Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Alliance with the Green Forest
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Cheonhwi looked at Jin Gae, who was gazing up at them with urgent eyes, and asked.
“The Heavenly Merchant Guild called for me?”
“Y-Yes!”
Jin Gae answered briskly.
“Precisely, Chief Steward Oh to the young hero and Supreme Elder...”
He tried to address Cheon Ig-ae, looking past Cheonhwi, but suddenly tilted his head.
There sat not a grumpy, filthy old man, but a neatly dressed, mild-mannered elderly monk.
“...Elder?”
Only then did Jin Gae properly look at him and ask puzzledly. Cheon Ig-ae's expression twisted sharply.
“What's with those eyes?”
“Eek!”
At Cheon Ig-ae's irritated tone, Jin Gae immediately shrank back.
“N-No, nothing!”
As Jin Gae frantically waved his hands.
“Chief Steward Oh? What on earth is going on?”
Cheonhwi asked, turning to him.
Jin Gae snapped his head up again and replied.
“There's been a major clash with the Great Grace Merchant Group, and they desperately need the young hero and Supreme Elder's help.”
He had wondered what big incident had occurred, but it was just a request for aid in a merchant guild skirmish?
Cheonhwi's face fell into indifference.
“But why do you need my help? Merchant guilds bump heads now and then.”
“He's right. And if a martial artist sticks their nose into a fight between guilds, it's like pouring oil on a fire. Don't you know that?”
Cheon Ig-ae, wearing a sullen expression, chimed in agreement with Cheonhwi.
“They should sort it out themselves before it blows up. Tsk tsk.”
Cheon Ig-ae clicked his tongue.
Most fights between merchant guilds were disputes over greater profits.
In such cases, one side yielding a step and taking equivalent compensation later was the cleanest resolution.
But if a martial artist intervened?
The situation would change in an instant.
It would escalate into a battle of force.
“The Great Grace Merchant Group isn't some small outfit—it's one of the Four Great Merchant Guilds of the world. Why ask for our help unless they plan to go all out against them?”
Cheon Ig-ae dismissed it casually.
Though lacking compared to the Heavenly Merchant Guild, the Great Grace was still a colossal guild named among the Four Greats.
Would they risk that?
Yet despite those words, Jin Gae's expression showed no sign of changing.
It remained gravely serious.
Soon, he met Cheon Ig-ae's mocking gaze head-on and spoke.
“As the Supreme Elder says, it seems the two guilds do intend to settle things once and for all.”
“What nonsense...”
“The Great Grace Merchant Group has already pulled a martial sect into the fight.”
“What?”
Cheon Ig-ae shot back incredulously.
“No guild leader in their right mind would start something like that.”
“But it's true. And not just any martial sect...”
Only then did Cheon Ig-ae sense the gravity, hardening his face as he asked.
“...Which one? What sect has joined hands with the Great Grace Merchant Group?”
At the question, Jin Gae took a deep breath.
With a complicated expression, he looked at him and replied calmly.
“The Green Forest.”
“...!”
Cheon Ig-ae's eyes widened round.
The name of the sect that came from Jin Gae's mouth far exceeded his imagination.
“The Green Forest allied with a merchant guild?”
So stunned was he that Cheon Ig-ae stammered the question.
Jin Gae felt a shared shock seeing Cheon Ig-ae's reaction.
'I must have looked the same.'
What kind of group was the Green Forest, after all?
A band of brigands who blocked roads of merchant guilds and escort agencies, extorting 'tolls' as gold...
In other words, bandits.
For such bandits to ally with their prey, the merchant guilds?
“Yes.”
“How in the world...”
“We don't know yet exactly why they're aiding the Great Grace, but it's certain the Green Forest is backing them.”
As Cheon Ig-ae fell silent at Jin Gae's firm words, lost in thought.
“So that's why they asked for my help?”
Cheonhwi spoke up.
It was a ridiculous situation.
The unlikely alliance between bandits and merchants was more than enough to pique Cheonhwi's interest.
“Yes. And Chief Steward Oh separately requested aid from the Mount Hua Sect as well, not just you and the Supreme Elder.”
“Well, of course.”
Cheonhwi replied as if it were natural.
The Plum Blossom Inn established by Chief Steward Oh maintained close ties with Mount Hua Sect.
