novelraw Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Chapter 84
It was when Cheon Ha-seong was in the Cult Leader's office that he saw the intelligence agent from Qinghai.
When word came that a person from Qinghai had arrived, he was in the middle of telling the Cult Leader about Danmok Yeon's wicked arts.
“Qinghai?”
The Cult Leader muttered to himself and then ordered him to come in. At that, a cute-looking boy who appeared to be twelve or thirteen years old entered from outside.
Cheon Ha-seong was startled, not having thought that a child would come, but the Cult Leader seemed to already know the boy.
“So it's Ak Gun-so. Right. I had forgotten that the person in charge of Qinghai was Ak Gun-so.”
As the Cult Leader spoke with pleasure, the one called Ak Gun-so smiled brightly and offered his greetings.
“I am so moved that you remember this humble one, Cult Leader, that I do not know what to do.”
Cheon Ha-seong was surprised by his gruff voice, which was unlike his appearance. As he was thinking that, the Cult Leader introduced Ak Gun-so to him.
“This man is called Ak Gun-so. He is one of the five Vice Chiefs of our cult's Intelligence Pavilion and is in charge of Qinghai. Though he looks so young on the outside, he has lived longer than you, son-in-law. He has learned a special martial art. Ak Gun-so, why don't you try to guess. Who do you think this man here is?”
At that, Ak Gun-so looked at Cheon Ha-seong and offered his greetings.
“I am Ak Gun-so, a Vice Chief of the Intelligence Pavilion.”
“I asked you who this man is, so why are you giving your greetings?”
When the Cult Leader laughed with amusement, Ak Gun-so smiled playfully and said.
“I greeted him first because I think I will need to be on his good side in the future. Knowing the person whom the Cult Leader favors the most is one of the most important tasks for us.”
“Hoho, as expected, I am no match for a Vice Chief. We have much to catch up on, but you must not have come here just to exchange such words with me. Right. What brings you here?”
“Actually, there is something I do not understand among the things that are happening right now, so I have come to report, to confirm, and for other reasons.”
“The things that are happening now, you say. Is there something going on in Qinghai? Of course, I know about the bloodbath that occurred at the Azure Sea Sect. Since it was my son-in-law's doing.”
“Yes, I know about that. However, I wanted to ask because I do not understand the reason why the Young Family Head of the Danmok Demonic Clan is remaining in Qinghai with his martial artists.”
The Cult Leader, as if to say 'Was that it?', smiled, looked at Cheon Ha-seong, and nodded his head. It was a sign for him to explain it himself. Cheon Ha-seong, feeling embarrassed, told him what had happened, and Ak Gun-so was startled and listened quietly.
Through that one incident, he had come to grasp quite a lot about Cheon Ha-seong.
Then he told them what he had learned.
“The Murim Alliance has sent people to the Azure Sea Sect. And they have begun to manage it. At first, a few people went and controlled the place, but then more and more people came from the Murim Alliance. So now, no one can carelessly enter the Azure Sea Sect.”
As it was, Cheon Ha-seong had been curious about what had become of the Azure Sea Sect.
More than anything else, he was curious about the spoils of war. After returning from Qinghai, Cheon Ha-seong had learned that a vast amount of money was needed for the Divine Cult's livelihood, and he regretted having left the Azure Sea Sect's money behind.
At the time, the important thing was to bring the followers back safely, so there had been no other choice, but it was true that a sense of regret remained.
Then, listening to what Ak Gun-so was saying, he felt upset.
“My son-in-law made porridge and gave it to a dog.”
When the Cult Leader also spoke with regret, Ak Gun-so shook his head.
“No, Cult Leader. That was the reason I came here and asked about the Danmok Young Family Head first. From before then, we had sent people to have them thoroughly monitor the area around the Azure Sea Sect. It was because we were worried that those who came to investigate there might think that what had happened was related to our cult. Even if not, we were on high alert, wondering if they might not try to forcefully frame our cult.”
“Right. They are bastards who are more than capable of doing so. Isn't that the only thing the bastards of the Orthodox Sects know how to do?”
The Cult Leader said, suddenly getting angry as if something had come to mind.
“That is correct, Cult Leader. So we had the agents of our Intelligence Pavilion guard it without any gaps, but then the Young Family Head of the Danmok Demonic Clan appeared with the martial artists of his clan. One of our agents was from the Danmok Clan, so he recognized them at once. When they suddenly appeared, a report immediately came to me, and I too went to that place.”
“Did you. So what happened?”
The Cult Leader and Cheon Ha-seong had just been regretting not being able to bring back the spoils of war from the Azure Sea Sect. But now that he was saying that wasn't the case, their expectations rose.
“Didn't the martial artists of the Danmok Demonic Clan leave their carriages outside the Azure Sea Sect and sneak inside? After doing that, they came out with a safe they had stolen from inside. They had planned it so carelessly that they would have been caught if we hadn't helped.”
Thinking about it, Ak Gun-so spoke, shivering as if the thrilling memory of that moment was coming back to him.
“Is that true? Are you saying the Danmok Young Family Head stole the wealth of the Azure Sea Sect with the martial artists of the Danmok Clan?”
“That is correct, Cult Leader.”
“Where are those bastards now? Did you just let them go?”
“No, sir. They recognized us as well. They recognized their own family's people. Then they said it was a good thing and told us to drive the carriages, can you believe it? And they told us to distribute the money inside to the followers. The Young Family Head, that is.”
