Chapter 351

Jiangxi Province was made up of a giant basin. Within the basin, vast rice paddies stretched out as far as the eye could see, and between them, countless rivers and waterways connected like a spider’s web.

Thanks to the abundant water, the rice farming always yielded a bountiful harvest, and the people did not have to live with empty stomachs.

What made this possible was the massive lake, Poyang Lake, located in the middle of the basin. The nutrient-rich water flowing upstream from the Yangtze River had made the basin around Poyang Lake fertile.

Thanks to this, there were many renowned wealthy people around Poyang Lake. The fertile soil was the reason why so many well-known magnates resided around the lake.

Today, as always, numerous ships entered Poyang Lake via the Yangtze River. A significant number of them were rice transport ships, carrying the rice produced in the paddies around the Poyang Lake area.

The trading companies and escort agencies in the Poyang Lake area mainly used these rice transport ships to move goods. They would operate by leaving Poyang Lake with a full load of rice and returning with other goods.

Thud!

A massive rice transport ship docked at the Poyang Lake pier. Workers belonging to a trading company were waiting at the dock.

The person in charge of the trading company spoke to the workers.

“The ship is loaded with salt from Rudong. A handful of that salt is more expensive than your day’s wages, so be careful when unloading it. After unloading the salt, we have to load rice again, so there’s no time to rest. Everyone, stay sharp and be ready.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t worry. It’s not our first or second day on the job, is it?”

Even as they answered, the workers kept their eyes fixed on the ship.

They intended to rush aboard as soon as the gangplank was lowered.

There were no fixed wages. The structure was such that the more cargo one carried, the more money one earned. The person who carried even one more sack of salt or one more sack of rice received a higher day’s pay.

Because of this, the workers waited for the gangplank to be lowered from the ship, their eyes glaring like soldiers heading into battle.

Finally, the gangplank was lowered from the rice transport ship.

Just as the workers were about to board the ship, a sailor shouted.

“Wait! Let the person get off first before you come up.”

At that moment, a man leading a horse disembarked from the ship.

“Whoa!”

“What kind of man is that?”

The workers who saw the man’s face all let out gasps of admiration. The man’s face was as beautiful as a painting.

The man getting off the rice transport ship was none other than Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol disembarked and looked around the Poyang Lake area.

Perhaps because he had been at Tai Lake until recently, he felt no particular emotion even as he looked at the vast Poyang Lake.

Pyo Wol asked one of the workers who was staring blankly at his face.

“Is there a decent inn around here?”

“Ah, if you’re looking for an inn, you should go to the Southern Sky Inn. It’s the biggest and most splendid, and the food is delicious…”

“Southern Sky Inn?”

“You definitely won’t regret it. Well then…”

The worker, not wanting to fall behind the others, scrambled onto the ship.

Pyo Wol watched the workers carrying sacks of salt on their backs for a moment before he started walking.

The scenery of the Poyang Lake pier was more or less the same as that of Tai Lake.

The only difference was that at Tai Lake, being close to the sea, the wind carried a salty tang, whereas the wind at Poyang Lake was just cool and refreshing.

Finding the Southern Sky Inn was not very difficult. It was so large and magnificent that it could be recognized at a glance even from a distance.

Because it was so large, the Southern Sky Inn had its own independent stable. Pyo Wol left his horse at the stable and went inside the inn.

“Welcome.”

A waiter quickly greeted Pyo Wol.

“Do you have an empty room?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be staying for about three days, so give me a room.”

“The fee is payable in advance.”

Pyo Wol gave the waiter a few more copper coins than the amount he stated. The waiter’s mouth stretched from ear to ear.

“Hehe! Please use the room at the end of the hall on the second floor of the annex in the back. That room has the best view.”

“There’s an annex?”

“Yes! It was recently expanded. It will be much quieter than the main building here.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, will you be dining?”

“I will. Bring me something simple to eat.”

“Then please take any empty seat. I’ll bring it right out.”

“Mm!”

Pyo Wol nodded and sat down at an empty table.

Riding the rice transport ship midway was fine, but his dry rations had run out, and he had to starve. Because of that, he was extremely hungry right now.

