Answer with Stratagems (4)
Sima Tian and Ga Gyeong grew closer with each passing day.
Both of them knew that this closeness contained no sincerity.
But so what? The Hall of Justice and the Law Enforcement Hall were organizations at the center of power. Neither side would lose anything by joining hands.
Ga Gyeong had originally been a person with principles of his own. That was why he had risen all the way to the position of Law Enforcement Hall Master.
But after Cheon Ha-Jin died, everything changed.
Once the person he had believed in and followed, that truly extraordinary being, disappeared, he felt as if something inside his heart had disappeared along with him. Without even giving him time to sort out his feelings, a blade slipped into that opening.
Zuo Tie-Long, leader of the Bright Moon Corps, which was considered the foremost among the Grand Martial Alliance’s three important corps, came to him and spoke directly like this.
“Will you hold to your principles and be driven out, or will you help me and continue leading the Law Enforcement Hall?”
If he had spoken of great causes, mentioned Cheon Ha-Jin, and threatened his life? If that had happened, Ga Gyeong would not have changed his mind easily.
But when Zuo Tie-Long suddenly asked him like that, the decision became easy.
He did not want to leave the Alliance where he had spent his entire life.
Now that Cheon Ha-Jin was dead, Zuo Tie-Long was the Bright Moon Corps Leader with the strongest power. It was unexpected that he moved so quickly, as if he had been waiting, but in any case, one thing was certain.
If he refused, he would be driven out.
Once a person’s principles bent once, they continued to bend. Later, telling himself that bending like that was wise living in the world became his new principle.
With his face flushed from drink, Sima Tian said,
“I do not know if you know this, but Strategist Gal is under me. I mean Gal Sa-Ryang, the former Chief Strategist.”
“I knew. He must weigh heavily on your mind.”
“Only weigh on my mind? He is truly like a thorn in my eye.”
Perhaps thinking that they had become close enough to share this level of conversation comfortably, Sima Tian complained freely about Gal Sa-Ryang.
“If the Alliance Lord has changed, should the former Chief Strategist not naturally leave?”
“Of course. Naturally, he should.”
“But that old bear of a man must have smeared honey somewhere, because he keeps tormenting me. Hall Master Ga, help me. Get rid of that bothersome man for me!”
If Jo Byeok had been there, he would have gotten rid of Gal Sa-Ryang. But right now, there was no one he could trust with such secretive work.
He had said it like a joke, but Ga Gyeong knew very well that it was no joke.
That was why he answered even more jokingly.
“Haha, unless we have evidence of a crime, we cannot touch even the gatekeeper of the Alliance.”
“What if there is a crime, and there is evidence?”
“You are saying he committed a crime? That upright Gal Sa-Ryang?”
“That is right.”
Sima Tian said with a serious look in his eyes.
“There is evidence too. He will probably have to live in the underground prison for the rest of his life and die there.”
Martial artists in organizations where power was concentrated received heavier punishments even when committing the same crimes. That was an Alliance rule that had continued for a long time.
Gal Sa-Ryang had extorted money from Jianghu people. No matter how corrupt those people were, as a martial artist of the Hall of Justice, the crime of extorting money through unjust methods was extremely serious.
Ga Gyeong could tell. Sima Tian was making his second request to him.
“If there is evidence, there is no problem.”
“But there is one other problem.”
“What is it?”
Then unexpected words flowed from Sima Tian’s mouth.
“I am also connected to that crime.”
Ga Gyeong looked at him in surprise. Making such a confession to him was extremely meaningful. It showed the belief that they had truly boarded the same boat.
Their gazes became entangled in the air.
Sima Tian pushed forward a box he had prepared to one side.
When it was opened, it was filled with small-denomination notes.
“It is fifty thousand nyang. Half of the money I received.”
Ga Gyeong had never received such a large bribe before.
Sima Tian looked at him and said meaningfully,
“Let us share that crime. And with that, let us enjoy the rest of our lives together and remain together forever.”
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At the same time, Gal Sa-Ryang was meeting one person.
The other party was the key figure who would solve this problem. He was none other than Chae Mo, the strategist-in-charge of the Hall of Justice. At the same time, he was Sima Tian’s hands and feet.
“Why did you ask to see me?”
His gaze toward Gal Sa-Ryang was not kind.
