Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker/Notes : Saphartlantis
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Chapter 406: Try Being Deceived by the Young Cult Leader Once
Geom Mugeuk could feel the Great Drunken Demon’s resolve.
That he had made up his mind to kill everyone involved in this matter.
Since he had made up his mind, it was a decision that Geom Mugeuk could neither interfere with nor attempt to. This was the decision of the Demon Supreme.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Lee Ahn. She was looking at Song Sa-hyuk, her face flushed. Lee Ahn, too, was instinctively feeling it. What the Great Drunken Demon had resolved to do. The Demon Supreme’s determination, even more terrifying because he was not drunk.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Han Seol.
‘Can you feel it?’
How could Han Seol not feel Song Sa-hyuk’s emotions? She simply could not understand.
‘Why is he going this far?’
It didn’t seem like a relationship worth going this far for. If she had truly been someone he loved, he would not have stayed apart. At best, they exchanged letters and liquor once or twice a year. Wasn’t that all their relationship amounted to?
Humans could deceive and betray others even while staring directly into their eyes, so what could possibly exist between people who hadn’t even seen each other's faces?[a]
However, there was one thing she could sympathize with.
"It is true that there is something suspicious about the Former Master Brewer’s death."
Geom Mugeuk said to her.
"Please assist us actively so that the Ice Palace can help resolve this matter."
"What is it that you wish for?"
Geom Mugeuk looked at Song Sa-hyuk. He had intended to leave this matter entirely in his hands.
However, the Great Drunken Demon showed an unexpected reaction.
"Let the Young Cult Leader decide. A smarter person should use their head."
"You made such a brilliant deduction just a moment ago, though?"
"That was because I know that person well."
It was clear that the Demon Supreme was a smart person just from the fact he made such a judgment.
Song Sa-hyuk spoke to Geom Mugeuk with his eyes.
―Take me to those bastards.
Geom Mugeuk answered with his eyes.
―I surely will.
Geom Mugeuk said to Han Seol.
"Please grant me just one favor. I do not need any other help. Just that one will suffice."
Han Seol was curious. What kind of favor would make him say it was the only thing he needed?
"Please join our investigation team, Young Palace Master."
At the unexpected request, Han Seol’s eyes widened.
"Let’s solve this together, the four of us!"
The Great Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn exclaimed in admiration.
If Han Seol joined, they wouldn’t need to separately ask her for various favors anymore. By moving with her, they could handle most things within the Ice Palace.
It was truly like the moment when the devil asks, ‘What is your wish?’ and you answer, ‘To have you’.[b]
Moreover, hidden within this request was another secret intention of Geom Mugeuk that neither Lee Ahn nor Song Sa-hyuk knew. Since the Blood King might target her, he wanted to keep her close.
"Are you sincere in what you are saying?"
"I am sincere."
The words of refusal rose up to Han Seol’s throat. Being around people was something her instincts rejected.
Even so, the reason she did not immediately refuse was because she, too, thought that the Former Master Brewer had not committed suicide. If so, then for the sake of the Ice Palace as well, they had to find the murderer.
"Aren’t I helping even now?"
"But you are not helping as an ally, are you?"
"!"
That was true. She had unilaterally accepted this proposal and said to her mother that she wanted to find out what kind of person the Young Cult Leader was. To be more precise, it was because she wanted to show that she could see through the exaggerated rumors.
‘To side with them?’
Han Seol looked at the three of them with a renewed feeling.
It was truly a strange combination. That excessively beautiful subordinate had come all the way to the Northern Sea to save the husband of a woman who had simply served her a glass of water.
The Great Drunken Demon, who claimed to be abstaining from alcohol, sought revenge for someone he had occasionally exchanged liquor and letters with.
And Geom Mugeuk, who was praised as a transcendent being but seemed more like a swindler, was asking her to join them.[c]
Han Seol shook her head with an expression that said she could not understand. But her decision was the opposite of her action.
"Alright, I’ll join too. But I have a condition."
"Please state it."
"While handling this matter, you must not hide anything from me."
"Good, I will tell you everything without omission. But you must also promise. You must not run away saying you don’t want to hear it. You must not say it pains your ears."
Thus, Han Seol also became a member investigating this case. However, the real challenge she had to overcome was just beginning.
"Then, first, move your lodging immediately. You should stay with Lee Ahn."
"Move my lodging?"
"Why are you so surprised? From now on, we are one family. Naturally, we should sleep together, eat together, and think together."
