Chapter 189 – Meeting (3)

A massive circular table. In front of it, there were people who looked suspicious.

Hyun Heojin, the prince of the martial arts world.

Myeongwoljinin, the leader of Mosanpa.

Pung Ojin, the head of Habukpaengga.

Jegal Cheon, the head of Jegal Saga.

These were just the people with visible faces. There were also others whose identities were unknown, but they were probably not inferior to them.

Among them, a middle-aged man with a long beard that reached his chest opened his mouth while checking the faces of the people gathered.

“Now that everyone who needs to be here is here, let’s start the meeting.”

For some reason, when he looked this way, Hong Yeonhwa whispered to me, shaking her head.

“Oh, you. It seems like the author is interested in you.”

“The plan to provoke jealousy was good, but even without that, if you believe that I like you as much as you like me, Yeonhwa, and that interest is not the kind of interest you think, then there’s no need to worry.”

Of course, that was because the middle-aged man was wearing thick armor, unlike other martial artists who did not wear armor because it hindered their movements.

Usually, martial artists do not wear armor because it hinders their movements.

Then there is only one person in this place who is wearing such armor.

Hwanggun.

He must be a general who has similar or greater authority than the prince of the martial arts world.

He showed interest in Hong Yeonhwa to directly confirm what kind of existence Hong Yeonhwa, who appeared like a comet, was.

At that moment, when I had reached that thought, I suddenly realized that the surroundings were quiet.

When I looked around, everyone was either smiling or turning their heads, trying to hide their laughter.

I wondered what was going on, and as I was looking around, Pung Ojin, who was next to me, patted my shoulder.

“Kukuk… You. Let’s talk about that kind of thing in private from now on. Even if you whisper, there’s no one here who can’t hear it.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I realize. This meeting was a gathering of representatives from each martial arts faction and a representative from Hwanggun.

In other words, even if they couldn’t do it, it was the end of the extreme. It was a gathering of mostly martial artists who had reached the highest level.

Of course, even if you whisper quietly, everyone will hear it.

I covered my face with both hands as the push and pull came.

This was all because of Hong Yeonhwa, who dragged me here against my will. I couldn’t refuse Hong Yeonhwa’s request because of what happened yesterday…!

Now that I think about it, Hong Yeonhwa was giggling as if it was someone else’s business. I wanted to pinch her cheek, but I barely held back because the meeting was starting.

Instead, I’ll have to pinch her cheek until it turns into a strawberry as soon as we get back to the room.

As soon as I vowed revenge in my mind, Hong Yeonhwa jumped onto my lap.

No matter how much I knew that Hong Yeonhwa wasn’t one to care about her surroundings, was this really necessary at such an important meeting?

As I was taken aback, Hong Yeonhwa opened her mouth with a sharp voice.

“Before we start the meeting, let me say this first. If there are any families aiming for the position next to my husband, give up now. We’re already over the limit of the garden.”

“What? Are you saying this just for that reason?! Do you think anyone here would send their daughter to me, who already has four women?!”

Is it because of the incident with Sama Ye-ryeong? Hong Yeonhwa seemed to have become too sensitive since yesterday.

It’s common sense that even if she’s from an ordinary family, who would send their daughter to me, who already has four women?

As I thought that, I lifted Hong Yeonhwa up to put her back in her original seat.

As I was doing so, a man in navy clothing with a blank expression raised his hand slightly.

“I am Namgung Cheon, the head of the Namgung family and the Changcheon Sword King. May I have a concubine?”

Wait, there’s such a family here?

As I was taken aback, Hong Yeonhwa firmly shook her head.

“Of course not.”

This time, the man next to me, who was slightly smaller than Pung Ojin but had a bulky build, opened his mouth in a deep voice.

“I am Hwangbo Cheol-ak, the head of the Hwangbo family and the Paeung Fist King. We don’t need to be tied by marriage. Can you just give birth to my child?”

“Thank you for the offer, but I refuse!”

This time, I refused.

“…But my daughter looks like my wife?”

“I don’t plan on adding anyone else. I’m sorry.”

“Tsk…then there’s nothing I can do.”

Hwangbo Cheol-ak scratched his head awkwardly.

The Hwangbo family.

A family that is similar to the Pung family in many ways.

The Hwangbo family’s descendants also boasted a huge build and innate power, and were a famous family for utilizing this in their martial arts.

It was a great family that produced martial arts kings for generations, but…compared to their martial arts, their family’s power was relatively weak.

It was like they were just below the level of the top families like the Five Great Clans.

However, since someone was excluded from the Five Great Clans, the Hwangbo family might become a member of the next Five Great Clans.

Anyway, to think that such a great family would just suggest that they impregnate their daughter.

As I was lost in thought, a prepared car slowly rocked back and forth.

“Hehe.”

I heard laughter from next to me, and when I turned to look, Pung Ojin was wiping his nose with a satisfied expression.

“…Father-in-law. Do you have something to add?”

“Something to add? I just informed the heavens that some families are considering a strategic marriage with you, that’s all.”

“Hmph…”

Pung Ojin shrugged his shoulders. Seeing his nonchalant expression, I couldn’t help but be surprised. Then, Pung Ojin spoke in a serious tone.

