Chapter 220 : Yao Hong, Sees
Chapter 220: Yao Hong, Sees
“It’s said that Lee Jaseung has suffered a fatal injury.”
Upon hearing the First Demon’s report, Yeo Su-in instinctively felt that the time had finally come.
“Where and how badly?”
“I’m told he suffered a major sword wound to his waist and leg. Judging by the situation, it seems difficult for him to hold out any longer.”
“I suppose so. If he held out for as long as ten days in the Heaven and Earth Net and cut down eight hundred of the Demon Army, he’s done enough.”
Ten days had passed since Lee Jaseung was trapped in the Heaven and Earth Net.
In the meantime, Yeo Su-in had conducted search operations with the Demon Army several times. He did this because he would be suspected later if he just stayed idle.
However, while he pretended to search actively, it was literally just a pretense. Naturally, he did not find Lee Jaseung.
News arrived just two days after he joined the search. The time had finally come.
Yeo Su-in stood up from his seat.
“Alright, I must go rescue the hunting dog now.”
* * *
Lee Jaseung threw himself forward, narrowly avoiding a flying sword.
Sword Qi poured down, following him as he rolled across the ground.
Swish swish!
Asura and the Dream Phantom flew through the air. Naturally, two screams should have followed, but only one man fell.
The other man’s sword flew toward Lee Jaseung.
Flash!
Blood splattered from Lee Jaseung’s shoulder.
Thump!
Asura was plunged into the man’s chest. He had finished the man off by a hair’s breadth.
Lee Jaseung stumbled and recovered Asura from the fallen corpse.
Lee Jaseung walked to the side again. There was no strength in his footsteps. Stumbling as if he might collapse at any moment, he walked over and pulled out the Dream Phantom embedded in a tree behind him.
Lee Jaseung leaned against a tree as if even standing was a struggle.
In his visible state, it looked like just two or three people here could kill him.
It was right then.
Rustle.
Seven men stepped down in front of Lee Jaseung.
They were Yeo Su-in and the remaining six of the Asura Seven Demons. Once they stepped forward actively, they discovered traces the Demon Army had failed to find, and they located Lee Jaseung shortly after entering the Heaven and Earth Net.
A look of despair flashed across Lee Jaseung’s face as he confirmed his opponent was Yeo Su-in. The Asura he had raised reflexively pointed back toward the ground.
Yeo Su-in gave a relaxed smile.
“Heh, I hear you’ve been giving them quite a hard time?”
Lee Jaseung slumped down and leaned his back against the tree. His face, overcome with fatigue, fully revealed a feeling of desperation.
“To kill the Twin Stars in one place! It’s truly an amazing skill.”
“If not for the injuries I suffered then, I wouldn’t be in this state.”
“No, you didn't suffer your decisive injury because of that. You got it while rescuing that woman.”
Yeo Su-in asked as if he were truly curious.
“Why did you rescue her?”
Lee Jaseung did not answer.
“Do you think you can save everyone? When you can’t even save your own life?”
Instead of flaring up at Yeo Su-in’s mockery, Lee Jaseung brought up something unexpected. If compared to martial arts, it was like a finishing move striking a vital point.
“Is it painful that you couldn’t save your parents?”
In an instant, sparks flew from Yeo Su-in’s eyes.
Crack!
The tree Lee Jaseung was leaning against broke from Yeo Su-in’s palm strike. Had the break been just a bit lower, it was at a height that would have taken Lee Jaseung’s head off.
Lee Jaseung did not dodge or act scared.
Instead, he provoked Yeo Su-in like someone who intended to die.
“Will the grudge in your heart disappear if you get revenge by killing the Cult Leader?”
The mockery Yeo Su-in had worn earlier was now hanging on Lee Jaseung’s lips.
“The person who actually killed your parents isn't the Cult Leader, is it? Furthermore, there’s no way Yao Hong would have personally given the order to slaughter a mere scholar’s household. So why do you want to kill Yao Hong? You probably want to devour the Demonic Cult using revenge as an excuse. Don’t you?”
