Chapter 642: Who They're Coming to Kill

TL: FoodieMonster007

A procession of about a dozen carriages raced forward in a single file line. The dragons painted on their sides were so vivid they looked as if they might ascend to the heavens at any moment.

Martial artists passing by politely offered a clasped hands greeting to the carriages. In Wuhan, carriages adorned with dragons could only belong to one person. A flag symbolizing the lord of the Murim Alliance, flying from the lead carriage, confirmed this.

The racing carriages came to a halt right in front of the Nothing Manor. The doors of the ten carriages, now lined up in a neat row, opened in unison.

Jin Paecheon emerged from the seventh carriage. From the other carriages, bodyguards disembarked.

This was a standard security measure. During an official procession, the lord of the Murim Alliance traveled with a dozen identical carriages, making it impossible for anyone to know which one he occupied.

As Jin Paecheon stepped down, the heroes guarding the front of the Nothing Manor all performed a clasped hands greeting and bowed low. These heroes had been standing guard ever since the Heaven's Edge Hermit was ambushed.

"We greet the Chairman!"

Jin Paecheon entered the Nothing Manor, welcomed by the martial artists. Those guarding the courtyard also greeted him with polite respect.

At the very least, the martial artists present were people who respected and followed the Heaven's Edge Hermit even more than they did the lord of the Murim Alliance.

Having heard the news of the Chairman's procession, the Heaven's Edge Hermit came outside to meet him.

"I greet you, Chairman."

Even though they were old friends, the Heaven's Edge Hermit showed the utmost courtesy befitting the Chairman because the heroes were present.

"Is your body feeling a bit better?"

"Thanks to your concern, I'm fine. Please, come inside."

The two men went into the building. They only began to speak comfortably after the Heaven's Edge Hermit had dismissed everyone around them.

"I should've come sooner. I'm sorry."

"Not at all. I'm grateful that you came all this way despite being so busy."

Hwa Yulcheong took Jin Paecheon's hand in his. Hwa Yulcheong's hand was so withered that it felt like holding a dry twig.

Jin Paecheon then took a small box he had prepared from inside his robes.

"What's this?"

When Hwa Yulcheong opened the box, he found a small pill inside.

"It's the Blood Replenishing Pill."

The Blood Replenishing Pill was a potent medicine taken after losing a great deal of blood. It was considered the best remedy for restoring one's energy after a serious injury.

"Why did you bring something so precious?"

"What could be more precious to me than you?"

"Thank you. I'll take it well."

"Take it now. Aren't you just going to sell it later to help people? Take it in front of me."

The two men's gazes locked in mid-air. Jin Paecheon refused to back down.

"Alright."

Hwa Yulcheong consumed the Blood Replenishing Pill right there and circulated his inner qi for a full cycle.

There was no better medicine for his current injuries, and Hwa Yulcheong's complexion improved almost immediately.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"It's been a while. Would you like a drink?"

Jin Paecheon shook his head.

"Drinking after taking medicine? No, I'm fine."

"Then at least have some tea. I brewed some earlier."

While Hwa Yulcheong went to prepare the tea, Jin Paecheon took a moment to look around the interior of the manor.

Nothing had changed since his last visit. The furniture, the desk, and everything else was old and inexpensive. Hwa Yulcheong was the type of person to spend any money he received on the poor.

The fact that martial artists had voluntarily come to protect him spoke volumes about the kind of life he had lived.

It was difficult to believe that such a person could be behind a conspiracy.

Hwa Yulcheong returned and brought a teapot to the table.

To think a moment would come when he had to wonder if the tea was poisoned.

"How long has it been? This is the first time we've seen each other since the tripartite meeting, isn't it?"

Hwa Yulcheong remembered their last meeting with perfect clarity.

"You were quite agitated that day."

"I was?"

I was agitated? Jin Paecheon couldn't quite recall if he had been. Hwa Yulcheong, on the other hand, seemed to remember that day perfectly.

"That day, you talked more about the Young Cult Leader than the Demonic Cult Leader or the Evil Alliance Chairman. You said he'd become fearsome once he matured."

Now he remembered. It must have sounded as if he were agitated. Perhaps he really had been. After all, Hwa Yulcheong was the only person to whom he could honestly express such feelings.

"That Young Cult Leader is here in Wuhan."

Hwa Yulcheong's hand, which was in the middle of lifting his teacup, froze. An expression of surprise flickered across his face.

"Is that really true?"

Jin Paecheon simply told him the facts as they were.

"There are people who forged and sold the Divine Cult's hidden weapons. They're the very same hidden weapons that were used in the attack on you."

"And because of that, the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult came all the way here himself?"

Hwa Yulcheong wore an expression of complete incomprehension.

Jin Paecheon recalled the words that Geom Mugeuk had told him.

Fight with the truth. Then you might be able to see something that only you, Chairman, can recognize.

"That's not the only reason."

Jin Paecheon decided to show his hand first. He hadn't come here for a battle of wits.

