Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Two Shamans
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jade-Faced Lewd Demon.
It meant a lewd demon with a face as handsome as jade.
As befitting the nickname, the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon I had seen was a peerlessly beautiful man, tall and refined as if drawn in a painting.
There wasn't the slightest trace of any spinal deformity anywhere on him.
When it came to this, Old Man Yeon hesitated before giving his answer.
"It's an illusion technique that changes his appearance. If I didn't even allow that much, he would have been pointed at as a hunchback and lived that way for the rest of his life... so I made sure he could at least do that."
Only then did I understand why pressure points didn't work on the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon.
His visible form and his true form were different, so the acupoint locations were different too.
"Huh."
It had been a lingering question in my mind, but the answer turned out to be disappointingly simple.
Letting out a short hollow laugh, I organized the situation based on the information I'd gathered so far.
First, Old Man Yeon had come to the Jegal Clan, discovered Jegal-seon—the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon—and secretly taken him in as a disciple.
Second, for some reason, he had expelled him afterward and sealed his shamanic arts so he could no longer use them. But he had allowed him to use illusion techniques to hide his hunchbacked appearance.
Finally, third, having been granted the use of illusion techniques at least, the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon had used them to rape innocent women.
Conclusion.
"So you're saying that even after expelling him, you wavered emotionally and let things spiral this far?"
"……."
At my summary of the situation, Old Man Yeon fell silent with a gloomy expression.
The stern look he'd shown at first had vanished, replaced by regret etched on his wrinkled face.
I'd heard Old Man Yeon's entire story now.
But there was still one more person whose story I needed to hear.
I turned my gaze from the two of them to Jegal Geun-yeong.
"Branch Chief? Now it's your turn. Tell us what you know about Jegal-seon."
"…Yes. Understood."
Jegal Geun-yeong, who looked mentally tangled, nodded weakly.
And with a sigh, he began his tale.
"…You probably know this already, but the public opinion of our Jegal Clan isn't all that good."
The Jegal Clan was one of the Five Great Clans, but up until a few dozen years ago, they didn't have a single noteworthy titled master.
So even people from mid- and small-sized sects openly said the Jegal Clan didn't qualify as one of the Five Great Clans.
It was because every member of the Jegal bloodline was born with exceptional intellect, but none had any notable martial talent.
To make up for it temporarily, the clan had invited shamans like Old Man Gok or renowned masters as guests to compensate for the lack of experts.
But a temporary measure was just that—temporary.
It couldn't provide a fundamental solution, and the mockery and ridicule from other sects and clans continued.
Unable to endure the endless scorn and contempt, the Jegal Clan eventually attempted a large-scale improvement of their bloodline's constitution.
And the method they chose was...
"Marriages with martial arts experts, or those known to possess outstanding divine power or martial talent."
According to Jegal Geun-yeong, countless bloodline members had sacrificed their lives for this.
A collateral branch man forced to break off his engagement with his beloved and marry against his will.
The clan head's daughter who went of her own accord to the bedchamber of a master more than ten years her senior.
Regardless of direct or collateral lines, numerous young people had willingly sacrificed themselves solely to fulfill the Jegal Clan's long-cherished wish.
The result was the new generation of children born from it.
Namely, Jegal Geun-yeong's generation of bloodline members.
"And among them, the most outstanding 'product' was Jegal Cheon-sang."
Jegal Cheon-sang.
The martial prodigy the entire Jegal Clan had hoped for, born with superior physical foundations and exceptional aptitude.
The clan's elders, overjoyed at the birth of the prodigy they'd awaited so eagerly, spared no support, providing elixirs and everything else.
Thanks to that backing, Jegal Cheon-sang hadn't quite shaken the world, but he had at least become a renowned master in Hubei.
"Even with the derisive nickname 'Jegal's Lone Sword'—implying the clan had only one sword to its name—he was the first titled master in the clan's history. It was only natural that the elders' attention focused on him."
This led to Jegal Cheon-sang becoming even more arrogant.
No matter what he did, the elders protected him as the future of the Jegals, so in a way, it was inevitable.
Though he'd ended up getting crushed by me, of course.
In any case, Jegal Cheon-sang symbolized the Jegal Clan's change.
The clan believed that starting with him, second- and third-rate prodigies would emerge, bringing light to the family.
But bright light casts equally dark shadows.
If Jegal Cheon-sang was the light, then Jegal-seon was the shadow.
