General Inspector Lee Gwal realized he had been too hasty in pulling out the Fiery Blossom Iron Cylinder.
Just as the Cave Daoist had said, he’d lost his chance to feign ignorance.
The Cave Daoist had only co through the Hao Clan on suspicion, suspecting Physician Woo as a potential informant in Seong Iljang. It had rely been a suspicion.
But Lee Gwal had fired without distinguishing friend from foe. In effect, he had confessed.
— Crack!
As Kwak Yeon approached after crushing Physician Woo’s throat underfoot, Lee Gwal felt as if the sky were collapsing on him. He couldn’t move a limb. Even breathing felt impossible.
“P-Please... Spare my life...”
“You’re said to be the future head of a great sect, so you must be soone from Black Serpent Hall. And judging from how you manipulated Physician Woo, you must’ve handled their internal affairs. That narrows it down to one man. Isn’t that right, General Inspector Lee Gwal?”
“...Yes.”
“You have family, don’t you?”
“I do. So please... I beg you...”
“You’re a clever man. I’m sure you’ve hidden your family away sowhere safe. But are you certain the Hao Clan won’t be able to sniff them out?”
“Daoist... What do you an by that...?”
“I lost family at Seong Iljang. It felt like every light in the world had gone out.”
“Ah...”
Lee Gwal pissed himself again.
“I will act according to what you do. If I’m convinced you’ve done your utmost, I’ll cancel the favor I asked of my friends in the Hao Clan.”
“...”
“And of course, I’ll make sure your death cos without pain.”
To Lee Gwal, the figure before him no longer looked like a Daoist—but a demon, a wrathful ghost.
“He’s soone you should never have crossed.”
Now he understood why Black Serpent Hall’s head, Sa Duyoung, had trembled like a leaf.
And now he realized—he had enraged soone who should never have been touched.
“...I’ll tell you everything.”
Lee Gwal began banging his head against the floor as he spoke.
“From the beginning... to the end... I’ll tell it all without a single lie, and I’ll let you confirm it ten tis over, no—hundreds of tis. Just... please, I beg you, spare my family.”
Kwak Yeon felt not pity, but rage at the man’s desperate plea.
How could soone who treasured his own blood so dearly treat the lives of others as cheaper than insects?
Now he understood the phrase, less than a beast.
To sacrifice lives without a second thought for so paltry benefit—such a man couldn’t even be compared to animals.
Could such attachnt to one’s family even be called human affection? Or was it simply an extension of selfishness?
To Kwak Yeon, Lee Gwal embodied the warped inner world of the unorthodox sects.
Lee Gwal confessed everything.
He repeated it three tis over, trying not to miss a single detail.
He explained how the massacre of the administrative officers began and was carried out.
He described the fight at the mountain hut on Woonjung Mountain, how he escaped in hiding, and how he later contacted the Cult of the Evil Way with a report.
“When I heard the Wudang Sect’s leading Daoist was looking for a trauma physician, I summoned Physician Woo and had him sent into Seong Iljang. Using the intel he gathered, the Special Blood Unit's commander planned and executed this diversionary operation.”
By the ti Lee Gwal, pale as death, finished speaking, Kwak Yeon asked,
“How many from the Special Blood Unit?”
“Fifty, including the commander.”
A considerable number, though not enough to cause widespread chaos.
“They’re not the only ones, are they?”
“The ones who made a ruckus at the gate of Seong Iljang were from Black Sky Hall in Hojung Prefecture.”
Now Kwak Yeon understood how the Cult of the Evil Way had moved so quickly.
They’d dispatched a small elite squad to handle the real attack while using a nearby unorthodox gang to stir up noise.
From the start, they’d targeted Wudang’s injured. And as soon as it ended, they’d proposed negotiations with the Martial Alliance.
No—those two actions were effectively carried out simultaneously.
Thus, the Wudang Sect had no choice but to sheathe their sword of vengeance and return.
“Where is the Special Blood Unit now?”
With fifty martial artists, they shouldn’t be hard to track.
But neither the Hao Clan nor the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Beggars’ Guild had yet caught wind of their movent.
“They’re holed up in a temple called Yeongheungsa at the base of Mount Cheonju.”
Holed up—aning they’d taken over the place.
No wonder the information networks of the Hao Clan and Beggars’ Guild hadn’t detected them. It was nearly impossible to identify a hidden group camped out deep in a mountain temple.
“The commander said they’d return once the Wudang Daoists leave and things settle down.”
Kwak Yeon realized the Cult of the Evil Way had soone smart among their upper ranks.
Soday, he would find and punish the true mastermind—but for now, he had to eliminate the participants in this cri.
****
Hao Clan Branch Manager Gong Chunsam opened his office door with great satisfaction. He had completed a Special Grade Commission, and his spirits were soaring.
He’d been running around all day, and his feet were blistered—but he hardly noticed.
Having pulled off a Special Grade Commission, he could now hope for promotion to branch chief.
“Branch chief... huh.”
He couldn’t stop smiling.
He saw the pile of docunts stacked on his desk—but ignored them.
Right now, he just wanted to savor the feeling.
“That Cave Daoist... he’s no ordinary man.”
Just as he’d been instructed, Gong Chunsam had focused his search, and soon after, a clerk at an apothecary reported a suspicious physician. They even found out which inn he was staying at.
From there, everything fell into place.
