Zhuge Taeryong looked like he just ate a pile of shit. Never had he ever been insulted in the open like this from anyone other than his father. No, not even his father dared to speak like that in public. He could not believe Namgung Heewon had just cursed him in front of all these people.
“This… this…”, Taeryong sputtered in utter disbelief.
“What? Are you going to keep being a retard?”, Namgung Heewon spat at Taeryong while glaring.
Namgung Heewon spat out the facts back at Zhuge Taeryong, not holding himself the least.
“Do you remember how many people you killed on your way here with your stubbornness? We’ve had 50 people here! 50! Now we’re not even half that number! Your entire group of followers have been killed and there’s even more people at risk among our groups because of you!”
“That’s…”, Taeryong’s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
“Oh, of course! We’re idiots who followed you here without knowing that you’re such a jerk. But I can’t do it anymore. You all want to catch the Ghost Gun here, and if they do it, it would be glorious to all of Murim! Bullshit. If you want to die a dog’s death go ahead. But I value my life so keep me out of your idiotic plans.”, Namgung Heewon said venomously and glanced over to Lee Sungmin.
Lee Sungmin stood still and looked at Namgoong Heewon. Heewon looked down in shame and gasped for breath as he had spoken the most he had ever spoken since embarking on the expedition.
“Aish. Ghost Gun, this Namgung Heewon will no longer chase after you. If you could still think of this foolish person in light of our old connection we used to have, could you let this Namgung Heewon go back?”
Namgung Heewon spoke, choosing his words carefully. He no longer had the face to call Lee Sungmin his brother. Lee Sungmin nodded his head with a bitter smile in response.
“If you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you either.”, Sungmin replied in a low voice.
“Thank you.”, Namgung Heewon responded and bowed deeply.
Namgung Heewon then raised his posture upright and turned around. It wasn’t that mockery didn’t bother him. However, if Namgung Heewon tried to force Murong Seojin back with him safely, he would get in trouble later in the Zhuge territory in Devon. Namgung Heewon bit his lower lip bitterly knowing how difficult the situation still was.
In the end it may be that he didn’t have the courage to stand up against everyone else. He may be a completely morally upright person in the Namgung clan. But, those values come to fruition only in dire circumstances like this one. So, he had to make the choice whether to get in trouble with the Zhuge or be the upstanding person he always had been.
“Let’s go back to Namgung Family.”, Heewon said.
“Are you confident of getting out of this forest?”, Zhuge Taeryong uttered harshly as if mocking Heewon.
“It’ll work out somehow. I think it’s better to wander through this forest than to die trying to kill a foe you can’t even fathom.”, Heewon replied to Taeryong’s remark mocking him right back.
Dang Ah-Hui wanted to give up and get out of this place as soon as possible, so she tried to stick to Heewon who seemingly finally had a method to get out. She grabbed her wet trousers and raised herself. She looked around and said in a busy voice.
“Me, me too. I’m going back to my family.”, she spoke with as much pride as she could muster, which was little to none.
“Oh, you too…?!”, Taeryong shouted out in displeasure and mockery.
“Brother Zhuge… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do any more.”, she replied in a meek voice.
Not only did she wet her pants, but she was utterly helpless in the entire battle that happened. She was a mess.
In the end, only Zhuge Taeryong, Murong Seojin, and the Black Dog unit remained. Lee Sungmin looked over to the Leader of the Black Dog, Chuck, completely ignoring Zhuge Taeryong. The Black Dog unit was completely unscathed. It’s not that they were skilled in fighting, they just ran out of the way to ensure survival.
“What about you?”, Lee Sungmin now turned to face Taeryong.
It was Lee Sungmin who held the power in this place. He would be the one to decide the final decision, not Taeryong, not the Black Dog, no one except for him. In Devon, Zhuge Taeryong was the top dog, he held all the power because in the cities, influence and money were taken into account for one’s power. But in this forest, he was nothing in front of Lee Sungmin, where survival of the fittest was the rule.