"Jegal-seon was the complete opposite of Jegal Cheon-sang. With his deformed body that offered no hope of martial talent, and intellect that wasn't exceptional either, everyone in the clan naturally looked down on him and treated him as if he didn't exist."
This "everyone" included Jegal-seon's parents.
Born deformed, he had been shunned and forgotten by his entire bloodline.
And about seven years ago, he suddenly vanished from within the clan.
This matched exactly the time Old Man Yeon said he had taken Jegal-seon away.
"To our shame, no one tried to find Jegal-seon. Some even rejoiced that a thorn in their side was gone. Yet now, years later, he reappears—as the clan's mortal enemy."
The clan's mortal enemy.
At that rather vicious phrasing, I realized the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon had wiped out two entire troops of the Ho-cheon Corps.
When I first heard that story, I'd thought he had a surprisingly cruel side.
"Perhaps the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon's motive is personal grudge after all."
Operating specifically in Wuan, the Jegal Clan's territory.
Wiping out two troops of the Ho-cheon Corps.
All of these had one thing in common: inflicting massive damage on the Jegal Clan.
"What do you think?"
I asked Old Man Yeon, who had been listening silently.
His white-bearded chin shook weakly up and down.
"From the time he learned shamanic arts from me, that child was filled with resentment toward the Jegal Clan. I hoped mental discipline would sever his hatred and quell his rage, but it didn't go as I wished. You're probably right."
The acknowledgment from perhaps the only person who had ever shown Jegal-seon affection and attention.
With that, we'd uncovered the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon's motive, bringing the story to a close.
Having stumbled into the tale of the tangled history between the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon and the Jegal Clan, I shook my head in disbelief.
Frankly, neither the Jegal Clan nor the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon deserved any sympathy.
First, the Jegal Clan.
They dressed it up as "improving their constitution," but bluntly put, what was it but breeding humans like animals?
And when the results weren't satisfactory, they half-abandoned them to die.
Next, the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon.
Of course, I acknowledged his unfortunate and despairing childhood.
I could somewhat understand the feeling of being rejected even by his own parents.
His rage toward the clan that had abandoned him was plenty comprehensible.
But there was no connection between the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon's painful past and the victims he'd raped.
Whatever his reason for his lechery, the moment he ruined so many women's lives, he was no longer a pitiable victim.
Having reached that conclusion, I turned to the three others, excluding Hwa-ryeon, and asked,
"First, let's make this clear. Our goal is to track down the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon. Does everyone agree?"
The two old men nodded without hesitation.
But Jegal Geun-yeong pondered deeply, as if wrestling with something, before speaking with a pained expression.
"…No. Our goal is to hunt down the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon."
"…!"
"Branch Chief…."
Hunt down.
Pursue and kill.
Old Man Gok and Old Man Yeon stared at Jegal Geun-yeong in shock.
Avoiding their gazes as best he could, Jegal Geun-yeong pressed on with difficulty.
"If even a whisper of his true identity leaks from the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon's mouth, the Jegal Clan's authority and honor will hit rock bottom. We'll be shunned by the people of Wuan and branded as the filthy clan that produced a lecherous demon. That… that must be prevented at all costs."
Knowing full well it wasn't righteous, Jegal Geun-yeong's voice lacked strength.
Yet his tightly clenched jaw showed he wouldn't take back his words.
The two old men let out small groans and fell silent, while I stared steadily at Jegal Geun-yeong's face before posing a question.
"Let's set aside the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon's life or death for now and think about it later. So, what's the plan? Are the two elders going to use some shamanic art to track him?"
"Ah, that's...."
"I'll explain that."
Old Man Gok quickly composed himself and spoke up instead.
"Young hero, do you have any knowledge of shamanic arts?"
"No, just a few things I've heard."
Nodding at my response, Old Man Gok explained the plan in an easy-to-understand way.
"Shamanic arts involve drawing in natural energies through the upper dantian and manipulating them artificially to produce various effects. Unlike warriors who store qi, we draw external energies each time, leaving traces behind."
"Traces?"
At my question, Old Man Gok stroked his beard as he chose his words.
"You could call it a kind of dissonance. Because the natural energies are altered from their original state, they feel disharmonious."
"Especially since he's constantly using illusions to change his appearance, any place he frequents should have quite strong traces left."
Old Man Yeon took over and finished Old Man Gok's explanation.
So what they were saying was,
"That means the two elders can track the Jade-Faced Lewd Demon?"
"That's right. So Old Man Yeon and I will split up and follow the traces of the shamanic arts."