Chapter 44: Heartless (3)
Translator: Hwarang
Editor: Kidyeon
I met up with the Yang Clan’s Bangju, Jung Yeo.
He was pleased with my success at stealing the treasure vault.
“I knew that Byuk Kongja would be able to succeed.”
It doesn’t seem like he’s too surprised, but rather as if he expected this.
“It’s all thanks to you, Bangju-nim.”
“What did I do? It was your achievement.”
“If you hadn’t told me the location of the secret corridor, how could I have gotten there before Si Gon? It’s all thanks to you.”
He smiled when I thanked him. I’d said thank you from the bottom of my heart. If it weren’t for his help, I wouldn’t have even gotten close to the vault.
“Don’t they suspect you?”
“Thankfully they don’t.”
They didn’t believe that we’ld challenge one of the five great clans of the Central Plain, as they just considered us country b.u.mpkin. This was probably because none of the border clans had been able to do so until now.
“Where are they now?”
“I think they’re trying to bring the San Dong Merchant Guild to their side.”
It was the same San Dong Merchant Guild that had failed to bring the Song Clan to their side.
Since the San Dong Merchant Guild needed strength, and Ma Jung Soo needed money, you could say that they would form an exquisite corporation.
“So they’re planning to use the San Dong Merchants to solve their money problems.”
“Yes; maybe this could be an opportunity to get more money.”
My mouth curved upwards.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Of course because it’s the perfect opportunity to make more money.”
He chuckled nervously.
He might have taken it as a joke, but I’d said it truthfully.
Since I’ve already stuck my straw into them, I might as well suck them dry.
Moreover, the San Dong Merchants were already on my bad side. They were about to use the Song Clan to get out of their trouble too. I would’ve eventually extinguished them, but it seems that I’ll have to take care of them a bit sooner since they’re a.s.sociating with Ma Jung Soo.
“I’ve already told the information guild to keep an eye on the San Dong Merchants. I’ll let you know when I receive any news.”
“Thanks.”
Jung Yeo was showing his loyalty to me. Thanks to me, he’d been able to become the Bangju; the loyalty he was showing seemed aggressive and very large. Just this heist alone could cause him to lose his head—if anything went wrong.
I presumed it was about time. “Jung Bangju.”
“Yes.”
“You said that your dream was raising the Yang Clan?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Have you found a greater dream?”
He grew silent. He knew what my question meant. ‘Do you want to achieve this grand dream with me?’
“Do you trust me?”
His voice was trembling. He already knew that my previous question would change his life forever.
“I don’t know.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
“Because you’re someone that I want to trust.”
In my previous life, I hadn’t trusted just anyone. I’d build up trust through a rigorous process of questioning and testing. However, that kind of trust was very dry. As if waiting for my death, they’d turned their backs on me.
Now that I think about it, our relationship hadn’t been built upon trust; it had been built upon fear. Fear that either their lives or careers would end if they did something wrong. It had been their fear of such things that had kept this relationship. That twenty year relationship that I’d had with them couldn’t even be compared to the less-than-a-year relationship I had with Jung Yeo. Thus, in this life, I wanted to change my way of making relationships with others. Not through trial and questioning, but through following my instincts.
“Someone that you want to trust… it seems that your thoughts are similar to mine.”
He said truthfully. He also seemed to hold similar thoughts.
If he’d told me that he trusted me, I would’ve been disappointed. I should never make the mistake of keeping him too close simply because he’d helped me, nor should I ever make the mistake of keeping him at a distance because he’d refused my proposal.
“You said this before. Even though I’m not the best person, I’m not someone that forgets favors.”
“Yes, I said that.”
“I am not you to be a great person.”
Since I have someone like that by my side already.
“I need someone who can carry their weight without betraying me.”
Although he might not like what I’d just said, these were my true feelings.
“I’ll start building my trust of you for from here on.”
After staring at me in silence, he said, “Give me a moment to think.”
“Of course. I don’t mind if it takes months or years. Think deeply about it.”
“Thank you.”
Jung Yeo left the room after bowing.
I was able to hear him enter his room next door. This was the current distance that he gave me. How this distance will change will depend on his decision.
******
To eliminate Old Man Flower Fan, I had to first find someone.
Based on what Kw.a.n.g Du had said, Old Man had been at a place where he could prove his alibi during all the accidents that took place in Jae Nam. This meant that there was someone working for him. Of course, it wasn’t his style to personally do things.
There must be someone acting as his hands and feet.
Since he’d come together with Ma Jung Soo, it’s highly unlikely that he would bring such a person with him, which means that that person was somewhere nearby, receiving orders.
I needed to find that person. After I find him or her, I need to confirm, from that person’s mouth, that he or she did so under Old Man Flower Fan’s order. I can’t just kill that person based on an a.s.sumption.
I bought another face-mask and applied it. I couldn’t use the face that I’d used to get inside of the Yang Clan Manor. This time I bought a high-tier mask, as I was going to be using it multiple times.
Since face-masks are sold in a well-sealed package, not even the sellers knew what it looks like, much less the buyers. However the buyers could still choose the gender and age.
This time that face that I bought was that of a thirty-some years old male. You could also choose a face with some added features on the mask, such as a scar or burn marks for some extra nyang.
Before, you’d have to have a professional mask-maker make one for you, but now it had become much easier. The quality wasn’t too bad either. With high-tier masks, you couldn’t even tell when someone was wearing a mask.
I proceeded to observe Old Man Flower Fan from a distance with a new face. Since his martial arts weren’t ordinary, trailing him wasn’t easy. I didn’t have that much experience trailing someone either, so I had to simply observe where he went from a distance.
