Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Full of Personality, No, Full of Character
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“Young Master.”
“Why the sudden change in expression? It’s scary.”
“Right now—”
“Is it because of those North Sea Sect bastards?”
“…H-how did you—”
“Let’s talk while we walk.”
I headed to the Nanheop Hall with Dang Gon, where Yu Su-min was receiving treatment.
Dang Gon was staring at me like I was some kind of ghost.
「To that guy, the Young Branch Leader must look scarier than any ghost right now.」
「He’s shocked because we knew about an incident they only just figured out.」
The specters snickered as if Dang Gon’s expression was amusing.
But unlike their laughter, their eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
This was the moment we truly began clashing with the North Sea Sect.
The war they had longed for had finally broken out, so they couldn’t help but be on high alert.
They knew better than anyone just how dangerous a war with the North Sea Sect would be.
And how meticulous and terrifying the faction behind them was.
One wrong move here, and it’d be straight off the cliff.
It was quite a while before Dang Gon finally spoke.
“…So that’s how it was.”
He’d spent the entire walk trying to piece together the sequence of events and seemed to have reached a conclusion.
“Did you orchestrate the spies to move like this?”
“Halfway.”
“And the other half is you, isn’t it?”
“Correct.”
When Gui Je-gal had come to warn me about the North Sea Sect’s sabotage, I’d devised a few schemes with him on the spot.
‘-So hurry up and rack that personality-packed brain of yours for some countermeasures, Small Branch Leader.’
‘Personality-packed brain…?’
‘Huh? Isn’t that right? Who was it that chopped off the heads of the Lady and South Palace with just a few dirty tricks—’
‘It’s a brain full of character and virtue.’
‘And that overflowing character and virtue has flooded into a great deluge, yet nothing comes to mind right now? No way.’
‘I do have some ideas.’
‘Yesss! What are they? Tell me quick! I’m so excited I’m going crazy!’
‘Get lost. That’s exactly why I don’t want to tell you.’
‘You gonna keep dodging like this?’
‘Seriously, did I entrust something to the wrong person? Fine. But first, there’s something we need to discuss.’
‘What?’
‘I’d like to take out a few annoying bastards together.’
‘Eek! I knew it! As expected of that personality of yours—’
「That sniveling strategist made a good call on reading people, at least—」
「He saw right through the Young Branch Leader and matched his rhythm perfectly. Hard to find someone like that, so maybe keep him in heavy rotation going forward—」
Even after becoming Small Branch Leader, I still had headaches.
Namely, the ones making an issue of my background.
No matter my fame from taking down the White Bone Net Master and North Wind Ghost, no matter how high my reputation soared with even the Lion Sword King visiting as a guest, there were still malcontents deeply rooted within the branch family.
They were elements that wouldn’t disappear no matter how forcefully Dang Gon stepped in.
With a major crisis right around the corner, I had no choice but to draw my blade for the sake of internal unity.
And the blade I chose was Gu Min-chae.
He’d target me first once he started moving in earnest.
But since I became Small Branch Leader, the White Hall had been under ironclad security.
Even with a horde of demonic ghosts, it wouldn’t be easy to touch rashly.
So I figured he’d try luring me out.
And the method would likely involve taking hostages from those closest to me.
「So that’s why you made that clever proposal to Thousand Leaf Sage and the two lackeys, right?」
「And you assigned Onma as a hidden bodyguard next to Dang Gyujin as well.」
I’d explained everything to Dang Gyujin, Yu Su-min, and Sima Seon, requesting their cooperation separately.
Fortunately, all three agreed to help without any special conditions.
Repelling evil was the common banner of all righteous sect members.
The sense of duty to thwart the North Sea Sect’s plot to turn Sichuan’s martial world into a wasteland moved them.
Of course, it required a bit(?) of acting, but it seemed to work perfectly on Gu Min-chae.
‘You’re still in contact with Onma, right?’
「Contact with Onma has been cut off for unknown reasons, so Ilno is hot on their trail. We’ll pinpoint their location soon.」
‘Onma… hope nothing happened.’
「You know she’s not one to go down easy. She’s probably biding her time somewhere nearby.」
‘Good. Thanks for all your hard work.’
「H-ha! The Young, Young Branch Leader who always pushed us so hard is saying something like this!」
「This is the greatest reward through three lifetimes!!」
Anyway, all these preparations led to this outcome.
Now that the malcontents were purged, it’d actually be easier to unify the branch family using this as momentum.
If only they’d followed the defense system I designed, they wouldn’t have fallen so pathetically. All self-inflicted, right?
But Dang Gon apparently didn’t see it that way.
“It’s true they harbored grudges against you. It’s also true they needlessly dragged their feet, poking holes in the defense system that needed reorganizing.”
I stopped walking and looked steadily at Dang Gon.
Dang Gon said firmly.
“But they were still proud members of the Nine Dragons Branch Family.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Were you always this terrifying, Young Master?”
My eyes darkened deeply.
“And if so?”
“If they posed a hindrance going forward, would you discard even fellow family members this coldly—?”
“I asked you. What then?”
“!”
“Are you going to abandon me and leave?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“No. To me, it’s the same thing.”
“!”
“Martial Uncle, I’m not the Branch Leader.”
“!!”
“I don’t know how the Branch Leader led you and the Mad Wind Corps in the past. But remember one thing. I’m different from the Branch Leader. If you don’t grasp that difference, you can’t stay by my side.”
