So Yeomgyo’s Tale Continues
The story of So Yeomgyo went on without pause.
“Winning the duel between the Human Dragon and the Human Wolf turned the escort guild market into a boom, I suppose. But if I were to put it bluntly… yes, it’s been absolutely gutted. Everyone’s always short on hands.”
Lee Ga-ju-bu chimed in from beside him.
“The number of escort agents has dropped lately, and so has the overall quality.”
So Ga-jun nodded.
“Everyone whispers about it, but if you look at the participants for this dark tournament, even after setting aside the Three Evil Ghost Kings and a few others, the level is honestly pathetic. The Dark Beauty herself came to watch and immediately left afterward. There are many opinions about why, but I suspect that’s the reason. Still…”
So Ga-jun pointed at me.
“This man is the only exception. And the one who shares our mindset is none other than the Black Tortoise, the most famous for disagreeing with me in every way.”
The moment the match ended, he leapt up to recruit me first—only to meet my eyes at the same time.
Lee Ga-ju-bu muttered while sharpening his nails, clearly annoyed.
So Ga-jun shrugged.
“That’s exactly why we can’t let Biryu slip away. And another thing.”
He suddenly turned his head toward me.
“Honestly, before hearing the party’s opinion, it’s absurd for us to keep bickering over who gets to take me. Right, Biryu?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing since earlier.”
Hwanggeumseong had been observing me with sidelong glances the whole time.
“…”
He showed no reaction at all. How intriguing. Truly, I wonder if anyone of that age can respond with the same attitude. How on earth does one live life to maintain such composure?
I had known them from the beginning.
They were no amateurs.
They were clearly arguing fiercely over negotiation rights with me.
At the same time, they were studying my reaction.
They were watching my breathing and my expression.
No one could remain completely calm while others spoke about themselves right in front of them.
The timid would become flustered, and the arrogant would grow boastful.
They would naturally reveal their true selves.
Perhaps they were engaged in a battle for dominance while simultaneously trying to observe my real nature.
But they had overlooked one crucial point.
I had crossed the line between life and death far more than they imagined.
They would never have missed the subtle feeling that I was keenly aware of their intent to watch me even as they argued.
“Look at these fools.”
The moment I judged them, I knew exactly how I would act.
I planned to prepare two moves the instant I saw one.
If I could not decide my own action, then I would simply offer no reaction at all.
The only move I could make against them was to sit in silent silence, rather than clumsily lecturing them with cheap banter.
Even as their conversation continued, I maintained perfect silence.
Such an unusual attitude would inevitably ignite their imagination, and that imagination would slowly devour them from within.
I had learned this practical application from Jegal Sea during the real sword debate in the underground tunnels of Unwol Jiju against Ryu Cheong-jin, the Ghost Shadow Divine Thief of the Blood Cult.
I had mastered it completely and rooted it deep within myself.
When I infiltrated the Ju Family, I thought I was meticulous.
But I had rushed in without even laying a single trap.
My temper flared, I made mistake after mistake, and I became so frustrated that I nearly lost my mind.
I always claimed to be fully prepared, yet when I looked back, I had nothing but holes everywhere.
But every time I failed, I filled the gaps, patched the shortcomings, and tried to improve.
That was me.
No matter how much I hated it, that was who I was.
No matter how much I despised it.
Because it was me.
No matter how much I hated it, I could not abandon myself.
“I must apologize for interrupting your discussion.”
Everyone stared at me.
Nevertheless, I kept moving forward, inch by inch, improving in every single aspect.
And while speaking, I had one clear plan in mind.
“You all seem to be operating under a fundamental misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Hwanggeumseong asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re saying it’s a misunderstanding?”
“Exactly. The foundation everyone is laying right now as the premise for today’s conversation contains a flaw. So I’d like to correct that first and then begin the real discussion.”
Everyone waited for my next words.
I spoke calmly.
“Today, I do not join any of your three factions.”
“…Then?”
Hwanggeumseong said.
“A man who speaks so decisively must have thought things through.”
“I do.”
I replied.
