Monopolizing Fortunes (120)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (120)
"Are you suspecting that the hidden faction has planted a spy within the Beggars' Sect?"
"It seems like a more reasonable inference than the hidden faction learning all that information just by watching one thug from Hangzhou, doesn't it?"
When Baek So-gu didn't answer, Do Tong-dal continued.
"Looking at what the hidden faction has been doing in the martial world, isn't their intent obvious?"
"What do you think it is?"
"Conquering the martial world. Too cliché?"
"It is cliché. But the martial world is also the place where that cliché keeps happening."
Do Tong-dal looked steadily at Baek So-gu.
"Now, go ahead and tell me who comes to mind."
"What do you mean, who comes to mind?"
"When I said there might be a spy in the Beggars' Sect, a face came to mind, didn't it?"
"Preposterous! A spy in our Beggars' Sect, where we stake our lives on chivalry and righteousness instead of chasing wealth and glory! Are you in your right mind?"
"The person who thought of that face is you, Sect Leader, not me."
"Whose face did I think of?! You speak as if you've seen inside my head!"
"Sect Leader, if you go to the Beggars' Sect now, you'll investigate that person you just thought of, won't you? If you didn't know, that would be one thing, but if you investigate with suspicion, you'll uncover that he's a spy. The next step, naturally, would be to arrest him and interrogate him. The moment the Beggars' Sect arrests the spy, the hidden faction will cut its losses. The only thing you'll uncover is the spy in the Beggars' Sect. Can you really be satisfied with that, Sect Leader?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. There is no spy in our Beggars' Sect, so I would appreciate it if you stopped insulting us."
Just then, the errand boy returned with Sagiju. Even with the seal firmly in place, the subtle, distinctive aroma of Sagiju couldn't be hidden.
"Heh heh heh... this liquor smell is absolutely killer. Ssip—! Shall we see how it tastes?"
Baek So-gu reached for the wooden box the errand boy was holding. His hand was just about to grab the white porcelain bottle inside when the box suddenly moved, evading his grasp.
Baek So-gu's fierce glare fixed on Do Tong-dal, who had pulled the box away.
"Give me my liquor."
Namgung Seol-rin whispered to Do Tong-dal.
"Could the Sect Leader himself be a spy for the hidden faction?"
"What kind of bullshit is that now!"
Namgung Seol-rin didn't flinch under Baek So-gu's fierce aura.
"He's protecting the hidden faction, so he's either a spy or a collaborator. Or he's the hidden faction itself."
Baek So-gu slowly rose to his feet.
"I have no reason to sit here listening to this nonsense."
"Seeing that you place more importance on the Beggars' Sect's reputation than the safety of the martial world, it seems Won Dae-yeon's assessment of you was mistaken."
At Do Tong-dal's words, Won Dae-yeon let out a thin sigh.
"How could it be easy for a person to remain constant? There are those who grow foolish with age instead of wise."
"These people are trying to gang up on one man and make a fool of him! Hmph! I'm too disgusted to drink!"
As Baek So-gu was about to step onto the stairs leading down to the first floor, Do Tong-dal spoke.
"......Elder!"
Do Tong-dal deliberately slurred the pronunciation of 'Wang' and 'Jang' so they sounded similar. Depending on how one heard it, it could also sound like 'Hwang'.
In the Central Plains, if you combined the Wang, Jang, and Hwang clans, they could easily make up half the population. The Beggars' Sect would have about eight elders, so at least two of them would belong to one of those three surnames.
And since a position with access to high-level information in the Beggars' Sect would be quite senior, he had chosen Elder.
Baek So-gu's step, which had been about to descend the stairs, flinched to a halt. Do Tong-dal didn't miss the opportunity and spoke.
"You don't think I called out to you without knowing anything, do you?"
"If your guess is wrong, you are insulting the Beggars' Sect. The Beggars' Sect never lets such an insult pass."
If he were the type to be frightened by a threat like that, he wouldn't have invited Baek So-gu in the first place.
"My information and your suspicion match, so isn't it nearly certain?"
"Even if Elder Hwang is a spy, that is a matter for the Beggars' Sect."
"The forest is burning, and you intend to guard only your own persimmon tree? The spy in the Beggars' Sect isn't Elder Hwang—it's you, Sect Leader."
