The Banquet Begins (1)
The banquet was held at Yangso Hall.
It was the same grand hall where the previous gathering of Shandong’s martial arts leaders had taken place.
I arrived well before the festivities began.
In the room adjacent to my quarters, I met Jeongyeo. I showed him the iron token I had received last time, which allowed me to pass through without any trouble.
“Is there a safe that he uses?”
“Yes, there’s a secret safe in his quarters.”
“Is it a combination safe?”
“Yes. You need to input the correct numbers on the abacus attached to it. If you enter the wrong numbers three times in a row, it won’t open for a day. Then, only a specialist can unlock it.”
“Of course, he must have changed the combination.”
“Yes, he asked for the old numbers, and I gave them to him. Naturally, he would have changed them to something new.”
“How big is the safe?”
“It’s fixed to the wall. If you’re thinking of moving it, that’s impossible. The steel is too thick to cut through, and if you try to force it open, an alarm will sound.”
“Is there a chance he deposited the money in a bank?”
“That’s highly unlikely. Neither he nor his associates have visited any banks. The market is under our surveillance.”
Given the attention around him, he wouldn’t have risked visiting a bank.
“So, the money must be in that safe.”
“That’s what I expect.”
Though he might have guessed my intentions from our earlier conversation, I decided to be upfront with Jeongyeo.
“I’ll be honest with you. I plan to take everything he has.”
Jeongyeo gave a faint smile.
“Impressive.”
His reaction was more admiration than concern. I was the one who was worried.
“If I succeed, it might put you in a difficult position.”
After all, this was happening within Yangso Hall.
“They won’t suspect me of such a thing. So proceed without worry. I’ll make sure someone can vouch for my whereabouts during the banquet.”
“I don’t have a concrete plan yet. I’m just hoping for an opportunity during the banquet when he leaves his quarters.”
“I believe you’ll manage.”
I asked him something else.
“Is there a way to get to his room from the banquet hall without using the main entrance?”
Jeongyeo gave me a knowing look.
“You know what kind of person the former master was, don’t you?”
He was referring to Yang Gicheol, whom I had killed with my own hands. A man full of greed and suspicion.
“He built secret passages everywhere to escape in times of crisis. There’s one in the banquet hall. It’s so well hidden that only an expert could find it, and the long drapes on the walls make it easy to slip through unnoticed, even in a crowd. The passage leads to the annex.”
He explained where the entrance to the secret passage was, how to open it, and how to reach the annex. Fortunately, the banquet hall and the annex weren’t far apart.
I asked him to place a small, portable bag in the passage, just in case.
The real issue was the combination. Without it, everything would be pointless.
How could I find it out?
The banquet was grand.
Delicious food and drinks, skilled musicians, and beautiful dancers made for a splendid event.
Even during my time as a leader, I hadn’t seen a banquet of this scale.
The reason for such a grand affair was obvious. It was to flaunt his power.
The scale of an event can indeed influence people.
Take the leader’s hall, for example. It’s vast and imposing. It takes a long walk from the entrance to the main chamber.
While partly for security, it was primarily to intimidate and elevate the leader’s authority. This banquet was just like that.
The hall was filled with many young people.
Some were new faces, but most were familiar from the last banquet at my house.
I blended in with the crowd, observing Ma Jeongsu.
He handled the young martial artists well. His preliminary research was thorough. He knew their personalities, preferences, and family backgrounds.
He knew exactly what young heirs from prestigious families liked. He balanced boasting with showing a human side, winning them over.
For the invited guests, he was someone they needed to impress. They arrived tense, but his unexpected warmth and entertainment eased their guard.
He began to form close bonds with some of the young martial artists. They were the ones who had led the charge to contribute money, the heirs of Cheongsongmun and Guryongbang, and those from secret meetings, including Seodobang.
It was a clever move.
As Ma Jeongsu displayed deeper friendships with a few, the others felt the pressure.
Even if they weren’t keen on getting close, seeing others do so made them anxious.
Those not chosen would report back to their fathers about the day’s events. If they wanted their children to get closer to Ma Jeongsu, the parents would take notice. It was all meticulously calculated.