“I asked to see you because I wanted to discuss an important matter.”
“What is that?”
“Your life.”
Chae Mo sprang up from his seat and grew angry.
“What is the meaning of this!”
Gal Sa-Ryang stared at him and said,
“Have you already forgotten? The reason we met?”
At his grave appearance, different from usual, Chae Mo flinched.
Gal Sa-Ryang calmly said,
“Get angry after you hear everything I have to say.”
Five days later, a subordinate ran into Sima Tian’s office and reported.
“Law Enforcement Hall martial artists are trying to enter the Hall of Justice. What should we do?”
Despite the urgent report, Sima Tian instead smiled.
“They have finally started moving.”
Ga Gyeong had stepped forward to arrest Gal Sa-Ryang.
There were times when a power struggle broke out between an organization of the Grand Martial Alliance and the Law Enforcement Hall. Of course, that only happened when it was a very powerful organization.
Even now, it was only because this was the Hall of Justice that a dispute was occurring at the entrance. If it had been another organization, the Law Enforcement Hall would already have forced its way in.
If he insisted on stopping them, he could hold them back for a while.
“Let them in.”
“Yes, understood.”
Through the window, he could see the Law Enforcement Hall martial artists rushing in.
“Gal Sa-Ryang, you are finished now.”
Bang! The office door was kicked open, and the Law Enforcement Hall martial artists poured in.
Even at their rough visit, Sima Tian did not become angry.
“What is the matter?”
He thought they would greet him and then head straight to Gal Sa-Ryang’s room.
“We are from the Law Enforcement Hall. I am Law Enforcement Left Judge Hwang.”
“Welcome.”
“An arrest order and a search order have been issued at the same time for seven counts of illegal acts. May we carry them out?”
“Of course.”
Sima Tian answered without even looking at the orders the martial artist held out.
Then the Law Enforcement Hall martial artist said to his subordinates,
“Escort him immediately and conduct the search.”
The martial artists rushed out and began searching the room.
Some of the martial artists approached Sima Tian threateningly.
“Please come with us.”
Only then was Sima Tian startled.
“What in the world are you talking about?”
Then the martial artist who had reported earlier said,
“Did I not tell you? An arrest order and a search order have been issued. You told us to carry them out, did you not?”
“What? Are you saying those were issued against me?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Nonsense! This is a mistake!”
Belatedly, Sima Tian examined the orders. His own name was truly written there.
“What in the world is going on?”
The orders meant for Gal Sa-Ryang must have been wrongly issued.
Sima Tian glared at them with cold eyes.
“Fools! Do you know what you are doing right now?”
“We are only following orders.”
The martial artists took Sima Tian outside. Usually, the Law Enforcement Hall was the quietest place, but once it began moving, it was the most frightening place.
The strategists in the office had no idea what to do. Chae Mo, the strategist-in-charge, was also flustered with them. No, to be exact, he was pretending to be flustered, and in this confusion, no one noticed it.
Sima Tian was locked in a narrow investigation room of roughly three pyeong.
“You bastards! Tell your Hall Master to come here at once!”
He shouted at the top of his voice, but no one answered.
This was the first time in his life he had suffered such humiliation.
A young investigator entered the room. Not the Hall Master, and not even the Vice Hall Master. A young investigator? This was an openly disrespectful treatment of him.
“Hey! Bring your Hall Master here immediately!”
The investigator sat down and said in a businesslike tone,
“Sit.”
“Sit? You bastard. Do you know who I am?”
“I told you to sit.”
The investigator glared at him fiercely. His gaze was not one to be looked down on just because he was young.
Pressed by that force, Sima Tian sat down. In a voice that had lost some of its strength, Sima Tian asked,
“How do you intend to handle what comes after this?”
“Right now, you should worry about yourself first.”
Sima Tian’s anger, which had been sinking, exploded again.
“You little bastard, I have been letting you go on for too long! Send word to the Alliance Lord’s Hall at once! Are you planning to come to your senses only after the Alliance Lord comes in person?”
Even though the Alliance Lord had been mentioned, the investigator calmly unfolded the documents and asked,
“When did you first meet Jo Byeok?”
At the words Jo Byeok, Sima Tian, who had been acting so arrogantly, flinched in surprise.
“What?”
He had never imagined that he would be dragged in over the Jo Byeok matter.
