“What did you talk about with the Alliance Leader for so long?”

At the Drunk’s question, I said to the Four Great Villains:

“Let’s talk while we walk.”

“To where?”

“Let’s start by heading toward Baek Eung-ji.”

After watching the Jecheon Alliance Leader wrap up the situation at Tongcheon Faction, we set off as well. I talked with the Alliance Leader not only about the Tongcheon Faction, but also about Haomun.

As I slowly made my way toward Baek Eung-ji, I organized my thoughts. While doing so, I chatted with the Four Great Villains. In the middle of that idle talk, I came up with a few plans and got to the point.

“Jecheon Alliance and Haomun have decided to invest in Tongcheonmun.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

The Lecher tilted his head and asked me.

“But does Haomun have that much money?”

I looked at the Lecher.

“I don’t really know.”

“You’re the Master. How can you not know?”

“The managers probably have a rough idea. It’s true we have a lot. For one, that Great Rakshasa I killed had a ton of money. That Master Su bastard too—he was loaded. But the Sword-Breaking Society had even more than the two of them combined. Still, even that can’t compare to a fraction of the Namak Green Forest Alliance’s assets. All that’s been stockpiled in Haomun, so yeah, we’ve got money.”

Whenever the four of us walk down a road together, it feels like the street naturally empties out. Well, it can’t be helped. We don’t exactly look like ordinary people.

I gave them a condensed version of what I told the Jecheon Alliance Leader.

“...I told the Alliance Leader to invest not just in Tongcheon Faction, but also in Haomun.”

“Why the sudden move? You said we’ve got plenty of money.”

“It’s about creating ties. In the dark path, money’s especially important.”

The eldest, who had been quietly listening, asked me:

“What do you plan to do with the Jecheon Alliance’s investment?”

I pointed ahead as I spoke.

“We’re going to take over the inn that the Right Guardian’s group had occupied below Baek Eung-ji. Since that bastard slaughtered everyone there, we need to take some sort of revenge. The place is desolate, and I already left a crater there with Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance. It’s a wide area, anyway.”

The Four Great Villains all stopped at the same time and stared at me.

“So?”

I looked around at the three of them and said,

“For now, I can’t return to Ilyang County. Look at what that Right Guardian bastard did. If I go back, the damage will be too great. But it’s fine. Wherever I am—that’s Haomun.”

The Lecher nodded.

“No wonder. I’ve been wanting to see Yoran the past few days, but you’re right. I can’t go back right now. Isn’t that right, Master?”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“That’s right.”

The Drunk agreed too.

“Cultivation is important, but she’s still young. What she needs more right now is a normal life. If we go back now, all of Ilyang County will get dragged into Jianghu.”

Once I had the agreement of the three, I pointed down the road again.

“Anyway, I told the Alliance Leader to invest in Haomun. The investment doesn’t need to be much. If he has a spare horse, he can give us that. Or a carriage. Or he can send construction workers. I told him to figure it out. Still, he’s the Alliance Leader, so he can’t make a pathetic contribution. But I did ask him for a symbol of investment.”

“A symbol?”

“I asked for a flag. I asked what it would say, and he just said ‘Jecheon (齊天).’ So I asked if we could plant the Jecheon flag first at the inn we take over. He said it was fine. I asked if he knew what that meant, and... the Alliance Leader told me to do as I pleased. He caught on quickly—it seems he more or less understood the meaning.”

The Drunk looked toward a nearby tea shop.

“Hold on. This isn’t a conversation we can have while walking. Big Bro, let’s have a cup of tea.”

“Let’s.”

We sat around one of the tea shop’s tables, placed our order, and continued the conversation.

The Drunk summarized what he’d heard and asked me,

“So Haomun plans to take over that empty inn, and you asked the Jecheon Alliance Leader to invest in rebuilding it? And the symbol of that investment is a flag?”

“Exactly. If someone shows up claiming they have a claim to the inn, we’ll pay them off. I’ll handle that—don’t worry. I plan to rebuild the place grandly.”

The Four Great Villains drank the tea that Jomsoi brought over, then looked at me. They’d clearly picked up on what I was about to say.

After sipping the hot tea I hadn’t had in a while, I said,

“...I’m going to contact the Murim Alliance too and ask them to invest in Haomun. I’ll summarize what the Right Guardian did this time and pass it along. I need to wring some money out of Alliance Leader Im too.”

