"It's not enough to be a friend."
At Sama Chung's story, Jin Sa-wol stopped walking. As he looked at Sama Chung with eyes full of questions, Sama Chung became slightly nervous.
Because the atmosphere had completely changed.
"Not enough... What is not enough?"
"The master and Mr. Jin need a stronger blood alliance. Like our faction and the Namcheonhoe."
As he mentioned the Namcheonhoe, a smile appeared on Jin Sa-wol's lips. It was a killing intent.
Sama Chung, without realizing it, took a step back.
Just with his gaze, the hair on his back stood on end, and his heart pounded.
It was a strange thing. Although he had met numerous people, it was the first time he had felt such a ghostly and sticky blood energy as Jin Sa-wol's.
"It seems the master trusts General Manager Sama a lot. Seeing that you know all about the Namcheonhoe, which has not yet been announced."
"That's right."
Sama Chung came to his senses and answered.
If Mae Gang-hwa, who was in the north of the river, was the general manager, then the general manager of the area south of the Yangtze River was Sama Chung. It was his job to gather information from the south of the Yangtze River and deliver it to Seo Mun-ryeon, and besides that, he was in charge of monitoring and managing numerous Hao Faction branches.
Only the master knew about his background, and he was not a person known in the martial world.
Sama Chung knew a lot about Jin Sa-wol.
He knew that he was from the Ghost Spirit Valley of the Demonic Cult and that his martial arts were so great that even the Demonic Cult was wary of him becoming the Demonic Cult Leader.
He judged that Jin Sa-wol's martial arts were comparable to the former Demonic Cult Leader's.
Jin Sa-wol turned his head and then started walking again. If he had decided to kill him, Sama Chung would have been dead already.
"Tell me the main point."
"I don't know what Mr. Gong thinks of the Hao Faction, but it's a very vast organization."
Hearing Sama Chung's words, Jin Sa-wol nodded. He also roughly knew what state the current Hao Faction was in.
The main headquarters had been annihilated by the Martial Alliance, and the spies who had entered the Martial Alliance had all been eliminated.
Besides that, they would subdue the Hao Faction members in the north of the river with the list they had obtained from the main headquarters.
One of the reasons Son Muk had come here was the absorption of the Hao Faction in the north of the river.
"The master plans to build the main headquarters in Guryeon Mountain. This is no different from the Hao Faction giving up the north of the river. Our faction lacks military power, so we can't even take revenge on the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance."
"If you have lost something to the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance, you just have to get it back."
"Is that possible?"
When Sama Chung asked, Jin Sa-wol nodded.
"If it's me, it's possible."
At Jin Sa-wol's arrogant answer, Sama Chung swallowed his dry saliva. Jin Sa-wol, who had climbed the pavilion next to the pond, said to Sama Chung.
"Call the master."
"I understand."
Sama Chung, who had bowed and had retreated, walked a few steps and then showed a face of not understanding why he had bowed.
And he left the garden with a face of not knowing why he was following Jin Sa-wol's order now.
A short while later, Seo Mun-ryeon hurriedly entered the pavilion where Jin Sa-wol was standing.
"Why me?"
"Sama Chung? He mentioned the Namcheonhoe."
"I told him. When I said I was going to Guryeon Mountain, I called General Manager Sama to investigate Guryeon Mountain. I also had to deal with the traitors who had a strong bond with the Demonic Cult within our faction."
"Is he a trustworthy person?"
"I trust him."
"If he betrays, the blow will be big."
"He's my maternal uncle."
"Ah..."
At the words 'maternal uncle', Jin Sa-wol nodded as if he had finally understood Sama Chung's behavior.
If it was a blood relative, he had no choice but to be interested.
"The Hao Faction in the Gangnam area is run by my mother's side. Of course, the elders don't know that."
"It's a great family."
Jin Sa-wol turned his gaze to the pond.
"Pavilion Master Mae also doesn't know."
At the fact that even his closest aide, Mae Gang-hwa, did not know, Jin Sa-wol instinctively felt fear.
Seo Mun-ryeon stuck close to Jin Sa-wol's side and whispered in his ear.
"Only we know."
At her words, Jin Sa-wol felt a chill run down his spine and moved half a step to the side.
