Chapter 329
Chapter 329
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 329
>Chapter Title: Shadow (4)
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“If that’s the case, I’ll stay behind and send one of the warriors to the main headquarters.”
When Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang expressed his refusal, Il-mok firmly shook his head.
“That won’t do. This letter contains instructions for governing this place from now on. It must be delivered to Master in person, so I ask that you, as the family head, take care of it yourself.”
The justification was impeccable, but his true intentions were different.
He simply wanted to chase away Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang, who kept sowing doubts. He planned to use the family’s warriors as laborers and Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang as a mere messenger.
Before Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang, who had seen through his scheme, could open his mouth,
“Besides, didn’t you say so yourself, family head? I’m the one in command of this mission. Surely the grand head of the Hyeok-ryeon family isn’t going back on his word?”
“…….”
With Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang at a loss for words from the direct hit,
Rustle.
Il-mok pulled out another letter and held it out to him again.
“You’re planning to go around the Taklamakan Desert anyway, so stop by Lanzhou in Gansu Province on your way and deliver this to Young Master Guyang.”
Il-mok was treating Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang like a proper errand boy.
* * *
A month after Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang departed from the Potala Palace with Il-mok’s letter.
One day, the Heavenly Demon burst into hearty laughter upon hearing from Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang, who had returned from the Western Regions, about everything that had transpired.
“Are you that amused?”
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang asked with a wry smile, and the Heavenly Demon replied with a satisfied grin.
“How could I not be? Word has come that my youngest has once again struck down the wicked who tormented the common folk.”
“…….”
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang found himself at a loss to argue, as the Heavenly Demon skipped over the part where he’d been used as a messenger.
‘A master and his disciple, indeed.’
Everyone in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult already knew the Heavenly Demon doted on the youngest young master, but now it seemed he cherished him most precisely because he took after him so closely.
“Heh heh. I never imagined the Potala Palace would turn into such an evil den in just a few short years. It seems I was right to send you along with the youngest.”
Changing the subject smoothly, the Heavenly Demon glanced at the letter placed before Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang.
“So, is that letter from the youngest?”
“Yes.”
As Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang held it out, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master stepped forward and delivered it to the Heavenly Demon.
“Hmm.”
After reading the letter through, the Heavenly Demon set it down and asked Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang,
“It seems reinforcements will be quite insufficient for governing the Western Regions?”
“On my way here to the main headquarters, I already stopped by Gansu Province.”
At Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang’s response, the Heavenly Demon burst into laughter once more.
“Hah hah hah hah hah.”
“…Are you that delighted that your youngest disciple used me as an errand boy?”
“How could I not be delighted? Do you remember, my friend? The first time we met Il-mok. Back then, you tried to kill him.”
“…….”
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang was silenced once again by the Heavenly Demon’s words, which struck right at the core, just like the youngest young master’s.
That greenhorn who’d been flip-flopping between killing and sparing him had grown in just a few years to the point where he could order him around like a messenger.
If he had killed the youngest young master back then, none of this would have happened.
He wouldn’t have grown into a vessel worthy of leading the Cult’s future, nor treated him like a mere errand boy.
With a faint smile lingering on his lips, the Heavenly Demon gazed steadily at Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang and asked,
“So, what did you think of him, having observed him up close?”
Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang had said he would accompany him on this journey to gauge Il-mok’s potential.
“…It seems my granddaughter’s eyes were sharper after all. This old man’s vision must have clouded with age.”
Of course, the stated reason had been to assess him not as a future Cult Leader, but as a lord for Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.
* * *
A month prior, the Heavenly Demon recalled his conversation with Hyeok-ryeon Cheon-gang, who had arrived with the letter, and sorted through his thoughts with a faint smile.
Soon after, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
“I have conveyed Your Supremacy’s will to Demon Lord Ma. I also confirmed with my own eyes that the Third Young Master entered the Serenity Garden before returning.”
“You’ve done well.”
Nodding with a much more relaxed expression, the Heavenly Demon said something the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master never expected.
“I’ll entrust this matter solely to the Shadow Assassination Division and order them to keep it silent.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master, blurting out the question without thinking, startled himself and dropped to his knees in shock.
As the Heavenly Demon’s shadow, how dare he question his lord’s command? It was unthinkable.
No matter how absurd the order—even if it were to commit seppuku—he was bound to obey without a word of protest.
“Forgive me, my lord. Punish this disloyal servant.”
“Hah hah hah. I know it came from concern for this old man, so think nothing of it.”
With that, the Heavenly Demon looked upon the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master with a gentle expression.
“As you think, I haven’t entirely dismissed the idea of war with the imperial palace right away. While this old man still lives, taking the Han Emperor’s head might even be possible.”
“If Your Supremacy sets your mind to it, what could be impossible?”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master lifted his bowed head and replied.
In his eyes reflected the Heavenly Demon’s face, gazing down at him with a soft expression.
“But it occurred to me: even if this old man somehow takes the Han Emperor’s head, what would change?”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master couldn’t comprehend the Heavenly Demon’s words.
Punish the wicked. What else could there be?
To such a Silver Shadow Pavilion Master, the Heavenly Demon continued as if imparting a lesson.
