Heaven-Slaughter Demon Sword

As we walked, Miss Tang, who had been deep in thought for some time, asked me.

“But is saving that man Do Munseung truly the right thing to do? Emotionally, I do feel sorry for his circumstances, and from what I saw of him in person, he seems too good a man to die like that…. Even so, if summoning disciples from the surrounding sects in that manner has long been the tradition of the people here, I also wonder whether we should respect it.”

I could fully understand her concerns.

The Sucheon Association had apparently protected this region in that manner for a long time, and that seemed to be why it still enjoyed the support of so many people.

Thus, no matter how pitiable his circumstances were, she could not help wondering whether helping Do Munseung was truly the right thing to do.

I thought it was a perfectly natural concern.

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I answered carefully.

“This is merely my opinion, of course, but I believe the Sucheon Association’s protection of this region is less a noble sacrifice and more an unspoken agreement.”

“…An agreement?”

“Yes. The sects of this region provide the Sucheon Association with funds and disciples, and in exchange, the Sucheon Association provides them with safety. You could call it a kind of contract.”

Miss Tang nodded as though she understood my explanation.

“Ah, it certainly could be viewed that way.”

“Yes. From that perspective, I believe there are boundaries that both sides must respect. The sects must uphold their trust so that the Sucheon Association’s strength does not weaken, while the Sucheon Association must ensure that the sects’ safety is not threatened. In that regard, I believe the Sucheon Association is at fault in this incident.”

Miss Tang repeated my words.

“They must ensure that the sects’ safety is not threatened. Yet this time, they forced Do Munseung to answer the summons even though doing so would endanger the Yeongnam Sword Sect?”

“Yes, exactly. The Sucheon Association, which is supposed to protect the sects, has instead become an entity threatening the Yeongnam Sword Sect’s safety. In that case, does the Yeongnam Sword Sect truly have any reason to obey its orders?”

“Hmm.”

I gave her another example as she sank into thought once more.

“Is the front we belong to not the same? We came to the front to oppose the Blood Cult and protect our families and sects. But if the Martial Alliance that created the front were instead to threaten our families or sects, would we still have any reason to defend it? Whether it is the Martial Alliance or the Blood Cult, if they threaten our families and sects, they are equally our enemies.”

Miss Tang still did not know what the Shadow Unit had been doing.

She did not know that discharged veterans were being killed not by the Blood Cult, but by the Martial Alliance….

I had considered telling her about that as well, but the position of the Sichuan Tang Clan troubled me, so I had remained cautious.

From what I had seen during the Righteous Chivalry Guild incident, the Sichuan Tang Clan was clearly heavily influenced by the Martial Alliance.

Miss Tang nodded as though she had become somewhat convinced, but spoke with a worried look.

“What Young Master Seonu says certainly seems correct. Still, I am uneasy that we may be violating established rules or traditions.”

I nodded at her words.

Considering her obedient nature toward her clan and parents, it was only natural that she would feel burdened by violating established rules and traditions.

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I spoke again.

“Rules and traditions must also have reasons for being created, must they not? If one becomes bound to the rule itself rather than the reason behind it, I think that would be the same foolishness as staring at the finger when someone points at the moon.”

Then I told her a story that could serve as an example.

“I once read in a book that in some place in the Western Regions, there is a rule forbidding women from ever showing their faces outside.”

Miss Tang questioned me with a puzzled expression.

“What? A woman’s face? Why?”

“They say that when the rule was created, bandits were rampant and public security was poor, so it was meant to protect women from being assaulted. The problem is that they still uphold it as a tradition even now. They say women are never permitted to reveal their faces even in safe cities. And if a woman does reveal her face, no one is condemned even if she is killed.”

Miss Tang’s expression crumpled deeply at those words.

“What kind of nonsense is that? It was supposedly a rule meant to protect women, yet they kill them merely for showing their faces? How could that possibly make sense?”

I chuckled and answered.

“Exactly. It makes no sense. I believe that is what happens when people obsess over words and rules rather than their fundamental reasons and principles. In truth, we do not even need to look far away. Such things often happen around us as well. Are there not many rules and traditions around us that people follow without even knowing why they exist? That is why I believe the Sucheon Association is at fault in this matter, and why I want to help Do Munseung.”

Miss Tang now smiled brightly and nodded as though she understood completely.

“I see. Thanks to you, Young Master Seonu, everything has become clear. So helping Do Munseung truly is not wrong.”

Her bright smile caused me to smile as well.

Miss Tang certainly was not overflowing with wisdom like Miss Cheong-yeon, but she understood quickly and was receptive.

She possessed a charm that put the person speaking with her at ease.

And….

Although I did not tell her, there was one more reason I believed I absolutely had to intervene in this matter.

It was because of Mak Ujeon, the Rising-Heaven Swordsman and leader of the Sucheon Association.

The instant Miss Tang first told me his name earlier, I remembered that I had heard it in my previous life as well.

