I’ve been kidnapped.
“The rumor that the black-haired master Ho Pil solved the Lush Green Post Office incident isn’t just a tall tale, I see.”
The elderly man smirked, affirming my deduction.
“It’s just a name in the marketplace.”
Right. Ma Mun Hyang-joo.
What in the world is Ma Mun Hyang-joo up to?
Every time I called for a carriage, I paid the fare diligently.
No way did he try to overcharge me thinking I was just a black-haired tourist last time and got burned by that plastered fool.
“Kang Yoon-ho. 22 years old. Unmarried. Owner of the Tea Bookstore. Owner of the guesthouse at the Yunqi Inn. A friend of Ho Pil from the Tang Family. A guest of the Tang Family. A family looking for a match for their daughter, which is quite tempting.”
Ma Mun Hyang-joo started listing my personal information as if conducting an investigation.
He sure knows a lot.
“If you’re here to introduce a good match, I’d gladly consider it.”
So, please let me go.
“Ha ha. What an amusing young man. Regrettably, you don’t have a better match than the youngest daughter of the Je-Gal clan.”
I know he’s meeting with the youngest daughter of the Je-Gal clan, and yet he kidnapped me?
This makes even less sense.
“Then may I ask the reason you’re driving the carriage of an oddball like me?”
“Do you know why the Hao-mun is looked down upon in the Martial Arts World?”
What a sudden question.
“Because it’s a sect made up of lowly people?”
“More accurately, it’s because those lowly people lack strength. They weren’t gathered together by martial arts in the first place, so it’s natural.”
“I think I’ve heard something like that before.”
Imagine a member of the Hao-mun who’s just a food vendor.
Even if the service is so good that they receive a 20% tip from every customer, it doesn’t make them a martial arts master.
Martial Arts is something that, unless you have some lucky shower like the protagonists in those novels, you need to learn diligently from a young age.
For the Hao-mun, all they can boast of is the martial artist employed by the branch manager or the hyang-ju. If we’re talking about information, sure, they might have that, but their actual power is truly insignificant.
“That sect, with their limited strength, seems to have done something suspicious.”
The Lush Green Post Office incident. I swallowed my words, knowing exactly what he meant.
“When Si-mun saw that, he moved as if he had been waiting for it, and the Gi-mun also seemed to catch a hint. All three are moving for the same purpose. No matter how little respect the elderly get nowadays, it’s a bit disappointing that none of them will give an explanation.”
“……”
“Ha ha. No matter how much the young ones are taking advantage of the hyang-ju, isn’t it foolish to underestimate the elderly? The funniest part is, when I listen closely, all the arrows are aimed at one young man.”
No need to ask who he’s referring to.
“I’d rather be the shooter than the target, but it seems life rarely goes according to plan.”
I forced a lamenting look as I sat down.
“Regrettably, I also brought my own arrows.”
As if echoing Ma Mun Hyang-joo’s words, the carriage door opened, and two warriors sat beside me.
“What?!”
Not even a stop, they open the door of a moving carriage and just get in naturally.
Are those hired thugs from Ma Mun Hyang-joo?
“Kang Yoon-ho. Move, and you’ll get hurt.”
The two warriors, clearly skilled from their first few encounters, pressed small blades against my sides.
“I’d like to hear some of your stories about life these days. But don’t expect me to collect the fare today.”
This style of conversation again?!
—————
One common question that people who don’t know much about martial arts ask is why the beggar sect is a righteous faction while the Hao-mun is a villainous one.
If lowly people gather, isn’t that like a labor union? It’s ridiculous to call them villains just because they’ve gathered the poor laborers.
Do martial arts authors perhaps engage in bourgeois ideological education to prevent a proletariat revolution at the front line of ideology?
No.
Vendors mix drugs into food; courtesans make people drink to oblivion; car drivers rob; and gamblers commit human trafficking.
They’re a sect that seems like ordinary workers but has no qualms about committing crimes depending on the situation.
“Ma Mun Hyang-joo.”
Damn those villainous folks.
They ask for an explanation of the current situation while pointing swords at me. The nice Tang Family extended their hand first, not brandishing swords.
“Finally willing to speak? I wish your tongue was as smooth as your intelligence.”
I steadied my breath and looked at Ma Mun Hyang-joo, who was driving the carriage.
The incident involving the underworld’s Umbrella Branch.
The sole survivor, Im Ha-yeon. And the protector of the sole survivor, Kang Yoon-ho.
How much should I say?
How much could I say to safely get out of this carriage? A moment of deep contemplation passed through my mind, but there was just one conclusion.
“Ma Mun Hyang-joo. I believe there are two types of information when one is taken hostage.”
