Chapter 139
I stared blankly at Liyeon.
‘I’ll kill members of the Demonic Cult.’
Liyeon’s eyes, as he said those words, were burning more fiercely than anything I had ever seen. It was the first time I had seen such vividness from him since meeting him.
I found that sight fascinating. But at the same time…
‘So this is how it turns out after all.’
One side of my chest grew cold.
I had thought that, since he had joined the Inspection Unit, he probably wouldn’t have any favorable feelings toward the Demonic Cult, but I hadn’t realized his hatred ran this deep.
‘He said his family was destroyed by the Demonic Cult.’
After the destruction of the Xiao Family Manor, several minor and mid-sized sects had apparently also fallen victim to the Demonic Cult. Perhaps Liyeon was a descendant of one of those sects.
I understood his hatred. I had gone through something similar myself.
But the facts he and I knew were different.
He would undoubtedly believe that the Demonic Cult was the Guangjin Cult. That wasn’t exactly wrong, either. The martial world of the Central Plains had long referred to the Guangjin Cult as the Demonic Cult and hated them as such.
This incident had also been carried out by the ‘Demonic Cult,’ and that Demonic Cult would naturally mean the Guangjin Cult.
‘No.’
But I knew the truth.
The ‘Demonic Cult’ that had actually caused incidents in the Central Plains wasn’t the Guangjin Cult.
They had already fallen and had absolutely no means of doing something like this. I had witnessed it firsthand, so I was certain of it. Therefore, the people who had destroyed those Central Plains sects must have been another faction. They might even be the mastermind behind all of this.
…But how could I possibly tell him that?
‘It’d be way too easy for him to suspect me of being a Demonic Cult member too.’
That was how terrible the Guangjin Cult’s reputation currently was. They were regarded as unparalleled villains who killed and tormented innocent people.
If I tried to defend such villains, it would be all too easy for people to accuse me of being one of them as well. That was why people were perfectly willing to curse the Demonic Cult, but were extremely reluctant to raise any other questions.
In fact, even me bringing this up right now wasn’t a good idea.
It was frustrating, but I had no evidence to prove my claims. I didn’t even know who the mastermind was. Who would believe me?
And yet…
“Hey.”
I hesitantly spoke.
“What do you think separates the righteous from the demonic?”
“What?”
I could see Liyeon furrowing his brows, but I didn’t stop.
“Your righteous sects define ‘demonic’ as nothing less than ‘evil.’ People who disrupt the order of the martial world and harm innocent people. An evil breed of people.”
“……”
“Isn’t that exactly what the Pleasure Pavilion is?”
Liyeon’s body flinched.
“Honestly, the Pleasure Pavilion fits the definition of ‘demonic’ that you people have. People who abandon morality for their own benefit and have no qualms about harming others. They’re the very definition of ‘evil’ that should be dealt with immediately.”
“……”
“And yet the higher-ups on your side left them alone. They even ordered you to stop pursuing them, saying they weren’t the ‘Demonic Cult.’”
I paused to choose my words before continuing.
“Isn’t that strange? Those people are the ones closest to being a Demonic Cult, and if you’re doing this for the sake of the world, you should be eliminating them immediately. Yet because they aren’t the Demonic Cult, you do nothing.”
“……”
“And they didn’t send down any separate orders either, did they? Like sending a force to suppress the Pleasure Pavilion or saying they planned to deal with them themselves.”
“……”
“Then what exactly makes someone demonic? No matter how many people they hurt or how much evil they commit, if they aren’t designated as the Demonic Cult, does that mean they aren’t evil? Then if someone is designated as the Demonic Cult even without committing any evil, does that make them demonic? The people protecting the Pleasure Pavilion…”
“You.”
Liyeon cut me off.
“What are you trying to say?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“I…”
“……”
“I’m trying to say that the world isn’t divided into the righteous and the demonic.”
I let out a sigh.
“Just as there are people in your righteous sects who aren’t righteous, there are people in the unorthodox sects who uphold morality and live by it. The same goes for other factions. Ordinary people have contradictory sides to them, so it’s difficult to divide them into completely evil or completely good people.”
“……”
“So… I think we need to look more carefully. Especially people like us, who can so easily take another person’s life.”
“……”
“We have to investigate that person or that incident ourselves and confirm the truth with our own eyes. Only then should we make a judgment. A judgment based on our own values and beliefs. That way, we won’t have regrets afterward.”
“……”
“I’m just… saying. If you judge things based on prejudice according to which side they belong to, you might regret it later. You never know what the truth is…”
Even as my voice trailed off, I scratched my head.
