Chapter 360
Chapter 360
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 360
Chapter Title: The Dead Return
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Jin Do-ha's forehead wrinkles twitched.
Have you ever seen a dead person come back to life?
'I have.'
Hard to believe, but he couldn't deny it.
The man standing right in front of him was Lee Soo-hyuk. He'd taken part in killing him and even seen the body with his own eyes, yet there was no mistaking it—this was Lee Soo-hyuk.
For some reason, he'd died once and come back to life. There was no other explanation, so all Jin Do-ha could do was chalk it up to one of the Tower's vast mysteries.
Until now, he'd kept his identity hidden. The moment he revealed it, those who'd joined in killing him would come gunning for him.
Yet here he was, bringing it up in front of all these people?
Did he feel that confident now?
'If it comes out that you're really Lee Soo-hyuk, things will change.'
The bad blood between Blue Eyes and Murim would come to light too.
But.
'That'll never happen.'
How could anyone believe a dead man had returned? Plus, Lee Soo-hyuk had always worn a mask, so no one even knew his face.
The instant he claimed the truth, nine times out of ten, he'd be branded a fraud.
Knowing that, Jin Do-ha felt uneasy.
He didn't think Lee Soo-hyuk was clueless about something this basic. He wouldn't be this bold without ironclad proof of his identity.
But the thought didn't last.
Jin Do-ha pretended ignorance in response to Lee Soo-hyuk's question.
"How could a dead man come back to life? That's impossible."
"No, it is possible. You'll see soon enough."
"You don't mean... this, do you?"
Shing—
Jin Do-ha drew his sword. For a moment, it seemed like he might swing it in one swift motion, but that wasn't his intent.
His blade pointed off into the distance. Sword energy shot from the tip, slicing through the shadows by the wall.
And in the next instant.
Whoosh—
Like a black cat leaping over a fence, something pitch-black rocketed into the sky at blinding speed.
"Stealth?!"
"An assassin was hiding!"
"Everyone, watch out for assassins!"
They raised a commotion, but there was only one opponent.
Jin Do-ha glanced at Ye-ryeong, who had landed beside Lee Soo-hyuk and Unhyang with swift aerial movement.
"Looks like we're witnessing a dead man return to life after all."
He turned Lee Soo-hyuk's words back on him. Ye-ryeong ground her teeth as her position was exposed.
"That damn old coot's been onto me from the start."
During the days she'd hidden in the Murim Alliance, Jin Do-ha had sensed her presence but played dumb. All for this moment, revealing her stealth in front of everyone.
The Shadow King who'd killed the head of the Sacheon Tang Clan was infiltrating the Murim Alliance in hiding.
It was far too suspicious. Most of the martial artists already suspected the three of assassinating the Alliance Leader and Chief Strategist.
But.
"Not her."
Lee Soo-hyuk nodded toward the distance.
"I meant over there."
Step, step—
The sound of several footsteps rang out clearly. Figures emerged, revealing their presence, right in the direction Lee Soo-hyuk had indicated.
Through the wide-open doors that countless people had entered, four individuals stepped in.
The crowd gasped at the faces of the two leading the way.
"Alliance Leader!"
"Even the Chief Strategist?"
Chaos erupted at the return of the Alliance Leader and Chief Strategist. Just as Lee Soo-hyuk had said, the dead had truly come back to life.
And it wasn't just them.
Of the other two with them, one was Song Hwi, the vice captain of the guard who'd informed Jin Do-ha of the Alliance Leader's death.
Song Hwi was trembling. He kept stealing glances at the Chief Strategist, looking as shocked as the others at seeing a dead man alive.
But no one's shock compared to Jin Do-ha's.
He maintained a composed expression, but his eyes betrayed uncontrollable trembling.
"Hwa-young!"
Namgung Ga-hwi, Namgung Hwa-young's father, called out to her.
"What in the world is going on?"
Namgung Hwa-young's gaze lingered on her father for a moment. But she didn't answer his question, turning her eyes away instead.
His face hardened at being ignored.
'How dare she snub me?'
The thought was fleeting.
On one side, the questioning of Jin Do-ha—who'd brought the news of the Alliance Leader's death—began.
"What happened?"
The one who spoke up was Baek Mu-gak, leader of the Extermination Squad.
Close to Namgung Hwa-young as he was, he'd been angrier than anyone at Lee Soo-hyuk over the Alliance Leader's death. Now, with the Leader alive, joy and confusion mixed within him.
Jin Do-ha set aside his turmoil and answered.
"Seems there was some mix-up."
"What kind of mix-up leads to hearing that the Alliance Leader is dead?"
"Someone fooled me."
Jin Do-ha's gaze shifted to the Chief Strategist, Zhuge Dan-cheon, who had appeared alongside Namgung Hwa-young.
"Otherwise, how could a dead Chief Strategist come back to life?"
This, at least, rang true.
Most people here had confirmed the Chief Strategist's death themselves. For him to return—it was undeniably strange.
Having cleared that hurdle, Jin Do-ha turned to Lee Soo-hyuk.
Lee Soo-hyuk's eyes were smiling. Jin Do-ha realized this situation had been orchestrated by him.
