Chapter 315: That’s the Life of a Swordsman.
Chapter 315: That’s the Life of a Swordsman.
The fact that Hwan-yeo’s contact was within the Pungcheon Cult meant only one thing: The Illusion King was already inside the sect.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader, trembling with fury, roared at Hwan-yeo.
“If you don’t tell me what you’re plotting this instant, I’ll snap your neck.”
Threats, however, held no weight against Hwan-yeo. Even with her internal energy suppressed, she wasn't intimidated in the least. She glared back at the Pungcheon Cult Leader with eyes that dared him to kill her if he wished.
Grip.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s hand tightened around her throat. Considering she had not only targeted his disciple but was also plotting against the Pungcheon Cult itself, it wouldn't have been strange if he had crushed her windpipe then and there.
“Cult Leader, for the sake of the Pungcheon Cult and the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord, you must stay your hand.”
At my intervention, the Pungcheon Cult Leader let out a long, ragged breath and slowly removed his hand from her neck.
I quickly struck Hwan-yeo’s mute acupoint. It was a necessary precaution to prevent her from committing suicide by biting her tongue.
“Since she was communicating through that wall, someone will likely show up soon.”
If the enemy discovered Hwan-yeo had been captured, they would immediately prepare countermeasures. Her capture needed to remain a secret for as long as possible.
“Can you control this woman with the Soul-Seizing Technique?” I asked.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader shook his head. “An illusionist of this caliber cannot be controlled by the Soul-Seizing Technique.”
Then there was no other choice.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
If the other side looked through the connection and saw no one, they would simply wait for her to contact them again. They might assume Hwan-yeo had merely become occupied with something. We could figure out the rest once we were outside.
With a sharp sweep of the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s sleeve...
The Cult Leader, Hwan-yeo, and I were suddenly standing in the middle of the flower garden.
Hwan-yeo’s already stiff expression contorted further. Seeing us enter and exit the space she had created so easily must have filled her with a mixture of rage and self-loathing.
Outside the garden, Jang Ho was waiting with the Demon Army.
“Are you alright?”
I nodded in response to his question.
Jang Ho looked visibly relieved. Since Hwan-yeo and I had suddenly vanished, followed shortly by the Pungcheon Cult Leader, he must have been deeply worried.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader turned to me. “What do you intend to do?”
“We’re going to the Pungcheon Cult to smash everything to pieces. Let’s go. I’ll help you!”
As if he had been waiting for those exact words, the Pungcheon Cult Leader turned around, his sleeves fluttering with power. He strode toward the gate but then stopped abruptly and walked back into the garden.
“What should we do first?”
He knew as well as I did that we couldn't just rush in blindly. He was simply showing how much his blood was boiling.
“We have to release the Yin-Yang Soul Reversal Technique placed on the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord first,” I said. “We also need to meet with Strategist Go to plan our return—whether we’ll infiltrate the Pungcheon Cult secretly or return openly.”
As we had already experienced, this was an enemy that required extreme caution.
“As you’ve seen, our opponents are no ordinary people. This woman spent years living as a simple garden owner just to place the Yin-Yang Soul Reversal Technique on the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord. The enemy in the Murim Alliance remained undercover for ten years. It’s likely the same within your cult. If we move rashly, they’ll vanish beneath the surface and remain a thorn in our side forever.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader nodded. He was an old fox himself; there was no way he didn't understand the logic.
“The Pungcheon Cult’s business is my business as well,” I added.
At those words, the Pungcheon Cult Leader finally calmed his excitement.
“Let’s do what needs to be done first.”
Through this fight, I felt my relationship with the Pungcheon Cult Leader had grown a step closer. I was beginning to see things I hadn't seen before and feel emotions I hadn't previously felt.
I released Hwan-yeo’s mute acupoint, but I precisely pressed the acupoints on her jaw so she couldn't bite her tongue. She could speak, but she wouldn't be able to exert enough force to kill herself.
“Do you want to save your younger sister?” I asked.
A sneer formed on Hwan-yeo’s lips. “I know you have no intention of letting me or my sister live. So don’t waste your breath and just kill me.”
“If you manage to stay alive somehow, your mastermind might come to save you, don't you think?”
Was it because she feared her backer? Or was it because her pride was wounded? Hwan-yeo denied it instantly.
“I planned this alone. I don’t take orders from anyone.”
“If there’s no mastermind, then what you’re doing makes no sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why would you, a successor of the Blood Cult’s illusion arts, go out of your way to seize control of the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord? Why go as far as pretending to be a garden owner for years? For what? Did you want to become a Demon Lord? You couldn't become one even if you tried. Was it for money? Were you targeting my father? Why? If I assume you planned this alone, it’s completely incomprehensible.”
Hwan-yeo listened in silence.
“However,” I continued, “if I assume someone ordered you to do it, it becomes very easy to understand. Using illusionists like you to seize the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord—that makes sense. Who else but you could touch her? Using your sister, who is also an illusionist, to infiltrate the Pungcheon Cult—that also makes sense immediately.”
