Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 339: Irrefutable Rebuttal, Annihilation Forbidden
Geom Mugeuk and the escorts of the Yellow Dragon Escort Bureau were waiting in the Clear Spring Forest. Geom Mugeuk, dressed in escort attire, looked like a young rookie escort.
―He’s not here, even though it’s time.
In response to the sound transmission from Hwang Won, who was acting as the temporary bureau leader, Geom Mugeuk replied.
―Give the order to head back immediately.
―Shouldn’t we wait a little longer?
―No, issue the order right away.
Hwang Won followed Geom Mugeuk’s advice.
“Let’s head back.”
At his command, the escorts turned the carts around.
Just as they were about to leave the Clear Spring Forest, a man stepped in front of the escort party.
Wearing a bamboo hat pulled low to cover his face, he was Black Thirteen of the Black Snake Gang. 1
“Where is Escort Chief Gong?”
He had been hiding and watching them, and revealed himself only when he saw they were leaving.
Hwang Won answered Black Thirteen’s question.
“Escort Chief Gong is dead.”
Geom Mugeuk had informed them beforehand. If the contact asked, they were to answer truthfully that he was dead.
“Dead? Why did he die?”
“He was killed by the cult bastards.”
Thinking there might be a chance that the man had heard something, they were telling the truth exactly as it was.
“I don’t know the full details either. Just that he got caught up with those cult bastards and was beaten to death.”
Black Thirteen didn’t look too surprised. The Gong Chan he had met didn’t seem like someone who would live long. He didn’t know his place, was arrogant, and had a gaze that offended people.
“The Bureau Leader sent me in his place as the responsible party.”
Black Thirteen looked over the escorts behind Hwang Won. Aside from the young escort who looked like a newcomer, the rest were the ones he had seen last time.
“Just hand over the package. You can confirm things with the Bureau Leader later.”
Hwang Won’s businesslike and rigid attitude had also been instructed by Geom Mugeuk.
When Black Thirteen didn’t respond, Geom Mugeuk quickly sent Hwang Won another sound transmission.
―Be more forceful.
Hwang Won hardened his expression and spoke the words Geom Mugeuk had told him.
“To be honest, I don’t like this kind of secretive escort mission. I’m only doing this because it’s the Bureau Leader’s order, not because I want to. I’ll go back and report it just like this. That your side refused to hand over the package.”
Turning away, Hwang Won spoke to the escorts.
“We’re leaving.”
They had nothing to lose. That was the key to this plan.
After glaring at Hwang Won’s back for a moment, Black Thirteen dropped his suspicion.
“Wait. Follow me.”
Following him, they reached a quiet spot deeper in the forest, where there was a cart loaded with cargo and over ten Black Snake Gang martial artists. They weren’t covering their faces, and the large black snake head tattoos etched on their foreheads looked truly intimidating.
As soon as he saw the box, Geom Mugeuk released his energy to sense if there was any life force inside. It might be a trap, after all.
Fortunately, he sensed breathing. Very faint breathing—it was children!
As Geom Mugeuk nodded, Hwang Won gave the order.
“Move them quickly.”
The escorts began transferring the boxes onto their own cart.
Hwang Won asked Black Thirteen,
“Where should we deliver them?”
“I already told you the destination, didn’t I?”
This was the moment Geom Mugeuk had prepared Hwang Won for.
“Do you think that secretive Escort Chief Gong would’ve blabbed that before he died?”
When Hwang Won had asked if it was okay to push this hard, Geom Mugeuk had told him that it was a trick meant to make them focus on the finger instead of the moon.
Sure enough, the Black Snake Gang thugs focused on Hwang Won’s attitude. One of the swordsmen stepped forward and warned him.
“You! Watch your mouth.”
Black Thirteen stopped his subordinate and then spoke to Hwang Won.
“Deliver the package to the Flowing Sword Gate by midnight the day after tomorrow. If you’re even a moment late, I’ll kill you myself.”
It was right at that moment, when the destination was revealed—
Shhhhik.
A flying dagger pierced the neck of the swordsman who had just issued the warning.
The moment he collapsed, martial artists launched a surprise attack from all directions.
“It’s an ambush! Stop them!”
But the martial artists who launched the ambush were overwhelmingly stronger than the Black Snake Gang swordsmen.
