The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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98
The Struggle for Supremacy
The Hongjo Bang was one of the Seven Great Water Sects.
Settled along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, they originally shared roots with the Hainan Sect.
Long ago, a martial artist named Bo Je-myeong split from Hainan and established himself on the Yangtze River.
Bo Je-myeong took root in Yichang and formed a gang, which marked the very beginning of the Hongjo Bang.
As if to prove their separation from the Hainan Sect, the martial arts of the Hongjo Bang shared many similarities with those of Hainan.
Though centuries had passed since the split, the Hongjo Bang still maintained a close relationship with the Hainan Sect even now.
The current leader of the Hongjo Bang was Bo Hyeon-seung, a descendant of the gang’s founder, Bo Je-myeong.
With his clear, refined features and dressed in a sky-blue scholar’s robe, Bo Hyeon-seung closely resembled a literary man. Despite being in his early fifties, his skin was entirely wrinkle-free, making him look easily ten years younger.
Bo Hyeon-seung sat at a table, receiving a report from Ha Jin-yeop, the Chief Manager.
Ha Jin-yeop was a man in his late control-forties whose sparse beard grew only on his chin, making him strongly resemble a goat.
“One shijin ago, a vessel from Punglim Fort entered Yichang.”
“Is it the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel?”
“It is an Express Vessel. However, the profiles of those on board are quite formidable.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It has been confirmed that Zhang Wangchu, one of the Six Rivers Squadron Leaders of Punglim Fort, and Im So-ryeong, the Investigation Hall Chief, were aboard.”
“Two core figures of Punglim Fort have come? This is unusual. Do they perhaps have business with our gang?”
“It has been confirmed that is not the case.”
“Then for what reason have they come all the way here?”
Bo Hyeon-seung showed an intrigued expression.
Both Zhang Wangchu and Im So-ryeong were core combat assets of Punglim Fort.
Since Yichang was the final wharf where Punglim Fort’s ships could dock, it was not an issue for Zhang Wangchu and Im So-ryeong to enter.
As long as they did not cause any particular trouble, it mattered little if they stayed for a few days.
The problem lay in the fact that the two had arrived together.
If they had come at completely different times, he would have simply ignored and overlooked it, but the fact that they entered together somehow drew his attention.
“What kind of wind blew to bring those two all the way here?”
“We have confirmed that Elder Sister Leng of Geangeak and the people of the Huajin Sect disembarked from the Express Vessel they escorted. Could they have accompanied them at their request?”
“No! Though Leng Tianxiang is a grand martial artist, she is not a figure that the Investigation Hall Chief of Punglim Fort would need to personally attend to. There must be some other reason.”
“The Punglim Fort sailors will be wary of us, so I will attach someone to the Huajin Sect group to find out the reason.”
“Look into it with utmost care.”
“Understood.”
“Speaking for so long has left my mouth feeling dry.”
Bo Hyeon-seung placed a few tea leaves into the tea set sitting on the table. At that, the Chief Manager, Ha Jin-yeop, handed him a kettle that had been heated piping hot over the furnace.
Bo Hyeon-seung personally poured the water from the kettle into the tea set to steep the tea.
After a brief moment, a fragrant tea aroma wafted from the tea set, filling the entire room.
“Lately, I live for the pleasure of drinking this once a day.”
“It is Yunjung Tea, correct?”
“Yes! I acquired it with great difficulty. Those bastards from the Man-sang Alliance only release it in small quantities, so…”
As Bo Hyeon-seung showed a displeased expression, Ha Jin-yeop spoke with an understanding look.
“Even so, you are able to obtain at least a little, Gang Leader, whereas I do not even have the chance to buy it at all.”
“That is likely true. Since those bastards from the Man-sang Alliance are strictly controlling the quantity.”
Trickle!
Bo Hyeon-seung poured the Yunjung Tea into a teacup and handed it to Ha Jin-yeop.
Ha Jin-yeop did not refuse and received the teacup with both hands.
“It is truly an aroma that clears the mind.”
“No tea I have ever tasted until now can match this flavor.”
Bo Hyeon-seung smiled as he savored the aroma of the tea.
“Thanks to you, I enjoy luxury as well. Thank you, Gang Leader!”
“No wonder you come to report at the exact same time every day. You were just waiting for me to drink tea.”
“Because it is a tea I cannot taste otherwise.”
“Tsk! You have only grown more clever with your tricks.”
Bo Hyeon-seung clicked his tongue with a look of disapproval, but Ha Jin-yeop said lightheartedly.
“If you happen to acquire an abundant amount, please save a share for me as well.”
“Groan! Did you not see that even I am drinking it sparingly? My precious tea is diminishing much faster because of you.”
Bo Hyeon-seung grumbled as he brought the teacup to his lips.
