Chapter 297: Why Me?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Cheokpae felt no sadness for his lost subordinates.

The dead were dead. This reaction to losing his right-hand man revealed how little Cheokpae valued even himself.

"I must keep that bastard tied down until I return."

Jo Yang knew Cheokpae's personality well. He knew that if he let Geom Mugeuk go, he would die. He was already straddling the line between life and death.

For now, his only task was to faithfully collect the interest.

The next day, the swordsman sent to collect the interest returned with a mangled hand.

It was the same the following day. They had hoped for mercy on the second day, but Geom Mugeuk showed none.

When swordsmen returned with mangled hands for two days straight, the moneylender's swordsmen grew agitated. Some suddenly fell ill and took to their beds. A few vanished, claiming urgent business.

The swordsmen cursed Geom Mugeuk's heartlessness, but Jo Yang disagreed. Their opponent was showing mercy. If he had been truly heartless, no one from the moneylender would have survived.

Why didn't he kill them all that day?

When Jo Yang closed the eyes of the man Janhak had tortured, Jo Yang despaired. Ah, we're all going to be annihilated now. But Geom Mugeuk had not done that. There was surely a reason he kept them alive.

In any case, he had to collect the interest today as well.

"Today, I will go myself."

At Jo Yang's words, the anxious swordsmen's faces brightened, relieved they would not be chosen. As a manager, Jo Yang could not blindly send any more swordsmen, so he decided to go himself.

Not a single person followed to act as his bodyguard. Jo Yang left the moneylender with a bitter feeling. Yes, he understood. Even he would not have followed.

Geom Mugeuk greeted him with a face more welcoming than any of his own subordinates.

"Why've you come? Have you already run out of subordinates?"

"They're all afraid."

"Even so, you don't seem like the type to worry about your subordinates."

"What do you know about me?"

Geom Mugeuk stared at him intently.

"You're overflowing with confidence. Did someone go to call for some great master?"

The remark hit its mark. Jo Yang tried his best to hide his surprise.

How perceptive he is. I was acting scared. How on earth did he notice?

"It won't be easy to find a master greater than the one sent to kill me back then."

Jo Yang knew Geom Mugeuk meant Cheokpae's right-hand man. He was right. That was why Jo Yang had gone to the Demonic Cult for help.

Jo Yang changed the subject with a question.

"Why didn't you mangle my hands?"

This was what he was most curious about. It was not as if he had done anything good for him.

Geom Mugeuk took out two coins and placed them on the table.

"Because I might need those hands of yours."

The unexpected words bewildered Jo Yang. Geom Mugeuk said no more and went to his guest room.

Jo Yang picked up the coins.

He was about to leave when he looked down at his own hands.

He needs these hands? Why?

"It seems the Branch Manager has started digging into your background, Captain."

A pained groan burst from beneath a house-sized boulder.

A man was carrying the massive boulder. Even with inner arts, it was an unbelievable sight.

THUD.

The boulder crashed to the ground. A man walked out from behind it.

He had a sturdy physique and a sharp, tiger-like impression.

the Demon Sword Commander Jung Ak.

This one line explained everything about the man.

The Demonic Sword Squad was the elite force of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a military organization stationed at the Jiangxi Branch, the very front line, in preparation for war.

Jung Ak, befitting the leader of an elite organization, was a master with powerful martial arts and abundant combat experience.

"Reporting something like that while I'm holding this heavy thing, is that your way of trying to kill me?"

The subordinate who had reported was Chahwi, the First Division Leader of the Demonic Sword Squad and Jung Ak's right-hand man.

"Shouldn't I get to be Captain once before I retire?"

Jung Ak was so cold and resolute that even his own Demonic Sword Squad feared him. Chahwi was the only person he spoke with informally. Their relationship was free of secrets, a testament to Chahwi's deep loyalty.

"That man's investigating my background?"

"Yes, he's secretly dispatched people."

In terms of rank, a Commander was higher than a Captain. However, an elite organization like the Demonic Sword Squad held an authority that transcended rank. So, in cases like this, they usually maintained a facade of mutual respect.

But at the Jiangxi Branch, that was not being properly observed.

"That man really loves making enemies, and we were the ones who did all the fighting."

