Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Family Council (2)
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As befitting a prosperous commercial city, the per capita income in Hanzhong was quite high.
On par with that of the Nine Dragons Fortress, Chengdu, or even Anhui, where the Lion Alliance was based.
When income levels rise like that, what people start caring about is their children's education.
Wealthy merchant families began sending their sons—all except the eldest, who would inherit the business—to various sects as lay disciples. With hefty bags of money in tow, of course.
Thus began the great era of studying abroad, so to speak.
Although being lay disciples meant they couldn't learn the ultimate techniques of the main sects, the world is wide, and geniuses are bound to exist.
Instead of the Nine Dragons Fortress, which had no concept of lay disciples, three talented individuals who had gone to study at Mount Hua, Wudang, and Shaolin returned as masters.
One of them had even reached the pinnacle of mastery.
Considering the curriculum for lay disciples usually ended with just the basics, this was truly a phenomenal achievement.
Upon their return, these foreign-trained martial artists, with the help of their families, began establishing their own sects in Hanzhong.
They taught their disciples modified martial arts based on the fundamentals learned from the prestigious sects and, supported by the solid financial backing of their families, became major pillars of the Hanzhong martial world.
Thirty years passed like that.
Now, the martial world of Hanzhong revolved around the sects founded by those very individuals.
Three of them boasted the greatest influence.
The Hanzhong Sword and Saber Gate, the Hyeong-O Fortress, and the Baekcheong Society.
With the exception of the Dragon-Slaying Gate, all the other established sects in Hanzhong bowed their heads to them.
They had chosen to do so to survive.
Of course, in front of the War King Gate, they were all just Krillins facing Frieza.
“…We can't intimidate them with force. Absolutely not.”
“I know.”
The problem is, I can't touch them without a clear justification.
For one, they are nominally affiliated with Mount Hua, Wudang, and Shaolin, and they're members of influential families in Hanzhong.
If I just crush them with brute force, they're bound to become a huge headache later on.
Well… the easiest way would be to kill them all, but how could I, Jin Mujeon, a representative of the Righteous Path, do such a thing?
*We're not some Unorthodox Sect, after all.*
But leaving them alone is also a problem.
Hanzhong is on the front lines. We don't know when those bastards from the Ten Demon Alliance might attack, so we can't have uncooperative elements within the city.
There's nothing more dangerous than an ally with a different agenda when you need to unite against the enemy.
In the end.
“We have to resolve this.”
Some action must be taken.
“That goes without saying. We don't know what problems might arise later.”
“I agree.”
Yu So-pyeong, our strategist, and Yu Ho-pyeong, who had been fast-tracked to temporary vice-strategist due to our lack of scholarly talent, both nodded.
“First, we need to create a justification. Only then can we look to the next step.”
“Right, and how do we create that justification?”
“We can't force it.”
“Then?”
“It will emerge naturally over time.”
“Hmm…”
He wasn't wrong.
If they've decided to oppose us, they'll eventually have to make a move. That will give us our justification.
If we seize that moment to punish them properly, the Hanzhong martial world will have no choice but to fall in line.
However.
“I really don't like it. The waiting… and this nagging feeling…”
It felt like taking a dump and not flushing, and I didn't like it one bit.
It just didn't suit my clean, Mujeon-style of doing things.
Hoping for a breakthrough, I brainstormed for a long time with our War King Gate's dual-core processors, So-pyeong and Ho-pyeong, but all we got was overtime work with no brilliant solution.
In the end, I decided to follow Yu So-pyeong's advice and wait and see.
We had to take at least one punch before we could hit back, after all.
“By the way, how are things now? Better than before?”
“The seniors from the Red Dragon Hall helped a lot, so all the administrative work is done. Now we just need to appoint someone to handle taxes and military service.”
“Appoint a tax collector?”
“Yes, but it's hard to find a suitable person.”
“True.”
With tens of thousands of nyang at stake, we need someone trustworthy.
And they have to be smart.
