Chapter 146: Chapter 146
A petite old man was leisurely running along a mountain path with a middle-aged man who appeared to be his subordinate by his side.
Wrinkles etched with malice, eyes brimming with greed, and down-turned corners of his mouth revealed what kind of mindset and expression he had lived with throughout his life.
That impression was accentuated all the more by the contrast with the flamboyant red silk robes lightly draped over him.
The old man running in silence, Yeo Hu-in, Family Head of the Yeo Clan, suddenly shook his head.
“To be honest, I find the Vice Cult Leader suspicious. In the midst of the bloody battle between the young masters, does it make sense to send me, the father of the Third Young Master, to a dump like this? What do you think?”
The middle-aged man running while keeping watch on their surroundings as if escorting him showed a troubled expression. He had a stalwart and sturdy impression from the start, and no matter how much he served Yeo Hu-in, it was difficult for him to badmouth the Vice Cult Leader, the second-in-command of the cult.
When the middle-aged man gave no answer, Yeo Hu-in clicked his tongue as if even that displeased him.
“Tsk, forget it. What would a bastard like you know? In the first place, the Cult Leader should not have departed like this. Bringing in five young masters only to suddenly pass away, isn’t that why the Sacred Cult has turned into such a mess?”
Of course, this time too, the middle-aged man could not answer.
While they were running side by side for a long time like that, it was Patriarch Yeo who spoke up again.
“As soon as we return, have Cho-hyang and Cheong-rin enter the bathhouse. The stench of blood has needlessly soaked into my body, and it is most unpleasant.”
Saying so, he sniffed the smell of blood stained on his collar and made an unpleasant expression. Because the Kunlun Sect Leader had splattered so much blood as he died, it had gotten onto his clothes.
Patriarch Yeo was someone who originally disliked blood. Let alone the blood of a Kunlun Sect bastard whose eyes turned white with rage at the mere mention of the Sacred Cult. Once he returned, he would throw away the clothes immediately and scrub his entire body thoroughly.
However, this time too, there was no answer from the middle-aged man.
Patriarch Yeo had permitted him to remain silent about the Vice Cult Leader and the Cult Leader, but this time was different.
“Why is there no answer?”
Unlike before, his voice turned chilly.
Ordering Cho-hyang and Cheong-rin into the bathhouse was a personal matter, but it was an explicit command.
At that, the flinching middle-aged man finally replied.
“…Yes, I understand.”
There was indeed a reason why the middle-aged man had hesitated.
He already knew that Patriarch Yeo Hu-in, whom he served, was a pervert who made no distinction between women and men. However, as human beings, wasn’t there truly a line that should never be crossed?
“Hahaha, come to think of it, Cheong-rin got married last month. To think that little child has already grown up not only to become a vice squad leader of the combat corps, but also someone’s lifelong companion. Time is truly heartless, Patriarch.”
The middle-aged man forced a laugh and chattered blithely. In case the Patriarch might have momentarily forgotten that Cheong-rin had married, he was deliberately reminding him.
Sure enough.
Patriarch Yeo widened his eyes as if he had truly forgotten, then let out a hearty laugh.
“Right! You said that child got married. There have been so many headache-inducing matters lately that I failed to pay attention.”
“Yes, Patriarch. I was so surprised when she out of nowhere said she was marrying a cook bastard who knows nothing of martial arts. Still, seeing her act bashful in front of her husband, which did not suit her at all, was not unpleasant to look upon.”
The middle-aged man looked at the Patriarch with a smile of relief.
But there was not the slightest trace of a smile on the Patriarch’s face.
“And so.”
“…Pardon?”
“And so, what are you asking me to do about it?”
The middle-aged man shut his mouth.
He had deliberately chattered as much as possible to drop subtle hints, but it seemed the Patriarch clearly understood the intent behind those words.
Yeo Hu-in came to an abrupt halt.
In turn, the middle-aged man had no choice but to stop as well.
