Cold Smile and the Bitter Truth
“Hahaha!”
Hyeolsa Dokgounyeong let out a cold laugh, and Pyungonja saw it.
“……”
Pyungonja’s gaze made Dokgounyeong sigh softly and speak.
“Sapa died well. It’s a blessing.”
“Hmph! I never said that. The meaning was that you’re a sect that commits evil deeds, and it’s a blessing that you’ve been eliminated.”
“Isn’t that what I said?”
Chwaaak!
Dokgounyeong unfurled his folding fan with force and lightly brushed it while speaking.
“Sapa is a group that does whatever it pleases, different from the righteous path, and even if they do bad things… if we look at it that way, the one-star, two-palace, three-triangle, and all the Sapa comrades gathered here to stop the Demonic Cult… it sounds like it doesn’t matter if they all die.”
“Hmph! No, that’s not the meaning. Also, the Blood Hong Gate is not a sect that belongs to the Martial Alliance.”
“If the righteous sect that doesn’t belong to the Martial Alliance was exterminated by Tangga, then can we also smile and say it’s good that they died? The hypocritical righteous path villains died well…”
Dokgounyeong’s cold words made Pyungonja’s face harden. He stared at Dokgounyeong with cold eyes.
“……”
Killing intent rippled in Pyungonja’s eyes, and Dokgounyeong smiled while fluttering his fan.
Flutter! Flutter!
And faint inner energy began to gather in the folding fan.
Hwaaak! Hwaaak!
The powerful qi that burst out like breathing made Pyungonja also lift his inner energy with a cool face.
From there, experts from both the righteous and demonic paths began to draw up their inner energy.
In that sight, Zhuge Mun-hu sighed and lightly stamped his foot on the stand.
Thud!
The heavy shock made everyone in the hall look at him. Zhuge Mun-hu lightly cupped his fists and said,
“I stomped because there was a bug underfoot. I apologize.”
Pyungonja, not understanding the meaning, glanced once at Dokgounyeong and then released his inner energy.
Hwaaak!
Then Dokgounyeong smiled faintly and released his inner energy too.
With the hall falling silent again, Zhuge Mun-hu opened his mouth.
“The Tang Family that exterminated the Blood Hong Gate is moving westward.”
“Westward?”
“Isn’t it that there are more targets besides the Blood Hong Gate?”
Dokgounyeong asked, and Zhuge Mun-hu replied.
“Seventeen Sapa expert sects attacked the Tang Family. Among them, the sects in Sichuan are Blood Hong Gate, Cheonjam Gate, and Black Death Room. Blood Hong Gate is west of Cheonjam Gate, and Black Death Room is north of that.”
“Does Zhuge Scholar mean the Tang Family is targeting both Cheonjam Gate and Black Death Room?”
“Looking at Tangga’s usual actions, you would think so.”
“Usual… that’s when Tangga was in good shape. The situation is now different.”
Dokgounyeong looked at the people in the hall and continued speaking.
“The roots of each sect are with the elders and sect leaders. The sect is stable only if the elders are healthy, and the sect can find direction only if the sect leader exists. But right now, Tangga……”
Dokgounyeong shook his head.
“This doesn’t sound like anything except ‘please kill us.’”
Dokgounyeong spoke coldly while sweeping his gaze over the people.
“In this situation where the righteous and demonic powers have joined forces to stop the Demonic Cult, we cannot view the Tang Family, which unilaterally exterminated the Sapa sects, as they are.”
“Does that mean you’ll attack Tangga?”
Pyungonja’s words made Dokgounyeong smile.
“That depends on the Martial Alliance’s decision. As for us, who decided to join the Alliance, how can we make unilateral decisions?”
Dokgounyeong’s words made Zhuge Mun-hu’s face harden slightly.
If the Martial Alliance’s decision displeased him, it meant the Sapa would abandon the Alliance.
But Zhuge Mun-hu had already predicted it and spoke.
“The justification is with Tangga.”
“Justification?”
“If middle and small righteous path experts rushed in with swords to Blood Demon Mountain, would you, Elder Dokgo, just watch them?”
Zhuge Mun-hu smiled while looking at Dokgounyeong, who frowned.
“We will exterminate both Blood Slaughter Division and Wind Demon Division.”
“Hmph!”
Dokgounyeong let out a small cough and looked at Zhuge Mun-hu.
