The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Before coming to the Gentleman's Academy, Yang Gwan had stopped by the government office with Jang So-gil. Jang So-gil had said it was nothing special at the time. But thinking back, he had already reported it then.

"No, then why are they coming so late? If they had come right away, there would have been no danger!"

"Well, these damn bastards are escorts. They make a living crossing mountains, swimming rivers, traversing fields, and exploring caves. Do you think it would be so easy to arrest them if they were determined to run away? We have to prepare in advance to catch every last one of them."

"...You are truly meticulous."

"Of course. Do you think I prepared this in a day or two? It took a whole half a year. After preparing so much, I can't let it all go to waste."

Jang So-gil snorted, and even Yang Gwan had nothing to say.

He just felt a shred of sympathy for Lee Deokryang, who had been deceived by this mad dog swindler.

As Yang Gwan watched them with pity, their reactions were varied.

There were those who vomited blood and suffered from the side effects of the Demon God Pill, and those who spat out congested blood and swallowed their anger.

There were those who blamed Lee Deokryang and Wang Yi, shifting the responsibility, and there were also those who committed suicide in a state of despair. The most numerous were those who tried to escape by breaking walls, windows, or doors.

"Receive your bonds-!"

"Don't let a single one escape!"

"Form a line! Not a single ant should come out of the escort agency and the martial arts hall!"

"You may use killing moves on those who move!"

The attempt was futile. The constables of the government office had already finished all their preparations during the time Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan had bought them. The net of fire was dense, and the commander was calm. With arrows, spears, nets, and traps mobilized, the escorts of the Hakseo Escort Agency, who were groaning from the side effects of the Demon God Pill, had no way to resist.

Yang Gwan looked at Lee Deokryang as if he were pathetic. His neat appearance was gone, and in its place was a demon with disheveled hair and blood-red eyes.

"To have a title like the Willow Calming Sword, you must have cultivated deeply. It's a shame things turned out like this."

"Aaaaaaaaargh-!"

What's the point of talking to someone who has lost their reason to anger? Lee Deokryang swung his sword like a beast, without a hint of the subtlety of the Willow Sword. He didn't even seem to see Yang Gwan, rushing at Jang So-gil like a mad ox or horse. The sword of a beast is fleeting. Yang Gwan's spear pierced his chest all too easily.

"May you find peace in the next life."

"Peace in the next life? For a bastard like him, peace in the next life is a luxury."

As Jang So-gil grumbled, Yang Gwan gave a bitter smile.

With Lee Deokryang's death, the escorts' escape accelerated even more.

Escorts were fleeing in all directions and being captured. There was nothing for Yang Gwan to do here.

He knew it was time to dot the eyes of the dragon Jang So-gil had drawn.

"Then what should I do now?"

"We need to find, create, and cross-reference the evidence to expose their corruption, and even after that, there's no end to the work. But your job is done here. Just do this one last thing for me."

"This is?"

What he threw was a yellowed contract. Yang Gwan furrowed his brow as if he didn't understand.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Give it to the owner of the inn we were at earlier."

"What is this?"

"As you can see, it's a contract. A contract written after the ruffians of the Hakseo Escort Agency dueled with the innkeeper's son. An illegal contract full of ridiculous poison clauses."

"They wrote something like this?"

As he asked without relaxing his expression, Jang So-gil also furrowed his brow.

"It's quite a hassle to explain the circumstances, so I'll just give you the gist. A woman was the cause of a fight between the ruffians of the Hakseo Escort Agency and the innkeeper's son, but it turned out that it was all a scheme and the woman was a person from the Hakseo Escort Agency."

"Hah."

"Not knowing that, he dueled in the name of love, but ended up getting beaten to a pulp and signing a ridiculous contract. Wang Yi is quite smart. It was a good trap."

"Ha, they really do all sorts of things."

"If the innkeeper's son had been just a commoner, it would have been a fraudulent contract forced by intimidation, so it should have had no real effect, but unfortunately, he was also a man who had eaten his share of sword-rice. Since it was a matter between martial artists and the martial world, the authorities couldn't intervene. So I promised to solve it for him. Now, if you take this to the owner, the promise is fulfilled. I've finally earned my keep."

"I see... Huh? Something's strange."

Yang Gwan, who had been nodding his head, felt a sense of unease. He pondered with a groan and soon realized the source of the unease.

