Chapter 60 #21 Monster of the Blood Lion Society (5)
Han Seohyun had found the perfect spot. An abandoned warehouse littered with rusted construction materials caked in dust—it was the kind of place that sent chills down your spine just looking at it. If an ordinary person woke up here after being kidnapped, pissing themselves wouldn't be out of the question.
Light filtered through gaps in the corroded ceiling, shining down on me like a pinpoint interrogation lamp.
In the middle of the warehouse sat a man bound tight with ropes. I picked up a chair, walked over slowly, and planted my ass right in front of him.
"Hmm."
I eyed the man before me: Suo Mosian. Unconscious, he was just a pathetic mid-fifties guy. Skinny as a rail, hair half-turned white, utterly unremarkable.
His wrinkled hands, thick-knuckled joints and all, seemed to tell the story of every hardship he'd endured.
No matter how many luxuries he draped himself in now, they couldn't erase the trials of his past.
But this man had denied it all, trying to build an empire that would fulfill his dreams. Using a mighty weapon named Suo Haozhu.
What he'd overlooked was simple.
The weapon he wielded wasn't a true weapon—it was a person.
I slapped his cheek. After a few more smacks, Suo Mosian finally opened his eyes.
His dazed gaze followed me as it sharpened.
Crack!
I finished the job with one last slap, pouring all my intent into it: wake the fuck up.
Suo Mosian's eyes shook from the sudden blow. But only for a moment—then rage exploded toward me.
"You bastard!"
That bold shout didn't last.
His trembling eyes scanned the surroundings. Waking up in a completely unfamiliar place, bound hand and foot, cheek throbbing from the hits.
Even someone with ironclad nerves would lose it in this situation, and Suo Mosian wasn't the type with strong mental fortitude to begin with.
So, panic set in.
"Wh-what the hell is going on...?"
Seeing him barely mumble that much, his brain must've straight-up gone on strike, refusing to process.
No choice—I'd have to help him out.
"What do you think? You got kidnapped, Mr. Suo Mosian."
Despite my polite rundown, he didn't look grateful. He just glared daggers at me.
"You kidnapped me?"
"Yup."
"Why the hell? Wait—who the fuck are you? Silver Moon Society send you?"
Oh, not bad. He'd pieced it together quick enough.
"Silver Moon Society, yeah, we did make a little deal with them. But dragging you here? That's for a different reason."
"What reason?"
"Suo Haozhu."
His face hardened at the name. He studied my face slowly, then spoke.
"You... now that I think about it, you look familiar. You're that guy who's been tailing Haozhu lately."
His demeanor shifted in an instant. Years running a dark underworld outfit weren't for nothing, apparently.
Good. This was better.
I'd rather talk to the bastard who'd tried to kill Suo Haozhu and then me than some powerless peasant.
"So, what're you planning to do with me here?"
Of course, he couldn't hide the tension stiffening his body, the fear. Sure, he'd lucked into raising a once-in-a-generation genius like Suo Haozhu, but Suo Mosian himself wasn't an awakener or even talented.
It was natural for him to freak in this sudden mess.
That made him all the more repulsive.
Maybe misreading my silence, he suddenly yelled.
"You gonna kill me here and take her for yourself?!"
"Talking like she's some object."
"She is—the ultimate weapon. You're not after her for the same reason?"
No doubt in his eyes as he said it. He truly believed I'd approached her just to use her.
Well, my intentions weren't pure either, but getting lumped in with this scum? No thanks.
"Nope."
I shot back curtly, uncharacteristically blunt.
"I'm not some weak-ass pushover."
"What?"
"Sure, I know Haozhu's got some insane power. But that strength? It's ground out of her entire life. Who the hell throws away their life for that kinda force?"
Sure, her raw physical output was mind-blowing, but bottom line? Plenty of hunters could match or surpass her—would surpass her.
Take Teika Cooper, America's top dog with his gravity talent—he could pull the same feats. Or Yuseonje, the brain-type lightning user; he could wipe out a whole area in one go.