Seo Mun-ryeon clung to Jin Sa-wol's shoulder.
"If the Namcheonhoe becomes a shield to protect the Hao Faction in Guryeon Mountain, our faction will become the eyes and ears of the Namcheonhoe."
"The Namcheonhoe doesn't exist yet."
"It will soon become the number one great faction in Gangnam."
"Are you sure?"
"Because you're here."
Hearing Seo Mun-ryeon's answer, Jin Sa-wol did not deny it.
***
Hangzhou Fortress, Zhejiang.
Hwang Manor, located about one li away from West Lake, was a quiet place.
A middle-aged man was slowly walking in the wide garden of Hwang Manor. Although his face was that of Cheon Yu-myeong of the Demonic Cult, his atmosphere felt like that of a learned scholar.
He walked in the garden and then admired the Taihu stone that he had brought a while ago. The Taihu stone, which was taller than his own height and had a strange shape that rose like a horn, was a stone that the rich liked.
"As expected, because it's expensive, it looks like something. It has a feeling."
Cheon Yu-myeong, who was stroking his beard and looking at the Taihu stone that others were talking about, suddenly remembered that he had not asked how much this stone was.
"It must be expensive."
Looking at its size, he felt that more than a hundred nyang of gold had been used.
There were several reasons why he liked Hangzhou, and one of them was West Lake and the Taihu stone, and the other was beautiful women.
Hangzhou was the hometown of Xi Shi and was famous for its many beautiful women, and it was a place where numerous nobles had built villas and came to enjoy their vacation.
On top of that, it was called the hometown of Longjing tea, and it was also the place where Su Dongpo had made Dongpo pork. There was a saying that if you liked Dongpo pork, you should eat it in Hangzhou.
Cheon Yu-myeong liked both. If he ate and drank Longjing tea and Dongpo pork with beautiful women and Shaoxing wine on a cruise ship on West Lake, the day would just pass.
When he was thinking of getting on a cruise ship in the evening and having a drink at West Lake, a voice that threw cold water was heard.
"It's just a stone."
The owner of the voice was Seo Yong-hwa, who had appeared like a ghost behind Cheon Yu-myeong. She, after glancing at the Taihu stone with a face devoid of any feeling, said again.
"I don't know why they like that..."
"They must like it because it's expensive since it was salvaged from Taihu. At first, this Taihu stone looked like a stone to me, but as I kept looking at it, it looks like a small universe. It has a feeling. Should I say it has a... subtle charm?"
"Pfft! Dog..."
Seo Yong-hwa, who was about to say 'dog-dung-like words', laughed without realizing it and then soon changed her expression. Seeing Seo Yong-hwa, who had turned into an expressionless face, Cheon Yu-myeong asked as if he had thought of something.
"How's my grandson?"
"He's in Guguang."
"To think he would kick away the opportunity I gave him... Tsk! Tsk!"
Cheon Yu-myeong clicked his tongue and stroked his beard. Seo Yong-hwa said.
"A request has come to the Salmun from the Demonic Cult."
The Salmun was one of the several evil sects that Seo Yong-hwa managed. Although it was a small assassin organization, its skills were good, so it was quite well-known among the evil sects.
However, since they did not accept assassination requests for orthodox sect members, the Martial Alliance and the orthodox sects did not know it well.
"Did they ask to kill my grandson?"
"No. It's Seo Mun-ryeon."
"Who was that?"
"She was the Hwajeonggak Master when you were in the Demonic Cult."
"Ah, that bitch! Is she still alive? She's a lucky bitch."
Cheon Yu-myeong now remembered Seo Mun-ryeon, who was the master of the Hwajeonggak in the past. To Cheon Yu-myeong, she was a being outside of his interest. In any case, she was a life like a bug that would die if he stepped on it once.
Because she was so outside of his interest, he did not even know whether she was dead or alive.
"The Demonic Cult's wings must have been broken. To think they would make a request to the Salmun because they couldn't handle a single bitch like that. Why?"
Cheon Yu-myeong was pretending not to know that he had turned the Demonic Cult into a mess.
Seo Yong-hwa, as if she were used to Cheon Yu-myeong's pretense of not knowing, answered with an indifferent expression.
