Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#098

“Use…? What do you mean by pinning it on him?”

“Regardless of the truth, it’s a fact that the Fourth Young Master happened to be in that vicinity at that time. We use that. If we summon him and pressure him starting with that, do you think someone who just became Fourth Young Master has ever faced such pressure in his life? He’ll panic, make excuses that don’t work either way, and might even slip up.”

Namgung Taejin’s expression changed subtly.

“Use this opportunity to bring Fourth Young Master Namgung Hwi under control?”

“Yes. A massive business requires an equally massive dumping ground. How about creating a scapegoat who can handle all your troublesome matters, Third Young Master, and take the blame for everything in the worst-case scenario? By alternating between the carrot and the stick.”

“…”

“If you succeed in making the Fourth Young Master, who has the weakest support base and power, into Third Young Master Namgung Taejin’s exclusive chess piece, it will be an incomparably greater gain than some money-making Yaxiang Guild in your future competition with the First and Second Young Masters.”

“That’s a brilliant move!”

Namgung Taejin shot up from his seat.

“For example, that damn Cheonli Network that’s been giving me headaches lately…! You mean a chess piece I can pin everything on, like this Yaxiang Guild incident and all those other troublesome things?”

Kwak Hyeong nodded with satisfaction.

“Exactly. The Cheonli Network intelligence organization has lost all trust anyway since the branch leader betrayed us. The maintenance costs are enormous, and no one trusts them enough to do business with them. Honestly, in its current state, it’s just a useless pig that eats money. And there are at least three other such cases, aren’t there? Including the cleanup of this Yaxiang Guild incident.”

“Good thinking, Kwak Hyeong. But…”

He tapped the armrest with his finger.

-Tap, tap, tap.

The rhythmic sound echoed in the room.

“The problem is, regardless of the truth, will he come to me first on his own? If I suddenly summon him and start interrogating him, it might look strange…”

Just then.

“Namgung Taejin, sir.”

A maid’s voice came from outside the door.

“Fourth Young Master Namgung Hwi has come to see you, sir. What should I do?”

Namgung Taejin and Kwak Hyeong’s eyes met.

Namgung Taejin’s eyes narrowed.

‘Namgung Hwi, that bastard came to me first in this situation?’

Kwak Hyeong said.

“This works out even better. Strike while the iron is hot.”

“…You’re right.”

A sinister light appeared in Namgung Taejin’s eyes.

“It wouldn’t be virtuous to let go of a beast that came to be devoured.”

And he called out toward the door.

“Let him in.”

***

The door opened and Fourth Young Master Namgung Hwi entered, his dark blue martial robes fluttering.

Perhaps curious about Namgung Taejin’s residence, which he was visiting for the first time, he kept looking around.

“Your younger brother greets you, elder brother.”

Namgung Hwi politely cupped his hands in greeting.

Kwak Hyeong, standing beside with his hands clasped, gave a subtle signal with his eyes.

Namgung Taejin spoke in a calm voice.

“Well, if it isn’t Fourth Young Master Hwi. This is the first time since our last greeting. What brings you here so suddenly?”

“I have something to tell you, elder brother, and something to discuss, so I stopped by while passing through.”

“Something to discuss?”

Namgung Hwi looked around the room carefully.

It was a spacious room.

Befitting the Third Young Master’s status, silk screens surrounded all sides, and expensive porcelain and paintings were placed throughout.

And in one corner, a table pushed aside with broken legs and cracks on its surface.

“…Yes. Actually.”

Namgung Hwi met Namgung Taejin’s gaze.

“I was walking around outside yesterday when something strange happened.”

“Something strange?”

“You know the alleys that extend from the Anhui Market in the western direction of Mount Cheonju. While passing through that market, I encountered some Black Dao thugs who were oppressing innocent people.”

Namgung Taejin hesitated.

“…Black Dao?”

