“Damn it! I thought I was going to die from the pain!”

“You should have just hit lightly!”

When the Taihang Three Swords raised their voice and protested, Jin Yang-Geon chuckled.

“Do you think just one or two eyes were watching us? If I had been clumsy in hitting you, they would have recognized it right away.”

“Even so, you should have reduced the force! Were you thinking of beating us up?”

When Ma Wei-ryang moved as if he was going to rush at Jin Yang-Geon, Gwa Hyuk-su stopped him.

“Forget it.”

“Sahyung!”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop!”

Gwa Hyuk-su frowned as he spoke.

“This is right. If we do it sloppily, people will start getting suspicious. It’s not like we got beaten to death, so we can endure this.”

“Nice.”

Gwa Hyuk-su nodded slowly. Then he looked at Jin Yang-Geon with a harsh expression and said,

“Your role is important from now on. You know what I mean, right?”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“With what we did, even the Golden Sword Order will have to notice. They are already enraged, and if it comes to their ears that a Mount Hua warrior has appeared nearby, they will surely be excited.”

“Yes.”

“Remember this. If you give any indication of going along with them, everything we did will be in vain. We cannot give in to them; we cannot show them that we were waiting!”

Jin Yang-Geon smiled.

“Don’t worry, I know how to handle it.”

“Such a loud-mouthed bastard….”

Gwa Hyuk-su glanced around. Although he pretended to be calm, he was quite anxious.

“Good. The day they find out that you are with us, everything will come crumbling down. Don’t come here until we get closer to the goal.”

“Yes, great sahyung. If the Golden Sword Order visits, I will contact you separately.”

“Right. I will trust you.”

Jin Yang-Geon slightly bowed his head in greeting and turned around. As if he had no regrets, he left the place without even looking back.

“Tsk.”

When Jin Yang-Geon was far enough away that he couldn’t be seen, a clicking sound escaped Ma Wei-ryang’s mouth.

“Such a sneaky bastard.”

Ma Wei-ryang looked back at the guy with a disapproving look.

“Great sahyung, can we really trust that bastard?”

“I trust no one but my sajaes.”

“….”

“But there is no need to doubt that rat. Because he cannot do anything without us.”

“That is true, but…”

“Enough.”

Gwa Hyuk-su waved his hand.

“Well, once this incident is done, I will not see him again.”

A dull smile on his lips.

“Well, things have turned out better than we thought. Thanks to the fact that the Hegemony Lord visited Mount Hua, things got easier for us.”

“Isn’t the heavens helping us?”

“Yes.”

Gwa Hyuk-su and Ma Wei-ryang looked at each other and smiled, but the youngest of them, who had been silent till then, spoke with a shocked face.

“But great sahyung….”

“Hmm?”

“Is this alright?”

“What are you saying now?”

Jong Yoo sighed and said,

“It weirdly bothers me. If we do this, and something wrong happens, not just us, but the name of Southern Edge will come falling…”

“You!”

As Gwa Hyuk-su frowned, Jong Yoo bowed his head.

“Southern Edge? Damn it! Why do we have to think about them? Have you forgotten what the Southern Edge had done to us?”

“That…”

“Isn’t Southern Edge a place where the sub-clans were clearly helping its growth, but then no one was informed or even consulted about them closing the gates!”

“Great sahyung… isn’t the main sect a parent to us, though?”

“Parent? You said it right! Then, should only the kids be filial? Don’t the parents have a duty to protect the kids?”

“…”

“Why should we think about respecting those who abandoned their kids and ran?”

Jong Yoo couldn’t respond to that and sighed.

He could understand them. How flustered must they have been when they all heard the news?

The main sect was no different from a reliable pillar. In order to maintain support, each sub-clan paid a certain amount to the sect every year, and when a problem arose, the main sect would always come to help.

This relationship was like a student-teacher tie, but on the other hand, it was no different from a contractual tie.

And Southern Edge had declared itself to close the gates, which meant that any contact was stopped.

Thanks to that, those who believed they were under their protection felt abandoned.

The Taihang Three Swords had a name in Kangho. But during their travels around Kangho, they felt more bad feelings about this. Those who would never have touched them due to the name of Southern Edge soon brought out their swords after knowing the truth.

