C145
There weren't many people in the conference room.
On the Demon Cult side were the Heavenly Demon, the Brain Demon, and the Left Guardian; on the Justice Faction side were Elder Ho and Byuk Sun; on the Evil Faction side were Sima Dan and Sima Gong.
And on Cale's side, there were Cale, Choi Jung Soo, and the Fight King. Of course, Choi Jung Soo was covering his face with a handkerchief, and originally, Eunuch Wi was supposed to accompany him, but the Fight King insisted on going himself.
-Human, why is everyone looking at you like that?
By the way, Raon was with him transparently.
Cale met the Heavenly Demon's eyes. The Heavenly Demon, who was sitting in the seat of honor, pointed to the seat in front of him.
"Sit."
Cale nodded and took a seat.
"Young Master Kim."
At that moment, Elder Ho Songyi of the Beggar Band, who was sitting to his right, looked at him and spoke.
'Hmm.'
Cale involuntarily frowned.
Elder Ho's expression was a bit, quite uncomfortable. How to put it? He had a distant, compassionate look on his face. Especially his mouth, which smiled as if he were hiding his sadness, seemed unpleasant to him.
Cale's face twisted even more. Then, Elder Ho spoke in surprise.
"Your body is still not well?!"
To that question, Cale immediately responded honestly.
"No, no, I'm perfectly fine."
Phew~
Elder Ho sighed.
Then, he closed his eyes and tilted his head up to the ceiling.
-Human, why is Elder Ho acting like this?
I know.
Cale wondered why he was acting this way.
At that moment, Byuk Sun patted Elder Ho's shoulder and spoke.
-Human! Byuk Sun is talking to Elder Ho using Sound Transmission!
What is he saying?
Cale was a bit curious.
-'You must respect his great wish and sincere heart. Act as if you don't know.' He says!
Cale couldn't understand the conversation and, at the same time, felt uncomfortable about what they were saying about him.
"...Mmm."
Elder Ho made a strange noise and tilted his head.
Cale just looked away.
Then, Sima Dan, the daughter of the Evil Alliance Leader, Sima Pyeong, looked him in the eyes.
Swoosh.
She pushed a bottle of what seemed like very expensive liquor toward Cale.
'What's wrong with her?'
Since they were offering, Cale reached out. However, Sima Gong butted in and grabbed the bottle of liquor.
"Elder Sister, liquor is deadly for internal injuries."
Cale honestly responded to those words.
"No, I have no internal injuries. Also, my health condition is good right now."
Sima Gong paused and then smiled.
'Yeah, at least this kid can communicate better than Elder Ho.'
Cale's expression brightened for a moment, but he soon saw something.
He saw Sima Gong biting his lips and then letting them go. With a very indifferent expression.
An inexplicable chill ran down Cale's neck.
Sima Gong asked with an expression that didn't reveal anything.
"By the way, Young Lord Kim, is it true that you intend to purify the other Living Jiangshi in the Demon Cult?"
Ah, right.
Cale opened his mouth as one of the topics he wanted to discuss came up. He looked around and said.
"That's true. Of course, we plan to purify not only the Demon Cult but also the Living Jiangshi of the Justice and Evil Factions in general. However, since the number is quite large, it may be necessary to restrain those who turn out to be Living Jiangshi for a certain period of time to prevent them from doing anything else until I purify them."
He added:
"Furthermore, I will be able to purify a greater number of them once I break the seal they've placed on me, although that will take some time."
It would take some time to obtain the Divine Medicines.
'But I have to break the seal to at least 90%.'
Cale had set a goal for achieving effective large-scale purification.
"In any case, we have to prevent the Living Jiangshi from self-destructing, so I will purify as many as I can before we have a battle with the Blood Cult under normal circumstances."
After saying that, Cale looked around at the atmosphere that seemed to have become quieter.
"Hah."
This time, Byuk Sun sighed and looked at the ceiling while tilting his head.
Pow!
Turning his gaze away from the cheerful sound, Cale could see Sima Dan removing the cap from the liquor bottle she had given Cale earlier and drinking it in one go.
"Uh-huh."
After drinking it in one go, she let out a sigh of admiration.
Cale turned his head to look. His eyes met the Heavenly Demon's.
The Heavenly Demon smirked.
But that look was quite intense and severe.
Cale concluded all of this with a simple realization.
'I'm going to ignore this.'
What significance do their reactions have?
Now, he had to deal with his matters as quickly as possible.
'Back home!'
He wanted to go home.
Unknowingly, Cale became more serious, and his gaze became determined.
Seeing this, Byuk Sun opened his mouth.
"Through Elder Ho, I have learned that the Murim Alliance Leader and the General Commander are aware of the details of this matter. Furthermore, I have understood the intention of the Kunlun Sect."
