Chapter 16: Chapter 16
Ji Mak-pyeong, the Benevolence Division Head, was brewing tea as usual. Among his peers, including Black Tortoise Squad Leader Cheol Ji-ak, Ji Mak-pyeong was the man who had been promoted the fastest.
His martial prowess was fairly decent, but his most extraordinary trait was his politics and worldly conduct. He was naturally quick-witted. Moreover, he possessed excellent judgment in determining whether to seize or sever the lifeline laid before him.
Filling two teacups, he set them down before the man seated across from him and before himself. The man sitting opposite him was a lifeline he had to hold onto by all means.
“Lord Gu. I have handled the matter well, so do not worry too much.”
The man addressed as Lord Gu was wearing a long robe made of pitch-black fur. His bold facial features and slightly raised eyebrows created quite a fierce impression.
Rather than a distinguished elder of the Righteous Path, he was a man from whom the distinct aura of a martial artist who had rolled in the Unorthodox Path all his life strangely emanated.
Gu Yong-baek, the family head of the Gu Clan, gazed at the teacup set before him for a moment before speaking.
“What will become of Muk-gaek?”
“He tried to kill an applicant of the selection examination. Furthermore, he involved quite a prominent unorthodox organization in the incident. They will likely sever the tendons and meridians of his four limbs, cripple his dantian, and lock him in the prison. He will not be able to come out for at least thirty years or more. It cannot be helped.”
Even as he said so, the Benevolence Division Head watched his expression. Although Gu Yong-baek was his close friend, he was also a frightening man.
“I took measures to ensure that harm would not reach your son as much as possible. Since the Gu Clan spent money raising that escort, I wanted to protect Muk-gaek as well if possible, but when a tail is long, it is bound to be stepped on, so it could not be helped. I am sorry.”
Yet Gu Yong-baek, the Gu Clan Head, calmly nodded.
“Let us cut out his tongue as well.”
“…Hm?”
“Handle the matter thoroughly. You know me, do you not?”
The Benevolence Division Head suddenly met Gu Yong-baek’s gaze, then instinctively lowered his eyes. He felt as if he were facing a wild dog that had lived its life tearing human limbs apart countless times.
“Ahem, Lord Gu. I ask this just in case, so please do not take it the wrong way. Did you truly not know?”
At the Benevolence Division Head’s cautious inquiry, Gu Yong-baek’s eyebrows twitched.
“I did not know. Had I known, would I have handled it so carelessly? Facts like whether that fellow named Cheon Woo-jin or whatever died would not even have become known yet.”
The Benevolence Division Head nodded. Certainly, if it were the Gu Yong-baek he knew, he was a man more than capable of doing that.
Suddenly recalling his son, Gu Yong-baek clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, pathetic fool.”
When he first heard the report, he doubted his own ears.
Shedding a long history spent between the orthodox and unorthodox paths, he had sent his son to the Martial Alliance in order to be properly acknowledged by the orthodox factions. Yet, in that place, he had committed an act more fitting of the Unorthodox Path than anyone else. And in an exceedingly pathetic manner, at that.
“However, just what kind of fellow is that Cheon Woo-jin?”
Apart from his son Gu Jin-seok being foolish, his martial talent was exceptionally outstanding. For that reason, leaving aside the clever second and third sons, he had deliberately sent the eldest, Gu Jin-seok, to the Martial Alliance.
Yet for such a Gu Jin-seok to feel envy and jealousy.
It was difficult even to fathom the extent of the talent possessed by that fellow named Cheon Woo-jin.
The Benevolence Division Head nodded his head repeatedly.
“He is quite an astonishing fellow. As I investigated this incident and retraced his steps, I was startled as well. He practically obliterated the Western Sky Society single-handedly.”
“The Western Sky Society?”
Gu Yong-baek’s brow narrowed. He was thoroughly versed in the situation of the Unorthodox Path. The Western Sky Society Leader was an insignificant man, but the Shura Demon Lord, a disciple of the Dark Emperor, had been there.
“That cannot be. There must have been a helper.”
However, the Benevolence Division Head firmly shook his head.
Lest failing to fully grasp Gu Jin-seok’s misdeeds ruin the matter, he had investigated more thoroughly than ever before.
“It is definite information. He wiped out the Western Sky Society all by himself.”
“A mere applicant’s martial prowess is at that level?”
Only then did he vaguely seem to understand the reason his son was jealous. Gu Jin-seok was a man who had grown up hearing himself called a genius and a monster all his life.
Yet having encountered an overwhelming martial artist of his peer group, given Gu Jin-seok’s usual disposition, it was certain that he threw a fit.
Of course, if the fellow was a man who would march straight into the Western Sky Society and crush it single-handedly, he would not have bowed down to his son either.
“I understand the rough situation.”
Gu Yong-baek grasped the overall flow with just fragmentary information. In the end, it was clearly an act committed by Gu Jin-seok, and the best course for now was to disguise it as Muk-gaek’s doing and sever the tail.
Rising from his seat, Gu Yong-baek spoke clearly to the Benevolence Division Head once more.
