Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 107

Nine Dragons Chronicle (107)

“So, you’re saying you want to attack the Nine Dragons Stronghold?”

Lady Ran, leader of the Bloodshed Sect in Henan Province, was meeting with Sa Do-hyung, master of the Shadow Sound Sect, to discuss the Nine Dragons Stronghold.

“That’s right. I’ve heard you have a history with the Nine Dragons Stronghold. We also have our reasons to dislike them, and if we let them be, they’ll become too powerful to handle. That’s why I’m seeking Lady Ran’s opinion.”

“What if I refuse?”

“The Bloodshed Sect is in Henan, so you might not feel threatened even if the Nine Dragons Stronghold grows. But I’m in Shanxi Province, so conflict is inevitable. Dealing with the Mount Hua Sect and the Jongnam Sect [two prominent martial arts sects] is already a burden. Letting another enemy grow would be foolish. I plan to strike first. However, I believe it would be difficult to do alone, so I’m contacting the Four Bloods Alliance for assistance.”

“There will be a price.”

“Of course. But the profits from the Nine Dragons Inn are substantial. If we can eliminate the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord, win over the Chief Manager, and secure even a small portion of the Inn’s profits, we can afford to pay the Four Bloods Alliance.”

Lady Ran had heard rumors and sent people to investigate the Nine Dragons Inn. She discovered that its scale was even larger than she’d thought, with a considerable amount of money flowing through it and ultimately ending up in the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord’s coffers.

‘Even if he tries to sugarcoat it, his real goal is the Nine Dragons Inn.’

“What if we help you? Could you give us the fee that would have gone to the Four Bloods Alliance?”

“Doesn’t the Bloodshed Sect also have a grudge against the Nine Dragons Stronghold?”

“Well, that grudge is just a misunderstanding. There’s nothing really to hold a grudge about.”

‘That damned bitch.’

In the past, the Bloodshed Sect had sent people to attack the Nine Dragons Stronghold. None of them returned alive, leading them to believe they were defeated by the Stronghold’s warriors. However, they recently learned that others had also attacked the Nine Dragons Stronghold at the same time, leading them to suspect the Shadow Sound Sect was also involved.

At that time, it was the Stone Heaven Sect that attacked the Nine Dragons Stronghold, but Lady Ran didn’t know the details and mistakenly believed the Shadow Sound Sect was responsible.

“Alright. If the Bloodshed Sect helps, I will give you the share that would have gone to the Four Bloods Alliance.”

At those words, she smiled brightly.

‘You’re trying to use me to weaken the Nine Dragons Stronghold, but I’m doing the same. In the end, you’ll be caught in your own trap and suffer greatly.’

* * *

“How is the Nine Dragons Inn doing?”

“Stronghold Lord Hwa-rin doesn’t seem to be very involved. She trusts and delegates. She entrusts the Inn’s business to a few people and seems to be planning other ventures.”

“Then we can fill it with our people.”

Nam Seon-yeong, the branch leader of the Hao Moon Sect’s Shanxi branch, visited Mi-ok, who managed the courtesans at the Nine Dragons Inn.

“The main sect has contacted me, hoping to use the Nine Dragons Inn as a branch in Shanxi.”

“A branch, you say?”

This meant that even though the owner would be different, they would replace all the staff with members of the Hao Moon Sect and operate the inn that way.

Currently, some of the courtesans were members of the Hao Moon Sect, but the majority were not.

“They contacted me, hoping to expand the main sect’s influence in Shanxi with the profits from here and prepare for the future.”

This meant they intended to make the Nine Dragons Inn the Hao Moon Sect’s main base in the future.

“That will be impossible. Stronghold Lord Hwa-rin is directly involved in hiring people, especially. Even if I recommend people, it’s limited to the courtesans, so there’s a limit.”

“Is that so? How many people work here besides the courtesans?”

“There are seventy servers, fifty cooks in the kitchen, and thirty who clean the guest rooms. Forty are responsible for the Inn’s security, and twenty are professional gamblers, for a total of two hundred and ten people.”

“So many people work here?”

“Yes. Including the courtesans, five hundred people make a living at the Nine Dragons Inn. Even so, we’re always short-handed.”

That meant the amount of money circulating within the Nine Dragons Inn was enormous.

“Are you saying the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord hires all those people directly?”

“Would she do that? Each person in charge recommends people, and she reviews them and decides whether to hire them or not.”

“Can’t you secretly hire one or two more people?”

“The Chief Manager, who manages the money, has a keen eye and will notice immediately. And since we have to pay the employees’ salaries, he’ll immediately notice if there are more people than the set number.”

Nam Seon-yeong decided who to target first based on her conversation with Mi-ok.

“Do you know what the Chief Manager is interested in?”

“Not really. He strictly separates public and private matters and doesn’t even glance at the courtesans when he comes here. He doesn’t drink alcohol, and he always eats at the manor or at the Nine Dragons Inn.”

“He’s a stuffy person. Has he shown any signs of knowing martial arts?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I saw him easily subdue street thugs in the past, so I believe he has learned some martial arts. But it will be difficult to solve things with force.”

“Why is that?”

“As I reported before, the security manager of the Nine Dragons Inn is Hyuk Ji-seok.”

“Hmm….”

“If we try to kill the Chief Manager and fail, Hyuk Ji-seok will step in. He also has ties to the Beggars’ Union from his days in the Righteous Sky Alliance, so he’ll eventually find out that we did it.”

“So, it’s difficult to use the Nine Dragons Inn as the main sect’s branch.”

“That’s my personal opinion.”

“Then what about the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord? What if we eliminate her?”

“I heard that the Nine Dragons Inn’s gambling license will be revoked if the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord dies.”

