Chapter 320

Kwak Yeon spoke to the huffing Hu Gae.

“Brother, I understand why you’re angry, but please calm down for a moment.”

“Brother Kwak, do I look like I can calm down? Think of all the hell we went through just to get here. And on top of that, think of how much effort you’ve poured into those old demons for the past two days.”

“...”

“And now every last one of those old demons has clammed up like this. How am I supposed to put up with that? Damn old bastards ought to spend the rest of their lives begging for scraps! May those demon bastards roll through a field of dog shit and drown in a cesspit!”

After venting a long string of curses, Hu Gae finally shut his mouth.

Kwak Yeon asked, “Feeling a little better now, Brother?”

“Not yet.”

“Really? You look calmer to me.”

“What? You’re not inside my head. How would you know?”

“I know you well enough that I may as well be.”

“...”

Kwak Yeon smiled faintly and continued.

“You never truly meant to charge back into the cavern, did you?”

“You... How did you know that?”

“When you’re genuinely furious, Brother, the first thing you reach for is the Tagu Staff.”

Hu Gae looked down at his empty hands and gave an embarrassed smile.

“Well, that’s true. But I really was furious just now. If those old men in there weren’t Demonic Venerables, I really would have picked up my Tagu Staff.”

“I’m sure you would have.”

Kwak Yeon nodded.

“But the Eight Demonic Venerables have reasons for behaving as they do. I think you should try to be understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“It only occurred to me after we came out of the inner cavern. I finally understood what this must be like from their perspective.”

“Hm?”

“The Eight Demonic Venerables severed their ties with this world long ago, didn’t they? If so, simply being brought back to life may not be something they can immediately rejoice over.”

At those words, Hu Gae began to understand their silence.

From the Eight Demonic Venerables’ perspective, it was as though someone had torn open their coffins after they had entered eternal sleep and forcibly dragged them awake.

It had to be profoundly disorienting.

“Haa... If that’s the case, this has become troublesome. Time keeps passing, and we can’t simply wait forever.”

At Hu Gae’s sigh, Kwak Yeon said, “The Young Castle Lord said she would stay with them and keep trying. We should give her some time.”

Hu Gae nodded.

“Right. Jin is one of the Demonic Eight Divisions herself. They’re more likely to listen if Sister Jin talks some sense into them.”

Kwak Yeon turned his gaze toward the tunnel leading into the inner cavern.

Even if Jin Cheongha explained the current state of the Demonic Eight Divisions, there was no guarantee the Eight Demonic Venerables would accept his request.

Still, Jin Cheongha had promised to do everything she could.

For now, all he could do was wait...

Then Hu Gae spoke in a low voice.

“And if even that doesn’t get through to them... we can always nail their coffins shut again, just like they wanted.”

“...?”

Kwak Yeon turned toward him.

Hu Gae continued.

“Brother Kwak, you saw the demonic martial arts inscribed on the walls of those cave niches too, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

Over the past two days, Kwak Yeon had taken turns staying in each of the eight cave niches.

Naturally, he had seen the demonic martial arts inscribed on their walls.

“Every single one of them is among the highest-level demonic arts of the Demonic Eight Divisions. That’s why I called that place a Hall of Ten Thousand Demons. Demonic arts or not, as martial artists, we can’t destroy another sect’s martial legacy. If it comes to that, we’ll have no choice but to seal the place up and bury it as it is. Assuming, of course, that the Eight Demonic Venerables truly have no attachment left to this world and insist on remaining here.”

“...”

“At least Sister Jin is here. Ghost Night Castle’s advanced demonic art can still be passed on.”

At Hu Gae’s subdued sigh, Kwak Yeon felt his heart grow heavy.

Hu Gae had called it only a possibility, but Kwak Yeon had already considered that worst-case outcome.

While circulating the Honwonmusang Technique and resonating with the Eight Demonic Venerables, he had felt a vast emptiness within them.

And sure enough, even after they regained consciousness, he could sense no passion for life from any of them.

That was also why ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) their silence felt so much like death.

First, I have to rekindle their desire to live somehow.

Getting their signatures on the Righteous Heaven Banner came afterward.

But how am I supposed to bring that desire back?

He had known how to revive bodies that were dying.

He did not know how to revive hearts that had already died.

Then I’ll find a way starting now.

Whenever Kwak Yeon encountered a problem, he had always found some means of solving it.

He closed his eyes and sank deep into thought.

*****

“Old Master Wang, is this really all the fish you brought today?”

Jeon Sang-o, owner of the wholesale fishmonger Wang Sosam regularly dealt with, looked disappointed.

“Didn’t you tell me to expect a much bigger catch than usual today?”

“Wholesaler Jeon, it seems this old man’s luck is downright rotten today. Haa...”

Wang Sosam sighed.

“Someone cut the lines to my nets overnight. I lost nearly all of them.”

Wang Sosam had been dealing with the family since Jeon Sang-o’s father’s time, so despite Jeon now being the owner of the wholesale fishmonger, Wang spoke to him comfortably.

“Don’t you always set your nets near the Zhenjiangkou docks? Who would cut them there?”

The Zhenjiangkou docks belonged to the Martial Alliance, so outsiders were not normally permitted to come and go freely.

However, Martial Supreme Venerable Cheol Gun-ak had proclaimed throughout the Martial Alliance that civilians were to be accommodated whenever possible and that Alliance activities should not interfere unnecessarily with their livelihoods.

Thanks to that policy, Wang Sosam, who had worked those waters since long before the Martial Alliance arrived, was allowed to enter and leave freely.

