Light Novel: Volume 5 Episode 7
Manhwa: N/A
The Zodiac Division1 was located in Meishan city, Sichuan Province.
Although the scale is not very large, it is still a well-known merchant group in the Meishan city due to its solid management. There was a time where they had to worry about letting go of their organization due to lack of funds, but at a certain point, they suddenly grew explosively.
Thanks to this, they were able to be reborn as one of the top merchant groups in the Meishan city.
Cho Chi-yang2 was in his late fifties and had a large body. He originally had a slightly skinny physique, but his craving for dessert made him gain substantial weight. But no one dared to criticize him for becoming fat because he was the captain of the Zodiac Division.
Since Cho Chi-yang is the captain of the Zodiac Division, he is considered as one of the most influential people in Meishan. Everyone would look at him whenever they saw him, but he didn’t pay them any attention.
At least in Meishan, he is being treated like a king.
“Heh heh! That felt good.”
With a satisfied smile, Cho Chi-yang left the Bright Sun Pavilion.3
The Bright Sun Pavilion was the largest brothel in Meishan.
There were reviews that the courtesans in Meishan are slightly inferior compared to the prostitutes of Chengdu, but there are still quite a number of beautiful girls.
Cho Chi-yang was on his way out tof Bright Sun Pavilion after being treated with the utmost hospitality. Since he played around with three of the most beautiful prostitutes in Bright Sun Pavilion, there was no area where his whole body didn’t ache.
But even if his body was tired, he felt good.
To be a man who gets to enjoy the presence of beautiful courtesans without caring about the passage of time, he could be said to live a fairly successful life. Living with no restraint without caring about anything else made it all the more better.
Cho Chi-yang entered his residence with a satisfied expression.
His residence was the largest pavilion. Given that it was always guarded by about a dozen or so warriors, it was the safest place.
Cho Chi-yang, who initially entered his room with a smile, suddenly frowned.
Because someone else was sitting in his chair.
“Who are you?”
Cho Chi-yang raised his voice.
His voice was full of anger.
He felt like his authority had been trampled upon.
“Cho Chi-yang.”
“You already know my name and yet you dare come into my residence without my permission?! You even have the audacity to sit on my chair!”
Cho Chi-yang terribly hated having his authority violated.
Without a second thought, he summoned the men who stood guard outside.
“Is there no one out there?!”
At once, about a dozen soldiers rushed inside.
“Yes, captain!”
“What’s going on?”
Cho Chi-yang pointed his finger at the person sitting in his chair and shouted.
“Can’t you see that guy sitting in my seat right now? How did you even stand guard that an outsider came into my residence?!”
“Oh!”
“How did that guy–?”
The warriors looked at the man sitting on the chair in surprise. However, where the man was sitting, a shadow was cast so deep that his face was not visible.
“Who are you?”
“How dare you sit in our captain’s seat? Get out right now!”
The warriors rushed at the man sitting on the chair in great anger.
Cit! Ciiit!
At that moment, a sharp cracking sound echoed throughout the room.
The warriors, who were rushing at the man sitting on the chair, suddenly became motionless as if they were stone statues.
Cho Chi-yang shouted at them.
“What are you doing?! Move!”
Kukukung!
At that moment, the warriors collapsed one by one.
“Huh?”
Cho Chi-yang fell on the floor, startled.
Thick blood was flowing from the bodies of the fallen warriors. It was clear that everyone who had fallen had already lost their lives.
“H, how?”
All of his subordinates guarding his residence are warriors who are quite well-known in the area. Cho Chi-yang specially hired them for a large sum of money.
But to think such warriors lost their lives in vain without even having the chance to use their hands. Only then did he realize that the person sitting in his chair was a great expert.
“Who are you?”
“Cho Chi-yang. It seems you’ve earned a lot of money.”
“Hyuk! So–?”
Cho Chi-yang became contemplative.
He then remembered a name he had long forgotten.
“A, are you by any chance, Dark Moon?”
“That’s right.”
“Heuk!”
At the man’s answer, Cho Chi-yang gasped as if he was running out of breath. Just hearing the name Dark Moon made him extremely frightened.
The man sitting on the chair looked at Cho Chi-yang without a word.