Soon, the Patriarch asked with a solemn face.
“You may make a choice.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Will you die here? Or will you go right now, slaughter that bastard whether he is a cook or a waiter, and bring Cheong-rin here?”
The middle-aged man swallowed hard.
Cheong-rin was one of the five vice squad leaders of the Yeo Clan, a martial artist acknowledged by everyone regardless of gender.
Furthermore, when she was young, the middle-aged man himself had personally taught her.
‘I clearly saw how overjoyed that kid was holding her wedding ceremony, and I am supposed to kill that child’s husband with my own hands?’
She, who had lived every single day in happiness recently, would plunge into hell overnight.
How could he possibly do that?
Soon, the middle-aged man fell to his knees.
“I-I am sorry, Patriarch. I made a slip of the tongue.”
The middle-aged man regretted bringing up unnecessary words.
But all regret was already too late.
“You choose to die?”
“…”
The middle-aged man swallowed dryly without even being able to raise his head.
Watching that, Yeo Hu-in clicked his tongue.
How could a bastard who called himself a believer of the Sacred Cult possess so much lingering sentiment?
Of course, it was not lingering sentiment but basic common sense, but Yeo Hu-in, who was born into one of the most noble families even within the Demonic Cult driven by the logic of power, genuinely could not understand him.
“This will not do. As an elder of the family, I must truly teach you today what a true demonic practitioner is.”
The middle-aged man thought he meant he would kill him.
That was preferable instead. Rather than casting a child he had taught with his own hands since childhood and watched grow up into hell with his own hands.
But the Patriarch’s following words were completely different from the middle-aged man’s expectations.
“Today, do it yourself before my eyes.”
“…Pardon?”
The middle-aged man failed to comprehend for a moment and asked back. But soon he realized the meaning behind the words, and his face turned pale as death.
No. This was truly not right.
The moment the middle-aged man was about to rise from his spot.
Swiiiiiish!
The heads of the Patriarch and the middle-aged man turned simultaneously.
An enormous wave of energy was felt from afar.
When they circulated internal energy to heighten their vision, a pitch-black dot flying toward this place came into view.
‘Is it the Martial Alliance?’
Patriarch Yeo thought so and attempted to block the attack.
But before long, he realized.
This was not something that could be blocked.
If he recklessly thrust forward a sword, hands, or feet without knowing better, they would vanish without a trace.
Patriarch Yeo’s realm was distinctly superior to the middle-aged man’s.
Naturally, he was also the one who grasped the situation first.
Patriarch Yeo grabbed the middle-aged man’s collar in an instant.
Around the time the middle-aged man put on a bewildered look.
Whooosh!
Patriarch Yeo hurled the middle-aged man as he was. Because he threw him loaded with internal energy, it was an astonishing speed.
Soon, the dark iron staff flying from afar collided with the middle-aged man’s torso.
Boom!
The middle-aged man was not an unskilled novice either, so it seemed he hurriedly raised his body-protecting astral qi. Even so, the dark iron staff tore through astral qi and everything else before scattering the middle-aged man without a trace.
At that sight, Patriarch Yeo let out a sigh of relief.
‘If I had blocked it directly, I would have dropped dead.’
Thanks to that escort fellow’s noble sacrifice, the speed of the iron staff slowed down somewhat, and the Patriarch was able to evade the iron staff without difficulty.
Soon, Cheon Woo-jin landed in the area.
Patriarch Yeo could tell the moment he saw him.
“It is you. The young brat said to have slipped out of the Inescapable Net.”
Cheon Woo-jin merely looked at Patriarch Yeo with a dry gaze. It looked like his usual expression, but had those close to Cheon Woo-jin been present, they would have recognized the faint traces of contempt, revulsion, and anger lingering in his eyes.
“Did you kill him?”
He did not add the words “Kunlun Sect Leader.”
Because from the moment they faced each other, he was intuitively feeling it.
