Chapter 217: May I Step In?

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Chairman Yang, didn't I tell you? A person can't live only for profit. Sometimes you have to take a loss, but you lost a few measly coins and ran to the Murim Alliance for help? Is the Murim Alliance your personal problem solver? You tattle to them at the drop of a hat. The Murim Alliance is busy too, lining their own pockets. So don't do this ever again. Got it?"

The man called Chairman Yang, collapsed on the floor, gave no answer. He was already dead. The Golden Pig Jisaeng continued to nag the corpse.

Jisaeng looked irritable. He was bone-thin, nothing like his moniker, the Golden Pig. He did not tolerate mistakes, so his subordinates could barely breathe around him.

"Search this man's house and take anything valuable. Get rid of anyone who might cause trouble later."

"……"

The subordinate who received the order went outside. As always, they would make it look like a mercenary raid and then set the place on fire.

For now, Jisaeng had to squeeze his surroundings like this. The reason was the damned Miracle Deity Loan.

Jisaeng pressed another subordinate.

"Have you found them?"

"We haven't found them yet. We've dispatched more people, so there should be news soon."

The bastards in charge of Miracle Deity Loan had taken all the assets and fled. Their escape had caused a major disruption to Jisaeng's financial situation.

The investigation revealed that Ilseon and Iseon, who ran Miracle Deity Loan, had come to the battlefield themselves to collect money. The bastards had even liquidated all their other assets and disappeared. Just thinking about them made Jisaeng's anger flare.

Stupid bastards!

If they had just kept working under him, they could have made much more money.

He didn't know about the other one, but he never thought Ilseon, who was smart and cautious, would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Jisaeng couldn't know their specific thoughts or circumstances. They might have fought among themselves, or another problem could have arisen. Perhaps someone else had taken them out.

The smell of money was like the smell of blood. It always attracted packs of hyenas. Whatever the reason, if Jisaeng caught them, he planned to tear them to death with a mountain keep. Even if others had already killed them, he would kill them one more time.

"Find them no matter what! If you can't, you'll be the ones to die."

"Yes! Understood."

The subordinate's face turned pale. He knew it wasn't a joke and ran out.

Just then, another subordinate came to report.

"Big Tiger is waiting at the Seojangwon."

The Four Iron Sword Tigers.

Jisaeng had recruited individuals with notorious reputations in the unorthodox sects. He intended to put them in charge of Miracle Deity Loan.

It would have been better for his direct subordinates to handle the job, but the nature of Miracle Deity Loan made that impossible. They needed people completely unrelated to the Evil Alliance in case problems arose. It would be especially troublesome if the Murim Alliance took issue with the matter.

Jisaeng exited the building and walked to a carriage. A man with a round face sat in the driver's seat, looking up at the sky.

When Jisaeng came out, the driver greeted him politely.

"Let's go to the Seohogwan."

The carriage departed, and the subordinates followed on horseback.

Jisaeng sent a telepathic message to the driver.

[Elder, please see if the Four Iron Sword Tigers are suitable.]

His tone was exceedingly polite and respectful.

This man, posing as a driver, was the real Golden Pig Jisaeng.

Previously, Iseon had told Geom Mugeuk about a tattoo on Jisaeng's driver. That person was this very man.

[Aren't you good at judging people by now?]

[I haven't learned even one-hundredth of your insight, Elder.]

[Excessive humility is flattery.]

[I apologize, Elder.]

[Trust your own eyes and make the judgment.]

The man had lived as the fake Jisaeng for over a decade. He thought like Jisaeng and lived like Jisaeng. Sometimes, he even felt he was the real Jisaeng.

During those years, no crisis had ever endangered his life. One might think it was fine to reveal himself and live openly now, but the real Jisaeng lived by thoroughly concealing himself.

The man thought Jisaeng was truly amazing. From what he knew, Jisaeng had amassed a fortune so vast he couldn't spend it all in a lifetime. If it were him, he would never be able to wear such shabby clothes and act as a driver.

[How are the finances for this month?]

[We are still short twenty thousand taels for the payment to the higher-ups.]

He couldn't report to the higher-ups that the tribute for the month couldn't be delivered because of some problem.

That's your problem.