'Clever little...'
He had to navigate this somehow. But it wouldn't be easy.
Song Hwi, who'd contacted him claiming the Alliance Leader was dead, was here now. He'd walked into a trap.
"I guess everyone thought I was dead."
Namgung Hwa-young scanned the gathered crowd.
Heads of families, Alliance leaders, elders—all of them.
She addressed them.
"As you can see, I'm alive. But I nearly died for real. If not for the help of those people over there, I might have."
She cleared up the misunderstanding about Lee Soo-hyuk first. Nothing carried more weight than the person's own testimony, so the crowd's suspicions dissolved quickly.
"In fact, it was I who asked them for help."
With those words, her gaze turned to Jin Do-ha.
"I told them the former Alliance Leader was plotting against me and begged for their aid."
The room buzzed. The claim that Jin Do-ha was scheming was shocking enough, but saying it in front of everyone was even more so.
The moment the Alliance Leader spoke those words, this gathering became a tribunal where lives hung in the balance between current and former Leader.
But Jin Do-ha, who'd weathered countless life-or-death battles and tribunals, still wore a relaxed expression.
"A misunderstanding. Why would I do such a thing?"
"That's what I wonder. What greed drives an old man like you to stoop to this?"
Twitch.
Words that provoked even him.
Jin Do-ha's gaze naturally shifted to Lee Soo-hyuk. Having shed his false accusation, Lee Soo-hyuk walked forward steadily.
The crowd parted left and right. He approached Jin Do-ha in an instant.
Lee Soo-hyuk no longer showed Jin Do-ha any courtesy.
There was no need anymore.
"This is your style. Pretending to be upright while scheming behind the scenes, betraying everyone. Cowardly and filthy."
Lee Soo-hyuk wanted to ask.
Did you tempt Kim Il-su too? Did you play a decisive role in that guy's betrayal?
But he couldn't ask that here.
"Couldn't control Murim from the shadows, so now you'll do it out in the open?"
"Enough. I only relayed what the vice captain reported to me."
"Why report to you? Who the hell are you?"
A few nodded at Lee Soo-hyuk's words.
No matter Jin Do-ha's influence in the Alliance, he held no official position—he was an outsider.
It was utterly unnatural for a guard vice captain to report the Alliance Leader's death to him.
'This is trouble.'
Jin Do-ha had considered it too, but dismissed it as irrelevant.
Whether he'd heard the news legitimately or not, once the Leader was dead, he'd seize power in the Alliance. A minor issue like this would blow over.
But as things grew complicated, the problem surfaced.
"You tell them."
Jin Do-ha turned to Song Hwi.
"Why did you give me that false report?"
"I, uh... that was..."
Song Hwi couldn't answer right away. He'd come to testify, but Jin Do-ha terrified him.
Whose side should he take? Maybe his life was ruined either way.
As Song Hwi hesitated, Jin Do-ha scowled. The delay alone would work against him.
Finally, Song Hwi squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.
"Elder Jin Do-ha... ordered me to kill the Alliance Leader. He promised me the guard captain position in the Murim Alliance he'd lead someday."
No one sighed or raged.
Everyone held their breath. But they couldn't hold back their stares at Jin Do-ha.
Jin Do-ha stood silently, lips pressed tight.
He was furious.
"The guard captain who plotted with me died by my hand. And this one—"
Namgung Hwa-young forced the man she'd brought with Song Hwi to his knees. His acupoints sealed, he could only roll his eyes toward Ye-ryeong.
Zhuge Dan-cheon explained the kneeling man.
"He's Yu Gwang of the Blood Shadow Sect. Their sect leader, known as the Shadow King in assassin circles."
"Blood Shadow Sect..."
"Isn't that where the assassin who killed the Chief Strategist came from?"
"I heard they were wiped out."
Jin Do-ha's eyes widened. Blood Shadow Sect leader? Yu Gwang? He'd destroyed the sect himself and killed their leader personally.
But he couldn't say that here. Claiming the man was fake and that he'd killed the Shadow King himself would admit his involvement.
Zhuge Dan-cheon continued amid the murmurs.
"I survived thanks to that man over there too. Sorry for faking my death and causing confusion. It was necessary to draw out the culprits without becoming targets again."
"This is the Blood Shadow Sect's assassin commission ledger."
Ye-ryeong picked up from him.
She flipped open the ledger from her bosom, drawing all eyes.
"Cross-check it with the list of victims killed by Blood Shadow assassins and the timelines. You'll see if it's real or not."
"Assassins keeping a ledger? You expect us to believe that?"
Ye-ryeong sneered at Jin Do-ha's rebuttal of fabricated evidence.
"And what do you believe about those assassins? That they honor client loyalty so much they leave no evidence?"
"......"
"Assassins are the kings of cowardice by nature. If you really trusted them, you're a fool."
Jin Do-ha looked up silently. He no longer protested innocence or cried foul.
Even without his reaction, everyone here who knew him understood. Jin Do-ha was more than capable of it.
"In that case..."
Jin Do-ha, head raised, gazed at the sky. It was the usual blue, but today it seemed oppressively gray.
"I'll just have to take it by force."