Episode 101. You Drew a Blade, So You Die.
I woke to the smell of rice.
Thinking the escort agency bastards were lucky I hadn't caught the scent of poison, I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I gazed for a moment at the sunlight seeping through the window, then got up and headed toward where the smell of rice was coming from.
When I arrived in the great hall, the chief escort and the other escort heads I'd seen yesterday were seated around a meal, and they simultaneously stopped mid-bite to stare at me.
I plopped down into an empty seat and spoke in a flat tone.
"Give me food."
"..."
I accepted chopsticks from the escort head beside me and started on the side dishes, and the meal quietly resumed. While eating, the chief escort spoke to me.
"The cargo departed immediately last night."
I nodded, stirred some bland mountain vegetables, and started eating an unidentifiable fried dish.
When I ate in silence, the chief escort asked.
"The Paegeomhoe and Namcheonryeon will clash soon, won't they?"
"Looks like it."
"We worry even if the Namcheonryeon wins."
"Why?"
"I've heard many rumors about Sa Do-haeng. If he demands higher tribute, what strength do we have to refuse? The rumor that he kills anyone who displeases him without question is rampant."
I snorted.
"Hey, Chief Escort."
"Yes."
"Was the Paegeomhoe Leader any different? He was the same kind of bastard. And do you have to talk about money first thing in the morning while you're stuffing your faces? The food is clearly delicious and the side dishes are good, so are the Paegeomhoe and Byeokan Escort Agency, who've grown fat off tribute from everywhere, living in such poverty? Cut the crap."
The escort heads took the hint, and Chief Escort Gong Duchan shut his mouth as well.
I spoke while drinking water.
"You've been latched onto the dark path and living well all this time, so shut it. You haven't the slightest intention of taking a loss. My subordinates will find every place that was attached to the Paegeomhoe. If I receive reports that you committed atrocities under the guise of business or treated people like slaves, it won't end with us sitting face-to-face sharing a pleasant meal like today. You shouldn't be worrying about Sa Do-haeng. You should worry about me coming back."
"..."
"If the Paegeomhoe wins, I'll handle the remnants. If the Namcheonryeon wins, I'll kill or crush Sa Do-haeng, so there will be no more tribute. But I'm different from Sa Do-haeng or the Paegeomhoe Leader. I don't need money. But if you cross the line, you'll all go to the afterlife and pay tribute to the Paegeomhoe Leader again."
I glared at the escort agency folk, whose expressions had shifted to full wakefulness.
"Do your escort jobs properly. Don't let my subordinates catch anything strange."
I'd been tormenting the Byeokan Escort Agency people since morning and now continued speaking on a whim.
"By the way, who's the cook? The food is excellent."
"..."
As the conversation took a strange turn, the atmosphere grew even colder.
An escort head in his thirties whose name I didn't know asked me.
"But where do you come from? I don't think you're from the Murim Alliance."
"Why, not the Murim Alliance? Do I look low-class?"
"Ah, so you are from the Murim Alliance."
"No. I didn't come from a wretched place like that."
"..."
"I came from near Namhwa."
"Ah, I see. If it's Namhwa, the expert called Daenachal is famous."
I nodded while spooning up broth.
"He's famous. His disciples, the Twelve Divine Generals, are famous too."
One escort head blurted out whatever he was thinking.
"So you're from that side."
"'From that side'... not quite. Daenachal died by my hand. I killed half of the Twelve Divine Generals too. What a savory topic for a meal. Curious how I killed them?"
"No, I'm not curious."
"What a shame."
I emptied my rice bowl clean and set down my chopsticks.
"I ate well. How much for the escort mission?"
As I pulled a money pouch from my breast, the chief escort spoke.
"How could we accept payment? Thanks to you coming first and explaining the situation, we survived."
"Lives are lives. If you took on an escort job, you get paid. How much?"
The chief escort said.
"Then we'll take just two silver pieces."
I glared at the chief escort and hardened my expression.
"Why so expensive? Do I look like a country bumpkin?"
"Then we'll take just one."
I took out two silver pieces from my pouch and placed them beside my bowl.
