Chapter 631: Give Them an Inch and They'll Take a Mile

TL: FoodieMonster007

As dark clouds gathered, the world around the manor quickly grew dim. Flashes of lightning seemed to strike closer and closer with each passing moment.

CRACK! KRA-KRAKOOM!

The sky finally unleashed the thunder it had held back, and a heavy rain began to pour.

SHWAAAAAAA!

Geom Muyang stood beside the window, silently watching the downpour.

Jin Hagun had already departed with the Demon Slaying Brigade, leaving Geom Muyang and the Branch martial artists behind at the manor.

Jin Hagun had also taken the White Dragon Commander with him. Geom Muyang knew he couldn't keep the man by his side indefinitely.

He also knew that Jin Hagun wouldn't be able to hold the White Dragon Commander for long either. The Murim Alliance would be thrown into an uproar if word got out that a figure like the White Dragon Commander had gone missing. How did Jin Hagun plan to handle the fallout?

If it were him, Geom Muyang would have confronted the issue head-on. He would have taken the man directly to his father and forced him to confess everything. The matter of how to deal with their long-standing friendship would then be entirely up to his father.

Of course, Geom Muyang had not voiced any of this to Jin Hagun. He didn't even ask how Jin Hagun intended to proceed. It was enough that he had entrusted him with rescuing Gwak Yeong's brother. Their relationship was not one where they would join forces on other matters.

Just then, Gwak Yeong spoke from behind him.

"The rain makes me think of alcohol."

In truth, the rain made her miss her brother with a desperate ache. Where was he, and how was he doing? Was he eating properly? Was he being beaten? She could only imagine how scared he must be. This incident would surely haunt her brother like a lifelong nightmare.

What was going to happen now?

Inside, Gwak Yeong was terrified. Before the name of the Heaven's Edge Hermit had surfaced, she had believed that this man and the leader of the Demon Slaying Brigade could save her brother.

But the Heaven's Edge Hermit?

The man who had supposedly lived his entire life sacrificing for the orthodox sects was behind it all?

Even after watching Geom Muyang and Jin Hagun uncover the truth, she struggled to believe it. Could there be a mistake? Could it be someone's conspiracy, a false accusation?

If she couldn't believe it after witnessing the evidence herself, who would? That was the kind of figure the Heaven's Edge Hermit was to the people of the orthodox sects.

He was involved in making counterfeit weapons for money, kidnapping, and even blackmail.

She had thought her enemy was a school of piranhas, swarming to tear off flesh. But behind them was a colossal whale that seemed capable of swallowing the sea itself.

"Why didn't you hand me over to the Demon Slaying Brigade?"

He could have simply sent her to Jin Hagun.

A promise to save her brother was one thing, but she had still committed the crime of abandoning a smithy artisan's honor to create counterfeit hidden weapons. It would have been much easier for him to just hand her over and wash his hands of the matter.

Geom Muyang, who had been gazing out the window, turned to look at her.

"Was it a lie?"

"Pardon?"

"That you would make weapons for me."

From the look in his eyes, Gwak Yeong understood. Ah! This man really intends to take me with him and put me to use.

"I had no idea. That your smithy was suffering from such a labor shortage."

She replied with a pointless joke instead. Fortunately, Geom Muyang turned his gaze back to the window without another word.

Her promise to make weapons for him had been sincere. She was even prepared to live as a demonic practitioner.

But what truly frightened her was the thought that she might never see her brother again.

SHWAAAAAAA.

She stared blankly over Geom Muyang's shoulder at the pouring rain.

"The one behind it all is…"

With the Heaven's Edge Hermit involved, can the Demon Slaying Brigade really save my brother?

The words caught in her throat. The name 'the Heaven's Edge Hermit' simply would not come out.

What if the Demon Slaying Brigade can't investigate him due to internal pressure?

She was afraid that if she spoke such a careless thought, it might actually come true.

As if he understood her inner turmoil, Geom Muyang answered without turning around.

"Nothing has changed."

If she hadn't known he was the First Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she might have dismissed it as a bluff.

But now she knew he was being completely sincere. He fully intended to face whoever was behind this, just as before.

And those words were a great comfort to her.

Just then, the Branch Manager, Ho Myeong, entered the room and delivered a report.

"We've received word from the All-Knowing Hall about Hwa Yulcheong's whereabouts."

Ho Myeong relayed the information to Geom Muyang.

"Hwa Yulcheong resides in the Nothing Manor in Wuhan. He is known to travel all over the Central Plains and is absent for most of the year, but he is currently said to be back in Wuhan."

