Episode 35. We’ll Begin the Meeting
Having just been promoted to Black Cat Gang leader, I tossed the Night-Coming Sabre back to Shao Junpyeong and picked up the former leader’s straight sabre. The fact it had gone up against the Night-Coming Sabre without a nick meant it was a pretty decent blade. Honestly? It looked better than the weapons from Dragon Head Forge.
“The former leader’s Jianghu story ends here, but mine’s just getting started. Keep that in mind. For the time being, as far as the Black Cat Gang is concerned, nothing happened today. At all.”
“……”
No one understood what I meant right away, so they kept their mouths shut. I spoke to them like I’d been Black Cat leader for years.
“What was this sabre called again? I’m blanking.”
Shao answered,
“That straight sabre is named Black Rabbit Fang.”
As in: the Black Rabbit’s fang.
“What a dumb name. Ah—no, wait. It’s mine now, so I take that back.”
Everyone’s expressions twitched at how fast I flipped that, but nobody dared nitpick. The leader they’d feared had just died half-buried in a wall. And to them, I still looked like a mood-swinging lunatic you had to handle with care.
I examined Black Rabbit Fang for a bit, then naturally started giving orders.
“First, clean up the corpse of the previous leader who didn’t know his place and resisted me. Then scrub down the wall and the floor. If you want to make it in the underworld, you start with cleaning. Toss that useless axe in the corner somewhere, too. All executives, gather in the main hall. To celebrate our fresh start, we’re going to have an executive meeting.”
Shao jumped in quickly.
“I’ll have things cleaned up and then come in. The other executives can head to the main hall first.”
Once again: from today on, I am the Black Cat Gang leader.
Yesterday? Not so much. Today? Absolutely.
People’s fates change this suddenly.
I find inauguration ceremonies annoying, so I decided to skip that part. As for my term, I did set a rough limit.
Until the Great Rakshasa finds out.
So for now, even I don’t know if my time as leader will be long or short.
I’m the kind of man who knows what he knows, and admits what he doesn’t.
While the executives headed for the main hall and Shao barked orders at the men, I stepped into an open space with Black Rabbit Fang and started practicing sword form.
The men who’d started cleaning kept sneaking glances at me, but I ignored them, running through sabre routines, pausing to think, then swinging again.
The ones with a bit of sense were undoubtedly shocked.
The way I moved the sabre looked very similar to the forms the dead leader had used.
As they suspected, I spent a little time carving that dead man’s sabre arts into my body on fast-forward.
Eat, take a dump, build inner power, steal dead men’s techniques and practice them.
Such is the wise way of underworld life.
New Leader’s First Meeting
“Start with a status report.”
Without preamble, I said that to the waiting executives and sat at the head seat.
Shao asked,
“Sect Master—ah, what should we report first?”
“Shao, it’s not ‘Sect Master’. It’s ‘Gang Leader’. When did we become the Black Cat Sect? Don’t lose sight of our underworld identity.”
“My apologies. Understood.”
He made a good suggestion.
“As I understand it, Gang Leader showed mercy, so quite a few of Gold Phoenix Pavilion’s men are still alive in Ilyang Prefecture. Please give us your orders on how to handle them.”
I applauded his question.
Clap, clap, clap.
“As expected of our Shao, excellent. Learn from him. He cares about his subordinates, he rushed to save you executives earlier, he’s loyal, smart, and, most importantly, has a rare talent for taking a beating. He really can take a punch.”
While I spoke, Shao scratched his forehead.
“I’ve gone up against both that rabbit and Shao myself, and Shao’s not that much weaker than the bunny. Our Black Cat talent, our Black Cat money bag, our Black Cat model executive—Shao should put even more effort into training. As of today, I’m awarding you a special bonus.”
Not my money anyway.
Shao replied in a suddenly energized tone,
“I’ll work hard.”
I started clapping again and spoke to the other executives.