I couldn’t show signs of tension. I mustn’t display fear.
Even with knives pressed to my sides, this was merely an annual event in this world. No, saying it was an event felt too generous; let’s call it a funeral.
With an endlessly indifferent expression, I said to Ma Mun Hyang-joo, “Two types?”
“One is information that can save my life by making known, and the other is information that, if revealed, will lead to my death.”
“Oh? Then how do you perceive the current situation?”
“I think keeping what I know to myself will be beneficial for my neck’s health.”
In conclusion, I decided not to say anything.
Ma Mun isn’t my ally. Moreover, they’re the type who kidnap people just to obtain a single piece of information.
If I slip here and say the wrong thing, all the efforts I’ve made to protect Im Ha-yeon could go to waste.
“A friend with a heavy mouth seems to lighten up when the carriage wheels reach his nose.”
Now, they’re trying to threaten me. But I have a way, too.
“If the result is the same, does it matter whether it’s the carriage wheels or a knife to the side? But it seems Si-mun Hyang-joo might get just a bit upset about that.”
“Upset?”
“Since I was on my way to the inn at the invitation of Si-mun Hyang-joo, I do believe he will be quite upset when he finds out the truth.”
The Wuhan Hao-mun is some kind of oligarchic political system. In the Wuhan Hao-mun, there is no higher position than the hyang-ju.
If Ma Mun Hyang-joo gets kidnapped and killed while on his way going to Si-mun Hyang-joo’s invitation, it becomes a matter of pride no one can just ignore, even for Si-mun.
“Ha ha. Don’t you have any better cards?”
Ma Mun Hyang-joo said with a scornful gaze, still driving forward.
“The strongest card may not be in my hands right now, but the most awkward card is certainly in my hands.”
Isn’t it better to friendly neighbors like Si-mun rather than the far-off Sichuan Tang Family? Of course, if given the time, I could also deal with the Sichuan factions.
I smiled faintly while looking at Ma Mun Hyang-joo, showing that I had no intention of leaking any information.
How would he react?
Ma Mun Hyang-joo, after a while of focused driving, turned to look at me for the first time.
“Ha ha… amusing indeed. How about you work under me?”
He’s taking the bait.
“It seems I’m too indebted to repay any favors just yet.”
“With intelligence and a glossed tongue, along with your boldness, I see the bold vendor may have found someone good to raise. Well, it would be a nuisance if that fellow gets angry, so let’s stop with the funny business.”
“……”
At Ma Mun Hyang-joo’s words, the two warriors got off the moving carriage. Are they from Tianzhu or something? How can they do that?
“Don’t you wonder how I found out about the food you received from Si-mun Hyang-joo?”
Honestly, I imagined that if I learned from Ma Mun Hyang-joo, I could easily get off at a station where the express subway wouldn’t stop, until the moment he asked me.
“I’m all ears.”
“That chubby fellow let it slip on purpose. It was a warning that if he attacked carelessly, I could count him as an enemy.”
“You’re expecting too much of me.”
“Thanks to this, the Dong-mun folks haven’t acted recklessly. But even so, it’s true they’re stirring things up.”
“I’ve heard the rumors.”
That’s why I was on my way to Si-mun when you kidnapped me.
“I hope there aren’t any unnecessary conflicts within the same Hao-mun. Things like that were enough ten years ago.”
Ma Mun Hyang-joo looked at me again.
“I am aware that Si-mun Hyang-joo is taking every precaution as well.”
“Ha ha. As a token of my apology, I shall give you a gift.”
“What do you mean?”
Surely a holiday ginseng set wouldn’t be enough to cool his anger.
“Moji Agreement (某地約條).”
“What?”
“It seems the chubby vendor is only aiming at targets and is slow to grasp the situation. In times like these, someone watching from afar is needed.”
Ma Mun Hyang-joo spoke to me as if he knew something.
“Weren’t you here to gather information?”
“I needed a messenger. After doing food-sharing after so many years, I was curious about what kind of brat that was.”
So, this is some sort of villainous initiation ceremony. You should have said so before.
“Moji Agreement. I shall make sure to convey it.”
“We’ve arrived. The store.”
———————-
“Moji Agreement?”
After meeting with Ma Mun Hyang-joo and Si-mun Hyang-joo, I asked Im Ha-yeon.
“Do you know anything about it?”
“No, I’ve never heard of it. But I do know what moji means.”
“It doesn’t seem to mean ‘any old land,’ does it? Is there a special meaning to it?”
What on earth? I held back the urge to make a joke worthy of the supervisor.
“Hao-mun folks live like a wildflower. So, it means any land where such wildflowers gather. Usually, it refers to where the Hao-mun’s general is located.”
