Wudang Sacred Scriptures

“That would be because something has happened inside Ghost Night Castle.”

At Kwak Yeon’s answer, Chwi Dugae set his doubts aside for a moment and looked at him.

It was a far more important topic than the question of why the Young Castle Lord had revealed identity to Kwak Yeon.

“Why do you say it so flatly, like a conclusion?”

With Chwi Dugae staring straight through him, Kwak Yeon went on.

“Wasn’t it strange from the start that a figure as big as Ghost Night Castle’s Chief Protector came out personally on a contract job?”

Chwi Dugae nodded readily.

“It was very strange.”

“Judging from how that person called the Young Castle Lord said the Chief Protector’s actions were mistaken, it means the Young Castle Lord hadn’t given the orders. In that case, the Chief Protector acted alone in this matter, and the purpose was money.”

“So, you’re saying the Young Castle Lord’s party suddenly had to come out of Ghost Night Castle and needed funds, and the Chief Protector took on this contract work without letting the Young Castle Lord know, to secure those funds?”

When Chwi Dugae summed it up in one breath and asked, Kwak Yeon let the corner of his mouth rise slightly.

“As expected of you, Brother.”

“Damn it, that’s just asking me to bow down for compliments, so cut it out with that. And... as for smiling like that, now that it’s finally halfway worth looking at, keep doing it.”

“......”

Feeling needlessly awkward, Chwi Dugae hurriedly continued.

“In any case, Brother Kwak’s thinking hits the mark. Demon heads of the Demonic Eight Divisions don’t touch rotten meat unless they’re in serious trouble.”

“Rotten meat?”

“It’s a figure of speech those demonic bastards use. ‘Demonic-path men are like tigers, kings of beasts, and do not eat rotten meat.’ That’s how they crow on and on. At the same time, they mock black-path types who run back-alley businesses as hyenas that seek out rotten meat, and orthodox folk as wildcats that catch and eat rats and snakes.”

Since his knowledge of the martial world was still lacking, Kwak Yeon was fully absorbed in what Chwi Dugae was saying.

“In any case, it’s the arrogant bragging of utterly ridiculous bastards. As Brother Kwak knows, the world isn’t that narrow and one-sided. That’s why those narrow-minded demonic-path bastards are shunned in the martial world.”

Listening closely, Kwak Yeon suddenly grew curious and asked:

“Then what do the Demonic Eight Divisions live on? What’s their livelihood?”

“If you go by that metaphor of theirs, the Demonic Eight Divisions live by gnawing on the flesh of those hyenas and wildcats.”

“......?”

“In other words, they take tributes without distinction from both black-path and orthodox forces within their territory. Any sect or organization whose tribute is lacking or who tries to skip paying gets bitten to death on the spot.”

Kwak Yeon more or less understood the way the demonic path ruled the martial world.

Those who submitted were kept within their domain.

Those who resisted were erased from it.

It was as simple as it was lucid, and for that very reason, all the more terrifying.

As Kwak Yeon was working out the demonic path’s way of survival, Chwi Dugae’s voice continued.

“Before the Great Upheaval of the Eight Desolations, the Demonic Eight Divisions ruled over more than half the world. I’ve heard that at the time even the secular branches of prestigious great sects and even military offices had to pay tribute to the Demonic Eight Divisions just to eke out an existence.”

“......”

“At that time, the momentum of the Demonic Eight Divisions just kept growing like a breaking wave, so orthodox martial world, black-path martial world, even the Demonic Cult itself, were all scared out of their wits. That’s why, for the first time in martial history, a three-way alliance of orthodox sects, unorthodox factions, and the Demonic Cult was formed.”

Kwak Yeon was glad to unexpectedly hear about the background and course of the Great Upheaval of the Eight Desolations.

But since the story was becoming too long, he quietly spoke.

“Brother, please tell me the rest of that story slowly another time.”