“Don’t bother with that! Be it the main sect or something else, we need to live first!”

When Jong Yoo looked upset, Ma Wei-Ryang came to comfort him.

“Youngest. If the work here is done well, there will be no trouble for the main sect. Isn’t that why we need that guy?”

“… that….”

“If everything goes as planned, Mount Hua, not Southern Edge, will take responsibility for what happened here. So, this will be helping our sect.”

“You are right!”

As Ma Wei-Ryang and Gwa Hyuk-Su said at the same time, Jong Yoo could only nod.

“It must happen like that.”

“What now?”

Gwa Hyuk-Su’s eyes shone.

“I am tired of making a living with the sword. If this goes well, we can live well in Kangho with a lot of money. And then our entire life will be comfortable.”

Jong Yoo had a worried look.

“But what happens if he runs his mouth?”

“His mouth?”

Gwa Hyuk-Su chuckled.

“It can happen, but after the entire matter is done, the only person who will listen to that bastard is the king of Hell.”

“…”

“Do not worry too much. I feel like the entire situation has been orchestrated by the heavens for us. If it wasn’t for heaven’s help, would we have found someone with a technique similar to Plum Blossom Sword, and would Jang Ilso have ever gone to Mount Hua himself?”

Ma Wei-Ryang nodded.

“Right, great sahyung.”

Gwa Hyuk-Su looked at Jong Yoo and smiled.

“If you really care, you can send all the money you earn here back to the main sect.”

“Yes, great sahyung.”

Jong Yoo answered obediently, and Gwa Hyuk-Su added.

“Then hurry up and handle that injured body. I will keep an eye out so that the rat doesn’t do anything weird this time.”

“Yes!”

Gwa Hyuk-Su’s eyes shone as he saw his sajaes sitting down.

‘Things got resolved nicely because of that stupid rat. Now, surely the authorities have to bite.’

Jin Yang-Geon, who was leaning against the window of the hall, chuckled.

‘Insane bastards.’

Thinking about the entire fuss those three made, he smiled. In Kangho, a strong person needed to hide their feelings. He could understand how those people openly showed hostility when they all worked together.

‘They will probably get rid of me once they are done and take the money.’

Jin Yang-Geon smiled.

They would surely be thinking about blaming all the crimes on him and then killing him, but Jin Yang-Geon wouldn’t fall for that obvious plan.

When it was all over, they would be in despair with no money in hand.

‘Mount Hua…. Mount Hua….’

A happy smile appeared on his lips.

Who would have imagined Mount Hua would become this popular?

Thanks to them, he was able to achieve something big , so he was grateful to them. If this happened, he could confidently bow to Mount Hua every day after he opened his eyes.

“Anyway, it is now like a sub-clan for me. hehehe.”

He laughed most oddly. At that time, a group of people came up from below the stairs.

Jin Yang-Geon quickly adjusted his expression. His face turned calm, but his heart pounded as if he were running.

The image of the one with the gold thread on the left chest of those who showed up flashed in his mind.

‘Golden Sword Order!’

Jin Yang-Geon, who was happy, clenched his fists under the table.

He knew they would come fast, but this was too quick!

Those who arrived and looked around saw Jin Yang-Geon and approached him quickly. Then they said,

“By any chance, are you the great warrior Jin Yang-Geon?”

Jin Yang-Geon, who had been casually looking out, slowly turned his head and looked at the person in front of him.

“I am Jin. And you are?”

“We are from the Golden Sword Services. We came here to talk to Warrior Jin. If you don’t consider this rude, could you please visit our office?”

“Hmm…”

Jin Yang-Geon hummed, looking a bit worried. Then, picking up the glass, he drank slowly.

Tak!

He put down the glass and nodded.

“I don’t know what is happening, but I have heard much about the nature of the vice lord of the Golden Sword Order office. It would not be polite for me to refuse such an invitation.”

Jin Yang-Geon raised himself and gestured with a soft smile.

“Lead me.”

“Thank you! Guide the warrior!”

“Yes!”

Jin Yang-Geon slowly went, escorted by the Golden Sword Order office warriors on the left and right.

‘There isn’t much left in the plan now.’

A low smile formed on his lips.

But he had no idea,

The fact that he had never faced a real crisis in his life and that it was rushing toward him at the highest pace now.