Jung Ak took off his sweat-soaked clothes and washed his body in the flowing water. Scars covered his entire body, a testament to the history required to become Captain of the Demonic Sword Squad.

As he washed himself, he continued.

"How nice would it be to live on good terms? Comfortably, among people who are neither enemies nor friends."

"We don't know what ulterior motives he has behind that facade of integrity."

"No, that man just has a sickness. He's the type who can't stand it if he's not acting all high and mighty."

Having finished washing, he put on the fresh clothes that had been prepared for him.

"So? Is there anything that could become a problem?"

"I've made sure everyone keeps their mouths shut for now."

Jung Ak was, just as the Branch Manager suspected, a corrupt martial artist. He secretly took bribes from various sects within Jiangxi.

On the other hand, the new Branch Manager who arrived last year had an upright character and absolutely did not permit bribery. As a result, even more bribes were offered to Jung Ak. Jung Ak accepted and pocketed every single one.

"They're offering to share their overflowing money, so I don't know why he lives so difficultly. I can just take the money those vermin give me and make decisions as I please."

And that was what he actually did. He did not accept all their demands just because he took their bribes. He ignored requests he thought were wrong and granted those he felt were acceptable.

The four words that made it possible, the Demon Sword Commander.

Of course, most of the bribes they offered were in preparation for things that had not yet happened.

"We're fighting their anxiety for them, aren't we? How great is that?"

Chahwi smiled faintly at Jung Ak's joke.

The problem was that this matter was not something they could just laugh off.

"As you know, he's not just ordinarily meticulous. Once he starts digging like this, he'll eventually find out."

Jung Ak's eyes gleamed coldly. The Branch Manager's investigation was an all-or-nothing wager. Their relationship had been good at first.

Where on earth did it go wrong?

Jung Ak slowly walked to the boulder and drew his sword.

He swung it lightly, as if cutting a branch.

CRAAAAAACK.

The massive boulder split in half.

Chahwi performed a respectful clasped hands greeting at the astonishing move.

"For the peace of the murim…"

Jung Ak caressed the smooth cross-section of the boulder.

"The Branch Manager can be replaced, but we must remain."

Just then, as if by fate, a visitor arrived.

Another subordinate arrived to report.

"A guest has arrived."

Cheokpae waited in the secret room.

This was the place Jung Ak used for secret meetings.

Cheokpae wore a bamboo hat and a shabby robe to hide his identity.

When Jung Ak entered, Cheokpae shot to his feet and bowed politely.

"It's been a long time."

"Didn't I tell you not to come looking for me unless I called?"

Jung Ak's reaction was cold. He had always openly looked down on Cheokpae and his King Yama Loan.

Then you should have looked down on my money, too.

Cheokpae hid his thoughts and prostrated himself on the ground.

"How desperate must I be to have come to see you like this?"

"What is it?"

"Someone impersonating a Demonic Cult member has interfered. He's a master we can't handle."

He deliberately omitted that the man was impersonating the Young Cult Leader. Given Jung Ak's personality, he would have surely used it as an excuse to back out, questioning why Cheokpae expected him to deal with such a madman.

"Impersonating our Cult is a grave crime. How great are his skills?"

"Great enough that I had to rush here. Please, help me!"

Normally, with the Branch Manager suspecting him, Jung Ak would have refused without a second thought, but an idea flashed through his mind.

"Alright. I'll take care of it."

Cheokpae was bewildered by his ready agreement.

"But there's one thing you must do for me."

"Please give your command."

"Make sure word gets to the Branch Manager that someone is impersonating a Demonic Cult member. This isn't something I can handle on my own."

Cheokpae understood.

Since the opponent is a master, he plans to use the Branch Manager to get rid of him instead of moving himself. Such a cunning mind.

It did not matter. As long as that bastard was eliminated.

"I'll do as you command."

In truth, Jung Ak was hatching a plan far more ruthless than Cheokpae imagined.

The head of the Jiangxi Branch dies while trying to capture the one impersonating the Demonic Cult? And the Demonic Sword Squad takes revenge? Would that work?

If he had lived a life of doubt, he would not have reached his current position. I have to make it work.

This was the life Jung Ak had lived.

The next day, Jo Yang came again.

"Our Master Jo, you come alone so fearlessly now."

