The Third-Rate Warrior Saving the Girl (3)
He had refused everyone's farewell, but Seong Cheonwol couldn't ignore the send-off from Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist. After seeing off Jegal Somyeong with a rotten expression, he headed straight to find Seong Mohyeon, who had been causing a daily ruckus in the sect's prison.
"You bastard! Do you think you'll keep your life after pulling this shit? Who's going to inherit Iron Sword Sect now?!"
Though Seong Mohyeon was the culprit behind losing his master's sword, he stood tall and unyielding.
"Grandfather! This can't be allowed! He must have mastered the Absorption Great Law. Call in the Murim Alliance's Inspection Hall..."
"Shut your mouth, you fool! Are you trying to uproot the very foundations of Iron Sword Sect?!"
"It's certain. His forms didn't connect properly..."
"You... idiot..."
Iron Sword Sect Lord Seong Cheonwol was convinced that entrusting the sect to this dimwitted grandson would lead to utter disaster.
"Bring Moran here."
"Pardon?"
"Seong Mohyeon. If you can last fifty exchanges against Moran, I'll forgive all your crimes."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Seong Cheonwol's sudden declaration left Seong Mohyeon, Seong Jutaek, and all the other Iron Sword Sect warriors baffled.
"Moran, show everything you've got."
"..."
"Don't hold back. As you've seen, Iron Sword Sect is already hanging off a cliff. Do you think that fool Seong Mohyeon can carry it on in this state?"
"...Understood."
The onlookers couldn't make heads or tails of the exchange between Seong Cheonwol and Seong Moran.
"Grandfather! This is unacceptable! Excluding the eldest son?!"
"You... idiot..."
"I... I did my absolute best for Iron Sword Sect."
Seong Mohyeon's aimless rage naturally turned toward Seong Moran. All this time, he'd thought she was under his care, but in the end, she was just another rival eyeing the succession.
"Moran! How dare you!"
"Shut up and come at me."
A fury greater than what he'd felt against Jin Sowoon surged in Seong Mohyeon. The betrayal from blood kin he'd grown up with beside turned into a seething hatred that birthed killing intent.
"A wretch like you...!"
From the very first clash, the Destruction Sword Technique of the Ten Stars unfolded. He went straight for killing blows. His sword moved with wild, savage fury, mirroring his heart.
But...
"...!"
Boom.
The thunderous clash of metal didn't even last three exchanges. Seong Mohyeon was struck by Seong Moran's flat blade and sent flying three zhang, tumbling across the ground.
"What...!"
"Get up, brother."
Boom.Boom.Boom.
Unlike her bout with Jin Sowoon, these were entirely different sounds. The clash of Destruction Sword Techniques exploded with deafening blasts in all directions.
Seong Moran's expression remained unchanged, while Seong Mohyeon's face was already filled with desperation and shock. He wanted to exert his strength, but it wouldn't come. Despite his superior internal energy and mastery of forms, he felt powerless.
Whoosh.
This time, he flew four zhang and couldn't even scramble to his feet, staring blankly at Seong Moran.
She'd always been beneath him. He'd overwhelmed her every time with sharp counters.
What was this? His forms broke off jaggedly, his power drained away. Limbs that should move naturally clashed against each other like they weren't his own.
"This is..."
A heavy, accusatory voice pierced the dazed Seong Mohyeon.
"Has Moran mastered the Absorption Great Law too?"
"..."
Seong Mohyeon couldn't respond.
"Drag him away."
The Iron Sword Sect warriors, who had once doted on him, now seized their former favorite like a heinous criminal and hauled him off to the prison.
Drag, drag, drag.
Overwhelmed by shock, Seong Mohyeon couldn't walk on his own and was pulled along limply.
'But when her hand touched me, it was definitely...'
The lingering doubt in his mind remained unspoken. Seong Moran's display had already proven his massive blunder, leaving him too terrified even to open his mouth.
To drive Gyerong Merchant Group out of Tae-eul Gate, the first step was reorganizing the sect's finances. There were various ways to fix Tae-eul Gate's chronic deficits.
Selling spirit herbs from the Guide to Jianghu Elixirs could amass funds, or unearthing treasures from undiscovered vaults or tombs.
But I needed those herbs for myself, and most treasures were in distant provinces—nothing I could grab right away.
"Even if found, hauling and selling treasures is a hassle."
Spirit herbs or treasures—same issue. Word spreads, and vultures from across Jianghu swarm, sparking wars. These fights rival those with Black Dao or Demonic Cult in devastation, so Murim Alliance mobilizes faster than for any bandit raid to prevent bloodshed over such finds.
That's why folks sometimes report spirit herbs instead of bandits hitting villages.