"That's for the guest room and the poison-free rice. I put in plenty."
"Thank you."
I rose from the table and looked at the chief escort.
"Chief Escort."
"Yes."
"Pass this on to all the merchants clinging to the Paegeomhoe. The Paegeomhoe will soon be gone, so they should return to normal. Tell them to work like proper merchants since tribute will also be gone."
"Understood."
"And tell them if they play games like cornering the market and hoarding goods, I'll come to kill them."
"Yes."
"Tell them if they do dirty business that cuts off another man's livelihood, I'll send my subordinates to assassinate them."
"Yes, I will relay it. But whose words should I say they are?"
"The one who killed the Paegeomhoe Leader. The expert who stayed one night, ate breakfast, and left. The man in black."
"Understood."
"And Chief Escort, listen closely."
"Yes."
"Tell them that anyone who was in contact with the Ilwi Dogang will be rooted out and killed. Before that, if they willingly divulge information about the Ilwi Dogang to my subordinates, I'll spare them. There are no other options."
"I will relay that message clearly as well."
"But before that, choose one thing. Those in contact with the Ilwi Dogang..."
"Actually, we don't even..."
"No, just guess by gut feeling. Where is it? If you don't tell me, I'm going to plant myself here until you do. I should learn the escort trade while I'm at it."
"..."
I looked up at the clear sky from the great hall entrance. It was a bright, sunny day, so the jet-black clothes I wore suited me not at all.
I spoke to the chief escort while looking at the clear sky.
"For now, give me some clothes that escorts wear. These clothes are too black."
"Yes."
"Prepare something that fits my build perfectly."
I briefly compared the value of two silver pieces against the cost of rice, room, and clothing. Since the silver seemed quite valuable, I took a leather strap that could wrap Heukmyoa like precious cargo, then asked again.
"Looks like nothing's coming to mind?"
After pondering, the chief escort offered this answer.
"Not merchants. I heard rumors that an underworld group called the Unwol Hyeongje hired assassins and wiped out a competing faction. It's a place escorts frequent, so..."
"Where are they?"
"They've monopolized the commercial rights around Jeongpyeong Lake."
"Got it."
I changed into escort clothes and slipped out of the Byeokan Escort Agency.
* * *
Namgarak had decided to observe the movements of the Namcheonryeon and the Paegeomhoe alongside his subordinates.
Having laid the groundwork, the situation now called for watching the fight between the Paegeomhoe and the Namcheonryeon.
Since I planned to discreetly join the Namcheonryeon forces if I spotted them marching on the Paegeomhoe, I didn't hurry my steps returning.
I suddenly switched careers from man in black to young escort.
With Heukmyoa wrapped in a leather strap on my shoulder, and my outfit being perfect, anyone looking would see a handsome escort.
Or not.
Anyway, yesterday a man in black, today a young escort.
In my previous life I was a blademan, and in this life I'm a swordsman hopeful; because the weather was nice, I didn't bother using lightness skill.
With the leisurely steps of a young escort slacking off, I embarked on a solo escort mission that only I knew about.
Client: the Haomun Gate Lord. Escort: Yi Ja-ha.
The cargo was Heukmyoa on my shoulder; the destination was Jeongpyeong Lake, where the Unwol Hyeongje were.
Like an escort unwilling to return, I meandered south, took a nap on the shores of Jeongpyeong Lake, and skipped flat stones across the surface for a while.
Following Jeongpyeong Lake southeast, street vendors and shops gradually multiplied.
There were many shops with names I'd never seen before.
Among them was an unusual shop called an Escort Eatery. I was curious since it seemed fellow escorts would be eating there, but I didn't bother going in.
While looking for a quiet restaurant with as few people as possible, someone suddenly reached from behind and touched the leather strap of Heukmyoa on my shoulder.
"..."
I roughly yanked the bastard grabbing the leather strap and slapped him across the face.
With a thwack, a common street pickpocket from the bustling district glared at me.
I didn't like the look in his glaring eyes, so I slapped him again.
This bastard seemed to underestimate an escort from Byeokan.
