Chapter 48
Twenty-five years later, when the Sectarian War broke out, five demonic sects revealed themselves to the world.
Among them, the Divine Cult… was without a doubt the worst of them all.
‘That bastard of a leader… He should be around my age by now.’
But the reason the Divine Cult was feared wasn’t because it had the strongest military might.
In fact, it had the smallest numbers among the five demonic sects—insignificant, if going by sheer force.
Well, the real problem was that each and every one of them was a highly trained, elite demon, making them an absolute nightmare to face.
And standing at the very top—receiving the unwavering, fanatical devotion of all the other demons—was him.
—“O Divine God! Rebel against the heavens and bring forth a new world!”
—“O Divine Goooood!”
To the members of the Divine Cult, he was called the Divine God.
But we knew him by a different name.
The greatest evil born under heaven.
The most monstrous demon beneath the skies.
The Heavenly Demon.
“You bastards. I already know that you damn Blood Cult scum are in alliance with the Reverse Heavenly Divine Cult. So talk. Tell me what you know.”
Even if their memories were wiped, there had to be something left.
Erasing memories completely would damage personality and identity, so at least a trace must’ve been preserved.
The fact that this bastard, the Gwi-no Baekma, still remembered he belonged to the Blood Cult was all the proof he needed.
But.
Yang-hwi didn’t get the answer he was hoping for.
“Reverse Heavenly Divine Cult…? Never heard of it.”
“…You little shit. Looks like you need more roasting.”
Yang-hwi immediately injected qi into Gwi-no Baekma’s’s upper dantian.
“W-Wait! Kuaaagh! I-I really don’t know! I swear I don’t!!”
“You really don’t?”
“Yeah! The only contact our Blood Cult keeps is with the Light and Dark Sect!”
The Light and Dark Sect—officially known as the Sun and Moon Bright Sect.
One of the five demonic sects that would rise in the years to come.
“Are you sure it’s not your memory being wiped?”
“No! To avoid any conflict while operating undercover, our memories are kept intact. I can prove it—I remember the Light and Dark Sect!”
So he really didn’t know anything about the Divine Cult?
That can’t be. The way all five sects rose together… there had to be some connection.
Could it be that at this point in time, they had no contact at all—didn’t even know of each other’s existence?
“Tell me everything you know. Including anything about the Light and Dark Sect.”
“Grrr…”
Gwi-no Baekma clenched his teeth hard.
He, who had slain countless martial masters and enslaved their souls, desecrating even death itself—was now reduced to this?
The energy this brat Yang-hwi radiated was in perfect opposition to his arts. Not just opposite—it completely overpowered and annihilated his techniques.
‘Even Taoist masters used to tremble before me… how the hell is this damn brat wielding such terrifying energy…?’
“You little shit. Still getting distracted?”
A surge of mysterious energy struck his upper dantian again, and Gwi-no Baekma twisted in agony.
“Kuaaaghhh!”
It was a pain that made him feel like his entire existence was being erased.
And it wasn’t just a feeling—the spiritual energy was truly destroying the foundation of his techniques, the very essence of his sorcery.
At this point, death—or even hell—seemed preferable to this torment.
In the end, Gwi-no Baekma spilled everything he knew to Yang-hwi.
“Tch. So you were just a nobody at this point in time.”
Yang-hwi clicked his tongue.
For all the terror and infamy Gwi-no Baekma would later command, he was currently…
Unimpressive at best.
Well, his rise to fame wouldn’t happen until he had tamed the Four Demonic Ghosts—evil spirits so powerful that only a transcendental master with willpower like steel could withstand them.
Thunk!
Yang-hwi drove his sword between Gwi-no Baekma’s’s eyebrows.
Just to be sure, he stabbed several more times, worried the bastard might have some trick up his sleeve to survive.
Finally, he infused spiritual energy to ensure complete destruction.
‘So in the end… the only useful thing I learned was that the Blood Cult has already begun operating in secret at this point in time.’
For all the effort he put in, the reward was underwhelming.
Still, knowing they had to start preparing now was reason enough to be satisfied.
‘Even so, I feel like I got the short end of the stick. This won’t do.’
No one likes taking losses.
If he wanted to shake off this feeling, he needed to gain something—anything—to balance it out.
Fortunately, he had the perfect target in mind: the leader of the Namgeum Trading Guild.
With that thought, Yang-hwi made his way to the manor where the guildmaster was.
