Yeo Unjeok quietly studied Yanghwi.
“Young Master. A man of the Red Bridge Gang Leader’s standing would surely travel with guards. I doubt I could attack him alone.”
“You mustn’t kill him. No matter how wicked he may be, he’s still the father of the man Sister Rang loves.”
“This old man may have learned a fair bit of martial arts, but my skills are nothing remarkable.”
“Crippling his dantian should be enough. That way, Brother Gu can become the Red Bridge Gang Leader.”
Yeo Unjeok kept insisting it was impossible while Yanghwi calmly rattled off his demands.
At last, Yeo Unjeok sighed.
“Young Master. What in the world makes you think this old man is capable of such a thing?”
“When we exchanged a move before, I know you showed me considerable mercy.”
“I have no idea what you mean. You’re mistaken.”
Rather than answer immediately, Yanghwi merely smiled.
I missed it when we first met... but the old man is hiding his martial prowess.
Yanghwi had been born with a qi sense rarely seen throughout the ages. He could detect even the faintest traces of qi leaking from another person and roughly estimate how much internal energy lay within their dantian.
When he added other clues, such as their bearing and presence, he could gauge another person’s martial prowess with near-perfect accuracy.
And yet—
He’s too ordinary. Too unremarkable. Almost as if he’s deliberately hiding everything.
Yeo Unjeok’s martial prowess was something even Yanghwi’s senses could not estimate.
That could only mean one thing.
“There’s an old saying in the martial world that one should always conceal thirty percent of one’s strength. I simply assumed you had a hidden card of your own.”
“...”
“If it truly is impossible, then you needn’t do it. But if you succeed, a path will open for Sister Rang to spend the rest of her life with the man she loves.”
“...”
Yanghwi simply smiled at the silent Yeo Unjeok.
The Red Bridge Gang and the Gyojin Gang.
The Red Bridge Gang Leader and Gu Ak.
And finally, Yeo Unjeok.
Every actor in the opera was now in place.
It was time for them to put on one hell of a performance.
“Oh, right.”
Yanghwi tossed out another remark with an artfully casual air, as though the thought had only just occurred to him.
“This is about what comes after everything is over, but... have you decided where you’ll be staying from then on?”
*****
The Gyojin Gang attacked the Blue Snake Gang.
Just as when the Blue Snake Gang had struck the Red Bridge Gang before, it was a surprise assault launched without so much as a secret missive exchanged beforehand.
There was, however, one crucial difference from the war between the Red Bridge Gang and the Blue Snake Gang.
“Hey, did you hear? They say the Blue Snake Gang is in complete chaos.”
“I heard. It feels like only yesterday they were fighting the Red Bridge Gang, and now the Gyojin Gang has attacked them too.”
“That’s not even all of it. Every faction around, big or small, is tearing chunks out of the Blue Snake Gang.”
Yeo Unjeok had scattered hundreds of copies detailing the countermeasures to the Blue Snake Gang’s true inherited martial arts throughout the marketplace.
Naturally, countless factions got their hands on them.
And every one of them began harboring greedy ambitions.
“Tch. After all the evil they’ve done, I suppose the Blue Snake Gang is finally finished.”
“About damn time. Feels good to see it.”
Not a single person felt sympathy for the Blue Snake Gang, whose destruction was now all but certain.
Of the four great powers that dominated Agan County, the Blue Snake Gang had always been the worst when it came to tyranny and abuse.
Time passed.
By the time the Blue Snake Gang’s strength had fallen to less than half its former level, the Red Bridge Gang—until then holed up despite having endured the Blue Snake Gang’s one-sided offensive—finally made its move.
“From this moment onward, our gang launches an all-out assault on the Blue Snake Gang!”
After gathering every fighter under his command and making that declaration, the Red Bridge Gang Leader truly threw everything he had into the offensive.
He even secured reinforcements from factions in neighboring counties with which he had forged alliances through his children’s political marriages.
By that point, the Blue Snake Gang was already a rag riddled with holes.
All that remained was a contest over who could seize the largest and juiciest pieces of meat.
Naturally, the war soon settled into a confrontation between the Red Bridge Gang and the Gyojin Gang.
“Red Bridge Gang! We set the whole table, and now you jackals dare swoop in and steal the feast?”
“We’re merely reclaiming the businesses the Blue Snake Gang stole from us through underhanded means!”
