I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 114

Upon arriving in Sichuan, Jo Gwang-yun didn’t head straight to Chengdu. He toured around the outskirts, meeting with the minor factions of Sichuan first.

This was the first time Jo Gwang-yun had personally met with them since the bloody battle with the Namgung Clan.

When they met again, their attitude toward Jo Gwang-yun had completely changed.

With only differences in scale, the problem of making a living was solved just by protecting the Jo Family’s businesses, especially Jo Family Armory. The more Jo Gwang-yun’s business grew, the more support they provided, and thanks to that, their size and power also increased.

It was a vulgar thing that no one put into words, but Jo Gwang-yun was their reliable benefactor and source of money.

“Lord Jangju [Clan Leader]. You’ve come a long way, so please rest comfortably before you leave. We will take care of you properly.”

“No. I have to go to Chengdu because of urgent business. I just stopped by to take care of a few things.”

“If you had informed us in advance, we would have taken care of everything for you.”

Jo Gwang-yun smiled at them, who had lowered their posture as much as possible.

“The things I need to take care of *are* all of you. So I can’t entrust it to anyone and have to do it myself.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

The leaders of Sichuan’s sects began to feel nervous.

“It’s been quite some time since we joined hands, hasn’t it?”

Jo Gwang-yun said with a smile, but they couldn’t smile. They didn’t know what he was going to say yet.

“Frankly, the current state isn’t bad, but the Jianghu [the martial world] is too rough to keep living without change forever. So I think the time has come for you great heroes to accept change.”

“Change? What do you mean?”

Jo Gwang-yun dropped his smile.

“Until now, you have maintained a state of hesitation, which is halfway between affirmation and negation. But now, that ambiguous hesitation has lost its place. Accept that the time has come to choose only one: affirmation or negation.”

Some of the quick-witted ones knew what choice Jo Gwang-yun was talking about.

“Lord Jangju. The one year we initially promised hasn’t been fulfilled yet… Are we already supposed to take down our sign and put up the Changryong Clan’s sign?”

Jo Gwang-yun quickly waved his hand.

“No. I always keep my word. The choice of changing the sign is definitely something you will choose after fulfilling the one year. This is something else.”

Everyone was relieved to hear that it wasn’t yet time to abandon their pride.

“You will soon face the moment to choose whether to deny the Tang Clan or not. It’s an unavoidable moment.”

Their faces turned pale.

Could it be that the Changryong Clan was trying to strike the Tang Clan? Unlike the Namgung Clan this time, there was no plausible justification. Some thought that Jo Gwang-yun had become arrogant due to money and success.

“What are you trying to do? This is Sichuan. There is no place where the Tang Clan’s power doesn’t reach. Are you thinking of endangering us all with reckless actions?”

“It’s not me. The Black Moon is going to cut off the Tang Clan… No, to be precise, it will cut off the remaining branches of the Tang Clan.”

Jo Gwang-yun explained in detail to those who didn’t understand what he meant about what the Mookdo Association [Black Moon Association] would start doing in the future.

When Jo Gwang-yun finished speaking, most of them seemed to be in shock.

To some extent, there were signs of it, but they didn’t want to believe that the Tang Clan even controlled the black forces of Sichuan and made money.

But the shock was only temporary, and everyone seemed relieved, revealing that their hearts had already left the Tang Clan.

Jo Gwang-yun’s job was to firmly lock the gate so that the hearts of those who had left the Tang Clan would not change.

“I have no interest in the money-making that takes place in the dark corners of Sichuan. So I have no intention of getting involved at all, whether the Mookdo Association takes over or the Tang Clan maintains it.”

Jo Gwang-yun made it clear that he had nothing to do with this matter and would watch from the sidelines. If they agreed, the leaders should not intervene either.

If they sided with the Tang Clan and provided even a little help, their relationship with Jo Gwang-yun would end.

No one knew exactly what would happen. Because they didn’t know, their answers came out without much difficulty.

“We also have the same intention as Lord Jangju. Even if the Tang Clan requests it, we have no intention of cooperating, so trust us.”

Only after hearing the same answer from several places did Jo Gwang-yun enter Chengdu.

* * *

“What? Jo Gwang-yun?”

“Yes. He arrived this afternoon. He’s accompanied by a group of martial artists. About thirty of them.”

“Why is that guy in Sichuan…?”

“What should we do?”

Tang Neung, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, didn’t think for long.

“Attach a few quick-witted guys. Find out everything that guy is doing here. If you find anything suspicious, catch him immediately and bring him here.”

“I will follow your orders.”

As the subordinate left, Tang Neung’s five sons each opened their mouths.

“Father. Isn’t that guy a merchant? He might have come to buy silk, but I think you’re being too sensitive.”

“Brother. Do you know when that guy came to look for silk himself? It was before he started that department store or whatever it was. He hasn’t come directly even once since then. He must have some ulterior motive.”

“He might have a big deal going on. Do you know why I’m trying to take it lightly? What will happen if it becomes known that our family is paying so much attention to that guy? It’s like we’re raising that guy’s value for no reason. If he’s seen as a big shot that even the Tang Clan of Sichuan is paying attention to, we’re cutting down our own status.”

The eldest son said as much as he couldn’t say to his father, blaming his younger brother.

Tang Neung shook his head at the eldest son’s words.

“That guy controls all the silk merchants in Sichuan. No matter how big a deal he has ahead of him, there’s no way he’d come directly. If you tell the escort agency what you want, the silk merchants will take care of it themselves, right? He definitely has a purpose other than business.”

The eldest son closed his mouth at his father’s words.

“By the way, where is Hyo-won?”

