Episode 94. Flames Somewhere in My Heart
Under the overall direction of Brother Deoksu, the veteran chef of Hao Gate, a pig spine feast was held at Black Cat Hall.
I ordered every door of Black Cat Hall thrown wide open, then had tables and straw mats laid out haphazardly in the main hall, inner courtyard, and outer courtyard, setting up drinking tables everywhere. Madam Son and the servant girls, carrying out Brother Deoksu’s orders, bustled about serving food.
Whether the Namcheon Alliance barged in or the Sword Union barged in, it was no concern of mine.
First, we ate and drank.
A drink with Nam Ga-rak, a drink with Cha Seong-tae, a drink with Chief Byeok. I offered Madam Son, who was busily running about, a drink as well, and I drank with Hoyeoncheong, who had suffered greatly teaching a worthless disciple.
I barged into the kitchen and made Brother Deoksu, who was cooking the pig spines, take a drink too, and I grabbed the servant girls who were startled and trying to flee, making each take a sip of alcohol. Shortly after, the Twelve Spirit Generals I had sent for arrived, and I shared drinks with my martial brothers after a long time.
In an instant, I had surpassed my drinking limit.
With a flushed face, I staggered about and locked eyes with some unfamiliar fellows kneeling in a corner of the main hall.
“Huh?”
Three blood-covered men looked at me with surprised expressions.
“...!”
I asked the three of them in a calm tone.
“Who are you? Who beat you up?”
The main hall fell quiet for a moment.
“...”
The blood-covered fellows answered me.
“Hall Master, we came from the Namcheon Alliance.”
“Oh, really?”
I must have blanked out for a moment due to the alcohol. Then I went after So Gun-pyeong, who was passing by.
“Gunpyeong, have a drink!”
“Argh!”
So Gun-pyeong fled in haste, but I didn’t go so far as to chase him.
Coming out into the inner courtyard, I saw that it too was in the midst of a drinking revelry.
Chief Byeok was in the middle of explaining what had happened earlier to his martial brothers, the Twelve Spirit Generals. I sidled up to listen, and caught talk of a letter, something about making the Namcheon Alliance furious, and not letting the Sword Union off the hook.
I nodded my head at Chief Byeok’s words.
“That’s right. Our great strategist speaks the truth.”
Baek-in looked at me with a smile.
“Eldest Senior Brother, you are drinking quite a lot today.”
“You drink some too.”
“Yes.”
I handed the alcohol I was holding to Baek-in, then drew the sword at his waist.
“Martial Brother, I’m borrowing your sword.”
“Yes.”
Sword in hand, I walked over to the plum blossom tree, circled it a few times, then stopped and performed a rough, impromptu sword salute toward my subordinates.
“Fellow martial artists of our gate, I humbly ask for your favor. I am the leader of Hao Gate.”
When I showed this courtesy, my subordinates, who had been drinking, cupped their fists in salute here and there.
“We greet the Gate Leader.”
Perhaps because they were drunk, various responses flowed out.
“Hall Master, we ask for your favor as well.”
When I stretched out my hand as if to clear space, the drinking tables were pulled away by my subordinates, retreating far back, and the place became as spacious as a performance hall.
Drunk, I looked around here and there and spoke.
“Brothers of our Hao Gate, I am I Ja-ha.”
“...”
Sword in hand, I introduced myself.
“I was born in Ilyang County and wiped the tables of an inn from the time I took my first steps. But that inn burned down and vanished. It could be said that our Hao Gate began as that inn burned. Whether that fire moved into my heart, even now it remains as flames somewhere in my heart. I am originally a worthless man, a man of foul temper, a wicked man, a pathetic wretch who wavers this way and that, but because I was once weak, Hao Gate will henceforth stand on the side of the weak.”
Holding the sword vertically, I continued speaking.
“Those who do not touch the weak without reason are all my brothers. It matters not whether you come from the righteous path, great families, the dark path, the demonic path, temples, widows, daoists, beggars, merchants, woodcutters, or fishermen. You are my brothers. But ordinary people who have not learned martial arts, the weak, delicate women, beautiful women, women with beautiful hearts, young children, monks, daoists, drunkards, servants, gisaeng, shamans, Buddhist nuns. And fathers, mothers, uncles, older sisters, older and younger brothers who worry about making a living today while doing various work—if there is anyone who torments them, I will face them regardless of whether that bastard comes from the demonic path, dark path, righteous path, whether he is rich or a penniless beggar.”