"They suspect that you're the one behind it."

Hwa Yulcheong's expression showed that he didn't know how to take those words or even how to react. He finally just let out a hollow laugh.

"Why would the Demonic Cult frame me with such a ridiculous accusation?"

Hwa Yulcheong didn't even voice the words, 'Surely you don't believe them, do you?'. He seemed to take it for granted that Jin Paecheon would never believe such a thing.

"Then is the ambush I suffered also related to that matter?"

"There's a high probability."

"It seems those bastards are plotting some kind of conspiracy."

The word 'conspiracy' struck Jin Paecheon's heart like a nail.

Whose conspiracy is this? Is it Geom Mugeuk's? Or is it Hwa Yulcheong's?

Jin Paecheon rose from his seat and walked over to the window.

Hwa Yulcheong remained seated, simply watching his back.

A brief silence fell between the two men. The sight of Jin Paecheon's back, which looked different from usual, compelled Hwa Yulcheong to ask a single question.

"Are you suspecting me?"

The answer came immediately, a stark contrast to how difficult the question must have been to ask.

"How could I? I've watched your life from the sidelines for my entire life. However, I just keep wondering why such an intelligent person, as you said, would frame you with such a ridiculous accusation."

However, Hwa Yulcheong was looking right into his friend's heart.

"No, you're wavering right now."

Jin Paecheon did not deny it.

His lack of denial in this moment was exactly what Geom Mugeuk had intended. He had thought that if Jin Paecheon held fast to the truth, he at least wouldn't be swayed.

Jin Paecheon then honestly revealed his feelings.

"Yes, I admit it. The Young Cult Leader is someone who has earned that much of my trust."

He could say with certainty that he would never have suspected Hwa Yulcheong if it weren't for Geom Mugeuk. He would have trusted his friend even if clear evidence had emerged, or even if a jointly signed petition written by him had appeared.

Because of Geom Mugeuk, he was now doing something he should never do to a friend.

He was tearing down a lifetime of trust in a single night.

"Do you remember the day we first met?"

Hwa Yulcheong replied to Jin Paecheon's question.

"How could I forget?"

Hwa Yulcheong added, his eyes filled with reminiscence for days long past.

"My life changed the day I met you."

Jin Paecheon, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned around to look at Hwa Yulcheong.

Perhaps it was because the situation was so heartbreaking, but Hwa Yulcheong brought up something he had never once said to Jin Paecheon before.

"Do you know why I've lived my life helping people like this?"

Jin Paecheon had always thought there couldn't be any other reason besides his friend's righteous character.

"It was because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Before I met you, I wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice so much for others."

The reason Hwa Yulcheong had lived such a life despite that was something Jin Paecheon had never imagined.

"I wanted to be a friend worthy of you."

"!"

This was a fact Jin Paecheon had not known. Hwa Yulcheong had never said anything like this before.

"I was always a crow-tit trying to keep up with a stork."

Hwa Yulcheong's gaze fixed on Jin Paecheon's untouched teacup. His eyes seemed to convey a silent question. He had lived his entire life this way because of Jin Paecheon, and now his friend was going to doubt him just because of what a demonic person said?

Because he didn't ask the question outright, his gaze looked all the more sorrowful.

Jin Paecheon calmly bid him farewell. He realized his own emotions were becoming too intense for him to see Hwa Yulcheong rationally anymore.

As Jin Paecheon slowly walked past him, Hwa Yulcheong said,

"It's fine if you doubt me, but you should doubt the Young Cult Leader as well. That Young Cult Leader is a fearsome person, capable of driving a wedge this deep between you and me."

Hwa Yulcheong conveyed his sincere worry for his friend.

"I'll be fine, so please, be careful."

Jin Paecheon stood inside a pavilion located in the Azure Cloud Forest. It was the same pavilion in the bamboo forest where he had met Geom Muyang before. Today, the place was once again thick with fog.

Geom Mugeuk soon arrived. Jin Paecheon was the one who had contacted him to arrange the meeting. He felt that now that he had met his friend, it was time to meet with Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk stepped up into the pavilion, coming to stand side-by-side with Jin Paecheon.

"On my way here, I kept thinking about what the wisest choice I could make would be."

"Did you find an answer?"

"Yes, I did."

The two men's gazes, which had been fixed on the fog, now turned to face each other. Jin Paecheon's eyes were still searching for the truth.

"It's trust. No matter what you think of me, Chairman, I must trust you. I've decided to tell you everything, Chairman. That way, there won't be any misunderstandings between you and me. That is my conclusion."

No matter how clearly and deeply Geom Mugeuk spoke, it wasn't easy for his feelings to be fully conveyed to Jin Paecheon in that moment.

"Sometimes, trust is what obscures the truth."

Those words could be applied to both Geom Mugeuk and Hwa Yulcheong.

"I'm on my way back from meeting that friend."

Geom Mugeuk already knew. It had been an official procession, after all.

"I told him everything, honestly."

"So what did he say?"

