When Geom Mugeuk released Ilsun’s pressure points, suddenly more hidden funds were revealed.
“I forgot. I have additional money stashed at the Great Plains Money Exchange.”
“How much?”
“About forty thousand nyang.”
“You’ve saved quite a bit, haven’t you?”
Ilsun also disclosed the password for the Great Plains account. Gowol promptly recorded this information as well.
With the previously uncovered eighty thousand nyang from the Divine Debt funds and Ilsun’s additional forty thousand nyang, they had already amassed a total of one hundred and twenty thousand nyang. At this, Iseon blinked angrily.
The turn switched back to Iseon.
“You only gave us fifty thousand nyang each, yet you’ve squirreled away forty thousand for yourself?”
Instead of showing remorse, Ilsun’s face displayed the desire to argue, but with his pressure points sealed, he couldn’t speak.“I know that Ilsun has more assets. He bought gold and hid it.”
Ilsun couldn’t conceal his shock. It seemed he had intended to keep the gold hidden at all costs.
As Iseon scored points by revealing Ilsun’s hidden gold, Ilsun irritably blinked his eyes, igniting a war of blinks between the two.
Back to Ilsun’s turn.
“I was going to mention the gold. Please credit it to me!”
“No, that won’t work. If you don’t want to miss out, keep track of everything. Second Immortal might use your assets to score points too.”
Ilsun resigned himself to giving up his wealth. He thought that as long as he survived, he could always make more money.
“I’ve got some land as well.”
“How much land?”
“It’s quite a bit.”
What had started as an attempt to gather information was now a competition for wealth between the two, though they seemed to be mistaken about Geom Mugeuk’s intentions. From Geom Mugeuk’s perspective, it was just an advantageous turn of events.
Meanwhile, as Ilsun’s hidden assets were revealed one by one, Iseon’s sense of betrayal grew immensely.
“Brothers? You bastard! You were keeping it all for yourself.”
Iseon could accept that Ilsun hoarded wealth. But what infuriated him was that Ilsun did it without telling him.
Next, Ilsun shot back during his turn.
“Do you think you would have earned even fifty thousand nyang without me? Without my help, you’d be lying dead in some gambling den with a knife in your back. Ptooey!”
Their bond, once forged in ‘loyalty’, crumbled in an instant.
Between the two of them, they eventually also disclosed the full extent of the wealth of the deceased Samsun and Saseon as well. Ilsun’s only thought was to please Geom Mugeuk enough to stay alive. Meanwhile, Iseon was driven by a desire for revenge, fully intending to see Ilsun dead. 1
With no more assets left to reveal, Geom Mugeuk pressed their vital points again.
The two, who had been cursing at each other every chance they got, fell asleep.
Geom Mugeuk turned to Gowol.
“These two… really tore into each other, huh?”
“Yes, they did,” Gowol replied, nodding.
“What a mess. We’ll take care of it from here,” Geom Mugeuk said, hinting at their plans to deal with the remaining Immortals and the stolen funds appropriately.
“Tomorrow morning, take these two around to all the money exchanges and recover every last bit of their assets.”
“Yes, understood.”
For now, Geom Mugeuk planned to keep the two alive, just in case Ilsun had given the wrong passwords for the exchanges.
He then turned to Jeong Dae with a request.
“Please assist Gowol tomorrow.”
“Got it.”
The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader nodded without hesitation.
“I thought you’d scold me, dragging money even out of these villains.”
“Do you have any idea how much Gowol and I have suffered to scrape up that money?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean it as a complaint. I just wanted to say that the money from those villains is being put to good use.”
With the influx of the funds from the Divine Debt scheme, it looked like they could finally complete the formation of their information network.
“I’ve heard from Gowol about what kind of scum these guys are. Why let those bastards sleep? Hang them upside down!”
“Understood. When they wake up, I’ll start pulling their fingernails.”
Of course, it was a joke. No matter the evil, Geom Mugeuk’s ironclad rule was that death was the ultimate end. Not for their sake, but for his own principles.
After finishing his conversation with the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, Geom Mugeuk approached Dan Woo-gang. The Fist Demon King was gazing at the moon, seemingly indifferent to everything else going on around him.
Geom Mugeuk stood beside him, also looking up at the moon.
“You know what I realized during this journey? I’ve been living a life too consumed by martial arts. I’ve spent my whole life training and fighting.”
There was a time Geom Mugeuk had said something similar to Lee Ahn, advising her not to live a life solely focused on training. Now, it seemed the Fist Demon King was having that same realization.
“I just realized a moment ago—this is the first time in my life I’ve spent so long staring at the moon. Can you believe that? In all my years, I’ve never truly taken the time to appreciate it.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze joined the Fist Demon King’s, looking up at the moon.
“From now on, try to enjoy life a bit more.”
“I intend to.”
If the Fist Demon King could truly honor those words, if he could step back even slightly from his dedication to martial arts… perhaps he could even shatter the cliffs that once defined him. After all, a shift in life could lead to a change in martial arts.
