Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: You Picked the Wrong Person (1)
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Even someone ignorant of feng shui could tell that the mountain ridge was extraordinary. Nestled there was a grand palace hall.
Creaaak—
It boasted an imposing eight-raftered roof and ornate corbels that even the finest pavilions of great estates couldn't rival.
Below that sat a massive gate emblazoned with the character "Yi" shaped like a bird in pictographic form.
Inside the ancestral shrine behind that gate.
Grrrind—
A man wearing a snake mask roughly rolled two thick dice made of thunderstruck jujube wood in his grip, muttering to himself.
"...Has the Shanxi Golden Whale truly recovered his strength?"
The man muttering to himself was named Kwak Sahong.
He was the youngest disciple of Reverse Heaven Demon Gu Cheon-seo, one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Cult Protector Kings, and known to the other cultists as the Ghost Gambling Demon Lord.
"Does that mean the curse of the Linked Gu Wood has been broken?"
True to his title's gambling character, Kwak Sahong had the temperament of a born gambler.
He was adept at controlling his expressions, could act like lifelong friends with strangers, and treated even lowly folk without reservation.
With that nature, he was the sort who could laugh heartily even after losing a fortune.
But that was only because he believed he'd win in the end.
When the odds turned against him, the Ghost Gambling Demon Lord Kwak Sahong revealed his true demonic nature without restraint.
Thus, the seasoned cultists who knew his temperament well kept their heads bowed low and held their breaths.
"......"
Chilbok, who had been eating and sleeping in the Yi estate's outer quarters until yesterday and sweeping the front yard that very morning, was oblivious to all this.
Thinking him just a fortune-teller who paid for Yi estate gossip, Chilbok raised his voice, hoping for a few more silvers.
"I don't know much about any curse from some cursed object or whatever, but anyway, the old man has perked up! He scarfed down two full bowls of porridge this morning!"
What came back at Chilbok instead of the expected silver was a die shrouded in dark crimson smoke.
Screeeeech!!
"Gah?!"
With that, Kwak Sahong ensured Chilbok's mouth would never open again.
Among the lined-up cultists, an elder even more formidable in prayer than Kwak Sahong gestured with his chin at the others.
"Drag this scum away. Everyone else, out."
At his gesture,
the other cultists filed out.
The elder then bowed toward Kwak Sahong and spoke.
"Young Lord. Forgive my impertinence, but it seems we've lost our chance to swallow the Yi estate whole."
The elder was a man called Elder Kyung, an inner envoy of the Ghost King Division.
In the righteous martial world, what position did an inner envoy hold?
Well, given the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's practice of granting high status to those with potential to become Heavenly Demon regardless of current power, it wasn't exactly the same, but roughly equivalent to an elder in a sect.
This time, instead of a smoky die flying, Kwak Sahong's mouth opened.
"Elder Kyung. Do you think I don't know that?"
"Then why the hesitation? Are you considering retreat?"
"As if. This isn't something we can back out of."
"Yes, indeed. The Cult Leader and your master, the Demon Freak Elder, have great expectations for this. You snatched this opportunity from the other disciples by extracting the Pearl Eon Family's manual. Lose it now, and it won't end with mere reprimand..."
"I know that too. We'd both end up as toys for that venomous old bastard, neither dead nor alive."
"You understand. This old man spoke out of excessive caution."
"Of course. And it's not just for you or me—retreat is impossible for the cult's sake too. The righteous faction suspects our movements, even if they don't know the details."
"Quite so. The sword winds in Henan have grown fierce."
"Then we kill that old coot Yi Gil-hwan, raid the Yi estate's vaults for their wealth, and turn Shanxi into chaos. The realm will follow."
"A wise plan, Young Lord. That's our only path now."
"Exactly. I was just gauging their hand for a moment."
It was then.
As Kwak Sahong and Elder Kyung conversed,
one of the cultists who'd gone outside returned with a report.
"Young Lord. The Branch Leader of the Purification Hall has arrived."
Kwak Sahong rose from his chair and called out.
"Bring him in."
Yi Gwon-yeong, cloaked in a wind-riding robe, entered the shrine and pinched his nose, scowling.
"Ugh? Why does it smell like blood in the shrine?"
Kwak Sahong casually deflected.
"A demon interfered with the divination, so I caught and divined a vermin."
Believing it at face value, Yi Gwon-yeong released his nose and pointed accusingly at Kwak Sahong.
"Fine, you talk a good game! A demon clung tight to the rite! I trusted you all—what the hell happened?!"
"You trusted not us, but the power of my divination arts firsthand, right? Who was it that secretly called a diviner behind our backs and got the poor fool killed?"
"Anyway! Didn't you say it was absolutely unbreakable?!"
Yi Gwon-yeong, seasoned in merchant dealings, was merely clarifying blame.
He hadn't come to bicker over trifles in this crisis.
"So what now? Surely the Divine Cult has a backup plan?"
"In that case, we'll lend you real power."
"Real power?"
"Literal real power. I'll assign experts. Use your influence to get through Bing Province. After that, Elder Kyung here will handle it. While the Yi estate turns to living hell amid feast preparations, help this branch leader empty their treasure vaults inside and out, and the underground gold and silver."
"...What?"
"Hard to grasp? We'll assassinate the Shanxi Golden Whale."
"Y-You're saying we move so openly?"
"You took our hand to kill your father—don't look so shocked now."
"E-Even so, this is too extreme..."
"Listen, Yi Gwon-yeong. This isn't a request for permission."
