The Alliance's Hidden Fractures
By the time the conversation had reached this point, Deung Jong-yu, who had stepped outside, returned. "Alliance Leader." His words were merely a single phrase calling Gak-won's name, yet Gak-won already understood what he had come to say. Namgung Woo had sensed it even before Deung Jong-yu entered. At the presence of new visitors, Gak-won nodded at once. "Go and bring them in."
"Understood."
The people who entered were most welcome to Namgung Woo. "Alliance Leader, what in the world is going on here?" The man who boldly questioned Gak-won the moment he stepped inside showed not the slightest fear toward the one revered as the Buddhist Venerable before his title as Alliance Leader. "Brother Paeng, it's all right." Namgung Woo stopped Paeng Ja-ryeong, whose aura suggested he might start a brawl at any moment. "I was startled when Ha-ryeong suddenly contacted me saying the Alliance had found our benefactor."
Right after Namgung Woo and Deung Jong-yu had left for the Murim Alliance, Paeng Ha-ryeong had informed Paeng Ja-ryeong of the situation. And Paeng Ja-ryeong had immediately stormed into Jungcheon-gak. This showed that no matter how composed he was known to be under the epithet Unshakable Blade Lord, the Paeng family remained the Paeng family.
"There was a slight misunderstanding. It has been resolved, so there is no need to worry." "Misunderstanding, my foot." Just as Namgung Woo tried to wrap things up, Seo-mun Pyo muttered irritably. Though he spoke as if to himself, his tone made it clear he intended everyone to hear. "…Elder Seo-mun. What exactly do you mean by that?" Paeng Ja-ryeong asked, his voice polite yet unmistakably aggressive. Seo-mun Pyo was not one to back down either. He met Paeng Ja-ryeong's gaze without changing his expression. "I mean exactly what I said. And since when has the Paeng family been allowed to act so willfully within the Alliance? Is the prestige of the Seven Great Families so great that it can ignore even the Alliance's authority?"
Although the Seomun family was not counted among the Seven Great Families, it was a powerful house that closely followed them. The influence of Seo-mun Pyo, uncle of the current Seomun family head and half-brother of the previous head, was not something even the Hebei Paeng family could take lightly. Of course, compared to the Hebei Paeng family with the Blade Venerable as its head, the Seomun family's power was indeed inferior. If a conflict arose between the Seomun family and the Hebei Paeng family, the Alliance would side with the Paeng family nine times out of ten. Yet Seo-mun Pyo also held the position of an elder in the Murim Alliance.
"Pyo, have you forgotten that I just permitted their entry?" However, the title of elder was powerless before the Alliance Leader's authority. "Alliance Leader…! You have forgotten! That man contacted the princess that day. If this is not clear evidence…" "Enough!" At last, a roar burst from Gak-won's mouth. "The outline of the culprit has already been revealed, yet you still speak that way!" It had been decades since the merciful Gak-won, who chose to guide even evildoers rather than kill them, had raised his voice to this extent. Beom Ryang and Jin Il-hak, who had been subtly supporting Seo-mun Pyo from the sidelines, quickly turned their heads to avoid Gak-won's gaze, as if struck by guilt. Unlike the two of them, however, Seo-mun Pyo remained defiant. No, he was shameless. "No matter what the Alliance Leader says, the facts do not change. I will uncover the truth behind my close friend Chae Mun-gwang's death, no matter what!"
Seo-mun Pyo stormed out of his seat and left. Beom Ryang and Jin Il-hak glanced at Gak-won before awkwardly rising to follow him. Gak-won closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the backs of the three departing elders, and recited a Buddhist invocation. "Amitabha…" Namgung Woo had already sensed that the Murim Alliance was not a unified organization, but the depth of factional conflict seemed greater than expected. If the elders could openly defy even the Alliance Leader's authority through collective action, then even Gak-won, renowned and accomplished enough to be called the Buddhist Venerable, could not escape the separate standards of politics. Even in the martial world, the monster called politics wielded its own measures.
"I knew of it, but seeing it firsthand feels different." The man who had entered with Paeng Ja-ryeong but had remained silent until now finally spoke. "Blue Sword Emperor, I offer my greetings. I am Jegal Hyul, who leads the Seongra Unit of the Jegal family." "Ah, from the Jegal family. I am Nam Woo. I have received help from the Seongra Unit several times, but this seems to be the first time I am meeting its leader in person." The Jegal family's intelligence organization, the Seongra Unit. Jegal Hyul was one of the Jegal family's rising talents who had become the Seongra Unit's leader at a young age, not much different from Paeng Ja-ryeong. His martial achievements were average, but his true talent lay in his mind. Jegal Hyul had passed the metropolitan examination as the top candidate at a mere twenty years of age. Although he had not participated in the final palace examination and thus had not entered officialdom, his status as the top metropolitan candidate meant that if he had chosen to participate, every participant in that final examination would have had their rankings lowered by one place.
