Chapter 123: Wrong Calculation
Oh Jeong-san hurried forward with a grave expression.
In his hand was a letter.
The letter from Seong-un Inn contained the description of a man’s appearance.
It was a reply to the letter Jin Seong-un had sent to Jang Gwang.
The reply concerned the man who had commissioned the massacre of the Red Cliff Escort Agency’s escort.
There was no mention of the name Jo-yang Escort Agency, nor of the name Song Jae-mun.
From the beginning, the man had concealed his identity when he made the request to the Chief Escort Captain.
However, Jang Gwang and the then-Chief Escort Captain, Won Hu-hyeok, had questioned the bandits and obtained several details about the one who had placed the request.
His face was hidden beneath a bamboo hat, but the lips visible beneath it were very thin. His body was fleshy enough that even a ferry tilted slightly when he boarded. His laughter was frivolous. The two men who accompanied him were extremely thin, yet they carried and moved a large chest with surprising ease.
The first three details suggested Song Jae-mun, but they were not decisive evidence.
However, the last description—the thin men carrying the heavy chest so skillfully—brought one occupation to mind.
‘Porters.’
Porters were men who made their living by carrying burdens. Even without martial arts, they could effortlessly lift and move impossibly heavy loads.
When uncertain clues were stacked upon one another, they often pointed in a clear direction.
The man who commanded porters had requested the annihilation of the Red Cliff Escort Agency’s escort.
And the one who would benefit most if the escort failed was none other than Song Jae-mun.
Judging the circumstantial evidence too great to ignore, Oh Jeong-san immediately went to the inn where Jin Seong-un was staying.
“…Where did he go?”
But Jin Seong-un was nowhere to be found.
He urgently searched throughout the Merchant Festival, looking for him.
Yet Jin Seong-un was nowhere in sight.
Curiously, Song Jae-mun, who was always roaming about, was also missing.
Oh Jeong-san soon realized both men had vanished at the same time.
He quickly summoned the warriors of the Jingzhou Merchants’ Association.
On a quiet riverside outside Jingzhou.
A dozen martial artists, each with blades drawn, surrounded a lone man.
Having quickly distanced himself from Jin Seong-un, Song Jae-mun approached a middle-aged man and whispered as though tattling.
“That man is the Guest Dragon. You must kill him quickly before others arrive.”
“……”
The middle-aged man did not reply.
He only stared at Jin Seong-un with complicated eyes.
‘You’re younger than I expected.’
He had somewhat expected this when he first heard the boy was called one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
After all, men in their thirties were still often called later-generation prodigies.
But now, seeing him face to face, he looked not even thirty—barely past twenty.
A dangerous one.
Considering his deeds and his age, he had to be killed now.
With a casual flick of his hand, as though brushing aside a fly, the middle-aged man pushed Song Jae-mun away.
Then, staring intently at Jin Seong-un, he asked:
“Was it you who killed the Prosperity Association Leader?”
His voice, imbued with inner power, resonated low like the growl of a beast.
Jin Seong-un answered lightly.
“Yes.”
“You also killed the Black Division Captain?”
“The Black Division Captain?”
Jin Seong-un looked off into the distance for a moment.
He could not quite recall who that was.
But his hesitation was brief.
He figured it must have been one of the unorthodox path’s men. And every one of them he had met, he had slain.
“Most likely, yes.”
The Southern Black Lotus Lord, Jo Rae-ak, twitched his brow.
He had already gathered much information on what had occurred in Yichang.
The Southern Black Lotus Lord said:
“I heard he was demanding credit and was killed.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Jin Seong-un recall the Black Division Captain.
The Southern Black Lotus warrior who had come to investigate the Prosperity Association Leader’s death.
He had clashed with Oh Jeong-san for some time, then stopped at Seong-un Inn. When he demanded credit, Seo Yu-gyeom had thrust the Heaven-Slaying Dagger into his subordinate’s throat.
“Credit cannot be given.”
