I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 99

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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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Pointlessly Entering the Murim Alliance — Episode 099
Sa U-rin, Witch Jang Ryeo, and So Seol-ru arrived at Daeheugmun only after spending three days together inside a carriage.
The moment the Supreme Elder of the Sapha, Witch Jang Ryeo, burst into Daeheugmun without warning, the Sect Master of Daeheugmun, So In-hu, found himself in disarray.
“Might I ask what business brings the Supreme Elder to our humble Daeheugmun?”
“You seem out of sorts.”
“……Not at all. Though had you sent word in advance, I would not have received you so hastily.”
“I didn’t come to be entertained. And since I have no intention of staying long, I’ll state my purpose plainly.”
The Sect Master of Daeheugmun bowed respectfully.
“I’m listening.”
“I hear you have the younger brother of the Head of the So Family here. Hand him over to me.”
“That boy is……”
He absolutely could not give him up. To keep So Seol-ru obedient, the boy had to be held as leverage.
Those were their orders.
“I see refusal written across your face. But I desire it. What will you do?”
The Supreme Elder of the Sapha desires it?
Could Daeheugmun truly prevent the Supreme Elder of the Sapha, Witch Jang Ryeo, from taking what she wanted?
If they intervened directly, perhaps they could stop her—but they were absent now. And they would not wish to sacrifice their own resources for Daeheugmun.
In other words, the Sect Master of Daeheugmun, So In-hu, had no choice. Nothing remained but to surrender what the Supreme Elder of the Sapha demanded.
‘They, too……’
They had never imagined their Supreme Elder would take the trouble to come in person over something so trivial.
The Sect Master of Daeheugmun, So In-hu, spoke to the warrior behind him.
“Go. Bring me Yu-chan, that boy.”
“As you command.”
The warrior disappeared to fetch Yu-chan, So Seol-ru’s younger brother. Shortly after, the Sect Master of Daeheugmun addressed Witch Jang Ryeo.
“Please wait just a moment.”
Soon the warrior returned with So Seol-ru’s brother, Yu-chan. And so Sa U-rin and Witch Jang Ryeo departed Daeheugmun with So Seol-ru’s younger brother in tow.
Then—
The Sect Master of Daeheugmun, So In-hu, furrowed his brow and hurled the question at So Seol-ru.
“What in the world have you done? Do you have a death wish?”
“I don’t think I’m going to die.”
This much was certain: they valued those who had mastered the Hunyeon Gong immensely. So So Seol-ru was confident they would not kill him so easily.
Unless he betrayed them completely.
Of course, what he was doing now amounted to complete betrayal, but So Seol-ru believed that as long as he stayed by Sa U-rin’s side and funneled them the information they wanted, there would be no serious consequences.
“Time will tell.”
“So it will.”
So Seol-ru felt his heart lighten.
And he was grateful. Truly grateful to Sa U-rin—grateful enough to weep.
Now his younger brother would be free to live as he wished, to do what he wanted.
* * *
Sa U-rin, Witch Jang Ryeo, and So Seol-ru’s younger brother Yu-chan arrived at the Jang Family Clan.
Witch Jang Ryeo then led Sa U-rin toward where the Head of the Jang Family was.
As Sa U-rin and his younger sister Jang Ryeo burst into the office, the Head of the Jang Family looked up and asked.
“What is it now?”
There was no chance he’d come for no reason.
“Your sister has come—you should at least offer her tea.”
“Ha.”
The Head of the Jang Family was at a loss for words.
So he called out to those outside.
“Bring tea here at once! Is that clear?”
And so Witch Jang Ryeo took her seat as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Sa U-rin did the same.
“So what is it?”
“We need to send an urgent letter right away.”
“……An urgent letter?”
That implied something pressing, did it not?
And his younger sister was the one sending it?
This had never happened before……. This surely meant something significant was about to break loose.
‘Curse it.’
He had been looking forward to each passing day, knowing his younger sister would become the Master of the Murim Alliance……
And now, without warning, she had stirred up another trouble. Irritation rose in his throat.
“And who is this urgent letter going to?”
“Je-gal Gunsa.”
“……Je-gal Gunsa?”
Damn it.
There was no question about it.
What ordinary matter would warrant sending an urgent letter all the way to Je-gal Gunsa at the Murim Alliance?
This was no trivial affair.
“Right, send an urgent letter to Je-gal Gunsa. Start the work immediately, and have Hyeon-wi and Chu-yeop brought to the Jang Family as soon as possible.”
“……That man Hyeon-wi?”
What on earth was happening?
No……. If it came to summoning that man Hyeon-wi, then what disaster had struck?
His legs trembled without reason.
And.
“Who is this Chu-yeop?”
“My right hand.”
“Your right hand. If he’s your right hand…….”
“He’s stronger than you.”
“……What? But you said he’s your right hand?”
The Head of Jang Family would have no one stronger than himself serving as an underling unless he’d lost his mind.
Only a fool would do such a thing.
“He’s a bit unhinged.”
“……Ah.”
If that were truly the case, then it made sense.
In any case.
“Fine, that’s good. But what in blazes is this all about?”
“And as of today, heighten the clan’s security posture.”
Security posture?
At last, the Head of Jang Family’s exasperation burst through his skull.
“What……. No, just tell me what this is about first!”
Raising the clan’s security posture meant something calamitous was coming for the Jang Family, didn’t it?
“Just a bad feeling.”
“……A bad feeling? You’re raising all this commotion over a bad feeling?”
That’s absurd. A mere excuse.
“Yes. It’s better to be prepared than caught unaware.”
“Ha. This is maddening.”
