Chapter 150
After that, we spent nearly ten days at the Flying Dragon Inn.
During that time, we steadily gathered various pieces of information.
First, we found out the exact number of the entire Red Snake Gang and how many people were dispatched from the Evil Way Union. We also went to the inn run by the Hao-men and informed them that their information was leaking from somewhere.
Although the Hao-men is a cell-based organization and has a prejudice of being disloyal, in fact, it is not.
They are a group with a strict rule of having to give as much as they receive.
Because they, who have weak martial power, believe that they will not be looked down upon only if they do not owe anyone money or help.
In return for telling them the very small but big fact that there was a spy inside, they provided detailed information to the point where they could even know how many chopsticks the Red Snake Gang had, free of charge.
And during that time, Senior Brother Unjeong also went to the Shi-yue Pavilion four more times.
Every time he went, he met with the person named Mi-hyang and brought back the information she had gathered.
Because she had actively gone out to deal with customers since Senior Brother Unjeong had visited, she was able to obtain fresh information that had just been heard, and some of it was even better than what was obtained from the Hao-men.
So, the conclusions I have drawn are two.
First. For now, apart from the Red Snake Gang, other Evil Way Union sects are not paying much attention to this place.
Although there are martial artists sent directly from the Evil Way Union, they were not dispatched here while being affiliated with other sects, but were martial artists who seemed to be affiliated with the Evil Way Union itself.
Perhaps because Go Mun-tak was said to be a disciple of the current leader of the Evil Way Union, it felt like they had sent a dispatch to help him.
So, the second conclusion I have drawn.
Even if we attack the Red Snake Gang now and reclaim the Shi-yue Pavilion, it seems that the Evil Way Union will not be able to take any action for now.
It doesn't seem like they have troops on standby nearby, and there are no sects nearby to help the Red Snake Gang, so it means that if we attack quickly and deal with it, we can end the situation before the help of the Evil Way Union arrives.
In a way, these could be good conclusions, and in a way, they could be bad conclusions.
It is certainly a good conclusion that I have confirmed that I can now forget all the troublesome processes of gathering information, watching for signs, and so on, and charge at the guys as I please, but Go Mun-tak seems to be receiving the favor of the leader of the Evil Way Union.
In other words, it means that if I touch that guy named Go Mun-tak wrongly, it might be perfect for incurring the wrath of the current leader of the Evil Way Union, whose identity is unknown.
'I don't know. If that happens, I'll just see the face of the leader of the Evil Way Union.'
The identity of the leader of the Evil Way Union is not revealed even later.
The only ones who have met him directly and know his identity are his disciples, but in the future battle, all of his disciples died.
After that, no one claiming to be the leader of the Evil Way Union appeared, and the word 'Evil Way Union' was naturally forgotten among people.
The reason I couldn't immediately connect the Red Snake Gang with the Evil Way Union at first was because of that, and after fighting with the Evil Way Union, I hadn't heard any news for ten years.
And in the meantime, the war with the Demonic Cult broke out, and I was busy running around here and there, and then I was killed by that son of a bitch, the Mok-hwa God, so isn't it understandable that I don't remember?
"Everyone, come and sit. Master of the Pavilion, please sit here as well."
And my master decorated a room so that we could talk, and he gathered our room's senior and junior brothers and the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion.
My master first looked at the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion, not us, and said, "After gathering, analyzing, and compiling information, we have come to a conclusion. It is my conclusion that even if we attack now and retake the Shi-yue Pavilion by force, the Evil Way Union will not be able to step in for now."
"I see..."
"So there are two options we can choose from."
"What are they?"
"The first is to fight them as just the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion's assistants, not as martial artists of the Wudang Sect, as we have been doing so far. Their number is about three hundred. Although it is a ridiculous number of three hundred against six."
The master of the Shi-yue Pavilion said with his eyes wide open, "Wouldn't that be too reckless? I... I don't want you to get hurt or die because of me."
"The reason we are stepping in is not to find the brothel of the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion."
"Then...?"