That was always the stance of the higher-ups.

[Do not worry. I will handle it somehow so that it does not affect the higher-ups and you, Elder.]

[Do so.]

When things like this happened, the real Jisaeng never once offered to cover it with his own money. The man usually thought Jisaeng was a truly great person, but this side of him was disappointing. Did he have to be so obsessed with money?

Then again, this was also remarkable in its own way. He was a man with a firm philosophy on money. He lived for the fun of earning and saving it. To him, money was everything.

So, he had asked him once before.

"Why don't you become independent?"

He thought that with the real Jisaeng's mind, he could build an enormous fortune anywhere. Currently, he paid more than two-thirds of his earnings as tribute to Yayul Han.

At that time, the real Jisaeng had answered.

"No matter how much money I earn, people like me will eventually rip it all away."

It meant that someone with a powerful backer would eventually take it.

"Excessive greed brings disaster."

Hearing the greediest person he knew say such a thing, the fake Jisaeng felt a strange emotion. If excessive greed truly brought disaster, then Jisaeng would be disaster itself.

The carriage arrived at the Seohogwan.

The fake Jisaeng and his subordinates went inside first. The real Jisaeng got off the carriage. In truth, this was his favorite moment, second only to making money.

Watching the world while hiding his identity.

He felt a strange pleasure knowing no one recognized his true self. He enjoyed the joy of becoming like a god, manipulating humans like pieces on a game board.

The real Jisaeng clasped his hands behind his back and began to wander around the courtyard.

Big Tiger, the first of the Four Iron Sword Tigers, waited for Jisaeng in the reception hall.

A special screen hung between them. Set up by the subordinates, it allowed Jisaeng's side to see out, but not the other way around.

"I am honored to meet such a distinguished person."

This was the moment the fake Jisaeng had to become the real Jisaeng.

This fake also felt a strange pleasure. He became the grand figure known as Jisaeng, one of the four members under the Evil Alliance's second-in-command, Yayul Han.

Everyone bowed their heads before him. He wished the pleasure that power gave him would last forever.

"You've worked hard coming all this way."

"When the Elder summons, one must run a great distance in a single breath."

Jisaeng looked at the man sitting before him and felt inwardly pleased.

Just perfect.

He had liked this one most among the various candidates from the start. In Jisaeng's eyes, he looked less like a tiger and more like a wild dog. That made him perfect.

Someone with a sane mind could not handle a job like Miracle Deity Loan. Only those who felt no guilt destroying a person's soul could do it. Thus, it was a job for wild dogs, not tigers.

In that respect, the Four Iron Sword Tigers were suitable. Their pasts spoke for them. They were men who had committed evil deeds so vile they were hard to even speak of.

"I'll be honest with you. The ones who handled this job before had other ideas, so I dealt with them myself."

The fact that the bastards had run off with the money must never be known.

"Betrayal is death."

"I will offer my loyalty until death."

"After the work officially begins, even mentioning the main alliance means death."

"I will keep that in mind."

"If you just abide by those two things, you'll be able to earn a great deal of money."

"I will work as hard as an ox."

Big Tiger laughed. His laughter revealed a vulgarity he could not hide.

"And soon, I'd like to see your brothers as well."

"They are here with me. Please contact me anytime."

"I will be in touch soon."

"Understood."

Big Tiger bowed politely and excused himself.

After he left the Seohogwan, the fake Jisaeng came out and boarded the carriage.

[How was he?]

[Judging by his face, he is full of greed and pettiness, but at least he doesn't seem the type to betray easily, so he seems suitable for this job.]

[Then I will proceed.]

The carriage then left the area.

Big Tiger returned to his residence.

He was in a good mood. Though he went around saying he was evil from birth, he was getting tired of his wicked deeds. Jisaeng had chosen them just when he was thinking of pulling off one big job and retiring.

"You bastards! We did it!"

Big Tiger opened the door, stepped inside, and flinched in surprise.

Second Tiger, Third Tiger, and Fourth Tiger sat side-by-side on chairs, fast asleep.

A young man he had never seen before sat among them.

At first, he thought it was a young man his younger brothers had invited.

I told them not to bring in outsiders.

