Chapter 84
As soon as Jang Hyun-Chul arrived, Byeok Cheol-Gun guided him to the living room. In the next room, Mu-Gun’s group and Jeong Ryeo-Gun of the Putuo Sword Sect were listening to the conversation in the living room.
“Did you receive any news from Xiangshan?” As soon as Hyun-Chul entered the living room, he asked Cheol-Gun.
“Have you not heard anything yet?”
“Yes. I was actually about to contact you because I was so curious.”
“The matter has been properly resolved.”
“Are you speaking the truth?”
“Yes. However, I have something I would like to confirm with you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the identity of the people you hired.”
“Why do you ask?”
“According to what my younger brother said, he could feel demonic qi leaking from all of them. Don’t you have something to tell me?”
When Cheol-Gun asked, Hyun-Chul thought it would be best that he found out. After all, he intended to tie down the Byeok Sword Manor by revealing that they had been working with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect and using it as their weakness.
“As you have likely already guessed, they are demonic practitioners, but not just any demonic. They came from the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.”
“Did you just say the Nine Celestial Demons Sect?” Cheol-Gun asked, pretending to be surprised.
“That’s right. They are the demonic practitioners of the Asura Cult, one of the nine factions of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.”
“Considering you’re aware of their identity, then that means the Hangzhou Merchant Company is in league with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.”
“That’s right.”
When Hyun-Chul admitted to it without hesitation, Cheol-Gun stared at him bewilderedly.
“Why are you answering it so proudly? Are you not aware that the Nine Celestial Demons Sect is the public enemy of murim and that any forces that collude with them will not be able to avoid being annihilated?”
“Are you going to destroy our merchant company?”
“Although our clan is not prestigious, we are still a righteous sect in name. Even if we are in-laws, I cannot overlook you being in league with them.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to say that after coveting the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader position so much that you’d assassinate Baek Cheon-Sang. The Nine Celestial Demons Sect was involved in Baek Cheon-Sang’s assassination, which basically proves that your sect is working with them. You can say that you were not aware of this incident, but I wonder who would believe you? Whether you like it or not, you are in the same boat as us.”
“Now that I think about it, your ulterior motive has always been to use that as a pretext to control our sect from behind the scenes. The reason you wanted to make our sect the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader was to exploit the alliance’s power through our sect.”
“It’s disappointing that you think of me that way. All that matters is that you have finally gotten the position that you desire so much, and that we can also get what we want through you. Isn’t this a mutually dependent relationship?” Hyun-Chul replied shamelessly.
Cheol-Gun was eager to hit Hyun-Chul’s face for making a fool out of him, but he tried his best to calm down. He couldn’t resent Hyun-Chul for this. After all, being so blinded by his desire to become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader that he got caught in Hyun-Chul’s scheme was his own fault. Fortunately, there was still a chance to right his wrongs.
“That makes me wonder about what to do. After all, I doubt what you want will happen.”
“What do you mean by that? Do you want me to reveal everything to the world? If I do that, the Byeok Sword Manor would not come out unscathed.”
“If you did something wrong, you should rightfully be punished. There’s also something you aren’t aware of.”
“And what would that be?” Hyun-Chul asked, sensing something ominous.
“In truth, the plan in Xiangshan failed. All of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect demonic practitioners that you sent were wiped out.”
“That’s ridiculous! Two Demonic Monarchs went to Xiangshan, so their failure is impossible,” Hyun-Chul said, looking flustered.
“Despite so, that’s the truth,” Cheol-Gun replied.
Hyun-Chul suddenly wondered why Cheol-Gun was so nonchalant. The plan at Xiangshan failing would be bad news for Cheol-Gun too. Something was up. At that moment, a thought flashed past Hyun-Chul’s mind.
Did the Byeok Sword Manor discover the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s identity before their insurgency and changed their mind? If so, perhaps they informed the Baek Sword Sect of this fact and annihilated the two Demonic Monarchs and the subordinates under their command as well. Was he trying to wipe out the Hangzhou Merchant Company by revealing the collusion between them and the Nine Celestial Demons Sect?
If so, then the Byeok Sword Manor would no longer have to return the money they borrowed from the Hangzhou Merchant Company even if they couldn’t become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader. That had to be the case. There was no way to explain the current situation. Convinced of the assumption that crossed his mind, Hyun-Chul became infuriated at Cheol-Gun.
