Chapter 13

Everyone wore grim faces.

“Haah... then how about letting only the Mad Sword Gate’s sect master come in?”

“Do you think they’ll accept that?”

“If they truly want peace, they’ll accept it.”

They all nodded.

The alliance leader spoke to Jin Gwanghon.

“Very well! If you truly want peace, can you come in alone?”

Jin Gwanghon nodded.

“Of course. I’ll even leave my sword outside.”

A man mad for the sword is coming in without his sword.

I could feel the sincerity.

Only then did the faces of the Jiangxi Alliance’s sect leaders ease.

“Ah, understood! We’ll open the gate at once.”

“Open the gate, quickly!”

The city gate of the Jiangxi Alliance opened, and Jin Gwanghon truly handed his beloved sword to a subordinate before slowly walking in.

Everyone was strung tight.

In case Mad Sword Gate disciples might rush in the instant the gate opened.

But they held formation and didn’t move an inch.

It was a resolute look in a different sense.

Do they truly want peace?

Changing like that overnight is confusing.

Now, every gaze of the martial artists belonging to the Jiangxi Alliance was fixed on the negotiations between the alliance’s sect leaders and the Mad Sword Gate’s sect ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) master.

The alliance leader asked Jin Gwanghon:

“Why this suddenly?”

Jin Gwanghon answered the question evenly.

“Because I realized I’m not a predator.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was just one prey among many. I rampaged without even knowing that. Now I intend to return to my proper place. So I want to get along with you. I’m sincere.”

The sect leaders made faces that said they had no idea what he was talking about.

Jin Gwanghon chuckled faintly and said:

“Do you know what overwhelming strength is—what hell you can’t escape no matter how you struggle?”

“I know. Isn’t that what you did to us?”

Jin Gwanghon shook his head.

“We were not overwhelming. We never once conquered you.”

“Then an overwhelming existence came to you?”

Jin Gwanghon nodded.

“A demon came. We were exceedingly ordinary.”

Just how tremendous is that existence, for this vicious man to look sick of life...

“Rather than meet him again, I’ll lay everything down and farm.”

A man mad for the sword says he’ll lay down the sword to farm.

It was a shock.

“But if I lay down the sword, I hear he’ll come again, so I must hold a sword one way or another.”

Jin Gwanghon lifted his head, cupped his fists, and bowed at the waist.

“I’m a worthless man who tormented you, but I apologize like this.”

The Jiangxi Alliance’s sect leaders looked at one another.

Then the alliance leader stepped forward and clasped Jin Gwanghon’s cupped hands between both of his.

“I accept your apology. Let’s get along from now on.”

At the alliance leader’s words, Jin Gwanghon broke into a bright smile.

“Thank you! Truly, thank you! From now on I’ll work for the development of the Jiangxi sects.”

The alliance’s sect leaders felt something off at the sight of Jin Gwanghon’s genuine joy, but the fact that there would be no more fighting—and that they were freed from the anxiety of not knowing when the Mad Sword Gate might invade—made them happier still.

That day, for the first time a festival was held in the city of the Jiangxi Alliance, and bright smiles bloomed on people’s faces.

****

Jin Gwanghon knelt with his head bowed.

I sat in front of him.

“I did as you commanded.”

“Good. From now on, get along.”

“Yes!”

He acted like a faithful subordinate.

“I hear you coined a sobriquet for me?”

Jin Gwanghon’s body, which had been perfectly still, flinched.

“What was it again? Thousand-Faces Evil Breed?”

“I—I’ll gag them immediately.”

I snorted a laugh.

“Leave it. I like it. Thousand-Faces Evil Breed. Tell them to just call me that.”

“As... as you command.”

There was something in his manner like he was treating me as his lord, but I let it pass with a smile.

“You are dealt with. Now, where shall I go next?”

“You’re looking for the next target?”

“Mm. Recommend one.”

“How about the Hundred-Gold Sect?”

“Are they vicious?”

“They have a notorious reputation. If it serves their purpose, they don’t hesitate to kidnap and torture—utter degenerates.”

“What’s their purpose?”

“They’re a martial sect, but loan-sharking is their main source of income. Because of it, they commit countless abuses.”

“Loans?”

“Yes. They charge outrageous usury, and even the authorities don’t lay a hand on them.”

“Because of the noninterference between government and the martial world?”

Jin Gwanghon nodded.

“Then the martial sects should step up and stop them.”

“The ones spreading the usury are civilians, and the backer behind them is the Hundred-Gold Sect.”

“Huh... so you can’t touch them, because they’re civilians? And the authorities won’t touch them because it’s the martial world?”

“That, and they spread an enormous amount of bribe money through the bureaucracy. If the Hundred-Gold Sect goes down, the officials tied to them are finished, so they just throw up their hands and say it’s a martial-world matter.”

“What’s their method?”

“They overlay a sheet of paper with plain, easily understood terms on top of a loan note written to favor themselves, leaving only the places to seal exposed. Later, when you look at the sealed loan note, it’s turned into a document completely different from what you thought you signed.”

“They don’t notice? No trace after pasting and peeling it off?”

“I’ve only heard the accounts, so I don’t know the details. They must have some technique of their own.”

