Chapter 69. Today’s Failure
I looked at the men kneeling before me and said to my subordinates,
“From now on, we’re the Cloud-Rain Society too.”
“Pardon?”
“Start by changing clothes. Strip the dead and wear their clothes. If there aren’t enough, strip the ones who are badly wounded too. Go inside and bring some out if you have to. Everyone change.”
I made a special exception for Dokgo Saeng.
“You don’t wear one.”
“Why?”
“You stand out too much. Clothes won’t help. You just stay here with your direct subordinates and clean this place up.”
When I said that to Dokgo Saeng, only then did the rest of my subordinates understand what I meant.
I intended to transform us into the defeated remnants of the Cloud-Rain Society, then strike Old Lord Iryong at once. Of course, the ones kneeling there would serve as the vanguard.
I explained briefly to So Gunpyeong.
“Gunpyeong, this is fighting poison with poison.”
“Understood.”
While the men busied themselves changing clothes, I called Hong Shin.
“Junior Sister Hong.”
“Yes, Eldest Senior Brother.”
“A woman knows a woman’s heart, right?”
“I suppose so?”
“That madman Dokgo Saeng might kill anyone and everyone. You stay behind too and look after the people who were dragged here. You may kill anyone suspicious, but there’s no need to go that far with the weak.”
“Understood.”
“I’m thinking of sending the women who suffered here to Ilyang County, or else setting them free, so keep a close eye on them.”
Hong Shin nodded.
“Yes.”
Only then did I approach the captives again and begin their moral education.
“You rice-wasting bastards like Seongtae……”
“……”
“Just for being part of the Cloud-Rain Society, I ought to kill every last one of you, but since I’m a man who wavers back and forth, I’ll become a single ray of light for you. Anyone who doesn’t like it, raise your hand, or bite your tongue and die right here. I won’t stop you.”
“……”
“No one? From now on, anyone who doesn’t answer properly will be sent to Mr. Su as an example.”
The captives answered in unison.
“There is no one.”
I pointed at the captives and said,
“Now, you and I are going to join forces and kill Old Lord Iryong. Until now, you bastards have been dragging pitiful women here, stripping them, watching performances, and then selling them off elsewhere. Am I right or not?”
“You are right.”
My temper suddenly flared, and I drew Black Cat Fang.
“Never mind. I’ll just kill all these sons of bitches and go to hell……”
Baegin, who had come up before I knew it, held me back.
“Eldest Senior Brother, please restrain yourself.”
“Let go. I’m going to the Scorching Hell.”
“You can deal with them after making them serve as sword fodder. There are far too many men like this. Still, now that Mr. Su is dead, please open a path for them to live differently. Like you did for us.”
I looked at Baegin, who had spoken at length for the first time in a while.
Since Baegin had also suffered all sorts of hardships under the Great Rakshasa, I figured he had some understanding of how the captives felt.
I let out a sigh, then forced my blade back into its sheath.
“The Scorching Hell isn’t exactly a nice place.”
Baegin said with a calm expression,
“It is not. Eldest Senior Brother, I will supervise these men properly from now on.”
In any case, since Baegin said he would take responsibility for them, Moyong Baek’s words came to mind.
I remembered it as him telling me not to kill alone, but to kill together with my subordinates, though to be honest, I couldn’t recall the exact details.
“You take good responsibility for them.”
“Thank you. Eldest Senior Brother, please continue.”
“Where was I?”
“You called them bastards. Before that, you called them Seongtae-like men.”
“Ah, right. Anyway, you bastards……”
Baegin said to the captives in an icy tone,
“Answer him.”
“Yes!”
I scratched the bridge of my nose with one finger and told the captives what they had to do.
“Your job is acting. I don’t mean that you’ll join forces with my subordinates and honestly charge in. For a while, we will become the Cloud-Rain Society. The goal is for you to announce that Mr. Su is dead and for us to enter the villa Old Lord Iryong decorated like a pervert without shedding blood. Do you understand me? From this moment on, we are defeated remnants.”
Baegin cut in.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I understand the operation. I will give the detailed instructions.”
“Good.”
This is what makes being commander-in-chief convenient.
I stood with my hands clasped behind my back, idly looking around, then called So Gunpyeong.
“Gunpyeong.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Advise our excellent subordinates of the Black Cat Gang, who went through so much trouble running all the way here, to rest. They worked hard running here, after all. They should rest.”