“So you want to just pass over it like nothing happened? Moreover, two more sects are going to be exterminated in the future?”
Zhuge Mun-hu opened his mouth at Dokgounyeong’s question.
“There is no answer to this matter.”
“No answer?”
“Tangga has already given an answer, and whether to accept it or not depends on the Martial Alliance. However, the Martial Alliance has no justification to reject Tangga’s answer.”
“Why is there no justification?”
Dokgounyeong smiled and said.
“How big a matter is extermination in the martial world? There can be a few deaths by hatred, but extermination……”
Dokgounyeong looked at the people and said.
“Don’t you know the meaning?”
The people nodded at Dokgounyeong’s words. Death due to conflict or hatred was common in the martial world.
But extermination was different.
Zhuge Mun-hu shook his head at Dokgounyeong’s gaze demanding a judgment from the Martial Alliance.
“I understand exactly what you, Elder Dokgo, mean. So I will protest on the level of the Martial Alliance.”
“What? Are you just going to protest with words?”
“As you know, thirty former grandmasters attacked Tangga this time. Among them was the Heavenly Mountain Demon God. If my memory is correct, several elders of Blood Demon Mountain were killed by the Heavenly Mountain Demon God’s hands?”
“Hmph! Why are you bringing that up?”
“In a way, Tangga has avenged the enemies of Blood Demon Mountain.”
Dokgounyeong smiled at Zhuge Mun-hu’s words.
“Even the Heavenly Mountain Demon God, we could kill if we tried.”
“Of course. The problem was that he was hiding and we couldn’t find him.”
“That’s right.”
“That Heavenly Mountain Demon God came out and died to Tangga.”
Swish!
Zhuge Mun-hu continued, looking around the hall.
“I think… the Sapa hidden among the Sapa… Ah!”
Zhuge Mun-hu cupped his fists toward where the Sapa experts were and said.
“First, let me apologize.”
“First, let’s hear it. Apologizing comes later.”
Dokgounyeong’s words made Zhuge Mun-hu open his mouth.
“Due to his quirky personality, Tangga has grudges with both the righteous and demonic paths, but among them, the grudge with the Sapa and the Demon Lord is deeper.”
“That makes sense… the righteous path doesn’t even exterminate until they’re dead.”
One Sapa expert grumbled, and the other Sapa experts nodded.
Even if Tangga repays grudges a hundredfold, if it’s with the righteous path, most grudges end up at one arm or less.
Severing an arm is painful, but they don’t take the life.
But if the opponent is Sapa or the Demon Lord, the default is death, and in severe cases like now, they even exterminate the sect.
That’s why people avoid Tangga. Because Tangga repays even small grudges with big ones.
“Correct. That’s why there are many Demon Lord people with deep grudges… and most of them hide in the deep mountains and forests.”
Swish!
Zhuge Mun-hu looked at Dokgounyeong.
“And Sapa experts have deep grudges with each other, like the Heavenly Mountain Demon God.”
“That means……”
Dokgounyeong stroked the beard on his chin.
“You want to lure those people out using Tangga?”
“Yes.”
“But……”
Dokgounyeong shook his head slightly.
“People have already heard that the Heavenly Mountain Demon God and the former grandmasters were attacked by Tangga. They won’t ignore Tangga that easily… but will those who fled Tangga out of fear come back to provoke us?”
“That’s right… if we manipulate rumors, that would do.”
“Manipulate rumors?”
“How do you mean?”
The people looked puzzled, and Zhuge Mun-hu looked at Dokgounyeong. In that gaze, Dokgounyeong smiled faintly.
Dokgounyeong was a figure in the Sapa on the same level as the Zhuge Clan. That’s why he was called Blood Master, the blood master.
“Mix a little truth with lies.”
“As expected, Blood Master.”
“What do you mean?”
Dokgounyeong answered the Sapa experts behind him.
“It’s simple. The former grandmasters attacked Tangga. Tangga’s experts suffered great damage in the desperate battle but exterminated the former grandmasters. Tangga’s strength is great. It should be enough, right?”
“But… isn’t that true?”
Dokgounyeong looked at the puzzled Sapa experts and said.
“The fact that it says ‘great damage’ won’t be attached.”
“Great damage?”
