Chapter 284
Chapter 284
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 284
Chapter Title: The Mastermind Revealed
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When Danli Muk roared, Jeong Ji-ryong frowned and pointed to the seal stamped on the letter.
“The Vice Hall Master’s seal is clearly stamped here.”
“Nonsense!”
“Watch your tongue, Vice Hall Master.”
Jeong Ji-ryong’s gaze turned icy cold.
“Do you truly believe that I, the Hall Master, am here to have a leisurely chat with you?”
Only then did Danli Muk calm his temper and speak composedly.
“Think about it. What kind of fool would stamp his official seal on instructions for a spy?”
“...I never said they were instructions for a spy.”
At Jeong Ji-ryong’s words, Danli Muk’s face flushed crimson.
“W-Well, isn’t it obvious from the contents?”
But the expressions of Jeong Ji-ryong, the Mistress of Hwa-mil-won, and the five Hall Masters were not pleased.
The Council of Ten was not a place to determine guilt.
It was a meeting to discuss whether it was appropriate for the Inspection Hall to investigate if a Hall-Master-level figure was under suspicious circumstances.
“I will now announce the council’s decision.”
Jeong Ji-ryong said in a low voice.
“As of this moment, Vice Hall Master Danli’s duties will be suspended. Furthermore, he will be confined in the Iron Prison until the investigation is complete.”
He then addressed Jong Jeong-yak and Bu Eun-seol.
“A formal trial will be held again after the results of our Hall's investigation are released. At that time, Junior Commander of the Law Enforcement Hall and Seol-so, you will both have to testify once more.”
“Understood.”
“Then, this concludes the Council of Ten.”
I thought Danli Muk would resist with a thunderous roar.
But surprisingly, did he not accept the outcome calmly?
He said nothing and was led away obediently by the warriors of the Inspection Hall.
He merely glanced once at the Mistress of Hwa-mil-won and once at Jong Jeong-yak.
‘It’s over.’
Watching him, Jong Jeong-yak inwardly smiled in relief.
Danli Muk’s transgressions up to this point were undeniable facts.
If the Inspection Hall were to investigate, his crimes would eventually be laid bare.
“Good work.”
After the meeting, the Jeon-ju of Hwa-mil, Yang Seol, gently patted Jong Jeong-yak’s shoulder.
She had always believed in Jong Jeong-yak and had provided both material and moral support so that she could investigate the evidence of Danli Muk’s corruption.
“It is all thanks to you, Jeon-ju.”
As Jong Jeong-yak clasped her hands, Yang Seol smiled.
“We’ll have to see the investigation results, but if his crimes are revealed, you’ll have much more work to do.”
“Thank you.”
After Yang Seol left, Jong Jeong-yak looked at Bu Eun-seol and gave a relieved smile.
“We’re almost there now.”
And she smiled, feeling unburdened.
“Once the investigation results are out, he will be formally indicted. Young Master Seol, please testify one more time then. That will be the end of it.”
“Understood.”
The Murim Alliance was established to protect the peace of the martial world.
But not everyone here was righteous.
Wherever people gather, power and hierarchy exist. And that power and hierarchy are maintained by things far removed from justice.
In that light, embezzlement and corruption within the Murim Alliance were inevitable.
However, Danli Muk’s alleged crimes were of a far greater scale than what could be called inevitable corruption and embezzlement.
Moreover, his position was the Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, which strictly enforced the law. For such a man to embezzle elixirs and large sums of money coming into the Murim Alliance?
But since concrete evidence was needed, the Inspection Hall began to thoroughly search the Law Enforcement Hall and Danli Muk’s residence.
What if everything turned out to be true?
This would become a matter for the Alliance Leader himself to oversee.
*Rustle.*
When night fell, Bu Eun-seol began to search the Murim Alliance again.
Danli Muk’s investigation was now nearing its end.
Whatever the outcome, once the trial began, all Bu Eun-seol had to do was testify as a witness.
He couldn't stay in the Murim Alliance after that, yet he still hadn't found any evidence linking the Alliance to Sahyang.
