On the fourth day of travel, we arrived in Guangdong Province. Passing through small villages, we entered a moderately bustling town when a young child scurried up to us with a fawning smile.
"Great Hero! Is this your first time here? Perhaps you need an inn with a large stable?"
"A stable, you say."
Tang Jincheon stared at the child for a moment, then nodded.
"Lead the way. It's fine if it's a little dirty, so don't worry about it."
"…Yes! I'll take you to a good place!"
The boy flinched for a moment, then began guiding us with noticeably quicker steps.
Perhaps finding it strange, Tang So-wol quickened her pace slightly to walk alongside me and Tang Jincheon, asking,
"Father, what were you two talking about just now?"
"I was saying that I have business not only at the inn, but also at the Haomun."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Tang So-wol tilted her head. Seeing that she didn't seem to understand, I answered this time.
"Think about the name 'Haomun.' It's just a simple play on words."
"…Ah."
Tang So-wol's eyes widened as if she finally understood. However, it seemed there was a different reason for her surprise.
"How would the young hero know that, when even my father doesn't?"
"Anyone who's spent time in the martial world knows. To make contact with the Beggars' Sect, you find a beggar with a knot tied in his lapel. If you have business with Haomun, you give your task to those who wear black paint on their sleeves and add that you don't mind getting your hands dirty."
"So that's how it is… Then, are we heading to a Haomun branch right now?"
"Unlikely. The boy is indeed a Haomun member, but he wouldn't have recognized us. The innkeeper we're heading to might not even know who we are."
"What? Isn't Haomun a sect that handles information like the Beggars' Sect?"
"Correct. However, unlike the Beggars' Sect, Haomun accepts anyone. Aside from those who directly take on commissions or those who organize this area's information and send it to the main headquarters, most Haomun members are just a motley crew."
If someone seeks out Haomun, pass the word up the chain as far as possible. If a fellow Haomun member asks for help, lend a hand within reason. Betrayal is avoided whenever possible.
These three rules are the entirety of a Haomun member's duty.
As long as one could keep those rules, anyone could become a Haomun member. Even those who had not trained in martial arts, even those who knew nothing of the informant's work, it did not matter.
"It's quite different from the Beggars' Sect."
"That's only natural. Their purpose from the very start was different."
The Beggars' Sect was a sect born in the midst of martial artists who brawled day in and day out, back before the territories of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects had been as cleanly divided as they were now.
In those days, it was common for ordinary, peaceful citizens to be caught up in fights between martial artists, losing their families or having their property seized, and ending up as beggars.
A man who had lost everything and was scraping by as a beggar rallied the beggars in similar straits and rose up in righteous fury, refusing to let things go on as they were.
That man was the first Beggars' Sect Chief.
"This is a story I learned in my childhood as well. He compared the villains who troubled the world to dogs and drove them out, thereby drawing the line between the territories of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects, wasn't it? And afterward, to prevent the same from happening again, he kept his ears open to the news of the Nine Provinces and Eight Wilds through beggars across the land."
"That's right. The Beggars' Sect's emphasis on chivalry and its handling of information are all the influence of the first Sect Chief."
These days, the Beggars' Sect has grown in power, gained wealth and strength, and factions like the Blue Robe Faction or the Righteous Robe Faction have emerged, but…
Before the regression. When the Heavenly Demon led the Demonic Cult in their invasion, the Beggars' Sect stood against them first, regardless of faction, and never retreated until the last man who could fight had fallen.
That became the turning point that overturned the distrust of the Orthodox Sects held by every Unorthodox martial artist, myself included—the mocking belief that righteousness was nothing but hypocrisy.
Though the Beggars' Sect's martial arts have since been lost, the loyalty they displayed played a great role in uniting the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects.
"Haomun, on the other hand, is a bit different. To begin with, it's not even clear who founded the Haomun sect, when, or for what reason."
"Why is that?"
"Because a naturally formed cooperative organization turned into a sect at some point."
Cheon Han-il, those who do hard work find it difficult to confide their troubles to others. Not only can those who haven't shared the same circumstances not understand, but no one even tries to acknowledge their hardships.
So, just as farmers exchange labor with one another, an organization created to rely on each other was the original form.
Martial arts aptitude, keen senses for gathering information, and a sense of justice.
Unlike the Beggars' Sect, which accepts disciples based on various conditions, this is why Haomun truly accepts anyone.
After all, it was originally a place formed by just such a motley group of people.
"The purpose of Haomun isn't grand. Survival. Merely surviving this harsh world without suffering a miserable fate is their only goal. That's also why their rules are so loose."
If someone seeks out Haomun, they guide them; they help fellow Haomun members, and they never betray one another.
Truly simple rules. But what matters here isn't the content itself, but the fact that the phrase "if possible" precedes it.
There's no need to follow them strictly. When faced with a threat to your life or a benefit so great it makes your eyes spin, you may break them as much as you like.
If doing so lets you survive, if it lets you escape this lowly life, then do it as much as you want. I would have done the same.
"This can be called Haomun's true policy."
"…It's quite different from the sect I imagined. I vaguely pictured something like an unorthodox Beggars' Sect."
"That's not entirely wrong. Haomun became famous as an information organization by imitating the Beggars' Sect. However, our purpose is a little different."
"By purpose, you mean… money, after all?"
