Chapter 86 Jinju Eon-ga (4)

Chapter 86 Jinju Eon-ga (4)

“Agh, ugh, you demonic bastard…….”

Even breathing seemed agonizing. After wheezing for a long while, Eonyang-gun finally managed to utter a single sentence.

Swallowing saliva felt like tasting hell itself. It was as if a plow were being dragged through his throat.

That wasn’t to say any other part of him was intact.

From his limbs to his bones and muscles, down to his dantian.

Even if he lucked out and survived here, could he still function as a human?

His martial path was as good as over; there was no going back. He might end up dragged around like a monster in some traveling troupe.

That misery seemed to melt away Un-ga’s mind. Better to die than live like that.

If only he had a dagger, if only his hand could move, he wanted to plunge it into his own chest.

But he couldn’t even do that.

‘Can I not even uphold a warrior’s pride?!’

Yongyang-gun could no longer maintain the dignity of a warrior. Hot tears streamed from his eyes.

“Cowardly…!”

“……”

But Gu Yangjeok merely looked down at Unyanggun with a cold gaze.

“Do you truly think it cowardly?”

“If you’re going to mock me, then just kill me…!”

“How ridiculous.”

Watching Gu Yangjeok speak thus, Unyanggun realized he wasn’t saying it to mock or instill despair.

“If you had come to the Huashan Sect and successfully exterminated it, what deeds would you have committed? Have you ever considered that?”

“…….”

“Stealing the secret manuals, torturing the core disciples or junior disciples to extract the Guishan Martial Arts… That’s the common fate of exterminated sects. Am I not right?”

“You… bastard!”

“How shameless. Treating others by the law of the strong, yet calling it cowardice when it happens to you. How conveniently you think.”

Gu Yangjie did not defend himself. He wasn’t that sort of person to begin with, and he didn’t consider himself good.

Survive.

In his past life, everything was geared solely toward that. That’s why life was so filthy. He was prepared to die, and even the moment of approaching it was miserable.

Gu Yangji’s gaze turned toward Yunyangjun.

‘The me of my past life and that bastard now aren’t so different, are they?’

A life spent fleeing, vowing to succeed and return after despising the declining Huashan Sect, only to come back stronger and destroy it.

A life spent shouting “Respect the Strong” all his days, only to be killed by that very principle, deemed cowardly.

There was no difference between the two. That thought amused Gu Yangjeok, and he laughed hollowly.

“…Haha, hahahaha…”

“What’s so funny, you bastard!”

Even as blood phlegm spurted incessantly from his mouth, Yunyang Jun shot a venomous glare.

Call it resentment, or despair. The moment his ambition to finally escape Hebei and conquer the Central Plains was crushed, revealing anything more would have been pointless.

Gu Yangji murmured softly to Yunyang Jun.

“Once, I thought this: After breathing, winning is the most important thing. To win, means and methods don’t matter…”

Was this something one who used gunpowder should say?

Yeyang-gun erupted in fury.

“You dare to insult me to the very end!”

“……Of course, I still think winning is important. But, but you see. Having nearly died once, I understand now.

”

Gyu Yang-jeok reflected on all the tragedies he had endured in his past life, his expression bitter.

“How you die, and what you pursued while living. That’s what matters more.”

Unyanggun’s lips trembled faintly, then twisted.

“……Damn it.”

With those words, Unyanggun’s breath ceased. The very fact he could make a sound at all was likely due to a lifetime of cultivation.

Gu Yangjeok gazed down at Unyanggun’s body, then closed his eyes absently.

“Cheolpunggae, are you there?”

“Why?”

“At least see to it that his body is properly entombed at the Jinju Yenga.”

“……”

Cheolpunggae hesitated for a moment before answering with difficulty.

“I will.”

“Thank you.”

Gu Yangjeok’s gaze shifted from Unyanggun to the sky.

* * *

The Jinju family’s fortune collapsed overnight!

This news sent shockwaves through the entire martial world. It was utterly unexpected.

Lord Eonyang, who had always acted with such caution, was suddenly found dead.

Neither the cause of death nor who killed him was revealed. Above all, the Jinju Eon Family was extremely reluctant to disclose anything.

They merely said it was an unexplained death. Anyone who knew Lord Eonyang’s usual temperament couldn’t help but frown.

But that wasn’t all.

“…It seems Lord Eonyang wasn’t the only one who died?”

After that day, the Jinju Yunga’s internal and external activities decreased significantly. There were no more displays of force, which had been an annual event, and they wouldn’t even let merchants inside their gates.

Therefore, people unconsciously assumed the Yunga’s warriors were dying off. It wasn’t particularly surprising.

The decline of martial clans that ruled by force often began that way.

After that, things proceeded quietly, unnoticed by anyone.

The Open Sect, the Hebei Pang Clan, and eventually even the Black Path, which had long coveted the Jin Zhu Yan Clan.

As each grasped a corner of the foundation and shook it, the grains of sand forming the roof began to fall, one by one.

The martial arts, the wealth, even the well-built blood relatives the Jin Zhu Yan Clan possessed.

They devoured it all voraciously.

A faint pang of pity wasn’t entirely absent, but it was but a speck. Conversely, other emotions were present.

‘What the hell were they thinking, doing such idiotic things? Tsk.’

