Chapter 32
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: I'll Let You Live (3)
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Arriving at the dilapidated shack beneath the massive bridge, Kang Moo-jin pushed past the beggars sprawled haphazardly on the floor and strode straight inside.
“Where’s the sub-branch leader?”
“He’s waiting inside.”
Moo-jin headed toward the back after hearing the reply from a beggar who was scooping food out of a box with his hands.
“Oh. You’re here.”
A filthy-looking beggar scratched his head with a box nearby and greeted Moo-jin.
He swept back his long, tangled hair streaked with gray and black—he was Nok-sam, the sub-branch leader of the Beggars' Clan Taiyuan branch.
“Did you get the information? What did you find?”
“You’re in such a rush. Why don’t you sit down first.”
Thud—
Moo-jin yanked a chair over roughly and plopped down with a loud bang.
“Spit it out.”
“Ahem. First off, I sent quite a few beggars northeast to Sichuan. More than ten of them.”
The last trace of Kang Moo-seon had been found near the Sichuan Yun Family and Geomgak Mountain.
Nok-sam had dispatched Beggars' Clan members to scour the area around the Sichuan Yun Family and Geomgak Mountain for information.
But.
“It was a failure. Four of the beggars we sent lost their lives, and the rest came back empty-handed.”
“...”
Kang Moo-jin’s expression slowly twisted as he heard they’d obtained no information at all.
As his face hardened, the faint aura emanating from him grew thicker and more intense by the second.
Nok-sam felt as if a weight had suddenly pressed down on the air itself, squeezing his entire body so tightly he could barely breathe.
“Ahem... K-Kang Hero!”
“Hoo.”
The suffocating sensation vanished the instant Moo-jin let out a deep sigh.
“Huff... huff...”
Nok-sam gasped for air, sweat pouring from him.
The moment before had been so perilously close to death that he’d truly wondered if that was the end.
What kind of monster is this...
To plunge someone into mortal terror with nothing more than the aura stirred by his emotions.
It was impossible unless one was a grandmaster deeply versed in qi control.
“You took all that money and came back with nothing. Is that all you have to say?”
“...I’m sorry. But we did succeed in narrowing down the disappearance to the Geomgak Mountain area.”
“You call that a success?”
“...We did our best. Four beggars died in the process. Geomgak Mountain right now is hell itself.”
Bloody skirmishes, large and small, erupted daily around Geomgak Mountain, home to the Sichuan Yun Family.
From the Tang Family—one of the Eight Great Families—to the Nine Great Sects and One Gang’s Emei and Qingcheng Sects, plus the Sichuan Yun Family and assorted mid- and small-sized sects and clans.
All those driven by greed clashed every day over their own interests.
Even for the Beggars' Clan, one of the pillars of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, extracting information in such chaos was no easy task.
“Your brother’s disappearance was likely not some conspiracy, but bad luck getting caught up in the chaos. Finding him right now would be difficult.”
“...”
“So calm down. You’re not implying you take the deaths of our Beggars' Clan brothers lightly, are you?”
“...Hoo. Fine.”
Moo-jin suppressed his boiling rage and rose from his seat.
Part of him wanted to flip this damned Beggars' Clan sub-branch upside down.
But what fault did they really have?
If anything, the blame lay with this endless daily bloodbath.
“If the situation improves later, I’ll send more beggars.”
“...Please do.”
Moo-jin tamped down his surging anger and left the Beggars' Clan sub-branch.
Boom—! Boooom—!
The massive iron pillar let out a metallic screech as it trembled.
With every strike from Kang Moo-jin’s fist, it seemed to wail in agony.
Bang—! Thud—!
As Moo-jin clenched his fist, the tendons on his forearm writhed like serpents.
With each step he took, his muscles moved like living beasts, sending massive waves rippling across his shoulders and back.
Boooom—!
Moo-jin’s single straight punch burrowed into the iron pillar, leaving a deep imprint of his fist.
This was the pillar that the escort agency’s escorts could strike ten thousand times a day without a scratch.
