Chapter 92 : Chapter 92
Chapter 92: No Room for Choice
I had told the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter that a husband and wife are one, but it turned out the family was one.
However, there was no time to think deeply about Taebok's filial piety.
“Waaaaah!”
“We won!”
“We annihilated the Demonic Cult bastards!”
Cheers erupted.
All sorts of beasts lay fallen thickly across the entire battlefield.
On the other hand, the diners, clan warriors, and Beggar's Gang members raised both hands in jubilation.
The Demonic Cult members, whose formations had collapsed, were defeated individually. They fought fiercely by rampaging their demonic arts, but from the moment the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter died, the tide of battle was already decided.
“Sword Hero!”
Jang Gangcheon appeared.
His clothes were already filthy, with blood splattered here and there.
“Brother Jang should prepare a clean set of clothes.”
“Argh!”
“How about a pristine white silk robe? Might as well change your alias to White-Clothed Beggar while you're at it.”
“Stop it!”
Though he groaned in distress at the teasing, he asked urgently, as if unable to contain his curiosity.
“Sword Hero, was what you said earlier true?”
“What do you mean?”
“That you're a secret inspector of the Murim Alliance.”
“Oh.”
I thought no one had heard, but Jang Gangcheon had caught it amid the chaos.
“It was just arbitrary boasting.”
After saying that, I tilted my head to myself.
Somehow, this explanation felt a bit lacking.
There seemed to be a specific phrase for times like this.
“Hm. I sowed some seeds on my own.”
Jang Gangcheon's mouth gaped open.
“Sowed seeds...?”
“That's right.”
“And you were selling out the Alliance Leader?”
“That too.”
I'd rolled around like that before, so selling a name or two should be fine, right?
Come to think of it, had my paternity leave been approved? It probably had.
“But there's no reward for sowing those seeds.”
I looked around the battlefield again.
“With the Demonic Cult members annihilated like this, I was worried their eyes might focus too much on me, so I said that.”
“Ah, so that's what it was.”
Suddenly, Jang Gangcheon's eyes gleamed.
“If that's the reason, leave it to us!”
“To the Beggar's Gang?”
He nodded vigorously.
“Exactly! Rumors from inside the manor don't leak out anyway. We just need to spread them within the Beggar's Gang. That an unnamed secret inspector of the Murim Alliance felled the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter. How about it?”
“Unnamed.”
That was a good idea.
Better than me being a secret inspector? I wouldn't even need to be revealed.
“The Beggar's Gang gathers information but also spreads it. If we put our minds to it and blow the mouth trumpet, it'll spread across the world in three days. The reputation of Alliance Leader Hwangbo will only rise further.”
“Keuk keuk keuk, since I've caused the Alliance Leader some trouble, that sounds good too.”
“Then it's settled. No one escaped this battlefield, so it'll be perfect.”
“Ha ha hat. Brother Jang, there's no such thing as perfect control. One got away.”
“What?”
I'd been scanning the battlefield since earlier, but among the dead beasts, the white-haired old man was nowhere to be seen.
Han Sanha.
He had colluded with the Demonic Cult but was not a Demonic Cult member who had learned demonic arts.
Rather than fighting to the end, he must have seized the chance to hurl himself into the burrow.
“Then what do we do? Shouldn't we catch him?”
“Don't worry. Three are over there.”
“Hm? Well, the Sword Hero must have another plan.”
“Let's say so.”
At that moment, the Rogues' Guild Leader approached us, leaning on his staff.
He seemed to have regained a bit of energy after dozing off briefly earlier. Of course, his body was far from recovered.
Jayeong tried to support him from the side, but he extended a hand to stop her.
“Hold the baby properly. Don't let our pretty nephew fall.”
“I'm holding him well. Better than you, brother-in-law.”
There's no way he'd fall.
Your nephew can fly, he flies.
Just now, he unleashed a fearsome hidden weapon because someone touched his mother, who is a martial arts master.
If such a hidden weapon came flying, I'd dodge, but brother-in-law would get hit.
A lot rose to my throat, but I swallowed it tightly.
I should tell brother-in-law at an appropriate time, but not here.
“Brother-in-law, thank you. How should I repay this grace.”
“What grace between family.”
“Is that so.”
“But there will be many things you need to do for my nephew from now on.”
“Hm? Of course I'll cherish my nephew. What are you saying.”
Not just to that degree, I think.
I just smiled faintly.
Jang Gangcheon waited beside us, watching the family reunion, then stepped forward and clasped his hands toward the Rogues' Guild Leader.
“Divine Fist Beggar Jang Gangcheon of the Beggar's Gang pays respects to the Rogues' Guild Leader.”
“I am Yeom Gasang, Rogues' Guild Leader. Pleased to meet you.”
The Beggar's Gang and Rogues' Guild seemed to overlap in their areas of activity but did not.
