Chapter 55: Chapter 55
“You’ve gotten even more cunning with that mouth since we last met.”
“Comes from living busy lately. Anyway, let’s get to the point. What’s the benefit in dragging this out? You already knew the Slaughterhouse was coming here. You just couldn’t come sooner because of the Cult Leader’s order, didn’t you.”
At Jang I-seo’s even tone, Ji Dae-ho burst into hearty laughter. He’d known the man was clever, but the more he saw, the more formidable he became.
Right. True.
He’d known Sa Do-cheol was leading the Slaughterhouse here but couldn’t intervene.
He’d been so consumed by curiosity about the outcome that he couldn’t sleep. He’d breathed a sigh of relief at the news they were safe. But it wasn’t long before his pure relief filled with suspicion and questions.
“How exactly did you do it?”
Because safe was too safe.
Two Slaughterhouse officers were dead. Assassin casualties exceeded eighty.
Meanwhile, Wolha Village suffered nothing more than a few broken buildings.
How was this possible?
As Ji Dae-ho glared interrogatively, Jang I-seo shrugged and answered.
“What can you do when they come at you trying to kill? The villagers banded together and pushed back once. The bastards were already rattled and got caught.”
“Excessive modesty is fraud.”
“Then call it biting back with everything we had.”
“If they were the type to die from being bitten, they wouldn’t have survived this long.”
“Which is why they died.”
“I didn’t expect you’d kill Sa Do-cheol as well.”
“Sa Do-cheol…”
Jang I-seo, who’d been answering without pause, trailed off and studied Ji Dae-ho quietly. From his expression, his facial muscles twitched as if begging for an answer.
So this was it. Sa Do-cheol’s disappearance. Was that why he’d come?
Jang I-seo swallowed a laugh inwardly, then blinked with innocent eyes as if he knew nothing and answered carefully.
“Sa Do-cheol didn’t come.”
“Hah!”
Ji Dae-ho let out a groan and threw his head back.
Jang I-seo was the Hidden Pavilion’s spy. There was no way he’d fall for such an obvious leading question.
“The Guardian Dragon Hall personally confirmed Sa Do-cheol reached the vicinity of Wolha Village. But he never entered the village while his subordinates were being slaughtered? You expect me to believe that?”
“He didn’t come, so I said he didn’t come. What else should I say?”
GRAAAH! Ji Dae-ho’s glare alone felt like a tiger’s roar.
But his anger had a clear cause.
No matter which cult member they questioned, no one had actually seen Sa Do-cheol in the village. Whether through persuasion or inducement, with enough witnesses, someone always cracked.
Every other detail had come out. But not a single person claimed to have seen Sa Do-cheol.
That left only one conclusion for the Guardian Dragon Hall Master, given Sa Do-cheol’s violent nature and his current missing status.
‘Someone went to the hill and eliminated Sa Do-cheol, who’d remained alone.’
And the prime suspect was the one person, like Sa Do-cheol, whom no one had seen at the end. Jang I-seo. Only him.
“Sa Do-cheol isn’t the type to retreat after a defeat. He’s closer to a beast driven by instinct. The kind of predatory bear that, once it fixes on prey, will chase for three days and nights across hundreds of li to sink its teeth in. And you were the prey he’d chosen.”
“How frightening.”
“That Sa Do-cheol has now vanished. What does this mean?”
What does it mean indeed?
“I can sleep with my legs stretched out now.”
“Does this look like a joke to you?”
“Are you saying I eliminated him, then?”
“My judgment says yes.”
“Hmm…”
“Are you admitting it?”
“That’s unlikely…”
The moment Jang I-seo tried to deny it, Ji Dae-ho’s hand shot out fast as a hawk’s beak. Caught off guard by the sudden strike, Jang I-seo hesitated for a split second. He could dodge. But should he? No. Not now.
Clk! Jang I-seo’s clumsy attempt to block was caught instantly by Ji Dae-ho’s grip.
“Kgh!”
Simultaneously, tremendous pain flooded his entire body. Not because of Ji Dae-ho. Because there wasn’t a single part of him left intact after the brutal fight with Sa Do-cheol.
Ji Dae-ho pushed back Jang I-seo’s sleeve with a flick, eyeing the blackened skin beneath, and asked.
“Injured badly. Must have been hard just walking. Let me ask. Who did you fight to end up like this?”
“Injury is daily life for a martial artist… The question is bewildering. Insulting, even.”
Snatch! Jang I-seo pulled his hand free, gripped his own wrist with his left hand, and rotated it slowly. Then continued with a cold glare.
“You should know well enough. What heavenly punishment I was born with.”
“That’s…!”
“For someone like me to have killed Sa Do-cheol. Are you trying to force the issue? Or do you simply want to believe that?”
Ji Dae-ho’s jaw locked. True. His head knew it was impossible. Sa Do-cheol was one of the cult’s officially acknowledged top one hundred masters.
For Jang I-seo, who hadn’t even reached thirty and had a broken dantian, to have felled him was preposterous.
But his gut kept pointing at him. This was the instinct of the Clever Tiger, honed over years of handling cases for the Guardian Dragon Hall.
“And even if…”
While Ji Dae-ho was lost in thought, Jang I-seo spoke as if wrapping up the situation. With a smirk, no less.
“Even if Sa Do-cheol died by my hand. What problem does that pose?”
“What… did you say?”