He deployed sharp-eyed courtesans to verify the man’s identity, passed the intel to the Cave Daoist, and fulfilled the Special Grade Commission.
What the Cave Daoist did with the intel wasn’t his concern.
“To have that kind of judgnt at his age...”
If he’d joined the Hao Clan, he’d have been a rising star.
“Though that’s a pipe dream. No matter how remarkable he is, he’s still an outsider of the Wudang Sect.”
Shaking his head, Gong Chunsam glanced at the desk again.
“Can’t slack off if I want that promotion. This is a rare opportunity. Aaaaahm!”
Stretching, he shook off the fatigue and sat down.
“Why are there so many docunts...?”
Usually, he got maybe one docunt every two weeks from the main Hao Clan office.
As he sifted through them, he frowned.
“Why are so many people looking for the Cave Daoist?”
Every single docunt was a dispatch order requesting imdiate location of the Cave Daoist.
“This one’s from the Jeong Family—they’re pressing hard. This one... Black Sky Hall? Ah! Those bastards are Cult of the Evil Way affiliates. But why is the Danmok Clan...?”
The Danmok Clan request couldn’t be ignored. They were the head of all righteous clans in the Jeongyang region—and this one ca directly from his superior, the Jeongyang Branch.
“Danmok Clan takes priority. The last one is... huh?!”
His eyes bulged as he read the final dispatch.
“Why would they...?”
His gaze froze on the three characters printed at the end of the docunt:
House of Gathering Demons (Jipmabu).
One of the Eight Desolates of the Demonic Path, which had plunged the martial world into terror thirty years ago.
“What on earth has that Cave Daoist been doing...?”
A commission from the Jipmabu was on a different level entirely.
“Even so, they must know he’s the sa man who holds a Certificate of Gratitude.”
He had a vague idea why the main office had issued the dispatch—no doubt they couldn’t ignore the threat of the Jipmabu.
Once again, Gong Chunsam felt the bitter helplessness of righteous sects lacking force.
“In any case, it’s not my problem. I just pass the intel along to the office.”
Didn’t the Cave Daoist himself give permission to share his information?
“I’ll report only to Danmok Clan. That’s our Jeongyang Branch’s direct client.”
****
“Benefactor, don’t you think this is too much?”
In the courtyard of the main hall, the abbot of Yeongheungsa confronted the deputy commander of the Special Blood Unit.
“I could understand your group squatting in the monastery, saying you had no place else to stay. And since you’re not followers of Buddha, we’ve tolerated the killing and eating of at within our halls.”
A thick, greasy grin spread across the deputy commander’s face.
“But to force monks devoted to the path of Buddha to eat at—surely that crosses a line.”
The deputy commander gave a chilling smirk.
“Hey, old monk, what’s wrong with sharing a little food with those who’ve hosted us so generously?”
“Calling this almsgiving? Not even demons would stoop to such deeds.”
Murderous light glead in the deputy commander’s eyes.
“Listen to this wrinkled old bastard. ‘Demon’? So that’s what you think of our Cult of the Evil Way, huh?”
“Benefactor...”
“You think I didn’t know how you monks looked at us? You stared like we were filth. Like maggots. Isn’t that right?”
“That is absolutely untrue.”
“Bullshit. Spare the ‘noble monk’ act.”
The deputy commander sneered, then spoke in a chilling tone.
“Old man, you’re worse than we are. At least we risk our lives for a living. But you? You sit around in these mountains, leeching off others’ faith.”
“......”
“Am I wrong? You speak of Dharma, of the Buddha, but where the hell is your precious Buddha now? Why doesn’t he do anything while this is happening?”
“Benefactor, the Buddha teaches compassion. He does not manifest divine power at whim.”
“Compassion? Then why do you monks pray for fortune day and night? Doesn’t that an you’ve been deceiving people all along?”
“Benefactor, that...”
“Shut up and eat the at. Once you taste it, you’ll realize just how full of shit your so-called teachings were.”
“I will never eat it.”
—Shing!
The deputy commander drew his blade.
“Eat it while I’m still being nice. If not, next you’ll be tasting sothing else... like a woman.”
It seed the deputy commander was determined to defile every monk in Yeongheungsa.
As if he held a personal grudge against the temple.
At this point, the abbot almost missed the Special Blood Unit’s commander—who, while threatening, hadn’t actually caused harm.
But once he left with a portion of the unit, the deputy commander beca a rampaging demon.
“Namu Amitabha...”
Chanting a Buddhist prayer, the abbot spoke solemnly.
“Then take this monk’s life instead.”
“Killing you isn’t fun. I’ve done plenty of that already. Just a few days ago, I killed so Daoists from Mount Wudang. Honestly, it’s getting dull.”
The deputy commander approached a young monk sitting near the edge.
“This old man has nothing left to lose. But you... you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Don’t waste it. Close your eyes and take a bite.”
“P-Please, benefactor...”
The young novice monk trembled, pale with terror.
“Pick up the at. If you don’t, I’ll take your arm.”
Terrified, the boy picked up the raw, blood-dripping flesh.
“There you go. Easy, right? Just close your eyes and take a bite.”
Still hesitant, the boy froze—until the deputy commander grabbed his hand and brought the at to his lips.
“Open up. This is your last chance. Otherwise, you’ll taste my blade instead.”
The young monk began to part his lips in terror.
That was when—
“That’s enough.”
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