“Oh, listen to me rambling. That’s not what matters right now.”

Chwi Dugae hurried back to the main point of the conversation.

“So you’re saying that some grave incident has occurred inside Ghost Night Castle, and that the Young Castle Lord fled, so to speak.”

“That’s right.”

“And you’re thinking that grave incident is related to the madmen of Huayang Temple?”

At the question that struck straight at the heart of it, Kwak Yeon gave a faint smile and answered.

“Ghost Night Castle, like the Gathering Demons Division, is one of the Demonic Eight Divisions, so there’s a possibility they’re using the same heretical technique. If so, surely there would have been people who opposed that technique.”

Chwi Dugae nodded.

“Demonic-path men are still human brats, so they’d balk at turning into blood fiends like that. Anyway, if it’s as you say, then the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle came out against that technique and got driven out. Which would mean a rebellion broke out inside Ghost Night Castle. Good grief...”

“For now, it’s only a supposition.”

“Even so, the possibility is high. Even if it isn’t that, it’s certain that something serious happened in Ghost Night Castle... Damn it!”

Chwi Dugae smacked his own forehead with a sharp thwack.

“Then didn’t we let a truly good opportunity slip by? If we’d held on to the Young Castle Lord and talked properly, we could have learned Ghost Night Castle’s strengths and weaknesses, not to mention that technique.”

Kwak Yeon slowly shook his head.

“Don’t regret it. It was something we could hardly count on in the first place.”

“Why? If it’s as you think, they’re in such a dire situation they’d want to clutch at even a straw.”

“How much could the Young Castle Lord trust us, whom they were seeing for the first time in their life?”

“......!”

“Having spared the Chief Protector, if we had asked those two demonic-path folk to trust us, who are orthodox, what do you think the Young Castle Lord would have thought?”

“...That we were lunatics, I suppose. But still, we could have at least taken a shot—”

“No.”

Kwak Yeon shook his head firmly.

“If we’d done that, it would have ended with us throwing away even the slightest thread of possibility.”

“Hm?”

“The Young Castle Lord was a person with very strong self-respect. If it’s true that they were driven out by rebels within Ghost Night Castle, then that’s literally the dirty underbelly of Ghost Night Castle. As the Young Castle Lord, would they ever speak of such shameful things to outsiders—much less to orthodox people?”

Recalling the resolute bearing of that one called the Young Castle Lord, Chwi Dugae nodded.

“So Brother Kwak, rather than rush and blow the chance completely, chose to call out to the Young Castle Lord and then hold back, to leave at least a sliver of room.”

He now understood why Kwak Yeon had looked urgently after the black-hatted figure leaving the restaurant and had his lips twitch as if to speak.

“In any case, it is a pity. If we could have learned even a little of the Demonic Eight Divisions’ circumstances, it would have been a great help for this Martial Alliance event.”

Above all, it was because they might have been able to reduce the sacrifices caused by the heretical technique.

The madmen he had faced at Huayang Temple had been truly horrific.

As Chwi Dugae clung to his regrets and couldn’t quite let go, Kwak Yeon spoke.

“Brother, I was very regretful as well. But I simply did not want to exploit the Young Castle Lord’s dire circumstances.”

“......!”

“All the more so when I knew full well we wouldn’t be able to hear even a single word.”

If they had been driven out by rebels, then the Young Castle Lord would be in a very difficult position.

If they had seized such a person and applied pressure, the misery the Young Castle Lord would have felt was beyond reckoning.

“That is true.”

Nodding readily, Chwi Dugae felt he could somewhat grasp the reason the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle had revealed identity to Kwak Yeon.

The Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle must have read Brother Kwak’s heart, mind to mind.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no other reason for the Young Castle Lord to go so far as to reveal their identity.

Was it because Brother Kwak went one step further than their plea to spare the Chief Protector’s life, and let Black-Yin Demon God go unharmed?

