The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

From ancient times, unorthodox religious groups that practiced martial arts, such as the Blood Cult, the Demonic Cult, and the Holy Fire Cult, were enemies that the martial world, rather than the imperial court, had to stop. So now that those who were confirmed to be of the Blood Cult had appeared, the war had entered a countdown.

In the midst of this, Jang So-gil was sure of one thing.

"Heavy lifting doesn't suit me!"

Jang So-gil had become a transcendent master after tireless effort and enormous investment. Now that he had a martial power that was second to none, the Alliance Leader had sent him without worry.

But after trying this kind of heavy lifting while investigating the Maoshan Sect, what was this?

"It's hard!"

It was harder than he had expected. If he were to complain, there would be no end to it.

Jang So-gil, with his eyes cast down, grumbled.

"Since it was an urgent matter, and since I was leading it, I couldn't say anything. But I marched all night for five days. And just when I thought I could rest a bit, some white-haired fellow came at me with a sword, so I couldn't even have a proper meal in Maoshan. I jumped over the city wall in the middle of the night, was attacked by a jiangshi, and I really didn't know I would even have to face the legendary blood jiangshi."

Yang Gwan lowered his head and didn't know what to do, but the white-haired fellow crossed his arms and expressed his dissatisfaction with his whole body by tapping his foot.

"Well, I'm terribly sorry. So what's the conclusion?"

"I'm getting out of here, but you guys finish up the work."

"What?!"

"To be precise. Before the main force of the Martial Alliance arrives, there's something you guys have to do in Maoshan."

Ten days from now. Before the main force of the Martial Alliance arrived and the war began, they had to figure out the whole story related to the people of Maoshan.

Why did they go mad? Was there really a way to turn them back to normal?

Or should they be seen as a simple target of subjugation, like the jiangshi?

"Whether you ask for the cooperation of the people of Maoshan, or kidnap and investigate them, I'll leave that to your discretion. And one more thing. If you find a jiangshi or a blood jiangshi, try to subdue and bring them."

"Do you need evidence?"

"Now that the war is just around the corner, I have no intention of filling the justification by securing evidence. It's just, I need it for research."

"Research? You mean the jiangshi?"

Yang Gwan's thick eyebrows drew the character for 'eight'. He seemed quite displeased.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of operating the jiangshi in the Martial Alliance?"

"It's a very attractive story, but unfortunately, no."

"..."

"A labor force that works tirelessly without pay is the best common people that the ruling class can think of. But if we were to really operate the jiangshi, the social impact would be too great, so the Martial Alliance can't use them. If I were to use them personally, it would be a different story."

"Young Master So."

"Don't look at me with that expression. It's really a shame, but I'm not saying I'll do research with that kind of thought. If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles, right? We need to call a skilled doctor or Daoist from the Martial Alliance and research the jiangshi to learn how to deal with them. What will happen if we fight the jiangshi as we are?"

The jiangshi did not know fear, had enormous strength, did not get tired, and were impervious to swords.

Although they could be cut with strong qi or burned with the Hot Yang Art, no matter how much it was the Martial Alliance, there were not that many people who could wrap themselves in strong qi or had learned the Hot Yang Art to the extreme.

It was expected that they would suffer great damage if they entered a full-scale war as they were.

"So we have to research how to deal with the jiangshi. Brother Hui must be thinking the same thing, so he must be marching with Daoists and doctors."

"I see. I understand. Although this person doesn't seem to understand."

Baek Yugyeong's expression was not good. He was, to put it bluntly, a wanderer with no affiliation, so there was no particular reason for him to listen to Jang So-gil's orders. And yet, he had somehow gotten involved and had come this far.

"It's not that I hate war, but I don't like being ordered around like your hands and feet. Why am I in this fight..."

"Two hundred taels if you participate in the war to the end. Depending on your performance, I'll give you up to a thousand taels."

"I look forward to working with you, customer. A war that makes money is always welcome."

In the end, it was a matter of money. Yang Gwan narrowed his eyes.

