Chapter 342: Such a Long Way of Saying He Looked Cool

TL: FoodieMonster007

Surprise unleashes its power when least expected.

This was true for Bi Sayin's surprise.

[What are you talking about?]

His telepathic voice trembled, and his eyes widened in shock.

[It's exactly as I said. The children from the Black Snake Society were sent to the Evil Alliance. I'm just a middleman.]

Dae So never intended to reveal this secret, but with the head of the Black Snake Society about to be summoned, he could not simply stand by. He could not afford to be dragged to the Murim Alliance or the Demonic Cult to pay for his crimes.

[I was only following orders.]

[Whose orders?]

[I can't say.]

Bi Sayin knew of no organization within the Evil Alliance that purchased children. This meant someone was conducting the business in secret.

[Tell me who it is.]

Bi Sayin's tone was chillingly low, but Dae So did not reveal the name.

[If you don't speak, you might die by my hand.]

The threat on his life had no effect on Dae So.

[Even so, I can't say.]

Dae So was certain Bi Sayin couldn't kill him over this. Buying and sending the children ultimately served the Evil Alliance.

You can't kill me.

[Can you take responsibility for what you've just said?]

[How could I lie in a situation like this? First, you have to send those two back.]

Bi Sayin gave no reply to Dae So's telepathy.

[Young Alliance Chairman, this will become a headache if it gets out.]

Bi Sayin was lost in thought.

As their telepathic conversation deepened, Geom Mugeuk guessed the children were being sent to the Evil Alliance. It was the only thing that could make Bi Sayin hesitate so much.

He offered no advice. Bi Sayin was deciding his own destiny. His choice would affect not only his personal fate but also the fate of the Evil Alliance and the entire murim.

Bi Sayin, please make the right choice!

After a long deliberation, Bi Sayin finally spoke.

"Sect Leader Tae just confessed. He said he knew children were being purchased regularly."

Dae So was horrified. He never imagined Bi Sayin would say such a thing. This was only the beginning of Bi Sayin's unexpected actions.

"Young Alliance Chairman! Why are you doing this? Didn't you understand what I told you?"

"I understood. You said those children were sent to the Evil Alliance, right?"

Silence fell over the room.

Dae So was aghast. He never thought Bi Sayin would reveal such critical information in front of everyone. The Demon Slaying Brigade and the Thirteen Evil Wolves were right there.

The words Are you crazy? rose in his throat. He almost spat them out.

Geom Mugeuk had already guessed it, but Jin Hagun had not.

The surprise wasn't that the children went to the Evil Alliance, but that Bi Sayin revealed it. The Evil Alliance Jin Hagun knew always covered up and hid incidents.

They were villains by nature. In fact, he had expected their telepathic conversation to go differently.

[They are making such a big deal out of the kidnapping of a few measly children.]

Would Bi Sayin's thoughts be much different? He was probably just conflicted because of his relationship with Geom Mugeuk.

But Bi Sayin's response completely surpassed his expectations.

He's admitting it this readily?

Even Jin Hagun would find that difficult.

Bi Sayin explained why he revealed the truth.

"It takes ten lies to hide one secret. I don't intend to keep this a secret."

He saw Geom Mugeuk looking at him and smiling. That smile told him his choice was not wrong.

Yes, I might be swayed by Geom Mugeuk.

His head voiced its concern, but his heart replied.

That's okay.

Geom Mugeuk was pleased. This day would eventually become a moment in the past, but this choice would greatly impact Bi Sayin's life.

Well done, Bi Sayin. This is how you must live to forge your own path.

Jin Hagun sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.

[Young Cult Leader, did you know things would turn out this way?]

[I didn't know the children were sold to the Evil Alliance, but I believed the Young Alliance Chairman wouldn't bury this.]

Jin Hagun looked at Geom Mugeuk. Geom Mugeuk's deep gaze was fixed on Bi Sayin.

[We may be witnessing the birth of an excellent future Chairman of the Evil Alliance, one who will be remembered in murim history.]

Bi Sayin handled the situation wisely.

Bi Sayin asked Dae So.

"When the Alliance wanted children, did we tell you to kidnap them?"

"That wasn't the case."

"Then it's not the Alliance's fault. Why did you give the task to the Black Snake Society?"

Dae So couldn't answer.

Geom Mugeuk saw through his thoughts.

