Chapter 298 - You Bastards! This Man Here Is...

Ho Gyeong, head of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's Jiangxi branch, was examining the documents piled on his desk one by one.

The task that occupied most of his day was carefully reviewing the reports submitted by the various subordinate branches.

Just then, Jung Ak, leader of the Demonic Sword Squad, visited his office.

"Are you busy?"

"Welcome. What brings you here without sending word?"

"I stopped by because I wanted to see you, Branch Head."

"I'm glad you came."

One was investigating the other, and the other knew it, yet they greeted each other more warmly than usual.

Looking at the stacks of documents on the desk, Jung Ak said, "So this is why there have been so many complaints."

"What do you mean?"

"You are so meticulous in your work that those handling the practical affairs below you complain that they're struggling. Do spare a thought for your subordinates' morale."

Jung Ak spoke with a smile, as though joking, and Ho Gyeong answered evenly.

"Doesn't most trouble come from failing to pay attention to small matters?"

"As long as you're here, Branch Head, those Unorthodox Alliance bastards won't even dare think of provoking us."

"How could that be thanks to me? It's thanks to you and the Demonic Sword Squad."

Their gazes met. Both were smiling, but neither smile reached their eyes.

"By the way, have you heard the rumors about someone going around claiming to belong to the Cult?"

"I have. I've already ordered an investigation."

"I sent people to look into it as well, and it appears to be more than a rumor."

Ho Gyeong's expression naturally grew grave. Falsely claiming affiliation with the Divine Cult was a matter even headquarters took very seriously.

"Do you happen to know who he is?"

"I don't know his identity, but I know someone who can approach him."

"Give me the information, and I'll send my men to apprehend him."

"You shouldn't think it will be so easy. They say he's a formidable master."

Ho Gyeong looked puzzled.

"A master of that caliber falsely claiming to belong to the Cult? How strange."

"We'll find out once we capture and question him. But can your branch handle him?"

It was a cunning choice of words, calculated to prick Ho Gyeong's pride. If you can't handle it, we'll take care of it.

"We will deal with him."

Not because he had fallen for the provocation, but because this was his responsibility as the Jiangxi branch head in the first place. Only if the branch could not resolve it should he ask the Demonic Sword Squad for help.

"Your subordinates could be in danger."

This was why Jung Ak had come in person today: in case Ho Gyeong merely sent his men to handle the matter without going himself.

"I will lead them personally."

"Ah, if you're going yourself, Branch Head, then I can rest easy."

Jung Ak thought to himself, 'That's your weakness. That empty pride of yours.'

Had it been him, he would have answered differently. Isn't handling dangerous business like this precisely what the Demonic Sword Squad is for?

"Then I'll use my confidential contact to lure him in."

"I'd appreciate that."

As he was about to leave, Jung Ak added with a smile, "Let's have a drink once this is over."

"Gladly."

Ho Gyeong, too, bade him farewell with a pleasant expression.

'That drink will be your last as a squad leader.'

He had received information that Jung Ak was taking bribes. Had it happened only once or twice, he might have turned a blind eye. The Demonic Sword Squad was, after all, an important elite unit indispensable to the Jiangxi branch.

But too many places were paying him regular tribute, and the sums were too large. There had to be some limit if Ho Gyeong was to overlook it. It felt almost like a declaration: Yes, I'm corrupt. So? What are you going to do about it? Fire me?

'I'll be the one to give you the axe.'

Turning to leave, Jung Ak was thinking much the same thing. The only difference was that he meant Ho Gyeong's actual neck.

* * *

"The Demonic Cult has finally decided to act."

Ju Yang flinched at Jeok Pae's words.

He should have felt relieved that Geom Mugeuk was going to die, but he did not.

"Bring him to the abandoned temple to the west tomorrow. Can you do it?"

"I can. But will I be safe?"

"I've put in a good word for you. Once you get there, they'll look after you."

"Understood."

"If you make a mistake, we all die. Remember that!"

That night, Ju Yang dreamed.

He was lying on the sea, bobbing gently on the water. He floated happily beneath the warm sunlight.

Then, the moment he imagined Geom Mugeuk being hacked to pieces by demonic martial artists, his body tensed and he sank.

He flailed, fell out of bed, and could not get back to sleep until morning.

* * *

When Ju Yang went to see Geom Mugeuk, he was meeting someone at the inn.

It was the first time Ju Yang had seen him with anyone there, so he watched them closely. The other man handed Geom Mugeuk what looked like a letter.

Geom Mugeuk studied its contents carefully, then said a few words to the man. At moments like this, he looked so serious that he really did seem like the Demonic Cult's young lord.

The man who had delivered the letter left the inn. Standing at the entrance, Ju Yang stole a glance at him as he passed. He looked perfectly ordinary, like someone you might see anywhere.

