Chapter 227: Chapter 227
Cheon-hwi asked, looking at Junior Beggar, who was looking up at them with a sense of urgency in his eyes.
“The World Merchant Guild called for me?”
“Th-That is correct!”
Junior Beggar answered quickly.
“To be precise, the Fifth Chief Steward to the young hero and the Grand Supreme Elder…”
He tilted his head for a moment as he tried to speak, looking past Cheon-hwi at Heavenly Ear Beggar.
It was because, instead of an eccentric and dirty old thing, a gentle-looking old scholar in neat attire was sitting there.
“…Elder?”
Only then did Junior Beggar, seeing him properly, ask as if in doubt, and Heavenly Ear Beggar’s expression crumpled abruptly.
“What are those eyes?”
“Gasp!”
At Heavenly Ear Beggar’s voice, tinged with annoyance, Junior Beggar immediately shrank his neck and stepped back.
“N-No, it is nothing!”
Just as Junior Beggar urgently waved his hands.
“The Fifth Chief Steward? What exactly is the matter?”
Cheon-hwi looked at him and asked.
At that, Junior Beggar abruptly raised his head again and spoke.
“A major clash occurred with the Dae-eun Merchant Guild, and he absolutely needs the help of the young hero and the Grand Supreme Elder.”
I wondered what great incident had occurred, but he wanted help with a mere clash between merchant guilds?
Cheon-hwi revealed a bored expression.
“But why do they need my help? It’s not like the merchant guilds have clashed just once or twice.”
“That guy is right. And do you not know that if people of the Jianghu intervene in a fight between merchant guilds, it becomes like pouring oil on a burning house?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar, with a sullen expression, agreed with Cheon-hwi’s words.
“It is better for them to figure it out amongst themselves before the fight needlessly escalates. Tsk, tsk.”
Heavenly Ear Beggar clicked his tongue.
Normally, if a fight broke out between merchant guilds, it was mostly a dispute to gain a greater profit.
And in such cases, the cleanest way to resolve it was for someone to take a step back and take an equivalent price next time.
But for people of the Jianghu to intervene here?
Then the situation changes in an instant.
Because from then on, it escalates into a battle of force.
“The Dae-eun Merchant Guild isn’t some small guild, but one of the Four Great Merchant Guilds of the World. It’s not like they intend to see it to the end with the Dae-eun Merchant Guild, so why on earth would they ask us for help?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar spoke dismissively.
Although the Dae-eun Merchant Guild was lacking in influence compared to the World Merchant Guild, it was still a massive merchant guild that was grouped together and called the Four Great Merchant Guilds of the World.
So would they take such a risk?
However, despite those words, Junior Beggar’s expression showed no signs of changing at all.
Rather, his expression remained just as serious.
Soon, meeting Heavenly Ear Beggar’s mocking gaze directly, his lips moved.
“Just as the Grand Supreme Elder said, it seems the two merchant guilds will likely see it to the end.”
“What nonsense…”
“The Dae-eun Merchant Guild has already drawn a Jianghu sect into the fight.”
“What did you say?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar asked back with a dumbfounded face.
“Unless the guild leader has gone crazy, there is no way he would commit such an act.”
“But it is the truth. And because it wasn’t an ordinary Jianghu sect that they drew in…”
Only then, feeling the seriousness, Heavenly Ear Beggar hardened his face and asked.
“…Where is it? Which sect has currently joined hands with the Dae-eun Merchant Guild and made a move?”
At the question, Junior Beggar caught his breath deeply.
And looking at him with a complicated face, he answered in a calm voice.
“It is the Green Forest.”
“…!”
Heavenly Ear Beggar’s eyes widened.
It was because the name of a sect that went far beyond his imagination had flowed out of Junior Beggar’s mouth.
“The G-Green Forest joined hands with a merchant guild?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar asked back, stuttering as if showing how flustered he was.
