Chapter 118
“Just let me… just let me live…”
“No… just… kill me…”
It wasn’t a sudden clap of thunder in the middle of the night, but a cataclysm.
The family members of Lord Nam, who had been snoring in their sleep, were kneeling with blood streaming from their heads and nostrils…
To make matters worse, Lord Nam himself and the chief steward, with their yellow teeth broken, begged to be killed with lisping voices.
The physical therapy tool handcrafted by a master craftsman from ebony wood.
It was when So-ah’s ‘true education’ using the staff of justice reached its peak.
‘That club that used to beat the students… isn’t that the real demonic tool?’
Goosebumps rose on Jeon Woo-chi’s arms in the face of the merciless violence.
He had a ridiculous thought that perhaps So-ah’s staff of justice was a greater demonic tool than the demonic tools of the Udo-bang, but soon.
‘Where did the cute and innocent So-ah go, and why is a demon from hell incarnate here? Hah…! My Lord! Is that grim reaper of violence really the hero who will save the world?!’
He had even come to ask a question to the sky that would not be answered.
Of course.
“Aww! It’s just the beginning, what do you mean you want to die already? You lack perseverance for someone who looks like that.”
Thwack!
Thwack, thwack!
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
As if he truly pitied the sick, So-ah, who did not let go of his healing hands from beginning to end.
“Pfft…”
In the end, it was Jeon Woo-chi who burst into laughter.
***
“So? You don’t know the higher-ups? You just proselytize, and when you get a new member, you just provide them to the White Lotus Cult who comes to visit you unexpectedly?”
“Th-That’s… right.”
So-ah, who had been beating up Lord Nam and the chief steward, suddenly remembered that they were related to the White Lotus Cult.
He had come here for the purpose of investigating the connection between Lord Nam and the White Lotus Cult.
But there was no particular gain.
Because Lord Nam did not know the internal information of the White Lotus Cult, and the White Lotus Cult also recruited its members in a secret way.
“You perverted old man. Tell me the truth. You knew, right?”
“W-What do you mean…”
“The fact that those guys were making human sacrifices.”
For a moment.
Murmur, murmur—
The people in the room, with startled looks in their eyes, whispered among themselves.
‘H-Human sacrifice!’
‘Didn’t they say it was a religion that spread the mercy of Maitreya!’
Human sacrifice.
It was a word that had disappeared for a long time and was not even mentioned by people now.
In the past, there were two groups in the Jianghu that offered people as sacrifices.
One was the <Heavenly Demon Divine Cult> before the Heavenly Demon, Wi-ji Un, became the cult leader, and the other was the <Asura Blood Cult> where the Blood Demon, Tae Ho-gong, was the cult leader.
But Wi-ji Un had abolished that barbaric evil custom in his generation, and hadn’t the Asura Blood Cult been destroyed by the combined attack of the Orthodox Path, led by the God of War?
The people in the room were at a loss for words, as they had never expected to hear the words ‘human sacrifice’ again.
“W-What do you mean by human sacrifice… I… I didn’t know… ugh!”
Kuuk—
Lord Nam was about to deny it.
But before his words could even end, So-ah mercilessly poked his Adam’s apple with the staff of justice.
“You still haven’t come to your senses? How dare you lie?”
“Uuuk…”
A roar came out, but Lord Nam could not continue his words.
Because the pain in his Adam’s apple was so severe that it was difficult to even let out a groan.
“No. You must have known. Of course, you must have also embezzled a huge amount of money from the White Lotus Cult. Am I right, or am I wrong?”
This time, So-ah’s gaze turned to the chief steward.
The chief steward, with a pale face, nodded his head, afraid of being beaten again.
“Th-That’s right!”
“Good. Hey! You workers there.”
“Yes?!”
“Yes!”
“Yes! Your Excellency!”
“Release the kidnapped people immediately. Go!”
“Go!”
“Goooo!”
Currently, So-ah’s single word was a stricter order than the summons of the King of Hell.
In response to the order, the family members hurriedly moved somewhere.
***
“Sob, sob…”
“Waaaaah…”
“Are you letting us live!”
Fifteen young men and women.
‘They must have been intended as sacrifices for the human sacrifice.’
Two children who looked to be about ten years old.
