Chapter 615: I've Come for the Money

TL: FoodieMonster007

Sama Myeong could tell. A green flag was currently waving in Geom Mugeuk's heart. He had an absolute faith in the Poison King. Their special bond was an enigma that even the brilliant Strategists of the All-Knowing Hall could not decipher with their analysis.

"Where is Hyung's next destination?"

Sama Myeong looked at the topographical map and replied.

"The First Young Lord's next destination is the Black Hand Sect in Yueyang."

A subordinate Strategist placed a slip of paper, with 'the Black Hand Sect' written on it, over the location of Yueyang.

Without any specific order from Sama Myeong, the Strategists of the All-Knowing Hall began to independently gather and classify data on the Black Hand Sect. It was a true demonstration of the jianghu's finest intelligence organization at work.

Sama Myeong was already familiar with the basic information regarding the Black Hand Sect.

"The Black Hand Sect is one of Hunan's most infamous dark path sects. They have expanded their organization through all manner of evil deeds and are now a power that ranks among the top ten of Hunan's dark path sects. It appears their attempt to buy the counterfeit Jingeuk was to eliminate their rivals and take control of Hunan's dark path."

"What kind of man is their leader?"

"The leader of the Black Hand Sect is named Hwang Pae, a dark path practitioner to his very core. His greed for wealth is so strong you could say he's obsessed with money. Since he was born and raised in the harsh underworld, he has never once backed down from an enemy. In the Hunan murim, he's seen as a madman. He's likely the type who won't even fear our Cult."

Geom Mugeuk then offered an unexpected response.

"That will actually make it easier for Hyung to handle him. The man's greed will be a useful weakness to exploit. And if the opponent gets on his bad side, Hyung's true personality will emerge. Everyone just doesn't know it. Hyung has the worst temper in our Cult! You're all being fooled right now!"

Geom Mugeuk's voice resounded throughout the strategy room.

Others might have frowned, assuming he was speaking ill of his brother behind his back. However, Sama Myeong and the Strategists present knew better than anyone. They were aware of how hard Geom Mugeuk had struggled not to kill that foul-tempered brother of his.

"Please send all information and data on the Black Hand Sect to Hyung as fast as possible."

"I understand."

Geom Mugeuk stood up from his seat.

"I'll be going now."

"Take care."

Sama Myeong bid him farewell with a polite, clasped-hands greeting.

"But it's late at night. Aren't you leaving, Strategist?"

"There is a place to sleep here. I sleep there during emergencies."

"You mean your office?"

"No. There is also a lodging with a bed."

It seemed there was a place to sleep within the All-Knowing Hall. Geom Mugeuk had always met him in the strategy room or his office, so he was unaware such a place existed.

"May I take a quick look?"

"Of course."

Sama Myeong led Geom Mugeuk to the Strategists' quarters.

There were rooms where the regular Strategists could rest, and a separate room had been prepared for Sama Myeong. It was more spacious and comfortable than Geom Mugeuk had anticipated.

"The Cult Leader had it newly decorated for me shortly after I became the Head Strategist."

He considered that perhaps it was around that time his father had started to truly trust Sama Myeong.

"Do you sleep here often?"

"Originally, I only slept here during emergencies. But these days, I sleep here often."

"You're getting on in years. You should be sleeping at home."

Sama Myeong's house was on the cult's grounds, but he would be alone in that large house even if he went. This place was more comfortable. He could not, however, offer that as his reason.

"As I've mentioned before, I am benefiting greatly from the heart technique the Cult Leader taught me."

He had spoken with Sama Myeong several times and had even shared drinks with him at the Alluring Inn. Yet, he did not actually know much about him. His house, for example. He had a house within the Cult, but he had never once visited it.

Geom Mugeuk himself had maintained a distance out of consideration for Go Wol, and Sama Myeong also refrained from discussing his private life.

"Don't you have any hidden liquor?"

Sama Myeong had once said that he, too, could drink like a fish in his younger days.

Geom Mugeuk had said it as a joke, but Sama Myeong retrieved some liquor from a cabinet.

"I sometimes have a glass when I can't sleep."

Sama Myeong poured a drink for Geom Mugeuk.

"You should have a glass too, Strategist."

"I don't drink when we're on alert."

Sama Myeong poured cold tea from a kettle and took a sip.

"Is it always on alert like this when I'm outside?"

"To be honest, an even higher level of alert is issued."

Right. An alert was issued even when Hyung went out, so of course it would be for the successor being outside.

Whenever he returned, Sama Myeong always treated him calmly, but now he understood that behind the scenes, he had been enduring this long, drawn-out tension. Just looking at the piles of documents stacked on the desk against the wall told him. He could see how Sama Myeong's peaceful smile was forged.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about? This is naturally my duty."

"No, I'm saying sorry in advance. When Father comes out of his seclusion training, I might go wandering around again."

Sama Myeong gave a faint smile at Geom Mugeuk's half-joking comment. Geom Mugeuk felt a desire to do something for the Head Strategist who was suffering because he was stuck with a bad Young Cult Leader.

