Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 308: Not Knowing the Heart of the One Beside You
I felt relieved that the traitor turned out to be the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme.
If it had been one of the other Demon Supremes who betrayed us—even if he lived a different life in this reincarnation—then no matter what, it would’ve been hard for me to look at him without unease.
Now I could make a certain assumption.
Just as Baek Cheongyeong existed in the Martial Alliance and Yasuo was compromised in our cult, it meant someone must also be plotting within the Unorthodox Alliance.
Strangely, I felt hopeful. Up until now, Hwa Moogi had felt like a force of nature—an absolute existence no human could stop. But now I realized all of it was the result of years of meticulous preparation. 1
Cheong Seon’s eyes had returned completely to normal.
Once she came to her senses, she let out a sigh upon discovering the corpse of Sa Woojong in front of her.
Then, noticing that I was there, she flinched.
“Young Cult Leader?”
She immediately began blaming herself. Though she was unaware she had been under the Soul Reaping Art, everything else about her was back to normal. She clearly remembered that she had lost control and cast the Soul Reaping Art on Sa Woojong. 2
“I gave in to his provocation.”
Cheong Seon looked down at the corpse with a conflicted expression, as if she hadn’t really meant to kill him. Even if it had ended in disaster, they had once shared a bed.
“I’ve no face to see you, Young Cult Leader.”
Her voice trembled slightly. It seemed she felt both ashamed and guilty for killing Sa Woojong after entrusting the matter to me.
“I just can’t understand. That man acted like he wanted to die by my hand. It was the same last time, but today, it was as if he came fully determined.”
Since what was done was done, I consoled her.
“Seems he wanted to die by a Demon Supreme’s hand. If he provoked you while prepared to die, then it couldn’t have been helped.”
“No, no matter what he said, I should’ve still held back more.”
She was truly remorseful. Yes, if she was to live as a Demon Supreme going forward, she would need to control her emotions no matter how severe the provocation. This incident would serve as a valuable experience for her.
“He deserved to die. However, Sa Woojong was a martial artist from the Northern Heavens Sword Family. We can’t just bury this incident.”
A flicker of worry passed across Cheong Seon’s face. If this got out, there would surely be severe gossip.
“Demon Supreme.”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
“Can you trust me to the end?”
Cheong Seon’s eyes trembled faintly. There is nothing more empowering than having someone you can rely on when you're cornered. She gave a nod.
“Leave what comes next to me, and return for now. I’ll have the Underworld Pavilion take care of the body.”
Just as she was about to turn away, Cheong Seon asked me,
“But… how did you know to come here?”
I couldn’t tell her about Hwan Yeo.
“I was secretly investigating Sa Woojong. I’d received a report that he went to meet you, so I came to see what he was really planning.”
“I see. It’s shameful to say, but I’ll leave the rest to you, Young Cult Leader.”
After giving me a polite fist salute, Cheong Seon left the place.
Left alone, I looked down at Sa Woojong’s corpse. He had claimed to know One-Slash Sword Supreme’s weakness, but that secret was now buried forever with his death.
Hwan Yeo.
As I thought, she hadn’t changed from before the regression. She used him as much as she wanted, then discarded him without a second thought.
If Hwan Yeo was in the garden, then where was Hwan Wang? Was he nearby? Or somewhere else entirely?
After leaving the guest hall, I returned straight to the Underworld Pavilion.
When I’d suddenly dashed off in the middle of our conversation, Seo Daeryong had been left wondering what was going on. If he hadn’t brought up the flowerpot, I might not have recalled Hwan Yeo in time.
“Sa Woojong is dead.”
Seo Daeryong was visibly shocked. He had just been reporting on the surveillance findings about him, and now I was saying he was dead. Of course he would be surprised.
“As expected! Whenever the Young Cult Leader rushes off, evildoers always end up dead!”
His words were half-joking, half-serious. I shook my head.
“This time, it wasn’t me.”