Not even a tiny nick had ever marred it before, yet now it couldn’t withstand a single blow from Kang Moo-jin.
“Hoo... That feels better now.”
Having left over a dozen fist marks on the iron pillar, Kang Moo-jin looked around with a refreshed expression.
All the escorts had stopped in their tracks, mouths agape, staring at him.
“What? Show’s over? Back to training!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“One! Two! One! Two!”
For some reason, their faces drained of color, the escorts threw themselves into training with unusual fervor.
Ma Du-gwang in particular was moving so fast his feet were a blur.
“Why are they acting like that?”
Moo-jin tilted his head at their inexplicable enthusiasm, then spotted Soo-yeon beckoning him and walked over.
“Yes, Soo-yeon.”
“Uncle, we have a guest.”
“A guest?”
Soo-yeon’s cheeks flushed as she nodded eagerly, her face lit up.
“Yes! Someone from the Provincial Administration Commission came all this way. For you, Uncle!”
“...Provincial Administration Commission?”
The Provincial Administration Commissioner—or Pojeongsa for short—was the highest official overseeing a province’s administration.
Every province had the Three Departments: the Investigation and Judicial Department handling surveillance and justice; the Military Commissioner managing the military; and the Provincial Administration Commission overseeing civil administration and finances.
The Pojeongsa was the head of that commission, in charge of administration.
“The Provincial Administration Commissioner entrusted a commission... to us here?”
Moo-jin stared at his father in disbelief.
“Yes. They passed it along through a proxy and left.”
“That’s... what kind of commission?”
A commission from the Pojeongsa himself would be anything but ordinary.
Moo-jin and Ma Du-gwang turned grave expressions toward Escort Agency Leader Kang So-gong.
“There was a Grand Secretary Yuan Zongdu during the previous emperor’s reign.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of him. The one so impeccably honest he was unjustly forced into retirement, right?”
Even Moo-jin, who cared nothing for court politics or palace intrigues, knew the name Yuan Zongdu.
He had been an advisor debating state affairs with the emperor—a man of exceptional talent.
“Was he here in Taiyuan?”
“Yes. And now the newly ascended emperor has appointed him as the crown prince’s tutor.”
“Then he’ll need to leave Taiyuan for the capital... Wait. Don’t tell me...”
Moo-jin looked at Kang So-gong with uneasy eyes.
“You’re right. The Pojeongsa has commissioned us for an honored escort.”
“...”
Moo-jin let out a heavy sigh.
“Ah, no. Why the long face, brother?! A commission from an official is good news, isn’t it? They pay double!”
Crack—!
Moo-jin brought his hand down on the crown of Ma Du-gwang’s head—the only one grinning amid everyone’s worry.
“Use your brain. Your brain. Are you getting dumber by the day?”
“H-Hey, explain first, then hit! Brother!”
“You idiot. This is the route for a royal tutor appointed by the emperor himself. Who do you think normally provides the escort?”
“Huh? Obviously the offic—... Ah!”
This was no ordinary post; it was one where the emperor himself had appointed the scholar as the crown prince’s tutor.
Naturally, imperial guards would handle the escort.
Yet the Pojeongsa had bypassed the military and commissioned the Diamond Escort Agency instead.
The head of the most powerful of the Three Departments opting for a mere escort agency over official troops? It was suspicious no matter how you sliced it.
“Uh... Th-Then we just refuse, right?”
Everyone sighed at Ma Du-gwang’s dim-witted remark—even young Kang Soo-yeon shook her head.
“Du-gwang, oh Du-gwang. Did I tell you to punch the iron pillar with your head?”
Moo-jin rapped on Ma Du-gwang’s suspiciously hollow skull.
“In Shanxi Province, the Pojeongsa wields enough power to shoot down birds in flight. Refuse this commission, and who knows what backlash we’ll face.”
Pojeongsa Yang Baek-moon wasn’t notoriously corrupt, but neither was he a paragon of virtue.