Geom Mugeuk was curious to hear about Hwa Yulcheong's reaction.

"I thought he would get angry, but he didn't."

Geom Mugeuk thought that if Hwa Yulcheong had responded so calmly and with such composure, then Jin Paecheon probably couldn't have found out anything.

On the contrary, it was because of that very composure that Jin Paecheon had discovered something.

"Rather, watching that friend worry about me made me realize one thing."

Jin Paecheon's gaze turned toward Geom Mugeuk.

"The fact that he has never once gotten angry at me."

Jin Paecheon repeated the statement, as if for emphasis.

"We've been friends for decades, but he has never once been angry with me. Surprisingly, I only realized that today. Yes, that could be possible. He's a friend with a very good character, after all. But do you know how I was?"

Geom Mugeuk smiled and said,

"You must have gotten angry a lot, Chairman."

Now that Jin Paecheon was older he controlled his emotions well, but he was originally a rough and domineering person.

"No. I've never gotten angry at him either."

This was a surprising realization for both Geom Mugeuk, who was listening, and for Jin Paecheon, the person in question.

"Considering my personality in my youth, that was an impossible thing. I thought about it on the way here. Why did I never once get angry at him?"

And Jin Paecheon had found the answer.

"Because that friend always matched my mood."

Jin Paecheon had never once in his life seriously considered this. He had always just thought Hwa Yulcheong was a good-natured friend, and that was why he was so comfortable to be around.

"Even when I was the successor, and even after I became the Chairman, he matched me in everything. When I was angry, he would get angry with me, and when I was happy, he would rejoice with me."

In a word, he was a truly good friend.

"But thinking about it now, that friend never once revealed his own emotions to me. Not joy, not sadness. He never even showed a hint of irritation."

If that was simply his original personality, it might have been possible.

"He's a man who doesn't spare his tears for the poor. He's a man who gets more furious than anyone when he sees injustice. But he never once expressed those overflowing emotions to me."

Jin Paecheon asked with a look that seemed to demand an answer from Geom Mugeuk.

"Because I'm the Chairman? Because I'm difficult to approach?"

Jin Paecheon was clearly in an agitated state. It was the first time he had ever spoken so much to someone like this. He truly never thought that the person he would confide in would be Geom Mugeuk.

Finally, Geom Mugeuk, who had been quietly listening, opened his mouth.

"Thanks to that, you were able to come this far, weren't you?"

"!"

"There was nothing to ruin the relationship, and you've steadily built your friendship over decades, haven't you?"

How could the lord of the Murim Alliance not feel discomfort when suspecting an old friend? This was especially true when it was a distortion in the relationship that he had discovered himself. Jin Paecheon's suspicion turned back toward Geom Mugeuk.

"Aren't you the same, treating people with nice words?"

Geom Mugeuk calmly persuaded him.

"If I were the real Cult Leader and not the temporary one, you could suspect that our Cult orchestrated this situation. I'm good at sowing discord and I'm a cunning person. However, as long as my father is the Cult Leader, we don't use such methods. Father would just barge right in, as if to say, 'Go on, try and stop me.'"

Jin Paecheon couldn't deny those words. The Geom Woojin he knew was exactly that kind of man.

"Moreover, he wouldn't even create a situation like this."

Geom Mugeuk then delivered some news to Jin Paecheon.

"The old demons who broke the Demonic Seal Mandate are coming here."

"!"

Jin Paecheon knew better than anyone what the Demonic Seal Mandate was. It was a mandate that had been passed down within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for hundreds of years.

He had always judged that the reason they kept the criminal masters of the Demonic Cult alive instead of killing them was to ultimately use them when a fight with the Murim Alliance eventually broke out.

"Breaking the Demonic Seal Mandate means they've disobeyed the Cult Leader's order. To use such people to orchestrate something? If you think that, then you've gravely misunderstood my father."

This was a moment where the news of the old demons breaking the Demonic Seal Mandate was actually helpful.

This was because Jin Paecheon also agreed with Geom Mugeuk's words.

"Who is coming?"

"The Demonic Fire Lord and the White Bone Spirit Demon are on their way."

Jin Paecheon's expression hardened. These were men who would cause a bloodbath if they weren't handled correctly.

"Why are they coming?"

"Since we didn't send them, how would I know? But since what they do best is kill people, they must be coming to kill someone."

A cold energy began to flow from Jin Paecheon's body. He had been maintaining his composure for the sake of the Alliance and the orthodox sects' murim, despite his simmering rage. And now, even the criminals of the Demonic Cult were on their way?

In the face of that cold fury, Geom Mugeuk uttered a surprising statement.

"I believe you know who they're coming to kill, Chairman."

"Me?"

Geom Mugeuk posed a question to Jin Paecheon, who wore an expression that went beyond surprise to sheer bewilderment. He explained, "If the bastards' goal is to cause a rift between our Cult and the Murim Alliance."

"Who do you think they could kill that you wouldn't be able to stand?"