Unable to counter the assault properly, they fell one after another.
Geom Mugeuk drew a circle in the air signaling the escorts to stay together and away from the fight. 2
Black Thirteen leapt into the forest behind him.
But thud—with that sound, he crashed to the ground. His bamboo hat was knocked off, revealing his face. There was a black snake head tattoo on his forehead as well. Looking closely now, the snake’s shape was different from the ones on his subordinates. It seemed the snake design varied based on rank.
From the forest, a man walked out.
Amazingly, the one who had subdued Black Thirteen was none other than Jin Hagun, the Demon-Slaying Brigade Leader. 3
He strolled over calmly and suppressed Black Thirteen’s blood and energy pressure points as the man groaned in pain clutching his abdomen.
In the meantime, the other Black Snake Gang swordsmen had either been killed or captured. The situation had been handled in an instant.
The Demon-Slaying Brigade martial artists surrounded the escorts with swords drawn.
One of them ran up and opened the box. As he peeled away the decorative silk used for disguise, he found a child sleeping inside.
“There’s a child here.”
“Is the child unharmed?”
“Yes, the child is asleep under the Turtle Breath Technique.”
With joy, Jin Hagun personally opened another box. Another child was asleep inside.
Then, another member of the Demon-Slaying Brigade approached and reported to Jin Hagun.
“These people are escorts from the Yellow Dragon Escort Bureau.”
At that, Jin Hagun shouted angrily.
“Escorts from a righteous sect were doing business with the Black Snake Gang?”
The Demon-Slaying Brigade had only been tracking the children and hadn’t known that those coming for the exchange were from the Yellow Dragon Escort Bureau.
“Drop your weapons and get on your knees.”
Hwang Won felt his heart sink.
Being at the scene of a child transfer with the Black Snake Gang, and now even the cult’s Young Cult Leader was wearing their clothes? Would the Demon-Slaying Brigade martial artists really believe anything they said?
In the end, the truth would come to light. Too many eyes had seen what had happened within the Yellow Dragon Escort Bureau.
However, if a fight were to break out here, they might end up dying a meaningless death without ever getting the chance to reveal the full truth.
In that fleeting moment, such thoughts raced through Hwang Won’s mind.
“Kill anyone who doesn’t kneel!”
At that command, Hwang Won ordered the escorts to kneel as instructed for now.
Jin Hagun was holding a child in his arms. At that moment, he noticed a Demon-Slaying Brigade martial artist beside him staring at someone. The other martial artists were doing the same.
While still holding the child, Jin Hagun turned to look behind him.
Everyone had taken a knee, except for one young escort who remained standing. That man smiled brightly and greeted Jin Hagun with a wave.
“Been well?”
As soon as Jin Hagun recognized the man as Geom Mugeuk, his eyes widened.
“You!”
He was the man from his dreams. The same irritating man who always appeared to be one step ahead, even in dreams. And now, he was standing there in escort attire, smiling.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to rescue the children to use them as ingredients for a great technique.”
Hearing that, Hwang Won—still kneeling—froze in shock.
What if he actually meant it? What if it was true? Was he tricked into coming here for that? Wait—why would the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult come to rescue children anyway? 4
Not being familiar with Geom Mugeuk’s joking manner, Hwang Won genuinely considered those wild thoughts for a moment.
Thankfully, Jin Hagun was someone well-acquainted with Geom Mugeuk’s antics.
“Are you pulling your tricks again the moment we meet?”
“Eeeh, it’s a long story. But to get straight to the point, I came to save the children.”
“If I had known this would happen, we wouldn’t have needed to come all the way here.”
Though spoken in jest, it was the highest form of praise for Geom Mugeuk.
“Everyone, stand up.”
At Jin Hagun’s command, the kneeling escorts rose to their feet.
They felt both relieved and astonished. They had known the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was extraordinary, but they hadn’t realized he was this close with the Demon-Slaying Brigade Leader.
“We received intel that the Black Snake Gang was kidnapping and selling children, so we began investigating. Now we’ve finally found the evidence.”
“You’ve uncovered that they’re selling the children, but what will you do about the ones buying them?”
“Of course, they won’t be let off either.”
Jin Hagun wanted to march straight to the Flowing Sword Gate and punish them for purchasing the children. But the Flowing Sword Gate was a faction within the unorthodox alliance.
