Chapter 16

• The Tang Sam Beating Incident

A wind that was now cool, sometimes even chilly, was blowing as if embracing the mountain. The burning red sun had also lost some of its momentum. At the end of autumn, when the world was illuminated only by a cool light, a group was descending the mountain towards the village.

Some had long swords or sabers at their waists, while others held spears in their hands. They were all wearing black robes of the same color and shape, and with the same lotus pattern embroidered near their right chests, though the number differed, one could guess that they were warriors belonging to the same martial arts faction.

The man walking briskly at the front, Gang Jang-han, was in a very good mood. A little while ago, he had completed the mission of delivering a gift to the Emei Sect. Considering the meaning and importance of the gift, the fact that the Bureau Chief had entrusted him with the task of delivering the gift to the Emei Sect could be interpreted as meaning that he valued him that much.

The act of operating an escort bureau in this land of Sichuan, right under the nose of Mount Emei, meant that one could not help but be mindful of the Emei Sect, a prestigious and powerful sect of the Jianghu and practically the owner of the foothills of Mount Emei. Moreover, the Bureau Chief of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, where he belonged, had learned a few skills from the Emei Sect for a while and was in a situation where he called himself a lay disciple of Emei. The Bureau Chief, 'Eighteen Swords' Jang U-yang, was a man, so he could not be formally taught martial arts by the female-centered Emei Sect, but he had managed to learn quite a number of skills.

His nickname, Eighteen Swords, was a nickname given to him by the people of the Jianghu because when his ultimate technique was displayed through the sword, it showed 18 changes and 18 sword shadows. Jang U-yang's sword form, which was said to change 18 times, was also taught to him by Emei.

That's why Jang U-yang called himself a disciple of Emei and was in a situation where he sent gifts to the Emei Sect like this every time, and Emei also acknowledged this. Therefore, the task of delivering gifts to the Emei Sect was one of the most important tasks at the Jungyang Escort Bureau. Some people sometimes mistakenly think that prestigious orthodox sects or huge martial arts sects can be maintained without any income or financial activities, but that is absolutely not true.

As long as they were human, they had to eat to live, and to live, they needed money. Because the world is not such an easy place. To carry out the activity of living, money is necessary, and even Taoist or Buddhist schools that are separated from the secular world and cultivate the Tao and chant scriptures cannot be an exception. However, unless wealth is something that falls from the sky, there is a need to produce the extremely secular object called money somewhere. The service fees under the pretext of donations and gifts were for that purpose.

At least, the large and small sects that exist in the secular world sometimes operate businesses such as inns or entertainment businesses like taverns or brothels, or escort bureaus, as a means to obtain funds to maintain their sects. They also receive service fees under the pretext of protecting the weak within their sphere of influence. And if it's a more famous sect, they also take care of pure-hearted donations (?), not service fees, as a condition for accepting disciples.

In the case of a huge martial arts sect, it was common for the children of the upper class to donate a lot of money to enter that sect. However, if it was not a sect that existed in the secular world like this, but a sect that prided itself on learning and mastering the truth and ultimately attaining enlightenment by practicing martial arts and cultivating the Tao, they could not openly expand their power or cling to livelihood maintenance businesses. Because face was as important an issue to them as livelihood maintenance.

However, even a Taoist temple called a temple receives donations and offerings. This is because donations and offerings are a kind of sincerity fee offered to Buddha to show one's sincerity. And ordinary temples and Taoist temples eventually live off these donation monies. But if such a temple or Taoist temple is a famous martial arts sect that has a few tricks up its sleeve, the income that comes in under the pretext of this donation money or offerings is no joke. A huge amount of income comes into their sect. And that, from specific individuals or sects...

Another means to acquire funds is the existence of lay disciples. Isn't there a proverb, "One well-raised disciple is better than ten children"?

"I have devoted myself to this sect and learned a part of the secret methods of the Tao and martial arts, so this grace is as vast as the sea. It is a glory that I can never repay. Hereby, this unworthy disciple, though my contribution is small, regularly offers a small gift with the thought of repaying the kindness, and if this can reduce even a part of that grace, which is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea, it would be my great joy."