However, the epithet I knew him by then was not Rising-Heaven Swordsman.

‘Back then, he was called Mak Ujeon, the Heaven-Slaughter Demon Sword. A terrifying sword demon who devastated southern Sichuan Province and massacred countless people.’

In my previous life, by the time I returned to the Seonu Clan after the front collapsed, he had already become a limb of the Blood Demon and repeatedly committed countless massacres.

I had vaguely heard that he had once belonged to the orthodox faction, and apparently that had meant the Sucheon Association.

Miss Tang had said that his martial prowess was roughly at the threshold of the Supreme Realm.

That meant his current strength was probably similar to that of Brother Hwa Yeong-bin, the Red-Rain Divine Sword, or Captain Seol Pung.

However, the man I knew from my previous life was not like that.

‘Back then, his martial prowess was certainly no lower than that of Cheok Gang, the Iron-Body Mad Demon. He was even called the Blood Demon’s demonic sword.’

Cheok Gang, the Iron-Body Mad Demon.

In my previous life, Mak Ujeon had been a warrior on roughly the same level as Cheok Gang, who had recently displayed an overwhelming presence even while standing alone before the elites of the Qingcheng Sect and the Tang Clan.

In other words, Mak Ujeon, who had not even reached the Supreme Realm yet, would cross several walls within the next few years and grow into one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, a figure capable of challenging the absolute rulers of the martial world.

But that was far too strange.

‘Logically, does that make any sense?’

Of course it did not.

There must have been some tremendous fortuitous encounter or incident in between.

I could somehow feel it.

I felt that Mak Ujeon’s secret and this incident were connected in some way.

Of course, by common sense, merely helping Do Munseung escape could not possibly have anything to do with Mak Ujeon’s secret.

Yet some inexplicable feeling was telling me that I could approach Mak Ujeon’s secret through this incident.

And I was not someone who ignored my instincts.

Had such sixth-sense-like feelings not played an enormous role in allowing me to survive until the front collapsed in my previous life despite my inadequate martial prowess?

Just then, Miss Tang looked at the pleasure house before us and asked me.

“Um, Young Master Seonu? Why exactly are we standing in front of this pleasure house?”

I abruptly snapped out of my thoughts and looked around to find that we had already arrived before the doors of a lavish pleasure house.

A signboard reading “Yeollak Pavilion” hung above it.

I hurriedly smiled at Miss Tang, who was looking at me strangely, and answered.

“Ah, this is the Hao Clan’s Yeongnam branch in Sichuan Province. I learned its location from the server earlier. So we did not come to a pleasure house. We came to the Hao Clan branch. Haha….”

Miss Tang asked again in surprise.

“The Hao Clan branch?”

“Yes. We will probably receive quite fine treatment.”

“We will be treated well by the Hao Clan? Why?”

She blinked at me as though she could not understand, and I gave her a confident smile.

A short while later, we were being served a sumptuous meal in a large room.

We sat at a massive table that looked large enough for about ten people, and it was covered with luxurious dishes.

It was the first time I had seen such a feast since the days when I had lived as the Seonu Clan’s pig.

Miss Tang wore a blank expression, seemingly utterly bewildered by everything that was happening.

However, I smiled leisurely and spoke to the man seated across from me.

“There was no need to treat us quite this generously.”

The middle-aged man, who was both the master of Yeollak Pavilion and the Hao Clan’s Yeongnam branch head in Sichuan Province, bowed politely and answered.

“Not at all. Everyone in the Hao Clan branches of Sichuan Province knows that we owe Young Master Seonu a great debt. I am merely ashamed that this is all we can offer you.”

A great debt….

Of course, rather than saying I had bestowed a favor upon them, it would be more accurate to say that I had seized them by the throat.

I was receiving their cooperation in exchange for overlooking the fact that they had aided the Blood Cult.

Even so, there was no reason to dislike being treated well.

I began eating and asked him.

“Has Brother Hwa been well?”

He bowed respectfully again and answered.

“Yes. Great Hero Hwa Yeong-bin, the Red-Rain Divine Sword, is still devoting himself tirelessly to cleansing Sichuan Province of the Blood Cult groups that had been operating in secret. Thanks to Great Hero Hwa’s dedication, the remnants of the Blood Cult in Sichuan Province have now been almost completely eradicated. Our Hao Clan estimates that approximately ninety-nine percent of them have been swept away.”

“Oh, already? That is impressive.”

Ninety-nine percent meant they were confident that virtually every Blood Cultist had been exterminated.

They had probably left that final one percent merely to account for unforeseen circumstances, so I could fully understand why he wore such a proud expression.

I smiled and spoke to him.

“You have worked hard. The Hao Clan’s contribution has been considerable.”

“Not at all. Whatever we accomplished was entirely thanks to Great Hero Hwa and Great Hero Seonu.”

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, we soon moved on to the main subject.

“I would like some information regarding the Sucheon Association and Mak Ujeon, the Rising-Heaven Swordsman. There are also several items I would like to obtain.”