Anyway, securing a patron like Gyerong Merchant Group as a stopgap was the best immediate option.
Anhui Province had plenty of merchant groups to replace them, thanks to nearby Nanjing in Jiangsu and Hangzhou in Zhejiang—prime spots for merchants and escort agencies, breeding the rich.
The problem? The truly wealthy ignored Tae-eul Gate. They calculated gains ruthlessly; we had nothing to offer.
So, sponsorship born of pure gratitude was needed. And the truly rich had gratitude to match.
"Wang Family Manor got so huge they built a whole village."
"With all those employees and retainers. Nearby counties even offered free land if they moved their seat there."
"I'm from that Wang village. I built Wang Manor!"
"You work for Wang Family?"
"I built the manor—tiles, beams, everything."
"...Pulling my leg? Shut up and drink, Gwak."
Wang Family started with a cloth shop, amassing vast wealth over ten generations. From Wang Manor to Wang Merchant Group, Wang Escort Agency, Wang Inns—countless ventures. They even snagged the state-granted salt merchant monopoly, making them one of the realm's top three fortunes, beyond just Anhui.
Of course, such a colossal house wouldn't bother with Tae-eul Gate.
"But if their precious daughter gets involved, that's different."
Wang Geumsan, current head, had his one and only pampered daughter Wang Soso late in life. So treasured, she'd never stepped outside until fifteen, her studies and hobbies confined to their whale-like estate. Even "outings" were carriage laps around the grounds—proof of his wealth and doting.
"They say her beauty entrances at first sight, curses at second. He hides her fearing the Emperor would steal her away."
"But she's already in the palace, not at Wang Manor?"
In my past life, she vanished without a trace. Wang Geumsan poured his ten-generation fortune into the search but found nothing.
And I knew who was behind it, the culprit he never uncovered.
"Nearly passed out when I first learned. Never imagined they'd move..."
Murim Alliance gathers and disperses Jianghu's intel. Mantongbu grades it from trivial to top-secret.
Most docs were Grade Gap—vital enough to sway the Jianghu balance, guarded fiercely.
But one place dwarfed even them: Mantongbu's secret archive, Simhyeongak.
Its files were mostly Beyond Gap—viewable only by Simhyeongak custodians, Chief Strategist, and Alliance Leader. Once sealed, even the Leader couldn't touch them.
What secrets? Mostly the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families' weaknesses and dirt—collated to hold their leashes.
"From the moment they made me memorize Simhyeongak files, my fate was sealed."
I shook off the memory of my past life's end.
Anyway, Simhyeongak revealed the culprit in the kingdom-shaking "Wang Soso Disappearance Case."
An unexpected source.
"Changgung Merchant Group..."
Three sects implicated: Black Dao's Geunsa Sect and Hyeolju Fortress annihilated, Orthodox Tanghyeon Sect barely survived—but no trace of Wang Soso. Wang Geumsan's reckless push cost him massive reparations to Murim Alliance and Black Dao Alliance.
"Dancing on Changgung's stage from the start—doomed never to find her."
Changgung Merchant Group, Namgung Family's new venture. Their issue? Lacking Wang Family's history and tradition.
To snag salt merchant rights via auction, they couldn't top Wang, who'd held it unchallenged for a century.
Namgung Sangwon, Namgung collateral head and Changgung's real boss, decided crushing Wang was key—and orchestrated the plot.
"Now, I'll sprinkle some chili powder on your scheme."
Other past-life memories had immediate value, but I chose Changgung.
Not from naive heroism.
"They'd play innocent to Iron Sword Sect."
His bloody duel with Seong Mohyeon. The "Gold Palace" incident drawing even the Chief Strategist.
Yet Namgung Sangwon yawned bored from the podium. Iron Sword Sect's tyranny in Anhui? With Namgung's tacit approval and Changgung's influence.
That attitude—pushing others off cliffs while staying clean.
"So, sprinkling some chili powder on your business shouldn't be a big deal, right?"
Even against Namgung's Changgung, I wasn't scared. Their warriors likely knew Changgung Free Sword Technique; knowing the kidnapping details let me prepare thoroughly.
Above all...
"Seong Moran might not be such a bad woman after all."
The pill she'd given? None other than the Steelclad Bodyguard Pill.
Not on par with Huashan's Snow Plum Pills, but leagues beyond Iron Heart Pills—a treasure only direct-line elites got.
Digesting Iron Heart and Steelclad Bodyguard Pills shot my internal energy straight to nearing 45 years.
"Time to watch you lot get splashed by your own filth."
Eventually, I'd face Demonic Cult and all Murim Alliance. Fearing Namgung collaterals? Laughable—the final boss loomed too large.