Chapter 64 – A Bizarre Combination

Chapter 64 – A Bizarre Combination

On the way leaving the Martial Alliance and heading toward Sichuan.

On the Red Dragon Ship of the Yangtze River Waterway Forts, a strange combination of people was on board.

The Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Hwa-seon, and his son, Tang San-ho.

The waiter of the world's best tavern, Drunken Lotus Pavilion, and the owner, Do Yi-gyeom.

Even Tae Ju-ha, the Chief Stronghold Leader of the Waterway Forts.

However, the one who was the most out of place here was someone else.

"No… is this picture really right?"

San-ho muttered, looking toward the stern.

The place where his gaze lingered.

The one keeping watch on the rear from the stern of the ship was none other than Seomun Gang. San-ho shook his head at the sight of a member of the Martial Alliance, and the captain of the Heavenly Simurgh Squad at that, standing at the stern of the Red Dragon Ship.

"As I live, the day has come for me to board a giant ship of the Waterway Forts. Have I lived too long…?"

"Hey, brother. Are you going to keep doing that and hurt the feelings of the Waterway Forts members who are listening?"

"Who is your brother?"

"If you are older, you are the brother! Hmph, seeing how spiteful you are acting, your old personality hasn't died."

"Then why did you become an unorthodox bastard?"

The combination of Do Yi-gyeom and Tae Ju-ha, who were bickering constantly, was just as unfamiliar.

Because the two powerful members of the Ten Venerables of the Martial World did not yield a single word to each other, the terrified pirates could not even enter inside.

Tang Hwa-seon, who was looking at the strange landscape, suddenly turned his head toward San-ho.

"Ah, speaking of which, the Alliance Leader mentioned the medical pavilion. Did you make the proposal?"

"A proposal? Ah… yes! That's right, a proposal!"

Although there was a negotiation mixed with threats in front of death's door, San-ho, who did not bother to correct it, smiled brightly.

"Hmm… the Alliance's designated medical pavilion is well known for its strict selection process."

Tang Hwa-seon said in a voice filled with worry.

It was because he had only heard the broad outline of the story before leaving.

Although it was unlikely that the Alliance Leader would have proposed unfair terms to his son, it was true that he was worried because San-ho was a child with little experience.

"Our interests just aligned well. Someone from the Medicine King Hall of the Martial Alliance will be sent soon. You can discuss the details then, and ah, this is a document with simple terms written down."

San-ho rummaged through his sleeve and pulled out a document stamped with Alliance Leader Zhuge Yun's thumbprint.

"When did you do all this… Huh? What is this, receiving a fixed treatment fee?"

Examining the document, Tang Hwa-seon's eyes grew as wide as lanterns.

"Yes. We decided to receive a certain amount as a fixed payment and charge additional fees separately. That way, usage is definitely guaranteed."

San-ho had completely blocked any loopholes.

Tang Hwa-seon said with a dazed expression.

"Did the Alliance Leader agree to these terms?"

"Yes."

"……Why?"

There was no need to look twice; it was a good condition. Only for the Sichuan Tang Clan.

To him, who asked back in wonder, San-ho said.

"I told you, our interests just aligned well. More than that, while I was staying outside, I learned a bit about the ways of the world. It turned out… the rumors about the Tang Clan's medical pavilion weren't very good."

Just then, Tae Ju-ha suddenly threw a question from the side.

"The Tang Clan's medical pavilion? Wasn't that a place where only flies buzzed?"

"……"

"You know, human experimentation…"

"We don't do that. Ah, where did such a false rumor spread from?"

"Testing the lethal dose of poison on patients…"

"Why would we do that unless we were crazy? Really, those who spread false information should all eat bean rice."

San-ho scowled and huffed.

"Bean rice? Are you planning to serve them a meal?"

"No! It's not like that! Anyway, I'm saying there is a need to correct those rumors."

San-ho recalled the deserted Tang Clan medical pavilion.

'No wonder the medical pavilion was empty…'

He had just wondered if martial artists didn't get sick often, but lo and behold.

They got sick just the same!

Even more frequently, they fell ill and got injured!

Nevertheless, the reason the Tang Clan's medical pavilion was deserted must have been largely due to the family's symbol as a prestigious clan of poison.

As San-ho sighed, Tae Ju-ha tilted his head.

"So that's why you chose this?"

"Yes. From time immemorial, official certification works best for refreshing rumors."

In Britain, there was a system called the Royal Warrant. It literally meant that the royal family guaranteed it. Products with outstanding quality and uniqueness were delivered to the royal family, gaining the highest authority.

