episode_0154

I showed him the letters and materials I had received from Hano. After the Iron Blood Order attacked Hongseongmun, there was a list of places attacked by the New Black Lotus, an unidentified force, and other swordsmen.

“Yu Hae-jeong… Isn’t this the place where Taegondan attacked not long ago?”

Taegondan is a unit of prosecutors who operate regardless of political or political affairs.

It is known that they attacked Yu Yujeong to catch the bandits who were stationed there, but according to Hao Wen’s investigation, their real purpose was not to subdue the bandits, but to completely burn down the area where the bandits were staying.

“If it was simply to subdue bandits, there would have been no reason to burn the Yuhaejeong area.”

“…But. If you fight, you can use fire…”

“Don’t you think that the Taegondan are too strong compared to the bandits to use fire attacks? And when I checked, they said they also did it upon request.”

“Who said you requested it?”

“In the first place, investigators don’t ask questions like that when they get paid. They just said he was an ordinary looking guy.”

Zhuge Xiaoxi kept his mouth shut. When I pointed out a few more places, Hongryeon also tilted her head.

“I know about Yulpamun… but they are a political faction, right? Could it be that the political faction is also related to them?”

“As a result of Hano’s investigation, Yulpamun attacked Seokhwanji located in the central part of the empire, killed a monster called Gwiyeonggak there, and then completely destroyed the area. A merchant who runs a business at the end of the South Sea was passing through Gwiyeonggak. They say it was because he entrusted the request to avenge the loss of his subordinates to a monster named ”

There is nothing particularly strange about it. It’s not like there aren’t people who entrust requests like this.

As everyone looked, I showed them another document.

“However, after investigating in Haomun, it turned out that the business that the merchant was running only existed on paper. It is said that Yulpamun also did not pay attention to that point, and since it was about catching a monster, he accepted the request without thinking much about it. In any case, catching a strong monster also increases the reputation of the clan, and the cost of the request is reasonable, so it is only natural.”

“……”

“So, I looked for the merchant who had entrusted the request. But… I couldn’t even find a trace of him either. Even with Hao Wen’s tracking.”

Silence settles in. Geomseong slowly broke the silence.

“Was Seokhwanji a place where spiritual energy gathered?”

“Unknown, but according to research, yes. Of course, it is not a place where there is a huge gathering like Hongseongsan Mountain. There is information that after that place was destroyed, spiritual energy ran rampant, and many monsters appeared in the area.”

“Yulpamun is a giant monster from Seokhwanji. It’s not because I caught the ghost?”

Just as a fox becomes the owner of the forest when a tiger disappears, it is natural that when a strong monster disappears, other monsters try to take its place.

But this case is a little different.

There was nothing to eat there in the first place, so why would the monsters gather there?

There is only one reason they gathered together. This was because spiritual energy ran wild and chaos was created.

“…Isn’t this the opinion and investigation of the four factions?”

Zhuge Xiaoxi, who had read other materials besides those mentioned above, had disbelief in his eyes.

It seems to have been quite annoying that the Sapa had grasped things that the Murim Alliance and the Opening Party had not been able to grasp in the Zhuge Dynasty.

“I am saying this not to criticize political factions for their lack of information and judgment. In Sapa, only Hao Mun’s Hano was the only one who talked to me and understood it.”

“How do you know that?”

That’s because we predicted that this would happen in our scenario. But there was no point in saying that, so I looked at Sword Saint and Hongryeon.

“Hong Seong-moon and I have a very deep relationship. in other words. As long as you messed with Hong Seong-moon, it’s the same as messing with me. I am.”

I took a sip of tea.

“I’m not the kind of person who would laugh when something precious is attacked. That’s why I did some research.”

“……”

“Pretty hard.”

Geomseong, Hongryeon, and Chaejin said they trusted what I said, but since the source of the information was Sapa, her opinion was that it was difficult for Zhuge Sohee to believe it.

She calmly said that a new investigation was needed since she had learned of the dangers of the Iron Blood Order while fighting them this time.

“If, as Teacher Yu said, their goal is really to unleash spiritual energy… it would not be a wise decision to send the disciples from Mt. Hongseong to the Murim Alliance.”

“You can conduct a separate investigation.”

“Yes. I plan to find out through opening soon.”

She was adamant, and Chuyoung didn’t particularly stop her. But it doesn’t matter. Because they will find out anyway.

“And if that is true… Hongseong Mountain is a place where representative spiritual energy gathers, as many people know… so it would be important to protect this place.”

“Yes.”

“In that case, it would be right to establish a branch of the Murim League…”

It was possible to establish a branch of the Murim Alliance in Seomhwachon without sending Hong Seong-Moon’s disciples to the Murim Alliance.

If we do well, the strong members of the Murim Alliance will also be able to stay here.

Zhuge Xiaohui hugged his forehead and sighed heavily.

“I thought they were just simple enemies, but they were the ones who committed such a big thing… And I missed it…”

I smiled and said to Zhuge So-hee, who seemed to have quite a bit of pride.

