The gazes of Escort Bureau Chief Ji Daehyeong and the escort captains turned toward one man.
He was none other than Escort Captain Chungbaek, the man in charge of delivering the shipment to the Black Water Sect.
A look of bewilderment flashed across Chungbaek’s face. When he had followed the Bureau Chief here, he had never imagined he would be singled out.
“This is baseless slander.”
His shout trembled as much as his wavering eyes.
Jian Wuyang, on the other hand, was composed. He slowly walked toward Chungbaek. Not only Chungbaek, but Ji Daehyeong and the other escort captains tensed as well.
Jian Wuyang stopped a few paces away and stared at Chungbaek. Even without trying to glare, Jian Wuyang’s gaze was fundamentally cold.
“Do we look so idle to you?”
It was a rhetorical question—would they have come all this way just to frame a mere escort captain?
His calm words carried persuasion. After all, Huo Ming, the Changsha branch leader, had come in person, and the speaker was someone who appeared to stand even higher than a branch leader.
Before Chungbaek could offer an excuse, Jian Wuyang continued. His low voice carried strength; because he was not rude, his words held even greater authority.
“I will not press the issue of you deceiving the Bureau Chief. That is a matter for your own escort bureau to handle.”
Jian Wuyang glanced at Ji Daehyeong once, then turned his gaze back to Chungbaek.
“There is only one thing I wish to hear. Who entrusted you with the shipment?”
A brief silence fell.
Ji Daehyeong did not step forward to defend Chungbaek, claiming there was no need to answer. He was overwhelmed by Jian Wuyang, and he had also begun to suspect Chungbaek unconsciously.
“It wasn’t that kind of item! Bureau Chief! Please believe me! This is a frame-up. I am innocent.”
Chungbaek’s excuses were not specific, and that made him all the more suspicious.
But they could not suspect him blindly. Their opponent was the ruthless Demonic Cult, after all.
Ji Daehyeong stepped in and asked Chungbaek in a gentle tone. He was still one of his own men, after all.
“Captain Chung. Calm yourself and tell me calmly what happened.”
“The shipment was ordinary.”
“What was it?”
He had received several reports regarding recent escort missions, but he could not recall any item that required special attention. That meant either Chungbaek had filed a false report, or the Demonic Cult was pinning the blame on him.
“The shipment was ordinary military weapons.”
“Who entrusted them to you?”
“I cannot speak of it in a place where outsiders are present.”
“It is fine. I permit you to speak.”
Then came words that should never have been spoken in this situation.
“Do you suspect me?”
He was certainly suspicious.
“Not at all. If it is a conspiracy, as you say, should we not uncover the truth?”
“Very well. Then I shall tell only the Bureau Chief. The one who handed me the goods was—”
As he lowered his voice and seemed to approach the Bureau Chief—
Whoosh.
Chungbaek leaped toward the entrance.
But someone moved even faster.
Thud!
A flying kick sent Chungbaek tumbling across the floor before he could escape through the entrance. Just as he sprang back up—
the man who had kicked him pressed an acupoint to seal his pulse.
The one who had anticipated his escape and stopped him was none other than Huo Ming, the Changsha branch leader.
As the one in charge of leading the largest branch in the Hunan region, his martial prowess was formidable.
Huo Ming grabbed him by the collar, dragged him over, and forced him to his knees before Jian Wuyang. Not a single escort captain dared to intervene in the process. If he were not guilty, he would not have fled. The moment he tried to run, the situation was already over.
Jian Wuyang spoke to Ji Daehyeong.
“I trust you will believe us now.”
The words were polite, but Jian Wuyang’s gaze was cold. The meaning in his eyes was clear: We have shown you this courtesy, so you should show some in return.
“I will take this man to the Changsha branch.”
Ji Daehyeong did not dare say he could not allow it. Having already revealed his strength, Huo Ming was emanating a rough demonic aura.
Jian Wuyang looked down at Chungbaek and tilted his head slightly.
“Are those who merely forge counterfeit weapons more fearsome than we are?”
Chungbaek’s face was twisted in terror. The Demonic Cult before his eyes was frightening, and so were those he had dealings with.
Huo Ming released Chungbaek’s acupoint just enough for him to walk.
Just as they took him out of the great hall and were walking toward the main gate—
Schwing!
Together with an ear-splitting sound of wind, the flesh-rending sound created by that wind!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Everyone’s gaze turned toward one man.
With a blank face, Chungbaek looked down at his chest.
Fssssss.
His chest, struck squarely by the hidden weapon, was melting away with a gaping hole.
Chungbaek’s body crumpled forward with a hollow thud.
Before him stood a man aiming a cylindrical hidden weapon. He was an ordinary-looking young man.
He had disguised himself as an employee of the escort bureau and had been sweeping the courtyard until he suddenly launched a surprise attack.
Neither Huo Ming, who had been walking alongside Chungbaek, nor Jian Wuyang, who had been following behind, could stop the ambush.
