Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 234

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

Chapter 234

“In my case, as Manager Seong well knows, I’ve been quite busy recently. So I didn’t have time to visit Ja-sa, but that’s not the case for Ja-sa.”

This wasn’t speculation. He was stating the facts exactly as they were.

“Rather, Ja-sa has only tried to avoid me. As if he finds my very presence in Seong Jak-ju unwelcome.”

Woon-hwi’s voice grew cold.

“Those with many guilty secrets tend to avoid storms and rain. Ja-sa has thought of me as a storm and has been avoiding me all this time.”

“….”

“It was Ja-sa who ignored the agreement. I merely came to fulfill my duty as Cheonsu-sa, so are you still worried?”

Manager Seong interpreted Woon-hwi’s words as ‘the justification is on our side.’

“Understood, Young Master. Then I’ll go in first and….”

“Let’s go in together.”

Before Manager Seong, who looked moved, could do anything.

As Woon-hwi approached the door, the gatekeepers guarding the front tried to block him.

Just.

It was natural.

Manager Seong disappeared from his spot and appeared behind the gatekeepers.

What Pung Mu-hwi had once admired was Manager Seong’s perfect movement and precise hand techniques.

Just like now.

Thud, thud.

With brief sounds, the gatekeepers collapsed to the ground unconscious.

“Taken care of. Let’s go in.”

Woon-hwi nodded and entered the government office.

* * *

A middle-aged man in his mid-fifties with a beard, wearing neat official robes, was reviewing documents in his study.

Soon, the door opened with a creaking sound.

Seong Jak-ju’s Ja-sa Wi Joong-dal’s brow furrowed deeply.

He had ordered that no one be let in.

Tsk.

Wi Joong-dal clicked his tongue and turned his head, nearly collapsing on the spot.

Two men.

He didn’t know one of them, but he knew the gray-haired man all too well.

He spoke.

“You are Seong Jak-ju’s Ja-sa Wi Joong-dal, correct?”

As he gulped and nodded, Woon-hwi greeted him politely.

“My name is Seol Woon-hwi.”

Wi Joong-dal’s face turned pale white.

“…How… why have you come to find me…? Don’t tell me you’re here to kill me…?”

“Of course not.”

Saying this, Woon-hwi naturally sat down in a chair and spoke.

“I came because I have something to discuss with you, Ja-sa.”

“Discuss…?”

“I’ll overlook what you’ve been doing with the Green Forest sects all this time.”

At Woon-hwi’s sudden, direct words, Wi Joong-dal’s face turned even whiter.

“What, what are you saying…?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Much was found in the four sects located on Seong Lim Mountain. Among them were ledgers.”

Saying this, Woon-hwi pulled out a fairly thick manual from his chest and placed it in front of Wi Joong-dal.

“You seem to enjoy reading, so would you like to take a look? Or shall we get straight to the point?”

Wi Joong-dal gulped and spoke in a trembling voice.

“…It must be genuine, so is there really a need to read it? How about we get straight to the point.”

Woon-hwi smiled.

“For someone who’s been avoiding me, you’re more decisive than I expected. Good. I’ll get straight to the point. From now on, much blood will flow in Seong Jak-ju and outside. Moreover, all bandits including the Green King will die, and some officials who cooperated with them will also die.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly the air in the study froze.

Wi Joong-dal gulped.

“…What do you mean by that….”

“Clean house.”

“….”

“I don’t care whether you took bribes or what you did, Ja-sa. Honestly, everyone makes their own choices, so it would be strange to criticize that. However, I do distinguish between allies and enemies based on necessity.”

“…Then….”

“I am Seong Jak-ju’s Cheonsu-sa, and you are Seong Jak-ju’s Ja-sa. I’m thinking of reforming the system, and if you support me, that work will go smoothly.”

“…Support you….”

“When it rains, please hold an umbrella over me. In return, I’ll give you integrity as a gift.”

He gulped.

Seol Woon-hwi… Even when I only heard rumors, I thought he was extraordinary, but seeing him in person, isn’t he even more formidable?

He calculated quickly in his head.

It’s true that he colluded with the Green Forest sects. There’s nothing to deny. The problem is that if this reaches the higher-ups, it’ll be a disaster.

Not just any official, but a Ja-sa who governs a province colluding with bandits? If this isn’t grounds for losing one’s head, then what would be?

If it were just simple slander, that would be one thing, but with ledgers like this, further denial is meaningless. Those who receive this, those who will see it, will smell something and act in some way.

He gulped.

“What… what should I do?”

“It’s simple. Whenever I take action from now on, just add justification to my actions and report them to the Imperial Court. Since you hold the position of Ja-sa, you should know well how to create justification, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“…We might get caught. This can’t be viewed simply. We must consider not only the relationship between the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance and Woon-guk, but even the situation where the non-interference between government and martial arts is broken.”

“I know you have that level of capability.”

“Hmm….”

“I don’t want friction with Woon-guk to intensify. I thought you, Ja-sa, would be suitable as someone to deflect and handle that from the middle. Was my judgment wrong?”

Strangely, at Woon-hwi’s words that evaluated him highly, Wi Joong-dal shook his head with a serious expression.