"When we first met, didn't you say you had already solved the case and were using the inn?"

"Ah, ah. That? You're sharp."

"The order doesn't match, does it!? You said you had solved the case and were using the inn, so why are you solving it now?"

"Well, that's..."

Jang So-gil grinned.

"I lied to you a little."

"You lied?"

"Well, we met after a long time, and if you saw me with nothing accomplished, wouldn't you be quite disappointed? You wouldn't even think of trusting and following me. If you saw a master with no money and nothing, it's obvious you'd think, 'I'll end up with nothing if I follow this bastard!' So I mixed in a few lies. And then you thought, 'Wow, Guild Master So is still capable. I won't be ruined if I follow him!' and followed me, didn't you? If the result is good, then it's good. Hahaha."

"..."

"Eating for free at the inn is one thing for a day or two. Anyway, I felt so self-conscious, I was in trouble."

As he giggled, Yang Gwan flared up in anger.

"Guild Master So! How could you lie to me too?!"

"You knew very well that I was a swindler, didn't you? And I must have always said it, right? The one who gets tricked is the bad one."

"Guild Master Sooooo-!!! The one who tricks is the bad one, how can you say such a thing so calmly!?"

"Giggle giggle. I'll listen to your complaints later, so hurry up and return that contract to the owner. He must be waiting with his neck stretched out."

Yang Gwan, with a thick vein on his forehead, scowled, flared his nostrils, and left the martial arts hall. Was it a sign of protest? The sound of his footsteps was also loud and clunky. Even while grumbling and shouting like that, he would eventually do what he was told. That sight, like a foolish ox, made Jang So-gil clutch his stomach and laugh. Then he wiped the laughter from his face and muttered coldly.

"Now, it's time to gut the fat golden pig."

* * *

The strategist, Sama Hwi, who faced the messenger from the government office and the contact sent by Jang So-gil at the same time, dropped his fan and muttered blankly.

"Is he crazy?"

He was definitely crazy.

He had nonchalantly dragged in the authorities as if the absolute rule of non-aggression between the government and the martial world was of no concern to him.

"In Luoyang. Of all places, to do something like this in Luoyang."

The three major cities under heaven were Beijing, Chang'an, and Luoyang.

Beijing was where the emperor resided, so it could be called the center of the world. Chang'an was where all goods and merchants gathered, so it was the center of commerce, the center of money.

Then what was Luoyang? The headquarters of the Martial Alliance was in Luoyang. So Luoyang could be called the center of the martial world.

But the world belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and as one of the three major cities, Luoyang was a city where the emperor's authority was strong. So, just as the Martial Alliance's power was strong, the power of the authorities was also strong.

The two strong powers did not define each other as enemies. Rather, the government and the martial world were comrades in upholding the proposition of not invading each other's territory. Luoyang was like a symbol of the trust between the Martial Alliance and the imperial family. So, in Luoyang, this rule was strictly observed.

But that rule was broken by a young man of twenty. Gu Munryong burst out laughing and said.

"But it's not something we can just ignore, is it? As he said himself, since he is a commoner who has not learned martial arts, he has not broken the rule between the government and the martial world. There is nothing to find fault with."

"That is true, but..."

"Once he becomes an inspector, he will also be a martial artist. It is a bold scheme that made the most of his last value as a commoner. I think he should be praised, rather."

Sama Hwi's face contorted as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth.

Gu Munryong was right. It was not something he could have avoided getting involved in. Tax evasion of national taxes was indeed treason. If he had known about the treason and not reported it, he would have been guilty of aiding and abetting treason. Like any emperor, the Yongle Emperor, who had ascended the throne through unjust means, pathologically hated having his imperial authority infringed upon. If the Martial Alliance had been involved in treason, they would have seen the advance of the imperial army before the sun set that day. To put it very coldly, if one thought about the future, the act of involving the authorities could even be called wise.

"Even so, to deliberately create such a big scene, it's going too far."

"This method can't be used again anyway. He is now a martial artist, so he won't go running to the authorities. If he does, we can severely punish him then."

Sama Hwi closed his eyes. It was no use. This unconventional yet grand scheme concocted by the young man of twenty was too much to Gu Munryong's liking. He had taken an instant liking to So. It was highly likely that he would not listen to anything he said now.