“Well… I think we’d better get back.”, Chuck muttered sheepishly as he wanted nothing but to keep his life here.
He then glanced over to Zhuge Taeryong and continued to speak,
“I’ll have the Orthodox HQ organize and settle the accounts on this matter. To the extent that it doesn’t harm everyone. But… I’m not good at writing, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask Zhuge Taeryong’s advice on the matter of settling the accounts…”, Chuck continued.
What Chuck just said was an opportunity for Taeryong to walk away from this scotch free with his honor intact. That was the only thing he cared for; his honor and prestige in the family. If he had the access to write the reports he could wrap this up efficiently if he hid and distorted the accounts himself.
“…can’t be helped. I’ll be helping you on the matters then.”, Zhuge Taeryong said, turning his body away trying to maintain his facade of pride.
[What an asshole, he’s trying to act benevolent and powerful, but it’s all a lie he’s fabricating.], Heoju murmured to Lee Sungmin, calling out Taeryong on his bullshit.
‘Leave him alone. It doesn’t matter anymore’, Lee Sungmin quipped to Heoju, just wanting to wrap things up as he was exhausted.
It would be a good thing for Lee Sungmin if Zhuge Taeryong returned without causing a scene. If he got caught up in a scene here and Taeryong tried to incite something, it would only lead to more problems moving forwards.
Zhuge Taeryrong and Murong Seojin left with the Black Dog unit as escorts. It was questionable whether they could get out of the forest without trouble, but Lee Sungmin was too tired to think about such annoying troubles anymore.
“Then now…”, Lee Sungmin muttered to himself collecting his wits about him.
All the business in the Forest of Temptation was settled. Heoju’s Legacy was now given to Lee Sungmin, and the remnants of fear were absorbed by Heoju. Now, it was time to leave and look for the tribes that The Crazy Heavenly Demon knew of.
“Huh?”, Lee Sungmin shouted out in surprise.
Someone jumped up through the pile of corpses. Lee Sungmin, Byuk Won-Pae and Rubia looked at the figure in surprise at the sudden incident.
“Son of a bitch!, I almost died!”
It was the famous sorcerer, Aladdur, who jumped out and surprised them. His heart was pierced by Henemy before, but seemingly there was nothing wrong with him, as if it had never happened in the first place.
“I bet you never imagined my heart was placed in my right chest not the left you son of a bitch!”, he cursed out loud at the mangled corpse of the King of Monsters.
Aladdur rubbed his chest with his hands angrily and still visibly upset. Normally when one had their chest pierced on the left side they would drop dead as most people’s hearts were located there, but Aladdur’s heart was placed on the right. He knew it would be a useless death if he endured it and got up after Henemy initially attacked him. So he played dead and healed his wounds with an elixir while hiding among the corpses.
“Were you alive?”, Lee Sungmin asked surprisedly at Aladdur.
He didn’t even know Aladdur was alive. Lee Sungmin arrived after Henemy was slain so naturally when he didn’t see Aladdur, he thought he had died a long time ago.
“Don’t you see? I’m alive!”, Aladdur shouted out.
“Why are you standing up now? It would have been better if you had gotten up after I had left.”
Lee Sungmin spoke as he didn’t understand why Aladdur had shown up in front of Lee Sungmin, now that his identity as Ghost Gun was out in the open.
“Ay, that’s not even a real question. If you leave, I’ll be left alone in this goddamn forest. If that happens, it’d be obvious I’d only die a dog’s death!”, Aladdur screamed not understanding why Lee Sungmin couldn’t read between the lines.
“So?”, Lee Sungmin asked.
“Please take me with you.”, Aladdur replied as he kneeled down.
Aladdur didn’t hesitate to throw away his pride and kneel if it meant being alive. In the rapid change of posture, Lee Sungmin narrowed his eyes and looked down at Aladdur speculatively.
“…take you with me?”, Lee Sungmin said with skepticism.