Pyo Wol waited for his food to arrive, gazing out the window.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait long for the food to arrive.

“This is sanjeoyuk, pork preserved in salt. It’s a bit salty on its own, but it’s quite good with rice.”

“I’ll eat well.”

“Then, enjoy your meal.”

The waiter bowed his head and retreated.

Pyo Wol first tasted the sanjeoyuk.

As the waiter had said, it was a little salty. But when eaten with rice, it was a pretty good combination.

Although he was extremely hungry, Pyo Wol did not rush. He chewed each piece of meat thoroughly, organizing his future plans.

‘First, I’ll contact the Hao Clan branch to get as much information as possible, then track So Gyeoksan’s movements.’

By chasing the tracks of So Gyeoksan and the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe, he would naturally be able to find out about Hong Yushin’s whereabouts as well.

As he ate while thinking, his eating speed slowed even more. Two quarters of an hour had passed since he started his meal, but there was still a lot of food left on his plate.

It was when Pyo Wol was about to finish the remaining food.

Bang!

Suddenly, someone violently threw open the inn’s door and entered.

Those who entered the inn were shabbily dressed men.

They were filthy, as if they hadn’t washed in a very long time, and they stank. It was so bad that those sitting near the entrance held their noses and moved away.

The people sitting at a table near Pyo Wol whispered as they looked at them.

“The vicious dogs of the Blood Phantom Organization are here again.”

“Isn’t anyone going to arrest those guys? They show up and cause a ruckus whenever business gets a little good. How are we supposed to live?”

“Would you want to do it? Getting involved with them will only make you tired, so just ignore them.”

The men who entered the inn seemed to be martial artists from a place called the Blood Phantom Organization.

When the martial artists of the Blood Phantom Organization appeared, the owner rushed out in a hurry. He argued with the Blood Phantom Organization martial artists, his face flushed.

Their voices were inaudible to others, but they were crystal clear to Pyo Wol’s ears.

“Hey, I paid this month’s protection fee, so what am I supposed to do if you come looking for me already?”

“You borrowed money besides that, didn’t you? You have to pay the interest.”

“Interest? How much did you take as advance interest, and now you’re taking more?”

“Didn’t our Boss make it clear? The interest on money borrowed from our Blood Phantom Organization is expensive. And yet, didn’t you, Hall Master, borrow it to expand the annex? It’s a problem if you act like this now.”

“Damn it! But you’re telling me you’re taking more after taking advance interest?”

“Hehe! That’s just how this world works. If you don’t like it, hand the annex over to us.”

“Ugh!”

In the end, the owner let out a pained groan and handed the interest to the Blood Phantom Organization martial artist.

“Hehe!”

The Blood Phantom Organization martial artist, holding the pouch filled with gold taels, smiled slyly and looked around the inn.

“As expected, newly built is good. It’s clean and big, it seems like it would be great if our Blood Phantom Organization ran it.”

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying. It’s not like that would actually happen, right? As long as you pay the interest on time like this, there will be no problem. Well then, goodbye.”

The Blood Phantom Organization martial artists gave a slight bow to the inn owner and went outside.

As they left, the inn owner said to the waiter.

“Hurry and sprinkle salt outside the door. Ptui! Tsk!”

He shuddered as if the mere thought of them was sickening.

The problem was that he had turned to the Blood Phantom Organization for help when expanding the annex in the first place. When they lent him the money, they told him to pay it back at his convenience, but as soon as business started doing well, they started showing up day in and day out, using interest and protection fees as an excuse.

Their eyes, as they scanned the inside of the inn, were filled with greed.

He now regretted borrowing money from the Blood Phantom Organization, but it was too late to turn back.

“They say that where there is no tiger, the fox is king. This is exactly that.”

The inn owner shook his head and went inside.

Pyo Wol watched the owner’s retreating back, then turned his gaze back to the street. Through the window, he could see the martial artists of the Blood Phantom Organization swaggering down the street.

They entered another inn and, a short while later, came out holding a wallet.

‘It seems the Blood Phantom Organization is running a King Yama Debt business.’

The name Blood Phantom Organization itself was unusual.

It was extremely rare for a typical sect to use the name Blood Ants.

