Episode 501
Summary and Challenge (1)
“Are you here?”
“uh.”
“What about the matriarch?”
“They said they would have a word with the public ambassador. “I think we should eat first.”
“okay.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked Kang Ryang up and down.
The appearance of the river was quite rough. There were dried blood stains here and there on her white clothes.
It wasn’t because of the training. The white bandage in one hand was not tied because he was injured.
“Is helping Uiseon Gakju going well?”
Kang-ryang sighed.
“I’m not usually busy. There was constant screaming from all directions, and patients came out with seizures as if they were waiting for a breather. “There was no time to rest, let alone sleep.”
In fact, considering Gangryang’s ambiguous position, there was no need to jump into such a matter. Although it was part of the Uijeong Army during the Guangdong Operation, it was not an official part of it either.
In other words, he could be said to be a guest of Byeoksan Yeonga. There is no need to worry about what happens in the Murim Alliance.
Nevertheless, he took the initiative and helped Uiseongak.
“If it’s hard, you can quit.”
Kang-ryang shook his head.
“Now that it has stabilized, there is no need to help much. “I decided to contact you occasionally when I need a helping hand.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“What do you have to be thankful for, brother? “Anyway, what happened to those damned Sejak b*stards?”
“They are true, but the three were one. “I just had a contact with the manager.”
“Well, that’s it.”
“but.”
“I heard that it was roughly resolved, but I see you are worried about the dark spots under your eyes.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled without realizing it.
“You seem to have a lot of insight now.”
“I spent some time hanging out with my brother, so I have to do this.”
“It’s nothing special. “I just think the Murim Alliance will have to go into a state of semi-monasticism for the time being.”
Kang Ryang’s eyes widened.
“Bo Fengmun?”
“Ban Bongmun. “Not just a seal.”
“No matter what, doesn’t this mean that we will reduce our external activities?”
“right.”
“Why not?”
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“It’s complicated to explain. Now is the time to strengthen our internal stability. So that’s what was said.”
“Huh….”
“Contrary to what people think, the bigger an organization is, the more loopholes there are that can be poked into. The same goes for this three-part case. “No way, I didn’t know that Jang Mun-in of the Old Daemun Sect was Se-jak, but the fact that we didn’t know who Se-jak was for this long is itself proof that the Murim League is loose.”
Kang Ryang whetted his appetite.
“It’s not baggy. Any organization would have done that. For example, when you were dispatched to the Mukryongbu as Sejak, no one knew about it, right?”
“Yes. That’s possible. But it won’t be like that in the future.”
“That is correct.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged his shoulders.
“We will have to wait and see what happens in the future. “Right now, we have no choice but to do our best in our respective positions.”
Kang Ryang’s eyes shone.
“Each person has their own position… Then what about you, brother?”
“okay.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the sky.
Now it seems like summer is over, and the sun sets faster than it did just a few days ago.
“You have to prepare. “Get ready to go to the Mukryongbu.”
Kang-ryang smiled.
“I’m going too, right?”
“Anytime you want.”
“You said it to Lord Inkryongbu’s face, right? “I will come with you.”
“Circumstances can always arise. “If you have something else to do, you don’t have to accompany me.”
“Is that possible?”
Slurp.
Kangryang took off his white outerwear and rolled his shoulders. It seemed as if all the fatigue from the past had been washed away.
“This is an opportunity to learn more about our enemies. “I can’t miss this great opportunity.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes narrowed.
“Can you bear it?”
Kang-ryang smiled.
“They say that the longer Jangbu’s revenge is aged, the sweeter it tastes. “I am not so foolish as to ruin the nectar I will taste later because of my immediate thirst.”
A smile appeared on Yeon Ho-jeong’s lips.
“If you wait for that nectar, neither the mouse nor the bird might die without you noticing.”
“He is like that too.”
“If that’s your heart, then it’s okay.”
“When do you plan to leave?”
“Well, first of all, I need to control my mood well.”
Kang-ryang, who was quietly looking at Yeon Ho-jeong, shook his head.
“Are you trying to cause another accident?”
“Accident?”
“Brother, the look in your eyes is like before you beat someone to pieces, right? “It looks very exciting.”
“You’re good at saying scary things.”
“Okay, who is it?”
“That’s because they said that wouldn’t happen.”
“It might not be a matter of destroying it. But I think this is a moment where we have to make some pretty aggressive decisions.”
“It’s an aggressive decision… yes, that’s true.”
Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.
“I wonder if it is necessary to go this far, but it would be better if you can. “I also want to lighten your burden.”
* * *
“Whoa.”
After emptying his glass, Namgoongin sighed lightly.
“You feel drowsy.”
Before we knew it, the sun had set over Seosan and it became a star-filled night.
The feeling of having a drink by the window of my home was quite special. Moreover, the entire Murim Alliance was hit by a major incident. After briefly reading about the incident, I felt at peace.
“I guess I’ll just drink a little and sleep today.”
Recently, the time spent holding the sword has decreased.
There wasn’t any particular change of heart. No matter how busy I was, I never missed early morning training every day.
However, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately.