“I'd like to do it myself, but I'm too busy…”
“Hmm… what about entrusting it to Manager Myo? She's amazing with money, isn't she?”
“I did consider that, but entrusting the Gate's affairs to the Merchant Guild feels a bit…”
“What's the problem? It's not like she's the type to embezzle funds and run, right? Besides, most of the high-paying taxpayers are merchants, so she'd be even better at it.”
If Myo Hyang took charge of tax collection, no merchant would dare to evade taxes.
She knows their annual earnings like the back of her hand.
“Hmm…”
After a moment of thought, Yu So-pyeong nodded.
“Understood. I will discuss it with Manager Myo soon.”
“Alright, let's call it a night.”
“Yes, sir.”
The overtime warriors of the War King Gate, who had lit up the Hanzhong night, could finally go home in the dead of night.
* * *
Fifteen days.
A period of time that could be considered both short and long.
The Eighth, who had been on leave, returned and began group training for their rotational duties of strike, reconnaissance, and guard missions.
They joined their duties later than the other squads, but I wasn't worried.
After all, the experience Woo Je-jun, the former vice-leader of the Outer Hall's First Squad, had accumulated was enough to fill a small van.
In fact, the other squads, who were new to this kind of work, would probably have a much harder time.
Oh, and Myo Hyang agreed to handle tax collection.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no one more trustworthy, and no one could fool her when it came to money.
In return, I agreed to help her out a bit with the Merchant Guild's work.
“Please maintain order on the market streets.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, if you do that, it will free up the Merchant Guild's warriors, and I can work alongside them.”
Thanks to that, the guard squad was now responsible for maintaining security within the city walls, guarding the gates, and even directing traffic on the market streets.
In the past, this would have been considered an excessive workload, but it didn't matter now.
The War King Gate had twice the manpower of the old Nine Dragons Fortress Hanzhong Branch.
With Jeok Hwa-ran's help, the manpower shortage was solved. With Myo Hyang's help, the tax issue was solved.
I thought Cheong So-so was the only problem left, but…
“…Seriously?”
Multiple problems began to erupt simultaneously.
“Yes. When we went after the man who caused a ruckus at the tavern, he stubbornly denied everything.”
“And?”
“We forced our way in and brought him here, but…”
Woo Je-jun trailed off, looking down at the training ground.
Over fifty martial artists were occupying the space.
They were from the sect of the man who had been arrested last night.
“It's turned into this.”
“The guy you brought in is the culprit, right?”
“We've confirmed it several times. The tavern owner identified him as well.”
“And yet?”
“He's still insisting he's innocent.”
“Unbelievable.”
They're really pushing it with this power play.
They wouldn't have dared to make a peep back when this was the Nine Dragons Fortress Hanzhong Branch.
“Get rid of them.”
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as Woo Je-jun went down, the suppression began.
“We are citizens of Hanzhong too!”
“Hmph! The War King Gate, was it? For some upstarts from who-knows-where to act so arrogantly just because they got lucky in a competition… The future of Hanzhong is bleak!”
“How dare you! Even if I die today, I will fight to the end and expose your tyranny to the world!”
For a moment, I thought, *Should I just kill them?* But I quickly shook my head.
*Sigh… Patience.*
They hadn't quite crossed the line yet.
Just as the suppression was in full swing.
*Clack.*
Myo Hyang entered.
Her usual gentle face was replaced with a sharp, edgy expression.
Wondering if she was having a bad day, I asked cautiously.
“What's wrong? Did something happen?”
*Thump.*
She plopped down in a chair, crossed her arms, and started fuming.
Then, her eyes began to well up with tears.
“What? Did some bastard bully you?”
“Hoo… Well…”
After taking a deep breath, Myo Hyang explained the situation.
The meticulous woman had started examining the administrative documents one by one as soon as she received the tax collection assignment and found several errors.
After all, no matter how carefully it was done, paperwork in a world without computers, let alone ballpoint pens, could never be perfectly accurate.
It was only because Myo Hyang was good with numbers that she'd found them.
Anyway, upon discovering the errors, Myo Hyang had immediately taken action.