"......!"
"Your choices: obey meekly and live in luxury under the Divine Cult, or watch that hated bastard illegitimate son thrive from the afterlife, stained with blood like this vermin..."
It was then.
As Kwak Sahong intimidated Yi Gwon-yeong amid the thick blood scent, he caught a faint fragrance.
"Hm? Hold on. I didn't notice under the blood smell. Your neck reeks of Thousand-Li Fragrance. Did you stupidly lead them here?"
At Kwak Sahong's words, Yi Gwon-yeong jumped back.
"Impossible! I slipped out in the chaos! And no one's touched me lately! Not even my wife's hands..."
Come to think of it, he had bumped into someone that morning.
"Ah?! This morning, I collided with that Yong-un punk—could it be him?"
At the memory slipping from Yi Gwon-yeong's lips,
Kwak Sahong's mouth flew open.
"Yong-un? Eon Yong-un? The Pearl Eon Family's wastrel? Your nephew?"
"Yes!"
Yi Gwon-yeong kept rambling,
but
"This morning I bumped into him, and oddly he offered to carry my bowl..."
Kwak Sahong's narrowed eyes focused entirely on Eon Yong-un.
'So Eon Yong-un's the one who ruined everything?'
After looking into how the wastrel earned chief disciple status, he'd dismissed him as irrelevant.
Now it hit him—that punk was inside the Yi estate.
'...Did that wastrel track me for his family's manual, stumble on a clue, and sabotage this?'
The reasoning didn't fit perfectly,
but
'There was a shaman in their group, and Eon Yong-un has an open merchant vein constitution.'
Kwak Sahong's mind was burdened by the Cult Leader, his master Reverse Heaven Demon, and the deranged old bastard.
Besides, he'd confirmed Eon Yong-un personally: utterly worthless.
'I spared him there, thinking he'd smear the righteous faction's faces forever.'
Thus, he twisted it to his favor, and laughter burst out.
"Kekekeke. It was Eon Yong-un! I thought the Yi estate hid some hidden card, but it was just that fool! Wasted my worry. With him, the math works out! Elder Kyung!"
"Yes, Young Lord."
"How many demon soldiers have joined us with Latent Explosion Pills?"
"We sent a brigade recently; a hundred endured the demonic qi and joined. Five more accepted it this morning."
"Take them all. Go with this branch leader. Make the five rampage and scatter them in the five directions, then twist off the Shanxi Golden Whale's neck with the rest. I'll wrap up with the branch leader's tail and support by sunset."
"Word is our location's exposed here. Still all right?"
"A horde that size will draw ordinary pursuers. If Eon Yong-un followed as expected, he'll stay. He's nothing special."
"Is that so?"
"Confirmed in Hebei, and I double-checked before you arrived in Shanxi. No doubt. He might even defect to the Divine Cult like this branch leader."
"Ho. Infiltrating the Righteous Martial Academy is something other divisions approach cautiously. If he flips, it'd be major merit."
"So focus on the Yi estate, Elder. Make it hell and tie down their main forces like Old Three or Gold Chief Steward."
* * *
My cohorts and I kept our distance, tailing Yi Gwon-yeong via the Thousand-Li Fragrance.
We ended up not at the Yi estate, but a mountain outside Taiyuan City.
At the fenced mountain entrance, Yong-myeong gulped and spoke.
"...This is my maternal clan's ancestral mountain."
At his words, Cheon Jang-ho glanced slyly at me.
"Hey, Yong-un hyung? Wrong track? Maybe he's just paying respects?"
Jegal Seol-ja retorted as if he were an idiot.
"At this point? Through a secret back path?"
Sorung chimed in.
"Yeah, super suspicious."
I added the original reason for our Shanxi trip.
"Forgot amid the urgency, but the civilian aid talk started at the Alliance Lord's meeting. He mentioned the ancestral grave robbery where nothing was actually lost. This must be the culprits' lair."
Jeong Hyeon nodded firmly.
"They investigated the initial theft to deflect attention. Ancestral sites are ignored outside rituals, and with locals revering the Shanxi Golden Whale Elder, it'd be forbidden ground. Perfect 'darkest under the lamp' spot."
Master at my waist chuckled dryly.
- Heh heh heh. Your youngest uncle's madder the more I learn. Housing father-killers on ancestral ground?
'No sane person curses their father to begin with.'
- True enough.
Meanwhile,
footsteps gathered from afar.
"Stand out in this Yi estate raid, and we'll grant supreme arts beyond our spirit pills!"
"Thought I'd die a bandit grunt, but now first-rate and stronger? I'll earn merit and kick that abusive chief's ass!"
Suddenly,
the voices numbered dozens.
I immediately sent Sorung to the Yi estate.
[Sorung. Go now. Report this.]
[Got it, hyung!]
And Cheon Jang-ho to the Open Faction's Shanxi branch.
[Jang-ho, hit the branch for backup. It's eighty, no, a hundred growing.]
[On it.]
The footsteps neared,
so
'Down!'
The remaining four killed our presence perfectly,
'Quiet!'
Yi Gwon-yeong and a seasoned elder led a hundred-strong band toward the Yi estate.
Watching their backs, I pondered how to strike for maximum fame.
'Too risky now. Numbers aside, that lead elder's no joke.'
But then,
another presence approached from higher up, deliberately crunching gravel.
"Seems a familiar guest has arrived."
This one oddly acted familiar,
then suddenly,
picked me out and bellowed.
"I know you're hiding somewhere here! Eon Yong-un!"