Chapter 73: Chapter 73
Chu Pung-gae had grown up begging under bridges since around the age of five. People avoided him, saying he was smelly and ominous, and there were also many beggars who tried to seize his territory with clubs.
Having witnessed all sorts of sights, both bearable and unbearable, he was a self-made man who ultimately rose to become an elder of the Beggars’ Sect.
Because he had lived such a rough life, he possessed a fiery temper that looked neither forward nor backward, and if he believed something to be true, he had the steadfastness to tear into anyone like a mad dog regardless of who the opponent was.
For that reason, even Chu Pung-gae, whose mind was rarely shaken under ordinary circumstances, was considerably bewildered by the scene before his eyes.
Zhuge Seong, the practical power of the Zhuge Clan, was dead. His head had burst open completely, dyeing the Family Head Hall with blood.
It was an act committed by none other than a low-ranking member of the Martial Alliance.
“Uh…”
Unable to even say anything, Chu Pung-gae merely stared at that unrealistic spectacle. He was astonished by Cheon Woo-jin’s martial prowess, astonished by his actions, and astonished by the ensuing consequences.
Because each and every detail was an enormous matter, he needed time to organize his thoughts.
In the meantime, a commotion was heard from outside.
“E-Elder!”
The tremendous explosion generated when Cheon Woo-jin tore the formation apart.
Because of that, the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan came flocking in droves.
The Zhuge Clan martial artists who checked the situation inside the Family Head Hall froze. Surely they, too, had never imagined such a sight would unfold before them.
The silence soon turned into rage. A leader and clan elder had suffered a gruesome fate at the hands of an outsider.
The momentum of the martial artists turned fierce. The Zhuge Clan martial artists lacked the domineering might of the Namgung Clan, the valor of the Hebei Peng Clan, or the venom of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
However, even if it was merely a low and chilled fury, when the feelings of hundreds of people merged, it could never be ignored.
The anger they poured out in unison…
“The beggar bastard of the Beggars’ Sect dared kill the Elder!”
Surprisingly, it poured onto the Disciplinary Hall Master.
It was a natural matter.
An elder of the Zhuge Clan who died with his head shattered.
The Disciplinary Hall Master and a low-ranking member of the Martial Alliance.
It was only proper that Chu Pung-gae was singled out as the culprit.
“Wait, hey…”
Greatly flustered, Chu Pung-gae instinctively raised his internal energy. It was an unmistakable blunder. Resolving his unjust situation with words should have taken priority, but being a martial artist himself, he had naturally reacted to the killing intent poured out by hundreds of people.
When Chu Pung-gae raised his energy, the Zhuge Clan martial artists reacted as if having a seizure.
“You bastard! Chu Pung-gae!”
The elders of the Zhuge Clan roared with fury, and the elite combat force, the Mysterious Origin Sword Squad, flared their energy to the limit.
The elite combat units of the Five Great Clans were evaluated as several cuts above the combat units of the Martial Alliance. As one of the Five Great Clans, it was only natural since there was no reason to send the clan’s most outstanding martial artists to the Martial Alliance.
Their ominous energy filled the room.
“Family Head! Please hand down the order at once!”
“Is not Elder Zhuge Seong your younger brother, Family Head!”
The elders urged the Family Head.
“Uh, uh…”
However, Family Head Zhuge Min hesitated, unable to rashly hand down an order. In any case, Chu Pung-gae was an elder of the Beggars’ Sect and a hall master of the Martial Alliance. Could they really kill such a person in this place?
Of course, had it been the heads of other clans among the Five Great Clans, they would have ordered an attack without pondering such things for even a moment. No, rather, they would have stepped forward first themselves.
However, Zhuge Min had a frail and indecisive personality. That was why he could not put up any proper resistance even after having all his authority stolen by Zhuge Seong.
That brief moment created by the Family Head was enough for the seasoned martial artist Chu Pung-gae to regain his reason.
“W-Wait! Listen to what I have to say!”
Chu Pung-gae shouted urgently. Thanks to the internal energy imbued in his voice, it would be heard clearly not only by the Family Head, the elders, and the members of the Mysterious Origin Sword Squad at the entrance, but even by those outside the building.
The elders bristled, but Chu Pung-gae added his words before they could speak.
“First, to make it unmistakably clear, it was not I who killed Elder Zhuge Seong. It may be hard to believe, but it was Member Cheon Woo-jin over there. However, I cannot allow you to dispose of Member Cheon. In any case, because he is a member of the Martial Alliance, we must escort him back to the Alliance…”
“Do not spout nonsense! Even granting a hundred concessions that, as you say, that bastard made the Elder like that, we have no intention of letting that bastard leave in one piece!”
An elder, not the Family Head, shouted.
Chu Pung-gae and the elders raised their momentum and engaged in an argument as if they might clash at any second.
Cheon Woo-jin quietly watched the entire scene unfold in front of Zhuge Seong’s corpse.
‘For the presence of the Family Head to be this weak. I understand Vice Squad Leader’s words.’