She had gone out with the Merchant Guild's warriors to compare the documents with the actual figures.
And then.
“What?”
When she was auditing the Hanzhong Sword and Saber Gate, not only was she blatantly ignored, but they also picked a fight with her over all sorts of things, saying, 'Why is a woman getting involved in this?' and 'What authority does the Manager of the Hanzhong Merchant Guild have to do this?'
Myo Hyang had been furious but had held it in and finished her work. As soon as she was done, she had come straight to me.
As she spoke, her anger seemed to boil up again, and her face was filled with indignation.
“Even after you told them you were acting on my authority?”
“Yes, they claimed they hadn't heard anything about it.”
“You have the identification plaque.”
When I entrusted her with the job, I had issued her a plaque with 'Tax Collector' written on it in big, bold letters.
“That's the only reason I was able to finish my work and come back. Without it, I would have been kicked out before I even started.”
“Ha… damn, it seems these bastards have forgotten what I'm like…”
The rumor that I was Master Bukgung's direct disciple probably hadn't spread this far, but I was once the temporary manager of the Hanzhong Branch.
There's no way they wouldn't know me.
The battle I fought to save the Gold Dragon Hall Master wasn't quite a legend, but it was a fairly famous fight.
Yet, there seem to be two main reasons they can act this way.
First, they believe I can't do anything to them as long as they don't cross the line. And…
*They must have someone else backing them.*
It must mean they've joined hands with a considerably powerful force.
But that's just the confidence of a frog in a well, of Vegeta before seeing Frieza's final form.
“This won't do. I'll just have to kill them all. Tell the Merchant Guild to close up shop for three days.”
If I really went at it, I could turn the Hanzhong martial world into a sea of blood within three days.
“Please, calm down.”
But Myo Hyang grabbed my hand firmly.
“If you don't want to block the path of Hanzhong, which is developing day by day.”
“…”
Myo Hyang was right. No merchant caravan would visit a city that had become a sea of blood.
Doing it might feel satisfying, but the cleanup would take a very long time.
“Hoo…”
I barely managed to compose myself and thought about how to solve the problem.
*I never thought we'd be ostracized…*
This isn't some martial arts high school.
Just as I closed my eyes for a moment, I heard a servant's voice.
“Gate Master, the Master of the Dragon-Slaying Gate is here to see you.”
“Send him in.”
*Clack.*
“I don't know what all this commotion is about. The Master of the Bihyang Gate isn't the type to cause such a fuss.”
He grumbled as he entered, having seen the commotion outside.
“What brings you here?”
“Nothing much, just came to give you this.”
He held out a box about the size of a human head.
From its ornate exterior, the contents seemed to be of quite high quality.
“Thanks to the army stew recipe you taught us, Gate Master Jin, the sales at our Donhyangru are increasing by the day. So, I brought some fine tea.”
“…”
For someone like me who'd drink iced coffee in a blizzard, it wasn't a particularly welcome gift.
Still, I couldn't be cold to someone who had gone to the trouble of bringing a thoughtful gift.
“Oh? Then let's have a cup.”
“I'll go brew it.”
“Thanks, sis.”
I chatted with him about this and that over a cup of tea.
The recent series of events was among the topics.
“Hah, to rebel against the War King Gate, which was legitimately entrusted with Hanzhong by the Nine Dragons Fortress… They must have some serious nerve.”
“Tell me about it.”
“If I had my way, I'd bring the entire family council and beat them to a pulp.”
“Hearing you say that, Gate Master Bukgung, makes me feel a bit better.”
“Haha, aren't worries the kind of thing that shrinks the more you share them? When I have troubles myself, I often relieve my mind by talking with the members of the family council…”
“Wait.”
An idea struck me like lightning, and I cut Bukgung Baek off.
“Family council?”
That was it.
If it was difficult to use my own hands, why not borrow someone else's?
Especially if that 'someone else' was a relative. It couldn't be more perfect.
“Gate Master Bukgung. That family council you mentioned, where is it held?”