Chapter 197
Chapter 197. You Are Saying Some Truly Amusing Things
“Did something… happen?”
Jegal Gil asked, suppressing his trembling voice as much as possible.
There was no reason for him to suddenly act like this.
Just what in the world had happened while he was briefly away?
“A little while ago, your older brother came to see me.”
And Jang Cheong relayed the conversation he had with Jegal Mun exactly as it happened to Jegal Gil.
Jegal Gil bit his lip hard.
“Older Brother, You told me to be careful, so why…”
His brother had made a bad move.
He fully understood why he had done it.
He must have grown desperate because of the Heavenly Demon’s appearance.
However, his brother’s actions had only brought about the opposite effect.
A person like Jang Cheong was not someone who could be reasoned with like that.
He was already no different from a monster swallowed by his own desires.
Furthermore, casting his brother aside didn’t just mean kicking him out of the Murim Alliance; it also carried the implication of killing him.
Judging by Jang Cheong’s eyes, it seemed he had already made his decision.
Among the countless pieces on Jang Cheong’s chessboard, Jegal Mun had ultimately been classified as an obstacle.
And once he made a decision, he was not one to easily change his mind.
Jegal Gil hastily lowered his gaze to hide his wavering eyes.
Looking at Jegal Gil, Jang Cheong narrowed his eyes.
Had he noticed the emotional turmoil Jegal Gil was trying so hard to hide, or did he have another ulterior motive?
Tap, tap.
Amidst the heavy silence that had fallen, Jang Cheong, who had been lightly tapping the table, suddenly opened his mouth.
“Right. You said you wanted to become like me.”
“…Yes.”
“You said you wanted to taste great power.”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“If so, it seems it is slowly becoming time for you to learn how to cut things off.”
Jegal Gil’s heart sank with a thud.
It was because he could guess what Jang Cheong was going to say next.
“There are bound to be great obstacles in front of a great goal., whether those be the Unorthodox Faction, the Demonic Cult, or Kinship. Among them, the affection of Kinship is probably the most difficult. But you must know how to easily cut it off. Only then will the minimum preparation to grasp power be complete. Do you understand?”
Jang Cheong’s voice was unusually benevolent, unlike his usual self.
Why was that?
Who was to comfort Jegal Gil, who stood before a difficult decision?
No. That wasn’t it.
Jegal Gil slowly raised his head and looked at Jang Cheong.
And on the face he met, both eyes were smiling wickedly.
He was clearly enjoying himself.
Jang Cheong.
He was enjoying watching Jegal Gil, who now had to kill Jegal Mun.
And,
“He is testing me.”
He was testing Jegal Gil.
He wanted to see if Jegal Gil, who had sworn to follow him, would truly bow his head to him even when Jegal Mun’s life was on the line.
This was one of Jang Cheong’s despicable and bad habits.
Even with those who had sworn loyalty to him, he would periodically and harshly test that loyalty.
Jang Cheong firmly believed that this was the only way to truly distinguish his own people.
Jegal Gil clenched his fists tightly.
Unbearable shame and anger boiled up as if they were about to burst out.
But he couldn’t show it here.
He hadn’t endured until now just to ruin things here.
Jegal Gil slowly bowed his head.
Then, with trembling lips, he spat out his words syllable by syllable.
“…I will follow your words.”
Jang Cheong, who had been looking down at Jegal Gil, continued speaking after a long while as if satisfied.
“I will not order you to strike your brother yourself. Just watch. And remember that this is my consideration for you, who have pledged loyalty to me.”
Their conversation ended there.
Jegal Gil’s expression as he left the room was stiff and motionless, as if he were wearing a mask.
However, once the door closed and he had walked for a long time, Jegal Gil’s expression began to waver greatly.
He could no longer hide it, nor was there any reason to.
His crumbling face was full of urgency.
‘It can’t be like this.’
The entire situation had gone wrong.
And even all the plans he had prepared.
Even so, he didn’t want to blame his brother for creating this situation.
He had done nothing wrong.
The only one at fault was Jang Cheong.
And to Jegal Gil, his brother was not someone to blame, but someone to protect.
Jegal Gil had stepped into the mud because he wanted to protect his own justice, and what he wanted to protect also included his family.
Therefore,
“I have to stop this. No matter what.”
He had to find a way.
Before Jang Cheong made his move, act quickly!
It was late at night.
“So what are you planning to do?”
“I don’t know what I should do right now.”
In the worst moment, in an incredibly desperate situation, the person Jegal Gil ultimately sought out was none other than Yeo Un-hwi.
No matter how much he thought about it, no one else came to mind.
He had already been betrayed by his closest colleague, and if he clumsily dragged in the colleagues who were always with him, they might all end up dead as well.
No, perhaps there was already a traitor among them.
A sigh escaped him.
This was another reason why Jang Cheong was the worst.
He made you gradually unable to trust your surroundings.
So from the perspective of someone facing him, it was maddening.
It felt like being completely isolated.
The only fortunate thing was the fact that Jegal Gil had Yeo Un-hwi.
Just having someone he could open up to made him feel like he could breathe and rely on someone.
It was fine if it was this man.
Not only would Jegal Gil absolutely never betray Jang Cheong, but he also knew that he possessed the immense skill to take care of himself no matter what tricks Jang Cheong used.
“Shall I help you?”
“Excuse me?”
Jegal Gil made a surprised face at Yeo Un-hwi’s sudden words.
“Just say the word. If you want, I can smash everything reeking of a foul stench in this place.”
