Chapter 297: Why Me?
Chapter 297: Why Me?
Jeokpae felt no grief for his fallen subordinates.
To him, the dead were simply dead. If he remained unmoved after losing his own right-hand man, there was no need to ask how little he valued the lives of others.
"You must keep him pinned down until I return."
Knowing Jeokpae’s personality all too well, Ju Yang understood the stakes. If he let Geom Mu-geuk slip away, he was a dead man. He was already walking the razor's edge between life and death.
For now, his duty was to faithfully go and collect the "interest."
The next day, the swordsman sent to collect the interest returned with his hand shattered.
The day after that was the same. Ju Yang had hoped Geom Mu-geuk might show some leniency on the second day, but the man was utterly ruthless.
When swordsmen returned with ruined hands two days in a row, unrest spread through the Message Center. Some suddenly claimed to be ill and took to their beds, while others vanished entirely, citing urgent business.
The swordsmen cursed Geom Mu-geuk, calling him cold-blooded, but Ju Yang thought differently. In his eyes, the opponent was being merciful. If the man were truly heartless, no one in the Message Center would be left alive.
Why didn't he kill everyone that day?
When Ju Yang had closed the eyes of the man tortured by Jan-hak, he had despaired, thinking, Ah, we’re all going to be slaughtered now. But Geom Mu-geuk hadn't done it. There was clearly a reason he was keeping them alive.
Regardless, someone had to go collect the interest today.
"I’ll go personally today."
At Ju Yang’s words, the faces of the swordsmen—who had been trembling in fear that they might be picked—brightened instantly. As the manager, Ju Yang knew there was a limit to blindly sending his subordinates, so he stepped forward.
He left the Message Center with a bitter taste in his mouth, noting that not a single person offered to escort him. Well, he understood. If he were in their shoes, he wouldn't have followed either.
Geom Mu-geuk greeted him with a face far more welcoming than those of his own subordinates.
"Why did you come? Run out of lackeys already?"
"They are all afraid."
"I didn't take you for the type to worry about your subordinates, though."
"What do you know about me?"
Geom Mu-geuk stared at him intently.
"You seem quite confident. Did you go off to call for some great master?"
Though the remark hit the mark, Ju Yang struggled not to let his surprise show.
How is he so sharp?
He had been acting terrified. How on earth did the man realize?
"It won't be easy to find a master greater than the one you sent to kill me last time."
Ju Yang knew Geom Mu-geuk was referring to Jeokpae’s right-hand man. It was true. That was exactly why they had gone to the Demonic Cult for help.
Instead of answering, Ju Yang shifted the topic with a question.
"Why didn't you ruin my hands?"
This was what he was most curious about. He hadn't exactly been kind to the man.
Geom Mu-geuk took out two coins and placed them on the table.
"Because I might have a use for those hands of yours."
Ju Yang was baffled by the unexpected answer, but Geom Mu-geuk said no more and headed up to his guest room.
Ju Yang picked up the coins from the table.
He was about to leave when he suddenly looked down at his hands. He needs these hands? Why?
*
"It seems the Branch Leader has started digging into your background, Squad Leader."
At those words, a heavy grunt erupted from beneath a rock the size of a small house.
Amazingly, a man was supporting that massive boulder on his back. Even accounting for the use of internal energy, it was a sight that made one wonder how such a feat was possible.
Thud.
The rock crashed to the ground, and a man emerged from behind it.
He had a sturdy build and a sharp gaze; if one had to compare him to an animal, he was a tiger.
Demon Sword Squad Leader Jung Ak.
That title alone explained everything about the man.
The Demon Sword Squad was the elite of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a martial organization stationed at the Jiangxi Branch—the front line—in preparation for war.
As the leader of such an elite unit, Jung Ak was a master of formidable martial arts and possessed extensive combat experience.
"Reporting something like that while I'm holding this weight... are you trying to kill me?"
The subordinate who had delivered the report was Jung Ak’s right-hand man, Ghost Shadow 1st Team Leader Cha Hoe.
"Well, shouldn't I get a turn at being Squad Leader before I retire?"
Jung Ak was so cold and decisive that even the warriors of the Demon Sword Squad feared him, but Cha Hoe was the only one who spoke to him without formality. Their loyalty ran so deep that there were no secrets between them.
"That man is investigating me?"
"Yes. He has secretly dispatched agents."
In terms of rank, a Branch Leader was higher than a Squad Leader. However, elite organizations like the Demon Sword Squad possessed an authority that transcended rank. Usually, in such cases, both parties maintained a facade of mutual respect.
