Chapter 285: Trust with Trust |
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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The leader of the Martial Alliance, Jin Paecheon, was bewildered.
He certainly trusted Geom Mugeuk. But how could he believe that Baek Cheongyeong had kidnapped his granddaughter? Just yesterday, they had shared tea and casual conversation.
"First, have everyone step back. The Alliance Leader is here, so I can’t escape anyway, can I? And even if by some miracle I tried, you would still know where I went."
It made sense. Having taken the position of Young Cult Leader in the Demonic Cult, Geom Mugeuk had nowhere to hide. His destination would be clear.
Jin Paecheon dismissed everyone, leaving only the guards who were always at his side.
Geom Mugeuk slowly glanced at the remaining guards. Jin Paecheon could tell that Geom Mugeuk believed that one of Baek Cheongyeong’s people might be among them.
"No, I trust your judgment, Leader. Now, I will speak plainly. I was investigating Baek Cheongyeong at the request of Jin Hagun. I used Miss Jin as a pretext to come here. From the beginning, when Jin Hagun asked for my help, I made it seem like Miss Jin had invited me."
Although Geom Mugeuk explained the situation concisely, Jin Paecheon still struggled to believe it.
"Do I trust the man who’s taught my grandson without incident for ten years, or the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult I met only once before? In your position, whom would you trust?"
"Then why haven’t you done anything to me?"
The answer lay in Geom Mugeuk’s final words.
—If I were the one behind all this, I wouldn’t be in this situation.
Jin Paecheon knew what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was from their past encounter. The later rumors about him only reinforced Jin’s understanding of his character—actions that elicited a natural ‘Of course!’ from those who heard them.
Moreover, if the Demonic Cult had kidnapped his granddaughter, it would mean they were ready to wage war, yet there were no signs of impending conflict from them, though the amount of ingredients collected by the Poison King recently was concerning.
"Is it truly Baek Cheongyeong behind all of this?"
"Yes, it is."
"Would you be willing to confront him directly?"
"Of course, but he won’t be at his residence."
Jin Paecheon immediately ordered one of his fastest subordinates to summon Baek Cheongyeong.
"If what you’re saying is true, why didn’t Hagun ask me for help?"
"He probably thought you wouldn’t believe him. You still don’t believe me now, do you?"
"If Hagun had told me himself!"
"You would have believed it even less. You would have just assumed there was some conflict between the two."
Jin Paecheon couldn’t deny those words. It was the kind of thing Geom Mugeuk always said—being too close can make one blind to the truth.
“There’s one more reason. Jin Hagun suspected that Baek Cheongyeong had eyes and ears within the Martial Alliance. That’s why I communicated with you through sound transmission earlier.”
Jin Paecheon decided to consider things from a standpoint of trusting Geom Mugeuk. The man had already saved his granddaughter once. Why would he now turn around and try to harm her?
"Alright then. Why did Baek Cheongyeong kidnap Haryeong?"
“At first, I thought it was me he was targeting. But... now, I’m not sure. No matter how much of a thorn in his side I might be, would he really cause such a major incident just to get rid of me? He likely expected a big confrontation to happen here, not knowing the relationship between you and me.”
If that was the case, this was no longer just an issue between Geom Mugeuk and Jin Paecheon but one that could escalate into a conflict between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Martial Alliance. Baek Cheongyeong should have known that.
Geom Mugeuk believed there must be some unknown reason behind Baek Cheongyeong’s actions.
“Let me go. I will rescue Miss Jin and uncover the reason.”
Jin Paecheon closed his eyes and said nothing. Last time, he had no choice but to entrust his granddaughter’s safety to Geom Mugeuk. Now, was he supposed to do it again?
Some time passed, and the subordinate Jin had sent to Baek Cheongyeong’s residence returned, reporting that, just as Geom Mugeuk said, Baek Cheongyeong wasn’t there.
"Why does it have to be you?"
“Because I’m the one he targeted. If you get involved, he’ll deny everything, and we may never find Miss Jin.”
At this, Jin Paecheon exploded in anger.
“Is that a threat? I’ll find my granddaughter myself!”
Jin Paecheon suddenly unleashed his Wind Palm, subduing Geom Mugeuk and sealing Lee Ahn’s Devil Hole accupoint.
Caught off guard, Lee Ahn was stunned, but Geom Mugeuk remained unfazed.
“She isn’t even my blood relative. What more could I do? Do as you please.”
Jin Paecheon sneered and shouted, “Now you show your true colors. Take these two to the Alliance.”
“If you touch me, you won’t be able to handle the consequences.”
“Silence!”
At the leader’s shout, the martial artists from afar turned their attention toward the scene.
The guards nearby came and escorted the two to a carriage. As they were being taken away, Lee Ahn urgently asked, “What are we going to do if we just get dragged away like this?”
“Well, we can’t exactly fight the Martial Alliance Leader, can we?”
Unlike her hushed whispers, Geom Mugeuk spoke loudly, as if full of anger like Jin Paecheon, making sure everyone could hear him.