“You killed a man for such a trivial reason?”
“Ordinarily, no. But if they belonged to the unorthodox path and drew their blade, I killed them.”
The more they spoke, the fiercer the Southern Black Lotus Lord’s aura became.
Energy burst from his body, whipping his clothes about violently.
The surrounding air trembled, and an unpleasant vibration spread in all directions.
Song Jae-mun, shocked, hurriedly backed away.
‘So this is the overlord of Hubei’s Black Path…’
He could now feel with his very skin what it meant to be a man who ruled over the unorthodox of an entire city.
Just witnessing his presence made Song Jae-mun’s heart pound and his stomach churn.
And for him, a merchant whose heart was relatively well-tempered, this was no small thing.
How terrifying must it be when such a master unleashed his killing intent in earnest?
That such a master was not his enemy but his ally gave Song Jae-mun tremendous reassurance.
‘That smug face of yours will end here.’
His gaze shifted toward Jin Seong-un.
That face, always calm, sometimes even bored, had never pleased him.
He wanted to see what expression that man would wear, how he would beg for his life, when confronted with an overwhelming master.
But contrary to his expectations, Jin Seong-un’s face remained calm.
The Southern Black Lotus Lord continued:
“You knew who the Prosperity Association Leader was, and you knew the Black Division was the armed force of which organization, didn’t you?”
“The Southern Black Lotus, wasn’t it?”
The Southern Black Lotus Lord’s aura grew more savage.
He now had more than enough reason to kill him.
And the timing could not be better.
Then Jin Seong-un, in his characteristically even tone, asked:
“You’re the Southern Black Lotus Lord? Now that I look closely, you resemble your son.”
As his words ended—
The Southern Black Lotus Lord gave a light gesture.
At once, three martial artists charged forward.
They were the Hubei Thirteen Killers, the elders of the Southern Black Lotus and their greatest fighting force.
Like seasoned warriors, they each played their role with clarity.
Two attacked Jin Seong-un’s flanks with blades, while the giant elder in the center rushed with a great crescent blade raised high.
The remaining ten martial artists held their ground, blocking Jin Seong-un’s retreat.
That, however, was their mistake.
Ssshhk—!
Jin Seong-un seized the straight sword rushing from his left with his bare hand. Though his protective qi barrier shielded him, it was thin, and blood trickled down.
Unbothered, Jin Seong-un gripped the blade tightly and spun his body with his New Form.
He barely brushed past the blade thrust from the right.
The martial artist whose straight sword had been seized was helplessly dragged along with Jin Seong-un’s movement.
Puk, puk–!
The two blades missed Jin Seong-un and instead pierced through each other’s neck and chest.
Every movement unfolded as naturally and swiftly as if it had been choreographed in advance.
Only, Jin Seong-un appeared trapped between the two blades.
The elder with the great crescent blade showed not the slightest sign of wavering, even at his comrades’ deaths.
Instead, he smiled victoriously as he looked at Jin Seong-un caught between the blades.
Then the massive crescent blade fell, ready to split Jin Seong-un’s body in two.
Jin Seong-un looked at it calmly.
Suddenly, his hand moved to his waist.
He drew an ordinary iron sword.
But the crimson sword qi surrounding it turned even a plain iron sword into a divine weapon.
The sword-drawing technique of Extreme Speed.
The iron sword slashed through the straight blade blocking Jin Seong-un’s front, and without slowing, it soared upward.
It looked like a rampaging fire dragon ascending to the heavens.
Seok–!
The crescent blade’s hilt was cleanly severed.
The force of the elder’s swing sent the blade portion hurtling downward, burying itself in the ground.
At that moment, Jin Seong-un’s soaring sword changed direction and swept sideways.
A crimson streak cut across the elder’s neck.
Chwaak–!
His head shot up into the air.
Barely two breaths had passed.
Three of the Hubei Thirteen Killers collapsed lifelessly.
At the center of it all, Jin Seong-un still looked at Song Jae-mun with the same calm face as before.
