Light Novel: Volume 21 Episode 16
Manhwa: N/A
Ju Gong-jin’s nickname was ‘Black Rat’.
A black rat living in a sewer.
While it might seem like a humiliating nickname, Ju Gong-jin took pride in it.
He might be called a rat, but his survival skills were exceptional.
He had faced many near-death experiences. Yet, he survived even in the worst situations.
His ability to survive was based on his outstanding ability to gather information.
He was hired by the Heavenly Council because of his abilities, and he had never failed to meet their expectations.
“Haah, I’m bored.”
Ju Gong-jin yawned, leaning against a boat moored at the dock.
He had been incredibly busy the night before.
He was the one who had fetched the meeting information of the Hundred People Assembly and passed it to Blood Rakshasa.
Getting information on the Hundred People Assembly’s meeting was no easy task.
Since only five out of a hundred had secretly met, Ju Gong-jin had to go through a lot of trouble to get the information.
Thanks to his efforts, he barely managed to obtain the information and passed it to Blood Rakshasa.
After confirming Blood Rakshasa’s movement, he took some time for himself.
His job was to collect and pass on information, not to retaliate with force.
Having completed his mission, he visited a brothel to enjoy himself all night.
It was great spending a blissful time with the courtesans until dawn, but as a result, his body was filled with fatigue.
“Maybe I’m getting old. To be this exhausted by just this much. Yawn!”
Ju Gong-jin yawned and stretched languidly.
It was then.
A group of people appeared at the dock.
The ones arriving by horse and carriage were none other than Pyo-wol and his party.
Ju Gong-jin attentively watched them as they loaded horses and carriages onto the horse-ferry boat and went up on deck.
He still didn’t know the identity of Pyo-wol and his party.
No matter how exceptional he was at gathering information, it was impossible to immediately know everything about completely unknown people.
Only through persistent trailing and observation could he obtain useful information.
“They don’t seem like ordinary people, do they?”
There seemed to be a captivating aura about Pyo-wol’s group, making it hard for him to look away.
However, Ju Gong-jin soon lost interest.
Although Pyo-wol’s party was intriguing, they were unrelated to him.
Instead, he grew irritated.
“Why aren’t they showing up?”
He had passed the information to the Blood Rakshasa yesterday and agreed to meet here.
It was well past the appointed time, so he was angry that the Blood Rakshasa had yet to show up
“Really, they have no sense of responsibility… If they set a time, they should stick to it. Why make an appointment if they’re going to do this?”
Ju Gong-jin’s grumbling ended only after the horse-ferry boat had left the dock.
He had waited far too long.
No matter how irresponsible the Blood Rakshasha were, they would never keep someone waiting this long.
“Did something happen?”
Ju Gong-jin immediately set out to find the Blood Rakshasa.
Although the city was large, there weren’t many guest houses big enough to accommodate Blood Rakshasa, and Ju Gong-jin remembered all the large guest houses.
After searching several guest houses, he finally found the Blood Rakshasa.
“What is this?”
Ju Gong-jin’s face turned white.
It was good that he found the Blood Rakshasa, but their condition was dreadful.
Every member of the Blood Rakshasa was lying on the ground with various injuries.
Some were moaning with broken arms, while others were enduring pain with deep cuts.
Of the hundred members of the Blood Rakshasa, not a single one looked unharmed.
Among them, the three leaders looked the most severe.
Lee Chu-soo was staring at the sky like a soulless person, while the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms were barely breathing, covered in blood.
All three of them looked so precarious that they seemed they would shatter at the slightest touch.
It wasn’t just physical injuries.
It seemed like they had suffered a significant mental blow as well.
Ju Gong-jin walked over to Lee Chu-soo.
“Lea… Leader!”
“……”
Ju Gong-jin spoke cautiously, but Lee Chu-soo gave no response as if she was truly out of her mind
“What happened here?”
The bizarre scene filled him with dread.
Suddenly, he remembered the people he had encountered at the dock.
“Was it them?”
