Chapter 349

Ga Deukhyeon, the Cheongo Merchant Guild Master, glared at Taoist Hyeongong, who stood before him with his chin held high.

"It's been so long since you've seen your clan uncle, yet you don't even offer a greeting. Did you leave your manners behind along with that arm of yours?"

Hyeongong smiled.

"What need is there for ceremony between a clan uncle and nephew whose relationship was bought with money? And judging by the mood in here, even that nominal relationship seems to be at an end."

Ga Deukhyeon's body trembled with anger.

"At least you came here knowing your place. That makes this easier to say."

Hyeongong gave a slow nod.

"I have something to say as well, but I'll let the man who was once my clan uncle speak first."

"..."

Hyeongong's insolent tone and attitude sent the anger Ga Deukhyeon had been suppressing surging upward.

After all the money I've poured into that bastard...

He ought to have been groveling on his knees, yet here he was acting so brazen.

Let's see if you can keep that attitude after you hear what I have to say.

While Ga Deukhyeon ground his teeth inwardly, Hyeongong strode over and sat down in the chair across the table from him.

"...!"

When Ga Deukhyeon glared, Hyeongong answered with shameless composure.

"This sounds as though it may take a while. Besides, if we're no longer clan uncle and nephew, it would hardly be proper to leave a Taoist of Wudang standing."

Ga Deukhyeon was furious, but he forced it down with the thought that after today he would never have to see that face again.

RUSTLE.

He picked up one of the papers on the table and set it in front of Hyeongong.

"These are the losses the Cheongo Merchant Guild suffered from supporting Wudang's campaign."

Hyeongong glanced over the sheet.

"Quite substantial."

"And that still doesn't include all the money you lost gambling."

Hyeongong frowned.

"Since when did the Cheongo Merchant Guild start calling bribe money gambling losses?"

"Since you started falsely claiming money for bribes and then spending it at gambling dens."

Hyeongong snorted.

"You didn't honestly think I was going to spend every coin of that money on bribes, did you?"

Ga Deukhyeon nodded readily.

"I knew you would skim some for yourself. You did the same thing at Wudang's External Martial Training Ground, after all. More importantly, doesn't that sort of thing run in your family?"

"...!"

At the retort, Hyeongong felt the evil energy within his dantian churn.

He wanted to tear Ga Deukhyeon's mouth apart and twist his neck on the spot.

But there was nothing to gain from taking a merchant's worthless life just yet.

Seeing Hyeongong fall silent, Ga Deukhyeon assumed he had finally broken the man's arrogance and continued.

"What I didn't know was that a Taoist of Wudang would go beyond lining his own pockets and start frequenting gambling dens as well."

Hyeongong regarded him with cold eyes.

"Guild Master Ga, it seems you're trying to ease your own conscience by humiliating me before you do what you came here to do. Spare me the filth and get to the point. You can't have much time left to pack either."

"Fair enough. And neither of us wants to stare at an unpleasant face any longer than necessary."

Ga Deukhyeon nodded.

"You've probably expected this already, but I am formally severing your adoption as my clan nephew. As of today, all support for you and your family will end as well."

He intended to cast not only Hyeongong but his entire family out with nothing.

Yet Hyeongong's expression barely changed.

Ga Deukhyeon was secretly disappointed by the lack of reaction.

Assuming Hyeongong was only pretending to remain calm, he drove the nail in deeper.

"I doubt I need to explain why."

"No. Explain it."

"..."

Hyeongong recited the words as though peering directly into Ga Deukhyeon's mind.

"'You've lost an arm, your reputation is ruined, and you've become useless, so I'm throwing you away. A merchant has no reason to keep investing in a venture that no longer turns a profit. More importantly, the Cheongo Merchant Guild now needs to distance itself from Wudang, so this relationship must be liquidated completely. Erasing your existence is essential if we're to survive in the coming age of the demonic path.'"

His gaze chilled.

"Go ahead. You have a mouth. Say it yourself."

Ga Deukhyeon stared at him for a moment.

"There's no need for me to repeat it. You've already said everything I intended to."

Hyeongong gave a derisive laugh.

"You truly are a merchant to the bone. Quick with your calculations and quicker still with your decisions. You're even prepared to sever ties with Wudang after generations of association."

Ga Deukhyeon's face reddened.

"The Cheongo Merchant Guild isn't the only one cutting ties with Wudang. With the Martial Alliance destroyed, no merchant guild can continue doing business without watching the demonic path's mood."

"So that's why you've been holed up in this annex, working your abacus and refusing to come out? I wondered why there wasn't a single merchant to be seen at the Sword of Wudang's coffining rite. Merchants truly are unmatched when it comes to turning warm or cold with the changing winds of fortune. Tsk."

Hyeongong clicked his tongue and sneered.

"But I think you've miscalculated when it comes to abandoning Wudang."

"Don't be absurd!"

Ga Deukhyeon snorted.

"Wudang's strength is spent. The Supreme Patriarch, the Wudang Sword Sovereign, has been missing for years, his fate unknown. The Sect Leader is gravely ill and has shut himself away. And now the Sword of Wudang has died as well, along with many of the sect's elite masters. Wudang is nothing but an empty shell."

"..."

"The full moon must eventually wane. Wudang's prosperity over these last few years was merely its final blaze—like the brief flash of clarity a dying man sometimes shows before the end."

