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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: How to Deal with the Merchants (3)
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The Orthodox Faction has a code of conduct, even in battle.
Fights where factions swarm in, smashing things and swinging swords at each other, rarely happen between fellow members of the Orthodox Faction.
Mujin, in his past life, had this to say about the notion that there was a code to uphold and boundaries not to be crossed even while aiming for each other's lives:
-Bullshit.
For those who lived by the sword, in a fight that would only end when someone died, what code or boundaries could there possibly be?
He simply killed any enemy he saw, and when they came for him, he killed them again.
If they didn't come, he would go find them and kill them.
But the Mujin of today couldn't do that.
He was no longer alone; he had a family to protect.
Most importantly, he now had a code to uphold as an orthodox martial family.
'If I had my way, I'd march over to Hubei and slaughter every last one of them…'
Doing so would undoubtedly lead to cries of a bloodbath, putting the Yeomhwa Family in a difficult position.
Perhaps the Orthodox Alliance would use it as a pretext to condemn the Yeomhwa Family's massacre, inciting every orthodox sect to come swarming.
'That's what happened in my past life.'
That was why, in fights within the Orthodox Faction, justification was paramount.
One had to secure the moral high ground first and do nothing to compromise it.
"It's been three days at the Geumeo Workshop. No one has come looking for us."
At Mujin's words, the workshop master, Hwang Yeo-cheong, nodded.
"The martial artists who used to harass us at the main house almost daily have vanished as if they were ghosts."
"Their reaction is quicker than I expected."
Mujin's initial plan was to crush the men from the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild stationed in the cloth district and then, under the pretext of debt collection, crush the martial artists harassing the Geumeo Workshop.
After dealing with those two problems, he intended to use it as leverage to pressure the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild.
After all, those were the only two areas where the opposing side was using martial artists to apply pressure, giving his martial family a reason to intervene.
But no sooner had he dealt with the Cheonghwa cloth shop and the martial artists guarding it than the thugs harassing the Geumeo Workshop stopped coming.
This was because, contrary to Mujin's expectations, the news had spread through Ssangryu much faster than anticipated.
The merchants in the Ssangryu cloth district, who had been suffering under the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild, had been excitedly gossiping about it everywhere.
"It seems it wasn't just the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild's martial artists who came to Ssangryu."
"Are you saying a key figure from the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild is here in Ssangryu?"
"They couldn't have reacted this quickly otherwise."
"Can you find them?"
At Mujin's question, Hwang Yeo-cheong shook his head with a bitter expression.
"They came in with such secrecy that we didn't even know they were in Ssangryu until now…"
"I should have had someone tail those bastards. Oh well. If they're hard to find, we'll just have to make them come to us."
With that, Mujin rose to his feet, and Hwang Yeo-cheong stood up with him.
"Do you have a way?"
"Is there anything special about a martial artist's way?"
After saying this, Mujin left the Geumeo Workshop.
Cheol-muk and No-sak followed close behind him.
"Go and grab some of the underworld thugs from the back alleys of Ssangryu."
"The underworld?"
"You'll find them in gambling dens or brothels. Beat one or two of them, and their leader will show up. Bring that leader to me."
At Mujin's command, the two nodded and shot off using their movement techniques.
When he returned to the Pungyang Merchant Guild, Masok, who had been waiting alone, greeted him.
"Young Master! Was your business resolved successfully?"
"No."
Mujin sat down on the porch of the annex Pung Gwan-yeo had provided, his expression indifferent.
Masok tilted his head for a moment, looking at Mujin, then spoke again.
"By the way, rumors about you are spreading like wildfire in Ssangryu. Have you heard?"
"Rumors about me? Not about Cheol-muk and No-sak?"
Mujin looked at Masok with a questioning gaze, puzzled that rumors about him were spreading when he hadn't even drawn his sword once since arriving in Ssangryu.
"Yes. Of course, there are rumors about the two warriors as well, but the story of the Hidden Dragon devouring the Red Moon Sword has everyone in Ssangryu talking about you, Young Master. I hear the rumors are spreading quickly throughout Sichuan. In Ganluo, storytellers are already making a fortune selling tales about you."
Masok's grin stretched from ear to ear, clearly pleased.
He felt as though he had no regrets, seeing Mujin—once called the Mad Dog of Seochang and considered the cause of the Yeomhwa Family's decline—now making a name for himself not just in Seochang but throughout Sichuan.
This was the day he had earnestly prayed to the heavens for.
"What's so great about that to make you grin like that?"
"It is great! Of course, it is. Others may not have known, but I did. I believed that one day, you would reclaim your brilliant martial talent and that a day like this would come!"
"A lot of good that'll do. Those damn bastards might show up again. How did the rumor even spread? Should I have silenced those nuns?"