After slapping his cheek three, four, five times in a row, he finally averted his gaze. Since there was no apology or plea for mercy, when I delivered the sixth slap, three or four teeth flew out.
Whether he didn't know he could die by my hand like this, his eyes were still ferocious.
I wordlessly locked eyes with the bastard, then grinned and nodded.
'Good. See you again later.'
I went into a restaurant with my guard momentarily down, sat in a seat facing the entrance, and ordered food.
Since the beaten bastard's eyes had been fierce, he would show up with colleagues in tow. After filling my stomach with plain, tasteless noodles and drinking some bitter tea while watching the entrance, I asked the waiter.
"Isn't there an underworld group here?"
"Yes."
"What do they do?"
"There's a local gang called the Unwol Hyeongjehoe, a brotherhood society that collects tribute from every shop near Jeongpyeong Lake."
"The local gang's name is the Unwol Hyeongjehoe?"
"Yes."
"Sounds like a fruit shop name."
The waiter, who had been chatting with me, suddenly clamped his mouth shut and hurriedly vanished into the kitchen.
The beaten bastard's colleagues were gathering in front of the entrance. Soon, one of them entered as a representative and spoke to me.
"Little brother, if you're finished eating, come outside."
I gestured the bastard closer as if I had something to say, then slapped him. With a thwack, he clutched his cheek and fell on his ass.
"Don't speak informally to me."
This place seemed to be about midway between the Paegeomhoe and the Nammyeonghoe, and since the lake's commercial rights were mostly held by local underworld gangs, they apparently didn't know the outside situation. Perhaps they had received a proposal from the Paegeomhoe and possibly joined this underworld war as fodder.
Though this was a return journey, I was waiting for the Namcheonryeon's advance anyway, so I could spare the time.
Moreover, if it was an underworld group hiring assassins and collecting tribute, meeting them was the duty of a knight-errant and the way of the rivers and lakes.
I handed the meal money to the waiter; he swallowed once and expressed worry for me.
"Escort-nim, please be careful."
"I should be."
When I went outside, I saw the two who had been slapped, along with others properly dressed and waiting.
There were too many for a mere pickpocket crew.
If anyone asked whether there were pickpockets even in the underworld, I wouldn't know. They were scum who did all kinds of evil, so there could be pickpockets or grave robbers.
The men who naturally surrounded me spoke in a friendly tone.
"Little brother, instead of making a fuss here, let's move."
I nodded.
"Let's do that. Little brother."
It seemed the word "brother" was trendy here. I walked mixed in with the bastards and spoke.
"If you happen to be from the Unwol Hyeongjehoe, guide me straight to your leader."
"He's out of his mind."
The bastard beside me frowned and looked over, so I immediately slapped him.
"Guide me, you sons of bitches. Stop glaring."
In an instant, a blade suddenly thrust at my left side; I grabbed it with my bare hand and snapped the blade with the Mokgye Jibeop. With a crack, the sword broke in two, and silence fell briefly.
One bastard reached out and shouted.
"No!"
I flicked the broken blade with the Mokgye Tanjigong and embedded it straight into the Adam's apple of the bastard who'd ambushed me.
Thuk!
The bastard, whose throat was pierced before he could even scream, collapsed forward, and I lightly sidestepped.
Thud...!
One bastard hurriedly spoke to me.
"We are not the Unwol Hyeongjehoe."
"Then?"
"We are a subordinate organization that pays tribute too."
"Ah, is that so? What's so different about that? Guide me."
If you had to classify them, these bastards were wannabes trying to get into the Unwol Hyeongjehoe.
Just how much tribute did they have to pay to resort to snatching purses in broad daylight, and for their colleagues to all show up with blades just because someone took a few slaps? Two or three of them stared at the corpse in a daze.
"Little brothers, you drew your blades on an escort, so you die. Did you think I'd let you live?"
I surveyed the bastards surrounding me once and continued.
"I'll start by killing the one who runs. All of you, guide me to the Unwol Hyeongjehoe just like this. Let's go."
I drew Heukmyoa from the leather strap and girded it at my waist.