“Hmm.”

“The amount doesn’t matter much either. Supplies are fine. But we absolutely need a symbol. A flag would be best. I plan to place a flag reading ‘Alliance (盟)’ next to the Jecheon flag. Once the inn is close to completion, I’ll invite the two Alliance Leaders over for tea or wine. As investors, it wouldn’t hurt for them to come at least once.”

The three of them looked at me with surprise.

“Would that even be possible?”

“You know them. They’re not the kind of men who’d be scared off by a cup of tea. If they end up arguing and getting into a fight over it, even better. We’d get to serve tea and watch a battle you’d never see anywhere else.”

The Lecher asked,

“Who do you think would win?”

“Alright, we all raise our hands at the same time. If you think Alliance Leader Im would win, raise your right hand. If you think the Jecheon Alliance Leader would win, raise your left. One, two, three.”

All four of us raised our right hands.

The Sword Demon lowered his hand and said,

“If it came down to factions, both sides would bleed heavily. But in a duel, Alliance Leader Im can’t be beaten.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. In any case, I’ll be asking both Alliances to invest, but that’s not the end of it.”

“......”

I looked at the Drunk.

“You’ve been using that Six Harmonies Sword from the Master of Unhyang Sect he gave you as a gift, right? It’s about time you paid a visit.”

“Mm.”

“Thank him properly. Check on the situation at the Muga. And pass on a message from me.”

“What message?”

“Tell him that the Master of Haomun is planning to build a base at the inn below Baek Eung-ji and is asking for some investment.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the three who’d been holding it in burst into laughter.

“Hahaha...”

I looked at them with a serious face.

“What’s so funny? I’m being serious. What should we get from the Master of Unhyang Sect?”

The Drunk answered.

“The flag of Unhyang (雲香).”

“Ask him. Tell him to contact the White-Robed Scholar and say that the Master of Haomun is asking for investment. If Unhyang’s Master is hard to reach, then you go in person to Senior Cheonak’s mountain villa. What I want isn’t the White-Robed Scholar’s money—it’s the flag of the Unrivaled.”

What started with a simple inn investment was turning into something much bigger. The Four Great Villains' eyes were growing wider.

“Hm.”

I looked around at them and said,

“I want to see it with my own eyes—on the walls, on the roof—flags fluttering from the Murim Alliance, Jecheon Alliance, the Unrivaled, and Unhyang. These are valuable investors—we should at least show our appreciation.”

The Sword Demon said,

“You’re extorting money from the whole of Jianghu.”

The Lecher looked around and asked,

“Who’s going to deliver the message to the Murim Alliance?”

The three of us silently looked at the Lecher. He met the Sword Demon’s gaze and then nodded.

“I’ll go, Master.”

“You should.”

The Sword Demon continued,

“I get the general idea. But what we expect and what the others intend might be different. Let’s hear them out thoroughly. They should know what they’re investing in too.”

I nodded.

“What we’re building is a kind of checkpoint.”

I glanced at the three and continued,

“If you go northeast from the checkpoint, you hit the Murim Alliance. To the north is Baek Eung-ji. Southeast is the Jecheon Alliance. A little farther out are the White-Robed Scholar and Cheonak. The rebuilt inn will serve as a gateway. Anyway, right now I’m the number one public enemy of the Demonic Cult. The Right Guardian defected, Big Bro’s with us—no matter how you slice it, it’s my fault. The Cult may try to regroup, and someone will replace the positions of Left and Right Guardians, but there’ll be clashes.”

“......”

“If it takes time, all the better. I plan to keep cultivating. But I want to make it clear—to both enemies and allies. The structure we’re building might look like an inn, but it’s Haomun’s main base. Up to now, we’ve never had a real base. This will be the first. I’m ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ going to hold the line here. Holding out here is what will give it meaning.”

The Drunk called Jomsoi and ordered alcohol.

I looked at the Sword Demon.

“Big Bro, someone’s going to replace the Left and Right Guardians, right?”

“They will.”

Seeing him nod, I asked,

“Any guesses?”

The Sword Demon pondered.

“Hard to say. For now, Grand Prince Yang might take one spot. Or someone from his maternal family might be sent.”

“Where’s Grand Prince Yang’s maternal family from?”

The Sword Demon shook his head.

