Chapter 472: Witnessing the Truth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 472: Witnessing the Truth
"That is preposterous!"
Song Gyeong roared as he glared at Ja Il-gwang.
What on earth was this man saying?
The culprit who had raped and murdered his most beloved daughter? The one who had desecrated her body so brutally that it wasn't even intact?
That person was Lee Jae-won, the very paragon of chivalry whom the world respected most?
It was nonsense. It was the most blatant load of bullshit he had ever heard.
How could the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, the hero of the Great War of Righteousness and Demons, commit such a base and loathsome act? What could he possibly have to gain?
It was impossible to believe. No, he refused to believe it.
"You finally show your true colors, you demonic spawn!"
Yoon Kang-jin, the Sect Leader of the Geumjeop Sect standing nearby, bellowed. He was convinced that Ja Il-gwang was trying to sow discord between the Cheonmu Alliance and the various sects.
"This isn't even worth listening to. Kill him!"
"No, capture him and bring him before the Alliance Leader! Let’s see if he can spout the same lies to his face!"
"Right! He’s right! Seize him at once!"
One by one, the people in the hall began to rise from their seats, intent on subduing Ja Il-gwang.
"Enough!"
Suddenly, an old man who had been sitting quietly in a corner raised his voice.
Wuuuuuuuuung.
A colossal pressure erupted from him, completely blanketing the hall.
"..."
"..."
Those exposed to that overwhelming momentum instantly clamped their mouths shut. They were utterly suppressed by the sheer weight of his presence.
"Why don't we hear him out first?"
The old man scanned the room and spoke softly.
"And who are you, old man, to tell us what to do?"
A young man, feeling humiliated by the fact that he had been intimidated by an elder, spoke up with a deep scowl.
"This old man’s name is Yoon Je-gyeom."
The elder replied with a calm expression.
"Yoon Je-gyeom!?"
"The Sword Emperor!?"
"Why is the Great Swordsman of the Murim Alliance here!?"
Exclamations of shock rippled through the crowd. The old man’s reputation was legendary.
Sword Emperor Yoon Je-gyeom.
Thirty years ago, back when the Murim Alliance existed before the Cheonmu Alliance, he was a supreme master whose swordsmanship reached such divine heights that even the Alliance Leader of that time deferred to him. He was the man who had led the Black Moon Squad, the most renowned strike force in the Murim.
Now, he was a man who had 'washed his hands in a golden basin,' retiring to leave all the grievances of the martial world behind.
That man was the Sword Emperor, Yoon Je-gyeom.
It was impossible not to be shocked. A legendary master of the previous generation, who had declared he would live out his days in seclusion, had suddenly appeared.
"Senior Yoon... how... why are you here?"
Song Gyeong stammered. Though he himself was approaching fifty, Yoon Je-gyeom’s seniority placed him in the same generation as Song Gyeong’s late father. How could he not stutter in the presence of such a grand senior?
"Is the reason we are gathered here not all the same?"
Yoon Je-gyeom looked around the room with sorrowful eyes and continued slowly.
"Senior... did you also lose... someone?"
"I lost my only granddaughter... and in a most horrific manner, at that. Tsk."
Yoon Je-gyeom spoke with a face full of regret.
"..."
Seeing him so consumed by grief, no one in the hall dared to open their mouth. They empathized with his pain more than anyone else, for they too had lost those precious to them.
"Why don't we listen to his story first? To my eyes, it does not seem like he is making accusations without evidence."
"But... Senior... we cannot simply overlook the claim that the Cheonmu Alliance Leader is the culprit. You know what kind of man he is, don't you? Besides, hasn't the Cheonmu Alliance already announced the true criminal? They said it was his disciple, Jang Sam. So how... how can we listen to such outrageous claims?"
Song Gyeong argued, presenting his own reasoning.
"Do you know when my granddaughter died?"
"...When was it?"
"Fifteen years ago."
"...Fifteen years."
Song Gyeong gasped in surprise.
"Fifteen years ago, Jang Sam was only twelve years old."
"..."
"I ask you. Do you believe a twelve-year-old boy could rape and murder a Peak Realm master and then dump the body in a brothel without being caught by anyone?"
