Episode 428: Return to the Demonic Sect
Sabikang gazed at the woman with eyes as calm as a still lake.
“What…?”
The woman tilted her head, puzzled, as she looked at the fallen golden-masked man. Despite the death of her sole commander, she showed no sign of emotional disturbance.
Sabikang flicked his sword, Berthas, to rid it of the blood. As he began to walk forward,
A sharp, chittering sound erupted as insects extended from the woman’s body, launching themselves fiercely at Sabikang.
In an instant, Sabikang vanished from sight, reappearing right in front of the woman. Startled by his sudden proximity, her eyes widened in shock.
The insects, which had been extending from her body, changed direction and flew towards Sabikang.
Just as they were about to pierce through him,
With a gentle motion, Sabikang reached out and caressed the woman’s cheek.
In that moment, as if time itself had stopped, the insects froze in place. Even the woman was at a loss as to why they didn’t attack Sabikang. Perhaps it was instinct—a subconscious recognition that attacking would be futile, that he was an opponent she could never defeat. Or maybe it was something else entirely.
Regardless, the insects halted just before they could pierce Sabikang’s body, as if it were all a lie.
A faint smile played on Sabikang’s lips.
“Enough. Come with me.”
“What…?”
The woman tilted her head again, but before she could react, Sabikang’s fingers moved swiftly.
With a few precise taps, the woman collapsed into Sabikang’s arms, her pressure points struck.
The insects that had grown from her body writhed aimlessly like lost creatures before slowly retracting.
**
“There’s definitely something off about him! That shady guy!”
Deng Buhyung hid behind a wall, peeking out to watch Wigumjong walk away.
“The instructor said he saw something under that guy’s bed. Today, I’ll finally unmask you!”
Once Wigumjong was far enough away to be out of sight, Deng Buhyung nimbly scaled the wall and slipped into Wigumjong’s quarters like a shadow.
“Let’s see…”
He quickly scanned the room, focusing first on the space beneath the bed.
“What? There’s nothing here?”
His heart, which had been swelling with the anticipation of uncovering a great secret, sank in disappointment.
As he was about to stand up,
“Footsteps!”
He sensed someone approaching the quarters.
“Could it be Wigumjong coming back already?”
The footsteps were indeed heading his way, and the aura felt unmistakably like Wigumjong’s.
Panicking, Deng Buhyung looked around for a hiding spot, but finding none, he quickly squeezed himself under the bed.
Creak…!
The door opened, and Wigumjong entered.
Deng Buhyung held his breath, concealing his presence entirely.
After changing clothes and glancing around the room, Wigumjong left again.
Only then did Deng Buhyung let out a sigh of relief.
But then…
“Huh? What’s this…!”
From his position under the bed, he noticed a letter wedged between the bed slats.
Quickly snatching it, he crawled out from under the bed.
“I knew it! I’ve got solid evidence now!”
Forgetting even the need to escape, Deng Buhyung opened the letter to read its contents.
“This is…!”
To his shock, the letter detailed the movements of the Demonic Sect in great detail, especially those of Sabikang, the sect leader. It was far from ordinary.
“So he was a spy all along!”
Deng Buhyung crawled out from under the bed and began to read the letter more thoroughly.
Moments later, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“This is…!”
He rubbed his eyes and read again.
Incredibly, the letter outlined a plan to attack the Demonic Sect. And it mentioned the Marengyo!
Deng Buhyung’s hands trembled.
He had finally uncovered Wigumjong’s true identity.
“They plan to attack the Demonic Sect while Sabikang is away…! Wait, could it be happening right now?”
A chill ran down his spine.
Come to think of it, Wigumjong had left earlier, dressed in more practical attire and armed with a sword.
“That scoundrel! My suspicions were right all along! What do I do now?”
Deng Buhyung quickly tucked the letter into his clothes and slipped out of Wigumjong’s quarters.
He made his way briskly to Jaunryong’s quarters.
Just as he arrived, Jaunryong was stepping out.
“Senior? What brings you here?”
“Instructor Ja! Take a look at this!”
Deng Buhyung hurriedly approached and showed him the letter he had found in Wigumjong’s quarters.
As Jaunryong read through the letter, his expression shifted dramatically, his pupils dilating.
“This is…! If this is true, we’re in serious trouble!”
“Exactly! With the sect leader away, something is bound to happen!”
“This isn’t something we can ignore.”
“What should we do?”
“We need to report this to the chief immediately, don’t we?”
“You’re right. Handling this on our own would be too risky.”
Deng Buhyung had hoped to earn recognition from the Justice Alliance by handling it himself, but Jaunryong’s response was firm.
“We can’t. It’s too dangerous. If the letter is accurate, the Marengyo could attack the Demonic Sect at any moment. It’s too much for just the two of us to handle.”
“Hmm. I suppose we have no choice but to report it.”
“We must do it right away.”
Though Deng Buhyung felt a pang of regret at missing the opportunity, he acknowledged the validity of Jaunryong’s reasoning.
Together, they headed straight to the chief’s quarters with the letter in hand.
As they reached the hill, they saw Maesellan and Murang Do-sa conversing in the pavilion in front of the chief’s quarters.
“We have urgent news to report to the chief.”
Jaunryong spoke with due respect, prompting Maesellan to tilt her head in curiosity.
“Urgent news? What is it?”
This time, Deng Buhyung stepped forward.
“Instructor Wigumjong is a treacherous spy!”
At Deng Buhyung’s words, Maesellan and Murang exchanged glances.
Maesellan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she asked,
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Instructor Wigumjong is actually a spy from the Marengyo.”
