Episode 171: Desire is like clothes.
I left this situation entirely up to Seo Dae-ryong.
Seo Dae-ryong looked up at the curtain and spoke in a voice that was not at all intimidating.
“I want to make a lot of money and gain fame. And I want the path to be easy. I want to walk the path without limping or shedding blood. I will do anything to be able to walk that path.”
A smile appeared on my lips as I lay face down with my head bowed behind me. What Seo Dae-ryong had just said was the opposite of what he had said to me. Seo Dae-ryong was a man of wit even in this situation.
The reaction behind the curtain wasn’t bad.
“You’re honest.”
Seo Dae-ryong passed the first question without a hitch. Now his gaze turned to me from behind the curtain.
“You want that servant to be your right-hand man?”
“He is quick-witted and has outstanding looks, so he will definitely be useful for something.”
Joyback asked me.
“What if your master’s orders conflict with mine?”
“I will only follow your will. This will not change even if the leader of the martial arts world comes.”
“You are a man of great loyalty.”
He said that, but behind the curtain, Joy Baek was laughing. He could tell that he didn’t trust people’s loyalty, or that he didn’t trust people in the first place. Even Seo Dae Ryong would be laughable in his eyes, let alone his servant. That was the extent of his interest in me.
Joy Baek asked Seo Dae Ryong again.
“If I asked you to kill someone, would you kill them?”
Seo Dae-ryong, startled, answered cautiously.
“It depends on who it is. If they deserve to die, then I can kill them.”
“What if I told you to kill someone you don’t even know?”
Seo Dae-ryong hesitated to answer, then answered.
“I will kill you! Just leave it to me!”
There was silence for a moment.
Then, behind the curtain, Joy Baek laughed loudly and said.
“I was joking, I was joking. You bastard, if we weren’t a cult, would we do such evil things?”
Seo Dae-ryong tried hard to hide his embarrassment and made an expression that seemed neither laughing nor crying.
“I know you were joking. Would you, the champion of the Little Dragon Tournament, do something so horrible?”
“That’s right. I was joking too.”
Seo Dae-ryong answered awkwardly and wiped away his cold sweat. Seo Dae-ryong was acting well. Anyone could tell that he was a country bumpkin who had come up from the countryside and was crazy about success. He would look like a really honest country bumpkin who would bring his servants to this place and make him his right-hand man.
“Desire is like clothes. If you try to wear clothes that don’t fit your body, they will either tear or you will look ugly.”
It sounded like a warning to have ambitions that match one’s abilities. Then Seo Dae-ryong raised his head and asked abruptly.
“Then what kind of clothes are you wearing, sir?”
It was a truly cheeky and presumptuous question: What are your ambitions?
Good job, Daeryong. You have to keep shaking the opponent to find out what kind of person he is.
“If you don’t give me such a troublesome task, what will you gain by helping me? I know this one thing, even though I am a country bumpkin: the world never grants favors without reason.”
Behind the curtain, Joy Baek did not show any discomfort. The pleasant laughter flowing out showed that Seo Dae Ryong liked this attitude. He would feel that it would be easier to use this type of person.
I had my head down, but I was feeling Joy Baek’s emotions by releasing my energy. The person facing me from the front was Seo Dae Ryong, but I was the one doing the real fighting.
“You’re investing for the future. If you want to become a giant tree, you have to start from a seedling, right?”
“Ah! I didn’t realize your great intentions. I’m sorry.”
Daeryong, you don’t have to be sorry. Most of the villains I’ve met don’t make long-term investments in people weaker than themselves. They use them and throw them away, use them and throw them away. To them, their subordinates are always nothing more than expendable items.
If they invest in seedlings, it will be to use those trees as windbreaks and to become giant trees themselves.
The reason for investing in Seo Dae-ryong is the same. It’s because there’s something he needs to do. Whether it’s killing someone or stealing secrets from the Murim Alliance. He’ll try to get back as much as he’s given. No, he’ll try to get more than he’s given. That’s how villains deal.
This is exactly what I need to check.
Are you the head of Cheonmyeonghoe? Or have you been recruited as well?
Joy Baek said to Seo Dae Ryong.
“I like your honesty. I hope you grow into a great figure who will support the martial arts world in the future.”
“thank you.”
After that conversation, we left the room.