Human nature was originally like that.

If someone said it was good, it looked good.

It was not because they were gullible, but because they trusted experience.

But if it was something guaranteed by the royal family, there was no need to speak of its reliability. Therefore, in the Jianghu, the recognition of the Martial Alliance would have the same effect as a Royal Warrant.

"Hmm… that would be true, but."

"If it becomes a designated medical pavilion of the Martial Alliance, its use by martial artists, including the warriors of the Alliance, will surge, and if that happens, it will be easier to establish branches."

Looking at San-ho at his confident voice, Tang Hwa-seon's mouth fell slightly open.

'How on earth did a child who only stayed at home have such thoughts…?'

The family's financial issues were one of the grand concerns of the Tang Clan Head.

The Tang Clan inevitably required massive wealth.

Not only for the maintenance of the Tang Clan Village, but above all, because money was heavily spent due to the nature of their martial arts. It was a distant prospect to retrieve all the thrown hidden weapons, and poison disappeared once used. Moreover, the price of deadly poisons skyrocketed to the heavens.

Since they used weapons that disappeared once used, finance could not help but always be a problem.

'Other prestigious families wouldn't have this kind of problem.'

Prestigious families that had accumulated honor based on their regions earned wealth by operating facilities such as escort agencies, taverns, and medical pavilions.

The Tang Clan was the same.

Unfortunately, however, the Tang Clan's business establishments were always deserted.

In a way, it was a natural thing.

A tavern run by a family famous for poison?

A medical pavilion rumored to conduct human experiments?

An escort agency that attacks from the shadows?

'…Even if I were a commoner, I wouldn't go.'

It was simply a wonder that they hadn't gone bankrupt yet.

The financial difficulties that inevitably followed the family of poisons and hidden weapons.

It was a problem that had pursued him and choked him all along.

But an unexpected solution had appeared for the medical pavilion issue, which had been one of the headaches. Moreover, it was a method that guaranteed secure and massive wealth. Not only that, it was a marvelous plan that could simultaneously put the false rumors to rest.

'It is simply astonishing. I have never given him such an education…'

Just as Tang Hwa-seon could not help but admire San-ho's brilliant move.

Tae Ju-ha called him stealthily and asked.

"Ah, right. Do you have any intention of becoming the designated medical pavilion of the Waterway Forts? I would be able to trust the skills of the Tang Clan."

"………"

"I will pay you handsomely."

"I will… think about it. Since the scale of the medical pavilion is not that large, after all…"

Tang Hwa-seon could not refuse immediately and spoke roundly. Then, San-ho stepped forward abruptly.

"Wait, Chief Stronghold Leader. Even without this, there is a lot of talk about being an orthodox sect that acts like an unorthodox sect, and now a designated medical pavilion of the Waterway Forts?"

"What? This is so sorrowful under the pressure of those orthodox bastards that I can't live, hmph."

"But it is possible unofficially. How about that? We can even give you a friend discount."

'Heh. Did this child possess the qualities of a Chief Steward…!'

Quick calculation, flexible thinking, and even a bold temperament!

Looking at San-ho, who had finished the calculations in his head step by step, Tang Hwa-seon's eyes shone with a peculiar light.

It was during a time when a heated debate about business was going back and forth like that.

Tap, tap.

A small sound faintly brushed past their ears.

Do Yi-gyeom, who had his eyes closed on one side, slightly opened them.

"Some sound…"

"I hear it too."

At the same time, Tang Hwa-seon and San-ho also turned their heads toward the bow.

"Seriously, typical orthodox softies. Is this your first time boarding a ship?"

Tae Ju-ha shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"There are rapids in Xiling Gorge, so pieces of wood often drift down. It's nothing special, so don't worry."

"……Ah."

A night illuminated brightly by the moonlight.

The Red Dragon Ship was passing through Xiling Gorge, one of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.

"The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River…! I want to go and watch."

At Tae Ju-ha's words, San-ho left the cabin with a curious gaze.

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, consisting of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge, were not only landscape-painting-like scenery, but also filled with myths and legends. Not only that, it was also the backdrop for Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

'I can't miss this!'

Peaks soaring high on both sides and rising water mist. The Yangtze River winding through the massive mountainous terrain! Excitement that could not be hidden was revealed on San-ho's face.

"Wow……"

The bright moonlight shattered over the Yangtze River, and the surrounding landscape revealed its appearance in an even more faint manner.