* * *
The next day, Gowol, accompanied by the ex-Cult Leader, took Ilsun and Iseon around to all the money exchanges. The passwords they had provided were accurate. They not only retrieved the money but also collected the hidden gold and liquidated their other assets.
Ilsun had amassed this vast wealth in just a few years, a testament to the countless victims who had suffered during that time.
Ilsun and Iseon desperately tried to curry favor with Gowol, saying anything they could think of, but Gowol didn’t respond to a single word. Instead, it was Jeong Dae who spoke to them.
Of course, his words were along the lines of, “You’ll end up in the most excruciating hell,” or, “I bet on which one of you will survive,” deliberately choosing the worst things to say, so they pretended not to hear him.
After most of their assets were dealt with, Geom Mugeuk had the two sit in front of him again.
“Now, let’s talk about your financier.”
Ilsun believed his fate would be decided based on his answer.
‘Don’t tell them everything! But don’t act like you’re hiding anything either!’
That was the crux of it. The problem was that he didn’t know much about the financier.
‘How can I spin this to stay alive?’
Ilsun glanced at Iseon sitting beside him. He figured Iseon knew nothing about this, so now was his chance to score some points.
‘I can survive this. I’ve surrendered way more assets than planned, so if I give up information on the financier, I’ll live!’ 2
Taking a deep breath, Ilsun began to speak.
“I’ve only met the financier once.”
“When?”
“When I first decided to work with him.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“No. There was a curtain between us, so I couldn’t see his face. But one thing was clear—judging by his voice, he seemed to be an older man.”
“So now we’re supposed to hunt for an older-sounding man? How many of those could there be in the world?”
Ilsun was flustered by Geom Mugeuk’s mockery and quickly added,
“The people the Fist Demon King killed yesterday were the Eight Ghostly Swordsmen. They wouldn’t act just for money, so the financier isn’t just a rich man. He’s likely the leader of a major sect or someone with significant power.”
At that moment, Iseon blinked.
Ilsun immediately interjected.
“There’s no need to release his pressure points. That guy knows nothing about the financier.”
“What do you think? Do you have better information?” Geom Mugeuk asked, turning to Iseon, who blinked his eyes even faster.
Geom Mugeuk suppressed Ilsun’s pressure points again and released Iseon’s.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, Iseon spoke up.
“I’ve actually had a conversation with him directly. There was no curtain.”
Ilsun, his pressure points sealed, blinked furiously and let out a groan, trying to convey that Iseon was lying.
“Tell me more,” Geom Mugeuk said, encouraging Iseon to continue.
“I met him on the same day Ilsun did. I was sitting in the coachman’s seat of the carriage parked in the manor’s courtyard, waiting for Ilsun to come out. A little while later, the financier came out first. But as he got into the carriage, I saw him subtly bow his head to the coachman. It was definitely a gesture of respect.” 3
Ilsun was struggling and groaning so much that Geom Mugeuk released his pressure points as well.
“That’s a lie! Why would the financier bow to the coachman?”
“It’s true. I saw it clearly.”
As both men could now speak, the scene became chaotic.
“He’s making it up. If something like that had happened, he would have told me at the time. Why didn’t he mention it then?”
“What should I have said? That you got fooled by a mere servant? That the real financier seemed like the coachman? How would you have reacted? You would’ve beaten me senseless, wouldn’t you?”
Ilsun had no rebuttal. That was exactly what would have happened.
“You bastard! What kind of trick is this? Trying to weasel your way out?”
“Cowardice? Where did that come from? That’s just your filthy mind talking.”
I signaled for Ilsun to be quiet and turned to Iseon.
“Go on.”
“I even spoke with the coachman while waiting. He seemed like an ordinary man. Round face, friendly demeanor, oh! He had a tattoo on his chest. I saw it by chance when he bent over.”
“What kind of tattoo?”
“A golden pig tattoo. It was so strange to see a pig tattooed on a person that I still remember it vividly!”
Thinking he was offering valuable information, Ilsun jumped in.
“This guy is a master of lying. Don’t believe him. He’ll do anything to survive…”
Thud!
Ilsun, who had been standing in front of Iseon, suddenly vanished. With a single strike, his face was shattered, and his body was flung far away, landing lifelessly in the distance.
Iseon stared at me in shock. His horror quickly turned to joy.
“I survived!”
He was overjoyed, practically floating with relief.
“It’s just that he was the worse of the two. So it’s fitting you die next.”
Iseon’s moment of elation was abruptly cut short. The phrase “die next” seemed like it meant “later in life, after aging,” but that wasn’t the case. The look in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes was cold and unyielding.
“Please, spare me!”
“All four of you have done unforgivable things. Be content that I’m sending you off peacefully.”
“Keep your promise! You bastard! Who the hell are you? Who are you to…?” 4
Thud!
Iseon was sent flying, landing beside Ilsun, dead on impact.
Geom Mugeuk eliminated them without a hint of hesitation. He neither hoped for their redemption nor gave them the dramatic significance of dying at the hands of the Second Young Master of the Demonic Cult.
