Chapter 255: The Time of the Freezing Wind (5)
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“Is that so.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Well, it is like him.”
Yeon Wi shook his head.
“He is a snake-like person. To hold a meeting as soon as he returned and abruptly try to muddy the atmosphere, is he not a truly wicked person?”
“Isn’t it a given that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down? I did run wild without thinking.”
“Do not think like that. If they truly gathered for the great cause of the world, even if they feel bitter seeing a rising star who will become a pillar of the Murim in the future, they shouldn’t try to bite and tear at him.”
“Do you think so?”
“I do. At the very least, I think the elders of the Orthodox should be like that.”
Yeon Wi let out a sigh.
“Even if reality is not like that, if one does not dream of ideals, nothing will change. One must acknowledge reality, but always seek a better path for there to be progress, no?”
This was the exact difference between Yeon Wi and Murong Yu.
Murong Yu was at the stage of acknowledging reality, while Yeon Wi acknowledged reality yet dreamed of ideals. And he thought that was a given.
Yeon Ho-jeong agreed with his father’s ideology.
‘That is correct. If one settles for reality just because the immediate reality does not change, one will only end up being buried in the end.’
Yeon Ho-jeong was also the same as Yeon Wi.
He was a person who did not settle for reality. He always thought of the next step and dreamed of a better future.
Of course, the difference in their methods was large.
“In any case, Murong Jun submitted his report in that manner.”
“Yes.”
Yeon Wi’s eyes shone.
“Now, let us listen. I must hear thoroughly what happened there and what kind of trickery Murong Jun used to torment you.”
“Understood.”
Yeon Ho-jeong leaned his upper body forward.
“As for what happened there…”
It was then.
‘…?!’
Yeon Ho-jeong turned his head toward the window.
Yeon Wi’s face stiffened coldly.
“I didn’t expect this.”
“…Tell me about it.”
“To seek you out first, he is truly a person without countermeasures.”
The corners of Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth twitched.
“Whether he has no countermeasures, or whether he came packed with this and that, we will know once we meet him.”
Outside the window where Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze was directed.
Beyond the main gate of the Army-Destroying Pavilion, Murong Jun was walking over.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Murong Jun looked around the room.
“It is very simple. Just one bed, a table, chairs, and weapons.”
“There is nothing more needed.”
“It’s just like you. It looks desolate at first glance, but you’ve equipped only what is absolutely necessary.”
“That is so.”
“Why don’t you at least place a ceramic vase?”
“Because I don’t really have an aesthetic eye. And money is money too.”
“Tsk, how much could that possibly cost.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“You returned well without getting hurt.”
Murong Jun smiled back.
“Tell me about it. To be honest, I really thought I was going to be helplessly done in this time, you know?”
“You should have done well, then.”
“How much better do I have to do than this? I’m saddened.”
“That’s an unfunny joke.”
“Hahaha!”
Murong Jun looked out the window.
“By the way, did Clan Head Yeon have an urgent matter? He went out quite hastily.”
“He has a pretty strong stomach, but not quite to my level.”
Murong Jun shrugged his shoulders.
“Do I have a smell or something?”
It was quite a relaxed response. It was an appearance unbefitting of the highly prideful Murong Jun.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at that Murong Jun with deeply sunken eyes.
‘He sought me out first?’
Murong Jun was not a person who went to find the other party. Rather, he was a person skilled at making the other party come to him.
That was another pride that Murong Jun himself was not aware of. The person who is in need is the one who moves first, and in politics, the side in need naturally becomes the weak.
In that sense, Murong Jun was always the strong. In the past, there was a time he came first regarding the Anhui Blood Bow incident, but the Murong Jun of that time did not consider Yeon Ho-jeong an archenemy.
A political archenemy capable of a power struggle.
He had come to find such an archenemy first for the first time. This time around, even Yeon Ho-jeong found it hard to read Murong Jun’s inner thoughts.
“However, aren’t you being too much?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did I not treat you to good alcohol before? Although I came without notice, do you not plan on offering me even a single cup of tea?”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“Wait.”
A moment later, Yeon Ho-jeong brought two bottles of alcohol and two cups.
Murong Jun frowned.
“Fire Liquor?”
“Please understand.”
“I usually don’t say things like this, but if you have money, spend it a little. Saving is not the only answer.”
“I’m pouring a lot into other places.”
“Hoh.”
Murong Jun smacked his lips.
“It can’t be helped. Give me a cup.”
Yeon Ho-jeong filled his cup.
Murong Jun also filled Yeon Ho-jeong’s cup.
“Now, let’s drink it refreshingly.”
The two people emptied their cups at the same time.
Unlike the calm Yeon Ho-jeong, Murong Jun’s face distorted mercilessly.
“It’s strong. The scent is weird too.”
“It’s drinkable once you get used to it. It’s good for getting drunk cheaply.”
“Do you have more?”
“I have plenty. I bought about ten or fifteen bottles…”
“The information you didn’t hand over to me, there must surely be more.”
He brought up the topic of the mission out of the blue.
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“Information?”
“That’s right. Didn’t you clearly say it? You asked me to buy some time. You said you would extract top-secret information.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled coldly.
“Why is a smart man suddenly acting like this? You know, don’t you? That it was part of a scheme to strike the back of your head.”
“Hmm.”
“And yet you returned alive and perfectly fine like this… Actually, I expected that Yang Cheon would have moved personally.”
Murong Jun’s eyes deepened.
‘So it was indeed like that.’
This guy was clearly looking that far ahead. It was clear he had foreseen that Yang Cheon might move personally, and even that he could bury him just like that.
