Chapter 27 : Receiving Retribution for Past Mistakes

Chapter 27: Receiving Retribution for Past Mistakes

It seemed that it wasn’t only the scenery of the corridor that had changed. In the room Yul Han arrived at, the Alliance Leader was not alone.

The Alliance Leader’s residence, which I entered under the guidance of the Strategist, Jegal Giyeon, was crowded with people.

Those who completely filled the room greeted Yul Han with gazes tangled in anger and fear—emotions that refused to harmonize.

“It seems you had guests.”

At Yul Han’s remark, the Alliance Leader replied with an awkward expression.

“They are guests, yes, but not my guests. They are guests of the Vice Cult Leader.”

At the Alliance Leader’s answer, Yul Han’s gaze once more swept over those filling the room.

They were a balanced mix of monks, Taoists, and laymen. Among them, one person caught Yul Han’s eye.

A man wearing a Taoist robe embroidered with cloud patterns on the lapel, with an old pine-patterned sword strapped to his back.

Clothes identical to those of the deceased Taiji Sword Emperor, and a sword of the same shape. A member of Wudang.

The others might have been uncertain, but if Wudang was involved, there could only be one thing they wished to say to Yul Han.

“Wasn’t the matter with the Taiji Sword Emperor already settled?”

At Yul Han’s question, the Alliance Leader smiled bitterly.

“If it’s about Chang Myeongja of Wudang, then it’s a misunderstanding. He is indeed the disciple of the late Taiji Sword Emperor, but he did not come to dispute that matter.”

At the words “disciple of the Taiji Sword Emperor,” Yul Han’s eyes darkened. It felt as though I had committed murder and was now facing the bereaved family.

Even so, I could not say I was sorry. That would be… an insult to both the dead and the living.

“You had a good master.”

Perhaps because Yul Han’s words were unexpected, Chang Myeongja looked slightly startled before hurriedly straightening his expression and replying.

“Yes. To someone as lacking as me, he was far more than a good master.”

“If it’s not about your late master, then what is it you wish to say?”

At Yul Han’s question, Chang Myeongja glanced at the Alliance Leader and the others before answering.

“We came to discuss the incident that occurred some time ago.”

There was only one event they could possibly call an incident. Though whether it could truly be defined as one was questionable.

“An incident… is it.”

“That is how we see it.”

At Chang Myeongja’s words, Yul Han merely let out a small laugh. Their intentions were painfully transparent.

Sending forward the disciple of the Taiji Sword Emperor—someone whose fate had ended by my own hand…

No matter how I tried to understand their behavior, it sat poorly with me. In situations like this, one should start with an apology…

An apology, my foot! He was a demonic monster. I beheaded a demonic monster—why should I apologize to his family? Did they ever apologize to the families of the countless Hundred Paths people who died by that demonic monster’s hand?

In the past, during a previous life, there had been a time when the son of a demonic monster killed by the Righteous Will Sect—of which the former Yul Han had been a member—came seeking answers, demanding to know why it had happened, asking what his father had done wrong to the Righteous Will Sect.

Those were the words I had spoken back then, the words the Yul Han of my previous life had said to the conflicted Sect Master.

And on that day, the Righteous Will Sect I belonged to had driven the son away. There were even opinions that, since he was the son of a demonic monster, he should be killed. But the Sect Master decided to let him go, judging that there were no traces of demonic arts and that he was not known as a demonic monster himself.

Of course, there was no apology.

That day, before the tightly shut gates, the son had hurled curses in a voice filled with rage before leaving.

That memory from long ago, suddenly recalled alongside the word “apology,” pressed heavily upon Yul Han’s heart.

Looking back, even the demonic monster whose head we had taken had no grudge or enmity with the Righteous Will Sect.

It felt as though a boulder had been placed upon my chest. I had no heart to argue over past matters.

In truth, I had no right to.

When my thoughts reached that point, a self-mocking smile clung to Yul Han’s lips.

Even when I smiled pleasantly, the influence of Extreme Slaughter made it look like a sneer. And this time, with my heart in such a state, the twisted curl of my lips openly dripped with killing intent.

At that sight, everyone in the room tensed. Given the disparity in strength, if Yul Han were to draw his blade and cause a scene here, all of them would be as good as dead.

