“It seems we’ve been seeing each other often lately.”
At Mo Yonggun’s remark, Je Gal Munho smiled.
“There’s a saying in the world, isn’t there? Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies even closer.”
“Hah.”
“If only Clan Lord Mo Yong would cast aside that imnse ambition of yours, I think we might even be able to beco friends.”
Mo Yonggun let out a hollow laugh.
“Is ambition a cri now?”
“Ambition is not a cri. But if that is your position, then you must also understand the desires of those who would tear that ambition down.”
“Of course. I told you before, did I not? I understand people like you. It is only because you stand in my way that I an to strike you down. I bear very little personal feeling.”
“Very little... so not none at all.”
“I am human too.”
Je Gal Munho burst into hearty laughter.
“Exactly so. Because we are human, we harbor desire. Because we are human, we restrain one another.”
Mo Yonggun snorted.
“So then, what brings you here to see today?”
Je Gal Munho pulled a docunt from his sleeve and held it out.
Mo Yonggun tilted his head.
“What is this?”
“Hunan has been rather noisy lately.”
“Hm?”
Mo Yonggun glanced over the docunt.
A mont later, the corner of his mouth lifted.
“The Guizhou rchant Guild has been expanding its sphere of influence... and doing so quite aggressively.”
“That’s right.”
“And why are you showing this to ?”
“I did a bit of investigating into the Guizhou rchant Guild.”
“You did?”
“And in the course of that, I ca to learn which sects have been trading with them behind closed doors.”
Mo Yonggun shrugged.
“Of course, the Mo Yong Clan is one of them.”
“Yes, it is.”
“But why would that be any great matter? Any sect with real capability needs trade with rchant houses. The Je Gal Clan does the sa, does it not?”
“It does.”
Je Gal Munho smiled.
“And that is why I would like to ask Clan Lord Mo Yong for a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Yes.”
“I do not know what sort of favor it is, but I hope you understand that I am unlikely to grant one so easily. I do not know your reason, but conducting this sort of background investigation and then thrusting a docunt in my face besides does not put in a pleasant mood.”
“I ask for your understanding. The Guizhou rchant Guild’s expansion has been so sudden that we had no choice but to pay attention.”
“I see. Then what is this favor?”
“Please give an introduction to the Guizhou rchant Guild.”
Mo Yonggun was genuinely startled.
“You want to put you in contact with the Guizhou rchant Guild?”
“That is correct.”
Je Gal Munho kept an utterly calm expression.
Studying his face through narrowed eyes, Mo Yonggun tossed out a question.
“For the Martial Alliance? Or for the Je Gal Clan?”
“The latter, of course.”
“...”
“If the Martial Alliance had decided to bring the Guizhou rchant Guild into its fold, it would have convened a Service Council eting and pressured you openly. It would not have co in person to ask you privately for an introduction.”
That much was true.
What are you plotting?
Mo Yonggun knew Je Gal Munho was not making this request out of greed for money or power.
He stared at Je Gal Munho in silence for a mont, then frowned.
“Do you truly intend to go this far?”
“I’m not sure what you an.”
“Don’t play ignorant. If Strategist Je Gal begins trading with the Guizhou rchant Guild, then one way or another you will try to examine this clan’s dealings with them. And if you find even the slightest suspicious sign, you will attack at once.”
“Is the Guizhou rchant Guild such a faithless group? A custor’s transactions ought to be kept in the strictest confidence.”
“If one were determined enough, it would not be impossible to dig them out.”
“Even if that were possible, the real problem would be the decision to go that far. And besides, if I truly ant to tear the Guizhou rchant Guild apart, I would never have co asking you for an introduction in the first place.”
That was not wrong. But Mo Yonggun had already seen through what Je Gal Munho was after.
“You intend mutual destruction, do you not?”
Je Gal Munho’s eyes deepened.
As expected.
In the realm of sches and stratagems, Mo Yonggun displayed ability worthy of the Thirteen Seats of the Supre Heavens. He had instantly seen through one of Je Gal Munho’s aims. More than that, he was not weighing the possibility of it. He was certain.
It was discernnt refined to the extre. That a man like this burned with such selfish ambition for the seat of Martial Alliance Leader was truly regrettable.
“I felt I ought to take out at least that much insurance.”
A mocking smile touched Mo Yonggun’s lips.
“There is no value in discussing this further. You may leave.”
Je Gal Munho watched him a mont, then rose without resistance.
“At least think it over once. It is certainly a rather extre stratagem, but it is not a proposal that would harm you alone.”
“Of course not. If I were to give up the position of Martial Alliance Leader, it would profit quite nicely.”
Je Gal Munho burst into booming laughter.
“What a pity. If only you possessed a little more honor and fellow feeling, I think we could have beco very good friends.”
“Get out.”
“Very well. But I ask that you understand at least this one thing. I, and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the Martial Alliance, think far more highly of Clan Lord Mo Yong than you imagine.”
“...”
“Mutual prosperity and harmony will, in the end, always bring down absolute power. I only wish that you might co to understand the politics of harmony.”
With that, Je Gal Munho left.
Left alone, Mo Yonggun tapped the table with his index finger.
“Mutual destruction...”
He frowned.
