Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 29

Ninth Dragon Chronicles (29)

“So, the disciples sent to Nine Dragon Manor were brought back in coffins?”

“Yes, it must be the doing of the Nine Dragon Manor’s master. We should send disciples immediately…”

Sa Do-hyung raised his hand, stopping Hyung Do-guk, the leader of the Eumsa Clan’s martial force, the Eumsal Corps.

“Have you investigated the backers of the Nine Dragon Manor?”

“We haven’t found out yet. Perhaps there are none.”

Chief Manager Sa Ma-woo answered.

“That’s not likely. Unless the Nine Dragon Manor’s master is crazy, he wouldn’t have killed our men and sent them back in coffins without any support.”

“That’s…”

It was said that there were no real martial artists in the Nine Dragon Manor. Yet, they killed five disciples sent to the Nine Dragon Manor. This suggested that the force behind the master of the Nine Dragon Manor was more likely responsible than the master himself.

“They’ll probably send someone in two or three days. Let’s wait and see. And Hyung Do-guk, Corps Leader!”

“Yes!”

“Select ten skilled swordsmen and send them to Sanyang County. Tell them to burn down the manor if ordered.”

“I will send the best men.”

“Tell them to avoid the eyes of the Jongnam [a prominent martial arts sect] and Hwasan [another prominent martial arts sect], who are nearby.”

“Understood.”

As Hyung Do-guk left, only Chief Manager Sa Ma-woo and four elders remained in Sa Do-hyung’s office.

“Recently, the Blood Oath Alliance has been doing various things to increase its size.”

Thirty years ago, the Blood Oath Alliance joined hands with the Demonic Sect and the Jeongcheon Alliance to attack the Baegyo [White Cult], playing a significant role in its downfall.

They secretly stole the Baegyo’s techniques from the Demonic Sect and the Jeongcheon Alliance, and over the past thirty years, they have trained in these techniques, creating and operating a magic corps of one hundred members.

The Baegyo’s techniques obtained by the Blood Oath Alliance were not the secret arts of the Baegyo but the techniques learned by ordinary Baegyo members. Nevertheless, their power was so great that they were satisfied with operating the magic corps.

“The Demonic Sect is also expanding by suppressing border factions and subjugating them.”

Sa Do-hyung told the elders about the current state of the Murim [martial arts world].

“If time passes like this, we may have to join forces with the Orthodox Sect and fight the Demonic Sect first.”

“Hmm… Has the Demonic Sect grown that threateningly? The Demonic Sect suffered a great blow thirty years ago, didn’t it?”

“That’s true. But with the Demonic Sect’s leader and the Demon Kings still intact, it was only a matter of time before they rose again. If there had been even a slight gap in the leadership of the leader and the Demon Kings at the time, we would have joined forces with the Orthodox Sect to attack the Demonic Sect as well, but we couldn’t, and that’s how we’ve reached this situation.”

One God, Two Emperors, Three Kings, Four Emperors!

The person at the highest position among these ten masters, who are evaluated as the Murim’s Ten Great Masters, was the Demonic Sect’s leader, Cheonma Bang Kak.

Below him were Sword Emperor Namgung So-gun and Four Emperors Baek Mu-gi, and below them were Poison King Dang Sa-ok, Fist King Hwangbo Cheon-su, and Blade King Paeng Jin-gi.

Fourth Demon Emperor Yul Do-gi, Yin-Yang Demon Emperor Lee So-woon, Killing Sword Emperor Baek Jeong-in, and Slaughter Blade Emperor Yuk Gong-gu were classified as Fourth Emperors below them, but in reality, their skills were so similar that their lives could be at stake depending on who made a mistake, so the difference was negligible.

“Since it’s already past, there’s nothing we can do about it. The Alliance has instructed each faction to exercise restraint and do their best to improve their martial arts, and they said they would send five martial artists from the magic corps. They will arrive in half a month.”

“Five martial artists from the magic corps?”

“Yes. The Alliance assured us that we would be able to increase our control over Shanxi Province a little more with their help, so we plan to receive their help.”

