Chapter 372: Chapter 372
Leaving the deranged Sojeong Squad members behind, I was about to exit the White Wolf Pavilion when—
“Hold on, let me talk to you.”
A sudden voice made me stop.
I turned around to find a deeply familiar face standing there.
“……Du Cheon-gang.”
“You know…… me?”
Du Cheon-gang stared at me with puzzled eyes.
The man who had obsessively mastered movement arts and footwork because he was terrified of pain—he was the one who took a blade meant for me when I couldn’t dodge the enemy’s sword.
[You have to…… survive. What’s inside your head is…… cough…… important to the Alliance……]
For the sake of the Murim Alliance that had used him as a meat shield.
For the sole reason that I carried all of the Mantongbu’s records in my head.
And now, that very man was alive before my eyes.
I stared at him for a moment, then shook my head.
“No. I just overheard the other squad members calling your name earlier……”
“You must have a very good memory.”
I still couldn’t understand why a petty crook who’d done nothing but thievery before joining the Murim Alliance had carried such an enormous sense of duty.
It wasn’t as though his monthly stipend amounted to much.
Yet his eyes were just as steady as in my past life when he asked me.
“Do you want to become a warrior?”
“……A warrior?”
That obvious word felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Yes, a warrior of the Murim Alliance.”
“Ah, of the Murim Alliance……”
Perhaps it was because the word came from the mouth of a man who had met what might have been the most warrior-like death of all.
As I repeated the word to myself again and again, Du Cheon-gang grinned.
“Is there some other kind of warrior?”
“No. It’s just that I thought you meant a true warrior.”
“Ha ha. What an interesting fellow.”
After a hearty laugh, he casually slung his arm around my shoulder.
“To be frank, even if you become a warrior of the Alliance, don’t come to the White Wolf Pavilion. The Sojeong Squad especially is the worst of it. If at all possible, retake the exam and get yourself into a different pavilion.”
“……How can you say such a thing?”
“Because this place is where they’ve gathered the absolute worst of the worst. More people get hurt from fights amongst ourselves than from injuries on missions.”
I knew that. The Divine Physician Pavilion even had a monthly usage quota just for Sojeong Squad personnel.
“Still, you know……”
Du Cheon-gang had been chuckling at my reaction, but a serious light crept over his face.
He tightened the arm draped over my shoulder and added.
“If you want to stand shoulder to shoulder with men whose hearts burn hot, come join us.”
Men whose hearts burn hot……
“The hottest fellows in the Murim Alliance are all in the White Wolf Pavilion’s Sojeong Squad.”
I found myself nodding at Du Cheon-gang’s words.
At the very least, though the Sojeong Squad’s martial arts were meager, they had never run from the enemy.
No matter how terrifying the foe.
No matter if the mission was destined to end in death.
The Sojeong Squad had never retreated.
Vivid memories resurfacing, I nodded at his words.
“I see.”
Du Cheon-gang, who had been patting my shoulder, broke into a warm smile.
I bowed my head respectfully to him.
“Thank you. I was already planning to come here, but thanks to you, I want to even more.”
“Is that so? Good to hear.”
“I’ll see you again for certain.”
Just as I gave him a light bow and turned to leave—
“Wait!”
He grabbed hold of me again.
“Hm? What is it?”
This time he pressed in even closer, whispering in a low voice.
“I happened to notice—are you by any chance a disciple of a Daoist martial sect?”
“……?”
What was this all of a sudden?
In any case, while the Taeul Sect’s identity had occasionally come under question of late, it was undeniably a Daoist martial sect.
“That’s correct.”
When I nodded, Du Cheon-gang clapped his hands with glee.
“Oh! This is perfect! Absolutely perfect! A talent like you coming to the White Wolf Pavilion would be a boon for the entire Sojeong Squad.”
Just as suspicion was rising at the sudden, exaggerated praise, Du Cheon-gang lowered his voice again and asked.
As if he had something important to tell me—
“You…… have you by any chance studied Warding Off Evil and Suppressing Spirits?”
“All of a sudden……?”
For an instant, I failed to control my expression.
He pressed on urgently.
“It doesn’t have to be a high level of skill. There’s a tomb in Hunan Province haunted by a stray ghost……”
“……Nine Dragons Mountain?”
At my words, Du Cheon-gang shuddered as though struck by lightning.
“Gack! H-how do you—?! You know about Wolhyang’s grave?!”
“……”
Ha, this bastard…… so that was why he came up to me acting all mature and fatherly.
He’d had an ulterior motive all along.
The sheer transparency of it drew a hollow laugh from me.
‘Right, this is how the Sojeong Squad should be. Of course.’
But my reaction seemed invisible to him; Du Cheon-gang had his eyes as round as a rabbit’s, unable to contain his shock.
“How do you know about that?!”
How? Simple.
“Word got out years ago that ghosts were appearing there. You’re a bit slow on the uptake.”
“That’s impossible!!!”
I peeled off the wide-eyed Du Cheon-gang—screaming “MY TREASURE!!!” with his eyes rolled back—and left the White Wolf Pavilion.
Behind me, his voice rang out, seething with fury.
