Chapter 137: Chapter 137
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As it was known, the Murim Alliance Leader Hyeokryeon Wi-jin was not a martial artist hailing from an ancient great clan or a massive sect, but an immigrant from the Central Plains who came from poor beginnings. However, endowed with outstanding martial talent from his youth during a time when the Murim Alliance’s reach had yet to stretch across the New World, he wandered the wilderness and rugged mountains, risking his life fighting for chivalry, and at the end of that struggle, attained enlightenment to become a tremendous expert.
Passing forty years of age, he entered the Murim Alliance and swiftly became its center. He was always popular among the younger generation of the Murim Alliance. The image of him rising alone without an established background, standing at the center of the Murim Alliance, and always acting for the sake of chivalry and justice could not help but attract hot-blooded youths.
It was his tenth year living within the Murim Alliance. When his fame spread across the ocean to the Central Plains to the point that the Emperor bestowed upon him the Righteous Dragon Sword, the position of Alliance Leader, which had always rotated conventionally among the elders of large sects, ultimately became his.
And ten years had passed since he became the Alliance Leader. Now, the Murim Alliance was witnessing a clash between the faction represented by the Council of Elders seeking to preserve and reclaim their vested interests, and the faction represented by the Alliance Leader aiming to weaken the power of the large sects and foster the strength of the Murim Alliance itself.
Jang Geon lifted the teacup placed before him, took a sip, and gazed sullenly at Hyeokryeon Wi-jin, the central figure of that tale.
Je Un-seong and the Alliance Leader’s Office martial artists who had guided them to this room had all withdrawn. Those currently sitting across from the Murim Alliance Leader, who was leisurely sipping tea, were Jang Geon, Namgoong Cheon, Jeok Se-in, and Yang Goeng.
Namgoong Cheon maintained an attitude similar to the Alliance Leader’s. It was a demeanour suggesting there was nothing urgent, and for now, the taste of the tea in his hand was simply delightful. Jang Geon leaned back against the chair’s backrest in a somewhat slack and unenthusiastic posture, while Jeok Se-in wore a rigid expression, as if pondering what words the Alliance Leader would speak.
The astonishing thing was that Yang Goeng, who had been whining about why he had to meet the Alliance Leader, was now sitting before him tasting his tea slowly with an exceedingly calm demeanor. The thief who had been bullied by Jang Geon had vanished, and an unhurried merchant seemed to sit in his place.
Of course, within his pupils when they briefly met Jang Geon’s, a typhoon of intense anxiety was raging. If it was acting, he was indeed an impressive fellow.
“The aroma of the tea is wonderful.”
Those words suddenly popped out from Namgoong Cheon. At that, the Alliance Leader nodded his head.
“They are tea leaves cultivated in the mountain ranges near Plateau City. Because their aroma and flavor are outstanding, they are sometimes exported at high prices across the ocean to the Central Plains.”
“Is that so? Working near that area myself, I never thought to taste such tea. Thanks to the Alliance Leader, I have come to know a fine tea.”
The Alliance Leader raised his teacup slightly and spoke.
“I am Hyeokryeon Wi-jin. Although I possess various empty titles, those are literally nothing more than empty reputations.”
“Namgoong Cheon.”
“How is your body?”
Even though Namgoong Cheon surely felt great agony from his missing left arm and the wound slashing across his upper torso, he playfully rolled both shoulders slightly and chuckled warmly.
“Having spent the last few days resting comfortably, my body feels a bit sluggish. If I hadn’t come as a guest, I would have even trained in martial arts. Haha.”
The Alliance Leader showed a glint of peculiar light in his eyes upon seeing that empty arm.
“I apologize for the poor accommodations over the past several days. The friction with the Council of Elders is increasingly surfacing. In truth, this was a fissure foretold from the moment I seized the position of Alliance Leader ten years ago.”
“Mhm. That is a fact our Palace has grasped to some extent as well. To my knowledge, operations based on that should be unfolding…”
Seeing Namgoong Cheon trail off, the Alliance Leader met his eyes and smiled faintly.
“You appear to hold many cards. Did you say you were a general of the Demonic Palace?”
At the mention of the Demonic Palace, Namgoong Cheon’s expression stiffened slightly. But he soon replied with a somewhat subdued demeanor.
“…General. That’s right, I was a general. In the Palace’s clans, aside from the patriarchs, there are generals who bear the ambition to pacify the New World through each clan’s external activities. Alongside the Snake Lord who commands the serpents, those generals are mostly at the ends of the strings operating in this land.”
