Chapter 201: If It Weren't for the Madmen Who Occasionally Appear

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Please, spare me!"

The Third Immortal helped the kneeling, pleading young man to his feet.

"This makes me very uncomfortable."

"If you suddenly demand I repay the money, how am I supposed to do it?"

The Third Immortal sighed.

"My hands are tied. It's an order from the organization. You know how it is, right? People like us have no choice but to do as we're told."

"But I can't sell my house. If I don't have a house, where will my parents live?"

The young man's weakness was his filial piety. The Third Immortal pressed that weak point.

"You'll have to have them stay with a relative."

"What relative would welcome a pair of old folks?"

The Third Immortal sighed again.

"This is why I told you not to borrow any more money, isn't it?"

The young man sighed along with him.

"I didn't know it would come to this."

The young man had gone to a distant land to learn martial arts. After returning home, he dreamed of opening a martial arts academy. He worked hard to earn money, and the Third Immortal approached him, offering a loan from the Miracle Deity Loan.

Of course, the young man was suspicious at first.

The loan agreement, however, had nothing strange about it. The Third Immortal was also incredibly kind and treated him like an older brother.

He never forced the young man to borrow money. He even advised him that debt was difficult at a young age and that he should borrow later.

Then, just as the Third Immortal was about to lend the Miracle Deity Loan to someone else, the young man grew anxious and borrowed the money that day.

He bought an old manor and began renovations. An accident injured the workers, delaying construction and forcing him to borrow more for their medical treatment. Then, materials were stolen, so he had to borrow again.

He still planned to open the academy, run it diligently, and repay the debt, but then a fire broke out in the newly completed building.

The young man felt as if the sky was falling. To make matters worse, the Third Immortal came to demand repayment. He told him to sell the house where his parents lived.

"I'll do anything, but selling the house is absolutely not an option!"

"Anything, you say? What, are you going to commit murder or something? Don't say such useless things."

"I'm sorry."

"I'll try to plead your case with the organization somehow, so let's discuss it."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Well then, I'll see you again."

The Third Immortal turned away from the young man. A smile formed on his thin lips.

It's about time.

He just needed to make the man commit one crime, and it would be over. The moment he took that first step, he could exploit the fool for life. It was a piece of cake with someone so kind, naive, and devoted to his parents.

Ambition, dreams, hope, youth, family.

These bright, warm things were bait that led young men to hell. Push forward with ambition! You have to dream when you're young. Hold on to hope! You're young! Think of your family! How could any hot-blooded young man possibly avoid this?

The Third Immortal smiled coldly and boarded the waiting carriage.

He asked his subordinate in the driver's seat.

"Who's next?"

"Someone new who wants to borrow money."

"Who is he?"

"He's said to be the son of the Justice Fist Sect's Sect Leader."

He had heard of that sect.

One might wonder why the child of a well-known sect would want to borrow money. In his experience, it was always the people who didn't need money who borrowed it, not the ones who actually did.

The Third Immortal leaned his head back in the carriage. He had been so busy lately he barely had time to breathe.

The black market was run by four sworn brothers who had committed all sorts of evil deeds. When they started the business, they abandoned their names and became the First Immortal, the Second Immortal, the Third Immortal, and the Fourth Immortal.

The First Immortal, who created the black market, was cunning and ruthless. He was born without a shred of sympathy for others.

He had suddenly acquired a large sum of money and proposed this venture. He never said where the money came from. There was surely a separate financier who had provided the massive capital.

One thing was certain. Since the ruthless First Immortal had decided to make money, they were bound to earn a fortune.

To maintain secrecy, they kept the number of subordinates to a minimum of elite members and strictly divided the work.

The Fourth Immortal led elite martial artists and only moved when force was needed. If the Fourth Immortal was the fist, the Second Immortal was the feet. The Second Immortal's role was to find potential victims.

The First Immortal decided how to use these prey. He made them do all sorts of things, from assault and murder to stealing martial arts manuals from relatives. If a secret seemed likely to leak, he would have them killed in a way that looked like a suicide.

If the First Immortal was the head, the Third Immortal was the mouth.

The Third Immortal's role was to soothe and comfort their victims. He would tell them that a better life would come if they just endured a little longer. When they gathered, they often joked that the Third Immortal was the biggest bastard of them all.

"We've arrived."

The meeting place was an inn.

The subordinate pointed to a young man in a corner seat.

"That's him."

The Third Immortal walked over to the young man while the subordinate waited a short distance away.

The Third Immortal joined the young man at his table and greeted him cheerfully.

"Sorry. Have you been waiting long?"

