Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Woman's Betrayal
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Heuk Do-san turned to Hyeon-gak and asked,
"Did you know as well?"
"Of course I knew. There's no one in the martial world who doesn't. But is there some problem?"
"What if the Heavenly Demon is regrouping his forces somewhere else?"
"I've considered that possibility myself. But it's unlikely. If that were the case, the martial artists who fought in the Righteous-Demonic Great War wouldn't just sit back while scattered Demonic Cultists were hunted down."
"What if even that was planned from the start? In other words, what if the current peace isn't a result of the war's end, but part of some grand scheme?"
"What nonsense is that? Who in the world would stand by while the enemy slaughters their own brothers?"
"Have you forgotten they're the Demonic Cult?"
"Even for the Demonic Cult, that's too much. What could they possibly gain from it?"
"Division, discord, and time. Exactly what's happening in the martial world right now."
"That's still too much speculation."
"That's why I said 'what if.'"
Hyeon-gak turned to stone at Heuk Do-san's words. If there was even a one-in-ten-thousand chance it was true, it would be catastrophic.
"If that's the case, then why was Gong Cheon-ak captured? He's the master called the Demonic Cult's Sword, the Heavenly Demon's direct disciple. Yet he seemed completely in the dark. You saw it yourself in Dal-dan."
"Do you remember the night the meteor shower fell over the seas off Shandong? A sailboat presumed to carry the Heavenly Demon was spotted. But fearing a trap, everyone just tightened the encirclement from a safe distance. That's when Gong Cheon-ak led the vanguard at full speed to escort the Heavenly Demon. That became the signal, and the full might of the Righteous Alliance converged."
"But the Heavenly Demon had already slipped off the sailboat by then. I saw it with my own two eyes."
"And then the meteor shower poured down intensely. The sea churned, and countless ships sank."
"Then Gong Cheon-ak..."
"Was the sacrifice."
"Why on earth...?"
"There was a rumor among the Demonic Cultists. 'The Seventh Star Lord is not fit to be the Cult Leader. But the one who claims him can become the Cult Leader.'"
"I know that. That's why he's called the Demonic Cult's Sword."
"You need to read between the lines. Gong Cheon-ak couldn't build his own faction or back himself with the Demon Army leaders. In that situation, if one of the twelve disciples had to be sacrificed, who would it be?"
"The biggest fool got taken."
"And now it seems he's become bait for the Righteous Alliance too."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why would the Righteous Alliance bother transporting Gong Cheon-ak and the surviving Demonic Cultists all the way to Jeolla Island? Fear of Pa-ok? If they were worried about the Heavenly Demon, chaining his ankles with Thousand Jin Hammers would have sufficed."
"Then...?"
"Suppose one of the devout surviving Demonic Cultists got their hands on the Jang Bo-do sword. What would they do next?"
"They'd regroup the scattered Demonic Cultists and wait for the day the Heavenly Demon returns leading the Demon Army, right?"
"Then who would they rally around until then?"
"Seventh Star Lord...!"
"The Righteous Alliance is using Gong Cheon-ak as bait, waiting for whoever has the Jang Bo-do sword to show up. Once they seize that treasure, they can solve all their immediate problems at once."
Hyeon-gak was so stunned he couldn't speak. No matter how he thought about it, Heuk Do-san's words seemed like he was forcing the conclusion and fitting everything else around it.
Yet why did his head feel feverish?
Yeom Jin-sang, watching from the side, had gone pale. They'd only been talking for barely an hour since sitting down.
That monster of a man had pieced it all together from just a few clues in that short time.
Of course, it was still pure speculation. But didn't it ring all too true?
'Is that a man or a ghost?'
"So what do we do now?"
Hyeon-gak asked again.
It was the same question people had endlessly asked back in Dal-dan as they trailed after Heuk Do-san's heels.
Heuk Do-san turned to Yeom Jin-sang and asked,
"You said someone else besides us asked about Gold Crow Island's location?"
"Yes."
"Any women among them?"
"How did you know? It was mostly a woman talking, with men who looked like her escorts standing guard."
It was Yong Seol-ran's group. They were searching for Gold Crow Island to rescue Gong Cheon-ak. If they didn't act fast, not only Yong Seol-ran but Gong Cheon-ak and Bing-seol would be in danger.
Once someone got the Jang Bo-do sword, there'd be no reason to keep those two alive.
Hyeon-gak wasn't slow either. He intuited that the woman who'd come looking for Yeom Jin-sang was the one Heuk Do-san had met at Tongman Fortress.