"There's one more thing added to that. It's to know of potential dangers in advance and avoid them. Think of it like a rabbit raising its ears as high as it can to hear a wolf's footsteps."
Just as the Beggars' Sect refuses requests for information that could be misused, Haomun rarely accepts dangerous commissions.
The story would be different if they hadn't promised an amount worth risking one's life for.
"That's also why Haomun sent the Tang Clan information about the mastermind behind this without even being asked."
"You're trying to squeeze money out of Father, who's furious beyond belief?"
"…That reason isn't entirely absent, but the main purpose is probably to avoid the Tang Clan's anger."
It just so happened that the Demonic Cult spy bastards had hidden themselves in Guangdong Province, where Haomun's main headquarters was located, and it just so happened that they had provoked the Sichuan Tang Clan, famous for their relentlessness, and it just so happened that Tang Jincheon found the mastermind faster than the bastards could hear news of their failure.
The conclusion Haomun reached after quickly gathering the information above was simple.
Since things had come to this, let's sell out the Demonic Cult bastards who had hidden themselves so insolently, and gain both money and trust.
"That's also the reason we came all the way to Guangdong Province. Perhaps the reason Father-in-law is seeking out Haomun this time isn't just because he received information from Haomun, but because they promised to cooperate in catching the mastermind. If you're going to do it, doing it thoroughly is better from Haomun's standpoint as well."
"Wow… is that really true, Father?"
Tang So-wol stared at Tang Jincheon with wide eyes.
"Everything the young hero Cheon said is correct. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised. I knew you had Sword Talent, but I never imagined you'd have this level of insight."
"It's just that, being from Zhejiang Province, I happened to hear a few things here and there."
From destroying the Jeoksa Faction and leaving his hometown, to joining the Black Alliance—he had lived as a wanderer for nearly ten years.
In that time, he'd had quite a few dealings with Haomun, and after joining the Black Alliance, he'd also picked up various things from the Iron Blood Faction Leader, so he merely had some understanding of Haomun's ways.
Tang Jincheon wore a strange expression at my words, then let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
"That can't be explained by merely being from Zhejiang Province… well, never mind. Isn't it a good thing for everyone when a family member is clever?"
Tang Jincheon let out a hearty laugh. Just as he did, we arrived at the inn.
The building was larger than I'd expected. Probably the best inn in this town, I figured. Well, there had to be a reason the stables were so big.
"Go inside and rest for now. I'll handle the Haomun side with the Dark Soul Corps Master."
He said that as he dismounted, then relayed the same message to the Dark Soul Squad.
He handed the vice-captain a money pouch, then disappeared somewhere with the captain, following the boy who had guided us here.
Watching the vice-captain's back as he rented a room where we could all stay together, I asked Tang So-wol.
"By the way, didn't you say last time that the absorption of the purple poison-nurturing herb was complete? Could you show me for a moment?"
"Hehe. You'll be quite surprised."
Tang So-wol puffed out her chest with a smug look on her face.
***
While waiting for Tang Jincheon and the Dark Soul Corps Master to finish their business at Haomun and return.
Half of the group was resting in the rented room, while the other half gathered in twos and threes and headed to Market Street to buy necessary supplies.
And what were Tang So-wol and I doing, you ask…
Chirp-!
We were catching sparrows in the back courtyard.
"Did you kill it?"
"Surely not. I merely paralyzed it. …But the effect is stronger than I expected. Perhaps its life really has been cut short."
Tang So-wol picked up the fallen sparrow with a troubled expression. As she gently stroked its feathers, the stiffly frozen sparrow slowly began to move again.
After glancing around for a while, the creature suddenly fluttered into the air with a light, reckless beat of its wings.
"It seems it wasn't enough to kill it, thankfully."
"I see. Knocking a flying bird out of the sky with a single gesture is certainly impressive, but perhaps because my own knowledge of poison art isn't deep, I can't quite tell how remarkable it truly is."
"Ah! That was a paralysis poison that is subtle but lacks immediate effect and power. If the sparrow had been resting quietly, perhaps, but it could never have brought down one that was flying."
"Never, you say?"
"Never. Unlike ordinary weapons, whose power can be increased by putting in more strength or pouring in more internal energy, poison has a fixed power and method of use."
"True. When you think about it, increasing the amount of poison doesn't make it more powerful. It's just that the victim lacks the internal energy to resist, so they get poisoned."
"That's right."
"But even with the same poison, some are more potent than others. Take Scattered Energy Poison, for instance. Some who are poisoned can't move their internal energy at all, while others can still manage to circulate it, albeit with great difficulty."
"In those cases, it's not that the poison's power differs—it's a difference in purity."
"Purity?"
"Yes. It's like how the same liquor hits you faster when you drink it straight than when you dilute it with water."
"…Put that way, I understand immediately."
He nodded and turned his gaze to the side. There, Tang So-wol was studying a sparrow that had rejoined the flock and was flying off somewhere, her profile visible as she watched it intently.
After gazing at that elegant nose for a moment, I asked.
"If the poison's power itself has increased, then it must be difficult to cure as well."
"Difficult is an understatement."
Tang So-wol turned to look at me as she said that. With a smug expression, she lifted her chin, and now even crossed her arms.
Naturally emphasizing her chest, she curled the corners of her mouth into a smirk.
"I can guarantee that unless I personally retrieve the poison, a perfect cure will be difficult."
"…"
I couldn't figure out where to rest my eyes.