Chapter 743: The Identity of the Collaborator.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 743: The Identity of the Collaborator.
Step, step.
Joo So-yang began to walk with light, airy steps.
She was in an exceptionally good mood. It was because she could feel the genuine sincerity of the elders who cherished her.
It’s warm.
Joo So-yang felt a sense of warmth—a pleasant heat that seeped deep into her chest. A thick smile began to spread across her lips.
She was continuing her pleasant stroll when it happened.
"So-yang."
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind her. Hearing it, Joo So-yang quickly turned her head.
"Uncle?"
There stood Yoon Je-gyeom, his clothes slightly disheveled.
"Goodness... you certainly walk fast."
Yoon Je-gyeom spoke as he straightened his attire. It seemed he had rushed to catch up with her.
"Is something the matter?" Joo So-yang asked with a puzzled expression. She was curious as to why he had come running after her so urgently.
"There is one thing I haven't told you yet," Yoon Je-gyeom said, his expression turning calm.
"Something you haven't told me?" Joo So-yang tilted her head slightly. She wondered what he could possibly have left out.
"Yes. I haven't given you the specific details regarding Lee Jae-won’s punishment—specifically, how he will be executed."
"He will die. He will be dealt with according to Alliance Law."
Joo So-yang spoke in a firm, resolute tone. Lee Jae-won’s fate was already sealed. There was no other way for him to atone for his sins except with his life.
For over twenty years, he had raped and murdered thirty-five women. Furthermore, he was a vile man who had even pinned those crimes on his own disciple. How could such an utterly loathsome man be allowed to live?
"Do you intend to step forward yourself?"
"That is my plan."
Joo So-yang nodded. Of course, the one who would actually face Lee Jae-won head-on was Sun-woo. She intended to stand by his side and assist him, primarily to ensure Lee Jae-won couldn't escape.
"You cannot."
Yoon Je-gyeom spoke with a stern expression.
"Pardon?!"
Joo So-yang looked at him in bewilderment.
"He is a man who was once the World's Greatest Martial Artist. It is too much for you to face him directly."
"Uncle... I am not weak."
"I know. I know well enough that you aren't weak, and I am aware that you have already reached the Half-Immortal Stage. Even so, I cannot allow it."
"But why?!"
"You may be in the Profound Realm, but have you not failed to manifest the Heart Sword yet?"
"That... that is...!"
Joo So-yang stammered, caught off guard. She was shocked that Yoon Je-gyeom knew her current state in such precise detail. How did he know she had not yet reached the Heart Sword Path?
"Facing him without the Heart Sword is a suicidal act. I cannot stand by and watch that happen."
Yoon Je-gyeom continued in a composed voice.
"But Uncle!"
"I will be the one to take Lee Jae-won’s head."
Yoon Je-gyeom’s voice was final.
"What?"
"I am the one capable of matching him."
"Does that mean... Uncle, you have... the Heart Sword?!"
Joo So-yang asked, her face etched with shock. In response to her question, Yoon Je-gyeom gave a slight nod. He was confirming her suspicion.
"............"
Seeing his confirmation, Joo So-yang fell into a silent reverie. Her expression suggested she was deep in thought, carefully weighing his proposal.
After a long silence, she spoke.
"......I cannot do that."
Joo So-yang slowly shook her head. It was a clear refusal of his offer.
"And why is that?" Yoon Je-gyeom asked, his tone suggesting he couldn't understand her reasoning.
"Because you facing Lee Jae-won would go against the plan."
Joo So-yang spoke calmly. If Yoon Je-gyeom stepped forward, the plan Sun-woo had crafted would fall apart. Yoon Je-gyeom’s role was to act as the great elder of the Murim, recommending the dissolution of the Cheonmu Alliance and keeping the leadership in check to prevent them from fleeing. His job was not to fight Lee Jae-won.
"I find this difficult to accept."
Yoon Je-gyeom spoke with a heavy expression.
"Did I not clearly state it? In your current state, you cannot defeat Lee Jae-won. Why are you being so stubborn?"
