Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Shadowless Night Emperor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A lavish feast was laid out, and U Bal Cho took his seat alongside the squad members.
"We haven't prepared much, but please eat your fill."
Kang Division Leader accepted his modest words.
"There's a saying that excessive courtesy demands reciprocity. We've already received fine hospitality, so spare us such talk."
Haha...
"Understood, Division Leader Kang."
The table was laden not only with meats from the land but also delicacies from the sea.
"Allow me to pour you some liquor first, Division Leader."
U Bal Cho first offered a drink to Division Leader Kang, then filled the glasses of Se Yeong and the squad members.
"Will Young Master Yeonggak have some liquor as well?"
When he finally offered some to Yeonggak, the young man promptly raised his glass.
"Om mani padme hum. I've been invited here—how could I refuse a drink?"
Paeng Se Gi, who had been eyeing him sidelong, snorted derisively.
Hmph.
"If you hadn't offered, he'd have died of resentment."
Kikikik...
The squad members stifled their laughter at his remark.
But Yeonggak's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"This isn't liquor—it's grain tea, grain tea."
"That guy's mouth is the best in the world, bar none. If he drowned, it'd be the only thing floating."
No matter how much the squad members chided him, Yeonggak didn't budge an inch.
"Om mani padme hum."
"Now, let's drink."
As U Bal Cho raised his glass, the squad members lifted theirs in unison.
Kuh.
The liquor burned fiercely all the way down their throats—a brutal spirit indeed.
But every dish was exquisite.
Se Yeong, tasting the spicy fish stew, glanced at Sa Sa Un, who was eating with relish.
"You, learn some cooking here."
"Pardon?"
For Sa Sa Un, who had been savoring the food, it was a bolt from the blue.
No, how could a warrior of the Murim Alliance learn cooking among common folk?
The food that had tasted so fine moments ago now turned his stomach.
Se Yeong watched Sa Sa Un's crestfallen face for a moment before retracting his words.
"Forget it."
There were plenty of places for Sa Sa Un to learn cooking, even if not here.
U Bal Cho, having drained his glass, refilled Division Leader Kang's.
"I hear he was originally a Demonic Cult warrior—is that true?"
"It is."
Yeonggak's eyes sparkled at Division Leader Kang's reply.
The squad members knew he had ties to the Demonic Cult, but this was news to Yeonggak.
"Then do you know which of the Demonic Cult's arts allows one to explode their inner energy in an instant?"
The meal continued merrily despite his question.
The squad members were lost in the delicious fare, unaware of the gravity of U Bal Cho's words.
But Se Yeong knew full well how terrifying they were.
'Mad Demon Art.'
The Mad Demon Art was a forbidden demonic technique, even within the Demonic Cult.
Exploding all one's energy in a single burst would shatter the user's meridians, leaving them crippled or dead.
That was why the Mad Demon Art had become a taboo, long forgotten in the cult.
"I'm not entirely certain, but I suspect it's the Demonic Cult's forbidden art, the Mad Demon Art. And how do you know of it?"
"My sworn brother used that technique. And he lost his head to the Supreme One's blade."
The jovial meal fell silent in an instant.
"So your sworn brother was a Demonic Cult spy?"
"Indeed. He posed as my brother for a full ten years, and I never knew."
U Bal Cho laid bare the disgrace of the Sabaekseong without hesitation.
"What makes the Mad Demon Art so fearsome is that it lets a third-rate fighter challenge a first-rate master. Even if the price is their life, what won't a dying man do? Truly terrifying."
U Bal Cho merely nodded silently at Division Leader Kang's words.
"You're saying a Demonic Cult spy infiltrated this Sabaekseong?"
But the squad members seemed skeptical of his tale.
Though they'd only been here a day, they could see how insular the place was at a glance.
Hahaha...!
U Bal Cho let out a hearty laugh.
"Right now, the Sabaekseong holds over a thousand elites, and we still haven't rooted out how many are Demonic Cult spies. If this is the state of Sabaekseong, imagine the Murim Alliance."
"I can't believe it."
Dang Ok Yi refuted him.
The Murim Alliance saw all sorts of visitors, but it was no place lax enough for Demonic Cult spies to slip in.
"Does Lady Dang trust the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families? Ah, as a daughter of the Tang Family, of course you do. But those are the ugliest of them all."
Even the ever-composed Yi Cheon Yeong could no longer hold back.
"Take back what you said about Mount Hua being ugly."
The Mount Hua he knew was weak these days but honest and righteous.
"Hold on a moment."
U Bal Cho, eyeing him coolly, rose and left the room.
When he returned shortly after, he held a thick bundle of papers in one hand.
"Look through these after the meal."
"What are these?"
U Bal Cho set the bundle down on the floor.
"I roamed the jianghu for three years and earned the moniker Shadowless Night Emperor for it."
"You were the Shadowless Night Emperor?"
Yi Cheon Yeong shot to his feet in shock.
No matter how diminished Mount Hua had become, it still traded and exchanged with many parties.
The Northern Gold Merchant Group was one such group, but one night, thieves broke in and stole a fortune.
Mount Hua had sent disciples to catch the thief and learned he was the Shadowless Night Emperor.
True to his name, he was the emperor of the night, leaving not even a shadow behind.
"I only took a few letters that time. Ah... I did grab some valuables too, of course."
