Chapter 13
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
No matter how violently he was beaten with the club, Gahang could only moan. He couldn’t speak a word.
“Huff… huff… you damn bastard!”
He had been beaten so badly that his body was covered in blood. Many of his bones were broken, and if left alone, his life was in danger.
Choi Ho, the head of the Black Tiger Guild, was panting as he shouted:
“After praising you for your work in the field, you had the audacity to plot behind my back?!”
“Ugh…”
“Shut your mouth, you pig!”
Thunk!
A kick shattered Gahang’s front teeth. His jawbone was broken, blood vessels in his face ruptured, and he couldn’t even speak. Even if he survived, he would likely be forced to eat only porridge for the rest of his life.
Choi Ho glared at Gahang with deadly intent, then turned his head.
“Gasuk.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
Now appearing middle-aged and slender, Gasuk seemed calm.
“What do you think about this incident?”
“He deserves to die.”
Cold and decisive, he drew the line clearly. Even in his dazed state, Gahang’s eyes widened at the words.
Gasuk said without changing his expression:
“The embezzlement of the guild’s funds by Gahang can only be forgiven by death. Quickly behead him and restore the Black Tiger Guild’s law.”
Even though they were brothers in blood, Gasuk recommended death without a trace of hesitation.
Choi Ho’s cheek twitched.
“Why? So you can bury the fact that you were involved too?”
“I didn’t know Gahang would do this.”
“But he’s your brother?”
“Yes.”
“Do you expect me to believe that you, who supervise the accounts, had no idea about your brother’s corruption?”
It was a situation anyone would question.
Gasuk bowed his head.
“Upon checking, the gold and artworks Gahang stole were not listed in the official records. I can say with certainty I had no knowledge of it.”
“Perhaps you two colluded behind the scenes.”
“With all due respect, Guild Master, if I had intended to embezzle funds, I wouldn’t have been stupid enough to bury such a large sum in the ground.”
He spoke confidently.
Choi Ho acknowledged Gasuk’s words. Gasuk really was clever; if he weren’t, he wouldn’t have been given the second-in-command position.
Still, Choi Ho suspected him.
“Did Gahang really do this alone?”
Gahang was like a feral dog—he would go crazy over rotten meat and tear it apart. He was the perfect field manager, careful not to attract unnecessary attention.
For such a man to embezzle the guild’s funds? That would be like a full-fed dog trying to steal a tiger’s meal.
“Surely he’s involved.”
While it wasn’t impossible that Gahang acted alone, it was far more likely that Gasuk was an accomplice.
Even if Gasuk wasn’t involved, Choi Ho decided he had to be treated as one.
“He’s taken enough already.”
Choi Ho felt burdened by Gasuk.
He could kill him in a single strike, but Gasuk had been crucial in building the guild’s reputation.
If it were just the two of them, maybe, but many eyes were watching. In fact, more of his subordinates now followed Gasuk than him.
He wanted to eliminate him, and now Gahang’s blunder gave him the perfect opportunity.
Anger aside, opportunity is opportunity.
“Cheongpae!”
“Yes, Guild Master!”
Cheongpae, the guild’s third-in-command, bowed.
“Lock Gahang in the barn and bring the physician to treat him! If he dies, tell him that you’ll die too!”
“Yes!”
“And capture all those who followed him!”
“Yes, sir!”
Though unspoken, it was clear they intended to extract a confession from Gasuk, even if it meant torture.
Cheongpae looked at Gasuk with a sly smile. To him, this was the perfect chance to claim the second-in-command position.
Despite the urgency, Gasuk didn’t even blink.
He went further.
“With Gahang’s post vacant, collections will be disrupted. You should temporarily assign someone to take over.”
Choi Ho scoffed.
“Your task now is to apologize, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
“Even if you weren’t involved, an embezzlement incident occurred. How can you escape responsibility for failing to supervise your men properly?”
It was true. In any other organization, kneeling and apologizing would have been normal.
But Gasuk remained composed.
“I can’t verify every single detail of the fieldwork…”
“So you claim innocence?”
“Guild Master…”
“Smart guys like you are always a problem. They never admit fault, even if they die for it.”
Even after receiving such insulting words in front of the subordinates, Gasuk’s expression remained unchanged.
Disgusted, Choi Ho waved his hand.
“I’ll handle the accounts for now. You stay in your quarters and reflect.”
“Understood.”
Choi Ho entered his office. Cheongpae commanded the subordinates to lock Gahang in the barn and capture all his men.
Alone, Gasuk returned to his quarters.
As soon as the door closed, his expression twisted.
