By Zephyria Choice (2)
Baek Ryeo-il lowered his body as if collapsing. With trembling hands, he wrapped Seong Mu-yeon’s hand that was gripping the iron bars.
“By now, the messenger hawk must have arrived at the Habeok Peng Clan… While stopping the people who are raging to kill you, they were injured, and because of that, they are desperate to kick Hwasan out of the manor. They probably won’t last long. But if Peng Clan arrives…”
The Peng Clan would never forgive Seong Mu-yeon, who had taken the life of their heir.
His eyes were black with despair.
“That’s why I told you…”
Baek Ryeo-il helplessly hung his head. His shoulders, gripping the iron bars, trembled like an aspen.
“I told you not to get close to Peng Yuan-jin…”
“…Dojang.”
Seong Mu-yeon could feel that the lament was not blaming him. It is human instinct to find the cause of deep despair when things go wrong. It was a survival strategy to prepare for what was to come. But who would have dared to suspect that Peng Yuan-jin would do such a thing? There are things that cannot be prepared for, no matter how thoroughly you prepare.
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart ached as he saw Baek Ryeo-il suffering because of him. He was a person who had no reason to go through this. It was all because of him.
After a long time, Baek Ryeo-il slowly raised his body. When he raised his head again, he had returned to the face of a ruthless martial artist, as if he had never shown a helpless appearance.
“…You stay still. I’ll do something about it.”
“…What are you going to do?”
Seong Mu-yeon asked in an anxious voice, but Baek Ryeo-il did not answer and turned away.
Bang. With the sound of the iron bars closing, Seong Mu-yeon was left in darkness and silence.
Sang-geol sat askew, tapping the table with his index finger. His brow was deeply furrowed in thought. The room was packed with Hwasan Sect Disciples who had been dispatched and had the right to speak, leaving no room to step.
The situation was not good.
This mission was a miserable failure. They had set out to eliminate the Demon Slayer Unit, but only some remnants remained to wait for them. They had heard the information in advance and ran away. It was a clear mistake by the commander, Jegal Un.
After dealing with the remaining remnants and searching the surrounding area thoroughly, they returned empty-handed and faced an unprecedented situation. Even though it was a branch family, the heir of another noble family had lost his life at the hands of a Demonic Cult Young master within the manor of the Five Great Clans.
Even the leading figures of each Sect, who had just returned from the scene, witnessed it with their own eyes.
Sang-geol could not shake off the feeling that he had been played on a board designed by someone.
‘Should we have searched for spies first, as Young master Seong Mu-yeon said…?’
He was paying the price for his complacency. It was hard to believe that even if the Demonic Cult Third Young Master was great, he would have hidden spies so deep.
That feeling has not changed much even now. It was impossible to change his mind about Peng Yuan-jin and Jegal Un, who had shown outstanding abilities, in an instant.
‘Peng Yuan-jin, who should be held accountable, is dead, and Jegal Young master is not in a state to do so… Oh, dear. What should I do with this?’
He let out a groan from deep within his throat.
When the door opened and Baek Ryeo-il appeared, Sang-geol’s worries deepened even more.
‘And that guy is giving me a hard time.’
Just a few hours ago, Baek Ryeo-il had caused him a lot of trouble by wielding his sword against his fellow disciples who had fought together.
Even if he took into account that he had to stop the excited people from rushing to kill Seong Mu-yeon right away, the public opinion towards Hwasan was not good because other Disciples had inadvertently sided with Baek Ryeo-il and protected Seong Mu-yeon.
Was that all? Sang-geol was seized by an ominous feeling that Baek Ryeo-il’s bizarre behavior would not end here.
Looking at Baek Ryeo-il, who was scanning his Senior Brothers with a cold gaze, it seemed that his worries were not unfounded, and his stomach hurt.
“I will take Seong Mu-yeon back to Hwasan.”
As expected, Baek Ryeo-il walked straight to Sang-geol, who was sitting at the head of the table, and said that.
Sang-geol muttered curses and sighed.
“If you say you’ll take him, will they allow it?”
“Permission is not necessary.”
“Then what are you going to do? Are you going to draw your sword and fight again?”
Baek Ryeo-il answered with silence. Looking at his determined eyes, he was more than capable of doing so.
