I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 65

< The Namgung Family Moves, Part 3 >

Namgung Hyun reconsidered his strategy.

He needed to focus on Jo Gwang-yun, not Im Bon-jae’s Changryong Clan.

“Tell that Zhuge fellow this.”

“Yes, speak.”

“Pressuring Mo Yong-hwi makes it seem like we’re cornered and desperate, so we’re not inclined to do that. Instead…”

“Instead…”

“Why not subtly suggest finding out the Changryong Clan’s weaknesses and making them public? After all, Zhuge Mo-gun suggested this method, so it won’t seem strange.”

“The Changryong Clan’s weaknesses?”

“Yes. Just throw it out there.”

“Father, the Changryong Clan has only grown in size. It’s no different from buying martial artists with money… And since they’re not part of the mainstream orthodox sects, they haven’t clashed with others. Would they have any weaknesses?”

Namgung Hyun’s gaze at Namgung Hyo-shin was filled with frustration. He sighed at his son’s simplicity, who couldn’t grasp things immediately and always blurted out his own thoughts first.

A firstborn son excelling only in appearance. It was a bleak prospect.

“Listen here, eldest son.”

Namgung Hyo-shin found his father’s subtle tone even more frightening. He tensed up, focusing intently on his father’s words.

“I’ll do the thinking, so how about our eldest son just does as his father says?”

“Ah, yes, Father.”

“And remember, don’t show any strange reactions and act as you always do. If he suspects we’re suspicious, he’ll pull another trick.”

Namgung Hyun repeatedly warned him before sending his son away.

Then, he summoned all the subordinates who had come with him and gave them special instructions.

“I want you to rush to Gaebong immediately and find out everything about that Jo Gwang-yun. Where is his hometown, when did he come to Gaebong, and how has he been raking in money until now? You must find out everything without missing a single detail.”

“Yes, Clan Leader.”

As time passed, Namgung Hyun became more convinced. Perhaps Jo Gwang-yun was the Changryong Clan’s biggest weakness.

* * *

“What? The Changryong Clan?”

Zhuge Mo-gun frowned. He was puzzled as to why they were suddenly changing their minds.

“Military Advisor Zhuge’s plan is good, but attacking the Mo Yong family seems like it would be more difficult to handle. So, we’re keeping your plan but changing the target. To the Changryong Clan. Why? Is it strange?”

“It’s just very unexpected. The Changryong Clan is the party involved in the incident…”

“Do you think they don’t have any weaknesses? We need to take them down this opportunity. Aren’t they the reason Mo Yong-hwi is running wild?”

“Do they have any major weaknesses to take them down?”

“We have to find them. Or create them. Isn’t their base in Gaebong? Gaebong is the Beggars’ Sect’s front yard, so they must know something.”

Zhuge Mo-gun didn’t miss Namgung Hyo-shin constantly glancing at him.

Then, something flashed through his mind. It was Namgung Hyun.

Not the old man who held his hand and asked him to take care of his son. He was the real power behind the Namgung family, who had grown it into the best martial arts family. The son in front of him was just speaking and acting as the old man instructed.

Suddenly, he felt fear.

Could he have noticed his plan? Could he have read his intention to incite conflict between the two families?

“I understand. I’ll look into it.”

Zhuge Mo-gun quickly replied.

If he hesitated or voiced opposition here, the old man Namgung Hyun might suspect him even more.

However, hasty actions always lead to mistakes.

Namgung Hyo-shin thought that perhaps his father’s guess was accurate when Zhuge Mo-gun, who always ignored his opinions, nodded so easily.

The Zhuge Mo-gun in front of him was definitely a rat [a traitor or informant].

* * *

“Clan Lord!”

Gu Seung, who came running in, had an unusual expression.

“Suspicious guys are snooping around Gaebong.”

“Suspicious guys?”

“Yes. They’re asking about you, Clan Lord.”

“Me? Have you identified who they are?”