“You’re here, junior brother. That demonic bastard?”
“Dead. He didn’t know as much as we’d hoped.”
“Couldn’t get him to spill, huh? Haha, should’ve let me interrogate him instead.”
The old warrior’s gaze said it all—“So there’s something even you can’t do, huh?”
Yang-hwi simply smiled.
‘Honestly? If you’d tried, you probably wouldn’t have gotten a single word.’
While he’d been busy interrogating, a lot had changed.
The martial artists who’d taken over the Namgeum Trading Guild had all been tied up, and the guild’s security warriors were cleaning up the estate under the guildmaster’s orders.
“Young Hero! You’re here!”
The Namgeum Guildmaster came running, practically tripping over himself.
His face was still flooded with gratitude.
“Once again, thank you, Young Hero! Ah, I forgot to introduce myself properly. I am Namgeum jeok, master of the Namgeum Trading Guild.”
Since he couldn’t reveal his real name, Yang-hwi made something up on the spot.
“I’m Wang San, just a wanderer traveling with my sworn brother.”
“Haha! So it’s Young Hero Wang! I’ve been thinking of how to repay this debt, and well… all I can really offer is money.”
The guildmaster gestured to a guard, who soon returned carrying a heavy pouch.
“My deepest thanks for saving our lives, Young Hero.”
Yang-hwi accepted the pouch and opened it on the spot.
‘Eh…?’
The guildmaster’s face paled as he saw Yang-hwi inspecting the contents. Clearly, he hadn’t expected him to check it right away.
The pouch felt heavy, so Yang-hwi thought he’d struck gold—but when he opened it, it was all just silver ingots.
‘Stingy old miser. No wonder he made a fortune by lending money and ripping people off.’
Truth be told, Yang-hwi had felt a slight pang of guilt toward the Namgeum Guildmaster.
The man didn’t know it, but everything that had happened today was technically Yang Hwi’s fault.
He’d deliberately spread rumors to stir up trouble at the estate, even lured Gwi-no Baekma here… and now he was being rewarded for saving everyone?
It pricked at his conscience a little.
But that guilt completely evaporated.
‘No, no. A bastard like him deserves to go down early. Feeling guilty would be a luxury.’
“I’m terribly sorry, Young Hero. In the chaos, someone broke into our treasury…”
“No need to apologize. I didn’t help you for a reward.”
Yang-hwi replied coolly, then continued.
“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.”
“Ah, please, won’t you stay a little longer? We haven’t properly repaid your kindness for saving our lives—”
“That’s quite all right.”
He could see right through the man. The estate was still a mess, and more martial artists might come running if they caught wind of the situation. The Guildmaster was just trying to hang on to an extra ally.
“Gu-Hyung. Let’s go.”
“Understood.”
Together with Gu-Ak, he walked out of the manor without hesitation.
“Tch. For all the effort we put in, the outcome feels so… underwhelming.”
“These things happen. Wasn’t our main objective to help the White Scroll Antique Bookstore?”
“Well, yes… but as I said before, a true genius must follow the wisdom of killing two birds with one stone.”
“I’ve thought this for a while now, but when you talk like that, you sound more like a damn black-hearted rogue than I do.”
“How could you say something so cruel, Gu-Hyung!”
“…Unless you properly explain why that felt insulting, I’ll challenge you to a duel to the death.”
“I’ll tell Sister Rang on you! I’ll say Gu-Hyung tried to kill me!”
“…Krrrgh! If I ever protect you again, I’m not a man—I’m a beast!”
As they bantered, easing the sting of their disappointment, Yang-hwi suddenly remembered something.
“Wait. Where’s Chudal?”
“We forgot that little rascal.”
They both leapt toward the hill where they’d left him on lookout duty.
But when they reached the top, no one was there.
“That little punk! I told him to stay put! Where the hell did he run off to?”
“These brats, I swear… Not a single one listens.”
“…Gu-Hyung. Go find him, will you?”
“Why me?”
“Because it’s an order from the Young Lord. You gonna disobey?”
“…”
And just then—
“Huff, huff! Hyung-nim! I need help here!”
Chudal came huffing and puffing up the hill.
Strapped to his back was a massive bundle.
As soon as he saw him, Yang-hwi ran over and flicked his forehead hard.
Thunk!
“Ow! Sheesh!”
“Sheesh? Sheeeesh? You little shit! I told you to stay here! Where the hell did you run off to without a word?”
