The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 76 : Honor and Loyalty (3)

Jang So-gil's intentions were good and just. But his methods were murderous, unrestrained, and overflowing with decisiveness. Jang So-gil's heroic journey, which culled the fake beggars of the Beggars' Sect and wiped out the groups of the Black Way like a swift wind and a sudden thunderclap, was outside the common sense of the world.

As was often the case with matters of the martial world, Jang So-gil's way of handling things was also based on 'act first, report later'. For example, if there was a Three-Knot Beggar who had colluded with a group of the Black Way, he would first cut off his head, and then write the reason for cutting him down in a letter and send it to the Beggars' Sect.

Of course, the reason was never unjust. It was because Jang So-gil had already thoroughly investigated the personal information and crimes of the one who should be punished. Since he had cut down the one who deserved to be punished, looking at the result, there was no room for the Beggars' Sect to object.

Man Bakja knew that fact well, so he knew that what he was doing was unreasonable. That's why his face turned red with shame, and he said he was shameless.

"The number of dead Three-Knot Beggars is already twenty-six. The Two-Knot Beggars are forty. How about we stop at this point?"

"Stop?"

"Isn't 'punishing one to warn a hundred' enough already?"

Punishing one to warn a hundred.

To urge a hundred people to be cautious by severely punishing one person.

"How about we let them guide the remaining ones? The Beggars' Sect no longer wants the death of its comrades."

The corners of Jang So-gil's eyes twitched.

"That's nonsense."

"Why is it nonsense?"

"Man Bakja-nim, you are a real beggar, so you know too little about fake beggars."

"You say I don't know about beggars?"

"Because you are real, you cannot understand the fake."

The beggar, the 'beggar' (乞丐) that the Beggars' Sect spoke of, was such an existence.

A person who, with non-possession as a principle, wants nothing and desires nothing. A person who is satisfied with what nature gives, rejoices in a moment of happiness, and puts others before oneself.

Man Bakja was truly a beggar worthy of the Beggars' Sect.

"A beggar who has once tasted money can never return to being a beggar. Man Bakja-nim, have you even read the contents of the letter I sent?"

"I have read it."

So-and-so had taken away houses and land by lending money to tenant farmers at high interest rates and making it impossible for them to repay the money by ruining their fields. Another so-and-so had gathered beggars who were good at fighting, committed violence for a fee, and gathered money by interfering with others' businesses.

They demanded tribute if they didn't want to be harassed anymore, and when negotiations with a Black Way group broke down, they subjugated the opponent as if it were a heroic journey and then took their territory and acted as the owner. There was even a branch leader who bribed high-ranking officials and then acted as the ruler of a village as if he were a high-ranking official himself.

"What did you think after seeing the evil deeds of the bastards written there?"

"I was ashamed."

"Could you understand why those bastards did such things?"

"I could not understand."

"That's natural. Because you are an upright person, Man Bakja-nim. You might even see money as a stone."

But most people were not like that.

"Money. Money is a demon. The more you have, the better, and no matter how much you gather, you can't be satisfied. A person who has the means to scrape together money and yet is not obsessed with it? Such a person is really rare. That's how difficult it is to distance oneself from wealth."

The face of Man Bakja, who had been smiling bitterly, hardened at Jang So-gil's continuing words.

"Well, so I think it's amazing that you, Man Bakja-nim, who were originally of a noble status, are satisfied with your current life."

"What? H-how did you know that!"

"But most of the people who were poor from the beginning, who were starving because they had nothing to eat, can't stop once they taste a life with money. They can never return to their former lives. They can't even breathe for a moment in a room where lice and ants are crawling. They'll go crazy missing the life of sitting on a chair made of fragrant wood, appreciating landscape paintings, and enjoying Yunnan tea, so they'll want to regain their wealth and luxury by any means necessary."

"..."