"Shut your mouth! I will tolerate no further insults!"
"We have staked our lives on the fight against the hidden faction. Yet you, Sect Leader, are afraid of nothing more than your reputation. What difference is there between a Sect Leader who chases reputation and an Elder Hwang who chases money? With a leader like that, no wonder the Beggars' Sect is in this state. Go on. I have no further business with you, old man."
"You... you truly dare to insult the Beggars' Sect! No one in the martial world can run their mouth so recklessly before the Beggars' Sect!"
The aura Baek So-gu unleashed bore down on Do Tong-dal. The Beggars' Sect stood shoulder to shoulder with the Nine Great Sects.
The phrase that best described the Beggars' Sect was the world's greatest information network, but that didn't mean their martial strength was weak.
A Beggars' Sect Leader always possessed martial arts comparable to the heads of the Nine Great Sects, and Baek So-gu was no exception.
No matter how much Do Tong-dal's martial arts had improved, he still wasn't at a level to face Baek So-gu. Namgung Seol-rin was the first to grab her sword hilt, and Jang Yu-seom half-rose from his seat.
Won Dae-yeon also summoned his Internal Energy, ready to protect Do Tong-dal at any moment.
After a stretch of uncomfortable, sharp silence, Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Is your current anger directed at me, or is it because of the betrayal of Elder Hwang, whom you trusted?"
Baek So-gu clenched his jaw, his molars showing through the gaps in his teeth.
"Take the liquor with you. You won't be seeing me again."
Baek So-gu, who had been glaring at Do Tong-dal, turned around and descended two steps before saying, "I should take the liquor." He then picked up the liquor box and disappeared.
As soon as Baek So-gu left, Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"How did you know that Elder Hwang of the Beggars' Sect was a spy for the hidden faction? We never talked about that before."
"Who is Elder Hwang?"
"Huh? Weren't you talking about Elder Hwang Chi-wang, the Flowering Words?"
"I'm not even a martial artist. How would I know the elders of the Beggars' Sect?"
"You said with your own mouth that Elder Hwang was a spy!"
"Think back carefully. Did I definitely say Elder Hwang? Not Elder Wang or Elder Jang?"
Jang Yu-seom spoke.
"To my ears, it sounded like Elder Jang."
"I thought he said Elder Wang. I thought it was strange. There's no elder in the Beggars' Sect with the surname Wang. Unless a new elder was appointed while I was out of my mind."
Namgung Seol-rin looked at Do Tong-dal with narrowed eyes.
"What kind of trick did you pull?"
"People naturally tend to see only what they want to see and hear only what they want to hear. The Beggars' Sect Leader's head was full of thoughts about Elder Hwang, so even if I just said something with a similar pronunciation, he had no choice but to hear it as Elder Hwang."
"Oh ho! So you mixed up Hwang, Wang, and Jang and pronounced them similarly?"
"That's right."
"What if it hadn't been one of those three surnames?"
Do Tong-dal shrugged.
"If the odds had missed, I would have had to use another method."
Won Dae-yeon chuckled.
"You played the Leader of the Beggars' Sect, a man hardened by years in the martial world, like a fiddle. As I always feel, you truly are the greatest swindler under heaven."
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."
Namgung Seol-rin said.
"What good is being clever? You failed to persuade the Sect Leader in the end."
"Why do you think I failed?"
"He left. Isn't it simple?"
"He didn't just leave. He took the liquor with him."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Cheap liquor might be different, but fine liquor is tasteless when you drink it alone."
* * *
It was late at night, but Do Tong-dal was sitting in the reception room, not his bedroom. On the table in front of him, side dishes that would still be good cold had been prepared.
Just as the deepening night was about to draw out Do Tong-dal's anxiety, he sensed a presence. At the presence that made no effort to hide itself, Do Tong-dal allowed a grin to spread across his face.
"Come in."
The moment the words left his mouth, the door opened and Baek So-gu entered, carrying a box. Seeing the side dishes laid out on the table, Baek So-gu let out a sigh that seemed to sink into the ground.
"To be played in the palm of a young pup's hand at my age."
"I simply trusted that you, Sect Leader, would worry more about the safety of the martial world than your personal honor."
"So there was a reason that scheming old Alliance Leader Hwang was so helpless before you."
"Handling that old man is a piece of cake."
