Chapter 27
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Clash (3)
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As it looked like a fight was about to break out in the middle of the street, the onlookers could be seen slowly backing away.
“Are you just going to keep watching like this?”
Biyoung finally asked Mok Jagyeong.
“What would you have this senior brother do, Junior Sister?”
“Well…”
Biyoung, who was about to answer Mok Jagyeong's question, quickly shut her mouth.
Mok Jagyeong's aura was far from ordinary.
“Is it because of our youngest junior brother? It seems everyone suddenly thinks this senior brother is a joke.”
Was it because he thought even Biyoung was disrespecting him?
Unlike the smile that still lingered on his face, Mok Jagyeong's hands were wreathed in a dark red energy.
“…”
As Mok Jagyeong approached, Biyoung stepped back, her hand slipping inside her robes.
Ready to throw a dagger at any moment.
“…It's a joke, Junior Sister.”
But Mok Jagyeong raised both hands with a smile.
The dark red energy that had been coiling around his hands was already gone.
“It seems I've gotten a bit sensitive because of our youngest junior brother.”
His lips were clearly smiling, but his eyes, as they looked at Jinmyeong, were not.
*What a terrible personality.*
Despite his smiling face and gentle tone, Mok Jagyeong was extremely domineering.
The type of person who was only satisfied when everything went his way.
That was why he didn't like Jinmyeong's defiance.
“So, Junior Sister, what are you curious about?”
“I was wondering if you were just going to watch.”
Biyoung said, still wary of Mok Jagyeong.
“I'm thinking. About how to overcome this predicament.”
He said that, but Mok Jagyeong seemed to have no intention of moving.
He didn't look like he was thinking at all, so his words were hard to believe.
“Oh dear, it's finally started. We're too late.”
In the end, Jang Hu and Daoist Haksu clashed, and the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Daoists of the Kunlun Sect also charged at each other.
Watching this, Mok Jagyeong sighed as if it were a shame, but a smile still hung on his lips.
“May I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Young Master Mok, do you wish for a war to break out?”
“Haha, how could that be?”
Mok Jagyeong shook his head, but Shin Yehyang's suspicion was reasonable.
He had deliberately made the Kunlun Daoists' heads explode.
Even though he knew they were just simply watching, contrary to Jinmyeong's prediction that Kunlun was intentionally trying to clash with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“There's that. Or perhaps he's trying to get someone else to do his dirty work.”
“What do you mean by that, Junior Brother? Are you suddenly speaking up again?”
When Jinmyeong spoke, Mok Jagyeong reacted with oversensitivity again.
It was a distinctly different attitude from how he treated Biyoung or Shin Yehyang.
“I tried to think about what you, Senior Brother, would possibly gain from starting a war with the Kunlun Sect.”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.
On the contrary, if he failed the mission given by the Heavenly Demon, wouldn't Mok Jagyeong be the one to bear the responsibility?
“But if the Cult Leader doesn't consider this mission important, then failing it won't cost him his life.”
Of course, the mission could be important, but looking at Mok Jagyeong now, it didn't seem to be the case.
If it were truly important, Mok Jagyeong wouldn't be acting in a way that seemed to sabotage the mission.
“So what was he trying to do? Strangely, I came to the conclusion that he might be trying to use the Kunlun Sect to kill those people.”
Jinmyeong didn't take his eyes off Jang Hu and his group, who were fighting the Kunlun Sect.
“And since the Demonic Shadow Lord said he would take responsibility and kill himself if the mission failed, all his competitors would die just like that.”
Mok Jagyeong had orchestrated this, even considering the Demonic Shadow Lord's personality of prioritizing the Heavenly Demon's orders, to ensure a continued clash with the Kunlun Sect.
“Ha, hahaha! Junior Brother, you've become truly amusing. You've gotten arrogant, but your rich imagination is surprising.”
At Jinmyeong's words, Mok Jagyeong finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
“There are more than a few things to point out, but there's one crucial reason why your theory doesn't hold up.”
Mok Jagyeong smiled as he looked at his senior and junior brothers fighting the Kunlun Daoists.
“Do you really think I would ever consider those bastards my competitors? They're just guys I can get rid of whenever I want.”
His voice was incredibly cold and subdued.
It was different from his mood until now.
The aura emanating from his body had changed so completely that it felt like even his attempt to fight Jinmyeong earlier was just him playing along.
“This senior brother doesn't want something like that. Would I really entrust the disposal of my beloved brothers to the likes of Kunlun?”
Killing them is a simple matter, even without borrowing Kunlun's hand.
That said, it wasn't that Mok Jagyeong wanted a war or for the mission to fail.
“Isn't it fun?”
Mok Jagyeong smiled at Jinmyeong, Shin Yehyang, and Biyoung.
A sense of madness could be felt in his smile.
“I realized it when we ran into those Kunlun bastards in the Kunlun Mountains. The Demonic Shadow Lord would try to avoid a fight no matter what.”
To the Demonic Shadow Lord, completing this mission was the top priority.
“I thought that would be too boring.”
It was just this one thing.
Coming to the Central Plains, moving smoothly without any incidents, and just completing the mission before returning—wouldn't that be too boring?
We are the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, representing the Demonic faction, after all.
“If you come to the Central Plains, you should kill some of the Righteous Sect bastards, kill some of the Heretical Sect bastards, and complete the mission while being chased.”
“Hmm. What if you fail the mission in the process? Are you confident you can handle the Cult Leader's—that is, Master's—wrath?”
Fun is good, but they hadn't come to the Central Plains for a vacation.
No matter that Mok Jagyeong was his disciple, the Heavenly Demon was unlikely to stand by if he sabotaged the mission.
“Mmm.”
