Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 174

“Hmm.”

“How is it?”

“A beautiful ruby. It’s top quality.”

“You have a good eye.”

“Two sacks of top-quality rubies… You’ve put in some effort this time?”

“Haha, I did a fair bit of legwork.”

Hang Chun, looking down at the middle-aged man who was constantly rubbing his palms together and bowing, wore a sneer on his face.

He spoke in a voice that didn’t match his expression.

“The leader will be very pleased. Wait here for a moment. I’ll show him the goods and be right back.”

“Of course.”

Hang Chun entered the tent.

A moment later.

Flap!

The huge tent entrance opened, and a massive man appeared.

Fear arose on the middle-aged man’s face.

The massive man, who had emerged naked, was covered in enormous muscles. Every time he moved slowly, the muscles all over his body rippled dynamically.

It was a spectacle, but the problem was the blood on his body.

As if it hadn’t been long since he’d seen blood, the fresh blood flowing down his shoulders and collarbones glistened in the sunlight. It was a sight that instilled a savage sense of terror in anyone who saw it.

Moreover, the man was not from the Central Plains. He had a foreign appearance, with blue eyes, as if he had Western Region blood mixed in him.

The middle-aged man swallowed involuntarily.

‘That, that person is the Gray Wolf Leader?!’

The massive man, Pa Sa-Reuk, twisted his neck from side to side.

Crack! Crack!

The loud sound was so intense that it was worrying whether his joints had dislocated. The middle-aged man’s face grew paler.

“Ugh! I’m already stiff.”

Hang Chun spoke respectfully.

“Leader, this is the man.”

“Hmm?”

Pa Sa-Reuk looked down at the middle-aged man with languid eyes.

The middle-aged man hurriedly lowered his head. He couldn’t dare to make eye contact.

Pa Sa-Reuk’s lips twitched.

“Rubies?”

Hang Chun continued.

“And the one who offered the women.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Pa Sa-Reuk laughed loudly.

His laughter was as loud as a whale’s. The low, heavy laughter had the power to make people’s minds go blank.

“I was very satisfied. Though they’re no longer usable.”

The middle-aged man realized that the blood on Pa Sa-Reuk’s body was from the women he had offered yesterday.

Shudder.

His body trembled.

Thud!

Pa Sa-Reuk plopped down on the bare ground.

“Is this the first time we’ve met like this?”

“Y-yes, it is.”

“You look more decent than I thought. I thought you’d look like a rat, since you’re the one who’s been robbing your own kin’s merchant group.”

Pa Sa-Reuk laughed again.

It was an infuriating remark, but the middle-aged man couldn’t dare to show his displeasure.

Sss, sss.

Invisible smoke seemed to rise and bind his limbs.

He couldn’t move a muscle. Like a baby deer encountering a predator for the first time, his body and mind froze.

His thoughts stopped. The intense fear and unknown pressure made his vision blur.

Pa Sa-Reuk, looking down at the man with mysterious eyes, asked Hang Chun.

“How much have we been taking from him?”

“Two tenths.”

“Two tenths?”

“Yes.”

Pa Sa-Reuk whistled softly.

“That’s a lot. Wasn’t the average one tenth? But you’ve been taking two tenths from this guy?”

“The goods he brought were all good. So, I gave him the value of two tenths.”

“Did I allow that?”

“Yes.”

“Was I drunk? I don’t remember.”

Hang Chun smiled.

“Shall I bring back half of the money he’s received so far?”

It was a terrifying statement.

Pa Sa-Reuk laughed loudly.

“Even so, that’s a bit much. It’s a bit ridiculous to take back money that’s already been given.”

After laughing for a while, he said to the man.

“Raise your head.”

The middle-aged man trembled and raised his head.

Flash!

‘Gasp!’

Seeing Pa Sa-Reuk’s blue eyes, he felt his heart drop. The man involuntarily closed his eyes tightly.

Pa Sa-Reuk asked.

“You’re quite resourceful.”

“T-thank you!”

“Thank you for what? We should be thanking you. You’re taking eight tenths in commission.”

“It’s an honor…”

“Enough, let me ask you one thing.”

“Y-yes?”

Pa Sa-Reuk asked with a grim face.

“Did you get these rubies from your brothers’ merchant group this time too?”

“…Yes, I did.”

“What was the name of the merchant group again?”

Hang Chun answered.

“It’s called the Haeryong Merchant Group. It’s one of the most prominent merchant groups in Shandong Province. I heard it’s a historic merchant group that has been passed down for five generations.”

“Five generations? That’s impressive. We’re just a band of bandits, so we’re different from the start.”

Pa Sa-Reuk laughed, and Hang Chun laughed along.

However, the middle-aged man couldn’t laugh.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Yeong Go-wi.”

“Okay, Yeong Go-wi.”

Sleek.

Yeong Go-wi flinched.

A hand as big as a pot lid rested on his shoulder. The large, thick hand looked like it could crush his shoulder and collarbone at any moment.

“Isn’t it annoying to steal from them every time?”

“…Yes?”

“We’ll be in Shandong for about a month. We can’t make money or vent our frustrations. We have a reason to stay quiet.”

Pa Sa-Reuk’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

“Before that, I want to have some fun. How about you guide us to the Haeryong Merchant Group or whatever it’s called?”

“…!!”

Yeong Go-wi’s face turned pale.

“H-Haeryong Merchant Group, you say?”

“Yes. The merchant group that your brothers run.”

He seemed to know the reason without being asked.

These guys were planning to completely dismantle the Haeryong Merchant Group. They were clearly aiming to swallow all the group’s wealth.

‘T-this is bad!’

Absolutely not.

The Haeryong Merchant Group was large. That’s why it was possible to steal goods from them. Since it was run by his brothers, there must have been some trust in him.