“He cos out of nowhere and asks to introduce him to the Guizhou rchant Guild? If Je Gal truly begins dealings with them, then from that mont on he will start moving seriously against this clan. And I will counterattack. And if the Alliance learns of that...”
That was why it was mutual destruction.
If the Martial Alliance learned that the two clans were checking one another and fighting a filthy political mud war, both clans’ political influence would collapse completely. Je Gal Munho was prepared to stop him even at that cost.
“But.”
Mo Yonggun’s eyes glead dangerously.
“That sly old fox would never have believed I wouldn’t see through that.”
Which ant he was aiming for sothing else besides mutual destruction.
After thinking it over for a while, Mo Yonggun spoke.
“Is soone outside?”
“Yes, Clan Lord.”
“Send word to the head of Mount Hua Sect. Tell him I’d like to invite him to lunch.”
“At once.”
Thump.
Mo Yonggun smiled as he lightly struck the table with his fist.
“I don’t know what you’re after, but this ans your side has finally started moving as well.”
*****
For a mont, Tang Gwan tilted his head, wondering whether he had heard wrong.
“What did you just say?”
“I asked you to enter the election as a candidate for Martial Alliance Leader.”
“...”
“Is that impossible?”
Tang Gwan stared at Yeon Hojeong for a long mont, then openly furrowed his brow.
“Are you planning to make your puppet?”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“I don’t care for the word puppet. I’d rather you understand it as this: I’m asking you to beco an iron shield for a better future.”
“Fine words. In the end, what you want is to put out front to keep Mo Yonggun in check while also pinning down his attention, is it not?”
As expected, one did not beco the head of one of the Six Great Clans by chance.
A hard, cold man. Proud in the midst of that, and hot-blooded at tis as well.
That was the sort of man Tang Gwan was. But that temperant did not an he was stupid.
On the contrary, his sharp eye surpassed that of the leaders of most sects by a wide margin. He might be a man steeped in stubbornness and pride, but in terms of sheer ability, he yielded to no one.
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“That’s right.”
He admitted it plainly.
Tang Gwan gave him a frigid smile.
“Tell this. Did you truly think I would accept such a proposal?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I thought you might accept it, and you might refuse it.”
“Why? Did you co to that conclusion simply because I’ve had a falling-out with Mo Yonggun?”
Yeon Hojeong’s face turned serious.
“I never thought the proud head of the Tang Clan of Sichuan would throw himself into sothing like this rely because of a single conflict with another man.”
“Then what?”
“I thought there was a chance you would accept if you were a power holder of Sichuan who truly intended to wield influence in the political arena of the martial world.”
Tang Gwan’s eyes narrowed.
“A power holder of Sichuan... that is an interesting choice of words.”
“You were calculating in the middle.”
“...”
“Wasn’t that so? Weighing the Je Gal side against the Mo Yong side, wondering which one would expand the Tang Clan’s influence more if you aligned yourself with it.”
Tang Gwan frowned.
“You know a great deal.”
“In the end, you made your choice. And this is where that choice led you.”
“So what? Are you telling to forget that failed choice and join hands with you instead?”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“You know how it is. Many people make mistakes in politics. But once a man steps down from the stage, he cannot climb back onto it again. That is why you were preparing to return to Sichuan, wasn’t it?”
“...”
Yeon Hojeong spread both hands.
“Not many people get hold of a second chance. And those chances do not co at just any ti.”
“...”
“Co up with us. Onto the true stage the Martial Alliance has built.”
“You would have beco a bat?”
“You would need to beco sothing uglier than a bat, filthier than a bat, and even more ruthless than one.”
“What?”
“I am already walking that road myself. That is why I can wield this much influence at such a young age.”
If Tang Gwan had known Yeon Hojeong’s past, he would truly have been shocked.
Yeon Hojeong had died at Tang Gwan’s hands.
More precisely, in his previous life he had died from Tang Gwan’s hidden weapon, used on Mo Yonggun’s orders. However one frad it, Tang Gwan had been the direct cause of his death.
In other words, to Yeon Hojeong, Tang Gwan was no different from a mortal enemy. Even if he had returned to the past and the event had not taken place in this reality, it was not sothing Yeon Hojeong could simply treat as though it had never happened.
And yet Yeon Hojeong stood there smiling at Tang Gwan. More than that, he was asking him to stand together.
Tang Gwan could never have imagined how monstrous a force of will that change, that patience, required.
“You once said it yourself, Clan Lord. A poison used well can beco dicine, and dicine used poorly can beco poison.”
“...”
“Beco dicine for us. And beco poison for our enemies.”
“And if I do, you will arrange a eting with the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions?”
“To tell the truth, if that was all you wanted, there was never any need for you to go through us in the first place. And yet you suggested a deal. Wasn’t that your way of quietly signaling that you wanted to join hands?”
Tang Gwan stared at Yeon Hojeong for a long mont, then turned away.
“Follow .”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“Thank—”
“You didn’t bring an axe.”
“Pardon?”
“That damned axe you always carry around.”
“No. I left it at the training ground.”
“Did you?”
Tang Gwan shook his head.
“Then don’t bother making excuses that you lost because you didn’t have it.”
“...?”
“I’ll judge the size of your vessel through martial skill. Follow .”
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