“A young brat speaks unnecessarily short. By the way, that fellow you just beat to death. Unlike a demonic practitioner, he was truly full of affection. How could you just kill a person like that so recklessly?”
Cheon Woo-jin did not bother to reply.
The middle-aged man who had just died might truly have been a good person to someone. However, to the Daoists of the Righteous Path who died without even being able to close their eyes, he would have been no different from an unprecedented devil or an evil ghost from hell.
Therefore, talking about whether a person was good or bad between martial artists was utterly meaningless.
Cheon Woo-jin dashed forward immediately.
The Crescent Moon Staff that had fallen to one side was sucked in as if connected to a thread, held in his hand before long.
Clang!
Patriarch Yeo’s two palms collided with the Crescent Moon Staff.
A roar like bursting iron erupted.
Patriarch Yeo’s hands were enveloped in reddish demonic qi, taking on a shape reminiscent of a hawk’s talons.
It was the martial art of the Yeo Clan, the Heaven-Scorning Divine Claw Art.
Immediately after trading a blow.
Composure returned to Patriarch Yeo’s face.
“Did you chase after me so fearlessly with only this much?”
It was the attitude of someone who had already figured out all of his opponent’s full strength.
Patriarch Yeo’s words continued.
“It has truly turned out well. The departed Heavenly Demon seems to be helping me. Someone like you is tailor-made for testing my newly created ultimate technique.”
Having said that, Patriarch Yeo crossed both arms.
The red demonic qi intensified further, blazing up like flames.
“Which hand do you use chopsticks with?”
“…?”
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head, wondering what kind of nonsense that was.
Even so, he could not dispel his curiosity and replied.
“Right hand.”
“Splendid. Showing my mercy, I shall sever your left arm. Return to the Martial Alliance as a one-armed man and proclaim to all the world. That I, Won Hwang, Patriarch of the Won Clan, severed the arm of the Heartless Wanderer.”
Soon, bloody water welled in his pupils.
The air of heaven and earth vibrated wildly.
Ruumble!
An overwhelming pressure, as if storms and thunderbolts would pour down from all directions, seized the surroundings.
After a brief moment like that.
Soon, Patriarch Yeo roughly uncrossed both arms, appearing to unleash his energy forward.
“…”
However, what actually poured forth were garments, a longsword, money pouches, and other belongings.
Discarding everything he possessed to lighten his body as much as possible, Patriarch Yeo began to flee at tremendous speed.
It was truly a desperate flight.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at the spot where the bastard had fled with an incredulous face.
He never imagined that an expert belonging to the leadership of the Demonic Cult would pull off something like this.
“Doing something that not even a third-rate street hoodlum would do…”
He was reminded anew that members of the Demonic Cult were not martial artists, but religious devotees.
He recalled the words of his masters, who told him not to treat them as martial artists since they were closer to very bizarre pseudo-cultists.
Soon, Cheon Woo-jin clicked his tongue and gave chase behind Patriarch Yeo.
* * *
The Martial Alliance’s Sichuan Branch.
Leaving behind the main headquarters in Hubei, everyone from the Alliance Leader to the Chief Strategist and the heads of each righteous martial force gathered here.
It was a situation where a clash with the Demonic Cult had already occurred. Since it would not be strange for anything to break out at any moment, they had to keep the possibility of war in mind.
Bitter though it might be for the Kunlun Sect, the Martial Alliance designated the frontline of the Central Plains as Sichuan, the next province, rather than Qinghai if the Righteous-Demonic War broke out.
Because realistically, the borderline where each righteous faction, including the Martial Alliance, could assemble the fastest was Sichuan Province.
Thus, the Sichuan Branch was transformed into a temporary headquarters.
The various factions spread across the country gathered at a single point in an instant in accordance with wartime response protocols. From this truly swift mobilization, the potential of the Martial Alliance, the greatest coalition of the martial world, was glimpsed anew.
