Episode 315
I knew it the moment I saw it.
The masked person is unrelated to Yongolchae (龍骨砦).
First of all, the martial arts he learned were different from the actual swordsmanship used by ronin or bandits.
It even has a pure aura, as if revealing that it has trained in Jeongjongsimbeop.
He was born to learn and practice martial arts from a prestigious family.
‘first.’
Instead of answering the second question, he firmly grabbed the masked man’s chin.
When I took off the mask and put my hand into the open mouth, something that felt different from teeth caught on the tip of my index finger.
‘I thought so.’
The masked man tried to resist by keeping his mouth shut, but there was not even a scratch on his hands, which were covered in strong force.
I pulled out the molar with poisonous poison in it and threw it on the floor.
‘It seems like he was trained to commit suicide if the situation arises. For a shadow raised by Baekdo’s Murim Sega, he seems to be treated quite poorly…’
I clicked my tongue and looked down at the back of my hand, and there was a lot of dirty foreign matter on it.
With a frown, I tore off the masked man’s clothes and wiped my hands.
“······.”
Even though he was warned that he would be tortured, the masked man seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth.
After subduing his acupuncture points, I grabbed him by the back of his neck and escaped the underground space.
“Boss!”
“What happened?”
Cheonan Gambu members rushed over after hearing the metallic sound and asked me about the circumstances.
After briefly explaining the situation, I gave Sa Woo-yeon a mask and gave her instructions.
“Take him in and interrogate him.”
“What can I ask?”
“What was his identity, why was he staying in Yongolchae, and why did he hide and wait for an opportunity even though he saw the bandits being subjugated? Find out everything and report back.”
“All right.”
“······Please wait a moment.”
It was then.
Damun, who showed up late, called Sawooyeon over with a stern expression.
He took off his mask, looked closely at the man’s face, and asked in a low voice.
“Why are you here?”
“······.”
“Surely you decided to join hands with Nokrim to make up for the lack of power?”
The man, who appeared briefly shaken by Damun’s appearance, closed his eyes tightly.
I felt a firm determination not to answer any questions.
As I was quietly observing the situation, I turned to Damun and asked.
“Do you know this face?”
“Simah Jeok. “He is one of the leaders who raised the secret killing squad.”
The eyes of the Cheonan police officers lined up around him widened significantly.
Bisaldae was one of Sima Sega’s main units that was completely destroyed at the hands of Yue Yeo-ryeong in the past.
‘Even though it was the main force, it was not an officially active unit.’
If he was the person who raised such a despotic force, his status within Simase would never have been low.
That kind of person was staying in the bandits’ stronghold, especially in Yongolchae under Nokrim?
It was not a matter to be taken lightly.
The party’s current location is on the border between Anhui and Shandong.
It was not far from Sima Sega’s sphere of influence.
I thought that perhaps, as Damun said, Sima Seju might have joined hands with Nokrim to supplement the insufficient power.
I don’t know what they were trying to do by going that far, but it was clear that there was a big change in the plan.
‘More information is needed.’
Sawooyeon’s responsibility has become greater.
We had to extract information from Sima Zhi by any means necessary.
‘Tsk, if I had known this would happen, I would have brought along the party’s warriors.’
I felt somewhat regretful.
Damun, who had repeatedly asked Sima Jeok about his purpose, sighed and said.
“I will also assist with the interrogation.”
“Are you talking about Sohyeop?”
“I have no skill in torture, but I can shake the target’s spirit with the Jin method. “It will be helpful in some way.”
“All right. Please do so.”
Sa Woo-yeon, carrying Sima Jeok on her shoulder, headed to the empty warehouse with Damun.
I clinked my palms together and greeted the members lined up around me.
“Put aside your curiosity about the results of the interrogation and go back to your own business. “If we’re going to leave early tomorrow morning, shouldn’t we get ready for bed now?”
* * *
The next morning.
I got up from the bed and frowned upon hearing Damun’s report.
“You mean he’s dead?”
“yes.”
“What happened? “I don’t think Master Sam killed him by mistake.”
“I do not know. He screamed, seemed to lose consciousness, fell limp, and then died. Although it was intense torture, it would not have been severe enough to cause death…”
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“By any chance, did Sima Jeok suffer from heart disease or something? “My heart stopped because I couldn’t stand the shock.”
“well. At least I don’t remember hearing that he was suffering from a chronic illness.”
The person who was supposed to be responsible for Sima Segaju’s plan died in vain.
My mind became confused due to the unexpected situation.
‘Things are going wrong.’
The only person he could trust now was Chen Ji-ryeong, who had been dispatched to Jiangsu Province in advance.
I can only hope that her preliminary research yields meaningful results.
“sorry.”
“There is no need to ask for forgiveness. “I have no intention of holding the cooperative responsible for the unexpected sudden death.”
I didn’t feel like I wanted to rebuke Damun.
He must be feeling embarrassed about the current situation.
How embarrassing it must have been to have stepped forward to help with the interrogation, but the subject’s breathing stopped before you could do anything.
