I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Stepping into the Murim Alliance for no good reason — Episode 53
Jang Gae, the chief of the Gaebang, speaks to Sa U-rin.
“The seating’s shabby, but you can sit. What are you waiting for? Jade-Faced Jade Dragon. Come on, take a seat.”
At Jang Gae’s words, Sa U-rin’s already bright, clean face shines even brighter.
“Is that so?”
“Heh heh heh. Of course it should be. We’re here to drink and eat meat, after all.”
The comrades watching glare at Sa U-rin as though they could kill him.
‘……No…….’
‘We risked our lives coming all this way because of him…….’
‘Why is that bastard like this?’
‘……I think I understand now.’
‘That cursed youngest’s weakness…….’
‘The moment you smear honey on that face, he loses his mind.’
‘Yeah, I think something like this happened before too.’
Then Jang Chun steps forward, cutting through the moment.
“My apologies, but the meat and wine will be for your enjoyment alone.”
The chief of the Gaebang’s smile stiffens at once.
“……So that’s it. I did wonder why you brought such expensive wine. Well then, what do you want? Bringing this much meat and wine suggests you’re after something quite substantial.”
“You should expect something far bigger than your imagination suggests.”
“If that’s the case, this much meat and wine wouldn’t be enough to cover it, would it?”
Whatever it is, if Jang Chun is speaking like this, they must indeed be after something truly great.
“So, on top of the meat and wine, we’re adding one more thing.”
“What would that be?”
Yet clearly, there’s nothing more in his hands.
“You’ll be astonished when you hear it.”
“Heh heh, is that so? Now I’m curious. Tell me.”
A beggar—and one who has rolled around in the Gangho for over a decade to become chief of the Gaebang—rarely finds anything worthy of astonishment.
It’s more surprising that he still believes there are things left to surprise him.
“U-rin here is the son of our brother.”
“Haha. Our brother? What brother could we possibly have…….”
In that instant, something struck hard—just one thing—through Jang Gae’s mind.
Jang Gae’s eyes widened like lanterns.
“You don’t mean……, you’re talking about Sa Cheol-gang?”
Jang Gae had also been a younger brother who followed Sa Cheol-gang faithfully when he was at Melma. He revered Sa Cheol-gang as a brother more than the patriarch of the Gaebang, king of all beggars.
“That’s right.”
“So……, Jade-Faced Jade Dragon is Sa Cheol-gang’s son, is that it?”
Jang Gae glances sidelong at Sa U-rin’s face once more to confirm.
“Since it is, it is.”
Yet no matter how carefully he examined him, he couldn’t find any resemblance to Sa Cheol-gang.
Jang Gae’s suspicious gaze pierces Jang Chun.
“……But. Did Sa Cheol-gang have a son?”
“If he does exist, I wouldn’t be telling you now, would I?”
The corners of Jang Gae’s mouth begin to rise, cautiously and slowly.
“Are you mocking me right now? I’m Jang Gae. Jang Gae. Chief of the Gaebang.”
“I knew you’d say something like that.”
Jang Gae examines Jang Chun’s face from every angle.
“So you’re saying Sa Cheol-gang had a woman? And you want me to believe that? Sa Cheol-gang always looked at women like they were stones…….”
“You should remember. Wasn’t there a crazy woman back in those days?”
“……That crazy woman you mention……, ah, you can’t mean……?”
“I do. Jang Ryeo.”
He was speaking of Jang Ryeo, the supreme master of Sa Pa.
In that moment, in Jang Gae’s mind, the face of the supreme master of Sa Pa and the face of Sa U-rin standing before him overlap.
‘……No, this can’t be!’
Then Jang Gae claps his hands hard.
Snap!
“That’s it! That woman……no, the supreme master of Sa Pa has exactly her face.”
“That’s right.”
“Incredible! How is this possible! Hahahaha!”
That Sa Cheol-gang, an iron wall before women, had such a relationship with that crazy woman……no, with Jang Ryeo of Sa Pa!
And he even had a son!
Jang Gae was delighted, as if this were his own joy.
So pleased was he that he opened his arms wide as if to embrace the Gangho itself, stepping toward Sa U-rin.
The son of the man he so deeply respected—it filled him with warmth and genuine happiness.
But then Sa U-rin reached out a hand and stopped him.
“Just a moment, please.”
“…Why? I’m simply so glad—”
“The smell is too strong.”
How to describe it?
Years upon years of grime—or rather, decay—clung to him with an acrid, invasive reek that stabbed at the nostrils. Until now, keeping his distance had made it bearable, but as Jang Gae drew near, the stench of a vagrant hit Sa U-rin’s nose so sharply he nearly wrinkled it out of existence.
Jang Gae’s expression turned bittersweet.
“Tsk. You certainly didn’t inherit your father’s nose. Sa Cheol-gang never minded my smell at all.”
The man had borne Jang Gae’s odor with remarkable tolerance.
Then Jang Chun, his confusion plain—or perhaps his bewilderment acute—turned to Sa U-rin.
“U-rin, you don’t seem surprised at all.”
After all, you’ve just learned of a mother’s existence you never knew before.
“I’ve already met her once. But what’s strange to me is how much more you know about her than this man does. What exactly was your relationship to my father?”
Sa U-rin was not alone in his curiosity. Jang Hye-in and his men shared it equally.
“It seems, then, that all the warriors here already know.”
At that, everyone nodded in agreement.
Know? Was that all they did?
With him constantly threatening “Want to die?” they’d genuinely feared death many times.
Still, thanks to him, they’d been spared what could well have been their final moment, so gratitude was certainly warranted.
Jang Chun’s words continued.