"You said you needed my hands, so I should at least be able to protect them, right?"

Jo Yang had been too curious to sleep all night.

"Why on earth do you need my hands?"

Then, the most surprising words Jo Yang had ever heard flowed from Geom Mugeuk's lips.

"Because I'm thinking of making you the head of the new moneylender."

Jo Yang shouted without realizing it.

"That's absurd!"

Geom Mugeuk, on the other hand, was calm.

"Why do you think it's absurd?"

"Because…"

There were many reasons, but they were reasons he had never thought about or spoken aloud before.

"Weren't you going to kill me?"

The Geom Mugeuk he perceived was not one to let villains live.

"That's right. I was originally planning to kill you, but I've come to need a villain."

Geom Mugeuk revealed his plan.

"If you people are a necessary evil, then I'll make you a proper one. From now on, the moneylender of the Central Plains will lend money at a common-sense interest rate. For now, it's just this one, but someday, I'll change every King Yama Loan in the Central Plains the same way."

Now Jo Yang understood. He had been kept alive, his hands left intact, to continue flicking the beads of an abacus.

This man before him was truly dreaming an impossible dream.

The words burst out of him involuntarily.

"What in the world are you?"

The answer he had heard several times came out again.

"the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

"You're just a madman!"

This man drilled holes in foreheads and shattered hands, yet he made Jo Yang shout like this. He kept making him lower his guard.

"So I end up hearing that from a loan shark, too. If the Demon Supremes heard you, they'd roar with laughter. They'd be too busy teasing me for a while."

Jo Yang shook his head.

He was either a complete madman… or he was acting like a child in front of the real Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

"Do you think that's possible?"

"I wouldn't know. You're the one who has to take charge and see it through."

How could he not be confused by this?

"No matter how strong your martial arts are… you're going to die anyway."

"Then you should help me."

"What kind of Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult asks a loan shark for help?"

Jo Yang found his own joke funny and laughed to himself before quickly schooling his expression.

Hanging around a madman is making me go mad, too.

"Fine, let's say that's the case. Why me? You could just appoint someone suitable, couldn't you? Someone who isn't greedy for money like me."

This was personally what Jo Yang was most curious about.

"Because it's a place that deals with so much money, that person would also become corrupted. You, on the other hand, can't fall any further. If you break your promise to me and do something foolish, it'll be easy to kill you without any guilt."

To think that was the reason.

"You're being too harsh to my face."

"You're mistaken if you think I'm sparing you. This won't be an easy task. You'll have to manage the organization thoroughly, and you won't be able to embezzle a single penny."

This was the punishment Geom Mugeuk had given him.

"Just like the people who paid you interest, you'll have to work your fingers to the bone until you die. You'll spend your whole life collecting the interest you once wrongly took, but properly this time."

"And if I refuse?"

"You'll die on the same day as Cheokpae."

Geom Mugeuk placed two coins on the table, one by one. The action seemed to say, this coin is for Cheokpae, and this one is for you.

Seeing the coins, Jo Yang's heart pounded wildly again. At this rate, he felt it might burst and kill him before a coin could pierce his forehead.

Was it fear of death? The vanity of becoming the moneylender's master? Or the suffocating thought of a boring job for the rest of his life? Whenever Jo Yang was with this man, his heart raced.

Geom Mugeuk asked calmly, as if he were listening to Jo Yang's heartbeat.

"Are you afraid?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

"Even if you fall into the sea, you can survive with just enough space to stick your nose and mouth out. No matter how vast the sea is, all you need is this much."

Geom Mugeuk cupped his hands into a cylinder in front of his face.

"Think carefully about whether that little breathing hole is me or your leader. You'll have to decide quickly. A big wave is coming soon."

Jo Yang looked down at the coins on the table. These two coins were trying to change his destiny.

How did he feel? He wanted to live. He lacked the spirit or courage to say, 'I would rather choose death than live a life of atonement.'

This man will be torn to shreds and killed as soon as the real Demonic Cult shows up. So why does my heart keep wavering? Why do I want to say, even now, 'I will follow your will, so please let me live!'? Why does it feel like I have to?

Jo Yang took the coins and spoke as he left.

"That wave, it's coming for you first. So you'd better find your own breathing hole."