Chapter 078 - Don't Die.
“Aigoo! Family Head! It's been too long!”
“......”
Go Seokchu flashed a wide, friendly grin as he naturally slid into a seat at Jin Muhon's table. Even though Jin Muhon was in disguise, Go Seokchu recognized him immediately.
Buso-yong, the lord of Okhwa Palace, furrowed her brow slightly at the stranger's intrusion but said nothing, assuming he was an acquaintance of Jin Muhon's.
“Well, well! To think I'd meet the famous Dao Destroyer Muheo in person! And you must be Lady Jin Hayeon, right? I've heard so much about you from the Family Head. Good thing you don't take after him, haha!”
Go Seokchu chattered away cheerfully to the unresponsive group.
Then, lowering his voice, he turned to Buso-yong with a familiar wink.
“But the greatest joy is getting to lay eyes on the world's most beautiful woman.”
Buso-yong's cold gaze flashed through her veil as she glared at him.
“Do you know me?”
“Of course! How could I not know you, Palace Lord? It's an honor.”
“......”
With no response from her, Muheo muttered softly.
“World's most beautiful? That was ages ago.”
“Old man. What was that?”
Buso-yong's sharp eyes turned to Muheo.
“Huh? What? What?”
Muheo blinked innocently, caught off guard.
“What did you just say?”
“Me? I didn't say a thing.”
“......”
As the mood veered off track after Go Seokchu's arrival, Jin Muhon cut in sharply.
“Go Seokchu. Why are you here?”
“Uh... if I said coincidence, you wouldn't buy it, would you?”
“Obviously.”
“Heh.”
Go Seokchu leaned forward over the table, dropping his voice conspiratorially.
“Why do you think? To see you, Family Head.”
“That's what I'm asking. Finally tired of living?”
“Hey now! No need for such grim jokes! You're scaring me.”
“I'm serious.”
Jin Muhon stared at him impassively. Even knowing it was a jest, Go Seokchu felt a chill in his chest under those bottomless eyes.
“I... I came on orders from the Gate Lord.”
“Haomen Lord?”
As Jin Muhon mentioned the Haomen Lord, the others finally pieced together Go Seokchu's identity.
“Yes. He said to report anything unusual about you right away.”
“He did.”
“So here I am! Haha!”
As their conversation continued, Buso-yong and Hongcheong's surprise grew.
The Haomen Lord himself is keeping tabs? Why?
Ah... even the Haomen Lord serves the Family Head.
Though it could be just a simple commission, no one at the table believed Jin Muhon's ties to the Haomen Lord were that straightforward.
Jin Muhon narrowed his eyes.
“Fine. But why did the Sichuan branch chief come all the way here? No work to do?”
“......!”
“......!”
The man they'd taken for a mere Haomen disciple turned out to be a branch chief. Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
Jin Hayeon broke the silence, addressing Go Seokchu.
“Are you really the branch chief?”
“Sure am, Lady Jin.”
“Isn't a branch chief a high position?”
“Haha! In the Murim Alliance, maybe. But for riffraff like us, there's no high or low. Just a worthless guy who pulls a bit more weight.”
For all his modest words, Buso-yong and Hongcheong saw Jin Muhon in a new light.
Makes sense. When your opponent's the Sword Demon.... Even a branch chief's grandpa would have to move in person.
Just as the mood threatened to drift again, Jin Muhon's heavy voice crushed the air.
“Seokchu. Your tongue's extra long today.”
“Pfft!”
“......!”
Jin Hayeon and Hongcheong hurriedly covered their mouths.
Go Seokchu glanced nervously at the women before grumbling at Jin Muhon.
“Come on, Family Head. In front of such lovely ladies...”
“Shut up and say what you came to say, then get out.”
“...Yes. Mind if I have some water first? My throat's parched from the long ride.”
“Drink.”
Go Seokchu gulped down the water like strong liquor and began his report.
“Various sects and families are gathering in Unbong County. Oh, and I'm no longer Sichuan branch—now it's Unbong branch.”
Jin Muhon nodded nonchalantly. He'd ordered a branch for direct contact with the Haomen Lord, and it seemed the order had been carried out swiftly.
“Continue.”
“...Yes.”
Go Seokchu had hoped for at least a welcome, but inwardly cursing Jin Muhon's coldness, he pressed on.
“The Paewangbang and remnants of the old Four Emperors Alliance—big and small sects and families—have gathered around the Jin estate. The alliance wasn't all that hierarchical anyway, so there were constant squabbles for a while.”
“And?”
Jin Muhon's eyes turned icy. Unbong County riffraff causing trouble? Unthinkable.
Go Seokchu swallowed hard and hurried on.
“Well, Jin Baek took care of them without mercy. Things have quieted down lately. Especially the Paewangbang ronin—they're a big help in keeping order.”
“Hm.”
The Jin family's three adopted brothers. He'd left the eldest, Jin Baek, at the main house just in case, and it had paid off.
“What about the clinic?”
