I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 151

Hwangbo Hwan glared at the Changryong Gate’s signboard for a moment before entering.

The Changryong Gate martial artists, who were training in the training hall, noticed him and stopped their practice.

“Young Master Hwangbo, what brings you here?”

One of the martial artists bowed respectfully, and Hwangbo Hwan reluctantly clasped his hands together.

“I have an urgent message from my family.”

“Please, speak.”

“My father and the head of the Ak family wish to see Head Instructor Jo Gwangyun. Please request him to come to Shandong urgently.”

The man frowned.

“We do not know the whereabouts of Head Instructor Jo. We would need to check with all the Changryong Gate branches throughout the Central Plains to find out. And… he is a busy man, so unless it is urgent, he will not deliberately take the time to come to Shandong. Could you perhaps tell us what this is about?”

He meant that Jo Gwangyun was not someone who would come running at the drop of a hat.

Hwangbo Hwan gritted his teeth.

“Do not test the patience of the Hwangbo and Ak families. We do not know when our patience will end. But I will tell you what will happen when it does. Our families will strike Changryong Gate.”

“Are you declaring war now?”

Hwangbo Hwan smirked and said,

“A declaration of war? Changryong Gate at war with two families? Do not be ridiculous. Just think of it as cleaning up trash.”

Since he had to subjugate the Wae [Japanese] invaders, which was not in his plans, Hwangbo Hwan could not say anything good.

The men in the training hall stirred, tightening their grip on their weapons.

“Everyone, stay still. He is a guest.”

The man who had stepped forward spoke quietly, and everyone took a step back.

“So, you mean you will strike us if we do not quickly bring Head Instructor Jo to you? Whether it is war or cleaning?”

“That is right.”

“Oh, dear. This is a big problem. If the two powerhouses of Shandong strike this small Changryong Gate, we are all dead.”

He said it was a big problem, but his mocking expression was obvious, and Hwangbo Hwan flared up.

“Do you think I am joking? Does this look like a joke to you?”

“Of course not. I know you are serious. The Hwangbo family, famous throughout the Jianghu [martial arts world], would not lie, would they? I will show you that I believe Young Master Hwangbo’s words.”

Show his belief? How?

The incomprehensible words soon turned into action.

The man shouted to the Changryong Gate martial artists in the training hall.

“Everyone, you heard Young Master Hwangbo’s warning, right?”

“Yes, Branch Leader!”

“Soon, the Hwangbo and Ak families will devastate this place. We cannot stop them with our abilities, so we will use the best strategy in the art of war.”

The man winked at Hwangbo Hwan and shouted again.

“The thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best. Everyone, pack your bags… No. You will remember what Head Instructor Jo always emphasized: Abandon money and save your lives. Possessions can be replaced… Just take the weapons in your hands and evacuate immediately. Go!”

The martial artists in the training hall flew away without hesitation, and the large training hall was instantly empty.

The man smiled at Hwangbo Hwan, who was dumbfounded by this sight.

“Look. How scared would I have to be to order everyone to run away without taking anything? Now that there is no one here, do as you please. Set fire to this place, destroy it all, do whatever you want. Oh, and if you search the dojo well, you might be able to find some good money. As you can see, we are only saving our lives. Then.”

The man also flew away in an instant.

Hwangbo Hwan was speechless and stood blankly in the empty training hall for a long time.

* * *

While Hwangbo Hwan was visiting Changryong Gate, the heads of the two families directly visited the sects mentioned by the Emperor.

Normally, they would have sent subordinates, but they had to select people who would be away for three years, so they had to move themselves.

However, even though the heads of the families went in person, the answer they received was no different from what they had expected.

“Hey. What can we do? It is the Emperor’s order.”

“Family Head. We have plenty of men in our sect who have completed their military service. But you want to take ten of them?”

“Did I not say it is the Emperor’s order? Should I show you the Emperor’s personal letter again?”

“Family Head! Who said we doubt the Emperor’s personal letter? Why us? There are dozens of sects in Shandong like ours. If each sect contributes two or three, everyone will be able to bear it. But a whole ten… We do not even have thirty disciples…”

The heads of the Hwangbo and Ak families had a miserable expression, ending with a weeping sound.

“So? Are you going to defy the Emperor’s order? Are you saying it is okay to be branded as traitors and have your entire family annihilated? You only have to give up your disciples, but I have to give up my children!”

They could not bring themselves to say that all of this was Jo Gwangyun’s scheme.

“Just let them depart for now. I will pull some strings so they can return as soon as possible.”

Thus, one hundred martial artists were gathered in a situation where they were forced to do something against their will, and the two families, holding back real tears, sent their precious children to catch the Wae invaders.

Of course, the eunuchs and military officers from the Imperial Palace checked all of this one by one, and there were eyes watching them carefully from afar. They were the disciples of Changryong Gate who had run away.

After the send-off ceremony, the two families closed their doors tightly and entered an emergency meeting.

“Those Changryong Gate bastards do not know shame.”

Hwangbo Hwan listed the behavior of Changryong Gate and burst into anger.

“Those bastards are one of the pillars of the Murim Alliance [martial arts alliance]! I must rush to the Murim Alliance and tell the Alliance Leader.”

As Hwangbo Deuk was about to rush out, Ak Seungmyeong shook his head.