He had taken just one sip, yet his mouth felt refreshed and his mind became crystal clear.
“It is truly a magnificent tea. How did they manage to find such a tea? It would be wonderful if I could obtain just a little more.”
For a long while, his exclamations of admiration continued.
***
Slurp!
Watching Ning Yunxiao drink his tea, Woo Geom-san also lifted his teacup.
It was the Yunjung Tea that Woo Geom-san had brought from Yunjung Village.
After savoring the tea for a good while, Ning Yunxiao asked carefully.
“But is it alright to drink it so wastefully like this? It is a precious tea.”
“I brought an abundant amount, so do not worry. Well, if we run low, we can always get more through the Man-sang Alliance or the Tianjin Escort Agency, so drink to your heart’s content.”
“Yes!”
Ning Yunxiao nodded his head and savored the Yunjung Tea once more.
Woo Geom-san also drank his Yunjung Tea while looking out the window.
The place they were currently at was an inn near the wharf.
As there was exactly one vacant room left in the inn, they had taken it in a hurry and unpacked their belongings.
Since it was an awkward time to eat dinner, he was enjoying Yunjung Tea with Ning Yunxiao.
Drinking the Yunjung Tea brought the people of Yunjung Village to his mind.
“Is everyone doing well?”
Though it had not been long since he left, he already missed the villagers.
In Yunjung Village, laughter never ceased, but since coming out into the world, it had been a continuous succession of incidents, to the point where he could not remember when he last smiled.
‘We have barely traveled half the distance, yet we have experienced so many things. I worry about how many more incidents will occur in the future.’
Woo Geom-san let out a soft sigh and brought the teacup to his lips again.
As he drank the fragrant tea, his mind cleared up and his worries and anxieties eased a little.
Woo Geom-san and Ning Yunxiao poured hot water into the tea set to steep the tea once more.
Only after enjoying their tea for a while longer did Woo Geom-san and Ning Yunxiao stand up from their seats.
“We can go eat dinner now.”
“Yes!”
The two descended together to the restaurant on the first floor of the inn.
The first floor was bustling with people intending to have dinner.
Fortunately, there was one table left, so they took their seats.
A young waiter noticed them and rushed over.
“You have come down? You will be having a meal, right?”
“Yes! Give us two bowls of beef noodles, a plate of Xiaolongbao, one stir-fried pork, and a bottle of liquor.”
“Understood. Because people have swarmed in all at once, the food preparation might be delayed, so please wait a moment. I will bring the Xiaolongbao and liquor first.”
“Very well!”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head.
Judging by the waiter’s manner of speaking and the look in his eyes, he was extraordinarily sharp. He was extremely skilled at taking orders while asking for understanding, not just at Woo Geom-san’s table but at other tables as well.
‘That waiter will achieve great success.’
As they say you can judge ten things by observing one, a merchant’s disposition could already be felt from the waiter who handled people so skillfully.
Thanks to the waiter possessing a merchant’s disposition, the restaurant, which had been chaotic with the sudden influx of people, rapidly regained its composure.
A short while later, a plate of Xiaolongbao and a bottle of liquor appeared on Woo Geom-san’s table.
“Please enjoy. The rest of the food will be out shortly.”
“Thank you.”
“Hehe! Then, I will return in a little bit.”
The waiter smiled and withdrew.
The way he nimbly darted between this table and that table with his small frame made him look exactly like a squirrel.
It was impressive enough that even Ning Yunxiao couldn’t help but admire him of his own accord.
“He is an incredibly diligent older brother.”
“Indeed! No matter where he goes, he will never starve to death.”
Perhaps having felt something from the waiter’s appearance, Ning Yunxiao spoke with a determined expression.
“I must live diligently like that too.”
“Right!”
Woo Geom-san thought it was a relief.
It was because, for the first time since losing Liu Jiayan, Ning Yunxiao was showing a desire for life.
As if his appetite had been whetted, Ning Yunxiao began to eat the Xiaolongbao heartily.
Woo Geom-san smiled and poured liquor into his cup.
While he was taking a drink using a Xiaolongbao as a side dish, the shrill voice of an old man suddenly resounded from the entrance.
“What, you expect me to stay in a filthy place like this? Just what do you take me for to treat me with such disrespect?”
“I am terribly sorry, Doctor! Right now, most of the inns are packed to capacity, so there are hardly any vacant rooms left. Please show understanding just this once.”
A large, middle-aged man dressed in a gray martial arts uniform could be seen fussing over a diminutive old man.
The old man, who appeared to be in his early sixties, was huffing and puffing with immense rage, while the middle-aged man in the gray martial arts uniform was bowing his waist like a criminal.
Upon seeing the middle-aged man, a gleam of curiosity appeared in Woo Geom-san’s eyes.