Seeing such an appearance from Heavenly Ear Beggar, Junior Beggar felt a sense of mutual sympathy.
‘I was probably like that too.’
In truth, what kind of sect was the Green Forest?
A group that blocked the paths of merchant guilds and escort agencies to extort money and valuables under the guise of tolls…
In other words, they were mountain bandits.
But to say that the Green Forest, who were mountain bandits, had joined hands with a merchant guild that was their prey.
“That is correct.”
“How on earth…”
“We don’t yet know the details of why they are helping the Dae-eun Merchant Guild, but it is certain that the Green Forest is helping the Dae-eun Merchant Guild.”
Just as Heavenly Ear Beggar closed his mouth and fell into thought at Junior Beggar’s distinct words.
“So that’s why they requested help from me?”
Cheon-hwi moved his lips.
It was a funny situation.
The Green Forest and a merchant guild; the cooperation of two entities that were hard to imagine joining hands was enough to draw out Cheon-hwi’s interest.
“That is correct. And the Fifth Chief Steward requested help not only from the young hero and the Grand Supreme Elder but also separately from the Mount Hua Sect.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Cheon-hwi spoke as if it were obvious.
After all, the Plum Blossom Inn established by the Fifth Chief Steward and the Mount Hua Sect were maintaining a close relationship.
“So the Mount Hua Sect is giving help?”
“I heard that the Plum Blossom Swordsmen descended the mountain a few days ago.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Cheon-hwi scratched his chin with his index finger.
Since the Mount Hua Sect was entangled, it became something that couldn’t just be passed over lightly.
“I need to hear the detailed story.”
At the positive answer, Junior Beggar’s expression brightened.
“Where do we need to go?”
“It is Taiyuan.”
“Good. Then before we talk, wash up first, and come back after changing your clothes. Getting into the carriage in that state is a bit…”
“Yes…?”
Junior Beggar was flustered by the unexpected words.
But regardless of what Junior Beggar did, Cheon-hwi looked at Danmok Rin and opened his mouth.
“Do we have any remaining clothes?”
“Yes, we do.”
Danmok Rin, who had just been watching quietly, took out a clean gray martial arts uniform from the bundle.
Cheon-hwi threw the martial arts uniform to Junior Beggar.
“Take it.”
“Uh?!”
As Junior Beggar, who received the martial arts uniform in a daze, stood blankly, Cheon-hwi spoke softly.
“Hurry and go.”
“I…”
When he hesitated and looked at Heavenly Ear Beggar, Heavenly Ear Beggar moved his lips.
“What are you doing not going?”
“A-Understood!”
In the end, Junior Beggar had to startle and move his body.
A moment later, when Junior Beggar, who had washed his body and even changed his clothes, returned, the carriage departed.
Clatter… Clatter…
Junior Beggar, sitting in the carriage, was still dumbfounded.
‘What is this?’
To think he was sitting side by side with Heavenly Ear Beggar while washed clean and wearing neat clothes.
Who could have even imagined this kind of situation?
While he was spacing out, a voice that woke his spirit struck his ears.
“Now speak properly.”
“A-Understood.”
Junior Beggar swallowed his saliva heavily.
“I don’t know the details either, but it is said that the World Merchant Guild and the Dae-eun Merchant Guild clashed over the commercial supremacy of Shanxi.”
Junior Beggar’s story was not as special as expected.
It was a dispute over commercial supremacy, which was the biggest reason why merchant guilds usually fought, nothing more and nothing less.
But that was not the end.
“However, as that dispute continued, the World Merchant Guild came to feel something strange.”
“What is it?”
“Suddenly, the Green Forest raised the tolls by more than double.”
“Did they think the Green Forest was behind them just with that?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar snorted and asked.
Junior Beggar, as if expecting such a reaction, immediately moved his lips.
“However, if that was repeated four times in Shanxi, what would you think?”
“Four times…?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar’s brows furrowed.
