Chapter 171: Desire is Like Clothing

TL: FoodieMonster007

I left the entire situation to Seo Daeryong.

Seo Daeryong gazed at the curtain and spoke, his voice holding no intimidation. "I want to earn a lot of money and gain honor, and I hope that path will be comfortable. I want to walk a path where I don't have to limp or bleed. If I can walk that path, I'll do anything."

I smiled as I knelt behind him with my head bowed. What Seo Daeryong just said was the opposite of what he had told me. He was the kind of man who could show wit even in a situation like this.

The reaction from behind the curtain was good.

"Honest."

Seo Daeryong had safely passed the first question. Now, the gaze from behind the curtain turned to me.

"You want to make that servant your right-hand man?"

"He's quick-witted and has excellent looks, so I'm sure he'll be useful."

Jo Yibaek then asked me, "What would you do if your master's orders and my orders conflict?"

"I only follow my young master's will. That's a fact that won't change even if the Murim Alliance Chairman himself came."

"Such a loyal one."

He said that, but I could tell Jo Yibaek was sneering behind the curtain. He was a man who didn't believe in human loyalty, or even in people at all. From his perspective, even Seo Daeryong must have seemed ridiculous, let alone a mere servant. His interest in me ended there.

Jo Yibaek asked Seo Daeryong again, "Will you kill someone if I ask you to?"

Startled, Seo Daeryong answered cautiously, "It would depend on who it is. If it's someone who deserves to die, I can kill them."

"What if I told you to kill someone you don't even know?"

Seo Daeryong hesitated before answering. "I'll kill them! Just leave it to me!"

A moment of silence passed.

Soon, Jo Yibaek laughed loudly from behind the curtain. "It was a joke, a joke. My good man, we're not the Demonic Cult. Would we commit such a wicked act?"

Seo Daeryong struggled to hide his bewilderment, his face a mix of laughter and tears. "I know you were joking too. Would you, the winner of the Young Dragon Tournament, commit such a terrible act?"

"That's right. I was also joking."

Seo Daeryong replied awkwardly as he wiped away his cold sweat. He was acting well. To anyone watching, he was a greenhorn from the countryside, driven mad by the desire for success. He would look like a truly simple-minded country bumpkin who would bring a servant to a place like this and declare him his right-hand man.

"Desire is like clothing. If you try to wear something that doesn't fit your body, the clothes will tear or you'll look unsightly."

It sounded like a lecture about having ambitions that fit one's station. At that, Seo Daeryong lifted his head and abruptly asked, "Then what kind of clothes is the Elder wearing?"

It was a truly audacious and insolent question, asking about his ambition.

Well done, Daeryong. To find out what kind of person your opponent is, you have to keep shaking them.

"If you won't entrust me with such a wicked task, then what benefit does the Elder gain from helping me? I may be a country bumpkin who doesn't know much, but I know this one thing. The world never offers a favor without a reason."

Behind the curtain, Jo Yibaek revealed no discomfort. A pleasant laugh flowed out, suggesting he actually liked Seo Daeryong's attitude. He probably felt that this type of person was easier to use.

I kept my head bowed but released my qi to sense Jo Yibaek's emotions. The person facing him head-on was Seo Daeryong, but I was the one fighting the real battle.

"It's an investment for the future. To become a great tree, one must start from a sapling, no?"

"Ah! I failed to realize the Elder's grand intentions. I apologize."

Daeryong, there's no need to be sorry. Most of the villains I've experienced don't make long-term investments in people weaker than themselves. Use and discard, use and discard. To them, subordinates are nothing more than consumables.

If they were to invest in saplings, it would be to use those trees as a windbreak so they themselves could become a great tree.

The reason for investing in Seo Daeryong is the same. It's because there's something he wants to make him do. Whether it's to kill someone or to steal secrets from the Murim Alliance. He'll try to get back as much as he's given. No, he'll try to get back more than he's given. That's how villains do business.

This is what I need to confirm.

Are you the Heavenly Enlightenment Society Chairman? Or have you also been recruited?

Jo Yibaek said to Seo Daeryong, "I liked your honesty. From now on, grow into a great tree that will support the orthodox murim."

"Thank you."

With that, our conversation ended, and we left the room.

As we walked toward the main gate, Seo Daeryong spoke to So Ok in a dejected voice. "I think I made a mistake with my answer."

