Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 78

Nine Dragons Chronicle (78)

Hwa-rin finished his business in Chongqing and headed to the Mount Hua Sect. Before arriving, he retrieved a rice sack-like object from his spatial pouch [a magical container used for storage].

Under the cover of night, Hwa-rin located the Meditation Cave and sought out Great Grandmaster Myeong-yul.

“Seeing you arrive so late, it seems you’ve taken care of everything,” Myeong-yul said.

Myeong-yul assumed Hwa-rin had eliminated the Nine Provinces Death Blood Brigade and inquired about it.

“Yes, I have. Now it’s Mount Hua’s turn to fulfill its promise.” He placed the rice sack on the ground.

“It smells of blood. Did you behead them and bring their heads?” Myeong-yul asked, a slight frown on his face.

“I thought you might need irrefutable proof. So, I severed the heads of their leaders.”

“The leaders of all of them?”

“Unexpectedly, they were gathered together. So, I cut off the heads of the leaders of the Four Spirits Blood Demon Brigade, the Scarlet Spirit Blood Brigade, and the Nine Provinces Death Blood Brigade, after defeating them all.”

Myeong-yul blinked, studying Hwa-rin. “You defeated them all?”

“Yes. I imagine their corpses have already been delivered to the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”

Hwa-rin’s tone suggested he was telling the truth.

“I see. I knew you were no ordinary person, which is why I instructed Head Matron Mae-san to trust you with this task. You’re even more impressive than I initially thought.”

“You flatter me. It’s simply how I earn my living, so I did my best. I’ll return to Jangwon and select individuals to open an inn and a fabric store in Hwaeum. Please ensure their well-being while they are in Mount Hua.”

“Since we made a promise, we will honor it. If business is slow, I’ll have our Mount Hua disciples purchase their fabrics from your store. If the families or relatives of the lay disciples visiting Mount Hua require lodging, we’ll direct them to your inn. You won’t lose money doing business in Hwaeum.”

“Thank you.”

Hwa-rin bowed his head.

“By the way, how did you manage to defeat them all? Tell me the story.”

“Killing people isn’t something to be proud of.”

“When you get old, you become curious about everything. And your opponents were the Four Spirits Blood Demon Brigade, the Scarlet Spirit Blood Brigade, and the Nine Provinces Death Blood Brigade, weren’t they? The battle alone would make for a fascinating tale.”

Hwa-rin nodded. “While I was heading to Sichuan to find the Nine Provinces Death Blood Brigade, a strange thought occurred to me.”

“A strange thought?”

“I don’t know much about the martial world [a community of martial arts practitioners], but I wondered if it was truly possible to entrust such a task to a single person, regardless of their strength.”

Hwa-rin recounted everything he had experienced in Sichuan and Chongqing to Myeong-yul.

As he listened, Myeong-yul’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he asked, “It’s strange that Chief Manager Je-gal would devise such a plan.”

“Just as Mount Hua could deduce my movements through the Beggars’ Sect [an information-gathering organization], he likely did the same. He must have contacted Mount Hua to divert attention elsewhere.”

“Now that I hear it, it seems plausible. If that’s the case, I feel sorry for you as an elder of the righteous sect.”

“It’s nothing. Je-gal Tak underestimated me and set up a flawed plan because he didn’t know about me.”

“If he had known?”

“It wouldn’t have changed the outcome. I haven’t even revealed my full capabilities yet.”

He thought that since he harbored several sly schemers within him, he wouldn’t reveal himself easily.

“Then, who was the strongest among those you’ve faced so far?”

“It was Yul-lappa, the leader of the Great Plains Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, the Dark Khan, and Harryson, the lord of the Iron Lion Castle. Actually, I had assistance in killing Harryson, but if I had fought him alone, it would have taken at least three days and nights.”

Myeong-yul stared blankly at Hwa-rin for a moment.

“The Blood Wolf Bandit Clan and the Iron Lion Castle? Then, was the destruction of the Dark Magic Tower under the Moon also your doing?”

“Yes, it was.”

“The one who killed Asura Blood Demon of the Black Dragon Province and the Blood Demon Buddha of Tibet?”

“They were all killed by my hand.”

“Heo-heo…”

Myeong-yul chuckled at Hwa-rin’s response.

“Not a single lie mixed in your words?”

“I don’t have the vanity to lie about such things. In a year, a daughter of the Namgung Clan will be discharged from the same unit as me. You can ask her to confirm the facts.”

“A daughter of the Namgung Clan?”

“Namgung Su-yeon, a daughter who ran away due to an inferiority complex. If she survives and is discharged, she will have heard about me to some extent.”

Myeong-yul nodded.

“Then, I trust that Mount Hua will keep its promise to me.”

He was referring to the promise not to disclose the existence of the fabric store and inn, as well as anything related to him.

Hwa-rin provided Myeong-yul with detailed information about himself as a warning against any trickery, similar to what the Righteous Heaven Alliance had attempted.

“I understand. If what you say is true, our Mount Hua Sect wouldn’t be able to withstand your anger either. So, you don’t have to worry about that.”

* * *

When Hwa-rin returned to Sanyang-hyeon from Mount Hua, people inquired about his well-being.

Hwa-rin had become a figure with more influence than the magistrate and the lord in Sanyang-hyeon.

“Oh, Lord Jang, I heard there was a large fire two days ago. Are you hurt?”

“A fire? You mean there was a fire at my manor?”

“Yes. Weren’t you there at the time? It’s fortunate you weren’t. We were worried after the fire because we couldn’t find you, Lord Jang, and wondered if something had happened.”

