#27: A Just Cause (2) — The Patriarch of Sichuan

Time passed.

When the chill of night peaked, dawn broke in the distance.

The wagons were piled high with treasure; half of it was banknotes issued by money houses.

It was an amount unimaginable from a private vault. Even excluding the gold and jewels, the drafts alone exceeded a modest sect’s ten-year budget.

No one could tell where so much had been siphoned from. Add in the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild’s businesses and the sum would be astronomical.

It was the stature of a magnate ranked among the top three in all of Sichuan.

‘Does the Divine Iron Merchant Guild have wealth on such a level too?’

Their fortune would be enormous, but surely below the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild’s.

The Divine Iron Merchant Guild ranked among the three great guilds not only for money, but for their ironworking business unmatched anywhere.

‘Well, thinking back to the Eight Wastes Alliance days…’

In any case, the main Mighty Tiger estate was now thoroughly swept clean.

“Sir.”

The eldest of the Four Hands of the Dark Soul, Dark One, approached and bowed.

“Everything’s been moved. Thank you for your efforts.”

“You guys were the ones who did the hard work.”

“Then we’ll proceed to the next step.”

“Do so.”

At his nod, the masked men dragged off Lee Ho-gon, Oh Jeong-hae, and Lee Yong-do.

Lee Ho-gon was utterly out of it; Lee Yong-do still unconscious.

Oh Jeong-hae cried out shrilly.

“Great Hero! You said you would spare me!”

Jin-hyeon nodded.

“We’re keeping you only for a while. When this is over, you’ll be sent back to your family. Don’t fret.”

“R-Really?”

“If you do exactly as we say.”

“Of course! I—I only wish to live.”

Great droplets of tears rolled down Oh Jeong-hae’s cheeks.

She was precisely why Jin-hyeon had resolved to storm Mighty Tiger alone.

She and Lee Ho-gon were at odds, and the Oh Clan held a large stake. With a little wedge-driving, using her could shatter the guild cleanly.

He hadn’t expected it to be this easy. She didn’t even spare a thought for her own child’s life. When it came to flaunting authority, the child was her flesh and blood—but when her life was on the line, it was as if she had no son at all..

“If you’re set, go on ahead.”

“Yes.”

Thus the Four Hands of the Dark Soul and the Black Scarves took the wagons and left the main compound.

“Phew.”

Jin-hyeon looked around, then approached the servants who hadn’t succumbed to the sleeping powder.

Some were young; others were well along in years.

He asked politely,

“Does anyone here know a man named Kwak Pyeong?”

His tone was exceedingly courteous.

The frightened servants glanced at one another.

Then a maid raised her hand.

“E-Excuse me…”

“Yes. Please.”

She pointed to a guard collapsed by the sleeping powder—one of the squad leaders with notably broad-shouldered.

“T-That squad leader’s name is Kwak Pyeong.”

“Mm.”

Jin-hyeon grabbed the man’s collar and shook him.

The sleeping powder was potent so he didn’t wake. In the end, Jin-hyeon had to force the powder out with Body-Refining Qi.

“Gah!”

“You awake?”

“W-Where—?”

“Spare me. State your unit and name.”

“Huh?”

“Want me to wreck you like I did the guild master and his wife?”

“Ghk! N-No! I’m Kwak Pyeong, squad leader in the guard.”

“Mm.”

Jin-hyeon stroked his chin.

“You hired the Black Society to come catch me, didn’t you?”

Kwak Pyeong’s face went ashen.

He didn’t answer, but his face said enough.

Whack!

Knocking him out and slinging him over his shoulder, Jin-hyeon bowed to the servants.

“This mustn’t be known outside yet, so I’ve put you through trouble. My apologies.”

Startled, none of them could say it was nothing.

Smiling, Jin-hyeon said,

“You may suffer more, having lost your jobs. If you can’t find work, come to the Seol Clan or to my home. It’s near the Seol estate; ask around and you’ll find it.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“I can at least provide room and board for now. You’ll also need money before you find work. Once things are sorted, I’ll give each of you a set sum, so come to my home in three days.”

He bowed again.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

And with that, Jin-hyeon left Mighty Tiger.

What Jin-hyeon and the Black Society had done together whipped up a typhoon in less than half a day.

The Black Society exposed so many of the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild’s crimes they were beyond counting.

Assaults on civilians, corrupt business dealings, illicit skimming—evidence surfaced everywhere. Drowning in data, the Alliance of Heavenly Will’s Sichuan branch and countless sects reeled.

The first major power to respond was the famed Black Tiger Fist Sect, reputed Sichuan’s foremost fist sect.

They strongly denied that the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild could be like that and questioned the unclear sources of the reports pouring in.

With the Black Tiger Fist Sect leading, the Divine Spear Clan and Red Sword Sect followed, shielding the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild, claiming that however influential a guild might be, it was impossible to have committed so many inhuman acts.

Curious words indeed.

They didn’t say the charges were false, only that doing that much was impossible.

It sounded like a defense that could be withdrawn in a heartbeat, depending on how things played out. The sharp-eyed began to eye the three sects with suspicion.

And just when public opinion leaned in to hear those three—

The Black Society dropped the corruption ledgers.