“It doesn’t make sense for Black Dao to be operating in broad daylight in Anhui, which is under Namgung control. As a member of the Namgung Family, I couldn’t just stand by, so I taught them a lesson together with my guard while hiding our identities.”

Namgung Taejin responded nonchalantly.

“Well done. Were they outsiders who just arrived? They have some nerve.”

“Yes, but the problem is these guys said something strange.”

Namgung Hwi tilted his head slightly with his dark eyes.

“They said things like ‘someone above is protecting us,’ ‘aren’t you afraid of consequences,’ ‘who are you people.'”

“…”

“It was absurd, but just in case… Yes, so just in case, I wanted to discuss it first and came to Third Young Master, with whom I have some familiarity.”

Namgung Taejin asked with curiosity.

“There are also the First and Second Young Masters, aren’t there?”

“I may have just become Fourth Young Master and don’t know much about worldly affairs, but when I asked around, I learned that the alley area around that Anhui Market is often connected to your businesses and subordinates, elder brother.

As you know, within Anhui, our Namgung Family greatly respects each other’s territories.

Rather than overlap, we expand outward. Whether it’s between family heads or young masters.

So I thought it would be proper to come to you first, elder brother.”

Silence fell.

“Do you know anything related to this?”

The air in the room became strangely heavy.

Namgung Taejin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

‘This little puppy, he’s brazenly come here to threaten me, hasn’t he?’

But that was all.

Namgung Taejin’s outward appearance showed no change whatsoever.

“Is that all? Nothing else strange happened?”

“After that, I couldn’t catch the Black Dao thugs who ran away, but the surrounding area was quite chaotic. I didn’t know the details, but there was also a big fire inside.”

“I see. So that’s why you came to me.”

Namgung Taejin slowly rose to his feet.

As his massive frame moved, the chair creaked.

“Brother Hwi, you’re quite naive. I’m worried about how you’ll survive being so innocent.”

It was a low voice.

There was no agitation in it.

Rather, it flowed with composure.

“Such bluffing is what Black Dao thugs say as a habit, and you believed it and came here. I thought something big had happened.”

“…What?”

“‘Someone above protects us,’ ‘we have backing.’ When dealing with street thugs and Black Dao scum, nine out of ten put on such airs. Why? Because it gives weight to their words and actions, and they can immediately intimidate those with weak spirits. Just like brother Hwi right now.”

Namgung Taejin chuckled.

“You believed it completely and came running to your elder brother. Do you have any evidence then?”

Namgung Hwi was about to open his mouth to say something.

Cutting him off, Namgung Taejin asked.

“Or did you see some evidence at that fire scene?”

“…”

“There’s been a lot of talk about that fire scene lately. I’ve been looking for the culprit too, and this is quite a coincidence. Since brother Hwi happened to be there, I should ask you. Do you know anything about the fire scene?”

“What happened there?”

“Ah, well. Last night a black dao organization called Yaxiang Guild was destroyed and the place where the main residence was located caught fire. I received a report that it burned down completely.”

He tapped the armrest with his finger.

“Do you know about it?”

“Yaxiang Guild?”

Namgung Hwi blinked his eyes.

“It’s… it’s the first time I’m hearing that name.”

“Really? First time hearing it? Hmm, first time. Well, I suppose that’s possible.”

Namgung Taejin’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“But there’s something strange. At that exact time, near that area, there was also a report of someone seeing my younger brother.”

“…”

“Those Yaxiang Guild bastards are parasitic vermin infesting that alley. We were managing them, then gradually fattening them up to wipe them out all at once. We were even exchanging correspondence with them.”

“…”

“When sweeping a courtyard, no idiot picks up leaves one by one. You gather them all in one place and then clear them out all at once to make it clean.”

Of course, this was a lie.

But what could he do?

To refute it, he would first have to admit he was there.

As Namgung Taejin expected, Namgung Hwi remained silent.

Namgung Taejin clicked his tongue and continued.