Old Man Flower Fan was truly a busy and calculating person. He woke up early in the morning, went on a walk in a nearby forest, had breakfast, had tea in his garden, all before finally starting his day. He busily went place to place. Most of the time he went somewhere to meet someone. Thinking that all these meeting were part of the process that he’d gone through to do what he did in Jae Nam gave me gooseb.u.mps.
On the fourth day, I finally caught wind of something. I figured out that he was meeting someone when he entered the forest in the morning. When he entered the forest for a walk, I didn’t follow him and observed from outside. I stayed and watched the forest a bit longer, before noticing a man leave from somewhere in the forest. The next day, and the one after, this man would leave a certain amount of time after Old Man Flower Fan had left. I determined that this was to precise to be a coincidence.
Five days after observing the forest, I entered the forest right after Old Man Flower Fan had left.
Swoooosh.
The sound of the wind blowing past the bamboo trees sounded like water flowing in a river, which
calmed my heart. I hastened my pace.
How far had he walked? I saw the man walking my way from the end of the road.
I casually changed my pace as if I were on a stroll as the man casually walked towards me.
The moment we walked past each other...
Shiiing.
The man drew his sword and swung it towards my neck.
Quick steps, quick draw... this man was an expert. However, unfortunately for him, I was well prepared for anything that he threw at me.
Grab!
The sword stopped at my neck. That was because I’d grabbed his arm. I was able to tell what kind of person he was since he’d drawn his blade without a second thought.
I didn’t hesitate to break his arm. He tried to hold on using his energy, but I overwhelmed him.
Crack!
His arm snapped like a twig.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
He cried out in agony and dropped his sword, before suddenly using his other hand to aim for my eyes.
I quickly broke his other arm.
Crack!
“Uahhhh!”
Another cry was heard from him. He didn’t have any chances left.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
My fist found its mark on his chest and ribs, causing him to fall down.
“Uaahhhh...”
You could hear his pain from his cry, as my last couple of hits had broken some of his ribs. I purposely didn’t break any that would threaten his life.
He looked at me with a pained expression. “...Who are you?”
“I’m someone that you tried to kill without even knowing who I was.”
He had good senses—I could tell from the way that he’d tried to kill me. Most would try to preserve their life in this situation. If he was like them, I’d have an easy time dealing with him.
“Do you want to live?”
He was hesitant.
Shiiing!
I drew my sword and swung it towards him. Just as I was about to strike him, he spoke, “I want to live.”
I coldly stared at him. “Did Old Man Flower Fan order you to cause that accident in Jae Nam?”
His eyes trembled. He was afraid that he was going to die at the hands of Old Man Flower Fan if he told me anything, but his body had told me the answer.
Since he was so hesitant, I brought down my blade.
“Wait!”
Stab!
My sword stabbed into his shoulder and blood began to gush out of his shoulder. If I hadn’t stopped, he would’ve died from being cut down through his shoulder.
He finally understood what I wanted.
“The person that I want is Old Man Flower Fan. Do you think that he’s someone who’ll put his neck out for someone like you? If you think so, then you don’t have to answer.”
He didn’t hesitate. He knew what kind of person Old Man Flower Fan was.
“Everything was orchestrated by Old Man Flower Fan.”
I took out the blade stuck inside of his shoulder and poked some pressure points to stop the bleeding. I put away my blade as well.
Since I acted as if I was going to let him live, he opened his mouth and told me the truth.
“He never told me to kill anyone, but he said to do anything to get the land.”
This clever old fart; he never directly ordered someone to kill, but his order to do anything necessary to get the land was equivalent to an order to kill.
“Do you meet Old Man Flower Fan here every day?”
“Yes.”
The hardest part was getting him to say something, but after that, he sung like a bird. He told me everything that I wanted to know.
“What did you tell him today?”
“There’s a female that came here with us. I’m currently investigating her.”
This was information that I needed to hear about.
“Aren’t you on the same side?”
“Yes. She’s someone that the Mengju, Ma Bong GI, sent.”
“Do you know why she came?”
“It seems like she’s here to observe Ma Jung Soo, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
“And is there anything else you’ve found out about her?”
“No. I looked around in multiple places, but there wasn’t any information regarding her.”
“What does she usually do?”
“There are days when she walks around the Yang House, while there are other days where she simply disappears. It’s hard to know when she’ll disappear, and it’s hard to trace her.”
The most dangerous person on their side was definitely this women.
In Kang Ho, the scariest opponents aren’t those who are stronger than you, but the ones that you don’t know anything about.
“Are you going to meet Old Man Flower Fan here tomorrow as well?”
“Yes.”
“Is there any special form of communication? Like a secret code?”
“No. If you go further in, there’s a small rock. He’ll come to that place if you wait for him.”
“Alright.”
“Then I should—”
Without him expecting anything, I sent my palm towards his forehead
Smack!
His skull broke from my strike; he died without even letting out a sound.
He must’ve been regretful, considering that he’d believed that I’d let him live. But I’d never even thought of letting him live. I was just keeping him alive to verify if Old Man Flower Fan was the mastermind behind this event.
He deserved to die.
It didn’t matter if he was under orders or not; for him to use martial arts to steal someone’s property, and to kill someone—a child and an elderly one, at that. This was something unforgivable.
Looking at his corpse, I said, “Don’t worry, I’ll allow you to meet your master tomorrow.”
The scenery that you’ll soon see won’t be as beautiful as these pine trees, but a place filled with fire and demons.
I’ll send you all there—one by one.