Chapter 367

Chapter 367: Truth (7)

Il-mok left and a brief silence followed in his wake.

“For now, I think we should each head back and sort through our thoughts.”

It was the Beggar King who broke the heavy quiet first.

“I agree.”

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal nodded in agreement, and Hwangbo Ak did the same.

“Hmph! What’s there to think about? They’re the Demonic Cult! The Demonic Cult, I tell you!”

The only one who refused to follow suit was the Qingcheng Sect Leader, still seething as he shouted those words with his face twisted in fury.

“We have no right to force our decision on the Qingcheng Sect. But wouldn’t it be better to calm yourself before making a final call?”

With that, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal reached out and released the acupoint seals on both the Qingcheng Sect Leader and Taoist Master Cheongmok.

“We’ll take our leave first, Senior Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal, Senior Beggar King.”

Hwangbo Ak gave them a brief bow, then walked out of the hall with his two daughters.

The Beggar King and Little Tiger Beggar followed shortly after, and Qingcheng Sect Leader huffed through his nose before storming out as well.

Taoist Master Cheongmok trailed after his Sect Leader, and as he stepped out of the hall, a peaceful scene greeted him.

Commoners with relaxed faces and gentle smiles were wandering all around the Maitreya Luminous Cult’s grounds.

‘If a sinner repents and turns his life around, do the children he raised still bear his sin?’

The common folk walking among the scriptures all looked at peace, yet the face of a Taoist who had spent decades cultivating the Dao was clouded with worry.

Meanwhile, Il-mok left the cult’s grounds and made his way to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s branch office.

The moment he arrived, Jin Hayeon spoke up.

“Young Master, that last example you gave was a bit blasphemous.”

“The one about the man who used to be an assassin?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it almost sound like an admission that our Divine Cult has done wrong in the past?”

Il-mok nodded at her words.

The cycle of bad blood that had lasted for hundreds of years was incredibly messy and complicated.

From the perspective of the Orthodox Faction, they had every reason to resent the Demonic Cult for the deaths of their ancestors. But the Demonic Cult also has many reasons to resent the Orthodox Faction, for it was the Orthodox Faction who had slaughtered their forebears.

“Every story I told in that meeting applies equally to our Divine Cult. Try thinking about it with the positions reversed.”

During the talks with the Orthodox Faction members, Il-mok had raised several topics for discussion. And funnily enough, every single one of them worked just as well if you swapped the roles of the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult.

“What about all of you? Are you going to blindly treat anyone from the Orthodox Faction as an enemy just because of what happened to our ancestors? Even if they, just like us, are striving to help the people?”

The maids exchanged complicated looks at his question.

After a brief pause, Jin Hayeon stepped forward to answer.

“We are merely servants in your service, Young Master. If you command it, we will follow. And the laws of the Divine Cult are set by the Heavenly Demon, so if the new Heavenly Demon commands it, we will follow that as well.”

‘That is such a Jin Hayeon answer.’

Just then, one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s warriors came to find him.

“Young Master, the Hwangbo Family Head is looking for you.”

Il-mok tilted his head slightly and replied, “Please bring the Family Head here.”

The fact that he was looking for him meant he had already made his decision. That it had come this quickly struck him as a little odd.

A short while later, Hwangbo Ak and his two daughters arrived.

Il-mok dismissed the maids and received them with his mask removed.

“Have you reached a decision?”

At his question, Hwangbo Ak let out a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha. I’ve never been very good at using my head. To be completely honest, I couldn’t figure out the answer to that deep question you left us with.”

“???”

While Il-mok tried his best to suppress the baffled look threatening to show on his face, Hwangbo Ak kept talking.

“So I decided to just keep it simple. We’re not Taoists, and we’re not beggars. We’re just a family that cares a little bit about honor and chivalry. I’ll be straight with you. As the Family Head, what matters most to me is the survival of the family.”

“And from your position as Family Head, what did you make of it all?”

“A pretty simple problem once I thought about it in terms of where the Hwangbo Family’s home sits.”

Il-mok caught on to where he was going.

“Indeed. Shandong and Beijing are uncomfortably close to each other.”

“Exactly. If what you said is true and the Imperial Family really does plan to wipe out the martial world, then the Hwangbo Family would definitely be the first ones on the chopping block.”

In terms of proximity to the Imperial Court, the Hebei Peng Family and the Beggars’ Gang were technically closer than the Hwangbo family. But the Peng family wasn’t present, and the Beggars’ Gang was a different case altogether.

The Beggars’ Gang’s main headquarters was said to be located in Tianjin, right below Beijing, but that was just their headquarters. The Beggars’ Gang was a group made up of beggars at its core, so even if their headquarters were attacked, it wouldn’t be a critical blow.

Il-mok nodded in understanding, and Hwangbo Ak grinned and added, “That said, it doesn’t mean I fully trust you people. For now, I’m thinking of preparing to relocate our base while working with the Beggars’ Gang to look into the Eastern Depot. As I said, the family’s survival comes first.”

“That’s a perfectly reasonable decision. But has the Beggars’ Gang also agreed to work together on this?”

“Hahaha. If the Beggars’ Gang doesn’t believe what you’ve told us, I’ll just throw money at them and hire them to dig up the intel. If they turn me down, I’ll just have to hire someone else to look into it. This is about my family’s survival, after all.”

With his explanation done, Hwangbo Ak made to say his farewells.

“Well then, it looks like there’s a lot to be done from here, so I’ll be taking my leave. This might be the last time we see each other, so if you girls have something you want to say, now’s the time.”

Hwangbo Yeon fell into a thoughtful expression.

Unlike her father, she was still wrestling with the questions Il-mok had raised.

It was then that Hwangbo Se-hui looked over at Il-mok and spoke. “There’s one thing I’d like to ask, if I may.”

