C 363
"A letter has arrived from Lord Cheol Daejin."
"A letter?"
"Yes! He said he'll handle the troublesome matters and return, and asked us to be prepared for any unexpected situations at the prison."
"Unexpected situations?"
At the report from his subordinate, the gigantic man, eight feet tall, furrowed his brows.
His shoulders were as rugged as a mountain range, and his exposed arms were thicker than tree trunks. His waist resembled a mortar, and his legs looked like massive pillars.
His face, covered with a beard, was imposing just by looking at it, and his eyes were as fierce as a tiger's.
The enormous man looked at his subordinate, his appearance alone was overwhelming.
Just by looking at him, the subordinate felt as if his entire body was being crushed by a giant boulder.
'Gulp!'
The subordinate couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
The giant's name was Gu Ja-hwang.
Among themselves, his nickname was the Diamond Blooded Warrior
Once he went on a rampage, nobody could stop him.
Gu Ja-hwang had a close relationship with Cheol Daejin.
Although they were now separated by the positions of Prison Lord and Territory Lord, their friendship was very strong.
Cheol Daejin was an extremely cold-hearted man.
His greatest strength was maintaining his composure and rationality in any situation.
Hence, it was difficult to shake him with trivial matters.
But Cheol Daejin had sent a letter asking to be prepared for contingencies.
For Gu Ja-hwang, it was not something he could just ignore.
"Check the prison's situation right now and send a letter to Man Slaughter."
"Man Slaughter... you mean?"
"Yes! Bring that old man here since he's nearby. Although he's just a prideful and useless man, if we have someone with that level of power, we can handle any situation."
"Understood."
The subordinate thought that Gu Ja-hwang was overreacting, but they trusted and followed him since his judgment had never been wrong.
Thud!
Gu Ja-hwang opened the door and went outside. Then, an underground maze, as confusing as an anthill, appeared.
Even those who had spent a long time here often lost their way in the maze, and both sides of the labyrinth walls were lined with numerous small iron doors.mymtlnoveltranslations
Boom! Thud!
There was a loud banging sound from one of the iron doors.
Gu Ja-hwang walked towards the source of the noise.
When he opened the small window at the top of the iron door, the interior view was revealed.
In the dark room without a single candle, there was a man.
The man, whose arms and legs were bound by chains as thin as a child's arm, had blood running down from his forehead.
He had been hitting the iron door with his forehead.
Gu Ja-hwang spoke to the man.
"It's pointless. Do you think we'll let you go if you do this?"
"I... don't expect it either. I'm just doing this because I feel like I'll go crazy if I don't. You bear-like bastard!"
The man glared at Gu Ja-hwang and spat out curses.
Although he was insulted right in front of his face, Gu Ja-hwang's expression didn't change.
***
The rumor that the Je-won merchant group was attacked spread quickly throughout the Poyang lake.
Many thought the Je-won merchant group suffered significant damage, but contrary to their expectations, it remained intact. akhi buy me a coffee
No key figures, including Noh Tae-tae, were killed.
They were everything that the Je-won merchant group stood for.
Even if the Je-won merchant group were to fall, as long as they were safe, it could be rebuilt at any time.
After confirming the safety of her grandmother and family, Jo Seolpung thanked Nam Gung-wol and others.
"I am grateful for your help."
"We just did what we had to do."
"I don't know how to repay this kindness."
"Helping those in danger is the duty of a strong person. So, you don't have to feel burdened, Brother."
Upon hearing Nam Gung-wol 's response, Jo Seolpung stared at him intently.
Nam Gung-wol 's name had been known for a long time.
It was known how loyal he was and how seriously he took his faith. However, Jo Seolpung did not believe all the rumors. mymtlnoveltranslations
He knew that the rumors of powerful people were usually exaggerated.. However, he could not find any pretense or falsehood in Nam Gung-wol 's face, which he had seen in person.
Unlike the calculating expressions and gazes of Yong Ha-sang and Yeom Hee-soo, Nam Gung-wol seemed genuinely concerned about the welfare of Noh Tae-tae and his father.
Such sincerity from Nam Gung-wol moved Jo Seolpung's heart.
"This Jo Seolpung, I trust brother Namgung and will join theAnti Golden Heavenly Halli. Will you accept me?"
"If it's for this reason, there's no need. Please think more carefully and decide, it's not too late."
"No, I've already decided. I'll be with brother Namgung."
Jo Seolpung purposely said that he would join Nam Gung-wol instead of the Anti Golden Heavenly Halli.
Nam Gung-wol hugged him and said, "Thank you! I will never disappoint you."
"I promise too. I will never betray you big brother Namgung."
The two men made such a pledge.
Yong Ha-sang and Yeom Hee-soo joined them belatedly.
They were very happy to hear that Jo Seolpung had joined them, as they had achieved their goal of forming the Anti Golden Heavenly Halli.
Pyo Wol watched all of this.
