180. When the loach jumps, the squid jumps too.
End of August.
The Justice Alliance quietly circulated the martial arts book.
The content was, ‘The Nanjing General Staff is holding a fall martial arts competition, so we hope for many participants.’
Even though it was an ordinary martial arts book to anyone’s eyes, war clouds were gathering over the continent.
Suddenly, a fall festival?
Besides, it was strange to anyone who saw that they were distributing the martial arts book just for a martial arts competition.
The world was in an uproar, but Jeong Ui-maeng did not add any explanation to it.
The sects belonging to the Justice Alliance were also strange.
They suddenly canceled all their schedules and sent their elite troops to Nanjing.
When Kang-ho was in an uproar over the Jeong-ui-maeng’s martial arts concubine, Hwa-sa-chon was also in an uproar.
Because the Naruto that I was using so well was destroyed overnight.
The once fairly large pier was reduced to dust, making it difficult to see even a single piece of wood the size of an arm.
From the residents’ perspective, it was truly a horrifying sight.
The only good thing is that the anchored ships did not break apart.
People rushed to rebuild the dock.
But the newly built pier didn’t last more than a day.
Eventually, officials from the Gaebongbu came out and conducted an investigation. However, the questions of ‘who?’ and ‘why did they do such a thing?’ were still a mystery.
The townspeople decided to build a dock again, but this time they would guard it overnight.
Finally, the third pier was completed.
That night.
About ten young men from Hwasangchon guarded the wharf with their eyes wide open.
It happened around midnight.
A strong wind blew from somewhere and destroyed the wharf in an instant.
The simple villagers thought that the heavens were angry or that it was a trick of ghosts.
They abandoned the dock that was clearly dirty and moved their boat to a dock upstream.
From the next day, guests began to arrive one by one at the inn that Yeonjeokha had purchased.
Yeonjeok nodded with a satisfied expression as he slowly got up and went down to the restaurant.
“Good. Very good.”
There are three unfamiliar faces appearing.
These are yesterday’s guests.
I don’t know what Simtong did, but I’m satisfied with the results.
Then the merchant approached and asked cautiously.
“Your Majesty, shall I bring you what you eat every morning?”
“uh.”
A smile spread across Yeonjeokha’s face as he watched the merchant turn around.
This is exactly the good thing about being an innkeeper.
When I was in the mountains, I had to eat whatever my relatives made for me.
Listening to what the people sitting next to me were saying, it seemed like they were merchants.
As I was listening absentmindedly, the words ‘Jeong Ui-maeng circulated the Moorim Cheop’ came out.
At that moment, I turned my head without realizing it.
A merchant with a bulbous beak and a bulbous nose caught my eye.
A rough-looking man who looked to be in his forties put down his glass of water and said.
“It looks like the Justice League is finally going to start a fight. They’ve held on for a long time.”
“I don’t know. I might just do a non-competition and end it.”
“Hey, you call that a thing? We haven’t had a martial arts competition in years, so you suddenly think a martial arts competition is a thing?”
“Of course I’m also weird. It’s not like people in the martial arts world do weird things for just one or two days.”
“This time, it’s definitely true. I heard that the people going to Nanjing are no joke. They all look like soldiers heading off to the battlefield.”
“Hmm! Then it looks like something is really going to happen this time.”
“That’s fine. They tell us to fight. We just need to make money.”
When people move in groups, the merchants make money. This is because the demand for food, daily necessities, and medicines increases rapidly. So, from the merchants’ point of view, it was not a loss at all.
The fist-nosed man, who had been nodding his head as if he agreed, suddenly spoke.
“Oh, right! But do you know why they removed the ferry downstream? The waterway there seems to be much better. This side isn’t so bad either, since there’s a place to rest.”
“It looks like there was a lot going on at that ferry.”
“What happened?”
“I heard the dock kept breaking down and stuff. They even said it was a ghost’s trick.”
“Really? There are so many strange things happening.”
“If you’re talking about something special, it can’t compare to the famous religion. Have you ever heard of a monster story?”
