The Mad Dog's Father
The next morning.
Jang Muhwi stepped out of the Qinghai Branch.
Wang Jimak and Galmu-ryang watched him leave with worried eyes.
Wang Jimak had asked no questions and granted him full authority.
He had even prepared a formal document granting the Murim Alliance’s complete jurisdiction over the Jangryong Merchant Group.
With concern still lingering in his gaze, Wang Jimak pulled out a pouch of coins.
“Take this with you.”
“There’s really no need for…”
The pouch had already disappeared into Jang Muhwi’s robes.
“You’re quick on the uptake.”
“I’ll handle this matter swiftly as well.”
“Haste makes waste, you know. Always think things through carefully.”
“Thank you for the advice, Branch Chief.”
“And if it gets too difficult, pull out anytime. Remember, you’re not alone in this. I’ll look after this fellow while you’re gone.”
Wang Jimak cast a pitying look at Galmu-ryang.
Receiving the gaze, Galmu-ryang awkwardly scratched the back of his head with one hand.
To anyone watching, he looked exactly like a one-armed man.
Galmu-ryang was faithfully following Jang Muhwi’s advice to stop caring about others’ stares.
With everyone’s eyes on him, Jang Muhwi finally turned and walked away.
The fortunate part was that his destination wasn’t far.
Still, since it was his first time heading there, he needed a rough map.
Walking at a leisurely pace, Jang Muhwi unfolded the map.
There, clearly marked, was his target.
‘The Ma Family.’
The massive merchant group Jang Muhwi planned to target was the Ma Family’s.
The Ma Family held roughly thirty percent of Qinghai’s commercial rights—a true powerhouse among the great clans.
There wasn’t a soul in Qinghai who didn’t know the Maga Merchant Group.
“I wonder if Ma Uiryong is doing well?”
Jang Muhwi quietly turned his head and gazed in the direction of the Ma Family estate.
At the same time.
The Ma Family estate was as quiet as the calm before a storm.
The retainers had already sensed the incoming tempest and discreetly made themselves scarce.
Only the chief steward and a handful of core executives remained inside the patriarch’s hall.
The situation had begun the moment Patriarch Ma Jung-hyeop made his appearance.
Having finished his closed-door training, Ma Jung-hyeop had immediately looked for his son—only to find that Ma Uiryong hadn’t shown even the tip of his nose.
It turned out the boy hadn’t come home in over a month.
Ma Jung-hyeop had summoned the leader of the martial unit that accompanied his son and demanded a report.
What truly ignited his fury was the content of that very report.
It was clearly filled with lies from beginning to end.
Ma Jung-hyeop knew his own son.
The boy was not someone who could be beaten by just anyone.
Yet the report painted the exact opposite picture.
It was obvious the unit leader had been coerced into writing a false account.
Using the report as reference, Ma Jung-hyeop reconstructed the events.
The document claimed Ma Uiryong had gone to the Jang Family and acted tyrannically.
But everything after that was fabricated.
Ma Uiryong had dragged out the Jang Family’s youngest member.
After that, the boy’s whereabouts were unknown—whether dead or alive, no one could say.
That was the true sequence of events Ma Jung-hyeop had pieced together.
He slammed the report onto the table.
Thud!
Then he glared at Ma Mun-gang, leader of the Maryongdae.
“Is this true? You went with him, so you should know better than anyone.”
“Well… that is…”
Ma Mun-gang trailed off.
Right now, he felt like he was going insane.
It was true he had followed to monitor Ma Uiryong.
His mission had been to prevent the boy’s rampage.
Yet the situation had completely flipped.
Ma Uiryong had been the one defeated instead.
Such a thing should have been impossible.
Ma Mun-gang had written the report based on facts.
But Ma Jung-hyeop refused to listen to a single word.
In Ma Mun-gang’s eyes, it was truly a case of like father, like son.
Another roar thundered through the hall.
“Why isn’t that bastard coming out?!”
“He said he needed to organize his enlightenment and locked himself in the training room.”
“Enlightenment? Hah!”
Ma Jung-hyeop looked at Ma Mun-gang with utter disbelief.
Ma Mun-gang quietly lowered his head.
In truth, Ma Jung-hyeop had every right to be furious.
More than a month had passed since his son disappeared.
