Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 205

The Legend of the Nine Dragons (205)

Warriors from the Potala Palace were sprawled on the ground before Hwa-rin, groaning and grimacing in pain.

“See? I told you. If you’d just answer my questions, I’d kill you without pain. Why make things so difficult?”

Hwa-rin repeated his question to the fallen warrior, “What’s your purpose in coming to the Central Plains? I can understand the Shaolin Temple coming to find their treasures, but what about you guys?”

They remained silent.

“Let’s make this easy. You’re going to die anyway. So, die comfortably, without suffering.”

“I have nothing to say. Inflict pain or don’t, it’s up to you.”

“Seriously, how frustrating. Do you think I can’t find out why you came to the Central Plains? If I leverage my reputation, I can find out in a day.”

Seemingly enjoying the intimidation tactic he’d heard from the Four Emperors Baek Mu-gi, Hwa-rin emphasized his name.

“Who are you…?”

“Me? Joo Hwa-rin! In the Central Plains, I’ve made a name for myself as the Lord of the Nine Dragons. And in Xizang [Tibet], as the Commander of the Fierce Tiger Death Squad, you call me the Myungwang [King of Darkness].”

Upon hearing the name Myungwang, they trembled as if struck by lightning.

“Are you really the Myungwang?”

The strong hostility they had shown moments ago vanished, replaced by fear-filled eyes.

“I told you. If I use my reputation, I can find out your purpose in a day. Should I go to the Potala Palace and ask?”

“That’s…”

“If you tell me now why you came to the Central Plains, only you will die. But if I go all the way to the Potala Palace, how many people do you think will die?”

The warriors looked at the smile on Hwa-rin’s lips and imagined a death far beyond mere fear.

“I won’t ask again. This is the last time. If you don’t believe me, try keeping your mouths shut again. The price will be terrible.”

Under Hwa-rin’s intimidation, they finally revealed their purpose.

“The Demonic Sect ordered the palace to create a base in the Central Plains for their operations.”

“The Demonic Sect?”

“Yes. I believe they gave the same order to the border and foreign sects that they have subjugated.”

Baek Gun-seong, who was listening, flinched.

“The Demonic Sect has subjugated quite a few border and foreign sects? Are you saying all of them?”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“But why hasn’t this been known in the Central Plains?”

“Because when they came, they came individually, as merchants or under other identities.”

“So, people from many sects have come and are operating somewhere?”

“Yes.”

“But why did you attack us? Your location could be exposed, you know?”

They answered Hwa-rin’s questions obediently. The fear that the name Myungwang instilled in the border and foreign lands was immense.

“An order was given. The young masters of the Twelve Families of the Blood Iron Alliance have come to Yunnan Province, so kill them.”

“From the Demonic Sect?”

“Yes.”

“I was being nice, but I guess that won’t work. So, you stepped up like this?”

“Yes.”

After hearing the answers, Hwa-rin looked at Baek Gun-seong.

“It seems like they’re retaliating because the base they were trying to build was destroyed because of us in the past.”

“Looks like it.”

Hwa-rin asked the warriors, “You have nothing to do with the Shaolin Temple, right?”

“No. They came to the Central Plains with their own purposes, and we have nothing to do with them.”

Hwa-rin nodded, thinking there was nothing more to learn from them.

“Shall I kill you? Or will you take your own lives?”

“Promise me. Ensure that this incident does not harm the palace.”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“What do you mean…?”

“You targeted the young masters of the Twelve Families, so the Blood Iron Alliance might retaliate. I’m not in a position to interfere with their affairs.”

The warriors wore bewildered expressions.

“But I’ll definitely keep this one promise: I won’t go to the Potala Palace. So, this incident won’t lead to me harming the palace and its warriors with my own hands.”

“Ah…”

At Hwa-rin’s words, their expressions returned to normal, as if relieved.

“Thank you for the Myungwang’s consideration.”

With those words, the warriors took their own lives.

“The Demonic Sect is moving more insidiously than I thought. It’s very different from the Demonic Sect I’ve heard of.”

As Hwa-rin spoke, Baek Gun-seong asked, “What kind of Demonic Sect did you hear about?”

