14 – Staff Demon (2)

Hair like a strip of the night sky, skin white as pure jade, crescent-shaped black eyebrows, eyes as large and clear as a lake, and a gaze like starlight.

A jade-like face (玉顔) that naturally makes anyone facing it behave with restraint.

…Was that why?

Phht—

When the phlegm that Gon-gwi spat landed squarely in the middle of Ho Yeyang’s face, those watching were struck dumb with shock.

It was the natural reaction of people who had just witnessed a priceless treasure being defiled, far beyond the bounds of mere etiquette.

Drip—

The yellowish glob of phlegm slid down along Ho Yeyang’s forehead and soon dangled beneath her high, straight nose.

Gon-gwi let out a hoarse laugh as he looked at it.

“Looks just like she’s got a runny nose.”

“….”

“Even with a beautiful face, if you have no strength, this is what happens. You end up getting spat on when you didn’t need to, child.”

In that instant—

Chaeng—

Ho Yeonam, who was standing nearby, drew his sword.

Fierce anger like a raging wildfire blazed in his eyes.

“If you came here to cause a bloodbath, then I will fight you to the very end.”

“Heh heh heh—can you handle that?”

“Even if I can’t, I must. My daughter has suffered humiliation right before her father’s eyes.”

Ho Yeonam continued, grinding out his words.

“Let’s go outside. So that innocent people don’t get dragged into this.”

“I’m not sure there’s any need to go outside. Let’s just do it here, Sect Leader.”

Gon-gwi also tightened his grip on the black staff he had brought with him.

The gazes of Ho Yeonam and Gon-gwi collided in one spot.

Then—

“Please sheath your sword, Father.”

Ho Yeyang spoke.

She lifted a handkerchief and wiped the phlegm from her face.

Then, wearing an even clearer smile than before, she lifted a wine bottle.

Glug—

Gon-gwi’s cup filled.

Ho Yeyang held the cup out in front of Gon-gwi.

“Thank you for your fine instruction. This is the tuition.”

“You pour wine for someone who spat on your face? A daughter of a martial family doing something not even a courtesan would do.”

“I am not currying favor without dignity with someone who spat on my face. This is an expression of respect offered to a senior who has reached the supreme realm, and who must have exerted relentless effort to reach it.”

“Sounds like the same thing, but it’s subtly different. So what you’re saying is… you trained your ass off to obtain that power, and the best you can do with it is… spit on the face of a little girl like you?”

“My words may be clumsy and lead to misunderstanding, but I hope you will not twist their meaning.”

Ho Yeyang smiled gently and glanced at the wine cup.

“So. Aren’t you going to drink?”

“Heh heh heh heh—”

At Ho Yeyang’s audacity in acting as though nothing had happened, even Gon-gwi clicked his tongue.

He downed the cup of wine she had poured in one go.

Then he stood and clasped his fists toward Ho Yeonam beside her.

“I apologize for the rudeness just now. So please, Sect Leader, sheath your sword as well.”

“….”

“I’m giving you face here. So give me some face too. Let’s leave it at that.”

After speaking, Gon-gwi tossed the staff he had been holding behind him.

Thud—

When the black staff hit the ground, a heavy sound rang out and a cloud of dust rose.

Ho Yeyang gave Ho Yeonam a look.

After a long sigh, Ho Yeonam finally sheathed his sword.

Gon-gwi smiled at him, as if he had never raised his aura at all.

“Your daughter is quite lively. Raising her must be rewarding. How about it? A son-in-law like me?”

“What kind of son-in-law is older than his father-in-law?”

“Well, that’s true. What a pity. I should have been born just a little later. About fifty years later.”

Gon-gwi stroked his beard and sighed.

Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, he opened his mouth.

“Ah, right. I almost forgot.”

“?”

When Ho Yeonam lifted his head, Gon-gwi spoke in a sly tone.

“Well, in any case. I couldn’t collect the tribute that the Black Blade Gang was supposed to pay, so my situation is rather pitiful.”

He spoke as though it had just occurred to him and it were no big deal, but—

“If I return to the Alliance empty-handed like this, the Alliance Leader will scold me severely. I might even get my butt beaten. Tsk. My hands are far too light.”

In truth, this was Gon-gwi’s main point.

Money. Tribute.

That was the reason Gon-gwi had come to Hojeong Sect today to raise havoc.

A bluish light once more flowed from Gon-gwi’s eyes.

“Within Anhui Province, there’s no unorthodox faction as large as the Black Blade Gang. I already swept through all the small ones once, but… it was nowhere near enough to reach the target amount.”

“So, what is your intention?”

“The Black Blade Gang is gone, so I can’t collect from them. What choice do I have? I’ll just have to collect it from the pockets of the righteous heroes who stand to benefit from the Black Blade Gang’s disappearance.”

Gon-gwi grinned at Ho Yeonam and continued.

“To be honest, I don’t care who slaughtered the Black Blade Gang, or who wiped out the Jo Family. As long as I take back the amount I’m aiming for, that’s enough.”

“….”

