Chapter 145: Why is the Bait Missing?
Tak, tak—
Alone in his office, Bang Myeong-ho tapped his desk with his index finger, looking uneasy.
His nephew, Bang Cheon-woo’s return did not bother him much. What weighed on his mind was Guest Dragon.
‘Just like with Song Jae-mun, those who got involved with that man rarely ended well…….’
Bang Myeong-ho, who had been shaking his leg for a while, suddenly shot up from his seat.
Bang Cheon-woo and Jin Seong-un’s group had left, saying they were going to retrace the journey of the past escort mission to investigate the death of the former Escort Agency Head, Bang Man-bok.
‘This might be the last chance.’
At that moment, Bang Myeong-ho’s eyes grew cold.
He had killed both his cousin and his nephew to get this far. He had no intention of letting anyone interfere now.
Bang Myeong-ho left the escort agency at once and boarded a boat.
As a man who had worked for decades as an Escort Leader, he was skilled at handling a vessel.
His destination was the Namgye Association (南系會).
It was a fellowship based in Hunan Province, made up of trading companies, murim forces, high-ranking officials, and local notables.
They were also the very people who had helped Bang Myeong-ho devour the Red Cliff Escort Agency.
Changsha, Hunan Province.
A prosperous city on the southern end of Dongting Lake.
Inside its tallest and grandest hall, Bang Myeong-ho went straight in, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head.
“Th-There’s a huge problem!”
“……Didn’t I tell you not to come here recklessly?”
A man looked down at Bang Myeong-ho as he spoke.
At that, a few others present cleared their throats and left their seats.
Bang Myeong-ho pressed his forehead to the floor until they had all gone outside.
The Namgye Association gathered under the pretense of fellowship but committed all sorts of schemes.
Naturally, some members—such as high-ranking officials—were reluctant to reveal their faces.
‘Even so, I had no choice. To stop someone like Guest Dragon…….’
When Guest Dragon, who had once been driven out with an Expulsion Order, ultimately sought out Bang Cheon-woo and brought him back, Bang Myeong-ho realized he could not handle Guest Dragon on his own.
Thus, the only place he could turn for help was the Namgye Association. No matter how powerful Guest Dragon was, he would be no real threat to these men.
“I beg your pardon. But the escort agency is on the verge of being completely taken away, so I had no choice.”
“Haa, what a pitiful man you are. We spoon-fed everything to you, yet now you say it’s about to be taken away again?”
The middle-aged man seated at the head frowned as if annoyed.
Still bowing low with his forehead pressed to the floor, Bang Myeong-ho explained.
The appearance of Guest Dragon, his expulsion, his return with the eldest son Bang Cheon-woo, and the fact that several Escort Leaders within the agency were strongly supporting him.
“If by some chance Guest Dragon and his group uncover the truth about Bang Man-bok’s death……”
“Enough.”
The middle-aged man’s cold voice fell over Bang Myeong-ho’s head.
Flinching, Bang Myeong-ho closed his mouth.
He himself was one of the renowned merchants of the nation. After all, the Red Cliff Escort Agency was considered one of the two great escort agencies in Hubei Province.
But the man looking down on him now was on a completely different level—someone who owned dozens of trading companies on the same scale as the Red Cliff Escort Agency.
Nam Il-ju of the Namok Trading Company.
Master of one of the Ten Great Trading Companies under Heaven, ruler of Hunan Province, and the man who had bound the forces of Hunan Murim, including the Mount Heng Sect, and high-ranking officials under the banner of the Namgye Association.
“Guest Dragon, you say.”
After muttering the alias for a moment, Nam Il-ju turned to the elder sitting beside him.
“Sect Leader, you mentioned recently that the Hwang Eung Squad Captain’s mission failed, didn’t you?”
“Ahem, not failed. It was merely put on hold temporarily by the Murim Alliance.”
The Sect Leader of Mount Heng Sect, Hwang Seon-ja, cleared his throat.
Hwang Seo-pung, a disciple of the Mount Heng Sect and Captain of the Hwang Eung Squad under the Murim Alliance, had been sent to wipe out the Shui Stronghold. But for some reason, he had ended up detained by the Murim Alliance instead.
Nam Il-ju nodded.
“I see now. This Guest Dragon fellow must have used his connections within the Murim Alliance to hinder Captain Hwang Eung’s actions. This is no fault of Mount Heng Sect, so you need not be so self-conscious.”