"But we must address this point. Normally, even if we knew about the corruption and crimes of the Hakseo Escort Agency, we would have given them a period of guidance. We would have coaxed and soothed them with nice words, covered it up, and guided the situation to end well for both sides. That damn intentional embezzlement of national taxes is not treason if they voluntarily pay it!"

"Yes. If they just pay the money, it's not treason."

"The correct order is to first urge the Hakseo Escort Agency to pay the national taxes."

That was the general method, at least if Sama Hwi had handled it, he would have done so.

But this fellow named Jang So-gil's way of handling things was truly like a mad dog. He crashed in head-on, overturned everything, and dragged in the authorities to completely dismantle the Hakseo Escort Agency.

"The Hakseo Escort Agency is finished, finished. It's not just that they can't recover, they will disappear completely. Because it's treason."

Even if the Hakseo Escort Agency is investigated, they have no way to resist now. It's accounting fraud, deception, treason, and a secret meeting with the Demonic Cult. There is no way out. So now, the Hakseo Escort Agency is an ownerless mountain that can be taken as one pleases.

By now, the authorities and Jang So-gil must be sitting amicably at a table, dividing the spoils, saying, "I'll take this, you take that. Oh, how about the authorities take this golden toad? Is that so? Then you take this golden calf," laughing ha-ha-ho-ho.

"It will be no trouble for that fellow to fill the two thousand silver taels he promised."

On top of that, the fellow had come up with one more trick. The last crime committed by the Hakseo Escort Agency was the oppression and intimidation of the common people. That's right, Jang So-gil was also playing the role of a victim in this incident. The amount of money he would personally take as compensation would be enormous. It was a situation where whatever he demanded and scraped together would become compensation. On top of that, if he took one-tenth of the collected amount, he would become an enormous tycoon in an instant.

"In all my life, I have never seen such a crazy bastard, Alliance Lord. This fellow can draw a big picture and still take care of his own interests. Look. In the end, the Hakseo Escort Agency has disappeared. What does this mean! The Martial Alliance's power has weakened. Because the escort agency that was reliably handling things in Luoyang has disappeared. In the short term, there is a large profit, but in the long term, the tax revenue from the escort agency has completely disappeared. The number of martial artists has also decreased by that much!"

Sama Hwi, suppressing his anger, reached out for his fan. Then the fan flew on its own and was caught in his hand. It was the Void Grasping Technique, which showed his profound internal energy. But the fan soon slipped from Sama Hwi's grasp and flew into Gu Munryong's hand.

"So. What's so important about that?"

Gu Munryong released his killing intent without hiding it. Behind him, lightning flashed and a thunder dragon bared its fangs. It was a sight that only those who had reached the pinnacle of the unique martial art, the Thunder Cloud Divine Art, could show.

At that ferocious sight, which was only seen when fighting, Sama Hwi's legs trembled on their own.

"Alliance Lord?"

"You, have you gone mad because the peace has lasted too long?"

"Yes? What do you mean..."

"The Hakseo Escort Agency were fellows who committed irregularities in the middle of Luoyang. They even used the Demon God Pill, which is only used by the Demonic Cult. Fellows who use the Demon God Pill in the middle of Luoyang are now what? The Alliance's power? The Alliance's people? The tax revenue is decreasing? The proper order is to first investigate and question them about the Demonic Cult, but you're talking about money now?"

The color drained from Sama Hwi's face.

He immediately slammed his head on the floor and lowered his body.

"I'm sorry. This lowly one was short-sighted and made a slip of the tongue!"

"Aren't you the genius of the world, Sama Hwi? With that good head of yours, you make such a slip of the tongue? Is this a mistake?"

"Please kill me!"

"To me, you looked like a Demonic Cultist who naturally thinks of demons as his own people."

"Never! I was blinded by silver and momentarily lost my mind!"

Gu Munryong narrowed his eyes and stared at him, then quietly bent down and whispered in Sama Hwi's ear.

"You certainly supported the Martial Alliance by even using your private funds."

"That's... right."

"As you said, I will think that you made a mistake this one time because you were thinking about the silver and your principal, Strategist Sama."

"Th-thank you."

"Please, I hope you don't make a mistake in the future."

Gu Munryong straightened his back and looked out the window. A large full moon was floating in the sky.

He superimposed Jang So-gil onto that full moon and stroked his beard.

"Is it tomorrow that I get to meet the prodigy? I'm so excited I won't be able to sleep.”

(End of Chapter)