Red Hare (1)

The clouded Sichuan sky was gloomy again today.

When he had only lived in Sichuan, he never noticed it, but after inheriting the vivid memories of the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader, the sky now felt unbearably dreary.

Walking the market street, Jin-hyeon spotted the dumpling shop from last night. It looked like they opened from midday.

With a lively step, he headed there.

“Welc—oh? Sir?”

“You open from lunch?”

“Yes. Did you get home well yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Polite attitude, kind eyes, and unmatched dumpling-making skill.

To Jin-hyeon, this dumpling seller seemed the finest man in the whole marketplace.

“Do you have dumplings ready?”

“Ah, I just started steaming. They’ll be ready in half a quarter hour.”

“Then please give me one tray, to eat on the way.”

Jin-hyeon laid down seven nyang.

“Oh! Only five nyang will do.”

“I’ll need a container too.”

“Ha ha, that comes free…….”

“Then pack it with utmost sincerity.”

“Ha ha! Understood. Thank you.”

What a refreshing fellow.

None of the slyness, obsequiousness, or greedy opportunism common to merchants.

Jin-hyeon thought he must come often. The taste was one thing—but the knack for putting customers at ease was another.

A short while later—

“Here you are, dumplings.”

“Thank you.”

Checking them, Jin-hyeon glanced at the shopkeeper.

“They’re bigger than yesterday’s?”

“That’s the result of utmost sincerity.”

“Ha ha, I’ll be back.”

“Take care.”

As he smiled and turned to go, Jin-hyeon caught sight of the man’s palm—a sizable burn scar, not severe but clear.

A faint green gleam flickered in his eyes and vanished.

“Did you hurt your hand?”

“Hm? Oh, this? It’s a cook’s fate. Like all the sword scars on martial masters’ bodies, ha ha!”

“True enough. Must’ve hurt.”

“I was too busy to notice. Only later did I go, ‘ah, I’m dying.’”

“Glad it healed. Anyway, I must be off. I’ll come again.”

“Yes, sir!”

With that hearty farewell, Jin-hyeon stepped out and looked around.

‘…Hmm.’

His lips curved upward.

‘What an interesting place.’

Shortly after—

Nibbling dumplings one by one, Jin-hyeon followed the address on the paper, again surveying his surroundings.

The streets were still packed. It was so crowded that no one paid him any mind.

He smirked and slipped into an alley.

Within were only a few drunks sprawled even at midday.

The main road was shoulder to shoulder with people, yet here there was no one.

It must have been the alley’s atmosphere.

It didn’t exactly feel dangerous, yet there was something uncanny about the place—as though once you entered, you wouldn’t easily come back out. In its own way, that atmosphere was remarkable.

“Mm.”

Perhaps woken by his steps.

The drunks stirred, wiping drool or turning their heads.

Clothes in tatters, bodies gaunt—lives so ruined any onlooker would click their tongue.

Chewing calmly, Jin-hyeon arrived before a crumbling inn.

Out front, a youth—server or owner, it was hard to tell—sat yawning lazily.

Jin-hyeon walked up.

The youth smacked his lips and asked,

“Welcome.”

“Can I go in?”

“Meal, drink, which will you—”

Jin-hyeon pushed the door open without waiting for an answer.

Startled, the youth hurried after him.

“Sir! You didn’t even answer!”

“Whether it’ll be food or drink, I can decide once I’m in, can’t I?”

“That’s against our inn policy—”

“Cut the nonsense and keep yawning. You know everything already, so why put on such a bad act?”

“An act?”

“What? Did they tell you to watch my reaction?”

The youth stared blankly, then chuckled.

“No, I was just curious.”

“No underling bothers customers out of curiosity. You must have a bit of rank, huh?”

“Well… I can’t say. Please, go upstairs.”

“Alright. Outside food’s allowed, yeah?”

“What if it weren’t?”

“Then I’d have to kill you bastards.”

The sudden profanity left the youth gaping.

Jin-hyeon crossed the empty ground floor and climbed the stairs.

Each step groaned menacingly, as if the whole staircase might collapse under a bit more weight.

Thus he reached the second floor.

At the center sat a man. Behind him, Dam Jun stood respectfully.

Jin-hyeon waved with a grin.

“Hey.”

Though his brow furrowed deeply, Dam Jun said nothing.

The man who was sitting set aside his book and looked at Jin-hyeon, who turned his gaze from Dam Jun to him.

“…”

A strange silence lingered between them.

At last the man spoke.

“Jin—”

“Do you like dumplings?”

“?”

Jin-hyeon thumped a tray of dumplings onto the table.

“They’re good. Try one.”

“….…”

“They say you don’t give the last one even to family. I’m being generous—go on, eat.”

The man, gazing up at Jin-hyeon, tossed out a question.

“Is it poisoned?”

“Is it that evident?”

The man snorted a laugh and popped a dumpling into his mouth.

His eyes flew wide.

Sitting down, Jin-hyeon said,

“How is it? Feel like coughing blood?”

“Which dumpling shop is this?”

“Not telling. It’s my secret spot.”

Smacking his lips, the man finished and eyed the empty tray with regret.

Looking him up and down, Jin-hyeon said,

“You look like you’ve got plenty of money, so what’s there to regret? Just buy yourself something else tasty.”

“I was fasting.”

“Ah.”

Clicking his tongue, Jin-hyeon spoke to Dam Jun.

“The guest’s here and yet there’s no tea? Bring something decent.”

Dam Jun’s cheek twitched.