Yoon Je-gyeom asked in a calm tone.
"..."
Song Gyeong fell silent. He realized it was impossible. There was no way a mere twelve-year-old child could commit such a gruesome and cruel act—especially within the Cheonmu Alliance, where countless eyes were always watching.
"I never believed the claim that Jang Sam was the culprit from the very beginning."
"...Could Jang Sam not be... a copycat?"
"You are seeing only what you want to see."
Yoon Je-gyeom replied with a cold smile.
"Then wouldn't it be worth considering another hypothesis? The possibility that Jang Sam isn't the culprit, but was framed by the real one."
"But even so, the Alliance Leader..."
"The basic rule of any investigation is to keep all possibilities open. Anyone can be the culprit, and anyone can be a victim."
Yoon Je-gyeom continued calmly.
"Of course, I don't want to believe the Alliance Leader did it either. But we can at least entertain the hypothesis. So, let us listen. Let’s see what evidence Ja Il-gwang has to support such a claim."
"...Understood."
Song Gyeong eventually nodded.
Thud.
He sat back down immediately. He realized that Yoon Je-gyeom’s words made sense. As he conceded and sat, the others who had been brandishing their weapons in fury followed suit one by one. They all seemed to agree with Yoon Je-gyeom’s logic.
"Thank you."
Once the chaotic hall settled down, Ja Il-gwang expressed his gratitude to Yoon Je-gyeom. He was thankful to the man for preventing a situation that could have easily turned into a bloodbath.
"No need for thanks. I was simply curious myself."
Yoon Je-gyeom waved his hand dismissively.
"However, you had better have solid evidence for your claim that Lee Jae-won is the culprit. If you don't, I will personally take your head."
Yoon Je-gyeom’s eyes flashed with a murderous glint.
Shudder.
Ja Il-gwang’s body trembled slightly. Facing the murderous aura of a supreme master filled him with instinctive dread.
"I will not disappoint you."
Ja Il-gwang nodded and continued.
"The first reason I point to Lee Jae-won as the culprit is the lack of witnesses."
He spoke in a steady voice.
"What do you mean by that?"
Song Gyeong asked, his face full of doubt.
"Every crime committed so far occurred within the Cheonmu Alliance. Yet, not a single person in the entire Alliance ever witnessed the culprit abducting the women. How is that possible?"
"Wait, how does a lack of witnesses prove that he is the culprit?"
"One in the Profound Realm. Four in the Transcendent Realm. Fifty in the Super-Peak Realm. One hundred in the Peak Realm. Two hundred first-class warriors. Three hundred second-class warriors."
Ja Il-gwang listed the numbers calmly.
"That is the military strength of the Cheonmu Alliance."
"And what of it!"
Song Gyeong barked, still not following.
"Do you think it's possible?"
"What?"
"The Cheonmu Alliance is the single greatest power, equivalent to three or four great sects combined. It is crawling with warriors. And yet, for decades, these numerous warriors couldn't even find a trace of the culprit. Do you truly believe that is possible?"
Ja Il-gwang’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
"Well, if the culprit’s realm is unimaginably high, it could be possible, couldn't it?"
"How high would it have to be?"
"What?"
"To deceive fifty Super-Peak masters who can spread their energy sense, four Transcendent Realm masters, and the Alliance Leader who is called a Half-Immortal—just how high would their realm have to be?"
"...The Alliance Leader isn't a god..."
Song Gyeong attempted a rebuttal. Even if the Alliance Leader had reached an unfathomable realm, he wasn't a deity. How could he know everything?
"Correct. He is not a god. But he is not incompetent either. If he had intended to, rooting out the culprit would have been child's play for him. He is a being close to omnipotent. So why was he unable to catch the culprit until the very end? And for decades, no less?"
"..."
Song Gyeong couldn't answer. A doubt suddenly flickered in his mind. As Ja Il-gwang said, the Leader was nearly omnipotent. How could such a being fail to catch a serial rapist for decades?
The question took root.
Why couldn't the Alliance Leader catch the person who killed so many women over decades? For someone as powerful as him... it should have been well within his capability.
