“Hm. The fragrance of this tea is quite good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“And yet, for some reason, I feel like drinking today.”

“The sun is still high overhead. It does not seem like an especially suitable hour for alcohol.”

At Je Gal Munho’s courteous refusal, Mo Yonggun smiled.

“The age when a man measured the hour before he drank has passed, Strategist.”

“Has it?”

“You don’t seem especially moved. I came to have a serious talk for once.”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes glinted.

“...I see. If you have come to discuss something important, then serving you nothing but tea would be a poor apology indeed.”

“Hahaha.”

“As it happens, I have some Confucius Family Liquor I received from Clan Lord Yeon. Shall we have a cup?”

“Excellent.”

A short while later, a modest drinking table had been set between them.

“Please.”

Mo Yonggun accepted the drink and wet his lips with it. His eyes widened.

“Oh? I heard this year’s supply of Confucius Family Liquor had dropped sharply. Now I see why. The taste and aroma are much smoother.”

“Indeed. It is such a rare liquor that I do not bring it out easily unless the guest is someone important.”

He had taken the first drink. That was Je Gal Munho’s way of telling him to get to the point.

Smiling, Mo Yonggun refilled Je Gal Munho’s cup.

“Strategist.”

“Go ahead, Clan Lord Mo Yong.”

“You are acquainted with the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician, are you not?”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes flashed.

“I would not call it an acquaintance. By chance, I have shared tea with him a few times. A man as extraordinary as the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician does not casually associate with an ignorant fellow like me.”

“Haha. And yet when Commander Yeon was hovering between life and death after the conflict with the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces, you brought in the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician to treat him.”

“Of course I did. Though to be precise, he came then not because of my request, but because of my daughter’s.”

“Whatever the reason, it is clear there is at least some connection between your clan and the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician.”

“If that too is called a connection, then yes, it is certainly a valuable one.”

He did not know yet what the other man meant to ask. There was no reason to commit himself carelessly. Je Gal Munho approached the matter with caution.

Mo Yonggun nodded.

“As you know, the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician is famous for his eccentric temperament. But as for his skill, he lacks nothing to be counted among the very greatest in the Central Plains.”

“He is an extraordinary man.”

“But he is still a physician. I do not know where he learned his medicine in the past, but if his art had belonged to the heretical path, he would have been buried long ago.”

Je Gal Munho frowned.

“Because his temperament is difficult, it is excessive to use that to belittle his abilities as well.”

“I know. I believe the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician inherited the orthodox medical tradition of the Central Plains. If he had not, then no matter how great an elder he may be within the medical world, he could not have remained active until now.”

“And so what is it you wish to say?”

Mo Yonggun lifted the wrapped bundle he had set beneath his chair and placed it on the table.

“What is this?”

“Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Three roots of it, no less.”

“...?!”

“There is a man named Hagok, said to be one of the top three physicians in Henan. These three roots of Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng are what he handed me as a bribe.”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes sharpened.

Mo Yonggun waved a hand.

“Do not misunderstand. If I had truly intended to take the bribe, would I be laying it out in front of you like this?”

“Then what do you mean by it?”

“Have you heard of an organization called the Medical God Association?”

“The Medical God Association?”

Mo Yonggun nodded.

“I will explain.”

He briefly recounted what he had heard from Hagok.

Je Gal Munho knit his brows.

“An association of physicians who claim to carry on the medical tradition of the Central Plains.”

“When you sent out the commanders of Demon-Sweeping & Evil-Smiting to bring back the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions, you knew this, did you not?”

“Of course.”

Je Gal Munho stroked his beard.

“To tell the truth, I had my doubts already. The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions is certainly skilled. But it seems quite a number of physicians in the Central Plains resent her, and some have even tried to harm her.”

“They did more than try to harm her.”

“I see. If what you say is true, Clan Lord Mo Yong, then those who call themselves heirs to the medical tradition of the Central Plains have been tormenting her in an organized fashion.”

“Exactly. They also maintain close ties with the authorities.”

Je Gal Munho’s gaze turned sharp.

“Is that confirmed?”

Mo Yonggun smiled.

“What do you take me for?”

“...”

“You may be certain on that point. And from what Hagok said, it seems the Medical God Association even approached the commanders and committed a rather serious discourtesy.”

“What?!”

On that point, Mo Yonggun did not keep things brief.

After hearing the full story, Je Gal Munho let out a sigh.

“To make a bad move is one thing, but this...”

“Indeed.”

“Hah. I told Commander Yeon that if anyone so much as laid a finger on her, he was to smash them to pieces and come back. I never imagined they would move in an organized fashion and do something like this...”

“You know Commander Yeon’s nature as well as I do. He never forgets what is done to him. And the abilities he possesses are exceptional beyond compare.”

“He will never let this pass.”

“He will not. Of course, his mission ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) comes first, so he will bring back the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions before he begins his work.”

Je Gal Munho sighed.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I am angry.”

“You are angry?”

In that instant, Killing Intent burst from Mo Yonggun’s eyes.

It was so vicious that even Je Gal Munho flinched for a moment.

