Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95: Who Is That
“What? He returned to Luoyang?”
Hwangbo Daejin raised his voice.
He had stayed up all night in Luoyang to wrap up the inspection and then came straight to Kaifeng.
It was a schedule that would make even a martial artist feel fatigued.
Yet the Ink Sword Hero Jin Yeomyeong had returned to Luoyang, as if playing hide-and-seek.
“Then why did he come here!”
“That's what's strange.”
His capable subordinates all tilted their heads at once.
“First, he sold toothbrushes.”
“Toothbrushes?”
“Clean teeth, clean martial arts, Golden Cloud Toothbrush with the Ink Sword Hero.”
“What. That catchy phrase that sticks in your ears?”
“It's called advertising. Thanks to that, apparently in Kaifeng now, the Luoyang Golden Cloud Trading Company's toothbrushes, tooth powder, and tooth floss are selling like hotcakes.”
At the completely unexpected report, Hwangbo Daejin tilted his head.
“He came to do business?”
“Then, he got hired as an instructor at the noble clan's residential complex in Kaifeng.”
“Hired as an instructor? What does that mean. Alliance members are prohibited from holding concurrent positions.”
They could potentially use their Alliance member status for corruption.
That was why concurrent positions were prohibited for Alliance members as a principle, and only with the Alliance Leader's approval in absolutely necessary cases could they hold them.
“But he openly revealed himself and got hired.”
“If he got hired as an instructor, did he teach martial arts?”
“What he actually did was treat the students.”
“....”
It was getting more and more confusing.
If he taught martial arts, that would be understandable. But what treatment?
There was no mention in the Murim Alliance's personnel documents that the Ink Sword Hero was skilled in medicine.
“Shall we go find out?”
“No. Noble clan complexes in any city are wary of outsiders.”
“But, they've been holding a recent open district event.”
“Huh, the noble families of Kaifeng must have an open family tradition. Then let's go take a look.”
However, there was something more important than investigating the Ink Sword Hero's medical skills.
The inspection.
He had to meet the Ink Sword Hero and inspect the full details of the Luoyang incident.
“If he became an instructor, he must intend to settle in Kaifeng? He brought his whole family, so probably.”
“He retired.”
“Retired? After just a few days of work?”
“Yes.”
“He probably didn't even receive his monthly salary.”
“Well, he received a reward and loaded gold and silver onto a carriage.”
“?!”
The surprised Hwangbo Daejin cast his gaze toward the Kaifeng castle.
What on earth had he done so well in just a few days to receive that much reward.
“Whew. Let's go in. It seems there are many things we need to find out.”
“Yes.”
“Stop by the branch, and go ask the Beggar's Gang too.”
“Yes!”
Hwangbo Daejin had no idea that a fake rumor from the Beggar's Gang was waiting for him.
.
.
And.
Another Hwangbo was sitting in his seat right now with an unpleasant mood.
“Alliance Leader. Will you keep postponing the punishment for Hwangbo Gak?”
It was none other than the Murim Alliance Leader Hwangbo Gihyeok.
He was now receiving protests from an elder from the Namgung Clan.
The elders lined up before him now were all those dissatisfied with the Hwangbo Clan's influence.
The friendly elders had clearly been deliberately excluded.
It was a petty trick.
Chief Military Strategist Soon Yeong opened his mouth in place of the Alliance Leader.
“We have already dispatched an inspector. Once his investigation results arrive, we will surely impose the appropriate punishment, so why are you in such a hurry?”
“In a hurry? You said in a hurry?”
“Isn't that so?”
“It's the remnants of the Demonic Cult. It's said that a clan member colluded with the Demonic Cult remnants!”
The elder from the Namgung Clan put the essence of the situation into words.
From then on, elders from other clans or sects added their words one after another.
“How can you not prioritize this matter. Rather, it's already late.”
“Immeasurable mercy. The Demonic Cult can be called the great enemy of this Alliance.”
“The colluder is not just any simple clan member. He is the branch head of one city and-”
Branch head and.
The elders looked at each other and continued the latter part.
“He is someone from the Alliance Leader's own clan whom the Alliance Leader personally appointed, isn't he.”
Thud.
One word was fired toward the Alliance Leader.
