Episode 176
“I heard that among the captured demonic cultists, there were warriors from Nanman.”
“yes.”
“The story goes that he also lost his senses.”
“It’s only natural since we interrogated him by injecting him with dead soul poison.”
“Can you tell the people here what you found out through the interrogation?”
“I would have already sent you a letter and told you everything I found out.”
“There are some people whose stories we haven’t heard yet.”
I stared at Joohwabaek with narrowed eyes and quickly nodded.
I didn’t know why they wanted to leave the explanation to me.
Still, I couldn’t refuse since it was something my boss told me to do.
In a calm voice, I summarized the main points and explained them simply.
Five factions competing with the goal of taking control of the Beast Palace.
The situation is that one of the factions is being supported by the Demonic Cult.
There is even an opinion that it is presumed that the faction in question dispatched palace warriors to the Demonic Cult to ensure smooth exchanges.
When everything was said, everyone in the conference room had serious expressions on their faces.
“If it is true, it is not a matter to be taken lightly.”
“If a faction supported by the Demonic Cult Lord takes hegemony over the Beast Palace, our faction will inevitably face difficulties.”
“We need to come up with measures as soon as possible.”
Starting with the Sanghyeolgeom (上血劍), an elder from Amipa, speaking, the Blue Dragon Grandmaster and the Suzaku Grandmaster spoke one after another.
Nam Hak-geom, an elder from the communal faction who was quietly observing the atmosphere, glared at me and said as if he was throwing something.
“You did something rash.”
“······?”
“There’s no way he didn’t know that the target injected with Dead Soul Poison has a high probability of dying or turning into an idiot.”
“He was a person who would never open his mouth unless he used poison. Also, as I said just now, we had in mind the case that they had taken poison beforehand…”
“Aren’t they all alive and well?”
“It is a result-based story. “I had no way of knowing that at the time.”
“Others may not know, but I should not have used Dead Soul Poison on the Beast Palace warrior. “If we had taken the time to cajole or torture, we could have elicited much more information.”
I met Namhakgeom’s gaze with a puzzled expression.
I couldn’t understand why he was acting so hostile.
I didn’t particularly think my method was perfect.
At the time, I thought it was the best, but depending on one’s perspective, there were definitely people who would feel disappointed.
At least I didn’t handle my work so sloppily that I heard others criticize me.
‘I don’t think there’s any reason to be reprimanded. On the contrary, I wouldn’t know if I heard a compliment.’
He annihilated the assassins dispatched by the Demonic Cult Master, interrogated those captured to extract information, and handed over their new recruits to the Taoists of the Hwasan Sect to escort them to the Maeng’s headquarters.
Although most of the personnel became idiots or died during the interrogation, some were not intentionally injected with the Dead Soul poison, leaving room for additional information to be extracted.
At this level, it would not be strange for the team to praise their contribution and give them a large reward.
However, Namhakgeom’s thoughts seemed to be a little different from mine.
“Besides, the two most important masters were not captured alive?”
“Both of them were top-level players. “They were not people you could capture just because you wanted to.”
There was no need to talk about suffering.
I had an intuition that if I got caught saying something pointless, something annoying would happen.
Namhakgeom tapped the table with his index finger and continued to push me.
“They say the number of soldiers mobilized to catch the demon cultists reached hundreds. “If we had taken advantage of the surrounding circumstances, wouldn’t it have been possible to capture us alive?”
There was no such unreasonableness.
What can’t you say with words?
How dare you criticize others for not being able to do what you yourself could not do.
‘I still have a long way to go.’
I was able to reflect on it again.
To become an elder, you have to have this level of shamelessness.
After all, a senior was a senior.
There was a lot to see and learn.
‘Anyway, I don’t understand. When I saw him before, I think he showed a rather favorable attitude.’
I calmly defended myself, and Namhakgeom continued to put pressure on me by biting his tail.
The stories ran parallel paths.
It seemed like Namhakgeom wanted to somehow make me admit to my mistake.
I hope the fruitless conversation continues for some time.
Joo Hwa-baek thumped the table with his palm and stopped Namhak-geom.
“Just leave it at that. “I understand that you feel regretful, but the Sacheon branch manager didn’t really do anything wrong, right?”
“But Lord Maeng.”
“This is not a place prepared to distinguish between right and wrong. “We gathered to come up with a solution.”
“······All right.”
Namhakgeom clicked his tongue and leaned against the back of the chair, saying ‘Tsk’.
He crossed his arms and glanced in this direction with an unkind look, and said as if he were throwing something out.
“I think we should at least avoid a situation where the Demonic Cult and the Beast Palace join forces to pressure the Murim Alliance from above and below.”
The Great Lord of the Blue Dragon and the Great Lord of the Suzaku nodded in the affirmative.
In a way, it could be said that it was natural for the high-ranking members of the Meng to feel uneasy.
Having memories of my past life, I knew that the Beast Palace would not be released within the next ten years.
