< Episode 572 > To Henan. (Revised)
With those final words, a heavy silence descended.
Drip.
It was so quiet that the only sound to be heard was that of water droplets falling.
Was it because the words themselves were so shocking?
After all, it was a bombshell declaration—an attack on Henan, where the Murim Alliance and Shaolin resided, in a mere three months.
Ordinarily, anyone hearing this would be more than shocked.
But I thought otherwise.
These bastards weren't the type to be shaken by something so trivial.
As proof, I looked up into the air.
Within the quiet atmosphere.
Woooom—!
The energy gathered where the ceiling met was quietly churning.
A violent and brutal form, as if displaying raw emotion.
I lowered my gaze from the air and surveyed my surroundings.
The ten pairs of eyes looking at me conveyed countless words, in stark contrast to their tightly sealed lips.
Some were smirking.
Some held eyes brimming with anticipation.
Though each harbored different reasons,
The goal they were heading toward was the same.
There wasn't a shred of fear within that.
As if there could be.
'I gathered these guys from those who didn't have such things to begin with.'
Bastards who didn't balk at means or methods to achieve their goals. Bastards who expressed greed without a moment's emotional hesitation.
And from among them, I had gathered only the best and put collars on them.
'Though they probably don't think of them as collars.'
None of that mattered anyway.
What was important was.
'Whether or not I can use them.'
That was the only thing that mattered.
As I was thinking so and looking around.
"Three months later, you say?"
A voice was heard.
In a voice that betrayed his youth, a slightly awkward manner of speaking was mixed in.
I immediately looked toward the owner of the voice.
He was one of the few here with ordinary eyes.
Furthermore.
"That's right. Three months."
He was also the capable talent who filled the gaps in my woefully lacking mind.
The young man, no, the boy, slightly furrowed his brow upon hearing my words.
"Hyung. Last time, you said we had half a year left."
"Things got a little tangled, that's all."
As I spoke nonchalantly, the boy immediately covered his forehead with his hand.
He looked thoroughly exasperated. Seeing that, I held back a laugh.
Despite appearances, if I simply said the word, he would somehow find the answer.
Just as he had in my past life.
'Though back then, it had been for the worse.'
The identity of the exasperated boy was the Divine Physician's grandson.
It was Jegalhyeok, who could now speak.
I looked at Jegalhyeok's neck.
A long vertical scar remaining along his neck.
That was both the reason Jegalhyeok could speak now, and the reason he was helping with affairs under me.
After looking at it briefly, I spoke to Jegalhyeok.
"Also. I brought one more person, so put him to use too."
As I spoke, I presented Seongyul.
Seongyul had the look of someone who couldn't comprehend the situation.
Not that he could be expected to.
How could he understand when I'd suddenly declared we would attack Henan?
Jegalhyeok tilted his head as he looked at such a Seongyul.
To be precise, he tilted his head while looking into Seongyul's eyes.
"This person... It seems he hasn't received the 'blessing' yet."
Hearing those words, I firmly furrowed my brow.
"You. I told you not to use that word."
A blessing? What kind of damned blessing is that?
Jegalhyeok often used such expressions when looking at the men I had corrupted, but.
I truly despised that.
'A blessing, my ass.'
This wasn't something noble enough to be a blessing.
This was.
'A harsh punishment.'
It should have been a punishment, not a blessing.
A severe punishment where they would thrash about to their heart's content, bound by their sins, before burning up and disappearing.
That was what I believed demonic transformation to be.
As I growled as if angered, Jegalhyeok observed me, lowered his gaze slightly, and said,
"I apologize."
Only upon hearing those words did I relax my expression.
It was an atmosphere that wouldn't benefit from dragging this on any longer.
I had to move on for now.
"...Forget it. Push the plan we'd locked in for half a year out to three months from now."
"We've already reduced it a lot, so it might be difficult."
Jegalhyeok was right. Advancing something planned for six months out to just three months would require a great deal of effort.
The Jegalhyeok of my past life—
if he were Cheonyuranga, who had been called the brain of the Demonic Cult, then perhaps.
But for the current, young Jegalhyeok, it might be too difficult.
"If you succeed, I'll grant you that thing you wanted."
...!
If you could make the impossible happen, that was all that mattered.
I said I'd give him what he wanted.
At those words, Jegalhyeok's eyes widened.