“…….”
“I’ll tolerate the whining only until today.”
Dang Gon’s lips trembled before he bowed his head.
“…I overstepped.”
“No. It’s partly my fault for not explaining beforehand.”
“…….”
“But know this one thing. In my reign, I have no confidence running while coddling every bastard who grabs at my ankles. I’ll be too busy just charging ahead.”
I stared straight into Dang Gon’s wavering pupils and said firmly.
“So I hope you’ll be someone who runs alongside me, not grabs my ankle. I really like you, Martial Uncle.”
“……I’ll be careful from now on.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
I started walking again.
A mix of emotions flickered across Dang Gon’s face as he led the way.
「He seems slick on the surface, but he’s got a rigid personality that’s fanatical about camaraderie.」
「Watching from the side might be frustrating at times, but an organization needs someone like that to function properly, right?」
「The Young Branch Leader scolded him well, and he’s the type to listen, so feel free to keep using him heavily going forward.」
As someone I’d earmarked for Bright Light Righteous Warrior, Dang Gon was an indispensable talent.
* * *
The Nanheop Hall was already abuzz with guests trying to grasp the situation.
“I heard the Pure Moon Fairy was injured—is that true!?”
“Rumors say Thousand Leaf Sage and White Sword Orchid were kidnapped—”
“Did the Demonic Cult really appear—?”
Had rumors already spread in the meantime?
『Anything else happen besides this incident?』
『No. We’d been closely monitoring the spies’ movements within the branch family and successfully stopped any major incidents beforehand. The system you proposed was spot on.』
Fortunately, the defense system had functioned normally.
『We couldn’t prevent the skirmishes during the takedowns, so some guests witnessed them.』
『That’s what started the rumors.』
『But they shouldn’t know about Dang Gyujin’s young lady yet… Seems there are still spies we haven’t identified, so we’ll root them out ASAP.』
『Please do. Time is our biggest weapon right now.』
『Yes. Understood.』
The remaining bastards in the branch family were spreading rumors to maximize chaos.
Indeed, the rumor that ‘the Demonic Cult might invade’ was rattling many guests.
The fear and terror the Demonic Cult inspired in Central Plains folk was immense.
“Any answers yet—”
“Hey, isn’t that the Small Branch Leader over there?”
“Y-yeah! You there—”
Then the guests spotted me late and turned.
Dang Gon stepped forward to shield me.
“I’ll handle this place somehow. Young Master, take the back entrance—”
“No. I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“?”
It was right then, as confusion crossed Dang Gon’s face.
Kwaaaang!
“Who the hell’s making noise this late at night when people are trying to sleep—!”
With a thunderous lion’s roar, the Lion Sword King appeared, radiating murderous intent.
“L-Lion Sword Great Hero!”
“Sword King! Perfect timing!! There’s Demonic Cult outside right now—”
“The Nine Dragons Branch Family seems to be hiding dangers from us—”
“Shut the hell up—all of you—!”
“!!”
“!!”
“!!”
“Explain one at a time! You’re so damn loud I can’t make out what you’re yapping!”
His voice boomed like he’d swallowed a thunderbolt.
The guests were half-stunned by the Lion Sword King’s aura.
A few gulped dryly before managing to speak.
“Th-the Demonic Cult has come all the way here!”
“So?”
But the Lion Sword King’s response was nonchalant.
The guests panicked.
“W-what? What do you mean, ‘so’? I-it’s been six y-years, and d-demonic scum have dared invade the Central Plains! The Pure Moon Fairy was gravely injured, Thousand Leaf Sage and White Sword Orchid went missing. In this dire situation, the Nine Dragons Branch Family hiding it must have their reasons—”
“The Nine Dragons Branch Family deliberately hid it? The news of the Demonic Cult coming?”
“Y-yes!”
“I don’t know what nonsense you’re spouting. As far as I know, the Nine Dragons never did that.”
“…Pardon?”
The Lion Sword King furrowed his brow.
“Did my words go in one ear and out the other? The Nine Dragons never did that!”
“B-but among us, there were none—”
“You don’t know that the Nine Dragons Small Branch Leader sits there thanks to chopping off the heads of the White Bone Net Master and North Wind Ghost? Even I, coming from Ghost Valley martial world, know that.”
“!”
“Fine, overlook the White Bone Net Master, but the North Wind Ghost was a high-ranking demonic ghost boasted by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s Demon Lord North Sea Sect. If that bastard showed up in the Sichuan capital county, you should’ve anticipated other scum might be rampaging too!”
“!!”
“!!”
“!!”
“You idiots with brains you can’t even use properly come forward like this only after shit hits the fan—does that make any sense!!”
The guests all shut their mouths.
“And from the looks of it, you lot haven’t suffered a scratch!! Doesn’t that mean the Nine Dragons did what they could? Qingcheng, Emei, and Blue Flower Island—who actually took hits—are staying quiet, so why the hell are you throwing tantrums? Tantrums!”
His killing intent was now boiling over.
Any more bullshit, and he’d burn them all.
“If you get it, then scram!”
The guests eventually fled tail-between-legs back to their lodgings.
The Lion Sword King glared at them disdainfully before glancing our way.
He grinned smugly and winked.
『How’s that, my friend? Pretty slick, right?』
I couldn’t help but let out an involuntary chuckle.