The money offered while saying this is also no joke. A disciple devotes himself to a sect and learns martial arts, succeeds in the secular world through learning, and wants to repay the grace he received in the past; how could one dare to refuse that sincerity? Regardless of the inner thoughts, on the surface, all matters are handled similarly to this. And that was the custom of the martial world. It is said that Bi Ryu-yeon later made a comment after seeing such a sight.

"They teach a few hand and foot gestures and make such a big deal out of it. Should I try raising a disciple too? That would be quite lucrative..."

In any case, the sect that has gained such benefits will immediately go and moderately handle the cause of the suffering a few times, and sometimes handle it strongly, to free the disciple from the shackles of suffering if the disciple who has gone out into the secular world suffers from any pain. In a word, it was protection by force. Then, from that time on, the disciple, if only because of the donation money he has paid so far, will start to act up a lot with his sect at his back.

For this reason, the act of delivering gifts was a very important and cautious event for those who were in the shadow of a huge martial arts sect. Gang Jang-han had safely carried out the great mission entrusted to him and was descending the mountain with a happy heart. As his mood soared, his bravado overflowed, and he felt the need to show his subordinates his side as a superior.

"Good, I feel great. Everyone, gather at Yachunru! All the drinks are on me today. Let's go down and drink to our heart's content. Let's eat and die today!"

Yachunru was a famous tavern near the Jungyang Escort Bureau, and it was well-known for its beautiful ladies. Since ancient times, where in the Jianghu would there be someone who dislikes free drinks? Everyone raised the weapons they were holding to the sky and cheered.

"Waaah~!"

"As expected, Great Escort Leader Gang is the best."

"Great Escort Leader Gang is so cool."

"Let's die today, Great Escort Leader Gang."

"If we're drinking, we don't need tomorrow. Let's eat and die today, Great Escort Leader Gang."

The subordinate escorts were all excited and said a word each, and they all made sure to include 'Great Escort Leader' and especially emphasized the 'Great'. Gang Jang-han's personality was not what you would call good, and there was an incident where a subordinate escort once called him just 'Escort Leader Gang!' and got beaten to a pulp. This was because Gang Jang-han hated it when the 'Great' was omitted when calling him. After that incident, everyone started calling him Great Escort Leader Gang, making sure to include the 'Great', and even his colleagues of the same rank called him 'Great Escort Leader Gang', making sure to include the 'Great'. This was because although Gang Jang-han's temper was foul, he was not someone to be trifled with in terms of skill either.

Since everyone emphasized the 'Great' when calling him, Gang Jang-han was in a very good mood. In his eyes, a man in tattered clothes carrying a water carrier on his shoulder came into view. His hair was unkempt and had grown wild, his clothes were ragged, and on his shoulders, he was carrying a carrier with water buckets on both sides. There was only one mountain path, only one path to go up and down, so the group of people and the one man could not help but meet.

The man who was now struggling to carry the water carrier up the mountain was Tang Cheol-yeong, a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the renowned family of poison and hidden weapons that was said to command this Sichuan, and the youngest of the three sons of the current Tang Clan leader. Gang Jang-han, seeing him, spat out in a displeased tone.

"What's that again?"

Tang Cheol-yeong was in a very bad mood. Due to the training that had taken place in the valley a little while ago, he was in a state where he had used up a lot of his strength going back and forth between the water surface, under the water, and the land. He could feel that the training was now nearing its end, but it was just as difficult and arduous as it was at the beginning. No matter how skilled he became in the training, for some reason, he was always tired. It was the law of the heavens that if you became skilled, it should be less tiring, but since he was being worked even harder as he became more skilled, he couldn't help but continue to be tired.

The current situation was also like that. Due to the intense training, all his strength, both present and absent, had been squeezed out, and now he was in a state where it was difficult to even lift a finger, so his master's words to fetch water seemed like nothing but an act that severely ignored his dignity. Naturally, his mood was very foul, and in his ears, he heard a disrespectful and vulgar sound that completely ignored him, "What's that again?", so his mood finally reached the point of exploding. When he lifted his head, he saw the figures of Gang Jang-han's group descending the mountain. In that instant, a strange light appeared in Tang Cheol-yeong's eyes.

'Martial artists, which faction are they?'

He had had almost no contact with the people of the Emei Sect, and he had never met any other martial artists on this mountain, so he looked at them with curious eyes.