“Did Mount Hua agree to help?”
“I heard the Plum Blossom Sword Guards descended the mountain a few days ago.”
“Hm, really?”
Cheonhwi scratched his chin with his index finger.
With Mount Hua involved, it was no longer something to brush off lightly.
“I need to hear the full story.”
Jin Gae's face brightened at the positive response.
“Where do we go?”
“Taewon.”
“Good. But first, go wash up and change clothes before we talk. You can't ride in the carriage like that.”
“P-Pardon...?”
Jin Gae panicked at the sudden remark.
But Cheonhwi ignored him and turned to Dam Mok-rin.
“Do we have spare clothes left?”
“Yes, we do.”
Dam Mok-rin, who had been quietly watching, pulled a clean gray martial robe from the bundle.
Cheonhwi tossed the robe to Jin Gae.
“Take it.”
“Eh?!”
Jin Gae caught it reflexively and stood dazed, whereupon Cheonhwi said lowly.
“Hurry up and go.”
“I...”
As he hesitated and glanced at Cheon Ig-ae, the elder spoke.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Ah, understood!”
In the end, Jin Gae jolted into action.
A short while later, after washing and changing, Jin Gae returned, and the carriage set off.
Clatter— clatter—
Jin Gae sat in the carriage, still dumbfounded.
'What is this?'
Cleanly washed, in neat clothes, sitting side by side with Cheon Ig-ae?
Who could have imagined such a scene?
As he sat stunned, a voice jolted him back to reality.
“Now tell me properly.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jin Gae swallowed hard.
“I don't know the details, but it seems the Heavenly Merchant Guild and Great Grace Merchant Group clashed over control of Shanxi's trade routes.”
Jin Gae's story was less extraordinary than expected.
A turf war over commerce—the most common cause of guild disputes, nothing more or less.
But that wasn't the end.
“However, as the conflict dragged on, the Heavenly Merchant Guild sensed something off.”
“What?”
“The Green Forest suddenly doubled their tolls—more than that, even.”
“You think the Green Forest is behind them just because of that?”
Cheon Ig-ae snorted derisively.
Jin Gae, as if anticipating the reaction, continued promptly.
“But what if it happened four times across Shanxi?”
“Four times...?”
Cheon Ig-ae's brows furrowed.
No matter how bandit-like the Green Forest was, they had some sense.
Four times in Shanxi alone...
As the furrow in Cheon Ig-ae's brow deepened, Jin Gae drove the final nail.
“And for some reason, they didn't charge the Great Grace Merchant Group any tolls.”
“...Hah.”
Cheon Ig-ae stuck out his tongue in astonishment.
It was damning evidence, plain as day.
“But to do it so openly...”
As Cheon Ig-ae spoke puzzledly, Cheonhwi cut in.
“They never intended to hide it.”
With those words, Cheonhwi looked at Jin Gae.
“But if you're this convinced the Green Forest is aiding them, there must be more suspicious signs.”
Jin Gae swallowed.
Cheonhwi's eyes were impassive, but the pressure was suffocating.
“R-Rather than proof of certainty, it's more that dangerous signs emerged, prompting preparations.”
Jin Gae hastily caught his breath and glanced at the driver's seat.
At his look, Cheonhwi spoke.
“He can't hear no matter how loud. Go on with what you were saying.”
Jin Gae's eyes widened at Cheonhwi's words.
'Could it be soundproofing...?'
Soon, Jin Gae gulped and resumed.
“Recently, we learned the Green Forest's Supreme Bandit Chief, the Green Forest Great Emperor, secretly met someone.”
Cheonhwi's eyes darkened.
“Who?”
Jin Gae craned his neck forward.
Whispering as if afraid of eavesdroppers.
“The Three Paths Ghost Eye.”
“...!”
“Th-The Three Paths Ghost Eye?!”
Cheon Ig-ae and Dam Mok-rin gasped, hands over mouths in shock.
But unlike them, Cheonhwi tilted his head.
“Who's that?”
“Y-You don't know?”
As Jin Gae asked incredulously, Cheonhwi furrowed his brow.
“That's why I'm asking. Who is he? Some famous guy?”
“F-Famous doesn't cover it. He's the Vice Military Strategist of the Evil-Black Alliance...”
“What? Vice Strategist?”