That meant he couldn’t just charge in without concrete proof. A single misstep could spark a conflict with the Unorthodox Alliance—one they might not be able to undo.
“From now on, we’ll begin a covert investigation of the Flowing Sword Gate. If we find any proof that they bought kidnapped children, the main unit will not forgive them.”
At that firm declaration, Geom Mugeuk smiled.
“Spoken like a true Demon-Slaying Brigade Leader.”
It wasn’t sarcasm—he meant it sincerely. There was something different, something stronger, in Jin Hagun’s presence now.
“But there’s a problem with your plan, Brigade Leader. If the children who were promised don’t arrive, they’ll realize something went wrong and destroy all the evidence. They might even pin the blame on a disposable underling and cut ties clean off.”
Jin Hagun agreed with those words and asked Geom Mugeuk for his opinion.
“Then what should we do?”
“Let’s continue the escort.”
Jin Hagun, the Demon-Slaying Brigade martial artists, and even the escorts all turned to Geom Mugeuk in surprise.
“The children are asleep under the Turtle Breath Technique anyway, so they can’t be forcefully awakened. They’ll only wake up when the time is right. Let’s deliver them as planned and gather proof that the Flowing Sword Gate Master was involved in this incident.”
“What if something happens to the children along the way?”
“If something happens even with you and me there, that would require a natural disaster, wouldn’t it?”
Jin Hagun hesitated. If it had been anyone else who made this proposal, he would’ve rejected it outright. He had no intention of taking such risks with the children’s lives.
But this was Geom Mugeuk. He knew exactly what kind of man he was.
The hesitation didn’t last long. If they didn’t root out the cause properly this time, the kidnappings would just continue in another form. 5
As Jin Hagun nodded, Geom Mugeuk shouted to the escorts.
“Let’s resume the escort!”
* * *
Hwang Won looked back.
Geom Mugeuk and Jin Hagun were sitting side by side on the cart. It wasn’t just two escorts or two masters sitting together. It was the son of the Heavenly Demon and the grandson of the Martial Alliance Leader, sitting shoulder to shoulder.
A sight never to be seen again in his lifetime.
Hwang Won and the escorts were experiencing something truly remarkable.
“How is the Alliance Leader doing?”
“He’s still as vigorous as ever.”
After a brief pause, Jin Hagun added,
“Sometimes he talks about you.”
“What does he say?”
“‘If I had to kill one demonic cultist, it should definitely be the Young Cult Leader’.”
With a smile, Geom Mugeuk responded.
“You’ve got it reversed. If he had to save one demonic cultist, he’d definitely save the Young Cult Leader.”
“Take it however you want.”
Through their exchange, Hwang Won and the escorts could tell that what Geom Mugeuk had once said to Woo Sochu was true. He really did have a close relationship with the Martial Alliance Leader.
“What about Lady Jin?”
“She’s still a whirlwind.”
But contrary to his words, Jin Haryeong had changed. She was no longer the immature Jin Haryeong of the past. She had grown into a central figure in the next generation of the righteous sects.
“By the way, why are you out here alone?”
“I had to leave in a hurry, so I didn’t have time to notify anyone.”
Jin Hagun looked at Geom Mugeuk. He wasn’t the kind of man to lie, so he must really be out here alone.
“Looks like even your Cult isn’t looking for you anymore—abandoned child, huh?”
“Seems like it. So you’d better treat me kindly, at least.” 6
Jin Hagun turned his gaze away with an expression of disbelief.
But soon, he spoke in a calm tone.
“Since that day, I’ve been trying to look people in the eye.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled silently. Jin Hagun could feel it—he knew that the essence of Geom Mugeuk revealed itself in moments like this, when he wasn’t speaking. When he gazed up at the sky with those clear, deep eyes. One must not be fooled by his chatter.
And so, the cart continued on, traveling and traveling, until they arrived at the Flowing Sword Gate.
* * *
Late at night, the cart entered through the back gate of the Flowing Sword Gate.
Manhong of the Flowing Sword Gate received the package.
“Move them carefully. Don’t stack them—place each one separately.”
The escorts from the Yellow Dragon Escort Bureau moved the boxes into a warehouse.
Once the boxes were all moved, Manhong handed the escorts a heavy pouch filled with silver coins.
After the escorts departed, Manhong opened the boxes to check on the children.
