Chapter 152
“Jong Hyo-! A Hyeon-! You were both alive-!”
Jongrimun Leader Yeon Mae-Hyang shouted in joy as the two disciples, who she had thought were missing and dead, appeared perfectly fine.
Soon, she inspected her disciples to see if they were hurt anywhere…
“Where have you been all this time? Are you hurt anywhere… huh?”
She flinched upon seeing the physical condition of her disciples.
“Haha…, we’ve changed a bit, haven’t we…?”
The disciples scratched the backs of their heads awkwardly.
And for good reason…
‘What the hell did they eat for their bodies to become like that in just two months…’
The bodies of her disciples were far too different from what she remembered.
Her disciples, who originally had a strong, agile physique, had become so thick that they were now burly. Sparse beards had grown on their chins, and they were wearing the same clothes as the other Green Forest members…
No matter who looked at them, weren’t they just bandit bastards…?
Slap.
‘N-No. What am I thinking…!’
Jongrimun Leader Yeon Mae-Hyang slapped her own cheek after thinking her disciples looked too much like bandits.
To call proud Righteous Faction disciples 'bandits' - what kind of nonsense was that?
She decided to listen calmly to what her disciples had to say first.
“Tell me, children. What on earth happened here…?”
“Haha…, well…”
The disciples hesitated for a moment before suddenly handing her a large bowl, as if they had remembered something.
“Ah…! Before we speak, are you perhaps hungry? We brought some food.”
“…Food?”
When she looked at the contents of the bowl her disciples brought…
“…It’s meat?”
The large bowl was filled to the brim with meat dripping with juices.
Seeing that, the Jongrimun Leader frowned slightly.
Since Jongrimun was a Lay Branch, it did not forbid eating meat.
Still, since their main headquarters was a Taoist school, they did have a tendency to distance themselves from meat.
According to the teachings of the Taoist School, eating meat accumulates turbid qi in the body and hinders martial arts training.
“…”
Guessing the reason why her disciples' bodies had become so burly, the Jongrimun Leader looked at them with slightly cold eyes.
At that, the disciples quickly replied as if to explain themselves.
“S-Sect Leader! O-Of course, we declined at first too! But it turns out most of the Green Forest’s diet here is meat!”
“B-But we couldn’t just starve to death-! I-It’s not like we ate it because it was delicious…!”
“…I understand, so tell me from the beginning. What happened here…”
“…Well, it was when we were passing through the Hunan Mountain Path to attend the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”
After that, the disciples explained everything they had experienced step by step.
And upon hearing those words, Jongrimun Leader Yeon Mae-Hyang…
“…So you liked the life here so much that you forgot to even contact Jongrimun?”
…couldn’t help but be somewhat dumbfounded.
According to the disciples, they were caught on their way to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, were quickly released, and had been living here together with the Green Forest members while doing martial arts training.
Her blood ran cold at the fact that the kids she had thought were missing and dead were actually eating well and living very well.
Besides, what…? Disciples of the Righteous Faction acting as bandits?
Noticing the Jongrimun Leader’s gaze once again, the disciples waved their hands.
“S-Sect Leader! The Green Forest guys here aren’t as bad as you think!”
“T-That’s right! The guys here don’t steal money from the common people and live honestly, plus they have a good relationship with the merchants!”
“And their martial arts skill is outstanding too! Here, look!”
Whoosh-.
The disciples immediately drew their swords from their waists and swung them in mid-air.
“…!”
Yeon Mae-Hyang was a little surprised by their robust display.
Yeon Mae-Hyang knew her disciples' original realms better than anyone. And the two disciples in front of her had stances that were much firmer and auras that were much more potent compared to two months ago.
“Y-You guys…!”
“You’re surprised, right? This is the result of doing martial arts training together with the Green Forest guys for about a month and a half.”
“Eating meat pumped up our muscles, making it easier to swing our swords. And it gave us a lot of money too.”
“We heard the news. You said Jongrimun has been struggling a lot while we were gone? How about building up our martial arts skill and earning money here while planning for the future?”