“You’ve become a much more remarkable existence than you think.”

“What? I mean, I know I’m pretty good, but I don’t think I’m that great. If I were, people would have approached me a long time ago.”

Despite my reasonable argument, Pung Ojin shook his head.

“That’s because I’ve been blocking rumors about you until now.”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, Pung Ojin had said that he wouldn’t announce my relationship with Pung Soso to the public. At first, it was for the sake of the family’s reputation, but later, it was to prevent anyone from approaching me strategically.

“But now it’s impossible. To spread the story of Salgok and Nokrim being attached to Sama Ye-ryeong, we had to reveal your existence.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about that.”

I understood roughly what had happened. Everyone must have found out that I, Hong Yeonhwa, Pung Soso, and even the Sama sisters were involved in the incident.

As Sama Mang had said before, they probably thought of me as the future best in the world. A guy who was bright enough to attract women and was allowed by the inner court…a guy who was worth a try.

If we could form a relationship, it would be like having the current best in the world and the future best in the world on our side, even if they were just a prestigious family. That’s why they would be willing to offer their daughters, no matter how prestigious they were.

Although Pung Ojin and I were talking in whispers, everyone must have heard us since we were in the main hall. But no one seemed to have any objections, so it was clear.

“But is it okay to say that now? The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how to deal with the alliance between Sama Ye-ryeong and Ungga.”

“Originally, in meetings like this, we also set some rules for what to do after solving the problem. Like saying that we’ll give more rewards to those who take the lead or something like that. Since you’ve become a target of Sama Ye-ryeong’s supporters, they’ll probably come up with a claim that they want to establish a good relationship with you in exchange for protecting you.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t Pung Ojin who answered.

“Haha! Pung Gaju is right. Even though we’ve had several meetings, one of the reasons why we didn’t make much progress is that. No matter how loyal they are to the emperor, true loyalists who move without any benefit are extremely rare. Especially in the martial arts world.”

A middle-aged man with a long beard wearing thick armor laughed heartily and spoke.

“Oh, I’m Dae Youngban Yi Cheon-ho. His Majesty even said that if the Three Generals of the Samjae Geomryong pledge allegiance to the military, he would gladly give up his position as the imperial horse.”

“Dae Youngban… are you from the Gold Euiwi?”

“That’s right. When it comes to dealing with the martial arts world, they’re skilled, and the only ones available at the moment are the Gold Euiwi.”

Dae Youngban shrugged his shoulders.

The Gold Euiwi was originally an organization like a secret police. After the relationship between the court and the martial arts world stabilized, it was reorganized as the emperor’s personal guard.

But still, there would be holes in the border where the gangsters were active, and they had to send out the remaining troops to fill them.

So, the only ones who could stand up against Sama Ye-ryeong and Ungga were the Gold Euiwi and Dongchang.

Unlike the Gold Euiwi, Dongchang was still active as a spy organization, so they couldn’t reveal themselves openly.

In the end, the only one left was the Gold Euiwi.

Dae Youngban was the title given to the leader of the Gold Euiwi.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“…Can we refuse?”

“Of course! His Majesty is not someone who forcibly breaks up harmonious families.”

Dae Youngban was subtly checking Hong Yeonhwa’s reaction as he spoke.

Ah, I see. Maybe he’s worried that if the royal family forces me to do something, I might get angry.

There was no need to create a powerful enemy like Hong Yeonhwa in this situation.

I conveyed my intention to politely refuse all proposals and that I had no intention of siding with Ming and Banmok.

Finally satisfied after rejecting all the proposals, Hong Yeonhwa nodded her head and returned to her seat.

Dae Youngban burst out laughing at her appearance.

“Hahaha! Since we’ve reduced one useless topic, let’s get straight to the point. Gaebangju, will you share the information you’ve investigated?”

“It’s not difficult.”

Among the people who were all wearing expensive and neat clothes, an old man with a scruffy appearance took out a bundle of paper from his arms and scattered it into the air.

Sararak.

Even though it was a gesture that was no different from throwing it away, the papers naturally fell in front of each person.

Perhaps because they had known each other for a long time, Myeongwoljinin frowned as he unfolded the paper.

“Hmm…it still smells like a rotten beggar. Take a bath and come back.”

“Is that the first thing you say after not seeing me for a long time? You rotten bastard. If beggars were clean, they wouldn’t be able to beg!”

Thanks to the commotion between me and Hong Yeonhwa, and the jokes between Myeongwoljinin and the beggar, the atmosphere in the conference room had become much softer.

At least for the first few pages that we flipped through.

The faces that I thought wouldn’t support us even if there were damages were breaking their calmness in real-time, thinking about what would happen after they won.

“What is this…!”

“Namu Amitabul.”

“This is…beyond our expectations.”

The contents inside were about how during the power struggle between Sama Ye-ryeong and Ungga, not only were the unarmed people who died caught in the crossfire, but even the unarmed soldiers in small towns who were divided between the two sides were turned into gangsters.

And it contained information that the common people were being treated like slaves under Sama Ye-ryeong’s rule.

“….”

What did she think of?

Hong Yeonhwa’s expression froze coldly.