The Enemy of My Enemy is My Ally
The situation was sudden, involving an unexpected arrival of the conversation partner.
Despite the potential for confusion, Mu-jin willingly opened the door.
He planned to observe the situation and, if the opportunity arose, proceed with an interrogation.
“What brings the Chief Military Advisor here at such a late hour?”
“I heard people were talking about , so I decided to drop by. Hohoho.”
It was Jegal Muhwan, responding in a relaxed tone, covering his mouth with a fan.
However, despite his nonchalant attitude, his words carried significant aning.
He was implying that he knew he was under suspicion.
Mu-jin and Jegal Jin-hui tried to act unaware, but Mu-gung’s face already showed surprise.
Mu-jin sighed softly to himself and decided to continue pretending ignorance.
“Talking about the Chief Military Advisor? I don’t know what you an.”
“I thought the Shaolin Dragon was straightforward, but it seems he likes to waste ti. Although I, too, enjoy wordplay as a military advisor, ti is of the essence, so I’ll get to the point. I ca to make a deal.”
“A deal? What do you propose we trade?”
In response to Mu-jin’s question, Jegal Muhwan folded the fan he was holding to his mouth with a snap and replied.
“How about trading knowledge for life? I’ll lend you my knowledge, and in return, you protect my life.”
Mu-jin frowned. He couldn’t understand what he was talking about.
“What knowledge are you offering, and why should we protect your life?”
“I’m offering information about ‘them,’ and I want you to protect from their ambush.”
“Them?”
Mu-jin had a feeling he knew who Jegal Muhwan was referring to, but he asked again deliberately.
“Hmm. I don’t know the exact na of their organization, but let’s put it this way: it’s the organization that Dok-go Pae of the Qinglong Unit belongs to.”
As expected, it was about Shinchun.
But that made it even more peculiar.
‘…Is this a deception?’
The man who had been helping Shinchun all along suddenly ca and asked for protection from them without even knowing their na.
Jegal Jin-hui, having the sa thought as Mu-jin, asked this ti.
“Why are you distancing yourself from Dok-go Pae now, after accepting his plans, including the recent ambush?”
“Good question, Jegal Young Master.”
It was a peculiar response. For a middle-aged man with the sa surna to address a woman in her mid-twenties by her family na and title was odd.
And his subsequent answer was also quite strange.
“The reason is simple. I want to live.”
“???”
Everyone still seed confused, so Jegal Muhwan explained further.
“Although I am the Chief Military Advisor of the Martial Alliance, my martial arts are not that exceptional. If I had opposed their plans at every turn, I would have lost my life long ago. They would have made it look like I was killed by an assassin sent by the Demonic Cult or Sa-doryeon.”
“So, you knew about the organization and still went along with their plans?” Jegal Jin-hui asked, covering her mouth with her fan again.
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?”
“Hmm. I’ve felt uneasy for quite a while. I beca certain about ten years ago.”
“You’ve known for ten years and kept it to yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you do that?”
“What do you an?”
“They almost annihilated my family. Do you know what they’ve done to innocent people?”
Jegal Jin-hui asked angrily, glaring as if she would kill him, but Jegal Muhwan remained indifferent.
“Why should I worry about the safety of the Jegal family, which disowned ? It’s unfortunate about the civilians, but there was nothing I could do.”
It was then that Mu-jin realized the source of the odd feeling he had been experiencing.
Distracted by the fan and the smug tone, he hadn’t noticed.
Unlike his playful tone and fake smile, Jegal Muhwan’s eyes were always cold.
The contrast between his emotionless eyes and his tone and actions created the strange sense of unease.
Jegal Muhwan then added with a contrived smile.
“Moreover, why should I protect the forr head of the Jegal family who tried to kill ?”
“…”
This ti, Jegal Jin-hui had no retort and kept silent.
Jegal Muhwan was the half-brother of the forr head, Jegal Mun, with more than a twenty-year age gap.
When Jegal Mun was one of the young masters, competing for the head position, he was eager to kill his half-brothers.
Jegal Muhwan, to escape Jegal Mun’s threat, had left the family and joined the Martial Alliance as soon as he beca an adult.
A few years after Jegal Muhwan left, Jegal Mun beca the head of the Jegal family.
Most of the other half-siblings t various deaths, except for Jegal Muhwan.
Until Mu-jin intervened, the Jegal family had been that kind of place.
While Jegal Jin-hui was lost in the unpleasant mories of the family’s past, Mu-jin asked.
“I understand your situation with the Jegal family. But ignoring the atrocities they committed against civilians is unforgivable.”
“Hmm. I told you earlier, it’s unfortunate but unavoidable. Everyone prioritizes their own life. I was no different.”
“Even if you didn’t act imdiately, you should have prepared to stop them once you knew.”
“When I realized their existence, they had already infiltrated the Martial Alliance, righteous sects, and even the Demonic Cult and Sa-doryeon. Within a few years, it was clear they would dominate the central plains. Why would I risk angering them?”
Jegal Muhwan’s nonchalant response caused Mu-jin to frown.
“So, you sided with them because they were powerful?”
“Of course.”
“If you were smart enough to discover their identity, couldn’t you outsmart them?”
“Hohoho. Overestimating your own intelligence is the quickest way to invite death.”
“So you played dumb and did as they wished?”
“Yes.”
“To survive?”
“You understand perfectly.”