“Then who killed him?”
“Cheong Seon.”
Seo Daeryong asked, startled.
“What on earth happened?”
I only told him that the owner of the garden was behind it all.
“That woman used Sa Woojong to cast the Soul Reaping Art on the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme.”
“Is that even possible? Well… I suppose she is still young.”
“Even so, it’s no easy feat. That’s how formidable the other party is.”
Seo Daeryong’s face turned grave. After all, it was a conspiracy against none other than the Soul Reaper, among all Demon Supremes.
“Do you know who that woman in the garden is?”
Even if it was Seo Daeryong, I couldn’t tell him she was Hwan Yeo, so I shook my head.
“Stop the special investigation and place the garden under surveillance. Use capable people, and keep it very discreet. These are people plotting against the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme. Just monitor for large movements from afar. Also, send the Enforcement Martial Artists to recover Sa Woojong’s body.”
“Understood.”
I couldn’t predict what Hwan Yeo would do next. Since she had cast the Soul Reaping Art, it was possible she might leave for now. But she might also stay nearby to maintain control over Cheong Seon.
“What do you plan to do now?”
This wasn’t something I could resolve alone—or with just the Underworld Pavilion. The Soul Reaping Art might not work on me, but I couldn’t remove it once it was cast on someone else.
“I need to send a letter right away to call them back.”
“To whom?”
“To the only person who can resolve this.”
They were the only one, but when they came, two would arrive.
“I lost.”
The old man admitted defeat. He was a well-known Go player in the area. About a month ago, a young man had come seeking to learn from him, and he’d taken money per match to teach him.
At first, the skill gap had been large, so he gave the youth handicap stones. But with every game, his opponent grew stronger—until eventually, he surpassed him. Now, the improvement was almost unbelievable.
“How did you get so good, so fast? Don’t tell me you were tricking me from the start?”
The one who had learned Go from the old man was Gowol. He smiled, placed the lesson fee next to the board, and stood up.
“Thank you for teaching me all this time.”
It was a farewell, a clear sign he wouldn’t be coming back to learn anymore.
“Just one more game!”
But the old man had already lost three in a row.
“Please don’t be upset. It’s only thanks to your great teaching, sir.”
After a respectful bow, Gowol left the place.
Watching from nearby, the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader commented to the old man,
“He’s right, you know. That guy was already a Go expert. He’s a sly bastard. He tricked you from the start just to pull a big reversal and show off.”
But the old man didn’t agree with him at all. Instead, his frustration turned on Jeong Dae.
“You’re the one who looks sly.”
The ex Cult Leader crouched down beside the old man.
“Come now, don’t say that just because all you do is play Go. I’m someone who’s never once been called sly in my whole life.”
“You look so naturally sly that people probably just stayed cautious around you. You never got the chance to be sly in the first place.”
Trying to tease Gowol ended up making Jeong Dae look like the sly one, and he snapped.
“I’m a martial arts master! You can’t just talk to me like that!”
“I’m turning eighty-seven soon. What are you gonna do?”
The two locked eyes in a fiery stare-down. “I’m an old man ready to die tomorrow” was the overwhelming aura the old man gave off—and even as a former Cult Leader, Jeong Dae had no chance against it.
Just then, Gowol called out to him from afar.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
The ex Cult Leader, sulking like a kid, swiped his hand across the board and scattered all the stones. 3
“Must be nice being old!”
He lightly leapt through the air and landed near Gowol, who stood waiting at the gate far ahead. From behind, the old man’s voice rang out, “Tch, you sly, petty bastard!”
The two left the house together.
“Old people really have no fear.”
“Come on, you think he’s like that because he’s fearless? He figured out our cult leader’s kind heart. He read him like an open book.”
“Why do people always take you lightly when you treat them well!”
“Let’s be honest—you didn’t treat him all that well. You just sat next to him whining about being bored, hungry, and asking when it’d be over.”