“Then does that mean you were the supreme expert second only to the patriarch of the Namgoong Demonic Clan?”
“At least among the Namgoong members active outside, my sword was the foremost… But aren’t martial arts like that? In the end, one cannot determine exact superiority without staking one’s life in combat. Therefore, it would be best not to make the mistake of regarding me as the supreme expert of our Palace.”
The Alliance Leader nodded his head and leaned back slightly.
“In any case, it remains true that you were a representative martial artist of the Namgoong Demonic Clan… and the one who defeated that martial artist is this young man here.”
Unlike the thoroughly tense Yang Goeng and Jeok Se-in, Jang Geon, who had been half-listening to the two old men’s conversation while sipping tea, met the Alliance Leader’s gaze without any particular wavering. The glint in the Alliance Leader’s eyes that had sparkled while looking at Namgoong Cheon’s single arm grew even deeper.
“Was your name Jang Geon?”
“It is.”
“Why did you simply leave last time?”
He was referring to the New Sichuan Imperial Army incident. At that time, Jang Geon had only taken the medal and monetary reward, never even crossing the threshold of the Murim Alliance.
Jang Geon set down his teacup onto the table and said impassively,
“Because it was troublesome.”
At that curt and insolent reply, Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng’s expressions turned pale. Namgoong Cheon merely chuckled to himself and lifted his teacup. The Alliance Leader also seemed struck by the reply, falling silent for a moment before snapping out of it and laughing heartily.
“Meeting you in person, you are an amusing fellow. I heard your family is the Hunan Jang Clan. I understand they have been expanding their business in New Sichuan recently? I am aware there are business plans with our Alliance as well.”
“I wouldn’t know. My elder brother handles the business, and thanks to someone, I’ve been tied up somewhere these past few days and had no time to drop by.”
Jeok Se-in now shut her eyes tight, and Yang Goeng, acting as if he knew nothing, turned his attention entirely to the refreshments laid out and feigned ignorance of Jang Geon.
“…Mhm. In truth, I too wished to call you straight to the Alliance Leader’s Office. However, as seen in Elder Namgoong’s case, even a slight opening inside the Alliance now creates countless unexpected obstacles. I could only meet you like this after anticipating the consequences of our meeting and establishing countermeasures against them.”
“Is that so?”
Jang Geon asked back sullenly, as if demanding whether that was all he had to say. But the Alliance Leader smiled gently instead.
“You seem to harbor many complaints. You said you left last time because it was troublesome, so why are you acting like this now?”
“Well, it seems to be because the matter hasn’t been concluded yet this time.”
“Not concluded?”
Jang Geon slowly scratched his chin with his right hand and continued speaking.
“Observing over the past four days, there hasn’t even been mention of an investigation squad to look into the massacre of the Plateau City tribes. On top of that, absurd talk of executing Elder Namgoong, who came to defect to the Murim Alliance, has been going around. What are you playing at?”
At his openly questioning tone, Jeok Se-in, whose face had turned beyond pale to a bluish hue, attempted to intervene. However, she was forced to shut her mouth abruptly when the Alliance Leader raised his left index finger toward her.
Seeing that, Jang Geon gave a bitter smile and spoke.
“The natives of Plateau City said that Central Plains people from the west slaughtered their tribe and returned to the west. That means a combat unit composed of demonic persons is lying low somewhere in the land of this Murim Alliance, quietly gathering strength. Aren’t you curious about what would happen if this fact became known to the Imperial Army?”
At Jang Geon’s words, the Alliance Leader’s expression stiffened, and Namgoong Cheon wore an astonished look, wondering how he knew that. Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng were equally flabbergasted. For a moment, the Alliance Leader’s office fell dead silent.
And in that moment, Jang Geon read the Alliance Leader’s expression and furrowed his brows.
“…You already knew.”
At that brief murmur, the eyes of the people at the table focused on the Alliance Leader this time. The Alliance Leader merely wore a slightly stiff expression; no agitation could be seen on his face. The Alliance Leader raised his teacup, took a sip, smacked his lips, and spoke.
“The land of the New World is exceedingly vast and fertile. However, compared to the breadth of the land, people are scarce. Nor does it possess a powerful system backed by tremendous military might like the Empire. If a group of twenty or thirty decides to conceal themselves, it is only natural that we cannot detect them. Even if there is intelligence, it means one cannot easily be certain of its truth.”
Clasping both hands together, he continued speaking.