“What about Miss Jin?”
“She’s his granddaughter. He’ll find her on his own.”
“Still, you should ask for his help! Convince him! How can we just let this happen?”
“You saw it too, didn’t you? He completely shut us off. There’s nothing we can do.”
Once the guards loaded the two of them into the carriage, it set off immediately.
Lee Ahn couldn’t understand this situation. No matter how frustrating the leader was acting, was Geom Mugeuk really giving up on Jin Haryeong so easily? Was he reacting out of annoyance like this? This wasn’t like him at all.
From inside the moving carriage, Lee Ahn cautiously asked, “This isn’t real, is it?”
Once they were alone, the irritation smoothly disappeared from Geom Mugeuk’s face, and he returned to his usual calm expression.
“Of course not.”
Only then did Lee Ahn let out a sigh of relief. Of course, it wasn’t real.
A short while later, the carriage stopped in an isolated area. As they got out, they saw Jin Paecheon waiting for them.
He had been pretending, worried that Baek Cheongyeong might have planted someone among his men. If there was a spy, they would report that Geom Mugeuk had been taken to the Martial Alliance.
This meant that Jin Paecheon fully believed in Geom Mugeuk’s words.
Jin Paecheon then unleashed his Wind Palm again, releasing the pressure points he had sealed earlier.
Geom Mugeuk hadn’t dodged the attack in the first place because he fully trusted him.
Trust with trust. Jin Paecheon didn’t say anything more.
“Please rescue Haryeong.”
Their gazes met in the air.
Geom Mugeuk understood. How hard must it have been for the leader of the Martial Alliance to entrust the life of his only granddaughter to the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? And to do so twice.
Without saying anything further, Geom Mugeuk simply replied, “I will bring her back.”
Seeing the sincerity in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes, Jin Paecheon nodded once and climbed back into the carriage. He felt it was the right decision.
Although he had left this task to Geom Mugeuk, he also planned to do everything in his power to find his granddaughter on his own.
As Geom Mugeuk watched the departing carriage, he turned to Lee Ahn and said, “You should head straight to our cult’s safe house and report everything that’s happened to the two Demon Supremes.”
“No other messages?”
“Leave the rest to the Demon Supremes’ judgment.”
This was the kind of trust Geom Mugeuk had in the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Fist Demon King. He didn’t need to tell them what to do—they would make the right decisions on their own. The same trust extended to Lee Ahn. He trusted her to relay everything accurately.
Once Lee Ahn left, Geom Mugeuk headed in the opposite direction. From the Martial Alliance Leader to Lee Ahn, everyone was moving forward based on trust. 1
* * *
Jin Haryeong opened her eyes in an unfamiliar place.
It was a house made entirely of logs. Everything in the room was made of wood. The bed she had been lying on was crafted from a single large piece of wood, the bedding was made of leaves, and all the furniture and household items were also made from wood. 2
‘Why am I here?’
Then, she remembered her last memory.
She had been happily walking after parting ways with Lee Ahn when a gust of wind blew, causing leaves to fall all around her. As the leaves brushed and clung to her body, everything suddenly went dark, and she lost consciousness. Those leaves must have been laced with a[a]n anesthetic, or perhaps they were part of some sorcery. 3
She immediately checked her condition. Her internal energy was sealed, but she had no other injuries.
Rising to her feet, she examined the door first. Even without her internal energy, she had learned martial arts from a young age. Confident she could handle a simple wooden door, she pushed with all her strength. But the door didn’t budge.
‘This isn’t an ordinary door.’
She realized the door was no typical log door.
After closely examining the walls, floor, and ceiling, she concluded there was no way out of the room.
‘Could this be Baek Cheongyeong’s doing?’
In her current situation, he seemed the most likely suspect. Yet, it was still hard to believe, even after everything.
‘Even if he’s at odds with my brother, would he really kidnap me?’
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching the door.
Jin Haryeong quickly lay back down, pretending to be asleep. She hoped the person entering wouldn’t be Baek Cheongyeong. If they showed their face to her, it likely meant they intended to kill her.
‘Please, no!’
The door opened, and someone stepped inside. A man’s voice soon followed.
“If you’re awake, you should get up.”
The person already knew she was awake.
Jin Haryeong sat up and looked at the man. Fortunately, it wasn’t Baek Cheongyeong, but someone she had never seen before. He was Chorim, Baek Cheongyeong’s disciple.
When she silently stared at him, Chorim asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“If you were someone worth talking to, you wouldn’t be treating me like this, would you?”
Despite her internal energy being sealed, she maintained her composure. If they intended to kill her, she would already be dead. They were clearly keeping her alive for a reason, likely to use her. 4
“Aren’t you curious about who I am?”
Jin Haryeong quickly deduced that the man in front of her was the one who had kidnapped her. The scent she had smelled when the leaves fell was coming from him.
“I don’t care who you are. What I want to know is if you understand what you’ve done. Are you prepared to risk your life for this?”