"He's in Wuhan?"

"Yes, they say he returned a few days ago."

A man who was absent most of the year had returned to Wuhan just a few days ago? At the exact time he himself was in Wuhan? Could that be a coincidence?

Geom Muyang thought not. This fact alone was likely proof of Hwa Yulcheong's involvement in this affair.

"Tell them to send all the information they have on Hwa Yulcheong. His personality, family relationships, martial arts, and all his followers."

"Yes, I understand."

As Ho Myeong left, Gwak Yeong asked cautiously.

"Are you really going to confront him?"

Geom Muyang gave a silent nod.

"You know he has many powerful followers, right?"

"……"

A bolt of lightning illuminated Geom Muyang's face. His gaze was as sharp and intense as the lightning itself. He was the kind of man who would push forward silently, no matter who stood in his way. Just as he had said. Nothing has changed.

Finally, Geom Muyang spoke softly.

"People like that…"

People who have overcome difficult times with me, who have seen me at my worst and know my shortcomings better than anyone, and whom I trust more than anyone else.

"I have them too."

Jin Hagun entered the Chairman's Hall.

"Chairman, have you been well?"

As always, Jin Hagun showed his grandfather the respect due to the Chairman of the Murim Alliance.

"Welcome."

Jin Paecheon's gaze toward his grandson was gentle. Recently, Jin Hagun had been fulfilling his duties more admirably than any previous leader of the Demon Slaying Brigade. He seemed more mature, and his reputation among his subordinates was excellent.

"I heard you changed the Demon Slaying Brigade's original schedule and returned."

"Yes, there were circumstances."

"What is it?"

Jin Hagun delivered some unexpected news.

"Word came from the Divine Cult's First Young Lord."

At the mention of the First Young Lord, Jin Paecheon's expression hardened slightly. Although the man had lost the succession to Geom Mugeuk, he knew he was highly ambitious.

"He said there were people who counterfeited their hidden weapons and distributed them in the Central Plains. He's tracking the mastermind and has requested our cooperation."

Jin Paecheon looked puzzled. The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult never asked them for cooperation.

"For what reason?"

"One of our smithy artisans was involved."

Jin Hagun reported that Gwak Yeong was involved and explained that her brother was being held hostage.

"The First Young Lord has come to Wuhan because of this matter."

Jin Paecheon's expression completely froze. The First Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had entered Wuhan without his permission? Jin Paecheon was not pleased.

"Honestly, give those people an inch and they'll take a mile."

Jin Paecheon openly showed his displeasure with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

The disrespect of not informing him beforehand was one thing, but he was even angrier that the Murim Alliance's intelligence network had lost track of Geom Muyang's movements.

"You sent them back, I assume?"

"No. They are still in Wuhan."

Jin Paecheon's rebuke flew toward his grandson.

"You should have sent them back!"

"I apologize."

Jin Hagun knew. His grandfather wasn't truly displeased with him but was being strict. The day he would be named successor was drawing near, and his grandfather wanted him to be a flawless heir.

Jin Paecheon stared at Jin Hagun in silence for a moment. Then he rose from his grand chair and descended.

He walked up to his grandson and called to him gently.

"Hagun."

Jin Hagun could tell. This was not the Chairman looking at the leader of the Demon Slaying Brigade, but a grandfather addressing his grandson.

"Yes, Grandfather."

"I know well that you trust the Young Cult Leader."

Even he, at his age, had been so captivated by the man named Geom Mugeuk, so how could the young Jin Hagun remain detached? That was why there was something he had to impress upon him. A warning he would have to repeat in the future.

Words that needed to be emphasized precisely because he knew Geom Mugeuk was a good person.

"As you go through life, no matter how close you become, no matter how deep your relationship gets, you must never for a single moment forget that he is a demonic practitioner."

No matter how good a person Geom Mugeuk might be, everyone around him was a demonic practitioner.

Jin Hagun knew exactly what his grandfather meant by those words.

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."

He thought he could let it slide this far only because the man in question was Geom Mugeuk's brother.

"I have one more thing to report."

In fact, this report was the core reason for his visit today.

"I am investigating the White Dragon Commander in connection with this matter."

"The White Dragon Commander? Why?"

"He is one of the masterminds behind this incident."

Jin Paecheon thought it was nonsense.

"Do you have proof?"

"Yes. The person who rented the warehouse where the counterfeit hidden weapons were made is the White Dragon Commander. Not only that, but we've also discovered evidence that someone else is behind the White Dragon Commander."