“You bastard! How dare you betray me! Do you know how much the Hangzhou Merchant Company has done for the Byeok Sword Manor? And yet you repay our kindness by treating us like your enemy? You ungrateful bastard.”
“I can’t believe your audacity. You’re the one who tried to use the Byeok Sword Manor to your advantage, you bastard.”
“Shut up! You’ve just made the huge mistake of making an enemy out of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. The Byeok Sword Manor will soon disappear without a trace.”
“I think you should worry about yourself first.”
“Why? Are you going to kill me with your worthless martial arts?”
“I’d love to if I could, but there are people who want you alive. I think we’ve heard everything we needed to hear, so why don’t you all come out?” Cheol-Gun said in the direction of the room where Mu-Gun and the others were hiding.
“What are you doing?” Hyun-Chul shouted with a flustered expression.
At that moment, Mu-Gun and the others entered the living room.
“We heard everything as clear as day. Thanks to you, we have confirmed that the Hangzhou Merchant Company is working with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect,” Cheon-Sang told Hyun-Chul.
As soon as he heard Cheon-Sang’s remarks, Hyun-Chul realized that he had completely fallen into their trap. He underestimated Cheol-Gun and trusted the two Demonic Monarchs too much. He should have had his suspicions when he received no news, but he became too complacent. His failure to handle this matter more rationally and thoroughly resulted in the worst outcome.
However, it was too late for regrets. Caught in an inescapable trap, Hyun-Chul’s face was colored in despair.
* * *
Upon confirming that the Hangzhou Merchant Company was working with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect through the confession of the Hangzhou Merchant Company’s owner, Mu-Gun interrogated Hyun-Chul about the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s whereabouts. He also confiscated all the assets and authority held by the Hangzhou Merchant Company.
If the Baek Sword Sect used their martial forces to seize the Hangzhou Merchant Company’s assets despite not being guilty of any crime, murim would have criticized them. However, the Hangzhou Merchant Company colluded with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect to attack the Baek Sword Sect, so they didn’t have any qualms with it.
From that moment onward, the Baek Sword Sect held the Hangzhou Merchant Company’s life. That was the principle of murim. That was also why the Baek Sword Sect could take away all their assets. Jang Hyun-Chul’s entire family was expelled from the Hangzhou Merchant Company, and Sang Baek-Gwan, a highly trusted Business Leader within the company, was appointed as its new owner. Hyun-Chul was also driven out of the Myth Vault, which the Hangzhou Merchant Company owned, and a new owner was appointed.
The Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Myth Vault’s people could have harbored hostility toward the Baek Sword Sect, which drove out the upper echelons of their organization. However, when they heard that Hyun-Chul and the other executives tried to assassinate the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader by joining hands with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, they decided to follow the Baek Sword Sect without any complaints. They did not believe the Baek Sword Sect’s claims at first, but as Mu-Gun expected, Hyun-Chul had a secret ledger that he used to record the payments he had made to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
The Baek Sword Sect found the secret ledger and presented it as evidence to the people of the Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Myth Vault. After confirming its contents, they finally believed the Baek Sword Sect’s claims and decided to follow them.
After taking all of the Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Myth Vault’s authority, the Baek Sword Sect gave full management responsibility to the two companies’ newly appointed leaders and executives. They were experts when it came to the management of a merchant association, so it was best to leave it up to them.
Meanwhile, Mu-Gun interrogated Hyun-Chul and tried to find the location and traces of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. However, Hyun-Chul did not know anything about its whereabouts. The only person in the Nine Celestial Demons Sect he had contact with was the Asura Ghost Monarch, one of the Five Monarchs from the Asura Cult. The middle-aged man that Hyun-Chul had met the other day was the Asura Ghost Monarch. He had no idea where the Asura Cult’s headquarters was or what they were scheming. He just received orders from the Asura Ghost Monarch to make sure the Byeok Sword Manor would become the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader, and to manipulate the Zhejiang Martial Alliance through the Byeok Sword Manor.
Mu-Gun gave up getting information about the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s location from Hyun-Chul since Hyun-Chul had been consistent with his claims and Mu-Gun knew he was not lying. The Nine Celestial Demons Sect was only trying to exploit Hyun-Chul, who was nothing more than a lizard’s tail that could be cut off at any time to them. Hence, Hyun-Chul couldn’t provide him with important information such as the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s location.
The two middle-aged men he killed in Xiangshan would have had such information, but even if they were alive, they would definitely never voluntarily disclose it.
