Chapter 104: Chapter 104
「…Forgive me.」
The dark-skinned beauty with her hair braided in a single rope.
Ah-shin returned after retrieving Maeng Hwi’s divine artifact and bowed her head.
Gu-yu nodded.
「Skilled for his age. Lock him in another room. Do not let him near this one.」
「Yes.」
At his command, Ah-shin headed toward Maeng Hwi again.
The old man, clicking his tongue in disappointment, showered them with mockery.
“Kkk, wasn’t it your principle not to harm children and women? I suppose it was all hypocrisy after all. Beating a child half to death. Kkkkk. Ehehehehe!”
That his mouth was still running even in this situation showed he was no ordinary old man.
Naturally, Ah-shin wasn’t one to simply listen.
She halted her steps and darted forward.
Ta-ta-ta-tat!
And then BAM!
“KIIIEEK!”
She drove a kick squarely into the old man’s chest without hesitation.
The old man let out a bird-like shriek, his face contorted as if about to vomit.
Gu-yu watched this impassively and spoke.
“Do not forget the reason I keep you alive. Gongsun Jeol.”
The Mad Physician, Gongsun Jeol!
Gu-yu had spoken that name clearly.
A man who had studied under the same master as the Sixth Elder, the Poison-Born Demon Physician Sa Ma-gyun, and the chief culprit behind the creation of Soul-Befuddling Powder.
He had been imprisoned here.
“K-keuk… ehehehe…”
Leaving only his eerie laughter behind.
Creeeak. Thud!
Darkness once again descended upon the Nine Dragon Fortress prison.
* * *
The Sixth Young Master Maeng Hwi had gone missing!
The shocking rumor spread across Cheonsan as if it had grown wings.
Of course, without concrete details, most still didn’t take it seriously.
But one place was different.
“Say that again. Who disappeared?”
The Maeng Family estate, standing alone atop a hill at the eastern edge of Cheonsan.
The Third Elder, Maeng Cheol-yong, sat in his grandmaster chair, radiating fury with a vicious face.
DRDRDRDR!
Eventually, the oppressive demonic aura surging from his body made every object in the room tremble as if caught in an earthquake.
CRASH!
Porcelain fell and shattered, pots broke and soil spilled across the floor.
An immense power that truly embodied the stature of an Elder.
‘The old man’s vitality has improved even more. What in the world does he eat?’
The special messenger who had come to deliver the news forced an elegant demeanor and gulped down the tea on the table, trying to hide her inner shock.
“To be precise, he did not disappear. He was kidnapped. Taken by a group called the Iron Horse Bandits.”
The pure white hawk who pronounced the kidnapping as coldly as if reading a letter.
One of the power brokers of the Demonic Cult, and the mastermind who had dragged the situation this far.
Flying Dragon Hall Master Myo Chae-gyeong.
She had personally come to the Maeng Family to deliver the grim news.
To the Third Elder Maeng Cheol-yong, of all people, with whom she shared a notorious mutual hostility!
“Are you certain?”
FWOOSH.
A thick killing intent erupted from Maeng Cheol-yong’s body. It felt like a wordless threat to pierce a hole through her heart if she tried any tricks.
‘His son has been kidnapped, and he’s still posturing until the very end.’
But to Myo Chae-gyeong’s eyes, even that seemed like futile flailing.
While Maeng Cheol-yong might be superior in raw martial arts, she was a bird that oversaw ten thousand li from her perch.
She considered herself second to none in the war of wits.
“I confirmed the matter myself.”
CRRRK! As Maeng Cheol-yong brought his fist down, the armrest of the grandmaster chair crumbled to dust.
How humiliating and disgraceful.
His son. The bloodline of the Maeng Family. Kidnapped by mere bandits!
And to hear it while sitting before the Flying Dragon Hall Master, no less.
‘If the Supreme knew, he might cast us aside…’
It was truly devastating.
Sparks flew in Maeng Cheol-yong’s eyes.
Seeing this, Myo Chae-gyeong maintained a sneering expression and simply sipped her tea.
