Erase It, or Devour It

"Are you seriously telling us to become Hao Mun?"

Hoga Jangju asked Sun Wukong, his face a mask of shock.

"You said yourself there's barely a difference between the underworld and Hao Mun. You'll adapt in no time."

"That's true enough, but... what you're saying, Teacher Sun, is that we hand over this entire organization we've built — just like that — to Hao Mun?"

"You already know that. Why ask again?"

"No, I simply cannot understand it. Truly. Great Hero."

The outrageous proposal had, of course, reached Hoga Jangju's ears long before it ever reached Jo Hae. The Shandong Seven Shadows, led by Neung, had seized control of the information network's day-to-day operations — but overall command still rested with Hoga Jangju.

"At this rate, that Jo Hae bastard is going to collapse under these absurd accusations and suspicions."

Hoga Jangju was certain of it.

"This isn't a rumor that'll just fade away, and you said yourself there are people just waiting for a chance to take Jo Hae down. They won't let a golden opportunity like this slip by. Physical evidence? Just fabricate it. And the fact that the Branch Leader visited Manhyangru twice is already damning circumstantial proof. Unless the ones coming after him are complete idiots, he's finished."

"Jo Hae isn't some pushover."

"Ah, of course not. This old man knows that well. The bastard clawed his way to Branch Leader even in that damned Hao Mun. He's not going down easy."

Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes. Hoga Jangju was uncharacteristically passionate.

"Hoga Manor is what I've spent my entire life building. My youth, my whole existence is poured into it. Hao Mun? I could've joined them ages ago. I chose not to."

"And yet you crawled under me just fine."

"I'm of the underworld, aren't I? Back then, that was how I survived — and how Hoga Manor could grow. But now? There's no desperate reason to slink under Hao Mun's crotch, and nothing good waiting if I do."

Sun Wukong regarded Hoga Jangju in silence.

A puppet. A man who would dance in the palm of Sun Wukong's hand. Someone who would diligently build the organization as instructed, then slowly fade from the stage. Once the structure was solid and the faction had truly taken shape, Wukong had planned to hand Hoga Manor over to Ojeong.

But now, that thought had shifted — just a little.

Is this greed?

Greed. Sun Wukong was a Buddha — a being who had shed all desire and attained liberation. And yet, paradoxically, Sun Wukong found greed rather delightful. A human with greed was easy to handle. So long as you steered them toward the fulfillment of that greed, there was never a problem.

Sun Wukong could see Hoga Jangju's greed with perfect clarity. The leap of Hoga Manor — the life's work he had built. Under Sun Wukong, the man was dreaming.

And it's not as if he lacks ability.

Hoga Jangju's competence had been more than proven.

"Jangju. What's your name?"

"...You didn't even know my name until now?"

The question came from nowhere, and a flicker of shock crossed Hoga Jangju's face.

"It's Ho Jeong-ak."

Hoga Jangju would never know what a name meant to Sun Wukong. The moment he recognized a name, a bond of fate was formed beneath it. Sun Wukong was now accepting Hoga Jangju as a new thread in his web of connections.

Of course, Hoga Jangju had no way of knowing such intimate details, so he continued airing his grievances without pause.

"At this rate, Jo Hae becomes a traitor, an embezzler, a man who took bribes from his rivals just because it suited him — he'll be driven out under every insult imaginable. But that bastard's no pushover either. He won't just collapse. He'll counterattack."

The grand design of this scheme had been Sun Wukong's, but the detailed coloring had been Hoga Jangju's work. The bird's-eye view belonged to Wukong, which meant Ho Jeong-ak understood the finished picture better than anyone.

"So the Anhui Branch will tear itself apart from the inside. A complete circus. That's when we strike — swallow their entire power base, devour the scraps of Hao Mun that get ripped apart, and Anhui Province becomes an impregnable fortress where even Hao Mun can't lift its head."

"Which means we'd keep fighting Hao Mun."

"Once you've already drawn your sword against Hao Mun, there's no going back. If that's the case, we should grow our power properly and at least fight them as equals here in Anhui Province."

"That's not my picture."

"You have a better plan?"

"If all I wanted was to grab Hao Mun by the hair and brawl it out in Anhui, I never would've started this."

"..."

Hoga Jangju's eyes slowly settled. Sun Wukong's voice was neither grave nor heavy. If anything, a faint amusement colored it — almost light, almost careless.

