I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 98

< Living Together 3 >

Even a master with profound inner energy would be shaken; it would be a blessing if an ordinary man didn’t faint from such a sight.

I don’t know what kind of education she received, but Yang Ryeo-cheong’s vulgarity had vanished as if washed away, replaced by a noble purity that most men wouldn’t dare to touch.

Rather than harboring truly lewd thoughts, one would feel a sense of awe, as if beholding a masterpiece of the century.

When Jo Gwang-yun gestured to Bang Young-young, she carefully guided Yang Ryeo-cheong down from the pavilion. Mo Yong-hwi still couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, but he couldn’t very well stop her.

Coincidentally, the sun was setting in the direction she disappeared.

Mo Yong-hwi watched the sunset and her retreating figure for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

“Hoo-”

“How is it? Was it worth the long trip?”

“Shut up. I want to savor this lingering feeling a little longer.”

Mo Yong-hwi tilted the bottle and drank several cups in a row before 벌떡 [beoljjeok – abruptly/suddenly] getting up.

“I’m going to look around the manor and then sleep. You take care of your business.”

Jo Gwang-yun winked at the servant girl below the pavilion.

“Take a guide with you. We will escort you to your quarters when you are done looking around.”

Mo Yong-hwi nodded and strode away.

While staying at Jo Gwang-yun’s manor, Mo Yong-hwi planned to forget all his headaches and enjoy drinking, music, and the gisaeng’s [Korean courtesan] dances, relaxing his mind and body as much as possible.

* * *

On the night of the third day of Mo Yong-hwi’s stay at Jo Gwang-yun’s manor, Lee Hak-lin, having arrived in Gye-yang, touched the sword at his waist as he looked at the dimly lit, tightly closed castle gate.

They wouldn’t open the gate, and he couldn’t enter carrying a sword.

After confirming the soldiers patrolling back and forth on the castle walls, Lee Hak-lin pushed off the ground and leaped over the walls.

Even with just the moonlight, it was easy enough to find his way around the forbidden castle, but Lee Hak-lin remained hidden in the shadows, not moving.

He had only received Jo Gwang-yun’s letter to come to Gye-yang, and he didn’t know the exact location. But as expected, he received a telepathic message from someone waiting for him.

‘Great Hero Lee Hak-lin, this way.’

The man who sent the telepathic message bowed his head slightly as Lee Hak-lin approached and then began to run.

Lee Hak-lin noticed that he wasn’t from the Changryong Gate as he watched the man display excellent 경공 [gyeonggong – light body skill, martial art of moving swiftly].

‘That movement… it’s not ordinary martial arts.’

‘Is he an assassin?’

The man paused very briefly at Lee Hak-lin’s telepathic message, but he only increased his speed without answering.

The man ran even faster as the destination grew closer, and when a wall as high as a castle wall appeared, he jumped over it without hesitation.

Only after arriving at the manor did the man open his mouth for the first time.

“Thank you for broadening my horizons.”

“You were great too.”

Lee Hak-lin glanced around and chuckled.

“Should I assume that all the guys here are about your level?”

The man wasn’t surprised, probably thinking that a master of Lee Hak-lin’s caliber would have been able to detect the hidden men.

“That’s right.”

“Then you should know that even if you all attacked me at once, you wouldn’t be a match for me, so why are you doing this useless thing?”

“It’s money.”

“What? Money?”

“Yes. We received a lot of money just for watching. We’re not stupid either. We will never draw our swords in front of you.”

Lee Hak-lin couldn’t figure out what Jo Gwang-yun was up to.

At that moment, a small light appeared, and Jo Gwang-yun revealed himself.

“Thank you for not refusing my request and coming all the way here.”

Lee Hak-lin was inwardly surprised to see Jo Gwang-yun’s appearance after a long time, but he didn’t show it.

Perhaps it was because of the confidence he had gained after stepping on the Namgung family, or perhaps it was because he knew he could die today, but he didn’t feel any fear. Rather, his face, which greeted him with a bright smile, looked like he was meeting an old friend.

