Chapter 45
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Here It Is, You Bastard (1)
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On the third floor of Azure Breeze Tower, where new tables and chairs were starting to be brought in.
In the precious reception room reserved only for those who possessed mountain-like piles of money and fame that shook Sichuan, Kang Moo-jin sat facing two guests.
A filthy beggar draped in a worn-out straw mat and a man in neatly pressed black hemp robes clutching his black hat tightly with both hands both kept their heads bowed, avoiding Moo-jin's gaze.
"Is there really no way?"
"Well... I'm sorry, but that's the only method."
Gu Chi, the branch leader of the Beggar Clan Sichuan division, scratched his head.
"It's shameless, but that's our limit. My apologies."
For a Beggar Clan branch leader who usually carried himself proudly before any warrior, Gu Chi looked utterly deflated.
After hearing from Taiyuan branch leader Nok-sam the staggering amount of money the Beggar Clan had received, he couldn't possibly puff out his chest without providing the information.
Having taken the money and failed to deliver, it was only right to feel ashamed.
"What about your side?"
Moo-jin's gaze shifted to the man in black hemp robes.
Sweat poured down the back of his neck. He was Yu Ham, the head of the Haomen Shaanxi branch.
"Y-yes. I regret to inform you, but even we couldn't obtain any information."
Yu Ham, the Haomen Sichuan branch head, was several times more deferential than Gu Chi of the Beggar Clan.
No, deferential wasn't enough. It bordered on submission.
"...?"
Gu Chi frowned at the bizarre level of courtesy.
That crazy unorthodox bastard wasn't facing the emperor or anything. Why was he groveling like that?
"I-I'm sorry. Great hero Kang. However, the only option is to ask the Sichuan Yun Family."
"It's fine. No need to apologize."
"Th-th-thank you!"
Yu Ham bellowed loudly and bowed deeply. He bent so low it almost looked like a full prostration.
"...?"
Moo-jin tilted his head at the odd reaction, but from Yu Ham's perspective, it was only natural.
'One wrong move, and I'm dead.'
Yu Ham had received prior warning from Haomen Taiyuan branch head An Ji-so.
A guest who would smash every unorthodox group if things went south, so cooperate fully. And if you don't want to die, don't even think of acting up.
'I'm going to live, damn it.'
Having been earnestly admonished like that, Yu Ham's reaction was par for the course.
In Yu Ham's eyes, Kang Moo-jin wasn't a man—he was a monster that tore men apart.
"Understood for now. Thank you for being honest. And thanks for coming all this way."
"No, no. It was only natural."
"Y-yes! Call on me anytime as one of your own! You can even think of Haomen as entirely yours, Great Hero Kang!"
"...?"
Moo-jin cocked his head at those words.
Haomen...?
Wasn't that a bit much?
After sending off the two leaders from the intelligence organizations, Kang Moo-jin took Won Yu-hwa straight to the Sichuan Yun Family.
Situated beside Sword Pavilion Mountain, where peaks soared skyward like tightly packed sword sheaths, the Sichuan Yun Family—as one of the pillars of the Sichuan Four Gates—boasted grand and ornate halls from the very entrance.
A line of people queued up at the imposing main gate marking the start of those splendid buildings.
Merchants seeking joint ventures, warriors aiming to join the armed unit, heads of obscure families hoping to build connections—the crowd numbered nearly a hundred.
For a powerhouse like the Sichuan Yun Family, even the visitors alone formed a spectacle.
"Brother, we have to wait here too and then enter the reception hall."
While Moo-jin stared dumbfounded at the scene, Won Yu-hwa had asked around about the entry process.
"Mm. Alright."
Moo-jin stuck out his tongue at the tediously long line and waited at the end.
"Next!"
About two hours later, it was Moo-jin and Yu-hwa's turn.
Under the cold gaze of the escort warrior, Kang Moo-jin entered the reception hall and looked down at the man seated with his hands on the long table.
"Who might you be?"
"Kang Moo-jin, third son of the Diamond Escort Agency and escort leader."
"What's the purpose? Business? Ah, no. Judging by your build, you must want to join the armed unit."
"Neither."
"Hm?"
The reception hall clerk tilted his head.
"Then what brings you all this way?"
"To inquire about an incident."
"...? An incident?"
"Diamond Escort Agency escorts took a cargo commission from the Sichuan Yun Family and vanished near Sword Pavilion Mountain."
The clerk's eyes twitched faintly at those words.
It was but an instant, but Moo-jin—with his sharp eyes—didn't miss it.
"Ah... I see. Then please wait in the reception quarters for now? The family head is quite busy."
"Can't you tell me?"
"I'm just a lowly clerk."
The Yun Family reception clerk smiled amiably.
"The family head knows all about such matters, so he'll see you right away when he arrives. Rest easy here until then."
"Hmph."
Moo-jin eyed the clerk oddly before nodding.
"I'll be waiting."
Kang Moo-jin—with his bear-like build and lion's fierce gaze—headed to the guest quarters like that.
"Whew... Thought I was gonna shake to death."
The reception clerk, overwhelmed by Moo-jin's presence and unable to even breathe properly, finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Nearly pissed myself."
Won Yu-hwa, who had been gracefully wielding her sword under the sunlight rather than moonlight, soared into the sky.
