A little while passed.
Un Mi returned with Ok Heo's ssage to bring Maeng Gwang-gae inside, faster than expected.
"Thank you for waiting so long. Senior Uncle Ok Heo says to bring you inside."
"Alright. But who is your master?"
"?"
"Then who else is here besides you?"
"I don't have a master."
"What? You don't have a master? Then does that an you are still just studying at the Yuyeop Hall?"
"That's right."
"Hoho..."
Maeng Gwang-gae let out a hollow laugh.
To think that he was training like that without a set master, he even felt that he was comndable.
Then one thing flashed through his mind.
"Ah! By any chance, are you also learning jointly from several people like that child nad Un Gwang?"
"Like the great senior brother? No. I don't have that ability."
"No... then are you saying you are self-taught? Are you saying that the eyes of the Wudang guys are all knot-holes? You're just leaving a martial artist who has grown to your level through self-study without even assigning a master?"
"I'm not at that outstanding level. Although it's not that I haven't learned martial arts at all..."
"You said you don't have a master, and you're not learning jointly, so where else is there to learn martial arts?"
"I'm learning with Unhwi..."
"Unhwi?"
"Hmm-hmm. No. Please co in. Since my senior uncle told to bring you right away, he will be waiting."
Un Mi, to avoid saying any more, deliberately went in first.
'Since Unhwi asked not to talk about him to outsiders as much as possible.'
Although Maeng Gwang-gae felt curious, he did not press Un Mi for details.
Because he thought that if he had any questions, he could just ask Taoist Ok Heo.
And there is another reason why he did not ask.
'He said Unhwi just now, right? That's the na I heard. It is said that he caused a big commotion in both the Nangong family and Wuhan... it seems his influence within the Wudang Sect is also considerable.'
He is a person who is performing a central elder role in the Beggars' Sect, which is the number one organization in the Central Plains.
The nas of the rising stars who were showing their talent in the martial world were naturally organized in his head, and Unhwi of the Wudang Sect was also one of them.
'Usually, rumors are more exaggerated than the truth... I'd like to see that child nad Unhwi once.'
As he thought that and followed Un Mi, he arrived in front of a simply built thatched house at so point.
Maeng Gwang-gae knows well where this place is.
This is the place where Ok Heo resides.
"You've worked hard guiding this far. You can go now."
"Yes, Elder."
Maeng Gwang-gae smacked his lips as he looked at Un Mi, who was bowing politely and turning back.
It seed he was quite covetous of his qualities.
At that ti, the door opened with a creak and Taoist Ok Heo ca out.
As soon as he saw Maeng Gwang-gae, he made a happy expression and said, "Beggar. Why did you co and not even call for , making co out?"
"If a guest cos, you should co out to greet them, but your hospitality is quite poor, isn't it?"
"A guest should also be like a guest. Where in the world is there a place that welcos a beggar who just slls and gets free food?"
Although it sounds like they are about to fight just by listening to their words, smiles were spread across both their faces.
They were on such familiar terms that they could say such things while laughing.
They burst out laughing.
The conversation they had just had was no different from asking each other how they had been doing until now.
"Alright. You said you have sothing important to talk about regarding the matter of Shandong Province?"
"That's right. Let's go in first."
"Please co in."
Ok Heo let him into the room without hesitation, and Maeng Gwang-gae also entered the room as if he were familiar with it.
As soon as he entered the room, the friendly atmosphere from a little while ago disappeared without a trace.
Before Maeng Gwang-gae had even sat down, Ok Heo asked in a serious voice.
Because if Maeng Gwang-gae ca here himself and told him, it was highly likely that it was a very urgent matter.
Although it is a principle to see the sect leader and talk to him directly to ask for help from the Wudang Sect, if you ask directly through connections like this, you can skip various complicated procedures.
"Now tell . If it's a matter of Shandong Province, it must be a matter of the Hwangbo family, but did sothing happen to them?"
"Have you heard of the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea?"
"The Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea... I have. Isn't it the seven sects that rule the area of the West Sea. That is, across Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, and Fujian Province?"
"That's right. Although they claim to be in between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, not being either orthodox or unorthodox... if you look at what they actually do, they are no different from the unorthodox faction guys."
Ok Heo nodded his head slightly, as it was sothing he already knew.
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, which were ntioned a little while ago, are provinces where the Nine Sects and One Gang are not located.
But it is also a place where money from all over the country gathers because of the various lakes and seas, and the overall well-developed entertainnt industry.
The Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea grew naturally in that background.
Because there were no Nine Sects and One Gang, and the influence of the governnt forces was also minimal, those who wanted to seize the real power there with force appeared one after another.
Over a long period of ti, various sects were created, disbanded, and destroyed, and it was only recently that they had settled down, and that is the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea.
"Did sothing happen between them and the Hwangbo family?"
"The Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea... in fact, the reason we have only been watching them until now is because they were performing their roles well in their own way. Although they were tyrannical, it was not at a level that crossed the line. And they were contributing to maintaining order in their own way."
Maeng Gwang-gae spoke in the past tense.
That also ant that it was not so now.
"But they are no longer satisfied with controlling four provinces and want to expand their power. But it seems they judged that it is not easy to advance inland. Because in Henan Province, our Beggars' Sect and Shaolin are, and in Anhui Province, the Nangong family is occupying the hegemony."
"So they decided to go north, and that place is Shandong Province?"
"That's right. It is said that they sent a letter to the Hwangbo family a while ago. To either join their forces, or to give them so space so that they can do business."
"Hoho... although the power of the Hwangbo family has weakened a lot, it is still one of the famous orthodox sects!"