That very crudeness was the reason she disliked the Third Elder.
When things were hard, say they were hard. When it hurts, say it hurts. When you’re stuck, just bow your head and ask for help. At his age, why still cling to pointless pride?
“Why have you come to me in person?”
Even now, that authoritative tone grated on her.
Glaring at someone who came to help as if he would kill them, firing off orders like that.
“Someone might think I was the one who kidnapped him.”
“If you’ve come to mock me, you’ve wasted your trip. The Sixth Young Master’s safety is something the Supreme will consider. So if you want to leave with your life intact, get out now.”
“Mock you? Does the Elder truly think I have that much free time? And please don’t worry too much. I haven’t reported this above yet.”
Maeng Cheol-yong’s eyebrows twitched. Hadn’t reported it above. Which meant the Heavenly Demon Palace was still unaware of this fact.
Myo Chae-gyeong subtly smiled and reached for the teacup on the table.
In that very moment.
FWOOSH!
The Third Elder sprang from his seat, thrust out his hand, and a spear mounted on a display rack flew into his grip. Then he hurled it like a harpoon.
CRRRK!
In an instant, a storm of dust erupted before her eyes.
“What… in the…”
The table and teacup were gone without a trace. Only the pulverized remains and a single proud spear embedded in the floor remained.
VWEEEN!
A faint tremor lingered on the Third Elder’s spear, as if telling her not to fool around.
“What scheme are you trying to pull now.”
Maeng Cheol-yong tilted his head, his gaze viciously sharp.
A sensation as if holes were being drilled through her entire body.
This was the authority of the Third Elder Maeng Cheol-yong, called the Divine Spear Demon!
Myo Chae-gyeong replied in a somewhat more respectful tone than before.
“Scheme, you say?”
“The Sixth Young Master’s matter is not a Maeng Family problem. He is the Supreme’s own son. That means the Radiant Right Emissary should intervene. But if this was some scheme to extract something from me… you will pay the price right here, Hall Master.”
In short, choose every word from this point carefully.
Myo Chae-gyeong swallowed shallowly, nodded, and replied.
“This matter is not the work of simple bandits.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Seventh Young Master’s adjutant, Jang I-seo. Everything was his plan.”
Thump! His name finally escaped her lips.
“Jang I-seo…?”
“Yes. He conspired with the Iron Horse Bandits to kidnap the Sixth Young Master. In other words, this was an inside job.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
Jang I-seo was someone Maeng Cheol-yong knew as well.
When he first heard his son had been assigned an adjutant, he had already reviewed the personnel records.
But.
‘Wasn’t he a flawed man from the Seventh Grade Ghost rank? Such a man kidnapped Maeng Hwi?’
It would be hard to believe even if she begged him to.
However, Myo Chae-gyeong’s story was only beginning.
“Are you aware that the Sixth Young Master stayed at the Seventh Small Palace for some time? And that they grew quite close during that period.”
Maeng Cheol-yong scowled fiercely.
“Hall Master. Not all words are equal. How long am I expected to entertain your three-inch tongue?”
He was saying it wasn’t worth listening to anymore, so she should get lost.
But Myo Chae-gyeong was the master of the Flying Dragon Hall, overflowing with every manner of scheme and stratagem.
She had anticipated this much.
Maeng Cheol-yong was too proud to acknowledge his own humiliation until he saw it with his own eyes.
Therefore.
‘I came prepared before arriving here.’
A despicable smile spread across her lips.
She turned around and called out loudly.
“Please come in!”
The door behind her opened, and a girl peeked out.
Maeng Cheol-yong’s eyes went wide.
The Supreme’s fifth daughter.
One of the Maeng Family’s prides.
“Hello, Uncle.”
The madwoman with innocent eyes.
The Fifth Young Lady, Maeng Won-won.
It was her.
“What brings you here.”
Maeng Cheol-yong asked. Maeng Won-won answered.
“Maeng Hwi…”
“Hm?”
“He said he wanted to stay at the Seventh Small Palace from now on.”
