Chapter 14 :

Chapter 14. Third-Rate Warrior Who Saves a Girl

The sixtieth birthday banquet that had been scheduled for a week ended on the second day.

Those who had come a long way from other castles had many complaints because they had not been able to enjoy themselves properly, but no one cursed aloud.

Because the atmosphere in the Iron Sword Sect had turned ominous due to this incident, no one could easily express their anger.

Important figures from various places had attended, but they did not receive a farewell from Seong Cheonwol, the leader of the Iron Sword Sect.

After the incident, Seong Cheonwol shut himself away, and Seong Mohyeon was imprisoned in a golden prison.

“He learned the Great Energy-Absorbing Art! I am telling you, he definitely learned the Great Energy-Absorbing Art!”

Seong Mohyeon shouted about the Great Energy-Absorbing Art like a madman, but even the servants who brought him food only looked at him with resentful eyes.

And I woke up somewhere other than my original lodging.

‘What is this?’

Neither Father nor Kang Chaeseok could afford to wear such silk clothes, and besides, their physiques were so bear-like that such clothes would not suit them in the first place.

“Are you awake?”

“Who are you?”

“Is that question meant to probe me? Or is it meant to mock me? Whichever your intention is, it feels unpleasant.”

“…”

“Is that all you can do to someone who helped you with that ridiculous little play of yours? You, who spoke of righteousness and duty?”

As expected, Jegal Somyeong knew everything.

The Taeul Heart Method was an incomparably pure internal energy cultivation method, so even if Seong Cheonwol stirred my blood points a little, it would not cause internal injury.

“I have been rude. Chief strategist.”

“Enough. Sit.”

Jegal Somyeong seemed to have a lot of work piled up even now, as he was busy reading documents and signing them.

To quench my thirst, I poured the tea in front of me.

“The wound inside your mouth seemed large. Should I have them prepare plain water instead?”

“Ahem… I-It is fine.”

I had not suffered internal injury, but because I needed to vomit blood for dramatic effect, I had torn up the flesh inside my mouth.

For a while, I probably would not even be able to smell spicy food.

“Did you know?”

“I became certain after seeing your condition. Still, it was surprising that you did not suffer internal injury. Was there such an outstanding internal energy cultivation method among the Taeul Sect’s methods?”

“It is the Taeul Heart Method, which forms the foundation of the Taeul Sect.”

“With the Taeul Heart Method, you should not be able to gather that much internal energy.”

It was a question I did not need to answer.

What mattered now was why Jegal Somyeong had not told the leader of the Iron Sword Sect even though he knew the circumstances behind it.

If he became certain after seeing the wound inside my mouth, then that meant he had already predicted it beforehand, and if so, he could have escaped long ago. Yet Jegal Somyeong had still lent strength to my plan.

“…”

Once he finished writing one document, he read a new document and either signed it or rolled it back up and returned it to its place.

“From where did you plan it?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Was it from the banquet the previous day? Or was it when Seong Mohyeon mentioned the forbidden art?”

“…I do not know what you mean.”

“You are pointlessly dragging out time. Must I speak of how grave the crime is of bringing the Murim Alliance into your little play by deliberately mentioning the Enforcement Pavilion before you open your mouth?”

Only then did I understand why Jegal Somyeong had knowingly allowed himself to be deceived.

He had simply joined in because the board I had laid was amusing.

When I recalled Cheon-gi’s words that those with sharp minds felt strong interest in ingenious and astonishing things, I became certain that I could wring something out of the chief strategist as well.

“I have no idea what you have been talking about since earlier.”

“…Must I eventually raise the whip?”

“As a rule, I understand that silver is more effective than the whip when trying to make someone open his mouth.”

With an utterly dumbfounded expression, Jegal Somyeong placed the Ninefold Sword that had been standing beside him on the table.

“You refused when Seong Moran first said she would hold a banquet, did you not?”

It seemed he had probably investigated the entire sequence of events.

“The leader of the Iron Sword Sect also said he would give me three Iron Heart Pills. Has that been forgotten?”

“Ha ha.”

Jegal Somyeong took a small wooden box from inside his robe, and I quickly opened it to confirm that there were three Iron Heart Pills inside.

