The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 65 : This and That (1)

There are many ways to learn martial arts in the world.

But which one is the best?

The man who became a peak master while resting comfortably at home, the Thousand Li Young Master Sima Hui, hated to admit it, but the best was real combat.

"They say that recklessly fighting and repeating real combat countless times is the best."

"It's a simple, ignorant, and foolish method, but I can't deny that it's the fastest method."

True strength is cultivated in real combat.

Why do so many rising stars die in their first real combat?

Because there is a huge difference between real combat and training.

Even Sima Hui, who had become a peak master through training alone, acknowledged the usefulness of real combat.

"Military Advisor Sima also said that he almost died absurdly in his first real combat. That's how much of a gap there is between real combat and training."

"That's right. But that doesn't mean you should neglect training itself. What you can't do in training, you can't do in real combat either. Balance is important in everything."

"Then what is my current state?"

"You are overwhelmingly lacking in real combat."

Jang So-gil's level was achieved through training, meditation, and the Thunderclap Meridian Opening Art.

The area occupied by real combat was very small.

"So I want to fill my lacking real combat experience. In the past, they said that going on a heroic journey was the best training. I mean, carrying just one sword and traveling the world, fighting the Black Way and the Unorthodox Faction."

"A heroic journey! Good. A very good thing."

Gumen Long closed his eyes as if he missed it.

No, but a heroic journey?

"Are you thinking of going on a heroic journey? You? The inspector?"

"It's because I have something to do."

"Something to do... Ah, you mean the Beggars' Sect."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and even if there were, Jang So-gil didn't believe in it.

Because there is nothing scarier than a free lunch.

"In return for the Yunnan matter, I promised to help the Beggars' Sect, didn't I?"

"It was a deal that didn't make any sense, so I opposed it, but we did make such a deal."

"When I looked into the Beggars' Sect's affairs with Military Advisor Sima, it was quite a spectacle."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"The polarization has progressed seriously. The gap between the upper and lower echelons is no joke."

The Beggars' Sect, being a gathering of beggars, seems indiscriminate, but it is a class society where ranks strictly exist.

The number of strings tied to the belt is the mark of the rank.

They strictly adhere to the ranks.

"That's only up to the Three-Knot Beggars. The upper echelons above the Three-Knot Beggars consider the ranks as just a decoration, not as a symbol of absolute rule or the justification for rule. So there is no oppression and no exploitation."

Gumen Long crossed his arms. He knew almost nothing about the Beggars' Sect. It was because Gumen Long had always been at the forefront of every battle, that is, the most dangerous place, and the Beggars' Sect had often stayed in the rear, that is, a place close to the weak common people. Gumen Long had few opportunities to get involved with the Beggars' Sect.

What he knew about the Beggars' Sect was probably just the recent incident of the Three-Knot Beggar Do Jibaek.

He was truly a rotten bastard. To accumulate his own wealth by tormenting and exploiting orphans, and even selling people and corpses. He deserved to be killed a thousand times.

Recalling the report from that time, Gumen Long expressed his doubt.

"Then are you saying there are no bastards like Do Jibaek who deserve to be killed in the upper echelons?"

"There are none. If there were, they would have already killed each other."

"Then why can't they deal with the lower ones?"

"The structure where the Three-Knot Beggars thoroughly control the information, use the Two-Knot Beggars as their limbs, and exploit the One-Knot Beggars is already perfectly complete. The secret beggars, which were formed for their own self-purification, are just a formality, and most of them have been won over. It's like blocking their ears and cutting off their legs, so the upper echelons are just getting their noses cut off with their eyes open."

When you're in a high place, it's not easy to see below. Gumen Long, recalling his own situation, immediately agreed. Hadn't he thought that if he were in a high place before becoming the Alliance Leader, he would have handled everything perfectly? In reality, when he came to a high position in the organization, it was actually harder to see below. It was because if the working-level military advisors or elders were determined to play tricks, there was no way to know the reality.

Jang So-gil caught his breath and calmly continued.

"To summarize the current situation of the Beggars' Sect, the upper echelon is the orthodox sect, but the lower echelon can be said to be the unorthodox sect. The orthodox and the unorthodox are mixed."

