Chapter 212 Baekgyobang

Chapter 212: Baekgyobang

Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Myo family, approached his daughter Myo A-ran, who had been waiting in the garden reading a book, and said.

“It turned out just as you predicted this time too. The opinions of both sides have been gathered, and the dispatch personnel have been decided. I, the head of the household, and the head of the wine cellar will be going.”

At her father’s words, Miao A-ran smiled faintly and closed her book.

“I see. It turned out that way. It seems fairly balanced, in its own way.”

Myo A-ran had anticipated this outcome even before the heads met Jin Tae-do. She had expected both sides would want to meet In Pa-rang, and that the delegation would likely be decided among those excluding Jin Tae-do, Yoo Hae-eung, and Oh Ik-deok.

“So you selected three individuals: Lord Sulgaju from the side of the Jin Clan Head, Lord Jagaju from the opposing side, and Father, who is neutral?”

“That’s right, just as you said.”

But Miao A-lan thought to herself that it couldn’t be just that.

Wasn’t Sulgaju the most influential clan leader among Jin Taedo’s faction?

And Lord Jaga was the most lowly and oldest among Jin Taedo’s opponents.

Likely, the status of both men had also been factored into the calculations of both sides.

Having thought that far, Miao A-lan spoke again.

“Well, that’s good news. Since Father is going, I suppose it wouldn’t matter if I went along too?”

Her tone was light, as if asking the most obvious question.

But at his daughter’s question, Myeong Cheong-ju stiffened his expression and shook his head firmly.

“Absolutely not. Where do you think you’re going?”

Myaoran smiled brightly and asked back.

“Why? Do you think something dangerous might happen?”

Myo Cheong-ju couldn’t answer that question immediately.

He couldn’t bring himself to lie, knowing his daughter couldn’t possibly have missed what he was thinking.

“Hmm…”

His daughter’s words were accurate.

If that man turned out to be the real Inparang, that meeting would never have ended with just revealing his identity.

Something was bound to happen, no matter what.

Then, Miao A-lang smiled faintly, as if to reassure her father.

“Don’t worry. You know I’m capable of protecting myself. And… if he really is In Parang, my brother In, wouldn’t I, his betrothed, be the one to recognize him best?”

At those words, Miao Cheong-ju looked flustered and said.

“No, Aran! That betrothal!”

“Why? If he’s truly alive, doesn’t that mean the betrothal isn’t invalid?”

At those words, Myo Cheong-ju could say no more.

And Mya-ran gazed at her father with a meaningful look.

Myo A-ran still vividly remembered In Pa-rang from her childhood.

It was because she had spent so much time playing with him when she was young.

Myo A-ran and In Pa-rang had been very close.

So close, in fact, that their families had arranged their marriage.

Therefore, Myaoran had never once considered any man other than Inparang as her marriage partner.

At least that was the case until the rift between her father, Myo Cheong-ju, and In Gye-un.

Faced with Miao A-lan’s demanding gaze, Miao Qingzhu could only swallow hard.

***

Jin Taedo returned to his office, suppressing his boiling rage.

His fury stemmed not merely from being barred from going himself or from Yoo Hae-eung’s faction opposing him.

In Parang.

The mere fact that that damned bastard had appeared in the world was an enormous threat to Jin Tae-do.

‘That bastard was really alive…’

Jin Tae-do gritted his teeth, recalling the events of that day.

That day when he dealt with In Gye-un, how bitterly he regretted letting In Pa-rang and that bastard slip away.

That’s why, even after a decade had passed, he maintained close contact with the Xingshan Sect, never letting his guard down against that bastard. Yet, he actually showed up…

And not just appearing—he destroyed his hidden force, the Hapsan Sect, and spread word of that incident throughout the entire martial world. It made him so furious he wanted to draw his sword and unleash a killing spree right then and there.

But Jin Taedo soon composed himself.

Nothing has been decided yet. All he did was talk, and there’s no evidence. In fact, I should be grateful he came out now. Finally, I can clean this up once and for all.

That was it.

All this time, the worry that he might still be alive somewhere had gnawed at his nerves, lurking in the back of his mind.

So if this chance allowed him to shake it off completely, it would feel as refreshing as pulling out a tooth that had been causing him pain.

