Chapter 467

Chapter 467
## Chapter 467. The Anxiety of Goodness (4)

—

“How can you carry out an execution without even conducting a proper investigation!!!”

Myeong-hyeon’s roar shook the entire Martial Alliance loudly. At the execution ground, two groups were confronting each other hostilely while radiating killing intent. They were the members of the Jeom-chang Sect, the sect of the execution target, and the personnel of the Execution Hall.

“Gwan-rok clearly denied all the allegations against him! And yet, a death penalty without any evidence!!! Just how laughable do you think our Jeom-chang is to do this!”

Myeong-hyeon’s indignation pierced the heavens. Because his disciple, who was the elite of Jeom-chang and was on a roll even within the Inspection Hall, had been driven out as a spy along with Heo Il-sik.

“We have already shown you all the evidence.”

The attitude of the Execution Hall remained cold. Ju Gwan-rok had delivered the extra copy of the Kill List to Heo Il-sik, and Heo Il-sik, who led the Black Coffins, had written the name of the Mosan Sect on that Kill List. This was a situation that had already been clearly revealed.

“It is a nonsensical thing in the first place! For what reason would a disciple of Jeom-chang act as a spy together with some orphan whose origin cannot be known!”

From Jeom-chang’s perspective, it was a story that was not understood. He was not a secular disciple who had seeped in from the outside, but an elite who had been raised in Jeom-chang since he was very young. That someone who had been with them for decades would turn into a spy overnight. Furthermore, the individual himself was denying his actions a hundred, a thousand times.

“Since the additional crimes have already been revealed, the execution will proceed.”

Ju Gwan-rok had intended to exterminate five sects in addition to Mosan. They were all sects that occupied important positions within the One Hundred and Eight Peaks. When the member of the Execution Hall nodded toward his subordinate, the executioner drew his sword beside Ju Gwan-rok, who was fixed to the jade throne.

*Seu-reung.*

As blue sword-qi dwelled on the pure white blade, Ju Gwan-rok shouted until the veins in his neck stood out.

“*Sa-suk-nim*! I am aggrieved……! I am truly aggrieved!!”

At the sight of Ju Gwan-rok claiming his innocence while shedding tears and snot, the personnel of Jeom-chang ultimately could not endure it.

“Stop them.”

At Myeong-hyeon’s short words.

“……!”

The personnel of Jeom-chang disappeared.

*Seu-reung.*

The place where they reappeared was behind the personnel of the Execution Hall. The swords of Jeom-chang aimed at the throats of the Execution Hall members.

“…….”

However, the executioner did not show a single change in expression even though a blade was at his throat.

“This is an act of treason against the Martial Alliance. Are you aware of that?”

“Justice that is not correct is not justice. Stop the execution immediately.”

At the moment the grim confrontation was continuing. Two middle-aged men walked slowly into the execution ground. The personnel of the Execution Hall immediately clasped their hands.

“““We greet the Alliance Leader.”””
“““We greet the Chief Strategist.”””

It was none other than Zhuge So-myeong and Hyeok Mu-gang. Zhuge So-myeong, with a firm face, looked around the grounds and spoke his thoughts briefly.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Myeong-hyeon spat out as if gnashing his teeth.

“The one who is not in his right mind is the Chief Strategist!”

“What?”

“Ju Gwan-rok clearly spoke of his innocence countless times. And yet, executing a death penalty without listening to a single word properly—can you truly say that is the way of the Martial Alliance based on justice?”

Zhuge So-myeong, who had been listening quietly, asked casually.

“Is there evidence that he is innocent?”

“……That is being searched for through investigation!”

“Hmm, claiming innocence without evidence?”

“Before evidence, common-sensically, there is no point of contact between a disciple of Jeom-chang and that murderer Heo Il-sik!”

An impassioned shout. Following that, Zhuge So-myeong’s voice returned coldly.

“In other words, because he is from Jeom-chang, he is guiltless. Is that it?”

Myeong-hyeon struck back without backing down.

“I am saying to reveal it clearly! To put it bluntly, is this not a trick to establish discipline over Jeom-chang due to the affair with Dam-ak last time!”

Jeom-chang was already in a situation where they had retreated a lot from the center of the Martial Alliance. Due to the blunder Priest Myeong-hyeon had committed in Sichuan, they had moved far from the center of power in the Orthodox Association, and in an attempt to recover that, they got involved in the affair with Dam-ak and ended up completely pushed away.

Furthermore, if it were revealed that the spy of the Black Coffins was a person from Jeom-chang, the plan of Jeom-chang to seek control of the world might be delayed by decades, or even discarded entirely. It was the reason why Myeong-hyeon, who had been recuperating at the main mountain, had brought his old body all the way to the Martial Alliance.