I was curious.

Just what method they used to swap the loan notes.

“Where do they operate?”

“Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province.”

“Ganzhou...”

This takes me farther from home.

I need to go home first.

If I stay out much longer, my mother will appear in person.

“If I hear you’re bullying other sects again, know it won’t end this easily next time.”

“Understood.”

I rose to leave.

“I wish to serve you as my lord!”

“Serve me?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“You’re the ideal I’ve always dreamed of. You’re in a place I can’t reach, so I want to serve you.”

I snorted a laugh.

“I don’t raise an unorthodox faction.”

“I’ll do anything, if I can serve you.”

“Fine. Then join the Jiangxi Alliance. But you have to earn their recognition to get in.”

“Understood.”

“Become a righteous faction recognized by the Jiangxi Alliance, then I’ll take you.”

“I will make it happen.”

I patted Jin Gwanghon on the shoulder.

“Do well.”

“Yes!”

The instant he answered, my presence vanished.

He slowly lifted his head; my figure had already disappeared.

“As expected, he is a man beyond the heavens. When my lord grows to his full height, the Central Plains will prostrate beneath his feet.”

The lord he had chosen sat in a place he never dared even dream of.

Jin Gwanghon set his will ablaze.

He would found a righteous sect, win recognition, and become that man’s formal subordinate—no matter what.

****

I arrived home.

Since my mind is linked to my clone, I can respond instantly if anything happens.

But not before my mother.

She’s the sort of person who notices even the smallest change like a ghost.

When I think it’s possible because she cherishes and loves me that much, I feel so happy I can’t help but smile.

The moment I arrived, I dispelled the clone and lay down on the bed.

Lying down, I was thinking about how to rehabilitate the Hundred-Gold Sect scum when Taecheon’s voice came from outside.

“Madam!”

There’s only one person in the True Martial Sect whom Taecheon calls “Madam.”

My mother.

No wonder I felt like coming home today.

This is why you don’t ignore a bad premonition.

“I heard Wigang has been living on Fasting Pills for days. Is it true?”

“When the young lord focuses on study, he always does so.”

“This time it’s two days longer than then. Haven’t you checked on him?”

“I’m sorry. The young lord dislikes being disturbed while studying, so I couldn’t check.”

“Open the door. I’ll check personally.”

“Understood.”

When the door opened, I greeted my mother with a bright smile.

“Mother! What brings you here at this hour?”

My mother, Yu Hwayeon, looked around my room.

Then her gaze fixed on the few Fasting Pills left.

“Hrk!”

At the sudden tears rolling down her face, I was thrown into a panic.

“M—Mother! Why are you crying?”

“It breaks my heart that my lovely son is using Fasting Pills to skip meals just to study.”

“Eating and then studying makes it harder to concentrate, so I’m doing it this way.”

“Even so, at your age you should be eating plenty, and you’re replacing meals with that...”

It hurt to see my mother sad.

There’s only one way to comfort her at times like this.

“Mother. I’m hungry. I want fish-fragrant eggplant—the way you make it.”

At my words, her tears stopped, and she stared straight at me.

“Hungry?”

“Yes. After eating nothing but Fasting Pills for a while, I’m dizzy.”

“R—really? Then fish-fragrant eggplant won’t be enough. Anything else you want?”

“Potato braised pork, too.”

“Alright. I’ll make it for you right now.”

“Yes!”

Urgency showed on Yu Hwayeon’s face as she hurried out.

Her child had said he was hungry.

She had to hurry.

Before my hungry baby collapsed.

Taecheon came in smiling after seeing my mother hurry away.

“Did you use that method again?”

“Mm. When I say I’m hungry, nothing else gets through to my mother.”

“You’re going to overeat today.”

“Well, what can I do? It’s the best way to soothe her.”

I grinned at Taecheon.

“I’m a truly lucky one. My parents, the entire True Martial Sect, and you—everyone loves me.”

“That’s only natural.”

“Nothing’s natural. It’s something to be grateful for. Thank you, Taecheon.”

At the thanks, Taecheon turned his head, embarrassed.

“You flatter me.”

I chuckled at the sight.

Taecheon asked:

“How much longer must you study?”

“Mm. I think about two more weeks. Why?”

I plan to test things out just through the Hundred-Gold Sect, then stay home for a while.

If I push it and my mother catches on, that would be troublesome.

“I worry for your health.”

That’s the most needless worry.

“Alright. When I finish this study session, I’ll take a break.”

“Thank you for taking my words to heart.”

“No—it’s because you’re worried for me. Please look after me for the next two weeks.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone near you except the sect master and madam.”

****

Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province.

It’s a bit of a distance from home, but that’s no problem.

It took me less than an hour to get here.

And that was at an unhurried pace.

I chewed a candied haw skewer as I wandered the streets.

I didn’t wear a mask.

If I wore one now, I’d draw every eye.

I toured Ganzhou, acting as childlike as possible.

Countless people of every sort moved busily, filling the city with vigor.

Maybe that’s why it was so fun to look around.

While I looked, I also confirmed the Hundred-Gold Sect’s locations.

Their main base was on the outskirts, and in the city center they had branches scattered here and there, lending money to the people.