Moreover, it wasn’t as if the White Sect, which he had focused on cultivating, had collapsed.

The Hapsan faction was regrettable too, but since more of the Hyeongsan faction’s strength had been invested there than his own, it wasn’t quite as critical.

‘Right. I’ll handle this cleanly and thoroughly this time. I’ll make sure he vanishes completely before the search party finds him.’

He suspected the Hyeongsan faction was already moving on this, even without his direct involvement.

Their decision-making was far simpler than his.

The Hyeongsan faction’s system, with its perfectly established vertical hierarchy centered around the Grand Master, was something Jin Taedo had always envied.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can just sit idly by. Wait a minute. There’s a place in Guangxi Province that might be useful….’

Jin Taedo slowly sorted through the sharp blades he could use.

Since he was the one who single-handedly crushed the Hapsan faction, he felt he had to choose a very sharp blade.

That was when it happened.

Suddenly, outside his office, one of Jin Taedo’s subordinates called out to him urgently.

“Master! It’s me! We’re in big trouble!”

Jin Taedo frowned without realizing it.

Because last time, when that guy delivered the news of the Hapsan Sect’s destruction, his voice had sounded just like that.

The memory of that time made me feel rather uneasy.

“What’s going on?”

Then, his subordinate rushed in, his face pale, and shouted.

“Master! ……!”

Upon hearing Suh-ha’s words, Jin Tae-do’s face couldn’t help but freeze like stone.

“…What?”

***

The Pearl River, the lifeblood of Guangdong Province.

This vast waterway, connecting Qingyuan, Foshan, Jiangmen, Guangzhou, and other regions in a tangled web, had long been an inseparable part of the lives of the people of Guangdong Province, a precious foundation of their existence.

People in Guangdong traveled to other cities via the Pearl River, catching fish to make a living, and always carried on their lives through the river.

But recently, the situation for those who made their living on the Pearl River had become dire.

This was because ruthless bandits had completely seized control of the river’s waterways.

One foggy dawn, a group of people hurriedly boarded a boat.

The boatman, looking around anxiously in the fog where visibility was less than a yard, urged them on.

“Faster! Hurry up! We must cross the river while the fog is still thick!”

Then, one man who had been cautiously trying to board the boat asked with a frightened look.

“But… with fog this thick, can we even cross? What if we hit a rock?”

The boatman scoffed at the question and replied.

“Ha! Crossing this river in the fog gives you a hundred times better chance of survival than crossing in daylight.”

Then, glancing at the women already aboard, he muttered under his breath.

“And with women aboard, it must be a thousand times higher.”

The boatman boarded the boat after the others and called out softly to the man still hesitating.

“If you’re scared, get in quick! If you waste time here, we might all die!”

The man hurriedly replied.

“Get off? Who’s getting off? I’m getting on now!”

The last man scrambled onto the boat, filling the boatman’s vessel to capacity with over ten people.

The boatman pushed off with his pole, setting the boat afloat, and addressed the people.

“Alright, let’s set off! We should reach the opposite bank in half an hour. Everyone, pray to the heavens for our safe passage.”

With those words, the boat began to glide silently through the mist toward the opposite bank.

The people stared anxiously at the mist-shrouded river, not a word spoken.

Squeak! Squeak!

Now, only the sound of the boatman moving his oars echoed softly across the mist-shrouded river.

This ferry carried passengers crossing the Pearl River toward Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong.

In days gone by, it was an utterly commonplace sight to see dozens, even hundreds of boats plying the Zhu River daily.

But now, that familiar sight was hard to come by. Recently, the Zhu River had become the domain of the Baigiaobang, a group of water bandits.

Squeak! Squeak!

After crossing the river in silence for a while, the last man aboard couldn’t bear the boredom any longer and asked the boatman.

“Are those Baekgyobang fellows really that scary?”

The boatman startled, darting his eyes around before hissing at the man in a low voice.

“Are you mad?! Don’t even utter that name!”

The man was flustered.

I thought it was an overreaction to just asking a question.

“Ah, no, I was just asking, wasn’t I? Why are you getting so worked up over something like that?”

Then the boatman glanced around fearfully and said to the man.

“You want trouble? What if you end up meeting those guys just because you mentioned that name? If you run into them, I guarantee every man on this boat will be fish food! So please, just shut your mouth!”