“Yes.”
“If those bastards follow us too, we’ll be weaker when we fight. How the hell does it make sense that the more troops we have, the weaker we get?”
“Understood.”
By now, the officers were walking around, often grinning at who knew what was so funny in the middle of all this. After seeing us take down Mr. Su in the shortest possible time, it seemed their overall understanding of me had risen.
While my subordinates prepared for the day’s second round, I wandered around whistling.
There was nothing in particular to meddle in, so I was a little bored.
A little later, a squad leader from Heukseon Fort, whose face was becoming familiar to me, approached and held out a Cloud-Rain Society outfit.
“Sect Leader, please change into this.”
When I looked it over, the chest was torn and covered in blood.
“Bring me something cleaner. Do I look like I’ve been wounded in the chest? I’m perfectly fine.”
“All right.”
“You stupid prick.”
“Why are you cursing at me? I came to take care of you.”
The squad leader grumbled as he went to find other clothes. Come to think of it, that bastard was the one at Heukseon Fort who had been painfully clueless.
I clicked my tongue and muttered,
“Somehow, he keeps surviving. Somehow, he survives……”
A little later, after changing into proper clothes, I was watching the fish when my subordinates’ reports came one after another.
“Eldest Senior Brother, we are ready.”
“Sect Leader, let us go.”
I said farewell to the fish I had briefly reunited with, then turned around.
“Let’s go.”
As I headed toward the main gate of the Cloud-Rain Society, I said,
“Feed those fish over there later. They’re going to starve to death. We’re doing all this shit just to make a living. Wouldn’t do for them to starve.”
Sogunpyeong replied in a flat tone.
“I understand.”
***
Had Baekin chosen the actor properly?
The prisoner who had volunteered to take on an important role slowly made his way alone toward the main gate of Iryong Nogun’s stronghold, his steps staggering.
I watched the play from quite a distance with my other subordinates.
The prisoner was putting on an incredibly realistic act of having been stabbed. His attire, posture, and movements were all perfect. But then, right in front of Iryong Nogun’s main gate, he suddenly collapsed.
“…….”
I stared at Baekin and asked,
“Isn’t he overdoing it?”
Baekin shook his head with a grave expression.
“It was prearranged. And he really has been stabbed.”
Baekin’s expression was so serious that I couldn’t say anything. When I turned my head again, the collapsed man was struggling back to his feet.
‘What a performance.’
The human will to survive is truly an incredible thing. Even without a single person looking out for him, the prisoner-actor poured his entire being into the act, dragged his heavy steps forward, and knocked on the stronghold’s gate.
Thud……thud……thud.
A short while later, an old man came out and supported the man from Unuhoe who seemed on the verge of death.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Shortly after, the other actors who had been arranged in advance rushed in, panting and covered in blood from head to toe. Even so, these fellows still had strength in their voices.
“A full-scale war has broken out with Heukmyobang. We have come to request reinforcements from Senior Nogun.”
“Please, come in.”
Another prisoner completely ignored the previous words and asked a subordinate of Iryong Nogun,
“Could I have some water?”
.
.
.
Watching this, I pursed my lips into a circle and whispered softly,
“Nice line.”
The corners of Baekin’s lips beside me turned up slightly.
“Eldest Martial Brother, shall we get going too?”
I issued a final warning to those who truly belonged to Unuhoe.
“If any of you wish to die, you’re welcome to go in and side with Iryong Nogun. I’ll kill every last one of you while I’m at it. Let’s go.”
I stood up first and raised one hand.
“Hold.”
I narrowed my brow and strained my ears. If word had gotten in that Unuhoe was under attack, the stronghold should rightfully have been in an uproar. Yet even though three wounded men had entered, the stronghold was dead silent.
Keeping my ears trained on the stronghold, I assessed the expressions of the Sashinjang. Naturally, they weren’t wearing masks now. I also looked over the executives from Sogunpyeong and Heukmyobang in turn.
“…….”
Finally, I looked around at the prisoners belonging to Unuhoe.
There didn’t seem to be anyone who had pushed for a sneak attack or betrayed us, yet somehow I felt as though the ambush had already failed.
Things in the martial world don’t always go smoothly.
I was used to failure.
Besides, it wasn’t all that strange.
The first possibility was that a scout sent out by Unuhoe had noticed the change in circumstances, followed after us, then doubled back from outside to report to Iryong Nogun first.