“I’ve been forced to track you down by those ignorant fuckers. This forest is a strange place, but everytime I started to cast my spell you were even further away. I came to a hypothesis that you might know your way around this forest. Isn’t that so?”, Aladdur asked pleadingly.
“That’s right.”, Lee Sungmin replied flatly. But, inside his mind he was a little impressed with Aladdur’s speculations.
“That’s why I’m asking you to take me. I can give you as much money as you like.”, Aladdur offered.
“I have no need for money.”, Lee Sungmin spoke obstinately.
“Oh, come on. I’ve been thinking about relationships before…”, Aladdur tiredly tried to convince the stubborn man in front of him.
“It’s all about that relationship that made the deal to track me down in the first place.”, Lee Sungmin said flatly, exposing Aladdur’s reverse logic.
“So… I’m more talented than I look. Especially pathfinding treasures is the breadwinner among my sorcery. Don’t you want to find anything valuable?” Aladdur said so, exposing his talents.
Honestly, even though Lee Sungmin had obtained a boatload of treasures from Heoju, and he could idealistically purchase anything through Erebrisa, having a sorcerer at his beck and call to find valuable things was incredibly tempting. In the end, he nodded his head and accepted the proposal.
“There’s something I want to find.”, Lee Sungmin said, hiding his emotions.
Lee Sungmin realized it would not be easy to find the tribes based on the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s memory alone. And having a tracking sorcerer go with them had more pros than cons.
As Lee Sungmin finished his thoughts there, the evil spirits started to sway and move accordingly to guide Lee Sungmin out of the forest.
[This way…] they murmured to Lee Sungmin, as they moved through the shrubbery to exit the forest.
—
The Forest of Temptation was still a complete maze and incredibly difficult to navigate, especially so now that Zhuge Taeryong was under the impression that Aladdur had died. Even so, he strode forward. Although he had found a solution to cover up his utter failure, he still felt irritated at the numerous insults he received from Namgung Heewon and the eyes that looked at him like a fool at the time.
“I should have gone with Namgoong Heewon, is that what you’re thinking, hmm?”, asked Taeryong to Murong Seojin who was following behind him.
The target of Taeryong’s misplaced anger and humiliation was his wife who was traveling with him. Murong Seojin, shivered at the unexpected question and weakened her steps as she prepared for the onslaught of mistreatment that was about to come.
‘It would have have been better if you had, you dumb bitch, I could have kicked you out of the Zhuge Clan.’ ,Taeryong thought venomously.
“…I’m not thinking about it.”, Murong Seojin replied in a quivering voice.
“Ha! You’re being so hesitant to answer. What’s wrong? Are you regretting the decision you made a few years back?”, Taeryong quipped at her mockingly.
Murong Seojin fell silent. Until the wedding ceremony a few years ago, Zhuge Taeryong was not like this at all. He was much more… kind persay. He wasn’t too outspoken, was serious with his endeavors and seemed overall better than the other option which was Namgung Heewon at the time.
“…the others are listening. Stop it, please.”, Murong Seojin then spoke up lightly, almost begging Taeryong to keep the face of their marriage.
“If you cared about that kind of attention, why didn’t you act less shameless, hmm?”, Zhuge Taeryong spewed out his words relentlessly.
The Black Dog unit behind them showed no response whatsoever to the unsightly conversation the two were having. Some unit members even blatantly looked around as if they weren’t hearing anything at all.
[Ok, Let’s move.]
Chuck sent a telepathic message to the unit all of a sudden. It was an order.
Ten Black Dog members, including Chuck himself, flew forwards without hesitation. They struck Zhuge Taryeong and Murong Seojin, who were walking ahead of them, with rapid movements to attack them. Apart from his crude personality, Zhuge Taeryong was a Peak Realm martial artist. He turned in surprise at the secretive attack launched at him.
“What’s going on?!”, Zhuge Taeryong shouted out, drawing his sword at the ready parrying a sword that came at him.
