Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Ten Nights Sect?
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“What? Ten Nights Sect?”
Cheon Igae let out a hollow laugh.
It was utter nonsense.
Any other of the Five Mad Gates might pull something like this, but not the Ten Nights Sect.
Who was the Ten Nights Sect Leader?
The Sect Leader was more cunning and ruthless than any master Cheon Igae had ever seen.
He was not the type to devise such an obvious scheme.
‘Especially that guy. He wouldn’t stoop to hiding a wanted criminal like this.’
Recalling for a moment the cold, sneering gaze of the Ten Nights Sect Leader he had glimpsed in the past, Cheon Igae glared at Manbyeonggoe.
“Don’t spout such rubbish.”
His voice rose slightly.
“He’s not careless. Are you trying to use the Ten Nights Sect Leader’s name to weasel out of this?”
Manbyeonggoe flinched at the pointed rebuttals that followed one after another.
The name Ten Nights Sect Leader was like the heavens to an unorthodox warrior like him—an absolute authority he could not defy.
Especially since he was a wanted criminal. If he dragged the unrelated Sect Leader into this and it turned out to be a lie, the backlash would be on another level entirely.
Cheon Igae glared at Manbyeonggoe.
“Do you think I’m insane enough to invoke the Ten Nights Sect Leader’s name?”
Manbyeonggoe hardened his expression and spoke.
He was already backed into a corner.
By claiming the Ten Nights Sect had sheltered him, he had made them his mortal enemies.
‘No, the Ten Nights Sect will just disavow me.’
The outcome was obvious.
They would shut their mouths tight, claiming no connection, and play dumb.
‘Then why did they leave me behind in Sayu Valley alone? Did they anticipate these guys would come?’
His eyes grew cold.
Thinking calmly, something felt off.
Was there any reason for them to suddenly abandon him alone?
Not particularly.
Yet they had left...
‘They planned to discard me from the start.’
Manbyeonggoe’s face twisted.
At the same time, the last remnants of his hesitation vanished swiftly.
“It was definitely the Ten Nights Sect.”
“...Hah, you expect me to believe that?”
“I saw the Ten Nights Sect Leader myself.”
Though his expression was bold, Manbyeonggoe’s voice trembled. It was due to the fear creeping up from deep within.
‘He’s not lying.’
Reading the tremor in his voice, eyes, and face, Cheon Igae furrowed his brow.
He was the Beggar Clan’s Supreme Elder.
Dealing with tangled webs of people and reading their psyches was his daily work.
For him, deciphering the emotions of someone this cornered was easier than anything.
But realizing that only plunged him deeper into contradiction.
‘The Ten Nights Sect Leader hiding a wanted criminal? That meticulous bastard? No way. But it doesn’t feel like a lie.’
His gaze pierced Manbyeonggoe.
Thanks to the internal injury pills and golden sore salve, he seemed able to speak more easily, but he was still a critically wounded man teetering on death’s door.
‘He’s not the type to risk his life for loyalty.’
He had met Manbyeonggoe only twice.
Even those meetings were brief, but Cheon Igae had seen through his character clearly.
A selfish bastard who valued his own life above all else.
Such a man didn’t seem like he’d lie with death staring him in the face.
Which meant his words were true.
His head suddenly grew complicated.
‘Why? Why would the Ten Nights Sect take such a risky move? Could someone have impersonated the Sect Leader and fooled this guy?’
All sorts of doubts bubbled up, tangling his mind like a knotted thread.
‘If only it were someone clear-cut, it wouldn’t be this messy.’
If he were definitively tied to the Ten Nights Sect or unrelated, it would be straightforward.
Of all people, it had to be this wanted criminal whose words were hardest to believe.
Cheon Igae shook his head vigorously.
What good was agonizing over it?
More importantly, he needed to extract information from the bastard in front of him right now.
Cheon Igae frowned and asked.
“Then why did the Ten Nights Sect take you in?”
“...They proposed a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Infiltrate as the steward of Sayu Valley, seize control from within, and they’d hide me from the eyes of the martial world. And I...”
Manbyeonggoe trailed off, then his eyes widened as he spat out in agitation.
“I had no choice back then. To survive, I had to do it.”
His entire body trembled faintly.
As a wanted criminal, he had no place to set foot in the martial world—no, in the Central Plains.
And venturing to the borderlands? If word spread there...
Death was certain.
Cheon Igae’s brow furrowed deeper.
Judging by Manbyeonggoe’s reactions, it all seemed true.