Ju Yang approached Geom Mugeuk and asked, "Who was that?"

"Someone from the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion."

"The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion?"

"The Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's finest intelligence organization."

"We've barely met, and you're already bragging again!"

Ju Yang shook his head, but could not help asking.

"So? What exactly did you discuss with that supposedly first-rate agent?"

"I had him look into the Jiangxi branch. Its branch head, and the leader of the Demonic Sword Squad as well."

Ju Yang twitched at the mention of those two men.

"If that's true, let me see the letter."

Geom Mugeuk extended the hand holding it. Just as Ju Yang reached to take it...

WHOOSH!

Flames rose from Geom Mugeuk's hand, burning the letter away.

"You wouldn't survive after seeing the Cult's confidential information."

Startled, Ju Yang stared blankly at the paper drifting away as ash. He had heard of this: true masters could burn paper like this with True Samadhi Fire.

"Do you believe who I really am now?"

He had expected a yes.

"How can such a skilled master be so insane?"

Geom Mugeuk laughed, stirring the drifting ash this way and that.

"I'll have to line the Demon Supremes up behind me to make you believe me."

Ju Yang looked at him without a word.

'You won't get that chance. You're going to die today.'

Geom Mugeuk, too, looked steadily at Ju Yang and asked, "You look as though you didn't sleep well. Is something troubling you?"

By now, Ju Yang was no longer even surprised by his uncanny perception.

"There's somewhere you need to go with me today."

"Let's go."

When Geom Mugeuk readily followed him out, it was Ju Yang who was taken aback.

"How can you agree when you don't even know where we're going?"

"I'll find out when we get there."

"What if I've laid a trap? Are you looking down on me? Is that it? 'Your traps are nothing to me'?"

"That's not why. If you kill me, you won't get my interest, will you? You're someone who collects money, not lives. Isn't that right?"

At the unexpected answer, Ju Yang could only shake his head.

"If only you weren't so damned good with words."

Ju Yang led the way, and Geom Mugeuk followed.

Ju Yang's feelings were tangled. In a little while, his relationship with this strange man would end. He would never have to see this lunatic again.

He glanced back at Geom Mugeuk. Unaware that he was walking to his death, the man followed at leisure, looking at the merchants' wares.

"Those clothes over there would suit you. Shall I buy you a set?"

"Use that money to pay your interest. Damn it! Stop talking nonsense and just follow me."

Why was he so irritable? The reason was simple. He did not want Geom Mugeuk to die. What was there to pity about that idiot grinning away?

Suddenly, Ju Yang thought of the coins. Those coins Geom Mugeuk had placed on his palm. Yes, this feeling must come from gratitude that he had not ruined Ju Yang's hands.

After leaving the marketplace, they reached a fork in the road. Ju Yang stopped and sat on a rock beside the path.

"Let's rest a while."

"You ought to work on your fitness, too. Sitting around counting money all day is why you're in such poor shape."

Geom Mugeuk sat beside him.

After sitting in silence for a while, Ju Yang suddenly asked, "If you really are the Demonic Cult's young lord... what on earth are you doing here?"

After a pause, Geom Mugeuk spoke.

"As you can see, I'm meeting people. A coachman who borrowed ten taels to pay for his child's treatment and is trapped in your grip for life. You, who stick a straw into him and suck his blood. An unnamed chivalrous warrior who leaped over a wall to save him."

As Ju Yang listened, his heart began to tremble. There was nothing in those words that should have made it tremble, yet he kept experiencing this whenever he was with Geom Mugeuk.

"Why would a demonic martial artist try to put Hell King Debt right? Even the orthodox factions leave it alone. You're a demonic martial artist!"

"There can be beasts in human skin among the orthodox, and demonic martial artists who can't stand to see such things. Isn't that all there is to it? Besides, you're the one who will be dealing with Hell King Debt from now on, not me."

"How could someone like me do that? Just as you said, I've spent my entire life sitting around counting money and enjoying other people's misery. How could I do something so grand?"

"It's not grand. It's normal."

Geom Mugeuk gazed at him calmly.

"You've lived like a caterpillar. Now try a life where you spread your wings and fly. Even if you can't become a butterfly, you could at least become a moth, couldn't you?"

At that moment, Ju Yang wished he really were the Demonic Cult's young lord. Then, even if that work was a punishment imposed on him, he wanted to try living a new life. This was an opportunity that came only once in a lifetime.

That was why he grew even angrier. Geom Mugeuk was not the Demonic Cult's young lord. The Demonic Cult's young lord would not be sitting before a mere loan shark, saying things like this.

"I'm sick of your crazy talk! Leave this place right now!"

Ju Yang's voice trembled.

