“Brother. That job Master Yun left with us. Did you settle it?”

A sleeveless robe. Bare, muscled forearms.

The heavyset man’s voice was thick with exhaustion. And the man he’d addressed — looking equally worn out — scratched his head as he answered.

“Uh…… if you mean the one who was pestering Master Yun’s concubine, me and the boys took care of him a while back.”

“What? You already dealt with him?”

Tap.

The man closed the ledger he’d been reading and looked at his junior.

“Haah…… Boksu. Kang Boksu.”

The man he’d addressed — Kang Boksu — flinched and shot to his feet.

“Yes, Boss!”

The man clicked his tongue in displeasure.

“Tch. What’s our creed?”

“Uh…… Business, done clean! Vengeance, done thorough…… sir!”

“Then why is Master Yun’s payment still outstanding?”

Kang Boksu scratched his head, looking cornered.

“W-well, the master said he’s been busy with government affairs lately…… He swore he’d settle up half a month ago.”

The man — Mun Seok — let out a sigh. Veins began standing out along his muscled forearms.

“Aigoo, Boksu. You believed that nonsense? Damn it, bring me everything we’ve got on that bastard from recently.”

“Yes sir!”

A moment later, Kang Boksu returned with several bamboo slips. Paper was too expensive, so they made rough approximations out of bamboo and used those instead.

Mun Seok skimmed the contents and cursed.

“Damn it. I knew it. Yun Giwon — the bastard’s leaving Ningbo soon!”

“Wh-what? There’s no way…… I checked everything!”

“You slow bastard! It’s written right here! The Yun family’s people left recently!”

“That was supposed to be a trip——”

“You’d pack that much luggage just to go to Fuzhou?! And Yun hasn’t touched a scrap of his work lately! You don’t know what that means?”

Kang Boksu’s face went ashen.

“Y-you don’t mean……”

“He’s been reassigned somewhere else! Damn it!”

Clatter!

Mun Seok finally hurled the entire bundle of bamboo slips across the room.

“That son of a bitch dares to stiff our Black Tide Gang? Get the boys together, now. We’ll leave him half a cripple, and I’ll sell that concubine of his to another pleasure house.”

“Y-yes, understood.”

Kang Boksu moved fast. Any dawdling now and the sparks would land squarely on him.

Once he’d gone out and headed upstairs, noise came rolling down.

“You bastard! You cheated, didn’t you?!”

“Please. If you’ve got no skill, go home and look after your kids. Don’t go dragging innocent men into it.”

“What was that, you——”

Men grabbing each other by the collars.

“J-just once! Just this once, let it go! That money is my family’s lifeline!”

“Hey, friend. And whose bright idea was it to bring the family lifeline to a gambling den? If you want to keep what little life you have, get lost quietly.”

Pleading and threats side by side. Every kind of person imaginable gathered in one place.

Kang Boksu looked over the ugly parade of humanity and clicked his tongue.

“Pathetic.”

He’d just sneered and moved to walk on when——

“I’d like to ask you something.”

Someone stepped into his path.

A bamboo hat pulled low, so the face wasn’t clearly visible — but the voice was young.

“Who are you?”

“I’d like to see your boss.”

Kang Boksu’s brow furrowed.

Who was this kid, that he thought he could just meet the Boss?

Kang Boksu gestured toward somewhere. A moment later, a group of vicious-looking men came piling over.

“You called, Brother?”

Kang Boksu jerked his chin toward the man, as though the whole thing were a nuisance.

“This young man here wants to meet the Boss. Take him and educate him a little. Thinks any damn dog off the street can meet the Boss.”

Tap.

Kang Boksu deliberately shoulder-checked the man in the bamboo hat as he passed. He was already on edge over the money about to slip away. Everything was an irritation today.

“I haven’t gotten my answer yet.”

Right. So he wanted to see blood after all.

Kang Boksu clenched his teeth and turned. His raised fist was already driving toward the man in the bamboo hat.

But that fist couldn’t move.

“Uh…… huh……?”

It had been an instant.

And yet the thugs he’d summoned to educate the man were sprawled across the floor.

“Wh-what on earth……”

Sss.

A cold sensation at the back of his neck. A blade.

There had been a second one.

Kang Boksu slowly lowered his fist and broke into a bright smile.

“Hahaha. So you’re a valued customer! My deepest apologies. Ah, you said you wanted to meet the Boss? Right this way! Allow me to escort you!”

Kang Boksu ended up walking straight back the way he’d come. The two men followed after him.

The commotion had been considerable — but inside the gambling den, everyone was still noisily testing their own fortunes.

“Interesting. So places like this exist.”

