Episode 431
Reports came in from Ganja and his men who had repelled the invaders overnight.
I praised their hard work and went through each document one by one, carefully examining the contents.
‘There are three injured. There were no deaths.’
The scale of damage was small.
Those who were injured were limited to shallow cuts and bruises.
It was a completely natural result.
Because we invested too much power compared to the enemy we had to deal with.
Since I did not take the lead myself, I carefully arranged the personnel.
To avoid any unexpected damage.
‘The only anxiety I had was that it was difficult to predict where the disciples of the Hundred-Faced Reaper would appear.’
Fortunately, no significant variables occurred.
One person disguised as Namgung Cho-un deployed an investigation team, including Cheon Ga-ryeong and Seo Ho-seon, and watched closely before sending Woo Ga-jin and Bang Cheok-sam to catch him.
I didn’t think Namgunggeum would be involved in the process.
He said that he had been subdued and detained in an underground prison as per his wish, but I thought I should go see him right away after taking care of a few important matters.
‘by the way.’
I put the report down for a moment and rubbed my chin with an uncertain expression.
I felt a little tired.
In the end, no disciples of the Hundred-Faced Reaper except Namgung Choun were found.
The expectation that one person would act as bait and attract attention while the other would move to achieve the goal was wrong.
‘I don’t understand.’
I don’t know if it was the Hundred-faced Reaper or the Demon Cult Master who ordered this, but either way, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort.
Should I say that it feels somewhat clumsy?
The level of enemies was below expectations.
To compare, the situation was like this.
‘I waited with a knife to kill a cow, but what appeared before my eyes was a chicken.’
Was the idea to give it a try even if it didn’t achieve results?
For that to be the case, the work began in too earnest a way.
Didn’t he use the advanced power of being a disciple of the Hundred-Faced Reaper as bait?
‘Normally, a corresponding person would be assigned to the side executing the operation.’
No, if it were me in the first place, I wouldn’t have used someone like that as bait.
Perhaps Namgung Choun was just an outcast.
When I thought that for some reason I was out of the sight of the Hundred-faced Reaper, and that I had received an unreasonable order and had to jump into the land of death, the back and forth came into sharp focus.
You might wonder what kind of teacher in the world would reject a student like that, but considering the group called Demonic Cult and the tendencies of the White-Faced Reaper, it was quite possible.
‘For now, let’s just be satisfied with the fact that it ended cleanly and without any damage. As a bonus, a large number of criminals who had previously infiltrated the headquarters were also captured.’
I was reading the report again with a smile on my face.
I felt like I could feel some presence outside the door, and then I heard the voice of my deputy, Hwa Dae-rang.
“Boss. “A guest has arrived.”
“customer?”
“Pang Mun-hwan Daehyup would like to see the manager.”
“A welcome guest has arrived. Please take us inside.”
I raised my head with a strange look in my eyes.
As I expanded my sense of energy, I felt a powerful presence waiting in the reception room on the first floor.
Pang Mun-hwan, Commander of the Hyeonmu Unit.
One of the connections made through the introduction of Lee Kang-hak.
Because he was frequently dispatched to Hebei, it was rare to see his face recently.
I knew that he had returned to the headquarters because I had seen him come to deliver the Lord’s Order not long ago.
‘Sooner or later, I will exchange with Lord Hyeonmu and head to the front again.’
Some time passes.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a bushy beard appeared in the office.
I asked with a blank expression.
“······Are you senior Pang Mun-hwan?”
“Don’t you even know the report?”
“You look very different from what I remember.”
“You mean this?”
Peng Mun-hwan smiled and touched his chin.
In my memory, Pang Mun-hwan was a man with a slovenly appearance who gave me the feeling of being caught.
However, his appearance now was enough to believe that he was a mountaineer with a bit of exaggeration.
“It’s not that surprising. “I just put on some makeup.”
“make up?”
“Anyway, there’s no way the beard could have grown this much in such a short period of time.”
“I also wondered if you had a special constitution that was different from others.”
“Did you have a constitution that allowed your beard to grow abnormally quickly? At least I’ve never heard of it.”
“So, why are you looking like that?”
A laugh came out of nowhere.
Isn’t this what you would see when visiting another department?
Pang Moon-hwan, who always looked stylish, couldn’t help but feel so fresh in his ridiculous outfit.
“I don’t know if you know, but Hyunmudae also recently selected new members.”
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“Did you?”
“Unfortunately, around the same time, there was talk that Cheonan Inspector General was recruiting applicants, so it was quietly buried. By the way, Hyunmudae is not a unit that can be looked down upon.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“There is no need to be sorry. Thanks to you, the recruitment was successful. “People who thought it would be difficult to pass the Cheonan Gambu flocked to Hyunmudae.”
“······.”
I pursed my lips.
It was a topic that was difficult to answer.
If I spoke incorrectly here, I could have been misunderstood as ignoring the current stage.
“Back to the story, this is a make-up to scare the new recruits.”
“······?”
“New recruits think that I am an incompetent person who has not been promoted even at this age and is rotting at the bottom. Isn’t it fun just to think about it? “I wonder what will happen after this.”
“You also have really bad taste.”