Yeo Su-in’s gaze burned intensely. It looked as if he might strike Lee Jaseung’s head with a palm at any moment, but he controlled his mind surprisingly easily.
Yeo Su-in’s frozen expression relaxed.
“Fair. At least you're someone who doesn't fear death. Impressive. Very impressive.”
He dispelled his anger with a mocking compliment.
He was not so foolish as to ruin his grand cause over a momentary emotion.
“To frame me for rebellion. It was a truly unexpected idea.”
“I didn’t know you were actually plotting a rebellion. Had I known, I would have succeeded.”
“Hahaha.”
Yeo Su-in laughed loudly.
“You’re an opportunist. You must have hoped I’d kill all the Demon Army? They’re the Cult Leader’s subordinates anyway.”
“Hahaha. I admit it.”
Yeo Su-in laughed even louder.
Lee Jaseung asked with a curious expression.
“I have one question. Just how did you deceive your Cult Leader’s eyes?”
“I sealed all my abilities.”
“How could you do that?”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
The gaze Lee Jaseung used to stare at Yeo Su-in sparkled.
“It’s that tattoo I see! It was a new type of sealing method!”
This time, Yeo Su-in’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a new method that old men like the Cult Leader don’t know. How did you know?”
“Because I kept thinking that the tattoo didn't suit you at all. Someone of your caliber wouldn't recklessly put a tattoo on their face.”
“The more I see you, the more amazing you are. I say this sincerely, but if we had met even ten years earlier, I would have recruited you as my top priority.”
“Then you would have died by my hand back then.”
“Hahahahaha. Perhaps so.”
After a hearty, delightful laugh, Yeo Su-in spoke with a serious face.
“I’ll let you live.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say it’s because I like you.”
Then Lee Jaseung spoke for him.
“That isn't it. You probably want to use me to make me fight your Cult Leader.”
“You’ll have to fight even if you don’t want to. You killed the Twin Stars and more than a third of the Demon Army. Furthermore, you killed more than half of the New Ten Demon Kings who protected me and even the Second Demon of the Asura Seven Demons.”
“Rescuing the New Ten Demon Kings and killing the Asura Seven Demons was your doing!”
“The important thing is that the Cult Leader doesn’t know that fact.”
The six demons of the Asura Seven Demons standing behind Yeo Su-in burst into laughter.
“Your problem is this. The Cult Leader will never forgive you. Unless you kill the Cult Leader first, there is no way for you to live.”
Yeo Su-in spoke while satisfyingly enjoying Lee Jaseung’s distorted expression.
“Go straight to the west. The path there should be open.”
For a moment, Lee Jaseung glared at Yeo Su-in with eyes full of resentment.
“You will regret letting me live.”
Leaving those words behind, Lee Jaseung stumbled and walked toward the west.
Once he rounded a large rock and completely left Yeo Su-in’s field of vision, the footsteps of Lee Jaseung, who had been barely moving, gradually gained strength.
His stumbling steps changed into long, confident strides.
The blood vessels he had intentionally blocked opened simultaneously, and his slumped body, which had looked fatally wounded, became light enough to fly.
The face of Lee Jaseung, who had been struggling with injuries, had become peaceful before anyone knew it.
As if proving that everything he had shown Yeo Su-in earlier was an act, a look of triumph appeared on his lips. In the next moment, Lee Jaseung’s figure vanished in a flash.
Meanwhile, Yeo Su-in was wearing the smile of a winner.
He would use Lee Jaseung to weaken the Cult Leader’s power. If that happened, he had a chance of victory.
“Let’s go too.”
As Yeo Su-in was about to turn and walk away, his gaze suddenly moved toward a tree branch. He felt as if someone was watching him, and a single crow was sitting on a branch.
The moment he made eye contact with the crow staring down at him, Yeo Su-in got a very unpleasant feeling.
He raised his hand to kill it by firing a wind wave from his finger.
Flutter.
The crow flew up into the sky. He could have killed it if he released the finger wind, but he decided not to.
On such a fine day, there was no need to engage in killing.
* * *
At the same time, Yao Hong was looking into a crystal ball.