One family? Han Seol was already regretting her decision to join. Just agreeing to become a member had already been a big decision for her.
‘What on earth do you want from me?’
Even while clearly emanating such resistance, Geom Mugeuk pretended not to notice and said to her.
"There is a strength that comes from the experience of eating and sleeping together. Take this opportunity and experience it."
Han Seol looked at Lee Ahn. Sleep with that woman? She had never even shared a room with someone before.
At this point, Geom Mugeuk looked after Lee Ahn.
"I apologize for deciding without consulting you first."
"No, I’m fine."
Lee Ahn said to Han Seol.
"Please grant me the honor of being with the Young Palace Master."
The Great Drunken Demon added a word as well.
"This is important to me, so I ask the Young Palace Master to yield just once."
Though reluctant, Han Seol finally gave her consent.
"Alright, let’s do that."
It wasn’t because of those two. Han Seol had just begun her duel against Geom Mugeuk. She would surely prove that Geom Mugeuk was someone who shook and used people with words.
"What should we do now?"
Not only Han Seol, who asked the question, but also Song Sa-hyuk and Lee Ahn were at a loss. What investigation should they conduct now? Should they meet more people around them? Or should they even look through old records?
Fortunately, Geom Mugeuk was standing before the path they had to take.
"We must question it. Why was the Former Master Brewer targeted? Among so many people in the Ice Palace, why did it have to specifically be the Master of the Hundred Liquors Snow Courtyard?"
And Geom Mugeuk found the answer from one person. Since it was in front of Han Seol, he spoke respectfully.
"I believe the Demon Supreme already knows the answer."
The gazes of the two women turned to Song Sa-hyuk. Everyone was surprised, but the Great Drunken Demon was the most shocked.
"I know the reason?"
"That’s correct. Even if you don't know who did it, you will know why they did it."
"I don't know, though?"
Song Sa-hyuk looked as flustered as if he were being accused of being the murderer, but Geom Mugeuk was firm.
"No, you do know."
There was a reason why Geom Mugeuk believed this.
"The Former Master Brewer had no problems within the Hundred Liquors Snow Courtyard, nor did she practice any powerful martial arts. She wasn't someone with power, grudges, or secrets either. Then what could be the reason?"
The reason why Geom Mugeuk said the Great Drunken Demon knew was contained in this final statement.
"Her death must surely be related to liquor."
* * *
When the carriage entered the Northern Blood Gate, Yang Joong finally felt relief.
‘I have returned home.’
The carriage did not stop until it reached deep within the inner grounds, arriving at the grand hall.
Yang Joong got off the carriage. His father had not ridden back in the same carriage. They could have chatted about various things on the way, but they hadn't.
He was angry. Yang Joong understood such a father. The Northern Blood Gate was more precious to him than his own child. Given the great loss they suffered this time, it was only natural he was angry at Yang Joong.
On the other hand, once Yang Joong actually returned home, his resentment toward his father softened.
Although his father had abandoned him when the enemy demanded a hostage exchange, it was still his father who had made a deal with the Northern Sea Ice Palace and rescued him. Anyway, he survived — that was enough.
His father was alone in the grand hall. He had sent away all the martial artists who usually guarded the place.
‘He intends to scold me for my mistake.’
He probably did not want to tarnish his son's honor in front of the subordinates. Feeling his father's consideration, Yang Joong’s heart softened even more.
"Father."
His father remained silent, turning his back, looking out the window. Somehow, today that back looked even more unfamiliar and frightening.
Yang Joong shifted all the blame onto the Demonic Cult.
"I really didn’t expect the Demonic Cult bastards to intervene."
Then the Northern Blood Gate Leader asked coldly.
"Why did you reveal it?"
"What do you mean?"
"The laboratory’s location."
In that instant, Yang Joong’s heart sank. He had forgotten. He had revealed all the places where captives might be held.
‘I spoke to survive. You rejected the hostage exchange and abandoned me, so I did it to survive!’
However, the two of them were not the kind to have such frank conversations.
Forcing down the surging emotions, Yang Joong said exactly as Geom Mugeuk had taught him.
"I revealed it to lure them there and capture them. I believed that if the laboratory had been moved, you would have surely prepared countermeasures at the new location."
But it did not work on his father.
"If you had no choice but to reveal something because they threatened to kill you, you should have told them a location other than the laboratory. You should have stubbornly insisted, 'I only know that place'."
