****
An untimely uproar broke out in the Cheon Family.
It was precisely because of the scoundrel Grand Young Lord of the Cheon Family, Cheon Mu-ryang.
“Just what kind of accident did he cause this time, good grief…….”
As soon as Cheon Mu-ryang returned to the family, he summoned all the key figures of the family under the name of the Grand Young Lord.
“He had been quiet recently, but it seems his scoundrel disease has flared up again.”
And so, everyone gathered at the Grand Training Ground.
In that place, the martial artists of the So-eung Gang, bound with binding ropes, were kneeling.
“What is this?”
“Looking at their attire, they are from the So-eung Gang, aren't they?”
Confusion arose.
Because the So-eung Gang was an ally of the Cheon Family.
“The Grand Young Lord, where is the Grand Young Lord?”
Everyone looked for Cheon Mu-ryang, who would explain this situation.
Step, step.
Someone walked over.
The intangible aura that soared along with those footsteps was endlessly bloodthirsty.
“Heok!”
A strange silence flowed.
Only the sound of footsteps could be heard.
“G-Grand Young Lord?”
How could the scoundrel Grand Young Lord emit such an intense aura.
A few people could not hide their flustered expressions.
“I-Inspection Squad Leader?”
However, their astonishment did not stop here.
It was because a single figure could be seen being dragged along, tied in binding ropes like a dog.
“I, I will never sit back and overlook this matter!”
Cheon Ah-haeng was venting his resentment with his face flushed bright red, but Cheon Mu-ryang actually had an expression as if wondering where a dog was barking.
“Do as you please, or do not.”
“E-e-euk!”
Cheon Ah-haeng wanted to tear off the binding ropes right this instant, but he could not do so.
“We greet the Patriarch-nim.”
Because behind Cheon Mu-ryang, the Patriarch of the Cheon Family, Cheon Wi-gang, came walking.
“……!”
The firm aura that was like an iron wall appeared completely contrary to the sharpness that Cheon Mu-ryang emitted.
The haughty gaze of the absolute being headed toward Cheon Mu-ryang.
“What is the reason you summoned everyone?”
The heavy voice seized the entire area of this training ground in an instant.
Even though they were not facing him directly from the front, the majority had to feel a subtle sense of pressure.
That was the first pillar of the Cheon Family, Cheon Wi-gang.
Kuuuuuung!
However, Cheon Mu-ryang was calm.
The pressure that was like a great mountain seemed unable to exert any influence on Cheon Mu-ryang at least.
“It is to accuse the So-eung Gang of Shaoxing and the Inspection Squad Leader of corruption.”
“Corruption, you say.”
Cheon Wi-gang's gaze headed toward Cheon Ah-haeng, who was bound by the binding ropes.
Flinch.
With just Cheon Wi-gang's gaze alone, Cheon Ah-haeng naturally lowered his head.
It made even the thought of daring to meet his two eyes disappear.
“……Do you have evidence?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Mu-ryang nodded his head and took out a few sheets of paper from his bosom.
“These are documents that confirm the residents of Shaoxing have been exploited by the So-eung Gang all this time.”
“…….”
“It turns out that all this time, the So-eung Gang has been exploiting them under all sorts of pretexts, in addition to the taxes paid to the Cheon Family.”
And he even took out the documents received from Cheon Seon-hak, on which the corruption of the Inspection Squad Leader was written in detail.
“Furthermore, this is the breakdown of the funds that the Inspection Squad Leader siphoned off from the family.”
“Heok!”
Cheon Ah-haeng turned stark pale in dumbfoundment.
However, that was not the end.
“And I even confirmed the ledger that the So-eung Gang Leader possessed.”
Thud.
Cheon Mu-ryang threw the ledger.
Inside it, the flow of funds that had flowed into Cheon Ah-haeng from the So-eung Gang all this time was written in detail.
“Where is the So-eung Gang Leader?”
Only then did Cheon Wi-gang realize that the So-eung Gang Leader could not be seen.
“I cut him down.”
“You cut him down?”
“Yes.”
There was not a single inch of wavering.
Cheon Mu-ryang's story continued.
“Originally, I intended to capture him alive, but…… it seems he colluded with the Demonic Cult.”
“D-Demonic Cult!”
Everyone was astonished.
Cheon Wi-gang's eyebrows twitched.
Why was the name of the Demonic Cult coming out from here.
“Did you just say the Demonic Cult?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Mu-ryang briefly explained the events that had occurred at the So-eung Gang.
Around the time everyone was astonished.
“How amusing.”
The Third Elder, who had been keeping silent, stepped forward.
The Third Elder, who stepped forward while forming a hollow laugh, pressured Cheon Mu-ryang and continued his words.
“However, is all of this not merely the Grand Young Lord's one-sided claim?”
