The figure of Ong So-hu darting away grew smaller rapidly and soon disappeared.
At the same time, the expressions of the brothers slackened helplessly. Until now, they had been acting according to my command.
“They say ‘no return once you cross the path.’ They really have crossed a point of no return.”
Geumwolsang said. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Perhaps it would be better to say that they came first to a path of no return.”
“…Yeah, that’s true. They planted a spy within us, after all.”
Still, the heads of the spies dangled and rolled in the Jingjeongwon. Their expressions seemed as if they had long since been severed. Well, since Gwak Jindo personally dealt with them, they had no chance to resist.
There weren’t many people in the Outer Hall that Gwak Jindo was responsible for. He didn’t usually enter the Samga well.
From the information Murim Alliance passed through Myung Jaehee, we had identified that even in such an Outer Hall, spies were present. We had ordered Gwak Jindo to take care of them before coming here.
Of course, we also knew the true identities of the Elders infiltrated in Jingjeongwon, but it was not yet time to expose them as per our plan.
Gwak Jindo looked at the severed heads rolling around and spoke in a strained voice.
“I thought the people of Hyeongsan would take them, but that bastard abandoned his own sect people like this.”
“He even abandoned his fellow disciples.”
“That’s true.”
I smiled bitterly and stuffed the severed heads into my pocket. Of course, this was partly to provoke Ong So-hu’s fear, but I hadn’t expected such an exaggerated reaction.
I didn’t even expect those Samdae Jeja to be left behind like that.
“What will you do with them?”
Just then, Gwak Jindo asked. The Samdae Jeja flinched at his words. There were three of them—kids roughly the same age as Ong Mungyu.
“I’ll take care of them.”
“Is that so? Well, I roughly know what to do with them, but—”
The other brothers glanced anxiously at the Samdae Jeja, wondering what to do with them. But Gwak Jindo seemed to accept it because he knew my unique way of discerning Mugong.
“Let’s go for now. There’s still much to be done.”
“…Shouldn’t we clean up first?”
I took out a small white vial from my pocket. The tiny vial’s body was marked with the word ‘Ju-ui’ in red.
“What’s that?”
At Geumwolsang’s question, I replied not with words but action.
After removing the vial’s stopper, I poured the contents over Ong Mungyu’s corpse and blood. The transparent liquid sizzled as it burned the corpse and blood.
“Cover your nose and mouth. It’s not a pleasant smell.”
Even without my words, everyone else was already doing so. Gwak Jindo knew exactly what was inside that vial.
“It’s high-quality Hwagolsan.”
I had received it from Myung Jaehee in advance, before today’s events. It was a potent drug that could burn a corpse and blood all at once.
The sight of the corpse melting was not pleasant at all. My brothers, Gwak Jindo, and the Samdae Jeja of Hyeongsan frowned, but I remained calm.
***
The Sarangbang of Okmyogak was packed with people. Including me, my brothers, Elder Yeosangwoo, Elder Yang Cheolmok, and Gwak Jindo, there were seven of us in total.
I think this was the largest gathering of people since the Sarangbang was built.
Gwak Jindo looked around at the faces lit only by the dim Yamyeongju.
“I didn’t expect us to gather this quickly.”
“Same here. Even if Hyeongsan is rattled, I didn’t think Lord Naegong would kill Ong Mungyu.”
Yeosangwoo looked toward the sky. To be precise, it was Ong So-hu who killed him, but the connection was similar anyway.
“Taking out Cheonjuseong doesn’t necessarily mean we have plenty of room with just Hyeongsan, does it?”
Gwak Jindo said that as he looked at me with a hopeful expression. I shook my head.
“To be precise, we didn’t take out Cheonjuseong but rather Lee Cheongmyeong. If Cheonjuseong had gone all-in, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
“…True. I guess with how well things have gone lately, we were a bit overconfident.”
Gwak Jindo’s mood darkened.
Cheonjuseong’s withdrawal was voluntary, not the same as driving out Hyeongsan. How could Lee Cheongmyeong and the Heukdo scum have the same weight as Hyeongsanpa?
Gwak Jindo spoke again.
“So, what do you intend to do from now on? Even if Hyeongsan attacks tomorrow, there’s nothing we can say—the justification is enough. The sons of the Jangmunin have died, haven’t they?”
“We can stop that.”
Yeosangwoo raised his hand.
“If we say that Hyeongsan’s spies entered the Samga first and they provoked us, that would give us a decent reason to resist. After all, what we’re doing is usually like this.”
I nodded. Even if the politics are complex, sects usually don’t fight without reason, and mediation like this is one of the Murim Alliance’s main roles.
Especially for full-scale battles, you can’t act without reporting to Murim Alliance. That’s a rule created by the Old Faction. Having Murim Alliance on our side was a masterstroke.
“…So you’ve been talking about these things behind our backs.”
As Gwak Jindo and Yeosangwoo conversed, Geumwolsang quietly whispered to me.
Geumsurin and Geumhwacheong seemed to feel similarly. Geumsurin and Geumwolsang naturally, but even Geumhwacheong had an expression of embarrassment.
This was why I brought them here—to inform them how drastically the Samga situation was escalating. But there was no need for me to feel sorry.
I ignored those expressions and joined Yeosangwoo and Gwak Jindo’s conversation.
