Chapter : 77
“Do we go if we want to go, and come if we want to come?”
“It won’t take long.”
“That’s not the point!”
Ignoring Gu Heeryang’s objections, Tak Museong turned his body and reached out. He grabbed the neck of the cultist closest to him, hoisted him up completely, and hurled him into the charging group of cultists.
Bang! Crash!
As those rushing forward collided with the flying comrade and tangled, Tak Museong lightly leapt over the fallen bodies.
Crash! Boom! Bang!
He moved through them in a whirlwind, his fists a blur.
“Who said I’m the crazy one? The real lunatic is over there.”
Gu Heeryang snorted, picked up the third section of her three-section staff, and cast the first section far away like a fishing hook.
Shhaaa!
Bang! Thud! Bang!
The staff, connected by chains, shot forward and struck the cultists. Pulling back her hand, Gu Heeryang let the staff snap back like a snake, catching it in her other hand.
“So, she’s throwing a fit because she heard about Yeonhwa becoming the little master, huh?”
Gu Heeryang rolled her eyes and made a decision.
‘Our little master is doing so well; how dare she interfere!’
I won’t let her succeed. I’ll stop her!
“Danju-nim, what terrible idea are you thinking of now?”
Kwak So, sensing unease from afar, rushed through the cultists to intervene. Gu Heeryang grinned, showing her teeth, and focused on wielding her three-section staff.
“Damn, stomach pain again…!”
Thinking that if she dies it won’t be because of the cultists but because of that crazy woman, Kwak So grabbed her stomach, kicked a cultist stabbing him with a sword, and struck back with his own blade.
Thunk!
Blood splattered. Kwak So let out a sigh and searched for Gu Heeryang.
Tak Yeon, head of the Hwanam branch of Cheonma Shin-gyo overseeing the Honam region, had been unusually irritable lately.
Previously, junior disciples of the Murim Alliance had been poking at the borders of Honam and Hubei under the pretext of training, testing his patience…
Now, in Gangseo, bordering the east and southeast, Murim Alliance’s Tak Museong and the Sohuodan had caused a ruckus. From Suseo to Bongsin had fallen, and now Namchang was at risk—the commercial hub of Gangseo, and the territory of the local head, Dok Angwi Yang Baekwon. If that fell, the influence would ripple through all of Gangseo, giving the Murim Alliance a huge opportunity.
“Great Master, what shall we do? Will you send Cheolwi as Dok Angwi requests?”
Pa Simsoo, head of the Akyang faction based in Dongjeongho, asked.
“Why send our people? The Cheolwi are our elite guards, meant to execute the commands of the Great Master smoothly. Most are selected personally or via recommendation, and usually the former to strengthen their own faction. The Cheolwi are my strongest asset.”
Even on good terms, if asked to lend them, the first reaction would be refusal.
Yang Baekwon, head of Gangseo, was someone Tak Yeon had always disliked since their time in the main temple.
“Even if I help by sending my people, would that sly bastard share the glory? Never. I’ll send them to the most dangerous places, protect my own, and let him weaken his rival—my own faction.”
“But if we do nothing, won’t the main temple reproach us later?”
“As a disciple of the temple, our duty is to be loyal to the leader and honor the sacred teachings. As for other disciples…”
Tak Yeon flexed his fingers, sharpened and strong as beastly claws by the Dokmun techniques. He slammed his hand onto the table in front of him.
Thud.
Even the sturdy rosewood table bent under his fingers like soft tofu. He spoke low:
“The first is to fight and win, pushing the other to grow stronger. The second is to monitor and test if they remain loyal. Weakness is the disciple’s own fault. Blaming others achieves nothing.”
Cracking the table with his claws, pieces of rosewood splintered and fell. Tak Yeon blew on the fragments, watching them scatter.
“If he wants to avoid this fate, Yang Baekwon must maintain the pride of a disciple to the very end.”
Unless explicitly ordered, Tak Yeon would not intervene in Gangseo.
But…
“…I can’t stand watching the Murim Alliance run wild either.”
He muttered, addressing Na Hyorin.
“Anhui has been noisy lately?”
“Yes. A girl highly valued by the Murim Alliance is currently with her family, the Namgung household.”
“I see. And Samryeong cherishes her so much, doesn’t he?”
Previously, Murim forces were dispatched urgently to crush the temple’s influence and then returned immediately. But now, for some reason, they stayed longer in Gangseo, devastating the temple’s stronghold.
“…Great Master, you don’t intend to strike the Namgung household in Anhui, do you? It’s too far from Honam, closer to Gangseo…”
Crash!
Tak Yeon kicked the table, sliding it across the floor, deliberately toward Na Hyorin. She tried to stop it, but the force sent her several steps back, her blood boiling in her throat.
He looked displeased when she managed to hold her ground.
“Think, think. How long will she stay in Anhui? She’ll return to the Murim Alliance soon after becoming the little master.”
To get from Anhui to Murim Alliance territory, one would have to pass through Hubei, near the border of Honam and Yeochang.
“Namgung Yeonhwa, that brat has been stirring trouble, but until recently she was holed up in the Murim Alliance. If we miss this opportunity, we don’t know when another perfect chance will come. Failure isn’t an option.”
Tak Yeon smirked, imagining her already in his grasp.
“Why is that?”
Yeonhwa set down her teacup mid-sip. Yu Geonmyeong asked.
“I figured that once I step out, the quiet moments will be over. The world will buzz with news about me.”
Once the Namgung household affairs settled, Yeonhwa planned to leave the rest to Seong Yeontaek and return to the alliance.
“Do you regret it? Then stay a little longer.”
Yeonhwa shook her head.
“Actually, we moved quickly upon arrival. My self-recommendation to become little master, citing the temple law, was quite a bold plan.”
“Didn’t your family accept it?”
“The alliance is the issue.”
She had to tidy up after the previous master, having already revealed that she became little master and laid down her final card herself.
“No issues on the way back, I hope?”
Yu Geonmyeong checked the plan. Yeonhwa frowned.
“I hope not, but the world is unstable. Anything could happen suddenly.”
Yeonhwa gently tapped Yu Geonmyeong’s hand with her finger. He flipped his hand, held her finger lightly, and tickled her palm. When she tried to pull away, he stopped and reached for his cup.
Their silent exchange said: “Don’t worry. I understand.”
