Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Fall of the Black Wolf Escort Bureau
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"We've confirmed that the Advance Teaching Gang's backer was the Black Wolf Escort Bureau."
"…!"
"Mm…."
"The Black Wolf Escort Bureau, huh…."
The atmosphere in the room grew slightly heavier.
It was due to the considerable pressure carried by those four words.
Black Wolf Escort Bureau.
As the name suggested, they were a gang of unorthodox thugs masquerading as an escort bureau.
'Well, they're quite a large outfit to call them just a gang. And to be fair, they do run an escort business.'
The key point wasn't that they wore the guise of an escort bureau.
"Brother, are these Black Wolf Escort Bureau bastards a big deal?"
Baek Mu-ryang answered Jegal Seon's puzzled question.
"The Black Wolf Escort Bureau—they act as the liaison between the unorthodox gangs in Muju, where Ak-an County is located, little brother."
It was a brief explanation, but Jegal Seon understood immediately.
The Black Wolf Escort Bureau maintained a loose but real bond among them.
In other words, they wielded significant influence over Muju's unorthodox gangs and even served as a central hub.
But.
'That's why I asked Uncle for this.'
The Black Wolf Escort Bureau—bigger fish than expected.
Well, if we're going to use the Jegal Clan card, this is the kind of catch we have to reel in.
'Come to think of it, the Black Wolf Escort Bureau….'
Baek Yang-hui rummaged through his memories of his past life.
There was definitely a side story involving them.
One connected to the Namgung Clan, no less.
Yang-hui's expression darkened slightly.
'We might snatch away a future benefit of the Namgung Clan.'
The reason the Black Wolf Escort Bureau, those unorthodox scum, called themselves an escort bureau was simple.
They did handle escorts, after all.
The problem was that instead of proper goods, they transported people sold into human trafficking.
Moreover, countless people were held captive at their main base, collared like dogs and worked to the bone.
Among them was one person.
Someone who would become a treasure of the Namgung Clan in the future.
'Baek Cheol. That's him. He's definitely at the Black Wolf Escort Bureau right now.'
According to his memories, Baek Cheol was currently living a slave-like existence there alongside his father.
'Perfect timing. A great chance to bring Baek Cheol into the family.'
A chance to turn someone destined to be Namgung Clan's talent into a retainer of his own Baek Clan Manor?
He couldn't pass that up.
Yang-hui raised the corner of his mouth and lifted his hand, shouting.
"Father! I propose we wipe out the Black Wolf Escort Bureau in one fell swoop!"
"Hm? If we could, it would benefit the common folk and our clan alike. But we lack the strength for it."
Unlike the solemn Baek Mu-ryang, Yang-hui's expression was lighthearted.
Jegal Seon followed up with a question, wearing the same casual look.
"Brother, does the Black Wolf Escort Bureau have any peak-level experts?"
"Probably one or so."
"Then we're good."
"Good?"
"Ah, right. You haven't heard what Yang-hui and I discussed yet, Brother."
With those few words, Jegal Seon stunned most of the elders present.
"We'll sweep the Black Wolf Escort Bureau with the guards I brought along."
Knowing full well Baek Mu-ryang's reaction, Yang-hui prepared to cut in first.
'He won't want to rely on sworn brotherhood for favors—if we can't overcome crises with our own power, it'll only harm us. That's what he'll say, right?'
His father, with the spirit of a bamboo stalk, was utterly predictable.
But Yang-hui's thoughts were quite different.
'Father, this isn't crossing any lines. Be generous and let it slide!'
"As expected of Uncle, the Young Clan Leader of the prestigious orthodox Jegal Clan! Rising righteously to exterminate the unorthodox scum who engage in illegal human trafficking and torment the common people!"
Jegal Seon quickly chimed in.
"Indeed! As one who walks the righteous path, how can I stand by and watch scum like the Black Wolf Escort Bureau? This has nothing to do with repaying a debt to Baek Clan Manor!"
Watching the well-orchestrated scene unfold like a proper opera, Baek Mu-ryang couldn't help but smile.
"It's not right to refuse gratitude either. Just this once, both of you."
'Great. Now we can wrap this up quick.'
With permission granted, time to properly play the role of honored guest with full escort.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ten days after the elders' meeting at Baek Clan Manor.
In Gyeun County, neighboring Ak-an County where Baek Clan Manor stood, a large group of martial artists appeared before the Black Wolf Escort Bureau's main base.
Needless to say, they were members of the Jegal Clan, led by Jegal Seon.
"Hui-ya. You insisted on coming all this way. You really plan to fight?"
Standing beside Jegal Seon, Yang-hui nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Uncle. Master commanded me to internalize his teachings through real combat experience. I don't want to miss this opportunity."
It was a lie. He had to come because there was someone to pick up.
Plus, he planned to grab some of the Black Wolf Escort Bureau's wealth and anything else that caught his eye.
"If your master ordered it, no helping it. Even if your martial prowess is beyond your years, you're still a child. Master Umhu must be quite strict."
"He is, rather."
To be precise, very strict.
More like assigning utterly impossible tasks as if they were nothing.
Well, from their first meeting, he'd been thrown into an incomplete Pure Sound Five Senses technique, so that said it all.
"Anyway, if you're set on this, let's go."
A fearsome aura began to rise from Jegal Seon's entire body.
'Come to think of it, this is the first time seeing the Peerless Dragon Jegal Seon in action.'
Yang-hui watched with an intrigued expression.
"Black Wolf Escort Bureau Chief! You dog bastards' leader, show yourself at once!"
Jegal Seon's lion roar made the estate buzz like a disturbed hive, and escorts poured out in droves.
