The situation unfolded just as Cheonyeong had predicted.

Lee Ilpyeong, who had gone to the Tang Family's estate, gained nothing.

No matter how much of a fuss he made in his anger, it was already a ruin. What damage could be done by breaking it further?

He would be lucky not to get an ulcer from the frustration, as there weren't even people to capture and torment.

Lee Ilpyeong had unleashed the warriors of the Yin Hand Chamber and had been scouring Ganyang for several days now.

But it was in vain.

How could they catch them, who had no home or ties...

"Ho ho, you're quite a character, aren't you?"

"..."

At the familiar voice, Cheonyeong frowned and turned his head.

Nosanggae?

How did he?

The shelter Cheonyeong had prepared was deep in the mountains, a good distance from the Tang Family's estate.

It was the place he had told Baekgang to go to in advance, in case the Yin Hand Chamber attacked the Tang Family's estate.

Moreover, he had even set up the Concealing Heaven and Hiding Form formation to hide it, so no one should have been able to find it...

It seemed they couldn't escape the eyes of the Beggars' Sect.

Those pesky beggars.

Anyway, their tracking skills were second to none.

"Tch, you found your way here well."

Cheonyeong, while showing his displeasure, made a spot for Nosanggae.

"It was quite something. The subordinate organizations of the Yin Hand Chamber have been completely devastated."

"Devastated? We haven't even started yet."

"Don't talk nonsense. Ganyang is in an uproar right now. There's a mood of praise, saying a new hero has emerged."

"..."

"That friend over there is One Cup Child, Tang Chunil, right? They say the brewers, after seeing him attack Okru-dang, are calling him that, comparing him to Guan Gong who promised to return after beheading Hua Xiong before the wine cooled."

As Nosanggae looked at him and laughed, Chunil scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

Guan Gong? Chunil?

Nonsense.

Is that even a comparison?

That great general and Chunil.

And what's with One Cup Child, he's not even a Taoist...

"Hey!"

"...Huh?"

"Did you by any chance drink alcohol while raiding Okru-dang?"

"Uh? No, it's not that... after I finished the job, the people were grateful and gave me a drink to wet my throat."

"This bastard! I told you not to drink for a while!"

As Cheonyeong clenched his fist, Chunil's eyes widened and he hid behind Yongcheon.

"It's not my fault! I tried not to drink too!"

"This guy!"

Nosanggae stopped Cheonyeong, who had shot to his feet.

"Heh heh, my good man, calm down. How can you be so angry when people are calling him that with good intentions?"

"Keung."

"It's not just Ilsangja. That lady over there, they're calling her the Twin Flash Asura."

"Twin Flash?"

"I hear the swords in her two hands move so fast they can't be seen."

"Hah..."

Cheonyeong sighed at those words.

How much must Sanghui have rampaged when she attacked the underground gambling den to get such a name?

"Yongcheon, they're calling me the Twin Flash Asura. Isn't that cool?"

Sanghui said, as if boasting.

You... do you even know what an Asura is to be happy about it?

That guy became a guardian deity or something after repenting, but he was originally an evil spirit.

It means you're a vicious woman.

"Oh! Is that friend Tang Yongcheon?"

Pretending not to know...

Wasn't this Nosanggae, who already knew their faces and names?

Cheonyeong glared at Nosanggae with narrowed eyes and retorted.

"So what if he is?"

"Heavenly Strength Pestle, Tang Yongcheon!"

"H-Heavenly Strength Pestle?"

"Yes."

Nosanggae nodded.

Yongcheon puffed out his chest and shrugged his shoulders.

"Heavenly Strength Pestle, wow... that sounds impressive. That's cool, our Yongcheon."

A mortar imbued with the power of heaven.

'Heavenly Strength' was just an embellishment made up by people who like to talk... he was just a strong guy with a mortar.

And why a pestle?

To be precise, what Yongcheon used was a pestle.

Anyway, people and their rumors.

Nothing is ever accurate.

By the way, they had only fought the Yin Hand Chamber once, but it seems they were already being called by titles.

"What about me? Don't I have one?"

"Hwangsama, you... don't seem to have one."

"...Why?"

Hwangsama, who had been full of expectation, pouted his lips and looked dejected at Nosanggae's words.

"Baekgang is the Hoyeon Brigade Master... all the other kids have titles... why only me."

It's nothing to be happy about.

Did Nosanggae really say it because he was that great?

This was just an exaggerated pleasantry aimed at the kids.

Like saying, 'this kid is general material'.

"By the way, what brings you here? For someone whose laziness pierces the heavens to come all the way here at the crack of dawn... there must be a reason."

