Chapter 171: Henan
After confirming that the masked man was Heo Seongbaek, I didn't stay any longer.
Part of me wanted to search his quarters.
But this was the very heart of the Righteous Alliance.
If I left even the slightest trace behind, I could lose everything I'd uncovered so far.
So I slipped quietly out of his residence.
The full moon still hung silently in the dark predawn sky.
Under its pale light, the Righteous Alliance looked calm.
Peaceful.
But I knew better.
That peace was a lie.
Hidden beneath the buildings of the Righteous Alliance was a secret underground prison.
It was empty for now.
But soon...
it would be filled with countless victims.
Groans of pain.
Screams of the living.
The hell hidden beneath the organization that symbolized the righteous martial world.
And the name of that hell was—
The Shadow Corps.
One face came to mind.
An elder of the Righteous Alliance.
A man who moved like one of Moyong Cheonhwi's own hands and feet.
And the masked man who had ordered Paeng Dohyeon's death.
Heo Seongbaek.
At the very least, I now knew for certain that he was connected to the Shadow Corps.
That alone was a major gain.
Even before my regression, the Shadow Corps had rarely revealed its true face.
Among the people who dealt directly with test subjects, Baek Cheongu was one of the very few who ever showed his face openly.
Most hid their identities behind masks.
They concealed their names.
Some even altered their voices.
It had taken me a long time, even after becoming one of the Shadow Corps' test subjects, to learn that Moyong Cheonhwi stood at the very top.
That was how skilled the Shadow Corps was at hiding in the shadows.
And now...
I had identified Heo Seongbaek as someone directly tied to them.
That was no small matter.
The Righteous Alliance was a massive organization representing the righteous faction.
Countless righteous martial artists belonged to it.
There was no way all of them were part of the Shadow Corps.
If they were, there'd be no reason for them to move this secretly.
The real question was how deep the rot went.
How much needed to be cut away...
and how much could be left untouched.
Cut too deeply, and I'd turn people who weren't enemies into enemies.
Cut too little, and the Shadow Corps would disappear back into the darkness.
Heo Seongbaek was the first clue that could help me find that boundary.
Someone inside the Righteous Alliance directly connected to the Shadow Corps.
If I followed him...
I could begin uncovering who else inside the Alliance was involved.
And at the end of that trail—
Moyong Cheonhwi.
You'll be there.
I continued moving while organizing my thoughts.
Before long...
I had returned to the inn where we were staying.
It was still deep in the night.
The inn was silent.
The members of the Kunlun delegation seemed to be asleep.
Suppressing my presence, I climbed the stairs without making a sound.
Just as I was about to enter my room—
...!?
I stopped immediately.
There was someone inside.
My hand went to the Heavenly Law Sword at my waist.
I drew it and carefully opened the door.
And the person inside was—
Master?
Jin Gwangung sat in my room.
A bottle of liquor and two cups rested on the table.
The moment he saw me, he spoke as casually as ever.
“Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come have a drink with you.”
He snorted.
“But the bastard I came to drink with wasn't even here.”
I sheathed the sword and quietly closed the door.
Jin Gwangung jerked his chin toward the chair across from him.
I sat down.
He pushed one of the cups toward me with a fingertip.
“Looks like you've been somewhere far away.”
He nodded toward the cup.
“Drink first. Wet your throat.”
“Thank you, Master.”
I quietly accepted the cup.
The moment I took a drink...
Jin Gwangung immediately began questioning me.
“Now tell me.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Where the hell did you go at this hour?”
Silence settled over the room.
For a moment, I hesitated.
How much should I tell him?
That an evil organization called the Shadow Corps was hidden beneath the Righteous Alliance.
That Moyong Cheonhwi was its leader.
Should I reveal all of it now?
But inwardly...
I shook my head.
Not yet.
I still needed more evidence.
Something I could use to prove the truth to others.
For now...
I would tell him only what I'd personally confirmed tonight.
I slowly looked toward Jin Gwangung.
“I went to the Jesaeng Pavilion inside the Righteous Alliance.”
He frowned.
“Jesaeng Pavilion?”
“Why did you go there?”
“I wanted to check Paeng Dohyeon's condition.”
“Paeng Dohyeon?”
“Yes.”
I paused.
“But I saw something unexpected there.”
Jin Gwangung's eyes narrowed.
“Unexpected?”
“What do you mean?”
I continued.
“A man wearing Righteous Alliance robes secretly entered the Jesaeng Pavilion.”
His expression changed.
“He approached Paeng Dohyeon and forced a pill from his robes into his mouth.”
I looked directly at him.
“Not long afterward, Paeng Dohyeon's heart meridians stopped.”
"...?!"
The hand holding Jin Gwangung's cup trembled slightly.
I took a breath and continued.
“And that wasn't all.”
His expression grew fierce.
“Keep talking.”
I explained everything that followed as thoroughly as I could.
How I followed the man who killed Paeng Dohyeon.
How I discovered a hidden passage leading to an underground prison.
The plan to use the Demon Expulsion Unit to imprison innocent martial artists there.
And finally...
Heo Seongbaek's involvement.
“...That's what happened.”
I finished calmly.
“I still don't know the full picture.”
Then added,
“But I believe the real reason the Demon Expulsion Unit was created may also be connected to this.”
"..."
The atmosphere inside the room grew heavy.
Jin Gwangung remained silent for a long time.
He looked genuinely shaken.
“Unbelievable.”
His voice was low.
“Heo Seongbaek of the Righteous Alliance is involved in something like this?”
“I saw it myself.”
“Those fucking Righteous Alliance bastards!”
Crack!
The cup in Jin Gwangung's hand shattered.
“This isn't something Heo Seongbaek could've done alone.”
His voice filled with fury.
“If someone of his standing is moving, there's no way Moyong Cheonhwi is unrelated.”
His eyes blazed.
“They crossed the line a long time ago.”
He slammed one hand against the table.
“Trying to kill you in Falling Death Valley wasn't enough?”
“Now they're plotting against the entire righteous martial world?”
Jin Gwangung abruptly stood.
He looked ready to storm straight into the Righteous Alliance.
I immediately shook my head.
“We can't move yet.”
His sharp gaze snapped toward me.
“Why?”
“We don't have enough evidence.”
He frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn't you just say you saw the underground prison with your own eyes?”
“What I saw isn't enough.”
Jin Gwangung's eyebrow twitched.
I continued calmly.
“The underground prison was empty.”
He stared at me.
“Empty?”
“Yes.”
“It was clearly built to hold people, but no one had been imprisoned there yet.”
Confusion mixed with anger on Jin Gwangung's face.
“With only what we've found so far...”
I continued,
“the Righteous Alliance can explain it away however they want.”
He scowled.
“Explain it away?”
“They could claim it was a temporary prison for captured Demonic Cult members.”
“Or a secret detention facility.”
“Or a quarantine area for people contaminated by demonic qi.”
I shook my head.
“They'll come up with any excuse they need.”
“Tch.”
Jin Gwangung ground his teeth.
“Then we drag Heo Seongbaek out and beat the truth from him.”
I shook my head again.
“That would end with Heo Seongbaek alone.”
He stared at me.
“What?”
“They're used to cutting off their own tails.”
My voice turned cold.
“If we strike Heo Seongbaek now, Moyong Cheonhwi and everyone behind him will simply abandon him and disappear even deeper into the shadows.”
"..."
