Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Uncle Munseok is Working Hard
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I headed straight down the mountain and raced into the city of Hunan.
Then, I naturally descended into the familiar basement of that now-familiar building.
“Munseok-emong-!!”
“Munseok-emong...? I don’t know what that means, but damn, it’s an annoying nickname….”
There, Uncle Munseok greeted me with a slightly queasy expression.
It might grate on Munseok’s nerves, but the nickname Munseok-emong suited him perfectly. The Hao Gate was a sect formed from all sorts of people and things, practically omnipotent in the murim world.
Munseok let out a sigh and asked me,
“I was just worrying and thinking of climbing the mountain myself. Did you... handle things well?”
His face was full of concern. His words were gruff, but it seemed he really had been worried about me.
“I muddled through it somehow... but the problem’s not over.”
“...I figured as much. The Murim Alliance won’t just sit idle once they learn the subjugation force got wiped out instead….”
“That’s why I need the Hao Gate’s help. No, from now on, the Hunan branch of the Hao Gate is one community of fate with our twenty Green Forest dens. If we go down, you’re going down too, Uncle.”
“...What did we do wrong?”
As Munseok started to retort, I immediately raised my index finger bearing the Hao Gate Leader’s ring.
The moment he saw it, Uncle Munseok sighed again and grumbled.
“Haa... damn it, you should’ve just stolen the ring or something.... So, what do you need us to do?”
“I knew you’d help.”
The Hao Gate Leader had once called me a tsundere. But that was wrong.
With a textbook tsundere right here by my side, why call me one?
Uncle Munseok, who acts like he doesn’t want to but jumps right in when I ask for something, was the true tsundere—my very own little DoraXmong.
I explained my plan to Najakdo, who had already turned serious and was listening intently.
“I thought about it on the way down. How to avoid clashing with the Murim Alliance as much as possible. So I came up with a plan... and the part the Hao Gate needs to handle is….”
As I laid out what to do for Munseok, he nodded repeatedly with a thoughtful frown.
“Ah... yeah. That should be doable enough.”
“And... there’s something else you need to look into….”
“...That happened? ...I’ll check into that too.”
“Finally….”
And when I reached my last request...
“...What?”
...Uncle Munseok’s face twisted for the first time.
He started showing firm refusal, as if that one thing was absolutely off-limits.
“N-No, that’s not happening. We have our pride too. That’s….”
“Come on. Pride doesn’t feed you. Just this once, bend a little. Our Green Forest is on the brink of collapse right now? Munseok-emong-!”
“Urgh….”
As I kept pestering and throwing a tantrum, Munseok groaned again and...
“Fine…….”
...finally nodded.
Relieved that he’d accepted the proposal in the end, I casually asked,
“Is the Hao Gate Leader still busy...?”
Not that I doubted Uncle Munseok’s abilities, but with the Leader’s help, this would wrap up even smoother.
However...
“She’s still pretty tied up.”
...as expected, she didn’t have time to visit the Hunan branch yet.
“From her letters, though, it seems the Leader misses you a lot. She’ll rush over the moment her work’s done.”
“...No need to miss me that much. Anyway, handle what I asked properly. Oh, and I plan to stick around here for a while, so set me up a room.”
“Got it.”
For now, today’s business was done. All that was left was waiting for Munseok’s results.
Uncle Munseok would be busy from here on, so I stood to give him space as quickly as possible.
At that moment, Uncle Munseok spoke up.
“...You saved our Hao Gate and the Leader from a major crisis. I’m grateful for that.”
“What’s with the sudden….”
“...I’ll help you with everything I’ve got too. That’s what I wanted to say.”
Uncle Munseok, who always wore that sly, smile-filled face, sometimes switched to this stern, old-man mode.
That must be his real face.
His words now carried such sincerity that I felt like laughing for some reason.
“Uncle, if you ever get kicked out of the Hao Gate, wanna work under me?”
“...Working under you? I’d die of frustration before a week’s out, not even a month. I’ll bury my bones in the Hao Gate. Even in death, I’ll be its ghost.”
“Huh... that’s a shame.”
I knew he’d say that, but it still left me a bit wistful.
I waved over my shoulder and left the basement.
**
The Beggar's Sect.
Originally one of the Nine Great Righteous Sects, with branches everywhere under heaven, it flaunted its influence.
However, compared to other sects and clans, it was lacking in martial prowess, making it hard to dominate regions.
So what about Hunan?
Hunan Province had few people and many mountains, so few beggars too.
Few beggars meant a small Beggar's Sect presence.
But with no major sects in Hunan, the Beggar's Sect Hunan sub-branch wielded considerable influence despite its modest size—more than other sub-branches.