“Hahaha!”
Jegal Gil burst into loud laughter, uncharacteristic of him.
It was obviously a joke.
No matter how amazing he was, there was no way he could do such a thing alone.
Even though the White Wolf Unit was with him, this was the Murim Alliance.
It meant that it was on a completely different level from fighting mere Demonic Leaders or a faction like the Evil Love Palace.
Still, he was grateful that he would even make such a joke.
Because he was able to laugh refreshingly for the first time in a while.
Jegal Gil answered, still holding a smile.
“If you did that, you would become the public enemy of Murim.”
“Well, what does it matter?”
Yeo Un-hwi shrugged as if it were nothing.
At that sight, Jegal Gil burst into loud laughter once again.
To the point where he wondered if he had ever laughed like this recently.
However, he could never have imagined.
Yeo Un-hwi truly had such an experience, and it took the Murim Alliance, the Nine Great Sects, and several of the Twelve Venerables stepping forward to barely stop him.
“I’m serious, you know.”
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, Jegal Gil’s mind calmed down.
He truly felt reassured just by those words.
“Thank you.”
Soon, Jegal Gil stretched out his body and gathered his strength again.
“Still, I will try to struggle a bit, and if it still doesn’t work out, I will ask for your help then.”
Yeo Un-hwi nodded at those words.
Soon, Jegal Gil returned with a much more comfortable face than when he had come to find him.
Quietly watching his retreating back, Yeo Un-hwi made a face as if he had made up his mind about something.
And the next day.
Finally, someone from the Alliance Leader’s Hall came looking for him.
The atmosphere inside the Alliance Leader’s Hall was not much different from how it was when he had just arrived here.
The atmosphere was still heavy, and everyone was openly glaring at Yeo Un-hwi with displeased faces.
Except for the Chief Strategist, Jegal Mun.
“Ahem.”
He had called him because he couldn’t drag out the time any longer, but the Alliance Leader, Song Il-do, seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth at all.
Being someone who subtly cared about formalities, he didn’t want to deal with the likes of a Son-in-law of the Peng Family.
Because of this, even with Yeo Un-hwi standing there, only silence lingered inside the Alliance Leader’s Hall for a while.
This was a display of thoroughly ignoring and humiliating the person in question, but Yeo Un-hwi didn’t care in the slightest and was examining them one by one.
“Right. These are the ones eating away at the Orthodox Martial World.”
The ones called Elders all had greedy looks in their eyes.
In the midst of that, he could see that only Jegal Mun was fighting a lonely battle.
“There have been various matters in Murim here and there, so we kept you waiting a long time while urgently handling them. I apologize.”
Having no other choice, Jegal Mun opened his mouth first.
“No. It is fine.”
“Right. I heard that you and the White Wolf Unit did many good deeds on your way here. Excellent.”
The reason the Peng Family was called here today was strictly to hear an explanation regarding its association with the Demonic Path.
However, before demanding that explanation, Jegal Mun first praised the recent actions of the Peng Family and the White Wolf Unit.
It was his intention to deliberately mention their actions to indirectly let the Elders here know how nonsensical it was to demand an explanation for the Peng Family’s associating with the Unorthodox Faction.
Because cutting down countless Villains of the Unorthodox Faction on their way here was no different from having already provided a sufficient explanation.
Yeo Un-hwi also had such an intention all along to show those actions after striking the Evil Love Palace.
Thanks to that, everyone now knew how stupid the claim that the Peng Family associated with the Demonic Path would sound to people’s ears.
But absurdly, those actions made the Elders even more uncomfortable.
In their eyes, those actions of the Peng Family appeared to be mocking them.
Furthermore, what made them feel even worse was that the one who visited the Murim Alliance in the midst of all this was not the Family Head, Peng Mugang, but the Son-in-law of the Peng Family.
“This makes no sense.”
Having remained silent until now, when Jegal Mun praised Yeo Un-hwi and the White Wolf Unit, one of the Elders who couldn’t stand the sight of it shouted.
“How can that man, who is merely a Son-in-law, represent the Peng Family? Regardless of the inquiry, this attitude shown by the Peng Family beforehand is undoubtedly looking down on the Murim Alliance!”
“Ahem. That is correct.”
At his words, the Elders added their voices one by one.
Then, the Elder who had spoken pointed his finger at Yeo Un-hwi with a triumphant face and said.
“You. Go back right now and tell your precious Family Head to come here himself. How dare the likes of the Peng Family insult the Murim Alliance.”
Jegal Mun was dumbfounded.
To them, the fact that the White Wolf Unit and Yeo Un-hwi had cut down Villains and saved people on their way here was of no concern.
Satisfying their own pride and desires was all that mattered.
How could they be so unreasonable?
To pick a fight first and then get angry.
But in the midst of that, Song Il-do didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping them, and Jang Cheong was merely watching with a small smile.
He was the only one who could stop them.
However,
“You are saying some truly amusing things.”
Before Jegal Mun could step forward, Yeo Un-hwi opened his mouth first.
Even though he could have been intimidated by the attitude of the Elders joining their voices together, Yeo Un-hwi showed no signs of shrinking back and instead smiled.
“Is it really okay for me to go back? But even if I do, there is no way the Patriarch will come here.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that right? When the Peng Family was on the verge of disappearing, you pretended not to know, but now you’re picking a fight, saying we’re associating with the Demonic Path or whatever. He held it in and sent me at least, yet you act like this. I don’t know who is the one acting audaciously here.”
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, the Elders' faces contorted.