The night before leaving the Demonic Sect in the name of martial arts training, which was scheduled for the eighth month.
Seol-Hwi moved to meet elder Baekhon.
His whereabouts were known right then through Imugi.
“Ah, our master…”
A memory which was now vague.
Seol-Hwi was once a strong person with him. During this period, Imugi was not too close to his master. But well, that was an opinion alone.
Elder Baekhon had once provided great support to Seol-Hwi, asking him to take care of Imugi.
He was a person who had a stern face in front of others and a caring nature behind it, and he paid attention to a lot of things.
He was an elder, and the master of Imugi. He was Sima Baekhon.
In a building at the main base—
“Uh? What is wrong? You came at such a late hour,”
Sima Baekhon pretended to ask after seeing Seol-Hwi.
As soon as Seol-Hwi saw him, he bowed and looked polite. In this world, Baekhon was ranked 31st in the Demonic Sect.
With his current status, he was the best contact Seol-Hwi knew, other than the Earth Demon.
“I greet you. How have you been sir?”
“I have been doing well. Rather, the problem is that there is less work and things are turning quiet. Has the wound you suffered during the competition healed?”
“…”
His sudden question made Seol-Hwi remember it. It was because he had experienced so much bad stuff in his previous lives. There were many things that were overthrown once and then brought back to life.
The tournament hosted by Earth Demon… was it?
If he checked through his memory carefully, it was around then where he defeated one of the Seven Messengers.
After that fight, the people around the Earth Demon became suspicious. Of course, the way they viewed him changed.
“I feel better after healing through the past few days.”
As Seol-Hwi greeted him with a light bow, Baekhon threw some wood into the stove.
Tik
The embers which were dying came back to life and he said,
“So, what is it? If you really came to see me at this time… you probably have something to say right?”
“…Yes. That is—”
Seol-Hwi took a pause, looked at the elder, and continued,
“I plan to head to the Sichuan region next month with my subordinates.”
“I see. But?”
“I came to tell you in advance because it might be a long trip.”
“…A long trip?”
Elder Baekhon’s eyes trembled.
As a person high up, he was told of a long trip. So he must have understood what he meant. There was that kind of glance.
That was the reason why he secretly checked to make sure there was no one around, and with a brief moment of silence he sighed and said,
“When did you decide to do that?”
“A little… while ago.”
“Right, I understand your desire to be free. I cannot say I didn’t think of that.”
Shh
The elder adjusted his form and continued.
“However, some people may see the intention as odd. The person who grew as the subordinate to the Earth Demon is a traitor who knows of a serious situation coming and betrays the man in advance.”
“Such words are too much. With that level of forces at best, how can the tide of war even change? I can count on two hands who is better than me, even under the Earth Demon, let alone the First and Second Disciple.”
“Hmm… isn’t there any possibility?”
As Seol-Hwi humbled himself to avoid criticism, Baekhon’s eyes turned deep.
“Your immediate strength might be lacking but not many people have achieved that level of growth at your age. It is all about seeing potential in the future.”
“If it is that kind of potential… Imugi has a lot more than I do.”
“Ha, haha! Is that so?”
Elder Baekhon burst into laughter at the sudden praise of his disciple and nodded.
“Right. Good. I don’t like living in debt, so now I have the chance to pay it back.”
“Thank you. I will definitely remember your generosity.”
“But before that. can I know the reason?”
The expression of the elder changed, and so did his tone.
“In my eyes, you don’t seem like a person who is so irresponsible to pursue the selfish desire of his own. Am I wrong?”
“…”
“I am sure there is something on your mind, so speak a bit. Do you know something else? Maybe I can help.”
The gaze of the elder staring at him did not waver. Seol-Hwi thought for a moment. It would have been expedient to just ask what he meant.
And the elder will be a little disappointed, but still, he would never encounter him again in this life.
Thinking of the future, for a moment, Seol-Hwi shook his head.
Just because life was hard, his heart should not become hard. After changing his mind, Seol-Hwi spoke with politeness,
“I want to change my miserable life a bit.”
“A life which leads to a miserable death?”
“Yes. As you might know. The plan set by the First Disciple has gone beyond the main sect and is being drawn in Central Plains and now he will absorb the abilities of the Third Disciple faster too. In the meantime, the Earth Demon will not be able to do anything.”
“…Because he is the Heavenly Killing Star.”
“Right. The Fourth Disciple is certainly a good man, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has the ability to change the fight. So we won’t get to live long.”
Tik. Tik.
There was silence in that dark night. Perhaps because it was a windless place, the sound of bonfire crackling felt louder, and the eyes seemed to be looking deeper.
“Can you not join another side in the future?”
“I would have done it if I was alone, but I have subordinates whose lives and deaths I need to take responsibility for.”
“You are trying to carry a greater burden than you should. You cannot protect everyone.”
The elder sighed as he said that and Seol-Hwi nodded.
“What Elder says is right. Maybe so. But now… I thought this is a chance to protect everyone.”
“Hmm.”
The elder could not refute it. He just looked at him with distant eyes. A long while passed before he broke the silence, then saying,
“If you say it like that… I understand it, but there is something to keep in mind.”
“Of course.”
“It will take some time for you to get to know people similar to you. Also, even if you report that you died in Sichuan, the problem will come at a later time.”
