Chapter 221: Shake Up (1)
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Srrrk.
The sound of fluttering clothes was extremely natural.
Murong Jun’s eyes shone.
“Have you arrived?”
“I have.”
Murong Jun sipped his tea. His appearance, not even looking back, was full of a composure that would not disappear even if the world were created anew.
The robust man’s eyes flashed.
“…Have you gotten stronger?”
Murong Jun smirked.
“Is the development of martial arts something that can be clearly seen like a child growing taller?”
“Your aura has become more secretive and natural.”
“You, who can feel that, are definitely not ordinary either.”
“Isn’t that why you appointed me as the Pavilion Master of the Desolate Wind Pavilion?”
“Hahaha! It seems you have adapted quite well to your current life. To be able to say such things.”
In the past, when Murong Jun and Yeon Ho-jeong met over the Anhui Blood Bow incident.
The person who visited Murong Jun, who was drinking alone after sending Yeon Ho-jeong away, was precisely him. The Pavilion Master of the Desolate Wind Pavilion, the master of the Desolate Wind Pavilion, which was the greatest intelligence organization of the Murong Clan of the current generation.
Surprisingly, he was not a person of the Murong Clan. To be precise, it was true that he entered under Murong Jun’s command and worked for the Murong Clan, but it was a stretch to call him a person of the Murong Clan.
A person who only received Murong Jun’s orders. Another master forgotten by the urging of the times, who had killed his past self and hid in the world of shadows.
The Pavilion Master of the Desolate Wind Pavilion, Yan Ja-bang, a rare master of fist arts and assassination arts, was precisely him.
“So, why did you call me?”
“Why did I call you? Would there be any other reason for the Clan Head of the Murong Clan to call the head of the clan’s intelligence organization?”
“…”
“Heoheo, as expected, you dislike jokes.”
Murong Jun pulled back the chair next to him.
“Have a seat.”
Yan Ja-bang, who was quietly looking at Murong Jun, sat on the chair.
Murong Jun’s eyes shone.
“Are all the things I mentioned before prepared?”
“It is in the final stages.”
“Well done. As expected, I was right to leave it to you.”
“Did you call me to hear the progress of the work?”
“It’s a mix of things. There is also another job you need to do for me.”
“What is it?”
Murong Jun’s face became serious.
“I heard that tomorrow at noon, the merchant group of the Guizhou Merchant Association is heading to Sichuan.”
Yan Ja-bang furrowed his brows.
“If it is the Guizhou Merchant Association?”
“That is right. It is the greatest merchant group and central bank in Guizhou Province.”
“…?”
“Currently, the merchant group of the Guizhou Merchant Association is in Mount Heng in Hunan. It is not too far from here.”
“I know that.”
“Ah, is that so? Then again, there would be no one who knows the situation in Hunan as well as you do.”
He spoke as if he was not speaking to someone he commanded.
Murong Jun was always like that. When treating Yan Ja-bang, he spoke in the tone of a suggestion or request rather than an order. Even though he was clearly his subordinate.
Surprisingly, Murong Jun’s tone played a great role in soothing Yan Ja-bang’s self-esteem.
“So, what should be done with them?”
“There is no need to do anything to them. I just want you to make a certain deal with them.”
“What kind?”
Murong Jun took out a well-folded letter from his embrace and handed it to Yan Ja-bang.
Yan Ja-bang’s eyes shook as he unfolded and read the letter.
“Weren’t they bastards that had to be dealt with sooner or later anyway?”
“…”
“Take those bastards and try shaking up the merchant group.”
“Although they are bastards that need to be dealt with… isn’t the Guizhou Merchant Association quite an important trading partner for the Murong Clan as well?”
“That is so.”
“…They have committed no sins.”
“They have a sin.”
“What kind?”
Murong Jun smiled coldly.
“The sin of catching my eye.”
“…!”
“As for this matter, not only the Murim Alliance but also that bastard Yeon Ho-jeong does not know the detailed circumstances. The only people who know the inside story are me and you, just the two of us.”
“…”
“Bury it quietly.”