Although his face was obscured by the shadows, his eyes were somehow visible. This is because even in the dark, a soft red light was emitted from his eyes.
Cho Chi-yang trembled.
“Well, I didn’t recognize you because we haven’t been in touch. Please forgive me.”
“Cho Chi-yang.”
“Please! S, spare me! I thought you weren’t interested in me anymore because you didn’t contact me.”
Cho Chi-yang begged while banging his head on the floor.
His forehead was torn and bleeding, but he didn’t even feel the pain. Cho Chi-yang was feeling a great deal of fear.
Long ago, the Zodiac Division was about to go bankrupt due to lack of funds.
The person who appeared at that time was Dark Moon. He gave Cho Chi-yang a large sum of money and told him to use it as a capital for their business.
In exchange, he was compelled to donate thirty percent of his fortune every year.
Cho Chi-yang, who was driven to a corner, quickly accepted the funds without thinking much about it. He had no choice.
So with the money he received from Dark Moon, Cho Chi-yang managed to raise the Zodiac Division while surrendering thirty percent of the wealth he earned every year.
One day, he realized that the money he paid every year was not worth it. He thought that the amount he had donated was enough. He refused to continue paying them any more money.
What he did instead was to use the huge sum of money to hire escorts. He built his own personal army.
But the next day he realized just how absurd it was.
Not only warriors who were escorting him, but also his concubines were killed.
What’s even more creepy is that even though so many people died, Cho Chi-yang was completely unaware and only slept.
When he woke up, he was already in the middle of a multitude of corpses.
The body of his bodyguards and lovers surrounded him.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the eyes of his dead lover. He still can’t forget how scary his mistress’ eyes which had lost their focus.
On that day, Cho Chi-yang deeply realized how foolish he had been, and each year he dedicated the exact amount to Dark Moon.
So another year passed.
But starting seven years ago, Dark Moon failed to visit even once.
In the first year, he doubted their intention. But three years later, and then four years passed, Dark Moon still hasn’t appeared.
Cho Chi-yang thought that something went wrong with Dark Moon. Otherwise, it made no sense that he would not come.
Since then, Cho Chi-yang has forgotten Dark Moon.
No, he forced himself to forget.
It pleased him that the shackles that had restrained him were gone. So after that, he lived without hesitation. As a true king of Meishan.
But today, Dark Moon, who he had long forgotten, suddenly reappeared.
His fear came back.
He was so surprised that he even peed on his pants.
“Please, spare me. You haven’t been here for a long time so I’ve been careless. But still! I have all the money to give to Dark Moon. If you open the storage next to you, you’ll see slips and documents. You can take them all.”
At Cho Chi-yang’s words, Dark Moon opened the locker and took out what was inside.
Pararak!
He could hear him flipping over slips and papers.
Cho Chi-yang bowed his head and swallowed his dried saliva.
‘Please! Please!’
He didn’t even dare to rebel. He was just waiting for Dark Moon’s decision.
He continued trembling. However, no matter how long he waited, he couldn’t hear Dark Moon’s voice.
Cho Chi-yang raised his head carefully.
In an instant, his eyes widened like a candlestick. There was no sign of Dark Moon, who was supposed to be sitting on a chair.
“D, did he already leave? Huu…!”
As his whole body relaxed, he slumped on his buttocks.
Tears welled up at the thought of preserving his life. He didn’t feel ashamed at all.
He can earn money again, but he only has one life.
“I can’t believe Dark Moon-nim appeared again. I now have to resume paying annually again.”
His hands were still trembling.
The presence Cho Chi-yang thought was Dark Moon left the residence without a sound.
At that moment, the clouds cleared and the moon appeared.
The soft moonlight illuminated Dark Moon’s face. His true form was then revealed under the moonlight.
The man who is more beautiful than any woman and has skin as white as snow was Pyo-wol.
“A crafty rabbit has three burrows.”5
Gu Juyang, who was the head of the Blood Shadow Group, spread their funds to various places in case of an emergency.
One of them would be towards people who had excellent business talent like Cho Chi-yang but had no wealth. They would invest in them to raise funds on their own.
Because the funds were rolled under the pseudonym of Dark Moon, the people who they invested in would never have dreamed that the Blood Shadow Group would be involved.
