Chapter 60: Preparing of the Trap (5)

“Uwaaahhh!”

“Nine Moons Blade Hall! Nine Moons Blade Hall!”

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

Nine Moons Blade Hall was one of the largest factions within Eastern Sea City.

How could people not be thrilled when such a group volunteered to take the lead in fighting against those demonic bastards?

“Everyone, for Eastern Sea City to make the Black Tiger Faction pay the price, we need your testimony.”

A sharp-eyed wanderer raised his hand.

“I will spread what I saw here to everyone outside!”

“What did you see, brave one?”

“I saw those vile Black Tiger bastards storm into this tea house, smashing things and causing havoc!”

“That’s exactly it!”

Heukseo was too dumbfounded to even speak. There’s a limit to how absurd things could get—how could this nonsense unfold the moment they stepped into the tea house?

Worse, others began enthusiastically backing up the wanderer’s claim.

“I too saw the unorthodox faction’s wickedness with my own two eyes!”

“I’ll tell everyone I know!”

Because the youngest disciple of the Evil Overlords of Heaven had stirred up so much trouble in Eastern Sea City, the public’s resentment toward the unorthodox factions had reached a boiling point.

Even if they tried to cover it up with money, violence was inherently part of the unorthodox sect’s methods.

‘In the end, power struggles are all about legitimacy.’

Legitimacy.

Even if it was fabricated, as long as you had a cause and public support, any fight was worth taking on.

Especially when the enemy had already earned the people’s hatred!

Heukseo made a final desperate protest.

“D-Do you really think the Evil Overlords of Heaven will stay quiet after all this? Do you not realize Everlasting Decree Fortress is only 140 li away from here?!”

It was a flatland along the river, so it would take less than half a day if they departed immediately.

But I responded calmly.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“W-What?!”

“The Evil Overlords of Heaven will absolutely not get involved in this.”

A chill ran down Heukseo’s back as he heard my confident voice.

They weren’t just stirring up trouble on impulse.

They had already laid their traps after thorough preparation!

“Hmph, are you all finished?”

At that moment, a line of martial artists appeared outside the tea house.

‘T-Those guys?!’

Their uniforms were slightly different, but unmistakable.

Orthodox faction members who had been clashing with us inside Eastern Sea City at every turn!

“As you can see, it’s more or less done.”

“I see. We’re finished on our side too.”

“W-What the hell are you trying to do?!”

The Sect Master of Ultimate Good Sect spoke coldly to Heukseo.

“We’re going to eliminate every unorthodox rat leeching off Eastern Sea City and reclaim all the businesses they’ve taken over.”

“If you do that, the Evil Overlords will never sit by… Ah!”

Heukseo finally realized it.

‘They’ve joined hands with another sect!’

Otherwise, this entire situation would be impossible to orchestrate!

Clack! Clack! Clack!

At some point, the officials from the Thousand-Day Pass and the martial artists of Nine Moons Blade Hall had all gathered in one place.

“How many unorthodox factions are there in Eastern Sea City?”

Bang Manhu answered.

“Excluding small fry, there are nine notable groups. But even if you combine the other eight, they’d barely equal the Black Tiger Faction in size.”

So in the end, these so-called unorthodox factions were nothing more than street thugs.

Considering the size of Eastern Sea City, it was abnormal for hundreds of unorthodox martial artists to be crowding in anyway.

“That’s perfect.”

Grin!

“Then let’s start by cleaning up the most troublesome one—the Black Tiger Faction.”

“Agreed.”

Ultimate Good Sect Master nodded.

Though many weren’t aware of it yet, a historic joint operation between the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Path had just begun in the world of Murim.

***

“Who the hell are you?!”

With both the leader and vice-leader subdued, the Black Tiger Faction was no more than a gang with numbers on their side.

Though they had nearly two hundred members, their size had only been possible thanks to the backing of the Evil Overlords of Heaven.

In a head-on clash, they couldn’t possibly stand up to the Orthodox Faction.

“Attack!”

“Uwooooh!”

The rage that had been bottled up until now exploded.

“Are these bastards crazy?!”

“Do you know where you are?!”

“We’ll report this to the authorities! How dare you draw swords on a righteous faction!”

“These lunatics calling themselves… righteous?!”