The Third Elder glared sideways at the papers on which the evidence was written and crumpled them up just like that.
“Even these scraps of paper presented as evidence could sufficiently be fabricated, you see.”
“…….”
“With exactly what can you prove the corruption, Grand Young Lord?”
Cheon Mu-ryang remained silent.
At this, the triumphant Third Elder began to pressure Cheon Mu-ryang even more.
“Furthermore, to say the Demonic Cult…….”
The Third Elder clicked his tongue.
It was an explicit ridicule.
“You have gone too far, Grand Young Lord. Even lies must show some sincerity.”
“Lies, you say…….”
Cheon Mu-ryang swept his gaze around the surroundings.
The majority were people who were half-believing and half-doubting.
Because no matter how much he showed a changed appearance, the notion of him being a scoundrel, situated deep within their thoughts, did not change easily.
“Do you not know that perjury is an unforgivable sin even if you are the Grand Young Lord?”
The Third Elder cleverly drove Cheon Mu-ryang's opinion into slander.
“I do not know with what intention the Grand Young Lord committed such an act in the first place, but…… it seems it would be best for you to stop at this point.”
A subtle threat.
An unspoken pressure was felt.
Smirk.
Cheon Mu-ryang laughed.
Because if he were to stop here in the first place, he would not have even started.
“Cheongeum Pavilion Master-nim.”
Leaving the Third Elder behind him, Cheon Mu-ryang suddenly called out to the Cheongeum Pavilion Master.
“Yes?”
“The usury incident I spoke to you about the other day, how much have you investigated it?”
“Ah……. Th-that is…….”
“Surely it is not that you still have not found the culprit, right?”
“I-I concluded it as a d-deviation by a p-portion of the personnel of the Cheongeum Pavilion…….”
The Cheongeum Pavilion Master, who was noticeably flustered.
Watching this, Cheon Mu-ryang's smile cooled down coldly.
“A deviation by a portion of the personnel, you say. If so, where are the people implicated with them?”
The Cheongeum Pavilion Master stuttered his words.
“Th-that is……. B-because they have already run away, I intend to issue a w-wanted order sooner or later…….”
“There is no need to do so.”
A new person appeared.
The moment he heard that voice, the corners of Cheon Mu-ryang's mouth went up subtly.
It was Cheon Seon-hak.
“Because I have brought those implicated people right here.”
Thud!
On Cheon Seon-hak's shoulders, fainted people could be seen.
As if that were not enough, people who had similarly fainted and were being dragged along by his two hands could be seen.
Their faces turned into bloody messes, showing the traces of a one-sided beating.
“They were the puppets of the Inspection Squad.”
As if handling luggage, Cheon Seon-hak indifferently threw all of them.
Looking at Cheon Seon-hak, who seemed to have firmly decided on something, Cheon Mu-ryang bowed his head slightly.
‘You have gained enlightenment.’
It was an accomplishment several years ahead of the past.
Congratulations were a matter for later.
‘First is the matter right in front of my eyes.’
In the situation where Cheon Seon-hak had come, there was no longer even a need to be polite.
With an aura quite different from before, Cheon Mu-ryang pressured the Cheongeum Pavilion Master.
“Hic!”
The expression of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, who was startled in surprise to the point of hiccuping, was a masterpiece.
Watching this, Cheon Mu-ryang beamed a smile.
“You should have cut ties with the Inspection Squad Leader earlier. Because it is a rule that if the tail is long, it will be caught.”
“…….”
It was a statement directed toward the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, but the one whose expression actually distorted was the Third Elder.
Whether he knew this or not, Cheon Mu-ryang took out the materials he had received from Geum-san.
Cheok!
“Th-this is!”
“To be so surprised.”
The two eyes of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master widened perfectly round.
It was such a material that should not exist.
“H-how is this with the Grand Young Lord!”
Cheon Mu-ryang smiled softly and showed it to the Third Elder as well.
“Third Elder-nim, do you think this too can be fabricated?”
Cheon Mu-ryang's materials were documents in the format used inside the Cheongeum Pavilion.
Furthermore, below that, the seal of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master was distinctly engraved.
“…….”
The Third Elder realized that all of this was Cheon Mu-ryang's trap.
Sensing the crisis, the Third Elder secretly sent a hand signal somewhere so that no one would notice.
“To think that the Cheongeum Pavilion, which must rightfully execute the family's funds, and the Inspection Squad, which must monitor this, colluded with each other to siphon off the family's capital.”
It was the most perfect form of embezzlement.
Furthermore, it was also a form of embezzlement that should not exist under any circumstances whatsoever.
Cheon Mu-ryang brought the Cheon-gwang to the neck of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master.
“G-Grand Young Lord-nim!”
“I will give you one last chance. Where did the capital you siphoned off all this time go?”
What was in the So-eung Gang was only a part of it.
How could it only be in that place.