With the Diamond Escort Agency’s business booming as it was, retaliation over a refused commission could spell disaster.
“What a tricky situation. We can’t refuse, yet accepting lightly is impossible.”
Escort Agency Leader Kang So-gong sighed deeply.
“...”
Even eldest son Kang Moo-woong had no ready solution, hanging his head to stare at the ground. That was when.
“No choice, then.”
Kang Moo-jin, arms crossed, spoke calmly.
“We’ll take the commission.”
“Moo-jin, but...”
“It’s fine, Father.”
Refusal wasn’t an option, and the commission reeked of suspicion.
There was only one answer.
“I’ll go.”
“Boss! It’s an honor you’re taking me along!”
Do-ryang followed behind Moo-jin, his face flushed with excitement.
He carried a massive bundle on his back—an essential load for an honored escort, and the very reason Moo-jin had brought him.
Far easier to have someone else carry the baggage.
“Don’t cause trouble and just keep up.”
“Yes, Boss!”
“And look after the kids behind us.”
“Yes, Boss! Don’t worry!”
Moo-jin hadn’t brought just Do-ryang on this escort mission.
Since it involved guarding an honored scholar appointed as royal tutor, he’d assembled twenty warriors including Do-ryang.
They were the Diamond Escort Agency’s elites, dubbed the Iron Fist Squad.
“As Iron Fist Squad leader, I’ll give it my all!”
Moo-jin smirked at Do-ryang’s thrilled expression and quickened his pace toward meeting the honored cargo: the Grand Secretary.
Soon, a wide clearing came into view.
In the treeless expanse stood a frail old man and a young woman who appeared to be his granddaughter.
“Greetings. I’m Kang Moo-jin of the Diamond Escort Agency.”
Standing before the elder, Moo-jin gave a light bow and cupped his fists in salute.
“Pleased to meet you. I am he who is called Yuan Zongdu. Just call me Old Man Yuan.”
Deep wrinkles etched with the passage of years crisscrossed his face, but his eyes gleamed with the cold sharpness of youth. The elder smiled kindly at Moo-jin.
“You insolent cur! Do you know who this is? A mere nod?! Bow properly!”
A middle-aged man with a weasel-like mustache and sly, slanted eyes bellowed, veins bulging in his neck.
Moo-jin glanced at him briefly before turning back to Grand Secretary Yuan Zongdu.
“Heh heh. He’s the attendant the Pojeongsa assigned me. Forgive him.”
Yuan Zongdu gave an awkward smile, reading Moo-jin’s eyes.
“I’m Yuan Yu-hwa. I’ve heard of your reputation, Hero Kang.”
The woman beside Yuan Zongdu greeted Moo-jin.
Her hair cascaded down her neck like a silk veil, serene and elegant—she was Yuan Zongdu’s granddaughter, Yuan Yu-hwa.
“Whoa!”
“A fairy?!”
The Diamond Escort Agency elites gawked at Yu-hwa, mouths open.
She was more beautiful than any woman they’d ever laid eyes on.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Moo-jin saluted her as well.
“Just the two of you traveling?”
“Three, you ignorant brute!”
Moo-jin silenced the noisy attendant with a glare, then sized Yuan Zongdu up and down.
Horse carriage is out of the question.
Yuan Zongdu’s body was frail and muscle-less, like someone who’d never exercised a day in his life.
Clearly poor stamina; riding in a carriage like that could dislocate bones or worse.
“I don’t think you can ride the carriage you brought. Better take the palanquin instead.”
“You wretch! What nonsense! This carriage was provided by the Pojeongsa himself! Something you lowly warriors couldn’t afford in a lifetime!”
“...”
Moo-jin’s eyebrow twitched as his patience hit its limit.
“Hey.”
“H-Hey?! You dare use informal speech with me, Jeong-o, favorite of the Pojeongsa?!”
The attendant Jeong-o puffed up with authority, chin raised.
“This bastard...”
Moo-jin growled through gritted teeth.
“Shut your trap? You’ve been yapping nonstop. Wanna die?”