On the outer walls, the squad leaders of the Namgung Clan and swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect stood guard directly, while Shaolin monks walked around scattering demon-subduing energy everywhere in preparation for potential spies.
Meanwhile, in the innermost place where the leadership gathered, the Grand Council of the Martial Alliance was taking place fervently.
The Alliance Leader advocated for retaliation against the Demonic Cult.
He stated that they had to sever at least one arm of the Demonic Cult.
The reason was that since the Kunlun Sect and the Qinghai Branch had been attacked, they could by no means sit idly by.
“Has everyone forgotten that in ancient times, the original purpose behind founding the Martial Alliance was to oppose the Demonic Cult? If we endure it like this, what on earth is the reason for the Martial Alliance’s existence?”
On the other hand, there were also those who opposed it.
Since the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance had each swung their swords at each other once, concluding it like this would end with a minor loss, but.
If they escalated the matter and the Righteous-Demonic War broke out, an immense number of martial artists, far exceeding hundreds or thousands, would die.
“Moreover, while the cohesion of the Martial Alliance has improved recently due to the incident with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, we have suffered losses in scale. If a war begins, an immense amount of funds will be required, so how do you plan to handle that?”
It was the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, Sword Immortal Hyeon-yang.
It was a rather secular topic to come from the mouth of a Daoist, but in a situation facing war, it was also a topic that had to be discussed.
“Surely you do not mean that our Wudang must once again produce the most money and martial artists?”
The Sword Immortal considered that unfair.
While it was true that the Wudang Sect possessed the greatest influence in the present age, it made no sense that they had to make the greatest sacrifice for such a reason.
Look at the Mount Hua Sect. Though it was once a Daoist sect that overwhelmingly suppressed Zhongnan, after confronting that disaster-like existence known as the Dark Emperor, was it not now in a state of barely holding Zhongnan by the ankles?
Those gathered here were all people who had personally witnessed and experienced such sights. Therefore, there were none who would readily step forward with their own faction and volunteer to make sacrifices.
Opinions were not easily narrowed down.
Someone put forward chivalry, and someone pursued practical gain.
One could not say what was right and what was wrong.
However, it was certain that this was a time when a decision had to be made quickly.
It was at that moment.
The door to the grand conference hall swung open.
Perhaps because it was something they had experienced once before, fewer people were surprised than last time.
“Ah, was this the conference hall?”
Again, again, that tone as if he did not know.
But now everyone was harboring doubts.
Isn’t that bastard actually pretending to have a poor sense of direction?
Yet no one could voice that suspicion aloud.
The Heartless Wanderer, who had gone missing after the Kunlun Sect incident, returned after seven days. Dangling an old man’s severed head loosely in one hand.
“What is that?”
The Alliance Leader asked.
There were no reactions like “you were alive” or “you returned.”
Because no one had ever thought Cheon Woo-jin would die.
Cheon Woo-jin thudded the old man’s severed head onto the table. The old man wore a terror-stricken face, as if he had seen a ghost before dying.
Cheon Woo-jin spoke calmly.
“He claimed to be the Patriarch of the Won Clan.”
“…”
A brief silence fell.
The one who barely opened his mouth was Sima Hwi.
“It is not Won Hwang, but Yeo Hu-in. The Patriarch of the Yeo Clan.”
“So he lied even in that situation.”
He had known the guy was strange from the moment he fled, but he never expected him to drop even such a lie.
The Won Clan and the Yeo Clan were certainly bitter enemies.
“Where on earth did you kill this bastard?”
The Sword Immortal asked.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at the Sword Immortal for a moment before answering.
“He was faster on his feet than expected, so I went all the way to the entrance of the Demonic Cult.”
“If so, demonic practitioners must certainly have swarmed in?”
“Yes, I killed them all.”
“…”
A second silence followed.
Not to mention those who had opposed retaliation against the Demonic Cult until just a moment ago, even those who insisted on retaliating quietly lowered their heads.
