Chapter 11
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: All of Them Die (1)
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“Ngh...”
Ma Du-gwang, the leader of the Silver Push Sect, dragged a massive bundle as big as his own body all the way to the Diamond Escort Agency.
Inside that enormous bundle was the staggering prize money that Kang Moo-jin and Ma Du-gwang had raked in from this sparring gamble.
“Big brother! Du-gwang's here!”
The corners of Ma Du-gwang's mouth, which usually twisted into a displeased frown whenever he saw Moo-jin, stretched all the way to his ears.
It was only natural after hauling in this much cash all at once.
This kind of money could make even nonexistent loyalty sprout like weeds!
“You're here.”
Moo-jin, fresh from his daily training and drenched in sweat, greeted Ma Du-gwang.
“Here it is, big brother.”
“Kuh... This is it. This is the stuff.”
A satisfied smile crept across Moo-jin's lips as he peered into the wide-open bundle brimming with silver taels.
“Heh heh heh.”
“Heh heh heh heh.”
Kang Moo-jin and Ma Du-gwang chuckled like a pair of bandit chiefs reveling in a successful raid.
If anyone had seen them, they might have mistaken it for a band of green forest bandits plotting to turn the Central Plains upside down.
“Ah, big brother. How's your body holding up? You sure it's okay to jump right back into training like that?”
Moo-jin snorted at Ma Du-gwang's question.
“What's the big deal?”
Ma Du-gwang was once again filled with admiration at Moo-jin's nonchalant dismissal of a spar with a disciple of the Conversation Sect.
Wasn't that the true spirit of a real man?
'Someone like big brother ought to unify the unorthodox factions.'
Gazing at Moo-jin's towering frame, which seemed even more imposing today, Ma Du-gwang imagined himself as the right-hand man to Moo-jin, the legend of the black path.
The fact that Kang Moo-jin was the young master of the righteous Diamond Escort Agency had long since faded from his mind.
“Ah, take a 20% cut from this. It's your share.”
“Big brother...”
Ma Du-gwang looked up at Moo-jin with eyes brimming with emotion.
All he'd done was pawn land deeds as collateral for bets, spread the word through inns, taverns, and shops to draw crowds into the gambling, and finally praise the Mount Hua Sect to encourage bets on Cheong-sang the instructor. And yet, here was Moo-jin handing him a fortune...
His loyalty surged so fiercely that he felt he could even take a blade for him.
“Thank you, big brother!”
“Good. Let's keep doing great work like this, yeah?”
“From now on?”
“Yeah. Whenever a challenge comes in, I'll leave running the betting gambles to you, just like this time.”
“Y-You're assigning the task to me?!”
Ma Du-gwang, buzzing with excitement from the massive haul, nodded vigorously enough to dislocate his jaw.
“My loyalty...! I'll give it all!”
“Y-Yeah.”
Moo-jin stammered, taken aback by the manic fervor gleaming in Ma Du-gwang's eyes.
The guy had always seemed half-mad, but today he looked downright unhinged.
“Uncle!”
Kang Soo-yeon came toddling over on her short legs and tugged at Moo-jin's sleeve.
“Grandpa's awake. He's asking for you, Uncle!”
* * *
Creeeak—
Moo-jin pushed open the door with a groan of rusty hinges and stepped inside.
“Father!”
Anxiety he hadn't shown even against the Mount Hua Sect swordsman flickered across his face.
“How's your body?”
Moo-jin reached out and placed his fingers on his father's wrist. The treatments and rest had clearly worked—the pulse was steady.
“I'm fine, son. Have you eaten? You look thinner. You'll waste away at this rate.”
“You're exaggerating.”
With that light jest, they exchanged warmth. Identical faint smiles touched the lips of Kang Moo-jin and Kang So-gong.
“Will you tell me what happened while I was out?”
“Yes, Father. While you were resting...”
Moo-jin recounted how he'd cleared all the Escort Agency's debts and redeemed their promissory notes, and how the sparring bets had brought in a windfall.
He'd meant to keep it brief, but excitement from this rare conversation with his father made him ramble on in greater detail than intended.
Just this simple act of talking with his father filled the void that even reaching the Linked Qi Realm couldn't touch.
“...You've been through so much, son.”
Kang So-gong's mouth turned down in sorrow.
He felt guilty for burdening his long-lost son with heavy responsibilities instead of welcoming him with a hot meal.
Yet his admirable boy seemed to understand, maintaining a calm expression.
“No, don't worry about it, Father. It was nothing. More importantly, I have a question.”
“What is it? Speak freely.”
“What happened to my brothers?”
All Moo-jin knew came from Soo-yeon: the eldest had gone to Shaolin Temple for aid, and the second had vanished on an escort mission.
“You know about the first, so you're asking about the second.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Moo-seon took an escort job to deliver goods to the Sichuan Yun Family.”
“The Sichuan Yun Family?”
The Sichuan Yun Family was a clan near Sword Pavilion Mountain in Sichuan, led by Yun Byok-jin, the Thunderbolt Sword Hero.
Moo-jin knew of them vaguely—they were infamous for suffering injustices under the dominant Tang Family in Sichuan.
“That's a long haul.”
“Indeed. As usual, Moo-seon sent messenger birds every other day with updates. Then they just... stopped.”
After the birds ceased, the Diamond Escort Agency had sent people to search for him.