But there was one thing. A certain magnetism. A force that would not let you look away. An atmosphere that compelled you to listen. Some unnameable energy seized Hoga Jangju's gaze and his ears alike.

Sun Wukong grinned.

Hoga Jangju's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes flew wide, as if they might split at the corners.

The blade of circumstance aimed at Jo Hae began to gleam.

Damning details surfaced against him, one after another.

"Look here. Did the Branch Leader not visit Manhyangru — which Hoga Manor operates — not once, but twice?"

"I already told you. I went to confirm the enemy and find their weaknesses."

"And who can say what conversation actually took place there?"

"Are you suggesting I went to Manhyangru to be entertained?"

"Is that a confession?"

"How dare you!"

Jo Hae slammed the table, his face flushed crimson. The man across from him did not so much as blink. Branch Leader of Anhui or not, his counterpart was a razor-edged Inspector dispatched from Headquarters.

"There is evidence that a tremendous quantity of gold flowed from Hoga Manor into the Branch Leader's hands."

"Slander. I returned every last coin."

"So the bribes did arrive."

"If the recipient never accepted them, how does that constitute a bribe?"

"There's something I find rather curious. Hoga Manor was an underworld outfit with no connection to information work. For these people to grow powerful enough to rival the Anhui Branch — was that simply Hoga Manor's cunning? Or the Anhui Branch's incompetence?"

"That's because the power behind them—"

"Or perhaps the Branch Leader has been bought?"

"Now see here!"

"We cannot dismiss the suspicion that the Branch Leader has been selling Hao Mun's internal intelligence in exchange for bribes and assorted pleasures from Hoga Manor."

"What are you talking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about? Those were their schemes! I punished every subordinate who took a bribe, and I sent back everything that came to me as well!"

"Everything?"

The Inspector's mouth curled. A flicker of unease crossed Jo Hae's face.

"I don't believe it was everything..."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I understand you pocketed a portion for yourself."

"That's absurd! There isn't a single coin in my possession! I had a subordinate return it all— ah!"

For a fleeting instant, Jo Hae allowed himself a smile of triumph. That wretch had clearly given in to greed. And why wouldn't he? It had been enough gold to make a man's eyes spin.

This actually works in my favor.

Jo Hae spoke with conviction.

"Nothing came back to me. That fellow must have gotten greedy! Of course, I don't claim to be blameless. I will accept the charge of failing to manage my subordinates."

"Hmm. Well. That subordinate — the one with the triangular sparrow-eyes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That's him, yes?"

"...?"

"He came to us himself. Said you told him to skim a portion of the gold and stash it in a separate money house. Sharp fellow, that one. Spent some time as a bandit, I hear — he's got a talent for finding the hole that'll keep him alive. He could see plain as day that he was about to be thrown to the wolves, so he came to us and talked."

"That's a lie!"

Jo Hae slammed the table before he could stop himself.

"And if that were the only problem, we might leave it there. You refused the gold at the front gate — but the wagon carrying that gold was last seen heading for the back door..."

"Those were all returned through an escort agency! I'll summon the man I put in charge of—"

"Hah. Branch Leader. Let's not make this any uglier than it already is."

Jo Hae squeezed his eyes shut.

A Hao Mun Inspector was not an opponent you could talk down with a few well-chosen words.

There's no way out.

He could fight, of course. He could rally the power he had cultivated, push back, and scrap until he bled — it would be ugly, but it would be a fight. He hadn't become Branch Leader for nothing.

But even that was no longer easy. The personal forces loyal to him had already been shattered.

"And just what happened, anyway? Who did you provoke, that more than half the Anhui Branch's fighting strength could be torn apart?"

"..."

"What kind of conflict did you pick with a master capable of attacking the Anhui Branch itself?"

Jo Hae's mouth twitched.

The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven — Sun Wukong. He need only speak that name.

And yet the words would not come. A single question stabbed through his mind.

Was what he wanted me thrashing and clawing to keep this seat? Or did he simply want me dead? Then what was that proposal even for...?

He no longer had the strength to wage an internal war just to hold this position. He had been driven into a genuine dead end.

How did it come to this? How did everything go so wrong? This is all because of Hoga Manor. And the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven — that Sun—!

Jo Hae clutched his head. He had never imagined that every arrangement he had so carefully laid would come to nothing. All of it was Hoga Manor's unexpected rise. No — more precisely, it was because of the man behind Hoga Manor. Sun Wukong. Mystery itself, as if he had sprung from the earth.