Both sides proclaimed their own justifications.
In truth, those justifications hardly mattered.
To the Black Path, there was ultimately only one way to decide who was right.
Strength.
[To Gu Cheolhyo, Red Bridge Gang Leader.]
Gu Cheolhyo read the letter delivered by a Gyojin Gang messenger, snorted, and crumpled it in his fist.
In short, the Gyojin Gang Leader was proposing that the two leaders fight a life-and-death duel to minimize casualties among their subordinates.
“Arrogant bastard. Doesn’t even know his place.”
Ordinarily, the Gyojin Gang Leader and the Red Bridge Gang Leader were considered evenly matched in martial prowess.
But Gu Cheolhyo was confident he could crush the man with ease.
Training in the improved Rock-Splitting Axe Art created by his son Gu Ak had granted him new insight.
You arrogant bastard. I’ll split your skull open.
And then...
He would find the bastard who had caused this entire mess and bury an axe blade in his head too.
A leader was still a leader, even if he only ruled a small Black Path faction in a single county.
Gu Cheolhyo had already realized that some mysterious expert had distributed those countermeasures to sow discord among the local factions.
That bastard never imagined my son would be genius enough to counter the countermeasure itself. I’ll make him pay.
And so Gu Cheolhyo set out for the agreed location of the life-and-death duel with four guards and subordinates in tow.
That was when Yeo Unjeok appeared.
“Old man, get the hell out of the way if you don’t want to die.”
One of Gu Cheolhyo’s guards shouted.
Yeo Unjeok did not move.
He simply stood in the middle of the road, blocking their path, his gaze deep and unreadable.
He finally moved when Gu Cheolhyo gestured to one of his men.
Slice—!
The guard who had charged Yeo Unjeok and brought down his axe lost his head.
There was no bladed weapon anywhere in Yeo Unjeok’s hands.
Yet the severed surface of the man’s neck was flawlessly smooth.
“Gu Cheolhyo, Red Bridge Gang Leader.”
The instant Gu Cheolhyo heard Yeo Unjeok’s voice, he thought of a messenger from the underworld.
In other words, every instinct he had was screaming that death was near.
Gu Cheolhyo had spent decades clawing his way up from the back alleys to become the leader of an entire gang.
His instincts did not fail him now.
“Kill that old man! All of you!”
The moment he barked the order, Gu Cheolhyo threw himself backward.
But—
Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!
Four cutting sounds rang out.
A moment later, Yeo Unjeok was already standing in Gu Cheolhyo’s path.
“Considering what you’ve done, it pains me to let you off so lightly...”
Truthfully, after what Gu Cheolhyo had done to his daughter, even slowly tearing all four of his limbs off over the course of an entire day would not have been enough.
But—
That clever, perceptive child asked it of me...
“You can spend the rest of your life regretting it.”
Gu Cheolhyo never heard the rest.
A burst of searing pain erupted from his lower abdomen.
Then his consciousness vanished.
*****
Ever since the Black Path factions that dominated Agan County had all plunged into war at once, the common people had spent quite some time living in fear.
That was only natural.
Pleasure houses where people went to unwind after a long day and inns where workers stopped to eat when hunger struck had become scenes of bloodshed and violence on a daily basis.
Still, there had been undeniable benefits.
Wow. The streets are spotless.
No matter when one visited Agan County’s marketplace, there had always been at least one or two Black Path fighters swaggering around like they owned the place.
Now, that unpleasant sight had vanished completely.
Over the course of two months, dozens of battles large and small had erupted.
Even third-rate Black Path grunts had been dragged into the fighting and killed off in droves.
Give it enough time and more of them would start crawling out again, of course.
At least, that was what would normally happen.
But not in Agan County.
Yanghwi intended to make sure of that himself.
Whistling, he headed toward Ho Yeong Pavilion.
“Welcome, Young Master.”
An eight-year-old child entering a pleasure house was suspicious in more ways than one, but the martial guard stationed at the entrance bowed respectfully when he saw Yanghwi.
Naturally.
The man was a retainer of Baek Family Manor.
“Young Master Hwi. Your guest is waiting in the Blue Lake Room on the third floor.”
“Understood. Keep up the good work.”
The guard looked positively fulfilled.
Perhaps he was simply proud that all the martial arts he had trained so diligently were finally being put to practical use.
People often said they hated working, but a reasonable amount of labor was good for both body and mind.