“Be sure to cut that fellow’s tongue. No. Cut his fingers as well so he cannot write.”
“Still, he was a martial artist who shared meals with you in your clan, must you go that far…”
The Benevolence Division Head shut his mouth. It was because Gu Yong-baek’s pitch-black eyes were truly ominous.
“…Understood. I shall do so.”
Just as Gu Yong-baek was about to leave the office.
The Benevolence Division Head mustered the courage to bring up the words that had been lingering in his mouth all along.
“Ah, your son will fail this examination.”
Gu Yong-baek’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
The Benevolence Division Head instinctively prepared to flee.
Momentum slowly seeped out from all over Gu Yong-baek’s body.
Just how much money and time had he invested into this examination?
He had bought information about the examination, purchased and fed him all sorts of spirit medicines, and invited masters of the Righteous Path to teach Gu Jin-seok. The most tedious part was having to act as a close friend to a worm like the Benevolence Division Head and play along with him.
‘Yet, a failure?’
The cycle of the examination was three years.
It meant that he had to do that nonsense for at least three more years.
Turning his body around, Gu Yong-baek glared at the Benevolence Division Head.
“What do you mean by that?”
The Benevolence Division Head flusteredly made excuses.
“No, Muk-gaek was still your son’s escort. It cannot simply be overlooked. Originally, your son should have received punishment as well, but I took pains to prevent that.”
Watching that Benevolence Division Head, Gu Yong-baek spoke in a low voice as if chewing and spitting out each word.
“Then would it not suffice if you took more pains to have him pass this examination?”
“…No matter what, even for me, that is impossible.”
Gu Yong-baek felt a sudden headache throbbing.
Unlike other families, the Gu Clan exerted profound influence over both the Unorthodox and Righteous Paths. In other words, it meant there were twice as many places to pay attention to.
Gu Yong-baek was a man of the Unorthodox Path to the core. He had strived to suppress his rough nature and establish a foothold in the Righteous Path. The reason was simple. When a family was small, the sinister businesses of the Unorthodox Path were more profitable, but when the scale grew, the influence as an orthodox clan was bound to generate far greater wealth.
Gu Yong-baek’s rough nature momentarily flared with an ominous aura. He felt the urge to smash the heads of both his son and the Benevolence Division Head to pieces and live as a man of the Unorthodox Path.
Facing that dangerous glint, the Benevolence Division Head gasped for breath.
Amidst an atmosphere as perilous as thin ice, the Benevolence Division Head cautiously opened his mouth.
“…If you fabricate the incident too greatly, it might reach the Alliance Leader’s ears. Can you handle that?”
Just as a frightened monk sought Buddha and a Daoist priest desperately called upon the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Benevolence Division Head instinctively mentioned the Alliance Leader.
Simultaneously, the light in Gu Yong-baek’s eyes settled low, and the dangerous momentum that had seized the room vanished as if washed clean. Soon, Gu Yong-baek let out a sigh.
“Understood. Let us do that.”
He had to take comfort in the fact that it was a failure rather than a disqualification. A failed applicant could challenge the next examination again, but a disqualified applicant would never even be able to set foot in the Martial Alliance forever.
Soon after Gu Yong-baek left, the Benevolence Division Head, left alone in the office, let out a long sigh as if his tension had dissipated.
“Has my intuition dulled as well?”
Somehow, he did not feel confident in the lifeline he had seized this time. The man named Gu Yong-baek was too dangerous, and above all, that fellow named Cheon Woo-jin kept lingering on his mind.
He was clearly a fellow without a sect or background.
Yet there was something about him. The problem was that he did not know what that something was.
* * *
Thud. The door of the office closed firmly.
Having unexpectedly come outside alone, Cheol Ji-ak scratched his head and tactfully left the spot.
A strange silence descended upon the room.
Left alone with the Alliance Leader, Cheon Woo-jin felt a pang of guilt inside.
‘How did he know?’
He had intended to kill Gu Jin-seok once the selection examination ended. He could not simply overlook a martial artist who had pointed a blade to kill him. Such a thing was neither in Black Elder’s teachings nor in White Elder’s teachings.
Peering into Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon calmly continued speaking.
“If you live this life for a long time, you come to see more things than others.”
“…”
“Coexisting in your eyes are good and evil. They are not the eyes someone who fully received Senior White Elder’s teachings would possess, yet…”
Pondering something deeply, Bukli Cheon nodded.
“I see. You also received the teachings of Black Elder, did you not?”
“…How did you know?”
Cheon Woo-jin readily admitted it. There was no reason to hide it, nor did he wish to speak falsehoods to his master’s junior.
“Around the time Senior White Elder suddenly departed from the martial world, Black Elder, the foremost villain of that era, also vanished without a trace. Furthermore, seeing that dark staff on your back, I knew right away.”
Cheon Woo-jin caressed the Crescent Moon Staff.
Gazing intently at it, the Alliance Leader continued speaking.
