The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

A merchant assigns a value to everything.

Things that can be seen, things that exist, things that can be touched. And things that cannot.

Truly, they assign a value to all things in heaven and earth, whether tangible or intangible.

Although he didn't bother to tell Yang Gwan, Jang So-gil had already been mentally evaluating the merchants from the moment they came running to escape the rain.

Seventy percent. Merchants rushing to escape the rain.

The weather is something beyond the skill of man to know. So, if one were to rank them as high, medium, or low, they would be an ordinary 'medium'.

Ten percent. Merchants being chased by Green Forest bandits.

If they were being pursued by Green Forest bandits without even knowing the law of the Green Forest, they were without a doubt 'low' grade, not even worth mentioning.

Twenty percent. Merchants who fled from Yunnan.

If merchants who fled from Yunnan had now arrived in Hubei, then judging by the timing, it meant they had escaped almost simultaneously with the occurrence of the slaughter. That decisiveness and ability to act was definitely 'high' grade. The fact that she was young was also a huge advantage. If she possessed such abilities at that age, she would become an even better merchant with more experience. A top-of-the-top, the highest grade of merchant. A talent that must be recruited.

But Jang So-gil did not act rashly.

'A merchant's value is first, ability. Second is character. There are still many suspicious parts about her character.'

The reason Jang So-gil reserved his judgment was very simple. They were not saying anything right now. They were grateful for being allowed to escape the rain, having a simple meal with the food they had, applying wound medicine to minor injuries and wrapping them in bandages, and warming themselves by the fire. And then they were just holding their breath and recovering their stamina.

Perhaps Yang Gwan felt no suspicion because of the unspoken rule among travelers to refrain from asking about each other's circumstances. But they shouldn't be like that.

'There must be pursuers, but they're not saying a word?'

They were merchants who had fled from Yunnan. In that case, it was a hundred percent certain that a pursuit team sent from the Diancang Sect was attached to them. Yet, the fact that they said nothing to Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan, who were resting with them in the shrine, could be interpreted in two ways.

One was to feign ignorance and let Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan get caught in a surprise attack, using them as shields. The other was that they had let their guard down, thinking they had lost the pursuit team after entering Hubei.

'Either way is a problem.'

If they intended to use Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan as shields, they were people without basic moral sense.

A merchant with good abilities but no ethics is a serpent. It slowly grows its body, feeding on the guild's power, and one day it will devour the guild headfirst. They are the type of person one should be most wary of keeping underneath. In this case, cutting ties and getting away immediately was the best course of action.

'The one who is letting their guard down is at least better.'

If they mistakenly believed they had lost the pursuit team, it was simply a lack of experience. In this case, the evaluation would drop one level from top-top to high-medium, but a high-medium grade merchant was still a rare sight. Experience could be gained, so he could recruit and nurture them.

'Ah. There could be one more possibility. Is it more likely to be that one this time? This makes me feel a little sorry.'

Jang So-gil subtly gestured to Yang Gwan with his eyes.

He approached and whispered quietly.

"What is it?"

"There's a high chance a pursuit team will come, so be prepared."

"A pursuit team?"

Seeing his eyes go wide, it seemed he hadn't worried about a pursuit team at all.

Jang So-gil sighed softly and flicked Yang Gwan's forehead.

"Even you are letting your guard down."

"But, but this is Hubei. Do you think the Diancang Sect would dare to commit murder in the territory of the Wudang Sect?"

"For that to be a problem, the incident would have to be known first, wouldn't it?"

Murders by armies or bandits leave traces. Arrows are left behind, and hoofprints remain. But murders by martial artists leave no trace. A martial artist's lightness skill allows them to run faster than on a road where there is no road, they can kill a person with their bare hands, and they can do so without even making a sound.

"Bear attacks are rare because the habitats of bears and people don't overlap, but tiger attacks are common. For a skilled assassin, killing a person on the road and disguising it as a tiger attack is as simple as finishing off morning noodles."

"Th-that's true, but..."