“If this matter becomes known to the main branch of the Guizhou Merchant Association…”
“There will absolutely be no such thing.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course I am certain. Because Yang Cheon will handle the aftermath of this.”
Yan Ja-bang’s eyes widened.
Murong Jun’s pupils slowly turned red. It was the eyes of a demon ready to commit any act for the sake of his ambition.
“The Guizhou Merchant Association, which had been acting arrogantly all this time, will now have to beg us. With this single move, we will accomplish the Murim Alliance’s mission, obtain a huge sum of money, and if we are lucky, we will even be able to press down on the Guizhou Merchant Association.”
“…”
“You will have to move right now.”
“I understand.”
Srrrk.
Yan Ja-bang disappeared.
Murong Jun, left alone, suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Look here, Ho-jeong. What can I do? I also have to make a living. Even if you happen to find out about this fact later, I hope you will not be too angry. If things go wrong, I will drive you as an accomplice as well.”
* * *
Kugugung.
The doors of the Black Dragon Manor opened.
Unlike before, Yeon Ho-jeong unhesitatingly climbed up the ninety-nine stairs. It was a step without the slightest hesitation.
“Have you arrived?”
Yang Cheon was the same as ever. The gaze looking down at this side while sitting on a huge grand chair was full of a majesty that made it difficult to even breathe.
Yeon Ho-jeong cupped his fists with discipline.
“Have you been well in the meantime?”
“Thanks to you.”
Yang Cheon, who was staring fixedly at Yeon Ho-jeong, smacked his lips.
“Before we talk, I heard there was an unsavory incident with my subordinate?”
He spoke extremely straightforwardly.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled faintly.
“Has the report already gone in?”
“It did.”
“They must have been quite anxious.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.
“Just hearing the report, it does not seem like you did anything well either.”
“That does not mean I did anything wrong either. However, that side clearly committed a wrong.”
“What kind of wrong did they commit for you to even kill a person of this manor?”
“A person of the manor? Wasn’t he the subordinate of that wench? It seemed like he was offering all his loyalty to her as his liege.”
The corners of Yang Cheon’s eyes trembled slightly.
Although they were subordinates he commanded, those subordinates also needed other subordinates they could trust and command. All organizations in the world were structured in that way.
But why was it? Hearing Yeon Ho-jeong’s words, he suddenly felt as if he was a liege who was not recognized.
“The approach was wrong from the beginning. I am not yet a person of the manor lord, and the manor lord also does not know my abilities, so you do not trust me, do you?”
“…”
“Do you understand? To put it bluntly, we are in a relationship where even a visual greeting is not necessary even if we run into each other on the street. If you had brought such a person in as an honored guest, you should have at least said a word to serve them well.”
“…”
“Her looking down on us is fine if I just think of it as a dog barking, but Lord Yang should not have done that.”
He did not shout that he did nothing wrong or that it was unfair. Rather, he issued a reprimand with a stern voice.
Even if nothing else, that terrifying audacity alone was the best in the world.
“In other words, the fault lies with me?”
“Furthermore, you also have the responsibility to apologize.”
“Heoheo.”
“However, I will not accept an apology. It is just that the greenhorns made a mistake, and I do not think Lord Yang’s vessel is small.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Even so, if it is small, what can be done? I will have to grow it for you somehow.”
Yang Cheon, who was staring fixedly at Yeon Ho-jeong, suddenly burst into mad laughter.
“Hahaha!”
Kugugugung!
The entire Black Dragon Manor shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
It was a laughter that could be felt as sufficiently threatening. However, Yeon Ho-jeong felt a strong liking towards him in Yang Cheon’s laughter.
His senses were accurate.
“Did you know? I have seen countless talents that cannot be measured, but there was no bastard like you.”
“You probably had no need to meet a bastard like me. I mean, when you were traveling the world alone.”
Yang Cheon smirked.
“What kind of humility is this? It is unlike you. You can have enough confidence. Leaving abilities aside, if there is another talent with the same audacity and broad-mindedness as you, I will welcome them with both hands raised.”
“That is a shame. If I had known Lord Yang’s personality earlier, I would not have had to make an effort to make a deal.”