'Since this region has rapid sections, unless it's a giant ship like the Red Dragon Ship, it would be hard to see this kind of night scenery, right?'

A path penetrating the mountain range extending from the east of Mount Wu.

A rugged rocky canyon came into view.

San-ho, who was admiring the scenery, moved his steps toward the front of the bow at the small tap sound heard once again.

Then, a shape revealed in the darkness.

"Huh?"

Clothes, shoes, and wooden fragments of broken furniture. Rolled-up cloths and goods were floating on the Yangtze River. As a piece of wood touched the Red Dragon Ship, a small tap sound was heard.

"They look like merchant guild goods. It seems a ship sank."

Do Yi-gyeom and Tang Hwa-seon, who had come out at some point, were also looking over the Yangtze River.

A merchant guild's ship sinking in the Yangtze River…

Tae Ju-ha, who suddenly felt the gaze of the four, asked with a reluctant expression.

"……Why are you looking at me?"

"It is simply the natural course of things…"

"Uh, there is a person over there!"

At that moment, San-ho hurriedly pointed to the water with his finger. There, a human figure floating while holding onto a chest was visible.

"How do we pull them out? Do you have something like a rope?"

"Why?"

"Why…?"

Why…? At Tae Ju-ha's extremely natural question, San-ho lost his words and asked back.

"Why are you trying to pull them out?"

"That's because… humans are land creatures without gills…?"

"So what about it?"

What should I do with this unorthodox person?

San-ho, who blinked his eyes for a moment, grabbed the forearm of Geum-myeong standing next to him. "You were… good at swimming. Fighting."

***

The people Geum-myeong pulled out were two.

A child about five years old who was on top of the chest, and a man who was holding onto that chest. It seemed he had placed the child on top of the chest to protect them.

San-ho hurriedly laid the child straight on the floor. No pulse was felt from the child, who was pale and limp.

"Were they unconscious from the beginning?"

Geum-myeong said, squeezing his clothes soaked with water.

"When I first grabbed them, they were unconscious and the pulse was felt faintly, but I don't know how they are now."

If so, there was still a chance.

"Ah, please lay that person down next to them as well!"

After checking the child's breathing, San-ho began to press between the breastbones with strong force. As he moved regularly while counting numbers, one, two, three, Seomun Gang followed him in the same way next to him.

'Since it is a child, the compression is 4 cm, airway secured, speed is 100 to 120 times per minute…'

San-ho recalled the sequence of CPR in his head.

It was worth having listened to CPR training tiresomely from middle and high school all the way to the military. Although he didn't know he would use it for the first time in the Central Plains of the martial world, as expected, there was no harm in knowing anything.

Chest compressions and checking breathing were repeated alternately several times.

'Please… wake up!'

Was it not a child too young to die yet?

San-ho counted the numbers with an anxious heart.

It was then.

"Cough! Cough!"

The child coughed wetly while throwing up the swallowed water. At that sight, San-ho and those standing around breathed a sigh of relief.

"What a relief…"

Just in time, the sound of the man who was pulled out together coughing loudly was heard. The complexions of the two, which had been pale blue, began to return slowly.

The breathing of the child and the man stabilized, and before long, they regained consciousness.

The first thing the man who opened his eyes with a confused face said was.

"Uaaaack!!!"

"Are you alri…"

"Kyaaaaack!!!"

"……Excuse me."

"Kuaaaack!! Waterway Forts, Wa-Waterway Forts?!"

San-ho covered his ears at the high-pitched voice that seemed to tear his eardrums. Looking at the fluttering Red Dragon Flag and the pirates wearing uniform robes, the man lost his newly recovered complexion again.

"Huaaaang! Uwaaa!"

At that moment, the child who woke up burst into tears.

"You must have been frightened. It is okay, it is okay."

Tang Hwa-seon skillfully hugged the child and began to pat and soothe them.

"Who, who are you?!"

Tang Hwa-seon spoke first to the man who was trembling in deathly pale fear.

"I am Tang Hwa-seon, the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan. You may rest assured."

"I am Seomun Gang, affiliated with the Martial Alliance. It is safe now, so do not worry."

At those words, the man was visibly relieved and asked.

"Ah, then this is not the ship of the Waterway Forts, right…?"

"……It is, but you may rest assured."

At Seomun Gang's calm reply, the man tilted his head to the side.

The Family Head of one of the Five Great Families and a martial artist of the Martial Alliance are together on a ship of the Waterway Forts?

"Did I perhaps…… die…?"