And secretly thought to myself.
‘Did Eom Papa feel this way too?’
Looking back, something similar had happened before.
It was when I had received help from Eom Papa and Sahyeon and was about to leave again in search of the young lady. While driving the carriage, Uncle Eom had said this:
“Just as you can only know whether a person is good or evil by seeing them for yourself, the same applies to the matter of the Xiao Family. Until we know what really happened inside, we can’t make assumptions about anything. Doing so will only bring trouble…”
What had Eom Papa been feeling when she said those words?
I didn’t know exactly, but I could understand one thing. What I was feeling now must have been similar to what Eom Papa had felt then. It must have been an indescribably complicated feeling.
Liyeon said nothing. It seemed as though he was either mulling over what I had said or had completely disregarded it and was lost in his own thoughts.
After remaining silent for a long while, Liyeon finally spoke.
“…But it was the Demonic Cult that invaded our family that day. That much is certain.”
“How do you know–”
“I don’t understand why you keep trying to deny the facts. You weren’t there, were you?”
“……”
“And you’d better be careful with your words. Talking about factional thinking sounds nice, but in the end, you could be seen as defending those beastly Demonic Cult members. Or perhaps…”
‘Are you involved with them somehow?’
Liyeon’s icy gaze turned toward me.
The gentle appearance I had briefly seen during our casual conversation earlier had vanished without a trace. Only a menacing stare remained.
It was as though, if I said that was the case, he would stab me to death on the spot.
I couldn’t bring myself to continue.
After a moment, I finally shook my head.
“…Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”
As I said that, I thought to myself.
‘It’ll be difficult to be on his side.’
We were traveling together amicably like this for now, but perhaps the day would come when I would have to oppose him.
When that day came, I…
“Sorry.”
I stared at Liyeon for a moment as he turned his head away, as though indicating that he would say no more.
Then, eventually, I turned my head away as well.
Our gazes no longer met.
***
After my argument with Liyeon, I closed my eyes and calmed my mind. Sitting in a quiet place and reflecting on things, I was able to organize my thoughts quickly.
‘Yeah. This has happened several times already.’
There was no need to be disappointed all over again.
After all, it wasn’t as though the righteous sects’ misunderstanding of our Cult was anything new. If they continued handling things according to their own convenience, such as deciding that the Pleasure Pavilion wasn’t the Demonic Cult, trouble would eventually arise.
Surely, someone would start questioning it.
Whether the people they were pointing to really were the Demonic Cult. Whether there even was a Demonic Cult in the first place.
Thinking that way made me feel a little better.
Once my mood improved, my body seemed to recover quickly as well. When I had recovered enough to move around, I abruptly stood up.
Then I shouted,
“Okay, let’s go!”
“What?”
Liyeon, who had been quietly meditating until then, looked at me in surprise.
I grinned at him.
“We’ve rested enough, haven’t we? What, do you want to rest longer?”
“That’s not me. It’s you…”
“I’m fine too.”
I waved my hand.
“Maybe because someone treated my wounds so well, but I recovered really quickly. That golden wound medicine was amazing, wasn’t it? I’ve been injured countless times, but this is the first time I’ve recovered this quickly.”
“……”
“And we should hurry, too. We don’t even know what happened to the other members of the Inspection Unit. If we suddenly disappear, they’ll be worried too, won’t they?”
“That’s true.”
“So we should move as quickly as possible and get out of this cave. We don’t even know where we fell, so we might not make it back in time. Understand?”
Liyeon nodded. Judging by how much darker his expression became, it seemed he had been worried about the same thing.
I looked around and said,
“There’s a hole up there, but it’s too high, and the walls are slippery, so climbing up would be difficult. There’s a path leading to the left, so I think it’d be better to follow that instead.”
“……”
“I don’t know where that path leads, though. Hopefully it leads outside. If not, we can search around there…”
“If.”
“Hm?”
I looked at Liyeon in confusion when he suddenly interrupted me.
He seemed hesitant, but eventually continued.
“…If it’s too difficult, tell me. It’s okay if we’re late.”
I blinked.
Then, without meaning to, I let out a small laugh.
‘He sure knows how to worry about a Demonic Cult member.’
He had suspected me just moments ago, yet here he was worrying about me like this. What would he do if he found out that I was one of those Demonic Cult members he hated so much?
Well, that wasn’t my concern. It hadn’t happened yet, and even if it did, there was only one choice I could make.
“Okay. I’ll definitely tell you.”
I would never have the chance to say it.
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