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On the other hand, what about them?
It was as obvious as fire what thoughts they had, having only been exposed to fragmentary information obtained through interrogation of the film crew.
“Something needs to be done.”
“······.”
“The problem is that we don’t have enough space right now. Now that Cheonghae has fallen into the hands of the Demonic Cult, we do not have the manpower to devote to guarding against the movements of the Beast Palace, which may or may not actually be active.”
“You are right.”
“In that sense, I would like to suggest one thing.”
“······?”
“If there are no personnel to be recruited from the main branch of the alliance, wouldn’t it be possible to mobilize personnel from branches that have relatively ample resources?”
“Tell me in a little more detail.”
“The head of the Sacheon branch, who is a party to the incident, is here. It would be better to find the right person to handle this kind of work. “How about giving him full authority over matters related to the Beast Palace?”
I had a blank expression for a moment.
Why does the story turn out that way?
Now I felt like I knew Namhakgeom’s intentions.
The reason he pushed me to the point of making somewhat unreasonable claims was all for this moment.
The paving stones were laid to create an atmosphere that this side could not refuse.
“······.”
Painter Joo looked slightly embarrassed.
While he was stroking his chin and pretending to be worried, he glanced sideways in my direction.
The moment our eyes crossed, I realized.
That he agrees with Namhakgeom’s argument.
‘Damn it. As a leader, there would be no reason to object.’
The flow wasn’t good.
I was about to take on a burdensome task without making a move.
I opened my mouth, trying hard not to show my emotional agitation.
“It’s too heavy a burden for me.”
“There is no one more qualified than you.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave issues related to Nanman to the Yunnan branch located in the adjacent region?”
“Good idea. “I will send an official letter of cooperation to the Yunnan branch as well.”
“······.”
Namhakgeom looked towards me and made a sinister expression.
Is this what it feels like to open your eyes and get your nose cut?
“······I am the branch manager of the Sacheon branch. The branch cannot be left empty for too long. As you may know, the Sichuan branch is short on personnel due to a recent large-scale purge.”
“That’s not something someone who left the branch for a long time to attend a banquet hosted by the Namgung family would say.”
“······.”
“Don’t worry about manpower issues. “If there are insufficient personnel, we can just recruit them from the headquarters and send them there.”
The Great Blue Dragon and the Great Master Suzaku exchanged glances and moved their lips.
It seemed like they were talking to each other over the phone.
I couldn’t see any hole to get out of.
Even Joo Hwa-baek and Zhuge-hwan seemed to have already finished their discussion and were looking at each other and nodding.
“Sacheon Branch Manager Yeonseon.”
“yes. Lord Maeng.”
“Can I trust you?”
I sighed deeply in my heart.
Is there anyone in the world who can shake their head at this situation?
I wanted to scream and throw the table over, but I suppressed it with superhuman patience.
“Please leave it to me.”
“Then let’s just say it’s decided that way.”
“······.”
“We shouldn’t just pass it on like this. “From a realistic perspective, it would be impossible to keep the Beast Palace in check with the Sichuan and Yunnan branches alone.”
Hwabaek Joo had a faint smile on his face.
The Great Blue Dragon asked with a puzzled expression.
“Do you have an idea?”
“Let’s send an official letter of cooperation to each clan and family. “Send a master to help the Sacheon branch.”
* * *
After returning to my dorm, I called Damun and told him what happened in the conference room.
Damun said with an absurd expression.
“·····So, the branch leader took charge of resolving the issue regarding the Beast Palace?”
“It just so happened to be like that.”
“How on earth do you come to such a conclusion?”
“That’s right.”
“So, what exactly is the branch manager supposed to do?”
“Nothing is clearly set. The point is that we must prevent the Beast Palace from joining hands with the Demonic Cult and from thinking of invading the Central Plains.”
“······.”
“The most ideal and surest way would be to send a delegation and conclude a non-aggression pact.”
“I don’t think it’s something worth entrusting to just one branch.”
“It seems like Namhakgeom decided to screw me over.”
“If you are a Namhakgeom, isn’t he an elder from the communal faction? Why the branch manager…”
“I don’t understand that either. “I don’t remember doing anything to deserve resentment toward him.”
Why did Namhakgeom show a hostile attitude towards me?
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
A question that came to mind even when the first summons was given.
‘If you’re going to call me to discuss matters regarding the Beast Palace, wouldn’t it be right to contact me earlier, when I’m staying at the Nangung Palace?’
As I was scratching the back of my head with an annoyed expression, I immediately remembered a person’s face.
A pot-bellied middle-aged man wearing a golden silk robe.
Owner of Geumryong Sangdan, Geumhwa-gun.
What he said to me not long ago flashed through my mind.
[I don’t know what you were thinking in creating a wedge between the Geumryong Sangdan and the Namgung Family, but you will regret it.]
[Look forward to it. The price for turning the Golden Dragon Merchant into an enemy will be high.]
martial arts,