Nam Il-ju then fell into thought.
He did not know the full reasons, but this rising martial artist named Guest Dragon had gotten involved.
Moreover, the man was relentless. Once he bit into something, he never let go until it was over.
At last, Nam Il-ju seemed to come to a conclusion.
“Let’s take care of it. The first time I heard the name Guest Dragon was during the Hwa-un Trading Company affair. I remember being truly astonished. At the time, the downfall of the Hwa-un Trading Company was a foregone conclusion.”
The Namok Trading Company had also made extensive preparations for that downfall.
Yet, the Hwa-un Trading Company, which should have perished, had survived against all odds.
Finding this suspicious, Nam Il-ju had thoroughly investigated and discovered the name Jin Seong-un.
An ordinary innkeeper, yet with an unusually high level of martial skill, around whom formidable experts had begun to gather.
Before long, people had started calling him Guest Dragon. And now, he was interfering with the Namgye Association’s affairs.
“Take care of it, you say?”
When Hwang Seon-ja asked, Nam Il-ju smirked.
“Guest Dragon may be a martial master, but he’s still barely in his twenties. Mount Heng Sect should be able to handle him.”
“Ahem, it won’t be an easy task.”
“Why? Because the White Cloud Sword of the Wudang Sect is protecting him?”
Hwang Seon-ja’s expression twitched slightly.
Why had that alias come up here?
Regardless, Nam Il-ju’s provocation continued.
“I understand. As fellow Daoist sects, it’s natural to be wary of the Wudang Sect’s Elder.”
“It’s not fear. It’s a matter of principle. After all, Guest Dragon’s path is one of the Orthodox Faction……”
“Then why was Bang Man-bok killed?”
“……”
“And his son? The Red Cliff Escort Agency was known for its deep ties to the Orthodox Faction. No, even if they weren’t Orthodox, they were innocent merchants without fault.”
Hwang Seon-ja clamped his mouth shut.
Nam Il-ju looked at him coldly and pressed on.
“Think of the greater cause, Sect Leader. Once this matter is resolved, the Namok Trading Company will see to the restoration of Mount Heng Sect’s Sutra Pavilion.”
At those words, Hwang Seon-ja’s eyes shifted.
The restoration of the Sutra Pavilion.
It did not simply mean rebuilding a structure.
It meant the Namok Trading Company would spare no expense in helping restore the martial arts knowledge that should have been contained within it.
Hwang Seon-ja hesitated in thought.
The Mount Heng Sect was undoubtedly in decline.
The reason was simple. During the era of the Blood Demon, they had lost most of their experts and martial arts. The Blood Demon had personally visited their sect.
Restoring martial arts that had been lost was no simple task. Naturally, it required astronomical resources.
And Mount Heng Sect could not afford it.
But if the Namok Trading Company, one of the Ten Great Trading Companies under Heaven, lent its aid, things would be different.
That was why the Mount Heng Sect, once a proud Orthodox Daoist sect, had now become the lackeys of the sinister Namgye Association.
“……So be it. But let this truly be the last time.”
“Have you ever seen a merchant break his word? Trust me.”
Hwang Seon-ja nodded, then rose from his seat and walked outside.
Watching him go, Nam Il-ju spoke to Bang Myeong-ho, who still had his forehead pressed to the floor.
“You’ll hand over not just thirty percent, but half of the escort agency to the Namgye Association.”
“P-Pardon?”
Bang Myeong-ho lifted his head, only to bow again under Nam Il-ju’s icy gaze.
Nam Il-ju continued.
“Did you not hear me? Because of this matter, the Namgye Association is taking on an even greater risk. The agreement must change accordingly. We already did more than enough for you, but you couldn’t even swallow your share and came crawling back. Endure it.”
It was not a proposal or a request, but a notification.
Bang Myeong-ho had neither the strength nor justification to refuse.
He was the one who had come running to the Namgye Association, unable to handle a few martial artists barely past their twenties.
“……Understood.”
In the end, Bang Myeong-ho nodded.
Better to salvage half than lose the entire escort agency to them.
A small ferryboat drifted slowly down the Yangtze River.
Seomun Ak let out a long yawn and said,
“What a perfect day for fishing.”
Seomun Ak and Seo Yu-gyeom dangled their fishing rods, staring idly at the water.