“There’s really nothing we can do right now. We just move according to how they react, isn’t that right, Jujunim?”
“That’s right.”
Yeosangwoo smiled warmly. I looked out the window. Just as we were gathering here to talk, the people of Hyeongsan were surely gathering to talk as well.
Ong So-hu came here to meet Hyeongsan’s Elders within the Hwanggeum Family. Given today’s situation, they would gather quickly to discuss their stance.
And soon, we would hear their decisions. The people of Biyeon-gak were attaching trackers to the Elders one by one.
Now, we were no longer being watched—we were watching.
***
A guesthouse in Namchang. Usually, the first floor would be lively with customers drinking, but it was quiet now.
That was because the people in this room had rented the entire guesthouse for the day. They urgently needed a quiet space to talk.
They were Ong So-hu and the Hyeongsan people who were spies in the Hwanggeum Family. Of course, they had been summoned by Ong So-hu.
“Such a treacherous act.”
One of the Elders banged the table with his fist.
Ong So-hu tried to look sorrowful. The Elders had just heard about the deaths of Ong Mungyu and the Samdae Jeja today. Of course, those were fabricated stories by Ong So-hu.
Although it was an absurd tale that Gwak Jindo suddenly jumped out and killed Ong Mungyu and the Samdae Jeja, the Elders couldn’t help but believe Ong So-hu’s words. They couldn’t imagine Ong So-hu ordering a massacre for his own honor.
“We must resolve this as soon as possible. If this reaches Father, it will bring great disaster upon us.”
The atmosphere darkened at Ong So-hu’s words. The Hyeongsan Elders also sensed it. If today’s incident reached Hyeongsan’s ears, Ong Jinsu would face severe repercussions.
Calling their move a treacherous act was useless for Ong Jinsu. The death of Hyeongsan’s Yangsaja within the Hwanggeum Family was itself a grave insult to Hyeongsanpa, and someone had to take responsibility.
The only way to alleviate that responsibility was for Ong Jinsu to achieve a big success before he found out.
“The immediate concern is Gwak Jindo and the other forces. They are probably the external supervisors who came in from outside. If we eliminate them, this will be easy.”
Ong So-hu’s words widened the Elders’ eyes. They began to realize what Ong So-hu was trying to say.
“You mean…”
“Yes. We have to form an alliance with Jusampa.”
Ong So-hu was decisive. He had a reason to end this quickly.
Of course, it was a pity to give up years of plotting to monopolize, but Jusampa wouldn’t want the Hwanggeum Family’s power to grow and be taken away again.
“Even if we have to push out the Hwanggeum Family’s forces and break ties with Jusampa, we must ally. There could be another force like Cheonjuseong coming in again. Nobody can say for sure.”
At Ong So-hu’s passionate speech, the Elders exchanged glances.
Anything concerning the Hwanggeum Family was under Ong So-hu’s command. They had no choice but to follow his lead.
“Then we will send our gods from Jusampa.”
“As soon as possible.”
Thus, Hyeongsanpa’s people continued their meeting. They paid no attention to the masked people above the guesthouse.
***
Myung Jaehee informed us of the alliance between Hyeongsanpa and Jusampa. Yeosangwoo, Yang Cheolmok, and Gwak Jindo all showed concern simultaneously.
While Murim Alliance could send warriors to block even just Hyeongsanpa, including Jusampa made the odds overwhelmingly against us.
“…For now, let’s have Murim Alliance’s people handle the Jusampa warriors. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
“And what about Hyeongsanpa’s people?”
“We’ll take care of them.”
At my words, Gwak Jindo gave a dry laugh. It was a laugh that said, ‘Are you serious?’
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
“No matter what, we have to make it possible.”
“With just our level of bodyguards?”
“Well, we’ve improved somewhat.”
After the loss of Cheonjuseong, many changes were happening in the Samga. The bodyguards were one of them.
Now, Gwak Jindo had intervened and selected fairly competent bodyguards. They were first-rate, but still much better than the useless flunkies before.
Of course, as Gwak Jindo said, it would be tough to face Hyeongsan without further progress—if we only relied on our current Mugong.
“I wonder how things will go once we face Hyeongsanpa’s Mugong.”
“Do you even know what Hyeongsanpa’s Mugong is?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
As I said that, I opened the Yeongongbu section. Inside were Myung Jaehee and three others. Naturally, they were the Samdae Jeja of Hyeongsanpa.
It was easy to persuade them. They had no loyalty to the sect that abandoned them.
Gwak Jindo squinted his eyes as he looked at them and said to me.
“Could it be that what I’m thinking is right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you kept them alive to reinforce your Mugong.”
“That’s partly true.”
At my words, Gwak Jindo suddenly shouted.
“Do you mean to say you’re going to create Mugong that counters Hyeongsanpa’s Mugong? Do you know how difficult making Mugong is? I myself almost lost my mind making the Igungcheonroe Sword Technique…”
“It’s okay. I can do it.”
Of course, modifying Mugong and creating Mugong from scratch were completely different matters.
But I felt like I could do it. My Sangdanjeon was a friend more competent than I had imagined.
Ignoring Gwak Jindo’s rant, I stepped forward and slapped the shoulders of the Samdae Jeja of Hyeongsanpa.
“Let’s gain some insight into Mugong.”