"Guidance? Punishing one to warn a hundred? This is enough? That's nonsense. A dog can stop eating shit, but a person who has tasted money cannot stop luxury. If someone were to grab your trouser leg, Man Bakja-nim, and say they would never covet wealth or indulge in luxury again, that would be a lie and a deception. On the contrary, the more a person acts like that now, the more they will surely turn back."

"Why, why do you think so?"

"Because the more a person quickly judges and grasps the boat to get off, and appeals to human feelings and past connections to survive, the more cunning and petty a bastard they are."

"That's..."

"I'll ask you, Man Bakja-nim. Who sent you here? Shall I try to guess?"

Jang So-gil counted on his fingers and said.

"There are not many people who can move the great Man Bakja-nim of the world. First, there would be the number one in the world, the Martial Alliance Leader Gumen Long-nim. But the Alliance Leader is very satisfied with my work. So he's out. Next is the Beggars' Sect leader, Hong Yukpyo-nim? He ordered the cleaning of the Beggars' Sect with the feeling of 'crying and cutting off Ma Su's head', and he even told me not to be merciful in my methods. So Hong Yukpyo-nim is also out. Oh my, I had two people in mind, but neither of them is it. Then what happened? Don't tell me- you're not moving on someone's instigation or a personal request, are you? The number one loyal man in the world, Man Bakja-nim? No way, no way."

A vein popped out on Man Bakja's forehead. He was holding back his anger.

He was originally a man who spoke directly. He hated formalities and liked simplicity.

His gruff, unpretentious, and uninhibited personality was very famous. He was a man who would fight with the Beggars' Sect leader to the point of grabbing his collar and giving each other a bloody nose, and he had even pointed his staff at Gumen Long for the sake of the common people.

Such a Man Bakja was now facing a junior as a renowned master, so he was holding back from showing an undignified appearance.

But there was a limit to pretending to be a person of character.

Jang So-gil slowly scratched at Man Bakja's temper, and at the continuing provocative words, his reason finally snapped.

"Ahtta, shibaal."

"Po Chungryang sent you, didn't he?"

"Yes, I came on that bastard's instigation. You bastard, is it fun to tease me when you know everything?"

"Did he get a hold of some weakness?"

"What weakness!"

"You don't have a weakness, so why are you listening to that bastard?"

"That is, there are circumstances."

"What circumstances? Do you have a benefactor, and did that benefactor ask you to help Po Chungryang?"

Man Bakja let out a long sigh. Hong Yukpyo had said about Jang So-gil that he was a child who could not only purify the Beggars' Sect but also do great things for the martial world, and he had praised him highly. It was not an over-praise.

If you know one, you know ten, and if you know ten, you know a hundred. As if he were using some kind of magic or sorcery, he freely entered and exited the hearts of others as if it were his own doorstep.

It would be a lie if he wasn't unpleasant. Man Bakja spat out a curse and growled.

"You're right about everything. You damn brat, you must be so happy to know so much."

"Is it true?!"

"Why are you surprised when you said it yourself?"

"I just thought, since you're the famous loyal man Man Bakja-nim, if I could get a hold of your weakness through loyalty, I might be able to make you do things. So I just threw it out there, but I didn't think it would be true. Wow, Po Chungryang is amazing."

Looking at Man Bakja's even more distorted ugly face, Jang So-gil grinned.

"So the circumstances have all been revealed, but are you still going to stop me?"

"Yes."

"Even though you have no justification at all?"

"Yes."

"I am on public duty with a just cause. The act of stopping me will bring harm to you, Man Bakja-nim, and yet?"

"I know."

"Even if the honor you have built up until now collapses, and only shame remains?"

"Still, I have to do it. I made a vow with that woman, and a vow must be kept."

"How are you going to stop me?"

Man Bakja rolled up his tattered sleeves. And he raised his skinny arms, which were only bones.

"I can't beat you with words, so I have no choice but to do it with force."

The arms of an old man who was skin and bones and did not have much time left to live. He did not feel any pressure or fear. But that fist was the fist of a demon-subduing master who had crushed the heads of countless villains and had beaten to death the beasts in human form who had threatened the safety of the common people.