When Byuk Sun heard this from Elder Ho's mouth, he was initially furious about what had happened without his knowledge, but he soon realized and accepted the fact that it had to be confidential.
Then he felt a twinge of regret.
Not knowing this situation, he simply placed his sword on the Demon Cult and the Government. How ugly the situation must have been.
He thought to himself, "I've been so stuck in the past that I've lost sight of the present."
He hated the Government.
He lost his family due to a corrupt official. However, Young Master Kim, the Fist King, as well as Eunuch Wi, despite their high positions in the Imperial Family, were doing what they could to achieve peace among the various factions, even if it meant traveling personally throughout the Murim World.
And they were doing it in secret, without making a spectacle of it.
Furthermore, the Emperor sent the Golden Guard to Young Master Kim and supported him behind the scenes.
Of course, from the Emperor's perspective, it was for the sake of the peace of the Central Plains, but the Murim and the Justice Faction were also benefiting from it.
Above all, who in the world would cough up blood and go to such lengths to save the lives of people who had nothing to do with him?
But Young Master Kim was that person.
'Even under the influence of an unknown seal on his body.'
Striving to the point of coughing up blood was quite dangerous and life-threatening.
But he didn't hesitate to do it.
He did what he had to do.
Isn't that the definition of Righteousness?
'And I don't like the Demon Cult, though I hate it. It has changed here too.'
This time, he realized that the Demon Cult from his memories was still stuck in the era of the Heavenly Demon.
The current Heavenly Demon was at least a communicative person, and above all, even though being a Living Jiangshi could be humiliating, he revealed it and showed the purification process without hesitation.
He did everything with self-confidence and faith in his martial arts training, but it wasn't an easy act to carry out as the leader of an organization.
And the Evil Faction...
Sima Dan and Sima Gong. They were young, but they knew what they had to do.
They recognized, at least in this conference room, that power struggles were not the issue, that there were other things to take care of first.
That was enough.
That was the reason this meeting was proceeding smoothly.
"Although I don't represent the Justice Faction, for the time being, we will prioritize the Blood Cult."
Even though he didn't communicate separately with the General Commander, from the moment he arrived in Kunlun, it was as if the will of the Murim Alliance Leader had been decided.
Therefore, he asked the Heavenly Demon.
"I will have to go to the Kunlun Sect. I must speak with the General Commander in more detail."
Sima Dan, who had remained silent, spoke up. Gripping the bottle tightly.
"I think I should go see the Evil Alliance Leader."
In the case of the Evil Faction, while the leaders of the various factions were aware of the situation, they were not as well-informed as the other two.
Therefore, they needed to convey the information correctly as soon as possible and align their intentions in the same direction.
It wasn't for justice and cooperation.
Sima Dan thought very faction-oriented.
"In a situation like this, if the Evil Faction pretends not to know, their reputation and cause will suffer later."
With the Blood Cult resolved, the Great War would have to be brought back under mutual control.
Especially this time, the Imperial Palace and the Government are involved, led by Young Master Kim. Even if the Evil Faction didn't take sides, if they acted like they didn't know about this matter, it would not only look bad in the Imperial Palace but also make them appear weak and pathetic to the common people. Being the object of fear and looking weak and pathetic were completely different problems.
'And I have to make a connection with Young Master Kim!'
Right now, the Heavenly Demon and Young Master Kim seemed very united.
It was probably the first time that a person from the Imperial Palace and a person from the Demon Cult appeared so close.
'Just look at the Brain Demon and the Left Guardian's gaze in their eyes.'
They looked at Young Master Kim as if he were on their side.
'I can't let that happen.'
She felt a strength in her hand holding the liquor bottle.
'I heard that Pavilion Master Gong is planning to appoint Young Master Kim as the Grand Elder.'
That's what her younger brother, an expert in gathering information, Sima Gong, said.
'I can't let that happen.'
She no longer wanted the Demon Cult to get closer to Young Master Kim.
And on top of that:
'She plans to purify immediately.'
She hadn't considered this.
If she had bled like that, she wouldn't have left there today and would have only rested in peace.
She admired Young Master Kim's mental strength.
And Young Master Kim's actions were gradually spreading beyond the leadership of the Demon Cult, reaching the entire Demon Cult.
She couldn't help but notice.
The Reddish-Golden Fire Bolt.
The strength falling from the sky transcended even Martial Arts.
Word couldn't help but spread about the person who used it, and Sima Dan could hear the servants at Young Master Kim's lodging talking about his blood-stained clothes.
'Did he bleed so much black blood that it was better to throw the clothes away than to wash them?'
It's a gruesome sight to imagine.
The man who had shed so much blood came to this meeting the next day.
Sima Dan admired and feared Young Master Kim at the same time.
