Episode 436
“Contrary to its appearance, this place is shabby.”
“This is a guesthouse that was operating normally until some time ago.”
“But why did it end up like this?”
“They said the martial arts people had a fight here.”
“What do you mean by martial arts people?”
“Ilyangmun (一陽門) and Illyangmun (一陰門). “I heard that they are police officers operating in Fuzhou, Fujian Province.”
“Tsk. Anyway, they are from the small and medium sized literary circles. “Why am I so anxious that I can’t harm a strict person?”
The identity of the old master who clicked his tongue and sat down at the relatively intact table was none other than Ho Jeong-kwon (豪正拳).
An elder from the Kunlun sect.
A person chosen as a seed of division to be planted in the Senate.
As promised, I arranged a private meeting with him.
The location was a guesthouse in Akyang, where I had previously stopped to see Cheon Ga-ryeong.
There would be no better place to avoid the eyes of others.
Three bamboo-grillers were waiting outside the guesthouse, keeping a tight guard.
Among them was a man who came to see me two days ago and introduced himself as Geo Seong-yeon.
“So, did you hold the two clans responsible for compensation?”
“of course. I sent a letter with the seal of Cheonan Gambu in a traditional paper. But seeing as there has been no reply yet...”
“It’s obvious. “There’s no way these bastards would have the nerve to ignore orders sent from the military, and they’re probably fighting amongst themselves over which side has greater responsibility.”
“Probably so. “For both factions, it would be a matter of pride rather than the amount of compensation.”
“You idiots. “What good is there in wasting time like that?”
I chuckled and swept my hand across the dusty table.
Although the Kunlun Sect was overthrown by the Demonic Cult, the pride of the Hojeongquan in its reclusism still remained.
Watching the Il-yang and Il-eum schools being ignored and put down without hesitation as small and medium-sized schools, I felt refreshed inside.
“I could help you out if you want.”
“it’s okay. “I don’t need your help to handle such trivial matters.”
Ho Jeong-gwon licked his appetite as if he felt regretful.
It was clearly revealed that he wanted to owe me money in some way.
‘There’s no way he wouldn’t know that there’s nothing good about showing off his leisurely side.’
He seemed ready to take out his liver just to look good to me.
It meant that he was so cornered that he had no time to worry about things like face.
“Let’s move on to the main topic. “What do you have to say to me?”
“In the time I haven’t seen you, your personality has become quite impatient. “Is there any reason to be in such a hurry?”
“There’s nothing good about having a long secret relationship, right?”
“Good. Say it bluntly. “I wish I could receive support from Hwayang Sangdan again.”
“I’m sure you don’t know what the words you said just now mean.”
“Of course I know. If this fact becomes known, other elders will not try to leave me alone. But what can you do? “Right now, I’m not in a position to choose between hot and cold food.”
“What if I make unreasonable demands on my senior in the name of support?”
“I’m prepared.”
It was worth the effort of not meeting him right away.
Seeing him fall flat like this, it definitely seemed like things weren’t going well.
“Even if you tell me to act as a spy within the Senate, I will accept it without a word. “I swear to the Heaven and Earth God.”
“A mere oath is meaningless. “Please provide collateral so that I can trust you.”
Ho Jeong-kwon bit his lips tightly.
I felt like I didn’t like the current situation, where I was being swayed around because the initiative had been taken away.
Where else would he have been treated like this?
“What do you want?”
“That part is a concern. Honestly, no matter what I get from you, I don’t think it will be easy for me to feel at ease.”
“.......”
“It would be nice to ask a reputable organization to notarize it, but if I did that, my relationship with you would be known to the whole world. So how about something like this? “We are having the Hakkyung Dojang join the Cheonan Inspectorate.”
‘Well, since we’ve come this far, there’s no need to hide it.’
After thinking for a moment, I put a smile on my face.
He then blew out the dust from his hands and spoke.
“senate.”
“So you want to become an elder, not a leader?”
Ho Jeong-kwon’s face brightened.
My answer seemed to have relieved some of the burden on his mind.
“I am still relieved to hear that.”
“You misunderstood what I said. “I never said I wanted to become an elder.”
“What does that mean? A little while ago, I was sure...”
“I said senate, not senate.”
“Isn’t that what you mean?”
“I don’t just want to be an elder. “I want to have the Senate under my feet.”
“...!”
“The seat of senator is currently vacant. Please help me take over. If you do that, I will definitely guarantee your position.”
* * *
Time passed quickly.
Autumn, when the rice fields turn golden, has passed, and winter, when snowstorms are raging, has passed.
Spring at the age of twenty-six.
I left the Cheonan Kambu base feeling the warm wind blowing on my body.
A lot of things have changed in the meantime.
After accepting new members, Cheonan Gambu became the best armed force in the Murim League, both in name and reality.
Dragon King Eumgwi Geomhu Gwangpungdo (狂風刀).
Among the club members, there were 24,000 who were absolute experts or were close to it.
For reference, Gwangpungdo was a nickname given to Woo Ga-jin.
It was an intuitive title created by those who saw the storm that blew every time the curved sword was swung.
With Cheonan Gambu taking the lead, a major change occurred in the power structure within the headquarters.
The biggest change was that the power of the Senate was weakened.
As they, who had exerted a strong influence for a long time, shrunk, the shoulders of followers from the small and medium-sized literary factions who had been dissatisfied with the unfair prizes for meritorious work were lifted.
Naturally, vested interests found such an atmosphere uncomfortable.
There were also those who protested to the Cheonan Inspector General, saying that the discipline of the government had been disturbed.
Of course I neatly ignored them.
Because I didn’t have enough free time to worry about such trivial things.
There was not only a positive impact.
Due to the abnormal growth in the power of the internal inspection body, the overall atmosphere of the organization became stiff.
Due to the new members trying to accumulate achievements as if competing with each other, the main group’s leaders had to be bound by extremely strict rules.
It was not only criminals who broke the rules who suffered from this atmosphere.
On the contrary, there were many cases where innocent ordinary members complained, saying, ‘Today’s Murim League is suffocating.’
‘It was tight enough, so it was time to slowly loosen it.’
I straightened up and headed to the training ground.
Anything in excess was not good.
If it were not for the special circumstances of war, problems would have occurred long ago.
Slowly, I began to think that it would be necessary to establish restrictions to prevent indiscriminate crackdowns on new members.
“I was waiting.”
There were passengers in the training hall.
It was Namgung-geum, a large rookie who achieved the position of leader not long after joining the club.
I walked up to him, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, and took the acupuncture points.
The task that seemed so daunting was slowly coming to an end.
I placed my hand on the Myeongmunhyeol and observed Namgung Geum’s body, and nodded as if I was satisfied.
‘You’ve become a completely different person.’