“Hwangbo Daehyeop [a respectful title]. Let us not make this a big deal. We were the ones who said we would strike first. If the Murim Alliance asks for the reason, what will you say? Can you say that Jo Gwangyun moved the Emperor? This matter must end here in Shandong.”

“How? Changryong Gate has run away with their tails between their legs, and we cannot even find Jo Gwangyun anywhere in this vast Central Plains?”

As they could not find a suitable method and their voices kept rising, a voice carefully reported from outside.

“My lords. A man wants to deliver a letter.”

Once bitten, twice shy, everyone was startled at the word “letter.”

The two family heads burst out of the door, and a man politely handed over a letter.

“Who are you? Who are you?”

“I am a bodyguard from the security agency. Jo Gwangyun ordered me to deliver this letter from Kaifeng.”

“What? Kaifeng?”

Ak Seungmyeong snatched the letter and quickly read it. He passed the letter to Hwangbo Deuk. Hwangbo Deuk also read it quickly, and a rough sound came from his mouth.

“How dare he! How dare he order us around!”

He knew that Jo Gwangyun was looking for them through carrier pigeons, but he was too busy to move, so he asked them to come to Kaifeng.

However, if they were thinking of declaring war on Changryong Gate, he would only listen to the words coming from the head of the family.

He meant that he would no longer deal with young children.

It was presumptuous, but what could they do? The lives of their children were at stake…

The two family heads had no time to delay.

* * *

“I am sorry. I should have come to Shandong, but I could not find the time, so I asked you to come here.”

Hwangbo Deuk and Ak Seungmyeong were surprised to see Jo Gwangyun’s appearance after a long time, but they did not show it.

When they saw him at the Murim Alliance a long time ago, he was just a fledgling with a sharp tongue, but now he had the aura of a great master.

Moreover, they thought he barely knew how to hold a sword, but now, looking at his deep, piercing eyes, he seemed comparable to their children.

The most surprising thing was his confidence.

It was clear that he had not run away out of fear of the Changryong Gate branch in Shandong. There was no way a guy showing such confidence would be scared and run away.

It was clear that he had evacuated the disciples first, who could have been hostages.

Ak Seungmyeong paid his respects first.

“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

Hwangbo Deuk did not like Ak Seungmyeong’s changed attitude, but he acknowledged that his strategy was better than his, so he clasped his hands together.

“Thank you.”

Jo Gwangyun led the docile two inside.

As they took their seats, teacups were brought out, and they drank in silence for a while.

“So, what kind of discourtesy did our Changryong Gate commit that you said you would kill them all?”

Jo Gwangyun asked politely, and Ak Seungmyeong said,

“You have to pay for the gift you received, do you not?”

“Yes? You mean lives are the price of the gift?”

“The lives of ten from our two families and the lives of one hundred from our collateral sects. Since we received such a big gift, the lives of the Changryong Gate Jinan branch are just the beginning.”

Jo Gwangyun smiled and picked up his teacup.

“Could you at least tell me the order in which you will strike?”

Ak Seungmyeong stroked his chest at Jo Gwangyun’s relaxed appearance.

It was clear that this guy had no intention of fighting. He would definitely be able to turn back the Wae subjugation force.

“Rather than that, take the gift back. Then we will not have to strike Changryong Gate.”

Jo Gwangyun frowned.

“What I wanted was exactly that: peaceful coexistence. Did not this troublesome thing happen because you refused it?”

“You are misunderstanding. I am saying we will not strike, but I am not saying you should settle down in Shandong. You are the one who made things troublesome.”

“You still mean that coexistence is impossible.”

“If we retreat here, our reputation will be ruined. As you know, reputation comes first for Jianghu people.”

“I do not know. I am the type of guy who can throw away reputation at any time… Did you not see? I ran away without hesitation.”

“You are a merchant, so you can do that.”

Listening to these words, the two family heads still did not understand the reality.

“You mean that the war can be avoided if Changryong Gate withdraws from Shandong and the Wae subjugation force is turned back.”

“It is not war, it is a massacre.”

Silence fell after Ak Seungmyeong’s words.

When the teapot was empty, Jo Gwangyun slowly opened his mouth.

“Where I lived, there was a game called chicken game or chick game.”

Hwangbo Deuk frowned.

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden? Chicken?”

“Listen. It is very interesting.”

Ak Seungmyeong nodded to Hwangbo Deuk, and he closed his mouth.

“Two people on horseback face each other and run. They increase their speed and run at top speed. But if they do not stop, they will collide. As you know, if horses running at full speed collide head-on, the horses and people will be seriously injured. They may even die.”

“You call such a crazy thing a game?”

“But there has never been a single injury in this game. Amazing, right?”

“How is that?”

“The person who gets scared first turns the horse’s head away. Then they barely avoid each other.”

Ak Seungmyeong frowned. He roughly guessed what he was trying to say.

“In the end, this game reveals who is scared first, who has the bigger guts, and who is prepared to die.”

“Are you saying we should try it once?”

Ak Seungmyeong said.

“Subjugate the Changryong Gate branches one by one. I will continue to send the Emperor’s personal letters. Next time, ten people from each family, then twenty… In the end, you will even receive a personal letter telling you to take a ship and smash the Wae invaders’ base.”

The smile disappeared from Jo Gwangyun’s face.

“Shall we bet for fun on who turns the horse’s head away first? I can bet all my assets that the two families will pull the reins first.”

End