“I’ve assigned some swift individuals to tail them. But they seem to be Namgung family lackeys.”

To hear the name Namgung in Gaebong?

Jo Gwang-yun hurriedly asked back.

“Where did they do that?”

“They went to the department store and asked about this and that… They reportedly exchanged these words among themselves. ‘I’ve never seen such fine silk even in the Namgung family…'”

“And? What did they ask the merchants?”

“They keep asking when you started doing business in Gaebong, how you ended up in Gaebong… Anyway, they keep asking about your past.”

“I don’t know if they contacted the Beggars’ Sect?”

“We’ve been tailing them since the merchants informed us. I’ll check.”

Jo Gwang-yun grabbed Gu Seung, who was about to leave.

“No. You meet with the Beggars’ Sect. Tell them to keep their mouths shut about me no matter who asks. Mobilize everyone to prevent those guys from contacting the Beggars’ Sect.”

“Yes, Clan Lord.”

As Gu Seung rushed out, Jo Gwang-yun leaned back in his chair.

“I thought they were just focused on defense… There’s someone in the Namgung family who knows how to fight.”

In this era, you don’t prove guilt; you have to prove innocence. Even if they present very minor circumstantial evidence, you’re too busy explaining, and before you know it, you’re branded as a criminal.

The Namgung family had several pieces of circumstantial evidence, so he thought he would end up just explaining, but someone clever was trying to attempt a so-called ‘frame shift’ [changing the focus of blame]. From the murder in Seoa-an to Jo Gwang-yun’s suspicious past.

“Zhuge Mo-gun, I thought he was quite capable, but he’s a pushover.”

In a battle of wits, if your moves are read, you lose. Zhuge Mo-gun incited the two powerful families to fight, but the Namgung family’s strategist seemed smarter.

He was trying to brush aside the fight that Zhuge Mo-gun incited and bring in Jo Gwang-yun.

If he wasn’t careful, he could end up being dragged along while just explaining.

Jo Gwang-yun repacked his luggage and gathered the martial artists who would accompany him. He wanted to go to the Martial Alliance to accurately read the game board’s situation.

If necessary, he was thinking of removing the knight named Zhuge Mo-gun and sitting back on that game board himself.

* * *

“Who is it? The person who made our Military Advisor Zhuge helpless?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you feigning ignorance? Or do you not know? If you say you don’t know, I’ll be beyond disappointed; I’ll be devastated.”

Zhuge Mo-gun’s face turned red, and he bit his lip. It meant he already knew and had admitted his mistake.

“It’s Namgung Hyun, the head of the Namgung family. Namgung Hyo-shin’s father.”

“A hidden power, I see.”

“You could say that. He leaves the Martial Alliance to his eldest son and stays in the main house, rarely coming out.”

For such a person to come out meant that he felt a sense of crisis. Just looking at this, the murderer was definitely the Namgung family.

“So? Is that old man aiming for the Changryong Clan?”

“He said it openly. That he needed to take down the Changryong Clan.”

“He definitely said the Changryong Clan?”

“Yes. Namgung Hyo-shin said it himself.”

Not the strategist father, but the son?

“What did the father say?”

“He didn’t show any such reaction in front of me at all. He just said things like he trusted me, asked me to take good care of his son… Just sweet talk. And then he completely ignored my opinion and stabbed me in the back.”

Jo Gwang-yun thought for a moment and then said with a somber expression.

“Military Advisor Zhuge. Are you going to be okay?”

Zhuge Mo-gun wasn’t stupid enough not to understand what he meant. And he knew that it wasn’t sincere concern but sarcasm.

“Clan Lord Jo! I said stop it!”

Raising his voice meant that he was that anxious.

“I can’t stop. Because neither you nor I can ever be okay.”

“What?”

“The son said he would attack the Changryong Clan, right? That’s a trick. That guy’s father is targeting me. There are already tons of Namgung family guys in Gaebong. All of them are thoroughly searching my life. Even if a tiny problem comes out, they might use it to reverse the situation.”

