Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: We Don't Negotiate. We Just Demand.
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“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
After my words, the only thing left in this place was silence.
The first to break it was Yu Ha-seong.
“…The stronghold leader is quite bold.”
He curled the corner of his mouth in a hollow laugh, but it wasn't really a laugh. With that, he flashed a rotten grin at me and plopped down into his seat first.
Naturally..., ignoring the hand I had offered for a handshake.
‘Well, nothing to be done.’
I hadn't extended my hand for a genuine handshake in the first place, so I withdrew it right away.
This was a bit of psychological warfare on my part.
A declaration that I wouldn't bend to him, and a chance to gauge the opponent's temperament.
He's one of the Ten Great Masters of the world. Naturally, I hadn't expected him to play along easily.
Still.... the hostility was even more blatant than I'd imagined.
‘Is it because I looted all the secret manuals and elixirs from the Shaanxi Yu Clan…?’
That could be part of it.
But the way I saw it, there was something qualitatively different in Yu Ha-seong's eyes—a unique kind of antagonism.
It wasn't just toward me. He looked at Mun-seok the same way.
Maybe..., he felt outright disgust toward the entire unorthodox world.
His moniker suddenly came to mind.
Yu the Righteous Sword Hero.
If you had to break it down, he was a knight-errant wielding the upright sword of the Shaanxi Yu Clan.
A knight-errant is a savior to the weak, but to evildoers, a merciless demon.
I reminded myself of that point, etching into my mind that this guy was no pushover.
Then I gestured toward Mun-seok, who had turned to stone, and the Beggars' Sect branch leader.
“Shall we sit too? Beggar uncle, have a seat.”
“Huu…”
“Ah, uh, sure.”
Once the branch leader sat, Mun-seok followed suit.
He took one deep breath, then regained his usual composure. Mun-seok was a veteran at this sort of thing, so there was no need to worry.
“Well, then….”
My hunch had been spot on. A calm, steady voice without the slightest tremor emerged from Mun-seok's mouth.
“Shall we talk now?”
“Let's.”
Alright, now the real deal was starting—the negotiation on which my life, my men's, and the fate of our Green Forest hung.
**
Mun-seok, the smoothest talker among us, took charge of the proceedings.
He put on his signature clear, affable tone and began by laying out our position.
But….
“First off, we want to reiterate that the Green Forest was the victim in this incident.”
“Victim?!”
…Right from the opening line, it rubbed Yu Ha-seong the wrong way. He scowled and bellowed.
It would've been enough to deflate anyone else's momentum, but Mun-seok—now used to it—scowled right back and fired off his retort.
“The Murim Alliance came charging in with swords drawn, slaughtering away at a Green Forest that was just living quietly. Doesn't that make us the victims?”
“A Green Forest living quietly? How can illegally occupying mountain passes and extorting tolls from innocent commoners be called ‘living quietly’?”
Yu Ha-seong's words made my blood boil.
Damn it, I'd reined in my temper and lived so damn meekly.
“Yu the Righteous Sword Hero. Hey, that's a bit much. What evil have we done? We cleared the mountain paths to make things easier for merchants and contributed to the community.”
Yu Ha-seong let out another disbelieving snort at my words.
“Bandits contributing to the community… Absurd. …Fine then. Can you prove these so-called contributions?”
The instant he finished, I shot a glance at the branch leader. He caught it and promptly pulled something from his bosom.
“…Branch leader.”
Seeing the perfect sync between me and the Beggars' Sect branch leader, Yu Ha-seong's face registered surprise.
But uncle, too late for that.
Sure, the meeting looked like two against two, but it was really three against one. The branch leader and us had already gotten our stories straight.
Just as we'd planned ahead of time, the branch leader drew a document from his bosom and handed it over to Yu Ha-seong.
It was….
“The report written by the Murim Alliance spy who scouted the Green Forest before.”
“…!”
…The very report from the spy who'd come and gone from our turf previously.
Yu Ha-seong's eyes went wide in shock.
“This is…”
“Yes, our Hunan branch recovered the spy's body and retrieved this with it. You should give it a read.”
“…….”
At the branch leader's earnest urging, Yu Ha-seong accepted it and unfolded the pages.
And….
“…….”
…It didn't take long for a spark to light in his eyes.
He had to be shocked.
Of course he was.
The report was full of nothing but good things about our Green Forest.
We hadn't doctored it or anything. The spy who'd actually traveled our mountain paths had evaluated us glowingly.
‘Worth selling the booze at fair prices.’
Remembering the grind of peddling liquor at cost without price-gouging, I turned to Yu Ha-seong.
“Huh? Cat got your tongue? Does it say anything in there about us price-gouging or bullying merchants?”