Though there was no proof, no connection, the fact that he thought of them was likely not a coincidence.
Ju Gong-jin was a man who trusted his instincts.
“I must report this immediately…!”
He quickly sent a messenger pigeon to the Golden Heaven Society.
* * *
A large fortress stood on a hill overlooking Poyang Lake.
It was originally a large manor, but it had been expanded into a fortress through recent extensions.
The fortress, with walls three zhang high and more than two chi thick, was a perfect stronghold in itself.
Numerous warriors guarded the walls, making it impossible for unauthorized people to approach.
People referred to the giant fortress on the hill overlooking Poyang Lake as the Golden Heaven Fortress.
It was called so because it served as the base of the Golden Heaven Society.
Though not its official name, many called it that.
The Golden Heaven Society was no longer just a gathering of its members.
Factions supporting and sponsoring the Golden Heaven Society had sent their own martial artists, and countless independent warriors had joined voluntarily.
Although the internal structure was not yet fully established and somewhat chaotic, the place was brimming with vitality.
The Golden Heaven Fortress had a unique structure.
The terrain got higher as one moved inward.
Because of this, one couldn’t see the inside from the outside, but those from the inside have a clear view of both the interior and exterior.
The leader of the organization stayed deep inside the fortress.
Naturally, Dok Gohyang’s residence was also deep within the Golden Heaven Fortress.
From Dok Gohyang’s quarters, the entire expanse of Poyang Lake was visible.
Dok Gohyang stood on a high pavilion, looking down at Poyang Lake.
He could see black smoke rising from every corner of the lake.
The smoke was coming from the several boats burning on the lake.
Just recently, boats belonging to the Golden Heaven Society and the Silver Lotus Society had clashed on Poyang Lake.
There was an invisible, imaginary border on Lake Poyang.
Though no formal agreement was made, but they had tacitly divided their territory.
Boats and ships that crossed the line were attacked indiscriminately.
Even today, a boat from the Silver Lotus Society crossed the line and was attacked by the Golden Heaven Society.
When the great Jianghu conflict first broke out, both the Golden Heaven Society and the Silver Lotus Society used boats originally on Poyang Lake.
Sometimes small fishing boats were mobilized, and other times they used large ships.
Warriors from both sides would board the boats and attack each other.
Sometimes the Golden Heaven Society won, other times the Silver Lotus Society triumphed, the balance of power constantly shifting.
It was only when the Martial Sword Alliance started to get involved and intervene that the tide of the battle began to turn.
Dok Gohyang deployed boats brought from the South Sea to the frontline.
The boats of the Martial Sword Alliance, having traveled up the Yangtze River from the sea, boasted performance incomparable to the boats on Dongting Lake.
They were faster, sturdier, and overwhelmingly larger.
Using their massive size, they easily crushed the small boats. From then on, the tide of war turned in the favor of the Golden Heaven Society.
“Whoever controls Poyang Lake will soon rule the world.”
Dok Gohyang’s eyes shone chillingly.
In the current Jianghu, no boat or ship could match the one he had brought. No matter how long the Yangtze River was and how vast Poyang Lake was, it could never compare to the ocean.
Boats that only roamed rivers and lakes couldn’t contend with those that had navigated through ocean waves as tall as houses.
In terms of size, sturdiness, and height, there was no comparison.
He had heard tales of factions active on the Yangtze River possessing large boats, but none could match those used by the Martial Sword Alliance in the open ocean.
Dominating Poyang Lake was merely a matter of time.
Still, his mood was not good.
It felt like having relieved himself but not wiping his bottom completely clean– an uncomfortable feeling.
Dok Gohyang knew well why he felt so irked.
“Yu Suhwan!”
It was all because of his brother, Yu Suhwan.
Since escaping from Um Soso’s grasp, his whereabouts had been a mystery.
They had organized a hunting party to track him down, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
It would be nice if Yu Suhwan would go and remain in hiding forever, but given his temperament, such a thing seemed unlikely.
