Chapter 499: So, Seven, Eight, and Nine Are All Here

TL: FoodieMonster007

Martial artists were filing into the training grounds in lines. They were martial artists sent as support from the Murim Alliance's Shanxi Branch. From every Branch and sub-branch adjacent to Chongqing, martial artists were steadily gathering.

Jin Hagun gazed outside from the window of the Chongqing Branch Manager's office.

Having already heard the news from this place, their expressions were grim. They looked prepared for a decisive battle with the Demonic Cult. And it wasn't just them. News arrived that skirmishes were breaking out all over Chongqing between orthodox sects martial artists and members of the Demonic Cult. The atmosphere was truly ominous.

Branch Manager Ju Gwol stood a short distance away from Jin Hagun.

"The Chairman has granted you, Manager, the authority to decide on the surround the perimeter."

It meant he was to judge for himself.

Jin Hagun could feel it. If he mishandled this incident, he might fail to become the successor. His grandfather was not the type to forgive mistakes just because he was his grandson. On the contrary, he would judge him by an even stricter standard. That was why he had to judge carefully and handle it well.

"If you're going to establish the surround the perimeter, you must do it right now."

Time is of the essence for a surround the perimeter. It would be useless to set it up after the enemy has already escaped.

Ju Gwol's heart was anxious, but Jin Hagun's thoughts were different.

Whether the culprit is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon or not.

Jin Hagun's gaze turned toward the distant wall.

They are all here.

The one plotting the conspiracy, and the one caught in it.

They have no intention of running away. They intend to see this through to the end, right here.

If that was the case, rather than spreading out his forces by establishing a surround the perimeter, it would be better to gather them in one place to more easily prepare for the events to come.

Just then, a subordinate entered the office and reported.

"We've found an informant who witnessed the culprit."

Jin Hagun and Ju Gwol were startled.

"Bring him here at once."

At Ju Gwol's command, the subordinate returned with a man. The man who entered, his face tense and frightened, was a street vendor who sold goods from a stall in the marketplace.

"The day before the tragedy, there was a martial artist who asked for the location of the Great Justice Sect."

Ju Gwol asked him.

"Do you remember what kind of person he was?"

"He was short and had a small build."

"His age? Was he an old man?"

"No. He was a young man."

Hearing he was young, Ju Gwol was inwardly disappointed. He had been hoping it was someone who had seen the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"What kind of weapon was he carrying?"

"He was carrying a large dao on his back."

At the mention of a large dao, the light returned to Ju Gwol's eyes.

"Do you remember his face?"

"Yes, I remember it because he had a peculiar face."

Ju Gwol immediately ordered his subordinate to take the man to an artist and have a composite sketch drawn.

"It's a well-known fact that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon passed on his martial arts to a disciple. Perhaps the culprit is that disciple."

Jin Hagun, however, thought otherwise. It was strange how the evidence was appearing so neatly.

"Branch Manager, do you really think someone on their way to annihilate a sect would stop on the street to ask for directions?"

Ju Gwol had no response to that, but he had something else to say.

"But what if that man is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple? Do you think a demonic practitioner who learned that specific martial arts would coincidentally visit the very place annihilated by that demonic art for some other business?"

It was difficult for Jin Hagun to refute that as well. If he was revealed to be the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple, everyone would believe this incident was the work of the Demonic Cult. As Ju Gwol said, such a coincidence was impossible.

"For now, have as many copies of the composite sketch from the witness's testimony drawn as possible and post them all over Chongqing. Finding him is the priority."

Separate from his trust in Geom Mugeuk, he couldn't rule out the slight possibility that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple had committed this tragedy.

"You must establish the surround the perimeter."

"I will decide that on my own. For now, focus on finding him."

"Understood."

Ju Gwol went outside.

Jin Hagun said to a subordinate from the Demon Slaying Brigade.

"Send word to the Young Cult Leader. Tell him I wish to see him in secret."

The soft moonlight settled on each and every blade of grass.

Although he had assured Seo Daeryong that everything would be fine, Geom Mugeuk was worried about the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Knowing how strong the man was made him worry even more. The powerful Geom Mugeuk stood alone in a wide, open field.

Because he had lost contact with the man.

Elder.

He missed him. An image of him came to mind, his Heaven Destroying Dao stuck in the ground, leaning against the blade as he drank.

