Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: The Traitor
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“Maid.”
“What is it?”
“Could you please ignore whatever you might hear?”
At Wang Cheon’s words as he backed away, Hyang-i’s face crumpled into a frown.
Ignore what she might hear? What kind of nonsense was that?
The sentence itself didn’t even make sense.
“Please. He is someone who has suffered a great deal.”
“…”
“He’s only just started to become cheerful again.”
Wang Cheon’s expression was heavy.
“I don’t want to see my lord return to that past, to the man who was always so grim.”
“Haa, fine. I get it.”
“Pardon?”
Hyang-i waved her hand dismissively, cutting Wang Cheon off.
She couldn’t bring herself to show her annoyance. After all, Wang Cheon likely didn’t know the source of the rage Neung Un-bi was displaying either.
Besides, she couldn’t be sure of his intentions in telling her this.
Hadn’t she lived a life completely different from the members of the Demonic Cult?
But… she thought she could vaguely understand.
Wang Cheon and Neung Un-bi. Their relationship was similar to the one she’d seen between the Cult Leader, Dam Un-cheon, and the Great Protector.
Perhaps she was the only one who had seen it, having been allowed to stay as a maid in order to assassinate the Cult Leader.
When it was just the two of them, they were like friends shouldering the burdens of life together, constantly bickering while sharing jokes, worries, and joy.
And yet, they were the kind of people who trusted and relied on each other.
A mix of inscrutable emotions swirled in Wang Cheon’s eyes, but one thing was clear.
Worry. It was the same look the Great Protector gave Dam Un-cheon.
Hyang-i had come to realize not with her head, but with her heart, that in moments like these, she had to take a step back.
“And you just left him there, all things considered?”
“Pardon?”
“That inexplicable rage could trigger Qi Deviation, you know.”
“That’s possible. But I trust my lord.”
“Tch, acting all loyal. You should try doing it to his face.”
“Well… he might get too reckless. Anyway, about eavesdropping…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t listen.”
“…!”
“Tch, not that I could even if I wanted to.”
“Pardon?”
“Damn that Third Young Master. To think he’s already grown so much.”
“…What do you mean?”
“He’s put up a sound barrier.”
“A-A sound barrier?”
“Yes. He must have naturally figured it out the moment he mastered his inner force—how to manifest his energy externally… At this distance, even I can’t hear anything. Same for Elder Jin San. No matter how much we might want to.”
“Ah!”
At Hyang-i’s grumbling, Wang Cheon’s eyes widened, and he turned his head toward Neung Un-bi.
They were already quite far away.
But a sound barrier?
And if it was at a distance where even Hyang-i and Jin San couldn’t hear?
“Everyone, halt!”
“…?”
Wang Cheon suddenly stopped the group that was spreading outward.
“This is far enough! Form a perimeter from this point!”
“Yes, sir!”
The warriors of the Waning Moon Squad and the Shaanxi branch obeyed the order without a single word.
This should be enough. There was no need to retreat a hundred paces.
If no one could hear anything anyway, a distance just out of sight was perfect. After all, the closer the guard, the better.
“Allow no one to approach from the outside! Everyone, stay sharp and be vigilant! Remember that the lord’s safety depends on your eyes and ears!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Demonic Cult warriors each took their positions and began to watch the surroundings with menacing eyes.
They faced outward, showing no interest in the area they were protecting.
“Say, Guard Wang.”
“Yes?”
“I’m truly curious. Just who is that assassin? To suddenly act like this, here of all places, where we came to expose Yeom Seong-in’s crimes… He clearly seemed to know the man, didn’t he?”
At the words of Jin San, who had been pondering ever since they fell back, Wang Cheon smiled faintly.
“My apologies. That is something only my lord knows… And even if I did know, I could not speak of it without his permission.”
In the end, it meant that whether he knew or not, he couldn’t tell him.
“Haa… This is so frustrating.”
Wang Cheon merely smiled at Jin San’s deep sigh.
Inwardly, however, he was filled with worry.
He could only pray that this rage would not trigger Qi Deviation…
***
“Y-You… What is this? Why are you doing this?”
“…”
In the space where only the two of them remained.
Faced with Neung Un-bi, who advanced while crushing the surroundings with a formidable aura, the assassin, Jeong Chi-su, stumbled backward, his red pupils trembling.
Escape?
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it.
The surrounding perimeter had just widened.
But was it possible?
His body was not in good condition due to the injuries inflicted by Wang Cheon. It seemed he would struggle to use even half of his original skill.
And then there was the man approaching him, Neung Un-bi, radiating an aura so intense it felt suffocating.
He couldn’t understand why this man was so furious with him.
Above all, he didn’t think he could shake him off. A vague fear had long since set in, making his hands tremble so badly he couldn’t even grip his sword properly.
“Jeong Chi-su…”
While he hesitated, the man had drawn near, his dark eyes gleaming as he glared down at him.
But, Jeong Chi-su? How could this man possibly know his real name?
A name he hadn’t revealed to anyone since that day…
“H-How do you know that name?”
“Yes, I had forgotten for a moment.”
“…”
“But then I remembered.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Your face has changed, but some things never do.”
“What?”
As he questioned him, Neung Un-bi’s hand moved. Something flashed, but he couldn’t see it clearly.
Riiip.
And his clothes tore.
The front of his robe, already in tatters from his fight with Wang Cheon, was ripped open by Neung Un-bi’s hand, exposing his upper body.
“That tattoo.”
“…!”
At Neung Un-bi’s words, Jeong Chi-su looked down at his own chest.
