Chapter 227
“…Hmm?”
Peng Mugang returned after taking care of some business outside and sensed that something was strange.
Every member of the Peng Family he saw on the way in was wearing a flower crown.
When Peng Mugang arrived at the Family Head's residence, he tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“Is today some special occasion?”
But no matter how much he thought about it, nothing in particular came to mind.
Then came the Peng Family meeting.
“Hmm?”
All the Peng Family elders who had come to the Family Head's residence for the meeting were wearing flower crowns too.
On top of that, why were they all grinning so creepily?
After the meeting ended, Peng Mugang, unable to contain his curiosity, asked,
“What's that thing on all your heads?”
“Ah, you mean this? This is…….”
But just as one elder happily began to speak, another elder stopped him.
The elder who stopped him whispered in a low voice,
“Don't.”
“Huh?”
“Just brush it off somehow and let's get out of here.”
“No, why are you stopping me, Elder Mu?”
“Look over there. The Family Head still hasn't received one, has he?”
“Ah. Th-that's true… I understand.”
After finishing their whispered exchange, the elders all nodded.
They absolutely must not brag.
Nor could they tell him what this was.
It was impossible even to imagine how wildly Peng Mugang would rage if he learned about this before receiving a flower crown himself.
Naturally, he'd receive one eventually, but they could already picture him glaring and roaring, demanding to know how they could have received one before him when she was his granddaughter.
Therefore, it was best for them not to mention it themselves.
Someone else would tell him anyway.
Peng Mugang tilted his head at the elders, who had stopped talking and were whispering among themselves.
“What are you all doing?”
“Ah. Our apologies.”
“I asked what that thing is.”
“We just happened to receive them. Heh heh.”
“Happened to? Every member of the Peng Family, and all of you too? From whom?”
“Well, um… who could it have been?”
“What? Are you making fun of me?”
Peng Mugang's face twisted sharply at their pointless wordplay.
Just as the crisis came to a head,
“Urgh!”
Elder Mu, quick to read the situation, suddenly staggered and sank down onto the floor.
“I suddenly feel dizzy. I can barely breathe…….”
“Good heavens! Elder Mu! Are you all right? Oh dear, oh dear. It seems your old illness has flared up again. Family Head, we must hurry and take Elder Mu to the physician.”
Peng Mugang looked puzzled at the elders' painfully contrived acting.
“No, you don't look ill, so why did it happen so suddenly? And does Elder Mu have a chronic illness? This is the first I've heard of it.”
“Ahem! Good heavens! Elder Mu, come, quickly! At this rate, we'll be holding a funeral!”
Taking that as their cue, the elders used Elder Mu as an excuse and hurriedly fled the Family Head's residence.
“What's gotten into them?”
To Peng Mugang, it was simply baffling.
Just then,
“Father.”
“Ah. Yes. Come in.”
Peng Seo-jin, who had recently begun hellish training under Yeo Un-hwi, appeared at the Family Head's residence alongside the heirs of the other Five Great Families.
They, too, had flower crowns resting on their heads.
“Hmm?”
Before he could even ask, the heads of the other Five Great Families entered the Family Head's residence.
The Taecheon Alliance meeting was about to begin.
But they were wearing flower crowns too.
Hwangbo Gyun was even wearing two of them, despite how poorly they suited his boar-like face.
Looking at him now, Peng Mugang realized that his head really was far too large.
“Has everyone gone crazy all at once? Or am I seeing things? Why is everyone wearing those vine-like things today of all days? You're all grown adults.”
“Hmm? What? You didn't receive one?”
Hwangbo Gyun said proudly.
“Receive what, and from whom?”
“This thing you called a vine.”
“Nonsense! I wouldn't wear one even if someone gave it to me. I'm not a child.”
Peng Mugang clicked his tongue disdainfully as he looked at the other Family Heads one after another.
Hwangbo Gyun then grinned and said,
“Oh-ho. Really? Even though Yul worked hard to make this and gave it to the precious people in her life?”
Peng Mugang's body went rigid.
“You… what did you just say? That vine. No… you mean Yul made these pretty flower crowns?”
“That's what I'm saying. Heh heh. I feel a little sorry that I got mine before you even received yours. Two, no less. What can I do? This great-grandpa is so happy he could die. Heh heh. You understand… Huh? Where did that fellow go?”
Peng Mugang had already disappeared.
He couldn't care less about the Taecheon Alliance meeting now.
He had no idea.
Grandmother Dan Huiyeong had already received a pretty flower crown from Yul and was happily enjoying it.
“Yul-aaah! One for Grandpa toooo!”
Truly, our Family Head was a man overflowing with dignity and majesty.
***
And so, after the commotion(?) over Yul's flower crowns had passed, the Taecheon Alliance had been busier than ever in recent days.
In any case, everyone who had decided to participate in the Justice Alliance's World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament was devoting themselves to training, and there was still a mountain of work left to do, since establishing the foundations of the newly formed Taecheon Alliance was also extremely important.
Fortunately, however, thanks to Zhuge Mun, who had newly taken on the position of strategist of the Taecheon Alliance, everything quickly began to settle down.
Everyone was amazed by Zhuge Mun's skill at laying and building the foundation of an organization.
It was simply unfortunate that such a talent had been sacrificed to the Martial Alliance's filthy political infighting and had never had a chance to shine.
