Cha Sung-tae asks me,
“Since the inn has burnt to the ground, where will you sleep now?”
“The pavilions are made up of nothing but rooms. Why are you even asking?”
“I’m asking if you wanted to use one of the rooms previously occupied by the three late owners. Those are very good rooms after all.”
“I’ll sleep in one of them then, get rid of them first.”
Cha Sung-tae then looks at the kneeling men and says threateningly.
“Don’t go to the Cherry Blossom Pavilion today. Stay at the Plum Blossom Pavilion. Come see me later.”
“Yes.”
They all have families and are residents of Ilyang Prefecture, so they won’t run away.
Cha Sung-tae looks at me as the frightened scum scatters away.
“Is there anything else…”
I look at the remnants of the Zaha Inn briefly and say.
“Make sure you build it correctly. I’m not joking when I asked you to rebuild it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“When you’re working on the building (建築), keep an eye out for any talented workers and report to me. That person will lead Architectural Sect (築門).”
“Architectural Sect?”
“I will be in charge of the Rebirth Sect in the Pavilion, Mister Geum Chul-yong will head the Blacksmith Sect, and the head of Architectural Sect will lead men who focus on construction.”
“Rebirth Sect, Architectural Sect, Blacksmith Sect… Is there more?”
“Of course. The Rebirth Sect will be where people join first, and then they’ll be moved to either the Architectural or Blacksmith Sects depending on their preference.”
The Low-Down Sect will be established to ensure that people find employment and make a living.
You have to work to live.
If there’s no work, the Low-Down Sect will provide jobs.
This is the founding purpose of why the sect was created.
My ambition and duty as Sect Leader will be to help solve any disputes and deal with any harassment.
I will gain strength in the future while I fulfil this ambition and repay all the favours given to me in my past life.
Cha Sung-tae answers.
“Oh… that’s a good idea. Is it like a union?”
I reply in a low voice.
“It’s a union of ordinary working people.”
Cha Sung-tae smiles bashfully, a different smile than before.
“Sounds good. But when the scale gets bigger, the discipline and atmosphere will be a mess.”
“It doesn’t matter even if it’s a mess.”
“It’s an organization, after all.”
After all, I had made enemies of both the Murim Alliance and the Demon Cult in Kangho. Creating my own sect is a way to show that there is no need to follow those bastards.
“The organization I’m going to build just needs to remain in Kangho for a long time. That’s all I want. I’m not going to create a great empire, but the messiest sect to ever stand in Kangho’s damned state.”
Cha Sung-tae bites back an expletive.
‘The fuck is he talking about.’
Once the Low-Down Sect begins running properly, he thought of other things he can do.
“Do you think the Black Rabbit Union will stand back and do nothing?”
I reply to Cha Sung-tae’s question with a smile.
“The sect will be such a mess that they won’t even know where to start dealing with it. That’s the point. Everyone in the sect will live by doing what they can while the Sect Leader takes care of the aftermath.”
“What about the martial arts organization?”
“We’ll need someone skilled. That’s for later.”
“Hm.”
We’ll establish the Kill Sect (殺門) once we have enough talent.
You can say that I’m currently a One Man Leader (一人門主).
The members under me will be recruited from the talents that I know from the future.
I also plan to gather those adept in collecting information and form the Ear Sect (耳門) separately.
In this way, there will be the Rebirth Sect, the Blacksmith Sect, the Architectural Sect, the Kill Sect, the Ear Sect…
The rest of the sects will be randomly added in the future.
I will leave the group relatively unattended so that everyone can focus on their respective work. The Low-Down Sect is created with no plans and regulations, but its members can reach out when help is needed.
I will only make sure that no one starves to death.
No one but me could do such a crazy thing in Kangho… I think.
If a problem arises, the major forces of Kangho will look for the Low-Down Sect Leader, and I will come forward.
Just like how I was Murim’s public enemy in the past, I’ll turn the place upside down again this time.
It’d be nice to have at least one guy in the heartless Kangho that brings justice to the weak.
That’s all I want.
With my nosy character, it’s only a matter of time before I become Murim’s public enemy again.
The Low-Down Sect and I will develop and grow at a similar pace.
Cha Sung-tae has an unfamiliar expression and suddenly talks informally to me.
“Zaha, can I say something?”
“Sure.”
Cha Sung-tae says with a strange expression.
“I apologize for the past. I was wrong about you. I even thought you had a great master to back you up, but it’s not like that. You’re the one who’s changed.”
“…What, that’s it?”
Cha Sung-tae nods and asks.
“Yeah. What’s the name of our union?”
“The Low-Down Sect.”
The Low-Down Sect is the first organization I created. Naturally, Cha Sung-tae doesn’t know of it yet.
Cha Sung-tae lowers his head slightly and says in a small voice.
“The Low-Down Union. Should I call you Union Leader from now on?”
Cha Sung-tae’s tone changes, and I reply with a nod.
“Up to you.”
Cha Sung-tae then asks directly.
“But why did you let me live? I still don’t get it.”
“So I can mess with you.”
Cha Sung-tae seems to understand what I am saying right away.
“I see. That’s better than dying, I suppose. I got it.”
That’s true.
Life is like that.
I take a look at the Zaha Inn’s burnt ruins and stand up.
“Let’s go.”
Quickly sorting himself out, Cha Sung-tae replies in a different tone.
“Let’s go, Union Leader.”
My choices are to either roam and look at the empty plot where the Zaha Inn used to be or go into an empty room in the Pavilion to immerse myself again in the Strolling Golden Turtle Technique.
I need to cultivate more energy, even if it’s just one drop.
That one drop of internal energy could be enough to save my life, as it did in my past life.
