The day after arriving in Hangzhou.
Before sunrise, in the early hours of the Miosi time, Gangchan woke and began his day with the Seungcheonmugukgiseong.
It was a habit he had kept for a long time.
Slowly and methodically, Gangchan observed his entire body with a meditative calmness.
Then, gently opening his eyes, he headed toward the stable.
In the fairly spacious stable, Mong was alone.
When he saw Gangchan, he approached happily and rubbed his face against him.
“Did you sleep well? Let’s rest here for a while. If you feel cramped, just let me know anytime.”
“Hiiiiiing.”
Mong gave a low whimper as if understanding, quietly staying by Gangchan’s side.
As Gangchan left the stable and walked toward the inn, the words he’d heard the previous evening flashed through his mind.
To summarize his conversation with the men last night, this Baekcheon Inn was personally built by Sobaekcheon’s father.
However, recently, Sobaekcheon’s father suddenly collapsed.
To cover the medical bills, he had borrowed money, which became problematic.
Eventually, he passed away not long after, and the inn had to close in the meantime.
Now, the remaining debt had to be paid off, but without money, they faced the situation of having to hand over the entire inn.
Gangchan roughly pieced together the situation in his mind.
He felt a slight annoyance at having to look for another inn in about two weeks, but there was no particular problem for now.
Though he felt pity for the two father and son, the harsh reality was that there was no way to help them.
Going down to the first floor of the inn for breakfast, Gangchan saw no customers yet, but the savory aroma told him food was being prepared.
When Sobaekcheon saw Gangchan enter the first floor, he quickly ran over and guided him aside.
“Normally, we don’t serve breakfast, but I’m specially making eojuk for you. Mom’s eojuk was a secret skill only for Dad… but I want you to have some too.”
“That’s too generous. By the way, hasn’t your father come in?”
Gangchan knew that Baekcheon’s father had already passed away, but he couldn’t reveal that fact.
At Gangchan’s question, a shadow of sadness briefly passed over Baekcheon’s eyes.
Then, lowering his head, he quietly answered, “Dad’s not here.”
At that moment, Gangchan was overwhelmed with guilt for asking such a thoughtless question.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked without knowing.”
Baekcheon shook his head and replied in a deliberately bright voice, “No, it’s okay. Actually, it’s better now.”
From Baekcheon’s words, Gangchan could guess how much hardship they’d endured since his father collapsed.
***
After a moment, Baekcheon brightened again and dashed to the kitchen.
Shortly after, a bowl of savory eojuk was brought out.
Gangchan thanked him and took a spoonful, then was pleasantly surprised.
“This is really something special. Not fishy at all, the flavor is very mild and clean.”
He admired it and quickly finished the entire bowl.
Watching him eat, a bright smile appeared on Baekcheon’s lips.
“Brother, it’s delicious, right? Mom’s secret skill is really amazing.”
Gangchan smiled and nodded.
“You’re right. This kind of food is truly delicious.”
Baekcheon’s eyes sparkled excitedly as he asked, “Really incredible, right? Should I bring you another bowl?”
Before Gangchan could answer, Baekcheon was already running to the kitchen with the bowl.
A moment later, he returned carrying an additional bowl, accompanied by Baekcheon’s mother.
Gangchan expressed his gratitude once more and said, “It’s really delicious. Thanks to you, I had a very hearty breakfast.”
Baekcheon’s mother returned a humble smile and replied, “It’s nothing special, but I’m the one who should thank you for enjoying it.”
***
After finishing another bowl of eojuk, Gangchan stretched lightly and rose from his seat.
Carefully approaching the woman standing just outside the kitchen, he spoke.
“Excuse me, but could you introduce me to someone who has information about places where I could work for a while?”
“Well… if you look around, there might be something… but how long are you planning to work?”
“For now, I’m trying to find something regardless of the period.”
“Do you have any special skills?”
“Not really. But I’ve worked various jobs here and there, so I can do most physically demanding work.”
“I’ll try to find out, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“Thank you. Then, I’ll go explore Hangzhou a bit.”
“Be careful. Hangzhou is a city where everything exists—good and bad.”
“Uh… yes.”
Leaving the woman’s very meaningful words behind, Gangchan returned to his room to prepare for going out.
***
A while later, he packed the white fox fur he had kept without selling during his travels, intending to sell it after arriving in Hangzhou.
The white fox fur was a rare, pristine-quality hide he had discovered and caught a year ago near Tangchang, south of Gansu Province.
Thanks to using Cheonryeongmu rather than archery, he had hunted it without a single wound, making it a top-tier leather.
He wasn’t sure how long he would stay in Hangzhou, but if finding work proved difficult, he would need the money to rest for a while.
From his experience, the bigger the city, the higher the demand for leather, especially rare furs, which fetched more money.
So, he had carefully preserved the precious white fox fur to sell it in a large city.
As he strolled the streets for a while, Gangchan finally spotted a large shop.
The displayed goods were diverse, but with a particularly large number of leather crafts, it was clearly a leather specialty store.
The Hangzhou First General Store.
“The name sounds quite respectable.”
As he opened the door and entered, Gangchan recalled how, three years ago, he had timidly hesitated in front of a shop when selling leather for the first time.
Thinking of that moment, he smiled softly.
Back then, the very idea of negotiating with strangers was difficult and daunting.
But now it was different. Gangchan was no longer a naive boy.
With confidence honed by the world, he naturally stepped inside the store.
A clerk in his twenties approached Gangchan as he entered.
“Looking for something?”
“I’d like to meet the owner.”
The clerk’s eyes lost their initial warmth and became annoyed.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have something to sell.”
“Let’s see what it is.”