The one who forced himself to open his mouth was the Chief Strategist once again.
“They are not ones to give up easily.”
“Yes, as I brought this bastard’s severed head back, they kept following. But after killing about a hundred, they stopped pursuing. They had less grit than I thought.”
“…”
It was not a matter of grit. Where under the heavens would there be madmen who continued to pursue a whirlwind that ground people to dust?
Everyone had similar thoughts, but none voiced them aloud.
The people gathered in the room put on dejected expressions. Although they had raised their voices so high and exchanged opinions over retaliation against the Demonic Cult.
If he slaughtered one of the family heads of the Six Demonic Families and one hundred demonic practitioners, had he not already gone beyond retaliation and delivered a proper declaration of war?
Proceeding with the council any further was meaningless.
Now, even if the Martial Alliance wished to stop, the Demonic Cult’s side would not want that.
“…Wudang shall put forward ten gwan of gold.”
Everyone showed surprised expressions.
It was truly an enormous sum.
Having said that, the Sword Immortal looked at the other people. They were mostly those who had opposed this matter.
Only then did everyone realize. If Wudang, which had opposed most fiercely, slapped down such money, they themselves would have no choice but to pay as well.
The suspicion arose that perhaps the Sword Immortal and Sima Hwi had colluded to secure funds. Of course, if one uttered such words without evidence, they might get caught up in Sima Hwi’s eloquence again and end up paying twenty gwan instead of ten.
Like that, while everyone was pledging contributions of funds.
Someone knocked on the door of the grand conference hall.
When the Alliance Leader’s permission was granted, what stepped inside was a plump middle-aged man.
Everyone gathered there knew him. Though he was not a martial artist, he was one of the most famous men in the world.
“Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor?”
Ten Thousand Gold Manor was also one of the places that had dreamed of establishing the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
Naturally, the gazes were not welcoming.
Yet the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor bowed his head immediately as if he had expected it all and spoke.
“Alliance Leader, Chief Strategist. I have shamelessly come here. It is nothing else, but under the pretext of supporting His Excellency the Grand Preceptor… ahem. No, Great Hero Heartless Wanderer, I have taken these shameful steps to donate one hundred gwan of gold to the Martial Alliance.”
Soon, a martial artist who appeared to be the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor’s escort placed one gwan of gold on the table. It was so dazzling that it captivated people’s eyes at once.
There were ninety-nine more gwan of such gold ingots in the carriages outside.
The reason he had come bringing this vast fortune was one.
“I came here shamelessly to plead that you protect the peace of the world from the evil ghosts of the Demonic Cult.”
Of course, that was the ostensible reason.
In truth, people from the Imperial Palace had visited him.
The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Director of the Eastern Depot.
It was surprising enough that they visited at the same time, but what was truly astonishing was that they were merely escorts.
The Son of Heaven had visited Ten Thousand Gold Manor in person.
The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor prostrated flat, thinking that today was the day he died, and the Son of Heaven left short words for such a Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor before leaving.
‘The Heartless Wanderer has become Our Grand Preceptor. We hope you will not waste your outstanding abilities in vain and will get along well with him. For Ten Thousand Gold Manor is one of the few merchant guilds We “still” look upon favorably.’
The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor felt a terror incomparable to when the blades of the Martial Alliance targeted him. Originally, merchants feared imperial power far more than martial power.
And so, he had sought out the Heartless Wanderer right away.
To offer this money and beg him to please get along well.
Those who had caught on from the moment the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold Manor addressed Cheon Woo-jin as Grand Preceptor thought anew that money was scarier than violence, and authority was scarier than money.
However, even in the midst of that, Cheon Woo-jin merely looked at the old man’s severed head, seemingly still bewildered.
“To think he was not a Won, but a Yeo…”
There were truly many strange people in the world.
Of course, everyone present was looking at Cheon Woo-jin as the strangest of all.