Baek Yugyeong, looking at such a Yang Gwan, shrugged his shoulders.

"Why? It's strange for me, a person from the North Sea, to work for the Central Plains for free."

"Well, do as you please. But Young Master So, is it okay for me to be away from your side?"

The guardian was leaving the inspector's side, so his anxiety was great.

But Jang So-gil had no choice. Because more blood jiangshi could appear, Yang Gwan had to be on the front line.

Yang Gwan had learned the martial arts of the Buddhist lineage and even skillfully operated the Hot Yang Art, the Fire Wheel Art. His martial arts level was that of a transcendent master, and since his compatibility was also favorable, he had an overwhelming advantage against unholy deceased beings. He was almost a natural enemy to the groups of the Blood Cult that used jiangshi and blood jiangshi.

"Since I and the Young Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace have learned the ice art, we can't use much power against the blood jiangshi. If something like that appears again, you'll have to do well."

"Understood. I will do as you command. Then what are you going to do, Young Master So?"

Jang So-gil grinned and got up.

It was natural for people to have their own place. Now that he had become a transcendent master and had also learned the mindset of a martial artist. Jang So-gil's main job was, after all, a merchant and an inspector.

It was not a job where Jang So-gil could display all his talents, to make military strategies on the battlefield and fight the enemy in ranks and files.

Jang So-gil had a battlefield that suited him.

"I will fight in the way I can do best."

The work of a merchant, the work of an inspector.

It was the work of handling money.

* * *

Yang Gwan and Baek Yugyeong, leading a small number of elites, headed for Maoshan. The martial artists of the Martial Alliance scattered to establish a supply line.

While the front line was moving busily, Jang So-gil was calmly looking over the data that the Fengya Unit had gathered in the barracks.

It was data on all the merchant guilds, escort agencies, and noble families near Maoshan.

'I can see it.'

The numerous numbers written in the book looked blurry. And then, they slowly began to change color.

Some numbers were red, and some numbers were blue. Some were black, and some were white.

Jang So-gil separated the dozens of books into single pages one by one. And he re-bound them by gathering those with the same color.

This was Jang So-gil's own unique way of reorganizing information.

Jang So-gil did not know since when he had been able to recognize numbers or letters as colors. His memory was cut off as accurately as if measured with a ruler, with the age of ten as the standard.

At first, he thought that everyone else could do this. But as he grew older, he realized that this was an ability that only he had.

'Red is a place that is directly connected to the Maoshan Sect. Black is a place that is connected as the Blood Cult. White is a place that is not connected. Blue can be seen as neutral.'

Numbers do not lie. Any money leaves a trace when it comes and goes.

If there are people, they eat, and if they eat, the money decreases. If someone earns money, someone loses money. Nothing in the world can exist entirely on its own.

Jang So-gil's senses instantly identified the use of money in accordance with reason, and intuitively grasped the connection between them. He could realize in an instant a fact that would require dozens of words to explain to others.

The connection and truth between the numbers that even the Fengya Unit, which had collected so much information, could not grasp were being revealed.

Jang So-gil said to the agent of the Fengya Unit who was in charge of the records.

"Classify the Zhongnan Sect as a level 3 danger target. Send a single team from the Fengya Unit."

"Zhongnan. To the Zhongnan Sect? May I ask the reason?"

"The Taejinbang, a B-class merchant guild, is a merchant guild that the Zhongnan Sect uses when they want to make a deal that they want to hide from others' eyes. Looking at the transaction history, it's certain. They periodically supply the herbs of Mount Zhongnan to the Maoshan Sect, and the price is thirty percent lower than the market price. And the reason why a merchant supplies goods cheaply is because they get other benefits besides money."

The agent nodded his head.

"Generally, the majority of the profits that a B-class merchant guild earns are used to protect themselves, but since they would be protected by the Zhongnan Sect, they wouldn't need the protection of the Maoshan Sect. The deal with the Maoshan Sect, where the Taejinbang is at a loss, is in fact a back-door deal between the Zhongnan Sect and the Maoshan Sect."

