Episode 34: Hundred Flowers Pavilion
It was time to send an arrow to Lee Eon-pae's house. One arrow every month was the rule.
Won Seung took out his writing brush and ink, scribbling a few words on a note.
- Lee Eon-pae, I was too busy last month to visit. There are too many people in this world that need killing. Be grateful for the extra month you've lived. I'll come for you at the end of this month. Clean your neck and wait.
He then drew a picture of a baby turtle on the note and handed it to Jong Bi.
"Attach this note to an arrow and shoot it into Lee Eon-pae's room."
Jong Bi frowned at the turtle drawing, accompanied by all sorts of curses.
"Why do you do this?"
"There's a reason. You'll understand later."
Though he was reluctant to expose his assassin activities, Jong Bi was sticking close, so he had no choice. He decided to make proper use of him since he would find out eventually.
"Alright. Call me a First Grade Assassin when I get back."
The next morning, Jong Bi left for Jungyang County.
*
Returning to the Heavenly Observation Pavilion, Ohgu was summoned by Gu Ja-ang early in the morning after sleeping like the dead in his room.
"What happened? Why didn't you report yesterday?"
Ohgu confessed everything that had happened the previous day. While Won Seung was intimidating, Gu Ja-ang was even more terrifying.
He also hoped that Gu Ja-ang might resolve the poison he had ingested.
After hearing the report, Gu Ja-ang rolled his eyes coldly.
'I thought he was just a scholar, but he uses poison? Is he really from the Seongwangbu?'
Among scholars, many were skilled in various arts, so it wasn't strange for him to use poison. In fact, if he were a strategist from Seongwangbu, handling poison would be expected.
'This is troublesome. Let's not touch him until we confirm his identity.'
This was a critical time when a small mistake could lead to a huge disaster.
Gu Ja-ang was waiting for a report from his trusted subordinate sent to the Imperial Capital.
Ohgu, feeling intimidated, watched Gu Ja-ang's reactions closely.
Gu Ja-ang called the guards from outside.
"Put this guy in prison for now. He's suspected of colluding with the enemy."
Ohgu jumped up in protest.
"No, I didn't reveal anything even under severe torture."
"But you came back unharmed? They said they'd give you the antidote in a month? What did they make you do?"
Gu Ja-ang glared at Ohgu with terrifying eyes and instructed the guards.
"Starve him until he tells the truth."
The seeds of distrust and betrayal sown by Won Seung were beginning to grow.
*
A servant knocked on the door.
"What is it?"
"Hehe, I've brought the interim bill."
The servant handed over the bill.
'Gasp!'
Being the most luxurious inn in Xiangyang, the cost of food and lodging was astronomical.
Won Seung asked the servant with a trembling voice.
"Can I pay when I leave?"
"Oh, we settle every ten days. You can also stay by paying an advance."
The servant, who had been smiling, turned cold when it came to money.
"Fine."
Won Seung took out his money pouch and paid. The pouch became noticeably lighter, and the servant's smile returned.
'Ugh...'
He had made quite a bit from selling medicine at the Clear Water Sect, but half of it was gone.
'This won't do. I'll become a beggar before my assassin mission is over.'
After pondering, Won Seung went to the calligraphy and painting street in the afternoon and bought a bunch of brushes and paper.
He then locked himself in his room and started painting.
A few days later, Jong Bi returned and was puzzled by the pile of paintings in the room.
"What is all this?"
"You can't live off others forever. A person should work."
"Are you becoming a painter?"
Jong Bi casually unfolded a painting and was slightly surprised. It was a landscape painting, and the waterfall looked incredibly vivid.
"Hmm. Not bad."
"Oh? You recognize it?"
"What is it?"
"It's a painting by a very famous artist named An Mok-Saeng."
"Then it's plagiarism?"
"No!"
Won Seung pointed to a part where he had written, "Inspired by An Mok-Saeng's painting. By Wind-Cloud Young Master."
"This way, it's not plagiarism."
"Eh. What's the point of such a work?"
"You didn't even know about this work until just now, did you? Famous works are hidden away by high-ranking officials who enjoy them alone. So people have only heard of An Mok-Saeng's 'Thousand-Day Waterfall' but never had the chance to see it."
Jong Bi clapped his knee in realization.
"Ah, so you're showing them something similar."
"Exactly. You're getting it now."
"Will this make money?"
"It definitely will. I'll paint, and you, as a First Grade Assassin, will do the mounting."
"You want me to do the mounting?"
Jong Bi frowned.
"Haven't you learned it?"
"I did, but it's been a while..."
"If you don't know, I'll teach you. Just do the mounting."
"Can't we just hire someone?"
"No. Each painting belongs to a different era, so the mounting should match the era. And if we carelessly hire someone and word gets out, the business will be ruined."
"Ugh..."
In the end, Won Seung painted, and Jong Bi did the mounting.
"How's this?"
When Jong Bi showed the finished mounted work, Won Seung went into the room and came out with powdered medicine.
"What are you doing!"
Jong Bi tried to stop him, but a corner of the scroll was already stained.
"It looks better if it seems old. Even a replica is valuable if it looks ancient."
After treating the scroll with the medicine, Won Seung lifted it up.
"Oh, this looks like it's hundreds of years old."
