Chapter 63
"Go down to the mountain and confess everything you have done to the people. You must never reveal that you are a person of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and you must say that it was the third prince who spread the rumor that you are a demonic head."
At Ya Socheong's words, Danli Cheon's eyes widened for a moment.
"If I do that, I cannot survive."
"If you don't say that, you will die by my hand. You are destined to die anyway. I am just keeping you alive until then, when I could kill you right here, right now."
He seemed to have realized that Ya Socheong was not just trying to scare him.
"Isn't that a decent death? There won't be many people who can take revenge on the third prince so grandly."
Danli Cheon looked at the empty air and let out a hollow laugh.
He had power, and he had used that power indulgently.
And now, he had to pay the price.
If he could escape, he would struggle to escape, but he could not see an escape route.
* * *
A person rushed to the third prince's Jinwang Manor.
The blood had drained from his face.
Having rushed over in such a hurry, he could not speak properly.
No matter how much they asked what on earth was going on, he just gaped his mouth blankly.
Then, when other people scolded him harshly, he said, sweating from his forehead.
"In... in the market... Song Doyeong appeared in the market and... he said he is not a demonic head, and that the one who spread the rumor that he is a demonic head is His Highness the Prince..."
The blood quickly drained from the faces of those who heard those words as well.
A few people immediately ran to the third prince and reported the fact.
The third prince, hearing something he had not expected, was dumbfounded.
He wanted to go there himself right away, but since he was not in a position to do so, he hastily sent out a few of his subordinates first.
Seeing that he had done such a thing in front of the Jinwang Manor, he must have been crazy to die.
He had killed the guards in his own house and had run away, and who would have thought that he would appear in front of the manor and do such a crazy thing?
The people who had received the third prince's order hurriedly went to the market, and there, hundreds of people had already gathered.
And Danli Cheon, whom they knew as Song Doyeong, was shouting in a booming voice in front of the people.
"His Highness the Third Prince wanted people to have a bad feeling about the Heavenly Demon Sect and made me commit cruel acts and spread the rumor that I am a demonic head. But I have never had any relationship with the Heavenly Demon Sect until now."
The people murmured among themselves with faces that said, 'What is all this about?'
"Then are you saying that His Highness the Jinwang ordered that? That you killed people because he ordered you to kill people?"
"That's right. His Highness the Jinwang ordered other people to do that as well. We had no choice but to do it. We had no choice in order to not die."
"How can we believe those words?"
"You will have no choice but to believe. Within a few days, I will be found dead. Since His Highness the Jinwang will not let me live."
Since Danli Cheon had said that much, it was not easy for the third prince's subordinates to deal with him.
If they killed Danli Cheon, people would think that the third prince had killed him, and it was uncomfortable to do so with people's eyes focused on them.
But as if Danli Cheon were determined, he told all the things that the third prince had ordered him to do until now, and in the end, they had no choice.
An arrow flew from somewhere and aimed for Danli Cheon's neck.
Danli Cheon flew and dodged it, but when dozens, hundreds of arrows flew in succession, he seemed to give up in the end.
Perhaps he had given up on his own, thinking that there would be no way to live if he stood up to the third prince.
From a distance, Ya Socheong was watching that by himself.
The people, mulling over what Danli Cheon had said, whispered among themselves.
Many said that it seemed true that Danli Cheon had been controlled by the third prince and had deliberately killed people in a more cruel way, saying that he was a demonic head, by the third prince's order.
Since he had even been attacked as he had said, there would have been no reason not to believe his words.
The people, as if they were scared, hastily left the place, but in their minds, it seemed to be taking root as the truth.
Ya Socheong watched Danli Cheon lying there and then slowly turned around.
* * *
"Brother, were you trying to see me go crazy and flip out? Do you know how much I've been looking for you?"
Pae Maling, after shedding a flood of tears, shouted at Ya Socheong.
"I'm sorry, Maling. The matter is all taken care of now."
Since he had sprinkled enough tracking scent on Pae Maling, it was not difficult to find her again.
He had known that she would not stay put in the place she was originally in, but that didn't matter much.
Because he could just find her.
Pae Maling looked at Ya Socheong with wide eyes, as if she were wondering what she had just heard.
"Brother, what did you just say? That the matter is all taken care of? Did you by any chance meet Danli Cheon?"
"Yes, I did."
"Then by any chance..."
Ya Socheong nodded and answered what Pae Maling could not bring herself to ask.