Although he showed a slight anger, it did not last long.
Because he roughly knew what the situation of the Hwangbo family was.
For them, if the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea decided to attack, they had no way to stop them.
"But this matter is ambiguous for the Martial Arts Alliance to openly step in. For now, although the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea are doing bad things, it is not to the extent that it deviates from common sense, and most of all, it is because the Hwangbo family is not currently affiliated with the Martial Arts Alliance."
"Isn't it a problem that can be solved by having them join the Martial Arts Alliance now?"
"That's also not such an easy thing. Unless you have the mind to kill them all, if you let them into the Martial Arts Alliance now, you will greatly incur the resentnt of the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea. The Hwangbo family's entry into the Martial Arts Alliance should be proceeded with after this matter is over."
"Hmm... then what do you want to do?"
Maeng Gwang-gae, as if he were about to get to the main point, said with sparkling eyes, "So the Martial Arts Alliance, after contemplating, made this decision. To dispatch martial artists and shake their base."
"If their main base is shaken, they won't have the room to pay more attention to Shandong Province."
"That's it."
"But isn't that also a problem? Anyway, if the masters of the Nine Sects and One Gang suddenly attack there, they will already know that we did it."
"So a few conditions are needed. That's why I ca here myself."
"What is it?"
Maeng Gwang-gae hesitated a little and then answered, "For now, it has to be soone whose face is not known, and they have to know about the life of the common people to so extent. And at the sa ti, their martial arts must be outstanding. And I hope they are a rising star who is not that old. The Martial Arts Alliance is thinking of gathering rising stars with these conditions, and having them face them wearing casual clothes, not the clothes of their respective sects."
"There are a lot of conditions."
"Yes. To be honest, I know it's a difficult condition. If we just gather about fifteen people like this, I think it will work out sohow..."
Maeng Gwang-gae trailed off.
Because he also knew well that the conditions he had ntioned were not very realistic.
In the first place, the martial world is like that.
If you have outstanding skills, your face is bound to be known, and to have skills, you also have to be of a certain age.
It's not easy to find a martial artist who is young and has good skills but is still unknown in the martial world...
"Really? It doesn't seem that difficult. Does it matter how many people a sect sends out?"
"Uh... that's right. But since the possibility of a martial artist with such conditions being in a single sect is low, I didn't even expect it..."
"Wait here for a mont. I will discuss it with the sect leader and give you an answer."
Ok Heo said in a confident voice.
His voice seed to be full of pride for the disciples of the Wudang Sect.
***
After finishing today's training, I washed off my sweat and returned to my lodging, and I saw Senior Brother Un Mi, who had been on duty at the Jade Clear Gate today and had returned to his lodging.
"Senior brother. You've worked hard. Were you bored?"
"No. I wasn't that bored. For so reason, there was a guest who entered and exited through the Jade Clear Gate today."
"Really?"
"He was an elder of the Beggars' Sect. Elder Maeng Gwang-gae. I've heard of him a few tis by rumor, but it was the first ti I had seen him in person."
"Huh? Old man Maeng Gwang-gae ca?"
"Huh? Do you know him?"
"Ah, no. I just heard about him so often by rumor that he felt too familiar..."
I had called him as I used to in my previous life without thinking.
Because old man Maeng Gwang-gae was one of the few martial artists I had a good relationship with in my previous life, so he felt very welco.
"What did he co for?"
"I heard that he ca to see Senior Uncle Ok Heo because of a matter in Shandong Province, but I don't know the details."
"I see."
I thought for a mont about what kind of matter in Shandong Province would require old man Maeng Gwang-gae to co himself.
Then one thing ca to my mind.
'By any chance, the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea?'
It is a group that rules the eastern sea, and they are people who express a rather ambiguous position, being neither orthodox nor unorthodox.
But in my opinion, the reason they claid to be in between the orthodox and unorthodox factions was just to avoid the wrath of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
The things they do are no different from the guys of the dark way.
'Was it around this ti that those guys tried to rge the Hwangbo family into their forces?'
In fact, I don't know the details of what happened around this ti in my previous life because I was not actively active in the martial world.
But, I know to so extent how this matter will be concluded.
'I know that it was concluded with the Fist King old man, who couldn't stand it anymore, stepping in and smashing the heads of the masters of the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea.'
After that, the Fist King old man and the Hwangbo family had quite a bit of trouble.
Because although they had tornted the Hwangbo family, in the end, since they had beaten to death all the leaders of a place that claid to be in between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, they had to take responsibility for it.
Thanks to that, the Hwangbo family had to pay a rather large compensation to the Seven Tyrants of the Yellow Sea, and I rember that they also had to give up a few of the businesses that the family was running.
"Unhwi-ya. Senior Uncle Hyeon Jeong has co to see you."
As I was thinking about the old days, I ca to my senses at the sound of Senior Brother Un Mi calling .
When I turned to the entrance, Senior Uncle Hyeon Jeong was standing there.
"What were you thinking so hard about that you didn't even know a person was coming?"
"I had sothing to think about for a mont. What's wrong?"
"My master is looking for you. He said there is soone you have to et for a mont."
If it's Senior Uncle Hyeon Jeong's master, it's Senior Uncle Ok Heo.
And Senior Uncle Ok Heo is now with old man Maeng Gwang-gae.
That is, it ans that old man Maeng Gwang-gae was looking for .
For so reason, I feel a strong scent of the past. Or maybe it's not a scent, but the strong sll of old man Maeng Gwang-gae, a thought flashed through my mind.
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