“Now, there are few in the world who remember Black Elder’s martial arts. Moreover, a dark iron staff is quite a common weapon, and since the Crescent Moon Staff itself was only used briefly by Black Elder in his later years, the risk of discovery would be low, but…”
Trailing off, the Alliance Leader rose from his seat and walked over with heavy steps. Soon, resting his hand on Cheon Woo-jin’s shoulder, he spoke.
“Even so, there are still many who harbor deep grudges against Black Elder. Most of them are people who robustly maintain their positions in the martial world. There is no harm in being careful.”
“…I will keep that in mind.”
“So, are you truly going to kill Gu Jin-seok? If one is a member of the Martial Alliance, it is rightful to punish him in accordance with the Alliance laws, but…”
Trailing off while gazing intently at Cheon Woo-jin, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon soon nodded.
“I see. You have no intention of staying in the Martial Alliance any longer.”
“Yes. I have achieved all my purposes in coming to the Martial Alliance.”
“Besides informing me of Senior White Elder’s news, did you have another purpose?”
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon’s eyes narrowed. Leaving aside how fond he was of Senior White Elder’s disciple, if an expert of this caliber had visited the Alliance with an objective, he had a duty to grasp that objective.
Both as the Alliance Leader and as White Elder’s junior.
After contemplating for a brief moment, Cheon Woo-jin calmly spoke.
“Master White Elder told me that the Martial Alliance was a union of chivalric heroes. He said it was a place where one could protect the order of the world by upholding fairness, safeguard the common people, and properly establish the value of good.”
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon laughed as if thoroughly satisfied.
“Hahaha, indeed. What Senior White Elder and I tried to protect all our lives was precisely the value of good.”
“However, Master Black Elder spoke differently.”
Bukli Cheon’s eyebrows twitched.
Even though Cheon Woo-jin saw this, he merely spoke calmly.
“A collective of sickening hypocrites. Those who pretend to be upright in the light and commit corruption in the dark are far more vile than those who openly commit villainy.”
“…”
These were not words to speak before the Martial Alliance Leader. But Cheon Woo-jin was certainly not a man who cared about such things.
“So, he told me to confirm it myself. What do you think, Alliance Leader?”
Bukli Cheon abruptly stood up from his seat. Even without making any distinct movement, an upright and domineering aura seized the surroundings.
Looking straight into Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes, Bukli Cheon spoke in a tone full of conviction.
“Naturally, Senior White Elder’s words are right.”
“Is that truly so?”
The air between Cheon Woo-jin and Bukli Cheon grew taut.
Cheon Woo-jin was asking like this.
‘Even while clearly knowing that corruption is taking place before the power of the Gu Clan, you intend to say so?’
Because Bukli Cheon also knew the hidden meaning of the words, he felt a sharp stinging in his chest. Soon letting out a sigh, Bukli Cheon spoke.
“…Now that I have come to know of it, it will be different from now on.”
“Are you the Martial Alliance itself, Alliance Leader? Even if you are an upright person, Alliance Leader, what meaning is there if the lower waters are completely rotten?”
Each and every word of Cheon Woo-jin struck Bukli Cheon’s chest like a dagger. It was because he could not completely refute those words.
It was true that corruption occurred within the Martial Alliance.
Given Bukli Cheon’s personality, which abhorred such things to the extreme, he clamped down on them relentlessly, but corruption could not be completely severed in human affairs.
Especially since Cheon Woo-jin, who had directly suffered damage, was speaking in such a manner, Bukli Cheon had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.
At the same time, anger toward himself for failing to notice the situation in advance and anger toward the Benevolence Division Head who had handled the matter in such a manner before the Gu Clan’s power surged together.
After a brief staring contest, Bukli Cheon eventually sat down and let out a long sigh.
“I admit it. The Martial Alliance is a group that pursues good, but such things occasionally happen. However, that is not the entirety of the Martial Alliance. You have not yet seen the true appearance of the Martial Alliance.”
The Alliance Leader wanted to prove it. He wanted to show that the words of Black Elder, the great villain, were wrong, and he did not want to leave Senior White Elder’s disciple thinking of the Martial Alliance as a hypocritical and shameless group.
Cheon Woo-jin remained indifferent, while Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon alone kept talking. Somehow, a picture unfolded where the Alliance Leader seemed to be offering excuses to a mere applicant.
“Let us talk again once the incident is over for now. No matter who you are, surely you do not intend to kill Gu Jin-seok inside the Martial Alliance.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded. He had no intention of seeing blood inside the Martial Alliance. In any case, this Martial Alliance was the place Master White Elder cherished most.
Soon, Cheon Woo-jin bowed his head and left the office. Watching that retreating figure, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon clenched his fists. From his slightly trembling fists, his feelings were clearly felt.
Bukli Cheon also knew that the Benevolence Division Head and the Gu Clan Head were close friends. Recalling the two men, Bukli Cheon spoke in a low voice toward the outside with ominous eyes.
“Bring the Disciplinary Hall Master here at once.”
As an organ that created and enforced Alliance laws, the Disciplinary Hall boasted truly absolute power. Even the elders of the Alliance trembled when targeted by the Disciplinary Hall, so a mere division head level figure would not be able to endure it.