Chapter 368. A Carriage Bound for Hell
“Cult Leader.”
A man was kneeling on one knee, his head bowed as well. He stared only at his own feet as he waited for the Cult Leader to speak.
“Left Envoy Wi.”
The man called Left Envoy Wi answered without raising his head.
“Yes.”
“If the Left Envoy of the Divine Cult lies that flat on the ground, what are the other cultists supposed to do? They’ll be sticking themselves to the floor. Rise.”
“My apologies.”
Only after apologizing did Left Envoy Wi stand, respectfully clasping both hands before him. Even after rising, he did not look straight at the Cult Leader. He kept his gaze lowered and his mouth shut; he was not a man of particularly outstanding appearance.
Nor did he have the air of a born martial man, though he was rather tall. His drooping eyes were the defining feature of his face, and his ears were larger than those of ordinary people, bent so excessively that one might suspect his hearing was especially developed. Overall, he looked like a long-limbed monkey standing upright.
The Cult Leader sat in a grand armchair, chin propped in one hand, and said,
“Now that you have become Left Envoy, refrain from excessive courtesy.”
“Yes.”
“Your household?”
Left Envoy Wi answered.
“They are entering the cult in two stages. Those belonging to the advance party have already arrived, and the rear group will enter after handing over the businesses in various regions to their successors. I apologize for the delay.”
The Cult Leader said,
“There is no need for the rear group to enter as well. Your entire clan need not join to the point that it hinders your business.”
Left Envoy Wi lowered his head slightly.
“Thank you for your generous consideration.”
“Left Envoy Wi, were you that submissive even when doing business? The sight of you groveling is revolting.”
Left Envoy Wi answered with a smile.
“In truth, I have never lived in such a humble posture anywhere. Cult Leader, I will gradually grow accustomed to it.”
The Cult Leader replied with an indifferent expression.
“I hear your clan, the Myeongcheon Wi Clan, has produced great merchants for five generations. Compared to the wealthy of the Central Plains, where do you stand? Are you the greatest merchant under heaven?”
“Not quite the greatest under heaven, but if we were to gather the wealth spread throughout our holdings, we could still be counted among the top ten. There are so many hidden men of wealth under heaven that it is impossible to compare accurately. However, among the cultists, we have worked the hardest to earn the most money.”
“Who started the rumor that, in terms of assets, you surpass the cult, and that if you hired only ronin with money, you could rival the cult’s military strength?”
Left Envoy Wi answered with his head bowed.
“Cult Leader, that rumor was not spread by us.”
“Did you investigate?”
“I believe it was a rumor spread by the Outer Hall.”
“Who?”
“I understand it was a tale spread by the Golden Tiger Unit Leader of the Outer Hall and the Jungcheon Merchant Guild that works with him.”
“How did you respond?”
“I sent a letter explaining that it was a misunderstanding and requested that they restrain themselves from spreading such rumors.”
“What did they say?”
“There was no separate reply.”
The Cult Leader laughed.
“Then the Golden Tiger Unit Leader and the Jungcheon Merchant Guild must be the most surprised to hear that you have become the Radiant Left Envoy.”
“Most likely.”
“Do you intend to send them a new warning? You have power now.”
Left Envoy Wi answered at once.
“I will remain still.”
“Why?”
“Since I sent the letter, no further rumors that might cause misunderstanding have spread. As I have undeservedly received an order from you, Cult Leader, to carry out the duties of Left Envoy, I believe the Golden Tiger Unit Leader’s side will also be careful.”
At Left Envoy Wi’s words, the Cult Leader laughed.
“I think I understand why the Right Envoy disliked you.”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“I heard it several times.”
“Do you know the reason as well?”
Left Envoy Wi moved his head slightly, then answered while looking at the floor.
“I understand that he disliked us because he called us money-crazed bastards.”
“Can you get along with the Right Envoy when he returns? In any case, when I am absent, the two of you must discuss and handle the great and small affairs of the cult.”
“I will confer with him properly.”
“I did not seat you there so you could be dragged along by whatever the Right Envoy wants to do.”
“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”
Just then, a subordinate’s voice came from outside.
“Cult Leader, the First Young Master you summoned has arrived.”
“Have him wait.”
“Yes.”
The Cult Leader spoke with a smile.
“Left Envoy, what did you intend to do after scraping together so much money over five generations? Were you planning to establish a small kingdom?”
Left Envoy Wi answered.
“When earning money, there is a feeling as though one is being swept along by a river.”
“What do you mean?”
“At first, you are satisfied with a single skiff, but to catch bigger fish, you gradually venture into wider waters. Before you know it, you feel as though you might grow seasick, so you purchase a slightly larger boat.”
“And then?”
“As the number of people grows, you need several boats. As you travel along the currents, you see other people’s boats, better than your own. Somehow, money seems to flow more toward those vessels. Then I too build an even larger boat myself. In the end, I come to possess a boat so large that it can no longer go back and forth on a narrow river. So this time, I cross the sea. Only then do I finally realize how vast the world is, and learn that there are wealthy men who have accumulated far more wealth than I, despite enduring the same hardships.”
