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SERIES: Return of the Divine Thief
CHAPTER 15: Return of the Divine Thief
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Return of the Divine Thief - Chapter 15
*Swoosh-!*
The tip of the sword slicing through the air was as sharp as a serpent’s tongue.
With a flick of his wrist, Jo Yangtae changed the sword’s trajectory, striking the neck and then the heart of the training dummy before him in quick succession.
His movements were as fluid as flowing water, with no wasted motion.
‘How strange.’
Finishing his training, Jo Yangtae caught his breath and looked down at the slender sword in his hand.
Three months ago, Muryang had offered a piece of advice before he left.
-You’re too slender to handle a greatsword. Try training with a lighter sword for a while, and you’ll see what I mean.
At first, he was skeptical.
To abandon the greatsword he had wielded his entire life?
For a martial artist, especially one from the underworld, being told to change a familiar weapon was tantamount to a death sentence.
The children of prestigious clans might have the luxury of trying various weapons to find their aptitude, but for an underworld martial artist who started late and whose life was a constant battlefield, there was no such leisure.
But the advice came from his benefactor, so he decided to give it a try, even if it felt like being duped.
And a new world opened up to him.
When he used the greatsword, there were many moments when his mind knew what to do, but his body couldn't keep up.
He knew he needed to link his movements, but the weight and recoil of the sword often made him a beat too slow.
But the slender sword was different.
It felt as if his thoughts were being transmitted directly to the tip of the blade.
It extended without obstruction and changed direction without hesitation.
The movements he knew but couldn't link quickly enough now flowed as if by instinct.
“Just… how did he know?”
Jo Yangtae marveled once again.
The man had seen through his talents and limitations more accurately than he himself had. He vowed to ask him how when he returned.
But it had already been nearly three months since he left.
Just as he was starting to feel resentful of Muryang’s words—that it could be a month or a year—
“…Hm?”
Deep in his training, he noticed a commotion outside.
The Red Bridge Faction’s grounds, which should have been quiet during the day, were filled with the murmur of people and the sound of urgent footsteps.
He was about to call someone to find out what was happening.
“Lodge Leader!!”
*Bang!*
The training hall door flew open, and One-Eye rushed in, panting for breath.
His face held a mix of bewilderment and uncontrollable joy.
“What is it?”
“He, he’s…!”
The One-Eye gasped out.
“He has returned!”
There was only one person the man would refer to as ‘he’ with such reverence.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jo Yangtae bolted out of the training hall to meet the benefactor he had been waiting for.
* * *
Jo Yangtae rushed to Muryang’s quarters, located in the innermost part of the Red Bridge Faction’s compound.
As he entered, he saw a familiar back.
Muryang was sitting at a table, meticulously carving something.
“Took you long enough.”
At Jo Yangtae’s arrival, Muryang gestured without even turning his head.
“I hurried. Sit.”
Jo Yangtae carefully sat down across from him.
Muryang remained focused on carving the object in his hands.
It was a block of white jade, about the size of a human head.
“What… is that?”
“A mask.”
“A mask?”
“Yeah. Making human-skin masks for every occasion is too much work. I’m just making something to cover my face for now.”
“……”
Jo Yangtae was speechless for a moment.
“It’s been a while, but I still only understand about half of what you say.”
“Oh, you understood half? You’ve grown.”
Only then did Muryang put down his carving and look directly at Jo Yangtae.
“So, how are the finances? Are you making enough to get by?”
A faint shadow crossed Jo Yangtae’s face at the question.
“To be honest, it’s still difficult. We’ve started some jobs centered around the quick learners and secured a few outside contracts, but… compared to what we used to earn, it’s barely a tenth.”
He expected a sarcastic remark from Muryang.
But Muryang’s response was surprising.
“Is that so? You’ve worked pretty hard.”
It was a compliment.
Jo Yangtae’s face flushed slightly at the unexpected praise.
“B-But it’s only a tenth.”
“Only a tenth?”
Muryang let out a smirk.
“Even a well-established organization will likely collapse if it changes its main business overnight.”
“You don’t mean…”
“It’s true. The ones who can’t let go of the old ways end up fighting among themselves and eventually scattering.”
He looked at Jo Yangtae again.
His eyes held genuine praise.
“But you managed to keep your faction members from scattering, created a new source of income from scratch, and recovered a tenth of your previous earnings in just three months. That’s not a failure.”
“I-I see.”
Faced with Muryang’s sincere compliment, Jo Yangtae didn’t know what to do with himself, feeling both awkward and proud.
Muryang paid him no mind and moved on to the next topic.
“By the way, about the Peach Blossom Wine, how much can you produce in a month? And how many master brewers do you have?”
After a moment of thought, Jo Yangtae replied.
“As for masters, it’s just an old couple and their children who work with them. The output is probably just over twenty jars a month, even if they brew all month long.”
“Is that right? Then from now on, double the number of masters. No, triple them. Don’t spare any expense, and invest to maximize production.”
“What? But…”
Jo Yangtae cautiously objected.
“I’m no merchant, but isn’t the Peach Blossom Wine expensive because it’s rare? If we suddenly increase production, it might just become another common liquor.”
It was a perfectly reasonable concern.
But Muryang waved his hand dismissively, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
“That’s a concern for mediocre drinks. A truly fine wine, as long as you have a market, is something you can’t make enough of to sell. And the Peach Blossom Wine is a ‘high-grade’ product, even when compared to everything in the Central Plains.”
