#89: The Start Of The Cleanup (6) — The Patriarch of Sichuan

‘So it’s possible.’

If it were only Gu Yong-seon, it wouldn’t have been a very hard fight. But with Song Cheol-gwang joining in, the battle dragged on.

‘There’s no need for me to release the seal against opponents of this level.’

On a night thick with Yin Qi, he had a secret art that could overwhelm the two of them.

That was the Heavenly Wolf True Art’s Moonlit Night Unsealing. If he had bought even a single breath, he could have unleashed the Heavenly Wolf body and crushed them.

But Moonlit Night Unsealing strains the body greatly. He had used it not long ago, releasing the seal again would’ve left him realigning bones and sinews for days.

‘No matter how great it is, even Moonlit Night Unsealing can’t beat strategy and tactics.’

A blade cuts men, but with a nimble mind one can win without fighting.

Quick insight and judgment matter both strategically and tactically. Even if he reached the end of the Heavenly Wolf True Art, he must never forget today’s mindset.

“Grrrk!”

Gu Yong-seon lay prone, his face ghastly pale.

‘I can’t move my body!’

A segment of his spine was gone.

If it were cracked or crushed, he might have held it together with internal energy. Though if more than bone were damaged, even Qi could do nothing.

Either way, he could no longer fight. Even if he lived, he would never stand again.

Realizing that crushing truth, Gu Yong-seon felt a sickening loss and fear.

Koong.

The Indestructible Sword, scabbard and all, thudded into the earth before his face.

Shaking, Gu Yong-seon cried out,

“If you kill me, the Eight Martial Houses will never forgive you!”

“You think that threat works on someone who’s already decided to sweep the Eight Houses clean?”

“!!”

“All you can do now is accept death.”

Death.

Never had Gu Yong-seon imagined he would die to a blade on some low hill.

The Abundant Prosperity Guild was a noble house that had survived even the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader’s war of conquest. He was the great guild master who carried that legacy.

He’d pictured dying at a ripe age in a gilded chamber, ending life in splendor before grown children and grandchildren.

And yet what was this? He would die by the blade of some wanderer of unknown origin, not before his kin.

He could not endure this reality.

“Listen well, you base wretch! I am the Abundant Prosperity Guild’s nineteenth master and the man who will rule Sichuan Murim! I will not die in a—!”

“You will. Right here.”

“?!”

“Shut your mouth. You’re giving me a headache. My gut hurts.”

Jin-hyeon, too, had signs of minor internal injury from pushing his Qi at the end. He’d heal soon, but his insides burned.

Gu Yong-seon hiccuped.

“S-spare me. I’ll give you gold and gems beyond your lifetime! If you want women, I’ll procure Sichuan’s most beautiful!”

“I’ve got more money than I can spend in a lifetime, and women don’t interest me yet.”

“Hey!”

Kwa-deuk!

“Grahk!”

Jin-hyeon crushed his right hand with a kick and spoke coldly.

“Your life will be decided after I hear your answers.”

“Grrk!”

As Jin-hyeon crouched slowly, Gu Yong-seon felt the world go dim.

That darkness birthed a grotesque fear, enough to dwarf the pain in his back and shattered hand.

“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. You didn’t join hands with the Lee brothers just for them. They know Sichuan’s commerce better than their youngest, Lee Yong-do, sure, and they’ve got cash.”

“!”

“But attractive enough to risk yourselves? I think not.”

Jin-hyeon cocked his head.

A dark shadow shifted oddly. Gu Yong-seon’s body trembled.

“Did you join hands with the Oh Family Merchant House?”

“…”

Seureung.

“Y-yes!”

He blurted it out before the Indestructible Sword even cleared the scabbard.

“The Oh Family Merchant House invested in Mighty Tiger, and took heavy losses! B-but in Shaanxi their influence exceeds Mighty Tiger!”

Staring down at him, Jin-hyeon sheathed the blade again and said,

“The brothers claim they slunk to Sichuan because of internal pressure in the merchant house. Yet you’re speaking of the Oh Family’s influence.”

“…”

“Mm? I see. You didn’t join with the whole Oh Family Merchant House, but with their Patriarch and Oh Jeong-hae.”

Gu Yong-seon’s eyes shook.

In a pleasant tone, Jin-hyeon said,

“Settle them back into Sichuan, fatten their power, smother dissent inside the house, and open a massive flow of funds between Shaanxi and Sichuan. Therefore the reason for moving you, the Divine Spear House, and the Black Bamboo Fort to work together is…”

“Gulp.”