‘A monster-like bastard.’
Isn’t he a truly terrifying bastard.
Unless he perfectly saw through how the Black Dragon Manor would act, he couldn’t have come up with such a scheme.
‘Just what is this bastard’s true identity?’
Going through this incident, one question arose in his mind.
Yeon Ho-jeong was strangely accustomed to the Unorthodox Murim. He hadn’t seen it directly from the side, but he could tell just by looking at his responses and the reactions of the Twelve Earthly Branches.
Although they were ruffians of the Unorthodox, they were also at the level of the upper echelons of an organization. Yang Cheon in particular was a possessor of overwhelming martial arts and discernment compared to any master of the Orthodox.
With just a few meetings, Yeon Ho-jeong had gained Yang Cheon’s trust and snagged one of the highest and most important positions in the Black Dragon Manor.
If he hadn’t properly seen through Yang Cheon’s personality, it was something he wouldn’t even dare to attempt. Because if he made a slight mistake, his life would be in danger.
‘From the moment he created the organizational chart, this guy was certain he could become the head of the Information Department.’
Yeon Ho-jeong drew in the informants of the Unorthodox to concentrate their attention, imprinted Tang Sang-ah’s existence to induce interest, and met Yang Cheon directly to place the organizational restructuring chart on the gambling table.
All of that progressed as naturally as flowing water. It must have been a continuous series of tensions day by day, but at the same time, it was a method he absolutely couldn’t have used if he wasn’t certain he would take on an important position.
‘I have circumstantial evidence, but no physical evidence.’
Murong Jun smiled.
‘But this guy has physical evidence that must not be discovered.’
It was intuition.
If Yeon Ho-jeong had intuitively realized Murong Jun’s survival, Murong Jun had also intuitively realized that Yeon Ho-jeong was hiding something.
In the meantime, they had shown each other a lot of things.
Now, the two people no longer needed to gauge each other’s limits. They had merely entered a contest of thoroughly digging into what the other was aiming for and what they were hiding.
“So, you’ve already handed over all the information?”
“There’s no reason to separately extract top-secret information, is there?”
“You never know. You might have taken business-related documents. If they are economy-related documents, they are treasures among treasures in themselves, and if the Yeon Clan preempts what the Black Dragon Manor has its eyes on, you could earn a large amount of money.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“Are you saying that seriously?”
“I’m serious. Of course, considering your boldness, I do wonder if you would do such a petty thing.”
“You saw correctly.”
“I really didn’t think you would try to kill the commanding officer of this mission and the Clan Head of the Murong Clan, you see.”
Murong Jun’s eyes turned cold.
“Do you think I crossed the line? No. I did not cross the line. But you were different. You clearly crossed the line this time.”
“I decline such abstract talk. What is clear is that you committed an act you shouldn’t have, and I merely could not forgive that.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled coldly.
“Do you think I’m hiding something? I’m sorry, but what I am hiding are only the claws I haven’t been able to fully reveal yet.”
“…”
“I thought I could tear you to death with a couple of claws, but you returned perfectly alive and well. So what can I do? I have no choice but to pull out the remaining claws one by one.”
The corners of Murong Jun’s mouth rose.
“You want to go for a mud fight?”
“When has our fight ever been clean?”
“At least there were unspoken rules.”
“The one who broke the rules first was you.”
“I think differently.”
“So from now on, be a little more tense. Because you don’t know when and where I might chop you with an axe.”
Murong Jun, who had been staring blankly at Yeon Ho-jeong, tapped his cup.
“My cup is empty.”
Yeon Ho-jeong filled his cup.
Murong Jun smiled.
“Your method this time was quite impressive. I am not one to fall for the same method again, so next time you will have to lay down a slightly more groundbreaking scheme.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“In a dirty fight, there is no need for groundbreaking schemes.”
“Oho, is that so?”
“And dogfights are my specialty.”
Murong Jun raised his cup.
“Let’s have a drink.”
Jjiiing!
The two people clinked their cups and emptied their alcohol just like that.
Murong Jun rose from his seat.
“I was treated well. Just as you said, after drinking a few cups, I’m getting used to it.”
“That is the charm of Fire Liquor.”
“It was a conversation with not much nutritional value, but as expected, talking with you is fun. It’s good that the loosened string of tension feels like it’s tightening again.”
“I’m glad it was of some help.”
“Look here, Ho-jeong.”
“Speak.”
Murong Jun’s eyes turned cold.
“A politician does not forget what they have suffered. This one move of yours hurt quite a bit. I plan to pay you back properly, so prepare yourself firmly and wait.”
Yeon Ho-jeong said with an expressionless face.
“The back of my head that was struck by you is still tingling. I regretted whether I should have handled it more cruelly, but for you to return alive like this, I’m rather thankful.”
“You are truly the same as always.”
“I’ll return those words exactly as they are.”
Murong Jun turned his body.
“I will be going now. Let us see each other again later.”
“Let’s do that.”
Thus, Murong Jun left the room.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was quietly looking at the liquor bottle, turned his eyes out the window.
Murong Jun’s gradually receding figure, the elongated shadow looked like a ghost clinging to a person.
“…They met.”
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
“That human, he met Yang Cheon.”
What was even more surprising was that he had returned safely even after meeting Yang Cheon.
“He faced Yang Cheon, who was blinded by anger, and still returned alive… How? Why would a human like the Combat King let a weakling he could kill in at most three exchanges live?”
There was only one answer.
“He made a deal.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled coldly.
“Right, he successfully concluded the deal that had been shattered into pieces and came back.”