Chapter 361: Interrogation (2)
After I had heard everything I needed to hear, I granted him an easy death using the Demonic Cult’s methods, just as he wanted.
The bastard, who had worn an indifferent expression from beginning to end, had now closed his eyes with a faint smile on his face.
He probably would never open them again. Not in that body, nor in any other.
I couldn’t just leave the corpse as it was, so I had him buried in a cemetery prepared a little ways away from the Murim Alliance.
A place where those unaffiliated with the Murim Alliance were buried. Among them, those with no one to claim them.
Of course, I hadn’t buried him with my own hands. I had someone do it.
Still, to sort through my tangled thoughts, I stood there quietly for a moment and looked at the shabby grave that had just been raised.
And I looked at the back of Divine Monk Jeong Hyeon as he quietly recited Buddhist scriptures in front of the small mound.
After quite some time passed like that, Divine Monk Jeong Hyeon, having finished reciting all the scriptures, slowly rose and turned toward me.
“You appear to have much on your mind, Benefactor Cheon.”
“Yes. Well. I was hit with a lot of sudden information.”
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it. Heavenly Demon had pitied the remnants of Blood Buddha.
And before my regression, those who had been captured by the Demonic Cult and died in agony at their hands—their methods of torture had possessed the power to return the dead to where they originally belonged.
The reason Heavenly Demon had spread exactly this method throughout the Demonic Cult...
Perhaps it was because, even if one suffered in life, one should at least rest in peace in death.
At first, I had thought perhaps he did not want to create another regressor like himself.
After all, what I had felt in the final moment of my previous life had also been immense regret and deep resentment, and I had thought that had affected the strange phenomenon of regression.
But considering the reaction Heavenly Demon had shown when he realized I was a regressor, and the fact that he had researched the Soul-Transference Grand Art, that probably wasn’t the reason.
Then there was only one conclusion left.
Heavenly Demon might slaughter the living without mercy, but he showed the dead every courtesy.
By nature, people are more drawn to the living than to the dead.
Well, of course. I myself was one of the living, so wasn’t that only natural?
If there were someone who regained his humanity only when dealing with the dead,
then surely he would be a being closer to death than to life.
I hadn’t wanted to understand Heavenly Demon in this way.
“Phew.......”
“Still, it seems you have sorted things out in your own way.”
“It is thanks to you, Divine Monk Jeong Hyeon. Listening to Buddhist scriptures when I have much on my mind makes me feel much more at ease.”
“Heh heh. Have you perhaps thought of devoting yourself to the Buddhist path—”
“Ah, no. Not that.”
“I was only joking. This humble monk is still quite afraid of the Tang Family’s poison, you see.”
Divine Monk Jeong Hyeon laughed playfully. I let out a snicker along with him, then suddenly looked up at the sky.
Before my regression, now, when I was in the greatest pain, and even when I was the happiest—
the sky had always looked down at me from that same place with the same face.
Perhaps even after hundreds of years had passed, the sky would still look exactly as it did now.
The one who had always changed was me.
When I was young, I had thought that if I became a master, I would be able to do anything.
Martial arts had been everything in the world, and there had been a time when I believed there was nothing my sword could not cut.
Then I had come to realize that the grudges and ties of the murim were a poison that even the sword could not deal with.
I had learned that martial arts, and the grudges of others, were merely tedious stories that had repeated themselves countless times for someone else.
And now I had even come to know that someday all of this, too, would be dismissed as nothing more than an entertaining old tale.
I had certainly grown stronger, and I had become able to do more things.
And yet, the more I came to know, the wider the world grew, and the smaller I seemed to become.
But.
“Let’s head back.”
I now knew that my existence was not that of someone standing wholly alone.
Even if I alone might be lacking in many ways, things would be different if we were together.
“The Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance, and bypassing my mental restrictions through the Demon Bell as well. There is still a lot left to do.”
“I am no match for a master such as yourself, but this humble monk is quite old himself, and yet Benefactor Cheon works this old man rather harshly.”
“Old man? Aren’t you a pillar of the Orthodox Sect, a senior of the murim? For troublesome matters... ah. I mean, I ask you to handle the things that are difficult for me to solve.”
“Heh heh.......”
