Chapter 321

“What… did you just say?”

Hwangbo Eom’s voice was stretched so taut it seemed ready to snap.

The snow-white beard that had made him look like an immortal bristled, and his eyes hardened as he stared at me.

I answered with a mild smile.

“Didn’t I just tell you? I came to see what kind of dirty trick you were pulling. By. Chance.”

At that moment, blue sparks flew from Hwangbo Eom’s eyes.

“Hah!”

With his thunderous roar, an immense wave of qi erupted from him.

The aura of a Supreme Peak master made the table—or rather, the ground itself—pitch like a ship caught in a storm.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The violent tremors threw the entire teahouse into chaos. Dozens of pieces of teaware shattered with a deafening crash, spraying tea in every direction.

The proprietor, who had been nervously watching from a corner, let out a shriek and collapsed to the floor.

I instantly raised my sleeve to shield Ju Hwaran’s face from the flying tea, then clicked my tongue.

“Someone your age shouldn’t be causing a scene in another person’s shop. Not with other people around.”

“How dare you…”

The pressure radiating from Hwangbo Eom intensified.

This was the aura of none other than The First Sword of Zhongnan. Even the swordsmen of the Taeeul Sword Unit arrayed around him like guards flinched as though burned and stumbled backward. The members of the Yongbong Escort Bureau, Ju Hwaran included, went deathly pale.

“Hngh!”

“Gasp!”

No matter how talented a young prodigy might be, the gulf between them and Hwangbo Eom was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.

Baek Museong, known as a pillar of Huashan, and Gung Gibang, Successor Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect and its hundred thousand members, fared little better than Ju Hwaran.

Even counting everyone present, only about three people still looked unaffected.

One was me, of course.

“Benefactor, when are the candied sweets coming out?”

Another was Cheongpung, who cared only about his candied sweets, to hell with the Taeeul Merciless Sword or anything else.

And the last was…

“Hmm.”

Song Ilseom, the fierce-eyed escort.

He gave a quiet grunt under the weight of Hwangbo Eom’s aura. When our eyes met, he frowned and turned away.

I don’t like you either, asshole.

From the moment I first saw him, Song Ilseom had stunk of something suspicious in more ways than one.

It would not take long to find out whether that impression of mine was mistaken or based on fact.

“Maybe it’s because no one opened a window, but the air feels awfully stuffy.”

I spoke calmly and drew up my internal energy. The hundred years of internal energy coiled within my dantian spread between the tables like an invisible curtain.

Freed from the crushing pressure, Ju Hwaran finally released the breath she had been holding.

“Young Lady Ju, are you all right?”

“Yes, yes.”

Still gasping, Ju Hwaran clutched my sleeve.

“Thank you, Young Hero Jin. But this…”

“Enough.”

A single word from Hwangbo Eom cut her off.

The immortal had transformed into a Fiend. He glared at me, his gaze brimming with killing intent.

“The arrogance of a young whelp like you pierces the heavens.”

“I’m pretty good at piercing things. I use a spear.”

“Do you even understand what you’re doing?”

“Of course.”

I leaned lazily against the hard back of my chair and continued.

“I’m rescuing innocent people who fell into a trap someone laid for them. Purely because I happened to be passing by, of course.”

“A trap. I presume that ‘someone’ refers to our sect.”

“Well, you’re free to think whatever you like.”

The fury in Hwangbo Eom’s eyes subsided. In its place, an unmistakable sneer spread across his lips.

“You seem unaware that a man must answer for his words.”

“Judging by the fact that I came here, I’d say I’m well aware of that.”

“Boy, you have insulted the Great Zhongnan Sect with baseless accusations you cannot prove. Do you wish to make us your enemy?”

“It’s funny to hear orthodox Murim companions talk about friend and foe. Are you perhaps from an unorthodox faction?”

“You insolent whelp!”

“I already heard what happened between the Yongbong Escort Bureau and your sect. That’s why I came.”

I picked up the snow ginseng rolling across the table.

The thing in my hand was certainly an excellent elixir. Yet the name displayed through Item Appraisal had not changed.

