.jpeg){kind=tracking}
Chapter 61: Isn't it Enough Already?
Yeon Seolju does not know that Yeon Jeokha is her half-brother.
The first time Yeon Jeokha descended with the Heavenly Dragon Dance, she had no opportunity to see him. And when he used the Dragon and Tiger Windstorm against Lee Somin, she was already unconscious. Even if she had seen it, it would have been difficult for her to recognize him.
After that, there were no more opportunities.
The Ten Heroes of the Five Peaks called Yeon Jeokha ‘Brother Yeon’ or ‘Elder Brother Yeon.’ The other bandits did not dare to say his name and only called him ‘Elder Brother.’
Not only that.
The conflict between the Five Heroes of Luoyang and the bandits over the death of five of their own had worsened the situation. As there were no conversations, for Yeon Seolju, Yeon Jeokha was just a young bandit with great skills.
When that bandit insinuated that he had done something to Waryong Manor, she couldn't contain herself.
"Why don't you speak? Tell me what you've done!"
Desperate, Yeon Seolju forgot her situation and charged at Yeon Jeokha.
Yeon Jeokha smiled and asked.
"Are you curious?"
"Yes. So tell me what you've done."
"You can't get anything for free."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing is free in this world. If you want something from me, you have to give me something in return."
Yeon Seolju looked at Yeon Jeokha coldly.
"You really are a bandit. If you expect something immoral from me, forget it. I would never do that with a bandit like you!"
"Immoral? What are you saying?"
Seeing Yeon Jeokha's confused expression, Yeon Seolju realized her mistake.
"No, it's not that. What do you want?"
Yeon Jeokha stared at Yeon Seolju, recalling an event from twelve years ago.
Yeon Jeokha, at six years old, did not understand the difference between the primary wife and the secondary wife. He didn't know why his brothers and sisters hated and bullied him so much.
He simply thought he had done something wrong.
Maybe he was ugly, or stupid, or his body smelled bad, or he was too slow and made others angry with him.
His half-siblings, Yeon Mubaek, Yeon Seungbaek, and Yeon Seolju competed to see who could bully him the most, with Yeon Seolju being the worst.
The young Yeon Jeokha saw Yeon Seolju, who was only three years older than him, as a close figure. Whenever he tried to get close, she pushed him away and told him he was dirty and despicable.
At nine years old, Yeon Seolju imitated her mother, Baek Miju, almost perfectly.
She pinched him until he cried and said insults he didn't even understand.
Yeon Jeokha, with a mischievous smile, said:
"Make a sincere bow like Yang Mugi did. Then I'll tell you."
"......"
Yeon Seolju looked at him incredulously.
She never imagined he would ask her to kneel.
But beyond that, why did this bandit want a victim to bow to him?
Lee Somin, surprised, grabbed Yeon Seolju's arm but said nothing. Although they were close friends, this was a decision only Yeon Seolju could make.
"Are you crazy? Why should I bow to a bandit like you? You should be the one bowing to me."
"Then you won't do it?"
"Never! The people of Waryong Manor are not that weak. I don't care what you say; I know it's a lie."
"Ah, then the sun will rise tomorrow. Oh! You don't believe me, right? You said everything I say is a lie."
Yeon Seolju decided to ignore his words.
Yeon Jeokha murmured to himself:
"They say Baek Miju borrowed a thousand silver pieces from the Uicheon Sect. To repay that, they'll have to work very hard. But what a pity, they no longer have any income."
"Lies!"
When Yeon Seolju exclaimed, Lee Somin hurriedly whispered to her.
"Yeon, don't listen to him. If you do, he'll just say stranger things."
Yeon Seolju pressed her lips together.
She knew that if she reacted, he would only say worse things. But she couldn't help but feel angry and had to say something.
Yeokha: "I’ll tell everyone in Nokrim not to let anyone related to Waryong Manor in."
Seolju: "Ha, as if Nokrim would listen to you."
"Yeon, I told you, ignore him."
Lee Somin hoped Yeon Seolju wouldn't provoke the young bandit any further.
It seemed like an argument with Yeon Jeokha, and Lee Somin was trying to calm the situation.
"We'll see. For now, Baekse Chamber of Commerce is prohibited from entering Five Peaks Mountain."
"......"
Yeon Seolju looked at Yeon Jeokha with fury.
Her eyes were filled with tears of rage.
She wanted to kill him, but she couldn't.
The angrier she got, the more Yeon Jeokha smiled.
Lee Somin, unable to bear it any longer, intervened.
"Young master, it was a mistake for Yeon to raise the sword against you, but you already accepted a thousand silver pieces. Isn't it enough already?"
Lee Somin didn't understand this bandit.
He seemed determined to torment Yeon Seolju. He had even let the Chamber of Commerce guards go; why did he only insist on punishing Yeon Seolju?
Yeon Jeokha responded indifferently.
"Look, if the compensation is enough or not, it’s decided by the affected party. I’m upset, why do you care? You're starting to annoy me."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you. I was wrong."
Lee Somin quickly apologized.
Observing the argument, she had forgotten their situation. They were in a Nokrim camp and were hostages.
Yeon Jeokha stretched and said.
"Wow, it's a nice day, isn't it? If you're done crapping, go back. You can't leave your group worried. Go and calm them down."
"......"
Lee Somin sighed with resignation, trying to inhale a bit more fresh air before being returned to the stinky room.
Yeon Seolju kept glaring at Yeon Jeokha with resentment until the last moment, just as Cheon Gideok pushed them to move.