Nope. If anything, it'd talk about our fair prices and how we'd eased the merchants' burdens.
It even noted how the people were kind, with no oppression of the common folk.
“We might be Green Forest, bandits by name only—we'd repented and were just running an honest business. Then the Murim Alliance comes storming in out of nowhere. And you keep harping on us tormenting commoners, but is the Alliance so spotless?”
“What… do you mean by that?”
When Yu Ha-seong shot back, I gave another glance to the branch leader.
This time, he hesitated a touch before pulling another document from his bosom and passing it over.
Yu Ha-seong took it with dead-serious gravity and opened it up.
And before he even finished the first page….
“…….”
…His face changed.
It looked calm on the surface, but I could read the emotion simmering beneath.
Rage. Seething rage.
‘Perfect.’
What I'd feared was the Alliance sending some trash remake of Dokgo Young as their rep.
If it'd been that kind of guy, he'd have panicked at the document and scrambled only to think up a cover-up.
But the look on Yu Ha-seong's face was pure, unadulterated fury.
What he was reading was the Beggars' Sect confidential file, detailing Dokgo Young's atrocities in meticulous detail.
Eyes blazing, he pored over it slowly, carefully.
Flip-.
At last, having reached the final page, Yu Ha-seong closed his eyes for a beat, then spoke softly.
“…Branch leader.”
“…Yes, sir hero.”
“…Why wasn't this reported ahead of time?”
Yu Ha-seong's voice was calmer than ever. But… a calm blade slices the deepest.
His quiet fury cut into the branch leader sharper than any outburst.
“I-I haven't been here long myself. And… I wanted to explain it to you in person when you arrived, sir hero…”
That was a lie too.
The branch leader had originally planned to file an official report to Alliance HQ, but we'd talked him out of it.
They could've moved openly against us if they'd seen it early. And hitting them with it right here on-site would pack more punch.
My plan had landed perfectly—Yu Ha-seong clutched his forehead, visibly stunned.
I didn't let the opening slip.
“Seen it all now, huh? We were living right, and some psycho killer barges in to scratch his murder itch? Turns out the good guys are the bandits, and the psycho's from the Murim Alliance—no, the second son of the Dokgo Clan? Hey world, get a load of this. Can you believe it?!”
“…There are also indications that Dokgo Young eliminated a Murim Alliance spy.”
Right then, the branch leader chimed in softly, backing me up. At this point, the guy might as well be one of ours.
Anyway, riding that assist, I hammered Yu Ha-seong harder.
“Now do you see who's the victim and who's the perp?”
“…….”
“Facts are facts, but you wrote us off just ‘cause we're Green Forest. But you get it now, right? How things are in Hunan? Unlike the Alliance ignoring us from afar, our Green Forest builds this place up and protects it—we're the guardians here. You're just the thugs.”
“…….”
I wasn't spouting nonsense.
The Alliance had neglected this backwater, turning a blind eye. Their own Dokgo Young had slaughtered innocent merchants just to feed his bloodlust.
Me? I'd unified the bandits, shut down their pillaging. Blazed new trails through the mountains to give merchants some peace. Made life better for the locals too.
I hadn't been here forever, but I'd planted roots. This was home now.
“…So what exactly are you driving at?”
What was I driving at?
I wanted to throw up a damn fortress wall around my new home so nobody could waltz in.
“I want the Murim Alliance to guarantee exclusive territorial rights for our Green Forest in Hunan Province.”
“…….”
Yu Ha-seong's breath hitched at my words.
**
Tremble.
Hearing Muyeon's words, Mun-seok finally noticed his own legs shaking.
And small wonder. What was coming out of Muyeon's mouth right now… was that jaw-dropping.
Mun-seok recalled how, just days ago, Muyeon had dropped this on him.
Even then, he'd nearly toppled over backward in shock.
‘Ex-exclusive territorial rights…? Do you even grasp what that means?’
‘I do. Means Green Forest owns Hunan.’
‘Y-you can't just say it like that….’
‘Ajusshi, I'm too chicken to sleep if I'm on edge. Things being what they are, we'll be in constant hot water. Might as well….’
‘…….’
‘…Turn Hunan into our private backyard, fence the whole thing off so nobody gets in. That's the only way I'll catch some Zs.’
Call it thoughtless… or ballsy as hell….
If the Alliance greenlit this, it'd be the first time in centuries the unorthodox built real power.
And then….
North: Demonic Cult. Central Plains: Righteous sects. South: Unorthodox.
Territories and strengths all over the map, sure….
‘The realm splits three ways.’
The realization drew a wry, complicated chuckle from Mun-seok's lips.