Episode 186

“What happened!? “

Even before the ring of the bell could end, the clerks began to rush in and flood the area in front of the desk, as if they were waiting for this.

As expected from the Main Office of the Dongrim Money Hall, their response was swift.

With the guards and clerks surrounded, the one leading them, stepped ahead, frowning at the fallen man.

“I am Hwang Gak-su and in charge of guarding the Xi’an office. Who created such a fuss here?”

Hwang Gak-su greeted Namgung Chang-wi and the others with a polite yet firm look.

“Huh, I hit the dog and a servant comes, if I hit you, will your owner come out?”

“Be careful of what you say!”

Hwang Gak-su didn’t back down to what Namgung Chang-wi said.

Due to the raging forces coming from the two, the tension within the Office had increased and Zhuge Sansan and Chung Sang, who were watching from behind, frowned.

“Taoist Chung Sang.”

“Uh?”

“Doesn’t something seem odd?”

“…?”

As Zhuge Sansan looked around and spoke carefully, Chung Sang next to her nodded with an expression which said ‘this is expected’.

Chung Sang felt strange the moment this man called Hwang Gak-su appeared.

Although he called himself the guard and manager of this Office, he had definitely learned martial arts.

And his skills felt a bit too much for a simple manager or guard leader. Should he actually let this go as a simple fight as was a natural thing that happens at the Dongrim Office?

Maybe she felt it too.

“Teacher Nuna (Sister), what is it?”

Chung Woo, who hadn’t noticed it yet, tilted his head.

This guy was one clueless guy.

The atmosphere around him was becoming all nervous and anxious with both sides trying to overwhelm the other and yet, with a thicker skin than before, he was asking what was wrong.

And if this woman was the teacher, then what should a real teacher be called?

Chung Sang frowned a little but didn’t say anything.

After stepping into the Yongbong Hall, Chung Woo was determined to cultivate his basic knowledge, and the two of them became close during that time.

Although Chung Sang warned him several times that it was against the nature of a Taoist, there were always things that shouldn’t be uttered by them like ‘nuna’.

Maybe she thought it was cute with Chung Woo following her and calling her ‘nuna, nuna’; since Sansan was fine with it, Chung Sang couldn’t reprimand him further.

Well, what was important now isn’t the question of his nature, but the question of Zhuge Sansan.

“Even to my eyes, he looks like a strange being.”

“Uh?”

“Ah, you were asking about Hwang Gak-su?”

“……”

Contrary to his expectations, looking at this man, it seemed like she didn’t feel anything different.

“Maybe Taoists feel something different.”

“……”

“The reaction of the Office I mean.”

The reaction of the Office?

Chung Sang looked at her and her point of view was different from Chung Sang.

“Don’t you think they were preparing in advance?”

“What do you mean?”

Chung Woo tilted his head and whispered.

“Well, now that I think about it, it seems like it.”

Chung Sang thought for a moment and then nodded.

What did this mean?

Chung Woo turned his head to both sides and blinked, looking between Chung Sang and Zhuge Sansan.

Did the two of them share a secret without his knowledge?

They said nothing, but it seemed like only the two of them knew something.

“Sahyung and Teacher, make me understand….”

Chung Woo spoke timidly but the two focused on the conversation with more serious looks.

“No matter how much of a fuss we made, their responses were quick.”

“I guess that means they were waiting for this, I think that Young Master Namgung had caught their bait.”

“Yes. But why though? Like any merchant union, a money hall cannot ignore the influence of the Murim Alliance right?”

When Chung Sang, who didn’t know the workings of all this asked, Zhuge Sansan answered normally.

“Right. They cannot ignore us. Under normal circumstances, they would have no choice but to comply with our demands. But look at their response now.”

Zhuge Sansan looked carefully at Hwang Gak-su.

“Even if this is a money hall, it is more about the officials and not Murim with… ah! This!”

While explaining Zhuge Sansan was wide-eyed.

“I think we need to stop the actions of Young Master Namgung right now.”

Chung Sang, who didn’t understand her anxious tone, looked at her in confusion and…

Swish!

“Euh!”

Before Chung Sang could stop, Namgung Chang-wi threw a punch at Hwang Gak-su who fell back and groaned.

Uh?

Chung Sang stiffened.

Why?

The strength of Hwang Gak-su which he saw was better than expected.

Although he identified himself as the manager, it was difficult to guess the force he was showing them.

And there are just two cases where one cannot feel the force and pressure from another.

Either the opponent is good at concealing their skills, or they are much stronger than you.

And such a person was taken down this easily? Without even defending?

“Are you blocking the path of mine, Namgung Chang-wi, with that measly strength? Such overconfidence.”

While Chung Sang and the others were unsure of this, Namgung Chang-wi was not stopping.

The way he walked was ferocious, like he was going to pound Hwang Gak-su down to a pulp at any second.

But then Hwang Gak-su who was bleeding, had an odd smile and this further fueled the ominous thought in Zhuge Sansan’s mind.

Everything was odd from the get go.

No matter how great the Money Hall was, it was impossible to treat an opponent who mentioned the name of Namgung without a single worker feeling fear.

And this person called Hwang Gak-su, showed up as if he was waiting for an argument to happen and then get hit.

All of this felt so idiotic.

And she should have noticed it somehow.

“We need to hurry. Any further fights will not be nice. We might not even be able to conduct the investigation itself.”

Seeing Zhuge Sansan’s expression, Chang Sung didn’t hesitate any longer and took a step towards Namgung Chang-wi to stop him.