“Let’s clap together. Before I break some fingers.”
The other executives awkwardly applauded Shao.
Clapclapclapclapclapclapclapclap.
I looked around at the rotten executives of the Black Cat Gang and continued my nagging.
“Enough.”
“……”
“Encourage each other, push each other, train, fight, and get stronger together. That’s the Black Path. In the process, you build hatred, you build affection, you build a kind of urge to beat the crap out of each other, and somehow, brotherhood grows out of that. That’s what makes a strong underworld. Back in my day—”
I caught hints of boredom on a couple of faces and stopped.
“Is my speech boring you?”
I stared at one executive whose name I still didn’t know. He shook his head.
“N-not at all.”
“If you’re bored, get out, idiot. Go play somewhere. Drop the executive act. Go outside, smear dirt on the cracked walls with the peons. Or clean up the corpses.”
“I wasn’t bored.”
“Leader’s talking, and you—tsk…”
Even if you’re on top, there’s such a thing as overdoing it. See how deeply I reflect on myself?
Anyway, our Shao seems to have decent martial ability and also did a good job as a mid-tier underworld boss. A general in the field has to listen to his staff and strategists.
Sure enough, Shao chimed in at just the right time to support the new leader.
“Please, speak freely, Gang Leader.”
“Where was I?”
“You stopped at ‘That’s what makes a strong underworld.’”
“Right. As I said, Sama Bi and Hyuk Ryeonhong are alive and well in Ilyang Prefecture. If you want to recruit the people from Gold Phoenix Pavilion and train them, take them whenever you’d like. I’m giving you the job of founding Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion by combining Gold Phoenix and Gold Dragon.”
“If you entrust it to me, I’ll do my best to shoulder that responsibility.”
I looked around at the executives.
“Who’s the chief steward?”
As expected, the oldest man bowed his head.
“You may call me Steward Byeok.”
“Steward Byeok, deliver the bonus to our Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion lord. Then put together a clean summary of the finances and report back. If I catch anyone skimming or running little schemes, the old steward gets executed first.”
“Yes.”
His expression tightened, so I added in a threatening tone,
“Steward Byeok, know why the Gold Phoenix pavilion lord died?”
“Not sure.”
“Got killed for embezzling.”
“I’ve never handled things that way, but I’ll bear it in mind.”
“You should. ‘Bear in mind’ is your life insurance.”
A few faces flushed red at that little pearl of wisdom.
I moved on to the next agenda item.
“Anyway, I’ve forgotten when the ranking duel was scheduled. When was it again?”
I spoke like I was intimately familiar with the gang’s affairs, and everyone’s eyes widened.
Shao answered,
“There’s no fixed date, but the next likely lower-ranked challenger is Red Shen, the Red Monkey. And if you want to raise your rank, Gang Leader, you’ll have to settle things with White You again.”
White You was the name I’d used as a fake identity when I killed Jo Il-seom.
“So what rank am I now?”
“You currently hold fifth among the Twelve Zodiac Generals.”
I was honestly surprised.
“For a moron, he ranked pretty high. Fifth place with that level of skill? What a joke. Who’s stronger than White You?”
“White Tiger, Blue Dragon, and Red Serpent. Together with White You, they’re called the Four Divine Generals.”
White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Red Serpent, White Rooster. Of course, more important than any of them is the Great Rakshasa.
“Where’s our revered master these days?”
This time Steward Byeok replied,
“I hear the Red Serpent General found some blue-eyed beauty somewhere and presented her to the Great Rakshasa. I imagine he’s there.”
I snorted.
“Old bastard’s stamina sure is something. Now he’s messing with blue-eyed girls. The more I think about it, the madder I get.”
I’d called him master one second and was cursing him the next, so everyone’s faces got weird again.
“What? Did I say anything untrue?”
“No.”
I clicked my tongue.