"Above all, there's no way the Diancang Sect would let them go. They must die to destroy the evidence."

The Diancang Sect doesn't just go on a killing spree without reason. They committed the act after thinking it through in their own rational way.

"They committed the act after considering the extent of what they could cover up as much as possible. They're doing it because they think they can manipulate the rumors and conceal the evidence after killing all the merchants. But a flaw in the jade, which is them, has appeared. They must be eliminated no matter what."

"I've thought about it before, but is it really possible to kill everyone and conceal the evidence like that?"

"Don't you know the old story that if three people get together, they can create a tiger that doesn't exist? If the martial artists of Diancang and the people they've intimidated speak in one voice, creating a non-existent disaster is easy. There are plenty of excuses. To the west is Tibet, and to the south are foreign enemies. All they have to do is drag one of them in and make up a story."

"But even those scoundrels' schemes were nullified by your and Military Advisor Sima's strategies, weren't they?"

"That's right."

Jang So-gil and Sima Hui's response was like a whirlwind. Sima Hui, who had pushed the heavy-bottomed Gumen Long to gain command authority, moved the Martial Alliance, and the martial artists of the Martial Alliance, realizing the urgency of the situation, headed for Yunnan.

Sima Hui did not just deploy them. He had the unit to be used for suppression move along a safe route, even if it was a little late, and he separately selected the swiftest members from three units to form an advance party. They would travel light and run faster than anyone to arrive in Yunnan, rescue the merchants, and interfere with the Diancang Sect's information concealment operations.

And he sent carrier pigeons to the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Emei Sect along the route to obtain their cooperation.

The martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Clan were not only experts in poison but also masters of medicine. Through them, they would save the people. The Emei Sect was a sect of nuns who followed the teachings of Buddha. They were demon-slaying heroines who would not be second to anyone when it came to fighting evil villains. They were rolling up their sleeves and coming to punish the Diancang Sect.

With the Diancang Sect being squeezed from all sides like this, their plan had already collapsed at the initial stage. So, if you think about it, there was no need to send a pursuit team, nor was there a need to kill Jin Sangran to silence her. Recalling that point, Yang Gwan asked again, and Jang So-gil looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"You dull-witted fool. There's no way the Diancang pursuit team would know about that."

"Ah!"

"The pursuit team will come with only one thought in mind: that they must kill them. So be thoroughly prepared."

"I understand."

"And I'm saying this out of an abundance of caution."

"Yes."

"If they blatantly try to use you as a shield..."

"I will not go out of my way to save them."

Jang So-gil nodded his head in satisfaction.

* * *

Jin Sangran did not look down on the martial world. She thought she had been sufficiently wary and careful.

But she should have been a little more careful.

'I didn't know things would turn out like this as soon as I left the protection of the Diancang Sect. I didn't know the world was this scary.'

They had started with fifteen people, but now only three remained, including Jin Sangran. As soon as they saw the horses loaded with baggage, their numbers slowly dwindled as they encountered wanted men, thieves, Green Forest bandits, and pursuers whose eyes went wild. They ran, they fought, they were robbed of their wealth, and they tried so hard, but this was the reality.

'What should I do...'

Because it was the abandoned land of Yunnan, the law was far away and the ruffians were close. The Daoists she had thought were protecting them until now were actually beasts with human faces, and every person she met outside their protection was an enemy. The room at the inn she had secured by paying a high price in a village offered no comfort at all. When the fiends from the Diancang Sect arrived that night and described Jin Sangran's appearance, the innkeeper, not wanting to get involved with martial artists, opened her door without a moment's hesitation.

It was Jin Sangran's insurance that she had taken four rooms just in case and they had slept separately, and it was a stroke of heavenly luck that the fiends had checked Jin Sangran's room last.

The government office was not on Jin Sangran's side either. When she requested protection, they showed their disgust, saying that matters of the martial world should be resolved within the martial world. One of the workers, who insisted on forcing a bribe and receiving protection, ignored Jin Sangran's words that he would just be robbed of the protection fee and abandoned, and handed over all the baggage he had to receive the government's protection.

