Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Chapter 86: The Price of a Choice

To Madam Jeong’s residence—

—there was no need to go.

“There’s a fire rising over there.”

The autumn day was now almost over.

The brightly rising flames were clearly visible even from this grand training ground.

The Association Leader recognized where the fire was.

“It’s in the direction of Madam Jeong’s residence.”

Madam Jeong had already pulled out all her subordinates, including her child. It seemed she had guessed that she would be pursued.

“It seems she thought she couldn’t remain within the complex.”

“Remain? After causing all this? After feeding the Magic Pills to the children of prestigious families?”

The Association Leader’s voice was sharper than ever.

“She has turned not only our family but all the families within the complex against her. The crime according to national law is heavy, but the influence of the families is also great. She will be thoroughly interrogated and won’t be able to escape execution.”

From Madam Jeong’s perspective, she had no choice but to give up and flee.

“Madam Jeong is likely not the only one who has judged that she cannot remain.”

“Not only Madam Jeong? Then who?”

There was no time to answer her question.

“Brother Jang, let’s leave this place to the family warriors and go to that residence first.”

Jang Gangcheon and I left everyone behind, kicked off from the grand training ground, and flew up. We ran along walls and stepped on pavilions, heading straight for Madam Jeong’s residence.

“The fire has spread greatly! We won’t be able to get in.”

Finally, Mukheun stepped forward.

I pushed the Xun Trigram Technique of the Eight Trigram Unity Technique to its limit.

I raised Mukheun high into the sky.

Mukheun, groaning as much as I was, resonated with the Xun Trigram Technique.

“This wind? Sword Hero, are you creating it?” ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NovєlFіre.net

The chilly air of the autumn evening, different from the hot air heated by the flames, rushed towards Mukheun.

The wind became a whirlwind, enveloping Mukheun and howling along with it.

I kicked off the ground and leaped high into the sky.

Below me, I could see the residence with fires rising from various places.

There were still places where the flames had not yet risen.

My target was the main building, which seemed to be the source of the fire.

That place was burning fiercely.

I dropped straight down into it.

“I’m going to blow away the building, so come in!”

Almost at the same time as I shouted to Jang Gangcheon, I struck the roof of the main building with Mukheun.

Wind creates fire, but a fierce wind drives fire away.

The whirlwind, which exploded as it broke through the roof, scattered the furnishings along with the fire in all directions.

A gaping hole was created in the main building.

In the space amidst the surrounding flames, only this space was free of fire.

“Amazing! To drive away the flames in an instant!”

Jang Gangcheon immediately followed me into that spot.

“Don’t let your guard down. The flames will spread again soon.”

“Guard down? How can I let my guard down after seeing this gruesome scene.”

Jang Gangcheon was right.

Beyond the flames, corpses were scattered everywhere.

I could see the face of Master Jang, the martial artist who had treated Handangyudo, and the one in a physician’s attire must have been the physician from the Medical Hall.

Let’s put them aside.

“They’ve killed the children too.”

There was no mercy in their hands. They had killed everyone, regardless of age.

“Those Demonic Cult bastards.”

The Demonic Cult is one that does not shy away from schemes that use commoners.

But what happens to those commoners when the scheme fails?

This scene right here is the answer.

Murder for Silence, they kill everyone to keep the secret. They erase their traces in this way.

At times like these, innocent people also get caught up in it.

Sending a cultist to the instructor selection was either a deception or an additional infiltration.

“It seems so. But then, where are the Demonic Cult members? They’re not in the complex, and this residence is on fire.”

They had definitely escaped.

“Sword Hero, the flames are again—”

I deployed my Eight Sensations and extended all my senses.

If they escaped, there must be a path. If they didn’t block the path completely, I should be able to feel something different, even if it’s a tiny sensation.

“I’ll try to block it!”

Jang Gangcheon’s figure moved quickly.

Kuung, with a ground-stomp, he extended a fist and began to smash and send flying the remaining furnishings and debris.

The alias Divine Fist Beggar was not in vain, as he cleared the surroundings in an instant.

He stomped the ground forcefully again and shouted.

“I’ll try to push back the flames with my Fist Wind!”

At the same time, Fist Wind flew.

But the flames were so fierce, it was a fight he couldn’t win.

“Divine Fist Beggar, your ground-stomp, the echo was strange.”

“My ground-stomp? I trained so arduously for this—”

“It means there’s something under the ground.”

I with Mukheun, Jang Gangcheon with his fist, we struck the spot where Jang Gangcheon had just been standing.

It was tightly sealed, so we almost missed it.

“They’ve dug a tunnel under the house!”

A large tunnel, big enough for three or four people to pass through easily, opened its mouth.

Huuuk, the trapped air from within rose up.

We threw ourselves inside without hesitation.

“Exterminate the Demonic Cult!”

“Where are you? The Divine Fist Beggar is here!”

Th-thump, thump, thump, we only heard the sound of footsteps echoing again.

“They’ve escaped, as expected.”

“For someone who expected it, didn’t you shout ‘Exterminate the Demonic Cult’ a bit too loudly?”

“It was just a slogan for me. You introduced yourself, didn’t you?”

“What? I was just following you, Sword Hero—”

Jang Gangcheon seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, but he faithfully kept his mouth shut.

A light could be seen from inside.

A very faint groan was heard.