“Thank you for your concern. Fortunately, I wasn’t there, so I avoided the disaster. I should go to the manor first. We can talk later.”

“Please do. Go quickly.”

Hwa-rin hurried to the manor. As he entered, he could still detect the acrid smell of smoke emanating from the detached building.

“Lord Jang!” The servants who saw Hwa-rin bowed in greeting.

“I heard there was a big fire. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, but some of the servants died or were injured.”

“Died? Judging from the smell, the fire seems to have started in the detached building… Weren’t the children there?”

“Fortunately, the children weren’t in the area where the fire broke out. They were gathered in another building, so they avoided a major disaster.”

“Who on earth…?”

“Bad guys climbed over the wall of the manor.”

“Bad guys?”

“There were guys wearing black masks and guys wearing red masks. It was determined that they belonged to different groups. Fortunately, your friends came and helped. Otherwise, this place and the children would have been burned to death.”

“I understand. Where is Chief Manager Seo?”

“He’s in the manor.”

“Tell Chief Manager Seo to come to the detached building.”

“I will.”

After bowing to Hwa-rin, the servant stepped back, and Hwa-rin went to the detached building.

One building in the detached area was completely destroyed by the fire, and another building was scorched, its walls blackened.

“Black guys and red guys came and made my house like this.”

Seo Dae-yeong approached Hwa-rin, who was staring at the burned-down building with an annoyed expression, and bowed his head.

“Two groups, you said?”

“One is the Seokcheon Clan [a martial arts clan], and the other is the Blood Demon Sect of Henan Province.”

“Seokcheon Clan? Why would they…?”

He could understand the Blood Demon Sect, but he was puzzled by the Seokcheon Clan, a righteous sect from Seoseo Province, scaling the walls of the manor.

“It seems that the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild was behind it.”

Upon hearing the name Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, his expression soured.

“I see. Then, what are the plans for the Seokcheon Clan?”

“I was only dealing with the immediate aftermath, assuming you would make a decision upon your return, Lord Jang.”

“Give it back to them in the same way. Burn down their sect. And take good care of the children so they don’t get traumatized. We can’t have them developing a fear of fire as a result.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Don’t be so sure. Look into it in detail. If you want to be comfortable, the children must grow up smart.”

“I understand.”

“You said friends came; who came?”

“Namgung Jin and Sa Do-jun. Young Lady Namgung Yeon-ah also came with them. They are resting in the inner quarters now.”

“Okay. Since it’s already burned down like this, tear down that building and build a new one, so more people can live there.”

“That will cost a lot of money.”

“We can earn money and spend it. And we’ve decided to open a fabric store and an inn in Hwaeum this time. Mount Hua said they would definitely support us, so we shouldn’t fail. But we can’t just run the business carelessly. Pick someone who can manage the inn and recommend them to me.”

“What about that friend of yours?”

“Who?”

“Danri Hyeok-jin. He’s been working hard at the brothel these days. Let’s entrust it to him.”

Hwa-rin considered it for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay. If I tell Danri So-so about the fabric store, she’ll recommend someone to work there.”

“Danri So-so is more skilled with fabrics than we are. If we leave it to her, it will be successful.”

“Then it seems the problem in Hwaeum-hyeon is solved. All that’s left is to deal with the Seokcheon Clan and the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild.”

“Didn’t you just say to burn down the Seokcheon Clan?”

“I did. Then I’ll have to deal with the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild. I’ll move after meeting the guests. Tell Head of the Hall Moon So of the Shrine to burn down the Seokcheon Clan’s buildings.”

“What about the disciples of the Seokcheon Clan?”

“Leave them alone. Only deal with those who get in the way of burning down the buildings.”

“I’ll tell him that.”

“And find out where we can get about fifty carts for our luggage.”

“Fifty carts? Shouldn’t we order that from a woodworking shop? And we’ll need horses to pull the carts, so it will take a lot of time to prepare.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“Even if they make five carts a day, it will take ten days. And it will take time to acquire fifty horses, so it will take at least a month.”

“You said it would take ten days to make fifty carts?”

“The woodworking shop isn’t exclusively working for us, are they? They’ll have other production orders. It will actually take longer to make them, so I’m estimating a month.”

‘Then, am I going to have to compensate with my body for a month?’ [referring to using his spatial pouch to transport goods]

He was trying to prepare a lot of carts to deliver grain to the Palosuro Army, but since it would take a long time, he had no choice but to put the grain in his spatial pouch and transport it back and forth.

“If it takes that long, just tell them to make a hundred carts.”

“A hundred carts? Where are you going to get that much money?”

“I’ll make the money myself, so don’t complain and just tell them to make the carts sturdy.”

“I understand. Just don’t say you’re going to cut my monthly salary later.”

“You’re just asking for a beating. You couldn’t even protect the manor properly. I’ll just send you back to the Imperial Palace.”

Seo Dae-yeong had no choice but to back down at the words ‘send you to the Imperial Palace.’

‘How did I ever escape the Imperial Palace?’

“I understand. I’ll do what you tell me, so please don’t threaten me with such childish things as sending me back to the Imperial Palace.”

“Threaten? Should I really send you back once?”

“No, no. Go to the inner quarters quickly. Your friends are waiting.”

“You change the subject when you’re at a disadvantage.”

“Really. Your friends are so skilled in martial arts that even this Protector’s disguise doesn’t work.”

“It wouldn’t be so annoying if you couldn’t even talk. I understand, so do what I tell you for now. I’ll make my next move depending on the situation.”