“If it says Tangga suffered great damage, people will think Tangga fought fiercely and the hidden ones will come out. After being heavily damaged in the Demon Cult’s fight, they have no choice but to come out to deal with the former grandmasters too.”
Zhuge Mun-hu nodded at Dokgounyeong’s words.
“They have no choice. Because the Sapa experts don’t forget grudges.”
Dokgounyeong fell into thought for a moment. Actually, Tangga doesn’t have close ties with the Sapa sects that were exterminated.
It doesn’t matter what happens to those middle sects anyway. But… he spoke because Tangga attacked the Sapa.
But… luring out the hidden Sapa experts using Tangga. It sounded good. Among the hidden Sapa experts, many have ties with Blood Demon Mountain and Eunyuan.
And that was true for other Sapa experts too.
Because Sapa experts don’t forget grudges no matter how much they forget favors, it was a tempting proposal that hidden ones would come out.
“But… will they really come out?”
Dokgounyeong answered one Sapa expert’s question.
“Why do you want them to come out?”
“Because there’s a grudge……”
Dokgounyeong nodded at the Sapa expert’s answer.
“Correct. Even though I hesitate to say it myself… our Sapa forgets favors but doesn’t forget grudges. If this rumor spreads, more people with grudges against Tangga will come out. They’re like tigers whose teeth and claws have fallen off—there’s no prey more tempting.”
Dokgounyeong smiled.
“And among them, there will be those who have grudges with us……”
Dokgounyeong looked at Zhuge Mun-hu.
“And the righteous path too……”
“We plan to clean them up once. What do you think?”
Dokgounyeong, who had realized from the beginning to now that Zhuge Mun-hu was in his plan, asked.
“Hah! It seems you’ve already thought about this.”
“Hahaha!”
Zhuge Mun-hu smiled faintly and said.
“Then, shall we send a protest letter to Tangga?”
“Do that.”
Dokgounyeong nodded and suddenly looked at Zhuge Mun-hu.
‘They say Zhuge Clan’s strategy is more terrifying than the expert’s sword… truly great.’
Tangga is the righteous path. And… he has deep ties with the Zhuge Clan. That’s why he devised this plan to rescue Tangga.
Even though Blood Hong Gate is Sapa, he has no close ties with the Sapa experts here. And because Sapa values grudges over relationships, the plan worked.
Although Zhuge Mun-hu knew that Dokgounyeong was caught in his plan, Dokgounyeong smiled and went along with it.
He wouldn’t lose anything either…
[You owe me.]
Zhuge Mun-hu smiled and looked at him in Dokgounyeong’s telepathic message.
[I’ll repay it soon.]
[Hoho! You’ve already thought of a way to repay the debt?]
[Among the Sapa experts with grudges against the righteous path… Elder Dokgo will definitely have friends.]
[Hoho! Are you going to help me? ]
Dokgounyeong’s telepathic message made Zhuge Mun-hu smile and look around the hall.
“While we’re here, let me tell you a few things.”
Zhuge Mun-hu began to talk about the problems and agendas that arose in the Martial Alliance.
***
In the dead room north of Sichuan, the Black Death Room was filled with flowing blood and corpses.
“Guruk!”
A white-haired old man sat down with the poison needle still stuck in his Achilles tendon.
A moment later, cold intent wrapped around the old man’s neck.
“Guruk!”
The old man, who quickly drew his sword to block the cold intent, glared at the person in front of him with bloodshot eyes.
“Tang Myung……”
Tang Myung looked at him, and the old man’s cold voice made him wipe his mouth with his hand.
Blood was flowing from Tang Myung’s mouth.
Swish!
Tang Myung wiped the blood at his lips and looked at the old man.
“You bastards… Heaven will not forgive you.”
At the old man’s furious shout, Tang Myung took out an internal injury pill from his bosom and ate it while saying.
“You exterminated the Black Death Room, so Heaven will give you a punishment. What kind of punishment?”
“How funny! My son and the vice chief went to your Tang Family and died without even recovering the body. Yet you exterminated my sect! Do you think you’re some royal family or what! To exterminate across three clans!”
The old man was Black Death Room’s former chief, Heukhyeoljang Jang Young. The chief’s son and vice chief and disciples who went to investigate the Sichuan Tang Family never returned and died in Chengdu.
That alone made him angry enough to die, yet Tangga exterminated Black Death Room.