“The years have faded its color a little, but how could I ever forget?”
“You know this tattoo?”
“I know it. Of course I know it.”
“…”
How could a man who looked barely out of his teens know about the tattoo on his chest?
Besides, wasn’t it just a common Buddhist symbol?
“Yes, I remember now. That’s how you were. Your impulses were too strong. You were overflowing with bloodlust, unable to control yourself at the sight of blood.”
“…!”
At Neung Un-bi’s words, Jeong Chi-su’s eyes flew open.
It was as if this man knew him.
“But we needed you nonetheless. We were short on talent back then.”
“You… how… do you know that?”
“Bohyeon.”
“…?”
“Manhyeon.”
“…!”
Each time Neung Un-bi uttered one of the strange names, Jeong Chi-su’s body began to tremble as if struck by a fatal blow.
“You… You… How do you know those names!”
A sudden roar erupted with a flash of blood-red light, and the dagger held in his trembling hand shot forward.
Clang.
But Neung Un-bi was already overflowing with demonic energy.
Jeong Chi-su’s dagger failed to penetrate the defense of Neung Un-bi’s Lunar Eclipse, the Lunar Halo, and was caught in his hand.
“Nngh!”
“…”
Jeong Chi-su struggled to pull the dagger free, but it was as if it were embedded in rock, refusing to budge.
“Jeong Chi-su… you haven’t improved at all. Even after thirty years.”
“W-What did you say?”
Crack, snap!
As Neung Un-bi tightened his fingers, the dagger bent and then finally broke with a faint snap.
Thud.
Jeong Chi-su collapsed to the ground.
He had been completely overpowered from the start.
“How could you…”
In that moment, more than the broken dagger or his own collapse, Jeong Chi-su was baffled as to how Neung Un-bi knew those names.
Bohyeon, Manhyeon, Sanji, Jungdeok, Eumnyeom, Daeman, Mubiryeok, Mireom.
Those eight names were the names of the eight Yakshas said to be led by the Heavenly King Vaisravana in Buddhism.
Beings who punish sinners to bring peace to the world.
Anyone versed in Buddhism would know them, but why would someone emanating streams of demonic energy know those names?
And why bring them up at a time like this?
Staring back at Jeong Chi-su, who was looking up at him blankly, unable to even stand, Neung Un-bi slowly continued.
“Though we were not followers of Buddhism… we took those names and carved those symbols because our purpose was the same as theirs.”
“…”
“But you were different from the rest of us. That’s why you weren’t given the name of a Yaksha, but of a Bodhisattva. Along with the symbol of Guanyin now carved on your chest.”
Jeong Chi-su looked up at Neung Un-bi with wide eyes.
His gaze seemed somehow sad.
But deep within, a rage hot enough to incinerate his entire being was blazing.
“I told you to suppress your bloodlust. To carve the image of the all-merciful Guanyin on your chest, to always be wary of your impulses and restrain your urge to kill.”
Neung Un-bi was telling him the reason the Guanyin symbol was tattooed on his chest.
A story that no one could know unless they were a comrade from long ago…
“Who… who in the world are you? How do you know such things?”
As if he no longer had the energy to be surprised, Jeong Chi-su asked in a mumble.
A cold chill settled in Neung Un-bi’s eyes as he looked down at him.
“Jeong Chi-su… I have not forgotten your betrayal back then.”
“Y-You even know about that?”
“We thought you had been captured.”
“…”
“We never imagined you would betray us. Everyone risked their lives to save you. Even though He was so against it… we couldn’t abandon a comrade.”
The sound of grinding teeth mixed with Neung Un-bi’s voice.
“…But why?”
“…”
“Why did it come to this? Did you abandon your comrades just to become a hired killer? Did you drive them to their deaths just to satisfy your own bloodlust?!”
At Neung Un-bi’s furious roar, Jeong Chi-su’s head drooped limply.
The man before him. The young man. How did he know about him?
But that didn’t matter. The memories he had tried so desperately to forget over the past years had come flooding back.
He had tried drowning them in alcohol, in drugs.
But nothing helped. Instead, the images of them shedding tears of blood as they met their deaths because of his betrayal only became clearer in his mind.
That was when he started killing.
The more he became intoxicated with the scent of blood, the more he rationalized the things he had once considered wrong.
At first, he punished sinners, just as he had with his comrades.
But it wasn’t enough.
What did it matter? Whether they were sinners or not, the smell of blood was the same…
And so, Jeong Chi-su became a demon. As long as he could forget the painful memories of his betrayal, even for a moment, he could kill anyone.
And yet…
Someone who shared his memories had appeared before him.
The pain of the past seemed to squeeze his heart. The terrible mental anguish began to turn his mind into a chaotic mess.
“Tell me. Why… why did you become like this?”
At Neung Un-bi’s chilling question, Jeong Chi-su’s head fell forward.
What did it matter who the man before him was?
He just wanted to confess.
Besides, seeing how furiously he questioned him, he had to be connected to them.
He was probably here to make him answer for his betrayal.
“Did He send you?”
“…?”
At the voice, thick with remorse, Neung Un-bi’s eyes trembled in bewilderment.
*He*…?
Could it be that Jeong Chi-su knew something that even Sin Ye-rang and Kim San did not?
“What are you talking about! Who is ‘He’? Do you know where he is?”
“…”
Neung Un-bi asked urgently, but Jeong Chi-su already seemed to have lost his mind. As if he couldn’t hear Neung Un-bi’s words, he began to pour out his own.
The story of the thirty years he had lived through…