“Hmm…”

“First of all, we need to re-establish factions in Sanyang County and Sangnam County and provide support.”

“Are you talking about factions to replace the Black Snake Squad and the Red Tiger Gate?”

“Yes. Although they are third-rate factions, they are helpful to us in many ways, so I hope we can send people from the sect to establish factions there and absorb the surrounding martial artists.”

“Who are you going to send?”

“That’s why I’m asking for help from the elders.”

“From us? Are you telling us to go and start a sect?”

“Yes. I would like the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder to go to Sanyang County and Sangnam County and start a sect.”
The four elders exchanged glances and nodded.

“If you take ten first-class martial artists from the sect and one magician sent by the Alliance, you shouldn’t have much difficulty.”

“We will do so. But what about the sect’s manor?”

“Since there is still time, why don’t you decide after seeing how the Nine Dragon Manor responds?”

“So, you’re saying to take the Nine Dragon Manor and use it?”

“It’s not taking, it’s getting it back. We destroyed the Black Snake Squad’s manor and are building a new building there, so shouldn’t we get their manor back?”

“What if Jongnam or Hwasan is behind them? Our strength is not enough to handle Jongnam and Hwasan yet.”

“We can compensate them after the deed is done.”

“Compensate them after the deed is done?”

“If we know who is behind the Nine Dragon Manor, we can say it was a simple mistake after we destroy the Nine Dragon Manor, compensate them for the damage, and smooth things over. Of course, there will be losses due to the compensation, but we will earn a lot of money through the Nine Dragon Manor’s businesses, so the losses will be quickly recovered.”

Sa Do-hyung looked at Sa Ma-woo as he spoke. It was a look asking if there was anything to add to his explanation.

Sa Ma-woo slightly lowered his head and opened his mouth.

“Currently, the Nine Dragon Manor operates inns, brothels, fabric stores, and loan shark businesses. They are also carrying out a large-scale construction project in Sanyang County, and rumors say that the building will be used as a gambling house.”

“A gambling house?”

“Yes, it is a legal gambling business licensed by the lord of Shanxi Province.”
The four elders swallowed hard.

Operating a gambling house legally meant that they could rake in a huge amount of money.

Even a small gambling house operating illegally could handle hundreds of gold coins a day, so the amount of money in a large gambling house would be unimaginable.

“If the Nine Dragon Manor’s backers are the Orthodox Sect, especially Jongnam and Hwasan, we can use the gambling house to sway people’s hearts and prevent them from interfering.”

“That’s right. They value honor more than profit.”

“Even if we attack and destroy the Nine Dragon Manor, they won’t be able to say much from their perspective, so if we give them appropriate compensation later, we can smooth things over.”

Listening to Sa Ma-woo, it didn’t seem like there was anything to lose.

“Then when will you start the work?”

“Since they sent the corpses today, someone will probably visit in two or three days. I will listen to what they have to say and make a decision. Even so, it won’t be more than half a month, so Third and Fourth Elders, please select the martial artists in the sect.”

* * *

A smile appeared on Hwa-rin’s face as he lay on the roof of a large building, looking at the sky.

“Why do they say it’s theirs when it’s not their property?”

Hwa-rin killed the Eumsa Clan martial artists who were causing trouble in the Nine Dragon Manor, put them in coffins, sent them to the Eumsa Clan, and came to the Eumsa Clan himself.

Hwa-rin was listening to their conversation from the roof of Sa Do-hyung’s office, where they were discussing how the Eumsa Clan would react.

“Does the Eumsa Clan have many businesses? I should make their things mine like they do.”
Hwa-rin saw about ten armed warriors leaving the Eumsa Clan.

“Those must be the guys who are going to burn down the Nine Dragon Manor.”
Hwa-rin got up from the roof, leaped to the opposite side, drew a long parabola in the air, and left the Eumsa Clan.

The ten Eumsal Corps warriors, who had left Dongcheon City, where the Eumsa Clan was located, moved along the main road, and when they reached the entrance of Mount Yeo, they were ambushed by a man in black.

Cheeeeeeeng!

The ambusher did not hold back, as if he was trying to subdue them in a short amount of time.