It was certainly something worthy of deep gratitude, but not to the level of seeing through the heart.

Then, all of a sudden, Chwi Dugae recalled one of Kwak Yeon’s actions.

At one point, out of the blue, he had made a show of having overexerted himself and said he was thirsty, insisting on drinking wine he didn’t even like.

Don’t tell me that was out of consideration for the defeated Black-Yin Demon God?

Thinking back to how, at Huayang Temple, he hadn’t asked for so much as a sip of water even after a fierce battle that had lasted more than an entire interval, he had found it strange at the time.

Chwi Dugae was dumbfounded to realize that Kwak Yeon had extended human-hearted concern even to a great demon head who had tried to kill him.

Hah, what is he, a statue from the middle of Buddha’s shrine or something.

Since he had no way of knowing that Kwak Yeon had experienced the resonance of Honwonmusang Technique during the fight, all he could do was be utterly staggered.

In any case, Chwi Dugae had found the reason the Young Castle Lord had revealed identity to Kwak Yeon.

The Young Castle Lord must have seen that action and, mind to mind, felt Brother Kwak’s heart.

Chwi Dugae realized that the mind of this one called Young Castle Lord ran quite deep.

Well, if they’ve been named successor to Ghost Night Castle’s Castle Lord, they’d have to have at least that level of insight. That aside...

Staring blankly at Kwak Yeon for a moment, Chwi Dugae suddenly spoke.

“It really is strange, you know.”

“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd, that the Young Castle Lord revealed identity to you?”

“I’ve also been thinking it’s odd.”

Looking at Kwak Yeon, Chwi Dugae truly felt the saying that a monk cannot shave his own head.

Yes, you need at least that level of obliviousness to be properly human.

Knowing that bringing it up would do nothing to change Kwak Yeon’s nature, Chwi Dugae changed the subject.

“Anyway, what worries me is what comes next.”

Seeing his expression cloud over, Kwak Yeon spoke.

“You’re worried about the Alliance of the Demonic Path’s Public Contract, aren’t you, Brother?”

Chwi Dugae nodded.

“A whole million gold taels. As you’ve just experienced with this incident, that’s the kind of fortune that will make even dead ghosts leap up and charge you.”

“Brother, no matter how it is, there aren’t going to be actual dead ghosts getting up and charging at us.”

Chwi Dugae glared at him.

“You can joke at a time like this? My guts are burning here...”

With a calm expression, Kwak Yeon spoke.

“How could I not know what you’re worried about, Brother? It’s just that worrying won’t change anything, so I spoke lightly.”

Chwi Dugae nodded along.

“That is true enough. As long as the Alliance of the Demonic Path doesn’t withdraw the Public Contract, there’s nothing else to be done. Whew.”

Letting out a low sigh, he went on.

“First of all, we need to hurry to the Martial Alliance as much as we can. If we dawdle, we’ll end up having to deal with every scrap of riffraff along the way.”

He worried about strong experts coming at them, of course.

But what worried him even more was the prospect of hordes of worthless moths gathering.

If at every step of the way, clouds of martial-world men trailed behind them, even eating and sleeping would not be easy.

Once they arrived at the Martial Alliance, they should be able to breathe easy for a while.

In that time, they could look for a way to get the Alliance of the Demonic Path’s Public Contract withdrawn.

“So that’s why you had Society Leader Bae summon Nanchang’s Branch Master?”

“That’s right. I plan to have him find us a boat we can take through the night.”

“In that case, please have him look for one that’s not a public ferry boat.”

Knowing that Kwak Yeon worried about harming ordinary people the way the restaurant had been damaged, Chwi Dugae replied:

“Don’t worry about that. Boats for ordinary folk, like public ferry boats, don’t operate at night.”

“Then what kind of boat...?”

“There are boats that only set out at night.”

“......?”

Just then, a beggar came rushing into the restaurant.

“Sub-Branch Master! What on earth is all this?!”