“Fortunately, when I entered this tournament, I received the alias ‘the Slayer of Omens’ from the jianghu. In truth, I was little more than a disposable tool, an unknown ghost assassin without a known or unknown rank four status in the Blood Death Sect. It was because of me that I gained the name I have now. I stood tall on this earth with two feet, spoke my words proudly, and earned this as the fruit of my own efforts from beginning to end.”
Of course, the tone was a bit… tongue-in-cheek, I muttered quietly to myself.
There were several layers of meaning hidden in those words.
Multiple meanings that I could not bring myself to express openly.
“So, with the unique alias I’ve gained in the jianghu, I suddenly thought…”
I gave a faint smile.
“Once the surrounding matters are settled, I plan to run my own independent escort guild.”
“What?!”
Hwanggeumseong’s eyes shot wide open.
Lee Ga-ju-bu burst out.
“Do you have any idea what it takes to found an escort guild?!”
“Black Tortoise, keep your voice down.”
So Ga-jun advised.
“Well… it’s not impossible. I’ve done escort work, I’ve cooked, and because of my age I’ve experienced every kind of misfortune imaginable…”
I pointed to the giant standing beside me.
“Eung-chil, even if it’s the beginning, going it alone from scratch would feel wrong. How about you join me too?”
The dumbstruck man beside me jumped in shock.
“No way! Why all of a sudden? I don’t want to die together!”
A heavy silence fell.
“Haha, hahaha!!”
Hwanggeumseong began laughing so hard he looked ready to topple backward.
No one paid him any attention.
So Ga-jun gave a dry chuckle, mouth open in astonishment.
“Hah, I understand what you said, but did you actually speak it?”
“…I definitely understood and spoke.”
Lee Ga-ju-bu frowned.
“My God, this madman! Heh heh!”
Suddenly Hwanggeumseong’s laughter turned into the motion of falling backward.
“Elder, be careful.”
The giant behind him grabbed the chair.
“Huh, huhahaha! Two of the Four Divine Flags of the escort guild—the Janggang Merchant Union leader and So Ga-jun—are trying to recruit you, and you turn them down and openly proclaim that you’re founding your own independent guild! This friend has a stomach the size of a warlord’s! Kekeke!”
“It’s not about fighting over territory.”
I added briefly.
“I have no intention of making money through the guild’s operations. I’m not planning to leave any profit at all.”
“What?”
Hwanggeumseong’s laughter froze.
“You’re not planning to leave any profit?”
“Regardless of the region, I will hand over sixty percent of the compensation I receive to any escort guild that has formed mutual brotherhood treaties with me in that region.”
Everyone’s expressions hardened.
“Then why found a guild at all? Are you stupid? You’re not doing it to earn money, but to operate it yourself so you can suffer and spend?”
“Right now, the guild itself is a necessity.”
“You’ll run at a loss. Where will the money come from? Do you not realize that what you’re saying contradicts itself? Who in this world runs an escort guild while deliberately losing money?”
The longer I spoke, the more the three men’s faces looked as if they were drowning in confusion.
But it was no lie.
Above all, it was an action that was utterly impossible for them to predict, since they could not know I was Moyong Bi.
Everything had been a lightning-fast plan that flashed through my mind after I realized the existence of the escort guild group.
When I first entered the jianghu, my top priority had always been survival.
Mumyeong had told me that the three things needed for survival were strength, experience, and people.
Of those, people and the networks and forces they created could not be solved in a short time.
Especially forces. They were the hardest to grow, and something I did not have, unlike the traditional bloodlines of Moyong Jinryong and Moyong Ryu.
Even looking at So Ga-jun’s words, the two of them were still fighting fiercely with their subordinates, even though they were both in Cheonsubaekryeonsa.
The entire Moyong Family seemed to be splitting down the middle, turning into the jianghu’s greatest enemies and fighting each other to the death.
On the day of the elder brother’s funeral, I still remembered the conversation I had with Moyong Ryu in that room after Moyong Jinryong suddenly entered.
Moyong Jinryong and Moyong Ryu exchanged words with no trace of humor, faces completely expressionless, and cut each other open without hesitation.
I swear that even I, who has experienced countless life-and-death situations, would find their battle far more eerie and brutal than any ordinary Blood Cult assassin.