Yeon Ho-jeong took out a thick letter from his embrace.
Yang Cheon’s eyes sparkled.
“Is that it?”
“It is.”
“Are you confident?”
“If my companion had not stopped me, I had thought of even killing the manor lord’s direct subordinate.”
It meant that if he wasn’t confident, would he have thought of acting so recklessly?
Yang Cheon smiled in satisfaction.
“Give it here.”
Woooong.
The letter that slipped out of Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand flew through the air and fell into Yang Cheon’s hand.
Void Manipulation. And it was a technique that had reached the extreme. It was not Yeon Ho-jeong who used it, but Yang Cheon who pulled the letter out of his hand.
Parararak.
The letter that floated in the air unfolded on its own.
It was truly a sight like magic. It was the martial arts of the absolute ruler who stood at the peak of the world’s martial arts, occupying a wing of the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats.
However.
‘As expected.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
‘The sense of incongruity I felt back then was not an illusion.’
Yeon Ho-jeong could clearly feel it. That the flow of Yang Cheon’s internal energy was not normal.
It was a minute gap that even Yeon Wi, who was stronger than the current Yeon Ho-jeong, would not have noticed. It was a gap that Yeon Ho-jeong could know because he was a master who had looked past a state equal to, no, even higher than Yang Cheon.
‘Does he himself not know it either?’
It seemed to be the case. If he knew that, he would not have the composure to sit in that seat and treat him with a smile right now.
‘Inner demon? No. It is also not qi deviation. I don’t know why he ended up like that, but…’
Yang Cheon reading the letter floating in the air at a fast speed.
‘It will gradually become faster.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eye light became blazing.
‘The loss of internal energy and the instability of his aura will become faster day by day.’
A problem of the true qi itself that could not be solved by enlightenment.
He had noticeably weakened even more than when he saw him five days ago. The actual degree of internal energy loss would be extremely minute, but since a gap had appeared in the originally flawless power, the problem stood out conspicuously.
‘He is still strong. With my current self, it would be difficult to even receive five exchanges from Yang Cheon. However…’
He is no longer the Combat King.
It would be difficult for him to use martial arts worthy of being called a King now. Yeon Ho-jeong could instinctively know that.
A single piece of a gap. Because that minute gap had turned the complete into the incomplete.
With that incompleteness, it would be difficult to protect the name Combat King anymore.
‘Was he poisoned? Or is it a problem with the martial art itself?’
He couldn’t figure it out at all.
For a master of the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats class to reach that state, it was hard to believe even after seeing it. At least in this very moment, he was purely curious about Yang Cheon’s condition.
‘A state where he has not yet perceived it himself. However, as time passes, he will feel something strange. And he will realize it. That there is a problem with himself.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sank darkly.
‘Yang Cheon…’
At that time, Yang Cheon reached out and grabbed the letter.
“Surprising.”
Pure admiration arose on Yang Cheon’s face.
“This, did you make it alone?”
“I did.”
In truth, Zhuge Ah-yeon had helped, but there was no need to say such words. It was because Yang Cheon absolutely should not take an interest in Zhuge Ah-yeon.
The target he took an interest in must be entirely himself. Only then could he minimize any potential danger to his companions.
“You are truly an amazing bastard. Although I am not very proficient in this area, even glancing over it, it seems systematic and unobstructed.”
“I am glad you see it that way. If so…”
“Wait a moment.”
Yang Cheon flicked his finger.
Sareureureuk.
An old man walked over from the other side of the corridor. It was White Rat.
“It looks fine to me. You guys review it in detail amongst yourselves.”
“I receive the manor lord’s command.”
White Rat, who received the letter, went back into the corridor. Inside, those who used their heads quite a bit in the Unorthodox would be swarming.
Yeon Ho-jeong smirked.
“How long should I wait?”
“Until they have all looked at it.”
“It will take a while.”
“That’s right. So, shall we talk a bit amongst ourselves?”
Yang Cheon asked with a smile.
“The successor of the Ghost Iron Sword Sect, was it truly not your doing?”