Chapter 731: Take My Hand, Leader of the Hao Clan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 731: Take My Hand, Leader of the Hao Clan
"What is this 'trump card' that will turn the tide?"
Ha Su-ryeon asked, her expression clouded with doubt.
She simply couldn't imagine what it could be.
Lee Jae-won was the man who had saved the Murim from the Demonic Cult twenty years ago, earning the title of a Great Hero. Furthermore, as the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, he was a man of virtue who had built an untouchable reputation over two decades.
Even if public opinion wasn't at its best right now, the achievements he had accumulated over twenty years had built a fortress of trust.
The idea of engaging in a war of public opinion against such a man was beyond her comprehension.
"Are you curious?"
"I am. I want to know what card you're holding."
Ha Su-ryeon continued, her face full of curiosity. Her eyes sparkled like starlight.
"There is a condition," Sun-woo said, looking at her.
"And what is that?"
"Help me."
"……"
Upon hearing Sun-woo’s words, Ha Su-ryeon fell silent. The request was so sudden that she couldn't find the words to answer.
"…What exactly do you mean by 'help'?" she finally asked slowly.
"I intend to utterly destroy Lee Jae-won. And to do that, I need your help."
Sun-woo continued, his gaze intense as he watched her.
"That is precisely why I sought out the Hao Clan."
"……It’s impossible."
Ha Su-ryeon shook her head.
"I cannot stake the survival of the Hao Clan on faith in you alone."
It was impossible. She wasn't alone; she was the leader of the Hao Clan, an organization with hundreds of thousands of members. How could she recklessly gamble the fate of her sect?
"Don't you also desire Lee Jae-won's downfall?" Sun-woo asked.
"……I don't know what you're talking about. I have no thoughts on the matter. Whether he falls or not is of no concern to me."
Ha Su-ryeon shook her head again as she spoke.
"Liar."
Sun-woo’s voice was firm. He looked at her with an unwavering gaze.
"Don't you also harbor a grudge against Lee Jae-won?"
"……You are speaking nonsense. I have no connection to the Cheonmu Alliance Leader. How could I possibly hold a grudge?"
Ha Su-ryeon spoke with an expression of grievance, as if she were being falsely accused.
Sun-woo stared at her with a calm, steady gaze.
"Ha Su-ran."
He spoke the name slowly.
"Don't you want to avenge her?"
Whoosh!
In an instant, a terrifying murderous aura began to pour out of Ha Su-ryeon’s body. At the same time, a killing intent flickered in her eyes.
"……How… do you know that name?"
She spoke in a low, heavy voice.
Ha Su-ran was Ha Su-ryeon’s older sister, who had become Lee Jae-won’s ninth wife ten years ago. She was also a woman with a tragic secret—she had taken her own life, unable to endure the torment from his other wives.
"It seems you truly are her flesh and blood."
Sun-woo had been half-doubting at first. But seeing her reaction to the name, he was now certain. She was definitely the younger sister of Ha Su-ran, Lee Jae-won’s ninth wife who had committed suicide a decade ago.
"Answer me!"
She glared at Sun-woo with sharp eyes, her voice rising.
The secret surrounding Ha Su-ran had been kept under strict lock and key. If the story ever leaked, the reputation of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader and his wives would have plummeted. Therefore, the Cheonmu Alliance had used the Hao Clan to control the information, turning it into a secret that no one could know.
Yet, the man before her had suddenly uttered the name of her sister—a person who had essentially been erased from existence. How could this be?
"Who are you?! Who has been going around talking about my sister?!"
Ha Su-ryeon shouted, her voice filled with agitation.
"A friend of hers," Sun-woo replied calmly.
Hearing this, Ha Su-ryeon looked as if she were lost in thought.
"……Tang Seo-yoon."
Ha Su-ryeon spoke the name in a quiet tone. Her sister had only one true friend. A woman her sister had praised endlessly, calling her more beautiful and stronger than anyone else—the heroine of the Tang Clan, Dok Seo-si Tang Seo-yoon.
"Correct."
Sun-woo nodded. He had heard the story of Ha Su-ran from Tang Seo-yoon a long time ago, back when he was receiving advice regarding the hierarchy struggle between Ok-ryeong and Madam Tang.
"……"
Ha Su-ryeon bit her lip hard. Her murderous aura began to leak out again as anger surged within her. She had never expected that Tang Seo-yoon would have revealed such a fact.
The previous Leader of the Hao Clan had buried Ha Su-ran’s tragedy. Had it been made public, the Cheonmu Alliance would never have left the Hao Clan alone. So, it was buried. To protect the Hao Clan, the previous leader had treated the tragedy of his precious disciple as if it had never happened.
In that process, he had sought the cooperation of many people. Tang Seo-yoon was among them, as she was Ha Su-ran’s closest friend.
And yet, she had betrayed the Hao Clan. She had spoken the uncomfortable truth that had been buried with tears of blood for the sake of the clan's survival. How could she not be furious?
"That is all in the past. It’s a forgotten matter. I have no desire for revenge!"
Ha Su-ryeon raised her voice, her expression turning resolute.
"Do you truly believe that? Do you really think it’s just a forgotten matter of the past?"
"It happened over ten years ago! Besides, my sister taking her own life wasn't the Alliance Leader's fault! It was simply because she was weak and couldn't endure it!"
Ha Su-ryeon continued firmly.
"You're lying."
Sun-woo’s gaze remained calm.
"I am not! I truly believe that!"
"Your hands are shaking."
"Wh-what?!"
Ha Su-ryeon asked in bewilderment. Sun-woo silently pointed toward her hands.