As the merchants’ story shifted to the famous monster, Yeon-jeok lost interest.
At that moment, Sangdo brought out stir-fried beef, lightly blanched vegetables, and a soup made with lamb.
Yeonjeok enjoyed his meal in silence, occasionally looking out the window.
Then, as if something occurred to him, he stopped using his chopsticks.
‘Wait. Come to think of it, Brother Cheon and Sister Yeon are also going to Nanjing?’
If you go from Zhengzhou to Nanjing, you will not have any reason to stop by Kaifeng.
That was a little disappointing.
If you stop by Gaebong, I was going to invite you over and show off my guest house.
***
Settlement.
The best in the world.
From lunchtime onwards, Cheonhajeilru kept its doors firmly shut.
The helpless rascals were hanging around as usual and were met with a rude reception by the security guards.
Im So-chan, the third son of Lim Hae-su, the deputy mayor of Jungwon, was one of those people.
When he was stopped while trying to go inside, Im So-chan shouted.
“Hey! You’re making a mistake! Do you know who I am? I’m Im So-chan! Im So-chan!”
If you go against the wishes of the Central Plains in Jeongju, it will be difficult to do business.
When the usually polite Jeong Ju-jeil-ru acted stiffly, Im So-chan got angry.
But the guard didn’t even blink an eye.
“Your Majesty, you cannot enter today because you have paid the deposit at the famous temple. Please come back tomorrow.”
Im So-chan flinched at the mention of the famous church.
I thought that if you rent out the entire Jeongjujeilru, it must be in an unusual location.
He asked in a broken voice.
“Which of the famous religious people paid the rent? Let’s find out who it is.”
The warrior, who had been looking left and right, spoke in a whisper.
“This is a gathering of Baekdu Horse Lords.”
“… … .”
As soon as Im So-chan heard those words, he ran away in a panic.
Even just the ten-headed cavalry would be enough to make Jeongju shake, so it’s only natural that they’re made up of a hundred-headed cavalry.
7th floor of Jeongjujeilru.
The owner, Jang Bo-ok, stood on the stairs with an anxious expression and glanced toward the window.
Oh, a man and a woman are sitting there, and they are all extraordinary.
The welcoming spirit horse of Gwangmyeongjangwon, Ungjaegwi, the soul sword horse of Eunhajang, Cheok Jin-gyeong, the heavenly spirit of Honcheon in Choeolsanjang, Kang Sang-pi, the evil spirit of Bangcheon-gak in Sinwolsa, Jeokwol Gongchuisan in Ilwondogwan, Musan Nangnang Lee Mae-hwa in Musansochuk, and Wolha Seonja in Wolhagyodang.
‘If just one person shows up, the situation will turn upside down… … .’
I personally come out and serve my subordinates in case they make a mistake, but I regret it so much.
If I had known it would be this suffocating, I would have ignored it and not gotten involved.
The seven Baekdu Horsemen drank in silence for a while.
Their faces clearly reflected the recent ominous situation in the martial arts world.
Bangcheon-gak, who couldn’t stand the frustration, spoke first.
“Since Shinwolsa is far away, I don’t know much about the affairs of the martial arts world. I heard all sorts of things on my way here, so can someone explain it to me clearly?”
Lee Mae-hwa opened her mouth to hear the crying sound of Bangcheon-gak from far away Sacheon-seong.
“I can say that I know a lot, so I’ll summarize it for you. I have other things to talk about in relation to that matter anyway.”
Lee Mae-hwa recently opened up about the ghost stories that have been circulating in the martial arts world and the changes that occurred after the death of Sipduma Byeong.
“Are you asking me to believe that now?”
A cynicism appeared at the corner of Bangcheon-gak’s mouth.
The internal cohesion of the famous church is weak, despite its external appearance.
The Baekdu Horse Army members were mostly lone wolf type, unable to get along with others.
There, the famous religious group’s unique method of social ascension caught fire.
While they were climbing the Sidu Horse Army and Baekdu Horse Army, they began to think of one possibility.