Shh
Baekhon looked deep in thought as he swept his beard.
“The life of a fugitive, from now on, you cannot use your own face for the rest of your life. It will be a long and hard life to live.”
“I am prepared for that, and since I happen to have a knack for body transformation, I will teach them in advance too so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“I understand. Please take good care of my disciple.”
Tuk
The elder raised the glass of alcohol from the table.
“You want a drink?”
“I would love to.”
Seol-Hwi had his first and last drink with the elder. And with his help, he managed to get freedom.
Getting out of the restrictive position in the Demonic Sect, and to a road in this new land called Sichuan.
<Your presence is not recognized by the system.>
Seol-Hwi, who came out of the system, first faked his and his subordinates’ deaths. With the help of the elder, they found a nice body, pretended to be killed after a fight with Mount Hua, cremated the bodies, and sent witnesses to the sect.
A lot of effort was put in.
To avoid any confusion, the witnesses had to not be a person of elder rank, and they were made to believe Seol-Hwi and his group really died.
It took them quite a bit of time and effort to make it look natural, and with the end, it went smoothly.
With this, all the members and Seol-Hwi moved to Guizhou, this lower region.
Guizhou was not hot in summer nor cold in winter, being an ideal place to live. Once they had all settled down there, they gathered together and thought of what their work would be.
There were a couple good picks, but nothing solid. Because not everyone had a talent to make money.
They looked for the safest job to make money, and chose them in time.
In other words, a private loan business.
[Specialized Hell King’s Loan]
The signboard on the top was made to look well. But if there was anything different, it was“
*We do not lend to civilians.
*Senior level people. Can hide your identity.
*Evil forces, Justice forces, are all welcomed.
We do not get involved with common people. And we are warriors, so we deal with warriors.
It was a statement which said that they only wanted influential people. The head of this was Imugi, the building keeper was Yong Jin, and the task leader was Jeok Song. The special tasks were for Yorim, and Seo Ryeong would manage the ledgers.
“Hmm.”
It was early in the morning when Imugi was checking the papers—
Flipping through them, he stopped as he asked while touching a specific file.
“Hwang So-cheol, this man. It has been a while and he hasn’t paid back right?”
Shh
Seo Ryeong who was cleaning the confiscated jewelry said,
“Which is why I marked him separately.”
“What is his position? Who do you believe him to be to mark him like this?”
“Seems to be a sixth grade official.”
“Huh…”
Imugi frowned. A person who works for the military then. It was a rather high position, as he worked on behalf of the nation.
At first glance, he is a difficult opponent.
“If he doesn’t pay back by today, tell Yorim to handle it.”
“Okay.”
“Then, let us deal with him like this…”
Flutter
It was the time when he was checked to see if any money had been taken.
“Huh.”
Thud. As they kicked down part of the building, a pair of people they never saw before appeared.
There were five in total, and the atmosphere was odd.
Even if their faces looked scary, they had beautiful weapons. From swords to blades to spears.
“Look here,”
Said the tall one with a hooked nose. A middle-aged man walked up with a blade around his belt and glared.
He frowned, looking at Imugi, who did not seem too taken aback.
“Starting today, we’re taking over this place.”
“…?”
“Give up all the money you have and leave quietly. Then, we will think of letting you go without wounds.”
“…”
Imugi just blinked.
What new drama was this?
As if he did not understand, he turned to Seo Ryeong.
She shook her head.
Putting down the towel she used to wipe the jewelry, she got up with a small sigh.
“Who are you? How good are you?”
At the sudden words, this short bald man crossed his arms.
“Sorry for the late introduction. We are the Hunting Triad who are famous in Sichuan. We have around 100 members.”
“A union then. What are you doing here?”
When Seo Ryeong asked, Imugi answered her,
“You know. They are wandering bastards with nowhere to go.”
“Wow. This…?”
Shh
Was he angry because of the words Imugi said? The tall man growled as he half pulled the sword on his waist.
“Hey. You want to see blood spill? If you want me to use my blade I can…”
“Pull that out and you die.”
Tak
That was the moment a man walked out from behind.
“…?”
It was Jeok Song, a person more fierce looking than them.
“Even if you don’t pull it out, you die. You stay still, you die, talk and you die too.”
“…”
The faces of the men distorted.
It was a warning they couldn’t understand. In the end, it meant they would die right?
“This arrogant…”
The tall man, a bit taken aback, pulled the sword out to kill Jeok Song.
Chak—
“…?”
But there, suddenly, the surroundings began to slow down and soon his vision went dark. As expected, his head was cut off.
Jeok Song cut it off and looked around calmly.
“Union?”
Pat
Imugi smiled and nodded at the question.
“There was a shortage but it all worked fine.”
After saying one word, he turned his head.
“Uh, uhuh.”
He hesitated.
Did he really not think that he would be killed? Some got so scared that they backed down.
“Quite a talented person.”
But one person walked ahead. With small steps, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Imugi saw that and noticed it.
“Oh? Why is there a demon among those disgusting evil sect people?”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
The eyes of the evil sect people widened.
It was a face that he would have never expected that someone using the Demonic Sect would be caught.
“Fun. You just had to notice it now.”
Seol-Hwi walked in.
His face was unusually bright.