“I heard they overwhelm opponents with power rather than tactics or strategies, but it doesn’t seem like that’s all there is to it.”

Baek Gun-seong chuckled.

“The Demonic Sect also uses its head well. In the Murim [martial arts world], the Zhuge and Sima families are said to have good minds, but the brains of the Demonic Sect’s Majeong family are no less capable.”

“Majeong family?”

“It’s the family that acts as the Demonic Sect’s brain. We call them the Majeong family or the Majeong Mukga. In terms of military strategy, tactics, and schemes alone, the Zhuge and Sima families are known to be no match for them.”

“Ah, so the Mukga I know is referring to the Demonic Sect’s Majeong family?”

“Probably, since the Mukga is only there.”

“If the Mukga is on the Demonic Sect’s side, who called the Demonic Sect guys ignorant?”

“First, we need to move the children. They could all die if we stay here.”

“Well done.”

Hwa-rin scolded Baek Gun-seong and then said, “I’ll go get something to load the kids up with. You just focus on stopping the bleeding.”

* * *

“I really thought I was going to die. The paralysis poison was flowing out of the voodoo doll, and it wasn’t dissipating, it was just targeting me…”

In the largest room of the Daeri Family’s villa, people wrapped in cloth were lying down and talking, all competing to tell their heroic tales.

“I was definitely grazed by a sword, but I didn’t die or bleed… I didn’t die!”

Those who faced the Shaolin Temple had more serious injuries than those who faced the Potala Palace, but fortunately, treatment was not delayed, so no one died.

Jong-yoon, whose life was in critical condition, was still unconscious, but according to the doctor, he would not only survive but also be able to learn martial arts once he regained his health, so everyone was relieved.

“They say there are many strange things in the world, but seeing how much this wound opened up and yet no blood flowed, and not feeling any pain… fear beyond terror dominated my body, making me unable to move. I really thought I was going crazy.”

Baek Gun-seong and Lee Seo-won, who had relatively minor injuries, were sitting on the porch, talking with serious expressions, in stark contrast to those laughing and chatting inside.

“I think I know the girl you saw, Seo-won.”

“How do you know?”

“Remember in Sichuan? The Tang Clan and Jeongcheon Alliance used to oppress me.”

“When the Tang Clan warriors died?”

“Yeah. The ones who killed them were the warriors of the Perdan Kingdom.”

“The Perdan Kingdom? That Perdan Kingdom from the Western Regions?”

“Yeah. The third princess was kidnapped. They came all the way to the Central Plains to find her, but someone stole the Tang Family’s Cheonokbo treasure and framed them.”

“That’s bold. To think of swiping something from the Tang Clan.”

“Is there only one guy like that in the Murim?”

As Hwa-rin spoke, Baek Gun-seong and Lee Seo-won thought of one person.

“Hao Munju, Amheun Shinyeong [Dark Cloud Shadowless], are you talking about him?”

“There’s no one else.”

“So, the girl we saw is the third princess of the Perdan Kingdom, and the Shaolin Temple is trying to use her to plot something?”

“I think that’s highly likely. And I think the Cheonokbo that Amheun Shinyeong stole from the Tang Clan is also related to the Shaolin Temple.”

Baek Gun-seong thought that Hwa-rin knew some of the inside story and said, “Hey, tell me everything.”

“Do you think you can solve it if I tell you everything? You were lucky to survive this time, but don’t think you’ll survive in the future.”

“Then what about you? What are you going to do?”

“What else? I’ll see it through since I started it. And this is not related to the Central Plains Murim, so don’t even think about telling me what to do.”

“Hwa-rin.”

Lee Seo-won called Hwa-rin.

“What?”

“I don’t mind losing an arm or a leg, but can’t you take me with you on this?”

Hwa-rin looked at him, questioning his motives.

“I felt this while fighting, but I think I need to have a life-or-death battle.”

“Why do you think that? You can just learn martial arts in the family and take a position in the Blood Iron Alliance.”

“I thought that would be a good way to die this time.”

“Really?”

