Chapter 71
Chapter 71
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: For the Sake of Honor (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"My opinion doesn't matter. What matters is the decision of the Council of Elders."
"Does the Sect Leader share the same view?"
"Well..."
"Why should the Council of Elders represent the will of the entire Wudang Sect?"
"That's..."
Dang Yu-wol's words struck Hye-cheon squarely in the chest without mercy.
"The Council of Elders isn't the Sect Leader."
"...The Sect Leader has already approved it."
"Then ask once more."
Dang Yu-wol held up the plaque given to him by Gu Hwan-gae.
Hye-cheon's eyes sharpened as he stared at it intently.
"Do you think Wudang will accept the imperial court's unjust command?"
Even the honorifics had vanished.
Yet Dang Yu-wol's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Not particularly."
He shrugged lightly and spoke nonchalantly.
"I simply thought the Sect Leader might need this opportunity."
'The Wudang Sect Leader I saw before my regression was truly a righteous man.'
-I think the same.
A man like that wouldn't start something like this based solely on a few witnesses.
Dang Yu-wol agreed with Ye-ui's assessment.
'Perhaps he's being pressured by the Council of Elders.'
-Well... with witnesses coming forward and things heading that way, yeah.
'He's a man of integrity.'
In the end, he'd have no choice but to follow the will of the majority—the Council of Elders.
Dang Yu-wol closed his eyes briefly.
Before his regression, the Wudang Sect had been powerful.
'If it can become even stronger, it's better to help.'
"Hoo... To be honest, something's off with the current Council of Elders."
The answer had finally come.
And it was the one Dang Yu-wol wanted.
"As expected. You believe Hye-gak didn't do it either."
"No other Taoist loves Wudang as much as Hye-gak."
Hye-cheon let out a sigh.
"But all the evidence and witnesses point to him as the culprit."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If we must uphold Wudang's laws and order, there's no helping it."
What a rigid man.
But that very rigidity showed how much he loved Wudang.
"Can you uncover the truth?"
"I can't help directly. I can't leave the Repentance Cave, after all."
Regret tinged his voice.
"But I can mobilize my disciples."
He was a Taoist of the Hye-ja generation, the same rank as the Sect Leader.
His disciples wouldn't be weak by any means.
To borrow the power of Wudang Taoists from within Wudang itself?
There was nothing better.
"This sudden offer feels a bit suspicious."
"Don't take it if you don't want to."
"Haha, no, it's fine. I thought you were a blockhead, but you even crack jokes."
Gu Hwan-gae chuckled and slapped Hye-cheon's back heartily.
"Let's go. From here on, it's the E-grade sector, so stay sharp."
The moment they opened the firmly shut iron gate and stepped inside.
Shouts erupted from dozens of cells.
"Kuhahaha! A young punk's come in!"
"Help me! Aid me, and I'll teach you a technique to overturn the world!"
"Who needs that old fart's martial arts? Help me!"
"Help me, and I'll make you the greatest assassin there is!"
"Give me blood! Blood and flesh!!"
"I'll teach you the fastest swordsmanship in the world!!"
The freaks screamed like banshees from behind the bars.
It was all aimed at tempting Dang Yu-wol, the youngest among them.
"Shut your traps, you vermin!!"
"Kekekeke. Get lost, you stupid Taoist!!"
"What can you do besides yap from beyond the bars?!"
"What? Gonna kill me? Try it, idiot!!"
"Just kill me! If you're gonna cripple my inner energy and lock me here till I rot!!"
The Repentance Cave was for repentance.
Not for execution.
They knew Hye-cheon couldn't kill them, which was why they shouted so brazenly.
"Amitabha...!!"
Jeers and screams burst forth.
Hye-cheon ground his teeth toward them.
To him, Dang Yu-wol said softly,
"Just use poison. It won't kill them, but it'll hurt like hell."
"......"
The Repentance Cave fell silent in an instant.
Dang Yu-wol extended his hand calmly toward them.
"Gaaahhh!!"
His poison technique afflicted one of the prisoners.
The man immediately unleashed a bloodcurdling scream.
"Hic..."
"W-what the hell is that..."
These were men seasoned in the jianghu, numb to pain.
Even they could barely endure it.
"Kill me!! Kill me!! Just kill me... Gaaahhh!!"
All who had mocked Hye-cheon earlier tasted the poison once each.
They writhed in agony, gasping for breath.
"Anyone else want a taste?"
The demons clinging to the bars slunk back to the corners.
'That crazy bastard...'
'Using poison in Wudang's Repentance Cave...'
'Vicious prick...'
A madman using poison freely in Wudang.
Engaging such a one was dangerous in itself.
As the prisoners quieted at once, Dang Yu-wol turned to Hye-cheon.
"Shall we go?"
"...Can you share some of that poison?"
Dang Yu-wol glanced at the bars.
The prisoners, pale-faced, frantically shook their heads.
So he grinned broadly and said,
"Of course. I'll give you plenty—mix it in their food."
The prisoners despaired.
Passing them, they opened another door.
Unlike before, this area was quiet.
"No prisoners here?"
"Yes."
"Perfect."
At the far end sat a Taoist in the lotus position.
"Hye-gak, this is the guy. How'd you end up here?"
"That voice... Haha, the beggar's come."
The old man slowly opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
Gu Hwan-gae sighed deeply toward him and pulled something from his bosom.
"Eat this first."
"I'm a criminal."
"Did you really do it?"
"No, I didn't. But if Wudang deems me a criminal, then I must be one."