The household sect masters grew even more enraged at the Black Tiger Faction’s shameless lies.

Even if they had been clever with their financial infiltration, as seen in the tea house incident, they had committed all sorts of wicked deeds, always pushing just up to the line.

“Gah!”

“Kuaaah!”

The officials from the Thousand-Day Pass, fighting alongside them, joyfully beat the unorthodox faction members.

Most of them hadn’t yet reached the level where they could manifest demonic qi, which ironically made them more palatable to the Orthodox Faction martial artists, who didn’t feel as much repulsion.

As the battle intensified, a shout came from deep within.

“What’s the meaning of this chaos?! Are you truly members of the Orthodox Faction?!”

A scholar with a classic goatee emerged from inside the Black Tiger Faction’s building.

“And you are?”

“I’m the merchant head of the Four Immortals Trading Company!”

This goat-bearded man turned out to be the well-known head of the Four Immortals Trading Company in this area.

“Charging in here like this in broad daylight—regardless of how unregulated the authorities are, I’ll have no choice but to report this!”

Confidently wielding the law, the Four Immortals Trading Company head stepped forward.

But—

“Oh, let’s talk over here instead.”

He walked straight into the trap I’d prepared.

“W-Who are you people?!”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Go Gunmyeong, the Qinghai branch chief of the Mysterious Gold Trading Company.”

“T-The Mysterious Gold Trading Company?!”

“Five Great Trading Companies of the World?”

“I’ve heard that illegal speculative funds have been circulating inside Eastern Sea City lately… So it was the Four Immortals Trading Company behind it.”

“N-No, that’s not….”

The branch chief narrowed his eyes and glared at the head of the Four Immortals Trading Company.

“Since you mentioned the authorities, I believe it’s best to leave this matter to them, don’t you agree?”

While the Four Immortals Trading Company was known to wield some influence in the region, it was nothing compared to the power of the Mysterious Gold Trading Company—one of the Five Great Trading Companies of the World.

In particular, this Qinghai Branch of the Mysterious Gold Trading Company had connections even with Qinghai Province’s Provincial Commander and both the Left and Right Ministers of Law Enforcement. No matter what position the Four Immortals Trading Company held, the authorities would always side with Hyungeum.

“W-Why is the Mysterious Gold Trading Company involved in something like this?”

“That’s none of your concern. So? Are you willing to take this to the end?”

“G-Guhk!”

The Four Immortals Trading Company head was flustered.

If he used the strength of his real backers, he could probably hold his own even against Hyungeum. But right now, their involvement must not be exposed.

Even if it meant suffering some loss, withdrawing was the only choice.

“Do you think we have the guts for that? We merely tried to dabble in one of the Evil Overlords’ ventures. We’ll withdraw here and now.”

At his sudden retreat, the remaining Black Tiger members scowled.

“Th-That backstabbing goat-bearded bastard?!”

“Shut up, you damned fools!”

The Four Immortals Trading Company head urgently gathered his subordinates and fled from the Black Tiger base.

The branch chief silently observed them leave, then turned to ask Sa Biyeon, who had been quietly standing in the back.

“What would you have us do, Lady?”

“They’re surely just the tail. Don’t touch them carelessly. Track them cautiously and identify who’s behind them.”

“I will carry out your orders without fail.”

How could he be careless when it was her command?

The Mysterious Gold Trading Company, one of the Five Great Trading Companies of the World, was in fact one of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s major financial pipelines—specifically run by the Black Gold Sa Clan.

Naturally, Sa Biyeon, a direct descendant of the Black Gold Sa Clan, wielded immense influence and authority.

‘I suspected as much, but she’s proving to be a great help.’

The idea to leverage the power of the Mysterious Gold Trading Company had come from Sa Biyeon herself.

She had argued that the source of the unidentified funds circulating in Eastern Sea City had to be the Heaven-Defying Society, and if we were to confront them, we needed a suitable counterforce.

In the end, her prediction was spot on.

Starting with the Four Immortals Trading Company and following the trail upward, we could potentially expose one of their funding channels.

“Run for it!”

“Flee! The Black Tiger Faction is finished!”

As the battle wore on, the remaining Black Tiger underlings began to lose their will and scatter.

Bang Manhu approached me and asked,

“Shall we pursue them, Young Master?”