“If you are the Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance, throw away political acts and prioritize justice!”

“Justice, justice, I see……”

Before anyone knew it, the Snow-Flower Iron Fan was held in Zhuge So-myeong’s hand. Myeong-hyeon’s story had touched a nerve to the point where it was unbearable.

“You speak as if the Martial Alliance is an unjust group.”

*Chwa-reu-reuk.*

The Snow-Flower Iron Fan held in Zhuge So-myeong’s hand spread open. The tip of the Snow-Flower Iron Fan was aimed precisely at Ju Gwan-rok’s throat. At Zhuge So-myeong’s attitude of trying to personally take action, Priest Myeong-hyeon’s face turned bright red.

“You truly intend to see the end……!”

At that moment, Hyeok Mu-gang stepped forward while gently blocking Zhuge So-myeong’s iron fan. Zhuge So-myeong stared at Hyeok Mu-gang for a moment before folding his iron fan and stepping back. If they were to see the end now, they could, but handling the events that would erupt afterward would not be easy.

“Heo Il-sik, who used the Kill List, never revealed anywhere that he was a spy. He was even in a situation where he had mastered sorcery that those who lived and died with him did not know.”

Hyeok Mu-gang’s voice flowed out calmly.

“I ask you. Can you be certain that the Jeom-chang disciple Ju Gwan-rok did not master sorcery? If it were to be revealed that he mastered sorcery—”

“…….”

“Jeom-chang would be crossing a river from which it cannot return.”

At the beast-like gaze, Myeong-hyeon flinched in spite of himself. That was so. To Priest Myeong-hyeon, who worried about the fall of Jeom-chang, it might have been better for Ju Gwan-rok to die like this.

However,

“Considering the danger of not knowing when he might use sorcery, it would be better for Jeom-chang to carry out the execution right now.”

The words ‘not knowing when he might use sorcery’ prodded the deepest part of Myeong-hyeon’s heart.

‘Has he already concluded with certainty that he mastered sorcery?’

Jeom-chang had already fallen a lot. If it were the original Jeom-chang, Ju Gwan-rok would not even have been investigated. Priest Myeong-hyeon simply could not accept the current reality, the fall of Jeom-chang.

Therefore,

“If you define Jeom-chang, the most important ally and pillar of the Martial Alliance, as an evil sect (*Sa-pa*), Jeom-chang has no reason to remain in the Martial Alliance!”

“…….”

Even while faintly aware of his own foolishness, he puffed himself up as a final struggle before the predator. At Myeong-hyeon’s threat, not only the personnel of the Execution Hall but even Zhuge So-myeong could not hide their surprise. Of course, a long-standing alliance could not be severed with a single word, but Priest Myeong-hyeon’s words would not end as mere words.

“……Is that so?”

However, Hyeok Mu-gang’s expression did not change otherwise.

“The Martial Alliance and Jeom-chang are a blood alliance beyond just an alliance! If the Martial Alliance does not believe in Jeom-chang, for what meaning would Jeom-chang keep its place in the Alliance!”

And Zhuge So-myeong was afraid of that. Because Hyeok Mu-gang was a person who, on the contrary, did not reveal his emotions when he was most angry. Soon, Hyeok Mu-gang’s finger tapped regularly in the air.

“So covering up a mistake is what gives trust……”

Soon, Hyeok Mu-gang shook his head refreshingly.

“If that is the relationship, then it seems right to end it.”

Hyeok Mu-gang drew a straight line in the air with his finger.

“What does that……”

“Keu-heok!”

A red crack appeared on the throat of Ju Gwan-rok, who had been swelling with hope that he might live.

“*S-Sa-suk*……”

Ju Gwan-rok’s neck was cleanly severed, and his head rolled on the floor.

“Convey this to Baek-u-mun (Sect Leader of Jeom-chang). That nowhere in the laws of the Martial Alliance does the weight of a crime change according to the sect the criminal belongs to.”

Blood poured out from the severed neck like a stream that had overflowed. The personnel of Jeom-chang watched that sight blankly.

The Tang-hyeon Sect disappeared along with the disappearance of Wang So-so. At the point when Wang So-so disappeared in the past life, Wang Geum-san, who had let go of the string of his reason, received the names of three sects through the Hebei Branch Manager.

People were puzzled. Why was the Tang-hyeon Sect, an orthodox sect, included among the three sects? And why did the Hebei Branch Manager of the Martial Alliance personally hand over the Tang-hyeon Sect, one of the One Hundred and Eight Peaks?

