Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: The Missing Brother
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Jeok Mugun grabbed Chu Yonggae by the collar and lifted him up, confirming his face. His hands trembled violently.
And in a low voice, he murmured,
"Finally..."
Chu Yonggae furrowed his brow and leaned his ear toward him.
"What?"
"Finally found you."
Whoosh!
Jeok Mugun suddenly raised his head and pulled his shoulders back.
Then, thrusting his fist straight at the hulking figure in front of him, he vented his rage.
"You damn bastard!"
Thwack!
Jeok Mugun's fist slammed into Chu Yonggae's face.
His nose bridge shattered, blood bursting out.
"W-Wait! Who the hell are you?!"
As the sound of punches grew louder, the surrounding beggars gradually grew frightened and fled the scene like scattering rats.
Jeok Mugun, lost in excitement, paid no mind to the movements around him and continued pummeling Chu Yonggae's face.
It was as if he had encountered his mortal enemy from across the heavens.
Since he had never shown much emotion before, Hyeok Mulin watched the current Jeok Mugun with interest from a step away.
As time passed, the blood-soaked Chu Yonggae finally managed to open his battered mouth.
"What... the hell... is this about...?"
At that, Jeok Mugun abruptly stopped punching. He grabbed Chu Yonggae's collar roughly again and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"My brother! Where the hell did you sell him off to?!"
Killing intent gleamed fiercely in Jeok Mugun's eyes.
The reason Jeok Mugun had sought out Chu Yonggae in the underground prison wasn't for some inherent purpose.
It was because he held a clue about the younger brother he had been separated from since childhood.
"W-What...?"
"Don't play dumb! You kidnapped and tried to sell us kids off!"
Jeok Mugun and his brother had lost their parents young in a tragic accident, but despite that, they worked diligently at what they could, receiving help from the villagers and living earnestly.
They supported each other and lived honestly.
But powerless children were prime targets for kidnappers, and one night, they were helplessly abducted.
'I barely managed to escape.'
With his hands bound, Jeok Mugun decided to jump from the cart carrying him and his brother.
They coordinated their breaths and planned to leap together, but at the last moment, his frightened brother couldn't follow through.
In the end, he alone fell from the cart, dragging his injured body down the mountain like a rolling stone to seek help in the village.
Afterward, he returned with armed villagers, but...
Thud.
The cart carrying his brother had already vanished without a trace.
'After that, I wandered for decades searching for my brother.'
The only remaining blood relative under the heavens.
Believing he was alive somewhere, Jeok Mugun roamed various regions.
And at the end of that search, he uncovered the name of the man who had kidnapped him as a child.
Chu Yonggae!
Only he would know.
What had become of his brother who vanished that day.
"Speak! Hurry up!"
Jeok Mugun wanted to beat him senseless, but he couldn't hit him any more.
His mouth was already half-smashed; if he vented more emotion and killed him, the only clue to his brother would be gone.
So, with boiling patience, Jeok Mugun gripped his collar and urged an answer.
Chu Yonggae hurriedly spat out words.
His tone had suddenly become extremely deferential.
"W-Who is your brother? You have to tell me what he looks like so I can remember!"
At those words, Jeok Mugun paused.
Ah, right.
This guy hadn't targeted just them; he was a human trafficker who roamed remote areas.
He had kidnapped so many kids he couldn't remember them all.
Recalling that, Jeok Mugun clenched his teeth and barely suppressed his anger.
"A boy with a long scar on his left earlobe."
"Scar...? Jingam? Guakwi? Or Magang? Where did I see him...?"
Chu Yonggae rattled off names of unrelated regions, as if his memory was hazy.
Deep disappointment shadowed Jeok Mugun's face.
It's over.
If he doesn't remember, there's no value in keeping him alive.
"If you don't know, just die."
Jeok Mugun pulled his fist back and thrust it forward like a blade.
Cornered, Chu Yonggae covered his face with both hands and desperately cried out.
"Galchusan!"
Pause.
Jeok Mugun's movement halted at the word.
"That kid from Galchusan?"
Finally hearing his hometown's name, Jeok Mugun pressed for an answer with blazing eyes.
"Y-Yes, at Galchusan, we grabbed two kids, but one jumped from the cart and escaped in a panic..."
Chu Yonggae's eyes widened in realization as he stared at Jeok Mugun like he'd seen a ghost.
"You... you're still alive?!"
"If you don't want to die, answer my question. What happened to my brother?"
At that, Chu Yonggae averted his eyes slyly, and Jeok Mugun seized his collarbone.
He pressed down as if twisting the bone, making him groan in agony.
"Argh! Aaaagh! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Jeok Mugun eased his grip momentarily, and the barely surviving Chu Yonggae glanced at him cautiously before speaking.
"What do guys like us do with kids we catch? We sell them, of course."
Jeok Mugun felt both rage and relief at those words.
