Chapter 28
Shim Gi-Hwan had created a threatening atmosphere.
“You’re aware that the Baek Sword Sect and the Justice Martial Sect, which are traveling with our merchant group, belong to the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, right?” Eun Ye-Sang spoke without fear. “If you attack us, it is no different from you attacking the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. The Four Seas Gang is certainly powerful, but can it can handle the Zhejiang Martial Alliance?”
“Are you threatening me with the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s power?”
“I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you the truth. As we mentioned earlier, the Eun Merchant Group has no intention of creating hostile relations with the Four Seas Gang. We are also willing to pay a toll fee. However, we cannot accept your outrageous demand,” Ye-Sang replied without backing down.
At her confident demeanor, Gi-Hwan frowned.
‘To involve the Zhejiang Martial Alliance in this... She’s pretty good at pulling the strings.’
Baek Mu-Gun looked at Ye-Sang with interest. Contrary to her words, it wasn’t very likely for the other sects affiliated with the Zhejiang Martial Alliance to come forward and fight the Four Seas Gang. After all, the Zhejiang Martial Alliance was a coalition formed solely as a countermeasure to the threat of the Seven Great Clans.
However, from the perspective of outsiders who had no knowledge of the alliance’s internal situation, they would assume the Zhejiang Martial Alliance was a fairly cohesive coalition. It wouldn’t be farfetched for others to assume that its other forces would step up to retaliate if a sect affiliated with it suffered damages.
More importantly, Ye-Sang publicly mentioning the Zhejiang Martial Alliance left its other members with no choice but to get involved out of pride. If they didn’t step up even though the Baek Sword Sect and the Justice Martial Sect suffered damages, the public would doubt their loyalty to the Zhejiang Martial Alliance and misunderstand that they refused to join the fight out of fear of the Four Seas Gang. Therefore, the sects within the Zhejiang Martial Alliance would have to get involved to save face.
The Four Seas Gang couldn’t make any hasty moves. Attacking Ye-Sang’s fleet despite her already mentioning the Zhejiang Martial Alliance would be no different from disregarding said organization. Ye-Sang’s remarks likely seemed trivial, but it was derived from careful calculations.
And it was effective. Gi-Hwan didn’t have any intention to fight the Eun Merchant Group’s escort forces in the first place because the Baek Sword Sect was present. He was aware that the Baek Sword Sect had annihilated the Sea Dragon Gang.
Compared to the entire Four Seas Gang, the Sea Dragon Gang was insignificant. However, the Sea Dragon Gang was a stronger force than one fleet of the Four Seas’ Ten Great Warships.
The fact that the Baek Sword Sect destroyed the Sea Dragon Gang meant they were also capable of annihilating the Tenth Great Warship. There was no need to engage in a battle that came with so much risk. They could simply accept their payment for the toll fee.
The problem was that they offered a lower amount than he wanted. Three hundred silver nyang was still a profit, but humans were greedy by nature. He wanted more.
Above all, if Gi-Hwan accepted Ye-Sang’s offer right away in front of his subordinates, he would lose face.
“Your schemes are extraordinary despite your young age. I’ll make a special concession this time because I acknowledge your gallantry. However, I can only concede up to four hundred silver nyang. If you insist on three hundred silver nyang, then I have no choice but to see this through to the very end.” Gi-Hwan conceded a little but also demanded a slightly higher amount than Ye-Sang’s offer to protect his pride.
“Fine with me. We’ll pay that amount.”
Ye-Sang, too, no longer resisted. The Four Seas’ Ten Great Warships’ normal toll fee charge was around three hundred to four hundred silver nyang, and they’d only accept three hundred silver nyang once they had gotten acquainted with each other to a certain extent. She didn’t expect negotiations to end at three hundred silver nyang in the first place. She purposely lowballed them to decrease the toll fee from five hundred to four hundred silver nyang. Upon reaching an agreement, the Eun Merchant Group immediately paid the amount, and the Tenth Great Warship immediately opened up the route.
The Eun Merchant Group’s fleet left the Zhoushan Archipelago region without delay.