Often, people spoke of a tiger father begetting a dog son, referring to a worthless child born under outstanding parents.
However, the Zhuge Clan was the opposite.
‘A dog father begetting a tiger son, was it?’
Even as chaos erupted on one side, just as he was leisurely observing the Family Head as if it were a matter that had nothing to do with him.
“If you obstruct us any further, hall master or whatever, we will not forgive you either!”
An elder declared firmly.
At that, the Mysterious Origin Sword Squad drew their swords in unison.
At the same time, dozens of martial artists leaped over the walls of the pavilion and dropped into the training ground.
At that sight, the members of the Mysterious Origin Sword Squad flinched.
Chu Pung-gae’s face brightened. They were none other than the martial artists of the Disciplinary Hall.
“Hall Master! W-What on earth is happening?”
There was no leeway to explain the situation.
Chu Pung-gae immediately barked an order.
“Apprehend Member Cheon at once!”
“Pardon? Ah… Yes, understood!”
Even in this terribly chaotic situation, after merely hesitating for a fleeting moment, the martial artists of the Disciplinary Hall immediately flared their momentum.
Once the leader’s command fell, they did not harbor doubts. It was a fundamental principle of the Martial Alliance, and because they were martial artists of the same Beggars’ Sect, their solidarity was even tighter.
“What nonsense! An elder of the clan has passed away! That bastard will be punished by our Zhuge Clan!”
As the martial artists of the Disciplinary Hall approached Cheon Woo-jin, the elders and martial artists of the Mysterious Origin Sword Squad of the Zhuge Clan also began moving their steps.
If a fight broke out in this narrow space, it would turn into total mayhem. At least over one hundred casualties would occur.
Thinking so, Cheon Woo-jin spoke while letting his Crescent Moon Staff dangle downward.
“Zhuge Seong was a villain.”
His voice was not loud. Yet not a single person failed to hear that voice.
It held a power that compelled people to focus. Furthermore, he possessed martial might that forced them to focus.
He was merely letting his dark iron staff hang low, but an intimidating pressure that forbade rash approach subtly dominated the surroundings.
Gazing at the martial artists on both sides who had halted with him in the middle, Cheon Woo-jin continued speaking.
“This matter began from a mission of the Black Tortoise Squad. Elder Zhuge Seong recruited the Shadowless Divine Thief and the Xiangyang Society to attack the Black Tortoise Squad.”
Even after that, Cheon Woo-jin explained the series of events in his distinct, calm tone.
Capturing and interrogating the Shadowless Divine Thief, discovering the location of the hidden cave and heading there, the subordinate of Zhuge Seong encountered in the cave, and all the events that had unfolded after arriving at the Zhuge Clan.
The reason Cheon Woo-jin explained all of this was simple. It was a clear warning to the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan.
Your elder was a villain. If you wish to avenge him, know that you are making yourselves villains, and bear the consequences that follow.
A commotion arose even among the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan. It was because they also knew that what Cheon Woo-jin spoke held immense credibility.
Even outside the clan, few evaluated Elder Zhuge Seong favorably. Furthermore, the clan’s martial artists who had eaten, slept, and lived near him would know him even better.
‘Elder Zhuge Seong was a person who was more than capable of doing such things.’
That was the evaluation of most of the Zhuge Clan’s martial artists.
When Cheon Woo-jin finished speaking, a long silence followed.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at Zhuge Min, the Family Head of the Zhuge Clan. He was the one who could resolve the current situation most rationally.
However, like a common combat squad member, Zhuge Min merely kept his mouth shut and watched the reactions from here and there.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a soft sigh.
The one who opened his mouth was not the Zhuge Clan Leader, but Disciplinary Hall Master Chu Pung-gae.
“Member Cheon.”
“Yes.”
“Let me ask just one thing. By any chance, did you kill any other martial artists besides Elder Zhuge Seong?”
That rascal of a low-ranking member had reportedly barged into the Zhuge Clan alone and caused a ruckus. If any martial artist had died in that process, even as the Disciplinary Hall Master, he would be unable to handle it.
The moral justification would pass to the Zhuge Clan.
Fortunately, however, Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.
“Not a single person.”
The Disciplinary Hall Master looked at the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan. They also exchanged glances. It was an inquiry asking if anyone had died, but no one stepped forward to report so.
Seeing this, the Disciplinary Hall Master let out a small sigh of relief.
“Good. If so…”
After briefly organizing his thoughts, Chu Pung-gae continued speaking.
“Member Cheon, you disobeyed the orders of the Disciplinary Hall and acted independently. You violated the laws of the Alliance. Do you admit this?”
“I admit it.”
“However, in that process, you achieved the merit of apprehending the Shadowless Divine Thief, concluded the mission that the Black Tortoise Squad could not finish, and killing Zhuge Seong can be viewed in terms of legitimate self-defense rather than personal vengeance.”
The one who tried to kill Cheon Woo-jin first was Zhuge Seong.
If it was a formation in the Family Head Hall, it was obvious without looking that it was the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.
Were there even five people in history who had broken through the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation?