“What does that mean?!”
“So he went to the Iron Horse Bandits to get permission for that. He thought if he accomplished something, Uncle might change his mind.”
Maeng Cheol-yong was stunned. Was this even making sense?
Maeng Hwi harboring such thoughts.
But this was testimony from none other than Maeng Won-won.
This was a matter on an entirely different level from that vile Flying Dragon Hall Master’s tongue.
Why on earth would Maeng Hwi do this. What was he lacking.
His mind went blank, and his pupils wavered.
And in the meantime, Maeng Won-won and Myo Chae-gyeong exchanged glances.
Their eyes spoke clearly.
‘Well done.’
‘The cleanup is guaranteed, right?’
A prearranged deal.
That was right.
The reason Maeng Won-won had revealed herself today was singular.
Because Myo Chae-gyeong had come to visit her first.
* * *
– A few days ago, Cheonsan East, Horse Grounds.
The Fifth Young Lady Maeng Won-won sat with her head buried between her knees atop the hill where the horses played.
“H-hiiiic!”
Ever since returning from the Seventh Small Palace, she had convulsions at even the faintest rustle of grass.
Her adjutant Wang-u was bedridden, needing over a month of recovery, and her bestowed divine artifact had been taken from her.
But the most terrifying thing of all was the future she had witnessed through the Eye of Wisdom.
『White Thunder』
The monster that flashed and unleashed black lightning.
Jang I-seo.
The death she had tasted at his hands had been so chilling and vivid.
Honestly, she had glimpsed the future many times, but seeing her own actual death was a first.
It hurt, it was terrifying, and it was depressing.
Anyone could make threats. But who would actually try to kill her, a bloodline of the Maeng Family and a child of the Cult Leader? Not unless they were insane.
Yet… that very madman had been at the Seventh Small Palace.
And not just any madman, but a terrifying one named Jang I-seo.
“What do I do? If anything happens to Maeng Hwi, he’ll come to kill me.”
Her thumb was chewed raw between her teeth. Extreme anxiety. She was slowly losing her mind to terror when.
“You were here.”
Looking down the hill, a single hawk walked toward her from among warriors in white robes.
“The Flying Dragon Hall Master…?”
It was Myo Chae-gyeong, known as the Ten-Thousand-Li Bird.
As she raised her hand, the Flying Dragon Hall elites waiting behind her vanished in an instant.
They said no organization in the Demonic Cult could match them in movement techniques, and the reputation was well deserved.
However…
She hadn’t appeared just to prove something that trivial.
“What brings you here? Didn’t you grind your teeth at the very mention of the Maeng Family?”
The Fifth Young Lady was already in a foul mood. Naturally, her words weren’t going to be polite.
But Myo Chae-gyeong actually preferred it that way.
Her usual act of pretending to smile, pretending to be amused. It had been truly repulsive. Today, at least, she was being honest.
So, to the main point.
“The Sixth Young Master was kidnapped while pursuing the Iron Horse Bandits alone. I have come to deliver this grim news to the family. No matter how poor the relationship, there are things that must be done.”
“Wh-what?! Kidnapped!”
Maeng Won-won’s eyes grew as large as saucers. In direct proportion, Myo Chae-gyeong’s lips curled upward.
“Time has already passed, making it difficult to confirm whether he is alive or dead… Congratulations, Fifth Young Lady. Hohoho! You have finally achieved your heart’s desire. How does it feel to purge a rival within the family?”
“Purge? What nonsense are you spouting!”
“No need to hide it. We have already confirmed that the one who leaked information about the Iron Horse Bandits was you, Fifth Young Lady.”
Tremble. Maeng Won-won’s eyes shook like candle flames before the wind.
“Th-that’s…!”
“It’s quite all right. Competing, stealing, eliminating by any means necessary. Isn’t that perfectly natural? Seeking fairness in our cult would be the truly absurd notion. I would even like to commend you for that spirit. However…”
Myo Chae-gyeong’s warmly smiling face turned icy cold.
“You should not have been caught.”