They were so tense that the representative who had come on behalf of the Gok Clan even gripped his sword hilt tightly.

Seeing their reactions, I forcibly shook off the bitterness in my heart and asked,

“So, what is it you wish to say about that incident?”

“We hope that neither side will make any further issue of it.”

At Chang Myeongja’s reply, Yul Han’s gaze passed over the Alliance Leader and returned to Chang Myeongja.

“I believe I already conveyed my intentions to the Alliance Leader.”

“I heard as much from the Alliance Leader after arriving here. Still, I wished to hear it directly from the Vice Cult Leader.”

At Chang Myeongja’s words—that he wanted to confirm it directly with the person involved—Yul Han replied,

“If that’s the case, I can confirm it as much as you like. If the Martial Alliance no longer takes issue with the matter of the Taiji Sword Emperor, then I too will no longer take issue with the recent incident.”

At Yul Han’s words, Chang Myeongja glanced at the Alliance Leader and the others in the room, then nodded.

“Very well. Then with this, we will no longer raise issues regarding those past matters.”

At Chang Myeongja’s statement, the Alliance Leader and the others in the room all nodded.

Only then did Yul Han understand. The people filling the room were representatives of the sects involved in the inn attack incident that they insisted on calling an “incident.”

I did not like their conduct—resolving everything without a single word of apology—but Yul Han quietly nodded in agreement.

After all, when I reflected on my own past, it seemed that I, Yul Han, had no right to demand an apology either.

Moreover, I had come here to smooth over the matter with the Taiji Sword Emperor. Regardless of the direction things took, the goal had been achieved, and that felt sufficient.

Once the negotiations(?) between both sides concluded, Yul Han asked the Alliance Leader,

“Then may I take my leave from the Alliance?”

The Alliance Leader looked around to seek consent, then nodded.

“It seems to have been concluded well. Please do so.”

Yul Han immediately turned his body around at the Alliance Leader’s reply.

From the past to the present, every single one of these matters had displeased me.

As Yul Han roughly turned away and walked off, the Alliance Leader and the others watched him with uneasy gazes.

Contrary to his words that he would leave immediately, Yul Han postponed his departure after returning from the Alliance Leader’s residence.

The reason became known when Yul Han’s request reached Jegal Giyeon, the Strategist of the Martial Alliance.

“You say he requested to meet one of our Martial Alliance’s warriors?”

At the Alliance Leader’s question, his expression showing surprise, Jegal Giyeon replied.

“Yes. The Vice Cult Leader wished for it.”

“And who is this person the Vice Cult Leader wants to meet?”

“His name is Na Cheol-yong, a man from an obscure rural sect who joined the Alliance a few months ago.”

“Is he skilled?”

Even as he asked, it seemed unlikely. If the man were skilled enough to draw the Vice Cult Leader’s interest, there was no way I, the Alliance Leader, would not know of him.

Even so, the Alliance Leader asked the Strategist in case this was the emergence of a rising expert he had somehow overlooked.

However, that expectation was quickly shattered.

“He is not a master… He is someone who briefly bumped into the Vice Cult Leader earlier today on the way to your residence.”

“Bumped into him?”

“Well, it seems something displeased him. The Vice Cult Leader suddenly stopped walking in the corridor and picked a quarrel.”

“You’re saying the Vice Cult Leader started the quarrel?”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

At Jegal Giyeon’s answer, the Alliance Leader’s expression turned strange.

The Vice Cult Leader he had observed and personally encountered over the past few days was completely different from the rumors.

It did not seem like he would pick a fight without reason.

“Has this man’s reliability been thoroughly examined?”

At the Alliance Leader’s question, Jegal Giyeon’s eyes widened.

“Are you suspecting him of being a spy?”

“If not, then openly creating such a point of contact… doesn’t it feel difficult to understand?”

“On the contrary, if he were a spy, wouldn’t he avoid making such an obvious point of contact?”

At Jegal Giyeon’s counterquestion, the Alliance Leader could not reply. It was a reasonable point.

“Then why does he wish to meet him?”

“I asked for the reason, but he only answered that there was ‘something he wanted to ask’… What should we do?”