Song Jae-mun gasped for breath.
An overwhelming intuition struck him—something was very wrong.
What unsettled him further was that Jin Seong-un was staring at him, not at the Southern Black Lotus Lord.
He quickly turned his eyes to the Southern Black Lotus Lord’s face.
He hoped to see calm there as well, as though this outcome had been expected.
That hope was crushed to pieces.
The Southern Black Lotus Lord’s expression was even graver than his own.
It was unmistakably the look of someone thinking, “This is going wrong.”
Then the Southern Black Lotus Lord shouted like a man seized by frenzy.
“Attack!”
At once, the remaining ten elders charged together.
Their murderous aura was overwhelming, yet their steps betrayed hesitation.
They too instinctively understood.
If all ten attacked, they might kill their foe. But at least three or four of them would surely die.
The fallen three had already proven that.
The ten martial artists—no longer thirteen—exchanged wary glances.
And in that moment, they realized they all shared the same thought.
Their steps slowed further.
Now that each knew the others also wished to preserve their lives, none wanted to be the first to strike.
The Southern Black Lotus Lord roared in fury.
“Go! Any who value their lives will die by my hand!”
His thundering rage shook the air violently.
Song Jae-mun hastily clamped his ears shut, cursing inwardly.
‘What if they hear this all the way to the Merchant Festival!’
The Merchant Festival forbade the presence of martial artists.
Jin Seong-un had only come because he was the innkeeper of Seong-un Inn, not as the Guest Dragon.
If it became known that Song Jae-mun had summoned unorthodox warriors to kill a fellow merchant, his life as a merchant would be finished.
But the Southern Black Lotus Lord had no room for such concerns.
Only a few days ago, he had heard news of the death of Sa Ryeong-geuk, the Vice Leader of the Heavenly Poison Alliance.
Since the Sichuan Black Path directly competed with the Hubei Black Path, it was welcome news.
But the rumor said the one who killed Sa Ryeong-geuk was none other than the Guest Dragon.
Of course, it was generally believed that the Poison Lord of the Tang Clan had aided him…
Yet at this moment, the Southern Black Lotus Lord began to wonder if that help had not been as great as supposed.
If so, his calculations changed.
Sa Ryeong-geuk had been a seasoned, cunning martial artist.
His combat style, like his nature, was ruthlessly efficient—troublesome even for the Southern Black Lotus Lord to face.
‘If the Guest Dragon killed him alone…?’
Originally, the Southern Black Lotus Lord had been prepared to lose a man or two on this mission.
That was why he had brought all thirteen.
But three had already fallen at the very start.
If this was the man who had killed Sa Ryeong-geuk, who could say how many more would die?
And indeed, the Guest Dragon was calmly holding off the combined assault of ten men.
He looked slightly pressured, but none had yet touched him with their blades.
Watching this, the Southern Black Lotus Lord said to Song Jae-mun:
“Thirty percent is not enough. His martial prowess is no less than mine.”
“……”
Song Jae-mun stared at him in disbelief.
Impossible. One side was the overlord of a city’s Black Path, the other only a rising young martial artist.
Surely the Lord was simply being greedy.
‘This vile bastard…’
Was he bargaining here, of all times?
This was shameless beyond measure.
To change the deal in the middle of such a crisis?
What infuriated Song Jae-mun most was that he had no choice.
This was why one should never make large deals with the unorthodox.
The Southern Black Lotus Lord knew it as well.
“At least half. That will suffice.”
“…So be it.”
The Lord nodded.
Now the balance seemed fair.
Half of the Red Cliff Escort Agency was worth the risk.
And in truth, there was no reason to let Jin Seong-un live anyway.
They would kill the one who had to die, and the damages would be compensated by another.
‘Not a bad deal.’
With that thought, the Southern Black Lotus Lord leapt into the battlefield.
Dark fist qi gathered around both of his fists.
.
.
.
And soon he realized.
That his calculations were gravely mistaken.