"Which short-lived fool dares to challenge our Bu—"
A steel brush pierced the forehead of the bellowing escort.
The man dropped dead on the spot, and silence fell.
"You unorthodox dog bastards—without permission from this Peerless Dragon, not one of you opens your mouth. Disobey, and you die."
"P-Peerless Dragon…!"
One foolhardy escort who cried out died next.
A Jegal Clan warrior had swiftly closed in and thrust his sword.
Watching, Yang-hui whistled.
'Smooth as silk. I thought Jegal Clan was all about brush and fan techniques. Turns out their signature is swordsmanship?'
The Jegal Clan's representative martial arts numbered three.
Brush technique using a steel brush, fan technique using a fan.
And swordsmanship.
But the famous ones were brush and fan.
As exotic weapon arts, they were widely celebrated among enthusiasts.
'Well, if their swordplay were mediocre, the Little Heavenly Star Sword Technique and Great Heavenly Star Sword Technique wouldn't be renowned.'
In fact, over half the warriors wore swords.
Jegal Seon himself was a swordsman.
"Black Wolf Escort Bureau Chief! Show yourself now, or I'll slaughter every last one of your dog-like underlings!"
Soon, the Bureau Chief appeared.
"Peerless Dragon Jegal Seon, great hero. I am the Bureau Chief of the Black Wolf Escort Bureau…."
Yang-hui quickly interjected from the side.
"I am? Yourself? Uncle, this unorthodox pup dares call himself 'I' before the Young Clan Leader of the great Jegal Clan."
"…This lowly one is Iron Black Wolf, Chief of the Black Wolf Escort Bureau. What brings you all the way here…?"
Even when orthodox factions subjugate unorthodox ones in the name of justice, formalities between sects require justification.
But Jegal Seon's status was too high for chit-chat with such scum, so Yang-hui stepped up.
"Why do you think, pup? We know all about your plot against our Baek Clan Manor."
The fifty-something Chief trembled at being called 'pup' by a boy not even ten.
"Gone senile in your old age? Why the shakes? Oh, do crowds make you embarrassed and tense?"
"…Your tongue runs wild, young master. And plot? I know nothing of it."
Oh, enduring it? Decent patience for unorthodox trash.
"You know nothing, you—"
He almost said 'son of a bitch,' but glanced at Jegal Seon.
His ronin-era habits slipping out—if it reached his father's ears, three hours of disciplinary beatings awaited.
"Ahem, anyway. We've got the ledgers right here."
At Jegal Seon's signal, two warriors brought ledgers and a witness.
The witness was an unorthodox thug who acted as go-between for the Black Wolf Escort Bureau and Advance Teaching Gang.
"They've confessed everything, even tracked the money flow. Still gonna deny it?"
The Bureau Chief realized it was all over.
"I'll admit my bureau acted improperly toward Baek Clan Manor. But why must the Jegal Clan oppress us?!"
It wasn't an entirely unpersuasive argument.
The problem was it could be dismantled easily.
'These bastards all have chicken brains. That's why I prepared another justification.'
"Uncle can take it from here."
Jegal Seon nodded and declared.
"I, Jegal Seon, am not here for Baek Clan Manor's revenge. As a righteous hero of the orthodox path, I've come to exterminate unorthodox scum tormenting the common folk with their villainy."
Ledgers thrown by the warriors pelted the Bureau Chief's head.
All detailing the Escort Bureau's illegal businesses and atrocities, complete with evidence.
"…."
The Chief picked one up, read it, and trembled anew.
What followed was a clean sweep.
Meaning ten peak experts went berserk, turning the main base to ruins.
'Whoa. This is how the Five Great Clans operate—things get done easy.'
The Bureau Chief, a peak expert in his own right?
Jegal Seon beheaded him personally.
Over a hundred escorts?
Half dead, the rest scattered.
They even tore down the estate's plaque for firewood. Thus, the Black Wolf Escort Bureau met its end.
"Uncle, our investigation shows slaves and unjustly captured people in the estate's inner quarters and underground secret chambers."
"I know. I'll handle the remnants. You go check first, Yang-hui. I'll assign two warriors."
Yang-hui searched the base with two peak experts.
At nine years old, commanding two peaks—proper honored guest vibes.
'Damn. This is why you build connections.'
Enjoying it fully, he didn't forget his duty.
This moment was both vengeance and a righteous act.
"Everyone! The Black Wolf Escort Bureau ends today! You're all free—come out!"
In the filthy warehouse interior, children bound in iron chains.
He freed them all.
Liberated women locked in lewdly decorated halls too.
'Baek Cheol should be around here somewhere.'
In his past life, Baek Cheol had slaved here for about a decade until the Namgung Clan rescued him five years from now.
So he had to be here.
He grabbed one rescued woman and asked.
"Any more captives or abductees?"
"None here. Ah, those with special talents are kept in a hidden lair in the back mountain, not here, benefactor."
A separate lair, then.
He headed straight to the back mountain.
A subtly treacherous terrain cradling a basin with a small village.
"You two, inform everyone they're free now. I'll check for anyone unable to move."
"Understood, young master."
He made excuses and went alone to find Baek Cheol.
First stop: the forge at the basin's center.
The two peaks shouting about the bureau's fall caused a stir inside.
'Hm?'
He spotted someone peeking from behind the forge door.
Between boy and youth.
Innocent, timid face.
Yang-hui smiled and spoke.
"Brother, what's your name?"
"Baek Cheol… sir. Um, young hero—what's happening…?"
Watching the timid Baek Cheol, Yang-hui was certain.
'Found you, Divine Craftsman.'
His lips curled up.
'Namgung Clan's Divine Sword, Azure Heaven. In this life, you'll be Baek Clan's treasured blade.'