“You bastard!”
Just as Huo Ming was about to charge in, Jian Wuyang shouted.
“Careful. I heard the Zhenji.”
Huo Ming froze for an instant. As a branch leader, he knew well what kind of hidden weapon the Zhenji was. One of the Ten Great Golden Dragon Hidden Weapons designated by the Martial Alliance.
The man aimed the Zhenji, which had been pointed forward, at Jian Wuyang.
But Jian Wuyang showed no fear, his expression challenging the man to fire if he dared.
At that moment, Huo Ming drew his sword and stood in front of Jian Wuyang. He was determined to block it with his own body if necessary.
The man looked at Jian Wuyang and grinned. It was the simpering laugh of a madman.
And he brought the Zhenji, which had been aimed at Jian Wuyang, under his own chin.
Schwick!
Thud, thud, thud!
There was no time to stop him. He committed suicide with the Zhenji. It seemed his purpose had been to kill Chungbaek and then take his own life from the very beginning.
Huo Ming rushed over and examined the body, but there was no way he could be alive.
Jian Wuyang went over, picked up the Zhenji in the man’s hand, and inspected it. It was a counterfeit Zhenji powerful enough to have killed even his younger brother.
Jian Wuyang’s gaze grew cold and heavy.
That he had been watched since coming here, and that the assassin had committed suicide after the ambush. Suicide sounded easy, but forcing someone to kill themselves after they accomplished their goal was no simple feat. It meant the opponent was no ordinary organization.
Intuiting that this matter would not be easily resolved, Jian Wuyang immediately gave Huo Ming an order.
“Report this situation as-is to the Tongtian Pavilion. And select only the elites from among the branch’s martial artists.”
“Yes, understood.”
Afterward, Jian Wuyang turned back to Escort Bureau Chief Ji Daehyeong.
Ji Daehyeong cried out with a startled and bewildered face.
“That man is not one of ours! We had nothing to do with this!”
Because the incident had occurred inside the escort bureau, he was terrified of being misunderstood as having been involved. If the Demonic Cult fabricated charges and pinned them on him, it would be hard to escape.
“I am aware.”
At Jian Wuyang’s calm words, Ji Daehyeong let out a sigh of relief.
He had harbored suspicions that the Demonic Cult might be scheming something, but this ambush cleanly dispelled those doubts.
“He would not have faced annihilation simply for delivering an item once.”
Ji Daehyeong thought so too. If it had been a single mistake, Chungbaek would have sought forgiveness rather than chosen to flee. In other words, it meant he had disguised goods as shipments and delivered them multiple times.
“Can you hand over the records of escort missions during his time as a captain?”
Though the current situation was such that Ji Daehyeong had to comply whether he wanted to or not, Jian Wuyang handled the matter politely and rationally.
“Do not worry that the list will be leaked. It is only to track down those who killed him. Since an escort captain is dead, you too must discover the truth, must you not?”
Ji Daehyeong agreed without hesitation.
“Understood. I will provide the records.”
“Send them to the Changsha branch of our main sect.”
“Understood.”
Jian Wuyang turned and left the place.
Huo Ming, following behind, asked him.
“Where are you going?”
Since they had come to the side that handed over the goods, now it was time to go to the side that received them.
“To the Black Water Sect.”
* * *
As Jian Wuji was leaving the Heavenly Demon Hall, someone appeared before him.
“Young Cult Leader!”
It was Seo Daeryong.
“Right Arm! How have you been?”
Jian Wuji greeted him gladly, and Seo Daeryong broke into a wide smile and ran over.
“I agonized a hundred times over whether I should come to the Heavenly Demon Hall to pay my respects or not.”
“Why didn’t you come?”
“You’ve become the temporary cult leader. Somehow, it felt like I shouldn’t come.”
Seo Daeryong looked up at the Heavenly Demon Hall. The majestic Heavenly Demon Hall and the giant stone statue of the Heavenly Demon Soul guarding it were enough to make one feel intimidated just by looking.
“How could I? It’s a frightening place just to look at.”
At that, Jian Wuji cast him a suspicious glance.
“That’s not the reason, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t forget me because you were playing with Miss Dana, did you?”
Seo Daeryong’s face flushed slightly. It wasn’t wrong. Whenever he had even a moment of free time, he spent it with Dana.
The Dan sisters were all busy. The second sister, Danbi, was zealous in her work as an enforcer of the Yellow Springs Pavilion, and the youngest, Danyeons, was doted upon as the little beloved of the Ghostshadow Squad.
The eldest, Dana, had sought out the Yihua Sword Venerable to receive swordsmanship instruction once, and was now devoting herself to training.
Then, when Seo Daeryong’s duties ended late at night, they would meet and nurture their love. Because they only met briefly amid their busy schedules, that time was all the more precious.
“Are you happy just thinking about it?”