‘It was a situation of life and death, Father!’
Yang Joong offered no excuses. It would have been nice if the scolding ended there, but the true reprimand was just beginning.
"Because of you, Hwang Soo died."
Hwang Soo was the person conducting experiments at that place.
‘So what? Is that guy’s death more important than your son surviving?’
It was something he had always harbored in his heart. But he could not say it out loud. It would only further provoke his father's anger. His father would only dismiss it as childish whining and brand him as unable to distinguish between public and private matters.[d]
"I was wrong. I will never make such a mistake again."
But his father did not forgive him.
"Leave."
"!"
"Go to Zhejiang, and do not return until I tell you to."
Zhejiang was far, far away from here. Being told to leave for Zhejiang was nothing short of a death sentence for Yang Joong.
Yang Joong was shocked by the fact that his father was trying to drive him away.
His father had set up a succession battle between his two sons. His father had not concentrated his trust solely on his eldest son. Because of that, Yang Joong had held onto hope. That he, too, could become the successor.
So he had done absolutely everything.
For the Northern Blood Gate, and for his father. He had committed all kinds of deeds that must never be known to the world.
But now he could see. It had never been a dream shared with his father. He had dreamed alone.
"I refuse. I will not leave!"
Yang Joong screamed. Until now, he had always been too afraid of his father to reveal his true feelings, but now he no longer held back.
"I did everything you ordered. If you told me to kill, I killed. If you told me to abduct, I abducted. And now you tell me to leave? I refuse!"
‘You used me like a hunting dog. If your child is a hunting dog, then what are you, Father?’
It was something he could not bring himself to say out loud. But thinking about what would happen next, it was resentment he might as well have voiced in full.
Puk!
With the sound of flesh being torn, Yang Joong’s words and movements came to a halt.
His head lowered as he stared at the bloodstained sword blade protruding from his chest. Was it because he was too shocked? It did not even hurt.
Although he had seen swords pierce people countless times, this scene now felt so unfamiliar.
Who could have done this? Someone who could have entered this place?
Slowly turning his head to look behind, he saw that the person who had stabbed him was the very one who had first come to his mind.
It was Yang Seok, the eldest son of the Northern Blood Gate and his older brother.
Since his brother had always regarded him as a thorn in the eye during the succession battle, it was no surprise he would do such a thing.
What Yang Joong could not understand right now was their father. That father who was silently watching this scene. His brother would never have dared to commit such an act without Yang Shin's permission. If he refused to leave, he was ordered to be killed.
"……Why did you even save me?"
In response to the resentful question, a cold answer flowed out.
"I could not allow the bloodline of the Northern Blood Gate to die at the hands of others. He could only die by our hands."
It was absurd. If that were truly the case, he should have agreed to the hostage exchange. Instead of killing him, he should have somehow sent him to Zhejiang. If he refused to go, he should have persuaded him. Even if he had to bind him and send him. If he were truly a father, he should have….[e]
Yang Joong’s resentment ended there.
Puk!
The sword was roughly pulled out, and Yang Joong spewed blood from his chest and collapsed, dying instantly.
Joo Gyu and Hwang Chu, who had been kidnapped along with Yang Joong, had already been disposed of earlier.
The Northern Blood Gate Leader said to Yang Seok.
"The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult is staying at the Ice Palace and has begun investigating this matter."
"I will sever any ties that could connect us."
"This is a matter of life and death for us, so handle it with utmost caution."
"Please leave it to me."
After Yang Seok left, Yang Shin looked down at his dead son. His heart ached. But it was a pain he could endure. If the Northern Blood Gate were to collapse, that would be unbearable.[f]
* * *
The Great Drunken Demon was strolling through the yard.
‘I know the answer. The answer lies within me.’
He found Geom Mugeuk’s speculation plausible. She wasn’t someone who would have made enemies. If she had been caught in a conspiracy, it would surely have been related to liquor.
While walking, he took out the letters exchanged with her and read them. Then he walked some more, stopped, and read another letter. He gazed up at the sky, lost in thought, and walked again.
Lee Ahn was watching Song Sa-hyuk from the window by the room.
"The Demon Supreme seems deeply troubled."
Han Seol sat silently on the edge of the bed without answering. She hadn’t even unpacked her belongings.
"Do you regret it? Deciding to join us?"
Han Seol only sent a cold gaze, still without speaking.
Lee Ahn said no more and returned her gaze out the window.