“Hurry. Do as I’ve said.”
“Damn it. Understood.”
And so the Head of Jang Family called for a messenger and immediately sent an urgent letter toward Je-gal Gunsa of the Murim Alliance.
“There. Now tell me.”
“They surrendered far too easily.”
“……Surrendered far too easily? Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Insane. What?!”
“Which is why it feels ominous.”
“……Ominous?”
Back at the Posterior Gate Incident, his younger sister Witch Jang Ryeo had survived his grasp through a special instinct, and she’d weathered other threats unscathed because of it.
Which meant…….
“Yes.”
“I understand. How serious is it?”
“I can’t be certain. I don’t know how they’ll move.”
“Surely not against the Jang Family…….”
“It’s possible. But by then, Hyeon-wi and Chu-yeop will have arrived, and we’ll have a fighting chance.”
The Head of Jang Family grasped the stiff nape of his neck.
“Ha. A fighting chance? In other words, it’s dangerous. What if they mobilize forces potent enough to wipe out the Jang Family’s bloodline? Then what? What do we do then?”
“That won’t happen.”
“You just said ‘what if’!”
“Unless the entire Sapha moves, with myself, Hyeon-wi, and Yeop, the Jang Family can be protected. No matter who they are, they won’t move the whole of Sapha just to destroy our clan.”
The Battle of the Four Corners was nothing but good fortune.
“I suppose so. Still…….”
“What’s a man doing with all this fear.”
“Fear? What? The Jang Family is……!”
“Things come once, things go once—that is the way of the world. How long do you think the Jang Family can maintain such prosperity? So cast aside such foolish worries.”
It wasn’t wrong, exactly. And yet…….
“Damn it. So what?”
“I don’t know either. That’s precisely why I’m preparing.”
“Damn it.”
It was then that Sa U-rin, who had been listening all this time, finally spoke.
“Mother, wouldn’t it be better to bring So Seol-ru here?”
“U-rin. Nothing may happen at all. But listen to me—which would you choose? The countless warriors of the Jang Family, or that child from Daeheugmun?”
“Mother, how can we compare the value of lives?”
“I know. I know that’s not a bad sentiment. And yet that is reality, isn’t it?”
“……Yes. Still…….”
“Not still—because you must choose. The moment will come. It will. That moment is now. What will you do?”
“Then…… the Jang Family.”
“Good. Then don’t even think of moving. If you bring that child here, the danger I speak of may spill into the Jang Family itself.”
“But still…….”
“If your heart troubles you, then wait at least until Hyeon-wi and Chu-yeop arrive. When they do, I won’t stop you from bringing her here.”
“……I understand.”
He said he understood, but Sa U-rin already knew the truth.
If the danger his mother spoke of was real, it would arrive before the former Murim Alliance leader Hyeon-wi and his uncle Chu-yeop could get here.
And so he prayed silently.
That his mother’s instinct would be wrong, just this once.
* * *
A full two weeks had passed since his younger brother Yu-chan left for the Jang Family.
The Sect Master of Daeheugmun, a middle-aged man from the Cheonhon School, and So Seol-ru sat in the same room.
The middle-aged man from the Cheonhon School spoke first.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“I simply wanted to give my brother freedom.”
“So there’s no freedom here at Daeheugmun?”
“No. He can’t wander about on his own. You gave the order directly, didn’t you? Or am I wrong?”
“Your life has become easier than before, hasn’t it? Isn’t that enough? What more do you want?”
“My brother said his previous life was better. He says living now doesn’t feel like living at all.”
“Ingratitude.”
“Everyone desires different things.”
“And so you did this? Wagering your own life.”
He had wagered his life, true, but he’d never thought he would actually die.
“……Yes.”
“So tell me—how close did you grow to the Witch’s son to make her come out personally?”
“Close enough.”
“Close enough…… A flexible interpretation. One meeting hardly amounts to a lifelong promise, does it? All you did was move your body once.”
“The Supreme Elder granted her son whatever he asked.”
“Hah. Even the Witch is just an ordinary mother before her child?”
“Perhaps that’s why she agreed so readily to his request.”
“Fair point.”
The results spoke for themselves.
The middle-aged man continued.
“But here’s the thing. The world doesn’t move according to your expectations.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You must have thought they wouldn’t kill you so easily—someone who has mastered the Hunyeon Gong.”
“Isn’t that so?”
“It was. But the mood from higher up has changed considerably.”
“……What are you saying?”
“As of today, you are discarded.”
“……!”
He had steeled himself for any possibility. And yet…….
He’d never imagined things would unfold like this.
“……You’re not joking…….”
“Have I ever joked before you?”
Never. And there was no room for jest between them now.
“……Then…… my brother…….”
‘……Will he live?’
That’s likely how it is.
Isn’t he sheltered beneath the shadow of the Sapha’s Supreme Elder?
‘…Yes, that’s right.’
If only my younger brother could live freely and happily… I would have no regrets.
No—regrets linger, and so do second thoughts, but I’m trying not to dwell on them.
Because it would only bring sorrow.
“Your brother is probably treading the Yellow Springs Road alone by now.”
“What are you saying!”
No. No, I can’t believe it!
Isn’t that place where the Sapha’s Supreme Elder dwells?
“You seem to be thinking of the Witch. Ha ha ha. Whether she’s the Sapha’s Supreme Elder or not, she’s no god. And we are the Cheonhon School, existing above Gangho itself. Still, since you’ve never even crossed the threshold of the Cheonhon School, how would you know?”
“….”
‘I… can’t….’
“Aaaahhhhh!”
So Seol-ru let out a wild shriek and kicked the door open, bolting from the room.

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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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