“To take a shot at the Eight Martial Houses’ foremost, Cheongyang Association, the top power in Sichuan’s Murim.”

His already pale face went slate-blue.

He couldn’t fathom how so little had led to so much. It felt as if the man already knew and was merely confirming it.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

Jin-hyeon simply found it absurd that three of the Eight Houses would join the Lee brothers. Weighing Sichuan’s recent state, inter-House ties, and the commercial world warped by Mighty Tiger, he chose the likeliest path.

Such inferences don’t always prove true.

But to him, the Eight Martial Houses were clumsy, and narrow-sighted.

‘Stagnant to the core.’

Where trade with other regions is stagnant, most people rarely stray from familiar patterns.

Especially in the powerful, that side shows itself all the more strongly. He had seen it countless times while becoming the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader and conquering the world.

Some might ask how the region’s leaders could be so bold yet short-sighted.

That’s the kind of remark one who only sees half the picture would make. They have lived their whole lives getting what they wanted despite acting that clumsily, so whatever happens, they can only act according to that experience.

Even if a man has a hundred strategies and a thousand tactics in his head, it is hard for him to break free from what he is used to. The Eight Martial Houses were exactly like that.

“Reading you idiots isn’t hard. There’s just one thing I want to make clear first.”

“…”

“Lee Yong-geum had something he wanted to gain by using me. Well, if you are trying to lay a new foundation, it makes sense to use me as I am now. If nothing else, that bastard Lee Yong-geum at least knew how to read the times.”

“…”

“But laying hands on Lady Seol is another matter.”

“!!”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know. There is no way you dragged the Lee brothers here without first grasping how they would act. To be precise, you must have worked it out with the Oh Family Merchant House.”

Despite the light tone, his face was carved in perfect indifference.

“You have no reason to target Lady Seol. The Lee brothers do. They think of me and the Seol clan as one, and the White Sword Seol Clan’s name has only risen of late.”

“…”

“You meant to bury the Seol Clan too, didn’t you?”

“!”

“The Seol Clan’s businesses are considerable, and the Patriarch loathes underhanded dealings. Since he would never join hands with you, you planned to use this chance to take down the Seol Clan as well, so that Abundant Prosperity, Divine Spear, and Black Bamboo could stand tall as the new powers of Sichuan Murim. So that was it.”

“Grrk!”

“Yes or no? Answer.”

Gu Yong-seon was about to faint.

Answer or not, the man saw through everything.

Denying it would be pointless, as he wouldn’t be believed. Jin-hyeon’s guesses were true, and Gu missed his chance to answer.

Rising, Jin-hyeon coolly swung his foot.

Kwa-deuk!

“Guaaaah!”

“Yes or no?”

“Y-yes! You’re right!”

“Hard to trust an answer that pops out after a kick. Is it a lie?”

“N-no! You’re right! I don’t know how you knew… b-but we meant to surpass the Cheongyang Association!”

“Why? They’re strongest in Sichuan, but the gap isn’t that big.”

Gu Yong-seon gave up everything.

“Nonsense! You don’t know! How strong they are, how arrogant! The Cheongyang Association is amassing power, enormous power! They don’t reveal it because the time hasn’t come!”

“Is that so?”

“Their aim is clear. Those bastards aim to unify Sichuan Murim! They plan to grip the mercantile world too and build a kingdom even the Sichuan Branch would not dare challenge!”

Foaming, his face was full of bitterness.

“No one but me knows just how vicious the things they have been doing are! Their unification plan has been in motion for over twenty years. A full twenty years! What is even more terrifying is how cautious they are, that for twenty years they have not allowed their true purpose to show even a little!”

“Hmm.”

“At this rate we’ll wither and die! The Association Leader’s desire has gone too far! He’s a tyrant! He’ll never abide our existence, even as former peers among the Eight Martial Houses!”

“I see.”

“I don’t know your goal, but you clearly dislike the Cheongyang Association!”

“It would seem so.”

“Then you need us! You can’t take them alone! If you mean to oppose the Cheongyang Association, you will need me!”

“So spare you?”

“I, I’m useful. The Abundant Prosperity Guild’s wealth and force are greater than you think. If our aims align, there’s no need for us to fight!”

“All fair words, but you’re mistaken on a few things.”

Gu Yong-seon went rigid as Jin-hyeon’s foot pressed his nape.

“First: my aim is to erase every one of the Eight Martial Houses I dislike. Cheongyang Association, and you, are within my sweep.”

“Grrk!”

“Second. You overrate yourselves. Using sloppy men like you would only give me headaches. Better I devour you all and fight alone.”

“W, wait!”