The Cult Leader asked,
“Did you throw those wealthy men into the sea?”
“If I judged it necessary, I did. Because if my boat sank, there would be many in my household who would sink with it.”
“Is scraping together money a road with an end?”
“It has no end.”
“Then you must have learned martial arts in order to gather even more money.”
Left Envoy Wi nodded.
“In the end, yes.”
“And so you bought the position of Left Envoy with money as well.”
“I will not deny it.”
The Cult Leader, who had been tapping the armchair with his finger, spoke.
“Left Envoy Wi, I will command you on what you must do from now on.”
“I will listen carefully.”
The Cult Leader moved one hand this way and that as he spoke.
“Wield full authority.”
“…….”
“Use the cult to make even more money, and fill the empty seats throughout the organization with your people. Act tyrannically. It is fine if you clash with the Right Envoy or the other young masters. Fill the seats of the Four Heavenly Kings however you like. It does not matter if you incur the cultists’ opposition. If you are the Left Envoy, then possess power befitting the position of Left Envoy. And.”
“Yes.”
“The only token given to the Left Envoy is the Light Sword, and the former Left Envoy has it. Use that.”
Left Envoy Wi raised his head slightly and looked at the Cult Leader.
“Understood.”
“You may withdraw.”
“Yes.”
Left Envoy Wi took three steps back with his head slightly lowered, then turned around. After opening the door himself and stepping out, his eyes met those of the Cult Leader’s eldest son, who was waiting outside. Perhaps he had come from a long journey, for his face was burned red like a farmer’s. Left Envoy Wi looked at the small box tucked under the Eldest Young Master’s arm and said,
“……Eldest Young Master, it has been a long time.”
The Eldest Young Master nodded.
“I hear you’ve become the Left Envoy?”
Left Envoy Wi pointed to the door as he replied.
“Yes. Please go in. He is waiting for you.”
As the Eldest Young Master passed by, he said,
“To think a money-grubber climbed to the seat of Left Envoy. You’ve risen in the world.”
Left Envoy Wi replied with a smile.
“Thank you, First Grand Duke.”
The Eldest Young Master glared at Left Envoy Wi as he closed the door himself.
Left Envoy Wi kept smiling until the door was fully shut.
Only after the door closed did Left Envoy Wi look around with an expressionless face, then move off at a slow pace. Even as he walked, his large ears twitched as if by habit.
But he could not hear the conversation between the Cult Leader and the First Grand Duke. Only after he left the hall did his subordinates approach him.
“Family Head.”
Left Envoy Wi looked over the subordinates who had joined the Cult and said,
“It seems I’ll only be a true Left Envoy once I obtain the Light Sword. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes.”
“Do not use the title Family Head from now on.”
“Understood.”
The Left Envoy said as he strode ahead,
“Good. I’ve become busy. There is much to do.”
* * *
The Demonic Cult Leader’s second son was pissing toward the forest. With his entire right arm and shoulder bound in white cloth, he looked like a defeated soldier returning from battle. Having held it in for so long, the stream went on for quite some time. Just when it seemed about to stop, it would start again, repeating three or four times before the second son pulled up his trousers and limped back toward the carriage.
After he climbed into the carriage, sat down, and closed the door, he said,
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
After waiting a moment, the second son spoke again.
“I said, let’s go.”
The second son was about to say something when he looked toward the carriage door. Suddenly, it opened, and a man carrying a bundle stepped inside.
As the second son stared in shock…….
“…….”
The Light Right Envoy, drenched in blood, sat down across from him and looked at him.
“Aren’t you returning by far too obvious a road, Second Young Master?”
The second son pushed inner power into his left hand as he studied the Light Right Envoy. Only the face, wiped clean of blood by hand, was unmarked; the rest of his body and clothes were stained with blood.
The Light Right Envoy shook his head and said,
“I told Grand Duke Yang I would spare you. Since your father showed me courtesy, I should at least do that much.”
The second son replied,
“Then why did you follow me?”
The Light Right Envoy placed the bundle on his lap and untied it. The second son thought Grand Duke Yang’s head would be inside. But within the bundle the Light Right Envoy opened were several white dumplings and liquor in a bamboo flask.
For some strange reason, the sight of the white dumplings made the second son feel as though he might lose his mind.
When the Light Right Envoy grabbed a dumpling, blood smeared onto it. Eating the bloodstained dumpling, the Light Right Envoy said,
“……Grand Duke Yang ran away. How could he flee so quickly while his subordinates were dying? I said I would spare you. I never said I would spare Grand Duke Yang.”
After wolfing down one dumpling in the blink of an eye, the Light Right Envoy picked up another and held it out to the Second Young Master.
“Want one?”
“No.”
The second son barely managed to calm his startled heart before speaking.