To Pyo Wol’s ears, the word Blood Ant sounded like they would gnaw away at you until you became blood.

In the past, Snow Blade Sword Manor had also expanded his scale by running a King Yama Debt business. He had lent money and collected high interest, squeezing the lifeblood out of the common people.

It seemed the Blood Phantom Organization was also growing in size in the same way.

‘Is it just Snow Blade Sword Manor and the Blood Phantom Organization?’

In most of the cities Pyo Wol had passed through since he came out into the Jianghu, there were plenty of people like this.

Behind the peaceful facade of the Jianghu, such grim events were taking place, and the people’s discontent had reached its peak. Yet, not a single one of the Jianghu’s sects listened to the people’s voices. Perhaps that was why the couple who craved human flesh had been able to commit their evil deeds for so long.

Pyo Wol had a premonition that the peace of the Jianghu would not last much longer.

From ancient times, when the people’s resentment reached its peak and the world became turbid, great and demonic overlords revealed their ambitions.

They were not called great and demonic overlords from the beginning.

They revealed their ambitions in troubled times and were naturally classified as great and demonic overlords as they tried to reach the top by any means necessary.

Pyo Wol had seen several martial artists who had the potential to become such overlords.

If a truly troubled time were to come, they would cast off the masks they had been wearing and sprint with all their might for their ambitions.

The winds of troubled times were blowing, but no one knew of this fact.

His mind grew needlessly complicated.

Pyo Wol stood up from his seat, intending to go to the annex. But a voice he heard then stopped him in his tracks.

“Well, if it isn’t Great Hero Pyo?”

Pyo Wol sat back down and looked at the entrance of the inn.

Standing at the entrance of the inn was a young martial artist with a handsome appearance and an outstanding aura.

He immediately approached the table where Pyo Wol was sitting.

Pyo Wol recognized the man’s identity at once.

“Namgung Wol!”

“Great Hero Pyo, what brings you here?”

The man was none other than Namgung Wol of the Thousand Water Society.

At the unexpected encounter, even the great Pyo Wol was slightly surprised. But he quickly concealed his agitation and spoke calmly.

“I just stopped by while traveling. And you?”

“Didn’t you know? The Thousand Water Society is in Mount Huang, about three hundred li from here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! So I come here often. My, to think that our connection would continue like this…”

Namgung Wol smiled brightly.

He thought of Pyo Wol as a comrade.

It was because they had taken Jin Clan’s side together against Snow Blade Sword Manor.

What the people of the world thought of Pyo Wol was not important to him. What he thought of Pyo Wol was more important.

To Namgung Wol, Pyo Wol was a trustworthy person and a comrade to whom he could entrust his back. That was why he was reacting so warmly.

“If I had known you were here earlier, I would have come sooner.”

“I just arrived. Even if you had known earlier, you couldn’t have met me any sooner than this.”

“I see. Still, it’s a relief that we met like this. I was disappointed that we parted ways like that at Jin Clan.”

“Did you say you come to Poyang Lake often?”

“Yes! I came today for a meeting as well.”

“A meeting?”

“There are some people I’ve been building a friendship with recently. They set the Southern Sky Inn as our meeting place, but I really didn’t expect to see Great Hero Pyo here. I guess I should thank those friends.”

Namgung Wol sat down right in front of Pyo Wol.

“You have an appointment, is it alright to spend time here?”

“It will be a while before they arrive. They’re coming from quite far away, so I’ll have to wait another shichen or two for them to get here.”

“Aren’t you too early? You’ll have to wait a long time.”

“Haha! The liquor at the Southern Sky Inn is also a delicacy. I was planning to have a drink by myself and pass the time. But meeting Great Hero Pyo like this makes it even better.”

Namgung Wol laughed heartily.

When he gestured, the waiter hurried over.

“Did you call, sir?”

“Bring me what I always drink.”

“Yes! I have it ready just in case.”

“Excellent!”

Namgung Wol tossed a few copper coins to the waiter.

The waiter thanked Namgung Wol and quickly ran to the kitchen.

Namgung Wol suddenly frowned and said.

“By the way, now that Great Hero Pyo is here, I suppose the peace of this place is over.”