establish in advance what could and could not be said.
Fortunately, Gu Ak began explaining in his place.
“That’s how matters stand. We were thinking of trying a little scheme so that the two of us can marry.”
“So the Young Master is Darling’s strategist?”
“Ahem. Nothing so grand. The child is clever, so I occasionally ask his opinion.”
Yanghwi chose that moment to join in.
“Which is why we need your help, Sister Rang. We need information to include in the notice we’ll post while searching for your father.”
“But my father is dead. I don’t know what I could possibly tell you.”
“Is that so?”
Yanghwi noisily sipped his tea.
Then he realized something at once.
Hm? This taste. And this energy……
So that was it.
Gu Ak, Rangrang, and the Red Bridge Gang.
What Yanghwi had known in his previous life had not been the whole story behind that hidden affair.
Secretly circulating the Heaven-Harmonizing Origin Art and moving his true qi, Yanghwi reconsidered both the facts he already knew and the new information he had just obtained.
One. No matter how the future changes, the Red Bridge Gang Leader will inevitably kill Rangrang.
Two. The Red Bridge Gang Leader and Rangrang’s father ultimately destroy one another.
And finally, three.
Rangrang’s father was in a position where he could not reveal his identity, and if Yanghwi made use of his particular talents, he could solve one of the problems that had been difficult to address immediately.
If I use all those conditions properly……
A scheme came to him.
One that could unite Gu Ak and Rangrang while also turning Rangrang’s father into an ally of the Baek Family.
Yanghwi spoke at once.
“Then let’s do this. Sister Rang, please tell me what you remember from your childhood. I’ll embellish it and use that to fill out the notice.”
Gu Ak gave him a doubtful look.
“You’re going to write it yourself? Clever or not, aren’t you still at an age when you shouldn’t even have finished learning the Thousand Character Classic?”
“How far did Brother Gu advance in his studies?”
“Ahem. A martial artist only needs the Thousand Character Classic. Though of course, I’ve even read the Four Books.”
Judging by that reaction, he had almost certainly made it little further than the Thousand Character Classic.
Still, when a man was with the woman he loved, it was only proper for another man to squeeze out even nonexistent virtues so he could save face.
“Wow! You’ve even read the Four Books? That’s incredible! This younger brother of yours can barely recite the Thousand Character Classic, so naturally I only meant to think up the contents and ask Brother Gu to write them down!”
“Ahem. I see.”
Gu Ak tried to act unaffected, but Yanghwi could clearly see his shoulders subtly rising with pride.
For a Black Path brute, he really was adorable.
“Then, Sister Rang. Do you have any object tied to some story from your past? Something that could make the notice sound convincing would be ideal.”
Even as he asked, Yanghwi was already anticipating her answer.
After all, obtaining such an object was precisely why he had insisted on meeting Rangrang in person.
“I don’t have anything like…… Ah!”
Rangrang hurried away with light steps and soon returned carrying a small jade plaque.
“When I was young, at the first tavern that took me in, a customer left this with me. He said it was something that would connect me with someone precious to me, and told me never to sell it. After hearing that, I couldn’t bring myself to part with it. No matter how hard things became, I kept it around my neck and endured.”
It was a blue-green plaque with a single Chinese character carved in relief.
The calligraphy was so peculiar and distorted that it was difficult to recognize, but it was unmistakably the character for True.
An identifying token left by her father. No doubt about it.
With this, the first and only condition needed to lure Rangrang’s father had been secured.
Everything else could now be fabricated however Yanghwi pleased.
“This should be enough, Sister Rang. May I borrow it for a few days?”
“Of course, Young Master. That plaque has already fulfilled its purpose now that I’ve met Darling.”
I don’t think so. The precious person that customer meant was probably himself—your father.
Yanghwi smiled faintly and looked toward Gu Ak.
“Oh, Brother Gu. Before we start, wouldn’t it be better to move Sister Rang into Baek Family Manor?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“No matter how this develops, we’re going to cause a commotion. The Red Bridge Gang Leader may become enraged and do something terrible. If that happens, what place could be safer—and more trustworthy to Brother Gu—than Baek Family Manor?”
“…….”
There was nothing wrong with the argument.
Almost everyone Gu Ak knew belonged to the Black Path.
That did not mean Black Path men were incapable of loyalty, but if his father, the Red Bridge Gang Leader himself, became involved, there was not one among them Gu Ak could truly trust.
In that case…… placing her under Peerless in Chivalry’s protection would be a hundred, a thousand times better. Even Father would find it difficult to move against Baek Family Manor.
In truth, Baek Family Manor was a thorn in the side of the Black Path factions in Agan County.
Its actual strength was so insignificant that they could have wiped it out in a single day, yet none dared touch it recklessly because of the Clan Head’s sworn younger brother.
That was precisely why, when Baek Muryang had previously given them a justification to attack, they had seized the opportunity and rushed in at once.
Even if Yanghwi had ultimately talked circles around them and sent them home after making them pay money instead.
“Very well. Rangrang, stay with Younger Brother’s family for a few days.”
“I don’t entirely understand the reason, but if Darling says it is right, then it must be. Very well.”
That settled the matter.
Gu Ak escorted Yanghwi and Rangrang to Baek Family Manor, then departed.
“Sister Rang, it may be inconvenient for a few days, but please make yourself at home.”
“Hohoho. Thank you for your consideration, Young Master.”
And so Rangrang began her stay as a guest of Baek Family Manor.
The very next day, notices appeared everywhere.
Not only throughout Agan County, but across Wuzhou, Nanchang, all of Jiangxi Province, and even into the neighboring province of Hunan.
[Rangrang, who sells her art but not her body, seeks her father!]
[The father who lost his twenty-five-year-old daughter……]
[She has preserved a jade plaque given by her father as a token of recognition. The plaque is shaped……]
[If you wish to restore the bond between parent and child that was lost, come to Baek Family Manor in Agan County, Wuzhou, Jiangxi……]
Exactly three days later.
Under the brilliant light of a full moon, Baek Family Manor received an uninvited guest in the dead of night.