"It must have been cheaper. The hard part of this job isn't finding talented individuals, it's persuading their families. After a long persuasion, you have to compensate them properly, but by working with the Black Snake Society, the job became simple. All they had to do was kidnap them. Weren't you able to sit back and earn a large sum of money for doing nothing?"

Dae So couldn't refute a single word. Geom Mugeuk spoke as if he had read his mind.

Bi Sayin seized the opportunity.

"You tarnished the Alliance's honor for your own selfish greed."

He was framing the incident as Dae So's fault, not the Evil Alliance's. He limited the blame to Dae So and the Black Snake Society.

"I can't understand why the Young Alliance Chairman is acting this way."

Bi Sayin acknowledged his words.

Yes, if I hadn't met Geom Mugeuk, I might have dismissed this as nothing.

He would have lived a completely different life.

But meeting Geom Mugeuk had greatly influenced him. The moment Geom Mugeuk asked, "What is your path?" his life had changed.

"It might have been natural until now, but not anymore."

Bi Sayin commanded the Thirteen Evil Wolves.

"Send a messenger pigeon to the head of the Black Snake Society immediately. Arrange a meeting."

He showed his determination to resolve the child abductions once and for all.

"Tell him that if he doesn't show up, the Black Snake Society will disappear from the murim."

One of the Thirteen Evil Wolves ran out to send the messenger pigeon.

Dae So realized he had no idea what kind of person the Young Alliance Chairman was.

Was the Young Alliance Chairman this kind of person?

Dae So asked with a trembling heart.

"Then what will happen to me?"

Bi Sayin pressured him calmly.

"Sect Leader Tae, I'm not a broad-minded person. Nor am I magnanimous enough to overlook someone who challenges my authority."

Bi Sayin glanced subtly at Geom Mugeuk. The quick-witted Geom Mugeuk understood immediately.

"We will take Sect Leader Tae."

Geom Mugeuk's words made Dae So's heart pound. He thought Bi Sayin wouldn't send him to the Demonic Cult, but Bi Sayin nodded slightly. Before Bi Sayin could give permission, Dae So shouted.

"No. Absolutely not the Demonic Cult."

Geom Mugeuk smiled amiably.

"We'll treat you well."

Dae So knew that was impossible. If they dragged him away, they would destroy his qi center, torture him, and throw him in prison. Death would be better.

"Young Alliance Chairman, I beg you."

He pleaded, but Bi Sayin remained cold. He needed to hear about the mastermind behind the incident.

"If you're sending me away, please let me go to the Murim Alliance."

Jin Hagun joined their operation.

"I refuse."

"Why are you doing this? Take me with you!"

"I don't want to. Your crime is too severe."

In other words, he should be dragged to the Demonic Cult to suffer a more terrible fate.

Geom Mugeuk feigned an expression of injustice.

"You're all being too harsh. Anyone would think our Cult is a den of monsters. Our Cult's prison is also a place where people live. Once you adapt, it's quite livable."

This was more terrifying than a direct threat. Dae So finally broke. He could accept anything else, but not being dragged to the Demonic Cult.

[Commander Pyo arranged this matter.]

An unexpected name came up.

[Commander Pyo? Which Commander Pyo?]

There was no Commander with the surname Pyo. Then, one person came to mind.

[Don't tell me? The former Black Dragon Commander?]

[That's correct.]

Pyo Jigwang.

He was once the Commander of the Evil Alliance's Black Dragon Brigade but stepped down after a severe injury over a decade ago. Bi Sayin had heard Pyo Jigwang was now a wreck, mooching drinks at the President's office. He was a person who had faded from memory.

[Why him?]

[He came to me several years ago. He said the Evil Alliance was secretly creating a clandestine organization and needed children with outstanding martial talent for it. He warned me it was top secret and that I'd die if I leaked it.]

[He stepped down from the Commander position. You believed him?]

[That's why he said the higher-ups entrusted him with the task. He claimed the Evil Alliance's fate rested on this secret organization. He gave me a large sum of money as an advance, an amount Commander Pyo couldn't have gathered on his own. He also promised the Alliance would provide various benefits later.]

[Did he keep his promise?]

[He did.]

Thanks to him, the Flowing Sword Sect expanded its influence and even welcomed the Blue White Dual Sword as guests.

Bi Sayin could tell this wasn't a simple child abduction case. Something was happening within the Evil Alliance that he didn't know about. Something even he, the Young Alliance Chairman, was unaware of.

"We will handle this person's punishment."

Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun readily accepted Bi Sayin's decision.

"Escort Sect Leader Tae to the main headquarters."