“What the—did you and the Go teacher become best friends while I wasn’t looking? Was this all a setup?”
Gowol chuckled and quickened his pace.
“Let’s head to the next branch.”
“Again? Now that you’re a Go master, let’s just head back already.”
Gowol had claimed he wouldn’t return until he became a Go master, but that had only been an excuse. In truth, he had been pouring everything into getting Hidden Moon, his information network, running properly. Visiting every branch, checking, and inspecting. Doing his best to make sure things moved systematically on their own, even without his supervision.
“No matter what we do, the Young Cult Leader never appreciates it. Only shows up when he needs something—‘Help me with this,’ ‘Tell me about that!’ All he ever says is, ‘As expected of our strategist Go!’ Just empty praise.”
As he spoke, he glanced back. Every time he complained, Geom Mugeuk would suddenly appear behind him, so he was checking just in case.
“You’re not hoping the Young Cult Leader will show up, are you?”
“What are you talking about!”
Sometimes, he did miss him. That was why, at times, he’d talk trash about him even more—secretly hoping he would appear from behind, saying, ‘So, badmouthing me again, I see’. 4
“That heartless guy has totally forgotten about us. Even though we’re making him tons of money.”
Except for top-tier intel sent only to him, they sold other information to martial artists. The profits from those sales were what kept the organization running.
The Heavenly Communication Pavilion might be run directly by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but Hidden Moon was different. There was no way an organization as vast and widespread as a spiderweb across the Central Plains could run on Geom Mugeuk’s money alone. 5
“The Young Master is just greedy.”
“He’s not greedy. Last time he came, he gave me a huge sum of money—and even ordered me to use it however I wanted, for myself.”
“Well, after all the trouble he put you through, that’s only fair. But what about me? Why’d you get it and not me?”
“The Cult Leader’s rich.”
“How does that make it fair? Is a rich man’s suffering not real suffering?”
At that moment, Gowol suddenly said something unexpected.
“That suffering—I should be the one to carry it.”
“Why would you?”
“Because the Cult Leader willingly went through it for my sake, not for the Young Cult Leader.”
Then Gowol pulled something out from inside his robes and handed it to his dear friend.
Upon seeing what it was, Jeong Dae was stunned. It was a house deed. Even more shocking—the owner listed was himself.
“You said you wanted a house in the Central Plains, right? It’s yours.”
The hands holding the deed trembled slightly.
The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had always dreamed of owning a home in the Central Plains. Over drinks with Gowol, he would sometimes mention his desire to buy one. Back when he was still acting as the Cult Leader, he used to dream grandly about expanding into the Central Plains. But now, even as he roamed the land freely, he found it strangely difficult to secure even a modest home.
To him, owning a home in the Central Plains would mean finally leaving the Wilderness behind and truly settling down here.
“I bought it using the money the Young Cult Leader gave me this time, plus all the monthly wages you were owed.”
“Why did you buy this?!”
Gowol answered flatly.
“Because I thought it’d be nice if you had a house. It’s my gift.”
Jeong Dae was moved. He’d received countless expensive gifts in his lifetime, but never had one made him this happy.
“I’ve got a lot of money.”
“I know. You could buy hundreds of homes like this one.”
“Thousands!”
“Yet you never bought a single one. Why not? We’ve traveled all over the Central Plains—you could’ve bought one in each region.”
The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader remained silent. Gowol had read his heart perfectly.
“You probably thought: ‘Should I really buy something like this?’ Even if you’ve stepped down, you were once the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. You probably felt guilty toward the juniors back in the Wilderness.”
How did he know? That had definitely been part of it.
“I’m not guilty! Why should I be? I gave them all their proper places, even passed on the leadership!”
Then Gowol brought up another reason.
“You also didn’t want the Young Cult Leader to see you buying a house while supposedly ‘helping the strategist.’ Afraid he’d say, ‘So that’s what you’re doing out here?’ right?”