“You must be very tired; please come inside. I have prepared food and drinks. Eat and get a good night’s sleep.”

Lee Hak-lin followed Jo Gwang-yun in silence into the luxurious room he was guiding him to.

As they sat at the well-prepared table, Jo Gwang-yun bowed his head.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Have a good rest.”

“You sit down too. I didn’t come here to play.”

Jo Gwang-yun wasn’t too flustered by Lee Hak-lin’s cold attitude.

“You’re still the same. Then…”

Lee Hak-lin picked up his spoon and began to fill his hungry stomach as Jo Gwang-yun sat across from him, and then opened his mouth.

“You know, you know roughly how things are going, right?”

“Yes. The Lord of the Mukdo Association said he wants all of the Jo family’s wealth, right?”

“Yes. Then let’s make it easy.”

“Aren’t you being too harsh? The Jo family isn’t an ordinary citizen’s storehouse, and the Mukdo Association isn’t a gang of thieves.”

“If you don’t have the power to protect it, it will be taken away. Didn’t you know that’s the law of 강호 [gangho – the martial arts world]?”

“You need power to take it away too. The Jo family and the Changryong Gate are one.”

“Surely you don’t think the Mukdo Association would be daunted by the Changryong Gate? Before attacking the Namgung family, the number of disciples of the Changryong Gate was about a thousand, right? Even if it’s two thousand, it’ll be over in half a day.”

“The Changryong Gate is a sect of the Murim Alliance [martial arts alliance]. Wouldn’t the Mukdo Association be daunted by the Murim Alliance?”

Lee Hak-lin put down the chopsticks he was holding and picked up a glass of alcohol and poured it into his mouth.

“Everyone in the Murim Alliance hates you. Whether the Changryong Gate becomes a sea of blood or the Jo family is torn to pieces, they’ll all clap and laugh while watching, right? Or not?”

“I see… So that’s how it is.”

Jo Gwang-yun also poured alcohol into his mouth.

“No matter how I think about it, someone… probably someone from the 正派 [jeongpa – orthodox sects]… someone has been whispering in Lord Hyuk Si-mok’s ear. They said they would prevent the Murim Alliance from helping the Changryong Gate. And they also proposed to divide the Jo family’s wealth.”

Lee Hak-lin nodded and said nonchalantly.

“I think so too. So there’s no one in the Central Plains who will help you. Don’t make innocent people bleed to protect your wealth. Give up everything you have.”

Lee Hak-lin picked up his glass again.

“And you’re still young. You have a brilliant mind for making money. You can become rich again even if you start empty-handed.”

Jo Gwang-yun quickly waved his hands and made a fuss.

“Oh my. Don’t say that. How much hardship did I go through to get here…? You want me to do that again? I can’t.”

“Then will you die at my hands like this? Life is more precious than money. You know that, right?”

Lee Hak-lin felt strange as he looked at Jo Gwang-yun’s relaxed attitude.

He had a feeling that even if this meeting ended, that guy’s head would still be attached, and he would return to Hunan Province empty-handed.

“There’s something you don’t know.”

“I don’t need to know. I just need to hear the necessary answers and leave.”

“You need to know this. It’s true that the Murim Alliance hates me. It’s also true that they will laugh and watch even if the Mukdo Association massacres the Changryong Gate.”

“And?”

“But if anyone lays a finger on the Jo family, the Sichuan Tang Clan, who hates the Changryong Gate the most, will come running to protect the Jo family.”

“What?”

What does that mean? The guy who just said that the Changryong Gate and the Jo family are one is now talking about separating the two.

“Do you think they will just watch the Murim Alliance lose a huge amount of sponsorship money? No, even if that’s not the case, do you think they will just watch a cash cow like the Jo family fall into the hands of the Mukdo Association?”

Jo Gwang-yun didn’t miss the slight flicker in Lee Hak-lin’s eyes.

“Whoever instigated the Lord, their goal is one. They want to gain the 명분 [myeongbun – justification/pretext] of protecting the Jo family because the Mukdo Association is attacking the Changryong Gate. That’s the only way they can get their hands on the Jo family.”