"Did Brother Paeng summon you?" "No." "I also received contact. From Seon-a." "Ah… Lady Jegal as well." This was the value of connections. When something happened, they sent the best help they could offer. Even if it did not amount to substantial aid, their sincerity steadied Namgung Woo's wavering heart. Though they were not by his side now, Namgung Woo felt the warmth from the bonds he had formed over time. Yet there was no time to bask in that warmth. Namgung Woo had noticed several strange points in the earlier conversation. "Alliance Leader, I do not understand what the elder said earlier. That I contacted the princess?"
Namgung Woo had been about to add "framed," but held back. There was always the possibility of "what if." And the saying that "what if" kills people proved true once again. "You did not know. The two women you helped—they are from Beijing." "Ah… They did seem to be of high status." He had avoided getting involved because they appeared noble and he feared complications, but it seemed others had already taken notice. Since the Murim Alliance headquarters was not far from there, it was inevitable. At Namgung Woo's confirmation, Jegal Hyul spoke. "It has become a rather coincidental matter." "Seongra Unit Leader, what do you mean by that?" "Well… The Paeng family must also be aware that there are various factions within the Murim Alliance." Jegal Hyul glanced at Gak-won's expression, uncomfortable speaking of the Alliance's internal flaws before the Alliance Leader, but Gak-won closed his eyes to indicate it was fine. With implicit permission, Jegal Hyul explained. "Recently, the radical hardline faction within the Murim Alliance has grown considerably in power."
The reasons were varied. Successive misfortunes for the imperial court had weakened its influence over the martial world. Yet the court had still intervened in martial world affairs by siding with the unorthodox factions during the Unmong Great War, sparking resentment. The collapse of Banunbang, one of the major pillars of the black path unorthodox factions, had shifted the balance of the martial world. In this situation, the hardline faction, once a minority within the Murim Alliance, had exploded in numbers. Their claim was simple: the complete expulsion of the government from the martial world. As a starting point, they sought to eliminate Prince Yi's influence in Luoyang.
"And the recently assassinated Elder Chae Mun-gwang was one of the hardline faction's key figures. While the hardline faction was openly expanding its power to the point of challenging the Alliance Leader's authority, the Blue Sword Emperor, who contacted the princess, displayed his martial arts within Luoyang. It is a stretch, but not entirely impossible to connect." "It has become thoroughly entangled." Paeng Ja-ryeong clicked his tongue. "The Council of Elders has always leaned hardline, but if their power is growing, it means the Eight Guards Unit is also being swayed. Those old men, bound together by pride in the orthodox martial world…" The Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Families, which had direct ties to the imperial court, could be classified as pro-court factions. Thus, from Paeng Ja-ryeong's perspective, no matter how plausible the situation, the hardline faction's claim to exclude government interference at this time sounded absurd. And Gak-won, as a member of the Nine Great Sects and closer to the moderate faction, felt the same.
"I have already entrusted you with a great burden, but there is one more request I would like to make." "To me?" "Yes. Think of it not as a request, but as a commission." The content of the commission was something everyone understood without needing to be spoken. It was to capture the culprit of this assassination. Instead of asking about the content, Namgung Woo asked something else. "What about you, Alliance Leader?" His meaning was that even without entrusting it to him, Gak-won himself could handle it sufficiently. Moreover, the Murim Alliance had the outstanding martial force known as the Eight Guards Unit. Yet Gak-won was certain that Namgung Woo was the best person for the task. The sensory ability that had detected the culprit no one else had noticed—not even Gak-won himself. Of course, this was possible because Namgung Woo had actually seen Lee Ja-ryong and even slain him personally. If Gak-won had also faced Lee Ja-ryong in combat, he might have been able to do the same. But that was ultimately just a hypothesis. Currently, Namgung Woo was the only one who could reliably detect the culprit's aura.
"The martial competition will continue. And if their goal goes beyond simple revenge to sabotaging this competition and eliminating future pillars of the martial world, then someone must also be there to prevent that." In short, if Namgung Woo was the search party, Gak-won was the guard. If Namgung Woo was the spear, Gak-won was the shield. It was an arrangement to assign appropriate roles to the two peerless masters. There was no reason to refuse. Pursuing the assassin within the Murim Alliance and fulfilling Gak-won's request, which was tied to the Namgung family, both aligned with Namgung Woo's personal goals. "I accept the Alliance Leader's commission."