“I don’t know. I actually felt safer than usual because I’d set the nets among the Great Flame Merchant House’s vessels. The merchant ships couldn’t have moved around during the night and snapped the lines, either. It’s enough to make a man think ghosts were at work.”

As Wang Sosam lamented his loss, he suddenly remembered how high the merchant ships had been riding in the water.

“Wholesaler Jeon, have you heard anything about the Great Flame Merchant House unloading cargo during the night?”

As a wholesale fishmonger in Zhenjiangkou’s market district, Jeon Sang-o was well informed about the local mercantile world.

If cargo had been unloaded from the Great Flame Merchant House’s vessels, some of those goods would certainly have made their way to merchants in the market.

And if the merchant ships really had shifted around during the night and snapped his net lines in the process, Wang might be able to demand compensation from the Great Flame Merchant House.

“Old Master Wang, unloading cargo from ships in the middle of the night? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Jeon Sang-o immediately dashed the hopeful look in Wang Sosam’s eyes.

“If they meant to unload cargo, they would have done it in broad daylight yesterday. You know better than anyone how difficult river work is after dark. Why are you suddenly saying something so strange?”

Wang Sosam’s face flushed faintly.

“You’re right... I must have been imagining things. My forgetfulness must be getting worse with age. Either that, or a river-mist ghost bewitched me.”

Feeling sorry for the old fisherman with his shoulders slumped, Jeon Sang-o said, “Cheer up, Old Master Wang. Bad days come, and good days follow them. And if you ask me, your mind is still sharper than mine, even though I’m much younger.”

“Kind of you to say so.”

Jeon Sang-o paid him more generously than usual for the fish, then asked, “But what do you mean about being bewitched by a river-mist ghost? Did you see something strange?”

Naturally, Jeon Sang-o knew that boatmen often called mirages over the river tricks played by river-mist ghosts.

“The Great Flame Merchant House’s ships seemed to be riding higher in the water than when I saw them yesterday evening.”

“Ah! So that’s what made you start talking nonsense.”

“Wholesaler Jeon, I should be going. Thank you for giving me a good price for the fish.”

Jeon Sang-o watched Wang Sosam leave the wholesale fishmonger with a rueful look.

“Master.”

Seok-gu, the serving boy who had been working off to one side, came over.

“Um... what exactly is a waterline?”

Jeon Sang-o frowned.

“You little rascal. Instead of doing the work I gave you, you were eavesdropping on your elders?”

“Master, I already finished everything you told me to do. Besides, what am I supposed to do when I can hear you talking?”

Seok-gu could come across as cheeky and ill-mannered, but he was clever and worked well, so Jeon Sang-o asked wearily, “Why are you so curious about waterlines?”

“I’ve never heard the term before. And I figured that if I’m going to work at a fish wholesaler, knowing something about boats probably wouldn’t hurt.”

At the quick answer, Jeon Sang-o found himself pleased.

It seemed he had finally found a useful serving boy.

And if he wanted to keep a good worker for long, he could not spend all his time scolding him.

Putting on a solemn expression, Jeon Sang-o began to explain.

“A waterline, you see, is a kind of marker...”

Wang Sosam returned to his private dock and found someone in yellow martial robes sitting in his small boat.

SLOSH!

The warrior, who had been gazing out over the river, rose from the boat and turned around.

“Are you Wang Sosam?”

Wang Sosam saw the bold character for “Alliance” emblazoned on the man’s yellow jacket and immediately realized he was a Martial Alliance warrior.

“Yes, sir.”

The fact that a Martial Alliance warrior had been waiting for a nobody like him left Wang Sosam both startled and uneasy.

The warrior stepped out of the small boat and approached him.

“Old Wang, there’s no need to be nervous. I only came to ask you a few questions.”

“Ah, I see.”

“My name is Geum Yulcheok. I command the Goncheon Corps of the Martial Alliance’s Inner Court.”

“Gasp!”

Wang Sosam was even more shocked.

This was no ordinary Martial Alliance warrior.

He was a Corps Commander.

“That should tell you how important this matter is to the Alliance. So answer every question without the slightest deviation from the truth.”

“O-of course, sir.”

“Where have you just come from?”

“I went to the wholesale fishmonger in the market to deliver today’s catch.”

“Do you always go there immediately after docking?”

“Yes, sir. If the fish spoil, I won’t get a proper price for them, so I put everything else aside and go straight there.”

Geum Yulcheok nodded.

“So I was one step too late.”

“...?”

“Other than the fish wholesaler, did you stop anywhere else?”

“No, sir. Today’s catch was so poor that I had even less reason than usual to stop anywhere else.”

“That was wise.”

“Sir...?”

“Which wholesaler did you visit?”

“The Jeon family’s place.”

“Who did you meet there?”

“Only Wholesaler Jeon, the owner...”

Geum Yulcheok stared directly into Wang Sosam’s eyes for a long moment.

“So far, you appear to be telling the truth. Then I have one final question.”

“...”

“Old Wang. Did you tell Wholesaler Jeon about it?”

For a moment, Wang Sosam did not understand what the Corps Commander meant.

About what?

He stood there bewildered.

Then something suddenly came back to him.

The waterlines of the merchant ships, exposed higher above the river.

And the net lines that, for some reason, had all been severed and disappeared today.

“...!”

Wang Sosam’s gaze unconsciously shifted toward his small boat.

The side of the boat was still slick with moisture.

While the Corps Commander had been sitting inside it, his weight had pushed that section beneath the water, leaving behind a wet mark.

Ah...!

In an instant, every question that had troubled Wang Sosam since dawn fell into place.

They didn’t unload cargo.

They unloaded people.