"Seo Mun-ryeon did not recognize the Dokgo Cult Leader. It seems she went around saying that he was not a vessel to become the Cult Leader. And it seems she is going to move independently, severing ties with the Demonic Cult. The Demonic Cult's position is that they cannot forgive the betrayal of the Seo Mun family."
"The Demonic Cult Leader is young."
"But Seo Mun-ryeon is with Jin Sa-wol now. That's a little worrying."
Seo Yong-hwa's voice trembled slightly.
In Seo Yong-hwa's view, Seo Mun-ryeon did not suit Jin Sa-wol. She was a woman who was lacking in many ways and had no redeeming qualities. It was only natural for her to be uncomfortable with such a woman being by her son's side.
"Are you worried they'll get married?"
"That's impossible. If that happens, I'll kill that bitch with my own hands. How dare she..."
Seo Yong-hwa, without realizing it, expressed her honest feelings and was angry. As her expression changed, Cheon Yu-myeong shrugged his shoulders. Because of the cold air.
"That won't happen. Sa-wol will become a Heavenly Armored Corpse and will be with us forever."
At Cheon Yu-myeong's words, Seo Yong-hwa returned to an expressionless face.
If living was a better choice than dying, becoming a Heavenly Armored Corpse was not a bad thing.
"A large number of people from the Ice Palace have come to the martial world. It seems even the palace master has come down."
"He must have been in a hurry."
At Seo Yong-hwa's words to change the subject, Cheon Yu-myeong showed a smile. The Ice Palace was in a frenzy to find the disappeared Leng Yushan.
They had searched the entire northern region and the foreign martial world, and had even gone to the Martial Alliance.
"Just leave them be."
"Yes."
At Cheon Yu-myeong's command, Seo Yong-hwa answered and retreated.
Cheon Yu-myeong showed a smile and then walked towards the pavilion. On the pavilion, a table with alcohol and several gisaengs were sitting, and as Cheon Yu-myeong came up, they mingled together.
***
The attention of the Martial Alliance could not be paid to the Hao Faction and the inn because of the sudden visit of the Ice Palace Master and the missing young palace master, Leng Yushan.
Although the Ice Palace had secretly investigated the disappearance of Leng Yushan, they had asked for help from the Martial Alliance as there had been no results for over a month.
The disappearance of Leng Yushan was a considerable topic in the martial world.
As one of the Ten Wonders of the World, he was called the next palace master of the Ice Palace and was a famous handsome man.
Since he had suddenly disappeared, people's attention was bound to be focused on the Ice Palace and the Martial Alliance.
Son Muk, who was attending the Hao Faction's council of elders in Nosan, had a hardened expression at the story of the disappearance of the young palace master of the Ice Palace.
Son Muk, who was with the six elders, met the Guguang branch master who had come to visit.
"The Alliance Leader has ordered you to return to the alliance as soon as possible."
"Is it because of the disappearance of the young palace master of the Ice Palace?"
"It seems so. It doesn't seem to be a simple disappearance. And the Ice Palace Master is at the alliance now."
"I understand."
Son Muk answered and then went into the room, greeted the elders of the Hao Faction who were sitting at a wide round table, and then had a brief conversation with Seo Mun-ryeon.
"It seems I have to go to the alliance. Let's have the next meeting in Huichang."
"I think this meeting is the first step for the harmony of our faction and the Martial Alliance."
"Of course."
Son Muk showed a smile and then hurriedly went out.
A silence lingered in the room until his presence disappeared.
Then, at some point, Seo Mun-ryeon, who had stood up clutching her stomach with a wook! sound, retched on the floor and then spat.
"You dog bastard! I feel like throwing up. Ugh! Ugh!"
As Mae Gang-hwa hurriedly held out water, Seo Mun-ryeon drank the water with a gulp!.
"Aaargh! It's so annoying! You Martial Alliance dog bastards! You dirty and disgusting Martial Alliance!"
Thump! Thump!
She, who had stomped on the floor with all her might, hit the table with her fist and then, as if her anger had not been relieved, flipped the round table.
"Aaargh!"
Crash!
A loud sound echoed. The elders who had retreated were silent.
(End of Chapter)