Yanghwi chuckled and headed upstairs.
“Brother Gu. Your younger brother has arrived.”
“Ah. You’re here.”
Gu Ak, who had been drinking with an oddly unsettled air about him, turned toward Yanghwi.
Four bottles already...
“Younger Brother. If you called me here, I assume you’ve heard the rumors.”
Yanghwi nodded.
“I heard about the tragedy that befell your father. Truly unfortunate.”
“Forget that part. Is that all you know?”
“I also know that your brothers, the ones married off for political alliances, are bringing in outside forces and trying to seize the position of Gang Leader.”
Ah, and Yeo Unjeok had also told him that the Gyojin Gang was looking for an opportunity to exploit the internal split.
In other words, the Red Bridge Gang was currently a complete shitshow.
“I see... I figured you’d know, Younger Brother. Then why did you ask to meet me at a time like this?”
His expression was grave, but a sliver of expectation lurked beneath it.
Yanghwi looked at Gu Ak and spoke calmly.
“Brother Gu. Your brothers have all joined forces to keep you in check. Correct?”
That was because Gu Ak was the only one among the potential successors who had reached the first-rate level.
“Correct. Do you have some clever scheme to solve this? I’ll be frank. I need your tricks more now than ever. If you live up to my trust, I’ll reward you.”
“Brother Gu.”
“Go on.”
“Who am I?”
“You’re the Young Master of Baek Family Manor.”
“And besides that?”
“...?”
“A peerless prodigy. A pillar of talent seen once in a century. The greatest prodigy under heaven. That is who stands before you, Brother Gu.”
It was an outrageously arrogant and shameless answer.
Yet instead of giving Yanghwi his usual look of utter disbelief, Gu Ak’s expression brightened with interest.
“So you’re saying you have a way?”
“It’s simple. Kill all your brothers and become the Red Bridge Gang Leader.”
“...That’s it?”
“Yes. And don’t start complaining about how many guards they have or what comes afterward. You know perfectly well that, considering all the circumstances, it’s possible.”
“...”
Gu Ak could not argue.
Because Yanghwi was right.
Guards?
He only had to prepare properly and ambush them first.
An attack from allied outside factions claiming justification?
Once he became the Red Bridge Gang Leader, he could simply place the gang under the protection of some major Black Path sect.
There was only one reason Gu Ak had not done it.
“You don’t want to spill your own family’s blood, do you? Sister Rang would be frightened of you. And besides, you’re simply not that cruel a man.”
“...”
Once again, Gu Ak had no denial to offer.
Yanghwi’s next words, by contrast, came in an almost breezy tone.
“Then it’s simple. Give it all up and become a member of the Baek Family.”
Gu Ak’s eyes widened.
“What are you talking about? I’m a man of the Black Path—more than that, I’m the direct son of a Gang Leader. And you’re telling me to join your family?”
“Does it wound your pride?”
“You know that’s not what I mean. I’ve spent my whole life on the Black Path. I have debts of gratitude and resentment that have accumulated over the years.”
Of course Yanghwi knew.
If they took Gu Ak in, Baek Muryang and Han Seogeon would have plenty of headaches to deal with for a while.
But—
“I told you before, Brother Gu. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure you and Sister Rang can spend the rest of your lives together. I said I’d stake my neck on it.”
Gu Ak remembered that wager.
He simply had never imagined Yanghwi meant to fulfill it in this way.
“...Younger Brother. Do you trust me?”
There were many meanings buried in that question.
Yanghwi answered them all with a single sentence.
“Because you never used the poison bombs.”
Dozens of poison bombs had been among the spoils they took from the Blue Snake Gang’s secret cache.
Even when the Red Bridge Gang had been driven into crisis beneath the Blue Snake Gang’s ferocious assault, Gu Ak had never used them.
Because poison bombs could not kill only their intended targets.
They would inevitably cause terrible collateral damage.
Gu Ak can walk a different path. His nature isn’t twisted.
“Come to the Baek Family. Wash away the black grime and put on white robes. If nothing else, do it so you can become a lover worthy of Sister Rang.”
Yanghwi finished speaking with a broad grin.
Gu Ak watched him in silence.
“...”
It was the same shameless, sly grin Yanghwi always wore.
And yet, for some reason—
to Gu Ak, it looked more trustworthy than any expression he had ever seen.