“From what I just saw, being a pirate is the best. All they had to do to earn four hundred silver nyang was sit around.” Ho-Gun clicked his tongue. The Four Seas Gang made money too easily through their toll fee schemes.
“If you like it that much, take this opportunity to become a pirate then.”
“I’d love to, but I think life in the sea isn’t for me.”
“I can’t do it now, but I’m going to take care of all those bastards one day,” Mu-Gun said after chuckling at Ho-Gun’s cheekiness.
“Won’t the Four Seas Gang’s destruction be bad for murim sects like us? Without the danger they pose, there’d be no reason to request for escorts anymore."
“We can’t keep making money by escorting merchant groups forever. It would be much better to make money through the port management rights. However, we have to get rid of pirates like the Four Seas Gang for that. That’s the only way to let merchant ships come and go our ports as they want.”
“Now that I think about it, murim sects and pirates are no different. The only thing that sets us apart is our boundaries.”
“It’s both important and difficult to keep that boundary.”
“Well, there is no end to the greed of humans.”
“If someone heard you, they’d probably think you’re a wise man who has attained enlightenment about everything there was to know regarding the world.”
“What a turn-off. If your friend says something cool, you should be amazed or something.”
“Cool? What a load of bullshit. You just said something that everyone already knew.”
“You bastard. Oh, will the other warships let us pass after we pay them toll fees like what we did with the Tenth Great Warship?”
“I guess so? Nothing good would come from engaging in battle for both sides.”
Mu-Gun’s prediction was right. On the way to Nanjing, the Eun Merchant Group’s merchant ship encountered the Four Seas Gang’s Eighth Great Warship. They also opened the way without any conflicts after demanding four hundred silver nyang as a toll fee. Fortunately, they didn’t cross paths with the Ninth Great Warship. Thanks to that, the Eun Merchant Group was able to save four hundred silver nyang.
Ten days after they left Wenzhou, they finally arrived in Nanjing. The Eun Merchant Group planned to stay in Nanjing for fifteen days. Likewise, the Baek Sword Sect and Justice Martial Sect martial artists also had to stay in Nanjing until then.
Mu-Gun had no intention of just lazing around for those days. As soon as they arrived in Nanjing, he decided to act on his own. Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung let Mu-Gun go without hesitation since they had been informed in advance.
Ho-Gun wasn’t, though.
“Where the hell do you plan on going alone?”
“I have something to do. All I can say is that it’s more important to me than anything else.”
“You don’t want me to pry any further, do you?”
“Sorry.” Mu-Gun answered in an indirect manner.
“And I can’t go with you either, can I?”
“It’s easier for me to go alone.”
“Got it. I don’t know what’s going on, but be careful.” Ho-Gun decided to drop the topic and let Mu-Gun go his way.
“Will do. You stay safe too. I’ll visit the Justice Martial Sect once I’m done with my errand.”
Mu-Gun bid Ho-Gun farewell and left the accommodation provided by the Eun Merchant Group. He didn’t inform their client of his departure because there was no reason for him to do so.
After leaving the accommodation, Mu-Gun went into a restaurant located in the alley inside Nanjing’s North Gate Road. It was an old and shabby restaurant going by the name of Ten Thousand Miles Aroma. Mu-Gun sat down by the window.
The waiter served him tea and asked, “What would you like to eat?”
“Give me Yellow River Goldfish, Rainbow Cloud Chicken, and Moonlit Bird.”
All the dishes Mu-Gun ordered were new to the waiter. They weren’t even on the Ten Thousand Miles Aroma’s menu.
It was a secret code based on the name of the Undern Supreme Monarch, Ha Wun-Bi, the founder of the Heavenly Secret Hall.[1] The waiter’s eyes shone when he received Mu-Gun’s order.
“I apologize, dear customer, but those dishes are not allowed in this place,” the waiter replied with another code.
“Then is it allowed in the Thousand Miles Aroma?” Mu-Gun then responded with the third secret code.
“Yes. Should I pass on the message that we have a customer?”
“Please do.”
“Please wait a moment.”
The waiter went inside the kitchen after asking to be excused. After a while, he returned.