“…”
At her disciples' words, the Jongrimun Leader’s contemplation deepened.
The reason Jongrimun’s momentum has declined was because of the Green Forest right now. The ones who tarnished the honor of the Zhongnan Sect and Jongrimun were also the Green Forest. The reason she and her disciples have sold their martial arts hall and are wandering was also because of the Green Forest right now.
However…
The biggest reason she hated the Green Forest - the death of her disciples - was not true.
Rather, they looked so healthy that it seemed they had been doing incredibly well, and there was even an improvement in their Martial Arts Skill.
At that moment, the words the Green Forest General Stronghold Master had said came to her mind.
‘Don’t you know about Sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall?’
‘Didn’t you say Jongrimun is almost ruined right now? For now, come under our Green Forest with the Jongrimun disciples. I’ll give you a lot of money and let you do martial arts training diligently.’
‘Then, once you build up your strength to a certain extent, you can take your revenge on me. Can’t you wait that short while?’
Someday, she would have to get her revenge. But to do so, going under her sworn enemy might actually be the rational decision.
‘Whether to bear enduring humiliation or not…’
Her contemplation continued until her disciples retreated to their quarters.
* * *
Even after Jongrimun Leader Yeon Mae-Hyang was dragged away, the interviews continued.
Among the guys who came out next, there were many decent ones.
“So…, you’re the Master of an assassin sect called Geumyeonggok?”
“That is correct! I am the Valley Master of Geumyeong, Heuk-Yeong.”
I quietly observed the guy smiling brightly in front of me.
He wore a bright smile on his face like a youngest and gave a faint impression, so to a commoner, he might seem like he had nothing special about him, but…
Sss-.
I could feel the killing intent hidden behind his bright face.
This guy was quite a master.
“Geumyeonggok, huh…, it’s my first time hearing of it… Wolhwa, what about you?”
Since I couldn’t call her Haomun Leader in front of a figure from the Underworld, I called her by her real name and turned toward the Haomun Leader.
As soon as our eyes met, she nodded.
“They are quite famous. If it’s Geumyeonggok, it definitely ranks within the top five among assassin groups.”
“Hmm…”
An assassin group that Under Heaven ranks in the top five…
“A place like that should make good money, so why specifically our Green Forest?”
When I asked with doubt, Valley Master of Geumyeong Heuk-Yeong quickly replied.
“I saw that you pay quite well here. We’re sick of acting as temporary workers too. I heard a fellow Unorthodox Faction member was gathering martial artists, so we came wondering if there was a spot for us.”
“Mmm…”
Is this the sorrow of a freelancer?
I tried to discern the true intentions on his face, but he was so skilled at changing his expressions that it was difficult to gauge them easily.
An assassin, huh… It’s a bit uncomfortable.
No matter how much we accept just about anyone, aren’t assassins guys who make a living out of killing people?
“I don’t think we’ll necessarily have any reason to commit murder… Aren’t you the type of people who get thorns in your bodies if you don’t kill someone for even a single day?”
“Ehe-! What kind of talk is that! We are contractors, not murderous fiends. Do you know how much we hate killing people? What we assassins are all about is wanting to get off work as soon as we start our main job!”
Valley Master of Geumyeong Heuk-Yeong shouted as if he felt injustice. But it was hard for me to tell whether even that face was real or fake.
As I hesitated for a moment at this…
“Great Hero. If it is all right with you, may we take them in?”
“Hmm?”
The Haomun Leader requested of me as if she had been waiting.
“I believe we can take those guys into our Haomun Salmun.”
“…Ah.”
Right, Haomun also did contract killing work.
It seemed those guys were a better fit for Haomun rather than the Green Forest. Since Haomun and the Green Forest had formed an alliance anyway, we could always mobilize them if we ever needed an assassin.
“Alright, take that guy and the Geumyeonggok guys to Haomun.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Like that, Geumyeonggok came to put their names under the Haomun Salmun.
Following that were the next interviewees.
“Senior, it is an honor to meet you.”