“No one knows. That’s the one family the Cult Leader reached out to first, forming a blood alliance. Even Grand Prince Yang didn’t show his face early on. Him stepping out like this was unexpected. As for the third brother’s maternal family—that old man you supposedly killed was probably their top expert, so we can ignore them.”

“Oh, that old man.”

The Lecher asked,

“How’d you kill him?”

I looked at the Drunk and answered.

“There was this old flame-moth-like cultist who threw himself into Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance. He evaporated. Anyway, whoever takes over the Guardian roles will have to make a name for themselves. One way or another, they’ll show up before me. Or they might come to retrieve Big Bro’s Bright Sword. Once I establish Haomun’s base, they’ll come here. Because I’m here. Think about it.”

I traced a large circle in the air with my finger.

“I’m going to use money from the white path, the dark path, the scholars, and Haomun to build it wide and extravagant. But no guests outside of Jianghu. Only Alliance Leaders, Clan Heads, or people called kings will drop in for tea or wine now and then. Everyone will know that it’s Haomun. Though it’ll be called an inn, this will be our first and last luxurious life. I’ll make a martial training ground here that rivals Cheonak’s mountain.”

The Lecher asked,

“And after that?”

I took the drink the Drunk poured and laughed.

“Then I’ll start planting flags of all Haomun’s allied factions—Namcheonryeon, Namyeonghui, Black Line Pavilion, Black Cat Gang—and even the dark path forces under Jecheon Alliance. Then Im will pass word to the white path forces. Flags from Namgung, Seomun, and Baekri clans will flutter nearby too. And that’s how we’ll complete the most glorious inn in Jianghu history. A rainbow of flags waving in the wind.”

As I poured myself another drink, I added,

“The name of the gate, Haomun’s main base, and the inn that drew in all these investors... is the New Zaha Guesthouse. Let’s keep cultivating here. I’ll mainly train with the sword. My internal energy is sufficient, but there’s a limit to relying on that alone.”

I told the three what our future looked like.

“One day, when an unstoppable force arrives, we’ll fight, and the Zaha Guesthouse will be engulfed in flames. The gate will fall. That glorious inn will tragically burn, the walls collapse, and the roof cave in. And then...”

The Lecher muttered,

“Isn’t that just getting ruined?”

I shook my head.

“That’s when the real Haomun begins. We’ll fight the most glorious battle in Jianghu’s most extravagant inn and completely fall. The flags of the Murim Alliance, Jecheon Alliance, the Scholars, the dark and white paths will all burn in the Demonic Cult’s charge. And all the investors will realize they’re not getting their money back. The collapse of Haomun’s base will become the talk of the entire martial world. That’s when a coalition formed in memory of ruined Haomun will strike back. Without that, the scattered powers will never unite. I have to fall first, then the alliance can rise. That’s why I need to squeeze out the money now. This is why money matters.”

“......”

“If Haomun crashes to the bottom like I planned... only then will I be able to visit Ilyang County with a lighter heart, or see Yoran. That’s how hard it is to go see your disciple.”

The Sword Demon nodded and laughed.

“It’s a hard life.”

The Drunk asked me,

“When should I leave?”

I gave him my thoughts.

“Go whenever you feel like it. When you’re in the middle of cultivation and suddenly feel like it’s time, then go. Let’s just set a direction to live by. No need to worry about the rest. It’s all luck. Going quickly doesn’t mean it’ll be good, and going slowly doesn’t mean you’ll fall behind. The goal is to establish a Haomun that all powers take part in. We’ll do our best to hold out—and then fall.”

The Lecher said,

“Why do we have to fall? We could survive.”

“If the Cult Leader shows up in person with an army, we’re bound to fall, aren’t we?”

“Well, true.”

I poured drinks for my brothers and asked,

“...Are you all ready to fall?”

The Sword Demon, Drunk, and Lecher raised their cups. I raised mine last and said,

“Let’s collapse more gloriously than anyone in Jianghu history.”

“Sounds good.”

“We were already ruined, let’s do it again.”

“Strangely, it doesn’t feel bad when I think about us all falling together.”

One after the other, the Sword Demon, the Drunk, and the Lecher spoke while raising their cups.

I am the representative and Clan Head of the Ruined Lives Society. Even though the Zaha Guesthouse hasn’t been built yet, I already dreamed of its ruin while drinking with these wicked men.

Fortunately, the wine was sweet.