Following his gesture, Ha Su-ryeon looked down. There, she saw it. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably, like aspen leaves in the wind.
"Th-this is…!"
Ha Su-ryeon tried to make an excuse. She intended to deny it somehow.
"You know, don't you? That if Lee Jae-won hadn't forced her into that marriage, none of this would have happened."
Sun-woo looked at her with a piercing gaze.
"You know, don't you? That Lee Jae-won’s indifference was what truly drove her into a corner."
"What do you know that gives you the right to spout such things!"
She knew. She knew that the cause of the tragedy ten years ago—the cause of the horror that befell her most precious sister—was none other than the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won.
He was the one who had blackmailed the Hao Clan Head to force the marriage, and he was the one who had practically abandoned her sister to be bullied while preaching his grand ideals of equality.
If he hadn't married her sister… If he had truly loved her… her sister would never have been driven to such an end.
She knew. She knew Lee Jae-won was the culprit who killed her sister.
"Of course, I don't know everything. Since I didn't experience it myself, I cannot fully empathize with your sorrow."
Sun-woo’s expression turned solemn.
"But I can tell at least one thing. Your heart is filled with resentment and rage."
Sun-woo’s eyes sparkled with conviction. He stood up from his seat and slowly reached his hand out toward her.
"Take my hand, Leader of the Hao Clan. I will help you wash away all your resentment and all your rage."
"……"
Ha Su-ryeon stared at him in silence. She wanted to take it. Desperately. She wanted to grab that hand and release all the pent-up fury and sorrow deep within her soul.
But she couldn't. Right now, she needed to make a decision not as Ha Su-ran’s sister, but as the Leader of the Hao Clan.
"……I cannot put the Hao Clan in danger for a personal grudge."
Ha Su-ryeon spoke with a heavy expression.
"So, I want you to tell me first… what is the trump card that will turn the tide?"
"You'll decide after hearing the card?"
"Yes. The risk is too great to simply join hands based on your martial prowess alone."
Ha Su-ryeon looked at Sun-woo with a steady gaze.
Look at her.
Sun-woo looked slightly surprised. She was clearly emotional due to the mention of her sister, yet she didn't let her emotions cloud her objective judgment. She was an interesting woman, possessing both burning passion and a cold perspective.
"Very well."
Sun-woo readily agreed. He was confident. Confident that the card he held would work on her.
Sun-woo began to speak, and Ha Su-ryeon focused all her attention on him.
*
"Yaaaawn."
Paeng So, the Vice Unit Leader of the 7th Unit of the Law Enforcement Hall, let out a massive yawn. He was overcome with boredom from the mountain of paperwork that seemed to have no end.
Should I sleep for a bit?
Paeng So peeked around. He saw that his colleagues were already in dreamland.
Damn it! I was the only one not sleeping!
Paeng So cursed under his breath. He felt a sense of injustice, thinking he was the only one working hard. Why was he doing this while everyone else was out cold?
I'm sleeping too!
Thud.
Having made up his mind, Paeng So slammed his head onto the desk and closed his eyes immediately. He intended to make up for the "extra" work he'd done with a nap.
Creeeeeak.
Suddenly, the sound of a hinge groaning reached his ears.
Dammit, I haven't even fallen asleep yet!
Paeng So cursed again, sensing that the door was opening. He quickly lifted his head to see who it was.
"Wh-wha?!"
His jaw dropped. An entirely unexpected person had appeared.
A man with a rugged, sturdy build. The man known as the greatest rising star of the Law Enforcement Hall.
It was the Heavenly Dragon Sword, Kang Myeong.
The man who was supposed to be on a regional mission by order of the Hall Master had returned.
"You bastards, this place is a total mess! A total mess! Get up this instant!"
Kang Myeong shouted, his face twisted in a scowl.
One by one, the members of the 7th Unit who had been sleeping jerked their heads up. Like Paeng So, they all wore idiotic expressions of shock. They were stunned by Kang Myeong’s sudden appearance.
Usually, when someone returns from a mission, it's common courtesy to give a day's notice. How could he just show up like this?
"Snap out of it, you bastards!"
Kang Myeong glared at the dazed unit members and roared.
"U-Unit Leader… when did you get back?!"
Paeng So, finally coming to his senses, asked.
"I just arrived," Kang Myeong replied curtly.
"If you just got here… you should have rested. Why are you here…?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"N-no… it’s not a problem… it’s just so sudden…"
"I wanted to see how lazy you all got while I was gone, so I came here first."
Kang Myeong glared at Paeng So.
"And seeing you all sprawled out asleep was quite a sight."
"……"
Paeng So and the rest of the 7th Unit fell silent. They knew all too well what a disaster the place had become in his absence.
"Consider yourselves dead from now on."
Kang Myeong growled at them. The faces of the 7th Unit members turned pale. Knowing his infamous temper, they could already feel the exhaustion of the days to come.
"The return report!"
Paeng So shouted as if he’d just remembered something.
"Have you filed your return report yet, Unit Leader?" Paeng So asked, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Ah, right."
Kang Myeong let out a short exclamation as if he’d forgotten.
"I'll go file the report, so don't you dare run off. Wait right here."
He turned around immediately.
Creeeeeak.
Slam!
He walked out and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Phew."
Once he was gone, Paeng So let out a sigh of relief. He felt he had somehow managed to distract that crazy bastard.
"Vice Unit Leader, what do we do now?" a nearby member asked, looking terrified.
"Why are you asking something so obvious?"
Paeng So looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Early clock-out! Everyone, pack your bags!"
There was no other choice but to run. The members of the 7th Unit began packing their things with lightning speed. There wasn't a hint of laziness in their movements now.