He questioned her again, unable to grasp her logic. Objectively speaking, she was a level below Lee Jae-won. As long as she hadn't manifested the Heart Sword, she was destined to lose to him. Why would she persist in such a situation? It made no sense to him.
"................"
Joo So-yang looked troubled. She wasn't sure how to explain it to him. Part of her wanted to tell him everything—that the collaborator coming to help was the Sword God, Jang Sun-woo. That the man who had already taken Lee Jae-won’s arm had returned to take his head.
But she couldn't. Sun-woo had given her strict orders to keep his identity a complete secret until the day of the event.
So, she agonized over how to convince Yoon Je-gyeom. To a man like him, who valued rationality, illogical stubbornness wouldn't work. She had to persuade him with a proper explanation.
".............."
Yoon Je-gyeom waited patiently for her to speak. Finally, Joo So-yang opened her mouth.
".....I won't be facing Lee Jae-won alone."
"Not alone?"
"Yes... the one who will face him... is a Half-Immortal who has fully mastered the Profound Realm."
Joo So-yang met Yoon Je-gyeom’s gaze with a steady, unwavering look.
"Who on earth is that?"
"I cannot say...... I am sorry, Uncle."
Joo So-yang apologized with a regretful expression. To convince him, she had employed a small trick: revealing that there was a collaborator without disclosing who it was. She felt this was the only way to satisfy Yoon Je-gyeom without betraying Sun-woo’s identity.
"You certainly have many secrets."
"......I can only offer my apologies."
Joo So-yang spoke with a look of shame. She truly felt terrible. It pained her that she couldn't reveal the truth to Yoon Je-gyeom, who was like a father to her and her most staunch supporter.
Yet, she had to remain silent. The request to keep his identity hidden came from her husband, the most precious person in the world to her. How could a wife disobey her husband’s request? It was unthinkable.
"................."
Yoon Je-gyeom remained silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
"Is this collaborator... definitely stronger than Lee Jae-won?"
"....He is a Half-Immortal who has manifested the Heart Sword. It won't be difficult for him to handle Lee Jae-won, who is missing an arm. Moreover, I will be assisting him... so I believe our chances of victory are over eighty percent."
Joo So-yang spoke while looking into his eyes with conviction. In her heart, she wanted to declare they couldn't possibly lose, but she held back. She feared that being too certain might lead him to deduce Sun-woo’s identity.
"...........Do you truly believe that?"
Yoon Je-gyeom asked once more, searching for any hint of a lie.
"Yes, I am certain."
Joo So-yang nodded firmly.
"I see."
Yoon Je-gyeom spoke with a neutral expression.
"Then I shall take your word for it."
With that, he began to walk past her, his pace incredibly swift. Joo So-yang turned her head and watched his retreating back.
"Whew."
Once his figure had completely vanished, Joo So-yang let out a long sigh of relief. She felt she had somehow managed to convince him.
Uncle, I’m sorry. Please... just bear with it until that day.
Internally, Joo So-yang apologized to Yoon Je-gyeom for not being able to tell him the whole truth.
*
"Yaaaawn."
A middle-aged man sat on a large tree stump and let out a massive yawn. He looked incredibly drowsy.
"What a pain."
The man spoke in a voice thick with annoyance. Being summoned so suddenly was a major inconvenience.
Step, step, step.
Then, the sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere nearby.
"Finally, you're here."
The man turned his head slightly toward the source of the sound. An elderly swordsman emerged from the shadows. It was the Plum Blossom Sword Emperor, Yoon Je-gyeom.
"Have you arrived, Sword Emperor?"
The middle-aged man greeted him in a very casual tone.
"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, Sword Man."
"I’ve been waiting a while. But whatever, don't worry about it. It’s not so bad to enjoy the atmosphere of the night every once in a while."
The Sword Man spoke with a playful smirk.
"I appreciate you looking at it that way," Yoon Je-gyeom replied calmly.
