Chapter 729: He is my master. And my enemy as well.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 729: He is my master. And my enemy as well.
"..........."
"..........."
A heavy silence began to flow between the two.
It was because Ha Su-ryeon had clamped her mouth shut following the man's words.
The man waited, watching her with a calm, steady gaze.
He was waiting for her to speak.
After a long while...
"....I have no idea what you are talking about," Ha Su-ryeon finally said.
"Is feigning ignorance the best you could come up with?"
The man continued, a look of amusement playing on his face.
"I didn't 'come up' with anything. I truly don't understand what you mean. The Cheonmu Alliance Leader is a serial rapist and murderer? A great hero who saved the Murim and leads an organization dedicated to justice would never do such a thing."
Ha Su-ryeon maintained an expression of pure innocence, as if the very idea was beyond her comprehension.
She’s putting on an act.
The man could see right through her. He knew she was feigning naivety to dodge the question.
"There’s no use playing dumb. I came here because I already know everything."
"And what exactly is it that you think you know?" Ha Su-ryeon shot back, her expression turning sour.
"That you are fully aware of the crimes Lee Jae-won has committed."
"On what grounds do you make such an absurd claim?" Ha Su-ryeon glared at him with cold eyes.
"I heard the Hao Clan manages the brothels. Is that incorrect?"
"That is correct."
Ha Su-ryeon nodded at his question. Managing the brothels was indeed the Hao Clan's business. Given the secluded and lawless nature of such places, things would descend into chaos without proper oversight.
"How long has the Hao Clan been managing them?"
".........Ever since the Hao Clan established itself in Jinan."
"And when was that?"
"...Twenty years ago."
"How coincidental. You settled in Jinan around the same time the Cheonmu Alliance was formed."
A deep smile spread across the man's face as he spoke.
"What of it?"
"If you’ve managed the brothels for twenty years, then you must be well aware that raped and murdered corpses were dumped there every single time."
"I wonder."
Ha Su-ryeon feigned ignorance once more.
"Liar," the man said firmly.
"Dozens of bodies are dumped in the brothels every year! How could we possibly remember every single one!?"
She wasn't entirely lying. Dozens of bodies did turn up in the brothels each year. Even with the Hao Clan's management, the brothels remained dangerous places. They were melting pots for the dregs of society, people living on the edge who constantly clashed. Naturally, the crime rate was high, and murders were frequent.
"You couldn't possibly forget, could you?"
The man's gaze turned icy as he continued.
"Because every time a victim of those specific crimes appeared, you preserved the body carefully before handing it over to the Cheonmu Alliance."
The bodies of the rape-murder victims had always been handed over to the Cheonmu Alliance. They had been tacitly protected to ensure the remains weren't defiled further.
"How do you know that!?"
Her face contorted in shock. The fact that the Hao Clan protected and then handed over those specific bodies was a secret known only to the Law Enforcement Hall and a select few within the Hao Clan.
How could this man possibly have such information?
"I happen to know someone involved in the case."
The man's smile deepened. He knew someone involved—someone more closely connected to the case than anyone else.
"We merely protected the bodies and handed them over," Ha Su-ryeon said, her expression turning grim.
"Your story is changing. A moment ago, you said you didn't remember...."
The man caught her slip and refused to let go.
"........That really is all. We know nothing about the culprit."
"Isn't that strange? The Hao Clan is called the 'Heavenly Ear' because it hears everything under the sky, and the 'Earthly Eye' because it sees everything on the ground. And yet, you claim to know nothing about a culprit who has committed countless murders over twenty years?"
The man's eyes flashed coldly. He was certain of it. The Hao Clan had identified the culprit but was pretending otherwise.
From the Hao Clan's perspective, these murders were a massive nuisance. If handled poorly, they could give the Cheonmu Alliance a pretext to interfere in the management of the brothels. Therefore, they would have done everything in their power to find the killer.
They would have searched for witnesses.
They would have gathered evidence.
They would have verified the alibis of every single person living in Jinan.
All to find the culprit.
And yet, this same Hao Clan was playing innocent, claiming they knew nothing. How could that not be suspicious?
".................."
Ha Su-ryeon bit her lip hard. Even she realized her excuses were pathetic. Even a stray dog barks fiercely when its territory is invaded. But a Murim clan staying silent when its territory was violated? Not even a passing dog would believe that.
"To begin with, we are just a clan of low-lifes led by a young girl. How could we identify a culprit that even the Cheonmu Alliance couldn't catch?"
She tried to dodge the question again, even going so far as to belittle herself and her own clan.
"You know, don't you? You know who the culprit is."
The man ignored her deflection and pressed on.
"I want you to tell me the truth."
He spoke with an expression that suggested he already knew the answer.
"Young Master."
Ha Su-ryeon finally spoke, her voice slow and heavy.
"There are truths in this world that are better left unknown."
"I will be the judge of that. All you need to do is spit out the information you have."
"You will die."
Ha Su-ryeon's expression was resolute.
"The moment you approach the truth, you will be killed."
She stared at him, her eyes trembling.
"That, too, is my choice."
"It’s not just you who will die! The Hao Clan could be wiped out!"
Ha Su-ryeon raised her voice, almost screaming. This was a foul truth that had been sealed away for decades, since the time of the previous Clan Head. It was kept secret solely to protect the Hao Clan—so that everyone could survive.
How could she possibly speak of it?
"I will protect you."
The man looked at her with eyes full of unwavering determination.
"Who will? You? Ha! Why should I trust someone who won't even reveal his true identity? More importantly, how can I believe you have the power to protect us?"