Knowing this, the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan also groaned inwardly. It was because the fact that Zhuge Seong had tried to kill Cheon Woo-jin had been laid bare.
Since a martial artist tried to kill another martial artist, there was nothing to say if he was killed in retaliation.
Amid that turmoil, the Disciplinary Hall Master’s words continued.
“Of course, that only holds true if your words are entirely factual.”
“That’s right! We cannot simply believe that fellow’s words as they are, can we!”
One of the Zhuge Clan elders chimed in.
Cheon Woo-jin stared at him silently, then took out a red knot and a letter from his robes.
“What is that?”
“It was in Man Gi-ja’s hidden cave.”
“M-Man Gi-ja…!”
Chu Pung-gae and the members of the Disciplinary Hall were greatly agitated. Man Gi-ja was the former Sect Leader of the Beggars’ Sect and one revered as one of the Three Eccentrics of the Righteous Path.
Undoubtedly, there was not a single person in the Beggars’ Sect who did not revere him.
Chu Pung-gae carefully received the red knot and the letter.
The letter was written to the disciples of the Beggars’ Sect.
While Chu Pung-gae read through the letter, the elders and martial artists of the Zhuge Clan waited with anxious expressions.
Just how much time had passed like that?
“Ha.”
Chu Pung-gae burst into a hollow laugh and looked at Cheon Woo-jin.
One of the Disciplinary Hall members asked.
“Hall Master, what does it say? No, more importantly, is it truly a letter left behind by Lord Man Gi-ja?”
“It is unmistakably Lord Man Gi-ja’s handwriting. Do you think I wouldn’t be able to distinguish that much? The contents are far more astonishing than that fact.”
Chu Pung-gae handed the letter to the Disciplinary Hall member. Gathering together, the members read the letter in turn.
The ensuing reactions were similar. Letting out sighs mixed with bewilderment, all of them looked at Cheon Woo-jin.
Just as the Zhuge Clan martial artists were feeling frustrated, Chu Pung-gae spoke in a commanding voice.
“The Beggars’ Sect shall assist the person who received this knot with full strength.”
It was plain and concise content, matching Man Gi-ja’s personality in life. However, the meaning contained within was by no means light.
The one who received the knot was Cheon Woo-jin.
Lord Man Gi-ja was someone who read the heavenly secrets and saw through the principles of all things. Being such a person, he must have known that the first person to enter the hidden cave would be Cheon Woo-jin.
Man Gi-ja was that kind of person. A Sect Leader who enjoyed the blind faith of the Beggars’ Sect disciples.
A natural question followed in Chu Pung-gae’s mind.
‘Why?’
It was a publicly known fact that this low-ranking member was extraordinary.
Not only his martial prowess, but his actions were also exceptional.
Already, he did not know how many clans, factions, forces, and demonic heads had been ruined by that fellow’s hands.
Yet, was it enough for Lord Man Gi-ja to order the entire Beggars’ Sect to assist him with full strength?
The Beggars’ Sect was by no means a light organization.
Revering chivalry and righteousness, it was the only collective capable of fighting any opponent, whether the Heavenly Demon Cult or the imperial palace, if it was to protect the weak.
Chu Pung-gae looked at Cheon Woo-jin.
‘…He seems far from righteous chivalry, though.’
Of course, he was also far from corruption.
As the Disciplinary Hall Master of the Martial Alliance, Chu Pung-gae had steadily observed Cheon Woo-jin. That fellow was someone who did not align with either side of the commonly known black-and-white values in the first place.
Having judged him so, he could not help but be confused when Lord Man Gi-ja told them to assist him.
Placing his own judgment and Man Gi-ja’s judgment on a scale, Chu Pung-gae agonized for a long time. Normally, he would have trusted his own judgment without much hesitation.
However, the opponent placed on the scale together was Man Gi-ja, whom all disciples of the Beggars’ Sect, and he himself, respected without cease.
After agonizing for a good while, Chu Pung-gae eventually let out a sigh.
He handed the red knot back to Cheon Woo-jin.
With that, Chu Pung-gae’s intention was clearly made known to everyone.
“We take Cheon Woo-jin to the Martial Alliance.”
“Yes, Hall Master!”
The Disciplinary Hall members surrounded Cheon Woo-jin in an orderly formation.
Chu Pung-gae then roared.
“However!”
That resounding shout struck hard against everyone’s ears.
Gazing fiercely at the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan, Chu Pung-gae continued speaking.
“It is an escort, not an arrest. Let no one dare touch even a single hair of Member Cheon.”
“What if someone attempts to do so?”
“Kill.”
Once Chu Pung-gae’s permission was granted, the Disciplinary Hall members drew their sabers, swords, and clubs all at once.
In the center of it all, unintentionally surrounded by beggars, Cheon Woo-jin was experiencing a tremendous stench.
“Mmh…”
He wanted to plug his nose, but no matter how eccentric Cheon Woo-jin was, it was not the atmosphere to do so, so he simply remained still.
Merely holding his breath slightly.