Chapter 22
After finishing their meal, everyone focused on their respective tasks.
First, Lee Ryang inspected various places in the Tianxia Hall with Chief Zhang.
“I’ll set up a formation so tight that not even an ant can pass through!”
“No, then merchants won’t be able to come and go.”
“Oh…”
He scratched the back of his head as if he hadn’t thought of that.
“That’s true. Then….”
Chief Zhang looked at Lee Ryang with narrow eyes.
‘Can I trust him?’
Meanwhile, Surin used the Hao Sect to gather information on the Divine Thief.
She didn’t care if other battlefields were raided, but this was the Cheonhajang.
The place where her future husband and father-in-law were.
She must solve this brilliantly to earn points with her father-in-law!
***
While everyone was diligently working on their tasks.
A guest visited Ha Jinwi, who was alone in his office.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Nice to meet you, Lord of the Cheonhajang. Thank you for cooperating with the Murim Alliance.”
“It’s no different from my own work.”
The guest looked like a beggar.
Nevertheless, Ha Jinwi did not disregard him.
Ha Jinwi was not one to judge people by their appearance, especially since the person in front of him was an elder of the Beggars’ Sect.
It was Chu Gwanggae, who had dined with Eunho and Somi at Namgung Cheong’s cheong’s funeral.
“You must have many worries, but don’t worry. I, Chu Gwanggae, am the best in the Central plains at finding people.”
Ha Jinwi nodded.
If it was an elder of the Beggars’ Sect, it made sense.
In fact, when they said an investigator would be dispatched, he didn’t expect an elder of the Beggars’ Sect to come personally.
The elder’s reputation was not small in the orthodox martial arts world.
Sending him personally showed how much the pride of the murim alliance had been hurt.
“We have been steadily tracking that guy in our Beggars’ Sect, and thanks to that, we have been able to find out a lot.”
Elder Chu explained to Ha Jinwi with a proud expression.
He detailed the methods of the crime, the routes taken, and the martial arts level of the thief.
In fact, Elder Chu was genuinely surprised when he received the report that the thief had evaded the Beggars’ Sect’s strike team.
Even if nothing else, it meant that the thief had reached the pinnacle in lightness skill.
However, it didn’t seem like his martial arts skills overall had surpassed the pinnacle.
‘If that were the case, he wouldn’t have fled so helplessly.’
It didn’t make sense for a master of that level to be chased unilaterally by the Beggars’ Sect’s strike team.
Only his lightness skill was abnormally exceptional!
It wasn’t a common case, but there were historical records of such individuals.
When Ha Jinwi nodded calmly, Elder Chu was puzzled.
The name of the pinnacle wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
“You’re not surprised? I’ve heard that the Lord of Cheonhajang is not ordinary, but….”
Or perhaps he didn’t expect him to know because he wasn’t a martial artist.
Of course, someone who owned the Cheonhajang couldn’t be unaware.
“Haha, it’s not that. In fact, we already knew all of this.”
“?”
Ha Jinwi thought of Surin.
He was certain of her identity.
A woman who knew the information that even the Beggars’ Sect proudly conveyed in advance.
Elder Chu felt uneasy.
‘Could it be her….’
At that moment, someone entered the office.
It was Surin.
“Lord, from the branch office here…. Oh, we have a guest. Sorry… Oh!?”
Surin was surprised to see Elder Chu’s face.
“Oh?”
Elder Chu was also surprised.
The person he had suspected was standing right in front of him.
‘The one who provided the information to the Lord of Cheonhajang was the leader of the Hao Sect.’
Elder Chu’s expression darkened.
As a renowned figure of the orthodox martial arts world, he fundamentally disliked the unorthodox sects.
If he had to pick the one he disliked the most, it would undoubtedly be….
“How dare a filthy unorthodox woman come here?”
Surin glared back without backing down.
Their gazes clashed fiercely in the air.
The Beggars’ Sect and the Hao Sect could never be on friendly terms due to their nature.
It would be more surprising if the representative intelligence organizations of the orthodox and unorthodox sects were friendly.
At that moment, Ha Jinwi intervened.
