Chapter 308: Oblivious to the Heart of the Person Beside You

TL: FoodieMonster007

I felt relieved that the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme was the traitor.

What if one of the other Demon Supremes had betrayed us? Even if he lived a different life now, I could never have looked at him with a clear conscience.

Now, I could surmise one thing. The Murim Alliance had Baek Cheongeong, and our Cult had the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. This meant someone was plotting something within the Evil Alliance as well.

A glimmer of hope sparked within me. Until now, Hwa Mugi had felt like a natural disaster, an absolute being no human could stop. I now knew, however, that those events resulted from meticulous preparations over many years.

Cheong Seon's eyes returned to normal.

When she regained her senses, she gasped at the sight of Sa Woojong's corpse before her.

Then, she saw me and flinched in surprise.

"Young Cult Leader?"

Cheong Seon immediately started blaming herself. She did not know about the Soul-Stealing Art used on her, but her other memories were intact. She clearly recalled losing her temper and using the Soul-Stealing Art on Sa Woojong.

"I fell for his provocation."

Cheong Seon looked down at the corpse with a complicated expression, as if she had not intended to kill him this way. They had once shared bodies, yet they met such a catastrophic end.

"I have no face to show the Young Cult Leader."

Her voice trembled slightly. She seemed deeply sorry and embarrassed for killing Sa Woojong after promising to leave him to me.

"I really can't understand it. That man acted like he wanted me to kill him. It was the same last time, but today, he seemed completely determined."

Since it had already happened, I comforted her.

"It seems he wanted to die at the hands of a Demon Supreme. If he was determined to die and provoked you, you couldn't have done anything."

"No, no matter what he said, I should have been more patient."

She was genuinely regretful. This incident would be a great learning experience for her. If she was to live as a Demon Supreme, she needed to control her emotions against any provocation.

"He was a man who deserved to die. However, Sa Woojong was a martial artist of the Northern Heaven Sword Sect, so we can't simply bury this incident."

A worried look crossed Cheong Seon's face. If this problem escalated, it would become gossip.

"Demon Supreme."

"Yes, Young Cult Leader."

"Can you trust me until the end?"

Cheong Seon's eyes trembled slightly. Nothing gives more strength than having someone to rely on when cornered. She nodded.

"Leave what happens next to me and return for now. I'll have the Sanzu River Hall take care of the body."

As she turned to leave, Cheong Seon asked me a question.

"But how did you know to come here?"

I could not tell her about Hwan Yeo.

"I had Sa Woojong under secret surveillance. I received a report that he went to meet a Demon Supreme, so I came to see what he was thinking."

"I see. I'm ashamed to say it, but I'll leave the rest to you, Young Cult Leader."

Cheong Seon gave a polite clasped-hands greeting and then left.

Alone, I looked down at Sa Woojong's corpse. He had claimed to know the Flower Sword Supreme's weakness, but that secret was now buried forever with his death.

Hwan Yeo.

Her personality is no different from before my regression. She used him to her heart's content and then eliminated him.

If Hwan Yeo is in the flower garden, where could the Illusion King be? Is he nearby? Or somewhere else?

After leaving the guest hall, I went straight back to the Sanzu River Hall.

Seo Daeryong had been wondering what was happening since I had suddenly rushed out during our conversation. If Seo Daeryong had not mentioned the flowerpot, I would not have thought of Hwan Yeo.

"Sa Woojong is dead."

Seo Daeryong was startled. He had just been reporting surveillance details on the man, so he was shocked to hear he was already dead.

"As expected! Whenever the Young Cult Leader rushes out, villains invariably end up dead."

I shook my head at his half-joking, half-serious remark.

"It wasn't me this time."

"Then who killed him?"

"The Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme."

Seo Daeryong asked in surprise.

"What on earth happened?"

I only told Seo Daeryong that the owner of the flower garden was the mastermind behind this incident.

"That woman used Sa Woojong to cast the Soul-Stealing Art on the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme."

"Is that even possible? Ah, of course, the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme is still young."

"Still, it's not an easy feat. It just shows that our opponents are not to be underestimated."

Seo Daeryong's expression turned serious. This was a conspiracy targeting a Demon Supreme.

"Do you know who the woman from the flower garden is?"

I could not reveal Hwan Yeo's identity, even to Seo Daeryong, so I shook my head.

"Halt the special surveillance and monitor the flower garden. Use skilled people and do it discreetly. These people plot against a Demon Supreme. Have them monitor only major movements from a distance, and send the enforcement martial artists to retrieve Sa Woojong's body."

"Understood."

I could not predict Hwan Yeo's next move. I did not know if she would leave now that she had cast the Soul-Stealing Art, or if she would remain nearby to control the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme.