“The Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord is cunning. She’s making sure her safety is guaranteed.”

Mi-ok lowered her head.

“Branch Leader.”

“Speak.”

“Since it’s an order from the main headquarters, we must carry it out.”

Mi-ok tilted her head at Nam Seon-yeong’s words.

“I’ll give you three months. During that time, find someone with a similar physique to the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord and have them perfectly grasp her *mal-tu* [manner of speaking], personality, habits, etc., so that even if you put up a proxy, others won’t notice.”

“That’s impossible. We can deceive outsiders, but it will be difficult to deceive the Stronghold Lord’s close aides.”

“I know. Just prepare like that for now. And after killing the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord, take her skin mask, put up a proxy, and then win over those who can be called her close aides.”

“That’s a very dangerous idea.”

“I’ll take care of the rest, so please prepare like that, Branch Leader.”

In the end, Mi-ok had no choice but to lower her head.

“I obey the order.”

* * *

From early dawn, before the sun had even risen, many people were training in martial arts at the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s training grounds.

“The bigger your movements, the more openings you expose. Restrain yourself as much as possible, be concise, and thrust your sword with power. Twin Dragons Emerge from the Water!”

“Ta-at!”

Many people unfolded a single stance in unison at the instructor’s shout.

“Seo Dong-min! Raise your sword two inches higher.”

The one teaching and correcting them was none other than Hyuk Ji-seok.

Seo Dong-min raised his sword a little higher as Hyuk Ji-seok instructed.

“All movements maximize power by using the ground’s reaction force. Accept the earth’s energy through the *Yongcheon* blood point [acupressure point on the sole of the foot] and thrust the sword forward powerfully with that force. Twin Dragons Charge!”

“Ta-at!”

“If the enemy avoids my attack, quickly move your feet to chase the opponent’s movements. Golden Dragon Coils the Pillar!”

A stance that visualized a dragon coiling around a pillar, moving the feet to change direction and raising the sword diagonally to prepare for the opponent’s attack.

There was martial arts that Hwa-rin had instructed the warriors to learn, but Hyuk Ji-seok judged that they were not yet ready for it, so he was teaching a slightly modified version of the martial arts that the Black Tortoise Unit members of the Righteous Sky Alliance had learned.

“If you block the enemy’s attack, rather than counterattacking immediately, use a feint to capture the opponent’s attention so that they expose a weakness. Twin Dragons Cross Horns!”

“Ta-at!”

“Then move forward instantly and swing the sword. Twin Dragons Fight for the Pearl!”

The warriors raised their feet to the opponent’s chest height, then took a large step forward, lowered their stance, and swung the sword in their hand horizontally.

While Hyuk Ji-seok was teaching martial arts to the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s warriors at the training grounds, Namgung Su-yeon was learning the Harmony Thirteen Skills and the Imperial Sword Form, which could be called the Namgung Clan’s secret art, in the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s underground personal training room.

She trained every day without fail to recombine these two martial arts into a new martial art called the Imperial Thirteen Swords.

Hwa-rin, who had been deprived of her personal training room by Su-yeon, was also meditating in her room, imagining a space called the Mind’s Room and fighting against virtual enemies to reach a higher level than she was now.

As the day slowly dawned, the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s family members moved busily to prepare breakfast.

Morning was the busiest time for the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s family members. Because the number of people residing in the manor was the highest, there were quite a few things to do, including preparing meals.

The morning when all the people of the Nine Dragons Stronghold woke up and moved was always energetic and bright.

The warriors who had finished their morning training went to the well to wash away the sweat they had shed through training, and there they met the family members preparing breakfast and exchanged light greetings.

“Unit Leader Hyuk!”

Hwa-rin came to find Hyuk Ji-seok.

Hyuk Ji-seok approached Hwa-rin and bowed his head.

“You said you recruited warriors belonging to the Black Tortoise Unit of the Righteous Sky Alliance last time.”

“That’s right. There are twelve of them in total.”

“Are those people loyal to the manor, or at least, are they not people who will betray the Unit Leader?”

He looked at Hwa-rin, his eyes questioning why she was asking such a thing.

“I’m feeling energetic these days.”

Although he didn’t understand the intention behind her answer, he nodded.

“Yes. They are all trustworthy people. In fact, they may not be truly loyal to the manor yet, but at least they are not people who will betray me.”

“Then that’s good. Call all of them to the underground personal training room.”

“You’re not going to beat up the unit members because you’re feeling energetic, are you?”

“Hey, no way. I’m going to give them a small gift for remaining loyal to the Unit Leader, so bring them all to the personal training room before the meal.”

“I understand.”

When Hwa-rin returned, Hyuk Ji-seok, still unsure of what was happening, gathered all the old unit members and took them to the underground personal training room that had been set up in the manor’s inner garden.

When they arrived, Hwa-rin and Namgung Su-yeon were already there. Judging from the slight redness in Namgung Su-yeon’s face, it seemed she had been training until just now.

“Have you arrived?”

They bowed their heads slightly to Hwa-rin.

“The reason I called you here is to give you a small gift.”

“A gift? Why don’t you give me one?”

“I gave you the Harmony Thirteen Skills. What bigger gift is there than that?”

“No, I thought you were giving it to everyone.”

“Don’t talk nonsense and go up and rest.”

“I’ll just stay here.”

Namgung Su-yeon pouted, but she didn’t complain. That’s how significant the Harmony Thirteen Skills were to her.

Hwa-rin took out a leather pouch from her chest and retrieved a small pill wrapped in gold foil.

“This is called the Gongneung Pill, and it’s a spiritual medicine made by combining thirty-seven kinds of herbs.”

At the mention of spiritual medicine, the old Black Tortoise Unit members exchanged glances.