They'd scoured everywhere the last bird had reached—northeast Sichuan, around Sword Pavilion Mountain and the Yun Family—turning the area upside down like hunting rats. But no trace of Kang Moo-seon.
He'd vanished without a single clue, as if he'd evaporated from the world.
“Who placed the request?”
“The hegemons of Sichuan. It was a commission from the Tang Family.”
“The Tang Family... commissioned the Yun Family? Through us?!”
Sensing something off, Moo-jin tilted his head.
Both families had bases in Sichuan—why come all the way to Shanxi Province for an escort?
“I looked into it myself, but everything seemed in order.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Trusting his father's thorough investigation, Moo-jin set aside his suspicions about the job.
“Moo-jin, I know I've saddled you with too much already... but could you look for your brother?”
“Of course, Father. But not yet.”
The family's situation was too precarious for Moo-jin to leave now.
The agency wasn't fully stabilized, and enemies still loomed.
“Once things settle here, I'll go find him. For now, we have too many foes. The Crimson Flame Gang needs dealing with too.”
“...The Crimson Flame Gang? What did those vicious bastards do to you?! Those damn scum dare to...!”
Kang So-gong tried to rise in fury, frail body trembling.
“Ah, no, it's not that. I beat up one of their patrol agents.”
“...”
Kang So-gong settled back down meekly.
The Crimson Flame Gang was notorious not just for cruelty but for strength.
Beating a patrol agent from one of Shanxi's three great evil factions?
“D-Didn't get hurt, did you?”
“Him? Who knows. His jaw's smashed—probably on porridge for at least six months.”
“N-No, I mean you.”
“Me? I'm fine... Ngh!”
Kang So-gong startled as Moo-jin clutched his chest and grimaced.
He must have been injured fighting that Crimson Flame patrol agent!
'Those filthy dogs dared touch my son...!'
Kang So-gong tried to leap up again.
“You okay? Where's the wound? How bad is it...”
“Urgh. That damn bastard tore my training robes. I'd eat him alive and it still wouldn't be enough.”
“...?”
Kang So-gong couldn't hide his bewilderment at Moo-jin fretting over his robes, not his body.
'Torn robes are nothing... lucky, right?'
But he couldn't nitpick after his son had shouldered so much for the family.
Settling back, he nodded understandingly.
“R-Right. You've done so much, son. I'll recover soon and pull my weight, so don't worry.”
“Don't push yourself, Father. Slow recovery is best.”
Kang So-gong, leader of the Diamond Escort Agency, was a peak realm master.
His full recovery would help immensely, but Moo-jin didn't want him straining.
“I'll claim the cost of the robes later, so don't worry about it.”
“...”
He'd never worried about that in the first place...
Swallowing another rising question, Kang So-gong nodded.
“Alright. I should rest now. It was good talking, son.”
“Yes, Father. Get some good sleep.”
Thud—
Closing the family head's door behind him, Moo-jin gazed at the night sky with its swelling full moon.
The pale moon reminded him of his second brother, Kang Moo-seon, whose face often drained white.
'Brother. What mess did you get tangled in?'
“Uncle. Do you think Big Uncle's... still alive?”
“Don't worry. He is.”
Conviction filled Moo-jin's voice.
'He's not the type to go down easy.'
Kang Moo-seon wasn't a martial prodigy, but his brains rivaled the Zhuge family's.
No way a guy that sharp would fall easily.
That's what he believed—what he wanted to believe.
“Okay, Uncle.”
Soo-yeon's face brightened a little.
Moo-jin's words, whom she trusted as much as or more than her father, brought comfort and reassurance.
After all the impossible miracles he'd pulled off, if he said so, it must be true.
“Still, it's troubling. I need someone reliable here to hold the fort if I'm going out.”
With only his niece Soo-yeon and bedridden father around, Moo-jin couldn't leave.
He needed trustworthy subordinates to ensure the house's safety.
'Ma Du-gwang... no.'
Ma Du-gwang wasn't enough.
Clever with numbers and schemes, sure, but no warrior.
To guard the agency in his absence, he needed stronger fighters—at least a dozen.
'Wonder if there's anyone useful around.'
Moo-jin sighed deeply, lost in thought.
* * *
The next day dawned.
As the rooster crowed to herald morning, eight challengers arrived at the Diamond Escort Agency's gates.
All came to spar with Moo-jin.
'Hm. Some decent ones showed up.'
Moo-jin nodded approvingly at the eight warriors lined up under Ma Du-gwang's orders.
They had the air of righteous faction martial artists—composure in their aura, following a black path thug's instructions without complaint.
Promising material.
“Wow. This is seriously good money. Eight gold taels in one day?”
One silver tael sustained a poor family of four for a frugal month.
Ten silver made one gold tael—enough for a year.
And eight gold taels in a day!
This was prime earning potential.
But it didn't end there. Add the betting gambles, and they could double it at least.
'Hold on.'
A glint flashed in Moo-jin's eyes as he tallied the day's projected take.
'Come to think of it... reliable subordinates? Right here.'
Grinning at the eight waiting warriors, Moo-jin smiled wickedly.
“...”
Ma Du-gwang shuddered at Moo-jin's smile.
“Big brother, you're not thinking of killing the challengers, are you?”
Serious-faced, he whispered.
“If so, let's move the arena to the back mountain. Best spot for burials.”
“...”
Moo-jin silently smashed his fist down on Ma Du-gwang's head.