After pondering for a long while at Jegal Giyeon’s question, the Alliance Leader nodded.

“We’ve just reached a point where matters were resolved amicably. Let us not create unnecessary trouble. If the Vice Cult Leader gives his word that he will not harm him, then allow the meeting.”

Seemingly in agreement with the Alliance Leader’s words, Jegal Giyeon nodded.

“Then I will proceed accordingly.”

As Jegal Giyeon turned to leave after responding, the Alliance Leader called out to him.

“Strategist.”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

“Do not forget to look into that warrior’s subsequent actions.”

He could not fully shake the concern that the man might be a spy. At the Alliance Leader’s words, Jegal Giyeon bowed his head.

“I will do so.”

The Alliance Leader watched the Strategist’s retreating figure with a frustrated expression.

It was because of his position—being frightened of the greatest demonic monster among demonic monsters who had entered the household, while having to doubt the warriors within that same household.

‘I should have stopped it no matter what.’

The Shaolin Divine Monk continued to regret that he had failed to desperately prevent the formation of the Vice Cult Leader Assassination Unit.

Na Cheol-yong, who had been torn between whether he should seek out the Vice Cult Leader or ignore and avoid him, was quite shocked by the order from the Strategy Hall.

He had received an order telling him to go, as the Vice Cult Leader wished to meet him.

It was completely contrary to the earlier command issued to all Alliance warriors, strictly forbidding any contact or conflict with the Vice Cult Leader.

One way or another, the order had been given, and Na Cheol-yong was in no position to refuse it.

After all, he had only barely managed to join the Alliance after two failures and was living as a low-ranking warrior.

In the end, carrying an anxious heart, Na Cheol-yong went to meet the Vice Cult Leader and sat across from him.

“You must have many things you want to ask.”

“I’ll ask first. Do you happen to know Gwak Yi-han, my martial uncle?”

At Na Cheol-yong’s question, Yul Han’s eyes sank deeply. Even though my own name had been spoken, it felt distant, as if I were hearing the name of a stranger.

“If we were close, we were close. If we were distant, we were distant.”

At Yul Han’s cloud-like, elusive answer, Na Cheol-yong asked again.

“He passed away at the hands of a warrior of your cult. Are you telling me to believe that such a person had a connection with the Vice Cult Leader?”

“There is no reason for me to lie.”

“That is…”

It was not wrong. Gaining nothing from deceiving a mere low-ranking warrior who was not even an important figure of the Alliance, the Vice Cult Leader had no reason to lie.

Unable to continue speaking, Na Cheol-yong fell silent, and Yul Han spoke.

“I do not have much time. I plan to leave tomorrow. So come at night. I will properly teach you the Righteous Will Sword Art.”

“You know the Righteous Will Sword Art?”

“I heard it from your martial uncle, and I also saw it. It remains intact in my mind, so there will be no lack in teaching it.”

At Yul Han’s words, Na Cheol-yong’s heart raced. In truth, his Righteous Will Sword Art was incomplete.

Because on a single day, at a single hour, the Sect Master and all the elder-level masters had vanished, he had been unable to learn it properly.

The secret manual remained, but there was no master left to teach the true essence hidden within it.

To be told that someone would properly teach the sword art of his sect—which had been incomplete by necessity—was enough to stir excitement.

However, Na Cheol-yong’s excitement and anticipation cooled just as quickly as they had risen. It was because of the status of the one offering to teach him.

The Vice Cult Leader was a member of the Bright Cult—the cult to which the demonic monster who had led his father and martial uncles to their deaths had belonged. And so—

“I… refuse.”

Yul Han could feel the lingering hesitation deeply embedded in Na Cheol-yong’s voice.

Even so, I nodded.

“I understand. Still, think it over. For you and for the Righteous Will Sect, this may be the last chance to properly inherit the Righteous Will Sword Art.”

To Na Cheol-yong, who could not say anything in response, Yul Han added gently,

“When you make your decision, come—even if it is at night. As I said, I leave tomorrow morning. Until then, you will be welcome at any time.”

With those words from Yul Han, Na Cheol-yong withdrew.

As I watched him grow distant through the window, Yul Han’s eyes were filled with regret.