“Stupid bastard!”
It was a curse aimed at Gahang.
“I told you to hide it, and you buried it in the ground?!”
He wasn’t angry about the money—only 30% of it had been given to Gahang, and he could earn the rest later.
The real anger was that his brother had deceived him.
“What? He didn’t take any extras? That damn brat!”
The luxurious artworks that came out of the pit were new to him.
It meant Gahang had secretly taken them without his knowledge, deceiving him.
“His guts keep growing. But I didn’t expect him to deceive me too.”
Though an idiot, in this way he clearly resembled Gasuk.
“There’s no choice.”
He had planned to overturn the Black Tiger Guild before the New Year, but the situation left him no options.
Gathering what he needed and packing a bundle, Gasuk frowned at a thought.
“Who dealt with him?”
Gahang wasn’t smart, but he was notorious in the back alleys for his knife skills. Yet he had his fingers cut and jaw crushed.
“Damn it! Don’t let anyone leak that we have money!”
Someone had prepared and dealt with Gahang thoroughly.
That only the problematic items were left behind meant a professional familiar with the flow of money had been involved.
“I need to investigate, but…”
Gasuk glanced out the window. The halls were bustling. Each hallway had swift-moving people, many trained in internal martial arts.
“This isn’t a situation where I can ask directly. I’d like him to just disappear quietly, but I can’t break past the watch.”
Surprisingly, he regretted that he couldn’t kill his brother.
“Once embezzlement is exposed, it won’t take long. I need to escape to the Hong family’s sword sect first.”
He slid a bookshelf aside.
Druk!
He easily pushed a fairly heavy shelf with one hand, stronger than Gahang, who was bigger and trained in internal martial arts.
Behind it was a small side door.
Opening it, he strode toward the main gate. Compared to the chaos outside the guild master’s office, the halls were remarkably empty.
He moved along shadows and between buildings. A few subordinates passed, but none seemed to sense him.
Soon:
“Th-the Deputy Guild Master has disappeared!”
Meanwhile, at the Martial Arts Library of the Moya Sect…
There was no expectation, so no disappointment, yet a strange feeling remained.
“…Should I call this neat?”
The Martial Arts Library stored manuals of martial arts. The Moya family’s library was similar.
Moyongbi looked at the entrance, feeling like he was viewing a regular storage room rather than a secret collection.
Yet considering the number of books, the library felt spacious, even somewhat empty.
‘Still, maybe around fifty books.’
He picked a few books from a small shelf.
“Just third-rate stuff.”
These were martial arts that ordinary people without connections to the martial world couldn’t easily get, but anyone in the field could acquire them without difficulty.
From basic sword and footwork techniques to intermediate boxing methods and external martial arts, there were only a dozen or so—things that small sects would barely teach beginners in a year.
Some were external skills not usually handled by the Moya family.
“Why collect these?”
Of the fifty books, around thirty were basic, common martial arts. Too many people already knew them.
“Hmm?”
He picked another book.
“Il-yang Internal Method.”
It had a shaky reputation, but it was the Moya family’s internal martial art. Moyong Sujeong also practiced this internal method.
His excitement turned to frown as he flipped the pages.
“What the…!”
The book’s name was correct, and the text mostly matched what he knew.
But that was the problem—it only mostly matched.
“Why does the text change in the middle?”
The Il-yang method originated in Taoist internal methods. It strengthened vital energy and cultivated internal power.
Yet the book focused only on building internal power, neglecting vital energy, risking improper internal accumulation. Despite this, the practitioner’s energy had clearly improved—an inconsistency.
“This was already shaky, and now the balance is ruined. What the heck?!”
For anyone not well-versed, this could be fatal. It was not even intended for casual practice.
Seeing Sujeong study this made him furious. She could have been seriously harmed—or worse.
…Though she was already badly hurt.
Sighing, Moyongbi checked another book.
“Hwalhon Naegyeong remains?!”
His expression brightened, then immediately soured.
Thunk!
He slammed the book down, fuming.
“What kind of Hwalhon Naegyeong is this? It’s just a stick, not a skill!”
He rapidly checked the other manuals.
“Wait a minute. This one too…?!”
The Moya family had no real secret martial arts, but there were still usable techniques.
Yet over half of them were different from the originals Moyongbi remembered. Some even diverged in the early or mid-sections.
“Unbelievable.”
After careful inspection, only seven manuals were intact, mostly basic or equivalent to Il-yang Internal Method.
Moyongbi’s face grew increasingly serious.
“It’s surprising that it’s not completely ruined.