“High-grade in the entire Central Plains? We might find it delicious, but to declare that it can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the most famous wines in the world is a bit…”
“I know because I’ve tasted every famous liquor from every corner of the Central Plains. Stop worrying and just make it.”
Muryang’s reply was utterly nonchalant.
At his casual confidence, Jo Yangtae looked dumbfounded.
“Look, I know your martial arts are incredible, but… does that even make sense? How old are you to have tasted every liquor in the Central Plains?”
“If I say I have, then I have.”
Muryang cut him off, making it clear he would take no more questions on the matter.
“Anyway, the primary market will be Uiju.”
At those words, Jo Yangtae suddenly recalled what Muryang had said three months ago as he was leaving.
“Uiju? Ah, right. You left saying you had business with the Daewoong Faction. How did that go?”
At Jo Yangtae’s question, Muryang briefly recounted what had happened in Uiju.
“S-So… you absorbed the Daewoong Faction?”
“Not exactly absorbed, but yeah, something like that.”
In less than three months, he had pacified the Uiju underworld and returned.
And he spoke of such a monumental feat as if he had just taken a short stroll to the next town.
“……”
Jo Yangtae couldn’t say another word.
This man’s capacity was far beyond anything he could possibly imagine.
Muryang continued, seemingly oblivious to his shock.
“I’ll be sending the Daewoong Faction’s administrative staff this way. Consult with them to purchase necessary goods, and sell them back with a reasonable markup. Build up your funds by trading goods back and forth.”
Although Muihyeon and Uiju were both in Guangxi Province, the distance wasn’t one that ordinary people could travel easily.
If they chose their goods wisely, they could turn a decent profit.
‘And later, if we expand this across the entire Central Plains, money will be no object.’
He could just give a cut of the profits to the underworld thugs.
Once the explanation was over, Jo Yangtae finally asked the biggest question that had been on his mind.
“I… understand. I’ll do as you say. But separately, there’s something I’m curious about. How did you know that a slender sword would suit me?”
Muryang looked at him as if he were pathetic.
“Try looking in a mirror sometime.”
“What?”
“Anyone who can’t tell just by looking at that slender frame of yours must be blind. Everyone probably knew except you.”
With that, Muryang picked up the piece of white jade again.
Jo Yangtae sat there, unsure whether to be grateful for the compliment on his looks or angry at being called a fool, before finally giving up on thinking about it.
It was always like this when he talked to this man.
Right, I should stop trying to read his intentions and just talk business.
“By the way, what should we call you from now on?”
“……?”
“The men are furious every time they see you, saying ‘he’ has arrived. We can’t just keep calling you ‘he,’ can we? You need a proper title.”
At those words, Muryang’s carving hand paused for a moment.
“Call me Pavilion Master.”
“Pavilion Master? Are you part of some organization?”
Muryang grinned.
“I’m in the process of creating something called the ‘Murim Alliance.’”
“Murim… Alliance?”
“That’s right. Good name, isn’t it? Within it, I am the Pavilion Master of the Dragon Gate Pavilion, which recruits and manages talented individuals. Your Red Bridge Faction is also part of the Murim Alliance.”
At the incredible story, Jo Yangtae’s jaw dropped.
“But the name is so…”
“Loud?”
Muryang asked back with a smirk.
Jo Yangtae cleared his throat and spoke cautiously.
“I’m not trying to disrespect you, but… if you use such a grandiose name, will the self-proclaimed masters of the world just stand by and watch?”
It was an extremely realistic concern.
But Muryang’s reply was utterly nonchalant.
“Of course they won’t.”
“……”
“At first, they’ll surely bark loudly. As if we’ve stolen something from their own backyard.”
Muryang gently stroked the surface of the white jade he was carving with his finger.
“But there’s no need to worry.”
A confident smile played on his lips.
“Before long, those high-and-mighty righteous faction bastards will be lining up, begging to be the first to join the Murim Alliance. Anyway, I’m going to rest for a bit. Let’s talk more over dinner later.”
* * *
After finishing his meal, Muryang toured the changed Red Bridge Faction with Jo Yangtae.
The once-gloomy place was now tidy, and in one corner, an old teacher was instructing children.
“The courtesans’ children?”
“That’s right.”
Elsewhere, he could see courtesans learning and practicing instruments and songs.
“You’re doing a good job, Jo Yangtae.”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“No. This is what you’ve accomplished.”
Muryang said it sincerely.
He patted Jo Yangtae’s shoulder and headed for his quarters.
“I’m exhausted after being away for so long. I need to rest from the journey. I’ll head in first.”
Muryang entered his room, accepting the children's greetings.
As he lay down on the bed, the fatigue from three months of tension washed over him all at once.
The sound of the children’s boisterous laughter from outside the window was like a pleasant lullaby.
He closed his eyes.
A deep, peaceful sleep seemed to welcome him.
……And then.
‘…….’
Muryang opened his eyes.
Before him lay rows of corpses.
‘……?’
He was certain he had just been lying on the bed in his room moments ago.
But the scene unfolding before his eyes was far too vivid and gruesome to be a continuation of his sleep.
A deathly silence enveloped the area, and countless bodies were strewn about at his feet.
It was the aftermath of a horrific massacre, sparing no one—men, women, or children.
Muryang slowly looked down at his hands.
He was holding the cold, hard wooden handle of an old shovel, its blade caked with damp earth.
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