Chapter 109
After making love all night, Baek Mu-Gun and Namgung Hyun-Ah returned to the Wuchang Sword Sect early in the morning. Mu-Gun then sent Hyun-Ah on her way and returned to his room. Rather than going to sleep, he circulated his qi to recover the stamina he had exhausted while making love with Hyun-Ah.
When the sun rose, Mu-Gunate ate breakfast with Hwang Rei and the Six White wolves, then prepared to leave the Wuchang Sword Sect. They planned to stay in Wuchang for a few more days, but he would feel bad troubling the Wuchang Sword Sect when the other three great families would already be leaving. Hence, he wanted to get accommodations in an inn instead.
The three great families, including the Great Namgung Family, were preparing to leave Wuchang. The Hebei Peng Family and the Great Huangfu Family planned to return home by land, and the Great Namgung Family decided to take the same route they did to get here. They would head to Tongling through the Changjiang River, then make the trip to Hefei on land. The Hebei Peng Family and the Great Huangfu Family left first, and the Great Namgung Family followed not long after.
Mu-Gun went to Wuchang Port and saw the Great Namgung Family’s group off. Hyun-Ah found it a shame to be away from Mu-Gun, but she wanted to return home first and convey her will to her father, Namgung Jo, before deciding what to do next. Namgung Ho had already noticed that the relationship between the two had deepened when he saw the affectionate exchange of gazes between Mu-Gun and Hyun-Ah. Personally, he hoped that the relationship between Mu-Gun and Hyun-Ah would develop further.
Considering Mu-Gun’s martial arts and intellect, it would be difficult to use him even if he married Hyun-Ah. However, for as long as he married a member of the Namgung Family, a method to use him would inevitably arise. Not knowing that Hyun-Ah was determined to cut off her connection with the Great Namgung Family to be with Mu-Gun, Namgung Ho thought that the deepening relationship between Mu-Gun and Hyun-Ah was a great reward for their Wuchang trip.
After seeing the Great Namgung Family’s group off, Mu-Gun’s group booked a room in an inn in Wuchang.
“But what exactly do you want to do that requires us to stay in Wuchang longer?” Hwang Rei asked.
“To find some money.”
“Money?”
“During my past reincarnation, I left some money at this place’s East Lake Vault.”
“Your past reincarnation? If so, then isn’t that money useless now? You’re Baek Mu-Gun right now, not Guyang Hwi.”
“You probably don’t know of this because you have never deposited a huge amount of money in a vault before, but you can deposit your money under a pseudonym.”
“So you left your money at the East Lake Vault under a pseudonym?”
“That’s right.”
“How can you prove that the money is yours if it’s not named after you?”
“Vaults issue credit certificates. If I bring that with me, it will be proof of my identity.”
“But didn’t Guyang Hwi have that credit certificate? You don’t have that with you now, do you?”
“I hid it somewhere to avoid losing it.”
“Where would that be?”
“On the roof of the Yellow Crane House.”
“What if someone took it? Why did you hide it there?”
“Don’t worry, it’s still there. I looked for it yesterday while I was there with Lady Namgung.”
“Is it just me overthinking or does it seem like you hid it safely because you knew something like this would happen?”
“Are you implying that I knew in advance that I would be reincarnated and prepared accordingly?”
“Yes. I know it doesn’t make sense. So, how much money did you leave at the East Lake Money Shop?”
“Two hundred thousand silver nyangs.”
“How much?!”
“Like I said, two hundred thousand nyangs. If we add the interest accumulated over thirty years, it will be around five hundred thousand nyangs.”
“Wow, you’ve really hit a jackpot.”
“Not at all. It’s clearly my money.”
“But I’m not sure if the East Lake Vault will just easily hand you over that amount. They are known to be crazy about money.”
“I hope they do.”
The East Lake Vault could act like the Myth Vault. Of course, he didn’t really care if they did. It would be bothersome, but all Mu-Gun had to do was do the same thing he did to the Myth Vault. Mu-Gun hoped the East Lake Vault would lawfully take care of this matter.
“Putting that aside, how do you plan to transport them? Won’t it be difficult to move five hundred thousand nyangs to Wenzhou from here?”
“I plan to move it to Nanjing through the East Lake Merchant Association, then to Wenzhou through the Eun Merchant Group’s ship.”
Mu-Gun would have to speak to the East Lake Merchant Association, but he really just had to pay the amount needed to charter their merchant ship.