“I tried to avoid doing something like this. But the standards of new recruits have to be very high. “I thought it was necessary to press it a little like this.”
“Is there a reason why you, the unit owner, should take on that role yourself?”
“It’s because there aren’t many of the existing members who haven’t shown their faces to the new members. “A prank should only be played by a high-ranking person, but if an unscrupulous person pulls it off, they may face retaliation in the future.”
I nodded with a bitter smile.
Hyunmudae’s thoughts were the same as those of Cheonan Inspector General.
Although the method is a bit extreme, isn’t it ultimately intended to make new members respect the existing members?
“Anyway, something big happened last night.”
“It wasn’t really a big deal.”
“You’re saying something absurd. “If the incident of the Demonic Cult’s elite troops infiltrating the Maeng’s headquarters is not a big deal, then what is the big deal?”
“The intruders were successfully repelled, and there were no victims. “It was just a light disturbance.”
“It must be so from the perspective of the Cheonan inspector general. The current stage is now in emergency condition. “We are making a fuss, wondering what might happen if the ganja sent from the Demonic Cult were mixed into our unit.”
“······.”
“Anyway, the reason I wanted to meet you is to tell you a story.”
“What do you mean by story?”
“Elder Namhakgeom (嵐虐劍) wanted to meet you.”
“yes?”
“Take it.”
Peng Mun-Hwan took out a neatly folded note from his pocket and handed it to me.
I opened the paper, checked the contents, and narrowed my eyes.
There were only words indicating the place and time, but no other information could be found.
“I think he sent me on his behalf because he knew that if he sent someone himself, he would be frowned upon by the other elders. First of all, externally, I am neutral, neither a leader nor a seniorist.”
“I don’t know why you want to see me all of a sudden. “Do you know the reason?”
“How should I know? He suddenly came to me in the morning and asked me all sorts of things, so I was taken aback. “I asked them to wait for a few days so that I could at least take off my makeup and come visit them, but I guess they’re asking me to hire them because it’s a matter of urgency.”
I put the note down on the desk and got lost in thought.
I didn’t understand what Namhakgeom was thinking when trying to contact me.
When Ho Jeong-kwon (豪正拳) expressed his intention to meet with me through Hwayang Sangdanju, I thought so.
Because his position is in jeopardy without the support of Hwayang Sangdan.
On the other hand, unlike Hojeongkwon, Namhakgeom was not desperate.
Although it seems that the asceticism collapsed due to the demonic religion, he firmly established his position during the period when the absolute master, Eum-gwi, was active as the head of the White Rangdae.
Even though Eum-gwi gave up his position as Baekrangdaeju, there is no way that Namhakgeom did not anticipate that and prepare for it.
He wouldn’t be shaken, at least not for a while.
‘Rather, now that Eum-gwi has entered Cheonan Gambu, Namhak-geom would want to do his best to avoid being suspicious of other elders.’
Nevertheless, the fact that Pang Mun-hwan was sent to me meant that there was a reason for doing so.
There is a reason why you have to meet me, even if it means taking risks.
‘······Do you have something to say about Hwang Musa?’
Although not known to the public, Hwang Ho-jin, a member of the Cheonan Gambu execution team, was a blood relative of Namhakgeom.
However, I did not think that Namhakgeom would have contacted me for that reason alone.
Although he was clearly attached to his children, taking care of his own health was his top priority.
Otherwise, there is no way he would have kept his only son imprisoned in Seonhojang (鮮好莊) for such a long time.
“What can we do? Would you like to meet him?”
“I think so.”
“Are you okay? “I understand that the relationship with the Senate has completely deteriorated.”
“It would be okay to at least listen to the story. Could it be that they have set a trap and are waiting for it?”
“I don’t think preparing a trap will pose a threat to you.”
I created a samadhi fire, burned the note, and got up from my seat.
Time was running out.
If I didn’t want to be late, I had to head to the meeting point right now.
‘It seems like you were in quite a hurry.’
For now, I was planning on meeting him as if I was being deceived.
It would be okay to make a judgment slowly after finding out the other person’s intentions.
* * *
“Welcome.”
“Long time no see.”
“How long has it been since we last saw each other in private like this?”
“Have you been well so far?”
“It would be difficult to answer that you are doing well. “It’s because someone broke into the Senate and started a riot.”
“Who on earth said that? “He is the most disgusting person in the world.”
An old pavilion that no one visits.
Namhakgeom, who was sitting across from me across the table, made a bewildered expression.
It was as if he was asking if you, and not someone else, would say such a thing.
“So, why did you ask to see me?”
“Are you going to ask about my business as soon as I arrive?”
“Wouldn’t it be better for both of us if we just quickly run errands and break up? “It was none other than my senior who called me out, making it clear that this was a more urgent matter.”
“Well, that’s not true.”
Namhakgeom, who tilted his teacup to quench his thirst, stared at my face in silence for a while.
That’s when I thought about what I was going to say and why I was taking such a long time.
An unbelievable story came out of Namhakgeom’s mouth.
“The disciple of the Hundred-Faced Reaper is hiding, disguising himself as a member of the Hundred Dragons. “Take it.”
“······?”
martial arts,