So she asked:
"Young Master-nim, could you accompany us to the Evil Faction?"
"Well, I already had that in mind."
The response was calm, and this relaxed Sima Dan, who squeezed the liquor bottle in her hand.
Cale summarized the plans for the future.
"After visiting Kunlun, I will meet with the Evil Alliance Leader and then head south, to Sichuan and the Nanman Barbarians (南蠻)." (Note: I don't know whether to continue calling it Nanman Barbarians, or call it by its Chinese name: Nanman)
He looked around.
"So it would be best to coordinate information and synchronize the timing to strike the Blood Cult."
First of all, since the power of the Demon Cult is considerable, it will be difficult to move immediately.
Especially because the distance from Xinjiang to Nanman was considerable, they would have to consider the time it would take to lead such a large army. (Note: I decided: I will call the place: Nanman Barbarians, like: Nanman)
The same would apply to the Evil Alliance and the Murim Alliance.
If they could get the support of the powers from the nearby provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, it would be somewhat easier to investigate the supposed Blood Cult in Nanman.
"Of course, we plan to perform regular purifications during the journey."
When Cale added that, the Brain Demon nodded with a serious expression.
"Is that the entire framework we can put together at the moment, then?"
"Yes. Detailed military matters and strategies will have to be worked out by each Faction's General Staff, and of course, while we do all these things, we have to locate all the Living Jiangshi in each Faction to prevent information leakage."
"As for that..."
When the Brain Demon asked a question, Cale nodded.
"Do Daehyup has decided to contribute even more."
Priest Dust volunteered for it.
Cale found it strange that Dust volunteered for this, knowing that he would vomit and even faint if the smell became worse than unpleasant.
But then he thought:
Who am I to question his actions when I also vomit blood all the time?
Clearing those thoughts about Dust from his mind, Cale concluded the meeting.
"For now, instead of holding each other back, we should focus on facing the Blood Cult together for the time being."
Both the Evil Faction and the Justice Faction nodded.
The words of the one who had suffered the most carried a lot of weight.
"Young Master Kim is right."
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon spoke up, his voice calm.
"We, the Demon Cult, have decided to focus on dealing with the Blood Cult this time, and we have established our intentions regarding it."
The words he spoke with his resolute face were filled with weight.
He looked at members of the Justice Faction, Evil Faction, and finally at Cale before slowly opening his mouth.
"Therefore, I am thinking of going out to the Jianghu." (Note: If 'Jungwon' means Central Plains World, where everyone lives, both martial artists and common people, 'Jianghu' means Martial World, where only martial artists are seen.)
Eh?
A question mark appeared on Cale's face.
What the hell is he saying?
"I plan to join Young Master Kim on his journey."
Cale was even more confused.
What does it have to do with me whether you go out to the Jianghu?
Wouldn't it be enough to bring your troops later when we're in battle?
"Well, me too!"
Sima Dan suddenly exclaimed, jumping out of her chair.
"Then me too!"
Byuk Sun exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Demon smiled smugly at Cale and said.
"A large group will make traveling inconvenient for Young Master Kim during the purification of the Living Jiangshi, and as evidence of that, my presence will undoubtedly help in the purification, so it's better for me to be with you, in more than one sense."
Nod~
The Brain Demon nodded by his side.
Seeing the Brain Demon's confident look, Cale found himself thinking unconsciously, "What's going on?"
At that moment, Raon's voice echoed in his mind.
-Human, the Brain Demon talked to the Heavenly Demon!
-'Oh, Heavenly Demon-nim. Please let your will be done,' that's what he said.
...What does "the will of the Heavenly Demon" mean?
Cale blinked in confusion.
---------------
Three days later.
Cale raised his head.
The sun was at its zenith. Beside him, the Heavenly Demon spoke casually.
"Once we purify these two people today, are we heading to Kunlun tomorrow?"
"...Yes."
"Good. I've already packed my things."
"My things?"
"?"
Confused, the Heavenly Demon pointed at himself.
"My luggage. It's my first time going out to the Jianghu, so I should bring some things."
Ah, I see.
Cale marveled.
It was the first time the Heavenly Demon would go out to the Jianghu.
Interesting.
He moved away from the Heavenly Demon and smiled gently at the two people in front of him.
"It shouldn't be that difficult."
Then, Cale was surprised.
"Young Master!"
"...Young Master, kugh."
In the Demon Cult, apart from the Heavenly Demon, there were only two other Living Jiangshi. Those were a Pavilion Master of the Eight Pavilions and a General of the Eight Battalions, who were right here. It seemed they were about to cry tears of joy at the sight of Cale, their eyes filled with emotions as they looked at him.
Although they hadn't started the purification yet, seeing the expressions of the two who seemed about to cry, Cale started feeling uneasy for no apparent reason.
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