‘It can’t be helped.’
You can’t expect to be full after the first bite.
Those were Bu Eun-seol’s own words.
The Murim Alliance might seem lax, but its internal security was thorough, and it was teeming with masters who surpassed him.
He hadn't expected to uncover the secrets of Sahyang and its headquarters, or the Murim Alliance, all at once through this incident.
‘What must be done this time is not finding Sahyang’s trail.’
—You must once again make your name known in the martial world.
This was the common opinion expressed by the commanders under him in the Demonic Cult’s meeting room.
Because of the recent audit of the Hell Blood Castle, Bu Eun-seol’s reputation within the Demonic Cult had taken a negative turn.
But Bu Eun-seol had already anticipated that.
If a man who had just seized power brandished his staff… even if it was the right thing to do, it would seem harsh and merciless.
‘I must use this opportunity to ensure no one ever questions my actions again.’
When So Ja-myeong brought him information about Jong Jeong-yak, Bu Eun-seol decided to use these rumors.
The corruption of a high-ranking official in the Murim Alliance.
It couldn't be his solitary act. He intended to dig up those connected to him, expose them to the martial world, and once again make a great name for himself.
So that no one would ever question his actions again. So that no one could use things like reputation to suppress his authority.
‘Today will be the last day.’
Stepping out of his quarters, Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin.
He wasn't out tonight to investigate any links to Sahyang.
He was going to thoroughly search Danli Muk's residence and office before the Inspection Hall could, to find every single person behind him.
‘This is why I had to bring Danli Muk down at the Council of Ten.’
Danli Muk’s residence and office were always thoroughly guarded by the Murim Alliance’s finest masters.
No matter how outstanding his Geuk-sok-mu-yeong was, he couldn't afford to take such a risk in the Murim Alliance.
Bu Eun-seol had created decisive evidence to have him imprisoned in the Iron Prison, thereby removing the masters who had been guarding the place so heavily.
*Sssshhh.*
Unleashing his Geuk-sok-mu-yeong, Bu Eun-seol instantly infiltrated Danli Muk’s residence, now devoid of its tight security.
*Ssshhhhh.*
There were guards patrolling here and there, but he easily evaded their notice and entered the office.
‘They’ve already done a sweep.’
Perhaps because the Inspection Hall had already searched it thoroughly, Danli Muk’s office was empty.
‘As expected. No hidden mechanisms.’
Danli Muk knew full well that Jong Jeong-yak was investigating his misdeeds.
And if things went wrong, the first place to be investigated would be his office.
It was highly unlikely he would install a secret storeroom or a hidden device in a place like this.
‘He made this instead.’
Activating his Gong-ryeong-sim-tong, Bu Eun-seol picked up a brush from the desk.
To anyone else, it looked like an ordinary brush, but to Bu Eun-seol's eyes, using Gong-sim-tong-ryeong, a unique pattern was visible.
He placed a fingernail at the end of the brush and injected his internal energy according to the pattern.
*Click.*
The end of the brush suddenly detached, and a rolled-up letter slid out.
“The Murim Alliance’s secret code.”
Gazing at the paper, Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin.
He had not yet learned how to decipher the Murim Alliance’s secret code.
Ultimately, two choices remained.
Should he give this to Jong Jeong-yak? Or should he secretly take it to the Demonic Cult for decryption?
‘She’ll definitely be suspicious.’
Even for a top-tier wanderer, if he claimed to have secretly infiltrated the residence of the Murim Alliance's Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall?
Rather than the authenticity of this secret message, she would become suspicious of Bu Eun-seol's identity.
‘Should I return to my headquarters with this?’
If it was related to Sahyang, it might be better to take it to the Demonic Cult rather than show it to Jong Jeong-yak.
What if it contained information about the Murim Alliance’s shame? She would immediately try to cover it up.
‘No, that’s not right either.’
If Jong Jeong-yak were an ordinary person, she would try to blindly cover up the Murim Alliance’s shame.