But he, too, seemed to have grown considerably through his work with the Martial Alliance.
And since they could not use the Peng Family as the Taecheon Alliance's headquarters forever, they began constructing Taecheon Alliance buildings not far from the Peng Family in Hebei.
The expenses were considerable, but they posed no problem at all because Yeo Un-hwi possessed the resources of the Five Great Families, along with the Heavenly Demon's treasures and the Golden Manor's wealth.
Rather, renowned carpenters from across the Central Plains flocked there to work on it.
All of that had also been proposed and spearheaded by Zhuge Mun.
With Jin So-baek and Zhuge Gil assisting him, everything was proceeding efficiently.
Meanwhile, interest in the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament only continued to grow with each passing day.
That was because the prize money, prizes, and benefits that came with winning were enormous.
The winner would receive enough money to live for the rest of his life, as well as the Heavenly Dragon Sword, the cherished weapon of Wi Ji-ak, who had once made his name known throughout the world under the title Sword Ghost.
That alone was enough to make mouths water, but the Justice Alliance had also promised the winner an important position within the Justice Alliance.
Of course, that was assuming the winner's identity was thoroughly verified and there were no issues.
Thanks to that, countless people—from those hoping to turn their fortunes around by winning the martial arts tournament to those seeking to make their names known throughout the martial world—were counting down the days.
***
“I'm telling you, pick someone else to take charge of that matter.”
Jin So-baek was finally dealing with a backlog of work at the Hao Sect's headquarters in Beijing.
Jin So-baek had also been busy with Taecheon Alliance affairs lately, so quite a lot of work had piled up at the Hao Sect.
“Exactly. Just divide the work up appropriately. You don't have multiple bodies, you know. Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?”
“Even so, I still need to know about the biggest and most important matters in the end. What else can I do?”
“What are you going to do if you collapse?”
“What an ominous thing to say.”
Jin So-baek chuckled.
“And don't worry. If that happens, there's someone who'll find some ridiculous divine medicine somewhere, force it down my throat, and then tell me to get back up and finish working.”
“I know who you mean. They really might do that.”
“Right?”
Though they spoke lightly, both of them knew how deeply ‘that person’ cherished and treasured his own people, so they could only smile.
It was then.
“Sect Leader.”
“What is it?”
“Well… a guest has arrived.”
To the Hao Sect, a guest naturally meant a client who had come to purchase information.
When Jin So-baek sighed, his right-hand man, Bae Cho-jin, scolded him,
“I believe I told you, Sect Leader, that you weren't to receive guests personally for a while. Handle it yourselves.”
“Yes. That is true, but… this guest is rather unusual.”
“Unusual?”
Jin So-baek's eyebrows rose slightly as he quietly examined the stacks of papers piled up.
And not long afterward,
“So… are you asking us to find where one of the Ten Great Experts, ‘Mu-myeong,’ is?”
“That is correct!”
Jin So-baek, who had been serving tea to the unidentified guest, barely held back a disbelieving laugh when he heard the request.
The youthful-looking man who had come to see him had large, piercing eyes, and it was obvious at a glance that he was overflowing with competitiveness and a desire to win.
Sure enough.
He had burst in unannounced and demanded to see the Sect Leader, so the Hao Sect's martial artists had realized he was a troublesome customer and tried to throw him out immediately, only for him to subdue them all in an instant.
Without so much as hurting a hair on their heads.
There was no doubt that he was an astonishing expert, far beyond what his apparent age would suggest.
After quietly observing him, Jin So-baek slipped in a question.
“First, I need to know who you are.”
“Me? Do I have to reveal my identity too?”
“No matter what information we sell, we need to know the client's identity. We have to know whom we're selling it to, at the very least. The information we sell must not end up in the Demonic Cult's hands… It shouldn't… Sigh. How did things end up like this…….”
We never sell information to the Demonic Cult.
The words he always used when dealing with customers had slipped out by habit, and Jin So-baek sighed.
Who could have imagined that he, of all people, would one day become the person closest to the Heavenly Demon?
The man tilted his head at Jin So-baek's strange behavior.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. I was talking to myself, so don't mind me. In any case, the identity of anyone buying information is important. We can't carelessly sell information to just any villain.”
“Ho-ho. You are a truly righteous man.”
The wide-eyed man nodded, then smiled confidently.
“I'm growing rather fond of both the Hao Sect and you!”
He still had no idea that the Hao Sect was an intelligence organization belonging to the Taecheon Alliance.
Even if information like that had been exchanged right in front of him, he probably would not have remembered it.
That was because he had a habit of listening to any conversation that did not interest him with only half an ear.
Soon, the wide-eyed man laughed heartily and introduced himself.
“My name is Baek Gwang. Someone of your caliber will learn who I am soon enough, so I might as well tell you in advance. I am the Justice Alliance's secret weapon!”
“……”
Is he insane?
In all his years, Jin So-baek had never met anyone who called himself a secret weapon out loud.
“I see. The Justice Alliance's secret weapon. Why would such an impressive person be looking for Mu-myeong?”
“To make my abilities known throughout the martial world.”
Pffft.
Jin So-baek, who had been slowly drinking his tea, ended up spraying it onto the floor.
“Th-that means……”
“Heh. That's right. I intend to defeat Mu-myeong.”
“……”
What kind of lunatic is this?
Some strange fool who did not even realize he was boarding an express train straight to hell had come to see him.