Divine Monk Jeong Hyeon let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
Anyway, this was everyone’s strength.
***
After the interrogation, we were able to obtain much more vivid information than before, and we also learned that the Demonic Cult’s preparations were nearly complete.
Because they had used the shortcut I mentioned before—forcing cultivation realms upward—to create multiple masters.
There was also talk that every single one of them suffered severe side effects and would die young, unable to even live a full five years...
Put differently, that meant war would definitely break out within five years at most.
When the Murim Alliance Lord revealed this during a Murim Alliance meeting, the voices arguing over whether I—who was called the greatest among the unorthodox—was really an orthodox man, and whether the Tang Family, who had embraced someone like me, should continue remaining in the Murim Alliance, disappeared.
And then, true to his Beggar’s Sect roots, the Murim Alliance Lord had Zhuge Bu, the plant he had placed in advance, carefully steer public opinion.
He proposed that, using me—someone acknowledged as the greatest among the unorthodox—as the bridge, we create an Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance and respond to the Demonic Cult’s invasion.
Well, naturally, I heard it caused a far greater stir than anything before.
It was only natural if one thought about it for even a moment. If an Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance were formed, that meant most of the murim would be uniting as one, did it not?
The imperial court was horrified by the birth of an unprecedented armed organization, and even within the Murim Alliance, those of high standing—especially veteran masters who had personally experienced conflict with the unorthodox—fiercely opposed it.
And in the middle of all that, even the Ice Palace and the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace subtly expressed their intent to join the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance.
The current Murim Alliance could truly be called a complete mess.
Well, respected seniors of the murim would surely take care of such complicated and difficult matters on their own.
And on the side of the Black Lotus Sect...
“What does it say, Brother Cheon??”
“Wait a little. I’m reading it right now, aren’t I?”
I was trying to read the letter that had arrived from the Black Lotus Sect Lord, when Tang Sowol slyly pushed her head in between the arms holding it.
She was shorter than me, but not so tiny as Seo Mun-Hwarin, so instead Tang Sowol’s face ended up blocking the letter.
On top of that, even though she said she was curious about the contents of the letter, she was looking at me rather than at the letter.
It was cute, how she fit right into my arms, but I truly couldn’t understand what exactly she was trying to do.
Letting out a short sigh inwardly, I pulled my arms in closer so I could read the letter. And then,
“Euhheuhheuh.”
“....”
Tang Sowol naturally ended up being hugged by me. At the slightly wicked sound that slipped from her lips, I realized her true intention.
“So this was your goal from the start.”
“Pardon? I have no idea what you mean. In any case, please do finish reading the letter, Brother Cheon.”
“Sure, sure.”
Even though it was already close enough to read just fine, I pulled the letter a little closer, just as Tang Sowol wanted.
In simple terms, that meant I hugged her a little tighter.
Using Tang Sowol’s increasingly ragged breathing as the background, I read the contents to the end.
“It seems the Black Lotus Sect and the Black Lotus Sect Lord truly have not changed at all.”
“Hsssss.”
“He says that although the Black Lotus Sect Lord and Sama Yuryeon could not take me in as an adopted son, they created an atmosphere as if they think of me that way, so I should understand. Well, I also received the Sect Lord Token, and things must have been noisy over there too with the greatest among the unorthodox changing, so I suppose this much is fine.”
“Huuuh...”
“For the rest, it is mostly inquiries after my well-being. Ah, and apparently the martial artists under One-Saber Asura are hoping that I’ll continue my path of domination... no, my path of sparring, even in the Murim Alliance. But that is nonsense. Why would I push away someone who could do the work in my place and sit there myself?”
Didn’t everyone have things they were good at and things they were bad at?
Exchanging each other’s strengths and living that way—that was surely what it meant to live together.
It absolutely was not a world convenient only for me. Anyway, that was how it was.
Well now. The title of Number One Under Heaven was honestly a little tempting, though.
Still, unlike the Black Lotus Sect, the Murim Alliance had no one who could really be called the foremost of the orthodox, so it would be difficult to defeat anyone and start being called Number One Under Heaven.
And once the war with the Demonic Cult began, Heavenly Demon—the true Number One Under Heaven—would likely reveal his power as well.
“But what are you doing, Tang Sowol?”
