Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Myriad Dragon Escort Agency (5)
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The day after transferring to Branch Leader.
Cheongun casually raided the vault and sorted through the escort notes and wealth.
He wanted to haul it all back to the Darkwood Sect and dump it on Ryeon, but that would make it seem like he'd stormed this place just for the money.
He wasn't short on cash right now anyway, so there was no reason to.
Above all, there were solid reasons why Cheongun had bothered to raid this place.
First, Namhyeok's apologies felt insincere and rubbed him the wrong way.
Second, the usual antics he'd heard about from Bangjong grated on his nerves more than they should.
Didn't everyone have those moments in life?
Just looking at those guys soured his mood for no good reason, but he had no legitimate excuse to mess with them.
Then it hit him: did he really need to hold back?
The martial world was ruled by the strong, and he was one of them.
Thinking it over, holding back in a situation like this was just foolish.
So he went ahead and did it anyway, and look what happened.
He vented his spleen and pocketed a fortune to boot—one stone, two birds.
And just like that, the Myriad Dragon Escort Agency's Chengdu branch fell completely under his thumb.
They'd been living it up so lavishly that flipping through the ledgers revealed dozens of victims they'd fleeced.
Was this an escort agency or a den of con artists?
He'd taken it over, sure, but even tainted goods like this had limits.
To avoid indigestion, he'd have to carve out the rotten bits first.
And to do that, cleaning up the branch's thoroughly tarnished name came first.
For now, he'd left it to Bangjong and Yeonbaek to handle the culprits' punishments for their past misdeeds.
Word must have reached the main headquarters by now, right?
Probably.
With this much chaos, it was impossible for the news not to hit their ears.
Myriad Dragon Escort Agency's Leader, Lee Gunbaek.
The man who held one of the Four Great Escort titles, bestowed on only three escorts in the Central Plains.
A man of upright character who valued integrity above life itself and honored his bonds to the end.
But that very nature made him too trusting, leading to this mess.
He was a likable guy in the original story too, but now that fate had tangled them up, Cheongun planned to see it through.
That's when Yeonbaek returned from handling his tasks.
"Branch Leader! Big trouble!"
"What kind of trouble?"
"Looks like word reached headquarters. The Agency Leader himself is heading here to get to the bottom of it."
"Good. Perfect."
Cheongun nodded casually.
It was exactly as expected.
"You can't just brush this off. Do you know how much the Agency Leader dotes on his people?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"It's a huge problem, obviously. Didn't you smash all those guys' teeth in? And you dragged them around to kowtow and apologize to everyone they'd ripped off."
"Yeah, I did. What, did they get beaten up while apologizing?"
"Of course! If they just got cursed at and chased off, they'd be lucky. Some got stoned or clubbed so bad they're crippled now. With all the crap those guys pulled, you think forgiveness comes easy?"
Cheongun eyed Yeonbaek before replying flatly.
"Yeonbaek. You dumb bastard."
"Pardon?"
"You think the people those scumbags swindled out of their homes are gonna forgive them? You think I had them dragged around just to beg forgiveness?"
Yeonbaek asked back.
"Then what was the point?"
"Ugh, you're hopeless."
Cheongun clicked his tongue.
Then he lightly upended the gourd of wall liquor into his mouth.
"Yeonbaek, right?"
"Yes."
"What do you want with that third-rate martial arts of yours?"
"Out of nowhere?"
"If the Branch Leader says spill, you spill."
"...I want to get stronger."
Cheongun nodded.
"Just like me, huh."
"W-Well, you're not exactly my goal..."
"That's why you're weak."
"......"
"Anyway. Everyone harbors some dream deep down. Come on, even with your pathetic skills, don't you want to get stronger? Dreams are like that. Big or small, it's all about craving a better life."
Cheongun tapped the table with his fingertip.
"That's why people with dreams claw their way through life. Take you, for example. What's your current level?"
"Third-rate."
"So why'd a third-rater worm his way into a first-rate escort agency like this? Dreaming of being some badass escort? Nah. You just used it as a stepping stone. Where else can a third-rater get treated like a real martial artist? Escorts are the only game in the Central Plains. Right or wrong?"
"...Right."
"Fine, say you grind your way up from the bottom and get strong. Then what?"
Yeonbaek blinked dumbly at the question.
"What're you staring at? Once you're strong like you want, what then? You're no Daoist or monk chasing ascension."
"True, but now that you ask, I can't think of anything."
"That's 'cause you're dumb. Dumbass."
"......"
Yeonbaek fell into thought.
