Chapter 305: The Answer is One (5)
Gi Wu-hui exhaled a sigh.
“With this, you will not lose your life right away.”
Hidden Shadow Number One glared at Gi Wu-hui with bloodshot eyes.
Not only was his dantian completely destroyed, but he also lost the internal energy of the Yin Cold White Type that he had gathered in various parts of his acupoints. Yeon Ho-jeong had thoroughly ruined his body, to the point where he could never cultivate martial arts again.
He had lost everything due to a sudden visit. It was inevitable that his eyes glaring at Gi Wu-hui were full of resentment.
“Is that all?”
Gi Wu-hui’s response was calm.
“What do you mean?”
“That your choice was merely to betray the Cult?”
“…….”
“In your veins flows the Flame Blood of the Divine Fire! No matter how much you were persecuted, to betray the Cult? I despise myself for having respected you until now!”
The title of Holy Maiden changed to‘you’. That was how great his sense of betrayal was.
Gi Wu-hui showed a sorrowful smile.
“What words should I say now? In any case, it would be an extension of the conversation we had every time.”
“Know shame!”
“…….”
“If you hated the Cult that much, you should have rather taken your own life! Betrayal?! In the history of our Cult, not a single person like you……!”
“You also betrayed the Central Plains Murim.”
“What?!”
Gi Wu-hui stared intently at Hidden Shadow Number One.
In an instant, Hidden Shadow Number One felt as if his words were stuck in his throat. Unlike usual, Gi Wu-hui’s two eyes looking at him seemed to be tinged with a faint red light.
“I did not know you were inheriting the martial lineages of the Central Plains. Not just simply having learned the martial arts of the Central Plains, but that you were part of that lineage altogether.”
“That is a different matter!”
“It is the same matter. Regardless of who is better or who has more justification, in the end, people live while making their own choices.”
Gi Wu-hui exhaled a sigh.
“I know. In any case, you will not understand even if I say these words. I also cannot be certain that my choice is right.”
“…….”
“However, at least even if I regret my choice, I intend to accept whatever aftermath comes. Because that is the responsibility according to the choice.”
“……What do you intend to do with me?”
In any case, he was someone whose body was as ruined as could be. However, Gi Wu-hui would not release him either.
Hidden Shadow Number One never imagined that his end would come at such an absurd moment. However, he had no intention of crying and wailing like an ordinary person.
He would meet his end with dignity. Hidden Shadow Number One made up his mind like that.
Until he heard these words.
“Commander Yeon will take care of it. Whether he uses you or makes you unable to either die or live, I do not intend to involve myself.”
“……!”
“I am sorry. It seems it will be difficult for you to meet a peaceful death.”
Hidden Shadow Number One’s eyelids trembled.
“Rather, kill me in this spot! Although there was conflict, I am the person who escorted you for over ten years! Even if you grant me such an end……!”
“At the same time, you are the enemy who killed my mother.”
“……!!”
Gi Wu-hui smiled bitterly.
“Hidden Shadow Number One. When I made this choice, I decided to throw away every single bit of conscience and guilt that remained. If the target is the enemy who killed my mother, I must become even more cold-hearted.”
Hidden Shadow Number One bit his lip.
He could have said it was not him, that he did not kill her mother.
However, that was also a meaningless thing. Gi Wu-hui’s spiritual eye was a divine power that went beyond merely catching signs, and could even penetrate the shield of internal power to see through truth and lies.
Gi Wu-hui looked out the window.
Looking at the cloudy sky, her eyes looked extremely confused, not like a person who had made a choice.
“Betrayal, I see…….”
* * *
The corners of Murong Jun’s mouth curled up.
“Black Dragon Manor?”
“That is right.”
“You mean an informant of the Black Dragon Manor was spying on the Alliance?”
“Well, I wonder. I do not know yet if it was spying or something. He is such a tight-lipped fellow that he has not said a single word until now.”
Murong Jun was relieved at those words.
