Chapter 27 …Gon Hong-gi
Gon Hong-gi
The man put his foot up on the chair next to Geomryeong, narrowed his eyes with a fierce expression, and picked a fight.
The courtesan sitting across from them was worried that Geomryeong might get hurt.
“Then please, go ahead. I’m done eating anyway.”
Seeing Geomryeong give up his seat so readily was unexpected. The courtesan let out a sigh of relief.
However, the other courtesans and women sitting nearby were somewhat disappointed.
With his delicate features, fair skin, intelligence, and even his martial skills, Geomryeong struck them as the kind of man who might be truly one of a kind in this world.
As Geomryeong rose from his seat, the men’s lips curled upward. They thought he was leaving out of fear of their behavior.
“Sister! Let’s go for a walk.”
“As you wish, young master!”
When Geomryeong and the courtesan stepped aside, the men sneered at his back.
“And they call that a man…?”
“He’s probably not a man, brother! Look at that face—it’s like a woman’s. I bet he’s just a woman who dresses as a man for pleasure.”
They mocked him, but Geomryeong paid them no mind.
“Young master, please endure it. Those men are called the Four Dogs of the Zhu River mid-level officers of the Zhu River Waterway Bandits who are based here along the river.”
Waterway bandits!
Just as mountains had bandit groups, waterways had their own bandit organizations.
In the Central Plains, waterway bandits were organized into major groups. Thirteen major bands operated along the Yellow River — collectively called the Thirteen Waterway Bands of the Yellow River (황하십삼수로채), and fifteen along the Yangtze River — the Fifteen Waterway Bands of the Yangtze
The Zhu River Waterway Bandits were separate from both these groups. They independently blocked routes between the Zhu River and the sea, engaging in piracy and collecting tolls from passing ships to sustain themselves.
The courtesan, worried that Geomryeong might take their bait and fight, warned him in advance.
Geomryeong nodded.
“So they’re bad people.”
“Exactly. It’s best not to get involved with them, young master. Let’s just go for a walk.”
Following her wishes, Geomryeong went downstairs with her.
The Four Dogs hurled taunts from behind, but the two ignored them and continued down.
When the target doesn’t respond, heckling quickly loses its charm.
With Geomryeong not responding at all, their amusement soon faded.
“What are you looking at? Never seen a face before?!”
They shouted at the surrounding guests. Those on the second floor averted their eyes and bowed their heads nervously.
Before long, many guests quietly left their seats and went downstairs to avoid trouble.
“Pathetic… That’s why these so-called scholars are useless. All talk, no spine…”
The scholars’ faces flushed red, but none dared confront them.
‘Why is it that not even a single martial artist is around today…?’
They could only blame the absence of martial artists.
“You held back well,” the courtesan said as she and Geomryeong exited the Xiangxue Pavilion.
“Not really. By the way, earlier you called them the Four Dogs of the Zhu River… Are they really that bad?”
At Geomryeong’s question, her expression hardened slightly.
“They are…”
As she explained, Geomryeong’s brows furrowed unconsciously. The situation was so rotten that the word ‘hopeless’ came to mind.
“Do martial artists or government soldiers just sit by and let them run rampant?”
“They bribe the soldiers heavily to protect their operations. And since they have ties with the Myeongsapa faction, no one dares challenge them.”
The Myeongsapa was a powerful faction in Guangdong, sharing influence with the underworld. Their power rivaled even the influential Xin Chang Clan.
That was why the Zhu River Waterway Bandits were able to run wild in Guangzhou.
As Geomryeong listened, he understood the situation clearly.
It was no different from how the Heukho Clan in Xianggang extorted money from merchants and markets, then bribed local magistrates.
The only difference was the scale—it was bigger here.
“Wherever you go, there are always groups that live off mutual exploitation,” he remarked.
They were groups that maintained symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationships through corruption.
“But you must be careful of them, young master. They won’t hesitate to kill.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve killed plenty of people myself.”
Heukho Clan, Wang Eoksan Stronghold, Bul San Cliff Sect—Geomryeong had killed over 150 people with his own hands.
“You, young master?”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
She nodded. With his gentle looks, it was unimaginable that he had ever killed anyone.
“Then you don’t have to believe it.”
He spoke the truth, but people rarely accepted the truth as it was.
After walking along the Zhu River for half an hour, they returned.
“Sister, I had a great time. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”
“Of course, young master. Rest well.”
She wanted to stay with him longer through the night, but she couldn’t. A trace of regret lingered.
When Geomryeong entered his room, she turned away and went to her own.
Opening the window, Geomryeong muttered,
“A man who turns a blind eye to injustice isn’t a real man.”