Jin Seong-un simply sat on the deck in meditation, while Bang Cheon-woo watched the three with growing unease.
Time passed like that.
At last, Bang Cheon-woo could no longer contain himself and spoke.
“Can we truly discover anything like this?”
He had boarded the boat seeking clues about the deaths of his father and younger brother.
Yet the three of them seemed content with nothing more than meditation and leisurely fishing.
“You don’t even have bait.”
The hooks dangled empty in the river.
At that, Seo Yu-gyeom replied casually,
“Why do you say there’s no bait?”
“How can you catch anything with bare hooks in the water? At the very least, you should put a leaf on……”
Just then, Seo Yu-gyeom suddenly set his rod down on the floor and said,
“Look there. We caught something.”
Following Seo Yu-gyeom’s gaze, Bang Cheon-woo nearly lost strength in his legs.
“Wh-What in the world……!”
Two elderly men were charging toward them with tremendous speed and force. The problem was—they were running across the surface of the river.
Even though Bang Cheon-woo knew little of martial arts, he could tell their movement arts were beyond ordinary.
“We were the bait.”
Seo Yu-gyeom said calmly, nodding in satisfaction.
The two elderly men, gliding swiftly across the water, suddenly drew their swords and unleashed their sword qi with unbroken momentum.
Swaeeeeng—!
Two colossal waves of sword qi surged forth, threatening to split the boat in two.
“Uwaaaah!”
Bang Cheon-woo shrieked and covered his head. Just as the sword qi tore apart the water and neared the boat—
Whoosh—!
Seo Yu-gyeom swung the Heaven-Slaying Dagger.
Dark saber qi clashed with sword qi, creating a massive explosion.
Water shot skyward, and the force of the clash rocked the boat violently from side to side.
But one wave of sword qi remained.
Seomun Ak clenched his fist confidently.
As the boat shook wildly, Bang Cheon-woo glanced at him and felt a sudden sense of reassurance.
Seomun Ak’s appearance, demeanor, physique, temperament, and the prestige of the Seomun Clan—everything about him felt dependable.
‘As expected……’
While Bang Cheon-woo marveled, Seomun Ak threw a domineering punch and shouted as if it were a battle cry,
“Go, Guest Dragon!”
“?”
At that moment, Jin Seong-un’s figure vanished.
Bang Cheon-woo blinked.
The next instant, Jin Seong-un reappeared right before the incoming sword qi. Drawing the sword from his waist, he slashed upward.
A simple, light sword-drawing technique.
Yet that trivial motion split the massive sword qi in two, sending the halves flying past the boat’s sides.
Kwaaaaang—!
The sword qi struck the river, causing the Yangtze’s waters to surge violently. But aside from Bang Cheon-woo, the three remained standing calmly, gazing straight ahead on the swaying boat.
Glancing at them, Bang Cheon-woo—for the first time in his life—saw martial artists in a different light.
Right after Jin Seong-un split the sword qi, the two elderly men, still rushing forward, faltered and slowed.
They stopped, standing atop the river, staring at the boat.
It seemed they had never imagined their full-powered sword qi would be blocked so easily.
Seo Yu-gyeom had anticipated this.
The ones who had killed Bang Man-bok and Bang Cheon-gang would surely appear in the same way this time.
So they had set out the bait, and someone had taken it.
Watching from the boat, Seo Yu-gyeom murmured,
“Now we must see if what bit the bait is a minnow or a shark.”
“A-Are you sure we’ll be all right? They look like formidable masters……”
Bang Cheon-woo asked nervously.
After all, the opponents were white-haired elders, capable of running atop water and unleashing massive energy through their blades. Meanwhile, their side consisted of young masters, renowned but still fresh in years.
Seo Yu-gyeom gave no answer, merely jerking his chin toward the front.
Cautiously, Bang Cheon-woo followed his gaze.
Then he witnessed a strange sight.
The two elders still stood on the river, glaring at them.
And above them—
Jin Seong-un.
His blade raised high as if ready to strike down, wreathed in crimson flames.
He did not know when Jin had gotten there.
Even the elders seemed unaware.
Bang Cheon-woo’s eyes went wide, and at that moment, the two elders, startled by his reaction, quickly looked up.
Fwoooosh—!
A massive crimson flame fell, enough to engulf the Yangtze.