“Elder Chu.”
“Lord, do you know who this woman is? She’s very dirty and vile….”
But the excited Elder Chu had no intention of stopping.
At least not until he heard the next words.
“Elder Chu.”
Ha Jinwi’s voice was cold.
“She is my guest.”
“No, this woman is from the Hao Sect….”
“I said she is my personally invited guest.”
“…”
Elder Chu was not someone who had risen to his position without being perceptive.
This was the Cheonhajang, and currently, the Murim Alliance was seeking cooperation from the Lord of the Cheonhajang.
It wouldn’t be wise to upset him.
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
“Ha, let’s all sit down first.”
With Ha Jinwi’s mediation, the three of them sat around the round table, and a strange atmosphere flowed between them.
“We will first deploy the Alliance’s masters to the Cheonhajang.”
“Pfft, masters of the pinnacle level? There were many pinnacle masters when Samhui Battlefield was raided.”
Elder Chu’s face turned red at Surin’s provocation.
“Ahem, do you think it’s easy to deploy pinnacle masters?”
“Really? Well, I can. And two of them at that.”
Hoo, I must endure.
Barely holding back, Elder Chu spoke with a sneer.
“Ha, the leader of the Dark Shadow Brigade, and two? Such arrogance.”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Of course, the other pinnacle master Surin mentioned was Eunho.
The difference between her and Elder Chu was whether they knew of Eunho’s presence or not.
“Listen carefully. That guy’s goal is definitely not money.”
This time, Surin nodded in agreement.
“It’s not fame either. He’s hiding too much for that.”
“Our ‘Beggars’ Sect’ found the reason elsewhere.”
For some reason, Elder Chu emphasized ‘Beggars’ Sect.’
“It’s money.”
“But you said it’s not money.”
“Small battlefields have been raided, and yesterday even Samhui Battlefield was hit. Those who entrusted their money to the battlefield are hastily withdrawing it out of fear. Doesn’t something seem strange?”
Surin tilted her head.
Is this old man senile?
Why is he stating the obvious?
Elder Chu clicked his tongue as he watched her.
“Tsk, it’s the rumors.”
“!”
Surin was frustrated.
‘How could I miss something so important?’
She had been too preoccupied with Eunho’s presence, causing her to make an uncharacteristic mistake.
“Each battlefield would try to hide the fact that they were raided, but the rumors are spreading too quickly. I even suspected that the Hao Sect might be behind it.”
“That’s ridiculous. We don’t directly interfere with rumors like that.”
The Hao Sect had their own principles.
They gathered and categorized all rumors but did not directly involve themselves.
This was how the Hao Sect, relatively weaker than the Beggars’ Sect, survived.
“Hmph, that’s your perspective. Isn’t it because you unorthodox folks move for profit that you’re called unorthodox?”
“What the…!”
Surin was about to curse but held back, noticing Ha Jinwi’s gaze.
She couldn’t utter such vulgar words in front of her future father-in-law.
Instead, she glared as fiercely as she could.
She chose to curse with her eyes instead of her mouth.
As the tension between the two rose again, Ha Jinwi shook his head.
“So, you’re saying there’s someone behind that thief?”
“That’s the stance of the Beggars’ Sect.”
Surin thought deeply about something and then smiled.
As she realized the overlooked fact, various pieces began to fit together.
“Interesting.”
“Did you think of something?”
“Our ‘Hao Sect’ knows information that the Beggars’ Sect doesn’t.”
“That, that can’t be.”
Despite his words, Elder Chu’s face showed anxiety.
Surin pondered while savoring his expression.
Should I say it? Or not?
Normally, she would never give information to the Beggars’ Sect.
But earning points with the Lord of the Cheonhajang was more important.
“It’s Cheol Mu-seong, the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance.”
“!”
Everyone in the room was surprised by the sudden name.
Cheol Mu-seong was the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance and a master listed among the Twenty-Four Masters of the Martial World.
“Recently, the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance and figures from the Southern Barbarians had a meeting at a brothel we manage.”
***
The thief, Yang Jin-tae, who encountered Eunho, was bewildered.