Maesellan’s expression turned grave.
“A spy from the Marengyo? On what grounds…?”
“We have evidence. We must act immediately.”
Deng Buhyung confidently presented the letter he had kept hidden.
As Maesellan read through the letter, her eyes widened.
Her hands trembled slightly.
“Where did you find this?”
“Instructor Wigumjong’s quarters. I discovered it hidden under his bed.”
To be precise, Jaunryong should have been credited as the initial discoverer, as Deng Buhyung had only confirmed it after hearing from him. But Deng Buhyung omitted that part, and Jaunryong didn’t bother to correct him.
Murang Do-sa stepped forward and asked,
“So you broke into Instructor Wigumjong’s quarters and searched it?”
“Well… yes, but that’s not the point right now. We need to apprehend Wigumjong immediately!”
Maesellan meticulously reviewed all the letters. Some seemed to have been written here, while others appeared to be received from the Marengyo.
Finally, Maesellan nodded with a steely gaze.
“This is solid evidence. Where is Instructor Wigumjong now?”
“We don’t know. The last we saw, he changed into more practical attire and armed himself before leaving.”
Maesellan narrowed her eyes and spoke decisively.
“Montak.”
“Yes, Chief.”
Jomontak appeared beside Maesellan as if out of thin air. Skilled in stealth and martial arts, he served as both the chief’s bodyguard and instructor.
Seeing him, Deng Buhyung was inwardly surprised.
“When he was at Yongcheon Hall, he seemed like just a kid… Jomontak has really grown.”
Though it irked him, he had to admit that Jomontak’s martial skills now far surpassed his own.
Maesellan issued a firm command.
“Inform all instructors of this immediately and capture Instructor Wigumjong.”
“Understood!”
Jomontak bowed respectfully and vanished without a trace.
**
An hour later, Wigumjong’s quarters were in chaos.
Dan Lijeong, the head of the instructors, led the righteous faction’s instructors in a thorough search of Wigumjong’s quarters.
Though the righteous and demonic factions were just beginning to cooperate, Maesellan had instructed only the righteous instructors to handle this matter, just in case.
“There’s another letter here!”
“And here too!”
Incredibly, letters were being discovered all over Wigumjong’s quarters.
Watching this, Deng Buhyung felt a sense of pride.
“This confirms my contribution!”
Meanwhile, Jaunryong muttered with a serious expression.
“I can’t believe it. I never thought Instructor Wigumjong would do something like this…”
“You can never truly know a person. But my keen instincts uncovered his deceit.”
“You’re truly remarkable, Senior.”
“Heh. No need to be so surprised. As you gain more experience in the martial world, you’ll naturally develop an eye for people.”
“Yes…”
Ja Un-ryong nodded with a bitter expression.
Just then, Dan Lijeong approached Maeseollan to report.
“We’ve discovered seven more letters. They all contain detailed information about the Myeolma Hall.”
At that moment, the head instructor, Dang Ihyeop, rushed over to report.
“It seems that Wi Geomjong has left the premises. We’ve searched everywhere inside but couldn’t find him.”
Then, Deung Buhyeong, who was standing a little distance away, suddenly spoke up.
“That scoundrel must be planning to lead the Eunma Group to attack the Myeolma Hall! We need to head out immediately and locate Wi Geomjong!”
Maeseollan nodded and gave her orders.
“Alert the students to the emergency and focus on capturing Instructor Wi Geomjong.”
“Understood!”
Dang Ihyeop and Dan Lijeong turned and dashed off simultaneously.
Ja Un-ryong looked at Deung Buhyeong.
“Senior, we can’t just stand by, can we?”
“Of course not! Let’s find that rascal right away!”
“Understood. I’ll start searching too.”
With that, Ja Un-ryong leaped into action.
Deung Buhyeong clenched his fist tightly.
“Today is my chance!”
**
In a clearing in the forest near Myeolma Hall, someone else shared Deung Buhyeong’s thoughts.
“Today is my chance!”
Okmyeon-in Yeogon surveyed the silver-clad members of the Eunma Group with a cold gaze.
Around four hundred warriors were exuding a dense, ominous energy. If an ordinary person stumbled upon this scene, they might suffocate from the sheer intensity of it.
Yeogon recalled what Geummyeon-in had said to him.
“If you succeed this time… the leadership of the Eunma Group will be yours. You know as well as I do that Eunmyeon is too soft-hearted. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He understood all too well.
There had always been subtle tension between Geummyeon and Eunmyeon.
“It must be because of that girl.”
Yeogon could sympathize with Geummyeon.
Eunmyeon was indeed too sentimental.
“All because of one woman. Sacrifices are inevitable for the greater cause.”
In truth, they should have attacked Myeolma Hall long ago.
But Eunmyeon had consistently ordered them to wait.
Not today, though.
“I can’t wait any longer. This is my chance to prove myself and take control of the Eunma Group.”
Just then, a voice rang out.
“Ouch!”
Turning his head, Yeogon saw Ja Un-ryong emerging from the thorn bushes, blowing on his finger.
Ja Un-ryong looked up at Yeogon and the Eunma Group, showing no sign of surprise. Instead, his eyes were colder than ever as he spoke.
“Who gave you permission to prepare for battle?”
“I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Yeogon muttered quietly, and Ja Un-ryong responded with a cold smile.
“You’re always in such a rush.”
“I’m just being swift.”
Ja Un-ryong furrowed his brow slightly, then sighed lightly.
“Fine. Let’s not keep you waiting any longer. We’ll attack Myeolma Hall now.”