Of course, no one had actually searched for him.
Worrying about Ma Uiryong would have been a luxury.
It was like a wolf leaving the house and a puppy worrying about it—completely backwards.
After finally tracking him down through inquiries, Ma Uiryong had returned home only to immediately lock himself in the training room.
It was exactly the same behavior he showed whenever he caused trouble outside.
Ma Mun-gang was just as curious about what the boy had done.
But right now, he couldn’t utter a single word.
The atmosphere inside the patriarch’s hall was so cold it felt like icicles might form at any moment.
That was when it happened.
The doors to the patriarch’s hall slowly opened.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned toward the entrance.
There stood Ma Uiryong, looking at them as if nothing had happened.
After glancing around, he walked forward at a leisurely pace.
Stopping before his father, Ma Uiryong bowed deeply.
“Have you been well, Father?”
“Do I look well to you?! Where have you been all this time?!”
“That is…”
Ma Uiryong opened his mouth, then stopped.
He had suddenly remembered his promise to Jang Muhwi.
The mission he had carried out with Jang Muhwi was classified.
Even though this was his father, he could not speak of it.
But Ma Uiryong himself wasn’t sure where the line between secret and not-secret began.
He also decided it would be best not to mention the beggar old man or the violent woman he had met at the mountain hut.
Once he made that decision, he had nothing left to say.
The most important secret of all was, of course, Jang Muhwi’s existence.
Watching his son’s lips move without sound, deep wrinkles formed on Ma Jung-hyeop’s forehead.
“You little…”
“I’m sorry. This is a promise I made with Big Brother, so…”
“Big Brother? That must be a secret too, I suppose.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Fine. Enough talk. Show me the results of this so-called enlightenment of yours.”
With those words, Ma Jung-hyeop picked up his black spear.
Then he tilted his head in confusion.
His son’s reaction was far too strange.
Normally, the boy would flinch in fear the moment he saw the spear.
Yet right now, Ma Uiryong didn’t even blink.
His doubts ended there.
Ma Jung-hyeop decided he would beat the truth out of him if necessary.
The moment he gripped his spear, the Ma Family executives all cleared the center of the hall at once.
They pushed tables and furniture into the corners, then stood in front of the fragile porcelain vases, shielding them with their bodies.
After that, everyone let out a collective sigh.
They were certain Ma Uiryong would not escape unscathed.
The real problem would come afterward.
If the young patriarch was being punished, the rest of the household could hardly expect to be spared.
In the midst of it all, the executives were curious about this “Big Brother” figure.
After all, the arrogant Ma Uiryong had never once called anyone his Big Brother before.
Standing before Ma Jung-hyeop, Ma Uiryong drew a silver short spear from behind his back.
Instantly, murmurs broke out across the hall.
They had thought it was a short spear, but its appearance was slightly off.
Judging by its thickness, it looked more like an iron cudgel.
“I’m ready, Father.”
“Good. Let’s begin.”
Seeing his son take his stance, Ma Jung-hyeop tilted his head once more.
Ma Uiryong’s aura had changed from before.
Come to think of it, even his speech had become slightly more refined.
He had always feared his father, but he had never been this polite.
Still, such minor changes were not enough to earn forgiveness.
“Ma Family Single Spear!”
Ma Jung-hyeop’s black spear shot forward in a straight line.
Ma Uiryong blocked the incoming thrust.
But Ma Jung-hyeop’s technique immediately changed.
“Ma Spear Flowing Flash!”
Ma Spear Flowing Flash was a technique that shot forward in a straight line before curving elegantly.
Though described as elegant, it carried the ferocity of a venomous snake striking its prey.
It was a basic form of the Ma Family spear technique, but when Ma Jung-hyeop used it, it felt like a dragon clutching a jewel was descending upon them.
Everyone squinted their eyes, expecting the beating to begin in earnest.
At that moment, Ma Uiryong shouted the name of his technique.
“Ma Family Chaotic Spear!”
In an instant, Ma Uiryong’s iron staff moved with dazzling speed, blocking every single one of his father’s strikes.
Clang. Clang.
The continuous ring of clashing weapons echoed through the hall.
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
Ma Jung-hyeop was just as shocked.
Even though it had been only one exchange, he was not blind to the change in his son.
He stopped his spear.