With a self-reproaching expression, Seo Daeryong asked her, "Did you also receive that question, Division Leader So? The one about whether you could kill a stranger."

"I received it too."

"What did you answer?"

"I said I couldn't kill them."

"Ah! I should have answered that way too. I must have been blinded by my desire to make a good impression."

I subtly interjected into the conversation and asked So Ok, "Does he really not order such things?"

So Ok stopped in her tracks and glared at me.

Ever since we met, she hadn't shown the slightest interest in me. A normal woman would usually show some romantic interest upon seeing me, but So Ok paid me no mind at all.

I know what kind of people these women are. They are the ones who run solely toward their own goals. Seeing how she had no interest in me, yet treated Seo Daeryong so well, I could tell how great her ambition was. She was trying to wear clothes that were far too big for her.

"Of course he doesn't. What are you talking about right now?"

Her cold reaction might have seemed like anger, as if daring a mere servant to ask such a question, but I could feel it. That sharp, sudden reaction was a different kind of guilt.

She's done it.

She must have killed someone under Jo Yibaek's orders.

"I'm sorry, I was suddenly curious." I quickly bowed my head and stepped back.

Seo Daeryong stepped forward and scolded me. "Don't step out of line!"

"……"

We parted ways with her in front of the manor's main gate.

"Thank you so much for introducing me to the Elder. I will definitely repay this favor."

"Don't mention it. We have to stick together."

So Ok gave Seo Daeryong a bright smile. Then she shot a cold glare at me behind him and left.

After she disappeared, Seo Daeryong said to me, "I wish all the women in the world treated me and you, Director, like she does."

"Isn't that too harsh on me?"

"But I've been living like that my whole life." Seo Daeryong hung his head low and started walking.

"Is this an act too?"

"This is my reality."

"You've changed as a person, so your reality will change too."

Seo Daeryong stopped walking and looked back at me. I couldn't bring myself to look at his expectant face and say, 'Still, women will always like handsome men,' so I just nodded vigorously.

With a much brighter face, Seo Daeryong asked, "Did you find out anything from this meeting?"

For now, uncovering that Jo Yibaek, Cho Sin's father, was behind this was a major achievement.

Seo Daeryong had also noticed something. "Division Leader So, it seems like she's doing something bad under that guy, right?"

When I nodded, Seo Daeryong erupted in anger. It was fury directed at both So Ok and Jo Yibaek. "Damn it! How successful do they think they'll become by doing such things? Just using poor and desperate people! Director, we can't just let them be."

Was Seo Daeryong the only one who was angry? I was just holding back to make sure I pulled them out by the roots. If not for that, the True Dragon Manor Master would not have left that manor alive.

"However, in the process, So Ok will have to pay the price too."

"Of course she should." Seo Daeryong let out a regretful sigh. Perhaps he felt a sense of kinship with her. He, who had joined our Cult with no money and no background, and she, who had joined the Murim Alliance, probably had the same heart in the end.

"I'm going to send a messenger pigeon to the All-Knowing Hall for a moment, so go back first."

"Are you going to call the Demon Supremes?"

"I'm just going to report on the current situation."

I had received permission to get more help from them, but this was still a test for the succession. It was best to handle it with my own hands as much as possible. I missed the Demon Supremes, but I had to endure.

"I intend to handle this matter with the Murim Alliance Chairman."

Forging a deep connection with him was a necessary task, even for the future.

After sending Seo Daeryong off first, I spoke into the empty air. "You must have heard the voice of the person behind the curtain."

The hidden martial artist wouldn't have been able to see beyond the curtain directly, but he would have definitely heard Jo Yibaek's voice.

"There's no need to wonder. It's the person you're thinking of. This is an emergency, so let me meet the Chairman at once."

A single carriage was parked in the alley.

When I boarded the carriage, the Murim Alliance Chairman Jin Paecheon was inside.

"You must have received a report from your subordinate. That we met with someone trying to recruit the winner of the Young Dragon Tournament."

"I heard."

From now on, I conducted the conversation through telepathy.

[You must have heard the gist of the story from your subordinate, so I'll get to the point. He was the True Dragon Manor Master.]

[The True Dragon Manor has been a prestigious house among the sects representing the orthodox murim for generations. There's no way he would have been recruited by the likes of the Heavenly Enlightenment Society.]

[I confirmed it myself.]

[I heard there was a curtain?]

[I was able to see through that curtain. It was definitely him.]