It was said that someone from the clan whom he personally appointed had colluded with the Demonic Cult.
There was no better way to shake the Alliance Leader.
Silence hung in the office for a moment.
“Well, well.”
The one who broke the silence was an elder from the Sima Clan.
“The atmosphere seems a bit overheated.”
He looked at the other elders with a benevolent smile.
As if soothing them and temporarily taking the Alliance Leader's side.
However.
Chief Military Strategist Soon Yeong was not fooled.
Vile usurper bloodline, he muttered inwardly and waited for the elders' next words.
“Then, Elder Sima, are you saying it's fine to postpone this matter?”
When one elder threw a question, Elder Sima waved his hand.
“How could that be. I'm just saying, as the Chief Military Strategist said, we cannot impose punishment without waiting for the inspection results. Isn't that so?”
It was words invoking principle.
Soon Yeong was convinced inwardly.
Now it was time for what they really wanted to come out.
“But there is such concern. We cannot leave the successor branch head of Luoyang vacant-”
Personnel authority.
They were stepping into personnel authority.
A gap had arisen in the personnel authority that the Alliance Leader had exercised almost entirely based on achievements until now.
They were trying to intervene right away in the appointment of the successor Luoyang branch head.
“Indeed!”
One elder clapped his hands and took up Elder Sima's words.
“Since Hwangbo Gak committed such an outrage, the Hwangbo Clan cannot be the successor branch head. The Alliance members who are already shaken, what would they think inwardly if they saw a branch head from the Hwangbo Clan. That would not be a measure to soothe the hearts of the Alliance members.”
“Indeed. You speak well.”
“Wise judgment.”
The elders pushed and pulled each other's opinions, tightening around the Alliance Leader.
Soon Yeong observed the Alliance Leader.
A face with no emotions showing, as always.
But Soon Yeong felt that he did not want to yield here.
It was his turn.
“You speak of Demonic Cult remnants.”
To those using the Demonic Cult as a pretext, likewise with the Demonic Cult as pretext.
“Have you not heard of the beheading of the one called Lord of Heavenly Slaughter from the Demonic Cult's beast meridians?”
The Beggar's Gang's news had spread quickly across the world.
It had not even taken a day to reach Hubei, where the Murim Alliance headquarters was located.
That news was this.
“The secret inspector appointed by the Alliance Leader has established such merit.”
So.
The fake news requested by Jin Yeomyeong had entered the Murim Alliance headquarters.
“The elders must have all heard it. Or did you hear but deliberately not mention it? Since someone personally appointed by the Alliance Leader has established merit in subjugating the Demonic Cult.”
Soon Yeong quickly scanned the elders' faces. A slight look of dismay was evident.
Why had they come in such a rush.
Because the more merit those appointed by the Alliance Leader established, the more the influence of the Hwangbo Gak incident faded.
If merits in subjugating the Demonic Cult kept piling up, it would become difficult to shake the Alliance Leader with the Hwangbo Gak incident.
So they had come in haste.
“But.”
The elder from the Namgung Clan interjected with a suspicious voice.
“What is this secret inspector? You operated an inspector secretly even from us?”
As expected, they were not easy.
If he agreed with that, it would be treating the elders with contempt, and if he denied it, the existence of the inspector itself would disappear.
“No. There was intelligence on Demonic Cult remnants, so we hastily appointed a nearby expert as a secret inspector and infiltrated. In a situation racing against time, such improvisation was unavoidable, wasn't it.”
“Hm.”
Soon Yeong was no different in not being easy.
He had preserved the existence of the secret inspector while also making it an unavoidable display of flexibility.
The elders trying to use the Hwangbo Gak incident.
The Chief Military Strategist trying to minimize the influence of that incident.
“....”
“....”
Silence flowed briefly between the two sides.
Neither side opened their mouth rashly first.
“Elders.”
Then, the Alliance Leader, who rarely spoke as usual, started.
And the words that followed were enough to disconcert the elders.
“I have not considered someone from the Hwangbo Clan for the successor branch head of Luoyang.”
“Hm? Even if not necessarily the Hwangbo Clan, if it's someone from a close clan, it would be the same in the end.”
“Not someone from a close clan either.”
“Then who did you have in mind?”
The Alliance Leader slowly looked around at the elders and put one name in his mouth.