No one answered his cry. The swords of the Black Dog members drove forwards at Zhuge Taeryong. At the same time, two members were attacking Murong Seojin. Murong Seojin opened her eyes wide in shock at the two members flying at her. However, she pulled her sword out a little too late. Before she could even parry the strike, the sword lunged into her chest.
“Uaugh!”
Murong spurted blood out from her mouth. As she faltered, she tried to strike at her attacker but the man swiped his sword with such speed and severed her left arm right off her shoulder.
“ACKKK!”
She shrieked out in pain. Once, Murong Seojin was called ‘The Sword Flower’. However, compared to those days of her youth and beauty, she had withered over time in her martial arts and looks through motherhood. No matter how long it had been though, she was still beautiful in her own right.
There was no mercy however, from the Black Bog that attacked her. Chuck then grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up. He wasn’t going to kill her right away as he smacked his lips. Normally when killing one’s wife right away it would discourage the husband from attacking further, but Zhuge Taeryong didn’t show any reaction to the crippled Muron Seojin struggling for breath.
“Don’t take it too personally.”, Chuck said to the pitiful woman.
Murong’s consciousness was fading as the blood spurted from her mouth. She thought back to her past. What if she had left with Namgung Heewon when departing from the forest? No. What if she had chosen Namgung Heewon over Zhuge Taeryong? She then slipped from her consciousness not having the slightest pity or worry for the bastard of her husband still fighting.
And just like that Murong Seojin died.
“Why are all of you suddenly doing this?!”, Zhuge Taeryong howled in anger.
Zhuge Taeryong shouted right at Chuck who was holding Murong Seojin’s body by the throat. Rather than the death of his wife, who had lived with him for years, Zhuge Taeryong didn’t ask them about her death but rather why they were attacking him.
“As I said earlier… Don’t take it personally.”, Chuck said in a low voice.
He then threw away the body of the dead Murong Seojin to the dirt and swiped his bloodied hands against his robe to clean them. Zhuge Taeryong was then joined by the remaining Black Dog members. It was dangerous but he was still holding out against them. As arrogant and foolish as he was, he was still not to be underestimated in his combat prowess.
“Though things have come to this, it should be fun to pluck the peacocks feathers”, Chuck laughed out loud speaking cryptically.
(T/N: Chuck basically called Taeryong a peacock, someone who is just a person in title and has no real qualities.)
“What are you saying…”, Taeryong uttered to himself in spite.
“Zhuge Taeryong, you must die here today. Don’t be too upset, your story was an insignificant one to all of the Murim.”, Chuck cackled at him.
“…What? Was it… my father…?”, Zhuge Taeryong asked as he still couldn’t believe he was going to die here like this.
“Didn’t you think it was strange? I came here supported by 3 great families of the Dang, Zhuge and Namgung, yet we’re doing this? Ghost Gun and the Crazy Heavenly Demon are among the best martial artists in the world! Did you really think someone as pitiful as you even stood a chance against them?”, The Black Dog leader, Chuck laughed as he mocked Taeryong’s utter foolishness.
“Well, the Lord of the Zhuge Family has let you die despite your foolish actions to redeem your honor. Do you know why? It’s because of your utter stupidity. So don’t blame me. I’m no more than a blade that others use. This time it was your father and the Orthodox Leader who swung me at your head.”, Chuck said matter-of-factly.
That’s how the Black Dog always was and will continue to be. Chuck slowly approached Zhuge Taeryong who was struggling with the other 9 members. He knew he couldn’t hold out against him, who was also a master at the peak level if he was trying to suppress the other 9 attacking first rate martial artists.
“Sa, save me…please.. I’ll give you anything you want”, Zhuge Taeryong begged, grasping at straws.
“Huh? Look at this idiot.”, The Black Dog Leader laughed at the pitiful idiot who never seemed to learn his lesson even at the very end.
“Just die, and regret your decisions in the afterlife you fool”, he said to Taeryong as he rushed forwards.
Zhuge Taeryong’s cry was muffled throughout the forest.