The names of those who Gu Juyang invested in were written in the booklet that Pyo-wol found at Clear Wind Manor.
Now it was time for him to visit the next person.
Like Gu Juyang, Pyo-wol is intending to make several dens in Chengdu.
* * *
Yu Shinfeng looked at the slum with a serious expression on his face.
In the ashes of the slum, people sat soulless. They have no idea on where and how to begin with the repairs.
“Hu…!”
Yu Shinfeng let out a sigh.
All of this happened because of Yo Sulyeong of the Seven Stars. Although he had no affiliation with Seven Stars, he felt guilty just because they were fellow warriors.
Lee So-ha came to his side.
“It’s not your fault, is it? So you shouldn’t feel so guilty.”
“How nice would it be if it was as easy as that? I did not take any action after witnessing their evil deeds. So I cannot forgive myself for such a thing.”
“But it was inevitable at that time, right? We can’t stand up to the Seven Stars without knowing the entire situation. So no one would say anything bad to uncle once they know that fact.”
“Hoo…!”
“No matter what anyone says, I believe in my uncle. I know how great uncle’s sympathy is, and how bright and righteous he is.”
“Thank you.”
Yu Shinfeng tried to smile. Still, thanks to his niece’s comfort, his heavy heart was relieved even by a little.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I’ll have to stay in Chengdu and find out more about him.”
Yu Shinfeng’s eyes sharpened.
The catastrophe of Chengdu a few days ago shocked him greatly.
On the day of the disaster, Yu Shinfeng was keeping a close eye on the Seven Stars. Still, he couldn’t see how any of the warriors of the Seven Stars died.
That fact gave Yu Shinfeng a big shock.
He himself was a well-known expert in Jianghu. But even as he kept a close eye on the Seven Star warriors, he still failed to notice the method and timing of assassination.
It was not difficult to guess the identity of the perpetrator. He must be an assassin who has recently appeared in Chengdu.
He couldn’t think of anyone else doing it.
‘I have to make sure of his capability. If he’s really great enough to make a mess of Jianghu, he must be eliminated by all means.’
Yu Shinfeng was proud of himself to be a righteous man of Jianghu. So it is impossible for him to just pass by watching an evil bud sprout.
“You go back home.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Just follow what I say, So-ha!”
“Uncle!”
“I’m saying this because of you. He’s dangerous.”
“Then I should stay with my uncle even more.”
“Don’t be stubborn. If I put you in danger, I won’t have the face to see you.”
It was Yu Shinfeng who usually agreed to what So-ha Lee wanted.
But not this time.
There was no room for compromise in his resolute expression.
“U…ncle!”
Tears welled up in So-ha’s eyes. Although his heart was weakened for a moment by her appearance, Yu Shinfeng firmly resolved his mind.
“I found out that there is an escort company that is going to your hometown. You should go back to your home with them.”
“Alright.”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep my promise to show around Jianghu.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Lee So-ha shook her head.
The appearance and attitude of his uncle was not something that anyone could have. So she respected Yu Shinfeng more than anyone else.
“I’ll go home, but I’ll definitely come back.”
“So-ha!”
“Don’t stop me from coming back, or else I won’t go home at all.”
“Okay, fine.”
“Please be careful.”
Lee So-ha eventually left and joined the escort company.
Yu Shinfeng, who was left alone, burned with great fighting spirit.
“I’ll dig deep into the kind of person you are.”
SoundlessWind21’s Notes
Hope you enjoyed the chapter~
The Zodiac Division. Raws: Jogasangdan, 조가상단. Cho Chi-yang. Raws: 조치양은.Bright Sun Pavillion. Raws: Baekyang-ru, 백양루(白陽楼). 白 white, pure, bright陽 male, light, sun楼 buildingDark Moon. Raws: Am-wol, 암월. A crafty rabbit has three burrows. Raws: jiǎo tù sān kū, 교토삼굴(较免三窟). Meaning: Chinese Idiom. A cunning rabbit will prepare several hiding places. In other words, a sly individual has more than one plan to fall back on.Chinese characters: 较 compare, comparatively, more免 spare, excuse, evade三 three窟 cave, cellar, hole, underground