Facing a Taoist as rigid as Hye-cheon, Dang Yu-wol slowly spoke.
"Did you truly analyze Wudang's martial arts and create countermeasures?"
"And you are...?"
"Dang Yu-wol of the Tang Clan."
After a brief explanation, he pointed to Gu Hwan-gae.
"A close friend of Thousand-Li Flying Swallow, sir."
"I see... My answer to your question is simple."
Hye-gak was resolute.
Not a trace of shame.
"No."
"Then what exactly happened?"
He let out a groan.
After much hesitation, he finally spoke.
"A Blood Cultist."
At the words "Blood Cultist," Gu Hwan-gae recoiled in shock.
But Hye-cheon's expression darkened.
"Wasn't it concluded there were no spies in Wudang?"
"The Vice Elder was a Blood Cultist."
"Vice Elder? Who's that?"
"The one leading the Council of Elders now. Senior to Hye-ja generation."
'An old monster.'
Wudang Taoists of the Hye-ja generation were in their fifties.
The Su-ja generation above them was at least seventy.
In the jianghu, that age earned the title "old monster" without issue.
"But the Vice Elder brought witnesses and evidence."
Hye-cheon spoke with a mix of resolve and regret, his words heavy.
"Unlike you."
"It's fabricated."
"Without any evidence or witnesses?"
Hye-cheon shook his head regretfully.
"No one will believe that."
The conversation between Hye-gak and Hye-cheon continued.
"Sir."
The Vice Elder was someone who could be called a former elder.
Even Gu Hwan-gae found it hard to believe he was a Blood Cultist.
In his confusion, he turned to Dang Yu-wol.
"...What is it?"
"For now, I believe Elder Hye-gak's words are true."
"Why?"
"I have my own information."
No need to reveal the source was his regression.
"Don't we suspect a Blood Cult-related spy even in Sacheon right now?"
"...True."
"Wudang is no different."
"Hm. But he's the leader of the Council of Elders."
He knew the Vice Elder's reputation.
A man who had lived for Wudang for so long.
"What would he lack to side with the Blood Cult?"
"No one truly knows another's heart."
Gu Hwan-gae had no retort to that.
"But we can't accuse the Vice Elder of being a Blood Cultist without proof."
Who was the Vice Elder?
A master from the previous generation, a living witness to Wudang's history.
To brand someone even the Sect Leader honored as a Blood Cultist?
"That would mean warring with Wudang."
"Well, yeah. But proof solves everything, right?"
"Can you find it?"
-If he's cultivated Blood Arts, it wouldn't be hard...
'The problem is he might not have.'
Not all Blood Cultists became so because of Blood Arts.
Some were genuinely drawn to the cult's ideals.
-Before your regression, there were intact orthodox masters who defected to the Blood Cult.
'True... but it's worth trying.'
-There's a drug to confirm if someone's a Blood Cultist.
'Such a thing exists? I'd know if it did.'
Not boasting, but he knew every secret art, poison, and drug of the Blood Cult.
This was new to him.
-It wasn't used in the Blood Cult during your time.
Ye-ui explained leisurely.
-It's called the Blood Rage Pill. It makes the blood energy in the body go berserk.
'Impressive.'
-But using it strengthens the target's blood energy, making them trickier to handle.
'Trickier or not, this is Wudang.'
There were plenty who could fight.
Dang Yu-wol explained it to everyone.
"What? Is that real?"
"How do you even know about that?"
Hye-gak and Hye-cheon, listening intently, asked.
If it truly worked, Hye-gak's false charge could be cleared.
"One of the Tang Clan's secret techniques."
"Just how many secrets does the Tang Clan have?"
While Gu Hwan-gae was dumbfounded, Hye-cheon and Hye-gak were serious.
They seemed ready to provide anything needed.
"I need ingredients."
A lot of them.
"What do you need? Just say it."
"First, the Azure Spirit Pill and..."
An elixir rivaling Shaolin's Small Return Pill.
Hye-cheon's face hardened.
"Tang fellow. I have a Little Heavenly Pill."
"How does someone locked in the Repentance Cave have that...?"
"The verdict hasn't been formally issued yet."
The Sect Leader had confined Hye-gak here following the Council of Elders' opinion.
p>But unlike other criminals, his dantian wasn't crippled nor his limbs' meridians severed.
"The Sect Leader senior brother is considering my position as best he can."
The Sect Leader knew well how rigid and devoted to Wudang Hye-gak was.
Thus, he'd delayed the judgment to investigate further.
Thanks to that, he could keep the Azure Spirit Pill.
-Wudang is Wudang.
'That's why the Blood Cult prepared so much before striking.'
Take the Vice Elder alone.
Infiltrated for so long.
And seized control so meticulously.
-Before regression, even with Blood Cultists interfering, Wudang's prestige was untouchable.
'If we thwart the Blood Cult's schemes here, nothing could be better.'
They could still hold strong now.
"I'll make the drug."
The two Taoists' faces brightened at Dang Yu-wol's words.
"But please don't reveal our involvement in this."
"Why not?"
This was aiding Wudang.
One of the Nine Great Sects, a pillar of the orthodox factions.
It was tremendous honor for any jianghu warrior.
"I'm not particularly interested in honor."
The two Taoists looked at Dang Yu-wol curiously.
Young people usually craved fame.
"I could recommend you to the Murim Alliance."
"You might even become a Division Leader."
"But if so, wouldn't Wudang's dirty laundry be exposed?"
Wudang needed to grow stronger.
Strong enough to firmly grasp the log when the Blood Cult struck.