That level of Killing Intent was not something a man could show unless it rose straight from the heart. Je Gal Munho realized then that Mo Yonggun was genuinely furious.

“If they are physicians, then they should act like physicians and focus on mending people’s bodies. Instead, they dared meddle in the affairs of the Martial Alliance and muddy the waters.”

“...”

“The Martial Alliance is the strongest organization in the martial world of this age. No organization should dare challenge its authority. Not even the authorities.”

“That is dangerous talk.”

“Do you not think so as well?”

“I am angry at the Medical God Association’s conduct too, of course. I did not even know such an organization existed. To tell the truth, I am still stunned. But precisely because the Martial Alliance is the strongest organization in the Central Plains, I believe it must lower its head and bend its back all the more.”

“It may bow when it must, but when it is time to draw the sword, it must not hesitate. Is that not why you sent Commander Yeon in the first place?”

He was not wrong.

But the line each man was looking at was different. Je Gal Munho’s eyes were fixed on justice tempered by prudence, while Mo Yonggun’s were fixed on the powerful authority capable of deciding what justice would be.

Because they were looking in different directions, even their anger led them to imagine different responses.

“Strategist. Just this once, let us speak plainly.”

Mo Yonggun glared at him with blazing eyes.

“I do not like you. I dislike the smallness of a man with such talent who refuses to aim any higher. I dislike the timidity wrapped in the virtue of prudence. I dislike those half-baked ideals that refuse to acknowledge the limits of reality.”

It was astonishingly harsh language. Whether in public or private, it was exceedingly rare for Mo Yonggun to speak with such naked hostility.

“And yet I still respect you. Not because I fear you, and not because I wish to keep the opposing faction in check.”

“Then why do you respect me?”

“Because I know that you too are necessary to the Martial Alliance.”

Je Gal Munho’s gaze deepened.

Mo Yonggun continued.

“We both already know enough. Let us go a little deeper.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am a man who craves power.”

“...”

“I want the greatest authority under heaven in my hands, an authority so absolute that no matter how others exhaust themselves and struggle, they could not dare even reach its feet. Whether it is the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens or the elders of every sect, I want such overwhelming power that none of them can oppose me. That is my ambition.”

“I know.”

“But power on that scale is not something I can gain alone. I need many talented people.”

“Surely you are not trying to win me over?”

“From where I stand, you are not a man I need to win over.”

“...?!”

“No matter who becomes Martial Alliance Leader, if he can be trusted not to plunge the world into ruin, you are the kind of man who will place the safety and livelihood of the people first. And as for me, I want to become the best together with the Martial Alliance. I have not the slightest desire to kill everyone simply because they belong to the opposite faction.”

Je Gal Munho’s face hardened.

Blue lightning flashed in Mo Yonggun’s eyes. His anger was so real that the Thunderclap Art he had been suppressing was spilling out on its own.

“Do you understand? The reason I check you, and at times stab at you with a dagger or club you with a cudgel, is because you stand in my way. But if I become Martial Alliance Leader, I will not purge people simply because they belong to the other side.”

“...”

“That is the kind of man I am. That is why I value those who are mine. And the Martial Alliance I seek to claim is a sacred organization that no one should dare look down on.”

“Clan Lord.”

“And that applies to you as well!”

BANG!

Mo Yonggun slammed his fist onto the table.

The bottle and cups crashed to the floor and rolled away.

“You too.”

“...!”

“Our ways of looking at things may differ, but you should be angry as well. Why? The reason is plain. Those pathetic physician bastards got their hands on a little scrap of power and dared probe at the greatest organization in the Orthodox Path!”

“...”

“To understand the hearts of the weak is certainly a virtue a ruler should possess. But if you mean to govern by flinching at every glance from the weak, then step down from that seat at once!”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes shook.

Mo Yonggun’s cheeks trembled as he glared at him with terrifying eyes.

“Those sons of bitches dared threaten my brother.”

“...”

“Not Yeon Hojeong, that damned leech. My precious brother, who finally returned to my side after ten years.”

ZIIIIING!

An ominous wave of lightning qi burst from Mo Yonggun’s body.

He was holding himself back with such iron restraint that even his external qi was not spilling free, but he looked like an explosive shell on the verge of detonation. He was that enraged.

“I am a man who could cast aside even my own blood if it meant obtaining power. But every one of those acts is also for the sake of all the people under me, the ones who joined my dream or who fell for the persuasions of my tongue and in the end became one with me.”

“...”

“Commanders of the Martial Alliance were threatened. If this is allowed to pass, then even if I must give up my bid to become the next Martial Alliance Leader, I will never forgive you.” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Mo Yonggun rose from his seat.

After steadying his breathing for a moment, he spoke coldly.

“I told Hagok not to provoke Yeon Hojeong any further. I frightened him thoroughly, told him the Medical God Association would be uprooted, and even the pillars of the authorities would be torn out with it. Do you know why?”

“...”

“Because they must fall by our hands.”

“...”

“I will be watching closely. To see whether you truly deserve the title of strategist.”

BANG!

Mo Yonggun slammed the door behind him and left.