The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 81 : An Old Story (1)

Jang So-gil put a short pipe to his mouth.

Puff, puff, smoke rose. A faint fragrance spread.

A short sigh. Jang So-gil slowly opened his mouth.

"After Po Chungryang died, I declared the end of the inspection and investigation for now."

"Why, when there are still so many villains overflowing?"

"The superficial reason is that I have shown a warning to a hundred by punishing the biggest villain, Po Chungryang. Because it's clear that he is the king of the fake beggars. It's like accepting Man Bakja's advice."

"Then what is the real reason, not the superficial one?"

"It's because there are too many villains, to the point of overflowing."

After investigating in detail based on the dog meat book recovered from Po Chungryang, there were too many people who needed to be punished. Even if he were to leave the ones outside the Beggars' Sect for Jang So-gil to use as a weapon in the future, there were too many villains inside the Beggars' Sect.

"I had guessed there would be many, but it's more than I expected. How many? To the point where nine out of ten of the currently active Three-Knot Beggars have to be killed."

"N-nine out of ten..."

"Nine out of ten are rotten. If it comes to this, it's not a matter of cutting out a part of the rotten Three-Knot Beggars, but leaving a healthy part and burning the rest with fire. I'd like to do that, but the Beggars' Sect leader, Hong Yukpyo-nim, wouldn't want that, would he?"

"...That's true."

Where would there be a leader of a faction who would want to entrust such a thing to an inspector from the outside? If it were to be done, the sect leader, Hong Yukpyo himself, would have to do it.

"Therefore, I decided to hand over the list of the remaining rotten ones in the Beggars' Sect and close the investigation at this point. Since Hong Yukpyo-nim and his secret beggars said they would take care of the rest, I can rest now, right? What if it doesn't go well? If the client says to stop, I have to stop."

"Then is the work here finished now?"

"It's finished. So I was going to go back today, but..."

Jang So-gil glared at Yang Gwan's broken knee.

"I can't go back because of you!"

So it comes back to him getting scolded in the end.

Yang Gwan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"You can just go. I-I can ride a horse. I can also ride a boat..."

"Didn't I tell you to shut your mouth?"

"But..."

"But my ass. If your wound gets worse, are you going to live with a limp for the rest of your life, huh? A bastard who uses a martial art with a damn name tag on it. Are you going to add 'one-legged spearman' to your nickname because you lack fame!"

"O-one-legged spearman..."

"And if you're going to boast about the Shaolin Diamond Art, you shouldn't have broken it in the first place. What kind of diamond is it if it breaks? Change the name to Shaolin Soft Iron Art or Shaolin Bamboo Pole Art."

"B-bamboo pole... No matter how much, isn't a bamboo too much! Young Master Jang So-gil!"

"Where do you think you're raising your voice!"

Jang So-gil swung his short pipe.

As it hit his head with a 'ppaak, ppaak' sound, stars flashed before Yang Gwan's eyes.

"Uwak!"

"Does it hurt? Does it hurt? It's the Diamond Art, but does it hurt?"

"It hurts a lot!"

Jang So-gil's internal energy now reached one sixty-year cycle. If one sixty-year cycle of internal energy was contained, it was only natural that it would hurt.

Even the Eighteen Arhats of the Shaolin Temple would jump in pain.

"Since when have you been able to imbue objects with internal energy?"

"I could do it with the White Azure Divine Sword from before, and it's only recently that I've been able to imbue other objects."

"Congratulations on your achievement."

"Thanks for the congratulations, but you bastard. That's not what's important right now!"

Jang So-gil continued to get angry, huffing and puffing. Why was he angry?

Yang Gwan slapped his healthy left knee.

"Aha, I see. I'll go with the Shaolin Soft Iron Art."

The Soft Iron Art was better than the Bamboo Pole Art. Wasn't soft iron at least stronger than a bamboo pole?

Thinking that this would be a good enough answer, Yang Gwan grinned, and Jang So-gil got even angrier.

"Kkeuaaaaaak-! This bastard is really driving me crazy!"

"Ack! Why are you getting even angrier?!"

"If you're asking because you don't know, that's a talent in itself!"

"No, what can I do if I don't know!"

"Aoh, damn it. If you weren't a patient, I would have half-killed you! Hey, get well soon. You have to get well soon so I can beat you up."

Anyway.

And so, the work at the Beggars' Sect was finished.