But another thought immediately followed. They invited someone over and then fell asleep? Or are they trying to prank me? They're doing something they've never done in their lives?

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Big Tiger's deliberation did not last long. He turned his body as fast as lightning to flee.

Big Tiger's entire body froze.

A man in a white mask stood behind him, having appeared from nowhere. Their eyes met, and the icy gaze behind the mask paralyzed him. He had met all sorts of villains, but he had never seen such a terrifying gaze.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon slowly reached out and lightly suppressed Big Tiger's inner arts. Big Tiger had been around the murim long enough, but he couldn't even lift a finger as his opponent touched his qi center.

Two more men entered behind the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. They were the Poison King and Seo Daeryong.

"I'm not going to interfere. I'll just watch."

The Poison King walked past Big Tiger, went inside, and sat perched on the desk. Seo Daeryong closed the door.

Geom Mugeuk called to Big Tiger.

"Come closer."

Big Tiger slowly walked toward Geom Mugeuk.

I have to keep my wits about me to survive!

That was his only thought.

When he got closer to Geom Mugeuk, he could finally see the other Tigers clearly. Their bodies were already stiff.

They're all dead!

Big Tiger's heart sank. Their bodies had no wounds. It looked as if they had been taken down without even drawing their swords. Who in the world were these people?

"Do you know who we are?"

"The Four Iron Sword Tigers, and you're the first, Big Tiger."

Hearing them identified so accurately, Big Tiger quickly spoke.

"We've been entrusted with an important job. You've made a big mistake."

"Being entrusted with the Miracle Deity Loan job by the Evil Alliance? What's so great about that?"

Big Tiger was shocked by Geom Mugeuk's words.

"You're doing this even though you know who's behind us?"

Just then, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon stepped forward, stared intently at Big Tiger, and said, "Let's not waste any more time. Just give me a few minutes. I'll turn him into an obedient dog."

Every hair on Big Tiger's body stood on end, and his whole body trembled.

At that moment, the Poison King spoke politely to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"May I step in?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon looked at the Poison King. The Poison King could not meet the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's gaze.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon readily nodded and took a step back.

"Please do."

It was the first time the two had shared a moment of understanding since leaving their Cult.

The Poison King fumbled in his bag, took out a medicine bottle, and said to Geom Mugeuk, "Why would you trust a man like that to get the job done? On the other hand, a Gu poison can certainly be trusted."

A hideous insect squirmed inside the medicine bottle.

"Once this thing settles in his brain, he'll cut off his own arm if you tell him to."

At those words, Big Tiger's face turned ashen. The thought of that disgusting thing entering his head already made him feel nauseous.

Geom Mugeuk smiled and asked the Poison King, "I thought you said you weren't going to get involved?"

"Seeing this guy made me want to test it out. It's been a while since I've tested it on a person."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to test a Gu poison."

"Then feed him this at least."

The Poison King took another poison bottle from his bag.

"It's a poison that will cause all his internal organs to melt and kill him if he doesn't take the antidote every day. Tell him to try betraying us if he wants."

"It must not leave any traces of poison later."

"Whose poison do you think this is, that you'd worry about something like that?"

"Then this is perfect!"

The next moment, Big Tiger shouted urgently.

"Please spare me! What do I have to do?"

The gazes of the four men turned to Big Tiger. His whole body trembled. It was a bizarre combination of men who seemed to be neither villains nor righteous heroes.

He had experienced all sorts of villains, but these were the first to evoke such a primal fear. They seemed like opponents against whom no trick would ever work.

Geom Mugeuk approached him and said in a gentle tone, "Big Bro, I'll be in your care from now on."

The moment he heard those words, Big Tiger understood. They intended to take the roles of his brothers. That was why they had already killed his three younger brothers.

Geom Mugeuk held out the Poison King's poison to him.

"Big Bro, drink this first, and then let's talk about what needs to be done."

"I don't have to drink it! If you just spare my life, I'll do whatever you say! I'll swear on my name, on my parents, no, I'll swear to the gods of heaven and earth! If I don't keep my promise, may I be struck down by divine punishment and die!"

At that, Geom Mugeuk forced his mouth open and poured the medicine in.

"I don't believe you. Now, drink up!"