“Gong Pil-sang.”
The shock that name gave was tremendous.
“...Who?”
“Who is it?”
“Gong what?”
“First time hearing it?”
Soon Yeong was also extremely surprised, but he pretended to be calm on the outside.
Gong Pil-sang?
Wasn't he someone whose martial arts were mediocre, whose capacity was narrow, and who had no particular reputation in the Luoyang martial world.
Of course, he had the advantage of being familiar to the Alliance members of the Luoyang branch, but that alone was not enough for a branch head position.
Moreover, there were reports that he put more effort into flattery than branch affairs.
He had been like that even with Hwangbo Gak-
Hm?
Flattery?
Suddenly, he imagined Gong Pil-sang flattering the Alliance Leader.
- He he he het, Alliance Leader. You are wise. I am simply in admiration. He he he het.
It fit too well.
Soon Yeong smiled with satisfaction.
He was someone without power and manipulable.
Alliance Leader, you are truly wise.
He opened his mouth vigorously.
“Indeed. He is without flaw for taking the branch head position.”
There were many flaws, but he decided to let it pass.
“No, I mean, who the hell is that.”
“Gong what? Gong Sang-pil?”
“Someone capable?”
Soon Yeong nodded with a smile.
“He is the deputy branch head of Luoyang, and the one who established merit in the recent Luoyang Black Path subjugation and the pursuit of Hwangbo Gak.”
Only then did the elders understand.
“Ah! The deputy branch head of Luoyang? The one who held onto Hwangbo Gak until the Luoyang martial artists came charging in?”
Even though Jin Yeomyeong had told him to hide, he went to the branch for something and nearly died needlessly to Hwangbo Gak.
“And after Hwangbo Gak fell, wasn't he the first to step forward and proclaim the justice of that matter?”
He had sided with Jin Yeomyeong, overcome with emotion.
“So his name was Gong Sang-pil.”
It was just Gong Pil-sang.
The Alliance Leader concluded.
“He would be appropriate for tidying up the Luoyang branch. What do you think, elders?”
The elders' gazes went back and forth.
What about this Gong Pil-sang.
Since he had helped expose the wrongdoing of the Hwangbo Clan, he would not become close to the Hwangbo Clan.
Yet he did not have separate fame or have formed his own power.
He was just right for the elders to approach.
At a glance, it seemed like the Alliance Leader's compromise.
It would hurt his face to appoint someone the elders recommended, so he appoints himself, but in the form of seating someone the elders would be satisfied with.
In the end, the elders nodded.
“The Alliance Leader's judgment is extremely wise. The steadfastness and sense of justice that did not yield to his superior branch head. A fine person.”
“Indeed. Gong Sang-pil, he seems like he would do well.”
“Wasn't it Gong Pil-sang? Whatever, it doesn't matter.”
“What matters is that he would do well, heh heh heh.”
Soon the elders observed formalities and left.
In the place they left, only empty praises piled up.
“Soon Yeong.”
Only then did the Alliance Leader call the Chief Military Strategist.
“Alliance Leader, that was truly an excellent move. That Gong Pil-sang is not someone who could defy the Alliance Leader.”
“Hm. That matter is that matter.”
“Yes?”
“But you see.”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever appointed a secret inspector with prior approval?”
“No.”
Soon Yeong's expression became strange.
“Wasn't it appointed by the Alliance Leader?”
“I have never done such a thing.”
“...Yes?”
The mouth of the Chief Military Strategist, who knew the affairs of the world like the palm of his hand, gaped open.
And the eyes of the Alliance Leader, who showed no emotional fluctuation, wandered idly in the air.
Then who on earth was that?
.
.
“Ait, why this sudden chill.”
Gong Pil-sang shivered.
He had been fine until just now, but suddenly a cold wave hit.
Both ears were itching fiercely too.
“Someone talking about me?”
If it was someone who put him in their mouth and at the same time made him shudder.
He suddenly jumped up and looked around.
“The Ink Sword Hero? Ink Sword Hero, are you here?”
Even as he did, he found it absurd himself.
Hadn't he gone to Kaifeng.
With his whole family.
There was no way he would be here-
“That me?”
“Kkieeek!”
Jin Yeomyeong's voice was heard.