Chapter 342: Alliance (2)
Time passed.
Soon, it was approaching noon. However, no one among those gathered in the room opened their mouth.
“…….”
The silence was heavy.
The tea, which had been giving off a fairly plausible fragrance, had also cooled down coldly.
Looking around stealthily, Yeon Ho-jeong asked as if tossing the words.
“I brewed it with effort, but why aren’t you drinking it?”
Tang Kwan spoke with a cold voice.
“Drinking tea brewed by a guy who doesn’t even know the basics of the Way of Tea will only cause pain to my tongue.”
“Even so, I brewed it with effort.”
“Be quiet.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smacked his lips. Considering Tang Kwan’s personality, he had expected him to act like this, but it was a much more abrasive reaction than he had thought.
In fact, with that pride, it was a relief that he didn’t unleash poison on the people gathered here. At least after meeting Yeon Wi and improving his relationship with his daughter, his bloody personality seemed to have dulled a bit.
“Since it has been brought up, I will ask one thing.”
“Please speak.”
Is he going to pour out a bucketful of curses?
“Those guys, exactly where have they been maneuvering in secret?”
The eyes of the people gathered in the room turned to Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“Other than the Outer-territorial Region, I don’t know well. We are assuming they originated somewhere far away in the northwest, but even that is not certain.”
“If it’s the northwest, are you talking about Qinghai or Xinjiang?”
“Tibet will also be included. Of course, that is also not certain. In the first place, if there had been even a single thing we could be certain of about them, I wouldn’t have moved this carefully either.”
“Hmph! Your words sound good.”
Tang Kwan’s eyes emitted nasty killing intent.
“They are trash from the Outer-territorial Region, huh.”
Although he was someone who built a wall against”collective consciousness” unless it was a clan matter, he was also someone overflowing with pride as a person of the Central Plains.
In the first place, Sichuan Province was a region that served as the primary gateway for the Outer-territorial Region Murim’s invasion. Some might say that Qinghai Province is the primary gateway for wars with the Outer-territorial Region, but if it is truly a war within the Central Plains, Sichuan is the real stage.
In other words, to Tang Kwan, the invasion of the Outer-territorial Region Murim was never a matter to be taken lightly. The clan’s history was stained with the blood of the Outer-territorial Region. He had no choice but to burn with hatred more than anyone else here.
“If it’s Tibet, the Potala Palace or the Thunder Sound Temple would also be there, so could they possibly be accomplices too?”
“I don’t know about that. However, the Three Cults and they are religious organizations pursuing completely different paths. Unless they are at odds, it doesn’t seem likely they would have joined forces.”
“What about the movements of the Potala Palace or the Thunder Sound Temple?”
“According to the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang, they are excessively quiet. Of course, that was information from last year, so I don’t know about now. In the case of the Thunder Sound Temple, it is said that they seem to be slowly stretching, but the exact details are still unknown.”
“Quiet…”
Tang Kwan frowned.
“I know enough about those crazy bald monks. Their ideology is excessively bizarre and evil. The Potala Palace is still okay, but those guys from the Thunder Sound Temple are no different from the trash of the Unorthodox Factions.”
In fact, looking into the history of the Thunder Sound Temple, they too started as a group of cultivators following advanced Buddhism.
However, as time passed, the Thunder Sound Temple accepted the Yoga Qigong of Tianzhu, and began to obsess over strength rather than cultivation. They acquired bizarre techniques and martial arts from the Western Regions and the East, developing into an independent Murim force.
Among them, the Great Thunder Sound Temple split off so as not to forget their roots, and the Small Thunder Sound Temple developed into heretics. In the current Murim, they were divided like that.
The Thunder Sound Temple Tang Kwan was talking about meant the Small Thunder Sound Temple.
“They won’t be completely unrelated. Putting other places aside, Tibet is a region they ruled for hundreds of years. Like you said, if a group like the Three Cults has built up such immense power, whether it is the Potala Palace or the Thunder Sound Temple, they wouldn’t not know about the Three Cults.”
“That would be right.”
At that time, Yeon Wi intervened.
“Before dealing with them, it is right to solve the immediate problem first.”
“I agree.”
Tang Kwan smacked his lips.
“Did you say you killed a guy with the Garrison Commander position of the Guard Command?”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“That is right.”