No matter how much the Green Forest were mountain bandits, they were also guys with sense.
But to say four times in Shanxi…
Just as the furrow between Heavenly Ear Beggar’s eyebrows was about to deepen, Junior Beggar added his words as if driving in a final wedge.
“And for some reason, they did not collect tolls from the Dae-eun Merchant Guild.”
“…Huh.”
Heavenly Ear Beggar clicked his tongue.
It was too clear of a circumstantial evidence.
“But to be so blatant…”
When Heavenly Ear Beggar spoke as if puzzled, Cheon-hwi opened his mouth.
“They must not have had any intention of hiding it.”
With those words, Cheon-hwi looked at Junior Beggar.
“But seeing how you are certain that the Green Forest is helping the Dae-eun Merchant Guild, there must be other suspicious circumstances, right?”
Junior Beggar swallowed his breath.
Cheon-hwi’s two pupils were indifferent, but that pressure was enough to make one suffocate.
“T-To be honest, rather than it being the basis that made them certain, the aspect of wanting to prepare because a dangerous circumstance was discovered is stronger.”
Junior Beggar, who hastily caught his breath and answered, slyly looked at the coachman’s seat.
At that gaze, Cheon-hwi opened his mouth.
“No matter how loud you chat, he cannot hear. So continue what you were going to say.”
At Cheon-hwi’s words, Junior Beggar’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be an energy barrier…?’
Soon, Junior Beggar gulped down his saliva and started his story again.
“Recently, we received news that the General Stronghold Leader of the Green Forest, the Green Forest Great Emperor, secretly came into contact with someone.”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes sank low.
“Who is it?”
Junior Beggar stretched his neck forward.
And as if worried someone would hear, he whispered in a very small voice.
“It is the Three Paths Ghost Eye.”
“…!”
“T-The Three Paths Ghost Eye?!”
Heavenly Ear Beggar and Danmok Rin, startled out of their wits, covered their mouths.
However, unlike those two, Cheon-hwi tilted his head and asked.
“Who is that?”
“D-Do you not know?”
When Junior Beggar asked back with a bewildered face, Cheon-hwi furrowed his brow.
“I am asking because I do not know. So who is it? Well, is it a famous person?”
“I-It is not just to the extent of being famous. As the Vice Strategist of the Four Black Alliances, he…”
“What? The Vice Strategist?”
Cheon-hwi replied boredly.
I thought it was some incredibly great figure, but they’re acting like that over a mere Vice Strategist?
Meanwhile, as if he read Cheon-hwi’s thoughts, Heavenly Ear Beggar quickly opened his mouth.
“With the General Strategist in seclusion at present, he is the guy practically taking responsibility for the Four Black Alliances. The fact that such a guy slipped out of the Four Black Alliances and met the Green Forest is not an ordinary matter…!”
While speaking, Heavenly Ear Beggar’s eyes bulged, and he abruptly turned his head toward Junior Beggar.
“Could it be that the Four Black Alliances is…”
Junior Beggar nodded and connected the later words that Heavenly Ear Beggar could not bring himself to spit out.
“It seems they are trying to draw the Green Forest into the Four Black Alliances.”
* * *
Mount Heng of Shanxi.
Mount Heng was lined with steep strange rocks, but there were those who had established their base in such a place since a hundred years ago.
Hengshan Stronghold!
A guest came to the Hengshan Stronghold, which was famous for the unique characteristic of gathering only defeated soldiers even within the Green Forest, where all sorts of mountain bandits were densely packed.
“It has been a long time.”
The Lord of the Hengshan Stronghold, Wi Jung-yeon, stared gently at the young man in front of his eyes.
‘Did he say he was a subordinate of the Vice Strategist?’
A red long robe and a pure white face.
Looking at the young man, who was so handsome and pretty that it was as if a woman had cross-dressed as a man, Wi Jung-yeon moved his lips.