“Yes! Please ask for anything!”

The condition of the Sucheon Association that I heard about immediately afterward was indeed quite suspicious.

It was apparently certain that they had recently been coercively summoning martial artists from nearby sects.

Moreover, it was true that they were doing so because many people had recently died, but the location where those deaths had occurred was also strange.

“You said the north?”

According to the Hao Clan’s information, numerous deaths had occurred in the north, which had absolutely nothing to do with either the southern front or the Six Ghost Hall in Guizhou Province to the east.

It made no sense whatsoever.

“Yes. There were signs that they had attempted to conceal it from the public, but when we investigated, the corpses had undoubtedly been brought back from the north. The strange thing is that there had been no noteworthy clashes between sects in the north during that period. At least, none aside from the conflict between the Righteous Chivalry Guild and the Mountain Sword Sect.”

It was certainly suspicious.

As the person most directly involved, I knew better than anyone that the Sucheon Association had absolutely nothing to do with the Righteous Chivalry Guild incident.

Yet many people had died without any plausible incident occurring?

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Could the Blood Cult have already swallowed them?’

According to what had been known in my previous life, Mak Ujeon entered the Blood Demon’s service around the time the front collapsed.

But could it not be that, contrary to what was publicly known, the situation had already developed by now?

I asked the master of Yeollak Pavilion with a sharp gaze.

“Have you discovered any connection to the Blood Cult?”

The pavilion master looked at me gravely for a moment before answering.

“I cannot say it with absolute certainty. However, we believe there is more than a ninety-percent chance that it is unrelated to the Blood Cult.”

“Hmm.”

More than ninety percent….

He said he could not claim absolute certainty, but he seemed to want to say that it was definitely unrelated.

If he was willing to say that much, I thought it was best to accept for now that the Blood Cult was not involved.

“Then the Hao Clan has no other information at all?”

“…Yes. I am ashamed.”

I was somewhat disappointed, but nodded to show that it was all right.

It was certainly unfortunate that I had failed to obtain definite information, but the mere fact that many people were dying while security remained tight enough to prevent even the Hao Clan from learning the truth was itself confirmation that something suspicious was happening.

It was more than worth investigating.

“I believe I have obtained enough information, then. Could you now acquire the items for me?”

“Yes, please tell me. What do you need?”

At his question, I suddenly looked at Miss Tang, who had been quietly listening beside me.

She widened her eyes and stared back as though asking why I was looking at her.

I chuckled at her adorable expression and spoke to the pavilion master.

“First, I would like two human-skin masks. And if you can obtain a decent pair of swords immediately, I would appreciate that as well. And also….”

Miss Tang questioned me in surprise.

“Human-skin masks?”

I smiled and answered.

“Even if our opponent were not the Sucheon Association but the Tang Clan itself, would it not be fine as long as they never discover who we are?”

The master of Yeollak Pavilion immediately brought us the requested items.

As expected of the Hao Clan, which had extensive contact with the underworld, they seemed able to obtain not only human-skin masks and weapons but also the other things I had ordered with ease.

After paying for them, I rose from my seat.

“Thank you, Pavilion Master.”

“Not at all. I am merely sorry that I could not be of greater assistance.”

The master of Yeollak Pavilion bowed politely as he spoke, appearing to be an exceptionally trustworthy man.

However, this man was a branch head of the Hao Clan. If I trusted only what was visible, I could end up being struck hard in the back of the head.

Therefore, I gave him one final warning.

“I say this merely out of excessive caution, but I hope information regarding us will not be sold elsewhere. Especially not to the Blood Cult.”

He flinched slightly, then smiled and replied.

“How could that possibly happen? The branches of our Hao Clan in Sichuan Province will never again cooperate with the Blood Cult. I also promise that information concerning Great Hero Seonu will never be traded.”

At that moment, I discovered something on his face.

That subtle tremor in his expression again.

It was already the second time.

Ever since entering this place, I had continuously observed his expression.

And I had caught the fact that, for an extremely brief instant, his expression became ever so slightly unnatural.

It happened precisely when he emphasized the words “Hao Clan branches in Sichuan Province.”

It was such a minute shift in expression that I never would have noticed it had I not observed him closely with my memory.

The Hao Clan branches in Sichuan Province….

The words “Hao Clan branches” were probably too broad, so what he intended to emphasize was likely the far narrower phrase “Sichuan Province.”

I slowly began releasing my aura outward.

Whoooosh!

Then I stared intently at him and asked again.

“And… are you aware of this? The person who commits a crime is called the principal offender, but one who knows about it and does nothing is called an accomplice. I hope that the Hao Clan will never become an accomplice, if only so that it may wash away its past mistakes.”

The pavilion master looked at me as though he did not understand and questioned me.

“Yes? What… do you mean? I truly do not….”

However, this time as well, I clearly saw his eyes tremble violently for an instant.

It was a far more obvious reaction than before.