As he walked out the front gate, Seo Dae-ryong spoke to So-ok in a hoarse voice.
“I think I answered incorrectly.”
Seo Dae-ryong asked her with a reproachful expression.
“Did you get that question too, Captain? The question of whether you could kill someone you don’t know.”
“I got it too.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I couldn’t kill you.”
“Ah! I should have answered like that. I guess I was trying to look good, so I had something on my mind.”
I asked So-ok, interjecting myself into the conversation.
“You really wouldn’t do something like that?”
Sook stopped walking and glared at me.
Since we met, she hasn’t shown any interest in me. A normal woman would show a romantic interest in me, but So-ok didn’t show any interest at all.
I know what kind of women these are. They are the ones who only run for their own goals. Just by looking at how she treats Seo Dae-ryong so well while not being interested in me, I can tell how big her ambitions are. She was trying to wear clothes that were too big.
“Of course I won’t tell you to do that. What are you talking about?”
Her cold reaction seemed at first glance like anger at someone like her asking such a question, but I could feel that the sharp reaction that suddenly came out was a different kind of guilt.
‘You did it.’
It was certain that he had killed someone under Joy Baek’s orders.
“Sorry, I just suddenly got curious.”
I quickly lowered my head and stepped back.
Seo Dae-ryong came out and scolded me.
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“Don’t go out recklessly!”
“yes.”
So we parted ways with her in front of the manor’s gate.
“Thank you so much for introducing me to your elders. I will definitely repay this favor.”
“Don’t worry. We should stick together.”
So-ok smiled brightly at Seo Dae-ryong. Then she glared at me coldly and left.
When she disappeared, Seo Dae-ryong spoke to me.
“I wish all the women in the world treated me and my lord like she did.”
“Isn’t that too harsh on me?”
“I’ve been living like that my whole life.”
Seo Dae-ryong bowed his head and walked away.
“Is this acting too?”
“This is my reality.”
“As you change, reality will change as well.”
Seo Dae-ryong stopped walking and looked back at me. I couldn’t bear to look at that expectant face and say, ‘But women still like handsome men,’ so I nodded vigorously.
Seo Dae-ryong asked with a brighter face.
“Have you found out anything from this meeting?”
First of all, we achieved great success by revealing that Jo Yi-baek, Jo Shin’s father, was behind it.
Seo Dae-ryong also noticed something.
“Chief So, do you think something bad is going on under the author?”
When I nodded, Seo Dae-ryong exploded with anger. It was anger directed at both So-ok and Joy-baek.
“Damn it! How much success are you going to get by doing something like that? You’re just taking advantage of poor and desperate people! Sir, you can’t just leave these people alone.”
Where would only Seo Dae-ryong be angry? He was just holding back in order to pull out the roots. If not for that, Jinryongjangju would not have been able to come out of that garden alive.
“But in the process, So-ok will also have to pay a price.”
“Of course it should be like that.”
Seo Dae-ryong let out a sigh of regret. Perhaps Seo Dae-ryong felt some kind of kinship with her. Whether it was him who had entered the school without money or background, or her who had entered the Murim Alliance, they would have felt the same way.
“I’ll send a messenger to Tongcheon-gak for a moment, so go back first.”
“Are you going to call the Amazons?”
“I will only report the situation as it progresses.”
I have been given permission to receive more help from them, but this is still a test of my successor. It was best to handle it with my own hands. I wanted to see the Amazons, but I had to hold back.
“I plan to handle this matter with the leader of the martial arts world.”
It was absolutely necessary to develop a deep relationship with him, even for the future.
I sent Seo Dae-ryong first and spoke to the empty space.
“You must have heard the voice of the person behind the curtain.”
The hidden drone might not have been able to see directly beyond the curtain, but it must have heard Joy Baek’s voice.
“There’s no need to worry about it. You are the person I think you are. This is an emergency, so let me meet the leader immediately.”
* * *
There was a carriage parked in the alley.
When I got on the carriage, the leader of the martial arts world, Jin Pae-cheon, was riding it.
“You probably heard from your subordinates that we met with someone who was trying to recruit the winner of the Little Dragon Tournament.”
“I heard.”
From now on, I will be conducting conversations over the phone.
―You must have heard the general story from your subordinate, so I will get to the main point. He was the Jinryongjangju.