“The Murim Alliance is a group that establishes righteousness and works for the stability of the world, right? There will be a lot of work to be done, and it is natural that you will not be able to touch everything in the world.”

Zhuge Xiaoxi nodded slightly. Her complexion looked dull, probably because she was quite tired just from talking for a while, and I got up.

“I feel like I wasted too much time. Well then, I’ll just head back and I’ll see you again when the results of the investigation come out. Sojeo Chae. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I came down from Hongseong Mountain and returned to my guesthouse. As if Ryu Hyeon had conveyed correctly earlier, the warriors of the Murim Alliance were drinking in the guesthouse.

As I was watching it, I said to Chaejin, who was with me today.

“Would you like a drink? I won’t be able to drink much because I have some work left to do, but…”

Chaejin didn’t say a word until he came down from Mt. Hongseong.

I suggested this because I was wondering if there was something that bothered me…

She hesitated and then cautiously opened her mouth.

“Drinking together is drinking… You said it before.”

“A while ago?”

“Yes. Hong Seong-moon is precious…”

“That’s right.”

“…Then our Moonwoljeong is…”

“Hahahaha. I was wondering why it was so quiet earlier. Were you worried about that?”

Chaejin puffed out her cheeks slightly, and I poked her cheeks with my finger to deflate them.

“Of course, you and Moon Woljeong are also precious. If someone touches it, even though I don’t have much power, I will definitely crush it, even if it means risking everything I have. haha. It’s a bit strange for me, who is much weaker than you, to say something like this.”

“…Haha.”

Only then did a smile appear on Chaejin’s lips.

“Should I drink just a little bit?”

“I told you. I have work to do.”

“Chi.”

Chaejin puffed out her cheeks again, but the anxiety from before was nowhere to be seen on her face.

After having some drinks with Chaejin and sending her back to her room, I started some unfinished business. Or organizing work. Organizing investments made in other areas.

And confirmation of documents to benefit from the deal with the North that will begin soon.

After working for a while, I turned my head towards the window to smoke some cigarettes.

“Surprise. When did you come?”

“Oh. I’m surprised? I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

There was a red-haired beauty, Hongryeon, leaning against the window and looking at me intently.

“If you had come, shouldn’t you have talked to me?”

“I like seeing you focused. And I didn’t want to interfere. ah. Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Hongryeon casually climbed in through the window and naturally looked around. Hongryeon always does that every time she comes into my office.

“Would you like some tea?”

“I’ll give you a ride. I think you’re busy.”

“I’m not so busy that I don’t have time to have a cup of tea.”

You have to treat them properly. I sat Hongryeon down and immediately prepared tea and refreshments.

She took the tea I gave her with a smile and started sipping it.

“But is it okay to come out like this?”

“Yes. Master is meditating with Ryu Hyeon.”

“Still, the customer…”

“It looks like I have something else to talk about.”

Well, that’s it.

I sipped tea with Hongryeon. A moment of silence follows.

“… Well, the things I researched through Hao Wen. ”

“Hmm? iced coffee. Information that the Iron Blood Order is targeting a place where spiritual energy resides? I’m sorry for not telling you first. I was going to tell you later…”

“Ah. no. You probably had something on your mind, too. That’s not the problem.”

Hongryeon sipped her tea and cautiously opened her mouth.

“The cost… must have been quite a bit, right?”

Of course it wasn’t much.

No matter how close I was to Hano, I had to use Hao Mun’s disciples to understand the movements of the Iron Blood Order and the situation in the world.

“That’s right.”

“…Why didn’t you tell me? The Iron Blood Order is also Hong Seong-moon’s enemy.”

“I told you. They are my enemies.”

For the sake of our scenario, the Iron Bloods are the ones who deserve to be eliminated.

And one of the reasons I came here was to exclude them.

In that case, it would also be my job to prepare the costs.

I didn’t want to ask Hong Seong-moon to bear that burden.

Hongryeon stared at me without saying anything. I smiled and shook my head at her.

“Money is something you earn to spend, so what’s the big deal if you spend it on things you need? If I can use it to exclude my enemies as well as Hongseongmun’s safety, wouldn’t that be a profitable business? And while doing the research, I also benefited in my own way.”

“…Really. How much effort are you putting in in places we don’t know about?”

Hongryeon stands up and approaches. Her hand begins to caress my cheek.

“I always think it’s too much.”

“I’m not overdoing it. Also, I do it because I enjoy it, so don’t worry too much.”

Because this is what I and we wanted to do.

It is said that those who know are not as good as those who like, and those who like are not as good as those who enjoy.

Now I am a person who enjoys things. How can you say that this kind of work is difficult?

Hongryeon’s face turned bright red at my answer.

“Ah. Are you disappointed because I didn’t tell you? haha. If so, sorry…”

“…That can’t be possible.”

Hongryeon gave strength to the hand that held my cheek.

“I. You will never be disappointed…”