Yu Suhwan would surely reappear in Jianghu.
So he had to catch and silence him for good before he could reveal what he had done.
“Tch!”
Just as Dok Gohyang clicked his tongue and turned around, someone approached him hastily.
The woman, with a curvaceous figure and a calm expression, was his confidant, Um Soso.
Dok Gohyang’s brow furrowed slightly at Um Soso’s arrival.
He had a feeling she would bring unwelcome news. And his premonition turned out to be true.
Um Soso cautiously began to speak.
“A messenger pigeon has arrived from Dongting Lake.”
“Dongting Lake? Is it from the Blood Rakshasa?”
“It’s from a man named Ju Gong-jin, who we assigned to the Blood Rakshasa.”
“And the content?”
“They said that all members of the Blood Rakshasa have been severely injured.”
Dok Gohyang’s eyes narrowed at this unexpected news.
“If it’s the Blood Rakshasa, weren’t they supposed to go after the Hundred People Assembly or something? Was the Hundred People Assembly strong enough to inflict damage on the Blood Rakshasa?”
“Not really. In fact, the people that met at Dongting Lake were only a small part of the Hundred People Assembly.”
“And yet Blood Rakshasa was defeated?”
“Yes!”
“Explain it to me in detail.”
“It seems there was a conflict with some guests staying at the guest house.”
“What was the identity of these guests?”
“We are still in the process of identifying them. But—”
“Speak.”
“It seems we need to deploy one of our ships.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s difficult to track them since they departed Xiangyin riding on the horse-ferry boat.”
“Hmm!”
Dok Gohyang stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Um Soso continued calmly, observing Dok Gohyang’s reaction.
“It was reported that the leader of Blood Rakshasa, Lee Chu-soo, has become incapacitated.”
“You mean she’s completely broken?”
“Her physical injuries are severe, but it seems that the blow she received to her mind is even greater. Judging by the fact that she keeps spouting nonsense, it must truly be the case—”
“Hmm!”
“Even the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms are in a state beyond repair. It seems that some formidable masters have emerged. It’s troubling.”
“That bad?”
“It’s indeed concerning.”
“Really?”
A flicker of interest appeared in Dok Gohyang’s eyes.
Even though she had lost face by letting Yu Suhwan slip through her fingers, Um Soso was still the person Dok Gohyang trusted the most.
Um Soso was not the kind of person to speak without reason.
If she was concerned, it must be because she sensed something unusual that others might not detect.
Dok Gohyang fell into deep thought.
The power balance between the Golden Heaven Society and the Silver Lotus Society was currently at a standstill.
Oddly enough, as many warriors joined the Golden Heaven Society, an equal number joined the Silver Lotus Society.
Because of this, the difference in their strengths remained nearly equal.
Of course, the situation would change if elite forces from the Celestial Martial Sect or Martial Sword Alliance joined. But doing so would lead the sects that had been temporarily sealed off, such as the Wudang sect and Shaolin Temple, to re-enter Jianghu affairs and intervene. Then, the world would plunge into true chaos, and days of unpredictable turmoil would continue.
That was not what Jang Mugeuk or Dok Gohyang wanted.
They hoped for the Jianghu conflict to continue within a controllable limit.
That’s why they restrained themselves from deploying their full force and tried to resolve matters within their own means.
‘If there was a clash with the Blood Rakshasa, there is a good chance that they would have joined the Silver Lotus Society. For those who neutralized the Blood Rakshasa to join the Silver Lotus Society?’
He frowned involuntarily.
A single misstep could lead to him losing his hard-won advantage.
Above all, the fact that he didn’t know the identities of these individuals was disconcerting.
Knowing at least who they were would not have made him so uneasy. That’s why he was more concerned.
“You should go and see it for yourself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Just make sure you don’t fail this time.”
“If I fail, I will take my own life.”
“No need for such extremes.”
“I will eliminate them by all means.”
“Take the Black Whale with you. It will be of help.”
“Thank you.”
Um Soso bowed her head in gratitude.
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