Only then did everyone think of Namgung Hyo-won. If the guy who ruined the family was nearby, there was no telling what he would do.

“As always, he doesn’t come out of the training room.”

“Make sure this doesn’t get into Hyo-won’s ears. If Jo Gwang-yun causes a big accident trying to kill that guy, it’s all our responsibility. We must make sure he doesn’t move lightly.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

Tang Neung didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

If there was even a fingernail’s worth of plausible justification, he was thinking of killing Jo Gwang-yun. It wasn’t because of revenge for the Namgung Clan.

The Namgung Clan’s destruction was a big shock, but the time spent on restraint was longer than the time spent grieving. The Hwangbo, Jin, Eon, and Ak families were all eyeing Anhui Province, trying to increase their family’s power.

It was fortunate that the Murim Alliance [Martial Arts Alliance] was preventing them from advancing into Anhui Province.

And the reason why Tang Neung wanted to get rid of Jo Gwang-yun was because of a realistic problem. The actions of the collateral families when the Namgung Clan fell had an impact even on Sichuan.

The various sects in Sichuan, who had lowered themselves like household servants and listened well, had completely changed. They resisted even minor instructions, and when asked to send martial artists when needed, they started asking what the price was.

If it was just one or two guys, he could have taken care of them, but since everyone was rising up, he had no choice but to let go.

All of this was because of that guy, Jo Gwang-yun. That kind of guy walked into the tiger’s den with his own feet.

Tang Neung wanted to seize this heaven-sent opportunity.

Several days passed, but there was no opportunity to find fault.

All he did was have drinks with silk merchants and look around Sichuan’s specialties.

The only unusual thing was that he bought a large amount of sugarcane fields.

Anyone could see that he was acting like a merchant, which made him feel frustrated.

If he went back like this, it felt like it would be a regret for the rest of his life.

But for Tang Neung, the regret for the rest of his life was not that Jo Gwang-yun returned safely. It was that he missed the Mookdo Association’s martial artists who had secretly entered Sichuan because he was paying attention to Jo Gwang-yun.

* * *

As soon as Lee Geon arrived in Sichuan, he released martial artists belonging to the Surveillance Department and began searching for organizations that had no connection to the Tang Clan.

After about two days, the leaders of several gangster-like organizations in Chengdu, who couldn’t even breathe properly, were dragged in, trembling with fear.

“Don’t be scared. Why are you guys so weak? That’s why you’re pushed into the corner and hide like rats. You pathetic bastards.”

It was truly insulting, but they couldn’t even make eye contact, overwhelmed by the energy emanating from the suspicious guys.

“You guys will now have your spring days [a time of good fortune]. What I mean is that we’re going to nurture you. Do you understand?”

“Wh-where did you esteemed people come from…?”

“Mookdo Association [Black Moon Association].”

At Lee Geon’s short answer, the men prostrated themselves on the floor.

They had heard that they would be nurtured, but they were more afraid that they might displease them and die before that.

“Listen carefully to what I’m going to say from now on. We plan to take over Sichuan. So you guys need to tell us in detail who’s making a lot of money in the shadows. If you give even a little bit of wrong information, you won’t taste the spring days.”

“L-Lord. The Tang Clan is firmly behind those who make a lot of money. Do you know that?”

“The Tang Clan is behind them, so you guys have a chance. If there was no Tang Clan, the Mookdo Association would have already taken over Sichuan.”

“Does that mean you’re going to sweep away the Tang Clan’s lackeys?”

“There’s a quick-witted guy, hehe. That’s right. We’re going to sweep this place away and leave it to you guys. Tell me if there are any guys who aren’t confident. I’ll kill you on the spot.”

He thought he would tell them to leave if they weren’t confident, but he was going to kill them?

It was an unmistakable statement that they were the Mookdo Association.

All sorts of names began to pour out of the mouths of the terrified men.

* * *

Dan Pyung-bong, who runs three gambling houses in Chengdu alone and several gambling houses in the nearby areas of Dae-eup, Geumdang, and Ganyang, kicked his subordinate who ran in with a broken nose and blood dripping down.

“You useless bastards! You couldn’t even handle three guys causing trouble and came to me?”

“H-Hyungnim [respected older brother]. It’s not just three guys. They’re not ordinary masters, so I ran here. If you don’t take care of it quickly, all the kids will die.”

Dan Pyung-bong snatched the sword hanging on the wall at the word master.

“Let’s go. I need to see the face of the crazy bastard first.”

Behind Dan Bong-pyung, who was holding a sword, a dozen subordinates with fierce weapons followed.

As soon as Dan Bong-pyung entered the gambling house, he thought he would have to close the business for a few days.

The gambling house, where all the customers had left, was a mess, and all he could see were subordinates lying around here and there, groaning.

Three men in plain black clothes were turning over cards and gambling, even though Dan Bong-pyung’s group had arrived.

“These bastards…! Have you lost your minds? Do you even know where this is and act like this? Huh!”

The man turning over the cards said without looking back.

“I know. Isn’t it a gambling house run by a guy named Dan Bong-pyung or something?”

Dan Pyung-bong’s expression hardened when he said his name accurately.

They’re not just guys who have learned some martial arts and are causing a ruckus because they lost money. They have a purpose for creating this mess.

“What’s your identity? Where did you come from?”

One of the men threw a leather pouch that he had placed under his feet at Dan Bong-pyung.

“What’s this again?”

When Dan Pyung-bong gestured to his side, the subordinate quickly untied the leather pouch.

“Ugh!”

The man was startled and stepped back, dropping the pouch. What was sticking out of the pouch was the head of a young girl.