The outside was heavy with seriousness, and so was the inside. The one who had burdened these two women with such deep worries, Geom Mugeuk, had left saying he had to go somewhere for a while.
At that moment, Han Seol suddenly spoke from behind.
"Don’t you think you’re being deceived?"
Lee Ahn turned her head to look at Han Seol.
"By the Young Cult Leader?"
Han Seol nodded.
Lee Ahn could tell how Han Seol viewed her. She thought Lee Ahn was being deceived and used by Geom Mugeuk.
At first, Lee Ahn thought about just smiling and letting it pass, but then she decided otherwise. It was fine for someone to think that way about her, but she could not tolerate someone thinking that way about Geom Mugeuk.
"Maybe."
She spoke as if acknowledging it easily, but that was the beginning of ‘properly letting her know about Geom Mugeuk’.
"By being deceived like that, I cured the side effects from the martial arts I had learned. I never mentioned it, but it had been a deeply troubling issue for me."
Lee Ahn did not reveal the specific details about the side effects.
"By being deceived like that, I learned swordsmanship I could never have even dreamed of, and I became the leader of an organization I could never have even dreamed of joining. By being deceived like that, I also became the adopted daughter of someone I could have never even dreamed of calling father."
Han Seol wasn’t particularly curious about whatever swordsmanship or whatever organization, but she was curious about who that person she called "father" was.
"Who are you talking about?"
Lee Ahn answered honestly. It was not something that needed to be kept secret anyway.[g]
"It is the Demon Supreme of our cult, the Fist Demon King."
Han Seol was extremely shocked when she heard that Lee Ahn was the daughter of Dan Woo gang.
‘This woman is the daughter of the Fist Demon King?’
Was that why the Young Cult Leader cherished her? No, that was not it. Lee Ahn was saying that it was because she met Geom Mugeuk that she was able to become the daughter of the Fist Demon King.
"By being deceived like that, I became drinking companions with the Underworld Pavilion Lord and the Demonic Army Commander, and the one who was supposed to become the next Demon Supreme after the Evil Smiling Demon became a squad leader of the organization I lead."
Each statement Lee Ahn made was so extraordinary that Han Seol began to suspect she might be lying. But would she dare to lie to her face? It was something that could easily be verified.
"And now, I am conversing with the Young Palace Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. If I had not been deceived by the Young Master, I would have spent my life just guarding the door."
Lee Ahn’s gaze was clearer and calmer than ever.
"Wouldn’t letting myself continue to be deceived like this be a good life?"
It wasn’t only to clear the misunderstanding about Geom Mugeuk. If it had been someone else, she might have just let it go.
Yet, strangely, she wanted to tell Han Seol properly. Even though that cold Young Palace Master was not someone she was particularly fond of.
"It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Sometimes, even I can’t believe it. There are times when I wonder if this is all just a dream. That’s why I said it before. I asked you to try believing once. Ah, now I should say it differently."
After a brief pause, Lee Ahn spoke.
"Try being deceived by the Young Cult Leader once."
The two women’s gazes intertwined in the air. Han Seol could not understand, nor could she believe it. But in Lee Ahn’s clear eyes looking at her, there was no trace of falsehood.
Just then, the Great Drunken Demon burst into the room urgently, looking for Geom Mugeuk.
"Where is the Young Cult Leader? Where is he?"
"He said he had something to take care of and went out. What’s the matter?"
Song Sa-hyuk was slightly agitated, and with good reason.
"I found the answer within myself!"
[a]People also deceive their hearts, believing they don't need some relationships as much as they truly need.... Until it is too late.
[b]Works best when it's a cute and kind demon waifu.
It's quick a lot more complicated when it's a wailing beast of a thousand skinned corpses, cunning and waiting for the slightest opening to devour you too.
[c]One doesn't prevent the other ^^
[d]It would have been better for their relationship if he had the courage to open his heart.
But then again, it doesn't work if you're the only one making effort.
[e]Wonder how many children's lives are ruined from seeking affection from toxic parents.
he could have been so much more away from this pernicious influence, but alas his wings were clipped so fast.
He wasn't a good person, but much can be attributed to his education. In any case, goodbye.
[f]It's falling anyways, might have been better to live your last days as a family.
Meh, can't say you deserve it anyways.
[g]Nor it is possible to hide it, really.
The Fist Demon King adopting the most beautiful woman in the world ?
That's just diamond-grade gossip XDXDXD