I quickly headed towards the source of the groan.

When I actually moved, I found that a large room had been created in the middle of the tunnel. The light and sound were coming from within it.

A few furnishings, including a desk, were on fire.

And inside, several people lay bleeding.

The one who had groaned was a middle-aged woman in fancy clothes.

“Judging by her attire, she seems to be Madam Jeong.”

Jang Gangcheon checked the pulses of the other people, but.

“The others are gone.”

Their clothes were also quite high-quality.

It seemed they were Madam Jeong’s family.

“Madam Jeong is also critically injured. Still, let’s take her out first.”

Behind the fallen Madam Jeong, a burning desk caught my eye.

Jang Gangcheon and I exchanged glances. He quickly stuffed the documents from inside the desk into his clothes.

“Brother Jang, you go out first.”

“And you, Sword Hero?”

“I’ll go to the end of the tunnel. There probably won’t be anyone, but I have to check.”

He took both the documents and Madam Jeong and returned to the complex.

I ran along the tunnel.

Judging by its length, it was definitely connected to the outside of the complex.

Tuung, the place I emerged from was the inner courtyard of a small house in an alley outside the complex.

Isn’t this the alley where the Rogues’ Guild Leader was said to have been attacked?

I remember looking around it separately with Hansanha’s guidance.

Was it a coincidence, or not.

I could see Hansanha’s figure at the end of the alley.

The Association Leader bent down and looked.

When Jang Gangcheon came out of the burning residence, the Association Leader had already arrived with the family warriors.

She had borrowed a pavilion from a nearby residence and brought Jang Gangcheon and Madam Jeong there.

At the Association Leader’s feet lay the dying Madam Jeong.

Even someone who didn’t know medicine could see that she was already gone. She had several stab wounds and had inhaled flames and smoke.

Madam Jeong had regained consciousness for a moment due to Jang Gangcheon’s acupoint pressure, but her mind had not returned clearly.

Her blurry eyes turned to the Association Leader.

“Association Leader?”

The Association Leader had mentioned execution. Without even going that far, Madam Jeong was dying before her eyes.

But there is an unresolved question.

“Why? Why did you do this?”

Madam Jeong, in her daze, or perhaps because of it, answered the Association Leader’s question nonchalantly.

“Ugh… our family… is ruined…”

The honorifics had disappeared.

The Association Leader was also speaking informally.

What was surprising was the words the Association Leader brought up.

“I know that. It’s been a while since anyone passed the civil service examination. The family business has also almost collapsed.”

“Yes. I was waiting for you to ask for help. But since you didn’t, I thought you were still holding on.”

Heh, a hollow laugh escaped from Madam Jeong.

“Help? If I had asked?”

“I would have helped.”

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. Anyway, now…”

Madam Jeong was also feeling that keenly. Facing death so close, words stripped of all pretense flowed out.

“Ah… I should have tried asking for help… no, no. I hated it then… then… I would have had no choice but to be pushed out… because…”

Inside the complex where the noble families gathered.

It’s a natural thing, but if you’re not a noble family, you can’t remain.

If she confessed the ruin of her family, would she really receive help, or would she be urged to leave?

In Madam Jeong’s view, it was obvious.

“That’s right… I had to listen to the Demonic Cult… they gave me funds, and they promised me a future.”

“They said they would control the complex… they said they would give me that control…”

“What’s the reason for controlling it anyway? It’s to succeed, isn’t it? And among them, I should be the one to succeed… right?”

Still, her meaning was clear.

Why control the children?

She couldn’t think of anything other than the goal of success.

At least, that’s how Madam Jeong felt. And in that state, she was on the verge of being pushed out.

The Demonic Cult had extended a hand.

Let’s take control of the complex. Then we will give you the control.

The Association Leader answered Madam Jeong vaguely.

“How foolish. Perfect control wasn’t about that. Really, it was just for protection…”

She stopped in the middle of her sentence.

Has what she had done until now really stopped at protection?

The smell of burning from Madam Jeong’s residence rushed into her nose.

It was a choking, yet empty smell.

“Still, not the Demonic Cult. The end is bound to be terrible.”

“Ah? It’s already terrible.”

To Madam Jeong, the situation of being on the verge of being pushed out was more palpable.

The end that would come from joining hands with the Demonic Cult was a matter for the future anyway.

Avoiding the present was more urgent.

Just before death, as her energy returned for a moment, a question rushed in.

A question about the result of her choice.

“My husband? The children?”

The memory from just before she regained consciousness.

The whole family had gone down to the basement together.

‘That beast’ had said.

- You are no longer needed.

That beast, a big shot in the Demonic Cult, had turned its back.

She had reached out her hand, but the beast had continued to walk out of the tunnel.

And Demonic Cult members with swords had blocked her view.

“Ah? Ah? Ahhhhh! My husband? The children? Association Leader, tell me! Tell me!”

The Association Leader could not say anything.

“Ahhhhhh! Ahhh! The beast! That beast bastard!”

Until the terminal lucidity ended.

And until Madam Jeong’s screams ended.

She could not convey that harsh price.

“Ink Sword Hero, isn’t it? How did you come out of there?”

Hansanha approached Jin Yeomyeong.

A question arose on his old face.

“Branch Leader, what brings you here?”

Jin Yeomyeong asked in return.