"Strategist, is there anything you want to do? Ah, besides unifying the murim."

Sama Myeong's smile deepened at Geom Mugeuk's addition.

"Not particularly."

"Anywhere you'd like to go?"

As if to say there was nowhere, Sama Myeong quietly shook his head and drank his tea.

"Then what was your childhood dream? Surely it wasn't to be the Head Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, was it?"

Sama Myeong briefly recalled his childhood. He felt as though there were many things he had wanted to do. But surprisingly, he could not quite remember what he wanted to become or what he wanted to do.

"I don't remember well, but perhaps it was to be the Head Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"

This time, Geom Mugeuk laughed at Sama Myeong's joke.

"If you can't remember, it's because you've used your head too much taking care of our Cult."

This time, Sama Myeong asked about Geom Mugeuk's dream.

"What was your dream, Acting Cult Leader? Besides becoming the successor."

"There was nothing besides that."

Sama Myeong asked in surprise at Geom Mugeuk's reply.

"Nothing?"

"Yes. Why are you so surprised?"

In his life before regression, he truly had no dream. The competition with his brother that began at a young age meant his only desire was to become the successor. After that, he lived solely with the goal of regressing. As for a dream after regressing?

"I just thought that as the Acting Cult Leader, you would have had many dreams."

"You probably felt that way because I talk a lot."

Geom Mugeuk drained his cup and rose from his seat.

"I'll stop bothering you and really be on my way now."

"I will see you tomorrow."

Sama Myeong followed him out to see him off. When Geom Mugeuk looked back from the entrance, Sama Myeong was not returning to his quarters with the bed but was walking back to the strategy room. The alert here would continue until the flags that were out returned to the cult's grounds.

Hwang Pae, the leader of the Black Hand Sect, was angry. He was always angry, but today he was exceptionally so.

"So? You still haven't found the goods?"

"No."

The subordinate who answered so curtly was one of Hwang Pae's limbs, Myeong Gwi. If the one reporting had been any other subordinate and not Myeong Gwi, a palm strike would have already flown and smashed his head.

However, he could not do that to Myeong Gwi, of all people.

It was Myeong Gwi who had built the Black Hand Sect into what it was today. Myeong Gwi's martial arts were even superior to those of the leader, Hwang Pae. The reason he pledged loyalty to Hwang Pae was because of the grace of saving his son.

Five years ago, a group of mercenaries had raped and killed Myeong Gwi's wife. They were about to kill his young son when Hwang Pae, who happened to be passing by, killed the mercenaries and saved the boy. Since that day, Myeong Gwi had become Hwang Pae's limb and pledged his loyalty.

"It's not that the bastards who sold the goods staged this themselves?"

This time, they had secretly agreed to pay a large sum to purchase the hidden weapons. But on the very day they took possession of the goods, they were stolen by someone. Whoever it was, they must have known about the deal in advance and waited for an opportunity.

"We haven't paid them yet, so how could that be?"

The sellers said they would receive payment for the goods later. If they had intended to steal the goods from the start, they would have taken the money upfront.

"Is it those bastards from the Great Light Sect then?"

The Great Light Sect was another dark path sect that competed with the Black Hand Sect for interests in the Hunan region. Just then, Myeong Gwi quietly raised a hand to get Hwang Pae's attention and then spoke softly toward the door.

"Who's there?"

The door then opened, and a man appeared.

"I've come for the money."

The man wore a bamboo hat pulled down low, hiding his face, but his low voice carried a rough and domineering aura.

Myeong Gwi sent a telepathy message to Hwang Pae.

[Be careful, he's no ordinary man.]

One could tell just from the fact that he had infiltrated this far, avoiding the eyes of the subordinates.

Hwang Pae gave a slight nod and then asked the man in the bamboo hat.

"What money are you talking about?"

"If you received the goods, you should pay the money."

The man walked over and sat down opposite Hwang Pae.

"We didn't receive the goods."

"The Changsha Escort Agency said they definitely delivered the goods to you."

Hwang Pae's eyes turned fierce. The fact that he had to pay money without even receiving the goods made his anger surge. Of course, if he were the type of person to meekly hand over money in a situation like this, he wouldn't have survived this long in the rough world of the dark path.

"What if I say I can't pay?"

The man then said softly.

"Since you didn't receive the goods, you must not have had a chance to test the hidden weapons."

He raised his hand and aimed it at Hwang Pae. A Jingeuk was already in his hand.

"Would you like to become a test subject yourself?"

"……"

Myeong Gwi's sword was halfway out of its sheath. He too was ready to cut down his opponent in an instant.

"No matter how fast that sword is, it can't be faster than this."

Even with the Jingeuk aimed at him, Hwang Pae was not intimidated.

"If this bastard kills me, cut off his arms and legs, peel all the skin from his torso, and put him in a salt barrel."

Hwang Pae's bravado was backed by the belief that the man would not shoot as long as he had not been paid. Indeed, the man did not fire the Jingeuk.

"Bring me the one who first made the deal with us."

"Why him?"

"If there's no money, a life must be paid as the price. I'll at least collect the life of the one who first called us."