“It’s not wrong.”

“That’s fortunate. Please become a hero in this corrupted land, Ja-sa. I’ll make it so.”

Wi Joong-dal couldn’t say anything in the face of this upheaval washing over his entire body.

Because it really seemed possible.

Because this was starting to look like a golden lifeline.

Woon-hwi crossed his legs.

“Back to the main point, will you join hands with me?”

Wi Joong-dal quietly tapped the manual placed on the table.

“This… sounds like putting a leash around my neck, am I right?”

Woon-hwi smiled slightly. Wi Joong-dal certainly wasn’t a fool.

“That’s correct, but I promise you this. As long as you don’t cross the line, I won’t pull or tighten that leash.”

“…You’re a frightening person.”

“If you join hands with me, your view of me will change somewhat.”

“….”

“You will become a hero who achieved merit in subjugating the Green Forest sects, Ja-sa. Plus, you’ll get additional credit for killing officials who engaged in corruption. The Imperial Court will surely bestow great rewards. Promotion would also be possible.”

“….”

“I don’t know much about Woon-guk’s internal situation, but you do, Ja-sa. That’s why if you join hands with me, something should be coming to mind about what will follow… Yes. That’s it.”

Wi Joong-dal’s eyes flashed.

“Truly tempting words. Can you really keep your promise?”

“Yes. If you investigate me a little, you’ll find that I’m someone who keeps promises no matter what happens once I make them.”

“…Good. Let’s give it a try.”

Woon-hwi stood up from his seat and extended his hand, and Wi Joong-dal grasped Woon-hwi’s hand without hesitation.

“Let’s maintain a good relationship going forward, Lord Ja-sa.”

“Understood. But when are you thinking of starting?”

To that question, Woon-hwi answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Right now.”

Woon-hwi and Manager Seong left the government office.

Under the night sky, the shadows of the two men stretched long.

* * *

To be honest, I didn’t want to go this far.

But it was a situation that absolutely had to be done.

Where on earth did the bandits of Green Forest go?

When I learned the inside story, it was quite interesting.

“The idea of putting bandits into the government office… is truly ingenious.”

That’s right. The bandits of Green Forest Sect had now become constables of the government office.

When you look at it, this was quite systematic.

First, the core executives and the bandits guarding them had hidden as constables in the government office, the middle-level executives had hidden in trading companies or inns, and the ordinary bandits had disguised themselves as farmers, merchants, porters, and such to hide.

All of these series of processes were excessively smooth.

It was only two days.

For this to be possible within two days, just how much ‘information network’ and how much ‘influence’ would be needed?

That’s why I had to make contact with the Ja-sa of this Seongjak County.

Because he would desperately block the coming storm.

That’s when it happened.

Manager Seong opened his mouth with a hardened voice.

“Young Master. Do you really think Ihwageomseonchong has moved?”

This wasn’t a random question.

The bandits of Green Forest Sect were, to put it clearly, stupid.

They were guys filled with arrogance to their very bones, under the delusion that the place they were entrenched in was an impregnable natural fortress that could never be violated.

No matter how much the four Green Forest Sects of Seong Lim Mountain were destroyed, the probability of them relocating was extremely slim.

Especially in the case of Green King Im Cheong-san, there were many assessments that he was the type to act first without considering consequences, and in my previous life, I had directly faced that Im Cheong-san.

Certainly he was stupid, but he was also extraordinary.

Stupidity and extraordinariness may seem incompatible, but from what I saw, when that stupidity reaches its extreme and breaks through a certain line, it becomes close to extraordinariness.

Im Cheong-san was an excessively simple guy, and while he was someone who thought about the aftermath when causing trouble, regardless of what that aftermath might be, he was the type to cause trouble first and see what happens.

Such a guy suddenly withdraws all the bandits of Green Forest Sect, and even stuffs them into the government office where the officials he’d been bribing stay?

And disguises the remaining bandits to hide them in the city?

This is absolutely not Im Cheong-san’s scheme. But it’s correct that Im Cheong-san gave the orders.

It may sound strange, but there’s nothing strange about it at all.

Someone subdued Im Cheong-san and made him into a puppet.

In the entire Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, there are quite many figures capable of subduing the Green King.

But among them, the figures capable of hiding the bandits of Green Forest Sect narrow down to ten fingers, and among those, the person tied to me by common ground narrows down to one finger.

Sword Emperor Jang I-cheong.

He who was dispatched from Ihwageomseonchong must have certainly come out having received some secret mission from within the sword sect.

“Young Master, am I the only one who finds this strange? The Muk Se-hoe we saw recently is trying to rebuild the Cheonnyeo Cult, and Cheon Rim is trying to rebuild as well… why is Ihwageomseonchong so desperate to devour you?”

I chuckled.

“I think I mentioned before, but our Manager Seong seems to view this world too optimistically.”

“Me?”

“There are several reasons why Ihwageomseonchong’s moves are different. If they don’t know of Muk Se-hoe’s existence, if they’re keeping Seo Hyo in check, if they respect Yu Cheong’s intention to use me as a sword but don’t want to hand over the initiative to Seo Hyo.”

This was an undeniable fact.

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