Chapter 59

Chapter 59 - The Justification for the Fight (3)

Ga Deuk-sang stopped in his spot.

He looked at Yeon Ho-jeong's back with weary eyes.

"Heok. Heok."

The sound of breathing was intense. His upper body was continuously heaving.

But that was only for a moment.

"Huuuuu."

The time it took to steady his breathing was incredibly fast.

His revealed neck and forearms were flushed red. His entire body's muscles had overheated from using the giant weapon to the limit.

Wuuuung.

A faint light blue energy swirled and wrapped around Yeon Ho-jeong's body. It was the Jade Gauze True Formula.

Ga Deuk-sang asked with a stiff face.

"Did you kill her?"

Tug!

Yeon Ho-jeong pulled out the axe and rested it on his shoulder.

"No way."

His face, which had already sequestered the killing intent, became expressionless.

Ga Deuk-sang hurriedly approached Myeong On-ji.

"Hak... hak..."

Myeong On-ji's state was truly nothing short of miserable.

Her entire upper body was filled with the carnage caused by the axe. Judging by the depth of the wounds, five or six ribs must have been broken.

Her right arm was blown off from the elbow, and there were wounds cut by the axe's strong wind all over her face.

And her face, like that, was out of its mind with extreme fear.

'It is vicious.'

It would be better to kill a person than to make them like this. Myeong On-ji might recover her body, but she probably would not recover her mind.

If there was a relief, it was that the bleeding was not much. She had probably learned a special martial art.

"You have made her into a rag."

Yeon Ho-jeong asked nonchalantly.

"The bastards?"

"I caught them all."

"That is a relief."

"It is a relief. For now."

Ga Deuk-sang, who was glaring at Yeon Ho-jeong with stiff eyes, soon let out a sigh.

"I know you are angry, but you need to be a bit cool-headed. You almost really killed her, did you not?"

"I did not kill her, did I?"

Is that not enough?

Ga Deuk-sang was at a loss for words.

'...Is it natural if it is natural?'

The Murong Clan and the Myeong Clan were both those who intended to shatter his family to pieces. From Yeon Ho-jeong's perspective, they were clear enemies.

In fact, with that personality, even not killing her could be called amazing.

"One fellow could not be helped."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"One fellow died."

"...!!"

He finally went and caused an accident.

Ga Deuk-sang gave up on the thought of nitpicking. Anyway, it was something that had already happened. If so, the priority was to handle the remaining work as quickly as possible.

"For now, let us move. Dammit! I even called a physician just in case, but it seems a huge amount of money will be spent."

Ga Deuk-sang prepared a small manor temporarily. And he tied up all the captured Hidden Death Squad members there.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who saw Myeong On-ji being moved, came to the entrance of the forest near the manor and sat down haphazardly.

Thump-thump.

His heart rate, which had become fierce, did not subside. Similarly, the anger that surged after seeing Myeong On-ji's martial art also did not subside.

But externally of the anger, his head became cold.

'It is for real.'

Myeong On-ji was the head of the Myeong Clan's intelligence organization.

But no matter how much of a head of an organization one was, intelligence was just intelligence. Since her surname was Myeong, she must be of the Myeong Clan's bloodline, but they would not have sent a direct descendant to an intelligence organization.

So to speak, Myeong On-ji was not a child of the Clan Head. Yet she was learning 'that martial art'.

What did that mean?

'It was said that they were raising Death Swords. Whether it is the Death Swords or that bitch, eventually they would be nothing more than pieces on a chessboard to be used and discarded. If so, for now, I should see it as they made her learn it as an experiment.'

It was an accurate judgment.

It was a judgment he could make not because he knew the physiology of the Orthodox Path Murim, but because he knew the ecology of greedy power-holders. The greed of power-holders does not distinguish between black and white.

That meant.

'They are preparing.'

The Myeong Clan would attack the Yeon Clan. That was certain.