Zhuge Mo-gun turned pale.

He didn’t know what a tiny problem could be, nor did he care. Namgung Hyun had hidden everything from him. What he had suspected had turned into certainty. The Namgung family didn’t trust him.

Jo Gwang-yun drove the wedge into Zhuge Mo-gun’s rapidly changing complexion.

“Once this is over, the Namgung family will be after your head, right? That’s the characteristic of martial artists. They never let traitors live. Isn’t that right?”

Zhuge Mo-gun was worried not about his own head but even about his family.

Killing traitors wasn’t for justice but for warning. A warning that traitors must be killed.

The louder the warning, the better. There was no warning as powerful as the extermination of a family. The Namgung family were the kind of guys who would do that and still have plenty left over.

“Actually, I’m okay even if things aren’t okay; my life isn’t hanging by a thread. The worst that could happen is that I get kicked out of the Martial Alliance, right? And I have money. If necessary, I can run far away with money. With the amount of money I have, I can live well no matter where I go. But what about you?”

“The introduction is too long. What do you want to say?”

“That the Zhuge family and the Namgung family can’t live under the same sky. Now, you’re more urgent and desperate than I am.”

“You’re still talking nonsense for too long.”

Jo Gwang-yun was pouring oil on the burning fire, but Zhuge Mo-gun had no choice but to endure it. He had to hold onto that guy’s hand. Or else he had no allies.

“Tell me everything about the Namgung family. And create a plan to erase the Namgung family from the martial world. Ah, I’m not just going to sit idly by either. I’ll join you in using every means to end that family.”

To ruin the Namgung family.

If it were before, he would have dismissed it as utter nonsense and laughed it off, but now he had to make it happen.

“The Namgung family’s extermination? I’m okay with that. Why did you suddenly change your mind? You wanted to take over the Martial Alliance and control a large martial family like the Namgung family.”

Jo Gwang-yun waved his hand greatly and shook his head.

“I’m sick and tired of martial artists and martial families now. Even if I take over the Martial Alliance, how long will it last? There will be swarms of guys scheming under the surface like we are now, right?”

“You have to dominate even those guys to be a true leader.”

“No. I’d rather make the name of the Changryong Clan known in the martial world than the Martial Alliance. The Changryong Clan that crushed the Namgung family. With this name, no one in the martial world will mess with me.”

Zhuge Mo-gun couldn’t stop the laughter that burst out even in this urgent situation.

“What? The Changryong Clan crushes the Namgung family? Hahaha! You might as well say a puppy ate a tiger. That’s more plausible.”

Jo Gwang-yun smirked as he looked at Zhuge Mo-gun, who was laughing loudly. This guy still hadn’t come to his senses.

“We have to make it plausible, and that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

“No matter how good I am, I can’t create a brilliant plan for the Changryong Clan to crush the Namgung family. It’s easier to use another method.”

“Is there another method?”

Zhuge Mo-gun closed his mouth.

Another method? He had to rack his brains to create one, but it didn’t seem easy.

Jo Gwang-yun smiled and said to Zhuge Mo-gun, who had suddenly closed his mouth.

“There’s something I’m really curious about. Can I ask?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, I looked into it a bit, and the Zhuge family has held the position of military advisor in the Martial Alliance for generations.”

“So? What about it?”

“Is it because the Zhuge family people are smart for generations? Or is it just because they’re descendants of Master Gongming [Zhuge Liang, a famous strategist in Chinese history], so they do it out of courtesy? No matter how I look at it, it seems like the latter to me.”

Zhuge Mo-gun glared and shouted.

“You bastard! You can insult me, but don’t you dare disgrace our family!”

“Bullshit. You bastard. Watch your mouth depending on who you’re talking to. If it weren’t for me, your family might end with you. Get rid of your pride quickly.”

That was right. If he could protect his family, would he only throw away his pride? He could throw away his life too.

< The Namgung Family Moves, Part 3 > End