But she was a woman with a strong desire for success.
If it meant she could climb higher, she wouldn't care about the honor of the Murim Alliance.
‘I’ll have to take a gamble.’
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
He had decided to show the secret letter to Jong Jeong-yak.
The next day. Jong Jeong-yak’s office.
She blinked her large eyes as she looked at the secret letters she had received from Bu Eun-seol.
“Where on earth did you get these?”
Bu Eun-seol was honest.
“I went to Danli Muk’s office. Something seemed strange, you see.”
“What did you say?”
Her eyes widened.
To get to Danli Muk’s residence, one had to pass numerous guards.
That was difficult even for someone with incredible martial arts.
‘He’s not just a top-tier wanderer.’
Only then did she faintly realize that Bu Eun-seol not only possessed outstanding martial arts but had also come with some purpose.
“Young Master Seol. What is your objective?”
‘It’s finally come to this.’
“I will be frank.”
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and began to speak.
“For a long time, I have been investigating whether the Murim Alliance has been colluding with Sahyang to stir up the martial world.”
“What? Why?”
“Factions that sensed a strange current between the Murim Alliance and Sahyang commissioned me.”
Jong Jeong-yak said with a suspicious expression.
“So you approached me intentionally?”
“Of course not. I took on that job several years ago. It was by chance that Miss Dam hired me to be your escort.”
“Hmm.”
“From the moment I learned you were the Junior Commander of the Murim Alliance’s Law Enforcement Hall, I made up my mind. That I would also look into the things you were investigating.”
Jong Jeong-yak pressed her fingers to her forehead.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Bu Eun-seol had approached her deliberately.
But if it had been a planned approach, he would have to be someone with an information network on par with a major guild.
‘That can’t be it.’
Wasn’t Dam Yu-yeon one of the few information brokers in the martial world?
If Bu Eun-seol were a suspicious person, she wouldn’t have spent an astronomical sum to assign him to her.
“Alright.”
Jong Jeong-yak, realizing she had no other choice, spoke up.
“Then please share with me what you have found out so far. Then I will believe you.”
“Very well.”
Bu Eun-seol calmly explained the information he had gathered on Sahyang.
That based on the circumstances he had uncovered, Sahyang might be connected to the Murim Alliance.
He only omitted the fact that he was the heir to the Demonic Cult and the source of his information.
“I see.”
“Then can you tell me what is written on this paper?”
Jong Jeong-yak nodded and looked at the secret letters on the table with a dark expression.
“They are… sending the children.”
“The children?”
After deciphering the message, Jong Jeong-yak wore a look of despair.
“The money Vice Hall Master Danli embezzled was flowing to a Sal-mun.”
Her face was filled with fury.
“He was taking young children and raising them as assassins.”
Surprisingly, Danli Muk had been using the available funds to create an independent force of assassins.
“Why would the Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall do such a thing?”
Bu Eun-seol's question was also Jong Jeong-yak's.
If Danli Muk wanted, he could receive support from the Murim Alliance’s forces at any time.
So why would he go to the trouble of using a Sal-mun to turn children into assassins?
*Tatatak.*
Just then, the door flew open and Neung Jo-un rushed in.
“Junior Commander.”
Seeing Neung Jo-un’s panicked eyes, Jong Jeong-yak had a bad feeling.
“What is it?”
“Well… Vice Hall Master Danli has taken his own life in the Iron Prison.”
“What?”
“It seems he was afraid all his misdeeds would be exposed and committed suicide.”
“That can’t be right.”
Jong Jeong-yak shook her head.
This was Danli Muk, a man who had tried to have her killed using assassins and had stubbornly kept his mouth shut even while locked in the Iron Prison.
For him to commit suicide when no proper evidence had even come out yet?
“He was silenced.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Bu Eun-seol answered in a low voice.
“He didn’t commit suicide. He was silenced.”
He then stared intently at Jong Jeong-yak.
“As the Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, he would have no need for assassins made up of young children.”