Cheonhwi responded indifferently.
He'd thought it was some big shot, but just a vice strategist?
Meanwhile, sensing Cheonhwi's thoughts, Cheon Ig-ae quickly interjected.
“With the Chief Strategist in seclusion, he's effectively running the Evil-Black Alliance. For that guy to leave and meet the Green Forest is no small matter...!”
Mid-sentence, Cheon Ig-ae's eyes bulged as he whipped his head toward Jin Gae.
“Don't tell me the Evil-Black Alliance is...”
Jin Gae nodded, finishing what Cheon Ig-ae couldn't say.
“Trying to bring the Green Forest into the Evil-Black Alliance.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the North Heng Mountains of Shanxi.
Despite the sheer cliffs crowding the North Heng Mountains, a group had held territory there for a century.
North Heng Stronghold!
A guest had arrived at the North Heng Stronghold, famed even among the Green Forest's motley bandits for gathering only defeated remnants.
“It's been a while.”
North Heng Stronghold Chief Wei Jung-yeon gazed steadily at the young man before him.
'One of the Vice Strategist's subordinates, was it?'
Red robes, deathly pale face.
Wei Jung-yeon eyed the strikingly handsome youth, who looked like a woman in man's garb, and spoke.
“Indeed, it's been a while.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
Ko Hong, the youth, offered a light fist salute to Wei Jung-yeon with a smile.
“You may have heard, but Mount Hua Sect is aiding the Heavenly Merchant Guild.”
“Mount Hua, you say?”
Wei Jung-yeon's lips curled upward.
His chest-length beard quivered, and a deep laugh rumbled out.
“Hahaha! How intriguing. The very Mount Hua that crushed White Ghost Castle is coming for the position we promised them...”
Suddenly, his laughter cut off.
“Too perfect to call coincidence.”
“I was truly shocked as well. It seems fate really exists.”
Wei Jung-yeon's eyes chilled as he watched Ko Hong maintain his composure to the end.
But only briefly.
Wei Jung-yeon closed and opened his eyes, asking.
“No support from the Evil-Black Alliance?”
Ko Hong feigned surprise.
“Do you need it?”
“You think we can handle Mount Hua alone?”
“I thought...”
Crack!
Wei Jung-yeon gripped the armrest in irritation, shattering it instantly.
He glared at Ko Hong, fist clenched around the splintered pieces.
Ko Hong grinned back.
“...But of course there is.”
Wei Jung-yeon dropped the fragments with a clatter and spoke.
“Who?”
“The Black Shadow Corps.”
Wei Jung-yeon's eyes widened.
The Black Shadow Corps ranked top among the Evil-Black Alliance's elite forces.
“Unexpected.”
“Isn't this level of support natural? After all, it's to aid those entering the new Six Emperors Sects.”
Ko Hong smiled alluringly.
“Hm. I see.”
Wei Jung-yeon smiled.
The words 'new Six Emperors Sects' were enough to lift his spirits.
Seeing this, Ko Hong bowed once more, speaking politely.
“I hope this shows our alliance's sincerity in this matter.”
“I understand fully.”
As Wei Jung-yeon nodded contentedly, Ko Hong bowed smoothly and stepped back.
“Then I'll take my leave.”
“When does the Black Shadow Corps arrive?”
“Within three days.”
“Three days. Good.”
Ko Hong saluted once more and exited the room.
In that instant, Wei Jung-yeon's gaze shifted.
His cold, icy eyes gleamed in the shadows, baring faint teeth.
“The Evil-Black Alliance must be in a hurry.”
A smile crept onto his lips.
Most unorthodox sects had dismissed the Green Forest as mere bandits.
Yet here was the Evil-Black Alliance seeking them out, even offering White Ghost Castle's former seat.
Unthinkable in the past.
But now was different.
After White Ghost Castle's fall, the Evil-Black Alliance lagged far behind the Murim Alliance and the Biocheon Society in power.
In that context, the Green Forest must have been most tempting.
“The Green Forest as a new Six Emperors Sect...”
Muttering to himself, Wei Jung-yeon slowly rose.
Moments later, he hefted the fangtian halberd hanging behind him, letting out a chilling laugh.
“Heh heh, at last, the era of the Green Forest—and this Stronghold Chief—in the martial world has arrived.”