I wanted to tell the young ones.
When a good person suggests becoming sworn brothers, it’s to foster a quick friendship. But when a bad person does, it’s to exploit you.
Si Gon was always by Ma Jeongsu’s side. It seemed he was in charge of his security. He never let his guard down.
There was no sign of Hwasun Nodae or the mysterious woman. I glanced outside, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Si Gon was always with Ma Jeongsu, and they moved freely.
I gathered every piece of information about him.
I tried to stay out of Ma Jeongsu’s sight, but he found me. He approached me in the corner with a friendly greeting.
“Bek Gongja, how have you been?”
I forced a smile and greeted him.
“Have you been well?”
Neither of us meant the friendliness.
After a few pleasantries, Ma Jeongsu suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, Song Soje sent word that she won’t be attending today.”
“I know.”
“Did you really beat her up?”
At that moment, I was sure.
He was interested in Song Hwarin. He must have investigated her thoroughly, as the Song family wouldn’t have revealed the reason. Keeping her away turned out to be a wise decision.
“What was the reason for your duel with Song Soje?”
This bastard, trying to extort money and chase women. He wants it all, doesn’t he?
I suppressed the urge to lash out. The desire to cut him down was strong.
Instead, I smiled.
“It just happened.”
How much does he know about me?
He must have gathered the basics, right? That I was a troublemaker who recently turned over a new leaf.
“Alright, I’ll be honest. She was the one who brought up breaking the engagement first.”
It was a story that had already spread. He likely knew it.
But I acted as if I was revealing a big secret.
“She and I were engaged since before birth. But breaking it off? That’s unforgivable.”
This would be the most plausible reason for injuring my fiancée in a duel.
To add credibility, I mentioned one more thing.
“I once lost to her in a drunken brawl. Of course, it was because of the alcohol. So this time, I took the opportunity for a rematch.”
He probably knew this too.
In any case, this should be enough to hide my true intentions. To him, I would seem like someone who beats his woman, a fool easy to manipulate. A win-win situation.
“Haha, so you got your revenge.”
“I’m embarrassed.”
“But I heard Song Soje was trained by a master.”
“She’s still a woman, isn’t she?”
“Haha, you’re a real man, my brother.”
“Thank you for acknowledging it.”
“I heard Song Soje is quite beautiful. Is that true?”
“Yes, she’s quite pretty.”
I puffed up my chest with pride.
“Brother, let’s have a meal together sometime. Open my eyes to such beauty.”
“Haha, sounds good.”
“I heard she’ll recover in about ten days, so let’s plan for then.”
This bastard even checked when she’d recover.
I’ve always told the younger martial artists to be wary of beautiful women.
I thought the same when I met the young martial artists at the inn.
Song Hwarin’s beauty could be a great disaster.
See, wasn’t I right? His interest in her led him to this disaster with me. Though, I intended to destroy him regardless.
Ma Jeongsu moved to the center of the hall and spoke loudly.
“I have something to show you all.”
With a nod to Si Gon, he left the hall.
Moments later, Si Gon returned with a sword.
Even the ornate scabbard, adorned with jewels, indicated it was no ordinary sword.
Ma Jeongsu drew the sword.
Chaaang.
The sharp, gleaming blade drew gasps from the crowd.
“This is the Heavenly Sword used by the former leader.”
Everyone was shocked by Ma Jeongsu’s words.
Was anyone as surprised as I was?
Indeed, it was the very Heavenly Sword I had wielded.
Seeing my sword again after so long was moving. In my past life, I had used five swords.
The Heavenly Sword he brought, the Misty Wave Sword, the Dark Sky Sword, the Cold Snow Sword, and the Shura King Sword.
All were treasured swords, each with unique shapes, lengths, and properties.
Among them, the Shura King Sword was my favorite.
Named to be a Shura to subdue evil and a wise king, it was my signature weapon during the war against the demonic sects.
People often assumed that the five swords were similar, but that was only because they didn’t understand the true greatness of the Sura Myungwang Sword. Even if you combined the other four, they couldn’t compare to it.