"Danli Cheon died in front of people. And before he died, he said that he was not a person of the Heavenly Demon Sect."
"What does that mean?"
Pae Maling's eyes only grew wider and wider.
She couldn't understand what all that meant.
Then she said, 'no way,' and shook her head.
Until she had come here, what Pae Maling had imagined was just barely killing Danli Cheon.
She had thought that even that would be a nearly impossible task.
But now, listening to what he was saying, didn't it mean that he had even made Danli Cheon deny that he was a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect?
The biggest problem from the beginning was that.
The perception of the Heavenly Demon Sect, which had been improving until now, had worsened due to what Danli Cheon had done.
But if Danli Cheon had denied that fact, wouldn't people think that they had been wrong about the Heavenly Demon Sect and, out of apology, be even kinder than before?
"Brother, how did you..."
Although she still couldn't believe all of it, it also seemed that Ya Socheong could accomplish such a thing.
"Did the third prince's party just stand by?"
"There's no way they would just stand by. They did it in front of the Jinwang Manor. And Danli Cheon was also killed by those people."
Pae Maling's mouth dropped open once again.
Ya Socheong now explained everything that had happened so far at once from the beginning.
Pae Maling shook her head and held her head with both hands.
In any case, it seemed certain that the work they had intended to do had been a complete success.
"What do we do now?"
"We just have to go back."
Although Ya Socheong said that, Pae Maling had a little lingering attachment.
She had been hoping that it would take a little longer because it was quite enjoyable to have Ya Socheong to herself and go around with just the two of them.
And of course, she had thought that it would take much longer.
Now that it had turned out like this, she wasn't just happy that the matter had been resolved quickly.
When Pae Maling made a wronged face, Ya Socheong laughed.
"Let's go. I was very anxious. If something happened to you, Pae Maseong wouldn't have let me be."
"Now that the work is all done, can't we slowly go sightseeing and such? I think we deserve it."
Pae Maling spoke like a girl with many dreams, but Ya Socheong was burdened by staying here for long.
Since he had accomplished all the things he had intended to do, he had no lingering attachments at all.
So he urged Pae Maling and hurried on his way.
On the way, Pae Maling continued to chatter.
"I hope I can come on a mission like this with you again later. At that time, I hope it's a mission to go around among the people and find out the news of the Central Plains. A long one. Then I can look around a lot with you to get information. We can disguise ourselves as siblings, and sometimes..."
Pae Maling's face turned red, wondering what she had thought.
When Ya Socheong flicked Pae Maling's head, she rubbed her head.
"Stop talking nonsense and let's hurry. We can go on horseback for a while, so let's buy a horse on the way."
Then, just as the two of them were about to set off, a few people came down from the trees.
Although no killing intent or hostility was felt from them, Ya Socheong naturally hid Pae Maling behind him.
"We are people who serve His Highness the Fifth Prince. We have been watching you since you were with Danli Cheon. Our master wishes to meet you, so we have come to escort you."
Ya Socheong had wondered if things might proceed in this way, and thinking, 'So it has come to this,' he sighed quietly.
Pae Maling looked at Ya Socheong with a worried face.
"Brother..."
"Don't worry."
Ya Socheong said and looked at them.
"My sister is not related to this matter. So I would like you to take my sister to a safe place first, and then I will go and see your master."
They looked at each other.
It seemed that they hadn't thought they would hear such words, but in the end, the one who seemed to be the highest in rank nodded.
"I understand. It is to express our gratitude, not to force you, so please do so."
The manor where the fifth prince was staying was not difficult to find and was well-known to people, so there was no need to tell Ya Socheong separately.
"Thank you for believing my words."
"Not at all. We are the ones who are relieved because of what you have done. We were greatly surprised and delighted because we had not imagined that things could be resolved in that way. Danli Cheon's claw technique was so tricky that we also suffered great sacrifices. Thanks to you, our people will no longer be sacrificed, so we are the ones who are greatly grateful."
At that polite attitude, Ya Socheong also showed his respect.
They were people who served the fifth prince, who had a high possibility of ascending to the throne in the future, at close range.
He didn't know how high a position they would rise to later, but seeing them willingly bow their heads to him, who was still young, Ya Socheong realized many things.
"And this is a small token of our appreciation. I hope this will be of help to you on your way."
Then a money pouch was handed over.
"Then I will accept it without reservation."
They agreed to meet again in a short time and said their goodbyes there.
(End of Chapter)