“WHICH SON OF A BITCH DID THIS?!!”
Hearing that voice, I renewed my resolve once more.
I had to get back to the White Wolf Pavilion as soon as possible.
Never mind the Sojeong Squad’s survival—I needed to turn those animals into people first.
***
“Wh-what…… what did you say?”
Seong Mo-ran looked as though she’d just been told someone had spotted a dragon.
“How could……”
A reaction of disbelief, even though it had actually happened.
“What do you mean? There’s no way that could have…… could have happened.”
She was every bit as baffled as I was dejected.
“I don’t understand it either. I brought the application back and asked them to reconsider, but I was rejected to my face.”
I held up the returned application.
The members of the Representative Delegation all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
“You were really rejected?”
“Nothing I said made a difference.”
“……”
Seong Mo-ran snatched my application and stared at it as if she could bore a hole through it.
“Why? Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did they reject you? It makes no sense. That trash…… no, it’s the White Wolf Pavilion, and…… you’re…… the top graduate, aren’t you?”
Wait, did she just call me by name?
In any case, I couldn’t tell them that the Alliance Leader had personally intervened.
The Alliance Leader’s position was precarious enough without me shaking it further.
What could the rest of us accomplish without an Alliance Leader when war broke out?
I had no choice but to make something up.
“They said my background wasn’t at a level that could get into the White Wolf Pavilion……”
“What utter bullshit!!!”
“!”
Everyone in the delegation, myself included, couldn’t hide their shock.
It was the first time any of us had seen Seong Mo-ran—crude around the edges as she could be—actually curse like that.
Seething with indignation, Seong Mo-ran barely managed to tamp down her agitation and sat back down.
“……Tell me…… tell me the whole thing properly.”
She ground her teeth, glaring at me as though she’d kill me on the spot.
“S-Seong So-jeo…… P-please calm down. Why are you so worked up?”
“Why? Why?? Why am I worked up?! Only we…… no, we’re the only ones going to the White Wolf Pavilion!”
GULP.
I instinctively sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
Just then—
“Big Sister, let’s hear him out first. There must be some circumstances.”
A voice of salvation. I turned toward her eagerly.
“Namgung So…… HICK!”
Namgung Seon-hwa’s hair was disheveled, and a crimson glow was blazing from her eyes.
“Let’s…… hear what he has to say……”
On second listen, her voice was nothing like her usual composure.
It was a voice honed razor-sharp, like a freshly whetted blade.
An icy tone that seemed ready to take my head off at any moment.
“Besides…… whatever the circumstances, Gongja-nim will be joining the White Wolf Pavilion.”
“……”
“That’s how it’s always been with Gongja-nim. No matter the hardship, you’ve smashed through it and gotten what you wanted.”
Every word was undeniably praise, yet each one felt like another needle being driven into my chest.
“There’s absolutely no way you won’t come. Who do you think Gongja-nim is? Surely you wouldn’t abandon us in that kind of…… no, in the White Wolf Pavilion. Surely not. Even if the whole world did, Gongja-nim absolutely, positively wouldn’t.”
“N-Namgung So-jeo. The thing is……”
Namgung Seon-hwa seemed to have already tuned out any excuse of mine, murmuring on and on.
“Ha ha, after all, Gongja-nim has never once disappointed us. Of course not. There’s no way you’d disappoint us. You are, after all, none other than Jin. So. Un. Gongja-nim of the ‘Taeul Sect.'”
Was it my imagination that the words “Taeul Sect” and my name came through with particular clarity?
I glanced at Namgung Seon-hwa.
Her lips curved into a gentle arc.
“Right, Gongja-nim?”
But her eyes were sharper than ever.
“You even defeated our uncle and took the Azure Sky Merchant Guild. Compared to that, entering the White Wolf Pavilion as planned is nothing at all. Am I wrong?”
“……”
“Surely you’re not saying that getting into the White Wolf Pavilion is harder than stealing the Azure Sky Merchant Guild from the Namgung Clan. Are you?”
No, but this time it really might be tough.
The one who decided my placement was the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance, after all.
“……”
“……”
When I gave no answer, Namgung Seon-hwa fell silent as well.
The silence between us quickly spread to the entire delegation, and a tension sharp enough to cut settled over the room.
I looked to the others for help, but every single one of them was glaring at me as though they wanted me dead.
What? Did I do something wrong without realizing it……?
I had absolutely no idea how things had come to this.
From my perspective, I was the victim here—denied the White Wolf Pavilion I’d wanted.
Yet Seong Mo-ran, Namgung Seon-hwa, and the entire delegation were staring me down with resentment.
I glanced at Eun-ho, who had at least applied to the Mantongbu rather than the White Wolf Pavilion.
“Ahem……”
The bastard averted his eyes.
Even Eun-ho, the one I’d trusted, abandoned me to save his own skin, and I was left in a perfect state of siege on all sides.
Just as that razor-edged tension lingered, someone spoke up.
“Well, I expected this would happen. So then, where is your second or third choice, Representative Jin?”
The fierce gazes swiveled toward the speaker.