“So, an agreement made at the foundation of the Hao-mun…”
This is getting more unclear.
“What did Si-mun Hyang-joo say?”
“He originally meant to say that since he was the brat eating the food, Dong-mun wouldn’t attack carelessly. But when I conveyed Ma Mun Hyang-joo’s words, he said he would let me know later and ordered me to stop.”
Hearing ‘Moji Agreement’ seemed to darken Si-mun Hyang-joo’s expression.
“Could it be related to something serious?”
Im Ha-yeon asked me, looking worried.
It’s an agreement only the upper echelons of the Hao-mun would know. What does it have to do with this whole matter?
“Let’s think positively. If something big happens in the Hao-mun, they might not have time to care about someone like Ha-yeon.”
If it truly relates to something serious, then it might actually be fine.
If they’re scheming to deal with Im Ha-yeon after surviving from Dong-mun, then there are more people who’ve caught on to it.
Normally, actions to block a small hole in the dam would lead to the collapse of the dam once people from Ma Mun and Si-mun have caught on.
If that escalates, then Im Ha-yeon will no longer be of any importance to Dong-mun.
As I expressed my opinion and reassured Ha-yeon, “That could be one way to look at it.”
“Don’t fret too much. Let’s stay on guard as usual. I’ll make proper preparations just in case anything happens.”
Perhaps the problem of Im Ha-yeon I had been preparing for might come to fruition soon.
Until the test paper is presented, I can only prepare as best as I can.
*
“What do we do now?”
Inside the mansion where Kang Yoon-ho and Im Ha-yeon were huddled together, Je-Gal Hyang was pulling her hair in frustration, banging her head on the floor.
“Ha-yeon Unni really likes Master Kang, right?”
Je-Gal Hyang held onto her initial hope.
It’s not like she practiced a regular martial arts; if it weren’t for extraordinary martial arts, she may have exaggerated her skills to this extent after all.
“It’s not an ordinary martial art; it’s an ascension martial art!”
Nine memorized skills shot out accurately, moving so chaotically that even the masters could not predict their direction.
From what Je-Gal Hyang had briefly observed, it showed no shortcomings even when compared to the martial arts of prestigious sects.
“Unni might not know, but there’s something called the law of the Jianghu.”
“I know what that is. And I’m following it well!”
Je-Gal Hyang finally grasped why Im Ha-yeon was so eager to devour her before.
The woman trying to steal the man Ha-yeon was eyeing with her family’s power—that was herself.
“Does Master Kang even know Ha-yeon Unni’s feelings?”
They don’t reveal the vision of low-level martial art practitioners to outsiders. It’s common sense for martial artists, but Master Kang from a foreign land could be oblivious.
If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t have been writing in the exchange diary so naturally.
“What if Ha-yeon Unni is aiming for marriage to Master Kang?”
Je-Gal Hyang closed her eyes, coldly comparing herself and Im Ha-yeon.
The most helpful person to Kang Yoon-ho. Ha-yeon Unni. Also, she knows how to dress beautifully more than anyone else. And she’s also Ha-yeon Unni, the master of martial arts.
The one who is trusted the most is also Ha-yeon Unni. Unlike herself, she cooks well.
“What a complete match!”
A thorough defeat.
It was an utterly perfect loss.
At this point, comparing themselves to wives was nothing short of shameless.
“What do we do? What does Master Kang think of Ha-yeon Unni? How can I compete with Ha-yeon Unni?!”
As Je-Gal Hyang rolled on the floor in pain, her desperation echoed while the “The Rise of the Tang Family” on the desk fell on her head.
With a teary face, she read through the familiar “The Rise of the Tang Family” hundreds of times.
“For now, I’ll try to calm my mind with ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’… Huh?”
She suddenly noticed something strange in the book she was reading.
“I have a sense of déjà vu here?”
The way the story unfolds. The choice of words. The arrangement of sentences. It felt oddly familiar, different from what she had read a while back.
Je-Gal Hyang stood up in shock and grabbed another book.
The book she pulled out was the exchange diary written by Kang Yoon-ho.
It felt the same.
“Could it be?!”
A sudden shock hit Je-Gal Hyang like a hammer.
Could it be?
A gloomy hypothesis formed in her mind. Je-Gal Hyang started recalling a memory from several months ago when she had sent countless pictures and impressions only to receive a thank-you letter at the end.
That letter was surely sent by Ho Pil.
Now holding the exchange diary in front of her and the thank-you note in her memory.
Je-Gal Hyang finally reached a conclusive question after endless comparisons.
“Why does Master Kang’s handwriting look just like that of Ho Pil?”