But suspicion lingered.
“How can I trust that?”
“I’ve only told the truth. And I have no proof to back it up—nothing at all.”
“So it could still be a lie.”
“That’s why I didn’t say anything earlier?”
Manbyeonggoe’s voice was flat.
“I figured there was nothing to gain from me.”
It was a cold, accurate assessment.
Manbyeonggoe knew his position.
Useful or discarded.
That was the extent of his value.
And he accepted that line, never crossing it.
That was why he had hidden so well despite years of villainy.
‘Except for that one mistake.’
Manbyeonggoe bit his lip.
His gut twisted.
‘Damn it! How was I supposed to know that brat was the granddaughter of the Phantom Gate Leader?’
It was so unjust.
He had simply tested a new weapon on a passing child, as usual.
But that was his fatal error.
The child was not just from a righteous faction but connected to the military—the granddaughter of the Phantom Gate Leader.
The Leader mobilized his connections and wealth to track him down.
And that was how his tail was caught.
‘Damn. If that brat hadn’t gotten in my way and caught my eye...’
He ground his teeth inwardly.
He resented the child who had shattered his peaceful routine.
‘Should’ve fed her to the fish!’
As he vented his rage silently.
‘Ten Nights Sect Leader... Whoever it is, they’re cunning.’
Cheonhwi, who had been listening to their conversation, stroked his chin. Unlike Cheon Igae, who still harbored some doubt, Cheonhwi believed Manbyeonggoe’s words.
It was simple.
As a wanted criminal, Manbyeonggoe was easy to disavow if exposed.
Even if he claimed it himself, people would scoff, “Believe a wanted man?” and dismiss it as nonsense.
‘And strays with nowhere to go are easy to pick up.’
From the Ten Nights Sect’s perspective, he was a convenient pawn.
Sure, failure would invite suspicion like this.
‘But that’s a risk worth taking.’
Cheonhwi thought it obvious.
Taking risks was the fate—and duty—of those who led sects.
And this risk was minimal.
Gain territory on success, mere suspicion on failure?
‘A golden opportunity.’
Cheonhwi and Cheon Igae differed here.
The gap stemmed from experience leading great sects.
‘Looks like their talk is wrapping up.’
Gazing at Cheon Igae lost in thought, Cheonhwi approached Manbyeonggoe.
“...!”
Manbyeonggoe flinched and glanced toward Cheon Igae.
But.
‘...Damn!’
Cheon Igae was deep in contemplation.
His chest, sealed with acupuncture and treated with golden salve, throbbed.
Squish—
Then Cheonhwi suddenly extended his hand.
A pill rested on his palm.
“What’s this?”
Manbyeonggoe swallowed dryly upon recognizing the pill and parted his lips.
“...That’s a Delirium Pill.”
“Is that all? You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
“What do you... Khek!”
Cheonhwi stomped on his chest.
The barely healed wound tore open in an instant.
Blood seeped out again.
“Gaaah!”
Screams echoed everywhere.
But Cheonhwi spoke calmly, as if he hadn’t heard.
“I said answer the question.”
Cheonhwi’s eyes gleamed faintly.
“...!”
Manbyeonggoe’s eyes bulged.
The moment their gazes met, the surging pain vanished, replaced by overwhelming terror that dominated his body.
“If you consume a Delirium Pill, you can momentarily wield innate true qi. It devours your lifespan but grants a higher realm of achievement, uh, temporarily.”
Manbyeonggoe’s mouth moved frantically.
It was involuntary.
He wasn’t strong enough—physically or mentally—to resist that overwhelming presence.
“What about the energy eroding your upper dantian?”
Manbyeonggoe’s eyes widened like saucers.
“H-How did you...”
“It’s clear as day to my eyes.”
Manbyeonggoe swallowed again as Cheonhwi pointed to his eye.
“Continued consumption of Delirium Pills allows evil qi to erode the upper dantian, causing loss of sanity. Eventually, you become less intelligent than a child, so they, uh, said... anyone could exploit you!”
“Evil qi invading the upper dantian... Sounds a lot like solitude poison.”
Cheonhwi murmured while eyeing the pill.
“Who made it?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Cheonhwi pressed his foot harder.
“Kuh, gack! I-I really don’t know! Th-That’s everything I know... Gack!”
Even as he spat blood, he insisted ignorance. Cheonhwi lifted his foot and said.
“So they fed it to the Valley Lord on purpose. To bring Sayu Valley under their control.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Not just that. They could discard you later as a scapegoat when escaping the Ten Nights Sect’s eyes. So you grabbed the chance eagerly.”