“I need to risk my life to know how to judge the situation or what to do in a crisis. The kind of practical training that the Alliance prepares won’t help me at all, no matter how many times I experience it.”

Hwa-rin nodded.

“That’s a desirable mindset. You can really grow a lot with that mindset.”

“So, take me with you this time. I’ll try not to be a burden.”

“If you have that mindset, I can go with you. But there’s one thing you need to keep in mind.”

“Just tell me.”

“You have to handle the situation you’re in on your own.”

“I got it.”

“Okay. Then let’s go together.”

“What about me?”

Baek Gun-seong cut in.

“You need to take the kids back to the Alliance.”

“I need to take them back after treating them. It’ll be a disaster if I take them back like this.”

Hwa-rin chuckled.

“That’s not my responsibility. It’s what happened because you guys acted as you pleased.”

“So, can’t I come with you while you treat my siblings?”

Hwa-rin thought for a moment and nodded.

“I’m taking you because of Baek Mu-gi senior.”

Baek Gun-seong pouted.

“So, are only the three of us going?”

“That’s probably for the best. It might be a longer journey than we think. So, if you whine that it’s hard, I’ll kill you on the spot.”

“Don’t worry. That will never happen.”

* * *

“You’ve worked hard. It seems like Hwa Jeong-soo is really short on money.”

Seo Dae-yeong remarked, noting how easily Hwa Jeong-soo of the Hwamyeong Merchant Group had handed over their warehouse and inn.

“He handed it over quickly because I said I would buy them. He mortgaged the fields and doesn’t have any *georaecheo* [business connections] to get *gongmul* [grain] right now, so he seems to have judged that the warehouse and inn are just a burden.”

“Really, it seems like destroying a family is nothing. Would the Hwamyeong Merchant Group, which can be said to be the greatest merchant group in the world, have ever thought that it would collapse like this in just two years?”

From Seo Dae-yeong’s point of view, the saying *gwommusibilhong* [no power lasts more than ten days] came to mind as he watched the Hwamyeong Merchant Group collapse so quickly.

“It was possible because the Lord took direct action. It would have taken much longer for anyone else.”

“That’s right. It’s easy to kill Hwa Jeong-soo, but it’s not easy to take away the Hwamyeong Merchant Group’s grain distribution as it is.”

Lee Do-moon nodded.

“Our Lord seems to know so many strange talents that he seems to do things too easily, doesn’t he?”

“There’s no denying that, but I think he must have worked harder than anyone else to achieve that level.”

“He seems to have been born with talent, born with power, and even born with luck.”

As Seo Dae-yeong said, Hwa-rin seemed to have been born with everything that others would struggle to obtain.

“No one would have thought that our idiot prince would change like this.”

“I was really surprised when I found out about the Lord’s identity. I couldn’t understand why such a high-ranking person would try to walk this thorny path.”

A faint smile appeared on Seo Dae-yeong’s lips.

“I didn’t understand it at first either. It’s not like a prince or someone would say that he would become the king of the Murim… is that something a sane person would say?”

“The Lord has a bit of an eccentric side. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible, does it?”

“That’s right. I actually thought that the Lord would just have a grand dream and work little by little to achieve a little bit of success, but what’s this? I was surprised that our Lord was a more amazing person than I thought.”

“Every time I learn something new even now, I wonder if this person is really the idiot prince, the Shadow Lord, that I knew. At this rate, he’ll really swallow not only the Murim but also the *sangnim* [royal court]. He’s a really amazing person.”

“You have to have that much ability to become the king of the Murim, right?”

“That’s right. So, I think it’s worth betting my life on.”

Lee Do-moon also greatly agreed.

“Meeting such a man is, in a way, a stroke of luck, isn’t it?”

“It’s luck. But the problem is that sometimes I get confused about whether it’s good luck or bad luck.”

“Hahaha, it’s understandable enough from Seo *chonggwan-nim’s* [General Manager Seo’s] point of view.”

“It’s uncomfortable when he’s there, but I get bored when he’s not there… At times like this, wanting to see him is also an illness.”

“Doesn’t that mean that Seo *chonggwan-nim* trusts and follows the Lord that much?”

“Anyway, he’s a strange person.”