“…Are you checking that right in front of me?”

“Is it not better for everything to be certain?”

Jegal Somyeong wore an expression that seemed to ask what kind of fellow I was.

“It was from the moment I heard that the Iron Sword Sect had used the Gyeryong Merchant Guild to invite the Taeul Sect.”

“What?”

“If it were simply for the sake of goodwill, would they not have sent a polite invitation? But instead of that, they used the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, which has a tremendous influence on the Taeul Sect, to force us to attend. Unless they had some intent, what reason would they have to do such a thing?”

“Huh…”

Since what I had known since my previous life was also something I knew, I spoke honestly.

If I tried to lie in front of the chief strategist for no reason, everything would be exposed.

“Then did you know Seong Mohyeon would mention a forbidden art? And how did you make Seong Mohyeon think that way?”

“Which of the two are you curious about?”

“I am curious about both.”

“Then the calculation does not add up.”

“What do you mean, the calculation does not add up? If I had not been there, you would not have obtained either the Ninefold Sword or the Iron Heart Pills. Moreover, you might have lost your life.”

“In exchange, the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would have been criticized for this incident for years to come. The Iron Sword Sect would also never again have dared to press down the Taeul Sect and enter the One Hundred Eight Peaks.”

“In any case, it was only because I helped that this matter could be resolved so well.”

“Chief strategist, you did not do what should have been done in the first place, and only resolved it after the problem grew bigger later. That cannot be called receiving help.”

“You say I did not do what should have been done?”

“Our Taeul Sect was being unjustly oppressed, and instead of judging right and wrong, you were calculating who would be more beneficial to the Murim Alliance.”

“…That is my job.”

“Therefore, I did not receive your help, chief strategist, and I am not indebted to you. So answering all of your questions does not match the calculation, does it?”

Jegal Somyeong’s mouth opened for the first time.

“In the murim world, there are people who wait for days and nights with ten thousand gold just to share a single quarter-hour conversation with me. And you refuse such an opportunity when you could have it merely by giving a few answers?”

“Is that not because they seek to meet you because they have something to gain that is worth more than ten thousand gold?”

“Ha! Are you saying you have nothing to regret before me?”

“Our Taeul Sect accepted Gye Cheolyeong just so we could eat three meals instead of two. What benefit could our Taeul Sect gain by being with you, chief strategist?”

“Huh…”

An open display of displeasure.

Even so, if I was not going to meet him again in the future, was he not just some middle-aged man?

Even if I entered the Murim Alliance, what chance would I have to meet a high-ranking person of the Intelligence Department?

“Perhaps today will be the last day of my life that I meet you, chief strategist, will it not?”

“…”

“If you have nothing more to say, I will take my leave.”

“…Speak about whether you knew Seong Mohyeon would mention a forbidden art.”

As expected of the chief strategist, his curiosity about strategy was greater than his curiosity about martial arts.

“It did not necessarily have to be a forbidden art. Seong Mohyeon was certain of his own victory, and that was a fact even the people of the Taeul Sect knew. In such a situation, he must have been unable to believe that he was losing. Most likely, the outstanding talents who cross swords with me will not be able to shake the thought from their heads that I am using sorcery.”

“…So you could have simply won?”

“Is that not something you know as well, chief strategist?”

Jegal Somyeong was not only intelligent, but also an outstanding martial artist in his own right.

In his youth, each time his Snowflower Iron Fan moved, the blood of the dark faction scattered in all directions and formed rivers.

“Then would it not have been enough to cleanly lead the sparring to victory?”

“If I simply won, there would be nothing to gain, would there?”

“…”

“After winning the sparring overwhelmingly, who knows what method they might use later to inflict harm? But once an incident like this happens, would they not stay quiet for at least ten years at the very least?”

“I could have ignored it until the end.”

“If you had done that, it would have been no different from the justification for the Murim Alliance’s existence disappearing. Would you have done that?”

Would he grit his teeth and ignore it while drinkers gathered from all under heaven were watching?

It would only worsen public opinion of the Murim Alliance, which was already deteriorating.

“…Still, even then, what if you had been framed as having learned a forbidden art until the end?”