Beggars and commoners lived on the streets together, but what they did was entirely different.
But in this place, it was different.
“Divine Fist Beggar, I've heard much that you're the foremost among the Beggar's Gang's rising stars. Thank you for stepping up in this matter.”
“No, no. How could I not step up against the Demonic Cult, a public enemy of the martial world? It's only natural for any White Path martial artist.”
Even those who usually eyed each other like cow and chicken would join forces before a common enemy.
It was the Demonic Cult that made the Beggar's Gang and Rogues' Guild like that.
“If the Demonic Cult had seized this place, it would have been a blade right at the Beggar's Gang's throat.”
“If more time had passed, I too would have fallen into the Demonic Cult's hands. Probably wouldn't have died well.”
Jang Gangcheon and the Rogues' Guild Leader nodded at each other.
Then.
They both turned toward me.
“Hm?”
“Brother-in-law, no, Ink Sword Hero. Thank you once more. This is gratitude not as your brother-in-law but as Rogues' Guild Leader.”
“Sword Hero, thank you. The Beggar's Gang has received grace this time too.”
The two clasped their hands toward me at the same time.
“The Rogues' Guild aside, what grace for the Beggar's Gang? Because you could capture Kaifeng's Demonic Cult members?”
“That's not it. Do you remember we retrieved documents from the underground burrow beneath Madam Jeong's residence?”
The burrow where Madam Jeong had collapsed had burning furnishings. Among them, we obtained documents from one desk.
“We concealed them in various ways so they wouldn't be noticed, but Grand Elder with Divine Ear succeeded in deciphering. Thanks to that, we found the traitor. He's merely a three-knot beggar now, but he had good resourcefulness and was one the Grand Elder used.”
Then I understood why Jang Gangcheon was grateful.
It was good.
The Beggar's Gang's traitor could join other conspiracies later. Sorting him out now meant at least the main branch of the Beggar's Gang could rest easy.
“The Rogues' Guild will help with anything the Ink Sword Hero desires. This vow will not change until the waters of the Yangtze run dry.”
“The Beggar's Gang will help with anything the Sword Hero desires. The beggars of the world will become eyes and ears for the Sword Hero.”
The two's clasped hands turned toward me.
Then I had no choice but to return the courtesy fully.
To those who show me courtesy, I too would show courtesy as in the past.
“Ink Sword Hero Jin Yeomyeong thanks you both for your goodwill. I too will become a friend of the Rogues' Guild and Beggar's Gang, and will not betray this righteousness.”
We bowed deeply toward each other and rose.
By then, the cleanup of the battlefield and evacuation of the wounded had all finished.
The gathered people surrounded the three of us.
Tomorrow, it would end with an unnamed Murim Alliance secret inspector having beheaded the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter.
But in this place alone.
“Praise the righteous sword of the Great Ink Sword Hero! Ink Sword Hero Jin Yeomyeong beheaded the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter and saved Kaifeng's famed families!”
“The Great Ink Sword Hero exterminated Kaifeng's Demonic Cult members! He saved us from the crisis of the Beggar's Gang losing face!”
“The Ink Sword Hero's ink-black sword shines in Kaifeng!”
Whoooong-, I swung Mukheun once to respond to everyone's cheers.
The cheers infused with the martial artists' inner power filled every direction.
This cheering would echo beyond the residence, throughout the manor, and spread across all of Kaifeng.
The conspiracy had been crushed.
* * *
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Han Sanha kept looking back even as he ran with breaths catching at his jaw.
The passed burrow was as dark as if to swallow him.
Jin Yeomyeong's martial arts far exceeded expectations.
That Lord of Heavenly Slaughter had died. The Water Demon's sworn brother had died. Not to a joint strike or formation, but simply in battle.
“Jin Yeomyeong, that guy went that far...”
Were the things heard from Luoyang accomplished based on that martial arts.
If he had been the Rogues' Guild Leader, he could have accessed more related information. As it was, Kaifeng alone had its limits. That's why he couldn't be satisfied. Being the branch head of just one city didn't fill him.
“Urk, but now what to do....”
The Lord of Heavenly Slaughter's contemptuous gaze came to mind.
Now that his face and name were revealed, how could he remain in the Rogues' Guild.
If not the Rogues' Guild, he was nothing more than an ordinary martial artist, not even entrusted with one city.
Nothing was left.
No, now he would be pursued by the Rogues' Guild.
The Demonic Cult might also pursue Han Sanha and make him pay for the failure.
He had no place to go in this world.
He would be dragged to either the Rogues' Guild or Demonic Cult and meet death.
“Or not?”
Suddenly, one escape route came to mind in Han Sanha's head.
Information.
Yes, information.
The Demonic Cult's beast veins would want to know about the battle inside the manor.
Wouldn't they be curious who beheaded the Water Demon's sworn brother.