As the new Unbong branch chief, Go Seokchu would have the full rundown on the Jin family. Jin Muhon knew the man had the brains for it.
Sure enough, Go Seokchu hit the nail on the head.
“Cheongsu Clinic has Yeon Jeokhwa and Jin Jaryeong. Unless the Nine Great Sects send their elites, no worries there.”
“Good. Drop the 'unit leader' titles.”
“Ah, yes. Old habit. Haha.”
Go Seokchu scratched his head awkwardly. He knew Jin Muhon was hiding his identity but had slipped into familiar terms. Especially with the full disguise.
Truly flawless. I'd have missed it without the heads-up.
Jin Muhon stared at him pointedly.
“That's all?”
“Ah, there's one important thing.”
“Out with it.”
“It's... really important, though...”
Go Seokchu lowered his voice, eyes slyly darting—habitually fishing for info fees.
But under Jin Muhon's steady gaze, the Gate Lord's warning echoed in his mind.
—Don't treat the Sword Demon lightly just because you're friendly! He doesn't think highly of me. One wrong move, and that sword turns on me!
Go Seokchu rubbed his eyes and continued smoothly.
“It's important, so I'll explain calmly. Survivors from Namman Wild Beast Palace—which we thought wiped out.”
“Huh? Namman Wild Beast Palace fell?”
“They're no pushovers. Who hit them?”
Muheo and Buso-yong were stunned this time. The Demonic Cult's handiwork wasn't widely known yet.
“You... didn't know? Well, it's pricey intel, so maybe not.”
“Hey! Who did it?!”
Muheo's raised voice drew eyes from the inn's few patrons. Go Seokchu pressed a finger to his lips.
“Shh. People are listening.”
“Fine, I'll be careful. Who?”
Muheo shoved his face close, demanding an answer.
“Come on, who?!”
“The Demonic Cult.”
“......In the end......”
Muheo and Buso-yong's faces darkened. Jin Hayeon and Hongcheong were too stunned to speak. The Demonic Cult—still a mythical beast to the young women.
Jin Muhon asked next.
“Who survived?”
“Ah, yes. The young palace lord escaped with a few retainers.”
“Where now?”
“Heading to the North Sea.”
“North Sea?”
“Yes.”
The Four Pillars of the old Four Emperors Alliance: North Sea Ice Palace, Namman Wild Beast Palace, Green Forest Eighteen Bands, Black Wind Brigade.
The Green Forest had fallen to the Demonic Cult, and the desert-wandering Black Wind Brigade wasn't easy to reach.
“Seeking aid from North Sea Ice Palace, then.”
“Likely. The young lord wants their power for revenge.”
“North Sea alone won't cut it. They'll be annihilated.”
Even without Cheonma or himself, the Demonic Cult teemed with top-tier demonic experts. A handful of Elder Hall monsters could raze the North Sea.
Drawing steel rashly would spell doom.
“No need to worry. North Sea won't move.”
“True enough.”
“They're so isolationist. Unless their own young lord was kidnapped, they won't budge first.”
“I see.”
Jin Muhon pondered what he'd do in Cheon Gunak's shoes.
Pulling in old Four Emperors sects, crushing Namman Wild Beast Palace—it was all groundwork for something bigger. He'd never stop at this.
Jin Muhon eyed Go Seokchu gravely.
“The Demonic Cult's scheming against the North Sea too. They'll fall otherwise.”
“Uh... that'd put the Murim Alliance in a bind. South and north linking with the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains... the Central Plains would burn in an instant.”
“......Hm.”
“Ah...”
Muheo and Buso-yong, Murim elders, listened with grim faces. This was no tavern chatter—Alliance Lord and key officers needed to convene.
Yet Jin Muhon spoke casually.
“Pull two of the Lord's escorts to Cheongsu Clinic.”
“Ah, yes. One moment.”
Go Seokchu whipped out a small brush from his bosom, wetting it with saliva.
“Go on.”
“Yeon Jeokhwa and Jin Jaryeong at Cheongsu Clinic return to Unbong County.”
“Return. Return. Yes.”
Go Seokchu scribbled furiously.
“Make Jin Baek leader, Yeon Jeokhwa and Jin Jaryeong deputies. Pick capable men from Unbong County and head north immediately. Supplies from Yangtze River Gang Ak Manho. No ragtag bunch—they'll just die. Minimum Paewangbang ronin level.”
“Uh... this is hefty. Hold on.”
Scribble. Scribble. Scratch-scratch.
The brush flew across the paper. As Jin Muhon's orders flowed, Muheo clamped his mouth shut, and Buso-yong's eyes widened further.
“Avoid direct fights, buy time. I'll finish Anhui business and come. Hold till then.”
“Till then... Yes. Done?”
Go Seokchu looked up. Jin Muhon met his gaze like he would one of his three brothers.
“Don't die.”
“......”
Go Seokchu froze, mouth agape. Then he bowed his head and wrote the final command. His hand trembled faintly.