* * *

A week later, in the office of the Martial Alliance Leader.

Jang So-gil had a private meeting with Gumen Long to report on his work.

"-And so. I have concluded the matter of the Beggars' Sect and have come."

"I see. There were so many rotten trees that it was at the point where the forest had to be burned, so you closed the investigation. It must be a rather anticlimactic ending for you, so I'm sorry."

"It's not that I don't feel that way. Because I could have operated on the Beggars' Sect more thoroughly and perfectly than Sect Leader Hong Yukpyo. Since I started it, I think it's wise to see it to the end."

Thoroughly. Perfectly.

Jang So-gil could have performed the surgery on the Beggars' Sect with a coldness that would not shed a single drop of blood even if pricked with a needle. No matter how great a person Hong Yukpyo was, since he could not be thoroughly cold, the surgery on the Beggars' Sect could not be perfect.

It would have been a hundred times better to leave it to Jang So-gil. Hong Yukpyo just had to close his eyes once. He just had to turn his head and pretend not to know. Then Jang So-gil would have torn everything apart on his own and made the Beggars' Sect normal.

Secret beggars? Even if he gathered all of them, they would not be able to do half the work of Jang So-gil.

They lacked coldness. There would also be cases where they would let things slide because they were fellow beggars. Why else would there be the word 'affection'?

Gumen Long said calmly.

"Even if nine out of ten of the Three-Knot Beggars die, the members of the Beggars' Sect are over a hundred thousand. Compared to the matter of saving those hundred thousand lives, it is a truly small sacrifice, so it would be right to punish them all. This matter will become more difficult to resolve as the days go by. Hong Yukpyo has made a foolish choice."

"That's right. If not now, when Po Chungryang is dead, the renewal of the Beggars' Sect will become more difficult. Others will stick their spoons in, aiming for Po Chungryang's empty seat, but there are few among them who have the same caliber as Po Chungryang. So the villains will naturally be torn into dozens of pieces and scattered. If they are scattered, it will be more difficult to deal with them."

"But it can't be helped."

Gumen Long closed his eyes. He could clearly see the feelings of the Beggars' Sect leader, Hong Yukpyo.

Because he was the leader of the huge organization of the Martial Alliance, he understood the feelings of the Beggars' Sect leader, who carried the lives of a hundred thousand people, all too well.

"When you are in a position to take all the responsibility, a person inevitably becomes a coward. Jang So-gil don't be too dissatisfied."

"I wasn't that dissatisfied. It's someone else's business, after all."

"Hoo."

For a person who said he wasn't dissatisfied, his expression was so full of dissatisfaction.

Gumen Long clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.

"Then let's leave our inspector's conclusion at that... Anyway, you've worked hard. Now you can continue with your main job."

"I've come a long way."

Jang So-gil's position was that of an inspector of the Martial Alliance. He had originally been hired to normalize the finances of the Martial Alliance.

At first, he had proved his skills by shaking down an escort agency in Luoyang, and soon he had uncovered the large-scale embezzlement and corruption of the Nine Sects, one of the chronic problems of the Martial Alliance. But that incident had become a trigger, and the Diancang Sect had gone on a rampage, and because of that, the public order of Yunnan had collapsed.

Jang So-gil had stabilized the public order of Yunnan. After that, he had even purified the Beggars' Sect. So for a long time, he had not been able to do his job as an inspector.

Of course, it was not a loss for Jang So-gil.

"It was a rather meaningful time."

Although he had taken a long detour, thanks to that, Jang So-gil had become a rather decent master. There would be few in the history of the martial world who had achieved this much in such a short time.

His growth had also caught Gumen Long's eye. His spirit was quite well-ordered. Jang So-gil would now look like a martial artist to anyone.

"Good. Then what does our inspector want to do from now on? If you want to rest, you can rest."

"Do I look like I can rest right now?"

"That's true. You always live so diligently, so it's good to see. Then what will you do, another Thunderclap Marrow Cleansing Grand Art?"

"Thank you for your kind words, but for now, I think I will faithfully carry out the work that an inspector should originally do."

"Ho, the work that should originally be done!"

Inspection refers to the act of monitoring and observing the members of an organization and revealing their corruption to the whole world.

"If it's an inspector of the Martial Alliance, shouldn't they naturally find and smash those involved in corruption here and there in the Martial Alliance? Starting from today, I will start working on it."