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“There must be an accomplice, or a superior. If he were to open his mouth, wouldn't that be troublesome for them?”
“In that case…”
“Someone who knows Danli Muk well must have killed him.”
In that moment, a realization flashed through Jong Jeong-yak’s mind.
How she had learned that the Murim Alliance’s elixirs were disappearing.
And how she had figured out that the incident was occurring within the upper echelons.
“I’ll be right back.”
Jong Jeong-yak ran outside as if possessed.
The place she finally arrived at was the Hwa-mil-won.
“Where is the Mistress?”
“Please wait a moment.”
The guard went inside for a moment, then returned and said in a polite voice.
“The Mistress has invited you to the Pear Blossom Pavilion.”
Following the guard’s guidance, Jong Jeong-yak entered the Pear Blossom Pavilion within the Hwa-mil-won.
There, in a beautifully decorated garden, the Mistress of Hwa-mil-won, Yang Seol, was drinking tea.
“What brings you here so suddenly, at this hour?”
Yang Seol showed an elegant smile.
“Isn’t this the time you should be busy with your investigation?”
“Was it you, Mistress?”
Jong Jeong-yak spoke with an expression of disbelief.
“Why? You’ve helped me so much until now, haven’t you?”
Her cry was filled with certainty and a sense of betrayal.
Even in this unexpected situation, Yang Seol maintained a calm expression.
After a long silence, she shook her head with a deep sigh.
“So you’ve finally figured it out.”
In that instant, Jong Jeong-yak’s heart was torn to shreds.
She had been pointed at countless times as someone blinded by the pursuit of success.
Of course, it was true that she wanted to reach a position where no one could look down on her.
But all of that was because she respected the Mistress of Hwa-mil-won, Yang Seol, and it was a longing to become like her.
She, too, was a disciple from a small sect called the Cheong-hyang-mun, and had risen to the position of Mistress of Hwa-mil-won.
Yang Seol, who had reached a supreme position solely through her own efforts. Jong Jeong-yak had wanted to be like her.
“I have always followed and respected you like a master.”
“…”
“Why couldn’t you have just left me alone!”
Jong Jeong-yak, who had been hanging her head with a sorrowful expression, shouted again.
“Why did you always help me? Why did you become my shadow, allowing me to investigate Vice Hall Master Danli?”
“Things in the world don’t always go as planned.”
Yang Seol smiled faintly.
“Danli Muk was nothing more than a wagging dog to me. But as I had him do various things, he learned a great deal.”
“…”
“And he used that as leverage to demand various things from me. A mere dog I had raised.”
Yang Seol smiled bitterly.
“So I used you to pin the blame on him. In the Murim Alliance, the only Junior Commander of the Law Enforcement Hall who could touch Danli Muk was you, blinded by your ambition.”
Jong Jeong-yak’s heart shattered into pieces.
She was talented, but she had a strong inferiority complex and a great desire for success.
And in the eyes of the powerful, such a personality was just an easy piece to use.
Yang Seol shook her head as if it were a pity.
“This plan was perfect. I don’t know where it went wrong.”
“Are you admitting to everything?”
“What is there to admit?”
Yang Seol said with a bright smile.
“I just need to clean everything up, that’s all.”
“Will that be possible?”
“From the moment I heard you were coming here, I had already ordered the masters of the Inspection Hall to arrest your subordinate.”
Seeing through Jong Jeong-yak’s thoughts, she smiled confidently.
“The charge is for fabricating the entire case against Danli Muk.”
“I will go directly to the Alliance Leader and request his approval.”
“That’s fine too.”
She took a sip of her tea.
“But I’ll have to write that his resistance was so severe that he had to be killed on the spot.”
Jong Jeong-yak trembled.
It was all over now.
The world revolves around those with power. No matter how hard one tries, there are things that cannot be overcome.
“Why did you do this?”
Jong Jeong-yak voiced the last question in her mind.
“You didn’t need to do something like this, Mistress.”
It was no exaggeration to say that Yang Seol, from the Cheong-hyang-mun, had reached the highest position a common martial artist could attain.