“Now that you should understand, U-rin, I’ll speak. You already know your father came from Melma, yes?”
“Yes. Dok Wang mentioned that.”
“I see. Sometimes I think Dok Wang may have been closer to Sa Cheol-gang than any of us. I was his information gatherer. My Dantian is ruined now, true, but I was once fairly skilled myself.”
Jang Gae suddenly interjected.
“Bullshit.”
Jang Hye-in too broke in abruptly.
“And what of this gentleman keeper here?”
“Ah, I was the one who carried information so he could work as a gatherer. Heh heh heh. Those were good times, truly. My brother’s damned stubbornness meant we nearly died every time we opened our eyes. Ha ha ha. Remembering the old days now… how wonderful it feels. Back then, life had real flavor.”
Even those moments of near-death danger now painted themselves in Jang Gae’s memory as days of happiness.
As the keeper Jang Gae sank into nostalgia and joy, Jang Chun did not remain silent.
“Pah. Anyone listening would think it true. You fool. “Every time we opened our eyes we nearly died.” Where does such nonsense come from? Tsk.”
“That’s just a manner of speaking. Are you beginning to resemble Sa Cheol-gang? How thick your skull has grown. Ugh.”
“So it was.”
Yes. So it was—the bond between Sa Cheol-gang, Jang Chun, and Jang Gae.
Deep.
Deep, yet clear enough to see through entirely.
And because of that clarity, they trusted, and could stand together.
For this reason, to Jang Chun and Jang Gae, Sa U-rin was like a son.
Jang Gae spoke again, his tone brightening.
“Good. I’ve received a great gift today, so I’ll give you anything you ask.”
“You must keep that promise.”
“Don’t worry. Speak freely.”
Jang Chun cleared his throat briefly, then opened his mouth.
“Just before arriving here, a woman I know was abducted nearby. So right now…”
Jang Chun could not finish. Jang Gae cut him off with a voice that brooked no argument.
“Absolutely not. That is utterly forbidden. You of all people—how dare you speak such words aloud?!”
“Do you think I’d have come to you if I weren’t desperate?”
“No. Under no circumstances. Never. Take this meat and wine back with you!”
The warm atmosphere shattered in an instant.
His anger still burning after finishing, Jang Gae spoke again.
“You run gambling dens and inns and finally eat your fill, and this is what you’ve learned? You think you can come here with such talk—bringing Sa Cheol-gang’s own son no less—and what were you thinking?! What possible thought drove you here?!”
“You think I wanted to come?! Damn it!”
“Then what in hell are you doing here?!”
“Because that brat U-rin insists he must find this woman—he inherited his father’s stubborn nature, the fool, and whatever he sets his mind to, he does unconditionally! He’s dead set on finding this woman and won’t budge, so what am I supposed to do about it?! If you’re so clever, break his stubbornness yourself!”
Jang Gae’s blazing anger suddenly extinguished.
“…What? This boy?”
“Yes, you fool. Didn’t I tell you? Pigheaded and stubborn as they come.”
“Then…….”
Ah.
I think I understand now.
The stubbornness came from Sa Cheol-gang, and the recklessness……, from the Sa Pa Patriarch’s eldest daughter.
It aches. It aches.
Like my head’s about to split.
How did he manage to inherit all the worst traits?
Jang Gae’s expression sank deeper into bewilderment. Yet Jang Chun opened his mouth again.
“Whether you tell him or not, this fool will go looking with all his might. The trouble’s already started, the deed’s already done. So step up. If nothing else, do it to save Sa Cheol-gang’s son.”
“……Sigh.”
Only a breath escaped Jang Gae’s lips.
They’ll all die. Every last one of them.
Sa Cheol-gang’s son and those swordsmen with him, too.
That was how Sa Cheol-gang was.
He wouldn’t give death a second thought, wouldn’t entertain fear for a moment.
His son being Sa Cheol-gang’s blood……, I understand it.
But still…….
Lord.
“Will you just sigh the whole time?”
“……Give me a moment. Let me think.”
“What good is thinking when there’s no answer?”
“Even so!”
“You too……. Fine. Think all you want. Only your head will hurt.”
“…….”
He was right.
Only his head hurt. No—now his heart hurt too.
So he asked.
“Does it hurt for you too?”
“Of course it hurts. Why wouldn’t it?”
“……I suppose so.”
Besides, Jang Chun and he had spent years together.
“Hah. This is really wrong.”
“Knowing it’s wrong doesn’t change anything. Still…….”
“That’s not what I mean. Well, that part’s true, but this……. Lord.”
“What is it? What else?”
After spending more than a couple of years together, Jang Gae’s face and manner told Jang Chun most of what he needed to know.
“……There is something. There is. How strange, that even this…….”
“Don’t just think it—say it aloud.”
“It’s like this……. Lord.”
“Come on.”
“Fine, you wretch. Once I say this…….”
Jang Gae glanced at Sa U-rin and the soldiers behind him.
“Don’t worry. They’ve all kept their tongues still, or we wouldn’t still be together.”
“……That’s true. What I’m about to say, even you don’t know.”
“I don’t know?”
“No. You could say I just learned it now, the same way you just learned he’s Sa Cheol-gang’s son.”
“So now that you know, out with it.”
Jang Gae’s thick Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“Everyone thinks it was the current Heavenly Demon who cut off Sa Cheol-gang’s arms.”
“……That’s what I believe.”
Sa U-rin spoke as well.
“That is my understanding too.”
“But it wasn’t.”
Jang Chun’s eyes widened.
“……It wasn’t? Then who is it that took Sa Cheol-gang’s arms?”
“It was two months before Sa Cheol-gang’s arms were severed.”
Jang Chun began to recall that old matter once more.

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