‘Even though the subject is a person from Sima Sega. They might be worried that there might be some misunderstanding.’
I got up from my seat and immediately left Chaeju’s residence.
Damun quietly followed behind.
“Where is the body?”
“It was left in the warehouse where the interrogation was conducted the day before.”
“All right.”
Sima Jeok’s body was tied to a chair in the middle of the warehouse.
The wounds all over the body gave an idea of the severity of the torture that had been carried out the previous day.
“······.”
I lifted Sima Jeok’s head by his hair and narrowed my eyes.
Watching him stick his tongue out like a dog in heat, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
I moved behind the chair, concentrated my energy on my fingertips, and stabbed the corpse in the back of the head.
The fingers, enveloped in thin steel, dug into the hard head without hesitation.
“Boss?”
Damun looked surprised at my sudden action.
The face looked as if he didn’t know why the body was being mutilated.
The hand that had been rummaging through Sima Jeok’s mind for a long time finally came out.
‘I didn’t think so.’
A small bug wriggling between my thumb and index finger came into view.
Damun’s eyes became the size of a flower lantern.
It was the moment when the cause of Sima Jeok’s sudden death was revealed.
‘Go (蠱).’
A precious commodity that is only produced in limited quantities even in the Demonic Cult.
To be more precise, it was a type of worm that lived in the body of living things.
The characteristic of this bug is that it normally stays quiet, but in response to certain situations, it emits a very small amount of secretion.
For example, when more pain than allowed is inflicted on the host’s body.
“Why Go(蠱)…”
“Probably one of two things. “Either you cut off the head of a demonic cultist like I did and obtained a punishment, or you betrayed the Baekdo martial arts group and secretly joined hands with the demonic cultist.”
“······!”
“I hope it’s the former, but I think it’s probably the latter.”
It was a confirmation work done out of curiosity after seeing the condition of the body.
Still, I thought the possibility was low, but I felt absurd when the assumption I had in my head turned out to be true.
‘Sama Seju, this guy has gone so far.’
At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
It occurred to me that things might not turn out as easily as I thought.
* * *
Shandong (山東), Hwang Bo-se.
My group and I finally arrived at our destination and unpacked our luggage at our accommodation.
Because they had made contact with each other in advance, the members of the Hwangbo family warmly welcomed the members of the Cheonan Gambu.
Of course, it was visible that they only welcomed it on the outside, but were very wary on the inside.
“Yes, may I ask why Director Cheonan-gam, who is renowned throughout the central plains, visited my home?”
My living room in Gajujeon.
The head of the Hwangbo family and the head of the Taesang family sat across from me across a long table.
Both of them were strong players with high reputations throughout the midfield.
In particular, Hwang Bo-gak, the previous head of the family, was an absolute master who occupied the first seat of the Ten Heavenly Emperors and was the King of Fist of his time.
Originally, he would have died at the hands of a vampire demon, but as history changed due to his return, he is still alive and well to this day.
“I have a suggestion for you, matriarch.”
“proposal?”
“yes. “It will be a mutually beneficial deal.”
“When you say that, it makes me curious. “Tell me about it.”
“Don’t you want to get rid of the Yue family from Shandong?”
“······!”
“Although they are currently unable to demonstrate their power properly due to the pressure of the Hwangbo family, I believe that the head of the family knows how great the power of the Ak family is.”
Hwang Bose-ju’s eyes narrowed.
I would suddenly wonder why I was saying this.
It was a fact known to all martial artists that I had a close relationship with Eum-gwi, the head of the Taesang family of Shandong music.
“Didn’t you say it was a mutually beneficial offer?”
“That’s right.”
“Why is it in your interest to get rid of the evil family? “I just don’t understand.”
“You misunderstood. “I said I would remove the music, but I did not say I would eliminate it.”
“Isn’t that what you mean?”
“no. “I may have used some harsh expressions to upset the head of the family, but I have no intention of destroying my relationship with the evil family.”
I had no intention of arousing suspicion by lying needlessly.
Just revealing the facts as they are will be enough to achieve the goal.
The important thing was to gain the trust of Hwang Bose-ju.
“if?”
“I plan to have the Yue family leave Shandong and settle in Jiangsu.”
“······!”
“I hope Hwang Bose will help us with that.”
Now was the point.
It is said that the relationship between the Hwangbo family and the Shandong music family was bad, but that was because the two families were competing with each other for regional interests.
If a common goal existed, it would be quite possible for the two generations to join hands as long as their interests did not conflict.
For the Shandong Akga, it was good because they could gain a strong ally to help with their migration plan, and for the Hwangbo family, it was good because they could drive out the thorny Murim family from the region.
Of course, it was unclear whether Hwang Bose, who had nothing to regret, would simply try to help the Shandong Musicians.
You could just sit by and let them take care of your own affairs, or you could just pretend to help a little and then get out of the way.
What I have to do from now on is coordination in that regard.
I continued talking with a smile on my face.
“I can assure you that it will be an alliance that brings good results to both the Hwangbo family and the Shandong music family.”
martial arts,