But unlike the past, in this life, he had pulled out all the spies of the Murong Clan. If so, the Murong Clan's side would try to bury the Yeon Clan before the world knew.

In such a situation, the information of Jiangsu Province was controlled, and he appeared in Henan.

And he captured an entire intelligence organization of the Myeong Clan.

"I must gather more."

Yeon Ho-jeong raised his head.

Ga Deuk-sang was approaching leisurely. Since he had completed one big task, it seemed he had found some composure.

"You went through a lot of trouble, but we cannot stop here. The opponent is too strong to restrain the Myeong Clan with just one rumor."

"What are the Successor's thoughts?"

Ga Deuk-sang's expression became serious.

"Well. They will probably notice within five days at the latest. Thinking about it being their front yard, there will be about three days of time."

"I suppose so."

"I even received a contact, and the Yeon Clan Head requested an investigation from the Beggars' Gang. To see if there are any organizations related to the Myeong Clan in the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

It was a correct judgment.

They would not have tried to knock down the Yeon Clan without any foundation in that area. It was not just about knocking them down, but also about settling down there.

There would definitely be factions in Jiangsu that followed the Myeong Clan.

"But it is slow."

"That is right. It will take at least a month just to investigate. And that is the minimum."

Ga Deuk-sang, who was thinking for a moment, asked.

"How about doing it like this instead?"

"What?"

"My master also knows this fact. If so, I think it would be okay to try asking my master."

Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes flashed.

If it was Ga Deuk-sang's master, it meant the current Dragon Head Chief.

"Anyway, we did not intend to burst it right away, did we? Since the Myeong Clan's side will also not be able to provoke us recklessly, we spoke in advance about investigating their misdeeds bit by bit and then bursting it."

"We did."

"In fact, from the day we arrived in Shangqiu, I have been thoroughly searching through businesses and information groups related to the Myeong Clan, but usable information has not come out yet."

"How long do you think it will take?"

"I do not know. What happened recently, it is different from when I investigated last time. They were suppressing information as if it were airtight."

Ga Deuk-sang smacked his lips.

"So I intend to ask my master to step forward. He is a person who has half-left the Jianghu and is slowly preparing for the transfer of the Chief position, but he is not someone who would refuse if asked to step forward in this matter."

He would be. Because the Beggars' Gang's chivalry was as famous as the Shaolin Temple's mercy.

'But even so, is it okay?'

There was no information about Ga Deuk-sang's master. He only had the memory of a Chief who had been evaluated as excellent.

'That is the problem.'

The modifier "excellent" bothered him. In the Orthodox Path Murim, the praise of being excellent, in other words, also meant that they were not aggressive.

This matter should not be handled in such a way.

Aggressively, it must be handled thoroughly and certainly so that the opponent can never raise their head again.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who was lost in thought, suddenly asked.

"In your opinion, what do you think?"

"Eh? What is?"

"The Nine States Myeong Clan and the Murong Clan. I mean which of the two do you think would be harder to knock down."

Ga Deuk-sang frowned.

"Why do you suddenly ask such a question?"

"Speak."

"Hmm, even if you ask which between a tiger and a lion is harder to deal with..."

"In that case, we can just think about which of the two is living in a more precarious environment."

"Geez."

While grumbling, Ga Deuk-sang was lost in thought. The Yeon Ho-jeong he had seen until now was not a man who asked such questions for no reason.

'Which of the two is harder to knock down?'

Ga Deuk-sang, who thought and thought again.

Soon he brought out an answer.

"Just in my opinion..."

"In the Successor's opinion?"

"Hmm, I suppose it would be the Murong Clan."

It was unexpected words. He was saying the Murong Clan was harder to knock down even though the Nine States Myeong Clan surpassed them in terms of power.

"The reason?"

"History, and public opinion."

"I have the same thought."

The Nine States Myeong Clan performed a great feat during the Blood Cult Rebellion three hundred years ago.

