Chapter 320
Chapter 320
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 320
>Chapter Title: Lust (4)
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‘In the end, those Left and Right Great Virtues are the problem.’
The Heavenly Demon who assigned this mission had mentioned it.
The Esoteric Buddhist monks of Potala Palace boasted profound inner arts through their bedroom techniques.
But he hadn’t said anything about them engaging in such vile acts.
In other words, as the old woman and these monks claimed, it meant the religion had been running somewhat normally until a few years ago.
While Il-mok was sorting through his thoughts, the two Esoteric Buddhist monks opened their mouths with servile gazes.
“W-We were just following orders to s-survive.”
“A-As we mentioned earlier, those who rebelled were all k-killed by the Left and Right Great Virtues.”
They remembered it. The sight of this man sparing the village residents.
Because of Potala Palace’s command, they had no choice but to offer up young girls, yet this man had shown mercy.
‘S-So we might.’
‘B-Be able to live too.’
Clinging to such hopes, they begged for their lives.
But what returned was a cold gaze.
“Pathetic. You all knew, didn’t you?”
“W-What do you mean we knew?”
“The missing Dalai Lama, the brutal nature of the Left and Right Great Virtues, the twisted ways of Potala Palace. You knew, didn’t you? That the Dalai Lama who had entered secluded meditation had already become a departed soul.”
“W-We don’t know a-anything.”
“W-We just did as we were told to s-survive.”
At their pleas, one corner of Il-mok’s mouth curled up. But his eyes remained utterly indifferent.
“You’re no different from the Left and Right Great Virtues. Vermin who crossed lines they shouldn’t have, intoxicated by pleasure and the thrill of growing stronger.”
At Il-mok’s verdict, they thrashed about desperately, begging for mercy.
Then, something strange happened.
With their violent movements, red lines appeared on their necks, followed by a sharp pain that came belatedly.
Déjà vu filled their eyes with despair, fear, and rage.
But there was nothing they could do.
Their faces were already slipping free from their necks, falling to the floor.
Thud.
* * *
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang indifferently gazed at the two corpses still spurting blood, then turned his head to look at Il-mok.
“A far too peaceful end for such vermin.”
“It’s enough to execute the wicked. No need to become monsters like them.”
“Hmm.”
After stroking his beard thoughtfully at Il-mok’s response for a moment, Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang asked again.
“Then, what’s your plan now? Seems like you’ve investigated Potala Palace well enough.”
“I plan to head straight to Potala Palace.”
At Il-mok’s bold reply, Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang and the five Hyeok-ryeon clan warriors who came with him looked at him in surprise.
But those who had been with Il-mok weren’t particularly shocked.
“Hmm. Planning to make use of the element of surprise?”
To Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang’s question, Il-mok answered.
“Yes.”
“There might be considerable casualties. In the worst case, you could die.”
“This is the best option. We’ve already killed these two, so if we delay, word will reach Potala Palace, won’t it?”
“On the other hand, they’d have time to prepare too. Like sending word to the main headquarters for reinforcements.”
Il-mok shook his head.
“That would be a bad move. No matter how chaotic the Central Plains are, if the Divine Cult moves on a large scale, there’s a risk of being discovered. And above all.”
Pausing for a moment, Il-mok stared steadily at Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang.
He had accompanied them almost silently until they arrived here, yet now he was nitpicking his decisions, as if issuing a warning.
“While we delay, more young girls will be dragged away.”
But Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang was no ordinary elder to shrink from Il-mok’s gaze.
“Hmm. A bit emotional for a commander’s words.”
“Do you want a rational answer? Fine. More young girls will be dragged away. As a result, the Esoteric Buddhist monks’ inner arts will grow even stronger. But that’s a secondary issue.”
“Then, what’s the fundamental problem?”
As Il-mok and Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang stared at each other like they were in a staring contest, the group split into two factions.
Il-mok’s maidservants moved to his side, while the warriors from the Hyeok-ryeon clan stood behind Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang.
In the tense atmosphere on the verge of explosion, Il-mok answered Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang.
“The fundamental problem is that we’re the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Since when did our Divine Cult ever weigh the odds of success before facing the wicked?”
As if peering into Il-mok’s soul, Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang stared into his eyes before bursting into hearty laughter.
“You’re right. As demonic cultivators of the Divine Cult, that’s exactly how it should be. Hahaha.”
At the old man’s sudden change in attitude, Il-mok felt the tension drain from him.
‘Has he lost his mind?’
It seemed he’d need to look into a spot for him in Mang-ah-ryeong.
* * *
Il-mok and his group left Anda County and headed for Potala Palace.
While riding toward a distance of hundreds of li,
Jeong-hyeon cautiously spoke up.
“H-Ha-yeon senior, there’s something I don’t understand, so m-may I ask one thing?”
“Ask freely.”
After traveling together for over three years, they had grown somewhat comfortable with each other.
Jeong-hyeon struggled with others approaching due to side effects, and Jin Ha-yeon strictly separated work and personal matters with her businesslike nature.
Jin Ha-yeon’s characteristic coolness might feel distant to some, but to Jeong-hyeon, that moderate distance felt comfortable.