As the three sects were exterminated by Wang Geum-san and Wang Geum-san also disappeared along with the Wang Manor, the people’s curiosity melted away within time, erasing its traces.

And now. The name of that Tang-hyeon Sect had come up once more.

“Did the list come straight from the Black Coffins’ side?”

“We took it over after it passed through the All-Knowing Department once.”

“And was it written which sect was under suspicion?”

“It was not written. It probably means to investigate without prejudice.”

To have been on the suspect list for a serious crime twice. Should I just dismiss this as being terribly unlucky? Or should I see it as their usually hidden misconduct being revealed at moments like this?

“If you cross just that mountain, it is the Tang-hyeon Sect.”

A villager passing by pointed to a western mountain. I asked him casually.

“Does the Tang-hyeon Sect not commit any atrocities or anything like that?”

“Yes? Atrocities?”

The villager tilted his head.

“Far from atrocities, they step forward whenever there is a big event in the village. Honestly, it’s to the point where I wonder if martial artists really need to go this far.”

“I see.”

Il-gak had a relieved expression for some reason.

“Seeing them apologize for not being able to solve a matter that wasn’t even their fault, it makes me think that this is what a chivalrous hero is like.”

Hearing that, the Tang-hyeon Sect seemed like a sect with many similarities to me. I felt that it was a relief that I had prevented their extermination by solving the Wang So-so incident.

“Patron Jin, why is your expression like that?”

“What is?”

“Do you not have an expression as if you personally received praise?”

“……He said they have chivalry. I’m the type who originally gets moved when I hear stories about chivalry.”

“You are, Patron Jin?”

Just what is that aghast expression? I’m really going to make that smooth head of his all bumpy.

In my childhood, the events of the Martial Alliance had a more fairy-tale-like feeling. For instance, the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament, or a hero’s funeral, or at the very least, a martial arts festival, and so on. News of the Martial Alliance’s events made me harbor a vague longing for the Martial Alliance I could not go to, and a fantasy about things I had not experienced.

But this was a feeling felt strictly from a child’s perspective. After becoming an adult and learning about the world, one comes to grasp what kind of political meaning each event holds. If I, who lived only at the bottom throughout my past life, am like this, how much better would someone in a position of leading and operating a sect know?

There would be no one who thought of this visit of the Dragon and Phoenix Association as merely for the purpose of friendship. Because it had been so before, and it was planned to be so in the future. Furthermore, for those who had heard news that the Martial Alliance was in the middle of purging those who learned sorcery, just how would they think of the Dragon and Phoenix Association’s visit?

“Welcome!!!”

A resounding voice of welcome, and a crowd lined up to fill the entrance. The smell of mouth-watering food vibrated from all directions, and the sound of music echoed from within the gate.

“We have been waiting for you. Everyone of the Dragon and Phoenix Association.”

We lined up and greeted each other with martial salutes.

“““The Dragon and Phoenix Association offers its greetings to the Tang-hyeon Sect.”””
“““The Tang-hyeon Sect welcomes the Dragon and Phoenix Association.”””

No sooner had the greetings between each other finished than the Sect Leader of Tang-hyeon, Mak Hyo-wol, grabbed the hand of the Association President.

“Come in quickly. I have been waiting with my neck craned. First, please come inside.”

Considering the custom where a Sect Leader usually receives the greetings of the Dragon and Phoenix Association at the Sect Leader’s Pavilion, it could be seen that he truly welcomed the Dragon and Phoenix Association extremely. Led by the President, every time the Dragon and Phoenix Association passed, the disciples of the Tang-hyeon Sect repeated their welcoming greetings.

I followed slowly behind with Il-gak and sent a telepathic message.

*-Did they know we were coming at the Tang-hyeon Sect?*

Il-gak looked back at me instead of answering. I ignored Il-gak’s gaze and continued to send telepathic messages.

*-I’m asking if the Sect Leader of Tang-hyeon knew that we were included in the Dragon and Phoenix Association.*

Officially, this is a visit of the Dragon and Phoenix Association. However, the Sect Leader of Tang-hyeon showed no surprise whatsoever even after seeing me and Il-gak. I’m not overestimating my fame, but it feels bizarre that the Sect Leader of Tang-hyeon doesn’t recognize Il-gak, whom even the farmers in the countryside recognize.

“……!”

There was no need to hear an answer. Because Il-gak’s eyes widened as if he were startled.

‘It means he should not have known.’

Either the Sect Leader of Tang-hyeon was the possessor of an immovable mind that rivaled Il-gak’s, or else……. It was a story that he knew from the beginning that we had joined.

The words I said earlier about him having similarities to me…… for now, I take them back.