“Were you thinking of the Azure Dragon Pavilion, perhaps? I’ve been meaning to recommend the Red Phoenix Pavilion for some time.”
Why the hell was that guy even here? He wasn’t part of the delegation.
“Wait, Cheol Gongja. You said you expected this…… What do you mean?”
At Seong Mo-ran’s question, Cheol Sun-jik shrugged.
Nam Hwa-seong, who had developed a fair bit of tact recently, tried to rein Cheol Sun-jik in, but that man wasn’t the type to listen to anyone.
“It makes no sense for someone of Representative Jin’s caliber to rot away in the White Wolf Pavilion. The White Wolf Pavilion isn’t a vessel that can hold him. When I heard that the competition rate for the White Wolf Pavilion was different from previous years, I figured there’d be a problem and immediately withdrew my own application. And sure enough, here we are.”
“Y-you anticipated something like this?”
Seong Mo-ran’s eyes widened.
Cheol Sun-jik nodded nonchalantly, then turned to me.
“You must have anticipated it too, Representative Jin. Am I wrong?”
No, you’re wrong, you lunatic!
“Gongja Jin! Tell me. Did you really see this coming? And still…… you didn’t tell us? ……You only told Cheol Sun-jik?”
“No way, why would I……”
Cheol Sun-jik cut in with a faintly smug expression.
“We don’t need to say it out loud to know these things about each other. Isn’t that right, Representative Jin?”
What the hell?! Since when were we that kind of—
“I…… see.”
But before I could even respond, Namgung Seon-hwa shot to her feet.
“N-Namgung So-jeo.”
I had no idea what was going on, but the fighting spirit radiating from her body—unlike anything I’d ever felt before—rang every alarm bell that I could not stay here.
“……”
I trotted out the see-through excuse favored by everyone who needed to flee a room.
“Oh, right! I left the kettle on and forgot!”
“You have servants at your quarters!”
SWISH—
Seong Mo-ran’s Seizing Hands flew at me without warning.
I dodged it and hurled myself through the window.
I’d dropped from the second floor, but the Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art let me land lightly and carry me away from the delegation building faster than anyone.
“GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!!”
A savage voice of indeterminate ownership echoed from behind, but it gradually faded into the distance.
After sprinting for quite some time, I finally realized no one was chasing me anymore and slowly eased my pace.
My breathing wasn’t labored, but my head was pounding.
“……Why the hell does everyone keep doing this to me?”
I’d barely caught my breath and started lamenting my situation when—
DRDRDRDRDR—
“……?”
The ground began to shake as though an entire army were bearing down.
I turned my head.
DADADADADADAK—
A massive horde of Academy students was charging toward me.
And they were—
“Representative Jin!!!”
“Representative Jin!!!”
“Unit Leader!!!”
……calling for me with desperate urgency, for some reason.
On another note, there were still people calling me Unit Leader.
“What’s with all of you suddenly swarming—”
“Unit Leader!!!!!”
Shit, my eardrums are going to burst.
They crowded around me and started firing questions.
“Is it true you’re not going to the White Wolf Pavilion?”
“Hey, you definitely said you were going to the White Wolf Pavilion!”
“Yeah! I believed that too!”
“Don’t tell me…… you scammed us?!”
This again.
Why the hell was everyone so interested in my career path?
Since when were we even close?
The barrage of questions from all sides sent my fury through the roof.
My mood had been terrible ever since hearing that the Alliance Leader had pulled strings, and from the delegation room to now, nobody was giving me a single moment to think.
I took a deep breath and unleashed a Lion’s Roar.
“WOULD ALL OF YOU KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF?!!”
The wave of pressure silenced the questions instantly. But an even greater outcry soon followed.
“This isn’t right! We all believed what you said!”
“Yeah! Because of you, Unit Leader, I’m completely blacklisted with my martial uncles!”
“Exactly! You think the victims of this scam are just one or two?! What are you going to do about it?!”
What the hell did these bastards eat that’s making them act like this?
Like a nest of baby birds chirping for food, they wouldn’t stop squawking. I drew upon the Taeul True Scripture with everything I had.
BOOM!
My martial arts uniform swelled as if about to burst, and the crowd that had encircled me stumbled back a couple of steps.
“Have you all lost your minds? Did you forget? I’m Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect! Jin So-un!!!”
“Urgh……”
“When did I ever hold a blade to your throats and force you to apply to the White Wolf Pavilion?!”
“W-well, not exactly, but……”
The suddenly heavy atmosphere sent the students retreating with sour expressions.
Cowed by the overwhelming aura I’d unleashed, they wavered, unable to advance or retreat.
Then someone blurted out.
“H-how vile, resorting to logic and strength to solve things……”
“What the hell……”
Before I could say anything, others chimed in as though answering a call.
“Hear, hear! Dialogue—let’s resolve this through dialogue!”
“A Unit Leader should listen to what his members have to say……!”
“Reform yourself! Reform yourself! Unit Leader Jin must reform!”
“Reform yourself! Reform yourself!!”
The students began chanting slogans in unison, staging an impromptu protest.
Faced with their united, unwavering resolve, all I could do was clutch my throbbing head.
‘Who the hell…… made you people my squad members?!!’