Suo Haozhu was damn strong, but not the strongest in the world.
"And you're asking her to sacrifice everything for what? Not world peace or some noble shit—just land-grabbing games."
Suo Mosian's face flushed beet red. Hit too close to home, and people burn up like that. Then they wanna erase the one who struck the nerve.
"Shut your mouth! What the hell do you know?!"
See?
So predictable, it was sigh-worthy.
But I meant every word.
I've seen the world's end. That unstoppable "finale" crashing down no matter how you struggle.
That's the kinda stakes worth betting a life on. Not for a cushier life, more power that means jack shit when everything burns—not selling out someone's soul for that.
"That's a pretty lame reason."
His face looked ready to explode.
"What do you know, you little shit? You who've got it all!"
"Yeah, maybe I'm saying this 'cause life's good for me—warm back, full belly. But you could've had that too."
He didn't start off dreaming of conquering China with Suo Haozhu in tow.
Back when he first reached out to her, it might've been plain sympathy, pity even.
But Suo Mosian changed. Greed creeps in—who wouldn't want power or wealth with her abilities?
But here's the thing. If he'd just wanted a decent life, he wouldn't have pushed her this hard. No need to sacrifice her everything.
In the end, what chained her was his greed. Overreach.
No excuse changes that.
"Haozhu probably did everything you asked. Told you about the deals too. If you'd been satisfied and stopped at some point, she wouldn't have had to keep going."
"She doesn't understand her own power. I taught a clueless kid how to survive. Without me, she'd be dead in that village!"
"If you really believe that, you wouldn't have sold her memories too."
He shut his mouth.
"You think she's really living her own life now?"
"She loves me. Says she's happy with me."
"She remember that?"
"Her past memories are enough..."
"You know damn well how bullshit that sounds."
I hoped he'd wake up, see the mess he'd made. Regret it, at least.
"You're the one who made Suo Haozhu a monster. Hell, you're the real monster of the Blood Lion Society."
Grabbing power beyond his station out of greed. Doomed to ruin because of it. Fits perfect, doesn't it?
"Haha! Just admit it. You wanna kill me here and make her yours!"
He screamed like a madman. Face crimson, repeating the same crap. I sighed.
He refused to face what he'd done, right to the end.
No point talking anymore.
Truth is, dragging him here, I'd half-expected this.
Suo Mosian was always this kind of man.
"But it won't go your way. Kill me, and she'll never forgive you. Haha, you idiot. Kill me and take her? Impossible."
Now he was fully unhinged, ranting. Certain he'd lose her, terrified of death—he was cracking.
"She needs me to be happy... I'm the only one who can make her happy in this world."
Mad ravings, but they killed my laugh.
Still, I'd tried—for how much she loved him.
If he'd even try to be a decent dad from here on, I'd considered letting him go, striking a deal with the Blood Lion Society.
But he wasn't man enough.
"Heh heh, you can't kill me. She'll go berserk. She cares about me a lot. Don't kill me..."
Forgetting how he'd just cursed me out, he started begging.
That desperate sight only hardened my resolve.
Suo Mosian wasn't worth keeping alive.
No shame, no convictions, no pride.
Just greed and clinging desperation for life.
"If you'd been halfway decent, I might've let you walk."
"Wait, wait!"
"Lucky for me, you're trash through and through."
To Suo Haozhu, he was a parasite pure and simple. Sucking her dry, fattening himself on her growth.
She can't grow properly with him around—just wither away, nutrients stolen.
She knows it too, deep down.
Needs cutting out. But she can't do it herself.
Why?
Love.
This piece of shit was still her dad, her papa.
That's why Suo Haozhu died.
The day she handed herself over completely in his greedy deals, forgetting even herself. An accident, but she killed her papa—and couldn't forgive herself.
So she survived, unable to die.
Then killed herself.
To stop that, Suo Mosian dies here.