It was a dangerous doubt, one he never would have entertained under normal circumstances.
"The answer is simple. Because he is the culprit. He couldn't very well arrest himself, could he?"
"..."
"..."
The crowd began to stir at his words.
"Furthermore, the second reason I name him as the culprit is the dates."
"The dates...?"
Yoon Kang-jin, the Sect Leader of the Geumjeop Sect, asked with a puzzled expression.
"Yes, the dates. Did you know? On every date a victim went missing, the Alliance Leader was always present."
"...Why is that a problem?"
"It is a problem. Because it leads to the conclusion that the culprit is someone who does not fear the Alliance Leader. An ordinary killer would strike when their success rate is highest—usually when the Alliance Leader is away."
Ja Il-gwang continued with a grim expression.
"But strangely enough, the culprit always targeted times when the Alliance Leader was in residence. Specifically, only when the Leader had returned from a mission or a journey. Isn't it strange? That the disappearances always coincided with the dates the Alliance Leader returned."
"..."
"..."
The people fell silent. They began to think back carefully. They remembered when their daughters, wives, and lovers had vanished.
Where was the Alliance Leader on those days? What was he doing?
Soon, the faces of those in the hall began to turn pale. They were realizing it—the inconsistencies they had failed to notice until now.
Thinking back, the incidents almost always occurred while he was present. And yet, they happened anyway, right under the nose of an Alliance Leader who had reached the Half-Immortal stage of the Profound Realm.
It was strange. It was incredibly strange. How had they never noticed this anomaly before?
Moreover, the Alliance Leader had failed to find the serial killer within his own walls for decades. And even after announcing that Jang Sam was the culprit, he had failed to capture him.
Yet, they had all been praising such an Alliance Leader as competent.
It was bizarre. Truly bizarre.
"And above all, didn't the abductions, disappearances, and murders continue even after Jang Sam was announced as the culprit?"
Ja Il-gwang spoke calmly, and the crowd nodded heavily. His words were undeniably true. Even after the announcement, the crimes had persisted. They remembered how they had cursed Jang Sam and searched for him with bloodshot eyes every time it happened.
"Isn't it strange? That Lee Jae-won couldn't even sense the energy of his own disciple, Jang Sam? A boy who was barely at the entry level of the Peak Realm?"
Ja Il-gwang raised another suspicion.
"..."
"..."
No one argued. One by one, they were finding themselves agreeing with him.
Seeing this, Ja Il-gwang allowed a cold smile to touch his lips. Seeing them face the cruel truth reminded him of his own past self, and it made him want to laugh.
"That... that can't be... The Alliance Leader... he would never... This is all your... conspiracy!"
Song Gyeong, who had been silent, began to tremble violently as he spat out the words. He insisted it couldn't be true, that it was impossible.
It seemed he simply could not accept the fact that his most beloved person had met a gruesome end at the hands of the man he respected most.
"Do you truly believe it's not him?"
Ja Il-gwang asked him in a level voice.
"Of course! The Alliance Leader would never do such a thing! It's impossible, I tell you!"
Song Gyeong shouted hysterically. His voice was thick with denial.
"This is clearly your doing! It has to be! This is your revenge for your sect being destroyed after you were caught as a spy for the Demonic Cult! That's it! It must be!"
Song Gyeong screamed, pointing a finger at Ja Il-gwang, claiming it was all a plot.
"There is a witness."
Ja Il-gwang, who had been listening quietly to Song Gyeong’s outburst, spoke calmly.
"A... wit... ness?"
Song Gyeong stammered, looking stunned.
"Yes. The sole witness and a victim."
Ja Il-gwang spoke with a sorrowful expression.
"Come in."
He turned toward the door.
Creeeeeak.
The massive iron doors slowly swung open.
A woman appeared in the hall. She was a beautiful woman whose sad eyes immediately drew everyone's gaze.
"This junior greets the seniors of the Murim."
The woman scanned the room and bowed politely.
"My name is Ja So-ryeong."
She spoke slowly.
Shock began to color the eyes of everyone in the hall.
How could that woman be here?