"It's fine."

The young man answered in a low voice. Usually, young men who came to borrow money were nervous and tense. This young man, however, seemed less nervous and more dark and gloomy.

"What's your name?"

"It's Jeong Yang."

The person who introduced himself as Jeong Yang was none other than Geom Mugeuk.

"I heard you're the successor of the Justice Fist Sect?"

The Justice Fist Sect was a real sect located nearby. Their youngest son was also named Jeong Yang.

Of course, this sect was one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's sects managed by the All-Knowing Hall. If someone investigated, they would find a son who looked just like Geom Mugeuk.

Like the Western Blade Sect used during the Young Dragon Tournament, the Justice Fist Sect was a cover sect created for situations like this.

"Why does someone like you need money?" the Third Immortal asked, testing him.

Geom Mugeuk asked a question of his own instead of answering.

"I heard you lend money without charging interest."

"That's right. The Miracle Deity Loan doesn't charge interest."

Geom Mugeuk lifted his head and looked at the Third Immortal. He projected a gloomy atmosphere, contrary to his usual self.

He could have acted haughty or behaved like a member of a prestigious family. However, Go Wol had requested that he face his opponent with this demeanor.

"How much can you lend me?"

"How much do you need?"

"One hundred thousand taels."

The Third Immortal was startled. No one had ever asked to borrow one hundred thousand taels at once.

"What do you plan to use such a large sum for?"

Geom Mugeuk lowered his head and said nothing.

"Look here. It's your freedom to use the borrowed money as you wish, but one hundred thousand taels is a very large amount. Don't you think I should at least know what it's for?"

The Third Immortal thought to himself.

This doesn't feel right.

He was just deciding not to lend the money.

Suddenly, unable to contain his anger, Geom Mugeuk slammed his fist from his seat onto the floor.

The inn's floorboards dented without a direct hit.

The Third Immortal was shocked. More surprisingly, the act was so quiet that the people at the next table didn't notice. The young man's internal energy was profound for his age.

"Forget it. Let's just pretend this never happened."

As Geom Mugeuk tried to leave, the Third Immortal stopped him.

"Wait! Why are you in such a hurry?"

Geom Mugeuk acted as if he was still debating whether to borrow the money.

"Here, sit down first."

The Third Immortal held onto Geom Mugeuk because of his skill.

This is the man the First Immortal is looking for!

The First Immortal was searching for an expert to use for a big job. An order had been given to secure any expert they came across.

"Alright, I'll lend you the money. I won't ask what you're using it for, since that's your personal business."

A hint of joy flickered across Geom Mugeuk's face.

"I'm lending you this much money, and not even a single word of thanks?"

Then, Geom Mugeuk spoke, his voice barely audible.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You'll probably try to get something out of me later for lending me this money."

Geom Mugeuk glared at the Third Immortal with a look that said, 'You can't fool me.'

Of all the people the Third Immortal had met, this was the first one who gave him such a feeling. He was unsettling yet strangely captivating. He seemed like the type to cause major trouble, which also meant he could earn them a lot of money.

"Alright! Let's write up the IOU."

Geom Mugeuk examined the IOU from all angles.

"It's true, just as I heard. There's no repayment date."

"If we wanted to make money, we would have invested in a Trading Company. We're investing in your youth."

At the word 'youth', Geom Mugeuk scoffed and continued to examine the IOU.

"If I dip this in water, the contents of the IOU won't change, will they?"

"If you're that suspicious, go ahead and check."

Geom Mugeuk actually splashed water on it and even brought a lamp over to heat it. The IOU remained unchanged.

This time, the Third Immortal scoffed inwardly.

He's a suspicious one, too.

Did this make him difficult to use? No. A suspicious person has aspects that make them easy to use. Once their suspicion is overcome, they tend to show a more confident belief. When you're determined to deceive someone, their personality is not an issue.

After examining the IOU for a long time, Geom Mugeuk nodded.

"I'll leave my handprint once you give me the money."

On the Third Immortal's command, the subordinate brought a bank draft. After receiving the money, Geom Mugeuk left his handprint on the IOU.

"Well then, let's meet again."

Geom Mugeuk took the money and left without a backward glance. The Third Immortal then ordered his subordinate.

"Deploy the surveillance team and find out what he uses the money for."

"Understood."

The two men left the inn and departed in the carriage.

From an alley across the street, Geom Mugeuk and Go Wol watched them leave.

"You did well."

Geom Mugeuk had projected the darkest, gloomiest atmosphere possible, just as Go Wol instructed.

"It was a good idea to check the IOU."