Chorim responded with a calm smile, completely unfazed by the provocation.
“You must be thirsty. Please, have some tea.”
Though Jin Haryeong was indeed thirsty, she didn’t touch the teapot beside her.
“Why did you kidnap me?”
Instead of answering, Chorim poured the tea himself.
“It’s a medicinal tea. You can drink it.”
To show that it wasn’t poisoned, he drank from the first cup himself. Then, he poured another and offered it to her.
However, rather than taking the cup, Jin Haryeong focused on examining his face, hands, and clothes in detail. She was searching for any clues or weaknesses that might help her escape.
After setting the teacup on the table, Chorim turned away.
“I’ll have a meal prepared for you soon.”
Only after he left did Jin Haryeong open the lid of the teapot. It wasn’t just water—it was an herbal tea.
Despite her thirst, she closed the lid again. There was no way she could drink it without knowing what kind of herbs it contained. 5
Still, she knew she couldn’t refuse food or water forever.
She had never imagined that something like this could happen so close to the headquarters of the Martial Alliance. She had sent her guard, Choo Ho, away to wait at a distance while she dueled with Lee Ahn. By now, the entire Alliance were probably in an uproar trying to find her.
In this moment of crisis, the first person who came to her mind wasn’t her grandfather or her brother.
However, Jin Haryeong quickly got up and began searching the room for anything that might help her escape.
After all, in the martial world, survival didn’t depend on having reliable people around—it depended on finding your own way out. 6
* * *
I arrived at Baek Cheongyeong’s workshop.
The place was empty, and the first thing I did was pull back the cloth that had been covering a display stand.
All the figurines were gone, except for one. It lay on the ground, the hero doll that Baek Cheongyeong had said represented me. The rest of the figurines had vanished.
There was no doubt that this lone doll had been left behind specifically for me to see. It wasn’t just a figurine—it was a display of his leisure and mockery.
I took the doll and immediately left the workshop.
How would I find Baek Cheongyeong?
One thing was certain. He couldn’t be too far from the Martial Alliance.
The fact that Jin Haryeong had been kidnapped while Baek Cheongyeong was spending time with the Martial Alliance Leader was his way of asserting his innocence. In other words, it meant he had no intention at all of leaving the vicinity of the Martial Alliance.
That meant Baek Cheongyeong had to be nearby, and likely somewhere where his powers could be most effective. The forest, of course.
“I’ll find you with my Star Light Step!”
I sprinted with terrifying speed, arriving at a nearby forest in no time. Once there, I unleashed my energy.
I wasn’t searching for Baek Cheongyeong himself. I was looking for one of his wooden dolls.
When I first visited his workshop, I had sensed a certain energy. It was a presence that I never would have detected had I not started training in the Nine Calamities Demon Art. This energy had been imbued into every one of his wooden dolls.
I was now tracking that same energy. Since there were many dolls, I believed I would eventually find him.
When I didn’t sense anything, I used Star Light Step again, moving to a different location. I unleashed my energy again, searching for the familiar presence, and moved again. In an instant, I was radiating energy from a point ten li away. Today, the Star Light Step, which I had mastered to perfection, was proving its worth. 7
How long did I search like this?
‘Found it!’
At last, I detected the same energy I had sensed in his workshop.
I slowly made my way toward the source of the energy. Though the dense forest blocked my path, the trees and grass couldn’t stop me.
The energy grew stronger as I pressed forward. Finally, I reached a wide-open space, like a plaza at the end of the path.
What I saw there shocked me. The area was arranged like a circular dueling ground, and all around it were countless small wooden dolls, densely packed.
These were the wooden dolls Baek Cheongyeong had carved over the past ten years in his workshop. It felt as if the thousands of dolls were about to come to life and charge at me.
I placed the hero doll I had brought in the center of the plaza. Instantly, the thousands of other dolls seemed to be in a stance, ready to attack the hero doll.
That’s when I heard a voice.
“I told you, that’s where you belong.” 8
Baek Cheongyeong revealed himself, slowly walking toward me.
Instead of looking at him, I kept my gaze on the lone hero doll standing in the center of the plaza and replied.
“I thought it would be me too. I’ve always liked being the center of attention.”
1 : Friendship power, goooo !!!!
2 : Cultist nature lovers going wild ^^ Would be a shame if a fire were to spread, riiiight~~ ?
3 : Waking up in an unknown place after being drugged is a girl’s worst nightmare, no matter her strength. I…. actually don’t know what a guy’s worst nightmare is. Hmm. Does anyone know the answer ?
4 : But showing their faces isn’t good either, that means they plan to kill you later.
5 : Survival Instinct & Good Wit + 1
6 : Good, hoping to be saved is nice, but escaping yourself limits the risk on the rescuer. Plus, it’s less ‘damsel in distress’.
7 : Remainder, he’s still at 10 Stars. I left a checklist of his current progress on the Discord server.
8 : *Immediately replace it with the faceless one* “What did you say ? I didn’t hear you clearly, sorry~~”
[a]Mihon-yak