It had been exactly a quarter of an hour.
Everyone stared at Geom Muyang in astonishment. Judging from the blood on his hands, it was clear he had conducted the torture himself.
Geom Muyang slowly walked over to Jin Hagun.
Jin Hagun was inwardly relieved to hear that the White Dragon Unit Leader had confessed.
He had suspected that the man was lying, but if that suspicion proved wrong, the consequences would be irreversible.
First, he asked about the White Dragon Unit Leader’s life.
“Is he alive?”
Geom Muyang answered as if it were only natural.
“His life is in no danger.”
If the man had died, it would have been a grave discourtesy to Jin Hagun, who had trusted him and left the matter in his hands.
That made it all the more astonishing. He had extracted a confession from someone who did not seem likely to open his mouth easily, and had done so while leaving him intact.
“What did he confess?”
At Jin Hagun’s question, Geom Muyang looked around. It was a silent question asking whether he could speak in front of the men of the Demon Extermination Squad.
Jin Hagun nodded once, as if to say it was fine.
“The person behind it was not one of your higher-ups. It was someone with no position whatsoever in the Murim Alliance.”
Jin Hagun felt relieved inwardly, yet puzzled at the same time. If it was not the Alliance’s leadership, why had the White Dragon Unit Leader been won over by them?
Then, from Geom Muyang’s mouth came a name he had never imagined.
“Cheonae Geosa (天涯居士), Hwa Yulcheong (華律淸).”
“!”
Shocked, Jin Hagun’s eyes flew wide open.
Impossible. He had never expected that name to appear. It was a name that should not have appeared.
Is that true? Truly? Jin Hagun glared at Geom Muyang.
“That cannot be.”
Instead, Jin Hagun grew calm. Because this was simply absurd.
Hwa Yulcheong was an absolute master of the orthodox faction. Not only was his martial arts superb, his character was so admirable that countless martial artists respected him. He did not even covet wealth or power. When he obtained money, he helped the poor, and he never forgave those who committed evil.
And most decisively of all.
“He is my grandfather’s old friend.”
He was the closest friend of the Murim Alliance Leader, Jin Paecheon. The two had spent long years together. Perhaps his grandfather trusted him even more than he trusted his own grandson.
How could Jin Hagun possibly believe it when such a man had been named as the one behind all this?
Not only the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad, but Gwak Yeong as well could not believe it. What orthodox martial artist did not know Cheonae Geosa?
Jin Hagun spoke firmly.
“That man must have lied.”
Jin Hagun even found Geom Muyang suspicious. Was he deceiving him for some unjust purpose? No, this was a name he could not be deceived by even if he wanted to be.
“I must hear it from the White Dragon Unit Leader himself.”
“Do so.”
Jin Hagun strode into the building, and Geom Muyang followed after him. The warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad and the Earth Unit followed as well.
In the middle of a spacious room, the White Dragon Unit Leader was sitting in a chair.
Geom Muyang had said he was fine, but Jin Hagun had still expected him to be half dead. Surprisingly, however, he looked unharmed.
There was not a single wound on his face, and his eyes still had life in them. Only his clothes were soaked through with blood.
The White Dragon Unit Leader had looked glad to see Jin Hagun, but when he saw Geom Muyang enter behind him, he was horrified and averted his gaze. He was utterly terrified. It was a stark contrast to the White Dragon Unit Leader who had been shouting so boldly earlier.
Jin Hagun walked up to him.
“Unit Leader Do, are you all right?”
The White Dragon Unit Leader was overcome with emotion, but he could not show it. His fear of Geom Muyang standing behind Jin Hagun was tremendous.
“I am here, so you are safe. Now say it again. Who is behind this?”
At last, the White Dragon Unit Leader opened his mouth, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.
“The pain was too much, so I blurted out any name I could think of! I have no face to show you.”
After speaking, he broke down sobbing. To anyone watching, he looked full of grievance.
Jin Hagun looked back at Geom Muyang. Even after the White Dragon Unit Leader changed his statement, Geom Muyang did not press him. He looked like someone who had expected the man to alter his testimony.
Sure enough, Geom Muyang said indifferently.
“This is why I do not trust people.”
He said nothing more. It felt as though he were saying, It is your choice whose words you believe.
Until the moment he had entrusted the White Dragon Unit Leader to him, Jin Hagun had believed Geom Muyang. He had handed the man over because he trusted him.
But now, he was troubled. Should he truly believe Geom Muyang’s words?
Because of that heavy name, Cheonae Geosa.
The White Dragon Unit Leader said tearfully.
“Please believe my words. Please believe my loyalty.”
After being lost in thought for a moment, Jin Hagun said to the White Dragon Unit Leader.
“It seems I misunderstood you.”
Jin Hagun’s attitude toward Geom Muyang changed abruptly.
“To think Cheonae Geosa is behind this? I nearly let myself be deceived by demonic men.”
