Chapter 121
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Grand Branch Master Above the Alliance Lord
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo spoke.
“Yong, you should keep your original position.”
It sounded less like a request or a suggestion, and more like a command.
My position is Grand Branch Master of the Martial Alliance’s Dong-ro Branch. In other words, the highest position in the branch.
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo smiled, dazzlingly beautiful.
“If the main headquarters becomes the Dong-ro Branch, then everyone, including me, will be under the Grand Branch Master’s command.”
I wasn't so much shocked or dumbfounded as I was charmed by how annoyingly cute Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was as she said it. Moreover, she was brilliant for even coming up with such an idea.
“Hahahaha! Byeok-gyo!”
“Yes, Yong.”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo beamed.
After hearing her out, I thought for a moment and made my decision.
It was pointless to waste energy arguing and haggling over something like this.
I gently pinched Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's cheek with my thumb and forefinger.
“Byeok-gyo.”
“Yes, Yong.”
She giggled. Usually, when someone’s cheek is pinched, they look a little less attractive, but for some reason, she only became prettier.
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's feelings for me are genuine. Of that, there is no doubt.
And yet, she is a nine-tailed vixen. She seems that way because of her cool-headed intellect. It is also because she is the Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance.
I patted her cheek.
“Do as you wish. It makes no difference to me.”
I’ll only be staying here for a short while before leaving anyway. There’s no need to make a fuss over it.
“Are you granting my request?”
*You little rascal! How is that a request? It’s blackmail,* I swallowed the words.
“Sure.”
After all, to them, I would just be a figurehead Grand Branch Master. But the reputation of the Dong-ro Branch’s Grand Branch Master was something I had earned purely through my own abilities.
The faces of Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, Sang Gang-jo, and So Yang-gun lit up.
“Thank you, Yong!”
“Thank you so much, Grand Branch Master!”
Sang Gang-jo and So Yang-gun shot up from their seats and bowed respectfully.
When I stood up, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo jumped up in surprise.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Is there anything else to discuss?”
“Well, no, but…”
I knew Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo wanted to spend some private time together, but I didn't feel the same.
As I headed for the entrance, everyone followed.
I stopped and asked Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo.
“Keep your evening free tomorrow.”
“Yes! I will!”
Misunderstanding my words, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo replied with the cheerful ring of a nightingale.
I was planning to have a one-on-one duel with Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo tomorrow evening.
I spoke to Sang Gang-jo, who had followed me to the construction site entrance.
“Gang-jo, come with me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Sang Gang-jo, who had been waiting for this moment, answered with a booming voice.
So Yang-gun spoke with an expectant look on his face.
“What about me?”
“Why you?”
“Can’t I come along too?”
“I have no business with you.”
A look of disappointment washed over So Yang-gun’s face.
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo stood a step away, gazing at me as if dazzled.
“You look amazing! It must be the new Grand Branch Master’s uniform!”
Even as I gave her a dumbfounded look, she instructed So Yang-gun.
“Have our uniforms prepared as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
***
In front of the Hwaryongtaewonjang, Sang Gang-jo asked.
“Where are we?”
“There’s someone you need to meet.”
Sang Gang-jo looked at the crooked, crudely made sign and smiled faintly.
“Are they perhaps here?”
The sharp-witted Sang Gang-jo seemed to have guessed from the sign. He must have thought that the elite special members of the Dong-ro Branch were here.
“Yes.”
“When the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union put a bounty of one hundred thousand silver nyang on your head, Grand Branch Master, we expected Dong-ro Hyeon to be in an uproar with all the hunters flocking here, so we made thorough preparations.”
“And what happened?”
“We found it strange that not a single hunter was to be seen, but now I see the members of the Dong-ro Branch took care of everything.”
“It would seem so.”
“In any case, you are truly amazing.”
Go Un-hyo leaped lightly inside and opened the main gate for us.
Jang Ung had allowed Jin Dong, one of the eight vice-lords of the Four Seas Way, and his subordinates to stay here.
Jang Ung had warned Song Ga-hyeon, the leader of the Taewon, to avoid clashing with Jin Dong’s group, but his concern was unfounded.