Mujin furrowed his brow and shook his head.
It had been a mistake to leave in such a hurry, feeling uncomfortable around the nuns with whom he was naturally incompatible.
'I should have buried the body myself and made sure they kept their mouths shut.'
"He was the one who committed an act deserving of heavenly punishment. Why should we have to worry about such things?"
"That's the kind of thinking that only works in the Orthodox Faction. Do you think scoundrels are called scoundrels for no reason? Of all the times for me to be away… Well, with the rumors of the Tang Clan's Poison Emperor visiting, nothing should happen, but it's still unsettling. This won't do. You need to go and send a message to the Tang Clan."
The fact that these rumors began to spread while he was away from the family estate bothered Mujin.
"A message?"
Mujin went inside the annex and began to write with the brush and ink in the room.
With a single, fluid stroke of the brush.
He wrote the letter without hesitation, folded it haphazardly, and handed it to Masok outside.
"Ask the Guild Leader to send this to the Tang Clan urgently. Make sure to tell him it's from me."
"Yes!"
Masok took the letter and ran toward the main building where Pung Gwan-o was.
Not long after, a man built like a bear, even larger than Cheol-muk, was dragged into the Pungyang Merchant Guild by Cheol-muk and No-sak.
Mujin looked at the bear-like man, who was kneeling with his head bowed, and spoke.
"You're someone with some pull in the Ssangryu underworld, right?"
The man, who had been captured without knowing why, nodded and slammed his head against the floor.
"If you just spare my life! I'll wash my hands of this life and go back to my hometown…"
"You don't have to go back."
"Please!! Just spare my life!!"
As the man continued to speak in a near scream, Mujin cleaned out his ear.
"Ah, you're hurting my ears. Hey. Who said anything about killing you? Did you do something wrong to me?"
At Mujin's words, the bear-like man shook his head.
"N-no, I haven't…"
"Then why are you acting like this?"
"Well…"
The man trailed off.
He was well aware of what had happened to the underworld factions in Seochang that had aligned with the Sosal Sect, all at Mujin's hands. The mere mention that the Hidden Dragon of Seochang was looking for him had been enough to make him preemptively terrified.
"Enough with the pointless chatter. I need you to help me with something."
"Help with something…?"
"You must know that the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild sent martial artists to Ssangryu."
The man nodded.
"The leader who commands those martial artists is probably here with them. I need you to find him."
After a moment of thought, the man nodded.
Countless outsiders passed through Ssangryu, but if someone had been staying for over a month, it wouldn't be impossible to find them.
"If he has connections with the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild's martial artists, I can find him. Just leave it to me! I'll start by placing my men at the infirmary where the martial artists those two gentlemen crushed are being treated. I'll definitely find him!"
"The sooner, the better…"
"Leave it to me!"
At his confident reply, Mujin nodded.
"Then I'll be waiting."
After a moment of glancing nervously at Cheol-muk and No-sak, the man scrambled out of the Pungyang Merchant Guild.
"Do you think that man can find him?"
At Cheol-muk's question, Mujin nodded.
"If the underworld can't find him, neither can we."
And so, time passed.
Five days after Mujin had tasked the underworld with the job.
***
There are moments in the world when great currents converge, and coincidences overlap.
People call these moments fate or destiny.
Such a fateful current was now beginning to converge on Seochang.
"So, such a thing happened?"
"Yes. Is it not a joyous occasion? For such a fine man of the Orthodox Faction to appear in Sichuan. The one whom Grandmaster Hyegwang judged long ago to have a Heavenly Martial Body has overcome adversity to become such a great master."
Great Monk Hyeon-u, who happened to be in Sichuan on business with a secular family in Zigong, smiled upon hearing the recent story of how the Red Moon Sword had been killed by the Hidden Dragon of Seochang, Hwa Mujin, after lusting after the nuns of the Emei Sect.
"Amitabha. Grandmaster Hyegwang's eyes were never wrong. This is a great blessing for the martial world of the Central Plains."
"I heard that at the time, Grandmaster greatly regretted not being able to bring Young Master Hwa, the eldest son of the Yeomhwa Family, into our secular branch."
At the words of No Il-cheong, the master of a small martial arts school in Zigong, Great Monk Hyeon-u nodded.
"That's right. He said many times that if we took that child into our secular branch, he would spread the name of Shaolin far and wide for generations. Even on the day he passed, he wrote and sent a letter to the Orthodox Alliance for that child, who was said to be suffering from madness."
After hearing Great Monk Hyeon-u's words, No Il-cheong cautiously brought up a new topic.
"The rumors say that Young Master Hwa's twin siblings are also exceptionally talented in martial arts."