“Still using his disciples to fetch pitiful girls for him, huh. What’s the Martial Alliance even doing? Can’t be bothered to catch bastards like that. Unbelievable…”
They all looked up at the ceiling or lowered their heads.
“I’ll now lay out the Black Cat Gang’s new code of conduct.”
“Please do.”
“The Great Rakshasa might technically be my master, but he’s an old man drowning in wine and women. I plan to raise a rebellion against him eventually. Anyone who clings to him or gets in my way in the process won’t be spared. Between you and me, we apply the rules of the Jianghu. In wartime, betrayal means death. Understand?”
“We understand.”
“We have no fondness for the Great Rakshasa either. We were forcibly absorbed, after all.”
The meeting was childish, rambling, and all over the place, but from behind the mask I was watching every expression and tone very closely. Wearing a mask definitely had its perks.
“What’s Black Lotus Fort up to these days?”
Despite the sudden topic change, Shao answered calmly,
“Still busy with gambling and auctions, as far as I know. At this rate there’ll be no one nearby who can compete with them in terms of wealth.”
“Still auctioning off people?”
“Yes. Calling it a ‘person auction’ is generous. It’s really a slave auction.”
Slave auctions. That’s Black Lotus Fort for you.
I nodded and set the Black Cat Gang’s short- and mid-term goals.
“I’ve already killed a few of their men. They stood there watching while my place burned and died for it. I was annoyed, actually. But this is even better. Holding slave auctions in this day and age—there’s no way I can overlook that as a leader of the Black Path. We’ll smash Black Lotus Fort eventually, so executives are to focus on training. We’re going to straighten out the underworld.”
A couple of them really wanted to ask, Did the underworld ever have ‘values’? but couldn’t get the words out.
I declared my ambition in a firm tone.
“From now on, the Black Cat Gang will be the vanguard of the Jianghu Slave Liberation Front.”
One executive cautiously asked,
“You’re saying we’re suddenly going to attack Black Lotus Fort?”
“They buy and sell people. How is that right?”
“It isn’t right.”
I looked around and let loose a string of curses.
“So why did you idiots learn martial arts? Huh? You see injustice and you don’t act. If you’re going to walk the night with a blade at your hip, that’s not how it’s done. From now on, anyone who objects to this is executed. Anyone who nitpicks gets exterminated.”
“……”
“Can you answer a little faster? It’s awkward for the person talking. Ah, my temper…”
The executives all spoke at once.
“Understood.”
“We’ll keep it in mind.”
I intended to stabilize this chaotic leadership transition using the Black Cat Gang itself as a hostage, with a steady stream of threats, curses, beatings, and bullying.
“Whether it’s the Great Rakshasa or Black Lotus Fort, I’m going to crush them. To do that, I’m going to freely use all the pills, money, and other resources the Black Cat Gang possesses. Anyone dissatisfied, let’s settle it with a one-on-one match and adjust our opinions that way. Any takers?”
The executives stared at the floor.
“……”
“No? Good.”
I waved my right hand.
“I’m glad my hand won’t have to get stained with executive blood.”
I didn’t forget the basics, either.
“Shao, for now, to keep things stable during this leadership change, I want Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s elites to seal up the gang inside and out. If anyone slips out without reporting, you’re free to execute them on the spot. If someone suddenly wants to ‘go back to their hometown’ or whatever, tie them up and drag them to me.”
Shao understood what I meant and nodded.
“We’ll maintain a strict security posture.”
From the executives’ perspective, the Black Cat Gang got a new leader overnight and absolutely nothing improved. If you think about it, the Gold Phoenix Pavilion’s slush fund has flowed off to Ilyang Prefecture, and all their core assets are about to be squeezed dry by me. In simple terms, they’re on the verge of going bust.
Not my problem.
Wasn’t before, isn’t now.
I’m not a denizen of the Black Path.
I’m the man who beats and robs the Black Path.
And so, my first day as Black Cat Gang leader came to a peaceful close.