“He’s a low-level soldier, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
It was a remark that revealed fearsome confidence.
Although not comparable to the Assistant Provincial Military Commander, the Garrison Commander was also a position with its own prestige. No, in the first place, killing a government official as a Murim person was a shocking event in itself.
Yeon Ho-jeong sighed.
“Well, putting that side aside, the guy coming now is different.”
“Did you say he is an Assistant Provincial Military Commander?”
“To be exact, we should consider him to be at the level of an Assistant Provincial Military Commander or higher. In the worst case, it could be the Provincial Military Commander, but no matter how I think about it, that would be unreasonable.”
The Provincial Military Commander is a fearsome position that commands the military administration of a province. No matter how much they neglect politics, they are not a person with the time to get involved in such an affair.
Tang Kwan spoke with a stiff voice.
“Assistant Provincial Military Commanders, who command the provincial forces, are guys in charge of war preparations as well as military training departments. If they are at least at the level of an Assistant Provincial Military Commander or higher, most of the military power of Henan Province might have already gone over to their side.”
“…That could be so.”
“It has become frustrating.”
Tang Kwan stroked his chin and spoke as if muttering.
“Assistant Provincial Military Commander… If it were someone of the Lower Second Rank or higher, it might be different, but if it’s an Assistant Commander below that, even if we secretly kill him, we might be able to handle it somehow.”
The atmosphere in the room turned terrifyingly cold.
Yeon Wi cleared his throat.
“Clan Head. That is an overly dangerous remark.”
“If the folks called the Three Cults have truly taken over the Imperial Palace and government offices, the danger is already right in front of us. It will be dangerous no matter how we deal with it, so there is nothing to be surprised about.”
It was not wrong. However, as Yeon Wi said, it was also an excessively dangerous and radical remark.
“By the way.”
Tang Kwan glanced at the window.
“It’s almost noon now, why isn’t that damn guy coming?”
“Won’t he come soon?”
Yeon Wi’s words were true.
After a quarter of an hour.
Hook!
A single aura slowly approaching completely surrounded the Army-Destroying Pavilion.
The faces of Muk Bi and Yeon Ji-pyeong stiffened with tension. They intuitively realized how great a master the owner of this aura, which felt damp yet had tremendous explosive power, was.
Tang Kwan wore a sneer.
“It’s funny.”
Whether his feelings were actually complicated or it was just a simple display, wasn’t it overly childish?
At least Tang Kwan thought so. And the reason he could think so was because he was one of the two people here who could face Murong Jun head-on.
Yeon Wi smiled bitterly.
“He, too, must have had his pride hurt in his own way.”
“Hmph! I’m sure.”
“It’s not because of anything else but Ho-jeong.”
“What does that mean again?”
Yeon Wi said while looking at Yeon Ho-jeong.
“Many things have happened, but regardless, the person standing on the frontline in the fight against Murong Jun was Ho-jeong. And Murong Jun had acknowledged Ho-jeong as his opponent.”
“…….”
“However, he learned that the enemy he thought of as a worthy opponent was actually seeing much more than he was, and that his ultimate goal was not him either. Murong Jun’s pride must have also been greatly hurt.”
Yeon Ho-jeong scratched his head. Because he had never thought of it that way.
Tang Kwan stared quietly at Yeon Ho-jeong before saying.
“Anyway, you got dirtily entangled too.”
“I don’t care.”
“Cheeky brat.”
A moment later.
Rattle.
The door opened, and Murong Jun and Zhuge Wen-hu entered.
“…….”
The air in the room was now so heavily settled that it was suffocating.
Murong Jun looked around.
Yeon Wi looking at him with indifferent eyes, Tang Kwan with his eyes full of killing intent shining, Muk Bi and Yeon Ji-pyeong with tense faces, and…
‘…….’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s deep eyes, so transparent that their depths could not be read, were facing him.
Zhuge Wen-hu stepped forward.
“Please sit down.”
Murong Jun sat on a chair without a word.
Zhuge Wen-hu, who came in after closing the door, opened his mouth.
“There will be no need for a long talk. Everyone here is probably busy, and I know that discussing useless past affairs will only make everyone feel uncomfortable.”
Zhuge Wen-hu’s voice was incomparably clear and elegant.