Of course, that was part of it too. Gowol really understood him to a frightening degree.
“Why would I care what Geom Mugeuk thinks! I’m buying with my money.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
But the real reason ran deeper.
Jeong Dae gave him a look that said, ‘You really don’t get my heart?’—and finally revealed the true reason.
“I couldn’t just buy one and enjoy it by myself, could I? If I’m going to buy a house, I need to buy two close to each other so we can live as neighbors, right? It wouldn’t feel right enjoying it alone. I had to talk it over with you first. But you were so busy with work, I couldn’t exactly ask you to go house-hunting with me, could I? What? You don’t want to live next to me?”
The two of them locked eyes in the empty air between them.
The ex Cult Leader averted his gaze and muttered like he was spitting the words out.
“What kind of strategist are you if you don’t even understand the person next to you? The Young Master picked the wrong guy! He should’ve taken that old Go teacher instead! That sly old man who called me out—he’d be a hundred times better!”
In response, Gowol pulled something else out of his robes.
“That’s why I bought another house nearby. This one’s under my name.” 6
The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stood there dazed for a moment, like someone who had lost his soul. After staring blankly at Gowol for a long time, he suddenly asked,
“It’s not bigger than mine, right?”
Gowol burst out laughing.
“I know my dear friend well enough to never make that mistake. I picked the smaller one.”
“Good.”
“Your house… it doesn’t even compare to the one you used to live in. So don’t be disappointed later when you see it and think it’s too small.”
“I should be disappointed. I was the Cult Leader! The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, remember!”
Jeong Dae gazed out toward the distant mountains. Watching Gowol, he felt like he might cry. Receiving the house was nice, but knowing that Gowol had bought one for himself right next to it made him ten times happier. That was the real gift.
‘Someday, I’ll build you the biggest house in the Central Plains. Even bigger than the Young Master’s.’
That was Jeong Dae’s true heart.
It was then that a subordinate arrived and delivered a message scroll.
“From who?”
“The Young Cult Leader.”
“You see why I have to curse him? It’s a perfectly good day, and now he sends a message scroll to make us do something? Tell him no! Tell him we’re not doing it!”
Gowol handed the scroll to his friend.
“He’s not asking for me. He says he needs your help.”
Jeong Dae flinched, his eyes going wide.
“Me? Not you, but me? Are you sure? He really said he needs my help?”
“He says he desperately needs you and wants you to come back quickly.”
The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s shoulders lifted toward the sky as he feigned grumpiness.
“What’s this? Now that there’s nothing left of value to steal from you, he’s turning to me to use me up?”
“Want me to send a reply saying you’re not coming?”
Acting like he couldn’t help it, Jeong Dae responded with an exasperated sigh,
“Might as well go back and check out the new house!”
He strode forward in big, exaggerated steps. Gowol followed behind and said,
“But the houses we bought are in the opposite direction from the cult headquarters.”
Jeong Dae pretended not to hear and picked up his pace. 7
Gowol followed with a laugh. At last, they were heading back to the Cult. It was a joyful return after successfully completing the mission of building a good intelligence network.
Unlike earlier at the Go master’s home, this time his friend was the one calling Gowol from ahead, waving his hand to hurry him along.
“What are you doing? Hurry up already!”
1 : Well he is, he just has tremendous support too.
2 : Feeew, so she’s not mindwiped ‘yet’. But being under an unknown hypnotic suggestion is still pretty bad.
3 : Lol, what a kid. Such pettiness XDXDXD
4 : Lol, cursing him to summon him via ear itching ? XDXDXD
5 : ‘Historically’ accurate. Hidden Moon appears as a neutral information network in many stories, their spying level similar to the Beggar Sect.
6 : Lol, he just exposed his feelings for nothing XDXDXD And to think he tried to be considerate too ^^
7 : “We’ll tour the Central Plains in the reverse direction first !!! It’ll make the anticipation better.” ^^