The Murim Alliance Chairman still looked at me with suspicion. Since it was the house he was planning to join in marriage with Jin Haryong, it would be even harder to believe. It was a situation where it was easier to doubt me than to doubt the True Dragon Manor Master.

[That's not all. It's possible that his son, Cho Sin, has also been recruited by the Heavenly Enlightenment Society, and he doesn't know that his own father is in league with the Heavenly Enlightenment Society.]

The Chairman's surprise grew even greater.

[Are you saying the Heavenly Enlightenment Society recruited them separately?]

[I believe so. Or it's possible the father recruited his son without revealing his own identity.]

If that was true, then the Heavenly Enlightenment Society Chairman was truly a remarkable bastard. He was someone who would recruit a father and son separately to use them separately.

It was the same even if Jo Yibaek was the Heavenly Enlightenment Society Chairman. Because he would have hidden his identity even from his own son to recruit him.

[Because our opponent is this crazy, you must not trust anyone until this matter is completely resolved.]

The Murim Alliance Chairman's expression hardened. Hearing those words from the Second Young Lord of the Demonic Cult must have made him feel truly frustrated.

[If it were anyone else, I would have handled it secretly. However, since this is the person with whom you were discussing marriage, I am telling you this.]

[Why are you showing me this favor?]

[I won't lie and say it's because I respect you, Chairman. It's not for Miss Jin either. It's for our Cult. If a disaster strikes the Murim Alliance, it will ultimately affect our Cult as well. I do not wish for Father to use the Murim Alliance's crisis as an opportunity to unify the murim.]

When I mentioned Father, Jin Paecheon's eyes intensified. On top of that, I had used the provocative phrase 'unify the murim'.

[I am not so bold as to lie while daring to speak of Father. So please, believe me.]

I did not avoid the Chairman's eyes, which bore down on me like a tiger. He had been through all sorts of trials, so I believed he had the insight to see the truth in my words.

[Fine, let's say it is the True Dragon Manor Master, as you claim. Why do you think he is doing this?]

[He's proceeding with a marriage alliance with you, Chairman, and recruiting Murim Alliance martial artists. Wouldn't that mean there's only one reason?]

Jin Paecheon also knew the answer.

[My position?]

[It could be a preliminary move to place Cho Sin in the Murim Alliance Chairman's seat in the future. It may be disrespectful to say, but it could also be to assassinate you, Chairman. We'll have to hear it from their own mouths to know their exact intentions, but whatever it is, it won't be pleasant for you to hear.]

Jin Paecheon was not a benevolent, gentlemanly Chairman. He was more domineering and had a fierier temper than any Chairman in history. He was being as careful as possible only because his granddaughter was involved. Once that seal was broken, he was a man no one could handle.

[I understand. From now on, I will confirm it myself.]

He wanted to capture the True Dragon Manor Master right away and uncover the truth.

[You mustn't do that. As of now, he has committed no overt crime. Sponsoring Murim Alliance martial artists is something that Trading Companies with deep ties to the murim, or even murim sects, do openly. We must find direct evidence that he is connected to the Heavenly Enlightenment Society.]

I made him a proposal.

[Let's handle this matter between the two of us, without telling anyone. If you trust me, I have a way.]

[Do not disregard our Alliance. If you have a way, then we have a way too.]

[I'm not saying this because I disregard the Murim Alliance.]

"……"

[Do you remember? The moment I first revealed my identity, risking my life.]

I reminded him that this case could only be investigated because I had told him all these facts. Jin Paecheon could not deny that fact. He was a man, and a true martial artist.

Nevertheless, I understood the Chairman. It was natural that he wouldn't feel like entrusting this matter to my hands in this situation. So, I made him an unconventional offer.

[I will resolve this within five days. If I exceed that deadline, then you can handle it yourself, Chairman.]

Jin Paecheon was startled by my words. "Can you really resolve it within five days?"

"In return, you must help me actively, Chairman."

"What do you plan to do?"

"They tried to use your blood relative to scheme against you, Chairman. Then we should return the favor in kind."

Jin Paecheon laughed coldly. "I like that part, at least."

After a moment of contemplation, Jin Paecheon made his decision.

The words that signaled the beginning of a joint operation between the Murim Alliance Chairman and the Demonic Cult's Second Young Lord, something that had never happened before in the history of the murim, flowed from Jin Paecheon's lips.

"Proceed!"