“That seems like a solid plan. When are you going to the East Lake Vault?”
“Right now. There’s no reason for me to delay this matter.”
“Are you going alone?”
“Yes. I plan to hide my identity.”
“Alright then.”
Mu-Gun wore a pigskin mask in his room and visited the East Lake Vault. Upon reaching the establishment, he presented the credit certificate that he had received from them and a credit slip evidencing that he had deposited two hundred thousand silver nyangs. He then announced his desire to withdraw five hundred thousand nyangs, which included the money he deposited and the accumulated interest.
Greatly flustered by the huge amount of money, the East Lake Vault persuaded and implored Mu-Gun not to withdraw all of it. Mu-Gun was well aware that withdrawing that much at once would hurt the East Lake Vault’s liquidity. Hence, he fully understood why they tried to reduce the withdrawal amount as much as possible.
Unfortunately, it was difficult for Mu-Gun to adhere to their request. The Baek Sword Sect currently needed a lot of money. He took a firm stand and demanded to withdraw the full amount of five hundred thousand nyangs once more, finally making the East Lake Vault give up on persuading him otherwise. The East Lake Vault asked for some time, mentioning that it would take seven days to prepare five hundred thousand silver nyangs. Mu-Gun complied with their request. He knew it would not be easy to prepare that much even for them.
After completing the paperwork to withdraw five hundred thousand nyangs from the East Lake Vault, Mu-Gun visited the East Lake Merchant Association and requested their help in moving five hundred thousand nyangs to Nanjing. The East Lake Merchant Association demanded ten thousand nyangs as payment, which was incomparably higher than regular transportation costs.
When Mu-Gun looked baffled by the preposterous price, the East Lake Merchant Association officials countered that if rumors spread that he was moving five hundred thousand nyangs, not only the Changjiang Waterway Alliance’s river thieves but even the martial artists of murim would likely listen to their greed and attack the ship. To prepare for such a situation, the East Lake Merchant Association would have to hire martial artists who could escort their ship and pay them additional fees for the increased risk.
That was partially true. No matter how secretly they carried out the transportation of five hundred thousand nyangs, rumors were bound to spread. However, hiring martial artists as guards was unnecessary. Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei could protect the ship better than any other guards.
Mu-Gun told them that he would prepare the guards needed to protect the ship on the route to Nanjing, allowing him to halve the price. The East Lake Merchant Association accepted Mu-Gun’s demands under the notion that they would immediately put a stop to the transportation process if the martial artists guarding the ship were not dependable.
However, as long as the guards protecting the ship were Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei, who were Absolute Realm masters, the East Lake Merchant Association would never stop the transportation process. After signing a transportation contract, Mu-Gun returned to the inn where he was staying and found a Wuchang Sword Sect martial artist waiting for him. He was the same martial artist who conveyed information from the Heavenly Secret Hall.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have urgent news. Please take this.”
The martial artist handed over a small rolled-up letter. Mu-Gun’s expression stiffened upon reading it.
“What is it about?” Hwang Rei, who was next to him, asked.
“The Four Seas Gang has annihilated the subsidiary families of the Great Namgung Family and the Great Huangfu Family, and they’re now heading toward Wuchang.”
“The Four Seas Gang?”
“The Nine Celestial Demons Sect seems to have also taken control of them.”
“The Great Namgung Family could run into them in the middle of their journey home.”
“That’s why I think we should immediately chase after them tomorrow.”
“And this is why they say that a woman is a martial artist’s biggest weakness.”
“For someone who indulges in carnal pleasures, I don’t think that’s something you should say.”
“I do like the pleasures women offer, but I don’t give my heart away to them like you, Young Patriarch.”
“So, are you not going to go with me tomorrow?”
“Of course I will. If you go, I’ll go.”
“We will come with you as well,” the Six White Wolves expressed their intention to tag along.
“No, it’s too dangerous. The six of you should stay here.”
“With all due respect, how can we improve our skills if we only fight in safe conditions? Don’t we have to survive through dangers and threats to become better?” Baek San-Kyung said with a determined expression.
“I can’t protect you if we find ourselves in a battle.”
“We will protect ourselves.”
“You might lose your life.”
“As martial artists, we have always been prepared to die.”
“Alright. Come with us, but keep this in mind. I did not put effort into training all of you just to lose you here.”
“We will make sure we keep living until we repay the grace we have received from you, Young Patriarch.”