This was also a matter of the Water Demon's face.
If he lost a sworn brother and didn't even know who the enemy was, he couldn't lift his head before the other demon heads.
For the Water Demon who claimed to be Demon King, it was quite a loss of face.
“Yes. It's Jin Yeomyeong, Jin Yeomyeong.”
He just needed to shift all blame to that guy.
No, it was that guy's responsibility from the start.
He suddenly appeared in Kaifeng where things were going well and ruined both the seizure of the noble clans and the Rogues' Guild Leader matter.
With the Lord of Heavenly Slaughter and his close aides all dead there, the Water Demon's side wouldn't know what relation Iron Bead and Jin Yeomyeong had with the Rogues' Guild Leader.
He should inform them of that too.
Moreover.
“What was it he said? Alliance's secret inspector?”
That guy was a secret inspector of the Murim Alliance.
It was a bit strange thinking about it, but it didn't matter. He had to be a secret inspector.
Let it be that Jin Yeomyeong stepped up and ruined everything.
All responsibility to Jin Yeomyeong.
After making this report, borrow the Demonic Cult's power to change his face and voice, then infiltrate the Rogues' Guild again.
And rise again. This time even more secretly.
Up to the Guild Leader's side.
Then, at the decisive moment, the curved sword to that throat.
“Heh heh heh heh. Then first, I should go far away. To the south. Zhejiang or Jiangsu.”
Start from a warmer place.
He heard minnow hotpot was famous there; wonder what it tastes like.
But.
“Zhejiang? Jiangsu?”
A voice came from ahead.
“Wh-who is it!”
Han Sanha's heart sank.
Fwoosh, torches lit up, revealing two people.
“Pao Zhangliang! Du Xuewei!”
Usually the dumpling vendor Pao and chef Du, now the Pao Elder and Du Elder of the Rogues' Guild appeared.
Pao Zhangliang nodded toward Han Sanha.
“The Sword Hero said to investigate without revealing identities to the end. That was right.”
“The straightforward Sword Hero has become so meticulous these days?”
“Indeed. Thanks to that, we run into the traitor like this. Heh heh heh.”
Before Jin Yeomyeong entered Kaifeng, the elders had dismounted the carriage, disguised themselves separately, and scattered.
Avoiding the eyes of Rogues' Guild members was extremely difficult, but as elders, they could manage it.
Jin Yeomyeong had not let go of his suspicions toward Han Sanha.
He had told the elders exactly that: keep an eye on Han Sanha's surroundings.
Pao Zhangliang and Du Xuewei looked at each other's faces, then at Han Sanha.
This time, Du Xuewei spoke.
“What will you do? You brought the curved sword without discarding it. Will you fight us?”
Shing.
A short, wide kitchen knife emerged from Du Xuewei's hand.
With that knife, he filleted beef, pork, lamb points, and even enemy flesh.
Clack clack.
Several iron dumplings clashed in Pao Zhangliang's hand.
He threw those iron dumplings like light hidden weapons, embedding them in enemies' skulls.
“Ah, no....”
Han Sanha's curved sword couldn't oppose those two elders.
“Look... that's not...”
“Hm. Pao Elder, this fellow doesn't seem to want to fight?”
“Looks that way. Shall we just let him go?”
Let him go?
To the bewildered Han Sanha who couldn't comprehend, Du Xuewei shouted.
“If you're going to charge, do it quick! Otherwise, get lost!”
“...?”
“What are you doing!”
“!”
There was no time to hesitate.
If he charged, he'd die.
Whatever their scheme, weren't they telling him to pass.
“Hah!”
Han Sanha protected himself with the curved sword and kicked off the ground.
He flew between Pao Elder and Du Elder. They did not try to grab Han Sanha.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Han Sanha kept looking back at the two in the burrow while running forward.
What was it.
Laxity.
Or sending him to track the Demonic Cult.
Either way, it didn't matter.
Once out of the burrow, he would use all means to hide-
“Huh.”
The panting breath stopped in an instant.
His body craved air, but fear gripped his throat, making him unable to breathe.
In the darkness.
A man standing hazily.
“....”
Even within the Rogues' Guild, that man was not well revealed.
Because he spoke little and met people rarely, his presence was extremely faint.
But those who committed crimes could not forget him.
“Discipline Elder... Undertaker Yang Samhae...”
The elder who executed punishments on sinners.
Yang Samhae untied his tool belt and threw it to the ground.
Rattle.
The various tools in the tool belt clashed, making noise.
Tools for cutting and stitching corpses,
And also tools for dismantling enemies alive.
“Ugh... ugh... no...”
Yang Samhae, who had only listened to Han Sanha's words, finally opened his mouth.
“No need to choose.”
As he said that, he bent down toward the tool belt on the ground.
When he stood again, he held a pair of scissors with a saw blade.
“You'll experience them all anyway.”