If a fight between the orthodox and the unorthodox breaks out within a sect, it ends in the defeat of the orthodox sect nine times out of ten. The orthodox sect, which pursues values such as heroism, righteousness, and correctness, cannot win against the desires of the unorthodox sect, which pursues its own interests even if it means harming others. It is because it is human nature to be swayed by the silver in front of one's eyes rather than a vague sense of justice.

Hadn't even the Martial Alliance, the symbol of the orthodox sect, been swayed by the temptation of money and ended up like this? For the beggars, whose basic life was to live without, it would be even harder to resist the temptation of money.

"The number of Three-Knot Beggars who have colluded with the forces of the Unorthodox Faction or the Black Way is countless, and there are even places where their spies have taken the position of a Three-Knot Beggar, going beyond the level of collusion. The more I investigated, the more of a spectacle it was, and I was terrified along with Military Advisor Sima."

"Heo..."

"If we leave it like this, it will be a big problem. We have to cut it out."

The job of an inspector is like the job of a doctor. It is the job of cutting out the affected area, cauterizing the inflammation, suturing it, and prescribing good medicine. The real power of the Beggars' Sect, the Three-Knot Beggars, are rotten. They must be cut out. If you don't prescribe an anesthetic and wield a sharp blade, that rotten pus will not be removed.

"Doctor Go Danyeong said so. A rotten affected area will spread if not excised early. If you don't make a quick decision, you can't save anything. The Beggars' Sect is like that. The Beggars' Sect needs surgery right now."

"It will be a very difficult surgery."

He could guess. The Beggars' Sect was a group of beggars, and even though it had been corrupted, it was a force of martial artists.

What truly subjugates a martial artist is not law, nor is it money. It is power.

Then he understood the reason for this long story.

"You're going to do something that requires my permission as the Alliance Leader."

"Yes. The surgery of the Beggars' Sect must be done with power. I will move boldly and do some unreasonable things. I will throw away the fence of the law and fight wildly, ignoring common sense."

"For you, who has acted like a complete scoundrel, to say that, you must be planning to do quite a lot, right?"

"Of course."

So far, Jang So-gil's way of handling things had been surprisingly very rational and compliant with the law. He had only moved when he could find evidence of a crime and prove it.

But this time, he couldn't do that. If he did, the enemy would get time to react. The opponent was a villain who had deceived and betrayed his own upper echelon and had colluded with the unorthodox and the black.

"The opponent is not the type to leave evidence, and even if you present evidence, they are those who will try to cover it up with power. It's a huge loss to spend time on such people."

If there was a Black Way sect connected to the Three-Knot Beggars, he wouldn't collect evidence and prove the crime, but would destroy it. The same went for being connected to the Unorthodox Faction. If it was the unorthodox or the black, he would just destroy them first.

It was a violent and ignorant method, but it was okay for the groups of the Unorthodox Faction and the Black Way. If they disappeared, the common people would be happy, not dislike it. That's why such an act was called this in the world.

"A heroic journey."

"It's the execution of public duty, but if you think about it, it would be a heroic journey."

"Hehe."

Gumen Long smiled with satisfaction. A heroic journey to defeat the groups of the Black Way and the heretical ways who had colluded with the Beggars' Sect under the pretext of surgery on the Beggars' Sect. Wasn't it a very interesting thing? If he could, he wanted to do it himself.

But he couldn't leave Luoyang after becoming the Alliance Leader. Gumen Long clicked his tongue with regret and sent a look of envy.

"I'm envious, so envious. I'm envious of your youth and your vigor."

"I need the Alliance Leader's permission."

"That's right."

This was different in quality from other heroic journeys. A heroic journey that was carried out wildly, regardless of the size of the opposing forces and ignoring the entangled power structure, needed someone to take responsibility.

"Did Sect Leader Hong give his permission?"

"He gladly gave me the Six-Dog Secret Beggar."

"Huh? For that beggar to give you the Six-Dog, he must have made up his mind."

There were also ranks among the secret beggars. The rank was determined by the number of dogs engraved on the horse pass, and a horse pass with six dogs engraved on it meant that it was a secret beggar directly under the Beggars' Sect Leader.

"Then I'll also make up my mind and give you this. Return the jade pass and receive the gold pass."