‘These little ones must have been kidnapped by Lord Nam to satisfy his lust.’
Seeing the faces of those who were bound and trapped in a warehouse on one side of the estate, So-ah was able to picture the whole situation in his head.
“You perverted old man. And the chief steward.”
“Yes!”
“…Yeees.”
“To dig up the White Lotus Cult, it’s right to keep you alive. It would be best to lie in wait until they come and wipe them out in one go.”
“…”
“…”
“But you guys are so unlucky.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Unfortunately, I’m a bit busy. So…”
“…”
“You’ll just have to die.”
The moment So-ah’s lips moved, the shoulders of Lord Nam and the chief steward trembled violently.
An extreme fear washed over them.
In front of the murky shadow of death, the two, without even a chance to repent for their past.
Received So-ah’s punch, which was flickering with lightning.
At that.
“Keut!”
“Uk!”
The chest where the fist landed was strangely distorted, and soon, the upper bodies of the two collapsed powerlessly.
“Fall into the fires of hell, you rotten bastards.”
With So-ah’s primary criticism, Lord Nam and the chief steward, who had been committing evil deeds for decades, met their deaths.
It was the two who had spent the last moments of their lives in the most terrible pain of their lives.
***
“You guys have two choices.”
“We will listen.”
“We will keep it in mind!”
“If you just let us live, we will do anything!”
The family members, who were kneeling with their hands raised high, listened to So-ah’s words.
‘We might die too.’
‘…We have to live!’
As Lord Nam and the chief steward crumbled before their eyes, their thoughts were filled only with the instinct for survival.
“First. Go to the Sichuan branch of the Martial Alliance. There, report everything you have seen and heard about the White Lotus Cult, and let the people of Deokyang-hyeon know that the White Lotus Cult is a shameless group that practices human sacrifice. And second.”
Gulp—
They swallowed dryly.
“Die here at my hands. Which choice will you make?”
“O-Of course! The first one!”
“We will do as you say!”
Looking at those who were begging for their lives, So-ah had all sorts of thoughts.
‘These bastards are bad guys too, but…’
They were the fathers and mothers of a family…
Also, they had endured violence they had never experienced before, and had lost their homes.
It was a pity, but he decided to end their punishment here.
Because now, the priority was to go to Nanman and get the antidote for the Ten Fragrances Tendon Severing Powder.
“You’re lucky. I was originally going to beat you to death, but I’m being generous. And live your lives repenting for your cowardice.”
At So-ah’s cold words, Jeon Woo-chi shook his head with a fed-up face.
‘Isn’t it the opposite? Lucky… I think they’re extremely unlucky.’
***
“Your Excellency! Thank you so much!”
“We will not forget your life-saving grace!”
“Sob, sob… I was blinded by my poor circumstances. I will never think of converting to a fraudulent religion again.”
So-ah briefly explained to the kidnapped adult men and women how dangerous a group the White Lotus Cult was.
There was no more effective way to expose the secret activities and tyranny of a specific group than ‘rumors’.
After this, through their mouths, the heinous reality of the White Lotus Cult would be revealed throughout the Central Plains.
‘With this, there will be a disruption in the recruitment of the White Lotus Cult’s followers.’
It was a meaningful gain.
“Everyone! Do you really want to repay my kindness?”
“Yes!”
“Of course!”
“If you tell me to go into a fire with a bundle of firewood, I will do so…”
“Forget it.”
So-ah, who had mercilessly cut off the man’s long-winded words, used a writing set to write a letter and handed it to them.
“Go to Kaifeng in Henan immediately and find the great Lord Bao Qingtian, who is serving as the magistrate, and deliver this letter. You are the physical evidence, so every single one of you must go. I’ll give you plenty of travel expenses.”
“Yes!”
“We understand!”
“We will go right away, Great Hero Jin!”
The contents of the letter were as follows.
「To my dear Lord Bao.
Lord Bao. This is Jin So-ah of the Moyong Family.
I don’t know if you know, but currently in the Central Plains, a wicked group called the White Lotus Cult is deceiving the people with a god called the ‘Maitreya Blood God’ and committing human sacrifices. This letter and the people I am sending with it are living witnesses, so I ask you to conduct a thorough investigation through them.」
‘Lord Bao will surely expose them clearly.’
