Pyo-wol and Dok Gohyang’s eyes met in the air.
Dok Gohyang’s gaze as he looked at Pyo-wol was not kind. His gaze was so sharp as if it would stab through Pyo-wol’s chest at any moment.
Dok Gohyang is a man with a strong desire to collect talented individuals.
So in the case of someone refusing his offer of not becoming one of his own men, he would rather destroy them, to relieve his anger and soothe his wounded pride.
Pyo-wol did not hesitate in rejecting Dok Gohyang and Jang Mugeuk’s offer of an alliance. He adamantly refused to be on the same side.
If Dok Gohyang had acted true to his nature, he would have immediately subdued Pyo-wol and brought him to his knees, condemning him. But there were too many eyes on him now.
No matter how reckless Dok Gohyang is, he couldn’t completely ignore the public’s gazes and criticism.
Reputation is very important in Jianghu, that those who are plotting something big have to be especially careful.
Dok Gohyang was no exception.
The reason he had come here in the Jin manor with the Golden Heaven Society was to manage his reputation. He couldn’t afford to clash with Pyo-wol right now since doing so would only damage his reputation.
Dok Gohyang looked away and tried his best to ignore Pyo-wol.
Seeing this, Jang Mugeuk smiled and said,
“You did good in being patient. There are many opportunities to deal with him in the future, so just focus on managing your reputation for now.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not stupid enough to let my personal feelings get the better of me and make a mess of everything.”
“Haha! I trust you.”
Jang Mugeuk smiled broadly, but his thoughts were saying another thing.
‘I’ll have to get rid of him someday.’
Pyo-wol is a hunting dog that could not be tamed. No, judging by his actions so far, he could hardly be considered a dog.
Pyo-wol is a wild wolf.
The time to tame him had long since passed.
Taming him now was downright impossible.
‘If we leave this wolf alone, he will someday eat the livestock in the house.’
Jang Mugeuk is a man who is obsessed with his possessions. His pride wouldn’t allow him to let a wolf eat what is his.
But now is not the right time to hunt.
He had more important matters to attend to than dealing with Pyo-wol. Those matters have to be taken care of first in order for him to paint the big picture he wanted.
Jang Mugeuk spoke to Dok Gohyang and the other members of the Golden Heaven Society,
“Let’s go and pay our respects to Master Jin Wol-myeong.”
“Okay!”
Dok Gohyang and the Golden Heaven Society followed Jang Mugeuk to Jin Wol-myeong’s residence.
Pyo-wol could only silently watch them as they walked away.
He could feel their hostile gazes. Dok Gohyang, in particular, was radiating a very strong killing intent that went beyond simple resentment.
Dok Gohyang might have thought he had hidden it well from others, but he couldn’t deceive Pyo-wol’s senses. While others may have been fooled, Pyo-wol could sense his murderous intent from miles away.
At that moment, someone quietly approached him.
“Are you okay?”
The person who spoke to him was Namgung Wol.
“Why?”
“You look like you’re in a bad mood.”
“Not really.”
“Is that so?”
Namgung Wol stood next to Pyo-wol. They stood side by side, looking at the backs of the Golden Heaven Society members.
Pyo-wol said to Namgung Wol,
“Don’t you have to go there too?”
“The reason I joined the Golden Heaven Society in the first place was because of Geum-woo, not because I have a special relationship with them.”
“Is that so?”
“I don’t want to join them, especially not with that guy, Jang Mugeuk, around.”
There was a hint of displeasure in Namgung Wol’s voice.
There are people who instinctively feel repulsed towards a person even when meeting them for the first time.
For Namgung Wol, that person was Jang Mugeuk.
The first time he met Jang Mugeuk was when he followed his father, Namgung Yugum to the Heavenly Military Sect.
From the moment he saw him, Namgung Wol felt an inexplicable hostility toward him.
It wasn’t simply a matter of getting a bad feeling from him or disliking him.
It wasn’t such a dichotomous feeling.
He felt hostility so strong that it made him feel nauseous.
He didn’t know the exact reason why.
Everything about Jang Mugeuk and the Heavenly Military sect just irritated him.
He thought it was just because he was tired from the long journey at the time. But even after returning to the Heavenly Guardian Association, the unpleasant feeling did not go away.
From that moment on, Namgung Wol thought carefully about why he felt that way.
And he soon found the reason why.
It was because of the atmosphere the Heavenly Military Sect and Jang Mugeuk exuded.
They had this unique arrogant attitude in which they look down on everything in the world, as if everything was under their control.
Namgung Wol considered it a serious problem, since not just the head of the sect or its core members were like that, but the entire Heavenly Military Sect.
But his father, Namgung Yugom, didn’t think of their attitude as a problem.
In his opinion, such an atmosphere was natural for a sect that is competing for the title of the strongest sect, alongside with the Frenzied Warrior clan.
But Namgung Wol couldn’t accept his father’s words.
He had been to the Frenzied Warrior clan, yet the people belonging to that said sect were different from the Heavenly Military sect.
They were proud, but there was no arrogant air about them. On the contrary, they possessed a laid-back and relaxed atmosphere unique to the strong which made others feel envious.
“I don’t know Jang Mugeuk that well, but one thing is for sure. There’s no way I’ll ever work with him in the future.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“It’s not a feeling that has come about in a day or two. From the moment I first saw him, I knew that I could never go along with him, and I haven’t changed my mind since then.”
“So are you telling me to be careful?”
“You’re already more cautious than I am!”
At Namgung Wol’s nagging, Pyo-wol couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Namgung Wol’s gaze suddenly shifted to the Heavenly Flower Variety Theater Troupe performing on the stage.
“By the way, their skills are truly amazing. They’ve captured the attention of the audience from the start and maintained it up until now.”
He complimented with a sincere expression of admiration on his face.
“Wow!”
“You’re the best!”
The people kept on cheering for the troupe.
The troupe seemed to know well how to get people excited.
They captivated the people’s souls with their beautiful music and singing, while their performance took the audience’s breath away.
People were so engrossed in the performance that they focused on the troupe’s every move and word.
“The Jin family really thought it all out this time. I never expected that they would be able to attract the people to their side like this. If we ever find ourselves in the same position as the Jin family in the future, we should also invite that troupe.”
Namgung Wol exclaimed, truly impressed.
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