Seo Woojin was genuinely impressed.

It was remarkable enough that a gambling den this large existed in such a secluded spot — but that there was a space like this underground too was entirely new to him. The most remarkable thing of all, though, was that Muk-yeong could find these places so easily.

Before long, they arrived at their destination.

The moment they stepped inside, a deep voice sounded.

“What is it. Back already?”

Kang Boksu, who had escorted them here, answered haltingly.

“Uh, well, Boss. I think there’s a problem.”

“A problem? What problem. Did that Yun Giwon bastard already bolt?”

“N-no, it’s not that…… These men want to see you——”

Mun Seok finally closed the ledger he’d been reading and lifted his head.

Kang Boksu hemming and hawing. Two men standing beside him.

He wasn’t going to work out the situation immediately.

Seo Woojin glanced around, then walked over and sat at what appeared to be a table for receiving guests.

“I came because there’s something I want to know.”

At Seo Woojin’s easy manner, Mun Seok let out a hollow laugh.

“If you’ve got questions, go ask your parents. Why come to me?”

In that instant, Muk-yeong moved slightly.

Shhk! Thk!

A chill ran through Mun Seok and his body locked up. He touched the back of his neck — and his hand came away with blood.

He turned his head slightly. A throwing knife was buried in the wall.

‘D-damn it. Is today the day I die? Did Yun Giwon get the jump on me first?’

His head swam with complications — but for now, staying alive meant giving this his best.

Mun Seok turned back to look at Seo Woojin.

“Ahem. Ahem. R-right. You, uh, said there was something you wanted to ask?”

Seo Woojin nodded.

“The Clear Water Baek Clan. I want information on them.”

Mun Seok let out a quiet sound.

‘At least he isn’t here for my life…… Hah, damn it. But information on the Baek Clan? Get tangled up with a Dark Path clan the wrong way and life gets very hard……’

Mun Seok cleared his throat and started with a denial.

“Ahem. The Clear Water Baek Clan — isn’t that the foremost clan here in Ningbo? Haha. How would ignorant folk like us have information on a clan like that? I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong man, young master.”

Seo Woojin clicked his tongue.

“Ah, is that so? What a shame. It’s so much nicer when things can be settled through conversation. Though I suppose that’s just how people are. Some of us only understand after we’ve been through something unpleasant.”

The non sequitur made Mun Seok tilt his head.

“What?”

The confusion was resolved quickly.

Thud!

“Agh! B-Boss!!”

Muk-yeong subdued Kang Boksu and dropped him to the floor. He wrenched one arm behind his back and brought his short sword against it.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?! Stop!!”

At Mun Seok’s alarmed shout, Seo Woojin shook his head.

“No need to panic. You can save him.”

“Who the hell are you?! Did the Black Star Faction send you? You think you’ll walk away from this?!”

“No. That’s not the correct answer.”

Seo Woojin gestured with his chin, and Muk-yeong’s short blade moved toward Kang Boksu’s fingers.

“AAAAGH! Boss! Boss, I’m dying!! I’m dying——!!”

Mun Seok spat out a curse and hurried to stop Muk-yeong.

“Damn it! S-stop! I get it, so stop, damn it——!!”

Seo Woojin nodded, and Muk-yeong’s movement halted. Blood was running from Kang Boksu’s index finger.

Seo Woojin turned his gaze to Mun Seok.

“Do you feel like saving your brother now?”

Mun Seok clenched his teeth.

“Damn it. Got me good.”

Mun Seok sat down across from Seo Woojin. He picked up the wine bottle on the table, drained the whole thing, and asked:

“What do you want to know about the Baek Clan. As you know, the Baek Clan belongs to the Dark Alliance. Even if we have information on them, it won’t be quality information.”

“That’s for me to judge. You just give me the information.”

Mun Seok let out a low sound and looked at Kang Boksu, still whimpering on the floor.

“You idiot! What are you doing?! The man wants information on the Baek Clan!!”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

Only once Kang Boksu had hurried off somewhere did Seo Woojin let out a quiet breath.

Doing exactly as Muk-yeong had described, everything had gone smoothly.

‘Is this standard for the Black Dragon Guard? Or is Muk-yeong unusual?’

However much the Black Dragon Guard were expected to be good at everything, that they’d have a working grasp of the habits of thugs like these was still a curiosity.

‘Well. I’ll ask about that later. Right now, that matters more.’

Kang Boksu returned with two books.

“Here…… this one has their recent movements written down, and this one has brief information on people affiliated with the Baek Clan.”

Mun Seok had been right. Perhaps because they were a clan under the Dark Alliance, the volume of information wasn’t large.

Seo Woojin picked up the one recording recent movements.