“I know that you have a brilliant mind and can easily see through the intentions of others. So you can see the mastermind behind what’s happening now. But…”

Lee Hak-lin picked up his glass again, as if trying to catch his breath.

“I don’t think about such complicated things. I don’t care if someone instigated the Lord. I only follow the Lord’s orders. Whether I take the Jo family’s wealth or lose my head, I have to do one of the two. So I have no choice but to take the Jo family.”

At that moment, Jo Gwang-yun’s eyes widened.

What does this mean? If he doesn’t get the Jo family, he has to give up his own head?

But Lee Hak-lin didn’t say anything more after this.

Jo Gwang-yun also closed his mouth and only stared into Lee Hak-lin’s eyes.

It was as if they were exchanging many thoughts with their eyes.

The one who broke the long silence was Jo Gwang-yun.

“Did you come here not to threaten me, but to discuss with me?”

Lee Hak-lin remained silent, neither affirming nor denying.

If Jo Gwang-yun doesn’t give up the Jo family, he will die too. He was the first to say that the Jo family is a double-edged sword.

“I thought creating a 명분 [myeongbun – justification/pretext] to execute someone by giving them an impossible order was a trick used by emperors to kill their subjects… I didn’t think the leader of the Black Faction would play such political games.”

Lee Hak-lin finally opened his mouth at Jo Gwang-yun’s absurd expression.

“What makes you think it’s a discussion?”

“You’re not the type to ask me to give up the Jo family to save my life.”

“Not enough yet. What else?”

Lee Hak-lin hadn’t expected this reaction. Jo Gwang-yun didn’t fully understand his intentions yet.

“You’re not the type to be tied down by many complicated problems. If you knew this problem was a political game of the Lord, you could just leave the Mukdo Association and disappear. A hidden hermit… That look suits you.”

“So I’m discussing with you to find a way to live?”

This time, Jo Gwang-yun closed his mouth, and only silence lingered again.

This person is hesitating now. He hasn’t revealed his true feelings yet. No, he doesn’t even know his own true feelings and is trying to confirm them.

Lee Hak-lin, who had been deep in thought, picked up his glass and said.

“A little while ago, you gave the easiest answer. I could just give up everything and go deep into the mountains to train my martial arts.”

“You’ve already thought about that, right? To become a hidden hermit, you must have nothing left in the secular world or no regrets. If not, you’ll keep thinking about it while sitting in the mountains. Isn’t that how 주화입마 [juhwaipma – cultivation deviation] happens?”

“Regrets…”

Lee Hak-lin kept thinking about Lord Hyuk Si-mok’s words.

「Anyway, you can’t just be nice to them. Humans are the kind of beings who forget favors the fastest. To remind these people of favors, you have to completely break them.」

「Am I entrusting you with everything so you have nothing to fear? Lately, it seems like you’re the head of the Mukdo Association. Have you forgotten who’s holding your leash? Should I remind you?」

The words that the Lord spat out at Jo Gwang-yun and the words he spat out at himself were no different. In the end, the Lord was using Jo Gwang-yun to reveal his true feelings to himself.

No matter how much humans possess, they fear the disappearance of their reason for existence more.

The Lord wanted to solidify his position as the leader of the Mukdo Association more than the Jo family’s wealth.

He had already guessed the truth, but trying to deny it was not easy.

Lee Hak-lin wondered if the reason he was having this conversation with Jo Gwang-yun was because of regrets.

After thinking for a long time, Lee Hak-lin shook his head.

“After all, complicated things don’t suit me. Rather than discussions, political games, or regrets, it would be more refreshing to take your head, which is making my mind complicated, and negotiate with the Lord.”

Lee Hak-lin slowly drew his sword.

“To be honest, I liked you… But what can I do? Since it’s come to this, it seems our relationship isn’t that deep.”

It was a little strange that Jo Gwang-yun wasn’t too afraid of seeing his sword, but he soon found out why.

“You son of a bitch, you only showed me the face of a beauty as the price for using me as a bodyguard!”

The one who opened the door with a shout was none other than Mo Yong-hwi.

< Living Together 3 > End