The squad members were stunned, but Se Yeong wasn't surprised.
He'd witnessed their dirty deeds multiple times during his own jianghu travels.
"Why do something like that?"
U Bal Cho answered Se Yeong's question nonchalantly.
"I figured I'd use them to blackmail and squeeze out a fortune later."
Hahaha...!
Se Yeong laughed heartily.
What a satisfying answer.
But none of the squad members joined in the laughter.
Yi Cheon Yeong's eyes and hands trembled as he examined the letters.
These were missives from the Northern Gold Merchant Group to Mount Hua's sect leader.
Merchant groups were supposed to declare goods to the authorities and pay taxes upon import.
But the Northern Gold group dodged heavy taxes by smuggling via back channels.
And the ones aiding them? Mount Hua itself.
'My Mount Hua... involved in smuggling...'
The shock hit him hard.
Dang Ok Yi was equally dismayed.
Her Tang Family smuggled outright, selling the illicit herbs to other merchants.
They even monopolized Sichuan silk, jacking up prices.
At least, among the many letters and documents, there was nothing on Shaolin or the Paeng Family.
Se Yeong, having reviewed them all first, spoke up.
"Mount Hua and the Tang Family are still better off. At least they don't casually kill commoners and trade in lives."
Se Yeong stuffed several letters and documents into his sleeve pouch.
They were correspondence from various sects and families to others, plus records from merchants and trading houses.
Zhongnan and the Moyong Family traded not just with bandits but even pirates and brigands.
"What do you plan to do with those, brother?"
"Blood debts demand blood repayment."
"That means war with the Murim Alliance."
With only one of the Three Treasures absent from the Alliance, there was no real need to stay.
Yet the reason for remaining was the squad members.
And someone had to establish a family in the jianghu.
"Scared?"
Haha...
Paeng Se Gi scratched his head and chuckled.
"Me? Never."
Se Yeong awoke before dawn, sword at his waist, and stepped out.
No matter that this was enemy territory, he couldn't skip his meditation.
The predawn gloom was utterly still.
Yet someone awaited him outside.
"Follow me."
"You don't sleep either, huh."
Grumbling, Se Yeong trailed after U Bal Cho.
"The Supreme One doesn't sleep, so how could I?"
"What a loyal retainer. Where are we headed?"
"The Supreme One wishes to see you."
"Should I be honored?"
Se Yeong's tone wasn't exactly gracious.
Resentment lingered from his crushing defeat at White Master's hands.
"Don't hate the Supreme One too much. No one in the jianghu has deeper insight than he."
What could make one so profound?
U Bal Cho had spent years with him, but Se Yeong had met him only once, exchanging a few words.
"By the way. Why risk it all to infiltrate the Murim Alliance and behead the Mount Tai Sword Hero?"
"One of my cherished little brothers held a deep grudge against him. The Mount Tai Sword Hero had raped and killed his sister. And that brother? The one who served us tea your first day here."
"He deserved death."
"Right. My little brother held a rite with the Mount Tai Sword Hero's head."
He'd taken only the head for the funeral rite.
To Se Yeong, U Bal Cho seemed less unorthodox warrior and more true hero.
Before a dilapidated old building, U Bal Cho stopped and bowed deeply.
"I have brought Han Se Yeong."
No reply came from within.
"Let's go in."
Se Yeong followed U Bal Cho inside.
Slash.
Thud... roll roll roll...
Before thousands of watching warriors, a middle-aged man's head tumbled to the ground.
Thump...
His headless body soon collapsed limply.
Blood spurted from neck and head, staining the floor crimson.
No one mourned the man's death.
Only his young son lay prostrate, sobbing quietly.
"I pledge my loyalty to the Demonic Cult Leader!"
Hundreds among the thousands of warriors prostrated themselves.
The boy, tears streaming, glanced at those bowing.
Those standing tall were Demonic Cult warriors; those on the ground, his father's retainers.
Until half a shichen ago, they had been his father's hands, feet, and voice.
Yet the moment their lord fell, they hailed a new one.
'No one sheds tears for my father.'
Unorthodox scum ignorant of justice or brotherhood—yet how could they lack even shame?
The son clenched his fists tight.
This grudge would be etched into his bones.
The man slumped in his chair stirred and opened his eyes.
He'd dozed off briefly, it seemed, and buried memories had surfaced as dreams.
"I have brought Han Se Yeong."
U Bal Cho's voice came from outside.
But he said nothing.
The door opened, and U Bal Cho and Han Se Yeong entered.
The room was unlit, dim and shadowy.
Yet he pierced the darkness, staring straight at Se Yeong's face.
A handsome face, manly indeed.
Fierce eyes, but that ferocity only enhanced his masculinity.
Broad shoulders and tall stature completed the image of a true hero.
He spoke not, and Se Yeong silently met his gaze.
At last, the man asked in a low voice.
"Who taught you the Heavenly Demon Supremacy?"
His voice resonated pleasantly through the room.
'Not just a pretty face—his voice is fine too.'
Se Yeong stared at him a moment before slowly replying.
"I learned it from my grandmother."
"Was your grandmother of the Demonic Cult?"
"She left the cult long ago."
That answer revealed much, making the meeting satisfactory enough.
The man waved him off in dismissal.
U Bal Cho, standing to one side, moved to leave.
But Se Yeong didn't budge.
"Was that the only reason you summoned me?"