The voice of a deeply cultivated scholar. It was intentional, but thanks to his voice, the air that had been endlessly heavy seemed to become much lighter.
Rustle.
Zhuge Wen-hu placed the documents on the table.
“Clan Head Murong, please read them first.”
Murong Jun read the documents without a word.
Unlike his bloody aura, his eyes were only cautious. A deep concentration could be seen in his fingertips as he turned each page of the documents.
A moment later, he put the documents down.
“I read it all.”
Even though there should be a lot of quite shocking content, there was no sign of surprise.
Zhuge Wen-hu continued his words.
“Clan Head Tang, please read them too.”
Tang Kwan picked up the bundle of documents with a snatching sound.
Flap!
Tang Kwan was different from Murong Jun. Nervous emotions clearly seeped from his fingertips roughly turning the pages.
However, he too was the head of the Six Great Clans and a giant of the Murim. Although he was annoyed and angry, his eyes were full of caution no less than Murong Jun’s.
A moment later, Tang Kwan also read all the documents.
“Medical Immortal Pavilion Master Gi Wu-hui, that girl is the daughter of that damn Divine Fire Cult Leader?”
“That is right.”
“What a ridiculous girl.”
Zhuge Wen-hu added his words.
“Putting other things aside, there is no need to doubt Physician Gi. Regarding her, I, Clan Head Yeon, Army Commander Yeon, and Vice commander Muk all…”
“I don’t doubt her.”
“Yes?”
Tang Kwan frowned.
“Others aside, would this cheeky brat have brought an enemy string into the Alliance without checking that?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smirked.
“I am only grateful for your trust in my ability.”
“Did you hear the remark about being like a sly snake as a compliment?”
“Yes.”
Tang Kwan quickly turned his head away.
Yeon Wi opened his mouth.
“For now, everyone here has shared the information about the enemy. At least up to what has been investigated so far.”
Zhuge Wen-hu nodded.
“As you all know, we only dug deeper and in more detail into limited information, and there was practically no real information about them.”
That was the problem.
The Divine Fire Cult has infiltrated the Imperial Palace and government offices, and is already exerting considerable influence.
The Evil Lust Cult provided immense help in establishing the Black Dragon Manor, and still covets the Black Dragon Manor as a bridgehead for advancing into the Central Plains.
In the end, that was all. Nothing was grasped about where the enemies were, what organizations they had taken over and to what extent if they had infiltrated, or what their combat power was.
“In other words.”
Tang Kwan’s voice, which had been nervous, turned as cold as the north wind.
“It means we have to properly sweet-talk that Assistant Provincial Military Commander coming here.”
Zhuge Wen-hu nodded.
“Furthermore, if that person is truly a cultist of the Divine Fire Cult, we must absolutely not let him step foot into the Murim Alliance. If he uses the Empire’s public power, we will have no choice but to be helplessly struck.”
At that time, Murong Jun spoke.
“He is the first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shouldn’t we just catch him first?”
“Of course, that is so… but you wouldn’t be unaware that it is dangerous.”
Murong Jun did not answer Zhuge Wen-hu’s words. He merely looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with profound eyes.
The gazes of the two people collided, creating a bizarre atmosphere.
Yeon Ho-jeong asked.
“Do you have connections?”
Murong Jun answered.
“It’s risky.”
“I will believe it can be done.”
“Are you going to clash head-on?”
“Whoever steps forward, that would be the best.”
“It would be better for you to sit out this time.”
“I also think so.”
“The answer has come out. You and I will support from behind. We just have to choose the person who will clash head-on.”
It was a series of incomprehensible conversations. It was to the point where even the great Zhuge Wen-hu tilted his head.
Murong Jun looked at Tang Kwan.
“Clan Head Tang.”
Tang Kwan did not even answer. Murong Jun did not care about his attitude.
“The Assistant Provincial Military Commander estimated to be a master of the Divine Fire Cult, will you try catching him?”
“…What did you say?”
Yeon Ho-jeong scratched his head.
“Your hands must be itching… I don’t think it’s bad.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Fight him.”
“……?!”
“Ah, they are guys specialized in the Heat Yang Art. I recommend not using poison…”
Tang Kwan finally lost his temper.
“Explain in detail what you’re talking about first!”