Drunk, I smiled as I looked at the Hao Gate martial artists. The intoxication thoroughly dominated my heart.
“Though my skills are still lacking compared to the strong ones of the world, yesterday I circulated my qi, and the day before that as well. In days past, I trained my stamina with the brothers of Black Cat Hall, and recently I received advice on the sword from a senior I met by chance in the martial world. I am a man who grows stronger bit by bit each day, Hao Gate Leader I Ja-ha. I shall show my brothers the sword technique I have been training in recently.”
I tapped the plum blossom tree lightly with my left palm, then entered among the scattering plum blossoms.
There, with drunken movements, I blended with the plum blossoms and swung my sword. It was a messy dance, but it didn’t matter.
I swung the sword in my drunkenness.
With one sword stroke, a cluster of plum blossoms was bisected; I cut it again, making four pieces. Mixing in sword wind, I thrust at the center, and the fragmented plum blossoms scattered in all directions in an instant.
It was a dance without much meaning.
However, I gazed blankly at the scattering petals for a moment, then imbued the sword with Flame Flower Fragrance.
Fwoosh!
I watched as a reddish extreme yang energy coalesced on the sword, then sent the sword qi outward and slightly added the principle of retracting it with the Great Absorption Method; the Flame Flower Fragrance sword qi split into tiny pieces like plum blossoms and scattered into the empty air.
It was the Lightning Sword Technique interpreted in my own style: Plum Blossom Fragrance.
I smiled as I watched the Plum Blossom Fragrance.
The scattering Plum Blossom Fragrance burned away all the plum blossoms floating in the air due to the sword wind, then turned to dust and vanished in an instant.
I thought it fortunate that I had channeled only a small amount of inner energy.
The subordinates who witnessed my marvelous feat all clapped in unison.
Finishing my brief introduction and sword dance performance, I performed a sword salute to those gathered once more.
Then the subordinates, martial brothers, and brothers who had all sprung up from their drinking seats cupped their fists in salute to me.
I threw the sword to Baek-in, who was watching. Going to Cha Seong-tae’s seat, I held out an empty cup, and Cha Seong-tae filled it with alcohol.
“That was a sight to see, Gate Leader.”
Receiving the alcohol, I grabbed Cha Seong-tae’s shoulder.
“Our Hao Gate’s Chief Cha.”
“Yes.”
“You must not die. Train hard if you want to survive.”
Cha Seong-tae nodded with a serious expression. I locked eyes with Cha Seong-tae for a moment, then we drank together.
This time, the alcohol hit me hard as well.
Chief Byeok approached me and spoke.
“Hall Master, are you alright? You’ve had too much.”
I waved my hand to make Chief Byeok step back, then plopped down beneath the plum blossom tree.
After closing my eyes for a moment...
I made the alcohol energy in my body cling to a single strand of true qi, gathering the qi at my fingertips as if executing the Mokgye Danjigong. It was a trick that applied the principles of a poison-detoxification technique.
Before long, an intoxicant condensed from the alcohol energy formed into droplets at my fingertips and fell, drip by drip. It was a technique used for neutralizing poison, but it had worked on liquor as well.
Having dispersed the alcohol energy in an instant, I looked at my subordinates with a perfectly sober face. They were staring blankly at me as I so abruptly purged the remaining intoxication.
I spoke to my subordinates in an even tone.
“I’m sober now, so drink at your leisure. I’ll stand guard tonight.”
While the subordinates remained silent, Hong Samae answered alone.
“Understood, Eldest Martial Brother.”
With my hands clasped behind my back, I walked to the main hall and looked down at the envoys of the Namcheon Alliance, who were still kneeling.
“Why did you come here again? Did you state your business to me?”
One of them replied.
“We came bearing orders from the Namcheon Alliance Leader to request the Heukmyo Pavilion’s participation in the war.”
“Is there a reason, a justification, or a cause for me to participate? Yes or no?”
The three seemed at a loss for words and said nothing. One finally answered me.
“We did not dare ask the Alliance Leader about that.”
I glared at the three and spoke.
“I see. But do I look like a man weaker than the Namcheon Alliance Leader, Sa Dohaeng?”
“Our skills are insufficient, so we could not judge that far.”
“Is the Namcheon Alliance Leader even one of the Black Path’s Ten Great Experts?”
“He is not.”
“You three, relay my words to that insolent Sa Dohaeng.”
“Yes.”
“Tell him that if he acts discourteously one more time, I will come find him myself. Then you will have to choose a new Alliance Leader. Stand up.”