Song Ga-hyeon and the other Taewons were so quiet that they left no trace when coming or going. Even when staying at the Hwaryongtaewonjang, it was hard to tell if they were there at all.
Moreover, supreme masters like Song Ga-hyeon had aloof personalities and didn't tend to associate with ordinary people.
Jang Ung brought Jin Dong over.
Trailing hesitantly behind Jang Ung, Jin Dong’s face lit up with joy upon seeing me. He ran over and prostrated himself.
“Great Warrior! It has been a long time!”
“Indeed.”
Before leaving for Yueyang, I had told Jin Dong that Sang Gang-jo would arrive in Dong-ro Hyeon in a few days and to wait for him. Then I had vanished, only to return forty days later.
Jin Dong had not yet seen Sang Gang-jo and bowed respectfully to me.
“Great Warrior! Has Third Martial Uncle arrived?”
Jang Ung mentioned that Jin Dong’s group had not left the Hwaryongtaewonjang once.
Upon seeing Jin Dong, Sang Gang-jo understood why I had brought him here.
“Cheongmyeong.”
At the quiet call, Jin Dong looked at Sang Gang-jo in surprise, then flinched in shock.
“Third Martial Uncle!”
“What are you doing here?”
When Jin Dong was at the Qingcheng Sect, his Daoist name was Cheongmyeong.
“*Sob*! Third Martial Uncle!”
The sorrows he had endured all this time came flooding back, and Jin Dong burst into tears.
I spoke to Sang Gang-jo.
“Gang-jo, listen to Jin Dong’s explanation, and help him if you can.”
“Grand Branch Master! What is all this about?”
“Hear it from Jin Dong.”
While Sang Gang-jo and Jin Dong were talking, I quietly stood up and went outside.
Jang Ung asked.
“Will you be going to the Dong-ro Branch?”
“I should.”
As we walked toward the main gate, a sharp voice came from behind.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
There was only one person in the Hwaryongtaewonjang who would speak to me so informally.
Song Ga-hyeon, looking disheveled as if she had just woken up, sauntered over.
“I thought I heard your voice. It really was you, Master.”
Only I could see the glint in her eyes.
With her hair a mess and her clothes untidy, Song Ga-hyeon approached, yawning, and promptly threw herself into my arms.
“Master! It’s good to see you again.”
Then she whispered telepathically.
[I missed you.]
It was the voice of a delicate woman.
*What is this nonsense?*
Before I could push her away, Song Ga-hyeon gently pushed me back and put on a show.
“Master! When do we settle the accounts?”
Just a moment ago she was speaking like a woman, and now she was suddenly acting like a man.
“How many did you kill?”
She was asking how many of the hunters who came to kill me she had killed.
“Eighty-nine.”
How many bounty hunters must have swarmed here for Song Ga-hyeon to have killed eighty-nine of them by herself?
“Ho! Quite a few.”
“Hahaha! I put in some work!”
A deep voice came from somewhere.
“The Team Leader got eighty-seven.”
At the sound of Blood Crow Saber Cheon Jeong-u’s voice, Song Ga-hyeon laughed awkwardly and quickly corrected her number.
“Ahaha! I must have miscounted! That’s right! It was eighty-seven!”
“Team Leader! Is snatching prey a habit of yours? Those two were mine, weren’t they?”
Cheon Jeong-u approached, cupped his fist respectfully, and bowed his head to me.
“Master! It has been a while!”
Following Cheon Jeong-u, Geum Cheong-san, Neung Yu-seong, Namgung Yeong-ho, Gu Bon-gyeong, and the other Taewons all came out, looking disheveled as if they had just woken up.
“Why was everyone asleep?”
“The hunters have all dried up.”
Song Ga-hyeon shouted in a deep voice.
“Attention!”
Led by Song Ga-hyeon, the Taewons lined up in a single row and stood at attention.
“Salute the Master!”
They all cupped their fists and bowed their heads.
“We greet the Master!”
I returned the gesture.
The Taewons’ behavior was both cute and commendable.
“Did you practice this?”
“The Team Leader made us practice.”
Following Namgung Yeong-ho, Neung Yu-seong also tattled.
