Chapter 642: Who They Are Coming to Kill
Chapter 642: Who They Are Coming to Kill
A dozen carriages raced in single file.
The dragons painted on the carriage walls were so vivid they seemed ready to ascend to the heavens at any moment.
Passing martial artists bowed respectfully toward the procession. In Wuhan, only one person was permitted to use a carriage adorned with dragons. Sure enough, the lead carriage flew a flag symbolizing the Murim Alliance Leader.
The procession came to a halt in front of Musojang.
The doors of the ten carriages opened simultaneously.
Jin Pae-cheon stepped out of the seventh carriage. From the others, the warriors of his escort guard disembarked. During the Murim Alliance Leader’s official outings, a dozen identical carriages were used to ensure no one could pinpoint which one he occupied.
As Jin Pae-cheon stepped out, the heroes guarding the entrance of Musojang bowed in unison. These martial artists had been keeping watch over the residence ever since the attack on the Heaven’s End Recluse.
“We greet the Alliance Leader!”
Jin Pae-cheon entered Musojang amidst their warm reception. The warriors guarding the courtyard also offered their respectful greetings. At the very least, the martial artists gathered here were those who respected and followed the Heaven’s End Recluse even more than they did the Murim Alliance Leader.
Having heard news of the leader’s arrival, the Heaven’s End Recluse came outside to meet him.
“I greet the Alliance Leader.”
Though they were old friends, Hwa Yul-cheong maintained strict etiquette in front of the gathered heroes.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“I am fine, thanks to your concern. Please, come inside.”
The two men entered the building. Only after Hwa Yul-cheong dismissed everyone nearby did they speak comfortably.
“I should have visited sooner. I’m sorry.”
“Not at all. I’m grateful you came at all, busy as you are.”
Hwa Yul-cheong took Jin Pae-cheon’s hand. It was so thin it felt like grasping a withered branch. Jin Pae-cheon reached into his robe and produced a small box he had prepared.
“What is this?”
When Hwa Yul-cheong opened the box, he found a small pill inside.
“It is a Blood-Replenishing Pill.”
The Blood-Replenishing Pill was a medicine taken after significant blood loss and was considered the premier remedy for restoring vitality after an injury.
“Why would you bring something so precious?”
“What could I possibly have that is more precious than you?”
“Thank you. I will make good use of it.”
“Take it now. Knowing you, you’ll probably try to sell it later to help the poor. Take it while I’m watching.”
Their gazes met. Jin Pae-cheon did not back down.
“Very well.”
Hwa Yul-cheong swallowed the Blood-Replenishing Pill on the spot and performed one complete circulation of his True Qi. Since there was no better medicine for his injuries, his complexion improved visibly and immediately.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“It’s been a while. Would you like a drink?”
Jin Pae-cheon shook his head. “Drinking right after taking medicine? No, I’m fine.”
“Then let us have tea. I brewed some earlier.”
While Hwa Yul-cheong prepared the tea, Jin Pae-cheon looked around the room. Nothing had changed since his last visit. The furniture and the desk were all old and cheap. Hwa Yul-cheong was a man who spent every cent he had on the poor. The warriors who had volunteered to protect him were a testament to the life he had lived.
It was hard to believe such a man could be the mastermind behind a conspiracy.
Hwa Yul-cheong brought the teapot to the table. Jin Pae-cheon never imagined a day would come when he had to worry about whether his friend had poisoned his tea.
“How long has it been? Is this the first time we’ve met since the Three-Party Meeting?”
Hwa Yul-cheong remembered their last meeting precisely.
“You were quite agitated that day.”
“I was?”
I was agitated? Jin Pae-cheon didn’t recall being so. On the other hand, Hwa Yul-cheong remembered that day vividly.
“That day, you spoke more about the Young Cult Leader than you did about the Demonic Cult Leader or the Unorthodox Path Alliance Leader. You said he would become terrifying once he matured.”
Jin Pae-cheon remembered now. Perhaps he had sounded agitated to his friend. Or perhaps he truly had been. Hwa Yul-cheong was the only person to whom he could honestly reveal such emotions.
“That Young Cult Leader is here in Wuhan.”
Hwa Yul-cheong’s hand stopped as he reached for his teacup. A flash of surprise crossed his face.
“Is that true?”
Jin Pae-cheon told him the facts as they were. “There are those who forged the Divine Cult’s hidden weapons and sold them. It was the very same hidden weapon used to attack you.”
“And the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult came all the way here because of that?”
Hwa Yul-cheong wore a look of incomprehension. Jin Pae-cheon recalled what Geom Mu-geuk had told him.
Fight with the truth. Then, you might see something that only you, Alliance Leader, can recognize.
“That isn’t the only reason.”
Jin Pae-cheon showed his hand first. He hadn’t come here to play mind games.
“They suspect you are the one behind it.”
Hwa Yul-cheong looked as if he didn’t know how to react. Eventually, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Why would the Demonic Cult frame me with such an absurd accusation?”