At that, the man pursed his lips and muttered.

“I’ve had plenty of women, so why only men…”

The boatman then paddled faster and said.

“Hmph! Men are fish food, and women are food for those creatures. If I had to choose one, I’d rather be fish food.”

Hearing this, the women aboard the boat shrank back, their eyes filled with unease.

After Baekgyobang seized control of the Zhu River waterways, they began imposing tolls on every vessel traveling up and down the river.

And it was an outrageously excessive toll, at that.

Such actions could not help but be seen as a stark contrast to the attitude of other factions that had previously controlled the Zhu River, who had refrained from interfering with small fishing boats or ferry boats.

Of course, it was impossible for them to collect tolls from every single vessel traveling the river.

No matter how numerous they were, they could not possibly monitor the entire expanse of the Zhu River.

But the Baekgyobang were a cruel and relentless bunch.

They compensated for their lack of numbers with terror.

They declared that anyone wishing to cross the river must come to them beforehand and pay the toll voluntarily.

Then, if anyone was caught fishing or transporting people without paying the toll, they were all brutally murdered without exception.

Thus, people now had no choice but to pick one of two options.

Either pay Baekgyobang an exorbitant price to launch a boat on the river, or risk their lives crossing the river secretly.

The boatman gazed into the mist and said.

“We’re halfway there now. If only we could make it back as far as we came without incident…”

That was when it happened.

A man sitting quietly in the corner, wearing a straw hat, suddenly chuckled with a sly grin and muttered.

“Heh heh heh, big dreams you have.”

The man removed his straw hat and slowly rose from his seat.

Then, he pulled out a firecracker from his sleeve and suddenly lit it, sending it skyward.

BOOM!

It was a thunderous roar echoing through the quiet mist.

The sudden roar made everyone aboard the ship feel their hearts drop.

They cried out in alarm.

“Kyaaah!”

“Wh-what is it?!”

“W-What the hell is this?!”

But among them, only the boatman could immediately grasp what was happening.

The man’s hideous face, revealed when he took off his straw hat, made it immediately clear who he was.

The boatman muttered, his face filled with despair.

“Baek… Gyobang?”

The man chuckled and replied.

“Yes, Baek Gyobang. This gentleman here is a member of Baek Gyobang.”

It was then.

A rough voice pierced through the fog.

“Hey!”

The voice came from not far away.

Then the man also shouted loudly.

“Hey! Over here!”

People could no longer speak, staring in terror toward the source of the voice.

Then something began to appear before their eyes.

Beyond the fog, something enormous was approaching.

The last man aboard muttered, his expression as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

“A ship… a ship?”

Yes.

That enormous shadow was a large ship—not just one, but three ships.

Three ships from Baekgyobang were approaching the ferry.

Then, the Baekgyobang man aboard the ferry chuckled and said to the boatman.

“What was it you said earlier? That men are fish food, while women are our food? That’s a phrase that really hits the spot. I’ll have to keep using it from now on, heh heh heh!”

Then he licked his lips, gazing at the women aboard the boat with a greedy look.

“Today’s catch is looking good. This is going to be a very pleasant day. Fishing is best done at dawn, after all.”

The people on the ferry could say nothing now.

They could only stare blankly at the large boats surrounding the ferry, their eyes filled with despair.

The shadows of the enemy soldiers were densely visible on the large ships surrounding them on three sides.

There was no escape route in sight.

Someone murmured in a voice filled with despair.

“No…”

Then, a man who appeared to be the leader among the bandits on the ship shouted down at the ferry.

“How dare you try to cross the river without paying us toll! The price is your lives! You’re prepared for that, right?! Ah, the women are an exception! You can pay with your bodies! Kwahahahaha!”

Despair settled deep into the faces of everyone who heard those words.

It was then.

Suddenly, a man sitting in the corner wearing a straw hat slowly rose to his feet and muttered.

“They’re all the same, aren’t they? Just what you’d expect from those Haenam faction bastards.”

Then he shouted toward the Baekgyobang soldiers.

“I am a man of the Jin Family! How dare you try to harm a man of the Jin Family?!”

At his words, the eyes of those on the ferry boat flashed with surprise, then quickly shifted to a glimmer of hope.

