Chapter 828: Ilcheonkyo.
by Afuhfuihgs
The Sichuan region.
More specifically, a place a little ways from the county seat.
Known to people merely as a quiet neighborhood, it wasn’t exactly deserted, but not as bustling as the central areas either-an ambiguous location.
Towards a certain residence within the region, Grandmaster Daehwan of the Gyecheon Gate advances his steps.
The sun was up, but for some reason, it seemed a bit dim. The sparse human presence that could still be seen was becoming rarer and rarer as he went on.
The Grandmaster Gyecheon, with a stern expression, finally arrives before the residence. As he appeared at the door, the gate opened as if it had been waiting.
Kiiiiiik.
Through the gap of the opened gate, a man bowed his head to Daehwan.
“Greetings, Grandmaster-nim.”
Grandmaster Gyecheon steps inside the residence and speaks.
“What’s the status of the search?”
“Protector Jin is trying to figure things out by mobilizing personnel, but… they say nothing has been found yet.”
“You mean there isn’t even a trace?”
“Yes, I apologize…”
Kkeudeuk.
Grinding his teeth hard, he continues walking.
The interior of the residence seemed like a simple inn, but as he lightly touched a bookshelf he passed by.
Kkirik-!
Suddenly, the left wall opened, revealing descending stairs.
He immediately takes the stairs down.
“Grandmaster-nim… Since Protector Jin has taken action, we should find information soon.”
As the man descended, he spoke to the Grandmaster, seemingly gauging his reaction. The recent, sudden attack was the issue. Because of that, the Grandmaster’s nerves were quite frayed.
But then.
“It’s done.”
“Huh?”
The man is taken aback by the Grandmaster’s words.
“What do you mean…?”
“I think I’ve found the culprit.”
“…!?”
Found the culprit? He wondered what that meant all of a sudden. Found the culprit out of nowhere? As the man voiced his doubt, the Grandmaster spoke.
“The culprit seems to be the Star King.”
At the Grandmaster’s words, the man’s eyes widen like saucers.
“Y-You mean Star King?”
“Yes. It’s him.”
“…Did something happen when you met him?”
“…”
The memory of meeting Star King. Recalling it, the Grandmaster’s face contorted viciously. It was a memory he couldn’t even bear to describe. The more they conversed, the more he had to suppress his murderous intent. Not just the expressions he made, but even the way he spoke and his tone towards him. Everything provoked his anger.
-Do I look like a pushover?
Recalling the words spoken with that characteristic expression, Grandmaster Gyecheon clenched his fist.
“He asked me, you know. If I knew anything about Ilcheonkyo.”
“Ilcheonkyo…? How could he possibly know…”
“He said he had many eyes himself. I don’t know about that, but judging by the circumstantial evidence, it seems to be him.”
The mention of Ilcheonkyo, coupled with the expression he wore then, made the circumstantial evidence seem certain the more he thought about it.
…The problem was.
‘How?’
How this situation had come to be. No matter how much he thought about it, Grandmaster Gyecheon couldn’t understand.
‘How on earth did he find out?’
That guy was strange. The more he dug into him, the stranger he found.
Grandmaster Gyecheon had already anticipated that the Murim Alliance would make a move around this time. In fact, he had leaked information to Mok Riseon, hoping for just that. Given that, he had expected someone of the Grandmaster level to appear.
However.
‘I never expected two would come.’
He thought they would focus on searching initially, but contrary to his expectations, two Grandmasters were dispatched. The cause of the problem was the time lag between Mok Riseon leaking the information and it reaching Henan. Something must have happened in Henan during that time, causing this. Thanks to that, he had to deal with the variable called the Seongryong Brigade, but even then, Grandmaster Gyecheon thought it was fine.
‘It’s actually better.’
The Seongryong Brigade led by Star King? Upon looking him up, the guy called Star King was just a late-stage young master who had barely passed his twenties. He likely had no experience whatsoever. Apparently, having reached the youngest King-level, his martial prowess alone was commendable. If it were just that, it wouldn’t have been a problem. He was just a young brat lacking experience as a Grandmaster, possessing only strength. That was how Grandmaster Gyecheon saw Star King.
‘It went wrong.’
The Star King he met in person was quite different from Grandmaster Gyecheon’s expectations. Not only did he find the place suddenly disguised as an inn, but the aura he felt was difficult to attribute to a late-stage young master.
‘What should I call that?’
It’s hard to express. But it certainly didn’t feel like someone who should be a Grandmaster of the Murim Alliance. That was the Star King Grandmaster Gyecheon saw. He had crossed countless life-or-death situations before reaching old age. Having seen countless righteous and unrighteous sects during that time, Grandmaster Gyecheon could be certain about Star King.
‘He wasn’t from a righteous sect.’
That guy was too twisted to be called a righteous person. It was the same when he subdued his own disciples.