So why would she do such a thing?
“Huhu. You still don’t understand.”
Yang Seol smiled brightly.
“In the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult. There are spies in both places. Spies who have taken root long ago.”
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol’s story flashed through Jong Jeong-yak’s mind.
“So the reason you succeeded, Jeon-ju… was because you received help from some faction.”
“Something like that.”
In that instant, a look of contempt filled Jong Jeong-yak’s eyes.
To think that Yang Seol, whom she had always respected and wanted to be like, had reached her position merely by using her connections.
“Since all your questions have been answered, let’s get started.”
Yang Seol slowly extended her hand.
Her fingernails were all stained blue. It was clear she had mastered a nefarious poison art.
*Zzzing.*
She had merely extended her hand, yet Jong Jeong-yak’s limbs were paralyzed as if bound by ropes.
“Ugh.”
The more she struggled, the worse the paralysis became.
“We have brought him.”
At that moment, a low voice was heard, and several figures threw down a man whose acupoints had been sealed.
It was Neung Jo-un.
“Junior Commander.”
Neung Jo-un’s body was a mess, as if he had been severely injured.
“What about Young Master Seol?”
“The masters of the Sword Unit suddenly rushed in and dragged him away.”
Hearing this, Yang Seol smiled brightly.
“Getting rid of one wanderer is no big deal. There was no need to fabricate evidence; I had him immediately sent to the Bottomless Prison for his connection to Vice Hall Master Danli’s suicide.”
“Will that be so easy?”
“Don’t hold onto false hope. I already know that he is not only the successor to the Chil-hyeon-mun’s true teachings but also a top-tier wanderer from Jeok-cheon-mak-ji.”
Yang Seol said with a cold smile.
“That’s why I sent the entire Dragon God Sword Unit.”
Jong Jeong-yak’s face hardened.
Yang Seol had already been moving meticulously to erase everything.
“Now, let’s end this.”
As the Mistress of Hwa-mil-won powerfully drew upon her poison art, Jong Jeong-yak’s body began to move against her will.
But just then,
“Pfft!”
Suddenly, Neung Jo-un coughed up blood and broke free of his sealed acupoints. At the same time, he instantly launched a sword strike at Yang Seol.
*Swish!*
As she lightly dodged, Neung Jo-un quickly moved to block Jong Jeong-yak’s path and said.
“Run!”
“Deputy Neung!”
“There’s no time!”
A haze of true qi was rising from his body.
At the final moment, he had used his Origin Essence True Qi to forcibly break his sealed acupoints, intending to sacrifice his life to let Jong Jeong-yak escape.
“Hurry!”
*Shing! Whoosh!*
Neung Jo-un began to unleash both his dagger techniques and swordsmanship simultaneously.
Because he was using his Origin Essence True Qi, the power of his swordsmanship and dagger techniques seemed several times stronger than usual.
“Kuh.”
Jong Jeong-yak bit her lip and turned.
If she hesitated here, Neung Jo-un’s life-risking sacrifice would be for nothing.
*Thud!*
But she couldn’t even take three steps before her body was paralyzed again.
“The little brats are dreaming.”
In a flash, Yang Seol had subdued Neung Jo-un in an instant and sealed her acupoints.
“Did my prowess seem so pathetic?”
Yang Seol sneered.
“Those with low martial skill always have this misconception. That if they draw out their Origin Essence True Qi, it can be a final, decisive move.”
She pointed a finger at Neung Jo-un, whose face was pale from having his acupoints sealed while using his Origin Essence True Qi.
“Farewell.”
The moment her finger moved, a hole would be instantly bored through Jong Jeong-yak's head.
‘This is the end.’
Jong Jeong-yak closed her eyes.
In the end, despite all her efforts, she had to end her regret-filled life without achieving anything.
*Crack. Craaack.*
But then, a crack suddenly began to form on the wall.
*Ruuuumble.*
The thick wall collapsed entirely, and a person slowly walked out.
It was Bu Eun-seol.