“He initiated the attack on the Seventh Small Palace. This battle was one the Cult Leader himself sanctioned. So whoever dies, there’s no issue whatsoever. If anything…”
Tossing out one irrefutable point after another, leaving Ji Dae-ho’s mouth hanging open, Jang I-seo delivered crisp counsel in a grave voice.
“In my opinion, what the Guardian Dragon Hall should be doing right now isn’t hounding the victor for Sa Do-cheol’s whereabouts. It’s delivering appropriate punishment to the defeated Slaughterhouse. As befits a cult that shows no mercy to losers. I believe that’s what the Cult Leader would want as well.”
“I know that much, but…”
“To someone who knows! You brought your men to threaten the young masters over something that deserves commendation? This raises a question. Are you perhaps using your authority as Hall Master to satisfy personal curiosity?”
“I, I was merely…”
“If you realize you were wrong, turn back now. No matter how close we are, I can’t tolerate further intrusion.”
Jang I-seo finished coldly and glared.
He’d lost…
Ji Dae-ho shook his head with a deflated expression.
Every single word was right.
He shouldn’t have been interrogating Jang I-seo. This was purely the product of personal curiosity that had been driving him mad. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ji Dae-ho declared surrender in a deflated voice.
“You’re a cult member to the bone. Rather than an adjutant, you should have joined the Radiant Heavenly Demon Squad and served the Cult Leader directly. You understand his mind better than I do.”
“Now, that’s a bit much.”
Jang I-seo clicked his tongue with an awkward expression. His mind was firmly Martial Alliance, yet he was being called a cult member to the bone. The worst insult he’d heard all year.
“Anyway, Sa Do-cheol is one of the officially registered One Hundred Demon Stars. Whether dead or missing. It’s a matter I must report to the Cult Leader.”
At Ji Dae-ho’s emotionless words, Jang I-seo nodded shortly.
The One Hundred Demon Stars.
The term for those ranked within the Demonic Cult’s official top one hundred.
An supreme honorary position appointed directly by the Cult Leader in a cult that operated on the principle of the strong ruling.
Not that it came with monthly stipends or special perks.
But it meant the Cult Leader personally oversaw their survival.
As the cult’s core fighting force, it signaled he’d guarantee their backs.
Therefore, unless a Demon Star personally consented, challenging one required formal procedures.
For such a being to suddenly vanish rather than die in combat complicated matters.
‘Though if I’d said he died fighting, they wouldn’t have believed me and it would have been an even bigger mess.’
Jang I-seo swallowed a sigh and studied Ji Dae-ho. From his expression, he seemed ready to proceed purely in official capacity rather than personal pursuit.
“I don’t know where Sa Do-cheol went. However, I do know how to punish the Slaughterhouse.”
“What do you mean?”
“It felt unjust to just take it, so I looted their empty den.”
“You mean the Lust Flower Tower.”
As expected of the Guardian Dragon Hall Master. Sharp on this front. Jang I-seo recalled Yong-tae’s visit yesterday.
‘Big Brooooother! Yong-tae is here!’
He’d returned in triumph with three sacks loaded on a cart, stuffed with unexpected items.
Inside was…
“Soul-Befuddling Powder.”
At Jang I-seo’s answer, Ji Dae-ho’s expression hardened.
“Hmm.”
“A hallucinogen. And unless it’s the Poison Pavilion, managed by the Sixth Elder, the Poison-Born Demon Physician, no one else may handle or even touch that forbidden drug. Correct?”
“Correct.”
Ji Dae-ho nodded. Soul-Befuddling Powder. A poison strictly forbidden not only within the cult but across the Central Plains.
Even burning its toxicity with qi couldn’t reverse the mental addiction. The Poison Pavilion classified it as an extremely dangerous substance.
“This wasn’t enough for one or two users. It was a vast quantity sufficient for thousands.”
“That’s impossible. Even the Sa brothers couldn’t produce that much.”
“They could have imported it from outside.”
“Hah…”
If true, this was another matter entirely. An issue grave enough to mobilize not just the Guardian Dragon Hall but all Five Dragon Halls.
“Tell me more.”
“I don’t know the details myself.”
“What?”
“But the second brother, Sa Ho-jeong, would know well, wouldn’t he?”
Light blazed in Ji Dae-ho’s eyes. This bastard… truly cunning. This amounted to telling the Guardian Dragon Hall to take responsibility and completely annihilate the Slaughterhouse remnants.
What difference was there between this and an outright order?
Then Jang I-seo smiled as if he’d seen right through him.
“The Slaughterhouse is finished regardless. By our hand at the Seventh Small Palace while the Guardian Dragon Hall sat idle. But since we have a connection, I’m offering a gift so you don’t go home empty-handed.”
“Hah… Incredible. How do I trust your word?”
“I was wondering when you’d come. The Soul-Befuddling Powder behind that pillar hasn’t been touched. It’s still in the sacks. Don’t spill it. Take it carefully.”
This man had planned everything from the start. Ji Dae-ho clicked his tongue inwardly. Honestly, from the Guardian Dragon Hall’s perspective, all they had to do was place a spoon on a fully set table.
The Heavenly Demon Jin U-gwang was harsh to losers and generous to victors. The defeated Slaughterhouse would face accountability one way or another.
With the Soul-Befuddling Powder surfacing and the second brother Sa Ho-jeong still alive, there was no better target.
The problem was.
‘I’m about to dance exactly on the stage this bastard set.’
What was both subtly offensive and amusing was that fact.