However, Biyoung and Shin Yehyang, who were listening to their conversation, didn't seem to agree with Jinmyeong's question.
“Haha. It seems you don't know because you've lost your memories. Unlike your worries, Junior Brother, our Master won't care much.”
He'd probably laugh it off, saying you pulled off something interesting.
“Of course, if the mission fails, that's a different story.”
“That's the same as my question.”
As long as the mission succeeds, the process doesn't matter.
But Jinmyeong's question was whether he could handle the Heavenly Demon's wrath if the mission *did* fail.
“Exactly. Which means there's no reason for Master to get angry.”
It was only after seeing Mok Jagyeong's expression that Jinmyeong understood what he meant.
Mok Jagyeong was confident that this mission would not fail.
Even if Jang Hu and his group all died right there.
He probably had the confidence to complete the mission even by himself.
*I thought he was just crazy, but he's crazier than I thought. He's out of his mind.*
As Jinmyeong thought this, he glanced toward Jang Hu and the others.
“By the way, are you subtly trying to avoid helping those guys by talking?”
“Hahaha. Not at all. I just didn't think they'd be unable to handle this much.”
In reality, Jang Hu's group was stronger individually, but they were being pushed back because there were too many Kunlun Daoists.
“Let's watch a little longer. I'm curious to see what our junior brothers will do.”
Mok Jagyeong seemed to have no intention of helping them for now.
And Jinmyeong turned his head to where Mok Jagyeong was looking.
*Are they all really going to die here?*
He wondered if that was why only Mok Jagyeong and Biyoung survived in the original story.
*They seem to be fighting pretty well, though.*
Jinmyeong fixed his gaze on Jang Hu, who was fighting against Daoist Haksu.
Just then, Jang Hu's sword flashed, shooting forward as if to pierce Daoist Haksu's body at any moment.
“Senior Brother!”
“Eldest Senior Brother! Be careful!”
The ones who blocked Jang Hu's sword, which seemed about to pierce Daoist Haksu, were the other Kunlun Daoists.
“Hmph! I'll cut you all down together.”
But with over ten Kunlun Daoists surrounding Jang Hu, it wasn't easy to cut them all down and get to Daoist Haksu.
*Tsk. Can't the others handle their opponents either?*
Jang Hu clicked his tongue as he watched his comrades fighting while surrounded by Kunlun Daoists.
“Does the successor of Kunlun, one of the Nine Great Sects, resort to such cowardly tactics?”
“Kugh!”
Biting his lip at Jang Hu's words, Daoist Haksu looked at the other Kunlun Daoists attacking Jang Hu.
“Everyone, stand down!”
“We can't, Senior Brother!”
“You can't handle him alone, Senior Brother!”
But they ended up saying something that deeply wounded his pride.
“Kugh!”
His grip on his sword was so tight that Haksu's hand trembled.
“Now, that's enough.”
But a sudden voice was heard.
It wasn't a loud shout, but everyone who heard it stopped in their tracks without realizing it.
“Kuhp!”
It was truly unbelievable.
That people who had been fighting to kill each other would stop at just that one voice.
But they had no choice but to stop when they felt the sharp aura that continued to pierce their bodies.
“It's about time we stopped. Aren't the people getting anxious?”
At the words of Mok Jagyeong, who had stopped the Kunlun warriors with his aura alone, the Kunlun Daoists looked around.
They saw the people of Xining looking at them with anxious expressions.
“Because if this fight continues, it seems the Kunlun Sect will be in danger too.”
Normally, they would have ignored it.
It was rare for the Kunlun Sect to be in danger here in Qinghai.
“Keung.”
But seeing the people who had suddenly appeared, Daoist Haksu couldn't help but sigh.
*The authorities are getting involved.*
It was something Daoist Haksu had not expected at all.
The martial world and the government had a non-aggression pact.
“Even if it is the Kunlun Sect, we have no choice but to act if the people are anxious.”
At the words of the man who appeared to be the captain of the city guards, Daoist Haksu turned to the other Daoists looking at him.
“Sheathe your swords.”
Even the Kunlun Sect could not ignore the authorities.
Sects belonging to the Righteous Alliance, in particular, were very mindful of their reputation among the common people and their relationship with the government.
“The same goes for Uga Manor.”
Jang Hu frowned at the guard captain's words, but Mok Jagyeong stepped forward before he could.
“My apologies. It seems a minor squabble broke out due to some bad blood with Kunlun.”
Even as the Demonic Cult, they did not want a war with the government.
If their relationship with the authorities soured for no reason, they could be driven out of Xining, and even out of Qinghai.
Losing their Central Plains branch was an entirely different matter from failing the mission, so even Mok Jagyeong had to be cautious.
“The Magistrate does not wish for Uga Manor and Kunlun to fight here.”
“Mmm. Please convey my apologies to the Magistrate.”
At Daoist Haksu's words, the guard captain nodded and looked at the Kunlun Sect and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's group.
“Now, everyone disperse. If you cause a disturbance here in Xining, we will not stand by.”
Seeing the townspeople behind the guards nodding with stern expressions, Daoist Haksu let out a long sigh.
“I am truly sorry for this.”
Then, he immediately began to withdraw with the Kunlun Daoists.
“Now, Junior Brother. Let's head back as well.”
Mok Jagyeong then approached Jang Hu, who was glaring at the retreating Kunlun Sect members.
*Had he already prepared for this?*
Watching Mok Jagyeong and the guard captain exchange glances, Jinmyeong wondered if Mok Jagyeong had prepared this from the moment he first started the incident.
*What on earth is he plotting?*
Seeing the smile lingering on Mok Jagyeong's lips, Jinmyeong couldn't shake the feeling that he was plotting something.
But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't even begin to guess what it was.