Among trafficked children, many couldn't adapt to sudden changes, wasting away or falling ill and being discarded.
But if he sold him, that meant at least up to that point, his life was intact, right?
That was enough.
It meant a higher chance he was still alive than if he'd been abandoned.
"Where did you sell him?"
At Jeok Mugun's sharp question, Chu Yonggae racked his brain quickly.
"That time... probably..."
Smack.
Chu Yonggae struck his palm with his fist as it came to him.
"Saam Valley! They swept up all the kids from Saam Valley!"
"Saam Valley?"
"Yes. Back then, they bought kids with promising constitutions at high prices... made a nice profit. Ahem."
"Saam Valley—you mean those guys in Guijuseong?"
"Y-Yes. Exactly."
Jeok Mugun's brows furrowed at the unexpected name.
Saam Valley was an assassin group hidden deep in the valley of Saamsan.
That they specifically selected kids with good constitutions stirred unease in his heart.
And with that, one more thing.
'Saamsan is in Guijuseong.'
Their base was in the Central Plains, not Shin-gang, complicating his thoughts instantly.
As his mind deepened, the strength in his grip on Chu Yonggae loosened.
Seizing the moment, Chu Yonggae shook off his hand, scrambled up, and bolted away like a rabbit.
It was the moment Jeok Mugun showed an opening while lost in thought. If not now, there might never be another chance to escape.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
After putting some distance, Chu Yonggae glanced back.
Those who had cornered him moments ago still stood in place, showing no sign of pursuit.
Feeling safe, he raised a middle finger and hurled a barrage of curses.
"Watch your backs at night, you bastards! I'll come back for revenge!"
The insults even flew at Hyeok Mulin, who hadn't laid a finger on him.
But from Chu Yonggae's perspective, Hyeok Mulin standing beside Jeok Mugun was obviously an accomplice, so it didn't matter.
Watching this, Jeok Mugun's cold eyes drifted to the chain at his waist.
No matter that he'd been through the prison and ended up a beggar, that trash's vile nature couldn't be changed.
Insults toward himself were fine.
But irreverent words toward the Cult Leader were unforgivable.
Setting aside past grudges, he needed to catch the bastard and make him pay right now...
Pfiu!
Suddenly, something whistled past Jeok Mugun's ear.
His hair fluttered, drawing his gaze.
'What is this...?'
He glanced sideways briefly, then turned back to the front, where he saw Chu Yonggae frozen in place.
"...Huh?"
Sensing something severed, Chu Yonggae looked down.
And there, he discovered his heart pierced through.
Thump.
Drained of strength, Chu Yonggae crumpled to the ground like a collapsing sack.
Even in death, he became a cold corpse with eyes wide open, never understanding his end.
'That was the Cult Leader's finger wind.'
The Cult Leader's finger wind had pierced Chu Yonggae's vital spot in an instant, yet Jeok Mugun hadn't noticed it until it nearly passed him.
If he had been in that spot, could he have dodged it?
Gulp.
No matter the method, he lacked the confidence.
Putting aside such thoughts, Jeok Mugun soon turned to Hyeok Mulin with a apologetic expression.
It was his duty to immediately handle the insolence toward the Cult Leader, yet he had let the Cult Leader's hands be stained with blood.
"I'm sorry. I have no excuse, even with ten mouths..."
"Human trafficking in this Shin-gang."
Hyeok Mulin spoke in a deeply sunken voice.
Chu Yonggae's activities predated Hyeok Mulin's ascension by a long time.
But that didn't excuse it.
Among his many crimes, he had luckily been caught only for fraud and thrown in prison. If they'd nailed him for trafficking first, he wouldn't have survived anyway.
"It made me want to handle it myself."
He could have overlooked it unknowingly.
But now that he knew, Hyeok Mulin had simply executed the criminal according to his will.
"Cult Leader..."
Jeok Mugun looked at Hyeok Mulin and offered formal gratitude once more.
"Thanks to the Cult Leader's mercy, I can now find my brother's whereabouts. I will never forget this grace and repay it someday."
"Planning to leave?"
"...Yes."
Jeok Mugun's words were both thanks to Hyeok Mulin and a farewell.
He had joined the Heavenly Demon forces solely to find Chu Yonggae, who knew his brother's whereabouts.
Now that goal achieved, it was natural to depart for his true purpose.
"Guijuseong, huh..."
Hyeok Mulin recalled Guijuseong, where Saam Valley was located.
Actually, Guijuseong wasn't known for Saam Valley.
The true rulers there were the Blood Heaven Divine Palace, successors to the Blood Cult.
Thinking of that, Hyeok Mulin chuckled lightly and said,
"Perfect timing. Come with me."
"...Pardon?"
Jeok Mugun revealed a surprised expression at the unexpected reply.
Hyeok Mulin recited in a nonchalant tone,
"I have business in Guijuseong too. Planning to meet a close friend there."
Of course, whether she considers me a close friend is another matter.