When this is all over, let's lean against that blade together and have a drink, Elder.

Just then, a person appeared. The person who slowly walked up and stood next to Geom Mugeuk was Jin Hagun.

"You came?"

"Thank you for coming out to meet me."

"Of course I'd come if you called. You must be busy, so why did you call me?"

At that, Jin Hagun took a piece of paper from his robes and handed it to Geom Mugeuk. It was a drawing, a composite sketch of a person.

"Is it a good likeness?"

Geom Mugeuk answered Jin Hagun's question readily.

"It's identical. It's as if they drew it with him sitting right in front of them."

His words were also an admission that the person in the drawing was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple.

"Who was the informant?"

"They say he asked a street vendor for the location of the Great Justice Sect."

"A person like that must deal with hundreds of people a day. Isn't it strange that he'd remember a face so accurately?"

And above all, it captured Seo Daeryong's features perfectly. A drawing like this couldn't exist unless it was prepared in advance.

"A fabrication?"

"That informant has either already disappeared or is dead."

He has already given his testimony and described the face for the sketch, so nothing will change. People will just assume he was killed to be silenced, and their hatred for the Demonic Cult will only grow stronger.

"I'll look into it."

A thought arose in a corner of Jin Hagun's mind.

Couldn't you have been the one to get rid of him?

To trick me in return. The fact that he was still having such thoughts made him realize he still didn't completely trust him.

"Where is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple now?"

"He's with me."

Jin Hagun looked at the drawing in Geom Mugeuk's hand and said.

"Starting tomorrow, that drawing will be posted all over Chongqing. Rumors will spread that the culprit is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's disciple."

Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Hagun.

"That will put you in a difficult position."

Difficult was an understatement. He was the one responsible for finding the culprit, and his grandfather would decide whether or not to make him the successor based on how he resolved this incident.

[Hand him over to me.]

The words rose to the tip of his tongue. He wanted to investigate him himself to be certain. Right now, his trust in Geom Mugeuk was nine parts out of ten. That remaining one part continued to torment him.

"If he's caught by your people, he won't be able to get free. He's learned the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique that killed the master of the Great Justice Sect, and he even visited the Great Justice Sect the day before. But you know what?"

Geom Mugeuk said with a faint smile.

"This man, he was admitted to the Sanzu River Hall at the top of his class. He might look gloomy like this, but he's that smart. What I'm saying is, he's not the kind of person to go around leaving a trail of evidence while annihilating a die-hard orthodox sect."

Jin Hagun thought so too, but.

"However, in the end, the evidence that has been revealed will have to become the truth. If you want to protect that disciple, you have to find the real culprit. And as quickly as possible."

The two of them stood in silence for a moment. A gust of wind blew, making the grass move like waves, and the sound of insects chirping could be heard from afar.

"Going this far, what do you think they're after?"

To Jin Hagun's question, Geom Mugeuk replied calmly.

"A war between your side and ours."

"!"

Jin Hagun was shocked. He had only thought the enemy was trying to achieve some goal by driving a wedge between them. He hadn't considered for a moment that the goal was a war between the Orthodox and Demonic factions.

Jin Hagun looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression that asked if he was serious.

And Geom Mugeuk was serious.

"I think these incidents are just the beginning. After deepening the conflict between us like this, they'll cause another incident. I don't know what their plan is, but by then, it will be irreversible."

These horrific incidents are just the beginning?

"By starting a war?"

They must be trying to start something so big because there's something to gain, right?

"That, I don't know. What it is they want."

At first, Geom Mugeuk had thought it might be a personal grudge of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. However, for that to be the case, the enemy was making things too big. Moreover, they had even drawn in Seo Daeryong.

There's something more.

Jin Hagun let out a light sigh.

"This is difficult."

Amidst the difficulty, there was a glimmer of hope that Geom Mugeuk had found.

"However, there's one fact the enemy has overlooked."

"What is it?"

"You and me."

Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Hagun.

"The fact that we're closer friends than they think."

Jin Hagun averted his gaze from Geom Mugeuk's. He felt that the time had come to say this.

"But I only trust you nine parts out of ten. Are we still friends?"

Jin Hagun mustered his courage. This was the part that had always tormented him. The fact that Geom Mugeuk considered him a friend, while he couldn't completely trust him.

Then, an unexpected answer came.

"You trust me nine parts out of ten? I only trust you eight out of ten."

