Chapter 242
Chapter 242
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 242
Chapter Title: Loyalties Affirmed
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The carriage carrying Hyeok Mulin and Yeon Jeokhwa smoothly crossed the mountain range and soon reached the outskirts of Guiju City.
The palace lord had instructed her to guide him until he left Guiju City, so it was finally time to part ways.
As Hyeok Mulin stepped down from the carriage and called for Jeok Mugun and Jeok Igum, Yeon Jeokhwa, who had alighted behind him, asked,
"Shall I take you all the way to your destination?"
She had no idea exactly where he was headed, but it had to be somewhere in the Central Plains anyway.
Feeling a pang of reluctance at their parting, Yeon Jeokhwa asked out of goodwill, but his response was unyielding.
"It looks like this is a good place to wrap things up."
At those words, Yeon Jeokhwa quickly let go of the idea.
She had picked up on his reluctance to reveal his whereabouts.
"Alright then. I'll head out. Thanks for your help in such an unexpected situation."
For their final farewell, Yeon Jeokhwa bowed her head politely with due decorum.
After offering her thanks, she climbed back aboard the carriage without delay.
Just as she was closing the door to depart, she paused.
In that brief instant, Yeon Jeokhwa agonized over it dozens, hundreds of times.
A moment later, she peeked halfway out and hesitantly ventured,
"We... we're really friends now, right?"
From her standpoint, it was a question laced with tremendous courage.
But.
"No...!"
Hyeok Mulin had already left the spot, walking far off with his subordinates.
"Huh... Huh......"
A dazed Yeon Jeokhwa stared at his retreating back as a hollow laugh slipped from her lips.
'Well, that figures. It's just like him.'
Having come to know Hyeok Mulin quite well by now, Yeon Jeokhwa let out a soft chuckle.
She shut the door once more, boarded the carriage, and spoke up.
"Let's head back."
There was no need to hear his answer.
She had learned it from him long ago.
True friendship wasn't about the length of time spent together, but its depth.
"Mm. This is deep enough."
Having gained her first true friend in life, Yeon Jeokhwa nodded with a satisfied smile.
After leaving the Blood Heaven Divine Palace's stronghold, Hyeok Mulin exited Guiju City not long after parting with Yeon Jeokhwa.
He hadn't gone far before halting his steps and turning back.
Jeok Mugun and Jeok Igum, trailing behind, likewise stopped and gazed at Hyeok Mulin.
"My lord?"
Jeok Mugun asked with a puzzled look, and Hyeok Mulin addressed him.
"Now, what will you do?"
Jeok Mugun had fulfilled his goal of finding his brother, and Jeok Igum had finally escaped a lifetime of brutal assassin drudgery to claim his freedom.
Hyeok Mulin had no intention of trying to persuade such men to stay by force.
True stability came only when one's body and heart aligned as one.
Even if he dragged them along, he couldn't expect genuine loyalty.
Thus, Hyeok Mulin imposed no choices upon them.
Jeok Mugun, now able to decide his own path, stared fixedly at Hyeok Mulin before dropping his gaze to the ground.
Noticing from the side, Jeok Igum spoke to him.
"Brother."
"......?"
As Jeok Mugun lifted his head, Jeok Igum continued calmly.
"Whatever choice you make, brother, I'll follow your will. So don't worry about me—please, just tell me what you want."
"What I want...?"
At those words, focus gradually sharpened in Jeok Mugun's pupils.
In truth, up until that very moment, even Jeok Mugun himself hadn't fully grasped his own feelings.
But with the option laid in his hands and the moment of decision upon him, he finally realized it.
That even after achieving his lifelong purpose, he still had things he wanted to do.
'Thank you, little brother.'
Pushed along by his own sibling—what a shameful elder brother he was.
Having reflected on his heart, Jeok Mugun met Hyeok Mulin's eyes with resolute determination.
"I......"
And he voiced the very thing he had hoped for deep down.
"...wish to continue serving my lord from here on."
Whoosh―
A gust swept in, rustling the branches.
A leaf, spinning lazily in the wind, gently settled back into place.
Though his voice rang with resolve, as Jeok Mugun spoke, a wave of guilt washed over him first.
He had once resolved to leave the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad, yet the Cult Leader had known and still extended a helping hand.
To now beg to rejoin after all that—should the Leader deem his past loyalty all for naught, he had no grounds to argue.
In that moment, Jeok Mugun felt nothing but shame toward himself.
But.
"No issue."
"......!"
Hyeok Mulin accepted his intent without a shred of hesitation, and emotions beyond words bloomed in Jeok Mugun's eyes.
Before long, overcome, he clenched his teeth tight.
"Thank you... thank you so much."
I'll stake this life on the Cult Leader without fail.
Jeok Mugun's loyalty surged skyward like a ferocious blaze.