Nothing unusual. If anything stood out, it was a record of them making inquiries about something.

“Vein-Moistening Grass?”

Mun Seok apparently already knew, because the answer came immediately.

“Do you know of the Heart Vein Cold-Fall Affliction?”

The unfamiliar name of the illness made Seo Woojin shake his head.

“What is that?”

“An illness where cold qi has been lodged near the heart vein since birth, apparently. The flow of blood that should be going to the heart gradually slows, until eventually the heart stops.”

Mun Seok pointed at the other book on the table.

“Vein-Moistening Grass is a medicinal herb that slows the illness’s progression. You’ll see it if you look at that — Clan Head Baek’s beloved daughter has that illness.”

Seo Woojin examined the other book. It was exactly as he’d said.

‘But that’s strange. If it’s an illness present from birth, that means he’s been sourcing this herb for over a decade……’

Seo Woojin asked Mun Seok.

“Is Vein-Moistening Grass difficult to obtain?”

“Normally, yes. But Clan Head Baek was lucky. The place Vein-Moistening Grass grows happens to be right here in Zhejiang. That’s why his daughter is still alive.”

An herb produced in Zhejiang.

For the Baek Clan, obtaining it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult. If they’d had their way, they’d have wanted to buy up the land where it grew and monopolize it outright.

‘But monopolizing medicinal herbs is prohibited by the state.’

Then why had they been making inquiries about Vein-Moistening Grass recently?

Mun Seok supplied the answer.

“It isn’t certain, but apparently someone purchased the mountain where Vein-Moistening Grass grows. Naturally, whatever is produced inside it belongs to whoever bought it. So Clan Head Baek lost his daughter’s lifeline overnight — hence all the inquiries in every direction.”

“Is that even possible? Purchasing a mountain. Who sold it, and by what right?”

Mun Seok shrugged.

“The government said so, so everyone just accepts it. Bluntly speaking, what would people like us care about who owns some mountain? It’s a bolt from the blue only to someone like Clan Head Baek, that’s all.”

A hollow laugh escaped him. That something this absurd was possible was beyond his understanding.

“Did Clan Head Baek not protest?”

“The Baek Clan may belong to the Dark Alliance, but they’re not so bold as to square up against the government. The officials dodge responsibility, going on about non-interference between government and jianghu — what could he possibly do? And all the while he’s chasing them, his daughter’s heartbeat is slowing.”

Seo Woojin let out a breath.

“Do you know who it was that sold the mountain?”

Mun Seok’s face, dull and indifferent this whole time, suddenly came alive.

“Would you happen to want to meet that man?”

“Can you arrange it?”

The corner of Mun Seok’s mouth split into a long grin.

“Heh heh heh. As it happens, I have business with that side myself. Come back tomorrow night. I’ll have his face delivered right in front of you. Ah, but — just in case I need to ask…… the payment……?”

Seo Woojin took a coin pouch from inside his robes. And tossed the whole thing to him.

“I’ll be relying on your help for a few days.”

Mun Seok checked inside the pouch, and his eyes went as wide as lanterns. He shot to his feet and bent at the waist.

“It’ll be my honor——! I won’t disappoint you, sir——!”

Seo Woojin laughed off the abrupt reversal in his manner and went outside with Muk-yeong.

— Where will you go now?

At Muk-yeong’s question, Seo Woojin sighed again.

He wasn’t particularly eager.

“Now we go, I suppose. To the Baek Clan.”

He had already determined the Baek Clan’s location.

The two of them set off without hesitation.

The Baek Clan wasn’t far.

The two of them observed the atmosphere of the estate, then went over the wall.

Though the hour was late, it was eerily quiet.

— I’ll go first. It may be a trap.

Seo Woojin nodded. Muk-yeong took the lead, and Seo Woojin followed quietly.

‘If there’s a trap…… there’s a chance information was leaked to the Baek Clan first.’

To let them prepare in advance, to have everything ready and waiting.

The current quiet could be evidence of exactly that.

Tap.

Muk-yeong stopped.

— There’s a light over there.

That position was the center of the estate. The kind of spot where a clan head’s office or private quarters would normally be.

Seo Woojin and Muk-yeong advanced carefully.

And the scene revealed itself.

Men who appeared to be the Baek Clan’s warriors were lined up in formation, holding torches. At the rear, people who appeared to be family stood with anxious expressions.

Their gazes were all directed at one place.

Dressed in white robes.

A man kneeling on a straw mat.

‘That man is……’

The Baek Clan’s head.

Baek Gyeong.

He was kneeling with his head bowed low.

As though offering himself up for punishment.

(End of Chapter 25)