Her swirling black hair cascaded like waves, blocking the sun, as she charged fiercely toward Moo-jin.
"That's right. Handle it like that from there."
Moo-jin nodded in satisfaction and fired his internal energy with Heavenly Light Annihilation Finger.
Phewww-!
The energy shot from his fingertip grazed her hair.
It had aimed for her forehead, but Yu-hwa evaded and closed in simultaneously with Galaxy Steps.
"Hah!"
Yu-hwa, now at Moo-jin's side, swung the sword raised overhead straight down.
Kaang-!
Kang Moo-jin casually raised his palm to block the blade.
Blade met palm with sparks flying and a sonic boom echoing.
"Excellent. That's enough for today."
"Hehe. I've improved a lot, right?"
Moo-jin gently stroked her head as she looked up expectantly for praise.
"You're changing every single day."
"Thank you! You've been too, brother. That finger technique is getting more stable."
Won Yu-hwa's growth was a steady step forward each day, while Kang Moo-jin's Heavenly Light Annihilation Finger training focused on deploying it with ever-weaker power.
For Moo-jin, who had already peaked once, mastering supreme arts took just a day—but fine-tuning the power down was tricky.
"Yeah. Thanks to you, I think I can finally use it in real combat now."
For Moo-jin, real combat techniques weren't about overwhelming might as others defined it. They were about not exploding foes' bodies in one hit and turning into a mad killer.
"Hm?"
Kang Moo-jin paused as he approached the Sichuan Yun Family reception quarters, where he'd been staying for two days now.
An unfamiliar voice echoed from the reception hall, different from usual.
"Who's here?"
"From the Diamond Escort Agency. A guest is waiting."
"Tch. Didn't I say the same yesterday?"
"Yes, correct."
"I'm swamped as hell—don't stop me for that crap. Tell 'em to keep waiting. I've got mountains of work. No time for petty nobodies."
Moo-jin clenched his fist upon overhearing the clerk and family head's conversation with his innate senses.
The air compressed with a whoosh from how hard he gripped.
"Brother?"
"Stay here a moment."
Leaving Yu-hwa outside, Moo-jin strode forward and flung open the reception hall doors.
"...? Which rude bastard dares barge into the Yun Family reception hall...? Huh? Great Hero Kang?"
The clerk's pupils shook violently upon recognizing Kang Moo-jin.
"Hey. Didn't you tell me the reception head was out?"
Moo-jin pinned the clerk with a piercing glare.
This damn fool had hidden the reception head's presence and stalled him for a full two days.
In this urgent situation, these idiots had tied his feet.
"You must be suicidal."
Moo-jin grabbed the clerk's collar and hoisted him up.
"If that's what you want, I'll kill you right..."
"Stop that!"
Yun Wang-su, the Sichuan Yun Family reception head who had been watching with hands behind his back, exerted force to pry the clerk from Moo-jin's grip.
"...?"
But no matter how hard he tried, Moo-jin's arm didn't budge. It felt like arm-wrestling a tree trunk.
"Won't you let go?!"
His pride wounded, Yun Wang-su flushed red and poured in more strength.
Riiip-!
With the sound of silk tearing, the clerk's sky-blue hemp robe split in half.
Unable to release the collar, he'd simply torn the clothes apart instead.
"Tch. Brainless idiot who doesn't know the value of good clothes."
Moo-jin looked genuinely regretful.
It was a sincere reaction born of his love for fine robes, but it only fueled the reception head's rage further.
"You bastard! Do you even know where you are, acting all high and mighty?!"
"You lot created this situation. I clearly asked about the Diamond Escort Agency escorts' disappearance."
Yun Wang-su sneered at Moo-jin's calm expression.
"What info is there on some dead escorts?! We got nothing for you. Not a damn word!"
"..."
Moo-jin's face turned icy cold.
The atmosphere chilled as if a north sea gale had swept in.
"Is that the official stance of the Sichuan Yun Family?"
"Yeah. What're you gonna do about it?"
Yun Wang-su haughtily lifted his chin.
The Sichuan Yun Family—one of the four pillars dominating Sichuan via the Sichuan Four Gates—versus some two-bit escort agency from Taiyuan.
With superiority clear, he aimed to crush with authority.
"Right. So that's how it is."
Moo-jin muttered lowly and shot out his hand like lightning.
"...!"
The speed was so blinding Yun Wang-su couldn't react before his collar was seized.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
The flustered Yun Wang-su flailed to get down, but dangling in midair, it lacked any menace.
"Kang Moo-jin, escort leader of the Diamond Escort Agency, hereby challenges the Sichuan Yun Family to a duel."
"...!"
A duel challenge.
A simple way for warriors to resolve conflicts—and for the strong to crush the weak by force.
Typically a method the Sichuan Yun Family used to trample foes. Not one they endured.
'This madman's daring to challenge our Yun Family...?'
He wasn't challenging Yun Wang-su personally, but the Sichuan Yun Family itself.
Meaning not just Yun Wang-su, but the family's elite warriors—even family head Yun Byok-jin—could step up.
In short, it was suicide.
"You... insane?"
"Not in the least."
Kang Moo-jin continued, gripping Yun Wang-su's collar tight.
"Refuse, and I'll spread word far and wide that the mighty Sichuan Yun Family are nothing but cowardly bastards full of hot air."
"..."
"Accept the duel, you spineless punks!"