Endless Hatred (1)
Baek Sam-byeol-ui looked at Ok Rin.
“No unusual reports?”
Ok Rin let out a soft sigh. Her pitch-black hair swayed gently with her breath.
“You young one. You already know the answer, yet you still insist on arguing pointlessly. Blood debt is a method that consumes both inner energy and divine arts. Even if you replenish your inner energy through qi circulation, how can you possibly fill the divine arts embedded in the Secret Book of Continuing the Heart?”
If a Daoist had accompanied us, the divine arts in the Secret Book of Continuing the Heart could have been replenished as well. But the two of us who had gone out on the investigation were not people connected to formations or Daoist arts.
The Hebei Paeng clan originally had a simple nature and was not the kind of family that would get close to such miscellaneous techniques, and Yeok Cheon-myeong, a mere vagabond, probably didn't have the time or resources to learn Daoist arts.
“If I had known this, I would have gone with Paeng Ju-hyeok instead...”
“Enough. You are too old to be wandering around.”
I wanted to retort, ‘Don’t you remember what you scolded me for just now? You’re older than me, after all.’ But I held back.
I couldn’t afford to provoke Ok Rin right now, as it wouldn’t bring back the two people outside the Murim Alliance’s shadow anyway. It was better to think about how to handle the situation than to vent my frustration.
“The Guanhon Masu was definitely dead.”
“What about that Bokhon Sagwi?”
It was the name of the yet-uncaught Masu. I shook my head.
“He is skilled in zombie arts, but not versed in the reverse soul technique that can turn a soul back. Moreover, the corpse of the Guanhon Masu was burned on the spot. Even if the transformation technique of the Bokhon Sagwi is ever so eerie, it couldn’t be used in a situation where the brain to be transplanted is just ashes.”
Ok Rin sighed. If we exclude everything possible, only one remains.
“Truly the Heavenly Demon?”
“......”
A ominous name.
A pointless person who hadn't even stepped into the Murim world had received his hand and become a demon who drove a city into terror, and a major disciple of a prestigious family had stabbed his own master to death, taken his heart, and polluted his original martial arts with demonic arts.
But it had its own activity cycle.
People often praised the outstanding talent of young geniuses by muttering things like ‘It must be the great fortune of the Murim.’
However, there were times when great fortune truly approached the Murim. A time called the golden age of the Murim, when a natural talent that would normally appear once every generation in a generation and rule the era bloomed like a miracle.
But why would good and bad, joy and sorrow, auspicious and inauspicious be lumped together as fortune and misfortune?
It was because the back of fortune is calamity, and the back of calamity is fortune.
The Heavenly Demon had awakened at exactly that time. To those who were to set their will according to what they believed—whether righteous or heretical—approaching them and granting power beyond the human path.
“There is nothing else that can perform such wonders.”
Ok Rin sighed. The time she had spent in the Management Records Bureau was less than mine, but the time she had spent in the jianghu was several times longer.
Bit by bit, I came to know it. Some wonder that could not be explained as anything human.
And as I delved into the roots of such wonders, the name came out.
“Even the Alliance Leader or the Director would have considered opposing it...”
As Ok Rin shook her head in confusion, she eventually let out an ‘Eh?’ exclamation of surprise.
“Is something happening?”
“Apparently, a messenger came from the branch near Changsu Village. It seems our record keeper has safely returned.”
“Fortunately!”
I hurried up. Judging by the report sent through the Murim Alliance branch, it seemed he had successfully descended the mountain without any major disaster.
Then, before long, he could return to the Murim Alliance main unit.
***
“I am truly sorry.”
“Again with that tone?”
I tapped the bridge of my nose twice. I had no intention of chasing the soul that had revived as an anomaly with just the two of us, guessing like Paeng Ju-hyeok.
However, upon hearing that opinion, one thought occurred to me. If I use the ability to detect the scent of anomalies, perhaps I can find the direction of the soul.
So, I finally headed to the frozen corpse's position and followed the path the corpse had tried to escape along for a few steps.
But there was no gain.
The footprints of the soul that remained in Changsu Village so far were covered with frost following the shape because of the sluggish inner energy release.
But the footprints carved along this mountain path gradually faded. Since he had killed everyone, there was no reason to use the tracing technique anymore, and naturally, the force on his feet also decreased, which was a natural conclusion.
And at the point where the footprints disappeared, the scent also cut off.
The fragrance had evaporated along with the inner energy.
Even if they were transformed into anomalies, it meant that without using inner energy in earnest, they could camouflage the scent.
“It's a pity. If I could detect the approaching anomaly first, I wouldn't have to die screaming, right?”
“If you could distinguish all the anomalies with their scents, you would have had to worry about something other than anomalies.”
“What do you mean?”
“Overwork.”