Then he looked at the chief steward.
“Bring some tea.”
“Understood, Patriarch.”
The white-haired steward quickly disappeared somewhere.
A short while later.
Ma Jung-hyeop and Ma Uiryong sat facing each other in the now-empty patriarch’s hall, a teacup placed between them.
“A human tongue is treacherous and can deceive others, but the spear of the Ma Family never lies. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I understand.”
“There is not a trace of falsehood in your spear. The same goes for your enlightenment. What exactly happened?”
“That… I cannot tell you because of my promise with Big Brother.”
Ma Uiryong slightly lowered his head.
Seeing this, Ma Jung-hyeop picked up his teacup.
He still had no idea what had happened to his son.
However, he decided not to press any further.
What he felt while looking at his son’s face was the word “loyalty.”
Had that rascal ever shown such an emotion before?
He had no allies—only enemies all around him.
Looking more closely, even his son’s face seemed to have changed somewhat.
The tyrannical aura had vanished, replaced by a slightly gentler, more refined atmosphere.
Ma Jung-hyeop decided to ask just one final question.
“What happened to the Jang Family’s youngest member?”
“That is…”
Ma Uiryong trailed off again.
Jang Muhwi’s existence was the greatest secret of all. How could he possibly speak of it?
Ma Jung-hyeop emptied his cup in one gulp.
“As long as you didn’t kill him, it’s fine.”
“Yes. I absolutely did not harm him.”
“I’ll trust you. Now, tell me about this enlightenment of yours.”
“That I can speak of. During this journey, I realized that above the heavens, there are yet more heavens.”
“And the one who taught you that must be this Big Brother of yours.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Allow me to pour you more tea.”
Ma Uiryong quietly lifted the teapot.
Ma Jung-hyeop was genuinely surprised by the sight.
In the martial world, one could gauge the depth of a person’s manners by how they poured tea.
Yet Ma Uiryong’s movements were completely free of unnecessary flourishes.
There was even a sense of elegance that had never been there before.
If Ma Uiryong knew what his father was thinking, he would have been shocked.
After all, these movements had been beaten into him by Pajuk Seonsaeng.
That was when it happened.
The doors to the patriarch’s hall opened once more.
A guard warrior cautiously approached the patriarch.
“Patriarch, a guest has arrived looking for the young master.”
“A guest looking for Uiryong, you say?”
“Yes. He did not give his name, but said that if I mentioned he was a colleague from the west, the young master would understand.”
“From the west?”
At that moment, Ma Uiryong shot up from his seat.
“It’s Big Brother.”
“Big Brother?”
Ma Jung-hyeop also sprang to his feet.
In the spot where the father and son had vanished like the wind, only the guard warrior remained, standing there in a daze.
Jang Muhwi stood before the main gate of the Ma Family estate, gazing at the signboard.
There were no suitable inns nearby.
So instead, he had chosen to quietly call Ma Uiryong out.
Once he had quietly summoned Ma Uiryong, he could meet the Ma Family patriarch once dawn broke.
His choice to target the Maga Merchant Group was not because of Ma Uiryong.
Among all the major merchant groups, none were as clean as the Maga Merchant Group.
If one were to shake them out on a rainy day, some dust might fly, but among Qinghai’s merchant groups, they were by far the cleanest.
There was an old saying in the merchant world: if you want to see the true nature of a company, look at its ledgers first.
The Maga Merchant Group was the most suitable choice for handling the Jangryong Merchant Group’s affairs.
However, no matter how clean they were, that did not mean they lacked ambition.
A clan as powerful as the Ma Family had more than enough strength to swallow the opportunity Jang Muhwi brought rather than share it fairly.
That was why it was crucial to divide the table equally with the Ma Family.
And to do that, the most important question was how to persuade the Ma Family patriarch.
Of course, Jang Muhwi had prepared several schemes.
If he ran into difficulties, he planned to open the silk pouches he carried one by one.
While Jang Muhwi stood with his arms crossed, waiting.
He sensed movement beyond the gate.
Jang Muhwi carefully peered through the slightly opened door.
Ma Uiryong was running toward him.
But he was not alone.
Behind him, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the patriarch was running alongside him.
Seeing them, Jang Muhwi muttered to himself.
“That’s a bit too fast.”