“I u-understand that Potala Palace has f-fallen due to those Left and Right Great Virtues, but I don’t get why they’re still allowing those two to remain as Left and Right Great Virtues.”
At Jeong-hyeon’s question, Jin Ha-yeon furrowed her delicate brows.
She had only thought of executing Potala Palace’s wicked at Il-mok’s command. She hadn’t pondered such matters.
But hearing Jeong-hyeon, it did seem odd.
They had even killed the Dalai Lama, yet instead of taking the empty seat, they were pretending he was alive.
If it were a throne or royal seat determined by bloodline, that might be one thing, but there was no reason to leave the position vacant after killing even those who rebelled.
Those around them who overheard the conversation also seemed to realize it then, each lost in thought.
While no one could easily come up with an answer, Il-mok spoke up lightly.
“Miss Jin, Miss Jeong. Mind if I answer instead?”
“That’s fine with me.”
“I-I’ll l-listen carefully.”
“First off, my reasoning is just my speculation, not certain, so no need to take it as absolute truth.”
Il-mok laid some groundwork first, then shared his inference.
“They left the Dalai Lama position vacant probably due to greed and distrust.”
“Greed and distrust?”
Jin Ha-yeon asked back with a puzzled expression. She was just the representative speaker. The others looked equally baffled.
“They’re the ones who killed the Dalai Lama, the greatest elder and member of their sect in Potala Palace, all for their greed toward martial arts and power. How great do you think that greed is? And those with great greed usually harbor great distrust as well. Humans naturally judge others by comparing them to themselves.”
“We know they’re greedy. But if they’re so greedy, why leave the Dalai Lama’s position untouched?”
When Jin Ha-yeon asked in evident confusion, Il-mok smiled faintly and replied.
“You’re right, but there’s one problem with that.”
“What problem?”
“There’s one seat and two people.”
At Il-mok’s words, those listening around them let out soft exclamations of realization.
Amid that, only Jin Ha-yeon still wore a puzzled look.
“Even if one becomes Dalai Lama, they could just share power. Or take turns ascending.”
The reason Jin Ha-yeon alone couldn’t understand them was simple. From her cool-headed perspective, a logical solution was clear.
But most humans weren’t so cool-headed.
Knowing that, Il-mok intended to explain it to her.
“Hahaha. That would be a method if thinking coolly, but they don’t trust each other. If the other takes the Dalai Lama seat first, they won’t leave them be.”
“But aren’t they twins?”
“Miss Jin, there are far too many cases in this world where greed-blinded people betray even heavenly principles.”
At Il-mok’s final words, the group fell into thoughtful silence.
Among them was Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang, but he wasn’t reflecting on Il-mok’s teachings.
‘Hmm.’
He was recalling Il-mok’s actions during this journey.
The youngest young master was peculiar in many ways.
In fact, during the journey to the western regions, he had started to rethink his judgment of the Eighth Young Master.
Though hailed as a genius in the Divine Cult, he had seemed somewhat lazy.
But his actions in Anda County had exceeded expectations in many ways.
‘His talent for martial arts is beyond doubt.’
The level of the Esoteric Buddhist monks Il-mok faced wasn’t that high, by Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang’s standards.
Yet, regardless of the opponents’ level, Il-mok’s swordsmanship captivated his eyes.
It wasn’t some special technique, but movements so concise and clean they raised goosebumps.
Moreover, when he subdued them at the end with that method, for some reason, a faint shadow of the current Heavenly Demon seemed to flicker.
The youngest young master’s extraordinary qualities weren’t just that.
‘Cautious, but decisive once resolved.’
He had been the same when rescuing the young girls from the monks and after executing them.
He first attempted dialogue to confirm no mistakes on his part.
Once confirmed as wicked, he acted with bold resolve, without the slightest hesitation.
‘If it were the First Young Master, he’d have probably cut their heads off without a word.’
The First Young Master’s anger issues were particularly severe, but most of the Demonic Cult was like that.
That made the youngest young master’s approach stand out even more in the Demonic Cult.
But what pleased Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang most was something else.
‘Heh. Success odds don’t matter when executing the wicked.’
As members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, that was how they should act.
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang had nitpicked only to test the youngest young master.
If Il-mok had advocated caution in that situation or chosen to request reinforcements from the main headquarters and retreat, Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang would have abandoned all expectations without regret.
He would have ensured his granddaughter Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a never approached Il-mok again.
Even if she begged tearfully or unleashed killing intent at him.
‘Heh. Seems Seon-a’s eyes are sharper than I thought.’
The man his granddaughter chose as her lord seemed more capable than expected.
Of course, a man like that was why she was so obsessed.
‘...Even to the point of abandoning this old grandfather.’
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang hadn’t forgotten.
The moment he tested Il-mok.
When Il-mok and Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang faced off, the group split cleanly into two.
And his granddaughter Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a had moved behind Il-mok without the slightest hesitation.
‘Heh... They say raising kids is pointless.’
Feeling a sting in his eyes, Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang tilted his head up to gaze at the clear blue sky.
He was just deep in self-cultivation, not showing it outwardly.
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang was no position to curse others for doting on their sons.