Hundred-Year-Old Snow Ginseng.

I already knew that the item Zhongnan Sect had commissioned the Yongbong Escort Bureau to transport was Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.

It was a peerless elixir said to grant a full jiazi¹ of internal energy instantly upon consumption.

Murim practitioners would risk their lives to possess such a rare treasure, and its value was whatever price the seller cared to name.

According to the information Gung Gibang had gathered, the Yongbong Escort Bureau had staked its survival on this escort mission.

Unless Ju Hwaran was a complete fool, there was no way she would have thrown such precious cargo into a wagon and left it unattended.

Then where had the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng gone? And why had it been replaced with Hundred-Year-Old Snow Ginseng, an elixir far inferior to it?

It was obvious.

It could only mean that either the Zhongnan Sect or Hwangbo Eom personally had meddled with it.

On top of that, the Zhongnan Sect had been deeply involved in the Yongbong Escort Bureau’s decline for the past two years.

The Xi’an branch of the Beggars’ Sect, whose information network was said to rival the Lower District Sect’s for the finest under heaven, had already pieced together most of what had happened.

This was supposed to be the finishing blow.

The Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was the final strike meant to bring down the cornered Yongbong Escort Bureau.

They had dangled bait too tempting to resist, then dug an inescapable trap beneath it. The result was unfolding before my eyes.

But…

“You know, living in this world has taught me something. Even when everything looks finished, something unexpected can suddenly pop up and throw the whole thing into disarray.”

Hwangbo Eom regarded my muttering with contempt.

“A brat who still reeks of his mother’s milk does nothing but wag his tongue. Has becoming the Fire King’s Disciple blinded you to your place, you country bumpkin from Shanxi?”

“I’m still young, so there’s no need to worry about my eyesight. You’re the one who should be concerned about failing vision, Great Hero Hwangbo.”

“How should I tear apart that wicked mouth of yours?”

“I don’t know whether my mouth is wicked, but I do know Zhongnan’s specialty. You can’t utter a word when someone stronger than you shows up. Was it a year ago? Your Senior Brother gave me an advance lesson.”

I still remembered it clearly.

The Roaring Fury Swordsman had invoked Zhongnan’s name to pressure the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

I even remembered the sight of him being driven away without managing a single proper word after the Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, appeared.

I pressed my lips together and looked at Hyuk Sopyung, who sat beside Hwangbo Eom.

“And yesterday, I had a review session.”

Hwangbo Eom was a perceptive old man.

Realizing what had happened, he clicked his tongue and muttered, “…Our sect is crawling with worms.”

“Still, aren’t harmful pests better than venomous insects? From my point of view, getting drunk and causing a scene is much more exemplary than ruining a perfectly good escort bureau.”

“You dare call this old man venomous? Hah. Hahaha!”

Contrary to my expectations, I could no longer sense the slightest agitation from Hwangbo Eom.

He looked down on everyone present, myself included, like a hawk high above that was ready to swoop down and seize its prey.

“Boy, do you understand what it means to make an enemy of the Great Zhongnan Sect—and of this old man?”

His wrinkled hand pressed against the table. The spilled tea slowly rose, took the form of an arrow, and pointed straight between my brows.

“If this old man so much as wishes it, today will be the day of your funeral.”

That’s what you think.

I opened my mouth.

“Well, from either your perspective or mine, that doesn’t sound like a particularly good choice.”

“That is why you remain alive. This old man will personally punish you for today’s offense in due time. If you do not wish to die like a dog, withdraw. This is a matter between our sect and the Yongbong Escort Bureau.”

Just as I was about to respond, a hand tugged at my sleeve.

At the same time, a trembling woman’s voice, carried on internal energy, pierced my ears.

—Young Hero Jin…

Two days ago, Ju Hwaran’s eyes had been clear and spotless. Now they swirled with conflicting emotions.

Fear and anger at what was happening. Relief at my arrival, and worry for my safety.

I knew exactly what she was thinking and what she wanted to say.