He thought Geom Mugeuk was joking again, but he was serious.

"You're truly meant to be a Master. To think that trusting someone nine parts out of ten isn't enough. Hey, friend. You're the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade, and I'm the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult. And you trust me nine out of ten?"

For Jin Hagun, trust was a word that could only be used when you believed with all ten parts.

"Let's just go with our relationship being about an eight out of ten. For those eight parts, we'll be as sincere as if our lives depended on it. But let's leave the remaining two as leeway. We're only human, don't we need to doubt and even dislike each other sometimes?"

Jin Hagun stared at Geom Mugeuk without a word. He was saying such things, even though words like 'doubt' and 'dislike' didn't suit him at all.

"What if the other two parts betray you?"

"How can two parts betray you? When the other eight are there."

"!"

Jin Hagun had never thought about trust between people this way before. He had always believed that the one part he couldn't fill would be the one to betray him.

"If the eight parts are solid, the rebellion of the two won't be a betrayal, but more like a slight disappointment. If the eight are solid, you can be free from the burden of having to trust someone completely. Besides, isn't giving trust harder than having it? Complete trust? Let's not live such tiring lives. You and I, let's make some mistakes, be disliked, and live like that. Trusting with a solid eight is more than enough."

Jin Hagun couldn't tell. Did Geom Mugeuk know that he had been agonizing over this problem for a long time? If not, how could he put a person's mind at ease like this? Just how?

"Then I guess we are friends."

"Of course. In that case, would you like to see the bait?"

"Bait?"

Geom Mugeuk looked behind him. From behind a distant tree, a man walked toward them.

Jin Hagun realized the person who arrived was the Seo Daeryong from the drawing. He was inwardly surprised that Geom Mugeuk had brought him here.

Instead of making introductions, Geom Mugeuk asked Seo Daeryong.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust me?"

What was the point in asking? Of course, it was a ten. He trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

Of course, it wouldn't be Seo Daeryong if he answered straightforwardly when given a chance to joke around.

"Wouldn't it be about a seven?"

Geom Mugeuk said to Jin Hagun.

"He's my right-hand man, and even he says seven."

"We started at a one when we first met, so this is huge progress. I really didn't trust you even one bit back then."

A Young Cult Leader who said he would change the Cult?

Geom Mugeuk handed the paper in his hand to Seo Daeryong.

"Here, keep this as a souvenir."

Then he said to Jin Hagun.

"This drawing, you don't have to distribute it tomorrow."

Jin Hagun was startled by Geom Mugeuk's words. He realized it meant he was entrusting Seo Daeryong to him.

"Are you serious?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

"The reason I'm entrusting this man to you isn't because he's the culprit. This man is my right hand. If he's the culprit, then so am I."

He trusted him this much.

"You know he won't be able to get out easily, so why?"

The reason for entrusting him was something Jin Hagun hadn't considered.

"Because if your people can't find this man, the enemy will annihilate another clan."

Jin Hagun understood. It meant that as long as Seo Daeryong was captured by him, they wouldn't cause a new incident. It was a decision for the sake of the orthodox sects murim.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason Geom Mugeuk had brought Seo Daeryong.

"I plan to catch them off guard."

"Off guard? What do you mean?"

"They must have expected that I would never hand over my right-hand man. They would know about the relationship between me and him. But what if I hand him over to you? How will they react?"

He intended to throw out the bait with an unexpected move. He was determined to find a clue to track the enemy from their reaction and response.

"I've become curious. The enemy drew in the Blade Demon, so why did they also drag his disciple into this? What role does my right-hand man play in their plan?"

Is his only role to cause discord between our Cult and the Murim Alliance? Or is there another reason?

Geom Mugeuk said to Jin Hagun.

"In the process of solving that mystery, you could be in danger."

Because there was no telling how they would try to deal with Seo Daeryong once he was captured by the Murim Alliance. It meant that just being with Seo Daeryong could put him in danger.

Despite the warning of danger, Jin Hagun gave a faint smile. "If a seven can step forward so bravely, am I not a nine?"

It had been a long time since he'd joked, so Geom Mugeuk welcomed his words warmly. "Then I guess seven, eight, and nine are all gathered here."

The three of them laughed together.

After relaxing like that, Geom Mugeuk looked at Seo Daeryong and said, "Oh, villain, it is now time to receive your punishment."