She couldn't offer a single rebuttal.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader, who had been listening, chimed in. “At times like this, you seem even smarter than Go Wol.”
“Strategist Go knows everything I know.”
“No, no. You’re different somehow.”
Suddenly, Hwan-yeo spoke up. “You’re a monster.”
She was the one who had looked into my heart before my regression. Perhaps those emotions from that time were still hidden somewhere in my soul. Yes, back then, I was indeed a monster.
“How can a human catch a monster like you? It takes a monster to catch a monster.”
Would she cooperate in catching the Illusion King? Probably not. No matter how much she envied or competed with her sister, she wouldn't hate her enough to want her dead. If she did, she wouldn't have lived that kind of life before the regression. One of them would have killed the other long ago.
Even without Hwan-yeo’s help, I had to find some kind of clue. Dealing with the Illusion King would surely be more difficult than dealing with Hwan-yeo.
Then, something caught my eye. A few newly arrived flower pots were sitting in a corner, unarranged.
I immediately called for Jang Ho.
“There is someone you need to bring in.”
*
Upon returning to the cult, the Pungcheon Cult Leader met with Go Wol first.
When he realized there was a problem with the Pungcheon Cult, Go Wol was the first person he wanted to see. Even though the incredibly reliable Geom Mu-geuk was by his side, Go Wol was the one who came to mind.
Perhaps it was because he wanted to hear these words:
“Those bastards must not know what the Pungcheon Cult means to you. Make sure they find out this time, Cult Leader.”
And then, a touching addition:
“It’s a precious place to me as well. Cult Leader, do not forgive them.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader felt a lump in his throat. He was grateful and sorry that Go Wol, who usually associated that place with shackles, would call it precious. As he fell into a complex emotional state, Go Wol poured cold water on his rising sentimentality.
“Cult Leader. Follow me and take a deep breath. Breathe.”
“What are you doing?”
“Just follow me.”
Go Wol took a deep, audible breath, and the Pungcheon Cult Leader reluctantly followed suit.
“Am I a child? To have to take deep breaths to calm my heart?”
“You are a child, aren't you? Your eyes flip the moment it concerns the Pungcheon Cult. You’re going to act like a child.”
“I won't.”
“Children always say they won't. And then they do it anyway, which is why they’re children.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader repeatedly took deep breaths, following Go Wol’s lead. It wasn't the breathing that calmed him, but Go Wol’s heart, which went to such lengths for him.
“I’m afraid someone might see us,” the Cult Leader grumbled.
“They’ll just think you’re practicing some peerless mental method from the Outer Regions.”
“You should have seen how brilliantly I performed. You should have been there!”
“I don't need to see it to know. I know how well you must have done.”
“You didn't even see it.”
In truth, Go Wol was the person he most wanted to show his exploits to. Geom Mu-geuk needed to hurry up and tell him what had happened.
“I know,” Go Wol said softly. “Even if the whole world doesn't recognize it, I do. I know how magnificent you must have been inside that illusion. Since I know, leave this matter to the Young Cult Leader and just help him from the side.”
At that, the Pungcheon Cult Leader barked, “This is my business!”
“That’s why I’m saying this. You won't be able to look at it objectively. You’re already someone who sees the world however it suits you.”
“Then come with me and help. If I act stupidly, nag me from the side. I need to go say hello to the ghosts engraved on the Sound Thunder Bell.”
Go Wol shook his head.
“If the enemies are those who use illusions and soul-seizing, then the people who can counter them should go. I’ll only be a hindrance. Give my regards to the ghosts of the Sound Thunder Bell in my stead.”
“No! One crazy person talking to a bell is enough!”
Go Wol looked out the window toward his distant homeland.
“You’re getting excited again. Breathe!”
*
At the same time the Pungcheon Cult Leader was meeting Go Wol, I was meeting with the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord.
I told her about how she had been struck by the Yin-Yang Soul Reversal Technique when she killed Sa U-jong.
“I didn't know at the time either. I found out while pursuing the mastermind.”
I was careful not to hurt her feelings. No matter how young she was, Cheong-seon held the status of a Demon Lord. I was especially mindful of her pride. The fact that the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord had fallen victim to a soul-seizing technique could be a deep wound for her.
“Any other martial art wouldn't have worked, but since it was a demonic art of the Blood Cult, it couldn't be helped.”
Fortunately, she accepted it wisely.
“Can you break the soul-seizing spell placed on me?”
“Fortunately, the Pungcheon Cult Leader said he can remove the Yin-Yang Soul Reversal Technique.”
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord looked relieved and happy. “Where is my Master now?”
“He is waiting for you. Let’s go together.”
I took her to the Pungcheon Cult Leader, who was waiting in another room. In the room were the Pungcheon Cult Leader, Go Wol, and Hwan-yeo, who was asleep with her demonic and spiritual acupoints suppressed.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord gave a deep bow to express her gratitude. “I will never forget this grace, Master.”