‘He really intended to kill them.’
There was no hesitation in his actions. Rather, it looked like he desperately wanted to kill them right then but was holding back. While it’s a stretch to divide righteous and unrighteous sects solely by killing, those aren’t the eyes a mere twenty-something brat should possess.
‘Just how much killing has he done?’
After killing and killing, he must have reached a point where he no longer assigns meaning to death. This is a state one can only reach by living on the edge of death, constantly facing it. That guy possessed it.
‘…I can’t understand.’
He simply couldn’t comprehend it. Perhaps he had undergone rejuvenation multiple times? If not, then how?
‘This is problematic.’
He seems to know something. I can’t gauge the level of information he possesses, but it’s certain he’s holding something.
However.
‘Not everything.’
It didn’t seem like he knew everything. Up to the point of his base and Ilcheonkyo. He seemed to know only that much and nothing beyond, but…
‘He might not be.’
This wasn’t a certainty. He might just be pretending not to know. What’s more, the important thing is…
‘His objective doesn’t seem to be us or Ilcheonkyo…’
The fact that Star King’s interest isn’t focused on them right now. Didn’t he say something when he found my base?
‘Join hands with Ilcheonggeom.’
And help me kill him… More precisely, help Ilcheonggeom kill me. That was Star King’s demand. Why exactly should the Cheongryong Brigade Leader, Ilcheonggeom, be induced to kill Star King? They should be on the same side, right? There was no need to dwell on this question. Clearly, he needed a pretext. A pretext that would arise from Ilcheonggeom stepping forward. Star King seemed to desire just that. Seeing this, Grandmaster Gyecheon joined hands with Star King under the guise of a deal. He saw it as not a bad thing for achieving his own goals. This became more firmly established later when he met Ilcheonggeom. Ilcheonggeom acted according to Star King’s intentions. It was so much so that he wondered if the two had colluded to capture him.
‘If it was a setup, that would be a relief.’
If not…
‘Doesn’t that mean we’re all being played by that brat?’
Back then.
And now.
Grandmaster Gyecheon found it increasingly difficult to shake off the unease.
Just then.
“…Grandmaster-nim.”
The man calls out to the Grandmaster. When he turned his gaze towards the call, the man spoke with an anxious expression.
“If it’s like this, shouldn’t we inform Branch Leader Mok first?”
“Branch Leader Mok?”
“Yes, so regarding Star King’s situation…”
“Don’t.”
“Huh?”
The man looked at him as if asking why, but Grandmaster Gyecheon’s stance remained unchanged. Contact Mok Riseon to gauge his reaction? Absolutely not.
‘He already knows Mok Riseon is one of our people.’
That alone was shocking, but the important thing here is…
‘Is Mok Riseon still truly on our side?’
His trust in Mok Riseon wasn’t that great either. He was someone who had already betrayed the Alliance once. If he was willing to join hands with the Gyecheon Gate for his own advancement, betraying again wouldn’t be that difficult. Therefore, he had to watch for now. If things go south…
‘He’ll be the first one we need to get rid of.’
Get rid of Mok Riseon first. Grandmaster Gyecheon steeled his resolve with a cold gaze.
“For now, let’s act according to Star King’s words.”
“…Grandmaster-nim. One thing.”
“However, it might not be good to take only one side’s part.”
The Grandmaster looked at the man and channeled energy into his body.
“It would be right to act according to Ilcheonggeom’s wishes too, wouldn’t it?”
“You mean…”
“We should lend a bit more support to Ilcheonggeom than Star King originally wanted.”
He understood the intentions of the two. They must be trying to stab each other in the neck for their respective territories.
“Ha…”
Recalling that, Grandmaster Gyecheon let out a hollow laugh.
“…As expected. The righteous sects are rotten.”
Killing the opponent for one’s own benefit. What righteousness or cooperation exists in this? And to think that those who are supposed to be Grandmasters of the Alliance are acting like this.
‘Can they even call themselves righteous after this?’
It’s futile. It’s also meaningless.
‘There isn’t much time left. Just watch closely.’
The day to realize his ambitions is not far off. Being called unrighteous and treated like a useless burden will end here.
‘You guys aren’t righteous.’
Those guys have rotten roots and lost their original intent. No, they lost their true roots long ago, so they barely have any roots left. The true root is Ilcheonkyo. They possessed what the righteous sects had lost. Soon, many people would naturally come to know. The true root of the righteous sects. Who it was that inherited the will of the Golden Iron Fist King, Yeon Ilcheon.
The person who suddenly opened the door and entered was none other than the master of the Tang family. It was the Poison King.
Seeing him, I had to wear a dumbfounded expression.
“…What? Family Head-nim?”
Why did that guy pop out of nowhere? It couldn’t be more random than this. Moreover, judging by his expression, he looked quite angry.