—I’m grateful that you’re thinking of us, but he’s right. This is an affair between the Yongbong Escort Bureau and the Zhongnan Sect. If you get involved any further, you’ll put yourself in danger as well.

Looking into Ju Hwaran’s eyes suddenly brought back a memory from a year ago.

The Roaring Fury Swordsman had threatened to seal the gates of the Jin Family of Taiyuan for an absurd reason. What would have happened that day if Jeok Cheongang had not appeared?

Orthodox faction? What a load of fucking bullshit.

The righteousness of the powerful was not the same as the righteousness of the weak.

I did not believe everyone in the orthodox Murim was evil. At the same time, I did not believe they were all good.

Even Shaolin Temple surely had people with wicked hearts, and I believed there were good people even within the Demonic Cult, that supposed den of fiends and monsters.

Orthodox, unorthodox, demonic. Good and evil existed in all three.

It isn’t about the sect. It’s about the person.

In the end, the individual was what mattered. And the old man before me was one of the biggest fucking bastards under heaven.

I took a deep breath, then spoke to Ju Hwaran aloud rather than using Sound Transmission.

“Young Lady Ju.”

“Y-Young Hero Jin?”

“You’re right. This is an affair between the Zhongnan Sect and the Yongbong Escort Bureau. If I stick my nose into it, all I’ll get is a loss. No matter how powerful the Jin Family of Taiyuan is, we’re still nowhere near enough to stand before the name of the Zhongnan Sect.”

Ju Hwaran’s eyelids fluttered with surprise, then lowered.

I could feel her sinking into resignation.

But I was not finished.

“I kept thinking the same thing on the way here. Wondering whether this was really the right choice, or whether I should pretend I knew nothing and keep walking.”

“Young Hero Jin, you can stop. Please, that’s enough.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“At first, I thought I was doing this because your face kept coming to mind. But…”

I turned and found Hwangbo Eom watching me with an amused smile.

The Zhongnan Sect was one of the Nine Sects and One Gang, and Hwangbo Eom was its elder and most powerful martial artist.

His martial arts were higher and his personality more meticulous, but Hwangbo Eom was still the same kind of person as the Roaring Fury Swordsman.

I stared straight at this second Roaring Fury Swordsman and opened my mouth.

“It felt like fucking bullshit.”

“……!”

“……!”

Even without seeing it, I could feel the energy in the room stirring.

I continued with a sigh.

“‘Upright.’ That’s why you’re called the orthodox faction. But there’s nothing upright about this, is there? If you’re going to act like this, use the jeong from Choco Pie instead. Why the fuck would you use the jeong that means ‘upright’?”²

Never once in my life had I thought of myself as a good person.

I had become a Hunter for money, and in the Murim, I had even considered abandoning someone to save my own life.

I was a murky gray. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yet now, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Maybe I was pretty white after all. Why else would I go this far?”

“You insolent little—!”

“Great Hero Hwangbo.”

I smiled at Hwangbo Eom as he prepared to roar.

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? Even when everything seems over, something unexpected can suddenly pop up and throw it all into disarray.”

I slowly reached out and tapped the empty air.

No one else could see it, but I could.

Hwangbo Eom’s dominoes were tumbling one after another.

“I’m not even your grandson, Great Hero Hwangbo. Why else would I spend this long talking to an eighty-year-old grandfather?”

For an instant, Hwangbo Eom looked dumbfounded. Then his face twisted violently.

He had sensed it too—the presences of several people rapidly approaching the teahouse.

“You bastard. What the hell are you plotting?”

“You’re the one who pulled a trick. I…”

I turned my head and finished.

“I made a plan.”

That was the moment the teahouse’s doors opened and about a dozen people came streaming inside.

First came five beggars carrying a mountain of bamboo slips³ in their arms. They were the Xi’an Branch Leader of the Beggars’ Sect and his subordinates.

At the head of the other group stood a woman I knew well.

“Congratulations on your promotion. It’s been a while.”

“Oh, my Young Master. A congratulatory greeting after an entire year? How prompt of you.”

Wolhwa, Branch Leader of the Lower District Sect’s Shaanxi branch, playfully arched one pretty eyebrow.