The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 74 : Honor and Loyalty (1)

The fact that the groups of the Black Way had come to suspect the Beggars' Sect was, of course, Jang So-gil's doing. Mixing a few lies with the truth to create misunderstanding and conflict was a favorite disturbance tactic of strategists. It was only natural that Jang So-gil was well-versed in this, as he had previously used this tactic to cause conflict and tear apart several merchant guilds and merchant groups.

Because of Jang So-gil, a crack had formed between the Beggars' Sect and the groups of the Black Way. Who would like to be unilaterally cast aside? They couldn't die because of the face-saving heroic journey of the orthodox sect.

[Let's wash our hands of this.]

[The information from the Beggars' Sect can no longer be trusted.]

[It would be better to distance ourselves from Kaifeng for now.]

[Declare the sealing of the gates.]

The Black Way, which could no longer trust the Beggars' Sect, made their own choices. Some left Henan Province, and some locked their gates, hoping that this typhoon would pass.

There were also small organizations that formed their own alliances. Why else would there be the proverb 'people from Wu and Yue in the same boat'? No matter how bad the relationship between the groups of the Black Way was, it was better than their relationship with the orthodox sect. That's how deep the Black Way's animosity towards the orthodox sect was.

Jang So-gil's disturbance tactic had considerable persuasiveness, because it was not unheard of in the history of the martial world for the orthodox sect to try to root out the Black Way and the Unorthodox Faction to protect their own when such a thing happened.

What happened once can happen twice. Thus, the Black Way began to settle their accounts with the Beggars' Sect one by one.

This was a bewildering situation for the fake beggars who had colluded with the Black Way.

Their main income was from money lending and speculation, so they always needed quick cash. But since the reliable source of money that had provided that quick cash was blocked, problems began to arise here and there.

If the back money secretly given to the government officials was blocked, the government's protection would also disappear. The information that had been blocked by the power of money and was going to the upper echelons would also gradually be released. Among the fake beggars of the Beggars' Sect, there were plenty of people who would quickly bite and betray if their position became disadvantageous, but there was no one who was truly loyal.

It was shaking. They came to realize that the exploitative structure of the Beggars' Sect, which they had thought was as solid as a rock, was nothing more than a castle built on sand. The fake beggars, who had fallen into panic and fear, looked for the cause of this situation.

In fact, the cause was easy to find. They already knew the flow of events. The place that was considered the best along with the Hao Mun in handling the information of the martial world was the Beggars' Sect. It would be stranger if they, who were accustomed to handling information, did not know about the current situation that was strangling their own necks.

But knowing and dealing with it were completely different stories.

About a week after the annihilation of the Huseong Unit.

The leader of the fake beggars. The one who had created the structure of the Beggars' Sect that was now divided in half. The Four-Knot Beggar Po Chungryang burned the letter with the Samadhi True Fire and growled lowly.

"We have to come up with a countermeasure. We can't die like this."

A man hurriedly bowed his head. It was the Three-Knot Beggar Jeon Wan.

"Did it not go well?"

"Damn it. We can't rely on the assassination den."

"Don't tell me that fellow has already withstood a commission from the assassination den?"

"It's a damn thing."

"This is..."

So that was what the letter was about.

Jeon Wan wiped the sweat that was flowing.

"If we can't mobilize the masters of the assassination den, what should we do now?"

The situation was not good. The Beggars' Sect had many strong masters, but that was only the story of those who followed the traditional values of the Beggars' Sect.

The ones who committed corruption, centered on Po Chungryang, were only the beggars from the One-Knot to the Three-Knot Beggars in the Beggars' Sect. The true masters were all above them, so the first-rate and peak masters of the Beggars' Sect were outside of Po Chungryang's capabilities.

Among the beggars Po Chungryang had won over, few had become Three-Knot Beggars through martial arts. The majority were those who had been branch leaders from the beginning, that is, those who had become Three-Knot Beggars due to their lineage or family circumstances. As a result, what they had was money, authority, and connections, not military power. And now was a phase that required powerful military power.

Of course, you could buy military power with money and authority.

But the military power that could be bought with money now was only the groups of the Black Way or the assassination den. The groups of the Black Way had already turned their backs due to Jang So-gil's dirty trick, and the assassination den had also sent a letter saying they would wash their hands of it.

