Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 222 : Turning a Blind Eye (1)

Son Muk sat down in a chair and immediately drank water. After calming himself down, Son Muk bowed his head with a sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"No."

Since Namgung Min had already received the report, he knew about the matter between Son Muk and Jin Sa-wol. Although it was a big mistake not to have brought the Hao Faction Master, a mistake could be made up for.

"I've received the report, but what happened?"

He was telling him to talk about things that were not in the report.

Son Muk opened his mouth calmly.

"I tried to bring the Hao Faction Master as planned, but I failed due to Jin Sa-wol's interference. It's my fault. His martial arts were unexpectedly high, so I couldn't achieve my goal. If it had gone as planned, I could have resolved the grudge of the Jongnam Sect and put pressure on the Demonic Cult..."

Son Muk had planned to hold the Hao Faction responsible for the annihilation of the Jongnam Sect, imprison the master, and absorb a part of the Hao Faction.

Naturally, the Hao Faction Master had to be a person of the Martial Alliance.

The Hao Faction, which had the color of the orthodox sect, would naturally have an internal division. If there was no head and the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult intervened, it was bound to be torn apart.

If they absorbed a part of the Hao Faction, the Martial Alliance could obtain a much better information power than now.

Namgung Min was in favor of Son Muk's plan.

Son Muk might think it was in the middle of right and wrong, but in Namgung Min's view, the Hao Faction was just an evil sect.

Human traffickers and slave traders were especially targets for subjugation.

"You take care of the problem between the Hao Faction Master and Jin Sa-wol. If his martial arts are high, there's no need to clash recklessly. Coax him gently and take the profit. If it's true that the Hao Faction has severed ties with the Demonic Cult, they will side with the Martial Alliance. Won't they need help? Take what you can take and then discuss the grudge."

"I will keep that in mind."

Son Muk answered, thinking that Namgung Min's story was not wrong.

Namgung Min stroked his beard and showed a smile. The matter of the Hao Faction Master was a mistake, but there were many other good things.

"Thanks to you, we were able to expose the spies of the Demonic Cult and the Hao Faction who had infiltrated the alliance, so this is a very good thing for the alliance. Don't take the matter of the Hao Faction Master too much to heart."

"Yes."

Son Muk answered perfunctorily. Right now, Namgung Min's praise did not enter his ears. He looked to be in deep thought.

Now he had to retreat and change his plan. Son Muk stood up from his seat as if he had thought of something.

"I will go to the inn."

"Do so."

Namgung Min showed a smile, and Son Muk hurriedly went outside.

"Did he reveal his martial arts?"

Namgung Min muttered and shook his head. The most talked-about incident in the martial world right now was the appearance of the Demonic Cult Leader. And Jin Sa-wol's martial prowess was a hot topic.

A rumor had spread in the Martial Alliance that the Sword Wind Hall had been played by Jin Sa-wol.

Because hundreds of people could not properly face even one person, a flaw had appeared in the reputation of the Martial Alliance, and there was also talk that they had to take revenge.

But the Martial Alliance did not move without a just cause.

No one among the Sword Wind Hall members had lost their lives, and it was the Martial Alliance that had provoked Jin Sa-wol.

Since the responsibility for the defeat was on the Martial Alliance, they could not attack Jin Sa-wol.

With a presence, a young man in his early thirties came in and prostrated himself.

"I am Gung Tae-yeong."

He, with sharp eyes, a high nose, and an angular jaw, was a man with a prayer like a solid rock.

"How is the Shadowless Division?"

"They are useful."

"Go to the inn and observe Jin Sa-wol."

"Is it that incident?"

"Yes. Song Mu-pung, who was investigating, died."

"As you command."

Gung Tae-yeong answered, stood up, and quietly disappeared.

Namgung Min did not have much regret for Seok Jeong-bi or Buk Myeong-woo, who had died at the inn at the hands of the God of Death.

But Song Mu-pung was different. He was a disciple of the Huashan Sect and a person he had thought of as Namgung Ji's husband.