"Because the Unorthodox Faction, which torments, persecutes, and takes away what innocent people have, deserves to be punished."
My master's eyes do not waver.
Of course, I think the same.
They are evil. Evil deserves to be punished.
"And it is my guess, but if there are no variables, I think I and my disciples can beat them even if our numbers are small."
"But it's too dangerous. As you said a little while ago, Taoist master, shouldn't there be no variables?"
My master nodded his head and said, "So the second way is to ask for help from the surrounding sects. There is a branch of the Beggars' Sect not far away, and Mount Rongzhong is also not that far from here. Although they are not here right now... the children of the Zhuge family are also here, so we can get help from the Zhuge family."
"Ah... the Zhuge family!"
When the name of one of the Five Great Families suddenly came up, he let out a sound of admiration, as if he had realized that what was happening now was not just a matter of his own brothel.
"If not that, another way is to take a little more time and ask our Wudang Sect to send martial artists. Although Mount Wudang and Wuhan are quite far apart, in the end, they are people who live in the same Hubei Province. It's not that we can't help."
"But if the nine sects and one gang or the five great families step in, isn't there a high possibility of clashing with that place called the Evil Way Union?"
"That's right."
"Isn't it to prevent such a situation from happening that you have been trying so hard until now?"
"That's also right."
"But why..."
My master smiled this time and said, "Didn't I tell you a little while ago? The wicked must be punished. That is the reason why we, the orthodox martial artists, can receive donations from ordinary people with goodwill in the name of the orthodox sects. In fact, I also have a thought that I would like to have a showdown with that place called the Evil Way Union through this matter and settle it. Even if it requires a little sacrifice for now... because if we face the Evil Way Union, which has expanded its power further in the future, it could lead to a greater sacrifice."
Although my master was speaking to Gongsun Huan, I, who was listening from the side, received a shock as if I had been hit on the head with something.
'What a fool. To think I couldn't even think of something so obvious.'
Although I was the one who had returned to the past, it was my master who had a more accurate grasp of the present and future situation.
I was so busy avoiding the disputes that would arise right now, but my master was thinking much further ahead.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm going to escalate the fight into a war right now. After this matter is resolved well... we will have to properly find out what kind of place that place called the Evil Way Union is."
For some reason, it felt like those words were directed at me, not the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion.
"Actually, I was also thinking of asking for help from the authorities right now. I will ask my maternal grandfather for help. Since he is an official who works in the court, he will surely have connections with the generals."
"If that's possible, things will go smoothly."
I also nodded my head.
Although the government troops are a little weak individually, when they go up to the level of a centurion or a chiliarch, their martial arts are not weak.
Above all, the most frightening thing about the government troops is that they are persistent.
First of all, their numbers are almost infinite, so they can achieve their goals even while consuming their troops endlessly.
The fact that they are a single group of martial artists that could be tens, hundreds of thousands is the most frightening reason for the government troops.
"Just a moment."
But Senior Brother Unjeong, who had been quiet until now, interrupted.
As our attention was drawn, my senior brother opened his mouth.
"Senior uncle, may I have a word with you for a moment?"
"Of course."
"Minister Jeong of Chang'an will be able to mobilize enough troops to wipe out a sect like this. But... I am against it."
"Why?"
"I would like to ask the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion. Can you really go back home because of this matter?"
"....... You heard everything from Mi-hyang."
Senior Brother Unjeong nodded his head.
My master and I, of course, couldn't understand what was going on, so we looked back and forth between Senior Brother Unjeong and the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion.
Senior Brother Unjeong stared at the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion as if asking if he could tell us the story he had heard, and the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion soon nodded his head.
"If the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion asks for help from Minister Jeong, he will have to go back to Chang'an, won't he? If that happens, the Shi-yue Pavilion will have no master anyway. It means that even if we do our best to find it, we will only be doing a good deed for someone else."
"I am prepared. I was able to make up my mind after listening to what Taoist Master Hyeon Yang said a little while ago. Even if I have to give up my brothel, if I can punish and chastise them, I can let go of everything."