He did not say who it was.

His grandfather needed to hear directly from the White Dragon Commander's lips that Hwa Yulcheong was behind it.

"I must see this man myself."

"I have him waiting outside."

"Bring him in."

His grandfather would be confused and find it hard to believe at first, but he was the only one who could resolve this.

Only his grandfather could handle the Heaven's Edge Hermit.

A moment later, martial artists from the Demon Slaying Brigade brought in the White Dragon Commander and then departed.

Jin Hagun had already finished talking with the White Dragon Commander. He had promised that if he told the Chairman the whole truth, he would not only be spared beheading but would also have his sentence minimized as a reward for revealing the truth.

In fact, seeing the White Dragon Commander accept the promise, Jin Hagun had a thought.

So he really is the mastermind.

It seemed a part of him had been doubting it all along. No, even at this moment, he couldn't shake off the suspicion. Was he really behind it? This was a man he had respected so much since he was young.

Jin Paecheon looked down at him and said.

"Raise your head."

The White Dragon Commander raised his head, trembling with fear.

"What happened? Were you truly involved in this incident?"

Jin Paecheon asked calmly, but his gaze was as cold as frost.

The White Dragon Commander opened his mouth, his voice trembling.

"This incident was…"

Unable to continue, he hung his head low.

"I'm truly sorry, Chairman."

He seemed too ashamed to confess, only letting out a sigh.

Jin Hagun said to him.

"It's all over, so confess quickly."

The White Dragon Commander finally revealed the truth.

"This was ordered by the Heaven's Edge Hermit."

Despite the shocking words, Jin Paecheon was not surprised at all. Instead, he calmly asked again.

"Who did you say ordered it?"

"It was ordered by the Heaven's Edge Hermit."

At that very moment.

"……"

Jin Paecheon's figure was suddenly gripping the White Dragon Commander's throat.

"How dare you pull such a trick!"

Jin Hagun naturally thought his grandfather was angry because he had mentioned the Heaven's Edge Hermit.

However, that was not it.

Jin Paecheon let out a shout like a kiai in front of him.

HAAAAAAAAAP!

A fierce wind, like a raging typhoon, swirled around the White Dragon Commander.

It was the Lion's Roar, imbued with the powerful qi of the Murim Alliance's leader.

In that moment, as the tremendous force that seemed like it would blow him away shook the White Dragon Commander's face and body!

Jin Hagun saw it.

The White Dragon Commander's eyes rolled back and then returned to normal. It was as if his black pupils had disappeared behind his eyes and then reappeared.

"HAAAAAAAAAP!"

At the even louder Lion's Roar, the White Dragon Commander's eyes rolled back again. This time, they did not return, leaving only the whites of his eyes visible.

"Ughhhhhh."

As a scream escaped him, a black liquid trickled from both his eyes. It was as if his vanished black pupils were flowing out as liquid. The White Dragon Commander seemed unaware of what was happening to him.

The next moment.

"…It was the work of the Heaven's Edge Hermit."

The words that came out slowly were not in the White Dragon Commander's voice. He spoke in a bizarre tone, as if a monster resided within him.

The White Dragon Commander's body trembled violently once, and then he collapsed.

Jin Paecheon looked down at him with a complicated expression.

"What just happened?"

By the time Jin Hagun checked, he was already dead. When he injected his qi to examine the body's interior, he found that the man's blood vessels were severed in pieces.

His inner arts had been suppressed, so it was not a suicide.

Was he under an evil art that would sever his blood vessels if he confessed?

But he had already confessed under Geom Muyang's torture. Why didn't they sever then?

Jin Paecheon said softly.

"It's the Brainwashing Art."

Jin Hagun was startled. The Brainwashing Art was an evil art that allowed one to control another's mind at will.

His grandfather had realized he was under the Brainwashing Art and had broken it with the Lion's Roar.

"It was set up so that if the Brainwashing Art was forcibly broken, all his blood vessels would sever, causing death."

But why?

If they used the Brainwashing Art, why make him confess about the Heaven's Edge Hermit? Shouldn't they have hidden the mastermind?

In that moment, Jin Hagun flinched as a chill ran down his spine.

Damn it!

His grandfather would now think that someone had used the Brainwashing Art to frame the Heaven's Edge Hermit.

By exposing the frame-up, the Heaven's Edge Hermit was cleared of suspicion.

And naturally, Jin Paecheon's suspicion turned toward one person.

"Where is the First Young Lord now?"