As he recalled a memory from long ago for a moment, a smile graced the corners of Woo Geom-san’s mouth. Ning Yunxiao looked at Woo Geom-san with a puzzled expression.
“Is it someone you know?”
“It seems so. I never expected to see him in a place like this.”
Woo Geom-san replied while staring intently at the middle-aged man.
He was a middle-aged man with an angular face and a manly, cheerful impression. With a thick beard growing beneath his nose and on his chin, his impression appeared even more robust. It felt somewhat mismatched to see such a middle-aged man unable to budge and utterly flustered before a diminutive old man.
The old man continuously scolded the middle-aged man.
“There are no vacant seats either! Surely you aren’t telling me to wait, are you?”
“I am sorry, Doctor! I will speak to the owner and request that a seat be prepared immediately.”
“Ha! Astounding. To think you treat me so terribly after inviting me.”
“I am truly sorry. If you could just wait a moment…”
“Enough! If it is going to be like this, I will simply return to the Valley. Do you think I followed you out here just to receive this kind of poor treatment?”
“Elder, please have consideration for my situation!”
“Hmph! Hurry up and arrange a seat then.”
Only at the middle-aged man’s pleading did the old man finally cease his threats.
At that moment, Woo Geom-san stood up from his seat and approached the middle-aged man.
As the unfamiliar young man approached, the middle-aged man looked at him with a bewildered expression.
Woo Geom-san smiled and spoke to the middle-aged man.
“It has been a long time.”
“Uh? Do you know me?”
“What, you do not recognize me?”
At Woo Geom-san’s abrupt words, the middle-aged man stared at him with his brow heavily furrowed.
He looked familiar for some reason.
It definitely felt like a face he had seen sometime, but he could not recall it.
“Mmm!”
“We met on the Yangtze River fifteen years ago. Back then, you were on your way back to your hometown. You said you were retiring from the Jianghu to live with your fiancée…”
“If it was fifteen years ago… could it be?”
Suddenly, the middle-aged man’s eyes widened.
Only then did he realize the reason why Woo Geom-san looked familiar.
“Could it be, Little Brother?”
“Yes! Have you been well during this time?”
“Good heavens! The Little Brother I met briefly back then was you?”
The middle-aged man scanned Woo Geom-san up and down with an expression of disbelief.
“Yes! It has been a long time, Brother Baek-jin!”
“I am glad to see you too, Little Brother! To think you have grown up to be so magnificent. I truly cannot believe it.”
The name of the middle-aged man who gladly grasped Woo Geom-san’s hand was Ha Baek-jin.
He was a connection Woo Geom-san had met fifteen years ago when he headed to Cheonbaeksan with Baek Ho-yang.
He was a man originally from Shaolin who had chosen to return to his hometown where his fiancée awaited when the Nine Great Sects sealed their gates.
They had met on the Yangtze River back then as well, and now they had crossed paths on the Yangtze River once more.
Woo Geom-san thought it was a remarkable twist of fate.
Ha Baek-jin looked around and asked.
“Did the Elder come along as well?”
“He passed away not long ago.”
“Oh dear!”
“He lived a full life and departed peacefully, so you do not need to feel sorrowful.”
“Indeed, he was already advanced in years back then, and since he lived fifteen years more after that, he fully enjoyed his natural lifespan.”
“Yes.”
“To meet you here, it is no ordinary fate.”
“By the way, what brings you here, Brother?”
“I was traveling somewhere while escorting a precious guest.”
“A precious guest?”
Woo Geom-san’s gaze turned toward the old man.
With his arms crossed, the old man was watching the conversation between the two with a displeased expression.
Ha Baek-jin hurriedly introduced the old man.
“Allow me to introduce you. This is Doctor Nam Se-myeong of Saengsagok. He is a man possessing magnificent medical skills that rank among the best even within Saengsagok.”
At the mention of him being a doctor from Saengsagok, Woo Geom-san’s brow furrowed slightly.
It was because the reason why Ha Baek-jin had to bow and scrape to the doctor came to his mind.
‘Someone is sick.’
Otherwise, there was no reason for a cheerful man like Ha Baek-jin to take such a low stance before a doctor.
Woo Geom-san offered a cupped hand salute to Nam Se-myeong and greeted him.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Nam! I am Woo Geom-san, an acquaintance of Brother Baek-jin. It is an honor to meet you like this.”
“Hmph! A pleasure to meet you too. But my legs ache from standing for so long.”
“If you do not mind, why don’t you join our table? Coincidentally, we have extra seats.”
“I will not refuse.”
Nam Se-myeong immediately sat down at Woo Geom-san’s table.
‘I am sorry.’
Ha Baek-jin mouthed the words silently so that Nam Se-myeong could not see.
Woo Geom-san nodded his head and looked at Nam Se-myeong.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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