It seemed like a rather pointless joke, so I looked at Paeng Ju-hyeok, but his expression was quite serious.
“Our Director will dispatch you across the nation. Naturally, there will be no holidays.”
“Hah. You seem to dislike anomalies quite a bit.”
“Dislike them? He has such great compassion that he even feels sympathy for the anomalies and calculates accordingly.”
“...?”
At the moment I questioned how such a person became the head of the Management Records Bureau, Paeng Ju-hyeok continued.
“So, he wants to expel all anomalies from the human world entirely. He is the kind of person who wants to give a proper ending to the pitiful souls who should have received a peaceful death but are now wandering in the mortal realm.”
“Sympathy, you say?”
Wasn't it just expressing the will to ‘slaughter all the anomalies in front of my eyes’ in a more refined way?
“Um, probably?”
Even Paeng Ju-hyeok couldn't be sure. I thought about the average mindset of the Management Records Bureau members I had talked to so far.
‘Someone who suits an anomaly better than Baek Sam-byeol-ui, and Paeng Ju-hyeok who follows anything with a tag attached to his side...’
Ok Rin didn't show any strange temperament, but perhaps it was just because our acquaintance was still shallow.
“Hmm.”
It would be better to assume that the Director's personality is also a bit eccentric.
***
After reporting about the Changsu Village bloodbath to the Murim Alliance branch, things left our hands.
Exactly, that's what I thought...
“Brother Paeng. How did we end up captured?”
The place was not a prison but a luxurious guest room with soft cushions, elegant chairs, and fine tea sets.
But the fact that burly men with swords were guarding the door in front of the room meant that this was more like detention than lodging.
Paeng Ju-hyeok laughed heartily and echoed.
“I don't know either.”
“Indeed.”
How did this happen?
While we were returning from the Murim Alliance branch to the main unit, some senior sent a message saying he wanted to see the people who first informed about the bloodbath.
I thought the person who personally called us, the branch head or something, was from the Management Records Bureau. Since the Management Records Bureau is officially secret, it was to hear reports related to anomalies separately.
Paeng Ju-hyeok agreed that my guess was correct.
As soon as he said ‘Yes’, he sent subordinates to lead us out of the Murim Alliance gate to a wide-tiled house.
From inside the gate, people dressed in a manner that seemed to be a compromise between official robes and martial attire appeared and respectfully welcomed us.
The moment I saw the attire with golden brocade clothes adorned with red embroidery, I recognized them.
“Damn it, why are the Jinyiwei popping up from there.”
They didn't directly say they were Jinyiwei, but with even minimal knowledge, anyone could recognize their identity.
“Indeed. Truly strange. For ordinary matters, the Murim Alliance's shadow will cover it.”
“Eh?”
“Ah, I have some connections that greased the wheels in the official office. It's said that Guanwu Bugachim is made of gold. A village was wiped out, so it's quite large, but if the Murim Alliance investigator questioned us, he would have questioned us, not the Jinyiwei coming out...”
I was shocked anew.
Was Guanwu Bugachim a political connection?
Unable to continue due to the absurdity, Paeng Ju-hyeok threw something from the table at me.
I caught it reflexively. When I unfolded my hand, it was a go piece.
He tapped the go board next to the table. It was lacquered red, so it was clearly a high-quality item.
“The Jinyiwei have us detained but seem to have no killing intent. They're not like stabbing with a prepared lineup or something; they're just treating us well in a good room.”
“Um, since it doesn't look like they'll kill us immediately, are you suggesting we play go?”
“Ah. Not go, please play othello. I can't play go.”
I sighed and nodded. Even if the Jinyiwei have great power, they wouldn't think of beating two Murim Alliance members to death arbitrarily.
***
“Is it okay to detain Murim Alliance members like this?”
The Jinyiwei officer asked his superior, the Jiao Wei. The Jiao Wei nodded with a somewhat bold expression.
“Those guys are strutting around as if they've formed a meeting, but fundamentally, they are just mere martial artists? We are the ones executing national law, so there's nothing to worry about.”
Although he said that, the Jiao Wei was also worried about the future.
This matter was strange from the beginning. Witness reports of the Changsu Village people dying naturally came into the official office.
The tragedy was gruesome, but in cases involving martial artists, such eeriness was somewhat natural.
The subsequent handling in such cases was also established.
Delegating the pursuit to the Murim Alliance. It was an appropriate strategy to spill the blood of madmen with swords instead of the precious blood of officials.
But for some reason, the situation moved quite differently.
The Jinyiwei Thousand-man Commander Baek Cheon-ho, who had read the report on the corpses of the Changsu Village people, started moving with half his eyes rolled back.
The Jiao Wei didn't know about it, but Baek Cheon-ho was a person who had lost his daughter to the Guanhon Masu.