“No need. They’re not all there is anyway.”

Although the Black Tiger Faction supposedly had two hundred members, not all of them were present here.

“Besides, we’ll be combing through Eastern Sea City for a while anyway. Now we’ve got an excuse to hunt down any fleeing unorthodox bastards.”

“Hahaha, you’re right. They stirred up so much trouble that it’ll take ages to clean up the mess.”

Two million nyang. That was how much money had been dumped into this small fortress—two million nyang.

Even if we crushed them with force, reclaiming the seized businesses through official channels wouldn’t be resolved in just a day or two.

“By the way, Sect Leader, what’s the status of the one I asked you to keep an eye on?”

“You mean that official named Han Muyeon, yes?”

The Thousand-Day Pass officials I brought here were all new recruits.

The senior ranks were still assigned to escort missions, as usual.

“Take a look.”

Bang Manhu took out a talisman from his sleeve and muttered a few words.

The talisman ignited with faint demonic qi, and a mirror-like square surface appeared before my eyes.

‘So this is that surveillance technique?’

Inside the square screen, Han Muyeon could be seen speaking with someone.

“He’s conversing with his instructor. Unfortunately, this technique doesn’t allow for sound eavesdropping.”

“Hmm…”

“He hasn’t shown any unusual movements so far. If he leaves the designated area, I’ll be notified immediately.”

The reason I stirred up such chaos wasn’t just to crush the enemy’s schemes.

More than anything, it was to draw out Han Muyeon’s next move.

‘The more places I shake up, the easier it’ll be to catch Baek Sang-ah off guard.’

I didn’t know if Han Muyeon was directly linked with Cheong Museong, but regardless, I wasn’t going to miss such a golden opportunity.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to bury him in the Tomb of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, but if I can finish him off the easy way, that’s better.’

***  

“What did you just say?”

“M-My apologies, Third Order.”

“Apologies my ass! What the hell did you just say?!”

Cheong Museong’s fist slammed into his subordinate’s face.

“Guhh!”

The blow shattered his nose and knocked out teeth, but the subordinate dared not show any reaction.

Because if he did, it wouldn’t be just teeth breaking—it’d be his neck.

“Black Tiger Faction has fallen. The unorthodox sects in Eastern Sea City are being hunted down.”

“Son of a bitch!”

The previously composed Third Order Cheong Museong now raged like a madman.

“And our response? You’re not telling me we just sat around while the enemy took our front yard, are you?!”

“M-My apologies… The First Disciple reportedly intervened and strongly opposed deploying any forces.”

“…Why?”

Cheong Museong couldn’t understand that decision at all.

Sure, he’d made the first move behind the scenes, but there’s no way Geum Jeoksan would just sit back and watch Eastern Sea City fall into the Orthodox Faction’s hands.

“There was a fierce protest lodged by the Murim Alliance to the main branch over the incident near Namchang. Because of that, they feared provoking the Alliance by reallocating forces…”

“Ah, Namchang. Namchang!”

That incident must have involved the Namcheon Hundred Families.

He had lent some forces from the Evil Overlords to stir things up over there, but he never expected it to backfire like this!

“Damn it!”

Crash!

An expensive wooden table split in two.

“So this is how you want to play it, Senior Brother?”

Sure, he had given them the excuse. But the Namchang incident was just a pretext.

Geum Jeoksan had clearly decided to relinquish Eastern Sea City to purge Cheong Museong’s influence entirely from the region.

“Tell Second Order.”

Cheong Museong growled viciously.

“Kill the Murim Alliance Leader’s granddaughter right now. I’ll take care of the consequences. Just kill her!”

Then, a calm voice whispered by his ear.

“Please calm yourself, Third Order.”

“…Myeong-oh.”

“You can’t afford to overreact just because your opponent made a move.”

Cheong Museong’s face twisted in irritation.

“Arrogant advice. Even if you’re who you are, don’t overstep.”

“Of course. I apologize.”

Myeong-oh bowed politely, though Cheong Museong’s mood didn’t improve.

But since they belonged to different factions, he couldn’t lash out any further here.

“Fine, what do you want?”

“I came with a message.”

Then, the words that came from Myeong-oh’s lips struck like a bolt from the blue.

“The Eighth Army will be arriving here soon.”

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