Now that I think about it, what happened to my Sura Myungwang Sword?
Did Mabonggi take it? Or did it end up in the Martial Alliance’s treasury? Or perhaps… I hoped Galsaryang had set it aside somewhere safe.
Regardless, while it couldn’t match the Sura Myungwang Sword, the Cheonjo Sword was still a remarkable weapon.
Majungsoo proudly announced to everyone, “This sword was personally bestowed upon me by my father.”
At that moment, I deduced another crucial fact: it was Mabonggi who had sent him here. Otherwise, there was no way Majungsoo, who was low in the succession hierarchy, would have been given this sword. It was likely meant to bolster his authority using the leader’s influence.
“Does anyone want it?” he asked.
That question must have made everyone’s heart skip a beat. A sword used by the leader was priceless.
“If someone truly becomes my brother…”
He spoke as if he might actually give it away.
I inwardly scoffed. Anyone who became his “brother” would be used and discarded.
But the people gathered here were young, mostly around twenty. They lacked the experience to see through Majungsoo’s intentions and were eager to impress him. The allure of the Cheonjo Sword only added to their excitement.
I now had one more thing to retrieve.
Beyond its monetary value, the Cheonjo Sword had to be reclaimed. I couldn’t stand the thought of it in his hands.
Of course, even if I got it back, I couldn’t use it openly. I’d have to modify it or sell it on the black market. As long as it wasn’t the Sura Myungwang Sword, either option was fine.
Majungsoo addressed everyone, “The future of Shandong rests with us, the young generation. With that in mind, I have a proposal.”
“What is it?” someone asked.
“How about we hold regular gatherings?”
“That sounds great!”
“Hahaha. Let’s toast to that!”
Everyone raised their glasses high, and the atmosphere heated up.
Sigon took the Cheonjo Sword and stepped outside the hall.
The moment he headed for the door, I was no longer there.
Sigon slowly moved the abacus attached to the safe.
As soon as the numbers aligned, the safe opened with a loud clunk.
He bent down to place the Cheonjo Sword inside.
In the next instant, he twisted his body and drew his sword with lightning speed.
Swish!
Thud!
Before the sword was fully drawn, my fist connected with Sigon’s face, sending him crashing backward.
I had been a step ahead.
I had arrived in the room before Sigon and hidden myself. I stood by the window, concealed by the curtain.
I minimized my presence as much as possible, waiting for the moment the safe opened to make my move.
The clunk of the safe masked the sound of my movement.
Ideally, I would have learned the combination and opened the safe after he left, but there was no place to hide and watch. Besides, doing so would have cast suspicion on Jeongyeo. They might think she tampered with the safe.
In any case, if I had fought Sigon head-on, the outcome would have been uncertain.
But this was an ambush. An ambush executed by the greatest martial artist, with twenty-four years of training. Sigon was knocked out cold.
I quickly swept everything from the safe into a prepared bag.
There was no time to check what was inside. I took everything, including the Cheonjo Sword.
Then I dashed away like the wind.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
A short while later.
The doors of the banquet hall burst open as Jeongyeo and Hwasun Nodae rushed in.
Hwasun Nodae quickly whispered something to Majungsoo.
Majungsoo’s eyes widened, then narrowed in anger.
“Everyone, quiet!”
Silence fell over the banquet hall.
As the whispering ended, Majungsoo’s expression twisted with indescribable fury.
He hurriedly moved to leave with the two, but stopped at the entrance.
“Find the one who’s missing!”
Majungsoo, Hwasun Nodae, and Jeongyeo began checking each person.
When it was my turn, I feigned surprise and asked, “What’s going on?”
I had already returned. The bag was hidden behind a secret panel. Only my body was present in the hall.
All the young martial artists were gathered in the hall. No one had left through the door.
Even if someone had, they wouldn’t suspect them capable of taking down Sigon. They were simply verifying the attendees out of caution.
Majungsoo hastily exited the hall, saying, “The banquet is over. Everyone, go home.”
I watched his retreating figure with a faint smile.
Sorry, but my banquet is just beginning.
A banquet you can never end.