“How?”
“I ran faster because you were running.”
Yang Jin-tae realized that he could never escape through conventional means.
“Who are you?”
Eunho pointed to the Cheonhajang and said,
“You don’t need to know more details, but I’ll give you two choices.”
“W-what are they?”
Yang Jin-tae swallowed hard.
“The first is to get beaten, and the second is to get caught while running away and then get beaten. I plan to beat you like a dog in the middle of the street.”
“This is insane!”
It was a proposal that naturally made him curse.
Of course, he had no intention of accepting the proposal.
Not the first option, and certainly not the second!
“What if I don’t like either?”
“I’ll decide for you.”
“…”
Yang Jin-tae’s eyes darted around.
‘It’s already past the time to send the signal, so they’ll be coming to find me soon. I need to buy some time until then.’
With that thought, Yang Jin-tae slowly gathered his energy.
A faint breeze surrounded him, and dust swirled around.
As he took a slow step, his figure scattered.
He moved continuously from front to back, and from left to right, around Eunho.
Yet, Eunho continued to watch him in the same stance as before.
“Young man, let me ask you once. Do you have any intention of just letting me go? I haven’t even raided the Cheonhajang yet.”
“Oh. So you’re admitting that you plan to raid the Cheonhajang?”
“…Die.”
Yang Jin-tae’s lightness skill had indeed reached the pinnacle level, as Elder Chu had predicted.
His movements became faster and soon covered all four directions around Eunho.
“You don’t know that no one has ever survived after provoking me, the Divine Thief. I didn’t want to stain my hands with blood against a youngster, but….”
As his voice echoed from all directions, the atmosphere felt even more threatening.
It seemed as if one of his many figures would rush to cut Eunho’s throat at any moment.
Eunho, watching this with an expressionless face, spoke.
“Then why aren’t you attacking?”
There was no response.
“You’re roughly at the peak level. A martial art that only develops lightness skill. It’s certainly an unusual case.”
No matter how fast he moved, Eunho could clearly see his level.
Yang Jin-tae hesitated.
‘Just a little more time.’
Stopping now would be embarrassing.
After some hesitation, Yang Jin-tae made the worst move.
He launched his figure at Eunho!
Bang~!
The result was obvious.
Yang Jin-tae was thrown into a corner of the wall.
Eunho had merely swung his fist lightly.
However, Yang Jin-tae’s speed had become his own downfall.
A thin line of blood trickled from his mouth.
Eunho approached the fallen man and bent down to meet his eyes.
“Why have you been raiding the merchant fortresses?”
When Yang Jin-tae didn’t respond, Eunho nodded.
“I understand. I’d be too ashamed to say anything in that position. But sometimes, as an adult, you have to do things you don’t want to.”
Yang Jin-tae continued to glare at Eunho silently.
His tone was mildly irritating.
But what did it matter?
Yang Jin-tae’s lips twisted into a sly smile.
“Kid.”
“Are we finally on the same page? Go ahead, speak.”
“It’s too late. You should have killed me sooner.”
Yang Jin-tae wore a triumphant expression.
At that moment, three men in black rounded the corner.
“Boss, we found him.”
“Yang Jin-tae. What are you still doing here… Oh? Isn’t that the young lord of the Cheonhajang? You better not be thinking of betraying us.”
The man in black glared sharply at Yang Jin-tae.
“Of course not. I only found out he was the young lord because you told me. I was just stalling until you arrived.”
Yang Jin-tae swallowed the words ‘while getting beaten.’
The leader of the men in black laughed incredulously.
“Captured? You? Even a passing dog would laugh. Stop joking around….”
At that moment, Eunho raised his index finger and pointed it at him.
Whoosh-!
A gust of wind shot out.
Thud!
The man in black fell.
“!”
The jaws of the remaining two men in black and Yang Jin-tae dropped.
Their eyes darted around, unable to grasp the situation.
A wisp of smoke rose from the fallen man’s forehead.
“I was worried I might pierce his head, but it seems sturdier than I thought.”
Then he moved his finger to aim at another man in black.
“Is your forehead sturdy too?”