'But they don't look very impressive. Nothing special.'

As Tang Cheol-yeong was having these thoughts, one of their group approached him. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a low-ranking warrior.

"What are you, brat? Get out of the way immediately. The Great Escort Leader of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, 'Flying Wind Saber' Gang Jang-han, is passing by now. Get that dirty appearance out of sight quickly! Ugh, the smell..."

An escort tried to push him to the side of the road. A spark flew from Tang Cheol-yeong's eyes, who had been treated rudely. When had he ever been treated so rudely? He could say with certainty that before his master, there was no one who had treated him like this, and after him, there was no one. Ah, before that, there was his master. In any case, putting all that aside, it was ridiculous to think that Tang Cheol-yeong, with his personality, would just stand there after being treated like this. A murderous intent appeared in his two eyes. The movement of the escort who was holding Tang Cheol-yeong flinched and stiffened.

"Wh-what's with that gaze... G-get out of the way quickly..."

His legs were trembling, and his tongue seemed to have frozen, so his words did not come out properly. He was completely intimidated by Tang Cheol-yeong's gaze.

"You guys get out of the way. Get your hands off."

Tang Cheol-yeong brought his hand to the wrist of the low-ranking warrior of the Jungyang Escort Bureau who was holding him. And then he bent the escort's arm in an abnormal direction that would be impossible to move if he were normal.

"Kuaaaak!"

With a scream, the escort who was about to grab Tang Cheol-yeong's shoulder and push him down clutched his wrist and rolled to the side of the road. Tang Cheol-yeong was originally quick-tempered. He was a difficult person to handle, whom no one could stop once steam entered his head and smoke came out of his ears.

"This son of a bitch."

Everyone flew into a rage and drew their weapons. If a colleague is being attacked, it would be stranger to just watch blankly.

"You brat, what are you doing?"

Gang Jang-han asked Tang Cheol-yeong with a surprised expression. No matter how low-ranking, he was still a warrior. And he was one of the guys he had taught. Escorts always had to train their bodies. This was because skill was directly related to their own lives. For the escorts who belonged to the escort bureau, an improvement in skill meant an extension of their personal lifespan, that is, a long life, and from the escort bureau's point of view, an increase in the escorts' skills meant a decrease in risk, that is, an increase in safety, and that meant an increase in the success rate. A high success rate meant a decrease in the probability of failure, and less failure meant a decrease in the expenditure of compensation for damages, so it meant that there would be less money going out.

To summarize it simply and easily, to get to the core of it, it meant that they could earn more money. To summarize it in four characters, it would be 'increase in profit.' Therefore, the escort bureau did not neglect to train the escorts every day. Gang Jang-han, who held the position of Great Escort Leader and had subordinates under him, naturally had the duty to train his subordinates. The guy whose wrist had just been broken and had fallen was also one of the guys he had taught. He had broken such a guy simply in one go. Judging from this, he could tell that he was a guy who had a thing or two.

"What are you, brat?"

"Shut up and just come at me, you bastard."

Over the past nearly five months, to be exact, four months and five days, Tang Cheol-yeong's personality, which could not be said to be very good, had become even rougher. This was not a phenomenon limited to him. The same phenomenon was appearing in all the other people who had come with him, though the degree was different. Everyone's personality had changed a lot because of the wicked master. Perhaps because of that, the words that came out were also rough and violent. Violent words hurt the opponent's heart, and the wounds in the heart are expressed as anger. An angry escort rushed in with a long sword.

"You bastard, die."

Tang Cheol-yeong lightly dodged the rushing escort's sword by just pulling back his right foot and twisting his waist at the same time. And then he kicked the belly of the guy who was staggering after losing his target with all his might.

"Keuk."

The rushing escort clutched his belly and fell. Two more guys rushed in, but the result was the same; they all ended up clutching their bellies and rolling on the ground. A few more rushed in without any gain, but Tang Cheol-yeong dodged them all with seemingly precarious steps, then kicked their bellies with his feet and sent their heads flying with his fists.

"You're pretty good. You have something to rely on, I see."