However, that balance was not being kept in the Jiangxi Branch.
"That man certainly loves making enemies. Even though we’re the ones who do all the actual fighting."
Jung Ak stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes and washed himself in a stream. His body was covered in scars—a physique that spoke of the history required to become the leader of the Demon Sword Squad.
He continued speaking as he washed.
"Why can't he just live and let live? Comfortably, among people who are neither enemies nor friends."
"Who knows what ulterior motives he has behind that upright facade?"
"No, the man is just sick. He’s the type who can't stand it if he isn't acting superior."
Having finished washing, he put on the fresh clothes that had been prepared.
"So? Is there anything to worry about?"
"I've made sure to keep everyone's mouths shut for now."
Jung Ak was, as the Branch Leader suspected, a corrupt martial artist. He had been secretly pocketing bribes from various sects within Jiangxi.
On the other hand, the Branch Leader who arrived last year was a man of rigid integrity who absolutely forbade bribery. Consequently, even more bribes were funneled toward Jung Ak. And Jung Ak took every single one offered to him.
"I don't know why he lives such a difficult life when people are practically begging to give away their overflowing money. You just take the gold those vermin offer, and then make whatever decision you want anyway."
And that was exactly what he did. He didn't grant every request just because he took a bribe. If he thought something was wrong, he ignored it; if he thought it was acceptable, he did it.
The four words that made that possible: Demon Sword Squad Leader.
Of course, most of the bribes they offered were to prepare for things that hadn't even happened yet.
"We’re essentially fighting their anxiety for them, aren't we? It’s a great deal."
Cha Hoe gave a thin smile at Jung Ak’s joke.
The problem was that this wasn't a matter that could be laughed off.
"As you know, he isn't exactly a lenient man. Once he starts digging like this, he’ll eventually find out."
Jung Ak’s eyes flashed coldly. The fact that the Branch Leader had decided to investigate him meant he was putting everything on the line. Their relationship had been decent at first. Where exactly had it gone wrong?
Jung Ak walked slowly toward a rock and drew his sword.
He swung it lightly, as if cutting a tree branch.
Crrraaaaack!
The massive boulder split clean in half.
At this incredible display of skill, Cha Hoe clasped his hands in a respectful fist salute.
"For the sake of Murim peace..."
Jung Ak added, stroking the smooth surface of the split rock.
"Branch Leaders come and go, but we must remain as we are."
And at that very moment, as if by fate, a visitor arrived.
Another subordinate came to report.
"You have a guest."
*
The person waiting in the secret room was Jeokpae.
This was a place Jung Ak used for clandestine meetings.
Jeokpae was also wearing a bamboo hat and a shabby robe to hide his identity.
When Jung Ak entered, Jeokpae stood up abruptly and bowed politely.
"It has been a long time."
"I believe I told you not to come looking for me unless I summoned you?"
Jung Ak’s reaction was cold. He had always openly looked down on Jeokpae for running the King Yama's Fortress.
Then you should have looked down on my money, too.
Hiding his inner thoughts, Jeokpae prostrated himself.
"I wouldn't have come if the situation weren't so desperate."
"What is it?"
"An impostor claiming to be a Demonic Cultist has interfered, and he is a master beyond our reach."
He deliberately omitted the part about the man claiming to be the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. He knew that given Jung Ak’s personality, he would use the excuse of not wanting to deal with such a lunatic to back out.
"Impersonating a member of the Main Cult is a grave sin. How great is his skill?"
"Great enough that I had to run here. Please, help me!"
Under normal circumstances, with the Branch Leader suspecting him, Jung Ak would have refused outright. But a thought flashed through his mind.
"Fine. I will handle it."
"Thank you!"
Jeokpae was actually taken aback by how readily he agreed.
"In exchange, there is one thing you must do."
"Command me."
"Make sure word reaches the Branch Leader’s ears that there is an impostor claiming to be a Demonic Cultist. I cannot handle a matter like this arbitrarily on my own."
Jeokpae understood immediately.
Since the opponent is a master, he doesn't want to move himself; he’s going to use the Branch Leader to get rid of him. Always the schemer.
It didn't matter. As long as the bastard was eliminated.
"I will do as you command."
In truth, Jung Ak was formulating a plan far more cold-blooded than Jeokpae anticipated.
The Jiangxi Branch Leader dies while trying to capture a man impersonating the Demonic Cult? And the Demon Sword Squad carries out the revenge?
Could it work? If he had lived his life doubting such things, he wouldn't have reached this position.
He would make it work.
That was how Jung Ak had lived his life.
*
The next day, Ju Yang visited again.