“Shit, what good’s influence when there’s nothing to do….”
In a rundown pavilion serving as the Hunan sub-branch headquarters, Sub-branch Leader Jang Song yawned lazily.
Even if he could throw his weight around more than other sub-branch leaders, so what? There was no work.
Among Beggar's Sect disciples, the Hunan sub-branch leader post was seen as a dead-end job.
‘It’s not like I lack talent, damn it….’
Jang Song, who’d been assigned here due to some unavoidable grudge from higher-ups, just mooched off his subordinates’ food and killed time day by day.
And... he thought that day would be the same as always.
“Sub-branch Leader!”
As Jang Song was about to nap, a subordinate’s voice rang in his ears. He opened his eyes to see the man urgently calling him with a panicked face.
A bit annoyed but unable to ignore work entirely, Jang Song asked in a low voice,
“What? What’s going on….”
“Well... a guest, I guess...? Anyway, someone’s here to see you.”
“A visitor? What, needs info? Or directions?”
He had free time, but visitors weren’t nonexistent. Most just wanted trivial info, so Jang Song assumed this was the same.
But...
“Uh... doesn’t seem like they want info.”
“Huh? How’re you so sure?”
“Well, actually….”
As the subordinate beggar hemmed and hawed, unsure how to continue, footsteps approached from behind, and someone entered.
The moment Jang Song saw the man’s face, he understood the hesitation.
No way could this guy be here to buy info from the Beggar's Sect.
“Hmm... long time no see, Sub-branch Leader.”
“No way... who’d have thought you’d show up?”
Jang Song let out a flustered chuckle at the unexpected guest, then quickly got angry.
“More than greetings? You’ve got some nerve! You threatened us never to set foot in your establishments again because we ‘stink like beggars’!”
The man standing before Jang Song was named Munseok.
A fairly big shot in these parts.
He’d been in charge of the Sichuan branch—one of the Hao Gate’s most crucial posts—and was seen as highly trusted by the Hao Gate Leader.
But for some unknown reason, the Sichuan branch shut down, and he’d come to the Hunan branch, according to Beggar's Sect intel.
A potential next Hao Gate Leader demoted to a backwater like Hunan? Shocking enough.
And now... the Hao Gate’s branch leader was visiting the Beggar's Sect sub-branch?
“Hmm... I apologize for being too harsh last time.”
“...!”
He even bowed his pride and apologized to Jang Song. Jang Song couldn’t hide his shock.
The Hao Gate and Beggar's Sect didn’t get along.
Hao Gate unorthodox, Beggar's Sect orthodox.
Different factions from the start, but similar work.
Both claimed to be the top info network, pride running high.
Rivals... that’s the word.
The two trashed each other daily, claiming superiority, glaring or grimacing if they crossed paths on the street.
Munseok had been the same.
From day one in Hunan, he’d tried cracking down on the Beggar's Sect for “not smelling like beggars”—clearly no fan—yet here he was, visiting the sub-branch and humbling himself...
Something was definitely up. Jang Song raised his guard inwardly and asked,
“You who hates beggar stench—why come all the way here?”
His tone sharpened.
Whatever it was, since the guy bent his pride to come, Jang Song held the upper hand.
Even though Jang Song was over a decade younger and rude, Munseok held back any outburst, as if enduring.
Then he got straight to the point.
“You know about what happened up in the Green Forest recently, right?”
“Of course….”
In this backwater, such a big incident—who wouldn’t know? The Beggar's Sect Hunan sub-branch had grasped the situation first and reported to Murim Alliance HQ.
“But Uncle, why bring that up?”
“Why? Because our Hao Gate wants in on it.”
“The Hao Gate? Why bother? What connection do you have to those Green Forest bandits? Taking care of fellow unorthodox? Whatever the reason, no room for the Hao Gate.”
“What’s the reason?”
“What else? The Murim Alliance’ll send another subjugation force soon. No reason to step in unless you wanna get hurt.”
“…….”
Munseok nodded at Jang Song’s words, then continued.
“...What if there is a reason to step in?”
“...The Hao Gate and Hunan Green Forest that close? ...Even if, the Hao Gate alone can’t shoulder the Murim Alliance’s wrath.”
“That’s why I came to the Beggar's Sect.”
“Hm?”
To the baffled Jang Song, Munseok cleared his throat and spoke gravely.
“I, Munseok, Hunan Branch Leader of the Hao Gate, propose that the Hao Gate and Beggar's Sect jointly mediate between the Hunan Green Forest twenty dens and the Murim Alliance on this matter.”
“What...?”
The words dyed Jang Song’s face with shock.