“The Central Plains is a vast and fertile land, incomparable to this Xinjiang. Even if this old man kills the Han Emperor, the current might of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult isn’t enough to rule the Central Plains.”
“Who would dare oppose Your Supremacy after you’ve executed the Han Emperor?”
“No one could stand against me directly. But how could this old man rule every corner of that vast Central Plains at once? To govern a place, you need civil officials to spread the sovereign’s will far and wide, and soldiers to crush those who defy it and torment the common folk. But our current Cult lacks that capacity.”
“The Cult’s warriors will burn their bodies to ash proclaiming Your Supremacy’s will and slaying the wicked.”
“Hah hah hah. Aren’t they already doing so? Do you truly think we could manage ruling the entire Central Plains in our current state?”
“…….”
Only then did the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master understand the Heavenly Demon’s point.
Thus, he had no reply.
He too knew how worn down the division heads and warriors already were.
They were barely managing to govern just Xinjiang and Gansu Province, pushed to the brink of exhaustion.
“The remnants of the Han and the hypocrites of the righteous sects entrenched in the Central Plains will stir up rebellions everywhere. How many innocents will bleed in the process? But the true greatest problem is something else.”
“What is it?”
“The fact that this old man doesn’t have much time left.”
“H-how can you say such a thing? Your Supremacy is still—”
“Ho. Let me finish. Suppose we execute the Han Emperor and fail to stabilize the Central Plains before this old man dies? Or worse, if I die in the midst of war with the Han?”
“…….”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master was speechless.
He could imagine the horrors that would follow.
Right in the heat of war. Or before the Central Plains could even be stabilized, the leader vanishes, and a battle for the Cult Leader’s throne erupts.
In that case, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would crumble like a castle built on sand.
As the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master unwittingly envisioned that grim scene,
“Hah hah hah. Don’t look so glum. This old man hasn’t given up.”
For some reason, the Heavenly Demon opened his mouth with a benevolent smile.
“The children who’ve completed training at the Demon Horse Division under the eldest will increase in number. In the Central Plains where the third is active, our followers are growing with Gansu as a base. And in the Missionary Garden where the sixth resides, we’re expanding northward and into foreign lands.”
The Heavenly Demon had omitted one, but the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master knew who it was without being told.
The Demon Horse Division of the eldest young master, Gansu Province of the third young master, the Missionary Garden of the sixth young master.
All of it had been set in motion by the eighth young master, Il-mok.
They were tasks he had prepared the foundations for and handed over to each young master.
“Thanks to my disciples, the Cult is advancing so swiftly that in ten years, we’ll have the power to rule the Central Plains. Hah hah hah. Yes, in ten years, we’ll even achieve our long-cherished dream of reclaiming it.”
The Heavenly Demon intended to bide his time, invoking the tale of King Goujian who endured hardship for revenge.
He trusted in the tremendous momentum of the rapidly growing Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. He knew that starting a war would halt that growth.
If there was just one regret,
“Hah hah hah. It saddens me that this old man won’t live to see that dream fulfilled.”
“My lord….”
As the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master looked up at him with eyes brimming with inexpressible sorrow, the Heavenly Demon gave a wry smile.
“I’m sorry to you and the others as well. You’ve wasted your years serving an incompetent Heavenly Demon.”
“Nonsense!! Even if the eldest and youngest young masters are leading the Cult’s growth, how could that be their achievement alone? It’s only possible because Your Supremacy stabilized the Cult. You tilled the soil, allowing the young masters to sow the seeds—and now those seeds are sprouting!”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master cried out with blood-curdling loyalty, and the Heavenly Demon smiled gently.
“Hah hah hah. Is that so?”
It might seem like mere flattery, but the Heavenly Demon found comfort in the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master’s words.
“So my years weren’t in vain after all.”
A consolation for the time that had passed.
And hope for the future as well.
‘Seeds sown by those children on the foundation I built. I wonder just how far they’ll grow.’
The Heavenly Demon’s decision to forgo war stemmed, in part, from that very hope.
The Heavenly Demon of old might have boldly chosen war the moment he learned of the palace’s involvement.
Back then, he was a benevolent Heavenly Demon who cherished the Cult, but not a true ruler.
He knew little of what it took to govern a land.
But after Il-mok’s appearance, he had changed.
He realized that even ruling this narrow, harsh Xinjiang required attention to countless details.
He understood that the current Heavenly Demon Divine Cult couldn’t yet embrace the Central Plains.
And that one day, it would.
Amusingly, both realizations had come from Il-mok.
“Heh heh heh. Youngest, it’s because of you that this old man is giving up on war—you’ll have to take responsibility for that someday.”
Naturally, the Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned southward.
Toward where Il-mok was currently spreading the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s teachings under the name of the Maitreya Illuminated Church in the Western Regions.
* * *
At the Potala Palace in the Western Regions.
In the palace once used by the Dalai Lama, a man scribbling something suddenly let out a loud cough.
“Achoo!”
Even with his body reborn through marrow cleansing, he felt drained, and he muttered in complaint.
“Damn it. Once this job’s done, I’m really holing up in some quiet countryside for a full year to rest.”
The man was indulging in a pipe dream.
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