Ha Su-ryeon shouted, her face flushed with emotion. Since entering the Hao Clan and facing her, this man hadn't revealed a single thing about himself. He hadn't given his sect, his title, or even his real name.
Under these circumstances, how could she trust him enough to reveal a truth that held the very fate of her clan? It was madness.
"..........If I give you reason to believe I can protect you, will you tell me the whole truth?"
The man's expression remained calm as he spoke.
"If you can give me that certainty, there is nothing I can't tell you."
Ha Su-ryeon answered readily. If she could be certain of their safety, there was no reason to keep it a secret. For the Hao Clan, harboring this foul truth was like holding a time bomb that could go off at any moment.
But there’s no way he can do that.
Ha Su-ryeon was certain. This man could never give her that kind of assurance. Their opponent was one of the strongest martial artists in the Central Plains. Not only that, he was the leader of the most powerful organization in the land. How could anyone guarantee protection against such a man?
"Very well."
The man smiled broadly, seemingly satisfied with her answer.
Woooooooong.
He slowly began to circulate his internal energy.
What is he planning...?
Ha Su-ryeon watched him with tense eyes, worried he might be preparing to use force to threaten her.
As she watched him intently...
Crack, crackle.
The sound of bones shifting and twisting began to emanate from his body. At the same time, his face began to distort grotesquely.
Creeeeeak.
First, it was his forehead. His narrow, unsightly forehead began to broaden and smooth out. Then, his eyes. His squinty, sharp eyes began to open up, becoming clear and wide. Next were his cheekbones. His unpleasantly protruding cheekbones gradually receded into a more pleasing shape.
Then, his mouth. His slightly protruding lips pulled back, forming a firm, determined set. Finally, his jawline. His thin, treacherous-looking jaw thickened, giving him a bold and gallant appearance.
Cr-cr-crack!
Then his entire body began to twist. His chest, arms, waist, and thighs all began to swell. His scrawny, frail physique transformed in an instant into the well-honed body of a master martial artist.
Snap, crackle, pop.
After a few moments of this violent physical restructuring...
A completely different man stood before her. He had transformed into another person entirely.
Ha Su-ryeon stared in utter bewilderment. The face revealed before her was one she knew all too well.
".......The... the Sword God?!"
Ha Su-ryeon stammered, her voice barely a whisper. The man standing before her was the Sword God. The man who had severed Lee Jae-won's arm with a single strike. The man who had earned the reputation of being the new Greatest of All Time.
The Sword God, Jang Sun-woo.
"Is this form enough to earn your trust?"
Sun-woo asked, looking at the stunned woman with an amused expression.
Nod, nod, nod.
Ha Su-ryeon couldn't even find the words to answer; she simply nodded her head rapidly. If the Sword God himself was giving his word, she had no choice but to believe him. This was the man who had cut off the Alliance Leader's arm in the heart of the Cheonmu Alliance. How could she not trust his guarantee?
"Good."
Sun-woo gave a small smile. It seemed the conversation would proceed smoothly now.
"I was worried I might not be able to convince you."
Sun-woo added with a playful look.
".............Sword God, have you mastered the Zhu-Rong Art?"
Ha Su-ryeon, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. Her expression was filled with confusion.
"That is correct," Sun-woo nodded.
".......How... did you...?"
Ha Su-ryeon asked, still sounding doubtful. She couldn't understand how he could have learned the Zhu-Rong Art. It was a disguise technique from India, famously used by the Thousand-Face Lecher in the past. It was known as the ultimate disguise art in the Murim, capable of altering not just one's features, but one's skeletal structure, height, and muscle mass.
The fact that Jang Sun-woo knew such a technique was baffling.
"Is it that strange?"
"It... it has to be. I heard the manual for the Zhu-Rong Art... was completely burned after the Thousand-Face Lecher was captured...."
Years ago, when Lee Jae-won had captured and killed the Thousand-Face Lecher, he had burned the Zhu-Rong Art manual in front of a crowd. He had declared that such a technique must never be allowed to cause such crimes again. Since then, the lineage of the Zhu-Rong Art was thought to be broken, the art itself lost to history.
Yet here was Jang Sun-woo, using it out of nowhere. It was shocking.
"He didn't actually burn it."
"What?"
"He was hiding it in a secret vault. Keeping it as a trophy."
"How could he...."
Ha Su-ryeon looked devastated. She had never imagined such a secret lay behind that event.
"Wait... wait a minute."
Suddenly, Ha Su-ryeon raised her voice as if something had occurred to her.
"Speak."
"The Zhu-Rong Art hidden in a secret vault....... how did the Sword God learn it?"
She stared at Sun-woo, her eyes full of questions. She couldn't fathom the process by which he could have acquired it.
"I personally entered the secret vault Lee Jae-won created," Sun-woo replied calmly.
"............The Sword God... entered it personally?"
She still looked confused. She couldn't understand how the Sword God could have infiltrated a secret vault. The Sword God, who had personally severed Lee Jae-won's arm, was hardly on friendly terms with him. Lee Jae-won certainly wouldn't have given him a tour.
Then how on earth did he get in?
She fell into deep thought, trying to solve the puzzle. But no matter how much she racked her brain, it didn't make sense. If anything, the mystery only deepened.
After agonizing over it for a while...
".........Sword God, what exactly is your relationship with the Cheonmu Alliance Leader?"
Ha Su-ryeon looked at Sun-woo with a determined gaze and asked the direct question that pierced through the heart of the situation.
"He is my master," Sun-woo said slowly, his expression turning somber.
"Wh-what does that mean?!"
"And he is also my enemy."
Sun-woo's eyes began to glint with a deep, burning resentment.