“It seems there were not just one or two matters you entrusted to Jo Byeok, Strategist.”
The investigator raised his head slightly. His eyes were those of a predator looking at prey already caught.
“I am asking when you first met him.”
“I do not know who he is.”
“Of course you do not.”
Sima Tian’s face gradually turned pale. If the Law Enforcement Hall had evidence that he had ordered Jo Byeok to do things, then he was finished. They would not have brought him here without evidence…
As he sank into deep despair, he thought at the same time. Just where had things gone wrong, and how?
The answer was outside a small hole in the wall of the investigation room.
The person looking inside through that hole was none other than Law Enforcement Hall Master Ga Gyeong.
In his hand was a booklet containing his own corruption. It was the very thing Sima Tian had collected.
Gal Sa-Ryang had taken it out through strategist-in-charge Chae Mo. He had shown him evidence that Sima Tian would soon be driven from his position, and frightened him by saying that he would be locked in the underground prison along with him.
If he had been a person of deep loyalty, perhaps it would have been different, but Chae Mo was not greatly different from his master. In the end, Gal Sa-Ryang succeeded in coaxing Chae Mo and obtained this evidence.
When told that they did not necessarily need the original as long as they prevented him from being dragged away with Sima Tian, Chae Mo leaked the contents. If things went wrong, he intended to deny it completely.
On the other hand, it did not matter that it was not the original. The contents written there were things only Ga Gyeong knew. All sorts of wrongdoings and mistakes he had committed throughout his life were written there.
If this were revealed, he would have to step down from the position of Hall Master. Even if they were not tremendous crimes, there were several issues of morality. Since he was not in any other organization, but the Law Enforcement Hall Master responsible for corruption and inspection, he could not avoid responsibility.
What was even more absurd was that, along with his weaknesses, it even listed his eating habits and the appearance of women he liked. What made him even angrier was that even his family had all been investigated.
“Damn bastard!”
The person standing in front of him was none other than Gal Sa-Ryang.
Two days earlier, Gal Sa-Ryang had secretly come to find him. And he had shown him these contents. Moreover, Gal Sa-Ryang even knew everything about Ga Gyeong’s secret meetings with Sima Tian. Ga Gyeong had to choose one rope to hold onto between Sima Tian and Gal Sa-Ryang.
“As long as the evidence related to Jo Byeok is clear, Sima Tian is finished.”
“You worked hard.”
“But… will the Alliance Lord perhaps step forward?”
“If he were going to, he already would have. To the Alliance Lord, Sima Tian is already a discarded piece. Rather, because Sima Tian is close to the Alliance Lord, he is in an even more dangerous situation.”
He could understand what those words meant. Because Sima Tian knew many secrets, the Alliance Lord might eliminate him. If he were locked in an underground prison full of all sorts of heinous criminals, he could be removed very easily.
“Sima Tian may drag me in with him.”
“That will not happen.”
“But…”
“Are you worried about that woman?”
In that instant, Ga Gyeong flinched. Gal Sa-Ryang even knew about the women.
“Do you think I started this without knowing that? Do not worry. I have already dealt with those women. They will never appear in this Jianghu again. There is no evidence anywhere that you met them.”
Whenever he went to meet her, he had always moved secretly, and the martial artists who guarded him were no different from his own hands and feet. If the women had disappeared, there was no evidence connecting him to Sima Tian. Now, no matter what Sima Tian said, it would be useless.
“You truly are… a frightening person.”
Gal Sa-Ryang looked at him. There was no trace now of the Gal Sa-Ryang who had been crawling weakly under Sima Tian.
“You do not know this, but I was also the one who placed you in that position.”
“Is that so?”
Gal Sa-Ryang nodded.
“Will you protect me from now on as well?”
It was rather shameless, but Gal Sa-Ryang answered seriously. For now, this was still someone worth using. Until he punished him later for today’s events, he would use him thoroughly.
“If you do not betray me, then we will board the same boat and cross the river together. Of course, variables may arise. There may come a situation where you must betray me just as you betrayed Sima Tian. When that time comes, before you step off the boat, remember one thing. The person you are trying to betray is the very man who served the former Alliance Lord and unified the Jianghu…”
Gal Sa-Ryang stared straight at him and added,
“I, Gal Sa-Ryang.”
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