But destroying the Haeryong Merchant Group was a completely different matter.

No matter how much he hated them, it was the foundation of his blood-related brothers. Bringing the Gray Wolf Band, the best bandit group from beyond the border, to such a place was a clear act of betrayal.

‘…!!’

However, Yeong Go-wi couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Trickle, trickle.

His body was soaked with cold sweat.

Even though he was smiling, Pa Sa-Reuk’s eyes, filled with a menacing murderous intent, evoked a more terrifying fear than any martial arts master.

“…I, I will guide you.”

Pa Sa-Reuk burst into laughter.

“Good. Very good! Hang Vice-Leader, what did I say? I thought this guy would be okay.”

“As expected, the Leader’s insight is the best in the world.”

“Kahaha! I’m glad to have met someone who understands me. Good, I like you. If we destroy the Haeryong Merchant Group, I’ll give you one tenth of the wealth buried there.”

The wealth held by the Haeryong Merchant Group was truly enormous.

One tenth of that would be enough for several generations to live without working.

A subtle greed arose in Yeong Go-wi’s eyes, which had been filled with fear.

“T-thank you! Thank you!”

Pa Sa-Reuk grinned.

His yellow fangs were as sharp as those of a beast.

“Since we’re talking about it, let’s eat and leave right away.”

* * *

“The Gray Wolf Band, huh.”

Moyong Woo said in a blunt voice.

“They’re said to be plundering across Tibet, northern Qinghai, and northern Gansu.”

“Their range of activity is enormous?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.

“What’s their strength? Since they’re a bandit group, their simple combat power probably isn’t that great, but they wouldn’t have formed a combined force just to catch such an opponent.”

Moyong Woo blinked.

His innocent-looking eyes resembled those of a deer.

“But, Yeonje, haven’t you heard about the Gray Wolf Band?”

“No. Besides, the main point of this operation was only reported to you, the commander.”

“Of course, but… didn’t Lord Yeon tell you?”

Yeon Ho-jeong clicked his tongue.

“He’s someone who values principles. He keeps his mouth shut about things that came out of the Bonggong Council [a council of high-ranking officials] that you shouldn’t know about.”

Moyong Woo clicked his tongue.

He had heard a lot about it, but it seemed like he really had a knife-like personality. It wasn’t for nothing that people called him the Judge’s Sword.

“Tell me about it. Are the Gray Wolf Band that great?”

“They are great. First of all, the leader of the Gray Wolf Band himself is no ordinary person.”

“Who is he?”

“His name is Pa Sa-Reuk. His alias is Iron Bone Evil Buddha.”

“That’s a childish alias.”

“The alias is like that, but his martial arts are not.”

“How strong is he?”

“I don’t know exactly, but he wouldn’t be much weaker than me.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes widened.

“The martial arts of a bandit leader are that strong?”

“When he was active in Gansu in the past, he fought against the Seven Heroes of Yumen. All seven of the Seven Heroes of Yumen were top-level experts, and they were said to have boasted such great martial prowess that they were called a moving small-to-medium-sized sect in northern Gansu.”

“Don’t tell me?”

“That’s right. The Gray Wolf Band leader, Pa Sa-Reuk, faced them head-on and slaughtered them all.”

Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.

“He’s a strange guy. Even though he has mastered that level of martial arts, he’s just acting as a bandit leader.”

There are many types of people in the world. Even Dang Sang-a followed Moyong Woo out of boredom, and that was in the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance].

Even if you master the best martial arts in the world, if your nature is twisted, you can live as a bandit.

Of course, there aren’t many people like that.

“That’s not all. The number of bandits that make up the Gray Wolf Band is nearly a thousand.”

“A thousand…?”

“Their races and ages are also diverse. It’s not for nothing that they’re called the best bandit group beyond the border. Moreover, most of them have even mastered considerable martial arts.”

Yeon Ho-jeong clicked his tongue.

“They’re not a bandit group, they’re almost a sect.”

“What they do is typical of a bandit group, but no one can ignore their strength.”

“But that guy, his name is Pa… um.”

“Pa Sa-Reuk.”

“Yes, Pa Sa-Reuk. Why does his alias include Evil Buddha? I’m suddenly curious.”

It was a joke thrown out to lighten the mood, but unexpectedly, Moyong Woo knew the reason.

“That’s because of the martial arts he has mastered.”

“Martial arts?”

“Pa Sa-Reuk is from the Small Thunder Sound Temple in Tibet.”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.

‘Small Thunder Sound Temple?’

The Small Thunder Sound Temple is one of the absolute powerhouses in the martial arts world beyond the border.

‘Beyond the border… beyond the border.’

Why?

When he heard that it was a bandit group from beyond the border, he didn’t feel anything, but when he heard that the bandit leader was from the Small Thunder Sound Temple, the Guangxin Three Sects [a group of powerful martial arts sects] suddenly came to mind.

‘Huga said that there were no major problems beyond the border yet, according to his investigation?’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

‘Could that guy be connected to them?’

After being lost in thought for a moment, he shook his head.

It was an excessive thought. Of course, if you asked if there was no possibility at all, he couldn’t easily conclude that, but there was no need to consider it that far now.

However…

‘Even before the Three Sects, those crazy bastards, invaded, some of the forces beyond the border were stirring up the Central Plains.’

Yeon Ho-jeong got up from his seat.

“That’s enough. So, when are we leaving?”

“Are you asking me?”

“You’re the commander.”

Moyong Woo chuckled.

“When would you like to leave?”

“Whenever you feel like it. I’m just following orders anyway.”

“Let’s leave again in half a day.”

“Okay.”

“But why don’t you call me ‘hyung’ [older brother]?”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his back coldly.

“See you in half a day, buddy.”