As expected, since the Green Forest was hiring martial artists, many of the applicants were bandits as well.
There were bandits who had been surviving in various mountains Under Heaven by avoiding the eyes of the Murim Alliance.
Among them, the masters of the mountain who had trained diligently in Martial Arts Training and made a name for themselves flocked to the high-grade interview.
However…
“Senior, I really wanted to meet you.”
“Ah…, really? You knew me?”
“Of course, Senior, you are a legend to us bandits.”
…It seemed I was quite famous.
“The star of the Unorthodox Faction world who defeated the Murim Alliance and wreaked havoc, the Hegemon of the bandit world who has the Bandit King under his command, Keu…, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to enter under you.”
“…Right, let’s do well.”
After that, many bandits followed one after another, their eyes shining at me. Most of them were at least average. When I passed them, some even cried out of emotion.
Before I knew it, after finishing with the last applicant, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in bewilderment.
“…Why am I so popular?”
“Wouldn’t it be because you are the only one who openly calls yourself a bandit while making a name for yourself, Great Hero? And…”
“And?”
The Haomun Leader hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“…I also ordered Haomun to spread your fame, Great Hero Under Heaven.”
“Eh? Why would you do that?”
“I apologize if it offended you. At the time, I wanted your greatness, Great Hero, to spread throughout all Under Heaven…”
“Good grief…”
Still, thanks to that, so many people applied for our Green Forest interviews, and I was able to gain quite a few high-quality talents.
It was a satisfying interview.
‘I wonder if the other mid-grade interviews and low-grade interviews are all done too?’
With that, the Haomun Leader and I briefly cleaned up the interview venue and went down, where Munseok, who was overseeing the mid-grade interviews and low-grade interviews, was waiting for us.
“Ah, Munseok. Are the interviews on your side all finished?”
“The low-grade interviews, which have the most applicants, are still ongoing, but the mid-grade interviews are finished and the successful applicants have been selected. They are gathered over there right now. Would you like to go and say hello?”
“Oh, really? Then I should go see them quickly.”
They were all guys who would now become subordinates of the Green Forest, no matter if they were mid-grade. I headed to the open space where the mid-grade successful applicants were gathered to greet them.
When I went there, the executives were shouting this way and that at the mid-grade successful applicants in the open space where several hundred people had gathered.
Jeokyeom, who spotted me first, bowed his head toward me.
“Have you arrived, Leader!”
Then, Bang Sam-i, who also spotted me, ordered the hundreds of guys.
“That person is the General Stronghold Master of our Green Forest! Everyone, hurry and greet him!”
“““Hello-!!! Leader-!!!”””
“Whoa…”
With hundreds of people bowing their heads and shouting all at once, the mountain was truly ringing, ringing.
‘All these guys are my subordinates?’
If the low-grade and high-grade personnel were added to this, the number would be much larger.
‘This is quite burdensome…’
It felt like I had finally become the master of a city. My heart felt heavy yet hot, as if a heated stone had been placed on my chest.
Still, I couldn’t show that I was intimidated in front of my new subordinate bastards, so I roughly scanned them and said.
“Right…, nice to meet you all. Work hard from now on.”
“““Yes-!!”””
Ugh, so loud.
This didn’t seem like something I should do twice either.
I waved my hand roughly and turned around.
After meeting and evaluating all sorts of people all day, I felt exhausted. I should eat quickly and go to sleep early today.
But it was then.
“…Yeon-A?”
“…?”
I heard a somehow familiar voice calling my real name.
At this, the ones who reacted before I could even turn around were the executives.
“Ehe-! How dare you call the Leader’s name carelessly-!”
“Ah, s-sorry! S-Somehow, his face looked familiar…”
My face looks familiar?
Feeling curious, I turned around…
“…Uh?”
“…Uh-uh!”
…I was able to recognize the face of the person who called my name.
And for good reason, how could I forget that person?
He was the person who had been with me throughout my childhood until I left home at the age of 10.
“…Father?”
“…Yeon-A?”
When I turned around, the person standing in front of me was my biological father in this life.