"Leave now, and never come back to Jiangxi. If you come back, you'll die."

He had decided to save this insane master.

Never once in his life had he lived for anyone else. He had spent his whole life selfishly looking out only for himself. He did not know why the recipient of his one act of kindness had to be a lunatic like this, but what could he do when his heart pulled him that way?

"There are people waiting to kill you. So go. I'll tell them you realized it was a trap and fled far away. I don't know if they'll believe me, though."

Had he ever taken such a risk for someone else? Absolutely not.

"Why are you telling me?"

"I suppose it's because I've never met anyone as strangely insane as you."

Geom Mugeuk answered as though he knew the reason.

"I don't think that's why."

He was looking deep into Ju Yang's heart.

"It's because you're truly selfish, but also very good at surviving. Your instincts know. This is how you stay alive."

"You really are! Even when I'm doing you a favor! There are real demonic martial artists waiting for you!"

"I know."

"You know?"

"Didn't you see me receiving that report earlier? I know exactly what the Jiangxi branch is doing right now."

Ju Yang finally gave up altogether.

"Of course. Now that's a real lunatic. You're perfect."

"And if you go alone, you'll die."

Geom Mugeuk rose first and began walking. For some reason, those words sounded chilling, so Ju Yang followed without speaking.

'I don't know anymore.'

He had already gone far enough beyond his limits to do this favor. Someday, he would look back on today. His recollection would begin like this: That lunatic was the only person in my life I ever wanted to save.

And so the two arrived at the temple where the meeting had been arranged.

As they entered the temple's front courtyard, dozens of demonic martial artists from the Jiangxi branch emerged from hiding. All drew their swords at once and released their demonic qi.

Branch Head Ho Gyeong stepped out among them.

"Why have you been going around pretending to be a demonic martial artist?"

Ho Gyeong did not recognize Geom Mugeuk. They had met before, but that had been a long time ago, when Geom Mugeuk was a child. Since then, Ho Gyeong had served at various branches throughout the Central Plains and had never had another opportunity to see him.

"I've never pretended to be anything."

Ho Gyeong's expression hardened coldly.

"We already have a witness."

He looked at Ju Yang, who stood beside Geom Mugeuk.

"Did this man falsely claim to belong to the Cult?"

The icy question flustered Ju Yang. This was not what he had expected. Jeok Pae had said they would look after him once he arrived.

Neither that question nor the demonic qi sweeping toward him showed any consideration for his safety. They simply regarded him as an associate of the man impersonating a demonic martial artist.

'Damn it!'

His anger was directed at Jeok Pae. The man had done nothing to look after him. Perhaps, after seeing how closely he associated with Geom Mugeuk, Jeok Pae simply wanted them both dead.

"Stay right behind me. It would be a shame to get hit by a stray blade, wouldn't it?"

Geom Mugeuk was the only person here who cared about him.

"I asked whether this is the man who falsely claimed to belong to the Cult!"

When Ho Gyeong repeated his question, Ju Yang spoke to Geom Mugeuk instead of answering.

"He's not the demonic martial artist in collusion with the Money Exchange."

At those words, even Ho Gyeong tensed and waited for him to continue.

"The man in collusion with the Money Exchange is..."

It happened just then.

Someone leaped over the roof and landed before them.

It was Jung Ak, leader of the Demonic Sword Squad. Warriors from his squad appeared on the building's roof and atop the walls on every side. Even Ho Gyeong was startled by his sudden appearance, but Jung Ak focused on Ju Yang, cold demonic qi spilling from him.

"Who is the demonic martial artist in collusion with the Money Exchange?"

The moment Ju Yang named Jung Ak, he would certainly die. No, he sensed that he would die in the end even if he did not reveal it here.

As he stood gripped by terror, Geom Mugeuk took two coins from his robe and held them out.

"Come to think of it, I haven't paid today's interest. Take it."

The two coins were placed on Ju Yang's palm.

Ju Yang looked down at them in silence, then handed them back to Geom Mugeuk.

"The interest is too high. The interest you've already paid is more than enough to cover the principal."

Geom Mugeuk beamed at him.

Ju Yang summoned all the courage he had carefully stored away without ever using throughout his life, and all the courage he would ever use until the day he died.

"The man who took bribes from Jeok Pae, head of the Money Exchange, and promised to kill you is that man—the leader of the Demonic Sword Squad."

Cold demonic qi erupted from Jung Ak's body. At the same time, the demonic martial artists of the Demonic Sword Squad surrounding them also unleashed their demonic qi.

He was going to die anyway! Like a runaway carriage, Ju Yang roared at the top of his lungs.

"You bastards! This man here is the young lord of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon! All of you, kneel and worship him!"

Ah, so this was how he would die—as a lunatic!