Gang Jang-han, who had been just watching until now, drew his saber from his waist and slowly approached. As his subordinates fell as soon as they rushed in, a situation had been created where he had to step up now. The leader always appears later; Gang Jang-han approached and said, facing Tang Cheol-yeong.

"I'll be your opponent."

It was a cliché line.

'He must be the leader. Damn it, I have no strength...'

He had been overworked so much by the training that Tang Cheol-yeong was now in a state where it was difficult to even move. But he couldn't show a weak side to his opponent. This was because a broken spirit meant defeat.

'Tang Cheol-yeong, show a strong side!'

Composing himself, Tang Cheol-yeong took off the water carrier and placed it on the side of the road.

"Here I come!"

Gang Jang-han attacked, even kindly giving a warning. Gang Jang-han's saber drew an arc and flew towards his shoulder.

'Huh, it's not very fast.'

Gang Jang-han's saber, its movement, he could see it all, no lie. Compared to the swords or sabers of his sparring partners, that is, the members of the Vermilion Bird group, his saber was really too slow. In reality, Gang Jang-han's saber was not that slow, but it looked that way to Tang Cheol-yeong's eyes.

"Swoosh."

"Ugh."

Tang Cheol-yeong's right shoulder area was slightly cut, and blood flowed out. He had failed to completely dodge the sword. He thought he could dodge it completely because the saber speed didn't look fast, but he couldn't... In that moment, Tang Cheol-yeong was dumbfounded. Of course, it wasn't that there was some great profound energy in Gang Jang-han's saber technique that Tang Cheol-yeong failed to dodge and got cut. As a result of the training camp, his eyesight had developed to an extreme degree, and he could easily see the opponent's saber, but it was a phenomenon that occurred because his current physical condition could not keep up with the reaction of his nerves. Tang Cheol-yeong could grasp the opponent's saber and know exactly where and when it was coming. But because his body was exhausted to the extreme, it could not properly execute the transmission of the reaction from the central nervous system.

Again, his left arm, left thigh, and right leg were cut by the sword, though not deeply. His body continued to fail to keep up with his reactions, and the wounds also got deeper and deeper. Thinking that he couldn't just keep getting hit like this, Tang Cheol-yeong, who had quickly dodged the saber that flew towards his neck by ducking, picked up a pebble from the ground and quickly threw it at Gang Jang-han.

"Ah!"

"Huh?"

The 'Ah!' was the surprised shout of Gang Jang-han, who was surprised by Tang Cheol-yeong's unexpected attack, and the 'Huh?' at the end was the sigh of Tang Cheol-yeong himself, who was shocked by the fact that the stone flew at a slow speed, so much so that even he was surprised. The ink rings on his hands now were just heavy burdens that got in the way. In a state where all his strength was already gone, and with ink rings weighing over 24 kilograms on top of that, there was no way his original power and speed would come out.

However, it seemed that what was slow to Tang Cheol-yeong was not slow to Gang Jang-han. Or was it too fast? Gang Jang-han couldn't block the stone and overcame the crisis by narrowly dodging it. The fact that he couldn't strike away the flying stone meant that Gang Jang-han's reaction was that slow.

Both were flustered, but the one who collected his senses first was Tang Cheol-yeong. Tang Cheol-yeong did not miss the fact that the flustered Gang Jang-han's posture had been disrupted while trying to dodge the stone and quickly rushed in. Within the range of the saber, the distance where the opponent's saber could exert its full power, Tang Cheol-yeong, who had momentarily rushed in using even the strength he had when he was suckling, slammed his fist into Gang Jang-han's head.

"Thwack."

"Whack."

Gang Jang-han's head turned to the left.

"Thwack."

"Whack."

This time, his head turned to the right.

"Puo!"

Finally, a fountain of blood spewed from Gang Jang-han's mouth. But Tang Cheol-yeong did not rest and slammed Gang Jang-han's entire body. After learning for five months, all that was left was strength.

"Take this, Three Dog Days Beating Fist Method!"

Tang Cheol-yeong's fists pummeled Gang Jang-han's entire body. He began to beat Gang Jang-han's entire body as if to collect the price of the blood that was flowing from the wounds he had sustained. It was the moment Tang Cheol-yeong's fourth fist was flying towards Gang Jang-han's jaw.

"Thwack."

A flash of lightning flickered from the back of his head.