‘From now on, there will be no sect in Hebei that can compare to our main branch!’

It was a whirlpool born of greed. Thus, the Jin Zhu Yan Clan’s annihilation left its influence rippling throughout the entire martial world.

Within that turmoil, the Five Great Families, who had been close to the Jin Zhu Yan Clan, clicked their tongues in dismay. The remaining sects and martial clans, while appearing indifferent, secretly rejoiced.

Among them, the Beggar Sect.

The Beggar Sect’s leader, Tian Wa Gai, was in private discussion with Che Feng Gai, deliberately delaying his response.

“We must give the Huashan Sect appropriate compensation…?”

“Yes. Because the Huashan Sect’s contribution to this matter was significant.”

At those words, Tianwagai let out a peculiar smile.

“I heard from your subordinate that it was accomplished alone, was it not?”

“I’m not quite sure what you mean.”

“You were the one who detonated the explosives, and you were the one who predicted Jin Zhu Yuen would head that way. How could the Huashan Sect possibly have been involved?”

“……”

Cheolpunggae hesitated briefly before answering. He had never mentioned Gu Yangjeok’s existence to his superiors until now.

But what if Cheonwaga already knew?

‘Damn it, let’s just calmly turn around and leave for now.’

Cheolpunggae carefully chose his words before letting out a subtle, hollow laugh.

“The gunpowder came from the Shaanxi branch, didn’t it? We’d agreed to manage it together with Huasan, yet I took it out without any prior arrangement. It’s obvious this connects to the current incident, isn’t it?”

“What if I say it wasn’t me?”

Cheonwaga grinned. But that smile felt like it pierced right through his own thoughts, making Cheolpunggae’s shoulders slump.

“If the beggar says it wasn’t the leader beggar who took it freely, who’s going to believe that…?”

“I’m saying it wasn’t me. Do you think the other sects will just sit back? Most of them are just licking the backdoor of the Beggar Sect, aren’t they?“

Cheonwagae offered Cheolpunggae a cup of tea and continued.

”Hey, you little beggar. When more than one guy teases you, even a street storyteller gets intimidated. Especially in the martial world, which is the Beggar Sect’s turf.”

“But.”

“What if we plant someone in the gunpowder storehouse right now? Think about it—doesn’t that make your mouth water even more?”

“…….”

“Why make things so complicated when all it takes is a few beggars clapping their mouths together? Or… is there something else?”

The more he listened, the more unsettling it became. Cheolpoong-gae looked up at Cheonwagae, tense as a bowstring.

He was the pinnacle of the martial world.

A giant with the power to turn scrap metal into a legendary sword and throw the martial world into chaos.

Yet he never wielded that power, content to remain a mediator in the background.

The problem was, his silence wasn’t out of kindness. He remained quiet only to manipulate the martial world’s balance to his own ends.

Cheolpunggae watched Cheonwagae’s smile and twitched one side of his lip.

‘Trying to hide anything from that old codger is exhausting in itself…’

He felt like grabbing him by the collar and demanding answers right then and there.

To tell him everything he’d done up to now, to ask if he hadn’t left any ambiguous corners during the Shaanxi Three Evils incident, to tell him he knew everything.

Cheolpunggae broached the subject subtly.

“What difference would it make if I said there was?”

At those words, Cheonwaga’s gaze sharpened.

“It would make a big difference.”

He was a broad-minded sect leader who could get along with anyone without pretense, but this matter was different.

Sect against sect.

It was a realm Cheolpunggae could never shoulder alone.

But Cheolpunggae had made up his mind.

Though his registration was with the sect, he wanted to scheme with that youngster, Gu Yangjeok. If he did that, at least it wouldn’t be boring.

Thus, Cheolpoongae broached the topic he’d been mulling over since that night.

“The Golden Ring Trading Company… Have you heard of them?”

“Oh, I know them. Lately, even our headquarters guys have been eating a lot of their food.”

“The ones who moved the gunpowder were them.”

Cheonwagae’s expression changed abruptly.

“…This is awkward.”

“One must not harm those who feed you first.”

Cheolpoonggae murmured one of the few laws of the Open Sect in a low voice.

With that, Cheonwagae vaguely understood.

The reason Geumhwan Trading Company frequently came and went in this area.

“You… someone who should know better…”

“Chief Beggar, I have one request. “

Thud!

Cheolpunggae knelt and pleaded.

”Please help this beggar keep his word.“

”…….”

Cheonwaggae ended his hesitation in an instant.

After all, the Hwasanpa had never once touched the Gaebang’s food bowl. They also owed a small debt regarding the Shinmakwon incident.

Moreover, Cheolpoonggae had invoked ‘loyalty’.

As a beggar belonging to the Open Sect, it was the banner he must uphold and his last shred of pride.

“…Brat.”

Cheonwaga chuckled softly.

“Fine, do as you please.”

Cheolpoonggae exhaled a sigh of relief.

* * *

Swoosh!

Gu Yangjie, having sliced through the signboard, stepped inside and declared.

“Zhongwan Gatekeeper, Shangyuan Jie, come out quickly.”

“…Gasp!”

As if suddenly grasping the situation, Shangyuan Jie trembled on the floor, begging for mercy.

But Gu Yangjie didn’t hesitate. No, it wasn’t even worth considering.

Splash!

A stream of blood gushed from where the sword had passed.