“Now, now, Young Brother. A younger sibling learns by watching his elder.”
“You mean like how I’ve learned so much from you, Gu-Hyung?”
“…”
Silenced by the sass, Gu-Ak just shook his head while Yang-hwi rolled up his sleeves, preparing to scold him properly.
But Chudal didn’t flinch. Instead, he dropped the bundle on the ground with a smug grin.
“Hmph! Say what you want after you see this, Hyung-nim!”
“What is this… huh? Wait. You little—?!”
Chudal began grinning ear to ear.
“Hehehe. If you can still scold me after seeing this, I’ll gladly take the punishment!”
Inside the bundle were gold bars, gold coins, and all sorts of precious items.
Just eyeballing it, Yang-hwi could tell it was worth at least 200 taels in gold.
“Where did you get this? Don’t tell me…”
“Hehehe. Well, things looked like they were going south, so this little brother stepped up to play your part, Hyung-nim.”
In short, he’d snuck into the Namgeum Guild’s treasury and looted it.
“You little rascal!”
That amount was more than enough to make up for any losses.
Yang-hwi yanked Chudal into a headlock and gave him a good, hard squeeze.
“You precious brat! You clever little thing!”
“Ehehe! I did good, right? Praise me some more!”
“A well-raised little brother is better than a hundred sworn elders! You did amazing!”
“I know I did amazing!”
Watching the two kids clowning around, Gu-Ak remained silent.
‘Rang-rang… I miss you.’
Today, more than ever… Gu-Ak felt alone.
* * *
Baek Family Manor, centered in Akan-hyeon, Wuzhou, Jiangxi Province.
Inside the family head’s office, the middle management meeting was once again in full swing.
“Haaah… This is bad, Family Head.”
Having only recently emerged from seclusion, Baek Mu-ryang turned to Han Seok-Eon, the chief steward who let out a deep sigh.
“Are we really that short?”
“We’re beyond short. At this rate, we may have to sell off one of the businesses we just acquired.”
The main topic of the meeting: money.
“After the Dark Path Conflict, we went into debt just to repair the internal damages. And even when we took over those businesses, we paid fair prices for them.”
It was inevitable. Unlike black sect factions that used force and snatched up assets for dirt cheap, the Baek Family was a righteous clan that walked the path of the White Way.
“It was only proper. More than just ethical—it was the normal and right way to conduct business.”
Among the businesses currently under the Baek Family’s name, there was even a brewery they had defended from the Black Path Conflict by mobilizing their martial artists. After forming ties with the owner, they’d acquired it later.
They could’ve negotiated a lower price for it… but Baek Mu-ryang, ever upright, insisted on paying full value.
‘Well, knowing the character of our Family Head, I suppose there was no helping it… but still, it’s frustrating.’
Han Seok-Eon, the chief steward, was responsible for all the clan’s finances.
From his perspective, the Baek Family was teetering on the edge of ruin.
The problem was simple—massive expenditures with little to no incoming revenue.
‘It’s like we’ve gone back to the days before Young Master Hwi arrived…’
As Baek Mu-ryang thought about the child who had succeeded him as the next head, a spark of hope flickered in Han Seok-Eon’s’s mind.
‘Yes… if we can just hold out until Young Master Hwi returns…’
The Grand Heir, Baek Yang-hwi. In Han Seok-Eon’s’s mind, a child blessed by the god of fortune.
Without realizing it, the chief steward’s thumb and forefinger curled together in a perfect little circle.
He was sure of it. Yang-hwi would return with a bounty of riches yet again.
All they had to do was hang on until then…
‘Though whether we can actually hold out is… uncertain. Please, Young Master Hwi… return soon…’
And at that very moment—
A servant knocked on the door and shouted in a clear, excited voice:
“Family Head! Young Master Hwi has returned!”
It wasn’t Baek Mu-ryang who reacted first—it was Han Seok-Eon.
He shot up to his feet and shouted loudly:
“Did the Young Master happen to be carrying anything?!”
“Lord Baek-ik was carrying a rather large bundle, sir!”
“I knew it! I knew it!!”
Han Seok-Eon burst out of the room in socked feet like a man possessed.
“Young Master Hwi! How much is it this time?!”
Seeing the gleaming face and the little circle made by the steward’s fingers, Yang-hwi grinned and called out proudly—
“Twenty thousand taels!”
The god of fortune had returned… to save the Baek Family from financial ruin.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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