“I gave you face earlier, Sect Leader, so give me some face too.”

Ho Yeonam stared at Gon-gwi with furrowed brows.

“So you intend to collect tribute from sects of the righteous faction.”

“Tribute? It’s condolence money. Let’s choose our words nicely, Sect Leader.”

“And that condolence money—did you also demand it from the Namgung Family, who represent the righteous path of Anhui Province?”

“That place? Are you crazy? I came to collect money, not to get torn to pieces.”

Gon-gwi laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

Then he continued in a leisurely tone.

“I hear Hojeong Sect made a tidy profit from this escort mission? That amount should be just right as condolence money for the poor Black Blade Gang members who died. It’ll also be a small comfort to me, who came all this way to collect tribute only to come up empty-handed several times.”

“…We can give it to you. But we need time. We must first set aside compensation for those who died or were injured during the escort.”

“Time is something everyone lacks. Just as you have no time, neither do I.”

Gon-gwi’s stance was unyielding.

Ho Yeonam’s attempt to buy time fell apart.

Ho Yeonam shut his eyes tightly.

If Gon-gwi harbored ill intent, the entire Hojeong Sect household would be wiped out tonight.

Even if they sought help from the nearby Namgung Family, there was no time—and it was doubtful whether the Namgung Family would truly help.

In the end—

“…Bring all the money.”

As the Sect Leader of Hojeong Sect, Ho Yeonam had no choice but to make this decision.

Soon, the escorts brought out the payment received from this mission.

Ho Yeonam clenched his teeth.

“I will hand over the money, so do not lay a finger on the members of Hojeong Sect.”

“Heh heh—what’s this, Sect Leader? I also have a daughter of marriageable age. And even if you hadn’t given the money, nothing would have happened to Hojeong Sect. For someone voluntarily giving condolence money, your aura is awfully sharp. Well, either way, I appreciate it.”

Looking at the money packed inside the large leather sack, Gon-gwi grinned.

Clink—clink—clink—clang—

The sound of counting money rang loudly through the estate.

At last, Gon-gwi nodded.

“The count is exact.”

Then he took a single gold ingot from the sack and tossed it.

…Clang!

The gold ingot Gon-gwi threw landed in front of Ho Yeyang’s wine table.

“Here you go, kid. That’s the price for spitting earlier.”

“….”

Ho Yeyang did not look at the gold ingot.

She simply bowed her head quietly toward Gon-gwi.

“Well then. Take comfort and farewell, Sect Leader.”

Gon-gwi laughed heartily and pulled his bamboo hat low.

He slung the money sack over the staff he was holding and trudged toward the main gate.

Just as when he had first appeared, his manner was calm and unhurried.

Whooo—

A cold wind swept through the Hojeong Sect estate.

The scene left after the banquet ended was miserable.

A limping dispersal (罷場).

All the guests quietly departed.

Only the members of Hojeong Sect remained in the empty space, sunk in a gloomy atmosphere.

“…We will go in first.”

After Ho Yeonam returned to the inner quarters with his wife Sa Ji-won and daughter Ho Yeyang, the other members also scattered to their respective dwellings.

Among the departing crowd, the stable boys shivered as they headed toward the stables.

“Did you hear? That monk’s nickname earlier was Gon-gwi. He must be a terrifying martial artist.”

“I heard the escorts talking earlier—said that old man alone could’ve killed everyone gathered here.”

“Thank heavens it ended with money. Human life is what matters most, right?”

“I was scared from the moment I saw that monk. The vibe he gave off was like a human butcher…”

At that moment, Woo Dong-won burst out from among the stable boys.

“Where is that bastard!?”

He was carrying piles of rice cakes and meat wrapped up in his clothes.

The stable boys’ faces lit up.

“Whoa! Boss! When did you pack all that?”

“We thought we wouldn’t get to eat any more since the banquet fell apart! What a relief!”

“As expected, the only one who thinks of us is the boss!”

“Come on over! Let’s share it together!”

But—

Woo Dong-won kept kicking at the backsides of the boys gathering around.

“Not you guys! Where’s Chui!?”

Holding the rice cakes and meat, Woo Dong-won searched for Chui.

“Chui! My beloved Chui! Where did you go!?”

Thinking back to when he first met Gon-gwi earlier, his body trembled.

He had nearly met a death not even worth a dog’s price by failing to recognize a master and treating him disrespectfully.

The one who had stopped that was Chui—the very person he had ignored and mistreated.

“Live your whole life grateful to this brat. You owe him a life-saving debt (救命之恩).”

Gon-gwi’s voice still echoed coldly in his ears.

What if Chui had not bravely stepped in and blocked his hand back then?

“You bastard Chui! Turns out you’re a real man! I’m a real man too, so I know gratitude! You eat all this rice cake and meat! Huh?”

Woo Dong-won and the other stable boys began looking around.

But it was strange.

“Come to think of it, where did he go?”

“Huh? He was just here a moment ago.”

“…Did he go to the latrine or something?”

The Chui who had been here just moments ago was nowhere to be seen, and no one knew where he had gone.

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