As he turned away, he saw the Fist Demon King walking toward him.
“Weren’t you planning to dig up the masterminds behind all this?”
“That’s right.”
“But is it okay to kill them all?”
“I’ve found out who’s behind it.”
A round, plump figure, a golden pig tattoo on the chest. Before my regression, he was someone I knew well. Sometimes he was a coachman, other times a laborer on a construction site, or even a waiter at a tavern. He enjoyed disguising his identity while being exceptionally greedy.
“To kill him, I need my father’s permission.”
The Fist Demon King was startled by Geom Mugeuk’s words.
“Who could it be?”
A name slipped from Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
“Jisaeng.”
The Fist Demon King immediately thought of one person.
“No way! The Golden Pig of the Unorthodox Alliance?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“That man is behind all this?”
The Fist Demon King’s expression hardened. It wasn’t just because Jisaeng was the opponent, nor was it because he belonged to the Unorthodox Alliance. It was because Jisaeng was a loyal servant to a particular individual.
Jisaeng was subordinated to the most favored follower of the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, and head of the Extreme Forces Brigade, the Alliance’s elite unit that only took orders from the Alliance Leader.
This person was none other than Yaryuhan, the second-in-command of the Unorthodox Alliance.
Jisaeng was one of the four most cherished aides of Yaryuhan. These subordinates had pledged their loyalty, each engraving a tattoo on their chests. Jisaeng chose the golden pig, vowing to amass an endless fortune throughout his life.
“The money ultimately all goes to Yaryuhan.”
Geom Mugeuk felt as though fate had guided him here. It wasn’t just because of the current situation.
Yaryuhan.
He was the sworn enemy of a certain individual, deeply connected to Geom Mugeuk—the Demon Doctor. 5
The Demon Doctor, while performing the New Eye Technique, had once asked Geom Mugeuk to kill someone for him. That person was Yaryuhan. Although the Demon Doctor hadn’t directly mentioned the name yet, Geom Mugeuk already knew.
Yaryuhan had slaughtered the Demon Doctor’s entire family right in front of his eyes. Since that day, the Demon Doctor had lived solely to avenge them by killing Yaryuhan. When the Demon Doctor had made his request, Geom Mugeuk had promised to act when he was strong enough. Now, he felt that the time had come.
The Fist Demon King noticed that I wasn’t willing to let this go.
“Yaryuhan is off-limits!”
“Why can’t we?”
“If you mess with the wrong thing, it could start a war.”
“There won’t be a war. There might be chaos and a big mess, though.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
In the past, the Demon Doctor had asked my father to kill him, but he refused. After all, Yaryuhan was a figure of great significance, trusted absolutely by the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, and seen as more than just an evil character in the Unorthodox faction.
“I believe the one behind all this is the worst kind of scum. He hides in the shadows, using lowly henchmen like Ilsun to drain the youth of their vitality until they die. In a few days, Jisaeng will probably be informed that all the Immortals are dead. Then, Jisaeng will create new Immortals and repeat the same atrocity. Even if Jisaeng dies, another Jisaeng will just take his place.”
These are exactly the kind of people Geom Mugeuk considers absolute evil. Evil so great that even righteous factions can’t touch them, and ordinary people can’t even get close. 6
My father once asked me what I thought about the Demonic Path. At that time, I answered:
—I believe it’s our sect’s creed to hunt down absolute evil.
To him, the Demonic Path meant catching the great evil that even righteous factions couldn’t handle. The mere mention of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult should make those evildoers tremble. That’s the kind of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult he wanted to create.
“Ordinary people would have no choice but to back down, to endure. But we’re not ordinary, are we? We don’t have to endure, do we? I’ve trained and worked myself to death so I wouldn’t have to hold back at times like these. Why should we endure? They’re the ones who should stop, who should cut it out and stop tormenting people.”
Dan Woo-gang silently watched Geom Mugeuk. Geom Mugeuk, in turn, silently gazed back at him, his eyes burning with his fiery pledge.
Given his personality, the Fist Demon King was the most persuadable person, yet also the least, considering his relationship with Geom Woojin.
Finally, breaking the long silence, the Fist Demon King ended the journey.
“Let’s head back to the Cult. This slacking-off trip ends here.”
The journey that had begun so suddenly ended just as abruptly. However, disappointment was premature. As Dan Woo-gang turned his broad back, he added something unexpected.
“To get the Cult Leader’s permission, all the Demon Supremes will have to get involved.” 7
1 : $$$ ^ ^
2 : It’s amazing to which point some people are willing to lie to themselves.
3 : How many masterminds are there, for everyone to use such schemes all the time ?
4 : Why should he be bound to honor the promise made to two trash without honor or loyalty ?
5 : Oh my, what a happy coincidence ^ ^ I’m sure even the Demon Doctor expected you to honor your pledge to him so quickly XDXDXD
6 : A righteous crusade against the corruption of mankind, one of the Great Evils looming in the shadows.
7 : He’s quite a good master ^ ^
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter