Episode 77


    I headed that way to Bonghwa.


    Cheonwoo Dojang didn’t show where he was and what he was doing, and Cheon Ga-ryeong, who somehow knew, followed him like a ghost and asked to apany him.


    “So what are you going to Bonghwa for?”


    “A letter has arrived from Damun Sohyeop. “He asked me toe to his ce.”


    The vige near Seoldusan Mountain was crowded with martial artists from all over.


    ck swordsmen armed with swords roamed everywhere.


    Before getting off the carriage, I took out the fox mask from my pocket and handed it to Cheon Ga-ryeong.


    “Why is this?”


    “Write. “I don’t want to get caught up in an unnecessary dispute.”


    “Why do you think dark people who fall in love with my beauty wille to work?”


    “I don’t want to increase work unnecessarily.”


    Instead of receiving the mask, Cheon Ga-ryeong unpacked the baggage he had brought with him and took out a bamboo stick.


    Cotton threads were hanging down along the edge of the bamboo rib.


    “Is this okay?”


    I nodded, putting the fox mask in my arms.


    After getting off the car, he and Cheon Ga-ryeong headed to the guesthouse where they had previously stayed to attack Gija Cheon’s secret abode.


    “what?”


    “Who are you?”


    The ck people who were sitting together in the restaurant on the first floor of the inn, chatting loudly and drinking, all turned to look at me.


    I ignored them and called a man who wasing down the stairs.


    “Dam Sohyeop.”


    “Ah boss! “Pleasee here.”


    The ck swordsmen only red at me and Cheon Ga-ryeong with angry eyes and did not do much to stop them.


    When I entered the dormitory on this floor with Damun, I asked him about the situation.


    “Looking at it, it looks like the dark people are upying the entire guesthouse. Why are they staying in a ce like this?”


    “There is no other ce to stay other than here. Whether it’s a guest house or a private house, everything is upied by ck thieves. “If you go to the outskirts, you will easily findrge barracks built to make up for theck of amodation.”


    “I’m not asking that.”


    “You may be wondering why the ck inders kept me here, even giving me insufficient amodation.”


    “That’s right.”


    “It’s because I went to Master of the Swords and des and made a suggestion.”


    “proposal?”


    “He asked me to give him money in return for his help in disarming the forces spread out on Mt. Snowdu.”


    Laughter naturally flowed out.


    Isn’t it too vicious to say that he will make a lot of money in return for letting us pass through the trap he himself prepared?


    “But since I was negotiating with a group of ck swordsmen, I couldn’t help but worry about my personal safety. So, I would like to ask the captain to escort me.”


    “Are you okay? Even if you do something like that.”


    “Actually, I was thinking about beating the ck swordsmen and attacking Bi-dong first, then holding an auction with the martial arts records. “I thought that if I had a captain, I could at least avoid the situation of having my military honors taken away and being destroyed.”


    “her… … .”


    “But it seemed like there would be problems in many ways. In the worst case, there is a risk that this fight will be discovered as our intention. So I decided to approach it in a different way.”


    “Would you like to make a contract with one of the dark forces that participated in the contest and receivepensation in return for helping disarm the trap?”


    “yes. “I thought there would be no problem that way.”


    “How much did you agree to receive?”


    “The amount has not been decided yet. This must be adjusted through negotiations with the West Ind Ark. “You may be able to extract a muchrger amount than you think.”


    “Is there a reason you chose the calligraphy room?”


    “Actually, I visited other forces once as well. “I just chose the ce with the best treatment.”


    Damun shrugged his shoulders and responded naturally.


    I asked, stretching.


    “Have you had this in mind since you first nned the battle for Bidong?”


    “That’s right.”


    “It’s really a good brew.”


    “If possible, shouldn’t we take care of not only reputation but also practical benefit? This side issued a military deration of rising. “If we don’t do this, we won’t be able to make ends meet.”


    “…….”


    “If I receivepensation from the Lord of the West, I will give half to the captain.”


    “Half?”


    “Isn’t it the captain who wrote the military service in the first ce? Think of it as something simr to sales proceeds.”


    “If you get paid, what do you n to do with it?”


    “I would like to follow the leader’s lead and make an investment.”


    Cheon Ga-ryeong, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation from behind, tilted her head.


    “invest?


    “…….”


    I ignored her gaze asking for an exnation and continued the conversation with Damun.


    “Didn’t you say that it would be difficult if Bidong was captured before the Japanese subjugation waspleted?”


    “I heard that the Japanese subjugation is now at its end. And it will take quite some time to conclude the negotiations and be ready.”


    “What do you n to do if the West Ind Ark does not give you thepensation you promised? “There is no guarantee that the person in the dark will obediently keep his promise.”


    “The captain should step forward at that time.”


    “…I thought you would say that. I understand for now. Stick to your n. “I will support you.”


    Damwoon gave a hug with a faint smile on his lips.


    “thank you. Leader.”


    * * *


    “what?”


    The six-foot-tall man mmed the table with a loud bang and stood up from his seat.


    Kwak Cheol-jin, the master of the Calligraphy Ark.


    He was a dark-skinned person in appearance.


    Three scars running across the face.


    His entire body was studded with solid muscles, and his forearms exposed outside his clothes were covered in all sorts of scars and tattoos.


    Incongruent to the weather, he wore a military uniform that exposed his shoulders, and a long sword was tied to his waist.


    ‘He is a talented person who is about to reach his peak.’


    Should we really say that he is the leader of therge ck Ind Bangpa?


    The prayers emitted were terrifying.


    His level, which is known to the public, is at its peak, but when I saw him in person, I felt that he was stronger than the poisonous snake sword that I had faced before in Chengdu.


    “Calm down your excitement.”


    “Do you think I will ept such a ridiculous request?”


    “I don’t know why it doesn’t make sense. “I didn’t ask you to share the martial arts skills that Sa Il-sang left behind.”


    “Isn’t the amount toorge?”


    “How much ie does Seodobang make per year? “You probably have that much extra money, right?”


    “Not possible. “It’s not worth listening to anymore.”


    “I can’t do it. “If the Ark refuses, we have no choice but to find the leader of another faction.”


    “No one will grant such an absurd demand.”


    “You don’t know that. It is true that I asked for arge amount of money, but isn’t this only a temporary loss? “It would be nothingpared to the benefits gained by continuing the progress made in the daily affairs.”


    “…….”


    I sipped the tea Sibi served and watched the conversation between the two with interest.


    Despite the pressure from Seodo Ark, Damun did not show any signs of being intimidated.


    Instead, I coaxed him with a rxed smile on my lips.


    There was conflict on Seodo Ark’s face.


    “It was said that with sufficient preparation, we could attack Bidong within five days.”


    “yes.”


    “What if I can’t?”


    “I will not ept any of the promisedpensation.”


    “That alone is not enough.”


    “Then let me put my neck on the line as well.”


    “…You’re full of confidence.”


    “Didn’t I tell you? “There is no one as capable as me in this field.”


    “Why has such a great talent been hiding out in Hangzhou’s red-light districts?”


    “Are you investigating my background?”


    “Because you can’t trust someone whose identity you don’t know.”


    “Then you probably know my origins.”


    “Samaun, the true man of the Sima family.”


    “I abandoned that name. “Please call me Damun.”


    “The name doesn’t really matter.”


    “As you know, the Simase Family is a prestigious family that has produced countless outstanding martial artists. “At one time, he had enormous powerparable to that of the Zhuge family.”


    “That is a story from the past. “Right now, at best, I’m just a ghost hanging on the glory of the past.”


    “They say that even if a rich person goes bankrupt, it willst for three generations. Although the Sima family has fallen, the vision that the family has umted over many years remains. As Sima Se-ju’s own son, I have learned them all. I also have the experience of studying abroad at Zhuge Dynasty.”


    “I am different from other true fighters. “It seems like you want to say that.”


    “That’s right.”


    Damun nodded confidently.


    Seodo Ark, who had been pondering for a while while rubbing his chin, sighed.


    He said, putting his butt back on the chair.


    “You have to take responsibility for the words you say.”


    “Do not worry.”


    “I ept the offer. However, I wish the amount would be adjusted a little. The situation in Seodobang is not as rxed as you think. A considerable amount of manpower and goods were wasted in this battle to take over Bidong…”


    In the end, the negotiations ended with Seodo Ark taking a step back.


    Then the two people started writing a contract.


    The ck men standing behind the Western Ark looked nk when they saw the amount written on the contract.


    I was equally surprised.


    I thought I knew why Damwoon had asked me for help.


    A variety of evil intentions are bound to be involved inrge sums of money.


    The end of this contract would never be pretty.


    Damun folded the contract and ced it in his arms, bowed politely and spoke.


    “Please take care of me in the future. “Ark.”


    “…Please take care of me.”


    * * *


    After concluding the negotiations with the West Ind Ark, Damwoon and I returned to the lodgings and discussed the future.


    They said it was a discussion, but in reality, all I did was listen to Damwoon’s exnation.


    By the time I finished the story.


    Cheon Ga-ryeong handed me a letter and said,


    “Something like this came while you and Dam Sohyeop went to negotiate with Seodo Bangju.”


    “What do you mean it flew?”


    “It’s a manuscript.”


    When I turned to look in the direction she was pointing with her index finger, shards of a broken window came into view.


    I asked, frowning slightly.


    “Have you checked the contents?”


    “The time and ce are written down. “He even threatened to kill the group if they didn’te.”


    “What is the purpose?”


    “It seems like the writer of the letter saw my face. “I happened to find myself sitting by the window and looking outside while passing by.”


    I narrowed my eyes and muttered.


    “……by chance?”


    While passing by a guesthouse upied by dark warriors, he spotted Cheon Ga-ryeong, fell in love with her appearance, and wrote a letter containing a death threat to her?


    It was a story that was not easy to understand.


    Seo Do-bang boasted thergest size among the ck Ind forces camped in the area.


    I can’t believe that there is someone in a study room like that who wouldmit such a radical act and cause a fight.


    This was something that normally couldn’t happen.


    ‘Could it be that this was done not by an outsider but by Seo Do-bang’s thugs?’