The Cult Leader was at a loss for words.
It was an event where success was closer to impossible. Even if they had prepared meticulously, the possibility of success wouldn't have been high, yet he didn't know how they had succeeded after planning so carelessly.
“It could only be explained as the Demonic God's help. While we were there, the bastards from the Murim Alliance came towards the carriages several times, so we had to do all sorts of things to turn their attention away.”
Just by looking at his expression, the tension of that moment seemed to be conveyed.
“He may be quite lacking in the head, but he has done a commendable thing. They must have stolen the money, staking their own lives. That bastard must have known that it would bring great harm to our cult if they were discovered, yet he must have been thinking of dying if it came to that…”
Those were not things that came to mind when thinking of Danmok Muyeol. If Ak Gun-so had not come and told him in person, the Cult Leader would not have believed it.
“So how much was it in total?”
“Cult Leader, please do not be surprised. Combining the gold taels, gold sycees, gold bars, and bank notes, it was a little over two hundred thirty thousand taels of gold. It seems it may be difficult to use the bank notes, but even excluding that, it is over one hundred thousand taels of gold.”
The Cult Leader was speechless for a moment and looked at Cheon Ha-seong.
Cheon Ha-seong, not knowing the scale of one hundred thousand taels of gold, had at some point just stopped thinking about it.
“Why are you looking at me, Cult Leader?”
“You are admirable, son-in-law. You have gone and accomplished in one go something I could not even have dreamed of.”
“It was not my doing. It was the work of the Danmok Young Family Head and the martial artists of the Danmok Clan. I do not know how these words will sound, but for some reason, I feel a sense of pity and affection. If I think of a talented child earning one tael of gold, and a lacking child earning a single coin, I think I would be more moved by the single coin the lacking child has earned.”
At those words, the Cult Leader and Ak Gun-so burst out laughing at the same time. It was because that was what they too had been thinking while the conversation was going on.
In their own way, they had caused trouble, saying they would help our cult and its followers, but it had been full of holes. It was to the point where one felt it was amazing they hadn't been caught and commendable that they were still alive.
“What did it seem like to you, Vice Chief? He may look foolish on the outside, but he is the Young Family Head of the Danmok Clan. Is there no possibility that he knew you would eventually find out and had calculated everything up to that point?”
“I do not believe that was the case, Cult Leader. If you ask me if I am certain, I cannot say so, but it did not seem to be a performance that could ever be faked.”
“If you say so, Vice Chief, then it is worth believing. Since it is nearly impossible to deceive you.”
Then the Cult Leader burst out in a loud laugh.
“Amusing. Truly amusing. I too have watched the Danmok Young Family Head for a long time and had many regrets, but I couldn't even fathom where or how to fix him. And I thought it was not my place to personally get involved and change that arrogant bastard, so I had given up. But it seems that bastard has truly met his match.”
His laughter continued for a long while without stopping.
Ak Gun-so realized what the Cult Leader was thinking. He must be thinking that Danmok Muyeol had acted that way because of Cheon Ha-seong.
But thinking about it calmly, it seemed that was right.
If Danmok Muyeol had continued to be revered as a young nobleman and the Young Family Head in the Divine Cult, how could he have attempted such a reckless act?
“Son-in-law, what do you say to forgiving the Danmok Young Family Head this once? Until now, no matter how much he tried to understand the hearts of the followers, his head might not have been able to keep up, so he couldn't. But it seems his eyes have been truly opened this time.”
“If that is what you think, Cult Leader, then I will follow you completely. I too am genuinely happy. The fact that he stole the money is gratifying, but the fact that he decided to distribute that money to the followers is moving. If he had thought he could never return to the Divine Cult, he could have decided to live in great style in Qinghai, couldn't he?”
The Cult Leader also nodded.
“This will be interesting. I am truly becoming curious about the future of the Divine Cult. I want to see what the Divine Cult will look like in twenty years.”
Then the Cult Leader looked at Ak Gun-so.
“Vice Chief, would you send those troublemakers back? Tell them I said to return at once.”
“Yes, Cult Leader. And I have brought the money just outside the Cult Leader's Hall. If you command it, I will bring it.”
“Why did you not bring it in from the beginning?”
“Then wouldn't the tension disappear while you were listening to the story? If you listen knowing the ending, the fun is halved, and I, the one reporting, also lose my steam.”
At Ak Gun-so's words, Cheon Ha-seong could not hold back his laughter. Every time he saw the people who had known the Cult Leader for a long time interact with him, he came to learn something new about what kind of person he was.
Seeing a person who was a Vice Chief of the Intelligence Pavilion speak so informally, he could guess how close their relationship was.
“Right. You did well. You did well. You didn't forget to set aside a generous amount for the Intelligence Pavilion's activity fund, did you? I trust you didn't just load everything up and make the carriage heavy for no reason.”
“Of course, Cult Leader. You can trust me. I pride myself on knowing you well.”
“Right. Right. So how much did you take?”
“I have set aside fifty thousand taels of gold under the pretext of an activity fund and for supporting the followers.”
“…?”
The Cult Leader's face, which had been full of laughter, froze as it was.
“Fifty thousand taels of gold… Are you perhaps planning to stage a rebellion against me and establish a new sect to become its founding ancestor?”
At those words, Ak Gun-so laughed with amusement.