"Anyway, why did you call me?" the Sword Man asked curiously. Yoon Je-gyeom was not the type to summon people for no reason. The fact that he had called for a private meeting was quite strange. He wondered what business this stiff old man could possibly have with him.
"I have something to tell you."
"Something to tell me?"
"It seems we need to completely revise the plan."
"The plan?"
"Indeed."
Yoon Je-gyeom nodded.
"And the reason?"
"Something unexpected has happened."
"Something unexpected?"
"So-yang plans to reveal to everyone that Lee Jae-won is the suspect in the serial rape and murder cases."
"Ho... now that is interesting..."
The Sword Man’s expression turned intrigued. He knew Joo So-yang was at odds with Lee Jae-won, but he never expected her to dig up his history of rape and murder.
"Does she say she has evidence?"
Whish.
Yoon Je-gyeom pulled a book from his robes and tossed it toward the Sword Man.
Snatch.
The Sword Man caught the book effortlessly.
Flip, flip.
He opened it and began reading through it at an incredible speed. After a few moments...
"Bwahahahaha!"
A boisterous laugh erupted from the Sword Man. He found the turn of events highly entertaining.
"She intends to submit this as evidence?"
"So she says."
"They won't believe it, though."
The Sword Man spoke with a mischievous grin. While a handwritten record from the Hao Clan, who investigated the case themselves, was credible evidence, it lacked the impact needed to convince the masses. The authenticity of the book itself would be hard to prove.
"She says she has a witness. A witness everyone will find acceptable."
"She’s being thorough."
A deep smile formed on the Sword Man’s lips.
"Did you hear who the witness is?"
"Unfortunately, I did not."
Yoon Je-gyeom shook his head.
".....She’s a very cautious woman."
The Sword Man spoke calmly.
"So, what is the specific plan?"
"So-yang has decided to take charge of Lee Jae-won’s direct judgment by bringing forth the witness. Meanwhile, we are to keep the leadership in check. There’s no telling what they might do to cover up the incident."
Yoon Je-gyeom summarized the key points of the plan Joo So-yang had described.
"Joo So-yang is going to face Lee Jae-won herself? Did she truly say that?"
"She did."
"Has she perhaps manifested the Heart Sword?" the Sword Man asked, sounding curious.
"No. She has reached the Half-Immortal Stage, but she hasn't manifested her sword yet."
"Strange. Very strange."
The Sword Man shook his head slowly, looking suspicious. No matter how he thought about it, it didn't add up.
"If she hasn't manifested her sword, she’ll die, won't she?"
At Joo So-yang’s current level, she couldn't kill Lee Jae-won. Even if he was missing an arm, Lee Jae-won was a Transcendent who walked the Heart Sword Path.
"She said she has a collaborator."
"A collaborator?"
"Yes. She claimed it is someone strong enough to handle Lee Jae-won."
"Did you hear who it is?"
"......I didn't hear that either."
"Heh, what a funny woman."
The Sword Man chuckled, finding the situation amusing.
"Funny? How so?"
Yoon Je-gyeom asked, puzzled. What on earth did he mean by "funny"?
"Isn't it funny that she basically told you exactly who the collaborator is, without actually mentioning his name?"
The Sword Man spoke with a playful expression.
"She basically told me?" Yoon Je-gyeom asked, still confused.
"Do you really not know? Or are you just pretending?"
The Sword Man looked at him as if he were absurd. He wondered if the old man’s brain had hardened with age, or if he was just too simple-minded to connect the dots.
"Who else has a grudge against Lee Jae-won, possesses the martial power to face him, and is close enough to Joo So-yang to be her collaborator?"
He posed the question to Yoon Je-gyeom, laying out all the specific criteria.
"Ah!"
Yoon Je-gyeom let out an exclamation as realization dawned on him. He had found the person who fit all the descriptions.
".....The Sword God."
Indeed. The person the Sword Man was referring to was the Sword God, Jang Sun-woo.
"So your brain hasn't completely turned to stone yet."
Hearing that, the Sword Man let a smile spread across his face.