They murmured among themselves.

“Jin Family?”

“That Jin Family?”

The Jin Family of Guangdong, though not counted among the Five Great Families, was always considered a candidate among the prestigious martial arts clans.

Moreover, it was also the strongest martial arts sect among the martial arts factions that truly existed in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

A glimmer of hope flickered in the hearts of those aboard the ferry—perhaps they could survive if they played their cards right.

This was because the common assessment was that although the White Sect controlled the waters of the Pearl River, it still couldn’t compare to the Jin Family.

At this moment, they all shared the same thought.

‘Even if they’re Bai Jiafang’s men, they wouldn’t harm someone from the Jin Family…’

But then, it happened.

The soldiers aboard the boat burst into laughter all at once.

“What? Jin Family scum? Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“What a strange twist of fate! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

People looked around at the enemy ships with fearful eyes.

The inexplicable laughter emanating from the three ships surrounding them pressed down on their hearts.

Then the leader, who had stopped laughing, shouted.

“We were just about to take down the Jin family today anyway! You won’t die with your family, but you can die on the same day, can’t you?! Kwa ha ha ha ha!”

Then, a girl wearing a bamboo hat, seated near the man also wearing a bamboo hat, said to the bamboo-hatted man beside her.

“Grandfather, Baekgyobang was planning to attack the Jin family today.”

“I knew it. It seems Baekgyobang’s influence is far greater than what’s known to the common folk.”

The old man who spoke thus asked the youth wearing a straw hat.

“What shall we do, Young Master In? Even for a master, confronting them in the water…”

At that moment.

The man in the straw hat, Seon Woo-jin, suddenly leapt up.

Pahak!

It was an astonishing technique that made it seem, within the thick fog, as if his figure had vanished suddenly.

Those around him cried out in shock.

“Whoa?!”

“He… he just vanished!”

The ferry passengers cried out in panic, looking around frantically.

Jukripin, Seonwoojin’s new form, had pierced the mist and soared into the void.

Beneath his feet, as he ascended through the mist, a sea of silver fog spread out mysteriously, glowing with light.

And beneath it, the silhouettes of black ships flashed briefly into view.

After hovering in the air for a moment, Seon Woo-jin began to descend slowly, murmuring softly.

“Leaving just one behind should be enough, right?”

The moment his hand grasped the sword hilt, the blade of the White Tiger Sword revealed its brilliant sword light.

Clang!

Mukrang Sword Technique, First Strike.

Opening Heaven.

Swoosh!

It was a blow like divine punishment from the heavens.

An invisible blade had sliced the sea of mist and the ship hidden within it clean in half.

Crack!

Suddenly split in two, the sailors aboard the ship lost their balance and tumbled helplessly into the river.

“Aaargh!”

“Wh-what is this?!”

“The ship, the ship!”

“We’re falling!”

They screamed in panic.

But the panic was mutual—the enemy soldiers aboard the other ship were just as bewildered.

They couldn’t possibly understand what had suddenly happened.

Moreover, the situation didn’t end there.

CRACK!

Once again, the sea of fog split apart with a roar, and another ship was torn clean in two.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

“Waaaaaah!”

“Wh-what the hell?!”

“It’s… it’s the Dragon King! The Dragon King is furious!”

“Aaaah! Save me!”

Sunwoojin had leaped back up, stepping on the split ship, and shattered yet another vessel. But the enemy sailors couldn’t even recognize his form.

Having split two ships in two, Seon Woo-jin now landed on the last remaining vessel.

It was where the apparent leader among the bandits was turning his head this way and that with a flustered look.

“What, what is it?! What the hell is it?!”

Thud!

It was the moment Seon Woo-jin landed beside the leader of the bandits.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Thin lines suddenly appeared on the necks of the other bandits nearby.

It took a breath before the lines split open, spurting blood.

Puuwaaah!

“Gahhh!”

“Gwaaah!”

The leader of the bandits now stared at his fallen subordinates, their eyes frozen in terror as they simultaneously collapsed, blood spurting from their necks.

I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on at all.

Then Seon Woo-jin slowly removed his hood and spoke to him.

“I have something I want to ask you. When you feel like answering, just blink your eyes.”

It didn’t take long for the leader of the bandits to grasp the situation.