He leapt out the window, soaring into the night sky like a wild bird, tracing a long arc through the air. Yet among the countless people below, no one noticed.
“Keh keh keh!”
The vile laughter came from none other than Gon Hong-gi.
He had secretly broken into a woman’s room while she slept—and was raping her.
Slash!
A sharp sound rang out, followed by a short scream.
The woman he was assaulting was none other than the courtesan who had been with Geomryeong earlier in the day.
She was completely naked, lying beneath him.
Her face and body were swollen and battered beyond recognition, covered in bruises from a brutal beating.
Slash!
Gon Hong-gi’s sadistic hobbies had already driven her mind into a haze.
“Keh keh! For a courtesan, you don’t seem to know men very well.”
He grabbed her breast roughly.
“Ugh!”
A faint groan escaped her lips.
“Where is that little brat?”
“I… don’t… know… young… master…”
Even while being violated, she refused to reveal Geomryeong’s whereabouts.
“Aaagh!”
A sharp, piercing scream tore from her throat—not the weak moans from before.
“Keh keh keh!”
Gon Hong-gi had ripped off her breast with his hand. Blood gushed out, soaking the bedding red.
She passed out from the pain.
“Keh keh! Did you think you could hide him forever?”
Licking her unconscious face with satisfaction, he grabbed her remaining breast.
“Aaagh!”
The pain snapped her back to consciousness.
“Pl… please… spare… the young… master…”
Even in her dying state, she begged him to spare Geomryeong.
He frowned.
“So you don’t care if you die, but you want me to spare that brat?”
She nodded weakly.
“Keh keh! A virtuous woman, are we?”
Despite his mockery, she repeated her plea.
“No one gives me orders.”
Annoyed, he pressed his hand to her mutilated chest.
“Huh!”
She felt the blood surging toward the wound. The pain was indescribable.
Through his palm, he absorbed all her blood.
“Only I can give myself orders.”
Not satisfied with just her blood, Gon Hong-gi absorbed her vital essence through her perineum as well.
Her body shriveled like a dried corpse, her eyes still open in death.
Having drained her completely, Gon Hong-gi scowled.
Normally, this would have brought pleasure, but instead, his craving for more grew.
This meant his mastery of Flame Demon Jade Form Art had reached a dangerous stage.
“Wherever you’re hiding, I won’t let you go.”
Just as he was seething with thoughts of Geomryeong, he sensed another presence.
“Who’s there?!”
He whipped his left hand out, hurling a dagger so fast it was barely visible.
“Kugh!”
A pained grunt was followed by hurried footsteps fleeing the scene.
Gon Hong-gi’s expression twisted in shock, and he sprang into action.
If he let this witness escape, everything could collapse.
He quickly spotted the fleeing figure—but a new problem arose.
The commotion drew people outside their rooms.
“Damn it!”
He couldn’t afford to lose the pursuer, but he had to avoid being recognized.
Outwardly, he maintained a calm demeanor and walked briskly, but inside, he was burning with anxiety.
As the fugitive’s aura grew fainter, his urgency grew. He scanned the surroundings, then unleashed his lightness skill to chase at full speed.
After about half an hour, he caught up close behind the fugitive.
“Of all people…”
His face twisted in surprise.
He recognized the man’s affiliation—
The Beggar’s Sect (개방)—the sprawling network of beggars spread throughout the land.
“I cannot let this one escape.”
Geomryeong returned to Xiangxue Pavilion after finishing his own business. A bundle was now tied to his back.
He noticed a large crowd gathered outside the pavilion. Curious, he pushed through the people.
“What happened?” he asked someone.
“A person’s dead. But the way they died is so bizarre…”
“Really?”
“They dried up like a desiccated corpse.”
Geomryeong narrowed his eyes.
—Some demonic arts can absorb a victim’s internal energy or blood. Be careful.
—But Geomryeong, your body is sword-proof. Such demonic arts won’t affect you.
Recalling Yakbing and the Ghost Demon Lord’s battle, he went to where the corpse lay.
A naked woman’s body was shriveled up like a mummy.
Because Gon Hong-gi had chased after the witness in a hurry, he hadn’t disposed of the corpse.
Geomryeong immediately recognized her—the courtesan from earlier.
Though their time together had been brief, they had spent a joyful half-day.
He approached and gently closed her eyes.
For a moment, it felt as if her lifeless face smiled at him.
Nodding, Geomryeong turned and left. People whispered about him as he passed, but he didn’t care.
He stepped outside, closed his eyes briefly, then leapt into the air—heading in the same direction Gon Hong-gi had pursued the witness.