“If that had happened, the Enforcement Pavilion of the Murim Alliance would probably have taken my corpse, and through a postmortem examination, they would have revealed that I had not learned a forbidden art.”

Jegal Somyeong, who had kept his mouth firmly shut as if he had eaten honey, finally opened it after a long while.

“…You staked your life over something this small?”

“Did you say ‘this small’? Because of that ‘this small’ matter, the Iron Sword Sect used the Gyeryong Merchant Guild to pressure the Taeul Sect. Because of that ‘this small’ matter, the wound my father received from Seong Jutak twenty years ago still remains as a scar. Because of that ‘this small’ matter, the people of the Taeul Sect risked their lives to fight the entire Iron Sword Sect.”

“…”

“Is the name not more important than gold to the Jegal Family? How is a small sect any different?”

“Hmm…”

This is always the problem with the high and mighty.

To them, their name is a value more sacred than anything else, but they have the narrow-mindedness to think that our names are not things worth risking our lives over.

That must be what made the Murim Alliance of my previous life turn out that way.

“Then let me ask one thing. If the name of a small sect has that much value, when the Taeul Sect and the Jegal Family stand opposed to each other, how would the Taeul Sect deal with the Jegal Family?”

“…”

Instead of answering, I looked at him.

He quickly grasped my intention and laughed in disbelief.

“Kkeul kkeul. Are you saying the calculation does not add up?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. What should I give for the calculation to add up? I am a body entrusted to an attendant group, so I have no money and cannot give you money.”

Jegal Somyeong rummaged through his robe and took out a small ivory tablet.

On the ivory tablet, about the size of two fingers, the words “Entrance Pass” were written.

It was an item with only rampant rumors about its existence, while few had actually seen the real thing.

It was an entrance pass that allowed one to enter the Martial Academy without taking the “official exam,” called the Hell Official Exam, and without using the “special recruitment,” a privilege held by the One Hundred Eight Peaks.

An entrance pass that could not be obtained even with hundreds of millions of gold had appeared right before my eyes.

“Will this be enough?”

I quickly picked up the entrance pass and put it inside my robe, and Jegal Somyeong once again let out a sigh of disbelief.

“Standing opposed to the Jegal Family. Just imagining it is truly dreadful. If I had to choose the most troublesome opponent among the Five Great Families, I would choose the Jegal Family.”

“Enough flattery. Just tell me.”

“Well. First, I would sell off all my family property.”

“And after that?”

“Then I would divide the family property and scatter the adults and children separately throughout all under heaven. Even if it is the Jegal Family, a righteous faction family, they would not send pursuers to kill everyone and silence them, would they?”

“…”

Jegal Somyeong looked at me as if he were looking at a dog eating filth.

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“You wanted me to answer the question. You did not say I had to give the correct answer.”

“…Was this also a strategy you devised?”

“The calculation does not add up.”

“…I am sick and tired of hearing about that calculation.”

“May I get up and leave now?”

“You will come to the Martial Academy, will you not?”

“…By any chance, must I be the one to enter?”

“I gave the entrance pass to you, so how you use it is up to you. It has already proven its existence by existing.”

“Understood. I intend to challenge the Martial Academy.”

“To enter the Intelligence Department, completing the Martial Academy would be advantageous.”

“Yes… well, that is true.”

A talent among talents.

The Intelligence Department was an especially elite position that one could not enter without being clever.

But in truth, it was the place I least wanted to go.

“If you complete the Martial Academy, I will prepare a position for you in the Intelligence Department.”

“??”

At Jegal Somyeong’s sudden nonsense, I was dumbfounded.

The Intelligence Department? What was he talking about? In my previous life, I could not even fight alongside my junior brothers because I was busy looking at documents. Was he telling me to do that again in this life?

I would not do it even if I died.

Once the war continued anyway, I would also have to go out onto the battlefield.

In that case, it would be better for me, for my junior brothers, and for those on the scene if I built up experience in the field from the beginning and raised my rank.

“Ah… I have no interest in the Intelligence Department.”

Jegal Somyeong tilted his head for the first time.

“I have been thinking this since the sparring match. Are you a little insane?”

No, honestly, is the guy who says he will sit at a desk while his junior brothers are dying not the more insane one?