Then what about relying on authority?

"Since it has come to this, how about we have a proper fight? We can use your authority, brother, to crush even the beggars who are not in our faction and make them follow your orders. Then if we drive him into a corner and kill him at once!"

"You idiot. That fellow named So is someone who came to fight at the order of the sect leader. Why don't you know that my authority cannot be stronger than the sect leader's!"

"Ah!"

"This has become a real headache."

Since he was a Martial Alliance inspector personally brought by the Beggars' Sect leader, the authority and justification were on that side.

Even in terms of military power, that side was superior. Yang Gwan was the Ten Dragons, the best among the rising stars, and Jang So-gil was already a first-rate master.

Po Chungryang's forces could not handle the two of them.

But he couldn't admit it.

"Because of a mere inspector and his subordinate!"

The Beggars' Sect of the world, and Po Chungryang, who held the real power of that Beggars' Sect, had to tremble like this because he was scared of just two first-rate masters? The number of first-rate masters the Beggars' Sect had reached several hundred, and there were over ten peak masters. Was that all? The sect leader, Hong Yukpyo, was a great master who had once aimed for the position of the Alliance Leader. In terms of the military power of the entire Beggars' Sect, Jang So-gil and the Beggars' Sect could not even be compared.

Of course, that was the power of the Beggars' Sect. It was not the power that Po Chungryang had.

But despite that, Po Chungryang thought of the Beggars' Sect as his own.

"I should have become the sect leader long ago."

"The fact that you endured has become the root of the trouble."

He should have held a Beggars' Sect meeting long ago and driven out the sect leader.

Everyone above the Four-Knot Beggars was on Hong Yukpyo's side? What did that matter? In a Beggars' Sect meeting, all beggars had an equal opportunity to speak. And most of the beggars below the Three-Knot Beggars were under Po Chungryang's control.

If he had become the sect leader even by force like that. If he had carried out the great cause a little earlier, he would not have been insulted by a mere inspector-!

But now it was too late. It would take another half a year to start and conclude a Beggars' Sect meeting for the impeachment of the current sect leader and the election of a new sect leader. In the meantime, Jang So-gil's evil hand would surely reach Po Chungryang's neck.

Even a young beggar could tell. At this rate, it was a fight that was obvious to lose. And as time passed, it would become even more disadvantageous.

If you don't get off a burning boat, you'll burn to death. The other beggars who had noticed that would hurriedly try to get off Po Chungryang's boat. From now on, Po Chungryang's forces would only have days of weakening, and days of strengthening would never come.

The cause of all this hardship was Po Chungryang's carelessness, and the Martial Alliance's inspector.

Regret and anger were so deep that tears of blood flowed. Po Chungryang clenched his teeth.

"I can't be beaten like this. You were right about one thing. Since it has come to this, I have to have a proper fight."

"Should I gather the kids right away?"

"No. A messy fight like that will only give the sect leader a justification."

"Then what do we do?"

"I'll use the dog meat book."

"Heok! Was that really a thing!"

Jeon Wan was terrified and took a step back.

The dog meat book, which was only a rumor among the beggars, was a kind of book of shame. It was a book that recorded weaknesses that should not be known to others, so the act of making such a thing itself was worthy of condemnation, and it was even a book of shame of their own family. If they found out that such a thing really existed, all the people of the Beggars' Sect would become enemies.

The very existence of the dog meat book was a shame for Po Chungryang. Of course, if he used it, he could not guarantee the aftermath. He guessed that five out of ten times would result in a terrible outcome, and the remaining three times would be a life of a fugitive on the run. The possibility of success was probably two out of ten.

But Po Chungryang judged that this situation, which had been caused by a moment of carelessness and a petty desire to take a safe path, could not be resolved without an adventure and a gamble.

"Let's move just five masters."

"Who would be good?"

"For now, Man Bakja. Let's go with Man Bakja and Lee Dongpyeong."

"M-Man Bakja and Lee Dongpyeong!"

The Seven-Knot Beggar Man Bakja was famous as a peak master of the Beggars' Sect, and his fame was comparable to that of the sect leader, Hong Yukpyo. He alone was enough to tear Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan to pieces and have change left over, and even the Ugly Dragon Lee Dongpyeong? The reason for investing such an excessive force was probably evidence that the current situation was that bad.