Seo Daeryong replied with a broad grin instead of words.
It was wonderful to have a woman who was on his side.
“These are good times.”
“Such good times, yet the Young Cult Leader has never experienced them even once.”
Seo Daeryong shrugged.
“Finally, I have something I can beat the Young Cult Leader at!”
“Can you truly call that winning?”
“Don’t say such ominous things with that meaningful, scary expression!”
The two looked at each other and laughed. Seeing Seo Daeryong always lifted his spirits.
“Is something going on these days?”
“Why do you think so?”
“After all, I am the right arm attached to the Young Cult Leader’s body. I just know.”
How did he know? In the old days, they would have drunk together countless times at pleasure houses. As time passed, everything changed. People and situations alike.
But Seo Daeryong tried his best to delay that change. He had come to see Jian Wuji today to block the tide of change with his very body.
*‘No matter how much the world changes, I do not want my relationship with the Young Cult Leader to change! I want to continue living a life where there is someone I would gladly lay down my life for!’*
How could Jian Wuji not know his heart? That was why he could tease him like this.
“Since even my right arm has grown a heart, should I slowly cut it off now?”
“I’m sorry, but even if limbs were dangling from that right arm instead of a heart, I still wouldn’t fall off!”
Only after exchanging such banter did Jian Wuji speak honestly to Seo Daeryong.
“My older brother has left the cult.”
This was top secret; even the Yellow Springs Pavilion Master did not know yet.
“Has he taken on a dangerous mission?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m more worried.”
If it were definitely a dangerous mission, he could prepare accordingly. But it was the not knowing that weighed most heavily on a man’s heart.
“Shall I go out and assist the Great Young Master?”
“You have a hard time with my brother, don’t you?”
“It’s beyond difficult. The Great Young Master is terrifying.”
“And you’d still go?”
“Because the Young Cult Leader is worried, right? If quick-witted me is by his side, I will surely be of help.”
For the sake of the Young Cult Leader, he could even accompany the Great Young Master. What couldn’t he do?
“You have someone to protect now, so you should take care of yourself.”
Feeling that these were not empty words but held sincere meaning, Seo Daeryong flinched.
“I haven’t even properly spread my wings yet, and already you want me to be careful?”
“Where is happiness easily given? If you gain one thing, you must lose another. Look at me—since I obtained the temporary cult leader’s seat, I’ve been riddled with anxiety. Wrinkles are piling up on this handsome face of mine. Look, a new wrinkle is arriving over there.”
Right at that spot, a Tongtian Pavilion soldier came running.
“News has arrived. I believe you must come with me.”
As Jian Wuji walked following the soldier, he looked back at Seo Daeryong. He was watching him with worried eyes.
*When I returned, I told my father:*
*“I will be happy.”*
He recalled what his father had said then.
*“If you tread this path, do not even think of happiness.”*
“You are right, Father. Back then, I boasted that I would be happy, but I have come to realize that the stronger my martial arts grow and the deeper my relationships with people become, the harder the path becomes. I also realize that when one has nothing, one can boast all the louder.
Still, as I have done until now, I will find a way.”
Jian Wuji said loudly to Seo Daeryong.
“I’ll come to see the elder soon. Let’s have a drink then!”
* * *
“The escort captain who delivered the shipment to the Black Water Sect is dead. Fortunately, the Great Young Master is safe.”
Jian Wuji felt relief at Sima Ming’s report. Jian Wuji broke the frozen atmosphere with a joke.
“I told you my brother is no good, didn’t I? If he had caught the guy, he would have let him live. Only he made it out unharmed.”
Sima Ming did not laugh even though he knew it was a joke.
“This time, a counterfeit Zhenji was used as well. The assailant committed suicide on the spot.”
Both reports were grave. This counterfeit was a Zhenji as powerful as the genuine article.
If that Zhenji had been fired at the Great Young Master?
To make matters worse, the enemy was an organization that made its assassins commit suicide.
Sima Ming cautiously proposed.
“Will you send more support?”
Jian Wuji’s deepened gaze turned to the main camp on the topographical map.
Various colored Demon Lord Banners were planted there. Jian Wuji’s gaze settled on the golden flag symbolizing Mabul among them.
If he sent support now, his older brother would be furious. It was a matter of his pride. At least, Mabul was the one most likely to soften that anger.
“No, there is no need.”
Even if Mabul went out, it would be to gather poisonous herbs, not to help.
Jian Wuji’s gaze shifted back to the Changsha region.
Next to his brother’s flag was a green flag.
It was the Poison King’s Demon Lord Banner.
He could almost see the Poison King standing with twelve poison pouches at his waist.
The Poison King had stepped out from the Thousand Poison Forest, his own personal world, and was standing in the outside world. Jian Wuji knew better than anyone how strong he became at such times. Yes, he had to trust him.
“If the Zhenji had targeted my brother, the user would have melted before he could pull the trigger.”