Hyeon-gak said to Yeom Jin-sang,
"Now tell us where Gold Crow Island is."
"I said I don't know earlier."
"After sharing drinks and all this?"
"What can I do if I don't know? At this point, why wouldn't I tell you if I did?"
"To use Gong Cheon-ak as bait, they'd naturally have to reveal Gold Crow Island's location. You're supposed to know the Righteous Alliance's inner workings, so how could you not know?"
"Revealing it too easily might make the enemy suspect a trap, don't you think? And I don't know the Righteous Alliance's inner workings anyway."
"Then what was all that bluffing about?"
"I just pieced together scraps of rumors. Think about it. Would the Righteous Alliance's defenses be so lax that a Black Path gang leader like me could see right through them?"
His expression didn't look like he was lying. Heuk Do-san and Hyeon-gak exchanged troubled glances. Then Yeom Jin-sang cautiously suggested,
"Why not call in Dang Yak-ran and coax it out of her? She owes Heuk hyung her life from before, so she might spill Gold Crow Island's location."
"Can you send a messenger pigeon to the Tang Clan of Sichuan?"
Heuk Do-san perked up and asked.
Messenger pigeons relied on homing instincts, so to send a letter to a specific place, you needed pigeons raised there.
Unless you were an organization like the Beggar Clan or escort agency with branches everywhere in the Central Plains, it was impossible.
Thus, martial artists sent pigeons to the nearest sect, which then relayed them onward.
Even that required a web of connections. For a Black Path gang like Sea Dragon Gate to reach one of the Five Great Clans, the Tang Clan of Sichuan, was especially difficult.
"Forget the Tang Clan of Sichuan. There's the Heavenly Demon Palace west of Mount Tai—no, it's the Righteous Alliance's Shandong branch now. Anyway, they're there."
Mount Tai was a famed peak not far from Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, just a day's fast ride from Bongrae.
"Dang Yak-ran is at the Heavenly Demon Palace?"
"She's been stationed there for a while."
"Stationed?"
"The Dark Soul Ghost Armor Brigade under Seop Dae-gang is garrisoned there, training rigorously every day. With her superior and lover there, of course Dang Yak-ran would be with him."
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Hyeon-gak grabbed Yeom Jin-sang by the collar. Then he shot Heuk Do-san a sidelong glance, his face drained of color.
"What... do you mean by that?"
Heuk Do-san asked.
Yeom Jin-sang, still gripped by the collar, alternated glances between Hyeon-gak and Heuk Do-san. Then he whispered to Hyeon-gak like a mosquito,
"You didn't tell him?"
Hyeon-gak, unable to advance or retreat, swallowed dryly. He flung Yeom Jin-sang aside and said to Heuk Do-san,
"It's like this..."
Heuk Do-san raised a hand to silence Hyeon-gak. He glared fiercely at Yeom Jin-sang and said,
"Speak."
"It's..."
"Hurry!"
"Something absurd happened last year. Not long after returning from Dal-dan. Mo Yong-ak went on a mission and got hit by some poison fog from unknown enemies, driving her mad... no, messing up her mind."
"Mo Yong-ak went insane?"
"Even so, Seop Dae-gang insisted on going through with the wedding. But the Moyong Clan politely refused. They couldn't burden the Huashan Sect with sending an insane daughter. Truthfully, they had no choice. What father in the world would marry off a mad daughter?"
What thunderbolt was this?
The woman who'd braved Dal-dan's perils to return to the Central Plains martial world, suddenly driven mad by poison fog.
Her words still echoed: she'd marry Seop Dae-gang and climb to the world's highest peak.
"Did you say Mo Yong-ak went on the mission with the Ghostly Ten Spirits?"
'Something's off.'
Heuk Do-san sensed it instinctively.
The day before in the Snow Mountain cave, Seop Dae-gang had used his fiancée Mo Yong-ak as bait for the Snow Mountain Elder to snatch the Ten Thousand Great Heaven Palms manual.
Could this be Seop Dae-gang's doing too? The bastard was capable of it. The issue was motive.
"How did he end up lovers with Dang Yak-ran?"
"Not long after Mo Yong-ak's incident, Dang Yak-ran was nearly killed in an ambush by surviving Demonic Cultists."
"You're sure it was Demonic Cultists?"
"Who else would dare target her life? Anyway, Seop Dae-gang showed up, slaughtered them all, and saved her. After that, she volunteered for the Dark Soul Ghost Armor Brigade. The rest goes without saying. When a man and woman spend time together, feelings naturally develop—it's the law of the universe, right?"