‘Now I can stop looking left and right on the middle road.’
Namgung-in thought of the Dukes.
To be precise, I remembered the face of Zhuge Munho, who said everything he had to say with a stern expression even in front of his subjects.
“People have changed a lot.”
In the past, before the Murim Alliance was founded.
At that time, the power of the Zhuge family was not great. Even though it was rotten, it had enough influence, but it wasn’t like the old days.
And Namgung-in knew very well why Zhuge Liang lost his power.
‘But now…’
Since when?
Zhuge Mun-ho has probably changed since the way he showed up at the meeting when he had just taken up military service.
As the head of the family changed, the vitality of the family also changed, and furthermore, people’s evaluations began to change little by little.
This only happens within the Murim Alliance? You don’t know that people have changed unless you see them?
It’s nonsense. Moorim is also a world where people live. Zhuge Li’s wise and bold tactics and administrative abilities were already spread throughout the central plains.
In other words, at a time when the family was weakening, he stood on a stage where he could prove himself and truly showed his worth.
Namgung-in recalled the time when Zhuge Mun-ho first shed his soft self and showed a fearsome presence.
‘The laws of the League are strict, and no member of the Murim League is free from the laws. Even if he is a lord, he can be punished by law after the protection period under the special law for lords ends.’
‘If you are not going to give that level of authority to each unit commander, I will also resign from my military position.’
‘I believe that when we agreed to the creation of the Murim Alliance, all of the servants here were prepared to follow the strictness of the martial law.’
It felt like fire was coming out of his eyes and mouth every time he spit out each word.
Should I say it was a moment of awakening? From then on, Zhuge Wenhu gained great authority that no one could treat lightly.
‘How can a person change so much?’
Of course, I knew the fundamental reason why Zhuge Liang changed.
The problem was that even if there was such a reason, would it be easy for people to change?
‘The influence in the Murim Alliance has changed. This soon affects the power of each family.’
Namgoongin’s eyes deepened.
‘The current Zhuge family is emerging as a rare and prestigious family that is difficult for any sect in the White Island to touch.’
If we consider mere influence, the Zhuge family was still lower than the Nangong family.
This is because there is a difference between actual financial power and military power. In particular, in the Namgung family, there exists a great giant named Geomje, the divine sword of Seongcheon, who is said to be a legend in the martial arts of the time.
With just that name alone, the Zhuge family dare not stand above Nangong.
At least for now.
‘My father is also getting older. Since he has reached that level, he may live longer than me…’
My father, Geomje Namgungseung, was practically a retired person from active duty. Of course, if something interesting happens, he will appear in the midfield at any time, but at least it was clear that he was not active.
Man is an animal of forgetfulness. The world knows that the Geomje exists in Namgungga, but if the Geomje does not show up, it will gradually forget its existence.
If so?
‘If it doesn’t work out, then.’
The power of the reputation of the great Nangung family to influence actual military power is reduced. That shouldn’t happen.
‘Sooner or later, you will have to reveal that power to the world. Otherwise… it’s hard for me to bear it too, father.’
Namgung-in buried his back in the chair.
“…The night is nice, but my mood can’t keep up with that beautiful sight.”
Lately, I’ve been thinking about leaving work to my oldest child and taking a break for a few months.
‘Is it my destiny to focus on politics rather than force?’
Speaking of politics, the Zhuge family came to mind again.
‘I never thought it would really bother me this much.’
It was when he rejected the hawkish approach of his second son, Nam Gung-hyeon, that he became conscious of the Zhuge family.
He must have been aware that this was a burden on this side as well, and yet the Zhuge family rejected the hawkish faction.
It meant that they were willing to risk a crack in their political friendship. Moreover, considering Namgung-hyeon’s martial arts skills and reputation, it could have been seen as an act of ignoring him.
You boldly rejected such a sensitive issue?
‘They chose Yeonga over us… It’s funny.’
There was a very deep and deep relationship with Byeoksan Yeonga.
But that bad relationship ended in the past. Because there was nothing good about continuing to do it.
Namgoongin’s eyes deepened.
Jegal Se and Byeoksan Yeonga.
‘Two families with bad ties to the original family are now thriving in Moorim.’
I feel sick.
In politics, there are no friends or enemies. If your goals are the same, you can become friends at any time, but if your goals are different, you can turn your back on them coldly in an instant.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t want to hang out with Jegal or Yeon.
‘They and I are fundamentally different. Even though they are the same beast, tigers and lions live in different places.’
Tuk. Tuk.
Namgung-in, who had been tapping the window a few times with his lightly clenched fist, shook his head and stood up.
“You have a lot of useless thoughts. “I need to sleep early today.”
But he couldn’t fall asleep early today either.
“Matriarch.”
“What’s going on?”
“A guest has arrived.”
Namgoongin frowned.
“Didn’t I tell you not to receive guests after the sun went down?”
“Yes yes. But you came here for official business…”
Public business?
“Who are you? “A customer?”
“Yes, I am the leader of Uijeonggun.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
“Matriarch? What should I do? I’ll send it back…”
“No, it’s okay.”
Namgoongin took out his chair again.
“Come on in.”