He glared at Geom Muyang with cold eyes and said,
“Did you think such a trick would work?”
At that, the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad drew their swords in unison and pointed them at the warriors of the Earth Unit. The warriors of the Earth Unit drew their swords as well.
A taut tension spread between them.
But in both number and skill, the warriors of the Earth Unit could not be opponents for the Demon Extermination Squad. If the order to attack was given, annihilation would only be a matter of time.
Geom Muyang merely gazed at Jin Hagun with deep eyes. Their gazes tangled in midair.
Gwak Yeong was flustered by the sudden situation. She wanted to step forward and shout.
‘I believe the Young Master!’
She had personally confirmed that the White Dragon Unit Leader was not the man she had known. She wanted to say she would stake even her life on it.
But she could not step forward. This was not her place to intervene. Moreover, the one who had promised to save her younger sibling was that leader of the Demon Extermination Squad.
In a gentle tone, Jin Hagun apologized to the White Dragon Unit Leader.
“Unit Leader Do. I am sorry.”
“Not at all. It is enough that you recognize my loyalty even now.”
He truly looked like a man who had returned from the brink of death. With his personality, one would have expected him to say something to Geom Muyang in a situation like this, but the fear had been carved so deeply into him that he would not even meet his eyes.
“When you return, go to a physician first and receive treatment. I will report this matter to the Alliance Leader.”
In that instant, the White Dragon Unit Leader flinched. If this matter reached the Alliance Leader, the fact that he had confessed would also reach Cheonae Geosa. The fact that he had given up his name so readily under torture.
“Please do not tell him that I named such an esteemed person.”
“I cannot do that. I must tell the Alliance Leader the full account of what happened. But do not worry too much. Once he hears the circumstances, he will understand that you had no choice but to give that name because you were tortured.”
The White Dragon Unit Leader pleaded again.
“Is there any need to trouble such an esteemed person with this matter?”
Jin Hagun stared at him. The eyes that had been gentle until now turned cold.
“Are you perhaps afraid you will be killed to silence you?”
The moment he said those words, Jin Hagun did not miss the White Dragon Unit Leader’s expression. The unmistakable bewilderment of a man struck in a vital spot.
Jin Hagun interrogated him.
“You could not endure the pain, so you gave any name, and of all the countless people in the world, it just happened to be Cheonae Geosa? You call that an excuse? Did I look foolish enough to believe it?”
Cheonae Geosa was the person furthest removed from conspiracy. His was not a name that would come up when someone was naming any random person.
Moreover, Geom Muyang had said earlier that their leader was among the highest ranks of the Murim Alliance. If the man had been going to give a false name, he would have chosen one of them.
Not only that, but from the way he was desperately trying to keep the fact of his confession from reaching Cheonae Geosa’s ears, Jin Hagun could tell that he had truly named Cheonae Geosa as the one behind it.
That was why a chill ran down Jin Hagun’s spine, and he began to think that Cheonae Geosa might really be behind it. It was simply too unexpected a name.
The White Dragon Unit Leader begged and made excuses to the very end.
“No. Please! It is a misunderstanding! I merely…”
As if he did not want to hear any more excuses, Jin Hagun pressed his acupoint.
When the White Dragon Unit Leader collapsed to the floor, Jin Hagun ordered the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad.
“All of you, lower your swords.”
The men who had been surrounding the warriors of the Earth Unit lowered their swords and stepped back.
The warriors of the Earth Unit also sheathed their swords in inward relief. In that brief moment, they had crossed the boundary between life and death.
Jin Hagun apologized courteously to Geom Muyang.
“I was only acting in order to confirm that man’s true intentions, so please understand.”
Astonishingly, Geom Muyang had understood his intent.
“I believed that was the case.”
“Did you not say you do not trust people?”
After a brief pause, Geom Muyang answered.
“Because Mugeuk is your friend.”
Just as Jin Hagun trusted Geom Mugeuk’s elder brother, Geom Muyang likewise trusted Geom Mugeuk’s friend.
“My younger brother would not have befriended just anyone.”
If Geom Mugeuk had heard it, it was something he would have gone around boasting about all day.
The misunderstanding had been cleared up, but Jin Hagun’s heart was still heavy.
‘Truly Cheonae Geosa?’
Even after confirming that the White Dragon Unit Leader had confessed, he still could not believe it.
“What will you do now?”
At Geom Muyang’s question, Jin Hagun shook his head with an expression that said he did not yet know what to do either.
Then he returned the question to Geom Muyang.
“What will you do?”
Ordinarily, he should have said, This is our affair, so all of you should withdraw from Wuhan.
But he did not. If not for him, they would never have uncovered this great secret.
Geom Muyang’s eyes took in Gwak Yeong, who stood far away.
Even if he left like this, Jin Hagun would protect her and save her younger sibling.