"Then what kind of benefit would Zhongnan get from cooperating with Maoshan?"

"There are many things that can be traded with the Maoshan Sect, or the Blood Cult. But if we were to narrow down what the Zhongnan Sect would want to about two, the first would be medical arts. The Maoshan Sect was originally a sect famous for its medical arts. Since Zhongnan's medical arts are not developed, it would be useful if they received cooperation."

"Then what is the second?"

"Martial arts."

"What? The Maoshan Sect's martial arts? Isn't Zhongnan's martial arts level higher?"

"Well, that's true. But you've forgotten one thing. The blood jiangshi I saw yesterday used Taijiquan to the extreme. Another blood jiangshi used the Sun-Shooting Sword Art better than I did."

Currently, there were only two people in the martial world who could use the Sun-Shooting Sword Art. Jang So-gil, and the Martial Alliance Leader who had passed on the martial art to Jang So-gil.

If he used the Sun-Shooting Sword Art even better than such a Jang So-gil...?

"There were some parts that were slightly different from the Sun-Shooting Sword Art I know. It was certainly more powerful, and I felt a hegemonic momentum that did not look back. But it was definitely the Sun-Shooting Sword Art that had reached its extreme. It's probably the original form of the Sun-Shooting Sword Art."

"No, if so, then that's..."

"Yes. The guys from the Blood Cult made the masters of the Quanzhen Sect they had killed a long time ago into blood jiangshi. It means they have all the origins and original forms of the martial arts of Diancang, Zhongnan, Kunlun, Wudang, and Huashan, which are the lineage of Quanzhen."

"...!"

"If they were to present the lost old secrets to Zhongnan, do you think they could refuse the deal?"

"...They couldn't possibly refuse."

"It would be foolish to refuse. They just have to send some herbs and supplies, and by continuously paying money, the lost old martial arts will return, so who would refuse? It's an absurd thing. For the same reason, Wudang and Huashan are also on the investigation list. But lower their danger level to 5."

"What should I write as the reason why their level is lower than Zhongnan's?"

"Wudang did not use a merchant guild in between when they traded with the Maoshan Sect, nor did they use a proxy. The sect leader, Heogong Jin-in, signed it himself, openly. If it were a problematic deal, Wudang would not be foolish enough to do it so openly. The content of the deal is also normal, as they are supplying the herbs that only come from Mount Wudang at a proper, fair price. So originally, it should have been handled as no suspicion at all, without even a danger level..."

Jang So-gil, who had cut off his words for a moment, propped his chin. The candlelight flickered and illuminated the side of his face.

Towards the agent, who was looking back and forth between the candlelight and Jang So-gil's face as if possessed, Jang So-gil let out a low sigh.

"Still, anyone can have a lingering attachment to a lost martial art. If the Maoshan Sect were to present the original form of the 'Ladder to the Clouds', it's a reality that their eyes could turn on the spot. This is the nature of a martial artist, so it's not something to blame Wudang for. So any sect that is of the lineage of Quanzhen, in this part, should be seen as a potential collaborator of Maoshan."

The agent immediately agreed. The 'Ladder to the Clouds' was the highest-level lightness skill that Wudang had lost. If they were to return it, it could not be said that there was no probability that they would cooperate with the Maoshan Sect.

"Huashan is..."

"Huashan is for the same reason as Wudang. But for Huashan, in addition, tell the dispatched team members implicitly. To work moderately loosely."

The agent, who had been silently writing the directive, was surprised and looked back at Jang So-gil.

To work loosely, wasn't that an instruction that was in fact encouraging the neglect of duty?

"What? For what reason do you give such an instruction..."

"Because Huashan is on my side. I have to show this much favoritism for my face to be saved."

"..."

"If the flaw is not too excessive, let Huashan cover it up on their own."

"..."

"Instead, tell them to give a definite hush money."

"Yep."

The agent, who had finally understood, silently finished writing the directive.

(End of Chapter)