'Was he right?'

Thinking about it now, his actions might have been right. Jin Sangran hugged her trembling knees, regretting it. Then, hiding her gaze, she glanced at Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan.

'What should I do? Should I tell them there's a pursuit team?'

The fiends from the Diancang Sect must be approaching even now. If they ran through the rain, tonight would be the critical moment.

'I shouldn't get them involved too...'

Should she tell them honestly and tell them to run away?

'No. They're martial artists too.'

The big, sturdy man with the sharp eyes was undoubtedly a martial artist. She had never seen someone with such densely packed muscles all over their body. He must be a renowned martial artist.

'That handsome person must be the same.'

The white and blue, expensive-looking treasured sword at his waist.

Her father always said. The more they were a descendant of a prestigious orthodox sect, the more expensive the sword they carried and the more expensive the clothes they wore. And it was only natural for someone with an expensive sword and expensive clothes to have stuffed their belly with expensive elixirs, so they couldn't help but become a martial arts master.

Looking at those conditions, that person was definitely a martial artist too. Who knew what kind of wicked scheme he was plotting behind that handsome face and gentle smile.

'He could turn into a robber at any moment.'

On this side, there were two exhausted workers and one delicate girl. The three horses in the shabby stable were money in themselves, and the baggage placed next to them was packed with valuable jewelry.

It would be easy to kill them anyway, but it would be even better if there was a pursuer. All he had to do was kill them, take their things, and then blame it on the pursuer.

'It's more dangerous to say there's a pursuer.'

Seeing is wanting. With such a delicious prey in front of them, would two martial artists really hold back?

The humans Jin Sangran had seen were never like that.

'I'm tired... I want to sleep. But I can't sleep.'

Jin Sangran trembled with the anxiety that she didn't know when they would turn into beasts. The workers, perhaps feeling that they would rather die now that things had come to this, seemed to have just passed out, which only added to her anxiety.

Trembling shoulders, knees, a shaking vision.

The long journey on horseback.

The days without a moment to rest peacefully.

The sound of the pouring rain, the warm fire.

"..."

Regardless of Jin Sangran's feelings, her head drooped, losing its strength.

Finally, her head sank deep into her knees. She had fallen asleep.

Watching her, Jang So-gil clicked his tongue.

"I thought this might happen, but I've done something to be sorry for."

"What do you mean?"

"Because she's young and has outstanding abilities, I mistakenly thought she would have great courage too. She looks to be about sixteen, and it's a difficult thing for someone that age to handle. Especially since it was an escape with a lot of wealth and even a pursuer attached, every person she met must have looked like a beast and a monster."

"Ah! Was that young lady perhaps trembling because she was scared of us?"

"Not us, but you."

"What do you mean by that!? You're a more dangerous person than I am, Young Master So."

"No, where else would you find someone as harmless as me. Go ask a hundred people."

"Hmph, a hundred people my foot. I'll go back and ask Military Advisor Sima. He will surely give me the correct answer."

Jang So-gil slapped his knee as if he had been hit.

"That's right. Yes, to him, I would be more harmful. You've grown quite a bit too, to be able to bring in the right person at the right time. It's always possible to sell water to a thirsty person and rice to a hungry person."

"Isn't it a case of looking at someone with new eyes? For what it's worth, I listen carefully to and remember everything you say, Young Master So."

"I don't know if you're petty or a fast learner. Anyway."

Jang So-gil bantered on and draped the sable fur he was wearing over Jin Sangran.

"I wanted to do a little more of a character test, but the situation is not good. Therefore, we'll do the interview later, and since we can't let them get rained on forever, we should welcome our guests first."

"That's what I was hoping for."

Yang Gwan stood up with a heroic laugh.

His eyes were fixed on a distant tree in the rain.

"Did you hear that, Daoist Hyeoneum?"

"I heard it, Daoist Hyeonyang."

Under the moonlit night, the eyes of the two Daoists formed crescents.

(End of Chapter)