“If you caught an informant of the Black Dragon Manor, should you not immediately tell the superiors and lock him in the dungeon?”
Yeon Ho-jeong gave a smile.
“I intend to. I intend to, but the location called the dungeon does not seem like it would be that safe.”
“You underestimate the power of this Alliance too much. The dungeon of the Murim Alliance is a place where infiltration is impossible. Even for the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats, unless they push in with force, it will be absolutely impossible to infiltrate secretly.”
“For other people, it would be so. However, jailers who are controlled by a clever tongue would be able to go in and out frequently.”
Murong Jun’s eyes deepened.
“Your words sound as if there is a person in this Alliance who has colluded with the Black Dragon Manor.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged his shoulders.
“You will also remember. The operation in which we joined hands and infiltrated the Black Dragon Manor. If it is possible for us, would it not be possible for the Black Dragon Manor as well?”
“Do not compare this Alliance with the Black Dragon Manor. Those fellows of the Black Dragon Manor, they can never dispatch spies to this Alliance.”
“Never…… That is a categorical expression not like you. Is there a reason you are so confident?”
“A reason? There is.”
Murong Jun’s eyes flashed with fire.
“The Murim Alliance is the greatest alliance under heaven. Even at this moment, the forces belonging to the Alliance assembly are being reinforced, and the security is being tightened like iron.”
“In this world, there is no such thing as perfection.”
“Furthermore, the Murim Alliance is an alliance of twelve Honoured Guests and an alliance of countless minor sects. You might have easily infiltrated by deceiving the Black Dragon Manor Master, but that kind of method does not work in the Murim Alliance.”
“There is no need to stick only to that method. If they intend to dispatch spies with determination, they will be able to approach in some way.”
“What nonsense you are saying……”
It was then.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand brushed his waist.
Crunch!
Murong Jun’s cheek trembled.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had taken out a hand axe and struck the table before he knew it, said in a bloodthirsty voice.
“I will ask one question. I hope you will answer it with all your heart.”
It was a clear threat.
Although their relationship was originally bad, Yeon Ho-jeong’s action now clearly crossed the line.
Murong Jun’s voice also became terrifyingly cold.
“……That question, it must clearly be an important and valid question. If you raise a suspicion that is difficult to handle, I will have to hold you accountable for the crime of daring to take out an axe in front of an Honoured Guest of the Murim Alliance.”
No matter how much of an enemy he was, Murong Jun’s position within the Alliance was much higher than Yeon Ho-jeong’s. Since he had taken out an axe and struck it in front of him to threaten him, this could be handled as a crime larger than expected.
Yeon Ho-jeong was not discouraged at all by Murong Jun’s threat, which was not quite a threat.
“Did you, did you make a deal with the Black Dragon Manor Master?”
The corners of Murong Jun’s mouth curled up.
“It is nonsense not worth even a single consideration.”
“I will ask again. Did you make a deal?”
Asking in this way could be interpreted as the other party also having no clear evidence. If Yeon Ho-jeong had evidence that could prove the relationship between himself and the Black Dragon Manor Master, he would have instead stayed quiet and launched a counterattack.
Nevertheless, Murong Jun could not contain his admiration for Yeon Ho-jeong’s brain, which had deduced that far.
No, beyond admiration, he felt an emotion close to fear.
‘Exactly how did this fellow……?!’
Murong Jun said calmly.
“I will clearly state it. There was no such thing as a deal with the Black Dragon Manor Master.”
“…….”
“Not only did you bring a matter that has not been properly confirmed and drive an Honoured of the Alliance as a criminal, but you also threatened me with an axe? Furthermore, to bring a swordsman of Black Path origin into the Alliance? You, you have crossed the line, crossed it too far.”
Murong Jun smiled and stood up from his seat.
“Thank you. As expected, there was a reward for unfolding a defensive state. Since you have come out so violently and personally provided an excuse to throw you into the dungeon, is it not a golden opportunity to handle the thorn in my eye?”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“It seems you were quite impatient. You would not be ignorant that such nonsense as you said has no meaning.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“The fact that I threatened you, there is no one to prove it, is there?”
