Chapter 68
"Hoo."
Jegal Gil had just arrived at his intended destination.
He hadn't realized during the day, but coming at night made the distance seem quite far.
Perhaps the darkness had made the journey more difficult.
"Well then."
Jegal Gil took a deep breath and carefully reconstructed the situation in his mind, recalling all the information he had gathered.
His meticulous research and incredible focus made it feel as if the events were unfolding before his eyes.
The Scholar Forest Group had just been passing through here when the Black Kill Squad suddenly appeared before them.
And the Demonic Cult had used poison in a surprise attack.
'Internal Energy Dispersion Poison.'
Why had they used that particular poison?
Why not finish off the Scholar Forest Group in one go?
If he had to guess, it was likely to incapacitate the Scholar Forest Group before saying something to them.
If so, what did they want to say to the Scholar Forest Group?
What could have been so important to go to such lengths?
Was it a kidnapping? Or perhaps...
In any case, once the Scholar Forest Group was affected by the Internal Energy Dispersion Poison, there was no way the incident could have ended as reported.
How could the Scholar Forest Group, unable to use their internal energy, possibly fight the Black Kill Squad to mutual destruction?
Unless they were completely massacred.
It was simply impossible.
No matter how he looked at it, he kept coming back to the same conclusion.
There had to be more to the story.
But what?
And what exactly had happened here that day?
He felt frustrated.
Would further investigation really uncover the hidden truth?
There was no guarantee.
He felt utterly lost, with no idea where to even begin.
"My head hurts, it hurts."
That's when it happened.
Suddenly, the air around him changed dramatically.
Jegal Gil felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
"Wh-Who's there?!"
Jegal Gil, who always maintained a stoic expression, called out with a trembling voice.
"Keke."
A dry, raspy voice reached Jegal Gil's ears. Then someone slowly emerged from the darkness.
It was an old man. An old man with white hair.
"Child. Who are you? Why are you here?"
An incredibly cantankerous-looking old man slowly looked Jegal Gil up and down with chilling white eyes.
His white eyes, barely visible in the darkness, were especially spine-tingling.
He slowly rolled his eyes and spoke:
"Hmm. Judging by your attire, you seem to be from the Murim Alliance."
"Who are you, old man? Who are you to be here at this hour?"
The aura emanating from the old man was the most vicious and dangerous Jegal Gil had ever encountered.
His investigator's instincts were screaming at him.
To get away from there, to run away immediately.
But he couldn't.
For some reason, his body was completely frozen and wouldn't move at all.
He had an ominous feeling that if he made even the slightest careless movement, his head would instantly be severed.
He felt like a mouse facing a snake.
"Keke. Me? I came here because I heard my children whom I personally raised died here, and I couldn't believe it."
Jegal Gil's eyes widened at the old man's answer.
Surely he wasn't talking about the 'Scholar Forest Group' raised by the Murim Alliance.
Jegal Gil had never seen this old man at the Murim Alliance before.
Which meant the 'children' the old man was referring to must be the Demonic Cult's Black Kill Squad.
Jegal Gil cried out in shock:
"The, the Demonic Cult?!"
"That's right. I am Black Demon, one of the Ten Great Demon Stars of the Great Heavenly Demonic Cult."
"Black Demon!"
Jegal Gil's voice trembled uncontrollably.
The Ten Great Demon Stars of the Demonic Cult.
They were the supreme masters representing the Demonic Cult, whose ferocity and cruelty made the world tremble in fear.
Among them, Black Demon was known as one of the most brutal.
Once, he had single-handedly burned down four small and medium-sized sects in a region in just one night.
The reason? He was simply in a bad mood that day.
On a whim, he had taken hundreds of lives.
He was an absolute villain who should never be encountered in the Central Plains martial world.
That was Black Demon.
And such a figure had suddenly appeared before him.
To encounter one of the Ten Great Demon Stars of the Demonic Cult, Black Demon himself, while alone here.
Could there be worse luck?
Jegal Gil's instincts had been right.
If he had carelessly tried to run away earlier, he would have been killed on the spot.
But even so, simply standing still didn't offer any better options.
It was truly a situation where he could neither advance nor retreat.
'Ah. I came out to investigate in the dead of night for nothing, and now I'm about to die.'
Having encountered Black Demon, the chances of surviving were practically non-existent.
"Now then, child."
Fortunately, Black Demon didn't make a move right away.
"This time, I'll ask. Why are you here at this hour?"
"...I'm an investigator from the Murim Alliance."
"Oh? An investigator, you say."
An interested look flashed in Black Demon's eyes.
"I see. Then have you discovered anything?"
Jegal Gil bit his lip.
For a moment, he had the shallow thought that he might survive if he handed over everything he had learned so far.
"I've been wondering the whole way here."
Black Demon stroked his chin as he watched Jegal Gil hesitate.