“Young Master Gu…”
“Yes?”
The Poison King glanced sideways, his face contorted. There sat Yeonhong… no. The Dark King.
“Another woman?”
“…Yes?”
Woman? What kind of nonsensical thing was that? I looked at the Poison King as if I didn’t understand the meaning, but…
“You’re making our precious Soyeol suffer like that. And two more on top of that…!? Just how much more do you intend to do?”
“Ah…?”
It didn’t take long to understand why he was reacting like that. It seemed he misunderstood something upon seeing the Dark King disguised as Yeonhong…
‘Wait a second.’
I frowned mid-thought. But why two? It was strange. If we only count the Dark King, isn’t that just one person? Something seemed wrong, but for now, rather than dwelling on this, I had to calm the Poison King down first.
“Family Head-nim. I think you’ve misunderstood… it’s not like that.”
“Not like that?!”
“It’s really not. What makes you think I’m so great that I’d do something like that with anyone?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
“Yes…?”
“Seriously, you don’t have anything particularly great about you, so why do you keep so many people around you?”
“…”
I was speechless. Even though I wanted to retort, no words came to mind.
“They say heroes are fond of women. I was willing to overlook it to some extent… but isn’t this too many?”
“That’s… it’s really a misunderstanding…”
It was difficult to explain. Because even while calling it a misunderstanding, my conscience pricked me slightly. What should I say? I racked my brain, but there was no answer. Just as my mouth went dry because of that,
“But, Tang Family Head-nim…”
A question suddenly occurred to me.
“…Did you come because of that?”
Why did the Poison King come all the way here? It was the fundamental question. I had been planning to visit the Tang family today or tomorrow anyway. But seeing the Poison King appear like this, I couldn’t help but be flustered.
“…”
At my question, the Poison King paused slightly. Judging by his reaction, this didn’t seem to be the reason.
“…Family Head-nim?”
I didn’t get an answer, so I asked again. Then the Poison King flinched and suddenly let out a dry cough.
“Ahem…”
“…”
As I just stared without reacting, the Poison King avoided my gaze, looking here and there, before finally speaking.
“…I had something urgent to find, so I came over.”
What that meant was…
“You didn’t come to get angry. You had a main point, but… you got angry first upon seeing the situation, is that it?”
“…”
As if hit by the truth, the Poison King averted his gaze. Seeing that, I scratched my cheek.
“…Well… yes. I understand. Then… could you put the anger aside for later and tell me why you came…?”
Although I felt wronged, I didn’t voice it. I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding… but I had committed sins that made it hard to dismiss it as just a misunderstanding. After all the trouble of sealing the gate, why would the Tang Family Head come all the way here? When I asked this, the Poison King kept coughing dryly like before and spoke, looking towards Yeonhong.
“…It’s a bit awkward to talk about it here.”
Does he mean we need to be alone? Considering he came in person, it seemed quite important.
“Ah, then… let’s head to my residence first.”
I led the Poison King to the residence where I was staying.
Immediately after arriving at the residence. I smiled awkwardly at the Poison King.
“My, my… I apologize. I was supposed to visit you…”
“…No.”
The Poison King’s expression wasn’t entirely pleasant, perhaps still showing traces of his anger.
Sseup… This is awkward.
“Um… the Vice Leader… no, Miss Tang, does she know you’ve come, Family Head-nim?”
“…”
“It seems she doesn’t.”
Did he come without telling Tang Soyeol? Then…
“Is it the right thing for me to stay quiet?”
“…Ahem.”
“…Yes, I’ll keep quiet.”
“Thank you…”
It seemed he knew well that he’d get scolded if found out. The important thing was that he came like this despite knowing that. Based on this, I could guess:
‘Is it because of the Dokcheondan?’
The revival of the Dokcheondan, which the Tang family had been attempting using the recipe I provided. They had been failing recently due to unsuitable ingredients or circumstances, so perhaps there had been progress? Could that be why the Poison King, who was perhaps sulking(?) at me, came all this way? I was making such assumptions.
“Hmm…”
Thinking this, I poured tea. I considered not drinking it and just getting straight to business, but I saw the Poison King’s lips were slightly dry. So, intending to wet his throat, I was about to pour the tea the attendant had prepared earlier, but…
At that moment.
Kwak-!
The Family Head suddenly covered the mouth of the teapot with his hand. Seeing that, I stiffened. Hot tea was pouring out, yet the Poison King grabbed it nonchalantly. Why is he suddenly doing this? Just as I was about to speak, wondering about it,
“Tang Fam–.”
I stopped talking right there. It was because I belatedly sensed something.
Dugeun.
The Myriad Poison Immunity within my body reacted. Just this was enough to grasp the situation. The Poison King whispered to me.
“It’s poison.”
Poison was mixed in the tea. This was something I had been waiting for.
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