That is, ‘the principle of killing someone to gain superpowers may also apply to the Ten-headed Horse Soldiers and the Hundred-headed Horse Soldiers.’
Then, when the leader went missing, they began to suspect each other, even though they knew it was impossible.
It was for this reason that the Baekdu Horse Army’s meetings were not held at specific churches.
Woongjaegwi stepped forward, holding Imaehwa.
“It may be hard to believe, but what Nanlang said is true. My men said the same thing.”
Unable to stand it any longer, Chuck Jin-kyung added a word.
“It’s all true. Not long ago, my men and Nanlang’s men died like that.”
Bang Cheon-gak looked at Cheok Jin-gyeong with a half-believing and half-doubting expression.
“Who dared to kill the twelve horsemen?”
“Some Baekdu-ma-guns planted ten-headed horse soldiers in five green forests. However, Pacheon-ma-gun seemed displeased with this. He sent a general patrol to clear out five mountain villages and water villages. In the process, several ten-headed horse soldiers were sacrificed.”
“Why did you touch the still green forest? Wasn’t the church enough for you?”
Bangcheon-gak thought that the Baekdu Horse Army had carried out the act while secretly trying to expand its power.
“No. We were trying to blame the actions of our church on the actions of the Nokrim. Furthermore, we were planning to buy monks through the Nokrim. But that ended up going wrong.”
“her!”
Bang Cheon-gak looked back and forth between Cheok Jin-gyeong and Lee Mae-hwa with a dumbfounded expression.
But I couldn’t criticize him because the thought wasn’t entirely bad.
“So, are all those strange rumors floating around the world true?”
“Yes. The twelve horsemen under my command are disturbed by this. They want to know why this is happening, whether it is a side effect of the supernatural power… … Does anyone know anything about this?”
Lee Mae-hwa looked around the Baekdu Horse Army.
Everyone shook their heads.
At that time, Cheok Jin-gyeong said with an indifferent expression.
“I think you can ask the cult leader about that. There’s a bigger problem than that.”
“It’s been over twenty years since the leader disappeared. Don’t just pass it on like that. The work of the Ten Horsemen is our work. There’s no guarantee that we won’t turn into monsters like that.”
Cheok Jin-gyeong frowned at Lee Mae-hwa’s rebuttal.
It’s frustrating to keep bringing up things that only the leader knows about.
“Nangrang, I am not ignorant of your feelings. However, since the leader is not here, let’s leave that matter aside. If we, who know nothing, talk, it will be like a blind man touching an elephant’s leg.”
“… … .”
Imaehwa bit her lip.
Something was welling up inside me, but I couldn’t think of anything to refute Chuck Jin-kyung’s words right away.
Woong Jae-Gwi, who was watching the two people quarreling, intervened.
“Both of you are right. The matter of the Ten Horsemen is ours. However, we do not know the reason either, so I do not think this is a matter for discussion here. More importantly, the movements of the Justice Alliance are unusual. Shouldn’t we come up with some countermeasures?”
Then, the Wolha Seonja immediately sneered.
“Huh! It’s all because of that guy who’s calling me Yeon-jeok. That guy is taking our school lightly and messing with us, so Jeong-ui-maeng is also out of control and has his lungs full of wind. When a loach jumps, a cicada jumps too, and that’s exactly what’s happening now.”
The Wolha Seonja unexpectedly revealed her blatant hostility towards Yeonjeokha.
He built the Wolha Church on the site of Waryongjang and took revenge on the True Moon Swordsman Yeonmu Ryong. However, his son became hostile to Yumingyo again, which was quite an eyesore.
As the story kept going off track, Cheok Jin-gyeong stepped forward again.
“I also have a grudge against that guy. However, I think it would be best to leave him alone for the time being. Now that Jeong Ui-maeng has turned the Murim Cheop over, I can’t stand up to Nok-rim.”
Wolha Seonja frowned at Cheok Jin-gyeong’s remark, but did not refute it. Now was the time to focus on the Justice Alliance, which was gathering together the experts.
Wuxia,