Picking meat from his teeth with a nail, the man said,

“I’ve been remiss. Stone Pillar Dam, what good leaves do we have left?”

“We still have Junshan Yinzhen (君山銀針) left.”

“A formidable one. Brew a cup.”

“As you command.”

“Brew it yourself.”

“…Understood.”

Bowing nearly in half, Dam Jun scurried off.

Watching him head downstairs, Jin-hyeon asked,

“Is ‘Stone Pillar’ about branch-chief level?”

“They’re more than that, but roughly so.”

“Is it alright to have a branch chief level subordinate pour tea?”

“Is that something difficult?”

“Not difficult, just uncommon isn’t it.”

Sipping tea, the man said,

“I didn’t bring many people with me. Here, he’s the lowest-ranked.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have needed to tell him personally to brew the tea.”

Slurp.

“So, he’s the youngest among the members with a post.”

“Perceptive.”

The man smiled.

Jin-hyeon smiled back, though inwardly surprised.

‘Impressive……..’

Astonishingly, the man’s gathered martial skill nearly rivaled Seol Hong-baek’s.

This morning his Soul-Refining Art reached exactly three-tenths, letting him discern the man’s true strength. Without that, the man’s posture and gaze would hint that the man was a master, but he wouldn’t have been able to gauge the exact level of his martial ability.

‘Even after mastering martial arts to this degree, he shows not the slightest hint of arrogance…’

He belonged to Murim, but was not a warrior.

He was a man of Murim, yes—but not one who solved matters with martial arts.

“A strategist it seems.”

“You mean Stone Pillar Dam?”

Jin-hyeon smiled.

“You as well.”

The man gave a soft chuckle.

“A dull-witted seed could never become the head of the Black Society.”

“I’d think not.”

“You don’t even belong to the Black Society, yet you seem remarkably sharp-witted.”

“No law says only your lot get the brains.”

“You’re not a member of Black Society, yet you know us well.”

“That part’s a bit special.”

The man set his book aside and laced his fingers atop it.

“You sent a… singular letter.”

“Before that, a question.”

“Ask.”

“Are you the Black Society Leader’s kin? A sworn brother? Something like that?”

“?”

“If not, did you become mortal enemies?”

Jin-hyeon caught the faint tremor in his eyes.

“You think I am not the Black Society Leader?”

“For the Leader himself, your reply came too fast.”

“As it happens, I was in Sichuan.”

“So it is a close tie.”

“What do you mean?”

“Claiming the Leader’s place without being him—either you’re very close or very far, in a good way or a bad one.”

“…….”

“I never expected the actual Leader to come. No need to look so shocked.”

Staring at him, the man slowly leaned back.

“Testing each other is pointless.”

“My thought exactly.”

“Name: Jin-hyeon. Early-to-mid twenties. Honored guest of the Seol Clan; martial rank indeterminate. Correct?”

“Correct.”

He nodded.

“I am Seomun Hoe.”

“Seomun Hoe.”

“Indeed. One of the Black Society’s five Gold Pillars.”

He named his post, his name, and even how many Gold Pillars there were—unflinching.

A fool might rejoice, thinking the other had yielded. Jin-hyeon did not.

‘So he came prepared.’

For a man of the shadows to bare himself meant seeing this through here—whatever the outcome.

If he judged Jin-hyeon a true threat, he’d unleash every blade at once.

Jin-hyeon smacked his lips.

“I dislike knife-work.”

Seomun Hoe’s eyes shifted oddly.

“You’re very clever. Or is it that you’ve had a lot of experience with this sort of thing?”

“That, you don’t need to know.”

“Good. Since we’ve come this far, enough small talk—let’s get to the point.”

His face settled into gravity.

“Who are you?”

“Ask that so stiffly and the joke at my throat retreats.”

“Who are you to know our predecessor—and its history? And furthermore…”

Seomun Hoe drew a letter from his robe—the very one Jin-hyeon had written last night.

“How do you know the Five Pillars’ Verses?”

“So that’s what it was called? I only remembered it for the turn of phrase.”

Seomun Hoe’s gaze sank.

“Do you think this is a game?”

“Yup.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

Jin-hyeon leaned forward, smiling.

Seomun Hoe flinched. The face smiled—but the eyes were ice.

“If it’s not a game, why the useless questions?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is now the time to ask who I am? Weren’t we getting to the point? Weren’t tests ‘meaningless’? Was that a lie?”

“This is our point.”

“Your order’s wrong, friend.”

“What order?”

“First.”

The smile left Jin-hyeon’s face.

‘!’

A thunderbolt chill ran from Seomun Hoe’s nape to his tailbone.

A mere change of expression shattered his equanimity. No flared qi, no threats—yet his heart shrank tight.

“First, you should have asked whether I’d reported this meeting to the Heavenly Will Alliance.”

“!”

“Second, a man this young who knows the forgotten Hao Sect and the Five Pillars’’ Verses must have a backing—one hard to imagine—so you should have traced it.”

“……”

“Third, knowing the Black Society so well means knowing how to annihilate you—so you should have been on your knees, begging for your lives.”

“!!”

“Asking my identity is what you do carefully—after your knees loosen. Isn’t that so?”

Seomun Hoe’s eyes shook like an earthquake.

Thud!

Jin-hyeon struck the table and rose.

“Disappointing.”

“……”

“Forget the commission. Using fools this careless will only spatter my clothes with blood. Go play house with children.”

Hands clasped behind him, Jin-hyeon turned without hesitation and headed for the stairs.