“...!”
Manbyeonggoe’s eyes widened.
It felt like Cheonhwi had seen straight through his innermost thoughts.
“Why? Am I wrong?”
“N-No... You’re right. The Ten Nights Sect wasn’t fully trustworthy, so I prepared my own escape...”
“Now you’re talking.”
Cheonhwi pocketed the pill.
“Oh, right...”
Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes.
At the same time, chilling killing intent poured solely onto Manbyeonggoe, constricting him.
“Why attack the Hwayu Escort Bureau?”
“Th-They acted on their own.”
“Reason?”
“I-I don’t know the details...”
As Cheonhwi raised his foot again.
“W-Wait, I have a guess!”
Manbyeonggoe, pale from repeated agony, squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“What?”
“The Hwayu Escort Bureau recently encroached on White Ghost Castle’s trade routes, so they probably attacked to take them back!”
“White Ghost Castle’s trade routes?”
Cheonhwi scoffed.
“What? I thought they hit Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan to swallow all of Shaanxi, but it was just scraps from White Ghost Castle?”
“...!”
Manbyeonggoe’s jaw dropped at Cheonhwi’s ambitious words.
Cheonhwi continued.
“So, in short, the Ten Nights Sect manipulated Sayu Valley from behind to seize White Ghost Castle’s power?”
“Y-Yes.”
“And they targeted the expanding Hwayu Escort Bureau to check them?”
“Probably...”
“Oh ho, look at these guys? They poked Mount Hua over something that petty?”
Cheonhwi’s eyes narrowed.
In that instant, ghostly flames flickered in his gaze before vanishing swiftly.
“Keh, khek!”
Manbyeonggoe choked just as he glimpsed it. Cheonhwi turned away sharply.
“Kuh!”
Manbyeonggoe groaned belatedly.
With the oppressive aura gone, delayed pain surged.
“Ugh...”
As he groaned, he glanced at Cheon Igae and struggled to move his lips.
“Wh-When... treatment...?”
At those words, Cheon Igae snapped out of his reverie and nodded.
“Don’t worry. A promise is a promise.”
Cheon Igae expertly tore strips of cloth.
‘Stop the bleeding first...?’
Thinking he was bandaging the wound, Manbyeonggoe exhaled in relief and weakly extended his hands.
But then.
“Guhk!”
Cheon Igae stuffed cloth into the fallen Manbyeonggoe’s mouth. Then he bound it tightly with a long strip, sealing it shut.
It was a binding technique honed by years in the jianghu.
“...Mmph, mmph!”
Manbyeonggoe’s eyes bulged.
His glare screamed, What the hell is this?
“I’ll treat you as promised. Can’t have you dying here.”
Cheon Igae grinned.
“You need to meet the families of those you wronged in the underworld prison, right?”
“...?!”
Bloodshot veins popped in Manbyeonggoe’s eyes.
He could vividly imagine what awaited if he met them.
Especially the Phantom Gate Leader.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
As bone-chilling dread crawled up his spine and he thrashed.
Tap.
Cheon Igae sealed Manbyeonggoe’s sleep acupoint.
Looking at Cheonhwi, he said.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’ll take custody of this one.”
“Do as you like.”
Cheonhwi replied without sparing them a glance.
He had gotten all the information needed.
And if there was more, Cheon Igae would relay it.
Nothing to regret.
‘Besides, there’s that thing I need to handle soon anyway.’
Cheonhwi’s eyes narrowed.
Attacking Sayu Valley was tantamount to declaring war on the Four Shaanxi Powers.
After all, they had recently allied.
Yet Sayu Valley was now wiped out?
They had no choice but to move.
‘Once word spreads that Sayu Valley fell, they’ll mobilize in earnest.’
Now, one of two things would happen.
Surrender.
Or all-out war.
Cheonhwi naturally assumed the latter. They likely had backers manipulating them like Sayu Valley.
‘No way they’d offer surrender.’
Cheonhwi’s eyes narrowed again.
But only briefly.
‘Well, that’s for later. For now, take the Flying Sword Squad and Flame Spirit Squad...’
As Cheonhwi moved to step away.
“Martial Uncle!”
“Junior Brother!”
Jeokgeom and Cheonhyang led the Flying Sword Squad and Flame Spirit Squad, having finished cleaning up Sayu Valley, rushing over.
Seeing them, Cheonhwi smiled.
“Shall we head back to Mount Hua?”