On that register, the Black Tiger Fist Sect, Divine Spear House, Red Sword Sect, and the Turtle Beak Blade Sect were listed in bold. Not only did it list who took what, when, where, how much, it also had stated every detail of their business dealings and even the shares they held.

This time the three denied strongly, but the Turtle Beak Blade Sect confessed at once.

With one confessing, the other three exploded.

But the real explosion was the public opinion. However great a merchant guild the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild was, it could not stand against every commoner and every sect in Sichuan.

The Heavenly Will Alliance’s Sichuan branch dispatched investigators and reported to the central headquarters. The matter had grown too large for the Sichuan branch to handle alone.

The finishing blow was the testimony of toppled guild masters—brought down by Lee Yong-do and his brothers.

A victims’ assembly counted over a dozen guild masters—excluding those who’d been ruined and taken their own lives.

The victims were clear, their evidence ironclad; and as time went on, new charges kept erupting, leaving the people of Sichuan reeling.

Five days flashed by.

In a day, Sichuan was upended, by day two, every martial artist and kin under Mighty Tiger was wanted.

On day three, the Turtle Beak Blade Sect’s master and leaders went of their own accord to the Sichuan branch, and on day four, the victims’ wails spread across the province.

Then on the fifth day—

Two of the three great merchant guilds that had kept silent— the Divine Iron Merchant Clan, and the even Fragrant Brocade Merchant Guild—joined in condemning Mighty Tiger.

At that point, it was effectively over. With two guilds rivaling Mighty Tiger’s influence denouncing it, its name, already in the gutter, sank into the earth.

The more they dug, the hotter and heavier Sichuan’s air became. Naturally, the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild’s evils spread beyond Sichuan to other provinces.

Thus, seven days after the incident broke out—

The young man who’d danced through the storm at its center was spending his days meaningfully at home.

“Two hundred and ninety-eight…”

White haze rose from Jin-hyeon’s body as he lifted a solid iron bar from the ground, shouldered it behind him, and repeatedly squatted up and down.

“Two hundred and ninety-nine…”

His whole body quivered. Do-min, watching from the side, stood slack-jawed.

Rising from a squat with the crosswise bar, Jin-hyeon toppled over.

“Hah… Hah… D-Done.”

He had forced himself through a brutal three hundred squats. Lying on his back, he caught his breath.

Ssshhh.

Body-Refining Qi coursed busily through him, cooling the swollen muscles.

His mastery of the Body-Refining Art climbed by the day, rapidly advancing his body. Outward changes aside, each muscle strand grew springy and tough.

“Hup!”

While he counted, Body-Refining Qi flowed through him, and his breathing steadied.

Still hot, but refreshed, Jin-hyeon rose.

Do-min stammered,

“S-Should I prepare a meal?”

“No, a single piece of fruit’s enough. But before that, get me some water.”

“Here it is…”

He gulped the water she handed him and rolled his hips this way and that.

“Mmm, good. Much looser.”

“Master.”

“Mm?”

“This kind of training… how long will you keep it up?”

“Who knows? Until I need to stop, I suppose.”

Do-min pressed her lips together.

Lately, she’d been reflecting.

At first, his grueling regimen had seemed impossible. But the longer she watched, the more she wondered how she herself had grown strong.

To truly grow strong, she would need to do at least that much. Though it still felt daunting.

With a deep sigh, Do-min said,

“I’ll live diligently, Master.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. The words just slipped out of me.”

“You’re a strange one.”

Jin-hyeon sat on the broad steps and looked up at the sky.

“Phew, the air’s nice.”

Just then—

His honed senses caught familiar footsteps.

“Min. Clear these away, would you.”

“Eh? Ah—yes.”

He slipped into a neatly folded set of clothes. Sweaty or not, it couldn’t be helped.

A short while later—

“Teacher Jin. Are you within?”

Jin-hyeon opened the gate himself.

Outside stood Seol Hong-baek, a gray-haired man who seemed in his fifties, and a burly, dark-skinned elder.

Seol Hong-baek bowed his head.

“Forgive me for coming unannounced.”

“Think nothing of it. Please, come in.”

The three entered.

Seol Hong-baek smiled.

“You were in training, I see.”

“Yes, briefly.”

A white haze was still rising from his body. This was proof that he had pushed his body to the extreme, even in weather like this.

Nodding with a smile, Seol Hong-baek glanced to the men beside him.

“First, let me introduce this gentleman. This gentleman is Seo Jong-dam, the current head instructor of the Loyalty and Righteousness Academy I mentioned before.”

Jin-hyeon bowed.

“I am Jin-hyeon. A guest imposing on the Patriarch, so please, speak freely.”

The gray-haired man, Seo Jong-dam, smiled and bowed.

“How could I be careless with my sworn brother’s guest? A pleasure. I’m a humble fellow named Seo Jong-dam. I’ve heard much of you.”

A plain yet friendly introduction.

Few showed such courtesy to one so much younger. That alone spoke to his character.

Smiling at the two, Seol looked to the elder.

“This is the master of the Yeo Family Ironworks.”

The elder bowed.

“I am Yeo Bang.”

Jin-hyeon bowed in silence.

The air grew a touch awkward.