He could not stand by when his loyal subordinate had died. And one of the things Song Mu-pung was investigating was the death of his own son, Namgung Yu.

He had called Gung Tae-yeong because Song Mu-pung had died before he had even received a proper report.

Gung Tae-yeong had trained in martial arts at the Loyalty Sword Sect since he was young and was one of the disciples he had taught himself.

***

Jin Sa-wol, who was trying to enter the inn with a carriage, frowned as the warriors of the Martial Alliance blocked the entrance of the inn.

"This place is managed by the Martial Alliance. No one can enter, so go back."

"It's my house, but it feels like a branch of the Martial Alliance, not my house."

Jin Sa-wol said to the warriors of the Guguang branch of the Martial Alliance who were blocking the road.

"I am the owner here. Will you please move out of the way?"

At the word 'owner', the warriors looked at each other's faces as if they were flustered.

"I am Jin Sa-wol."

As Jin Sa-wol revealed his name, the warriors finally hurried inside. A short while later, Namgung Ji came running out in a flurry.

"Brother!"

The ones who reacted to Namgung Ji's voice were Jo Geom-ok and Seo Mun-ryeon, who were in the carriage.

"Hurry up and open the way."

At her command, the guards opened the way. Namgung Ji got on the driver's seat of the carriage and, sitting next to Jin Sa-wol, said.

"It's because the security has been strengthened. The new warriors didn't recognize your face, so please understand."

"It seems a lot has happened while I was away."

The fact that the security had been strengthened meant that there was a problem.

Namgung Ji drove the carriage into the inn and answered.

"Don't even mention it. A crazy strange rumor has spread in the martial world, so thieves come over the wall every other day. They say the Thousand Gold Vault, which is full of the gold and silver treasures and legendary secret manuals that the former Alliance Leader collected throughout his life, is here. Who on earth spread such a rumor?"

Since Jin Sa-wol had heard the rumor, he had suspected several places.

"Because of that rumor, the security has been strengthened."

"It wasn't us."

Seo Mun-ryeon, who had heard Namgung Ji's story in the carriage, said.

Jin Sa-wol ignored her words.

As the carriage stopped in front of the guest room, Jin Sa-wol, who had gotten off the carriage, walked side by side with Namgung Ji.

Seo Mun-ryeon and Jo Geom-ok walked slowly, shoulder to shoulder. Mae Gang-hwa had gone to the Guguang branch, and Cheonggeom and Geumdo had gone with Mae Gang-hwa.

Jin Sa-wol walked to his residence in the Golden Garden and asked.

"What about General Manager Bi and Sister Jo?"

"Not yet. I heard they will arrive in a few days. But you came earlier than expected."

"Something happened in the middle."

Although it was a matter of Seo Mun-ryeon and the Hao Faction, there was no need to tell Namgung Ji.

"It's a good thing you came early. Thieves had been coming in until two days ago. The guards subdued the guys who were trying to open the safe, but three guards died and five were injured. They were pretty skilled guys."

"It seems they were not ordinary people."

"There were a total of six thieves. Three of the thieves also died, and three were injured."

"Where are the injured ones?"

"They all died this morning."

They were the enemies who had killed their own colleagues, so there was no reason for the warriors of the Martial Alliance to treat the injured thieves.

Jin Sa-wol, who had passed the wall of the Golden Garden and had entered the place with a large house, sat down in the tea room.

The room was clean and looked as if it were cleaned every day.

Namgung Ji prepared tea and said.

"I heard you gained a great reputation in the Demonic Cult. Demonic Sword Ghost? The nickname is a bit scary, but people seem to like it quite a bit."

"The rumor is fast."

"They say you also fought with Son Muk, the Martial Arts Garden Master of the Martial Alliance, and the Sword Wind Hall."

As Namgung Ji mentioned Son Muk, Jin Sa-wol nodded as if he were surprised.

"You know that story too?"