"What do you plan to do now?"

This matter could not be resolved by me and the Sanzu River Hall alone. The Soul-Stealing Art might not work on me, but I could not break a spell cast on someone else.

"I must send a messenger pigeon telling them to return at once."

"To whom?"

"To the only person who can solve this."

He is the only person, but two will come.

"I've lost."

The old man admitted defeat. He was renowned in the area for his skill in Go. About a month ago, a young man had come seeking to learn, so he had been teaching him for a fee per game.

At first, the skill gap was so wide they played with a handicap, but the young man's skill improved with every game until he eventually surpassed him. Now, his skill had improved to an unbelievable degree.

"How did your skill improve so quickly? Were you perhaps deceiving me from the start?"

The person learning Go from the old man was Go Wol. He smiled, placed the lesson fee beside the Go board, and stood up.

"Thank you for your teachings."

It was a final farewell, implying he would no longer come to learn.

"Just one more game!"

However, the old man had already lost three games in a row.

"Please don't be too upset. It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Elder."

Go Wol bowed politely and left.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, who had been watching from the side, spoke to the old man.

"That's right. That fellow was a Go master from the beginning. He's the most devious bastard in the world, so he was tricking you from the start. Just to show off by turning the tables on an old man."

However, the old man did not agree with him at all. The sparks of his defeat flew toward the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"You're the one who looks more devious."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader squatted down next to the old man.

"Ahem, perhaps it's because you only play Go, but you don't seem to know how to judge people. I'm a man who has never once been called devious in my entire life."

"You look so inherently devious that everyone was probably cautious around you, right? You likely never had the chance to be devious."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, who had become the devious one while trying to tease Go Wol, flared up.

"I'm a murim master. You shouldn't speak so carelessly to me."

"I'll be eighty-seven the day after tomorrow. What are you going to do about it?"

The two had a fiery staring contest. The old man's invincible aura, that of an old man who would not mind dying tomorrow, pushed back the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

Just then, Go Wol called out to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader from a distance.

"What are you doing? Hurry up!"

Like a sulking child, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader swept the stones on the Go board into a mess.

"Must be nice being old!"

He leaped into the air and landed next to Go Wol, who stood far away before the main gate. From behind him, he heard the old man's shout. Hey, you devious bastard!

The two of them left the house.

"Old people have no fear."

"You think he's not scared? He just noticed that our Cult Leader is a kind-hearted person. He read you completely."

"Why do people take me for a pushover when I treat them nicely!"

"You didn't exactly treat him nicely, did you? You just whined next to him the whole time, saying you were bored, hungry, and asking when it would be over."

"What? Did you get close to the Go teacher already? Are you two in on this together?"

Go Wol laughed and quickened his pace.

"Let's go to the next Branch now."

"Again? You're a Go master now, so let's just go back."

Go Wol had said he would not return until he became a Go master, but that was just an excuse. In truth, he was pouring all his energy into ensuring the intelligence organization, the Hidden Moon, was running properly. He was visiting each Branch to inspect and observe. He was striving to create a system where everything would run smoothly, even without a leader present.

"The Young Cult Leader won't acknowledge any of this. He'll only show up when he needs something and say, 'Help me with this, tell me about that! As expected of our Strategist Go!' He'll just praise you with words."

As he said this, he looked back. He was looking back just in case, because Geom Mugeuk had a habit of appearing whenever he was bad-mouthed.

"You're not hoping the Young Cult Leader will show up, are you?"

"What are you talking about!"

Sometimes, he missed Geom Mugeuk. That was why he would sometimes bad-mouth Geom Mugeuk even more, hoping he would appear from behind saying, 'There you are, bad-mouthing me again.'

"That heartless bastard has forgotten about us, and after how much money we make for him."

They sold any suitable information to other martial artists, excluding the highest-grade intelligence sent to Geom Mugeuk. The profits from that were used to run the organization.

The All-Knowing Hall was directly operated by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but the Hidden Moon was different. It was impossible to run such a vast organization, spread like a spiderweb across the Central Plains, with only Geom Mugeuk's money.

"The Second Young Lord is a greedy man."

"He's not greedy. He gave me a large sum of money when he visited last time. He even ordered me to use it for personal expenses."

"He should, after making you work so hard, but what about me? Why did he only give it to you?"

"You're rich, aren't you, Cult Leader?"

"Where is that written? Is a rich man's hardship not a hardship?"

Just then, Go Wol said something unexpected.

"I should be the one to reward that hardship."

"Why you?"

"Because your voluntary hardship was for my sake, wasn't it? Not for the Young Cult Leader."