"...Hyung... Are you serious?"
"Yeah. If you pull this off. Just as you wished."
What Jegalhyeok had wished for.
That was precisely:
"I'll open you an inn in Shaanxi. A guesthouse."
A small guesthouse where he could quietly live with his grandfather.
Opening that and living peacefully was his goal.
He'd enjoyed cooking since childhood, and had he really said his dream was to be an inn chef?
'Somehow a grand yet small dream.'
A guy who possessed the talent to seize and shake the entire Central Plains using only his mind, if he so wished.
And the most he wanted to be was an inn chef. Truly unknowable even when you thought you knew someone.
'...It's actually better this way.'
It was a choice a hundred times better than him becoming the strategist of the Great Demonic Lord.
"M-me, really...?"
As soon as I mentioned opening an inn in Shaanxi, light came into Jegalhyeok's eyes.
If he got so worked up over something as small as opening an inn, how could I not exploit that?
"Yeah, I'll give it to you. A big one, if you want."
As it happened, this was a time when money had piled up nicely, what with raiding the Guangdong region this time.
'I've already passed the items to the Baekhwasangdan.'
I planned to give the merchant group the word to sell them off during the move, so the gold would keep accumulating.
'The financial aspect is roughly settled.'
I had sold off the Yeomyeongju given by the Dangje Sect.
This time I'd acquired and sold off chunks of Mannyeonhancheol. At this point, there was no way we'd fall short financially.
'Then what remains is.'
Replenishing forces and weapons, was it.
Realizing this, I nodded.
For force replenishment, I'd already selected personnel in advance, so it was merely a matter of moving busily.
As for weapon replenishment.
'I don't know of many rare items, so that's out of the question. Then...'
Recruiting a person who could forge weapons seemed like the best option.
Realistically, purchasing with gold would likely be fastest, but...
'That wouldn't be enough.'
The weapons one could buy with money were far too lacking.
I couldn't be satisfied with just that.
I needed far stronger weapons.
Fortunately, I had someone in mind regarding that as well, so it likely wouldn't pose an issue.
'Then, the only remaining problem is.'
Time, was it.
'Tch.'
No matter how much I pulled things forward, time was insufficient.
'I'll have to run around and somehow pull this off.'
If it was lacking, I simply had to eliminate the shortfall.
It was time to rack my brain for solutions.
"So, trim the plan down a bit."
"I'll... I'll try my best."
Hearing Jegalhyeok's answer, I had to swallow my disappointment.
'Guess it's pretty tough.'
That he didn't say it was guaranteed, only that he would try his best, was a sign that it was quite arduous.
But.
'What choice do I have?'
I had to exhaust every available option.
It wasn't the time to be choosy.
"That's all I needed to say for now... Ah. Right."
As I was wrapping up, I realized there was something I wanted to ask Jegalhyeok.
"Tell me your grandfather's location."
"Huh? Grandfather?"
When I asked about Shin Ui, Jegalhyeok opened his eyes a bit wider.
And he asked me,
"Did you get hurt, Hyung?"
Since the only reason I'd look for Shin Ui was injury, he deduced the answer quickly.
I found myself making an awkward expression.
"A little. It's nothing serious, but if I leave it be, it'll become troublesome."
"When you usually say you're a little hurt, it's never actually a little, is it?"
"When have I ever said I was hurt like that?"
"Last time, you went into seclusion to test a new power, and not long after, your organs ruptured..."
"Forget it... Just tell me."
When he tried to bring up that painful story, I urgently cut him off.
Because it was a shameful dark history.
'I was an idiot back then.'
It was because I hadn't known how rough and violent the power I'd wanted to test was.
At that, Jegalhyeok made a look of great displeasure and said to me,
"Grandfather is... in Henan right now."
"Henan?"
Henan, out of the blue.
"Before I set out, he'd said he was with the Murong clan."
I'd heard he had gone briefly to Liaoning at the request of the Baekcheon Geumju, but.
Now he's in Henan?
'That works out rather well.'
It was something I had to head to Henan for in any case.
If it came to this, I could simply go a little earlier and meet Shin Ui.
The question was why Shin Ui was in Henan.
And Jegalhyeok answered that immediately.
"He said someone was going to come, so he went to wait."
"Your grandfather went to wait...?"
My brow furrowed slightly at Jegalhyeok's words.