Splashing water and applying heat had been Geom Mugeuk's impromptu decision. He judged that an opponent with malicious intent wouldn't expect someone to inspect an IOU so thoroughly.

"Strategist Go, wouldn't it be better to just capture that guy and torture him to find out where the others are?"

At Geom Mugeuk's question, Go Wol shook his head.

"The one who planned this is a smart man. If we make a wrong move, he'll cut his losses and go into hiding."

"So what do we do now?"

"With the one hundred thousand taels you borrowed, you will purchase one item."

"What kind of item?"

Go Wol smiled, as if he already had a plan.

"An item that will give them a big surprise."

Three days later, the subordinate returned and reported to the Third Immortal.

"Jeong Yang used the one hundred thousand taels to find a local black market merchant and buy poison."

Black market merchants, also known as shadow merchants, were traders who sold hidden weapons, armaments, and poisons banned by the Murim Alliance.

"He bought poison? What kind?"

"He bought imperceptible poison."

The Third Immortal was shocked. Imperceptible poison was extremely expensive and difficult to obtain.

"Can you buy it with one hundred thousand taels?"

"It seems he bought just enough for a single use."

"Who on earth is he trying to kill?"

When the subordinate replied that he couldn't find that out, the Third Immortal was at a loss. He had lent money for all sorts of things, but no one had ever bought imperceptible poison. Perhaps this was the unsettling feeling he had gotten that day.

I have a bad feeling about this.

It was unlikely, but the imperceptible poison could possibly be used on the Third Immortal himself.

"How did he even make a deal with a black market merchant?"

"There's a capable information broker in this area. It seems he made contact through him."

"Damn it! Tell that bastard I want to see him again."

"……"

The Third Immortal sighed. He truly loved this job. The thrill of gently coaxing an opponent to their ruin gave him greater pleasure than a night with a woman. Moreover, even as they were dying, his targets relied solely on him.

The Third Immortal believed there was no greater destructive and visceral pleasure than this. If it weren't for madmen like this who occasionally appeared.

The next day, the Third Immortal met Geom Mugeuk again.

"Why did you want to see me?"

Now that he knew about the poison purchase, Geom Mugeuk seemed even more gloomy and dark.

"There's something I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Where did you spend the one hundred thousand taels I lent you?"

Geom Mugeuk frowned.

"Didn't we agree you wouldn't ask about that?"

"We did, but a strange rumor is going around. Someone supposedly bought imperceptible poison for one hundred thousand taels."

Geom Mugeuk flinched. His reaction was so obvious that the Third Immortal didn't need to press him.

"It wasn't me."

"Then show me the money. Or tell me where you spent it."

Geom Mugeuk couldn't say a word.

The Third Immortal spoke in a gentle, placating tone.

"The moment you bought that, we were in the same boat. If you cause trouble with that poison, it becomes our problem too. So tell me. If there's anything I can do to help, I will."

"You can't help."

"Who on earth are you trying to kill? If you use imperceptible poison, the Murim Alliance will launch an investigation. That means the problem will get bigger. If you want to kill someone, you'd be better off hiring an assassin or…"

Then, Geom Mugeuk said an unimaginable name.

"Is there an assassin who can kill the Fist Demon?"

"!"

The Third Immortal was truly astonished. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so shocked.

"Surely you don't mean the Fist Demon of the Demonic Cult?"

"Why not? That bastard who deserves to be torn to shreds."

The Third Immortal was speechless for a moment. He felt he had gotten involved with the wrong person.

Ah! This guy is a madman. A complete and utter madman.

If they got tangled up with the Demonic Cult, they would all end up dead.

"Why are you trying to kill the Fist Demon?"

"The Fist Demon touched my woman."

"Why would the Fist Demon touch your woman of all people?"

After hesitating, Geom Mugeuk revealed his family's secret, as if deciding he might as well go all the way.

"Our Justice Fist Sect is a place that belongs to the Demonic Cult. It was the territory the Fist Demon was in charge of."

The Third Immortal nearly screamed. He was already entangled with the Demonic Cult. This madman had just revealed a critical secret so easily, but the man's bloodshot eyes explained his desperation.

"The Fist Demon, who would occasionally visit our home, saw my fiancée and raped her. Damn it! Father knew about it and told me to endure it."

Geom Mugeuk's eyes blazed with a reckless fury.

"I'm going to kill the Fist Demon."

The Third Immortal made the same decision. He quickly sent a telepathy message to his subordinate standing a short distance behind him. Contact the other Immortals. We need to get rid of this madman first and get out of here quickly.