He had been watching the entire meeting between Lee Jaseung and Yeo Su-in through the eyes of the crow.
The person who had visited the main headquarters of the Asura Demon Sect leading subordinates was none other than Eye, a subordinate of Mountain.
It was the very same person who used crows to monitor Lee Jaseung in the past.
What Lee Jaseung had borrowed from Mountain by sending Nam Seohyang was not an object but his subordinate, Eye.
Because he offered conditions that were hard to refuse, Mountain accepted Lee Jaseung’s proposal.
Eye followed Mountain’s command and immediately sought out the Great Demon of the Asura Demon Sect.
The reason Mountain sent him to the Great Demon and not Yao Hong was for fear that he might die before even conveying the purpose of his visit.
Indeed, the Great Demon was different. The moment he heard that he could prove Yeo Su-in was a real traitor, the Great Demon protected him more importantly than his own life.
“Kagghh.”
Eye vomited blood. His body was so damaged that he could no longer perform the great art in the future.
The subordinates who had performed the great art together were already turning cold. It was a natural result. This great art was one where even sound could be heard.
Just seeing required an immense amount of Inner Qi, so hearing sound as well had consumed a truly enormous amount of Inner Qi.
But thanks to their sacrifice, Yao Hong was able to see and hear everything.
Every conversation Lee Jaseung and Yeo Su-in had shared.
He had learned that Yeo Su-in was a traitor.
A terrible murderous intent was flowing from Yao Hong’s eyes as he looked at the glass orb.
Furthermore, the fact that the Asura Seven Demons had become Yeo Su-in’s subordinates was truly shocking. It was a greater shock than when he first heard news of Yeo Su-in’s rebellion.
‘Just how?’
He couldn’t understand it. He wanted to run immediately, make the Asura Seven Demons kneel, and ask them.
Why they had betrayed him. He wanted to ask exactly what price they had received for their betrayal.
“You say the one who sent this orb is Mountain?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“The reason?”
“He said he wanted to perform a service for the main cult.”
“Nonsense! Is your eye for people only that much?”
The Great Demon flinched at Yao Hong’s shout full of anger. Yao Hong’s momentum was fierce because he had been confident in his eye for people, yet he had missed Yeo Su-in’s rebellion.
“Lee Jaseung.”
Lee Jaseung was mentioned from Yao Hong’s mouth.
“That bastard sent it.”
Because when he saw this scene, the person who would benefit most was him. Following the Murim Alliance, he was now reaching out even to Yao Hong himself.
“He’s truly a cheeky bastard.”
“But the important fact now is that Yeo Su-in has committed rebellion.”
“The important thing now is that everyone is being manipulated by that bastard Lee Jaseung!”
The Great Demon bowed his head at Yao Hong’s shout that erupted again. He was anxious. Fearful that the blade intended for Yeo Su-in might point toward Lee Jaseung.
But fortunately, that didn't happen.
Yao Hong spoke in a calm tone as if he had never yelled.
“But your words are also right. Right now, punishing Su-in for committing rebellion is more important.”
Lee Jaseung could be dealt with after that.
The Great Demon spoke cautiously.
“It is not something to be taken lightly. We don’t know who else in the main cult has been recruited.”
Then Yao Hong looked down at the Great Demon with a suspicious look and asked.
“What about you?”
“If you suspect me, I can swear to heaven at this spot. If I am dreaming of rebellion, I will die with my limbs torn to pieces.”
The gazes of the two men intertwined in the air.
The Great Demon looked at Yao Hong more confidently than any gaze he had shown before.
Yao Hong nodded and spoke.
“Prepare reliable people and go down personally.”
It meant the Great Demon should resolve it personally without being given Yao Hong's people. It made sense, as Yao Hong did not know whom to send down in a situation where the Asura Seven Demons he trusted had betrayed him. What needed to be done now was to hunt out the traitors.
The Great Demon answered readily.
“Leave it to me. I will surely return with Yeo Su-in’s head.”
The real opportunity had come. His fate depended on whether he could accomplish this task properly.
Whether he would die by Yeo Su-in’s hand, or whether it was his fate to become the Cult Leader.