“I’ll lead you inside,” the waiter said as he offered to guide Mu-Gun.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Please follow me.”
When Mu-Gun rose from his seat, the waiter led him toward the Ten Thousand Miles’ kitchen and past the hidden door inside it. Mu-Gun followed him without hesitation. He had already gone through the hidden path of the Ten Thousand Miles Aroma in two of his previous reincarnations. This was no different from back then.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, they soon reached the end of the secret passage, where the hidden manor of the Heavenly Secret Hall awaited. The only ones who knew about this place were the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader and its members within the Ten Thousand Miles Aroma.
Even the Nine Great Faction Leaders, who supervised the Heavenly Secret Hall’s information, were not aware of this place’s existence.
“You can head inside.”
The waiter pointed to the main building of the manor. When Mu-Gun opened the main building’s sliding door and entered, he found himself in a room with a separation. A pair of long feet appeared between the space, and a woman was behind them.
“Are you looking for the Thousand Miles Aroma?” the woman asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you know exactly what it entails?”
“It is the name of the covenant left behind by the Undern Supreme Monarch’s descendant, who was also the successor of the Thunder God.”
“Then I’ll ask you. Are you the Thunder God’s successor?”
“Yes.”
“Can you show me the Thunder God’s symbol?”
“Of course.”
At the woman’s words, Mu-Gun raised his hand and discharged the thunder qi of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art.
A golden thunderbolt then formed over his hand and took the form of a flower, creating the Golden Thunder Flower Seal—the Thunder God’s symbol. Upon bearing witness to it, she acknowledged Mu-Gun as the successor of the Thunder God.
“I, Dan Seol-Young, Vice Leader of the Heavenly Secret Hall, greet the Thunder God’s successor.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Where is the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader? Why did they send the Heavenly Secret Hall Vice Leader to greet me in their stead?” Mu-Gun asked.
By tradition, the Heavenly Secret Hall’s leader, not its vice leader, had to personally greet the Thunder God’s successor.
The fact that the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader didn’t come themself meant either they had disregarded the Thunder God’s successor, or they were involved in some form of incident.
“I apologize, but she isn’t here right now. She has been poisoned and is hovering between life and death. That left us with no other choice but for me to greet the Thunder God’s successor,” Seol-Young replied sorrowfully.
“Is Cheon Yu-Hwa the current leader?” Mu-Gun asked with a stiffened expression.
“Yes.”
“Who poisoned her?”
“The Heavenly Secret Hall is currently facing a dire problem. A mysterious force recruited an insider from the Heavenly Secret Hall and caused a rebellion. Through the Heavenly Secret Guardians’ sacrifice, the leader and I barely managed to escape to this place. However, the traitors had already poisoned her by then. Her survival currently remains uncertain.”
“Where is she? No, lead me to her. Now.”
“Are you perhaps trying to heal her?” Seol-Young asked with an expectant voice.
“Yes. However, I can’t guarantee that I will be able to cure the poison.”
The Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s thunder qi had a powerful detoxification effect that could nullify a fair amount of poisons. However, it wasn’t omnipotent, and he’d have to remove it from someone else’s body, not his own. Hence, he couldn’t be sure until he saw it in person.
Still, Seol-Young felt glad. There was at least a possibility to save her leader. She got up right away and walked out. Mu-Gun could now see her, with her feet covered. She was in her early twenties, beautiful, and had a strange charm that was both pure and captivating.
Even with the urgent matter of Yu-Hwa being poisoned and lingering on death’s door, Seol-Young’s beauty was so outstanding that Mu-Gun was almost enchanted.
“How about we appreciate my face later and go to the hall leader first?” Seol-Young reminded Mu-Gun, who was staring blatantly at her face.
“Sorry. Lead me to Hall Leader Cheon.” Mu-Gun said with a bitter smile.
“Please follow me.”
With Seol-Young in the lead, Mu-Gun headed to where Yu-Hwa was.
1. The hanja characters for Ha Wun-Bi (河云飞) meant river, cloud and fly, which in the case of the code, it is represented by the bird. ?
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