episode_0028

Currently, a tremendous rumor is circulating within Sichuan Province.

The rumor was that one soldier from the Yan Army caused a ruckus at the Sichuan Tang Clan, and the rumor that he reached a draw in a contest with the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Of course, few people believed the latter rumor, but the former rumor spread quite widely as the truth.

* * *

The day I arrived at the Sichuan Tang Clan, at the hour of Chook (1-3 AM).

I was wandering the night streets alone like a wolf roaming in this early morning night.

That’s bullshit, and I was heading to the Maratang.

The reason I’m going to the Maratang alone at this late hour is nothing special….

‘Earth Divide’

‘Green Lotus Divine Palm’

Screeeeeeeech!!!

As the two techniques clashed, and a great roar spread out as if tearing through the air, Tang Seol-pung looked straight at me and said.

‘Hour of Chook, come to the Maratang alone.’

‘..What did you say?….’

Kwaaaang!!!

The situation after the two techniques collided ended vaguely.

I had seen enough of the opponent’s skills, and since I was specifically summoned to the Maratang, there was no reason to fight any further, so I sheathed my sword, and Tang Seol-pung also withdrew the bird made of energy, as the contest was just to deliver this message to me.

After that, well…, it seems like I’m being treated as a guest for now.

I wasn’t immediately kicked out, but because of the mess I made at the Tang Clan, I received quite a bit of attention from the Tang Clan’s warriors.

However, they had seen the contest between me and Tang Seol-pung, and Tang Seol-pung hadn’t said anything specific about me and the White Lotus, so it’s fortunate that no one was openly picking a fight, if you can call it fortunate.

“Welcome, Great Hero Chun-woo. How long has it been since you came to Sichuan, and you’ve already shaken Sichuan so greatly.”

When I arrived at the Maratang, Il-ryun was there to greet me, even though I hadn’t told them I was going to the Maratang.

“What’s your relationship with the Sichuan Tang Clan?”

“Hahaha…, let’s go inside first. He’s already here waiting.”

He’s already here waiting.

I think I know who it is without even being told.

Following Il-ryun, I headed to the underground space I had visited during the day, and Tang Seol-pung was there waiting for me.

“You’re late.”

“I don’t think that’s something someone who suddenly called me out to a seedy place like this should say.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. You told me to come alone, so I quietly slipped out alone.”

Tang Seol-pung nodded and sat down on the old chair.

I followed him and straddled the chair opposite him.

After confirming that Tang Seol-pung and I were seated, Il-ryun brought an additional chair from above and sat down.

“So, I’d like you to explain the rough background first.”

“Ah…, I’ll explain that first. In fact, our Haomun is a secret intelligence organization of the Yan family. We are kept under strict confidentiality…, but since Sichuan is a fairly closed-off area…, it’s difficult to operate.”

“So you stuck with the Tang Clan?”

“S, stuck…? We just received cooperation.”

That’s the same thing.

“Then did you spill my story too? That I know about the Maratang?”

“Eheyy. No. As I said before, we requested cooperation from the Tang Clan to help our Haomun people blend into Sichuan. Therefore, even the head of the Tang Clan doesn’t know about our activities. Rather, I found out about the story that Great Hero Chun-woo came to Sichuan with the Tang Clan people after you left.”

“Hmm…, I don’t think that guy would have given permission without anything in return.”

“It’s just sharing information that’s difficult for even the Tang Clan’s intelligence to obtain.”

Okay, let’s just say that’s the case.

I roughly understood why Tang Seol-pung accurately found out about this place and designated this place as the meeting place.

Then what’s left is why he called me here?

“The reason I called you here is twofold. One is the issue of your reward.”

“You told me to take the money and get lost, right?”

“Who was it that refused that?”

It was me.

So you were really planning to compensate me properly.

“Secondly, there’s information that I also entrusted to them to investigate.”

“Information?”

“Ah, for your information, Great Hero Chun-woo already knows this information. You were also the first person to see this information.”

“I know it? And I saw it first?”

What kind of nonsense is this? The information I gathered here is…

“….The Beastman Alliance’s war preparations?”

“That’s right. It’s actually quite interesting in many ways, but the information that the Tang Clan head requested was information about the Beastman Alliance. However, in the process of acquiring information about the Beastman Alliance, we were able to confirm that they were selling Huge Root Pills to other countries outside of the Yan Kingdom, and in the meantime, Great Hero Chun-woo was looking for information about the Huge Root Pill, so the two things coincidentally overlapped.”

That’s so much fun. It’s not fun at all, you son of a bitch.

“Why did you entrust the investigation of the Beastman Alliance?”

“Other aristocratic families or sects don’t seem to care much, but their movements are unusual. Our Tang Clan is also a Beastman clan that inherited the blood of the divine beast Imugi. That’s why the Beastman Alliance often contacts our Tang Clan. In fact, if you were to pick the place with the second most Beastmen in the entire Yan Kingdom, it would be this Sichuan.”

“The first is Cheonsan, the base of the Beastman Alliance?”

“That is correct.”

Whether he had already left his seat, Il-ryun brought tea and offered it to Tang Seol-pung and me.

Tang Seol-pung naturally took a sip of the tea that Il-ryun brought and wet his throat.

“The Beastman Alliance’s contact is not something that only happened during my generation. It happened in my previous generation, and the generation before that. But their movements stopped at some point. It was hard to think they gave up. Because they had been trying to win over our Tang Clan for quite some time. If their contact suddenly disappeared without a word, there’s only one reason.”