------------------------
Yeoju.
The small town of Yeoju, developed around the Yeohwa River, was enveloped in tension since early morning. The murim-ins (martial artists of the murim) from the orthodox factions had arrived like a storm.
The restaurants and inns were filled with experts from the Justice Alliance's Division of Justice and the orthodox factions of the Hunan province. Their fierce gazes froze the town.
After breakfast, the murim-ins headed to the banks of the Yeohwa River.
Leading the group were Master Gong Baek and five Arhats from the Shaolin Temple.
When Master Gong Baek stopped, the leader of the Justice Alliance's Division of Justice, Cheol Geumgang Man Baek, approached.
"Is it here, Master?"
The Shaolin lineage follows the Vajracchedika-prajnaparamita Sutra, also known as the Diamond Sutra. The names are chosen from the four lines of the sutra.
The sutra is as follows:
無上甚深微妙法 (Moo-sang-sim-sim-myo-myo-beop): "The law without equal, profound and wonderful"
百千萬劫難遭遇 (Baek-cheon-man-gyeop-nan-jo-u): "Difficult to encounter in hundreds of thousands of eons"
我今聞見得受持 (A-geum-mun-gyeon-deuk-su-ji): "Now that I hear it, see it, and maintain it"
願解如來眞實義 (Won-hae-yeo-rae-jin-sil-ui): "May I understand the true meaning of the Tathagata"
The oldest monk of the Shaolin Temple was Master Mubeop, from the "Mu" generation.
Below him, the abbot and elders used the "Baek" generation, like Hyun-baek, Gong-baek, and Man-baek.
The Arhats, who were young and middle-aged, used the "Mun" generation, and the younger disciples used the "Jin" generation.
The current leader of the Division of Justice, Man-baek, was an elder of the Shaolin Temple from the "Baek" generation and a fellow disciple of Elder Gong Baek, responsible for enforcing the law.
Elder Gong Baek nodded and pointed to a spot on the riverbank.
"The sacrificed monk was found there. The sack containing the body was made in a textile shop here in Yeoju. They must be hiding in Yeoju."
"They are really bold. Doing something like this so close."
"They probably have a base somewhere along the riverbank."
"Why have they left traces now, when they never did before?"
"They might have relaxed or feel secure."
"Master, do you believe the rumors about the Yoomyung Cult?"
"That they use supernatural powers?"
"Yes."
"They might not be baseless rumors. It could be something similar to demonic power."
"Amitabha. Master, it seems you believe it too. The Righteous Alliance Leader said something similar."
"I’ve heard of absorbing energy from children and corpses, but obtaining something from a living monk... it's really strange and evil."
"How strong could the masters of evil be if they gain supernatural powers?"
"I don't know. If neither the Moon-Splitting Swordsman nor the Sword Emperor could kill the Lunar Fairy... they will be incredibly powerful."
Man Baek's face darkened.
That was twenty years ago.
What if they had improved their skills and supernatural powers since then?
He didn't want to imagine it.
"Investigate upstream, I will investigate downstream with Yi Daehyeop and his group."
"Understood. If we find anything suspicious, we will contact you without acting hastily."
"So be it."
Shortly after, the Division of Justice and the murim-ins from Luoyang split up to investigate upstream and downstream.
-------------------
Banks of the Yeohwa River.
Eunha Manor.
In the main house of Eunha Manor, a dozen people had gathered.
They were the Master of Eunha Manor, Cheok Jinkyung, and his followers.
They all seemed to be murim masters in their prime, with piercing gazes.
Among them, a robust man in his fifties, known as Daeryeokgui, spoke in a slightly exalted tone.
"Master, the movements of Gwangmyeong Manor are not normal. Their eagerness to collect relics clearly indicates they are aiming for the position of the Heavenly Demon King."
Hearing these words, Cheok Jinkyung slowly lowered his tea cup.
The Heavenly Demon King is an unreachable position unless you are the leader of the cult.
"Tsk tsk! Daeryeokgui, even if the Lunar Fairy and the Demon of Illusion ally, reaching the position of the Heavenly Demon King is impossible. Only the cult leader knows the necessary spells to summon the Heavenly Demon King."
Even though they use the same artifacts, the spells of the Demon Warriors, Great Demon Generals, and Heavenly Demon King are different. It's not just about offering a thousand sacrifices. The Great Demon Generals cannot become the Heavenly Demon King even if they desire it.
"It's been more than twenty years since the cult leader disappeared. It's possible Gwangmyeong Manor has done something about it."
"Back then, the cult leader was a Great Demon General, while the Lunar Fairy and the Residual Blood Demon were only Demon Warriors, like you and the other Four Great Celestial Generals. A hundred Demon Warriors could not face a Great Demon General."
This time, the pale Eumsanggwi intervened.
"Master, you should not ignore Daeryeokgui's words. It is a fact that Gwangmyeong Manor has been producing many Demon Warriors. If they have no ambitions, why would they do it?"
The other two, Moosanggwi and Mooyounggwi, also nodded.
"Lunar Fairy is not an ordinary woman."
"There must be something going on."
With the Four Great Celestial Generals speaking in unison, Cheok Jinkyung could no longer ignore it.
"Then, Mooyounggwi, keep an eye on the movements of Gwangmyeong Manor."
"Understood."
As Mooyounggwi straightened his back, a man crossed the courtyard.
"Master, the Righteous Alliance and the murim-ins from Luoyang are searching the banks of the Yeohwa River. It seems they are looking for Eunha Manor."