If only Hoga Manor hadn't been in that man's hands... if only Hoga Manor... wait.

If only Hoga Manor weren't there.

And if that Hoga Manor...

Were mine?

The proposal Sun Wukong had made so suddenly. A story whose true meaning he had been utterly unable to grasp.

Lightning struck through his mind. He understood, far too late, what Sun Wukong had intended.

When a man is falsely accused and drowned in suspicion, there is only one way out.

Jo Hae arrived at the moment of choice. He knew this decision would mortgage not only himself but the entire Anhui Branch — and still, he had no answer to give but the one Sun Wukong wanted.

The only way. The single hole left to breathe through. Even if that hole was a noose tightening around his throat.

You don't dispel the suspicion. You turn it into the truth.

Jo Hae looked at the Inspector with a face of grim resolve.

"Yes. It's true."

"...Are you confessing?"

"Dealings?"

"A negotiation to bring Hoga Manor under Hao Mun's banner."

"...!"

Jo Hae bit into the poisoned apple Sun Wukong had held out to him.

The oath of loyalty. Hoga Manor had submitted to Hao Mun.

Jo Hae's face, as he received Hoga Jangju's vow, was a blank mask. Beneath it, his insides twisted as if he had swallowed bile. Were it not for the Inspector's gaze at his back, he would have turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"Huh. So it's real."

The Inspector who had hounded Jo Hae without rest muttered in a hollow voice. Hollowness, and alongside it, a rising note of genuine admiration.

"Remarkable, Branch Leader. To actually pull off Hoga Manor's submission..."

"Open war was not an option. This was the path I chose."

"An appropriate path, and an excellent move. I had my doubts at first, but looking at these documents... Hoga Manor truly had its mind set on submitting. That much is the truth."

The Inspector murmured in a tone of wonder. Evidence too solid to deny lay before his eyes. In submitting, Hoga Manor had surrendered every internal secret it possessed — the full roster, the complete scale of its enterprises, everything.

"But you still know nothing of that unidentified master? The one who attacked the Anhui Branch."

"It seems he approached us targeting our core secrets."

"Any leaks?"

"Fortunately, the secrets were kept."

"Well now. With the Righteous Path Grand Assembly so close, losing that much fighting strength was a serious problem — and you solved it by bringing Hoga Manor to heel. Had secrets leaked, it would be another matter. They didn't. This is the Branch Leader's achievement, no question."

The Inspector's eye was sharp. This was an underworld sect vast enough to have competed with a Hao Mun branch until mere days ago. He had not been able to believe Jo Hae's claim of recruiting such a force.

But what sits before my eyes cannot be denied.

He had investigated to the utmost — whether Jo Hae had colluded with Hoga Manor, whether he himself was being deceived. There was no problem. Hoga Manor had truly laid everything it was at Hao Mun's feet. Not a trace of fabrication. This was no trick.

"Headquarters has clearly been undervaluing the Branch Leader's abilities. I'll be honest — when I was sent here, I heard the rumors. A man being pushed back by the underworld, his power waning, so find some pretext and drag him out of his seat."

"..."

"But we had it all wrong. Rivals always appear, and overcoming them is part of a branch's duty. Most of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the time it ends in war — yet the Branch Leader secured a peaceful submission. The Anhui Branch's power has all but doubled overnight. With the Righteous Path Grand Assembly approaching, this is a great achievement! I will report it to Headquarters myself. You need not worry."

"You have my thanks."

Encouragement from an Inspector with a direct line to Headquarters. And still, Jo Hae could not manage a bright expression.

Hoga Manor's submission? This oath of loyalty, here and now?

Jo Hae bit his lip. Behind the bowing Hoga Jangju, at the very back of the room — a pair of golden pupils, watching him, smiling with playful mischief.

The instant their eyes met, Jo Hae understood.

I've put the leash around my own neck.

A fierce terror climbed all the way to his throat.

The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven...

The contest with Hoga Manor had been evenly matched. A single man's return had overturned everything. No gap left to counterattack — he had been caught like an insect in a spider's web, able to do nothing at all. All from the return of just one man.

...Perhaps the only one worth watching at the Righteous Path Grand Assembly in Anhui is a single person.

The corner of Jo Hae's eye trembled.