Trash of the Count's Family - TCF Part 2 - Chapter 95 Why Are You There? (10)

Recap of the Murim World:
GED refers to the three groups – the Good Faction, the Evil Faction, and the Demon Sect.
Murim Alliance mostly consists of groups from the Good Faction. The Beggars’ Sect has an intelligence gathering role, and the Jegal Clan have strategic and military roles. Both hold key positions in the Murim Alliance.
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CENTRAL PLAINS (Jungwon)
☆ Murim
1. Good Faction
– Nine Great Schools : Beggars’ Sect, Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, Mount Hua Sect, Kunlun Sect
– Five Great Clans : Namgung Clan, Jegal Clan
– Others : Dokgo Clan
2. Evil Faction : Killing Sect, Hao Sect, Green Forest
3. Demon Sect
4. Others : Blood Cult, Neutral Groups
☆ Government
1. Imperial Palace : Embroidered Uniform Guard, Eastern Bureau
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The Good Faction has the Nine Great Schools, the Five Great Clans, and other groups.
Nine Great Schools consists of the 9 most powerful sects in the Good Faction. As of this chapter, 5 have been revealed: Beggars’ Sect, Shaolin Temple, Kunlun Sect, Wudang Sect, and Mount Hua Sect.
Five Great Clans consists of the 5 most powerful clans in the Good Faction. As of this chapter, 2 have been revealed: Namgung Clan and the Jegal Clan.
The Government-Murim Non-Aggression Rule states that the imperial family (the government) and the murim world must not interfere with each other’s affairs
Clarification:
Factions are not official organizations. It is simply a division due to beliefs. So anyone who follows the righteous path belong to the Good Faction, and those who walk the evil path belong to the Evil Faction. The official organization of those in the Good Faction is the Murim Alliance. For the Evil Faction, it is the Evil Alliance.
But for some strange reason, the Demon Sect is not part of the Evil Faction. I’m not sure why the murim genre separates it from the Evil Faction.
***
Wi rarely frowned. But he was doing so now because Elder Ho was looking quite stupid. Elder Ho was stuttering about the Living Jiangshi, so Wi was amazed. This man was supposed to be an elder in the Beggars’ Sect, a powerful intelligence group. Wi sighed and wanted to swear at this elder who had such a dumbfounded look, but kept it to himself.
He met eyes with Cale who pointed at the Fist King. It meant that they should not make a fuss here. Wi calmed down at Cale’s gaze, but was also embarrassed that he acted like that here. Ron suggested that they head to the room across this one. Wi strangely eyed Ron who had suggested what he should have done first.
As the group left, Elder Ho was still standing in a daze. So Wi said in a low voice with a scolding tone if he was not coming. Elder Ho hurriedly followed them afterwards. Cale faced Mok Hee, thinking that she must have realized that Cale had something to do with her great-grandfather’s enlightenment. Thus, Cale reassured her that his companions were guarding the Fist King.
With CH and Sui here, it would be fine. (Wait, why did you not mention Toonka, Cale?) Raon had already turned invisible since earlier, and told Cale that he would protect his human. Mok Hee bowed her head in gratitude, and Cale walked past the door. The group were in the hallway, and Cale saw the promising talents there.
Cale instructed Ron to tell those people to be quiet before he entered the room. Elder Ho and Chief Eunuch Wi followed him before closing the door. Ron approached the promising talents, and Un Seon apologized. She heard that Elder Ho was here, so she came to see him. But it seemed like she got the timing wrong, so she was apologizing now.
Ron said that he would tell Elder Ho that they came to see him, and she thanked him for that. Ron glanced at the other promising talents who were acting strange. He guessed that they had good hearing and heard what happened earlier. Ron thought that it was fun that these people mistook Cale for a very strong warrior.
He thought that this was good since there would be less people who might pick a fight with Cale. But first, he warned the promising talents to not eavesdrop on the conversation. The promising talents left, and Ron looked up at the wooden ceiling, saying that the warning extended to that person too. Ron stood in front of the closed door, and the man in the ceiling moved.
The man retreated silently. But he thought that the imperial palace people were strong and scary. Sweat dripped down his forehead. The man belonged to the Moon Wolves Corps, a direct military unit under the Murim Alliance Leader. The Moon Wolves was a secret group who did various things all over the Central Plains for the Murim Alliance Leader.
His current mission was to save the Sword Demon. But he felt that this was not a problem as things were taking a weird turn. The Sword Demon’s close friend and the imperial family had appeared. His intuition told him that something bigger was about to happen, and that he had to quickly report it to the Murim Alliance Leader.
Inside the room, Elder Ho quickly asked if a Living Jiangshi really appeared. Wi sighed and said yes. He added that the Blood Cult created Living Jiangshi. Wi thought that by saying that, the Beggars’ Sect would understand, but an unexpected reaction came. Elder Ho had a very stupid, a flabbergasted and confused reaction.
Wi frowned and shouted that it was the Blood Cult. But Elder Ho stuttered about the Blood Cult appearing. Thus, Wi got angry and screamed on why he was giving such a stupid reaction. However, he stopped when he realized something from Elder Ho’s shocked expression. Cale then asked if the Murim Alliance were unaware that the Blood Cult had moved.
Elder Ho was in a stutter again, and said that they did not know. Wi thought again on the elder’s stupidity, but held it in and explained that Living Jiangshi created by the Blood Cult had appeared in Central Plains. Elder Ho gasped in shock and shut his eyes. This was incredible information. Elder Ho said that the Blood Cult was founded hundreds of years ago, but it had become harder to find traces of them.