Jong Bi gradually became interested in the work. No, he eagerly joined in, knowing they could make money. Jong Bi mounted the paintings, and Won Seung used herbal medicine to create natural stains and an aged look.
Having seen countless paintings in his childhood and possessing a good memory, Won Seung could convincingly recreate even the most famous paintings.
He even painted several pieces that were secretly kept in the Imperial Palace.
Once a hundred paintings were completed, Won Seung said,
"Now, let's get a shop."
"You're opening a store? Are you planning to settle in Xiangyang?"
Jong Bi was puzzled.
Won Seung needed a place to go after dismantling the Red Blood Mountain Assassin Training Camp. As long as his aunt was alive, the Won Manor was not an option.
Xiangyang was a fairly large city and a good place to live. If the painting shop did well, he planned to stay in Xiangyang.
"It's a good way to make money and maintain a disguised identity... A painting shop is perfect."
"Won't the main base find out?"
"If we both keep our mouths shut, who will know? Assassins need a hidden place that no one knows about."
"That's true, but... If we open a painting shop, the branch might notice. It's the branch's job to report any changes in their jurisdiction to the main base."
"Ugh..."
Won Seung pondered.
"Let's make sure to launder our identities when we open the shop. You disguise yourself as a scholar too. Hide your sword."
"Got it."
Won Seung rented a small shop at the corner of the painting street under the name "Wind-Cloud Studio."
When he looked for a carpenter to set up the shop, they asked for an exorbitant price. So, Won Seung and Jong Bi had to set up the shop and even do the painting themselves.
Having learned skills like carpentry during assassin training, it wasn't difficult for them. However, since Won Seung had impersonated someone from Seongwangbu, he couldn't let others see him working on the construction.
Therefore, they had to disguise themselves and leave the Cloud Flower Pavilion at dawn when no one was around, returning late at night.
Every time he went out to work under the morning stars, Won Seung grumbled.
"The life of a livelihood-type assassin is tough."
After finishing the shop's renovation and hanging the sign "Hundred Flowers Pavilion," Won Seung prepared to move into the living quarters attached to the shop.
After paying for the painting production and shop rental, money was running low.
As he packed his things on the last night at the Cloud Flower Pavilion, he asked Jong Bi,
"Remember the hundred nyang we got from Jo Bang-un?"
"Hmm? Why? Wasn't that to pay off my debt?"
"Give it to me. I need to pay for the Cloud Flower Pavilion's room and board."
"How much? Ten nyang?"
"All one hundred nyang. I'll pay it back after selling the paintings, so just hand it over."
"How much was the room and board?"
When Jong Bi asked with a suspicious look, Won Seung showed him the bill.
"Gasp!"
The enormous amount almost made Jong Bi's jaw drop.
"Damn it... Let's get out of here quickly."
*
While Won Seung was setting up the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Xiangyang was bustling with activity.
The biggest news was that Hua Cheon-gang had not accepted the challenge from the descendant of the Yong Clan. The Yong Clan descendant, furious, raised a banner and staged a sit-in protest in front of the Clear Water Sect.
The words on the banner were brief.
- Challenge to Hua Cheon-gang!
But the firmly closed gates of the Clear Water Sect did not open.
As various rumors spread, the story of the Yong Clan descendant became widely known in Xiangyang. The elders who remembered the Yong Clan criticized the Three Hwa Brothers of the Clear Water Sect.
"If they killed the father, they should accept the son's challenge. How can they still claim to be the rulers of Xiangyang?"
"We used to be proud of having the Clear Water Sect in Xiangyang, but now it's a disgrace."
Despite the flood of criticism, the Clear Water Sect remained indifferent.
The Heavenly Observation Pavilion found themselves in a difficult position. Their plan to attack the Clear Water Sect while Hua Cheon-gang and the Yong Clan descendant were engaged in a life-and-death duel was thwarted.
They hadn't expected Hua Cheon-gang, one of the top 100 masters of the Central Plains, to abandon his honor.
- The Clear Water Sect seized the logistics rights of the Xiang River, which were managed by the Yong Clan. If they do not accept the challenge, they should return the logistics rights to the Yong Clan descendant!
The Heavenly Observation Pavilion Master stirred public opinion in Xiangyang, but the Three Hwa Brothers chose practicality.
Instead, they spread the reason for not accepting the Yong Clan descendant's challenge, claiming they had fought fairly for the Xiang River's hegemony and had nothing to be ashamed of.
- We cannot end the Yong Clan's lineage. We would rather endure public scorn.
In response, the Yong Clan descendant changed the words on the banner.
- I am married and have a son. Stop pretending and accept the challenge!
With all eyes in Xiangyang focused on the Clear Water Sect and the Yong Clan descendant, the newly opened Hundred Flowers Pavilion on the painting street went unnoticed.
Located at the far end of the painting street and not large enough to attract attention, it naturally had no visitors.
Despite ambitiously opening the shop, with no customers, Jong Bi grumbled.
"You said you were confident, but look at this. It's deserted."
"Rare paintings are traded discreetly. Having all sorts of riffraff come in won't make money."
Won Seung boasted, but he was secretly worried. He went out to the street to inspect the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, pondering what the problem might be, but nothing stood out.
"Is the location bad?"
Then, a thought struck him, and he clapped his knee.
"Ah! The opening ceremony! We didn't have an opening ceremony! No wonder the business isn't doing well."