At that moment, someone entered the warehouse. It was none other than Taejo, the Master of the Flowing Sword Gate. He was an absolute master of the unorthodox sect, renowned in the martial world for his Flowing Sword Art.
“You had to use those righteous sect bastards?”
“We had no choice. The Demon-Slaying Brigade is investigating everyone even remotely linked to the Black Snake Gang, even those who just shared a drink with them.”
“Unlucky bastards. How many kids came in this time?”
“Fifteen.”
“When will they wake up?”
“They should awaken in six hours.”
“Let me know when they wake.”
Just as Taejo was about to leave the warehouse—
A commotion could be heard from outside. The sound of weapons clashing grew louder—
Bang.
The warehouse doors shattered as a group of martial artists stormed in. Leading them was none other than Jin Hagun.
Walking calmly toward Taejo, Jin Hagun introduced himself.
“I am Jin Hagun, Leader of the Demon-Slaying Brigade.”
“It is an honor to finally meet the famous Leader of the Demon-Slaying Brigade.”
Though he could guess why his opponent had come, Taejo remained composed.
“No matter how famous you are, I’m not sure it’s acceptable to intrude on another sect’s grounds so recklessly.”
“For that, I apologize. The matter was urgent, and we had no choice.”
“What brings you here?”
“Recently, the Black Snake Gang has been kidnapping and selling children. Our main unit has been tracking their crimes, and we confirmed that the boxes carrying the children were delivered here, to the Flowing Sword Gate.”
Jin Hagun’s gaze shifted to the boxes.
“Looks like it’s those boxes over there. Would you mind if we checked them?”
“If I said no, would you still refrain?”
“If that were the case, we wouldn’t have come in at all.”
At Jin Hagun’s nod, two Demon-Slaying Brigade martial artists opened the boxes. Inside, they confirmed sleeping children.
“I know nothing about this,” Taejo said flatly, even as the evidence sat before them.
“I came looking for a subordinate to discuss something. I have no idea what this is about.”
“What do you make of this then ?”
“I’ll summon the one in charge of this area and get to the bottom of it.”
Just like Geom Mugeuk had said—he was trying to pin the blame on a subordinate and slip away.
Then, a voice spoke up from behind.
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
Startled, Taejo turned around to see someone rising from behind the boxes. It was Geom Mugeuk, who had been hiding in the warehouse.
“No use pretending now. I heard everything.”
Of course, Taejo wasn’t the type to yield so easily. He calmly challenged Jin Hagun.
“I don’t know what that young martial artist thinks he heard, but who would believe the words of a planted subordinate?”
“He’s not my subordinate.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I’d like him to be, but he’s the kind of man no one in the world could make their subordinate.” 7
Taejo didn’t understand what he meant and glanced back and forth between Jin Hagun and Geom Mugeuk with a puzzled expression.
“Whether he’s your subordinate or not makes no difference. Judging by his attire, he’s an escort—just a petty thief who snuck into the warehouse. I cannot accept someone like that as a witness.”
But both men remained calm. The outcome of this battle had been decided from the start.
Jin Hagun spoke with composed certainty.
“Unfortunately for you, you can’t refute him, nor can you deny him, and you certainly can’t silence him—not even by wiping him out. And worse, everyone except you will end up believing his words…”
He turned his head to look at Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk, itching to speak, was licking his lips with a look that said, When’s it my turn to talk? 8
“You’ve just run into the one witness you should never have met.”
1 : Who the hell uses numbers in a name ? Even a robot learned not to do that !!! (The Wild Robot)
2 : Ah okay, it’s not us. I thought Mugeuk had planned to kill them all as soon as they talked ^^
3 : Hi there ^^ I wanna say it’s been a while, but it’s actually not been that long XDXDXD
4 : Lol, Mugeuk hit his allies with Confusion ; it’s super effective !!! XDXDXD
5 : Yeah, and they would become even stealthier about it. Hope they’ll be able to track down and rescue all the children already sold.
6 : Lol, you can never win a battle of wits with that silver tongue whale dancer XDXDXD
7 : Yeah, he’s a leader, not a follower. The most impressive is that he gained that ability with his blood and sweat, he certainly didn’t have this type of charisma before the fall of the Cult.
8 : Lol, he want to open the floodgates XDXDXD