It’s not just about training internal cultivation.
I also need to adjust both my palm and finger techniques.
However, using my legs is a challenge due to my days as an errand boy causing stiffness around my waist, legs, and knees.
Thus, I immerse myself in training while staying at all the Pavilions, devoting 80% of my time to the Strolling Golden Turtle Technique and 20% to physical martial arts.
In the meantime, Cha Sung-tae handles everything outside.
It’s not like I trust Cha Sung-tae that deeply.
Cha Sung-tae doesn’t like me very much either.
But we manage to get along, and time inevitably passes.
Cha Sung-tae was introduced to a young architect who had recently gained fame and sent a request for him to come. While waiting for the architect to come and inspect the work site, unemployed men and Cho Sam-pyung’s ex-henchmen are made to build the outer wall of the Zaha Inn together.
In a blink of an eye, twenty days have passed.
I hear from Cha Sung-tae that people from the Black Rabbit Union have come. I think off-handedly that the people who are supposed to come have finally arrived.
“Who came?”
“…They always come here for entertainment, but it looks like they’ve heard a little bit about what’s happened after dropping by the Pear Blossom Pavilion yesterday. The three Cho brothers always attended to them.”
“How many?”
“There’s two of them. I have let them inside the Pear Blossom Room. What should we do now?”
“Let’s go see them.”
Cha Sung-tae asks with a troubled expression.
“Are you planning to fight?”
“They’ll turn a blind eye to me killing the Cho brothers and have me pay the dues. They’ll also suggest that I join Black Rabbit Union and introduce myself. That’s probably what they’ll say.”
“What happens if they do? I don’t think we’re in the position to fight the Black Rabbit Union right now.”
“It’ll be hard for you, not me.”
“Are you telling us to all die?”
“They’ll try to kill me first. But I won’t die. Where is the Plum Blossom Room?”
“It’s on the third floor. But I think it’s better to try sweet talking with them…”
“I’ll decide after we meet. And how can they be sweet-talked? I killed all three brothers.”
“That’s true. But considering their nature, they’re probably driven by money.”
“Oh, that’s what they want?”
I am lost in old memories for a moment.
“Money…”
I am very familiar with the Black Rabbit Union, which often visited the Ilyang Province.
Unlike the future I know of, though, the person in charge could have changed.
In particular, several familiar faces come to mind once I hear that they’re likely driven by money.
Cha Sung-tae bows his head and says.
“Then, take your time.”
As I enter the Plum Blossom Room and plop down in an empty seat, the two people looks at me slowly as if they were dissecting me and introduce themselves.
“Black Rabbit Union Gold Peak Office Affiliate, Jeon Pung.”
“Gold Peak Office, Han Go-wook.”
Jeon Pung and Han Go-wook introduce themselves in an intimidating manner.
It is probably a natural way of speaking because they didn’t care about the three Cho brothers.
I also knew these two as the Collection Officers(徵收官) of Black Rabbit Union.
A Collection Officer might sound like a job of note, but they are just collectors who went around extorting money.
Even though it was nice to see them again after so long, I chose to shut them up with a surge of killing intent.
The reason for radiating killing intent is simple.
Zaha Inn was originally burned by either their successors or colleagues.
We meet now earlier than we did in my past life, and they are still just money collectors.
Jeon Pung continues.
“I heard you killed the Cho brothers. Is it true?”
Glaring at both of them, I reply.
“It’s true.”
“Why? Explain it to us fully.”
Hearing the request to explain in detail made my will to desire evaporate.
“They died trying to kill me, I was simply stronger.”
Jeon Pung and Han Go-wook senses the strange atmosphere as I continue to glare at them.
I continue to speak to the two seriously.
“The two of you aren’t judges or the Cho brothers’ relatives, so why should I tell you more?”
Jeon Pung and Han Go-wook look at each other.
The absurdity of the situation renders the room silent.
“…”
Then I look at two people.
“What? Say it.”
If Jeon Pung and Han Go-wook attacked me right now, I would have no choice but to kill them here.
Grave silence.
These two are collectors that roam around the Ilyang Prefecture.
They have accumulated a lot of wealth with the money they extorted and made enough payments to the Black Rabbit Union to get promoted to middle management. They were promoted due to their administrative contributions rather than their martial arts.
In short, they are just money-crazy monkeys.
Jeon Pung says.
“We gave the Cho brothers permission to establish a sect here, but you’ve killed them.”
I reply in a sour tone.
“So?”
“If we report this to the Black Rabbit Union, things will become difficult for you. You are disrupting the activities of the Black Rabbit Union. Do you want us to go back and report?”
These guys have nothing but money in their heads. If I gave them a bribe, they’d probably even put in a good word to their superiors for me.
“I understand what you mean. I’ll have to bribe you. Let’s have a drink first. Miss Son?”
Miss Son opens the door of the Plum Blossom Room and looks at me.
“…”
“Bring me the shitty Dukuang liquor and some side dishes.”
Miss Son nods and goes back out.
Shitty Dukuang liquor meant third-rate Dukuang liquor.
These guys won’t pay for the drinks anyway. It’s a waste to host them with high-quality ones.
As Miss Son disappears back into the hallway without a word, Jeon Pung curiously asks.
“Is that lady a mute?”
“No.”
“But why isn’t she talking?”
“I said I’d rip off her mouth if she said the wrong thing, and she’s been keeping her mouth shut ever since.”
“…”
I stare at them and point my finger at their mouths.
“In Kangho, men and women need to watch their mouths. Don’t you think so?”
The two men avoid my gaze for a moment. The two of them, who tried to extort money by intimidation, had no choice but to revise their strategy.