The masked man’s momentum was like a rough, high tsunami sweeping away a coastal village.

“Heot!” [Exclamation of surprise]

The Eumsal Corps warriors were quite surprised by the sudden ambush and the overwhelming force that they could not withstand, and that surprise soon showed the opponent a gap that could cost them their lives.

They tried to stop the black man who was leaving blurry afterimages and slowly moving his sword through them, but what they saw was only an afterimage.

By the time they felt a burning sensation as if they had been burned, they realized that the enemy had already cut through their bodies.

“When…”

The ten warriors, as if they had made a promise, bent one knee and soon fell forward, losing their lives.

The masked man who attacked them was Hwa-rin.

When Hwa-rin released his inner energy, the black clothes changed to a light ash color.

This was due to the characteristics of the clothes, which were woven by extracting the raw materials of the human-faced spider’s web and a plant called White Jade Silkworm, which could change color depending on the use of inner energy.

Hwa-rin killed them all, searched their pockets, and recovered all the money they had, and also took their swords.

“That should cover the coffin costs.”
Hwa-rin looked down at the dead for a moment and muttered, looking at one side of the entrance to Mount Yeo.

It was not a word that could be easily heard in the Central Plains, but it was a word that felt like a spell used by Taoist sorcerers or magicians.

Drrrrrrr!

The ground moved on its own, creating a deep pit, and when Hwa-rin’s spell was finished, the change in the ground stopped.

Hwa-rin pushed all the dead Eumsal Corps warriors into the pit with a satisfied expression, and then recited the spell again, and the ground moved to fill the pit this time.

The entrance to Mount Yeo had returned to its usual appearance, with no trace of the fight.

“Shall we see how they react when they find out they’re dead?”

* * *

“So, you’re saying you want to order the ingredients for the inn all at once and buy them in bulk?”

“Yes. I’m saying that because I think it will save a lot on ingredient costs.”

“If you buy ingredients in bulk, you’ll need a cart, and there will be additional transportation costs and labor costs.”

“But wouldn’t it still be a little cheaper?”

“That’s true. But managing people will be difficult.”
The head chef of the Nine Dragon Inn gave his thoughts on the question of whether it would be a good idea to buy and distribute the food ingredients to be used in the inn and brothel.

“In that case, it would be better to run a small merchant group.”

“A merchant group?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be better for the merchant group to get the ingredients needed by our businesses?”

“There will be many difficulties. We can make enough money as it is now.”

“If I only wanted to make money, I wouldn’t be doing this. Rather than making money, it’s to create a stable job for my family [referring to the people working for him].”

“Hmm…”

“You’ve probably heard that I’ve taken in children from the county.”

“I know.”

“In order to create conditions for those children to grow up, have stable jobs, and fulfill their roles, the current businesses are not enough.”

“Ah…”

“Every year, abandoned children will be born, and it costs a lot of money to take them in and teach them.”

“Such charitable work will not be of great help to the manor or the businesses.”

“It’s a promise I made with the lord.”

“Pardon?”

“As a condition for receiving permission to operate a gambling house, I said that I would do businesses that would help Sanyang, Sangnam, and Sangju counties. Of course, Shanxi Province also agreed to help if necessary.”
The head chef’s eyes widened.

“Aren’t the streets brighter now that we are teaching children who are begging or causing accidents in Sanyang and Sangnam counties?”

“That’s true. The stench from the children’s unwashed bodies has decreased, and people frown less when walking down the street.”

“While the Nine Dragon Manor is in operation, we will continue to carry out these projects. So, isn’t it the role of this manor to create an environment where children can grow up and work?”

“That’s true, but… I don’t really know if there’s a reason to do that.”
The head chef told his honest feelings.

“I hope that the Nine Dragon Manor will not exist in this land for a short time, but for a hundred, five hundred, or a thousand years in Sanyang County, Shanxi Province. To do that, we must gain the trust of the people who live here.”

“That trust can collapse in an instant. People’s ears are thinner than we think [meaning people are easily swayed by rumors].”

“Even so, wouldn’t people understand and support the manor’s intentions through continued projects?”