‘I need a force that can protect me firmly.’
Even with the power of heaven-sent opportunities, without someone who could protect me solidly, I would still be broken.
The problem was that I was only a single illegitimate son. I could not openly raise an army.
I had not even appeared on the official front lines yet.
My sponsor, the eighth elder Moyong Taese, had said that once he finished the six-year training at Cheonsubaekryeonsa and returned, the blood wind would begin.
Everyone was sharpening their blades, waiting for that moment.
First, Moyong Jinryong,
Second, Moyong Gangcheon,
Third, Moyong Ryu,
And fourth, me, Moyong Bi.
Even though each of us had our hackles raised and wanted to rip out the other’s throat, we held back, prepared the best possible move in our own lives, and mercilessly sharpened the whetstone day and night, honing our blades.
The vicious schemes passing through the air were not full-power political maneuvers, nor full-power frontal clashes. It was merely the occasional quick poke, hoping that luck would allow me to snatch a throat in the middle of it all.
I needed a move of my own.
I needed soldiers who could stand against them.
And the answer to having legitimate soldiers and a legitimate identity that I could command was something I had not expected to find right in the back world.
Money would, of course, be solved the moment I formally returned with the unprecedented identity of the fourth young master of the Four Great Families.
With the matters in Unwol Jiju settled and an independent alias in the jianghu under the name Biryu, the escort guild fit perfectly with the goal I wanted.
The operating funds for the guild could be covered up to a certain size through my networks and resources as Biryu of the Blood Death Sect, and after my return to the Moyong Family, funds would be transmitted through the Black Tiger and others of the Blood Death Sect for covert funding.
Thus, I would create my elite soldiers, hidden under the name of Biryu, not Moyong Bi.
That was my plan.
I looked at the silver waistband Eun Seollyeong had given me, the one that suppressed my inner energy.
It was a waistband that let me hide my cultivation level.
It was a gift directly from her, the Guardian of Mount Hua, who had recognized that I had already transcended a certain level.
Once I returned to Ha-mu-gwan in Cheonsubaekryeonsa, it would become an invaluable asset.
From the outside, I would still appear as a weak, powerless illegitimate son with no force and no soldiers.
But anyone who underestimated me would taste hell.
‘The only problem is how to secure funds during the middle process until I return to the Moyong Family…’
I briefly thought of my networks.
The third older brother who loved alcohol, the same household.
The old man who looked like an elegant fox, who enjoyed poetry.
My boss with a hot-tempered personality, the same workplace.
The young master from the rival family, who had plenty of money despite being a competitor.
And the distant Jegal eldest daughter.
Even the wild monk who would throw a punch if I offended him, even though he might not lend money.
‘…Well, somehow it will work out.’
I clicked my tongue in dissatisfaction.
Lee Ga-ju-bu stood up abruptly.
“You’re furious. Is there any reason everyone should stay here? Let’s go. Sunlight is one thing, but you need to learn that making a living from martial arts and business in this world is no easy task.”
So Ga-jun rose with a big laugh.
“I never imagined the Blood Death Sect escort guild would be turned away so easily. My head is spinning.”
I stood up as well and said,
“I’m sorry for the trouble.”
Hwanggeumseong stepped in front of me.
“Since you came on your own, there’s nothing to say. In truth, I came to see you not because of the tournament, but because my eccentric friend I-ta-bang told me all about you. For that weird guy to show such interest in others is a once-in-ten-years kind of thing.”
My eyes widened.
“You know I-ta-bang, Elder?”
Hwanggeumseong smiled faintly.
“Of course. He’s been my friend for forty years. You even made me laugh. I haven’t been able to laugh much lately. I’ll treat you to one.”
The two escort guild leaders behind him also looked surprised with different meanings in their eyes.
“No way.”
I gave him a strange look.
“You’re saying you’ll treat me? I don’t have any talent for dealing in markets or anything…”
“This friend truly knows nothing about me.”
Hwanggeumseong clicked his tongue while refilling his pipe.
“I’m famous both as a businessman and as someone who sees through spiritual energy. Let me read your fortune. I’ve been watching something strange hovering behind you since earlier.”
The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts
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