"Shut up! Spouting bullshit when you don't know jack!"
Hyeon-gak exploded. He signaled with his eyes for Yeom Jin-sang to scram. Yeom Jin-sang quietly slipped away.
Heuk Do-san said,
"Don't go far. Wait."
Yeom Jin-sang paused briefly, then continued to the hall where his subordinates were huddled against the cold.
With just the two left, Hyeon-gak said,
"I was going to tell you..."
"Get to the point, short and simple."
"Remember when I said Seop Dae-gang sent men to find out about Heuk Ye-mong? He actually meant to kill her. But the Tang young lady stopped him."
"So Dang Yak-ran knows I have a daughter?"
"That's how it turned out. Seop Dae-gang promised right there. Then that lunatic suddenly confessed to her."
"Why the hell?"
"As you know, he has big ambitions. With Mo Yong-ak ruined, he needed solid backing. In that regard, the Tang Clan of Sichuan is the best."
"Why?"
"While all sects suffered huge losses in the ten-year war, the Tang Clan supplied herbs and weapons, amassing wealth. By now, they're practically overlords of the Southern martial world. They can't compare to the Moyong Clan ruling the Liaodong Five Districts now, unlike ten years ago."
"That much?"
"Plus, the Tang Clan has always taken sons-in-law. To keep their poison arts, hidden weapons, and medicine from leaking out. That means marrying into the Tang Clan grants access to it all. A shrewd man could even use the Tang Clan like his own family."
'So that's it.'
Heuk Do-san was convinced Seop Dae-gang had poisoned Mo Yong-ak. Maybe even the ploy of pretending to kill Heuk Ye-mong to leak info to Dang Yak-ran was his scheme.
Of course, it was all hypothesis now. But the coincidences were too perfect.
Seop Dae-gang had no clue, but he was Dang Yak-ran's first love. She'd pined for him for over a decade.
"So?"
"The Tang young lady seems to have accepted his proposal to save Heuk Ye-mong."
"You're sure it was out of necessity?"
"Well... I'm not entirely sure."
"..."
"But no need to worry too much. The Poison King stepped in to block Seop Dae-gang's plans. That's why they haven't wed yet and are just lovers."
"You mean the Tang Clan Head?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"No idea. Maybe the old veteran's eyes saw through Seop Dae-gang's black heart. Or he couldn't stomach taking a son-in-law who'd been betrothed to Mo Yong-ak. Either way, without the Poison King's approval, Seop Dae-gang won't get his way. He's a terrifying man."
"Has Dang Yak-ran met Heuk Ye-mong?"
"She came to see Seol Mae-ran, talked half a day, and left. She met Heuk Ye-mong then too."
"..."
"Sigh, that's how it happened. I truly didn't expect it..."
"Seol Mae-ran never mentioned it."
"I strictly told her not to breathe a word."
"What did they talk about?"
"Nothing much, from what I heard. They sat silently sipping tea for a while, then she asked if Seol Mae-ran loved him. Seol Mae-ran didn't know what to say and stayed quiet."
"..."
"Then Heuk Ye-mong came back. She stared at the child for a long time and asked if she wouldn't come to the Tang Clan with her. I think she meant to protect her under the Tang Clan's shadow."
"..."
"If Heuk Ye-mong went to the Tang Clan, everything would fall apart. Seol Mae-ran, knowing the situation, flatly refused. Heuk Ye-mong refused too, saying she couldn't leave her mother."
"..."
"The Tang young lady sat there a while longer before leaving. She apologized for the sudden visit and impropriety. Said she was just a fleeting connection with Heuk Do-san, so no need to mind. And that she wouldn't come again."
"You could've met Dang Yak-ran later and told her it wasn't true. That it was all a ploy to lure me out. And that I'm alive."
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
"If the Tang young lady knew you were alive, would she stay put? She'd assemble a rescue team and charge to Dal-dan. That would've surely aroused Seop Dae-gang that bastard's suspicions. I'd be exposed too. If I were exposed, I'd have to leave here, and by now those men in the Northern Cave would all be dead, the girls sold to brothels."
"So you kept quiet?"
"I'm truly sorry. I didn't think it'd blow up this big..."
*Dong!*
He struck the abdomen, but it rang like a great temple bell.
Hyeon-gak flew over ten *zhang* from Heuk Do-san's sudden blow, crashing onto the roof of the hall where Yeom Jin-sang and his men were gathered.
The roof collapsed with a crash and clatter. Yeom Jin-sang and his subordinates scrambled out like they'd been hit by freak lightning.