Major merchants like guild masters possessed an exceptional eye for the direction of the times.

If the other guild masters had reached the same conclusion, it was only natural that Ga Deukhyeon would feel confident about abandoning Wudang.

Above all, it was already regarded as inevitable that the world would soon belong to the demonic path.

"It's true that Wudang is in dire straits."

Hyeongong readily conceded the point, then abruptly asked,

"But have you never considered that this might actually make things better?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Wudang may no longer be able to play the dragon, but it should still be capable of playing the snake."

"Hah! And you think the Demonic Eight Divisions will simply stand by and let Wudang do even that?"

"Of course they will."

"...?"

"Because I will hold the real power within Wudang."

Ga Deukhyeon stared at him in disbelief.

"Now you're talking utter nonsense."

He shook his head.

"Hyeongong, it seems you left more than an arm and your manners behind with the Gathering Demons Division. You must have left your wits there too. Even if Wudang collapses completely, what exactly do you think a one-armed cripple like you can do? Tsk."

"One-armed cripple? You've finally crossed the line."

Murderous intent thickened in Hyeongong's eyes.

"Not that it matters. I came here intending to dispose of you anyway. Thanks to that remark, I feel a little less guilty about it."

The killing intent rising from Hyeongong sent a chill through Ga Deukhyeon.

"Hyeongong! What the hell are you talking about?"

Hyeongong smiled unpleasantly.

"No matter how loudly you shout, your guards won't be coming. Don't waste your breath."

"...!"

Ga Deukhyeon realized that Hyeongong must have dealt with the guards before entering the inner room.

"What I came to tell you is that the Cheongo Merchant Guild will belong to my family—no, to me. And for that to happen, its current Guild Master cannot remain in this world."

"You ungrateful bastard!"

"Guild Master Ga, isn't ingratitude something we're both guilty of?"

Ga Deukhyeon had no ready answer to that.

Instead, he seized on the one thing he thought he might still rely upon.

"Hyeongong, you're a disciple of Wudang, an orthodox Taoist sect! How can you even entertain such a wicked thought?"

He had never imagined that a Taoist of Wudang might actually draw a sword against him.

That was why he had always felt free to treat Hyeongong harshly and why he had cast him aside today without much thought.

"Guild Master Ga, is there some law saying a disciple of a Taoist Gate can never kill? Ah. When I entered Mount Wudang, I do seem to remember being taught a precept against killing. It was so long ago that the details are hazy, but I also recall an exception allowing the punishment of evildoers."

"What evil have I ever committed?"

"Guild Master Ga, enough."

SHING.

Hyeongong drew his sword and laid the blade against Ga Deukhyeon's neck.

"You know that another hundred or a thousand words won't change my mind."

Ga Deukhyeon had no choice but to admit that was true.

He had known there were flaws in Hyeongong's character, yet he had formally adopted him as a clan nephew and sent him to Mount Wudang anyway.

An upright child would have been far less useful.

Hyeongong had been much easier to exploit.

Ga Deukhyeon had never imagined that his own choice would one day return to him as a dagger.

He could only grasp at his final lifeline.

"You think killing me will somehow let you take over the Cheongo Merchant Guild?"

"What can anyone do if my clan uncle leaves a will bequeathing it to his clan nephew?"

"I will never write such a will!"

"No. You will."

Hyeongong's eyes turned red.

"And you will write it with the utmost care."

Evil energy...!

Only after seeing those eyes did Ga Deukhyeon realize that the man before him was no longer the Hyeongong he had known.

******

Though dawn had barely begun to lift, the guesthouse courtyard was already bustling.

Several carriages stood in a row while drivers and Wudang disciples hurried back and forth preparing for departure.

Seokjangsan approached Taoist Cheongsu, who stood dazed in one corner of the courtyard.

"Junior Brother Cheongsu."

Cheongsu startled and turned toward him.

"...Ah!"

"What were you thinking about so deeply? You didn't even notice me coming."

Seokjangsan had seen him standing motionless there for quite some time.

They might have had different mothers, but Cheongsu was still his younger brother. He could not help worrying.

"I wasn't... thinking about anything."

Cheongsu's speech was awkwardly formal, making Seokjangsan frown.

"It's just the two of us. Speak normally. You're making me uncomfortable."

Cheongsu looked awkward.

"If Brother Jangsan says so... I will."

"That's more like you."

Seokjangsan smiled.

"So tell me. What's troubling you?"

"...?"

"You look exhausted. Seems you barely slept last night."

Cheongsu lowered his head slightly.

"It's nothing... really."

"Is it because I talked back to Martial Uncle Hyeongong yesterday? Did that put you in a difficult position?"

"No!"

"Good. I was worried he might have taken it out on you because of me. Anyway, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was so angry that I..."

"I'm really fine. To be honest, you had every reason to be angry."

"...!"

When Seokjangsan stared at him, Cheongsu flushed and quickly changed the subject.

"Brother Jangsan... thank you for coming back alive."

"Where did that come from all of a sudden...?"

With those few words, Seokjangsan felt the resentment he had carried toward his younger half brother Seokgeon since childhood melt away like snow.

Perhaps both he and Seokgeon had grown up enough to finally acquire some sense.

Silence settled between the half brothers for a moment.

Then Cheongsu abruptly broke it.

"Today... we're taking the route Martial Uncle Hyeonam told us about yesterday, right?"