Gumen Long handed down the gold alliance pass. If the jade pass was a token that one was on public duty under the order of a high-ranking person in the Martial Alliance, the gold pass meant that whatever the holder of this did, the Alliance Leader would take care of the aftermath.

"In the name of the Martial Alliance Leader, go and run wild to your heart's content."

"I will humbly accept it."

* * *

The justification given by the Beggars' Sect.

The Alliance Leader's permission.

Everything had gathered.

If he simply engraved the forms of the Plucking String Body Step and the Sun-Shooting Sword Art on his body and memorized the oral formulas, the preparations would be over. Now he just had to head to Kaifeng and clean up the dirty filth.

But that didn't mean he could leave right away.

"..."

"..."

The gaze of Jin Sangran, who was looking at him with a reproachful eye, was sharp.

From her point of view, it was understandable that she was bewildered and angry.

The employer who had abandoned her in Luoyang as soon as she was hired, leaving only a few instructions, and had gone off to Yunnan, had returned after two months, worked for a while, and was now saying he would leave again.

"..."

Of course, she's angry. Yes, she would be angry. If it were me, I would have killed him.

No, I probably couldn't kill him, so I would quit the job without looking back and start a new merchant guild.

And with the merchant guild I created, I would crush his merchant guild, bankrupt him, and then hire him as a servant to draw well water. I wouldn't let him take shifts, I would freeze his salary, and I would torment him with harsh working conditions that tested the limits of the national law until he died.

The fact that she hadn't done that meant she was very patient.

"..."

Jang So-gil quietly waited for her words.

After a short time, Jin Sangran let out a long sigh.

"Sect Leader, this is our first work meeting together. After being hired, after two months, our first work meeting."

"I have no intention of making excuses for that."

"Huu, I believe you understand how I feel right now."

"I understand. You probably want to quit your job right away, set up a merchant guild next door, somehow bankrupt me, and make me your slave. And you're probably thinking of tormenting me while testing the limits of the national law. I understand that feeling."

"..."

"...No?"

Jin Sangran burst out in anger.

"No! Who would think of such a terrible thing!?"

"It's a relief that it's not. So did you carry out the tasks I ordered well?"

"I did. Although it was an instruction I didn't understand. Why on earth are we investing in a horse ranch?"

Since Jin Sangran was not born in Luoyang, she had no idea what the flow of the Luoyang merchant world was like, or what sold well in Luoyang. Since she knew nothing, she had no choice but to study while following the instructions Jang So-gil had given her.

Jang So-gil's instructions were very concise and incomprehensible: 'Buy a horse ranch.', 'Invest in horses.'

Since he told her to, she bought it. She poured the thousands of silver taels Jang So-gil had gathered into a horse ranch.

But the more she studied, the more she didn't understand.

Because this was really just pouring money down the drain.

"Why a horse ranch of all things? It's not very profitable."

"Why do you think so?"

"It's not a structure that can produce high profits."

A horse is livestock. Livestock needs to be fed, housed, and cared for. But horses are very susceptible to diseases and die easily, and they are worthless if not trained, so they also need to be trained. They require a lot of care from one to ten.

"Of course, they sell for a high price because they require a lot of care, but because of that, there are few buyers."

"Even though Luoyang is a land rich enough to be in the top five in the world?"

"That's why the people who can afford it all already have horses, so it's even harder to sell. Why do you think the horse ranch you ordered me to buy was on the market? It went bankrupt because its market value was lower than other ranches, and since it went bankrupt, it was put on the market."

"A sharp analysis."

"If there's a person who can take the horses from such a bankrupt horse ranch and sell them to the rich people of Luoyang who already have horses, what can't that person sell? They could probably buy rice from the house next door and sell it to the house in front."

"That's scathing..."

"I don't know if you have such a talent, Sect Leader, but I don't have such a talent. And of course, the current apprentice merchants don't either."

"Don't worry. I don't either."

Strictly speaking, Jang So-gil could do it. He could use his connections and power to force a sale.

But while that could be a short-term profit, it would be a huge loss in the long run. It was something that didn't need to be done.

"But you don't have to worry either."

"Why?"

"Because in half a year, the price of horses will skyrocket."

(End of Chapter)