"Our Mr. Ju, you've become quite bold, coming alone now."
"Since you said you might need my hands, I assume I can at least keep them safe, can't I?"
Ju Yang hadn't been able to sleep all night out of curiosity.
"Why on earth do you need my hands?"
Then, the most shocking words of Ju Yang’s life flowed from Geom Mu-geuk’s mouth.
"I’m thinking of making you the head of the new Message Center."
Ju Yang shouted before he could stop himself.
"That’s absurd!"
Geom Mu-geuk, however, remained calm.
"Why do you think it’s absurd?"
"Because..."
There were many reasons. But they were reasons he had never thought about or voiced before.
"Weren't you going to kill me?"
The Geom Mu-geuk he had experienced was not a man who let evildoers go.
"That’s right. Originally, I was going to kill you, but I found myself in need of a villain."
Geom Mu-geuk revealed his plan.
"If your kind is a necessary evil anyway, I intend to make you a proper one. From now on, the Message Centers in the Central Plains will lend money at reasonable interest rates. For now, it’s just the Message Centers, but eventually, I will change every place that operates under the King Yama's Fortress across the Central Plains."
Now he understood. Why he had been kept alive. Why his hands had been left intact. It was so he could continue to flick the abacus with these hands.
The man before him was dreaming an utterly impossible dream. The words burst out of him.
"Who do you think you are?"
The answer he had heard several times already came again.
"The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."
"You’re just a lunatic!"
This was a man who had bored holes into foreheads and crushed the hands of swordsmen, yet he made Ju Yang shout like this. He kept making Ju Yang lower his guard.
"To think I’d hear that from a loan shark of all people. If the Demon Lords heard you, they’d be rolling on the floor laughing. They wouldn't stop teasing me for a while."
Ju Yang shook his head. Either the man was truly insane... or he was actually performing for the real Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
"Do you really think that’s possible?"
"I wouldn't know. You’re the one who has to take charge and make it happen."
How could he not be confused?
"No matter how strong your martial arts are... you’re going to die anyway."
"Then you help me."
"What kind of Young Cult Leader asks a loan shark for help?"
Ju Yang laughed to himself, finding the joke absurd, then quickly turned serious. Hanging around a madman was making him go mad too.
"Fine, let’s say that’s the case. Why me? You could set up someone suitable for the role. Someone who isn't like me, someone who isn't greedy for money."
This was what Ju Yang was personally most curious about.
"Since it’s a place that handles such vast amounts of money, even such a person would eventually be corrupted by it. You, on the other hand, have no further to fall. And if you break your promise to me and start acting up, it’ll be easy to kill you without any guilt."
To think that was the reason.
"That’s a bit much to say to my face."
"Don't make the mistake of thinking I’m sparing you. This will not be an easy task for you. You’ll have to manage the organization strictly, and you won't be able to embezzle a single penny."
This was the retribution Geom Mu-geuk had chosen for him.
"Just like the people who paid interest to you, you will have to work your fingers to the bone until the day you die. Spending your life properly collecting the interest you once took wrongly."
"And if I refuse?"
"You’ll die on the same day Jeokpae does."
Geom Mu-geuk took out two coins and placed them on the table one by one. The action seemed to say: This coin is Jeokpae’s, and this one is yours.
At the sight of the coins, Ju Yang’s heart began to race wildly again. At this rate, his heart might burst and kill him before a coin could pierce his forehead.
Whether it was out of fear of death, the vanity of potentially becoming the master of the Message Center, or the suffocating thought of living a tedious life of labor—his heart always raced like this when he was with the interest-collector.
Geom Mu-geuk asked calmly, as if he could hear the sound of Ju Yang’s heart.
"Are you afraid?"
"How could I not be?"
"Even if you fall into the ocean, you can survive as long as you have just enough space to keep your nose and mouth above water. No matter how wide the sea is, you only need this much."
Geom Mu-geuk curled his hand into a small cylinder in front of his face.
"Think carefully about whether your breathing room is me or your current leader. You’ll have to decide quickly. A great wave will be crashing down soon."
Ju Yang stared down at the coins on the table. These two coins were trying to change his fate.
How did he feel? He wanted to live. If he had to choose between a life of atonement and death, he would choose death—no, he didn't have that kind of spirit or courage.
This man was someone who would be torn to shreds once the real Demonic Cult stepped in. So why did his heart keep wavering? Why did he feel like saying, I will follow your will, so please spare me! right now? Why did it feel like he had to?
Ju Yang picked up the coins and said as he walked out.
"That wave is crashing toward you first. So you’d better find your own breathing room."