"Siblings? Did the Yeomhwa Family have other children besides Young Master Hwa?"
"Yes. A pair of male and female twins, eight years old this year. They competed in the Young Dragon Ascension Tournament held in Seochang, and the boy, Dojin, is said to have defeated a secular disciple of the Diancang Sect who was five years older."
!
"Is that true?"
"Yes. The story goes that even though his palm was torn, he wrapped a cloth around the hand holding the wooden sword and fought to the end, moving countless people."
At the words of his cousin, No Il-cheong, the master of the Taesan Martial Arts School, Great Monk Hyeon-u rose to his feet.
"If only to acknowledge Young Master Hwa's contribution to protecting the righteous spirit of the Central Plains, I must visit the Yeomhwa Family."
"Yes. The Yeomhwa Family will surely be overjoyed."
***
"Greetings, Master-Aunt."
Abbess Jinhwa accepted Myeol-ryeong's greeting.
"Yes. How are the children?"
"They seem to have recovered from the shock. But where are you going?"
At Myeol-ryeong's question, Abbess Jinhwa nodded.
"When one receives a kindness, it is only right to repay it. I am on my way to Seochang, by order of the Sect Leader."
Seeing the faint smile on the face of Abbess Jinhwa, whose brow was usually perpetually furrowed, Myeol-ryeong's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"You are on your way to the Yeomhwa Family."
"That's right. I hear that Young Master Hwa has young twin siblings in the Yeomhwa Family. The Sect Leader has said that it would be acceptable to bestow upon them the Heavenly Cloud Drifting Snow Palm as repayment for the kindness shown to us."
The Heavenly Cloud Drifting Snow Palm was one of Emei's secret arts, not even taught carelessly to its secular disciples.
"I will accompany you, Master-Aunt."
"You? Myeol-un and Myeol-cho have already said they would…"
"Master-Aunt, my two sisters have little experience with the secular world and will not be able to serve you properly. Besides, how can our sincerity be properly conveyed if the very person who received the kindness is absent?"
"That is true… Well, it's not as if the Yeomhwa Family will mind one extra mouth to feed. Then let us go together."
***
"Father. Is there really a need to go to Seochang again? And you're taking Jeong-ah with you? She's only a child of eighteen…"
Dang Jung-cheon, the current head of the Tang Clan, stood in the way of the Supreme Elder, who was about to head to Seochang with his youngest granddaughter, the apple of his eye.
"Isn't eighteen the perfect age to get married? What's the problem?"
"Married? Why speak of marriage when she is in the prime of her youth? Besides, isn't Hwa Mujin the eldest son who will inherit the Yeomhwa Family?"
"So what?"
"I won't allow it! Jeong-ah's husband must be brought into our clan. I need to watch over him every day to make sure he doesn't lay a hand on her, to see if she ever sheds a tear."
At the Family Head's words, the Poison Emperor shook his head.
"Tsk, tsk. If you keep glaring with such venom, you'll scare off all of Jeong-ah's suitors forever. Enough. I've made my decision, so do not interfere."
"She is my daughter!"
"She is my granddaughter."
"Father!"
"What?!"
"In the first place, is it right for you to personally make a move just because of a single letter from some young whelp?"
"And why not? Age doesn't matter when it comes to friendship."
With that, the Poison Emperor walked past the Family Head.
As he stepped outside with his granddaughter, having brushed off the Family Head's objections, he found Dang So-hye already waiting for them.
"Hm? Where are you going?"
"I must accompany you, Grandfather."
"Jeong-ah is with me, so it's fine."
"How much can young Jeong-ah know of the world? I must be there."
"…"
"Sister. I know a lot about the world too."
"No. The martial world is not so forgiving. I will feel at ease only if I am with you."
"Well, I'd be happy to have you with us, sister…"
The Poison Emperor smirked mischievously at his two granddaughters' conversation.
"Then let's go."
And so, three figures from the great powers of the Central Plains began to converge simultaneously on the Yeomhwa Family in Seochang.
***
"So, you're saying he's there?"
At Mujin's question, the leader of the Sagung Faction, which controlled Ssangryu, nodded repeatedly.
"Yes! I've confirmed it several times. The man staying there is definitely the Vice-Director of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild."
"Good. You've done well."
At Mujin's words, the man swallowed hard and looked up at him.
"So, may I now…"
"Yes, you may go."
He scurried out of the Pungyang Merchant Guild, nervously eyeing Mujin and the two fearsome men until the very end.
"Then let's go."
At Mujin's command, Cheol-muk and No-sak cracked their necks and knuckles and led the way.
'Judging by their actions, they're no different from underworld thugs.'
Mujin thought to himself as he watched the two men walk ahead, then followed them.
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