―Jinryongjang has been a prestigious school among the schools that have represented the Jeongpa martial arts world for generations. There’s no way they would have been recruited by people like Cheonmyeonghoe.
-I checked it myself.
-You said there was a badge?
-I could see through the curtain. It was definitely him.
The leader of the martial arts world still looked at him with suspicion. It would be even harder to believe him since he was planning to marry Jin Ha-ryeong. It would be better to doubt me than Jin Yong-jang-ju.
―Not only that. His son, Jo Shin, may also have been recruited into Cheonmyeonghoe. And he doesn’t know that his father is in cahoots with Cheonmyeonghoe.
The leader’s surprise grew even greater.
-Are you saying that Cheonmyeonghoe recruited them separately?
– I think so. Or maybe the father recruited his son without revealing his identity.
If that’s true, Cheonmyeonghoeju was truly a great man. He was someone who recruited the rich and used them separately.
It was the same even if Joy Baek was the head of Cheonmyeonghoe. He lied to his children about his identity and recruited them.
―Because the other party is such a crazy person, you can’t trust anyone until this matter is completely resolved.
The leader of the martial arts world solidified his expression. Hearing those words from the demonic cult’s Lee Gongja must be really frustrating.
– If it were someone else, I would have dealt with it secretly. But since he was the one who was going to marry the leader, I am telling you this.
-Why are you doing me a favor?
―I won’t lie and say that I respect you, my lord. It’s not for the sake of Lady Jin. It’s for the sake of our school. If something happens in the Murim Alliance, it will eventually affect our school. I don’t want my father to use the Murim Alliance’s crisis as an opportunity to unify the Murim Alliance.
When I mentioned my father, Jin Pae-cheon’s eyes became intense. He even said the provocative word “the unification of martial arts world.”
―I am not a person with the guts to lie, even mentioning my father. So please believe me.
I did not avoid the eyes of the lord who was pounced on me like a tiger. I believed that since he had been through a lot, he would have the insight to see the truth in my words.
-Okay, let’s call him Jinryongjangju as you say. Why do you think he did such a thing?
– To arrange a wedding with the leader and recruit the martial artists of the Murim Alliance. Then, isn’t there only one reason?
Jinpaecheon also knew the answer.
-Is this my seat?
―It could be a prelude to putting Josin in the position of the leader of the martial arts world in the future. It may be irreverent to say this, but it could also be an attempt to assassinate the leader. We will have to hear their true intentions from their mouths, but whatever it is, it will not be pleasant for the leader to hear.
Jinpaecheon was not a gentleman-type leader with a kind personality. He was more violent than any leader in history, and his personality was also fiery. He was being as careful as possible because his granddaughter’s business was involved, but if the seal was released, he would be a person that no one would be able to handle.
-Okay, I understand. From now on, I’ll check it myself.
He wanted to catch Jinryongjangju right away and reveal the truth.
– That won’t do. He has not committed any crimes as of now. Supporting the martial arts leaders is something that is openly done by the upper class or martial arts sects with deep connections to the martial arts world. We need to find direct evidence that he is related to Cheonmyeonghoe.
I made him a suggestion.
―Let’s solve this between you and me without telling anyone. If you trust me, there is a way.
-Don’t ignore the blind. If you have a way, we have a way.
-I am not saying this to disrespect the Murim Alliance.
-then?
―Do you remember? The first time I risked my life to reveal my identity.
I told him that I was able to uncover this case because I had told him all these facts. Jin Paechun could not deny that fact. He was a man, and a real warrior.
Still, I understood the leader. In this situation, it was natural that he would not want to leave this matter in my hands. So I made him a radical proposal.
– I will resolve it within five days. If I miss that deadline, you will resolve it yourself.
Jinpaecheon was surprised by my words.
“Can you really solve this within five days?”
“Instead, the leader must actively help.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“They tried to use the lord’s blood relatives to scheme things. Then they should return it to you.”
Jinpaecheon smiled coldly.
“I like that one.”
Jin Pae-cheon thought about it for a moment and then made a decision.
The words announcing the start of a joint operation between the leader of the martial arts world and a demon cult member, something that had never happened before in the history of martial arts world, came out of Jin Pae-cheon’s mouth.
“Let’s go!”