Man Bakja's Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms, along with Hong Yukpyo's Dog-Beating Staff Art, was a signature peerless skill that represented the Beggars' Sect. He had heard that his fist could crush rocks and kill a bear the size of a house in one blow.

A person who has surpassed a first-rate master is called a peak master. The gossips jokingly called a person who had surpassed a peak master a 'super-peak master', and Man Bakja was a person who was always on the list of those super-peak masters.

To be clear, Man Bakja's power far surpassed that of Seok Pacheon, whom Jang So-gil had been unable to even confront and had passed on to Sima Hui. If he were to confront him, it would be certain death. There was not even a little chance of victory. Even if Sima Hui came, the result would not change at all.

Jang So-gil sighed.

"This is why martial artists are like this."

This is why I wanted power.

Jang So-gil stared at him with cold eyes. The strongest enemy since his debut in the martial world. Could he really last even three moves?

Countless moves came and went in his head, and the result came to mind. There was a terrible lack of a chance of victory.

"Young Master So, I will help you."

Yang Gwan, who had been watching, reached for his spear and stood side by side. Even if the two of them faced him, the chances of victory were slim, but it would be better than being alone.

It was the moment Jang So-gil nodded his head. The door of the post station opened.

"Sorry, but your opponent seems to be me."

The man who came in, speaking leisurely, was the Ugly Dragon Lee Dongpyeong.

Man Bakja looked at him as if he were in trouble.

"You came too?"

"Well, it turned out that way."

"You pathetic fellow."

"Both you and I have ended up in a pretty funny situation, senior, but am I the only pathetic one?"

"Aren't you not supposed to be like me?"

"Is that something the person who taught me that a fellow who can't keep his loyalty is trash should say?"

"Damn it."

Man Bakja spat roughly and rolled up both his arms. A confrontation was naturally formed.

Lee Dongpyeong and Yang Gwan, Man Bakja and Jang So-gil.

It was a composition where one could know the result without even looking. In the past, at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, Lee Dongpyeong had already beaten Yang Gwan. So it was natural that Lee Dongpyeong had the upper hand.

As for Jang So-gil and Man Bakja, there was no value in comparing them.

Lee Dongpyeong grinned.

"Sorry. I'll try to avoid the knee this time."

"Ugly Dragon, you bastard!"

"Here I go."

As Lee Dongpyeong rushed in, Yang Gwan leaped to the side to create distance from Jang So-gil. It was to avoid getting caught up.

Lee Dongpyeong, who was running as if sliding on the wooden floor of the post station. He immediately aimed for Yang Gwan's leg. Yang Gwan, in great alarm, used his spear as a lever to avoid that attack.

"You said you wouldn't attack the knee!"

"Wow, you can even doubt now. In the past, you just believed and got hit, but you've grown too."

"You bastard!"

The spear aimed for Lee Dongpyeong's head. Lee Dongpyeong dodged it with a 'lazy donkey rolling on the ground' and then grabbed a chair from the post station and threw it at Yang Gwan. The chair shattered with a 'wajangchang'. Next, the teacup Jang So-gil had been drinking from flew over. It was a messy fight.

Man Bakja, who was watching the two, Lee Dongpyeong, who was continuing the random fight while grinning, and Yang Gwan, who was responding while spitting out curses, said.

"Po Chungryang wanted to kill you, but I don't want your life, so I will avoid a killing move. I'll just make you lie down for a month."

"That's a very grateful thing to say, but there's a better way. Let's just watch those kids fight and have a talk."

"So I'm not going to talk to you anymore?"

"Ehei, don't be like that and just listen for a bit."

When raising internal energy, you have to start slowly from one-tenth of your power so that there are no problems.

As if he were raising his power with his mouth, Jang So-gil licked his lips and strode forward.

At his absurd confidence, for a moment, the great Man Bakja of the world flinched.

(End of Chapter)