Since he was dancing on a cliff, there was no turning back if he failed.

Jeon Wan, who had belatedly realized the seriousness of the situation, trembled and carefully asked back.

"Brother, do Man Bakja-nim and Dongpyeong have anything that can be called a weakness?"

"They do. Man Bakja was not a beggar from the beginning. He was once an astronomer of the imperial family."

"An astronomer of the imperial family!"

The astronomers of the imperial family were traditionally held by the blood relatives of the Zhuge Clan.

It meant that Man Bakja's real name was Zhuge.

"To think he's a person of the Zhuge Clan, it's surprising. But would being a Zhuge be a weakness?"

"Of course, that alone does not become a weakness. What's important is that he committed a crime and ran away."

"It's the first time I'm hearing this, but it's not like I don't have a guess. The reason why Man Bakja-nim usually grinds his teeth about the imperial family or authority and power...?"

"That's right. I don't know the details of the crime he committed, but it's clear that something stimulated his reverse scale."

"I see."

"I don't know the exact name of the crime, but anyway, he was on the run from the pursuit of the Zhuge Clan or the imperial family, and he was seriously injured and was on the verge of life and death. And a woman took care of him with all her heart and he barely saved his life. Unlike the stories that the gossips like, love did not blossom between the two, but at that time, Man Bakja made a vow. He said that no matter what, he would unconditionally grant the request of his life's benefactor."

"Then don't tell me you've won over that woman?"

"Yes. That woman's house went bankrupt due to a flood four years ago, and she had sought out Man Bakja to somehow restore her ruined family. One of the beggars under my command heard that story from her. And I saved her by paying my own money instead of introducing her to Man Bakja."

"Then if you have that woman ask Man Bakja-nim to kill the inspector..."

Po Chungryang smiled.

"Man Bakja is a person who values his loyalty more than pursuing fame, a sense of accomplishment, or true justice. Even if he knows that my request does not fit his own justice, he will not be able to refuse the request to keep his loyalty."

"What about Lee Dongpyeong? Does that fellow have anything that can be called a weakness?"

"Lee Dongpyeong has three younger siblings who are dying from illness. They have been groaning in their sickbeds for over three years. Where would that fellow Dongpyeong's household have gotten the money for that treatment?"

"Were you paying for the treatment, brother?!"

"...What kind of crazy talk is that? The opponent is not even someone like Man Bakja. Do I look like a person who would spend money so carelessly?"

"What? Then?"

"I know the weakness of the guy who is funding Dongpyeong."

"Ah."

"It seems that fellow was also investing in Dongpyeong to use him like an assassin, but there's always someone who flies above the one who runs. I have a firm grasp on the information about that guy's embezzlement and illegal speculation."

As expected of Po Chungryang. Jeon Wan looked at the smug Po Chungryang with a look of respect.

How could he be so petty and meticulous! It was a good thing he hadn't acted hastily.

'Really, I was thinking of secretly running away tonight because I thought it was a burning boat.'

Po Chungryang glared at Jeon Wan fiercely.

"Why did I tell you everything in detail?"

"..."

"I believe that a smart fellow like you will understand my meaning."

Jeon Wan just rolled his eyes back and forth.

* * *

Some of the groups of the Black Way had declared the sealing of their gates. Sealing the gates meant locking the gates and cutting off relations with the outside, but that was only when the opponent accepted it. Jang So-gil froze and shattered the entrance of the Black Way sect that had declared the sealing of its gates and attacked without mercy.

"You complete scoundrel who doesn't even know the principles of the martial world! We have declared the sealing of our gates!"

"When you want to run wild, you run wild as you please. But when you don't want to get beaten, you say you've sealed your gates, don't hit us, 'ebebeb', and I'm supposed to not hit you? There's a limit to being shameless. You rotten trash bastards."

Today, another group of the Black Way was burning. A thin ink line was drawn on the death list, with a pile of injured or dead bodies. On a day with few, two organizations. On a day with many, five organizations were destroyed, and the days continued, so the names marked on the death list had also decreased quite a bit.

Jang So-gil, who was watching with satisfaction, touched his chin.

"It's about time..."

(End of Chapter)