"Heh heh heh... well, Alliance Leader Hwang is simple, that's true."
Baek So-gu set the liquor box on the table and sat down, and Do Tong-dal held out a cup.
"Wet your throat first."
The two men each drank a cup of Sagiju.
"Keu—! The aroma alone was extraordinary, but this is truly the best liquor of my life."
Do Tong-dal refilled the empty cup. After drinking three cups of Sagiju in quick succession, Baek So-gu spoke.
"How did you know that Elder Hwang was a spy?"
"That's not important. What's important is the path forward."
"Haa—! That bastard Hwang Chi-wang, ever since he started lusting after wealth... I thought it was strange, but I never imagined he was acting as a spy for the hidden faction."
"What do you intend to do?"
"I want to arrest him and interrogate him right away, but first, let me hear your opinion. More importantly, what is this talk of treason from the Namgung Clan's daughter? Why would the word treason come from a martial artist's mouth?"
"Because the hammer I've chosen to smash the hidden faction is the government."
"The government is going to fight the hidden faction?"
"What I'm about to tell you must never be revealed."
"Shall I stake my life on it?"
"You may have to stake not only your life, Sect Leader, but the very existence of the Beggars' Sect."
The reason Do Tong-dal's words didn't sound like empty boasting was because of those two words: treason.
"I promise."
Only after receiving Baek So-gu's promise did Do Tong-dal explain the plan to place the Third Prince on the imperial throne.
The longer the story went on, the wider Baek So-gu's mouth fell open. The bundle Do Tong-dal unraveled was full of stories Baek So-gu had never even imagined in his entire life.
So he couldn't ask a single question until Do Tong-dal finished speaking. Even after the story ended, no words came out for a long while.
"Is everything you've said true?"
The story was so astonishing that his first reaction was doubt.
"Would I have gone to such lengths to bring you here, Sect Leader, just to tell such a lie?"
"But this is..."
Baek So-gu shook his head, trailing off.
"This is by no means good for the martial world."
"Why not? Government officials would be shedding blood instead of martial artists."
"Since ancient times, it has been an unwritten rule that the government and the martial world do not encroach upon each other, like river water and well water. Even if you're not a martial artist, you must know that much."
"Of course."
"But your plan breaks that unwritten rule which has been upheld for so long."
"In all that long history of the martial world, has the government truly never encroached upon it? And what about the reverse?"
"It hasn't been entirely absent. But if what has happened so far is the lapping of a lake, what you are bringing is a wave with no end in sight. If things go wrong, that massive wave could destroy the martial world entirely."
If things went wrong and the Third Prince failed to ascend to the imperial throne, the First or Second Prince, having become emperor, would not sit idle.
The emperor was a being who could change the laws of the land at will, so an unwritten rule like that could be ignored without a second thought.
If the emperor turned the martial world into an enemy, the martial world would surely be submerged in the deepest and widest sea of blood in its history.
"I can never agree to your plan. Even without borrowing the government's power, the martial world is fully capable of dealing with the hidden faction."
"You don't know how much power the hidden faction possesses."
"What makes them frightening is that we cannot discern their identity. Once that identity is revealed, the martial world can surely defeat them. Do not underestimate the strength of the martial world. And the martial world is only worth protecting if it is protected with the blood of martial artists."
Sometimes, pride and self-respect can be more important than life itself. For Baek So-gu, now was such a time.
"Let us pretend today's conversation never happened. I won't reveal the secret anywhere—as long as you abandon that plan."
"Are you saying that if I push the plan forward, you could become my enemy?"
"I fear no enemy when it comes to protecting the martial world."
Do Tong-dal, who had been staring blankly at Baek So-gu, asked.
"Are the people of this land only martial artists?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know what kind of men the First and Second Princes are?"
"I have no need to know the character of the imperial family."
"No need to know? Is the Beggars' Sect living in some other world, not the Central Plains? Are you saying that as long as the martial world isn't harmed, the countless commoners of this land can die for all you care? Is that the chivalry you speak of, Sect Leader?"
"No matter who becomes emperor, the lives of the common people are always hard."
"Are you really trying to rationalize it like that?"
"It's not rationalization; it's fact."
"If living in this world is all the same, then there'd be no need to praise a wise king or curse a tyrant."
* * *