He said it as if that was their rule.

Hwang Pae inwardly rejoiced. He had been thinking of haggling down the price, but if he could substitute a subordinate's life for it, he would gladly accept. It was the very moment Hwang Pae was about to order his subordinate to be brought in.

"……"

Myeong Gwi, who had been silently watching the man until then, opened his mouth.

"You're not one of the people from that place, are you?"

Hwang Pae looked at Myeong Gwi with a surprised face.

"This man is not someone who would serve as a subordinate and go around collecting money."

The instinctive sense of crisis that Myeong Gwi felt from his opponent was something he had never experienced in his entire life.

"Take off your bamboo hat!"

The man then slowly took off his bamboo hat. The person revealed from under the bamboo hat was none other than Geom Muyang.

He had used the fact that the sellers of the counterfeit weapons had agreed to be paid later to disguise himself as one of them.

What Geom Muyang needed to find out from the Black Hand Sect was how they came to know the sellers of the hidden weapons and in what manner they conducted the transaction. There was surely someone in the Black Hand Sect who handled the practical side of things.

This was a plan based on the information that Hwang Pae was a man crazy for money. The man would surely offer up a subordinate instead of money. Geom Muyang had thought it was an easier and more certain method than beating the information out of the madman.

But Myeong Gwi had seen through him, realizing Geom Muyang was not someone who would go around collecting money. The fact that he recognized him despite the disguise of the bamboo hat and the fierce, rough aura showed that Myeong Gwi's judgment of character was extraordinary.

Geom Muyang returned the words he had just heard right back to Myeong Gwi.

"You're not the type of person to be a subordinate to someone like this, either."

The moment his eyes met Geom Muyang's, Myeong Gwi knew.

This is not someone I can face.

On the other hand, thinking he had been ignored, Hwang Pae roared.

"You bastard, who are you?"

Geom Muyang placed the Jingeuk he was holding on the table and asked.

"Who were you planning to kill after buying our goods?"

Hwang Pae, who had been momentarily dazed, shot to his feet.

"The Demonic Cult!"

This reaction was a confession that he knew the goods he was trying to buy were the hidden weapons of the Demonic Cult. A heavy silence flowed.

A single, cold phrase flowed from Geom Muyang's lips.

"Sit down. Don't look down on me."

Geom Muyang now revealed an aura on a completely different level from the one he had shown before. The cold chill in his eyes made Hwang Pae feel suffocated.

If he intended to kill me, he wouldn't have disguised himself in the first place, right?

He judged that acting tough would be to his advantage.

"Just because you're from the Demonic Cult, you think I'll be scared…"

PWAAAK!

Hwang Pae's head snapped mercilessly to the side. Geom Muyang's fist, which had flown in without him knowing when or how, had struck his face.

"……"

In the instant that Myeong Gwi drew his sword.

"Don't."

At Geom Muyang's single word, Myeong Gwi's body froze. A powerful demonic qi pressed down on him, rendering him unable to move.

Hwang Pae spat out a shower of broken teeth and shouted.

"Kill this bastard!"

He was the type who had to act on his temper first, to hell with the Demonic Cult or anything else. The next moment, Hwang Pae's body flew through the air. Geom Muyang had thrown him through the door.

"……"

Hwang Pae, who had crashed through the door and tumbled across the courtyard, shot back up and shouted. This time, he shouted at the subordinates filling the courtyard.

"Kill that bastard!"

But no one moved.

"What are you doing, you sons of bitches!"

For a moment, Hwang Pae flinched in surprise. He thought they were his subordinates, but unfamiliar martial artists were staring at him. They were none other than Branch Manager Ho Myeong and the elites of the Changsha Branch.

Behind them, his own subordinates were kneeling on the ground. A few who had charged without recognizing their opponents had been beaten so badly their faces were mangled beyond recognition.

The Black Hand Sect may be a prominent dark path sect in Hunan, but how could they possibly stand against a Branch Manager of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and his elite subordinates?

Seeing Hwang Pae, one of his subordinates instinctively tried to stand and rush forward.

PUUK!

A Branch martial artist standing behind him nonchalantly plunged a sword into his neck.

Watching him collapse while spewing blood, the Black Hand Sect martial artists all bowed their heads in unison. They had lived their lives not knowing true fear. They, whom no one dared to make eye contact with on the streets, had met their match today.

Even in this situation, Hwang Pae gritted his teeth.

"So what if you're the Demonic Cult? Go on, kill me! I dare you to kill Hwang Pae in this land of Hunan! Do you think the Evil Alliance will just stand by if you touch us!"

He would have killed me already if he intended to. With this one belief, he held out to the end. He acted even tougher because his subordinates were watching.

Geom Muyang, who had been watching the rampaging man with an indifferent gaze, turned his head to look at Myeong Gwi.

"I hear you lost your family to mercenaries?"

Myeong Gwi was startled by the sudden mention of that incident. In other words, it meant they had investigated him before coming.

"We looked into it and…"

Just then, Hwang Pae cut off Geom Muyang's words and shouted. "What do you want?"