The second possibility was that Iryong Nogun’s scouts had detected the change in circumstances beforehand.
In any case, Iryong Nogun’s stronghold had been silent up until now, and even the main gate through which the prisoners had entered remained wide open. It was almost like the atmosphere of Zhuge Liang waiting for Sima Yi with the gates thrown wide open.
I clicked my tongue.
“Looks like we’ve been found out.”
Baekin offered his opinion.
“Let’s go in as is and finish this.”
“No. I think I underestimated Nogangho.”
Suddenly curious about Iryong Nogun, I headed toward the stronghold alone.
“Pavilion Lord?”
“Eldest Martial Brother.”
I waved my hand.
“You lot, wait here.”
“Wait?”
“Wait.”
In front of the main gate, I suddenly felt that the Unuhoe uniform was embarrassing. I couldn’t say exactly why it felt embarrassing. I took off my top and threw it aside haphazardly, then threw on only a jangsam.
When I went inside, the interior of the stronghold was silent, just as expected.
Since it was quite a spacious stronghold, I walked along a small path for a moment.
There was a table sitting all alone in a wide garden, and there sat Iryong Nogun by himself.
As I approached, Iryong Nogun spoke.
“Welcome. Is our truce already over?”
I looked around my surroundings as I approached.
“You’ve taken care of everything?”
Iryong Nogun took a sip of his tea and nodded.
“As you can see, everything has been taken care of. I had only kept one old servant around to open the gate earlier, but I just sent him out the back door. He’s an old servant who knows no martial arts, so there should be no need to follow and kill him.”
“What about your subordinates?”
“Those who had somewhere to go, I sent away. Those who had nowhere to go, I gave some money. I’ve bid farewell to everyone, yesterday and today.”
I replied without approaching the table.
“You’re quick on the uptake.”
Iryong Nogun looked at me and chuckled.
“How old are you?”
“None of your business.”
“Look, there must be forty years between us. I stepped into the martial world around your age as well, so I must have forty more years of experience in the martial world than you.”
“Experience doesn’t stack up like internal energy.”
“That is true. Do sit.”
I am not one to sit simply because I’m told to. As I remained standing still, Iryong Nogun asked,
“Don’t you have the leisure to come here and share a cup of tea?”
“I have never been a man of leisure.”
Of course, I was also not a man who would drink tea with someone like him. I simply smiled, finding it rather amusing.
Iryong Nogun spoke.
“You are terribly suspicious.”
“Old man, what have you prepared? I’m bored, so let’s see it.”
Iryong Nogun said in a flat tone,
“What else would one who lives in the martial world prepare besides martial arts? Martial arts are honed over a lifetime, so there is nothing I have newly prepared.”
“How did you know how I would come out?”
Iryong Nogun looked at me.
“You? You killed the Great Rakshasa one-on-one. I’ve seen plenty of men like you in the gangho. Your actions, your way of speaking. The moment I saw you, I discerned your depth and grasped your character. In any case, this is a fight between you and me, is it not? There is no need to spill my subordinates’ blood for no reason. That is why I was waiting here alone.”
“You were close to the Great Rakshasa……”
As I spoke, Iryong Nogun reached for his teacup.
The instant I felt something awkward in his gesture and intent, I pushed off the ground with my left foot.
At almost the same moment, Iryong Nogun pressed down firmly on the teacup.
With a click of some mechanism, the spot where I had been standing vanished without a trace. Not only the place where I had been, but the entire area around the round table had been hollowed out in a circle. The gap alone looked to be over six or seven zhang.
I had a fair amount of experience myself, but this was the first time I had seen a trap where a garden simply dropped away like this.
Using the One-Step Leap technique, I slid across the surface of the ground and escaped, then looked down into the pit.
It was deep and dark, so I could not see well.
Just like Iryong Nogun’s pitch-black heart.
I spoke to Iryong Nogun, who looked as though he were sitting atop a round pillar.
“Old man, this isn’t the end, is it? The chair and table are mechanisms too, the tea must have been poisoned, and the surroundings were a fire-pit trap lined with a mountain of blades and a forest of swords. I’m a bit lacking in experience, so do me a favor and tell me these things in advance.”
Iryong Nogun rose with his mouth clamped shut and glared at me.
“……”
I spoke in an indifferent tone.
“You startled me, you son of a bitch.”