Jeok Igum, who had watched his brother with a pleased expression, now turned to Hyeok Mulin.
"I, too, wish to serve my lord alongside my brother."
"Fine by me. But if you're to serve me, you'll need to prove your worth first."
"I've steeled myself for that. Should my skills prove lacking and fail to meet your standards, I'll withdraw of my own accord."
"Understood."
Thus did Hyeok Mulin bring the returning Jeok Mugun and newly joining Jeok Igum firmly under his wing.
Just as they set off anew toward Xinjiang, Jeok Igum cautiously asked Hyeok Mulin,
"My lord, if I may—where is your base located? Before we move, depending on the distance, it seems we'd best prepare in advance..."
As the youngest of their trio traveling together, it fell to him to handle the journey's minutiae, making his query about Hyeok Mulin's stronghold entirely reasonable.
Hyeok Mulin replied offhandedly.
"Xinjiang. Heavenly Mountain."
"Xinjiang—got it."
Heavenly Mountain in Xinjiang, no less—a longer trek than anticipated.
As Jeok Igum's mind swirled with all that needed packing, Hyeok Mulin addressed him.
"For this journey, I grant you provisional squad member status."
It was exactly what Jeok Igum had hoped for.
Probably placing him in the same squad as his brother to gauge his abilities from now on.
The thought that his test had begun made him tense up a bit.
He then turned to Jeok Mugun and whispered in his ear,
"Brother, what sort of squad is ours? What do we mainly do...?"
Jeok Mugun answered simply.
"Our squad operates on one principle alone: carrying out the Cult Leader's orders. That's it."
"I see. Carry out the Cult Leader's orders..."
He froze mid-step, stiffening like a statue.
Turning his head with a creak, he asked Jeok Mugun,
"Cul... Cult Leader?"
"That's right."
Jeok Mugun nodded matter-of-factly.
"We are the Cult Leader's personal guard—the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad."
Jeok Igum's movements halted, followed by his very thoughts.
Soon, his shocked gaze fixed on Hyeok Mulin.
"That means he is...!"
His head slowly tilted back until, with the blue sky as his final sight, Jeok Igum lost consciousness.
Before heading back to Xinjiang, Hyeok Mulin set foot in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province.
Gearing up took priority before such a long trip, so he made for the reliable All Gold Merchant House where he had a secure foothold.
Owner Geum Hyeonmong lit up the moment he saw Hyeok Mulin and welcomed him warmly.
"My lord! It's been ages! Right this way!"
He escorted Hyeok Mulin to the office and promptly produced the ledgers, as if he'd been waiting.
Though Hyeok Mulin was merely passing through, to him it felt like a sudden audit from his lord.
Yet he genuinely welcomed the visit, laying out the books transparently.
Hyeok Mulin eyed the ledgers before him briefly, then pushed them back.
"No need. I trust you've handled it well."
He had no plans to pore over the details from the start.
With systems in place now, rolling the money was their domain—and if they wanted to fudge the books, they could.
Even so, the reported funds to date alone confirmed Geum Hyeonmong ran a clean operation.
And the biggest reason of all was simply.
'Too much hassle.'
No point scrutinizing ledgers when he'd be gone soon anyway.
He neither needed cash nor lacked it.
Misreading the intent, Geum Hyeonmong gazed at Hyeok Mulin with moved reverence.
"My lord... to trust me this much..."
His eyes sparkled with admiration as he snapped to and summoned estate servants to prepare a meal indoors.
This kept word of Hyeok Mulin's visit from leaking out.
After a relaxed repast free of prying eyes, Hyeok Mulin exchanged brief words with him about the merchant house.
Glancing around, Hyeok Mulin remarked,
"This place has expanded quite a bit."
The estate felt larger than on his prior visit.
Geum Hyeonmong nodded.
"Yes. Our recent branch expansions have been thriving, so we've acquired this main estate with surplus funds. Naturally, we've set aside ample reserves for Southern Barbarian Wild Beast Palace support."
"I see."
Geum Hyeonmong followed with a report on aid to the Southern Barbarian Wild Beast Palace, then shared the latest on Sichuan and Central Plains affairs.
He focused on Murim Alliance and Four Black Union movements, with added notes on the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Tracking money flows demanded sensitivity to information flows as well, so the All Gold Merchant House gathered diverse intel.
As Geum Hyeonmong recited reports in turn, something occurred to him.
"Oh, and lately, there's been an odd rumor circulating in the markets. We haven't verified its truth yet, but..."
"Odd rumor?"
"Yes."
Hyeok Mulin regarded him, and Geum Hyeonmong nodded before speaking.
A shocking revelation soon flowed from his lips.
"From the Nine Martial Sovereigns."
The rumor that had reached Geum Hyeonmong's ears.
It was news potent enough to shake the world.
"They've decided to exclude the previous Heavenly Demon."