Regardless of the detailed explanation, he had no choice but to trust her words.

“Young Master Namgung, that’s enough!”

“……”

As Chung Sang blocked the path to Hwang gak-su, Namgung Chang-Wi’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you trying to do now?”

“Reckless use of strength is not a good thing. And you aren’t in the position for it either.”

Namgung Chang-wi’s eyes twitched at Chung Sang’s words.

He didn’t like it one bit.

How Chung Sang was blocking his path.

“What Taoist Chung Sang said is right. We are here to investigate and not pick fights.”

And with Zhuge Sansan taking his side, making Namgung Chang-wi even more furious.

How dare she take the side of that bastard so openly!

Namgung Chang-wi looked coldly at the warriors of the west division over Chung Sang, Chung Woo, and Zhuge Sansan.

Chung Woo still looked so confused at what was happening and the rest of the troops didn’t seem like they wanted to step in, they were all just observing the situation.

“Move.”

Namgung Chang-wi spoke.

“Young Master Namgung, such a temper is not good, calm down now….”

“Shut up!”

“Young Master….”

“You want to teach me now!?”

“……”

“You seem to have forgotten, but I am the leader for the Xi’an mission this time.”

“……”

He wasn’t wrong.

He was the leader.

Yang So-bang had officially declared it.

A letter was delivered to the place to enable him to receive help from the Justice Factions and he was even given a plaque stating to be the leader.

The warriors didn’t know it but Namgung Mu-hyu was present at this selection.

At first, Chung Sang was mentioned, but since Namgung Chang-wi had shown amazing skills, Yang So-bang didn’t worry much about it either.

He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to support a man who is skilled. But there was something they failed to consider. Namgung Chang-wi’s envy towards Chung Sang.

And that was what had brought this on.

“Young Master Namgung.”

“If you do not step back, I will consider this as a rebellion against the leader and report this.”

Namgung Chang-wi, blinded by these toxic thoughts, didn’t back down.

Chung Sang looked at Zhuge Sansan who shook her head saying that she had no reason to make him stop, as they hadn’t found a good explanation.

“Young Master Namgung, step down like Taoist Chung Sang said. Your behavior right now will do us no good.”

Zhuge Sansan sided with Chung Sang and Chung Woo who had no understanding of this, just followed and stood with them.

“You people!”

But this only made the man more enraged.

How can a mere Wudang Taoist born of humble origins even try to stop a man as powerful as him?

And that too, in front of the troops he was supposed to command, with Zhuge Sansan on his side!

“I said that I am the leader!”

The voice of Namgung Chang-wi, whose eyes were red with anger, rang out loudly throughout the Money Hall.

But he had to be stopped since it was bound to further complicate matters.

[Taoist Chung Sang, we need to stop him.]

[If that happens then the pride of Yang So-bang who appointed him as the leader, will be affected too.]

[Pride isn’t the issue here. If he makes a mistake now, it will be horrible for further investigation.]

Hearing her words, Chung Sang clenched his fist with a stiff look.

Whatever the reason, she had said it.

As she said, it’s a matter of thinking about future investigations.

“You… you will stop me?”

Namgung Chang-wi snorted and grabbed his sword.

While the situation was reaching a critical point,

“What is happening in here!”

The gates of the Money Hall opened and a person in an official’s uniform with clouds on the chest and back stepped onto the battlefield with a harsh shout.

Chak! Chak! Chak!

As the armed warriors followed him in a row, Zhuge Sansan’s face contorted.

Exactly as she feared.

Among the officials in Xi’an, there was just one person who had the cloud on his breastplate.

The highest among all the officials.

Elder Tae Yang-myung, the head of the West Anbu branch.

“How dare you cause a ruckus in Xi’an, where Tae Yang-myung rules!”

Tae Yang-myung glared at the Murim warriors.

At his appearance, even Namgung Chang-wi simmered down a little. Because he was the son of the Namgung family, he knew that no matter how enraged he was, he couldn’t treat an official this carelessly.

“Branch Leader, I am Namgung Chang-wi, a member of the Yongbong Hall…”

“Who asked for your name?”

Before he could even greet, Tae Yang-myung shouted and stopped him from speaking.

“First listen to what I have to say….”

“Shut up! How dare you act like this! Even though you know that this Money Hall is under the control of the officials!”

“……”

Namgung Chang-wi realized that everything was going wrong as this man shouted.

His mind, once blinded by anger, cooled down and the situation could then be seen clearly.

Hwang Gak-su, who was bleeding around the face, which was hit, and a clerk who was hit too.

Anyone could see that it looked like the Murim warriors were those in the wrong.

“What are you doing! Arrest them!”

Chak!

At Tae Yang-myung’s orders, the soldiers aimed their spears at the warriors.

Of course, what was their strength?

Although there were more than a dozen people, it was enough for Chung Woo to take them down, but they were not the Evil Sect or Demonic Cult, but warriors from the Justice Faction.

And these were officials.

Even if neither joined in, there would be no benefit in causing a clash between the two organizations openly.

And the moment a fight starts, what they feared would end up happening.

And it was obvious that this would only generate a negative impact on the Justice Faction and the Murim families each person here belonged to.

“Branch Leader, we are aligned with the Justice….”

“I said to shut your mouth!”

Namgung Chang-wi suddenly tried to speak in an attempt to resolve the situation, but this time, before he could say it, the angry command was issued.