“Why do you think the Council of Elders tried so desperately to block Elder Namgoong? Isn’t it because there is something they wish to hide from Elder Namgoong? However, we cannot openly expose that suspicion. The Council of Elders is composed of over a dozen elders, and not all of them are tied to that suspicion. Uprooting all of them from the Alliance simply because they are suspicious is equivalent to abandoning nearly all of the Alliance’s core sects. It means the organization that barely established justice in this chaotic New World would crumble. We cannot take such a risk based on unconfirmed intelligence.”
Having laid out his words, the Alliance Leader took a deep breath and smiled genially.
“Do not worry too much. Now that Elder Namgoong has defected, we can slowly reform the Alliance based on that intelligence. Even if we cannot flip everything over like turning a palm, we will be able to lay new tiles one by one as if roofing a house.”
Jang Geon stared silently at the Alliance Leader smiling genially like that. He had guessed that the representative of a massive faction like the Murim Alliance would not be boisterous like some street ruffian. But even taking that into consideration, the elderly man sitting before him was exceptionally political.
Having awakened his five senses and qi perception, Jang Geon could fathom just from the Alliance Leader’s attitude, gestures, and gaze how remarkably sturdy his body remained despite his age, and how high-level the martial arts imbued in his light movements were.
There was no doubt that the Murim Alliance Leader Hyeokryeon Wi-jin was a martial artist worthy of his status. However, his manner of concealing his emotions to the end despite hearing Jang Geon’s intentional disrespect and harsh words, and his tone refusing to hastily pass judgment on the Council of Elders even though everyone present clearly did not belong to them—in such social actions, he was distinctly different from ordinary martial artists.
Another thing to consider was that the Soaring Green Eagle Squad and Jo Sang-ryong he had fought previously, and further back, even those called the Great Peace Squad, were figures reached by this Alliance Leader’s tentacles. Whether the Alliance Leader was a great chivalrous hero or a hypocrite, it wasn’t difficult to guess that there were plenty who had been manipulated by his silver tongue.
Thinking up to that point, Jang Geon felt like throwing it all away. He would rather brawl with thirty bandits in the wilderness; engaging in verbal sparring like this after learning martial arts was not his specialty.
Therefore, Jang Geon shook his head and stood up from his seat.
“I wouldn’t know about that. It seems I will just have to move according to the ways of the Murim.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Having stood up, Jang Geon spoke in a deeply sunken voice, contrary to his posture.
“Right now, I act on behalf of the Tribal Alliance’s grievances, and personally, I have a score to settle with the one who attempted to assassinate Elder Namgoong four days ago. Now, in the manner of the Murim, my blade will seek them out.”
“…Are you saying you will tear through the Murim Alliance as you please right now?”
“If necessary.”
At his resolute attitude, Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng, who were seated, had now attained enlightenment-like expressions, frozen like wax figures with faint smiles. Namgoong Cheon sipped his tea repeatedly with keen interest, looking back and forth between Jang Geon and the Alliance Leader, while the Alliance Leader, sitting upright with his back straight, gazed at Jang Geon with deeply sunken eyes.
For quite some time, Jang Geon’s eyes, deep and calm like a midnight lake, met the inscrutable black eyes of the Alliance Leader. Then, the corners of the Alliance Leader’s mouth curved into a gentle arc.
He pulled something out of his robes and tossed it toward Jang Geon. Jang Geon caught it very naturally and examined it. It was an octagonal medallion of silver-white with red tassels. On the back, an embossed dragon was carved, and turning it over, the characters for Righteous Dragon (義龍) were engraved.
“The Righteous Dragon Medallion. Along with the Righteous Dragon Sword, it is the proof of my chivalry bestowed by His Imperial Majesty. The Righteous Dragon Sword has become too deeply accustomed to my hands to give away, but it seems better for that medallion to be held in your hands right now. With that, you will suffer no inconvenience in traversing the Alliance. For now, that is the only assistance I can offer.”
Was this also a political move of his own? Jang Geon could not guess that far. However, he tucked the Righteous Dragon Medallion into his robes. He could not divine the Alliance Leader’s thoughts, but his blade could no longer stay dormant in the Reception Hall. If his silver tongue held him back, cutting that away would suffice.
Afterward, when Jang Geon turned around to leave, Jeok Se-in and Yang Goeng also hastily stood up, bowed with cupped fists to greet the Alliance Leader, and followed behind him. Only Namgoong Cheon, now a guest of the Alliance Leader’s Office, leisurely sipped his tea.
Refilling his cup with an unbothered attitude, the Alliance Leader cast a sidelong glance at Jang Geon receding through the closing doors. What thoughts were contained within those eyes could not be known.