“Yes? Why, I’m smelling Brother Cheon’s scent, of course?”
Tang Sowol, who had her nose buried against the back of my neck, replied in a proud tone.
“During the last journey of sparring, we were always moving together, but there were eyes on us, so I couldn’t properly enjoy it. I should at least enjoy it now.”
“What are you planning to do about the others?”
“We divided the time fairly, so we plan to use Brother Cheon in turns, in order.”
“Use?”
That choice of words sounded a little strange.
“If that’s how it is, then I should make sure not to miss my chance to use you too, Tang Sowol.”
“Kyaak!”
When I followed Tang Sowol’s example and buried my face against the back of her neck, a delighted scream rang out.
As we idly played around like that, sharing each other’s warmth, I could feel the edge that had built up in my heart from everything that had happened recently gradually settling down.
“You said something like that once before, Tang Sowol. That there were times when I felt like a sword without an edge. So you said you would become my sheath. Looking at you now, it seems you kept that promise.”
“Yes?! Brother Cheon is the sword and I’m the sheath? Whispering something so lewd the moment we’re alone is a bit much.”
I stared at Tang Sowol with a dumbfounded expression. Then her deep green eyes curved like crescent moons, and she smiled with mischief brimming in it.
“I’m joking.”
“How about making it not a joke?”
“That would not be so bad in its own way, but... this is the Murim Alliance, isn’t it? In the end, it’s someone else’s house, isn’t it? I think our own house would be a bit better. And.......”
“And?”
“It’s almost time now. Next is Lihyang.”
“Mm? Already?”
“There’s something important tonight, isn’t there?”
“Well. That’s true.”
The information on the Demonic Cult we had learned through this interrogation, and the matters concerning the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance, had thrown the Murim Alliance into utter chaos.
That was why tonight was the only suitable time.
To show the final memory through the Demon Bell.
...Yes. This would probably be the last one.
If the Demon Bell showed my intense memories, then there was only one memory that could compare to the deaths of Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin.
The death of Tang Sowol and me.
Illusory Illusion Witch had said it. That there were no mental restrictions placed on Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin.
That information learned from before my regression through a bypass was not affected by mental restrictions.
I did not know why she had hidden that... but she said she would tell me after this great art was over, so if I waited, I would learn the answer.
Yes. By tomorrow, at the very least, I would be able to reveal my secret to those three: Tang Sowol, Seol Lihyang, and Seo Mun-Hwarin.
I would finally be able to set down one stone that I had always carried in a corner of my heart.
With a heart half full of worry and half full of anticipation, I decided to enjoy the remaining time in peace.
***
After Tang Sowol, Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin also came into my room one after another, idled around to their hearts’ content, and then left.
After Seo Mun-Hwarin, who had been the last, left the room, I thought I should at least do some light meditation to steel my loosened heart, since there was something important to do, but then—
Knock knock.
There was someone who lightly knocked on the door, deliberately making their presence known. When I opened the door at that familiar presence, there stood—
“G-good evening....”
Illusory Illusion Witch, standing there with a hesitant posture.
Whether due to the influence of evil methods or her natural disposition, she gave off the same dreary and sinister impression as usual.
But unlike usual, she was not roughly wrapped in sloppy martial clothes, nor was she wandering about with a damp face that she had only splashed with water and not properly dried.
Perhaps she had bought new clothes, because her attire was impeccably neat, and on closer inspection, her face had even been clumsily powdered.
It was an appearance that could only be called fully armed. She had even come alone after Seo Mun-Hwarin.
I quietly watched Illusory Illusion Witch repeat the motion of furtively glancing up at me, then flinching and lowering her head whenever our eyes met.
Then I opened my mouth in a careful voice.
“Illusory Illusion Witch. Don’t tell me you like me? If so, then I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t have the luxury for that yet.”
“N-no. I came to prepare for the great art, so I’m telling you not to block the door and to move aside........
“Th-that said, it’s not that I dislike White Moon Sword Lord either. If anything, I’d say I think you’re pretty alright. And if you’ll spare my life, then, well. Yes. But suddenly asking whether I like you might be juuust a little too much confidence on your part, and it’s also a little unfair for me to get rejected before I even confessed.......”
I guess that wasn’t it.