“If we didn't do it or didn't do it right, the Team Leader would hit us!”
“Did she give you noogies too?”
The Team Leader’s authority pierced the heavens.
As I approached Song Ga-hyeon, she flinched.
I patted Song Ga-hyeon on the shoulder.
“Well done.”
Song Ga-hyeon looked triumphant.
“Ahem-hem!”
I walked toward the main gate.
“Let’s drink tonight.”
The Taewons’ faces lit up with joy.
“Attention!”
Her spirits lifted, Song Ga-hyeon shouted again from behind me.
“Salute the Master!”
“Master! Take care!”
***
When I entered the Dong-ro Branch, everyone stopped what they were doing and paid their respects.
“We greet the Grand Branch Master!”
“We greet Great Warrior Ak!”
The ones who shouted “Grand Branch Master” were members of the Dong-ro Branch, while those who said “Great Warrior Ak” were new recruits.
Under Do Hyeon-tak’s supervision, the paperwork and martial arts assessments for the new recruits were underway.
Do Hyeon-tak ran over.
“Grand Branch Master!”
Having been thoroughly humbled once before, Do Hyeon-tak was a new man.
After Do Hyeon-tak gave his report, I said.
“Prepare the new recruits who wish to have a one-on-one duel with me.”
“Understood!”
An Do-pil, realizing I had arrived, rushed over.
“Is everything going well?”
“Well… a problem has arisen.”
“A new Dong-ro magistrate has been appointed.”
“How did you know?”
I figured that if An Do-pil said a problem had arisen, that could be the only reason.
The population of Dong-ro Hyeon, which used to be thirty-five thousand, was now approaching half a million. The Imperial Palace must have begun to see its importance and sent a capable new magistrate.
“Is the new magistrate causing trouble?”
“They’re picking a fight, saying we were negligent when the new magistrate was appointed.”
“And what should we have done to not be negligent?”
“They say the Dong-ro Branch didn’t come to pay respects, and the local dignitaries didn't hold a celebratory banquet for his appointment. Also, according to the magistrate’s aide, he’s angry because we didn’t offer a bribe to celebrate his appointment.”
“What a piece of trash.”
Jang Ung chimed in.
“I didn't go to greet the new magistrate either.”
Currently, the only dignitaries in Dong-ro Hyeon were the Dong-ro Branch, the Peerless Sect, and the Crouching Dragon Group—all three of which were essentially under my command.
An Do-pil said anxiously.
“Should we pay our respects now, even if it’s late?”
“Nonsense!”
An Do-pil’s face fell.
“Since the new magistrate’s appointment, he has suspended our joint efforts to maintain public order in Dong-ro Hyeon. Currently, hundreds, even thousands of incidents and accidents are occurring within Dong-ro Hyeon every day.”
“Let it be.”
If the new magistrate thought he could manage a city of over half a million people without the Dong-ro Branch’s help, he would be sweating blood.
Let’s see how long he lasts. He’ll come crawling back on his own, begging for forgiveness.
Do Hyeon-tak earnestly requested, no, pleaded.
“Grand Branch Master, please forgive Mak Pyo just this once. That man deeply regrets what he has done.”
Mak Pyo had been the general manager of the Martial Alliance’s Hangzhou branch. He had challenged Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo and me, got both his legs broken, and was subsequently kicked out.
In my view, Mak Pyo was rotten from the start.
“You can’t fix people.”
That was a lesson learned from experience since childhood. An evil person can never become good. Just as a rag is still a rag, no matter how much you wash it.
Do Hyeon-tak wanted to somehow save Mak Pyo, whom he had cherished as his right-hand man for over a decade.
“For my sake, please give him one more chance.”
“For your sake, you say?”
“Yes.”
“If Mak Pyo disappoints again, will you take responsibility?”
“What?”
“I’ll kick you both out.”
“Ugh!”
Do Hyeon-tak’s face grew grim.
“Do you still wish to give Mak Pyo a chance?”
“Yes.”
I was pleased with Do Hyeon-tak’s decision.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Thank you!”
If Do Hyeon-tak had abandoned Mak Pyo to avoid taking responsibility, he would have disappointed me.