“So what do you intend to do? I don’t understand why you’re suddenly doing this. What are you planning to tell the Cult Leader after killing Grand Duke Yang’s subordinates?”
The Light Right Envoy asked while chewing a dumpling,
“Are you reproaching me?”
“I am not reproaching you. I am trying to understand the situation.”
After drinking some liquor, the Light Right Envoy said,
“I intended to spare you and kill Grand Duke Yang. That was the condition. Since Grand Duke Yang ran away, others will have to bear it. Guide me to Simwon Valley.”
“…….”
The Light Right Envoy said,
“If Grand Duke Yang is there, I will kill him. If he is not, then the martial artists of Simwon Valley will have to pay for their crimes. Do not worry. I spared the maids at the safe house as well. They were innocent.”
The second son looked at the Light Right Envoy’s hand as he chose another dumpling. Each time he rummaged through them, the dumplings turned red.
The Light Right Envoy picked up a dumpling and held it out toward the second son.
“……Will you guide me to Simwon Valley? Or will you pay the price for the crime of Grand Duke Yang, who ran away? As the Demonic Cult Leader’s second son, you should be able to make a fairly clever choice. Your father did not even give such choices. He killed them all. Seeing someone like the Haomun Master appear, the world has changed. I will not touch women or children. Either you die, or Grand Duke Yang dies. What will you do?”
The second son glared at the Light Right Envoy, then suddenly stared at the dumpling falling from his fingers. At the same time, as the Light Right Envoy tilted his head to the side, a longsword suddenly thrust through the wall of the carriage. The Light Right Envoy caught the blade of the longsword between his fingers, then put strength into them and pulled it free.
The longsword, moving too fast to avoid, drove into the second son’s shoulder with a dull thunk.
“Ghk…….”
As the second son looked at the longsword, the Light Right Envoy said,
“Did you see? This is the fate of you father and son.”
“…….”
“Coachman, restrain yourself. If you die too, I will have to find someone else to drive the carriage.”
As soon as the Light Right Envoy had filled his stomach, he threw the remaining dumplings onto the floor and looked at the second son.
“Have you decided? Who will die?”
The second son looked at the Light Right Envoy with an expression as if he had fallen into hell. Each breath filled his nose with the stench of blood. The Light Right Envoy moved his head this way and that, carefully studying the second son’s face.
“……So you did have some goodness in you. To think you would agonize this much. Then you will pay the price in his stead.”
The second son said to the coachman,
“Set out for Simwon Valley.”
“…….”
The second son shouted harshly.
“Hurry!”
“Yes.”
The Light Right Envoy reached out and pulled the longsword embedded in the second son’s shoulder free. As he shoved the sword back through the hole, he said to the coachman,
“This is your longsword. How insolent of you to stab the Second Young Master. If the Cult Leader finds out, you will be executed.”
“…..”
Gwangmyeong Usa burst into laughter, alone, as if his own words struck him as funny. After laughing for quite a while, he asked the second son.
“Do you think Archduke Yang is in Simwon Valley?”
The second son loosened a cloth bandage, then retied it about his shoulder before answering.
“I do not know.”
“It does not matter. If we wait, he will come eventually. Everyone must cooperate to ensure Archduke Yang does not catch on and flee. Do you understand? You must answer me, Young Master.”
“I understand.”
Gwangmyeong Usa spoke with a smile.
“The sight of the Demon Cult Leader’s second son is truly something. If I were you, I would bite my tongue and kill myself. If you are ashamed, kill yourself. As for Simwon Valley, I shall seek it out with the demonic attendant.”
The second son glared at Gwangmyeong Usa, then picked up a dumpling that had fallen to the floor and ate it with his left hand. It was a dumpling with a savory taste of blood that lingered deliciously.
“Let us go for now.”
The moment Gwangmyeong Usa thought that the second son, having steeled his resolve, would charge at him in Simwon Valley, he covered his mouth to stifle the laughter threatening to spill forth.
Cornered with no way out, the second son resorted to childish words.
“Usa, will you be able to bear the Cult Leader’s wrath?”
Gwangmyeong Usa spoke with a bewildered expression.
“You still do not know your father well. Have you ever seen your father truly angry? I have yet to see it.”
“……”
“Have you?”
“I have not.”
Gwangmyeong Usa nodded.
“None. For one who enjoys himself, there is no anger. It is what is called ‘amusement’ (遊戲). He is a man who would die smiling even as his own head flies off. Because he has emptied his heart so thoroughly. I did not understand when I was merely Usa, but only after becoming a Cult Leader myself have I come to understand your father’s heart to some degree. Later, if you and your father are still alive, we ought to meet and share a drink.”
“Why not return to the cult right now and enjoy a candid drink together?”
Gwangmyeong Usa shook his head with a solemn expression.
“Today is not the day. You too must strive harder.”
The second son stared blankly at Gwangmyeong Usa. He thought that here was a madman like no other.