“But! Some bastard scattered it all like an idiot. Which fool was overflowing with such heroic spirit to pull such a stunt… Really. And if you’re going to do it, at least do it properly. Do you know what’s happening outside now? I’m getting a massive headache because of this.”

Namgung Hwi’s complexion turned ashen gray.

“Aren’t they just simple black dao thugs? But what… what kind of trouble could there be?”

“What they burned down claiming to be Yaxiang Guild’s main residence wasn’t just one place. There are at least two or more connected organizations, and those organizations are in complete chaos like a stirred beehive. They’re searching everywhere like hunting lice to find whoever destroyed their stronghold.”

This was only half true.

The black dao circles managing the juru, brothels, and inns that Namgung Taejin was overseeing were actually bitter enemies of each other and were welcoming the collapsed situation.

But there was no need to tell the whole truth.

Namgung Taejin’s voice lowered.

“You might not know, younger brother, but that’s how black dao works. They have no face or dignity. They’re the type who must repay grudges to feel satisfied. Especially these guys have nothing to lose, so they act first and think later. You won’t be able to sleep peacefully from now on. What a predicament. No individual can beat a group, so I really hope this righteous young master who pulled this stunt has solid backing forces around him.”

Looking at Namgung Hwi whose face had turned ashen, Namgung Taejin forcibly swallowed the smile that was emerging.

What an idiot.

No matter how smart they pretend to be, this is the problem with noble family children who don’t know the outside world.

Whether it’s superior martial arts or whatever, they couldn’t possibly have the insight like me, who has experienced all kinds of hardships outside and understood the ways of the world.

These types, when you threaten them with slight exaggerations based on some truth, anxiety like ‘what if’ sprouts like mold in their hearts and devours them.

Though he’s called the Fourth Young Master, I know this guy currently has no supporting forces and hasn’t officially gained support from any of the Five Great Patriarchs yet.

He has no connections in the martial arts world and is like a ship drifting alone.

Most importantly and decisively, he has no forces of his own.

Though he was recently officially appointed as Fourth Young Master, what does it matter whether a Fourth Young Master without martial artists to serve as his hands and feet gets officially appointed or not?

The system of four young masters doesn’t have meaning in itself anyway.

It only has meaning as a process to temporarily pass through to achieve the goal of becoming Young Master, but in itself it’s just an awkward and useless thing.

‘But he really is a weak bastard. This kind of guy is the Fourth Young Master.’

Looking at his face, Fourth Young Master Namgung Hwi was already a sinking ship.

‘Well… looking into it later, he was the guy who got beaten daily by Namgung Cheon, who had Sword Master’s backing, and was called a mule. I guess this is natural.’

Namgung Taejin composed his expression.

‘How’s that? Whatever fortune you gained, whatever training you did, you might think you have some power, but this is the martial arts world, this is what the world is like, kid.’

Namgung Taejin thought.

Now the initiative has definitely shifted to my side.

But I don’t plan to end it here.

“Ah right! Look at my mind! The black dao thugs aren’t even the problem. This is the most urgent matter.”

Namgung Hwi asked stammering.

“Su… surely there isn’t another problem there?”

“The customers who were secretly enjoying pleasures at Yaxiang Guild were all dragged out to the streets with the fire and thrown around. This also seems like the old-fashioned chivalry or inability to tolerate injustice that old martial artists used to show, but it backfired. What kind of behavior is this? Even a child would think about the consequences before acting.”

“What? Backfired?”

Now Namgung Hwi was panting and couldn’t even manage his complexion properly.

“There were imperial administrators there. There were also children of various minor local tyrants. Wouldn’t they want to find whoever humiliated them by any means? In short, the underworld is in complete chaos trying to capture that person and dismember him.”

“…”

“Especially since they have unlimited funds and such, they’ll make requests to assassins and do such things. By any chance, younger brother Hwi, do you know about assassins?”

Namgung Hwi made a terrified expression.

“N… no. Assassins, even assassins. I’ve only heard about such things in stories.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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