Gangchan stood quietly, meeting the clerk’s gaze.
The clerk’s irritation washed over Gangchan like a wave.
It was a common side effect of practicing Seungcheonmugukgiseong.
Gangchan calmly shook off the incoming energy without showing it and looked back at the clerk.
“I don’t know if you’re the one to judge this… but would you like to see it anyway?”
At that, the clerk flinched, then, stung in his pride, stubbornly said, “Let me see it.”
Gangchan obediently took out the white fox fur and showed it.
“Whoa! What is this?”
The clerk broke out in a cold sweat, visibly unsettled by what he saw.
“It’s okay. Call the owner.”
Gangchan’s words were like a savior to the clerk, who hurriedly went inside to summon the owner.
A man in his fifties with a kind face and a sturdy build approached Gangchan.
“You brought a rare item?”
“Yes. Please take a look.”
The owner examined the fox fur carefully, unable to hide his surprise.
There wasn’t a single wound where there should have been one.
Moreover, the skill in separating the fur was extraordinary.
“Top-quality white fox fur… 100 nyang.”
It was winter now, and the demand for rare furs was quite high.
“I know this kind of item easily fetches over 150 nyang.”
“If you find the right buyer, you could even get 200 nyang, but that takes time—and time is money.”
“Is that so? Then let’s call it off.”
With that, Gangchan started to pack the fur again.
“I’ll give you 120 nyang. I’m having a hard time too.”
“130 nyang.”
Gangchan stopped packing and looked at the owner.
“Eh… Young man, you’re too stingy. Fine, 130 nyang.”
Ignoring the owner’s grumbling about losing money, Gangchan took the money and stepped outside.
“Now that I have some money, maybe I’ll explore Hangzhou.”
At present, four organizations controlled the nights of Hangzhou.
The Heukcheonhoe, based in the west.
The Hyeolsapa, holding the east.
The Baekryonghoe, active in the south.
And the Cheonrangpa, dominating the north.
No one knew exactly when, but the nights of Hangzhou had been divided and ruled by these groups.
Many factions had risked their lives to unite Hangzhou’s nights, but no one had succeeded.
What was unusual was that despite the obvious profits, none of the well-known Central Plains sects had set foot in Hangzhou.
The Order of the Righteous Path understandably avoided it, fearing their reputation would suffer from the underworld money flowing through this world.
However, even the Dark Sect and other sizable sects refrained from eyeing Hangzhou, a fact that was difficult to comprehend.
In the past, a few Dark Sect branches had tried to expand into Hangzhou.
But they had to fight against all the local sects in Hangzhou.
Moreover, the merchants openly resisted outside forces, making it impossible for them to endure.
***
After several such incidents, no sect attempted to enter Hangzhou again.
The four powers controlling Hangzhou’s nights maintained a delicate balance of power.
If any one faction grew too strong, the other three would unite to oppose it, making such a move dangerous.
Thus, these four groups formed an uneasy relationship—always ready to unite or betray—keenly sensitive to each other’s movements.
Inside a private room at Manyue Lou, one of Hangzhou’s two most prestigious taverns, an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man sat before a lavish spread, all with serious expressions.
The old man with a fierce face and a strong body, as formidable as a young man, was Gwak Jagoh, leader of Heukcheonhoe.
The cold-faced middle-aged man with snake-like eyes was Dam Sajin, head of Hyeolsapa.
And the tall young man with a friendly face was Kang Bulhae, chief of Cheonrangpa.
The sturdy man seated at the central seat spoke first.
“A ronin recently joined Baekryonghoe, and he seems quite famous.”
“Famous? Do you know who he is?”
“Not certain, but it’s probably Dokgwigum Mak Bi.”
That Gwak Jagoh mentioned the name meant he had confirmed it.
Dam Sajin sitting on the left asked, “If it’s Mak Bi, one of the few top-tier masters among ronin, this could become serious.”
“I heard he was recruited as a bodyguard for the leader’s son, No Jin-hwan, but that’s obviously just an excuse.”
Dam Sajin narrowed his snake-like eyes and said, “A ronin of that caliber as a bodyguard…”
“What do you mean by ‘bodyguard’?”
Kang Bulhae, who had been listening, interrupted.
“This seems like a move to influence power. Can we just let it slide like snakes sneaking by?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Gwak Jagoh, who had started the conversation, quietly looked at the other two and said, “We should formalize a non-aggression pact in writing and recruit or invite someone who can counter Mak Bi.”
Dam Sajin, whose expression had been serious, relaxed and agreed.
“Good idea. What do you think?”
Receiving Dam Sajin’s gaze, Kang Bulhae nodded.
“That seems best for now.”
“Then Chairman Gwak, if you recruit a good person, we can split the cost three ways.”
“Agreed. Now, let’s have a drink.”
With that, glasses were raised, and the meeting continued with drinking.
The four powers controlling Hangzhou’s nights tried to resolve their problems wisely.
They had learned from long experience that if they fought to the death over small matters, everyone would perish.
After downing his drink, Kang Bulhae asked Dam Sajin, “Brother Dam, why would they suddenly bring in a bodyguard?”
“How would I know? But you know the Baekryonghoe leader’s son, No Jin-hwan? That bastard has always been a troublemaker. Recently, he’s been causing incidents, especially involving women.”
“I heard he almost died after harassing a passing woman not long ago?”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Children never do as their parents wish…”
Gwak Jagoh, who had a daughter, didn’t take it lightly.
He was having a hard time with his own daughter, who was of marriageable age but was stubbornly protesting against a good match with a poor potter.
She was his precious, cherished daughter, and he found it painful to see her reject a good marriage proposal.