“Th-that is!”
“It is not an act you committed arbitrarily on your own, is it?”
He was not of the caliber to do so either.
Because the Cheongeum Pavilion Master was nothing more than a jackal who only looked out for his own safety.
“Tell me the mastermind behind it.”
Cheon Mu-ryang did not miss the Cheongeum Pavilion Master's gaze briefly lingering on the Third Elder.
“Or, will you take all the dishonor upon yourself and die?”
Hwooong!
The Cheon-gwang headed toward the sky.
At the aura that seemed ready to strike down right this instant, the Cheongeum Pavilion Master tried to say something.
“Thi……!”
It was at that moment.
Kwagagagang!
An untimely gray smoke bloomed in the Grand Training Ground.
“It is a smokescreen!”
“It is a surprise attack!”
A commotion arose.
Swi-i-ik!
Through that gap, hidden weapons surged toward Cheon Mu-ryang and the Cheongeum Pavilion Master.
“You are playing a cheap trick.”
However, before those hidden weapons could even reach Cheon Mu-ryang, they fell down in droves.
It was because Cheon Seon-hak stepped forward ahead of him.
It was just like an iron wall shield.
Under Cheon Wi-gang's command.
The confusion subsided.
Hwi-i-ing!
Cheon Wi-gang swung his sword and drove away the gray smoke.
When he did, inside the smoke, the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, who definitely should have been unhurt, was collapsed while foaming at the mouth.
“Kkeureureureureuk!”
“……!”
The movements of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, who was having a seizure, stopped.
Grind.
Watching this, Cheon Mu-ryang hurriedly approached the Cheongeum Pavilion Master, but it was already too late.
It was after the Cheongeum Pavilion Master's life had been cut off without even being able to close his two eyes.
“Damn it…….”
Cheon Mu-ryang gritted his teeth.
It seemed that gray smoke was a medium that activated something imprinted on the Cheongeum Pavilion Master.
Hwaek!
He turned his head and looked for the Inspection Squad Leader.
Fortunately, Cheon Ah-haeng was alive.
The Third Elder standing next to him approached with a grief-stricken expression.
“The Cheongeum Pavilion Master has died.”
“…….”
“In all likelihood, this incident is a matter carried out by the Cheongeum Pavilion Master's arbitrary decision. The Patriarch-nim should pay attention to tracking down the funds he siphoned off.”
The Third Elder's intention was visible.
It must mean to close the case as the Cheongeum Pavilion Master's arbitrary decision.
Cheon Wi-gang stared at the Third Elder.
Gooooooo!
It was a strange confrontation.
It was an aura that seemed ready to launch an attack right this instant.
At that touch-and-go moment.
“Patriarch-nim, I have a proposal.”
Cheon Mu-ryang stepped forward.
Without even shifting his gaze, Cheon Wi-gang answered.
“Speak.”
“The position of the Inspection Squad Leader, which will soon become vacant.”
“……?”
“Please give it to me.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
Instead of Cheon Wi-gang, the Third Elder answered with an expression as if asking what kind of nonsense that was.
“Grand Young Lord, the position of the Inspection Squad Leader must be someone appointed by the Council of Elders.”
Smirk.
Cheon Mu-ryang laughed.
“Is that not why this trouble has occurred.”
“Wh-what!”
The Third Elder's face flushed bright red.
“To show such a fierce reaction, it seems you have a guilty conscience about something?”
“Wh-what do you mean by that!”
“If that is not the case.”
“……!”
“Do you have some sort of reason why I must not become the Inspection Squad Leader?”
The situation had changed.
Because the initiative was clearly being held by Cheon Mu-ryang, the Third Elder tightly gritted his teeth.
“Enough.”
Cheon Wi-gang withdrew his aura.
Following that, he handed down his verdict.
“I will leave the position of the Cheongeum Pavilion Master vacant for the time being.”
“…….”
Cheon Wi-gang stared at Cheon Mu-ryang.
“Did you say you want the position of the Inspection Squad Leader.”
“Yes.”
“Well then, try doing as you want.”
“Thank you.”
“However, there is a condition.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“If you do not produce results within fifteen days, I will strip you of that position.”
“…….”
“Can you not do it?”
“There is no way that is the case.”
Cheon Mu-ryang laughed.
Was it not exactly what he had wanted.
Cheon Mu-ryang warned everyone gathered in this place.
“Because regrettably, it seems there are many people eating away at the family.”
“…….”
“You all had better be tense. Because as everyone knows, I have the temperament of a scoundrel.”
Snap.
His laughter stopped.
A sharpness that seemed as if it would cleave the sky swept through the entire area of this training ground.
“There will be no sanctuary anywhere within the Cheon Family.”
Glance.
Was it a coincidence?
Cheon Mu-ryang's final gaze landed on the Third Elder.