"My, my, you're sharp... why are you always like a sharpened blade?"

"That depends on the opponent."

"Huh?"

"You didn't just come here for no reason, did you? I even set up the Concealing Heaven and Hiding Form formation."

"..."

"You've been tailing and watching us for a while, haven't you?"

"Ah, that's..."

Nosanggae laughed awkwardly at Cheonyeong's question, his eyes narrowed.

I don't need to hear the answer.

When he told Baekgang to take the kids and go into the mountains, he had already taken all measures.

Concealing Heaven and Hiding Form.

It was a type of illusion formation.

It had no killing power, nor any soul-bewitching power, but there was nothing better for hiding one's form.

Even for the Beggars' Sect, it was not easy to discover a space distorted by a formation in one go.

If they found such a shelter?

It meant they had been tailing them from early on.

Too bad.

If I had known earlier, I could have used this as leverage to get something.

"Ah, right! I wanted to ask anyway. How on earth do you know the Concealing Heaven and Hiding Form formation?"

"...You don't need to know that. Why were you tailing us?"

He tried to change the subject, but at Cheonyeong's cold question, Nosanggae scratched the back of his head with an awkward face.

"About that... I'm sorry."

"I asked... why?"

"Well, because I was worried."

"Worried?"

"Of course, who am I? Am I not a tenant of the Tang Family's estate? If the landlord's family were to die due to some unfortunate incident..."

"What does that have to do with anything? There's no security deposit anyway... I'm the only one who needs to receive money."

"Ahem! My good man, how can you say such harsh words? Is a connection so easy?"

"It was for me."

"..."

"I've already been turned away countless times since I was ten."

"Hmm."

Nosanggae pouted his lips at Cheonyeong's calm words.

"Tch, you don't give any room to dig in."

"State your intentions first."

"Hah... alright, alright. I have to admit, you're stingy with your kindness. Not even offering a drink to someone who came all this way."

At Nosanggae's grumbling, Chunil stealthily took out a bottle of alcohol, but retreated at Cheonyeong's cold glare.

"Actually, it's because of the matter of you attacking the Yin Hand Chamber."

"What about it?"

"Don't glare at me like that. How could I not know your heart? The grudge from the past is deep..."

"Who said that?"

"What?"

"Who said it was because of a past grudge?"

"Well, people..."

"Keuk. People say that? That it's because of a past grudge?"

"They do."

"So? What are they saying?"

"That, the son of the Mandeok Estate has returned... to repay the grudge of the past and will drive out the Yin Hand Chamber. At every gathering, they are cheering for the Tang Family's estate."

"That's quite hopeful."

"Huh?"

"The way they talk as if I'll do something for them."

"..."

"Isn't it ridiculous? Back then, they turned a blind eye even when I went and begged them, and now they're cheering?"

Nosanggae's face hardened slightly at the sneer on Cheonyeong's face.

"This fight was for us. The justification was retaliation for them ambushing us and injuring Yongcheon."

"Retaliation?"

As Nosanggae glanced over, Yongcheon slightly showed his shoulder.

Is that an injury?

Just a tiny... scratch?

"Since you're from the Beggars' Sect, you've already looked into the details, right?"

"You mean the hunters' association's attack?"

"You know well. Yongcheon was injured in their attack. Since they attacked us in the middle of the night for no reason, of course we have to retaliate."

"What? Then, attacking the organizations under the Yin Hand Chamber was?"

"It's my principle, and the law of the Tang family, that what is done to us must be repaid tenfold."

"Hah!"

Nosanggae wore an incredulous expression.

What kind of law was that?

Having just established it...

Moreover, anyone would think Yongcheon had died.

"But, I don't think you came all this way for just that reason. A meeting like this... you'd be in quite a difficult position if the Yin Hand Chamber found out."

At the question that was as good as a confirmation, Nosanggae sighed.

He couldn't hide it.

It's not like the young punk had roasted a dozen vipers...

"You're right."

"Now tell me. Why did you come?"

"Actually, I came to mediate."

"Mediate?"

At the unexpected answer, Cheonyeong squinted one eye and looked at him.

Mediate?

He's going to stop the fight between the Yin Hand Chamber and the Tang Family's estate now?

"Isn't the Yin Hand Chamber an Unorthodox Faction?"

"They are."

"But a Beggars' Sect branch is stepping in to mediate? When the real fight hasn't even started yet?"

"Hah, hasn't even started? Do you not know the current situation?"

"..."