There was no need for him to help Jin Hagun either. This was an internal matter of the Murim Alliance, and it was something he ought to handle.
But the reason he had personally left the cult this time still remained.
Because of that forged weapon, he had nearly killed his own younger brother with his own hands. That rage would not subside unless he eliminated them all.
That alone was reason enough for this decision.
“I intend to see this through to the end.”
* * *
The Demon Buddha sat alone, lost in thought.
The place where he was staying was an empty hut in the mountains near Wuhan. After sending the Blue Mountain Sword back to his hometown, he had remained here for a while.
He could control the golden radiance emitted from his body, but he could not hide his short stature.
Since Wuhan was a place where countless masters came and went, he stayed inside whenever anyone passed by, lest someone recognize him.
Then he sensed a presence outside.
“Are you there?”
“Come in.”
The person who entered the hut was the Poison King. It was the first time the two had met since coming to Wuhan.
When they were in the main cult, it was usually the Demon Buddha who went to find the Poison King, but today it was the opposite.
“The atmosphere here is quite nice.”
He said it out of awkwardness, but what atmosphere could there be in this chilly hut abandoned by a hunter?
An awkward silence flowed for a moment. There had been a time when they had gone around Thousand Poison Forest digging up poisonous herbs together, but these days they did not see each other often, and the two had grown somewhat awkward. They had returned to their original relationship.
Just then, the Demon Buddha brought something from a netted sack in the corner and quietly held it out to the Poison King.
“I happened to notice it earlier while taking a walk.”
It was three or four roots of poisonous herb.
“It is Masaengcho!”
It was a poisonous herb on the list the Poison King had made of things he absolutely intended to dig up here in Wuhan.
No matter how hard he had tried to find it, it had not appeared, yet it had so easily caught the eye of the Demon Buddha out on a walk.
“Thank you truly.”
The moment the poisonous herb appeared, the awkward atmosphere vanished at once.
The Poison King said with sparkling eyes,
“Shall we go out for a walk?”
Seeing the Poison King look as though he wanted to go out immediately, the Demon Buddha smiled faintly. When it came to poisonous herbs, his eyes shone. The thought naturally came to him that one had to love poison that much to bear the name Poison King.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“I am a bit hungry. Let us have a simple meal and then take a walk. Wait a moment. It is nothing much, but it will fill our stomachs.”
The Demon Buddha rolled up his sleeves and began cooking.
Looking closer, there were several kinds of mushrooms in the sack. It seemed he had picked them while gathering poisonous herbs.
First, he lit the campfire in front of the hut, boiled water, and cooked the mushrooms.
“You gave me Masaengcho, so I should be the one treating you to a meal.”
“Can you cook?”
The Poison King shook his head. It was always Sangseon who made meals. By contrast, the Demon Buddha’s hands moved skillfully.
“You seem to have cooked quite a lot.”
“I wandered through the Central Plains and often had to eat alone.”
Because the Demon Buddha’s appearance stood out so much, he had usually filled his stomach while camping outdoors. Even when he came out this time, he had brought basic seasonings to use while camping.
How could the world know? That the short man cooking alone somewhere in the forest was the Demon Buddha.
The Poison King watched the Demon Buddha cook. Originally, he had no interest whatsoever in the other Demon Venerates, but the Demon Buddha was different.
Though it was a dish made in a flash, the Demon Buddha’s mushroom dish was excellent.
“It is delicious.”
“I am glad it suits your taste.”
The Poison King busily moved his chopsticks. All he wanted was to finish eating quickly and go out with the Demon Buddha to dig up poisonous herbs together.
Just then, Sangseon came and relayed the contents of an urgent message sent from Tongcheongak.
“According to the information sent by the Young Master, Cheonae Geosa is behind this affair.”
Unlike the calm Poison King, the Demon Buddha was startled.
That was because he knew very well what position Cheonae Geosa held among the orthodox faction, and how deep his friendship was with the Murim Alliance Leader.
“That is truly unexpected.”
At the Demon Buddha’s words, the Poison King mentioned two names.
“The Cold Moon Guest and the Blue Mountain Sword.”
The Demon Buddha nodded. Yes, it would have taken someone on the level of Cheonae Geosa to summon the Cold Moon Guest and the Blue Mountain Sword.
If he truly was involved?
This matter had become far more dangerous.
“Even so, the Young Master will try to see it through to the end.”
The Young Master he knew was not the sort of person to abandon something halfway through.
Without a word, the Poison King toyed with the Masaengcho before him. The look in his eyes now was different from the look he had worn when he suggested going for a walk. He knew as well. That he might have to step to the forefront.
The Demon Buddha recalled the most important reason he had needed to come.
To prevent the Poison King from stepping forward.
But if the matter grew this large? If misunderstandings piled up and things went wrong?
The golden radiance from the Demon Buddha’s body deepened.
“Our enemy will not be Cheonae Geosa, but the Murim Alliance Leader.”