Shin Ui was a man who would hurl curses and glare fiercely even if the current Alliance Lord called for him, and yet.
Who in the world could be worth an old man going so far out of his way to wait?
'...Well, it's fortunate that he's in Henan.'
Whatever. It was done.
He was someone I had to meet anyway, so it was a good thing. That's how I had to think.
With that, I waved my hands dismissively.
"Anyway, it seems we've said all we need to, so disperse for now."
I'd already brought up the main point and heard all I needed, so it was time to scatter.
They might think I'd gathered them just to say something so simple, but.
'I had to check their conditions too.'
It was time to check each of the gathered men's physical states.
Whether the demonic energy was settling properly. Whether they were plotting anything unnecessary. That was the purpose of this gathering.
Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any problems yet.
The instant I spoke, all traces of human presence began vanishing instantly.
By the time I blinked, only three people remained in the space.
Me, Seongyul, and Jegalhyeok.
After confirming this, I looked at Jegalhyeok and asked,
"Why."
Since Jegalhyeok was an ordinary person, he'd naturally be slower to leave.
But there was a reason I asked so pointedly.
Because his eyes had held the look of someone with something to ask.
"I still have a question."
"Ask."
"You deliberately moved it up to three months—what on earth are you trying to do?"
The plan originally locked in for six months.
The reason he had gone out of his way to move it up to three months.
Jegalhyeok was asking about that.
"Hmm."
I pondered briefly upon hearing the question.
Because I wondered what I should tell him.
That things had gone sideways and time had grown tight was indeed a reason.
'But that's not all.'
More than that, there was another reason.
Jegalhyeok must have caught onto that as well, which is why he was asking.
The pondering ended quickly.
It wasn't so much worrying over how to respond, but rather selecting one from among many possible answers, so it didn't take very long.
"Well, it's not that grand a reason... Just."
I looked at Jegalhyeok and said,
"Since I'm playing the villain anyway, I figured I'd try being a hero too."
"...?"
At the indifferent answer, question marks rose on Jegalhyeok's face.
******************
As late spring drew to a close, when it was nearly time to bid farewell to all the flowers.
A single figure was climbing a steep mountain trail built in Henan.
Thud...! Thud...!
Upon the beautifully adorned mountain path.
The climber's appearance stood in stark contrast to its beauty.
The one who appeared to be a young man carried an iron ball larger than his own frame, ascending the steep slope.
With every step he took, sweat dripped relentlessly, and his exhausted breathing grew ever rougher, but.
The young man walked without faltering, his eyes fixed on the end of the ascent.
Though he appeared exhausted, he did not halt his steps.
After walking thus for some time, the young man finally reached the summit.
A massive ancient tree stood at the end of the trail.
Only upon reaching it could the young man carefully set the iron ball down on the ground.
Thud.
But.
The young man could not rest.
Because without even a chance to catch his breath, he had to immediately assume a posture and pay respects.
"I have come to see the Abbot."
Pressing his palms together, he bowed his head.
It was toward the old man standing beside the ancient tree.
"Tsk, tsk...."
The old man—Shaolin Abbot Cheonan—chuckled as he looked at the young man.
"You have had a difficult time."
"Not at all."
Cheonan slowly took in the young man as he answered.
Just by looking at him, it seemed spirit and vigor flowed out.
Though he couldn't have been long past the age of twenty,
that young one already had his feet planted in a transcendent realm far beyond the wall.
A masterpiece born of Shaolin.
The youngest Hwagyeong.
The greatest Divine Dragon in history.
Those were the names by which the era called the young man.
And.
'A hope to lead the Central Plains.'
Cheonan looked upon the young man as such.
A spark and hope to confront the unknown calamity that lay ahead. Surely that child would become such. Cheonan was certain.
Cheonan spoke as he looked at the young man.
"I hear a grand festival will be held in Henan before long."
At Cheonan's words, the young man's shoulder trembled faintly.
A grand festival to be held in Henan. That was undoubtedly—
referring to the Divine Dragon Martial Tournament held by the Alliance.
"I believe you can do it. Might I look forward to it?"
Cheonan asked him thus, and.
"Yes. Abbot."
The young man answered without a moment's hesitation.
"So as not to bring disgrace to Shaolin's name..."
The young man's yellow eyes flickered as he spoke.
"I shall do my utmost."
Watching him, Cheonan held back a faint smile.