At Bi Sayin's command, the Thirteen Evil Wolves sealed Dae So's blood points and led him away. Dae So didn't dare resist.

As they dragged him away, he looked at Bi Sayin with pleading eyes. At least he was grateful he wasn't being sent to the Demonic Cult.

[If you want to live, help me from now on.]

Bi Sayin had secured Dae So because he needed his help to investigate this matter.

Bi Sayin told the Thirteen Evil Wolves.

"We're going to meet the head of the Black Snake Society right away."

Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun naturally went with him. Geom Mugeuk had something to say to Bi Sayin, and Jin Hagun wanted to see the matter through to the end.

Geom Mugeuk, Bi Sayin, and Jin Hagun rode together in a single carriage. The Thirteen Evil Wolves and the Demon Slaying Brigade rode on horseback, guarding the carriage.

The martial artists of the Flowing Sword Sect, including the Blue White Dual Sword, could only watch as the storm that swept away their Sect Leader receded.

The Blue White Dual Sword finally relaxed and began to speak.

"This is the first time I've seen the three heirs of the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions travel together."

"It's probably a first in murim history."

"Do you think the Sect Leader will return alive?"

Even the Blue White Dual Sword didn't know the answer to that.

But they knew one thing. They had survived this long by strictly following one principle. When the wind and rain blow, lock your doors and stay inside.

The two turned to go inside.

"Close the gates."

The wind blew in through the carriage window.

Bi Sayin silently watched the wind flutter the hem of Geom Mugeuk's clothes.

That morning, he never dreamed he would ride in a carriage with these two to meet the head of the Black Snake Society. He certainly never imagined he would be the one to issue a warning to the Black Snake Society.

He felt uneasy, unsure if this event would be a disaster or a blessing for him, the future Chairman of the Evil Alliance.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke to Bi Sayin.

"I have seen your path clearly."

Right, this was why.

He had made this decision to show that his path, at the very least, protected children.

"My path, how was it?"

"It was cool."

"I can't believe you. You're so good at telling sweet lies."

It seemed he wanted more compliments.

Geom Mugeuk smiled.

"It was really cool."

He pulled the silent Jin Hagun into the conversation.

"What did you think? Young Alliance Chairman, wasn't he really cool?"

"I'm not someone who calls a person 'cool' to their face as easily as you do."

Jin Hagun turned his head to look out the window.

"However, I do believe today's decision and the choice to meet the head of the Black Snake Society are the right things to do."

Geom Mugeuk laughed.

"He's saying 'cool' in such a long way."

That night, only Geom Mugeuk, Bi Sayin, and Jin Hagun stood side by side on a meadow under a sky full of stars.

They had left the Thirteen Evil Wolves and the Demon Slaying Brigade at the campsite.

The time had come to tell Bi Sayin.

"A certain power is plotting to control the murim."

"!"

Geom Mugeuk's next words were even more surprising.

"They've infiltrated our Cult and the Murim Alliance. They were even in the Heavenly Wind Cult of the Outer Regions."

Bi Sayin was startled. Jin Hagun's serious expression told him this was no joke.

"In our Cult, they targeted the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. In the Murim Alliance, they targeted Commander Jin here. In the Heavenly Wind Cult, they targeted the new young Cult Leader."

"Surely not?"

"That's right. I believe they have an agent operating secretly in the Evil Alliance too."

It was hard to believe. Bi Sayin wouldn't have believed it if anyone but Geom Mugeuk had said it.

"I'd rather die than be defeated by scum like them. They're the type to secretly infiltrate, find our weaknesses, and stab us in the back. The moment we start suspecting each other, we'll be defeated one by one. Let's at least join forces to deal with these people. Let's show them this isn't a jianghu that can be handed over to bastards like them. For the sake of the murim we will lead in the future."

After a brief pause, Bi Sayin suddenly asked.

"Is that really the only reason? Aren't you the mastermind behind it all?"

"If you ask me so openly, do you really expect me to say, 'Yes, I'm the mastermind'?"

"If that's the case, we're doomed anyway. So, tell me in advance. From now on, I'm only going to eat what I want and be a picky eater."

Geom Mugeuk felt Bi Sayin had certainly matured. Making such a joke meant he had gained some peace of mind.

"There's another reason."

Geom Mugeuk looked up at the night sky, and the other two followed his gaze to the twinkling stars. As they wondered which star was their own, Geom Mugeuk calmly shared his true feelings.

"Because we are enemies, but also friends."