“Young master Seong Mu-yeon is a serious criminal who harmed the heir of a noble family. We cannot take him away as we please. Even preventing people from approaching the prison right now is an overreach of authority!”
“Then are you going to let him die?”
“If he committed a crime, he should. He should be left to die several times! What right do you have to deny the Peng family, who lost their family, the opportunity to take revenge!”
“Seong Mu-yeon did not kill him.”
“Nonsense! I was there too! And so were you! Didn’t you see with your own two eyes him stabbing Young master Peng with a sword!”
Sang-geol shouted oppressively and slammed the table. But Baek Ryeo-il instead chuckled and raised the corners of his lips.
“Do you think Seong Mu-yeon could kill Peng Yuan-jin?”
“That’s…”
Sang-geol’s face clouded as if he had been stabbed in the side. The other Disciples who had been watching quietly also began to murmur. They, too, had doubts.
“Also, Jegal Un, who was there, could have subdued Seong Mu-yeon with just one finger. But why didn’t he stop him, and why doesn’t he explain?”
“I agree with Senior Brother’s opinion.”
When Jang Han-soo opened his mouth, everyone’s eyes turned to him. Jang Han-soo, who had been found unconscious in the basement of the Central Hall, had just woken up. Fortunately, there were no aftereffects.
“Han-soo! You be quiet!”
Sang-geol sternly scolded him, but he did not stop.
“I still don’t know what happened. When I came to my senses, the situation was already over. I don’t know why I fainted or where Young master Peng suddenly came from.”
Jang Han-soo continued, narrowing his brow as if confused.
“The Jegal Young master, whom we suspected of being a spy, is not even being investigated under the pretext that he doesn’t remember anything. I must know the truth.”
Sang-geol’s eyes darkened. He, too, secretly thought that there might be a secret hidden that had not yet been revealed. But Sang-geol was in a position to represent Hwasan in place of the Sect leader. He could not ignore the procedure by putting his personal feelings first.
As the Disciples were murmuring, Baek Ryeo-il opened his mouth in a calmer voice than before, as if he had read his concerns.
“I’m not saying that we should hide Seong Mu-yeon in Hwasan forever. I’m trying to buy time for the Peng family to calm down and complete a fair investigation.”
“…What if they don’t allow it?”
Sang-geol’s eyes flashed sharply. From the Peng family’s point of view, it was the same as Hwasan betraying their allies and smuggling out a criminal. It would not be an exaggeration to declare Hwasan as an enemy because of this.
“I have the authority to decide here. My will is Hwasan’s will. Habeok Peng Clan is a valuable allied family. Hwasan will not support your recklessness.”
“Then handle this matter on my own. I have no intention of relying on Hwasan.”
“This guy!”
“If you wish, expel me.”
“Are you really saying that with a sane mind!”
Sang-geol jumped up as if he would rush at him at any moment.
“…Master, calm down.”
“Let go! I can’t calm down! Hwasan has taken you in and raised you all this time, but there’s a limit to repaying kindness with evil! Shouldn’t you not do that even if you look at your Master’s face?”
When Ma Jin-cheon was mentioned, Baek Ryeo-il, who had been so confident, visibly wavered. Sang-geol, who had taken advantage of his weakness, raised his voice even more without missing this opportunity.
“If you’re not there, who will assist Senior Brother Ma when he becomes the Sect leader! Because of you, I couldn’t even bring in other Disciples and devoted my whole life to you. Do you think you can sleep soundly after doing such a thing to your Master because of a Demonic Cult Young master who came from nowhere!”
“…”
Sang-geol took a deep breath and warned with force.
“You know, Hwasan’s principle is to cut off the limbs and meridians of expelled Disciples to recover their martial arts.”
“…”
“Ryeo-il, Seventh Young master Seong Mu-yeon is not worth it. I know how much effort you have put into learning martial arts all this time.”
When Baek Ryeo-il remained silent, Sang-geol thought that he had understood the intention of his words and gently coaxed him in a much softer tone.
“Think carefully. Don’t throw everything you have into the mud with a moment’s impulse…”
“Did you say you would cut off my limbs and meridians to recover my martial arts?”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes, which had raised his head, glared at him sharply.
“Do you think I’ll just stand still and take it all this time?”