"I clearly ordered them to bring back just one person and kill all the rest. So how did those who could easily eliminate even sect leaders end up in mutual destruction with those mere children?"
An unexpected fact flowed from Black Demon's mouth.
"What exactly were you planning to do by keeping just one alive?"
Jegal Gil finally gathered the courage to ask.
Black Demon answered as if it were obvious:
"Isn't it obvious? I was going to make them a spy."
Jegal Gil's eyes widened.
How could he not have thought of that!
Of course, he should have considered it at least once.
"Why are you surprised?"
Black Demon tilted his head.
"Did you think there hasn't been a single Demonic Cult spy in your Murim Alliance all this time? Keke."
"Nonsense! That's impossible!"
"Impossible, you say? When faced with death, everyone is helpless. Keke!"
Perhaps Black Demon found Jegal Gil's indignant reaction amusing.
A smile was gradually deepening on his face.
Black Demon's hand twitched.
It was his habit to feel an itch in his hands when he saw fools who didn't know their place and only shouted about justice.
If he let his guard down even for a moment, he might unconsciously blow that fool's head off.
But for now, he had to hold back. There were still things to find out.
"Anyway, let's set that aside for now. So, child. What have you discovered?"
At Black Demon's words, Jegal Gil bit his lip hard once again. As if making a vow not to waver this time.
Seeing this, Black Demon pulled up the corners of his mouth, pretending to be kind.
"Tell me. If it's good information, I'll spare your life."
"You'll spare my life?"
"Yes. I don't lie."
Jegal Gil stared at Black Demon silently for a moment, then shook his head.
"I can't tell you."
"Don't you want to live?"
"I do want to live."
"Then why make such a choice?"
"Because your words are lies."
"Why do you think that?"
Black Demon tilted his head.
Jegal Gil replied without the slightest hesitation:
"Because your eyes are smiling."
Jegal Gil had seen it.
Black Demon's eyes were a mixture of mischievous playfulness and killing intent.
He was simply toying with human life.
He was the type of person who wouldn't care in the least about breaking his own promises.
Jegal Gil had already noticed this.
"And if you really intended to spare me, you wouldn't have told me such secrets."
"I could use you as a spy, couldn't I?"
"No, that's impossible."
Jegal Gil answered with a cold, hardened face.
"Even spies are just disposable tools to you in the end. You would never easily reveal such secrets to a mere tool."
It was clear that he intended to extract all the information from Jegal Gil and then kill him without a second thought once he became useless.
And Jegal Gil was neither foolish nor stupid enough to fall for such a ploy.
"Oh? Look at this one."
A chilling smile spread across Black Demon's face at Jegal Gil's unexpected response.
"Indeed. You're quite perceptive and rather clever. I like it. This time, my heart is truly starting to change."
"What do you say? I'm serious this time. I'll spare you. Work for our Great Heavenly Demonic Cult."
But once again, Jegal Gil didn't hesitate for even a moment.
"I refuse this time as well."
"Really? Even though you could live?"
"Honestly, I don't care whether your words are lies or not. I will never become a dog of the Demonic Cult."
"Hmm. So in the end, you won't tell me what you've discovered? And you don't want to work for the Demonic Cult either, is that right?"
"That's right."
"Hoho."
For some reason, Black Demon burst into laughter as if pleased.
"Hmm, upright in heart, righteous in action, and clever in mind. Keke. I quite like such people. Especially those like that."
Kuuung!
Suddenly, an enormous killing intent erupted from Black Demon's body.
"Kuhek!"
Jegal Gil felt his breath catch in his throat.
"Because it's so satisfying to kill them. Snuffing out a life with a bright future before it can shine is oh so very enjoyable."
Black Demon then stretched out his hand.
"Yes. I'll slowly suck out all your vitality."
His white eyes gleamed fiercely.
"And you'll die a miserable and terrible death, feeling every bit of that pain."
Kuuung.
Shwaeeeek.
Soon, Jegal Gil's body floated up into the air and was quickly pulled towards Black Demon.
It was only a matter of time before he fell into Black Demon's grasp.
'Is this the end? Like this?'
He never imagined he would meet his end here in Hebei.
With so much left to do...
'Brother...'
As Jegal Gil sensed his impending doom, he squeezed his eyes shut.
That's when it happened.
"It's too early for you to meet your end. This time, you must live long and well."
Suddenly, someone's voice was heard from out of nowhere.
And then,
Swish.
Black Demon's outstretched hand fell to the ground with a thud.
"Fortunately, I'm not too late."
A mysterious figure suddenly appeared between Black Demon and Jegal Gil, blocking Jegal Gil's flying body.
Soon, Jegal Gil's body was slowly coming to a stop.
"Y-You are..."
The son-in-law of the Hebei Peng Family and commander of the White Wolf Unit who knew nothing of martial arts.
Yeo Un-hwi was smiling gently at him.