Hwa Yul-cheong didn’t even ask, “Surely you don’t believe them?” He seemed to take it for granted that Jin Pae-cheon wouldn’t.
“Then was the attack on me also related to that matter?”
“It is highly likely.”
“It seems those bastards are plotting something.”
The word 'plot' struck Jin Pae-cheon’s heart with heavy weight. Whose plot was this? Was it Geom Mu-geuk’s? Or Hwa Yul-cheong’s?
Jin Pae-cheon stood up and walked to the window. Hwa Yul-cheong remained seated, watching his back. A brief silence fell over the room. Jin Pae-cheon’s posture, looking different than usual, forced a question.
“Do you suspect me?”
Compared to the difficulty of the question, the answer came immediately.
“How could I? I’ve watched you live your life by my side for as long as I can remember. It’s just… I keep wondering why that clever man would frame you with such an absurd accusation, as you put it.”
However, Hwa Yul-cheong was looking right into his friend’s heart.
“No, you are wavering right now.”
Jin Pae-cheon did not deny it. Not denying it at this moment—this was exactly what Geom Mu-geuk had intended. He believed that by confronting the situation with the truth, Jin Pae-cheon would at least avoid being manipulated.
Jin Pae-cheon honestly revealed his thoughts.
“Yes, I admit it. The Young Cult Leader is someone who has earned that much of my trust.”
Had it not been for Geom Mu-geuk, he could say with certainty that he never would have suspected Hwa Yul-cheong. Even if clear evidence had appeared, even if a joint petition signed by him had surfaced, he would have believed in his friend.
Because of Geom Mu-geuk, he was now doing something he should never do to a friend. He was tearing down a lifetime of trust in a single day.
“Do you remember the day we first met?”
At Jin Pae-cheon’s question, Hwa Yul-cheong’s answer followed instantly.
“How could I forget?” Hwa Yul-cheong added, his eyes filled with the regrets of the past. “My life changed the day I met you.”
Jin Pae-cheon, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned to face Hwa Yul-cheong. Perhaps it was because the situation was so heartbreaking, but Hwa Yul-cheong spoke words he had never said to Jin Pae-cheon before.
“Do you know why I’ve lived my life helping people like this?”
Jin Pae-cheon had assumed it was simply his noble and chivalrous nature, but he wondered if there was another reason.
“It was because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“Before I met you, I wasn’t the kind of person who would sacrifice himself for others to this extent.”
The reason he had lived such a life was something Jin Pae-cheon had never considered.
“I wanted to be a friend worthy of you.”
“...!”
This was a fact Jin Pae-cheon had never known. Hwa Yul-cheong had never said such a thing.
“I was always a crow-tit struggling to keep up with a stork.”
Hwa Yul-cheong’s gaze moved toward Jin Pae-cheon’s teacup, which remained untouched. His eyes seemed to say: I lived my whole life this way because of you, and yet you suspect me just because of a demonic practitioner’s words?
Because he didn’t demand an answer out loud, his gaze seemed even more sorrowful.
Jin Pae-cheon calmly bid him farewell. He realized his own emotions were becoming too intense to look at his friend rationally any longer.
“I truly hope the day comes when I can sincerely apologize to you. Until then, take care of yourself.”
As he slowly walked past him, Hwa Yul-cheong spoke.
“It is fine to suspect me, but suspect the Young Cult Leader as well. That man is terrifying enough to drive this much of a wedge between you and me.”
Hwa Yul-cheong conveyed his sincere concern to his friend.
“I am fine, so please, be careful.”
*
Jin Pae-cheon stood in a pavilion in the Blue Cloud Forest.
It was the same pavilion in the bamboo grove where he had previously met Geom Mu-yang. Today, the area was also shrouded in thick mist.
Geom Mu-geuk arrived at the spot. It was Jin Pae-cheon who had requested the meeting. He felt that since he had met his friend, it was now time to confront Geom Mu-geuk.
Geom Mu-geuk stepped up into the pavilion and stood beside Jin Pae-cheon.
“On my way here, I kept thinking about what the wisest choice I could make would be.”
“Did you find an answer?”
“Yes, I did.”
Their gazes, which had been fixed on the mist, turned toward each other. Jin Pae-cheon’s eyes were still searching for the truth.
“It is trust. No matter what you think of me, Alliance Leader, I decided I must trust you. I decided to tell you everything. That way, there will be no misunderstandings between us. That is my conclusion.”
No matter how clear and deep his gaze was as he spoke, it wasn't easy for that sentiment to reach Jin Pae-cheon fully right now.
“Sometimes, trust is exactly what obscures the truth.”
Those words applied to both Geom Mu-geuk and Hwa Yul-cheong.
“I am on my way back from meeting that friend.”
Geom Mu-geuk already knew. It had been an official procession.
“I told him everything honestly.”