Regardless of their inner thoughts, it was quite interesting to see Kangho's exceptional talents coming together.
Nam Gung-wol was at the center of it all.
At first glance, it seemed like Yong Ha-sang was leading everything, but in reality, Nam Gung-wol was at the center of it all.
Bringing in someone like Jo Seolpung who initially had no intention of joining was a great feat, just like Yong Ha-sang who was ambitious, and Yeom Hee-soo who had different thoughts.
At the moment, they may be overshadowed by the name of thousand kingdom school, but as time passed, the opposite could happen. No, Pyo Wol thought it would definitely happen.
There were no heroes from the beginning.
Becoming a hero was about overcoming unfavorable circumstances and writing one's amazing story.
Pyo Wol thought Nam Gung-wol had the qualifications to do so. At least he had shown no falsehoods so far. mymtlnoveltranslations
Jo Seolpung approached Pyo Wol.
"Thank you for your help, master Pyo!"
"How's your body?"
"It hurts a bit, but I'm fine. I can handle this much."
"That's good."
"If it wasn't for master Pyo, we wouldn't have survived. Thank you also for saving my grandmother. If anything had happened to her, we would have been in big trouble..."
Jo Seolpung couldn't finish his words.
The fact that he, Noh Tae-tae, father, and others survived was truly fortunate. If it weren't for Pyo Wol or the Anti Golden Heavenly Hall, they wouldn't have been able to see each other's faces safely like this.
"If you need me for anything in the future, don't hesitate to find me. I'll do my best to help as long as I have Je-won merchant group’s power,"Jo Seolpung said.
"No need for that," Nam Gung-wol replied.
"Yes, it's necessary. I will always keep my promises," Jo Seolpung declared, his gaze intense.
Pyo Wol changed the subject, feeling the weight ofJo Seolpung's stare.
"Do you know where they came from?" he asked.
"Our men are already investigating. Now that the Blood Ant Chamber’s people can no longer hide, we'll find out soon,"Jo Seolpung replied confidently. akhi buy me a coffee
"I see," Pyo Wol said.
"Hmm!"
"I will bring good news by morning at the latest. There's not much time left, but please rest well until then."
"I'll take care of that. Just find out where they came from." mymtlnoveltranslations
"Don't worry."
Even without emphasis, Jo Seolpung knew the importance of the matter better than anyone.
It didn't matter why they had been secretly communicating with the Blood Ant Chamber until now.
What mattered was that they tried to kill the leaders of the Je-won merchant group. That's why he and Noh Tae-tae faced the brink of death.
If Pyo Wol hadn't intervened in time, he and No Tae Tae would no longer be in this world.
He must repay the favor, but he also has to take revenge.
Once seen as weak in Kangho, the attacks of others would begin.
Knowing that fact, Jo Seolpung immediately had his subordinates investigate the whereabouts of the Blood Ant Chamber members.
It was no easy task to find their whereabouts now that Blood Ant Chamber had gone into hiding.
Pyo Wol decided to step back at this point.
He quietly left the Je-won merchant group and returned to the guest house.
The guest house was quiet, as everyone had gone to bed.
Thanks to that, Pyo Wol could quietly sort out his thoughts.akhi buy me a coffee
'A place within a day or two's reach that is difficult for outsiders to access.'
He wished he had a map.
A proper map was very important and hard to obtain. Only factions representing a region could invest a lot of manpower and a huge amount of money to create a proper map.
It was a precious item that small and medium-sized factions struggling for survival could not dare to touch.
There would surely be proper maps at Nam Gung-Wol's Thousand Kingdom School or Yong Ha Sang's Dragon Mountain Manor. But they wouldn't hand them over, and even if they did, it would take too long to bring them from such distant places.
As he pondered, the name Yong Ho San suddenly popped into Pyo Wol's head.
A huge mountain visible even from Poyang Lake.
'The Dragon Tiger Mountain was just about that distance away.'
It was a vague guess without any basis. But Pyo Wol trusted his intuition.
His intuition was incredibly sharp, helping him survive from the underground cave to the present.
'Dragon Tiger Mountain ...'
All Pyo Wol knew about Dragon Tiger Mountain was its name.
He needed information.
Anything trivial would do.
Thump, thump!
Pyo Wol knocked on the innkeeper's room.
"Uh, who is it? At this early hour..."
The innkeeper came out, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
It was still early in the morning.
The innkeeper's eyes were full of resentment as he looked at Pyo Wol. Pyo Wol threw a silver coin to him.
His expression changed instantly.
"Hehe! What can I do for you?"
"Tell me what you know about Dragon Tiger Mountain."
"Dragon Tiger Mountain?"
"Anything trivial is fine. Just tell me everything you know."
"Hmm!"
The innkeeper desperately tried to recall.
If he didn't provide any answers, Pyo Wol might take back the silver coin.
"So..."
He began to babble about what he had heard from the guests.