"You, you've smashed five of the Yin Hand Chamber's subordinate organizations. Moreover, thanks to you setting fire to the calligraphy and painting shop, the Yin Hand Chamber's losses are no small matter. And do you know how many warriors were injured at your hands? Almost thirty percent, thirty percent!"

Nosanggae emphasized, holding up three fingers.

"If that's thirty percent, then the Yin Hand Chamber wasn't that great of a place. It'll collapse soon."

"Ahem! It's not that simple a problem!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"..."

"Right now, because of you, the Blue Serpent Sect Master has dispatched an elder!"

"What's the Blue Serpent Sect?"

"It's an Unorthodox Faction based in Seongdo! It's a medium-sized sect with five hundred disciples and is on close terms with the Guryong Chamber, a giant in the Sichuan Unorthodox Faction world. An elder from there is coming to Ganyang."

"So?"

"What?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

At Cheonyeong's words, Nosanggae pounded his chest in frustration.

"An elder of the Blue Serpent Sect! It's Ghost Hand, No Gwanyeong!"

"..."

"You ignorant person! Since you don't seem to know, I'll tell you. No Gwanyeong is one of the figures called the Ten Prowess among the Unorthodox Faction based in Sichuan."

"The Ten Prowess of the Sichuan Unorthodox Faction?"

"Yes! He's one of the warriors considered the strongest in the Sichuan Unorthodox Faction world."

"Hmm, he's an amazing person. But why would someone with such a reputation help the Yin Hand Chamber?"

"Well! Because the amount of money the Yin Hand Chamber has paid in tribute over the years is enormous!"

"The money the Yin Hand Chamber paid in tribute?"

"Yes!"

"Then... by any chance, did the profits from taking over the Mandeok Estate also go to them?"

"Well, of course... uh-huh?"

"I see. So in the end, the place called the Blue Serpent Sect was also involved in the downfall of the Mandeok Estate."

"...Uh-huh?"

As Cheonyeong's expression turned cold, Nosanggae's expression gradually hardened.

This feels like he's unnecessarily stirred up trouble...

A few days ago, when he reported to the Sangbang, the Beggars' Sect organization that oversees the branches in Sichuan, that the Yin Hand Chamber and the Tang Family's estate were likely to fight, the order Nosanggae received was to watch with interest.

Although he felt a rather formidable killing intent from Tang Cheonyeong, he had no choice but to follow the Sangbang's order.

In fact, he also thought, what could the Tang Family's estate, established by a mere seventeen-year-old boy, do?

Weren't there only six people who could fight right now?

The martial world wasn't a neighborhood kids' playground...

But that thought changed in an instant.

The subordinate organizations of the Yin Hand Chamber were practically annihilated.

It was a fight that was close to a mockery.

He had never expected that the Yin Hand Chamber's businesses would be defeated one by one by individual members of the Tang family.

Due to the Yin Hand Chamber's presence, the Blue Serpent Sect had not interfered in Ganyang's affairs.

But what if the Yin Hand Chamber were to collapse because of this incident?

The Blue Serpent Sect would try to control Ganyang directly, and it would result in the expansion of their territory.

Friction with the Beggars' Sect, which had a branch in Ganyang, was a given.

Thus, the Sangbang had given Nosanggae an urgent order.

Mediation.

To stop the fight between the Yin Hand Chamber and the Tang Family's estate, and to prevent the Blue Serpent Sect's intervention in advance.

So they had sent a letter to the Yin Hand Chamber, saying they would contact the Tang Family's estate for mediation.

This was an offer that the Yin Hand Chamber Master, who had suffered a huge loss, could not refuse.

It was called help.

But for the Blue Serpent Sect to send Ghost Hand, one of the Ten Prowess of Sichuan, was as good as saying they would swallow Ganyang whole.

Until now, it had been tribute, but now that he was about to lose the entire Yin Hand Chamber, Lee Ilpyeong couldn't ignore the Beggars' Sect's proposal either.

"Look here, if you just agree, I'll arrange a meeting with the Yin Hand Chamber Master. Appropriate compensation for Heavenly Strength Pestle's injury and your family's..."

"Branch Leader."

"...Huh?"

"I appreciate the concern. But I do my own work."

"..."

"If I borrow someone else's hand, the name of the Tang Family's estate would be a waste. I refuse the mediation. Whether it's the Yin Hand Chamber or the Blue Serpent Sect... if they get in my way, I'll have to remove them."

Cheonyeong's intention was refusal.

It was a refusal, but... what was the Tang Family's estate, what could they do?

Nosanggae looked at the family members who had taken the Tang surname.

With those kids who had gotten some ridiculous titles?

Or... those brats from the Hoyeon-dae or whatever-dae?

(End of Chapter)