Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 245
>Chapter Title: Sichuan (2)
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“Who in the righteous faction is backing the unorthodox gangs? What are you talking about?”
Branch Leader Gwangwon-hyeon answered Il-mok’s question.
“It’s probably about money. With the conflicts between the three major powers intensifying, they’re scraping together funds behind the scenes in case things go south. The problem is that they claim to be righteous factions.”
Hearing that much allowed Il-mok to grasp the general situation.
“So they can’t openly extort money from the common folk without damaging their reputation as righteous sects. Instead, they use unorthodox gangs to collect the money, then rob those gangs to gather funds.”
“That’s right. In particular, the Sichuan Tang Clan specializes in poison and hidden weapons, so they need substantial funds for large-scale battles. That’s why the Tang Clan started amassing money, and to check them, Emei and Qingcheng seem to be scheming from behind the scenes.”
“Then who’s backing the Black Isle Gang?”
“…We suspect it’s the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
As Branch Leader Gwangwon-hyeon cautiously replied, Il-mok swallowed a sigh inwardly.
‘I figured it’d be Haomun if anyone jumped out, but who knew the Sichuan Tang Clan would pop up here.’
If the branch leader was right, attacking the Black Isle Gang could lead to a clash with the Tang Clan.
Of course, it wasn’t a big issue right now. As the branch leader said, the Tang Clan had no spare forces here, busy checking Emei and Qingcheng.
But Mirok Divine Cult was in the same boat, short on manpower just managing Gansu Province and already at odds with Haomun.
If they stirred up trouble with the Tang Clan now, worst case, their ties to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could be exposed.
Reaching that thought, Il-mok naturally grew furious.
‘Damn righteous faction hypocrites. How can they pull this crap while flying the righteous flag?’
He’d heard they were hypocrites, but not to this extent.
Should he charge in regardless of the Tang Clan bullshit, or just turn back?
As Il-mok pondered at this crossroads.
Creak.
The hall’s door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped inside.
He flinched at the sight of Il-mok and his group but hurriedly bowed upon the branch leader’s introduction.
“Heavenly Demon has arrived! All demons rejoice!! I pay respects to the exalted one’s disciple!”
Il-mok casually accepted his bow, and the branch leader asked him.
“Is there some urgent matter?”
“We spotted a striking woman among a group that just entered Gwangwon-hyeon.”
“A striking woman? You came here just because you saw a beauty?”
The branch leader asked incredulously, and the man shook his head in panic.
“N-not a beauty! She’s a giant of a woman, over six feet tall! Judging by her age and looks, I think she might be Kwonbong Hwangbo Yeon.”
“…Why is the Hwangbo family’s daughter from Shandong here?”
While the branch leader reacted with bewilderment.
A smile had already crept onto Il-mok’s lips, as he knew about Hwangbo Yeon and her group.
“Finally, you’re useful, you piece of shit!”
Everyone gave him puzzled looks at his mutter.
* * *
Gwangwon-hyeon’s marketplace.
Six men and women in mismatched attire strolled through.
Among them, a young man with a sword at his waist nonstop chattered while sneaking glances at the woman whose face was veiled with thin silk.
“Hahaha. I can’t wait to reach the capital and have a spar. Haven’t fought lately, and my hands are itching.”
Paeng Ji-gwang boasted shamelessly, having already forgotten getting his ass kicked for picking a fight in Byeongnyang-hyeon days ago.
Then. A middle-aged man suddenly blocked their path.
“Ex-excuse me. Sorry, but are you… martial artists by chance?”
Frowning at the obstruction, Paeng Ji-gwang snapped.
“Who the hell are you to block our way?”
Under that bug-eyed glare, the middle-aged man dropped to his knees and cried out.
“S-sorry! P-please help us!”
Before Paeng Ji-gwang could retort, Hwangbo Yeon stepped forward and asked.
“Help? What do you need help with?”
“The Black Isle Gang bastards forced a loan on me, and now they’re trying to take my daughter instead of the money. P-please help!”
At the middle-aged man’s tearful tale, some grew indignant.
“How can they use such despicable tactics….”
“Damn, even Sichuan has scum like that.”
Amid it all, Hwangbo Yeon stayed relatively calm and asked.
“But why ask us for help?”
“I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you seemed like martial artists, so I thought maybe…”
The man glanced at Paeng Ji-gwang as he spoke, and Hwangbo Yeon nodded in understanding.
He’d been yapping nonstop to catch Hwangbo Se-hee’s attention.
Hwangbo Yeon pondered.
‘What to do.’
The man’s story was pitiful, but jumping in rashly was tricky.
Jianghu grudges were tangled webs; meddling could lead to anything, like what happened in Byeongnyang-hyeon.
As she hesitated, the kneeling man swallowed nervously inside.
‘Please, let this work.’
He was a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult demonic cultist from the Gwangwon-hyeon branch.
Following Il-mok’s orders, he was acting to incite a fight between the Black Isle Gang and the righteous faction juniors.