“And what did he say?” Geom Mu-geuk was curious about Hwa Yul-cheong’s reaction.
“I thought he would be angry, but he wasn’t.”
Geom Mu-geuk thought that if Hwa Yul-cheong had responded so calmly and composedly, then Jin Pae-cheon wouldn't have been able to discover anything. However, it was precisely because of that reaction that Jin Pae-cheon had realized something.
“Watching my friend worry about me instead, I realized one thing.” Jin Pae-cheon’s gaze fixed on Geom Mu-geuk. “The fact that he has never once been angry with me.”
Jin Pae-cheon repeated it for emphasis.
“We’ve been friends for decades, yet he has never once lost his temper with me. Surprisingly, I only realized that today. Sure, it’s possible. He’s a man of exceptionally good character. But do you know how I was?”
Geom Mu-geuk replied with a faint smile. “You likely got angry quite often, Alliance Leader.”
Though he was older now and managed his emotions well, Jin Pae-cheon was originally a rough and domineering man.
“No. I never got angry with him either.”
This was a revelation that surprised both Geom Mu-geuk and Jin Pae-cheon himself.
“Considering my personality in my younger days, it should have been impossible. I thought about it on my way here. Why did I never get angry with him?”
And Jin Pae-cheon had found the answer.
“Because he always catered to my every mood.”
Jin Pae-cheon had never seriously thought about this in his life. He was just a good-natured friend, so it was comfortable to meet him.
“When I was the successor, and even after I became the Alliance Leader, he matched everything to me. If I was angry, he was angry with me; if I was happy, he was happy with me.”
In short, he was a truly great friend.
“But thinking back, he never once showed me his own true emotions. Neither joy nor sorrow. He never even showed a hint of annoyance.”
If that were simply his natural personality, it might make sense.
“He is a man who doesn't hesitate to shed tears for the poor. He is a man who gets more furious than anyone when he sees injustice. And yet, he never expressed those overflowing emotions to me.”
Jin Pae-cheon asked, his eyes demanding an answer from Geom Mu-geuk.
“Is it because I am the Alliance Leader? Because I am difficult to be around?”
Jin Pae-cheon was agitated; it was the first time he had spoken this much to anyone. He never imagined that person would be Geom Mu-geuk.
After listening quietly, Geom Mu-geuk finally spoke.
“Isn't that how you were able to come this far together?”
“...!”
“There was never anything to ruin the relationship, so you were able to build a steady friendship for decades, were you not?”
Even as the Murim Alliance Leader, how could he not feel the discomfort of doubting an old friend? It was a distortion of a relationship he had discovered himself. Jin Pae-cheon’s suspicion turned back toward Geom Mu-geuk.
“Aren't you also the same, treating people with smooth words?”
Geom Mu-geuk calmly tried to persuade him.
“If I were the true Cult Leader and not just the acting one, you would be right to suspect that the Main Cult orchestrated this situation. I am someone who is good at driving wedges and using petty tricks. However, as long as my father remains the Cult Leader, we do not use such methods. My father would simply push straight through. He would say, 'Try and stop me if you can.'”
Jin Pae-cheon couldn't deny those words. The Geom Wu-jin he knew was exactly that kind of man.
“Furthermore, he would never create a situation like this.”
Geom Mu-geuk delivered the news to Jin Pae-cheon.
“The Old Demons who broke the Forbidden Demonic Order are coming here.”
“...!”
Jin Pae-cheon knew better than anyone what the Forbidden Demonic Order was. It was a decree that had been passed down through the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for centuries. He had always judged that the reason they kept the criminal masters of the Demonic Cult alive instead of killing them was to use them whenever a war with the Murim Alliance eventually broke out.
“Breaking the Forbidden Demonic Order means they have defied the Cult Leader’s command. To plot something using such people? If you think that, then you truly do not know my father at all.”
This was a moment where the fact that the Old Demons had broken the order actually helped Geom Mu-geuk’s case. Jin Pae-cheon also agreed with Geom Mu-geuk’s logic.
“Who is coming?”
“Ma Yeom-gun and the White Bone Soul Demon are on their way.”
Jin Pae-cheon’s expression hardened. These were people who would cause a bloodbath if not handled correctly.
“Why are they coming?”
“Since we didn't send them, how could I know? But since killing is what they do best, they must be coming to kill someone.”
A cold aura began to emanate from Jin Pae-cheon’s body. Until now, he had been maintaining his composure for the sake of the Alliance and the Orthodox Murim, despite his explosive anger. And now, even the criminals of the Demonic Cult were coming?
Toward that cold fury, Geom Mu-geuk spoke startling words.
“I believe you already know who they are coming to kill, Alliance Leader.”
“I do?”
To Jin Pae-cheon, who wore a look of bewilderment beyond mere surprise, Geom Mu-geuk asked a final question. If their goal was to cause a rift between the Main Cult and the Murim Alliance...
“Whose death do you think you would find impossible to tolerate?”