The three started to rise and supported one another. Having been trampled by the officers, there was not a spot on their bodies left unhurt.
I pushed my way into the center of the three and threw my arms over their shoulders.
“Come, let’s get out of the Heukmyo Pavilion. I’ll escort you. My men are busy drinking tonight.”
“We are fine.”
“Shut up.”
I threw my arms over the three like a band of drunken brothers and guided them to the main gate. The thoroughly terrified trio hurriedly showed me courtesy at the gate.
“Pavilion Lord, then we shall take our leave.”
“Thank you for sparing our lives.”
“We will relay your words to the Alliance Leader exactly as you spoke them.”
One envoy who had been eavesdropping on the table talk the entire time asked me.
“Ah, Pavilion Lord. Pardon me, but should I report you as the Heukmyo Pavilion Lord, or as the Haomun Leader?”
“I am the Haomun Leader.”
“Understood.”
I studied the faces of the three, then beckoned them closer.
“Come here. I’ll open a path for you to survive. If you report what happened here exactly as it is, the chances of you being cut down by a blade are very high.”
The envoys answered in extremely tense tones.
“We listen with respect.”
“When they arrived at the Heukmyo Pavilion, they found the Pavilion Lord was already dead. It’s the truth. I killed him. An unidentified master appeared and overwhelmingly defeated and killed the Heukmyo Pavilion Lord, his teacher the Great Nacha, Iryong Nogun, Teacher Su, Heukseon Boju, Dongbang Yeon, and other renowned experts of this area. He beat them to death with a club, killed them with an axe, killed them in a palm force contest, tore them apart, and burned them alive.”
“……”
“That was me. Haomunju Yi Ja-ha. You didn’t know?”
“Yes.”
“Especially, this Haomunju has a rumor of killing only the leader before subjugating the subordinates under him, so his troop numbers are enormous. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”
“Yes, we have.”
“We are sick to death of hearing it.”
“I thought so. If you have any brains, after hearing this, how ought you to treat me?”
One envoy answered correctly.
“It is only proper to visit with courtesy.”
I nodded.
“Correct. But you lot had no courtesy from the moment you showed up. That is why you were trampled by my subordinates.”
“We apologize.”
“If you want to live, mix together well what I just told you and report it to your superior. You couldn’t even get a taste of the pork spine and suffered getting trampled by my men.”
“Yes, then we shall withdraw now, Sect Leader.”
The three envoys walked a few steps, then turned back, and one performed a fist-and-palm salute toward me.
“The words you spoke outside—I, too, heard them with my own ears. I will relay them faithfully.”
I waved my hand dismissively.
“They were words spoken in drunkenness; you need not take them so seriously.”
“Yes.”
“But I am serious. Do you understand what I mean?”
Two envoys looked at me with blank, soulless expressions, but one smiled with a bloodied face.
“Understood. Then, Sect Leader, we shall return to our base.”
“Go in peace.”
I personally saw off the envoys, closed the main gate myself, and turned back. The gathering was quite large, so some subordinates were only now getting their first taste of the pork spine.
I looked at a subordinate tearing into a pork spine as I walked and asked.
“How does it taste?”
The expected answer came from the subordinate.
“Pavilion Lord, this is absolutely delicious.”
I pointed my finger at the subordinate.
“This isn’t something you eat easily. Suck the bits of meat stuck to the bone completely clean.”
“Hahaha, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
I looked around and said.
“Who hasn’t eaten pork spine yet—hands?”
Hands shot up here and there.
I looked at those who had raised their hands and spoke.
“Oh, I haven’t eaten yet either. Hands down.”
The subordinates lowered their hands and laughed.
Now that the alcohol energy had completely vanished, I was suddenly struck by hunger, so I urgently shot into the air, cleared the inner courtyard in one bound, and barged in while throwing open the main hall doors.
“Where’s my pork spine?”
The officers answered from all around with grease-smeared snouts.
“It’s at your seat?”
With my hands clasped behind my back, I went to the head seat and saw a single piece of pork spine placed on a small plate. I rubbed my palms together repeatedly, then sat down and grabbed the pork spine.
Since the subordinates suddenly looked at me, I gave them a brief word.
“Let’s eat up.”
Subordinates and brothers answered from here and there with smiling faces.
“Please eat well.”
I bit off a large chunk of the thick meat on the pork spine. To put it simply, it was like this.
.
.
.
Today, me, pork backbone, success.