“It has indeed been a long time.”
“Thank you for welcoming me gladly.”
The young man, Go Hong, who took a light martial salute toward Wi Jung-yeon, held a smile.
“I do not know if you have heard, but it is said that the Mount Hua Sect is helping the World Merchant Guild.”
“The Mount Hua Sect you say?”
The corners of Wi Jung-yeon’s mouth curled up.
Along with that, his beard, which had grown to his chest, heaved, and a heavy sound of laughter flowed out from within it.
“Hahaha! That is quite fascinating. To think that the Mount Hua Sect, which destroyed the White Ghost Castle, would come to the mission that promised the position of the White Ghost Castle…”
In an instant, Wi Jung-yeon’s laughter abruptly stopped.
“It fits too perfectly to call it a coincidence.”
“I was truly surprised as well. It seems fate truly does exist.”
As he looked at Go Hong, who feigned ignorance until the end, Wi Jung-yeon’s eyes turned icy cold.
But that was only for a moment.
Wi Jung-yeon closed and opened his eyes, and asked.
“Is there no support from the Four Black Alliances?”
Go Hong opened his mouth as if feigning surprise.
“Do you need support?”
“Then did you think we could face the Mount Hua Sect with just ourselves?”
“I thought you would…”
Crunch!
When Wi Jung-yeon applied force as if showing his uncomfortable mood, the armrest of the chair broke at once.
Wi Jung-yeon, gripping the shattered pieces of the armrest with his fist, glared at Go Hong.
At that gaze, Go Hong smirked.
“I thought so, however… of course there is.”
Wi Jung-yeon dropped the things he held in his hand with a patter and moved his lips.
“Who is coming?”
“It is the Black Shadow Squad.”
Wi Jung-yeon’s eyes widened.
If it was the Black Shadow Squad, they were those who were at the top level even among the martial squads of the Four Black Alliances.
“That is unexpected.”
“Wouldn’t this level of support be a given? Since it is to help those who will soon enter the new Six Imperial Sects.”
Go Hong laughed with a captivating appearance.
“Hmm. Is that so.”
Wi Jung-yeon held a smile.
It was because the words ‘new Six Imperial Sects’ were enough to elevate his mood.
Seeing that appearance, Go Hong bowed his head once and let out a polite voice.
“With this, I hope you will understand that our Alliance is also sincere about this matter.”
“I fully understand.”
When Wi Jung-yeon, holding a proud smile, spoke as if convinced, Go Hong gently nodded his head and stepped back.
“Then I will be taking my leave now.”
“But when is the Black Shadow Squad coming?”
“They will arrive within three days.”
“Three days, that is good.”
Go Hong took a martial salute once again and left the room he was in.
At that moment, Wi Jung-yeon’s gaze changed.
Emitting cold and chilly light from his eyes, he bared faint teeth in the darkness.
“It seems the Four Black Alliances were quite desperate.”
A smile was drawn on the corners of his mouth.
Most of the Unorthodox Faction had looked down on and ignored the Green Forest as mountain bandits.
But hadn’t the Four Black Alliances come directly, hoping for the Green Forest to enter?
And they did so while proposing to give the position where the White Ghost Castle had been in the past.
If it were in the past, it would have been something he couldn’t even dream of.
But the present was different.
After the White Ghost Castle fell, wasn’t the Four Black Alliances in a situation where their strength was significantly pushed back compared to the Martial Alliance and the Flying Heaven Society?
In the midst of that, the Green Forest must have been an existence they coveted more than anything else.
“The Green Forest as the new Six Imperial Sects…”
Wi Jung-yeon, who was muttering to himself, slowly raised his body.
A moment later, having raised his body, he effortlessly lifted the Square Heaven Halberd hanging right behind him and let out a dreary laugh.
“Hehe, finally the era of the Green Forest, the era of the General Stronghold Leader, is coming to the Jianghu as well.”