However, just because they performed a feat did not mean the family grew greatly. They formed their power through painstaking efforts and also dramatically raised the level of their martial arts.

That was exactly until two hundred years had passed. After that, the Nine States Myeong Clan gained fame as a martial family representing the Central Plains.

That history was a hundred years long.

"The Yeon Clan and the Myeong Clan have a shorter history compared to the other Five Great Clans. History is foundation. No matter how great the power is, a faction with a short history is bound to be relatively more vulnerable to danger."

"Correct."

"Looking at it from that perspective, it is easier to deal with the Nine States Myeong Clan. Furthermore, the rumors about the Nine States Myeong Clan are not in a very good state either."

The Nine States Myeong Clan constantly sought power expansion.

Since it was a martial sect, growing its power was natural, but they exceeded the limit. Furthermore, they were not the Unorthodox Path but the Orthodox Path.

In the eyes of the Orthodox Path Murim, the Myeong Clan's power expansion was an excessively secular move.

Even while having a power not greatly inferior to the Shaolin Temple, the Myeong Clan was the one that received the worst evaluation among the Seven Great Clans.

Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes flashed.

'It is a burden to knock down the Myeong Clan and the Murong Clan at the same time right now.'

That was natural. That would be difficult even if he regained the martial power of his days as the Dark Emperor. If he had the foundation of the Dark Emperor Castle, it might be different.

'Furthermore...'

Even if there were a method, burying both at the same time for the sake of the future was a bad move.

'The Three Cults!'

That was right.

The Fanatical Three Cults would invade the Central Plains someday. And to block them, an outstanding ruler like Murong Yu was needed.

Of course, even after joining hands with Murong Yu, he had no intention of looking kindly on the Murong Clan.

However, now, without even having met Murong Yu, even if there were a method, blowing away the Murong Clan would become a bad move.

'With the strength of the Evil Lust Cult alone among the Three Cults, half of the Central Plains became a sea of blood. To block even the remaining two, the existence of Murong Yu is desperately needed.'

While the revenge right in front of his nose was important, the disaster that would occur in the future was also important.

'If so...'

Killing intent lingered on Yeon Ho-jeong's face.

'I should smash the Myeong Clan first.'

It was better this way.

The one who sent spies to the Yeon Clan was the Murong Clan, but the one who practically shattered the family was the Myeong Clan. Even if they were all bastards to be killed, to him, who had personally seen the murderers who killed his family, the Myeong Clan was the top priority enemy.

Whether by personal anger or by considering the future, this was right.

In that case?

"It was said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

"Eh? What kind of nonsense is that suddenly?"

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Ga Deuk-sang with cool eyes.

Ga Deuk-sang flinched unknowingly.

'This gentleman's gaze is really something...'

It was a gaze much scarier than directly revealing killing intent. It was as if it were uncovering the inside of a person's heart thoroughly.

"I will knock down the Myeong Clan."

"I know. Although I do not know if it will be possible."

"If you help me, it can be done."

"Wh, what did you say?"

"It will not be a harmful thing for you either. The justification is clear, and it is also a good thing for raising the fame of the Beggars' Gang."

Ga Deuk-sang's face became red. He had flared up in anger.

"Were you looking at me as such a fellow? One who is obsessed with things like fame?"

"Is it a bad thing to be obsessed with fame?"

"...?"

"A person is bound to live with greed. It is not like you are a practitioner in the mountains; is it a sin to be greedy for fame?"

"Uh... it is not that, but... anyway, I am not such a person."

"I know."

"You know, yet you say such words!"

"I know, but for the future, fame will be necessary. Even for the sake of catching even more vicious punks."

"...!"

Seriousness lingered on Ga Deuk-sang's face.

"Just what kind of thoughts are you having?"

"For now, let us send a messenger pigeon."

"A messenger pigeon? To whom?"

"Murong Jun."

"...!!"

"You should have to send it as an urgent delivery."

I will use everything that can be used.