“…The reason to win them over disappeared.”

“That’s right. And as you may have already heard, they are an organization with considerable antipathy towards the Yan Kingdom. If they won over a force that they didn’t need to win over our Tang Clan anymore, then their next action is simple.”

War.

In order to resolve their anger towards the Yan Kingdom, which pushed them into Cheonsan, in order to burn everything in the Yan Kingdom to the ground.

“So I entrusted the investigation to them. And receiving the results was today.”

“Great Hero Chun-woo happened to come just in time for today, so wouldn’t this be heaven’s guidance?”

“What a mysterious coincidence.”

Certainly, if you look at it this way, it is quite a mysterious coincidence.

To the point where I wonder if it’s right to just get rid of the fragments of the Demon King since I came to the Yan Kingdom.

‘Well…, it’s annoying to go back and forth, so I’ll get rid of them.’

“So I have a proposal.”

“?”

“I don’t think you’re a citizen of the Yan Kingdom.”

Il-ryun was the first to look at Tang Seol-pung’s sharp words.

“Was it you?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“How did you know?”

“Your sword. Is it the Sword King’s sword?”

Uh…, how did you really know that?

As I stared blankly, he shrugged his shoulders and answered my question.

“Among the records kept by the Tang Clan, I saw a sword similar to yours. The basic movements of the sword. Horizontal slash, vertical slash, stab. A basic sword that simply trains these three forms to the extreme. A sword style that pursues extreme practicality that can respond to all situations. Sword King’s Secret. But it’s strange. The Sword King’s Secret I know is based on a perfect basic sword and the explosive operation of the energy that supports the basic sword. You don’t seem to use energy.”

“Ah…, there’s a story on that side.”

As I avoided his gaze, he didn’t seem to think it was particularly important, so he nodded and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I heard that the Sword King is a person from the Western Regions. It would be right to see you, who inherited that sword, as a person from the Western Regions as well. There are many parts of your actions that are hard to think of as a person from the Yan Kingdom.”

“….”

I’ve figured it out that far, so there’s no need to wear a mask and wig.

As I took off the mask and wig and placed them on the desk, Tang Seol-pung chuckled when he saw my appearance.

“You’re unexpectedly handsome.”

“I’m quite a good-looking guy.”

“…To continue the story, it seems that the identity of the Yan family’s soldier was also obtained by accidentally contacting Haomun here, but in the end, it’s just a temporary identity. You’re planning to return to the Western Regions whenever your business here is over, aren’t you?”

I’m not.

I was going to destroy the fragments of the Demon King?

I felt embarrassed, but I didn’t say it.

“I don’t know why you’re trying to obtain the Solar Pill, but I’ll have you make the Solar Pill. So please cooperate with us.”

“Solar Pill?… Sorry, but what I’m looking for is…”

“Hmm? You don’t know? The Huge Root Pill originally came from a pill called the Solar Pill.”

“….?”

No, I was looking for the Huge Root Pill because it’s supposed to make your thing bigger?

But the Huge Root Pill came from the Solar Pill?

“Ah, didn’t you know? I thought you knew.”

“I don’t know anything about the Huge Root Pill other than that it makes your thing bigger.”

“Hmm…, then I’ll explain. Originally, the Solar Pill, which is the original version of the Huge Root Pill, was a pill that anyone who used energy with strong Yang attributes desired. Originally, it was just one of those many pills…, but someone discovered that most of the warriors who took the Solar Pill had strong stamina and large sizes.”

“….How did you find out that their things were big?”

“Don’t ask me. I don’t know either.”

Scary. The world of Murim.

“That’s how it was eventually discovered that the Solar Pill increases the taker’s stamina and the size of their thing, and martial artists or high-ranking officials who were interested in that aspect became very interested in the Solar Pill. However, the Solar Pill requires a lot of materials to make and a lot of effort to make. Above all, the Solar Pill can actually harm the body of ordinary citizens who are not trained martial artists due to the excessive amount of energy.”

Well, that’s probably true.

“So, the effects of the Solar Pill were weakened, and the Huge Root Pill was created by extracting only the effects of strengthening stamina and increasing the size of the thing.”

“Oh….”

But if you listen to the story so far, it doesn’t seem like the Huge Root Pill is such a dangerous pill?

I clearly heard that if you eat the Huge Root Pill, your thing grows right away and you die as you ejaculate all your sperm.

“However, even the Huge Root Pill was not without side effects. If taken in excessive amounts, as you know, all the taker’s sperm is spewed out due to the excessive Yang energy, and they die.”

“Ew.”

“So, making and selling the Huge Root Pill has been banned, and making and distributing the Solar Pill to the public is also prohibited unless you take it yourself.”

That’s the story.

…No, wait a minute.

“Hey Il-ryun.”

“Yes.”

“Then your Haomun knew all of that?”

“Yes, we did.”

He nodded confidently.

What’s with this guy being so confident?

“You sons of bitches, really. You knew and made me go through all that trouble? Do you want to die?”

“No, you said you were looking for the Huge Root Pill, not the Solar Pill!”

“You son of a bitch, that’s the same thing!!”

“….Anyway, as I said before, if you need the Solar Pill, I’ll make it for you. So cooperate with us…”

“Stop the Beastman Alliance’s war?”

“That’s what I mean.”

I have no reason to refuse.

There’s no loss at all.

“Okay. But there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you come here quietly, alone?”

Tang Seol-pung was silent for a moment at my question, then answered.

“It seems there’s a traitor in the Tang Clan.”