As the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion was talking to Senior Brother Unjeong, I raised my hand and interrupted, saying, "Excuse me, I don't understand what you're talking about at all, so could you please explain?"
"It's not a very special story. The reason my maternal grandfather called me home was to make me take the civil service examination."
"The civil service examination?"
"Yes. My maternal grandfather's family is a family that has accumulated wealth and honor by passing the civil service examination with the highest honors for generations and serving as court officials. However, strangely, among my cousins, there was not a single person who seemed likely to pass the civil service examination, let alone with the highest honors."
"So he called you home, Master of the Pavilion."
"That's right. Although you might not think so, I was quite good at studying since I was young."
Although it seemed he said it to make us laugh, not a single person laughed.
"But how did you end up in Wuhan and running a brothel?"
"I ran away from home. With my grandfather's golden toad."
"Yes?"
"I originally wanted to be a merchant. Although I was good at studying, I hated the idea of taking the civil service examination to death."
"Then your relationship with your grandfather now is..."
"Fortunately, after I opened the brothel, I found my grandfather and knelt down and begged him. Fortunately, I was also forgiven. But my grandfather said that in return for forgiving me, we should make a promise."
He let out a deep sigh and continued, "He said that if I ever asked for his help with the brothel, he would help me no matter what, and then I would have to go back home and prepare for the civil service examination."
"Because of that promise, you were sure that your grandfather would help you no matter what."
"That's right."
I let out a deep sigh inside.
How can I tell him to get help from his grandfather after hearing such a story?
In the first place, I never thought that I could get help from someone.
We have no choice but to solve it on our own, even if it's a little dangerous.
When I looked at the faces of my master and my senior brothers, they all seemed to be thinking the same thing.
The moment I was about to say that we have no choice but to do it on our own.
Suddenly, the door opened and Mo Yong-hae came in.
He said with a serious face, as if he had heard all of our conversation from outside, "Master of the Pavilion! You can't do that. If you go back home, you'll have to live that stuffy life again... and if you're not here, Master of the Pavilion, who will lead us!"
"Yong-hae. But, it can't be helped. We can't endanger the lives of innocent people because of our business, can we?"
"If the problem is that we don't have enough people, you don't have to worry about that anymore."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you please come out for a moment?"
Because his voice was so serious, we went out after him without saying anything.
But as we approached the dining hall, we heard the sound of a crowd of people talking, not just one or two.
As we quickened our steps and went out to the dining hall...
"Master of the Pavilion! It's been a long time."
"Master of the Pavilion! Have you been well!"
"Did you try to do this without us? We're disappointed!"
"You look very haggard. These sons of bitches...! I won't let them go!"
As soon as they saw Gongsun Huan, who had come out after Mo Yong-hae, the many people who filled the dining hall began to shout.
They were people who looked somewhat delinquent.
To put it badly, there were quite a few who looked like back-alley thugs.
"Y-You guys...!"
There seemed to be well over a hundred of them, but there were more people who were not in good health than those who were.
Because everyone had a bandage somewhere, or their body seemed to be uncomfortable somewhere.
I could naturally guess who they were.
"You are the people who used to work at the Shi-yue Pavilion."
"That's right."
At that time, Mo Yong-hae stepped forward and said, "Master of the Pavilion. I'm sorry for gathering people like this without telling you. But, the survivors of our Shi-yue Pavilion and the Flying Dragon Inn are ready to help you, Master of the Pavilion, even if it means risking our lives."
And he said to my master, "Although it is a weak power that has not learned any decent martial arts, I think it will be of some use. Please let us fight together!"
My master smiled brightly at them. Although he did not answer immediately, it was as good as a positive answer.
At that time, Gongsun Huan said to my master, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
"The thanks should be given not to me, but to them. For them, this will be a matter of life and death."
As my master said, Gongsun Huan bowed his head deeply to the people who had come for him, and then he said in a moved voice, "I... I guess I haven't lived my life wrongly.”
(End of Chapter)