“……”
Mu-jin felt a headache coming on.
He understood what Jegal Muhwan was trying to say, but fundantally, Jegal Muhwan’s logic did not resonate with him at all.
His entire way of thinking was completely different from Mu-jin’s.
One thing was clear: Jegal Muhwan had a considerable attachnt to life.
Maybe it was because he was born in the Jegal family environnt, or perhaps it was just his nature.
However, what mattered now was not Jegal Muhwan’s nature.
“Then, why are you now betraying them and entrusting your life to us?”
“Because they abandoned first.”
“??”
Seeing the puzzled expressions on Mu-jin, Jegal Jin-hui, and Mu-gung, Jegal Muhwan added an explanation.
“This recent event was a sche to annihilate the young warriors of the righteous sects. As the commander of this expedition, what would happen to ? I would be held responsible for everything and receive a severe punishnt. Ninety-nine out of a hundred, the elders of the Nine Great Schools or the Five Great Families would seek to kill .”
“So, you were going to be used as cannon fodder. Or, should I say, arrow fodder?”
“That’s correct.”
“Knowing this, why did you still follow their plan?”
“Since becoming the Chief Military Advisor of the Martial Alliance, I’ve been under heavy surveillance. Even the slightest suspicious movent within the Martial Alliance would have cost my life at their hands. So, I had to move according to their intentions.”
“So, were you just going to accept your role as arrow fodder?”
“Of course not. During the battle, the surveillance would naturally weaken, so I planned to use formations and disguise techniques to hide. I intended to switch clothes and faces with a dead young warrior during the lee. But then, an unexpected event occurred.”
This ti, Mu-jin knew what unexpected event Jegal Muhwan was referring to.
“Are you referring to ?”
“That’s correct. Not only did you uncover the Demonic Cult’s ambush first, but I am also curious about how you managed to drive away those fanatics so easily.”
Jegal Muhwan looked at Mu-jin with cold, calculating eyes, despite the smile on his lips.
“So, you decided to betray them because of today’s events?”
“To be precise, I knew the Shaolin Dragon had thwarted their plans a few tis before. I just thought it was insufficient to stop them, who had already infiltrated the Martial Alliance, righteous sects, and even the Demonic Cult and Sa-doryeon. But today’s events changed my mind. This plan was quite important to them, yet it was foiled so spectacularly. And above all.”
Jegal Muhwan folded his fan with a snap and smiled as he delivered his final words.
“Since they abandoned first, there is no betrayal to speak of. Hohoho.”
Jegal Muhwan laughed aloud, but his eyes remained as cold as ever.
‘…It doesn’t seem like a deception.’
Mu-jin couldn’t connect with Jegal Muhwan’s way of thinking, but his story was too straightforward to be a deception.
He was openly stating that his own life was his top priority.
However, even if it wasn’t a deception, Mu-jin wasn’t particularly interested.
“I understand you’re not one of their people. But frankly, I don’t trust you enough to recruit you as an ally.”
Mu-jin thought that since Jegal Muhwan prioritized his own life, he would likely betray them if his life was in danger.
Hearing this, Jegal Muhwan crafted another smile and replied.
“That’s why I suggested a deal.”
Jegal Muhwan then seed to ponder sothing before speaking nonchalantly.
“Hmm. How about this information? The Martial Alliance leader Wi Ji-hak is also part of that organization. In fact, within the Martial Alliance, he could be considered their leader.”
At that point, Jegal Muhwan exclaid, “Ah!” as if in realization.
“This information is aningless now. Since my identity as a spy is revealed, you would naturally suspect the leader. How about this then.”
Switching his tone, he stared directly at Mu-jin.
“Forty years ago, the ones who attacked Shaolin were not the Demonic Cult but people sent by that organization.”
“!!!”
This ti, even Mu-jin’s eyes montarily wavered.
This was the most crucial information he had sought recently.
“…Do you have any evidence?”
“As expected of the Shaolin Dragon. The way you speak suggests you had so inklings?”
“Don’t try to probe; just answer. Do you have evidence?”
“I wasn’t at the scene forty years ago, so I have no physical evidence, but I can provide plenty of circumstantial evidence.”
“……”
Mu-jin was montarily at a loss for words.
Collaborating with Ou-yang Pae, resolving the misunderstanding between Shaolin and the Demonic Cult was one of his top priorities.
To think he would get such information here, from Jegal Muhwan, whom he suspected of being a spy.
“…Since when did you know?”
“I ntioned earlier that I felt uneasy during my ti in the Martial Alliance. That event was part of that unease. Through various investigations, I confird their existence and learned the truth about that event. Hohoho.”
Jegal Muhwan had known about Shinchun for roughly ten years, aning he knew about the event even then.
There was no need to ask why he didn’t inform Shaolin; the answer was obvious.
‘I did it to survive,’ he would likely say.
“I’m afraid if I reveal too much, I will lose all my value. So, let tell you one last thing today.”
While Mu-jin was montarily lost in thought, Jegal Muhwan’s voice brought him back.
“Shaolin Dragon, we must return to Shaolin imdiately.”
“…Right now?”
It was late at night, after a day filled with battles and various incidents.
Why the urgency to return to Shaolin from this distant place right now?
Seeing the puzzled faces of Mu-jin and his party, Jegal Muhwan pointed his fan at Mu-jin and said.
“Soon, the Martial Alliance will announce you as a traitor.”
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