“Go ahead.”

When Il-mok gave his permission, Hwangbo Se-hui smiled softly and asked, “Could I ask how old you are?”

It was a completely unexpected question with no connection whatsoever to plots or alliances, but Il-mok just tilted his head and answered honestly. “I’m twenty-four this year.”

Hwangbo Ak and Hwangbo Yeon, who had been holding out hope for a different answer, stared at Il-mok in shock.

He did look young for sure, but they had at least been assuming it was because the Overhaul Body Transformation had made him appear younger than he was.

Meanwhile, Hwangbo Se-hui was the only one wearing a deeply satisfied smile.

About an hour or so after the Hwangbo Family left, the Beggar King and Little Tiger Beggar came to find Il-mok.

“Our Beggars’ Gang has decided to find the answer in our own way.”

Il-mok thought on the Beggar King’s words for a moment before asking, “You mean you intend to verify whether the information we provided is true?”

“That’s right.”

It wasn’t an outright declaration to maintain the alliance, but it was a more than welcome answer. At the very least, there had been no lies told on the matter of the Imperial Family’s conspiracy. If they looked into it and the truth was confirmed, then they could become allies again from that point on.

“Then I’ll send someone to share all the information we gathered while investigating the Eastern Depot. Please look it over and determine whether it’s accurate.”

“We’ll do that. The Hwangbo Family Head certainly seemed to be in quite a hurry as well.”

It seemed Hwangbo Ak had gone to find the Beggar King before leaving and done a bit of persuading.

Just then, Little Tiger Beggar cautiously raised his hand and spoke. “Ahem. Sorry to interrupt, but can I ask you one quick question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you really the Eighth Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”

“Since my Master has ascended, referring to myself as a Young Master might be a bit awkward at this point. But yes, I am.”

Basically, he was saying he didn’t use the title anymore, but he definitely was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.

At that answer, Little Tiger Beggar’s expression grew even more uncomfortable. “Then what about that time when you curse the Heavenly Demon is a dog?”

“…”

The long-forgotten memory suddenly resurfacing left Il-mok momentarily speechless.

The Beggar King’s eyes went wide, and he turned on Little Tiger Beggar immediately. “You idiot! If you remembered that, you should’ve brought it up back in the meeting!”

“Are you kidding, Master? How was I supposed to bring up that childish play when everyone was being so completely serious?”

“Since when do beggars care about reading the room?!”

“We have to read the room because we’re beggars! You’re the one who always says that begging is ninety percent reading the room!”

While the two beggars bickered back and forth, Il-mok rapidly got his story straight and put on a perfectly composed expression.

“First of all, I apologize for the lie. And at the time, I answered that way because I had a secret order from my Master.”

“A secret order? You mean the previous Heavenly Demon actually permitted you to say that?”

The Beggar King asked with a look of surprise, and Il-mok nodded.

“That’s correct. Master said that if it meant helping the common people, he didn’t mind a bit of infamy being attached to his name, and he gave me his blessing readily.”

Il-mok spun the lie effortlessly without so much as blinking an eye.

‘I mean, I did report it to him and got his permission after the fact, so it’s not entirely a lie, right?’

While Il-mok was busy rationalizing things in his head, the Beggar King pressed on. “But how did the former Heavenly Demon know my idiot disciple was going to ask that question?”

“I’m just as amazed by that myself. My late Master must have had some incredible foresight. Hahaha.”

Despite that minor bit of chaos, the discussion with the Beggars’ Gang was eventually wrapped up.

Shortly after, the Qingcheng Sect Leader and Taoist Master Cheongmok came to find him.

“We will never work alongside the likes of the Demonic Cult, so don’t even think about it!”

Whether his anger still hadn’t cooled or he had simply concluded that the Qingcheng Sect and the Demonic Cult could never stand together, the Sect Leader threw those words out the moment he arrived, then turned on his heel and walked straight out of the hall. He looked exactly like a messenger who had only shown up to declare war.

Taoist Master Cheongmok gave Il-mok and the Beggar King a deeply conflicted look before turning around to chase after his Sect Leader.

‘Well. Can’t be helped.’

Il-mok quietly swallowed his disappointment.

At least things seemed workable with the Hwangbo Family and the Beggars Gang, so there was that to be thankful for.

‘That just leaves Wudang, then.’

With that thought settling in his mind, Il-mok moved to wrap up the discussion with the Beggar King. He handed over the letters and intelligence he had set aside regarding the Eastern Depot and the Beggar King gathered them up and left the hall.

A couple of hours later, Wudang’s Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal and Taoist Un-baek came to find Il-mok.

“What a ruthless man, to throw that brutal riddle and just walk away.”

Il-mok smiled wryly at that comment.

He had a feeling that the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal might have been the only one who had genuinely wrestled with that question and found his own answer to it.

“And what do you intend to do, Senior Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal?”

“I might be a Taoist, but I’m still just a person. How could I blindly trust someone who has sinned in the past? Even if he was raising orphans, I’d definitely assume he was scheming something behind the scenes and dig into his background.”

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal began laying out the answer he had found for himself.

“I’d doubt him over and over again. But if I dug that deep and still found nothing… I suppose I would end up forgiving the man.”

“Even knowing he killed your parents?”

“Hasn’t he repented for his sins? Wudang might not be Shaolin, but we still take the Non-Killing Precept and self-reflection very seriously.”

After giving his answer, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal offered a quick Taoist chant.

“That’s why I said you were ruthless. Any Taoist of Wudang would know they should forgive that man, but to endure their resentment toward him? That’s nothing short of hell.”

“…I’m sorry for muddying your thoughts.”

Il-mok gave him a deeply respectful martial arts salute, while secretly letting out a massive sigh of relief.

‘Still, that makes three.’