Just then. Paeng Ji-gwang stepped forward and bellowed.
“Uhahaha! You came to the right place! I am none other than Paeng Ji-gwang, third son of the great North Hebei Paeng Clan. Filthy unorthodox scum won’t last three exchanges against me.”
A total reversal from treating the man like a bug moments ago.
Simple reason: Hwangbo Se-hee had let out a sympathetic sigh from behind her veil upon hearing the tale.
Helping the man might score points with her, thought Paeng Ji-gwang.
‘Just as Young Master said!’
As things unfolded per Il-mok’s prediction, the acting man inwardly cheered.
But not everything went as planned.
“Young Master Paeng, we can’t jump in without knowing the full story.”
Hwangbo Yeon held him back, and the Wudang priest in Taoist robes nodded in agreement.
‘Should I push a bit more? Young Master said to target that idiot Paeng Ji-gwang.’
As the man gauged and opened his mouth to say more.
“Ar-are you really from the North Hebei Paeng Clan? Please help us!”
“Please give those Black Isle Gang bastards a lesson!”
Suddenly, people from all over the marketplace knelt and pleaded with them.
It was the karma the Black Isle Gang had built up.
With cries for help from every direction, Paeng Ji-gwang smugly looked at Hwangbo Yeon and the Wudang priest.
“Everyone here wants them punished. If we, the righteous faction juniors, ignore this, we’d be too ashamed to call ourselves righteous anywhere.”
Suppressing the urge to smash his smug face with her iron fist honed over a decade, Hwangbo Yeon turned away and sighed lightly.
- I think we should step in this time, Lady Hwangbo.
Hearing the Wudang priest’s transmission, Hwangbo Yeon had no choice but to decide.
“We’ll head to the Black Isle Gang right now.”
* * *
A manor on one side of Gwangwon-hyeon.
Paeng Ji-gwang approached the place with a signboard reading [Black Isle Gang] and shouted.
“Come out, Black Isle Gang Leader!!”
At the madman’s racket, the gatekeeper scowled viciously and growled.
“Punk kid lost his mind and wants to die? Huh?”
“You dare, you unorthodox vermin!”
Before anyone could stop him, Paeng Ji-gwang drew his sword and swung at the gatekeeper.
“!?”
The lightning-fast draw sliced off the gatekeeper’s ear before he could react.
“Gaaah! My ear! My eaaar~!!”
As the gatekeeper rolled on the ground screaming, the group frowned at Paeng Ji-gwang.
“Young Master Paeng, that’s a bit much.”
“No need for mercy with unorthodox scum.”
Paeng Ji-gwang replied brazenly, smirking and glancing at the veiled woman.
Battle might ensue soon, but Hwangbo Yeon decided to keep her sister with them instead of sending her away.
She figured staying near herself or the Wudang priest was safer.
Glancing at Hwangbo Se-hee, now with them for that reason, Paeng Ji-gwang grew even bolder.
Slash!
Boom!
“Come out, Black Isle Gang Leader!!”
Having subdued the gatekeeper, he sliced the Black Isle Gang’s gate with his sword arts and bellowed.
Intoxicated with his own bravado, Paeng Ji-gwang strode through the split doors, the group following with uneasy expressions.
Right on cue, the noise drew surly unorthodox thugs from all over the manor.
“Who the hell are you!”
“You thunderbolt bastards must be crazy to die!”
The unorthodox thugs tried to intimidate, but it didn’t faze the prestigious righteous juniors.
“I am Paeng Ji-gwang, third son of the great North Hebei Paeng Clan! I know all your evil deeds, so accept my punishment!”
The thugs looked troubled at Paeng Ji-gwang’s immersed hero act.
They weren’t scared of the punk himself.
Sure, a real North Hebei Paeng Clan scion would have impressive skills for his age, but dozens could still take him.
The problem was his companions behind him. And above all, the weight of the North Hebei Paeng Clan name.
Killing him recklessly and letting even one companion escape to report back meant they were dead meat.
As the Black Isle Gang thugs floundered.
A shout erupted from the back.
“What brings a North Hebei Paeng Clan heir to distant Sichuan?”
With that, the Black Isle Gang crowd parted, and a swarthy, vicious middle-aged man stepped forward.
“Who the hell are you!”
“I am Mun Chang, leader of the Black Isle Gang.”
He planned to placate and send them off. Though he doubted the punk would listen to an unorthodox leader.
‘Mention the Tang Clan elder, and he’ll back off.’
He had solid backing.
A damnable backer force-feeding him poison to control him.
But he couldn’t admit that in front of his men.
“Seems like a misunderstanding. We’ve never harassed the locals. We just loaned money fairly and collected interest.”
The gang leader stalled with bland words, trying to send a transmission to the righteous juniors.
- We’re not here because we want to be. We’re just checking the Sichuan…
Before his transmission finished.
Screeech!
An arrow flew from behind. Straight at Paeng Ji-gwang.