Anyway, Mu-Gun had failed to find the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s whereabouts. All that remained now was how to deal with Hyun-Chul’s family, who colluded with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. Mu-Gun concluded that Jang Hyun-Chul and Jang Hyun-Seong, who were the key figures in their company’s cooperation with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, would be punished by death, while the other members would be banished from the Zhejiang Province.
The surviving members holding a grudge against the Baek Sword Sect would become a hindrance in the future, but they had nothing to do with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. He couldn’t execute them just because they were a part of Hyun-Chul’s family.
After dealing with the Hangzhou Merchant Company, all he had to do now was hold the Byeok Sword Manor accountable. As Cheol-Gun had already decided to take full responsibility and pay for his crimes with his life, it was just a matter of putting it into action.
However, Matriarch Jeong of the Putuo Sword Sect, who was merciful by nature, carefully expressed her opinion. Although Cheol-Gun was guilty of a great crime, he did not have any direct relationship with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, and he also contributed to revealing the collusion between the Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. As such, she suggested considering these extenuating circumstances in the judgment of his crimes. Cheon-Sang slightly wavered upon hearing her opinion. Although it was disgraceful of Cheol-Gun to try to kill Cheon-Sang, it would benefit the Zhejiang Martial Alliance if Cheol-Gun had a change of mind due to this incident and swore his allegiance to them.
However, Mu-Gun’s opinion differed. The Byeok Sword Manor’s martial artists killed or gravely injured more than forty people from not only the Baek Sword Sect but the Justice Martial Sect and the Flying Lance Sect as well. Turning a blind eye to their sacrifice would be impossible, considering they put their life on the line out of sheer loyalty. If this incident was overlooked, the Baek Sword Sect’s martial artists would feel as if Baek Sword Sect couldn’t care less if they were killed.
Above all, the Byeok Sword Manor tried to assassinate the Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader. To preserve the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s dignity, Cheol-Gun had to be punished. He would serve as a warning to others. At Mu-Gun’s strong assertion, Cheon-Sang also admitted that he thought of this matter too complacently. Finding Mu-Gun’s assertion reasonable, the Putuo Sword Sect’s Matriarch no longer insisted on her opinion. The Baek Sword Sect demanded that Cheol-Gun confess his sins to the Byeok Sword Manor’s martial artists and take responsibility for this incident by committing suicide. They thought this was the best way to minimize the Byeok Sword Manor’s resistance.
Cheol-Gun obediently accepted the Baek Sword Sect’s demands. It was definitely not an easy task to confess his sins to his subordinates, who trusted and followed him. However, Cheol-Gun had already put everything down and decided to think only of the Byeok Sword Manor. With his confession and death, he could avoid any hostility between the Baek Sword Sect and Byeok Sword Manor.
Cheol-Gun gathered all the Byeok Sword Manor martial artists and confessed that he tried to assassinate Zhejiang Martial Alliance Leader Cheon-Sang due to his greed for the position. His confession deeply shocked the warriors of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. Some of them felt disappointed when they found out that Cheol-Gun, whom they trusted and followed, was blinded by greed.
After confessing his sin before the Byeok Sword Manor’s martial artists, Cheol-Gun stated that he was no longer qualified to be their sect’s patriarch for bringing disgrace upon the clan’s honor. With that in mind, he revealed that he wanted to pay for his sins to the Baek Sword Sect and Byeok Sword Manor with his death.
Last but not least, he said that he hoped his death would not create hostility between the Byeok Sword Manor and Baek Sword Sect. After requesting that the Byeok Sword Manor fulfill their responsibilities as a member of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance, he struck the crown of his head. Cheol-Gun committed suicide without giving anyone time to stop him, leaving the Byeok Sword Manor’s martial artists shocked. In this horrifying situation, they were at a loss for what to do.
The upper echelons of the Byeok Sword Manor, who were made aware of this in advance, suppressed their sorrows and quickly dealt with the situation. After calming down the Byeok Sword Manor’s martial artists, they retrieved Cheol-Gun’s body. The funeral process for Cheol-Gun began soon after.
Cheol-Gun’s sudden death would certainly bring disorder to the Byeok Sword Manor’s warriors for the time being. However, it shouldn’t last long after the new patriarch had settled into his position and pulled them together. They would be reinstated as a member of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance from that point on.
The incident between the Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Byeok Sword Manor had come to an end. The Baek Sword Sect’s group left Hangzhou after Cheol-Gun’s funeral.
Seven days and nights later, the Baek Sword Sect’s group safely arrived in Wenzhou.
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