And Wi coldly stated that that Blood Cult had reappeared. There were also Living Jiangshi in the GED. Elder Ho was surprised again, and Wi coldly continued with his words. Wi said that something strange was happening in the GED now. The Demon Cult was aiming for areas beyond Kunlun, and conflicts between the Good Faction and the Evil Faction were becoming frequent.
Wi questioned Elder Ho if he thought this was normal. Elder Ho sighed as he calmed down. He said that he was aware that conflicts between the GED had increased and that it might lead to war. He was about to say something about the Beggars’ Sect, but stopped as he looked at Cale. Cale wondered why Elder Ho was making that determined expression.
Elder Ho shared that the Beggars’ Sect and the Nine Great Schools was looking for a way to help the Kunlun Sect and prevent a fight with the Demon Sect as much as possible. Wi asked if that was true, and Elder Ho nodded. He continued that the Kunlun Sect declared that there was no need for dialogue with the Demon Sect.
However, the Beggars’ Sect and Mount Hua Sect wanted to avoid war, so they wanted to have a dialogue with the Demon Sect. Wi was impressed that they had thought of that. Elder Ho replied that it was the reason why the current Beggars’ Sect Leader was busy, and why a retired elder like him was now here.
Cale understood that the Beggars’ Sect had recognized the problem and tried to prevent it. He thought that it was good since he had been planning to get close to the Good Faction, but was worried on how to approach the Evil Faction and Demon Cult. But it seemed like that matter would be resolved without much trouble.
Elder Ho said that they had never considered the Blood Sect though. It was possible that the others knew, but he didn’t because he was already retired. Wi theorized that info about the Blood Sect must be confidential even in the Beggars’ Sect. Elder Ho disagreed, reasoning out that if the Beggars’ Sect knew, they would not be acting like this.
They would not be trying to stop the war among the GED. They would be working hard to get rid of the Living Jiangshi among the GED. Elder Ho cautiously asked Wi again if he was sure about the Living Jiangshi info. At that moment, Wi had a vicious and fierce gaze as his face turned expressionless. Cale had a feeling that Chief Eunuch Wi was the Eastern Bureau Leader.
Wi looked straight into Elder Ho’s eyes and asked if he was doubting the words of the imperial family. Elder Ho gulped, unable to respond because of that vicious gaze. Cale placed a hand on Elder Ho’s shoulder and assured him that it was true. He said that this information must be something that Elder Ho could not handle alone.
Elder Ho swallowed and nodded. Wi’s expression softened, but Elder Ho grew tenser. Cale told Elder Ho that he should discuss it with his superiors. Elder Ho gave in and agreed to contact the Beggars’ Sect to inform the Murim Alliance. Cale tapped his shoulder again and whispered that a Living Jiangshi was in this inn right now.
Elder Ho was shocked, and Cale whispered again that it was one of the Namgung Clan. The surprised Wi called out to Young Master Kim and spoke via Chi Hidden Voice if it was fine to tell Elder Ho about that valuable information. He suggested that it would be better to use that info as bait in order to meet the Beggars’ Sect Leader or Murim Alliance Leader alone.
Cale could not use Chi Hidden Voice, so he simply thanked Wi for the advice, but questioned if they really needed to hide that information. Elder Ho met Cale’s dark brown eyes again that seemed to be smiling. Cale spoke with a soft voice that it was to save the murim world before adding that the Living Jiangshi in the Murim Alliance was from the Jegal Clan.
The Jegal Clan and Beggars’ Sect kept each other in check, just as how the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Schools keep each other in check. Elder Ho asked if the Jegal and Namgung clans really had a Living Jiangshi each, and Cale asked what he was thinking about. The elder had thought that if he did well handling the two clans, they would be killing two birds with one stone.
But he could not say that out loud. Cale smiled as if he knew what Elder Ho was thinking. Elder Ho felt his mouth dry up, and Cale’s smile disappeared. Cale said that it was also possible that there was a Living Jiangshi in the Nine Great Schools too. Elder Ho froze at that possibility, and Cale asked him another question.
Who would benefit more? The one who find out the truth and tried to deal with it before something big happens, or the one who suffered and got dragged around. The answer was clearly the former. Elder Ho slowly felt a dominating aura coming from Young Master Kim. Cale patted his shoulder and told him to hurry up before ‘we’ move. The ‘we’ Cale referred to was the imperial family.
If the imperial family moved, the Murim Alliance would be put on a tight spot. The existence of the Living Jiangshi was beyond the scope of the Government-Murim Non-Aggression Rule. If all the Living Jiangshi was handled by the imperial family, the GED would clearly be overpowered by the imperial family.
Cale said that the Five Great Clans was not just the problem. There were so many scattered problems that Elder Ho had to resolve. Cale whispered that Elder Ho would be busy from now on. But Elder Ho felt that Young Master Kim was telling him to quickly move before he, an imperial family member, does something.
Elder Ho had goosebumps all over his body. Cale wondered if this would make his job easier. With the help of the imperial family, the Nine Great Schools, and the Murim Alliance, dealing with the Blood Sect – the Blue Blood Family, would be much easier. And they would not pay attention to CJS, making it quicker for Cale to save CJS.
Cale smiled in satisfaction, and Elder Ho averted his gaze at Cale’s smile that was like a tiger grinning at its prey. The dominating aura still surrounded Elder Ho.