As he spoke, Go Wol took something from his robes and handed it to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was stunned when he saw what it was. It was a house deed. What was more surprising was that the owner was listed as the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"You said you wanted a house in the Central Plains, right? It's your house, Cult Leader."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's hand trembled as he held the deed.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had wanted a house in the Central Plains. He would occasionally mention wanting to buy one while drinking with Go Wol. When he was the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, his grand dream was to advance into the Central Plains. Now, even while roaming freely, he lamented how difficult it was to secure even a small house.

The moment he bought a house in the Central Plains, he felt it would be like leaving the Outer Regions and truly settling down.

"I bought it with the money I received from the Young Cult Leader this time, plus my monthly salary so far."

"Why would you buy this!"

Go Wol answered calmly.

"I thought it would be nice if you had a house, Cult Leader. It's my gift."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was deeply moved. He had received countless gifts more valuable than this in his life, but he had never been this happy.

"I have a lot of money."

"I know. You could buy hundreds of houses like that."

"Thousands, more like!"

"But you never bought a single one, did you? Why not? You could have bought one in each region as we traveled the Central Plains."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader said nothing. Go Wol was seeing right through his heart.

"'Is it okay for me to buy this?' That's what you were thinking. After all, you're the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. You felt somewhat sorry toward your juniors back in the Outer Regions."

How did he know? He certainly had felt that way.

"I don't feel sorry! Why would I? I made them Cult Leaders and made sure they all had their positions before I left."

Then Go Wol brought up another reason.

"You were probably conscious of the Young Cult Leader, too. 'He went out to help the strategist, but he's just buying houses!' You didn't want to look like that, did you?"

Of course, he had felt that way too. How well he knew his heart.

"Why would I care about the Second Young Lord! It's my money, I can buy what I want."

"Then why didn't you buy one?"

However, there was a more decisive reason than those.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader revealed the reason with an expression that said, 'How can you not know my heart?' "I can't just buy a house for myself, can I? If I'm going to buy a house, I should buy two nearby so we can live as neighbors, right? I can't just buy one for myself. I have to discuss it with you first. You're so busy with work, how could I ask you to go house hunting? What? You don't like it? You don't want to live next door to me?"

Their gazes locked in mid-air.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked away and spat out his words.

"And you call yourself a strategist when you don't even know the heart of the person beside you. Second Young Lord, you picked the wrong man! You'd be better off bringing that Go teacher from before and making him the strategist! That old man who was so good at guessing I was devious would be a hundred times better."

Then, Go Wol took something else from his robes.

"That's why I bought another house nearby. This one is in my name."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stood there for a moment as if his soul had left him. After staring blankly at Go Wol for a long while, he abruptly asked.

"It's smaller than my house, right?"

Go Wol laughed out loud.

"I know our Cult Leader's personality too well for that. I bought a smaller one."

"Then that's fine."

"Your house, Cult Leader, won't compare to the one you used to live in. Don't be disappointed later when you see how small it is."

"I should be disappointed. I'm the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader! The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader!"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader gazed at a distant mountain. Looking at Go Wol, he felt like he was about to cry. He was happy to receive the house, but Go Wol buying his own house right next to it made him ten times happier. That was the real gift.

Later, I'll build you the biggest house in the Central Plains. A house even bigger than the Second Young Lord's.

This was the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's heartfelt promise.

Just then, a subordinate came, delivered a messenger pigeon to them, and left.

"Who's it from?"

"The Young Cult Leader."

"See? How can I not bad-mouth him? On such a fine day, what kind of work is he trying to give us now, sending a messenger pigeon? Tell him we can't! Tell him we won't!"

Go Wol held out the messenger pigeon to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"It says he needs your help, Cult Leader, not mine."

For a moment, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader flinched in surprise, his eyes widening.

"Me? Not you, but me? Are you sure? He really needs my help?"

"It says he desperately needs your help, Cult Leader, and asks you to return quickly."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's shoulders puffed up to the sky as he feigned a grumpy mood.

"What? Now that there are no sacred relics to take, he's trying to work me to the bone?"

"Should I send a messenger pigeon saying you can't go, then?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader pretended to give in.

"Let's go back! We can check out our new houses while we're at it!"

As he followed the man who was now striding forward, Go Wol said.

"The houses we bought are in the opposite direction of the Headquarters."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader pretended not to hear and quickened his pace.

Go Wol smiled and followed. They were finally returning to the Headquarters. It was a pleasant return, coming after successfully establishing the intelligence organization.

In contrast to what happened at the Go teacher's house, this time it was the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader up ahead, gesturing and urging him on.

"What are you doing? Hurry up!"