“I knew I wasn’t wrong in choosing you all.” Hwang Rei nodded in satisfaction when the Six White Wolves confronted death instead of fearing it.
In terms of martial arts alone, their skills were still far from enough. However, considering their serious attitude toward martial arts, they would soon become martial arts masters.
The next day at dawn, Mu-Gun, Hwang Rei, and the Six White Wolves began to chase after the Great Namgung Family’s ship on a small boat that they had hurriedly prepared. Their vessel could only carry up to ten people, but it made up for that with its excellent speed. Considering the ship carrying the Great Namgung Family’s members left yesterday, it would be difficult to catch up to them within the day no matter how fast their boat was. However, they should be able to catch up by tomorrow. Until then, Mu-Gun could only hope that the Great Namgung Family’s ship would not encounter the Four Seas Gang’s pirates.
* * *
As the Four Seas Gang headed upstream of the Changjiang River, they reinforced their numbers with the Changjiang Waterway Alliance’s river thieves. The Four Seas Gang had always disregarded the Changjiang Waterway Alliance. As pirates sailing the violent seas, the river thieves, who comfortably pillaged in rivers, were not proper men to them.
Hence, the Four Seas Gang was not particularly keen on working with the Changjiang Waterway Alliance. However, the order of the Invincible Clan, which controlled the Four Seas Gang, left them with no other choice but to cooperate. They were at least satisfied with getting to compensate for the forces that they had lost during their battle against the subsidiary branches of the Great Namgung Family and the Great Huangfu Family. After joining up with the Changjiang Waterway Alliance’s river thieves, the Four Seas Gang’s ships immediately sailed for Wuchang.
In the midst of their journey, they came across a ship with the Great Namgung Family’s symbol.
“Isn’t that the sigil of the Great Namgung Family?” Heavenly Dragon Pung Hae-San, one of the Three Dragons of the Four Seas, asked Woo Rei-Chu the Berserk Dragon upon seeing the symbol engraved on the Great Namgung Family’s ship.
“I think so.” Woo Rei-Chu nodded. “They’re probably on the way back from their meeting in Wuchang.”
“This is good. I was getting bored. Why don’t we have a light warm-up before going to Wuchang?”
“We can’t let go of the opportunity to get rid of one of the Great Namgung Family’s Five Great Devas.”
Agreeing to attack the Great Namgung Family’s ship, Hae-San and Rei-Chu immediately informed the Four Seas’ Supreme Commanders, who were at the helm of the five pirate ships, that they would be attacking the Great Namgung Family’s ship. As ordered, the Supreme Commanders immediately headed toward their target while assuming a combat formation.
Meanwhile, the Great Namgung Family’s ship, which was crossing the Changjiang River to get to Tongling, confirmed that the five giant ships on the opposite end were approaching them in a combat formation.
“Uncle! Those ships over there are showing unusual movements.” Namgung Min looked at the formation of the pirate ships with a stiffened expression.
“As the Young Patriarch said, they’re probably going to attack us.”
“Who do they think they are? They dare attack us?”
“Their ships seem to be designed specifically for sea travels, so they’re probably the Four Seas Gang.”
“The Four Seas Gang?”
“According to the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch, there is a possibility that the Nine Celestial Demons Sect also controls the Four Seas Gang, and he’s probably right. Anyway, it’s best we prepare for battle.”
“Enemy incoming! Everyone, prepare for battle!” Namgung Min quickly shouted at the warriors aboard their ship.
The Great Namgung Family’s martial artists immediately assumed a formation and prepared for combat. Namgung Ho seemed displeased by the sight of the quickly approaching ships of the Four Seas Gang.
There were only thirty warriors aboard the Great Namgung Family’s ship. Meanwhile, considering the size of the five ships, their enemy probably numbered at least four to five hundred. Furthermore, based on their number alone, two or three Absolute Realm masters were likely leading them. It would be impossible for the Great Namgung Family’s current forces to stop them, but they didn’t have any escape routes on this river either.
‘It would have been great if the Baek Sword Sect’s group was traveling with us.’
Namgung Ho was disappointed that Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei were not around. If he knew this would happen, he would have waited until the Baek Sword Sect’s group was done with their errands and left together with them. However, it was too late for regrets. Now that it had come down to this, he had to at least ensure that Namgung Min, their Young Patriarch, could get out of this situation alive.
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