"That's a very exciting thing to say. Then where are you going to start? Give me a hint."

Jang So-gil gave a feigned smile.

"It's Huashan."

"Huashan, Huashan. You're going for a big shot."

Gumen Long let out a slight groan. He had no choice.

The Great Huashan Sect!

Mount Hua, one of the Five Great Mountains, a famous mountain in Huayin County, Shaanxi Province. It was a prestigious orthodox sect based on the summit of the western peak of that Mount Hua, the Lotus Peak.

In the long history of the martial world, the number of sword masters produced by the Huashan Sect was as many as the stars, and the 'Plum Blossom Fourteen Swords', the best swordsman of the Huashan Sect, was always considered one of the best swordsmen of the time.

Since they had also produced many Martial Alliance Leaders, Huashan was a great sect that no one could deny.

Although they were called the Nine Sects, there was a power gap between the Nine Sects. The Diancang Sect, which had been annihilated this time, was also a very powerful sect, but it was no match for Huashan. The same went for Seok Pacheon's Hengshan Sect.

If one were to discuss the rank and order, the best was Shaolin, and right after that were Huashan and Wudang. The Zhongnan Sect, located in the same Shaanxi Province, seemed to be trying to catch up with Huashan, but its capabilities were far from enough.

"If you're going to attack, wouldn't it be better to start with a place that is a little lower in rank? For example, the Hengshan Sect, which is currently staggering, or the easy-to-handle Maoshan Sect?"

"If you're talking about easy to handle, the Kunlun Sect is actually the easiest."

"Tsk! Don't touch the Kunlun Sect. A person has to have a conscience."

Since the Kunlun Sect was located at the western end of the central plains, it was always the gatekeeper that first met the entry of the barbarians and the Demonic Cult. It had also suffered great damage in this Great War against the Demonic Cult, and as a result, its power had completely declined to the point where it was embarrassing to even call it one of the Nine Sects now.

Jang So-gil replied with a reluctant expression.

"I also have a conscience, so I won't touch the Kunlun Sect. I'm just saying that in terms of rank."

"Hmm, I'm glad that the inspector has a conscience. So why Huashan?"

"Mount Hua, one of the Five Great Mountains, the Western Great Mountain. With the Huashan Sect at the forefront, there are numerous sects near it. Do you know how many there are in total?"

Gumen Long thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"I don't know. Wouldn't there be at least ten?"

"There are fifty in total. And there are two more."

"Th-that's disgustingly many. No, is there honey smeared there or something?"

Famous mountains have spiritual energy, so one can easily communicate with nature just by breathing. That's why there are always sects on famous mountains like the Southern Great Mountain or the Western Great Mountain.

The Western Great Mountain was definitely a famous mountain. But even so, to have over fifty, that was too many.

To the confused Gumen Long, Jang So-gil said nonchalantly.

"There is honey. The fifty-two sects on the Western Great Mountain have one thing in common."

"Stop making me anxious and tell me. What is the common point?"

"All of them are Daoist sects."

The martial arts of the orthodox sect can be summarized into two origins.

The Daoist lineage of sects that started from the Quanzhen School and split into several branches. And the Buddhist lineage of sects that branched off from Shaolin as the root.

Sometimes there were geniuses or strange people who founded their own sects, but their martial arts were also ultimately based on Daoism and Buddhism. It was because all martial arts started from Daoism and Buddhism anyway.

But to think that among the many sects of the Western Great Mountain, there was not a single Buddhist sect, and only Daoist ones.

"That's a very strange thing."

"It's not a strange thing. It's an inevitable thing."

"Inevitable? It seems there's a story behind it."

"Shall I summarize it briefly, or shall I tell it at length?"

Jang So-gil grinned. Usually, it was Jang So-gil's job to speak at length without caring about the opponent's reaction to buy time. But today, they were both at leisure, and there was no need to buy time.

Gumen Long asked the attendant for tea. When the hot tea came out in front of the two, Gumen Long said with a smile.

"Well, shall I watch the inspector's storytelling skills? Tell it at length."

"Then I'll start the story. It was a very long time ago, around the time the Tang Dynasty fell. Two men played a game of Go for a bet."

"Ho, a game of Go for a bet. What did they bet?"

"An amount of money that cannot be put into words."

Gumen Long and Jang So-gil simultaneously brought their teacups to their mouths.

And Jang So-gil's story continued.

(End of Chapter)