I made her vague gratitude more concrete. “Do you know what the Cult Leader said when he first found out about this?”
I imitated the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s booming voice. “‘They dared to touch my disciple? Take me to that bitch immediately!’”
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord looked at the Pungcheon Cult Leader with deep emotion. The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s shoulders puffed up.
“It was nothing.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s eyes said to me: More, do more!
“And that wasn't all,” I continued. “A master of ghost arts said this: ‘Even if the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s grandfather came, he couldn't open that door.’ Right then! The Cult Leader opened the door and walked in. Ah! You should have seen the hellscape that unfolded behind him.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader waved his hand dismissively. “I told you, it was nothing.”
But his fingertips, waving me off, said: Just a little more!
“When the Cult Leader snaps his fingers, the world changes! I saw that world clearly this time.”
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord looked at him with genuine respect. While I was half-joking, to her, this was the future she dreamed of.
“Master, one day, I too will unfold my own world.”
She still had a long way to go. She had a prickly and selfish personality, but we didn't know what she would be like in ten years. I only hoped she would grow as magnificently as the other Demon Lords.
“I think your luck with masters is the best in the Murim. I hope you cherish that luck well.”
At my sincere advice, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord bowed her head in thanks. Beyond her, the Pungcheon Cult Leader wore a satisfied expression. And beyond him, Go Wol was smiling again.
“Now then, please perform the ritual immediately.”
Since no other preparations were needed besides the people involved, we decided to conduct the ritual here.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader woke Hwan-yeo. Seeing the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord there, she seemed to sense her fate. The Pungcheon Cult Leader sat the two women side by side.
A unique, unknown pattern was engraved on Hwan-yeo’s back. This was the Spirit-Suppressing Seal the Pungcheon Cult Leader had mentioned. He said that by extracting that, the Red Soul dormant in the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord’s body would be drawn out.
He had said it was a difficult and dangerous ritual, but I wasn't worried. It was the Pungcheon Cult Leader performing it, after all. He would handle it.
Trust isn't built with words, but with actions. He had clearly shown today what kind of person he was.
Before the ritual began, Hwan-yeo spoke. “I want to speak with the Young Cult Leader for a moment.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader looked at me, asking for my consent. I nodded, and everyone else left the room, leaving the two of us alone.
“I didn't know even this morning that my end would come so suddenly.”
“That’s the life of a swordsman.”
“I have a favor to ask.” She made an unexpected request. “If you see my sister, tell her. Tell her I didn't betray her.”
By the time I would be saying those words, her sister would likely be destined to die as well. I didn't know if the request had any meaning.
“Do you believe I’ll keep my promise?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw into your heart. Someone who has walked such a desperate path will keep his word.”
“I thought you said I was a monster?”
“That’s because you’re my enemy. I’m dying because of you; can’t I at least say that much?”
“You’re not dying because of me,” I corrected her. “You’re dying because you planted the Yin-Yang Soul Reversal Technique in the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord. You’re dying because you built a wall that could only be made by sacrificing thousands of lives. Know the reason you’re dying before you go.”
Hwan-yeo stared at me with complex eyes. I felt her rage, her desire to kill me, and the desperation of wanting to ask me to save her. But having looked into my heart, she would know. She would know that nothing would work.
Her final regret was this: “...I should have lived my own life.”
She was likely referring to a life of her own, untangled from her sister or her mastermind. She said nothing more and closed her eyes.
*
When I stepped outside after the ritual began, Jang Ho was waiting. The man standing beside him with his demonic acupoints suppressed was Hwan-yeo’s subordinate.
The Demon Army was indeed efficient. Jang Ho had captured him in less than an hour based only on the information that he supplied flowers and pots to the garden.
“Take him and interrogate him thoroughly. Make sure he confesses everything he knows.”
“Understood.”
In this situation, we had to find even the smallest clue.
“And since an important ritual is underway inside, have the Demon Army stand guard.”
The massive men surrounded my quarters where the ritual was taking place. It was the most reliable wall in existence. I walked along the line of soldiers with Jang Ho for a moment. My presence as the Young Cult Leader would bolster Jang Ho’s prestige as their leader.
Snap! Snap!
As we passed, the soldiers offered disciplined salutes. I stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky. When you’re caught up in a frantic fight, you forget to look up. Even I, who always tell myself to look up, forget.
“The woman we captured earlier expressed regret. She said she should have lived her own life. What about you?”
To my question of whether he was living the life he wanted, Jang Ho answered confidently.
“The Young Cult Leader I serve is by my side, and the subordinates I lead are behind me. This is exactly the life I desired.”
I looked at Jang Ho. He stood beside me, more reliable than anyone.
“Commander Jang.”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
“A great enemy is coming.”
No other words were needed. He didn't ask what kind of enemy it was. He simply gave a silent nod. He would prepare in his own way.
Jang Ho looked back at the soldiers standing behind him and added bluntly, “No matter how great they are, could they possibly be as great as us?”