"The rumor has already spread in the martial world. That you played with the Sword Wind Hall, that the Sword Wind Hall picked a fight first, so it was their own fault, that you flattened the noses of the high-nosed guys, and so on. There are many different stories. Especially, the rumor that Wonju Son, the Martial Arts Garden Master, was humiliated seems to have spread quickly. Wonju Son is a person who is currently on a roll in the Martial Alliance. They're making a fuss that you've caught Wonju Son's ankle."

At Namgung Ji's story, Jin Sa-wol showed no particular reaction.

Namgung Ji changed the subject and said.

"There's another problem besides the thieves."

"Another problem?"

"It's a serious problem."

"I'm curious. Seeing you say that, it seems like a big problem."

As Jin Sa-wol's expression changed, Namgung Ji sang like a sparrow.

"After General Manager Bi left the inn, people from the Jo family came to the inn and threatened to hand over the inn and the land, as if they had heard the news. They say the original owner of the inn was Jo Han-yu, and since they are his descendants, the ownership of the inn is also theirs."

As Jin Sa-wol's expression hardened, Namgung Ji poured hot tea.

"I think it's because of the rumor that has spread in the martial world. Since they can't openly say that they are the owners of the Thousand Gold Vault, aren't they asking for the inn?"

"They must have thought they could get at least a part of it if they claimed so."

Jin Sa-wol said with an indifferent face and then drank his tea.

He had known that the Jo family had no greed for the Thousand Gold Vault. But as the rumor spread and the Thousand Gold Vault became known, did a greed that had not existed before arise?

They say other people's rice cakes look bigger. It was certainly possible.

Jo Han-yu had made three safes in the world, and there were the Thousand Gold Vault of the inn and the Present Gold Safe of the Jo family, and the whereabouts of the remaining one, the Human Gold Safe, were unknown.

Namgung Min, the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, was looking for the Human Gold Safe, but he had not heard that he had found it yet.

"Does the Jo family come often?"

"They come once every two or three days. Come to think of it, thieves always came in after the Jo family had visited."

"Aren't you being too obvious in your suspicion?"

"That's how I see it. It seems the Jo family is the source of the rumor and the mastermind behind sending the thieves here. That's my feeling."

Namgung Ji, with sparkling eyes, urged Jin Sa-wol to answer that her thoughts were correct.

Jin Sa-wol thought it would be okay to trust Namgung Ji's feeling.

"It needs to be confirmed."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Namgung Ji showed a smile.

Jo Geom-ok and Seo Mun-ryeon, who had returned after a tour of the Golden Garden, entered the tea room.

"What secret talk are you having so enjoyably? I heard the sound of crunching on a stolen apple from outside."

Seo Mun-ryeon drank Jin Sa-wol's tea and sat down in a chair. Seeing that, Namgung Ji's expression hardened.

Because of the rude behavior. Namgung Ji asked Jo Geom-ok suggestively.

"The Hao Faction Master?"

"That's right."

Seo Mun-ryeon looked at Namgung Ji.

"How did you know?"

Namgung Ji, who had received Seo Mun-ryeon's gaze, showed a smile.

"I saw a portrait."

"Tsk!"

Seo Mun-ryeon thought of Son Muk and frowned. Jin Sa-wol asked.

"It seems the Jo family head came and threatened to hand over the inn."

"What? They're crazy."

"Go and find out about the Jo family. I also need the details of the rumor about the Thousand Gold Vault that is spreading in the martial world and the identities of the thieves who invaded the inn."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Seo Mun-ryeon stood up from her seat. She went outside without a word and then disappeared without a sound.

Jo Geom-ok asked.

"What happened?"

Namgung Ji told Jo Geom-ok the story she had told Jin Sa-wol again and was angry. And she hoped that he would know how hard it had been for her.

"You've been through a lot."

At Jo Geom-ok's words, Namgung Ji trembled her shoulders as if she were satisfied.

Jin Sa-wol asked.

"It seems the Jo family didn't come today."

"Yes. Since they didn't come today, they will come tomorrow."

(End of Chapter)