“…….”
“Even if that can be proved, the great Clan Head of the Murong Clan was threatened by a mere leader of a mobile units……. The Alliance Leader election is just around the corner, can you afford to instill such an incompetent impression on the public?”
Murong Jun knit his brows.
“I, I say clearly. Voluntarily present yourself at the dungeon right now.”
“Do you have the confidence to handle it?”
“It is not a matter of having the confidence to handle it or not. Even if you drag me into the crime you committed, it will be nothing more than a desk-bound theory.”
“A desk-bound theory?”
Yeon Ho-jeong stood up from his seat.
After pulling out the axe lodged in the table and hanging it at his waist, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I will go to the dungeon. And I will send the informant I caught to Master Kong-kong.”
“……!”
“I will denounce everything, not only the talk about the series of situations that have happened so far, but also why I suspect you made a deal with the Black Dragon Manor Master, and what you have been doing until now.”
“You fellow……”
“Even if my words are not true, you will never be able to become the Alliance Leader. Because the Alliance Leader election will end before that truth can be properly dug up.”
“…….”
“Since you are a person who knows the fear of public opinion so well, you should also know well that there is nothing good about stimulating me in this way. Your intuition is the same, but your brain cannot keep up with that intuition.”
Killing intent arose in Murong Jun’s eyes.
“Do you have to engage in such a mud fight?”
Yeon Ho-jeong gave a smile.
“Therefore, do not try to break the stage with useless words, but let us have a proper conversation. Both you and I, the moment one of us enters the dungeon, can we not destroy the other party equally?”
“…….”
“Although we will divide victory and defeat, let us exclude the option of mutual destruction from between us. I also do not want to smear the name of my family because of you alone.”
Murong Jun, who was silently staring at Yeon Ho-jeong, sat back in his seat.
“I have never made any deal with the Black Dragon Manor Master. I cannot do such a thing. No matter how much I may covet the seat of power, I do not make such a bad move as joining hands with a low-life rascal of the Black Path.”
The conversation resumed.
Yeon Ho-jeong, still standing, crossed his arms.
“I will ask for the last time. Is it the truth?”
“Are you interrogating me or something? If you want a conversation, have a conversation. If you keep acting this way, I also have no choice but to release my defensive state and enter an offensive again.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“Fine. Then I will ask something else.”
“It is a one-sided conversation. Are you not considering my feelings at all?”
“If you conversely grasp why I am asking such a question, can you not also deduce information about me that you did not know before?”
“Nonsense. If you want to ask me something, you yourself should also be unashamed before everyone.”
Murong Jun’s eyes flashed with fire.
“Whether you send him to Master Kong-kong or whatever, report to the superiors that you caught an informant of the Black Dragon Manor. That is the proper course of things.”
“The proper course of things…….”
“If you keep committing such an abuse of authority in this way, I will truly not leave you alone. This is something for the Murim Alliance, before it is a political struggle. At least that line must not be crossed.”
They were correct words.
They were correct words, but to Yeon Ho-jeong, who knew Murong Jun’s secret, they were also words that would not work at all.
“Fine. I will report to the superiors and then send him to the dungeon.”
“Well thought. And one more thing. About bringing a swordsman of Black Path origin into the Alliance, report that as well. It is an unfavorable time to say he was brought in because of a friendship. You will also have to take responsibility for having hidden it all this time.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“It is not a difficult task.”
Murong Jun nodded his head.
“Now then, let us start the full-scale conversation……”
“I enjoyed the tea.”
“……What?”
Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.
“I have nothing more to say. I have found out everything I needed to find out.”
“……?!”
“Thank you for handing over a lot of information today as well.”
Yeon Ho-jeong opened the door and left before he could even be stopped.
Murong Jun’s face, which had been blankly looking at the door, suddenly became severely distorted.
Crash!
The table, struck by a heavy fist, was shattered to pieces.