"First, I don't want to be looked down on."
"Obviously."
"Second, I never want to starve again."
"Yeah. Food's serious business."
"If possible, I'd like a family too."
"With a pretty concubine?"
"Sounds good."
Cheongun chuckled.
"And?"
"Filial piety to my father."
"Ambitious. So what do you need for that?"
"A ton of money."
"With money, what's first?"
"Buy a house."
"Why?"
"Without a home, you're just a rich bum."
Cheongun nodded.
"True. No home, no family. No family, nothing to protect. Even beggars have the Beggars' Gang, monks have their temples. In the end, everyone needs roots—a home, a sect, a clan. Lose those, and you crumble."
"......"
"That's what those bastards did. Uprooted lives, crushed dreams, ground hopes to dust. How does that even happen?"
"With power, right?"
"Well said. Power makes it possible. Think the powerless just roll over?"
"......"
"No way. Rage builds—they can't sleep, bodies ache, tomorrow terrifies them. Ever seen qi deviation from anger? It rots body and soul. And the end of that?"
Yeonbaek swallowed hard.
"Revenge?"
"Exactly. Why revenge? Just spite? No. Survival. Anger that toxic? You get it?"
Cheongun stared intently at Yeonbaek.
Then, calmly recited the Myriad Dragon Escort Agency's grim future from the original story.
"So how do the powerless get revenge? They build power. The easiest, fastest way: demonic arts. They thrive on negative emotions—rage fuels them best. As they multiply, where do those blades point?"
Yeonbaek blinked vacantly.
"The Myriad Dragon Escort Agency?"
"Yeah. Then it's kill or be killed. An endless vicious cycle you can't escape."
Cheongun snapped his fingers.
"That's what grudges are."
And it was true.
Shockingly, the Myriad Dragon Escort Agency gets utterly annihilated later by the very victims of its Chengdu branch's depravity.
"Now you get why I dragged them around to apologize one by one?"
"Yes."
"That's why leaders must watch their underlings like hawks. Slack off, and this happens. The Agency Leader 'cares' for his men? Bull. That's neglect, you idiot."
Cheongun slammed the gourd down with a thunk!
Then turned his head.
A man stood there, watching them.
Cheongun grinned at him.
"Ain't that right, Agency Leader?"
Yeonbaek whipped his head around at Cheongun's words.
He recoiled in shock.
A familiar face stood there.
Myriad Dragon Escort Agency's Leader.
The Three Great Escorts, Lee Gunbaek.
"Heh."
He laughed with a complicated expression.
"You're Cheongun, aren't you?"
"That's me."
Lee Gunbaek muttered in a husky voice.
"...I heard everything just now. Gives a man much to think about."
Cheongun nodded.
True to the original, the guy had some principles.
"You came alone, Agency Leader?"
"Yes."
"No guards?"
"Do I need them?"
Confidence.
Likable indeed.
"At first, I thought of negotiating with you."
"Negotiate how?"
"Your backing's no joke. Crossing you would spell trouble for the agency. So I figured we'd settle it by giving you what you want."
Brutally honest.
Cheongun gestured for him to go on, and Lee Gunbaek continued.
"But I've changed my mind."
Lee Gunbaek cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I have a proposal."
"Shoot."
"I'd like to offer you the position of Vice Agency Leader."
Cheongun cut him off without a second thought.
"Pass."
"Why?"
The reason was simple.
Branch Leader meant power without the hassle, but Vice Leader came with responsibilities galore.
"Shame."
Shame my foot.
He had grand ambitions of his own.
Namely, the Autonomous Flying Sword.
And for that, he needed extremely pure yin energy, which meant hunting down the Millennium Ice Crystal.
It'd be a long journey.
A pain, but what choice?
For the Autonomous Flying Sword, no less.
Then Lee Gunbaek spoke.
"I even prepared a gift for you."
"Gift?"
"Yes. Care to hear?"
A gift, huh.
Might as well.
"Let's hear it."
"A spirit medicine."
"No need."
Cheongun shut it down flat.
Better to keep a demoness nearby than swallow elixirs.
Lee Gunbaek tsked regretfully.
He hadn't imagined such a firm rejection.
Still, he finished his pitch on the off chance.
"It's called the Millennium Ice Crystal. Heard of it?"
That did it.
Cheongun suddenly offered a handshake.
"...?"
Lee Gunbaek shook it in bewilderment.
Cheongun said,
"From now on, I'm your Vice Agency Leader."
"You just said no to the medicine..."
"Forget it."
"......"