From the beginning, when he saw the kidnapped people, the person So-ah had thought of was Bao Qingtian.
Because in the process of wiping out the Triad, the Bao Qingtian So-ah had seen was an official armed with a firm resolve that would not bleed even if pricked with a needle.
“Now! Then, everyone. Depart.”
***
So-ah and Jeon Woo-chi, who had sorted out the situation, were heading somewhere, holding the small hands of the boy and girl, the orphans, who were left in the estate.
“…Brother. Are we really getting a house?”
“Can we really study too?!”
At the children’s questions, So-ah smiled brightly.
“Of course. And you’ll have many older sisters, older brothers, uncles, grandpas, and grandmas to protect you.”
“Waaaah!”
“It’s not a lie, right? It’s real, right?!”
Looking at the children’s innocent eyes, So-ah swept his chest.
‘Thank goodness. I was able to rescue them before they suffered a terrible fate.’
If he had been just one day late, the children would have experienced a lifelong nightmare at the hands of Lord Nam.
After walking for about a shichen…
A large sign that read <Deokyang Escort Agency> came into the view of So-ah’s group.
“A request, a request!”
Although it was late at night, as always, there was no distinction between day and night at the Jianghu’s escort agencies.
At So-ah’s shout, a person from the escort agency immediately opened the door and appeared.
“…Welcome. What kind of request?”
“I’d like to see the head of the agency in person and tell him.”
“First, I need to know what kind of request… gasp!”
The man’s eyes widened.
Because So-ah had taken out a gold ingot.
‘To make a request at such a small town escort agency with a gold ingot…’
The startled man hurriedly went to the head of the agency…
A moment later, the head of the agency, looking at So-ah’s group entering the office, said politely with a gentle expression.
“Haha… young master. What kind of request are you thinking of making? Although our Deokyang Escort Agency is smaller than the large escort agencies in Seongdo, we treat any request as if it were our own…”
“Ah, yes. I know that well.”
‘What… he knows well before I even say anything…’
Although it was embarrassing, since he knew that So-ah was the owner of the gold ingot, the head of the agency had no choice but to be repeatedly kind.
Just then, So-ah’s voice flowed out seriously.
“It’s not a difficult request, but there must be no mistakes. Take this letter and these children and go to Cheong-a-ru in Liaoning. If you get confused, you can also go to the Moyong Family. You can find the Moyong Family, right?”
“O-Of course! Isn’t the Moyong Family one of the Five Great Families of the Jianghu? I can find it with my eyes closed.”
“Then that’s settled. This is the request fee. It’s more than enough, so please make every effort for the children’s food, clothing, and shelter during the journey. Got it?”
“I-Is there any doubt!”
At the same time, So-ah handed the head of the agency a gold ingot and a letter.
The letter was addressed to Yuk Jeong-ran.
「Young Lady Yuk.
Due to an unexpected event, I am entrusting these two children to you. They are orphans and pitiful, so please take good care of them. It would be good to teach them to read, or to give them a suitable job. I hope you will judge according to the children’s disposition and talent.
I will visit you after I finish my busy work.
Please stay well.
Moyong Family. Great Disciple, Jin So-ah.」
‘Young Lady Yuk is trustworthy.’
In fact, So-ah had also thought about sending the children to the Moyong Family.
But considering that the current martial world was in a foggy state, it would be a very busy time…
He had judged that it would be better to leave them in the care of Young Lady Yuk.
And then…
“You little ones.”
“…”
“…”
So-ah lowered his posture and met the children’s eyes, saying.
“You have to stand on your own. You can do it, right?”
“…Yes, brother.”
“Yes, oppa.”
Fortunately, they looked bright.
‘It’s like me and Myo-seon when we were young. You brats.’
So-ah ruffled the children’s hair once, and then turned with Jeon Woo-chi to leave.
In that moment.
“Um… excuse me! Young master!”
The head of the Deokyang Escort Agency called out to So-ah in an urgent voice.
“…Although it’s rude, shouldn’t I at least know the identity and name of the client?”
At that, So-ah opened his mouth slightly.
“Jin So-ah of the Moyong Family.”
‘Ah…!’
The head of the agency let out a long sigh inwardly.
Because the fame of a person who was praised as the new Ten Great Masters of the Orthodox Path had come to his mind.