Chapter 45 :

Chapter 45. The Fog Cleared (2)

At my words, Zhuge Yua replied.

“So you mean the culprit would target the tea container I carried.”

“But you see, that person could put you in danger at the same time. Thus, I wish to assign you my Personal Guard.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that. The moment someone is caught trying to steal the poisoned tea container, that in itself would grant credibility, and I already have an excellent ally who will protect my safety.”

I smirked.

Well, if it’s the Merchant Lord, then he’s exactly the one who fits everything she just said.

The elder lord approached the kneeling man, and untied his gag.

“I know your name. Wang Gyeong. Am I correct?”

“……”

“You should answer, shouldn’t you? Only then are you a good child.”

Even the sheer pressure radiating from the elder lord seemed enough to kill a man.

In that extreme terror, where it seemed like he might stop breathing at any moment, Wang Gyeong barely managed to answer.

“Y-Yes, that is correct.”

“Then may I ask what you were doing here?”

“T-That is…”

“You were swapping the tea containers with poisoned ones, weren’t you?”

“Urk!”

He glanced at the tea container in the bundle beside him and spoke.

“Heo Cheong.”

“Yes, did you call for me?”

“Would you examine that tea container for me?”

At those words, Heo Cheong immediately moved. He poured out the tea inside the container and, after inspecting it, replied.

“Among the tea containers on this table, poison has been detected in these three.”

At that, Wang Gyeong tightly shut his eyes.

“You are not someone who could have acted on your own. Surely, someone put you up to this! Who was it?”

Pressed as if by a thunderclap, Wang Gyeong spoke.

“It was all my doing. Lord Hyeonri… hup!”

In that instant, Wang Gyeong realized he had slipped and shut his mouth, but everyone had already heard what he said.

I too gave a bitter laugh inside.

The fact that he unconsciously referred to him as “Lord Hyeonri” instead of elder lord meant it had become a habit.

That meant, someone had ordered him to address the elder lord that way.

That someone was most likely the one who instigated this incident.

He does not acknowledge the elder lord.

The implication of that was immense.

Come to think of it, in my previous life, both the elder lord and the Merchant Lord were eliminated.

And among the Merchant Lord’s children, none survived except Zhuge Yua.

To have wiped out the direct line.

That meant only one thing…

The culprit was from the collateral line.

The most coveted prize in the Zhuge Family was the Zhuge Family itself, and to seize it, the direct line had to be erased.

Then, which among the collateral line had committed this?

At that moment, the elder lord sighed and spoke to the Merchant Lord.

“Yul.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Now, you must lead the clan’s warriors to where they are needed. I entrust the clean-up here to you.”

“Understood.”

.

.

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That evening.

Through Palgap, I learned the full picture of the incident.

Thanks to his sociable nature, he had already built friendships with the Zhuge Family’s servants and maids.

“So, you mean to say this was all orchestrated by the elder lord’s younger brother?”

“Yes, that is what I’ve heard. The elder lord’s younger brother, Zhuge Dong-Woo, was said to have prepared poison, and has been building his own faction, preparing to seize control of the family.”

“I see.”

And so, the crisis threatening the Zhuge Family had been resolved.

But why did I feel so uneasy?

Just then, the elder lord’s servant came looking for me.

“I come bearing the elder lord’s words.”

“Ah, yes.”

“As you know, due to matters within the family, we can no longer properly host our guests. Thus, the elder lord has ordered that you be escorted back to your residence. He asks for your understanding.”

“I understand. Please do not worry too much.”

On the surface, the elder lord’s words were an expulsion order, but in truth, they were spoken for our sake. Soon, a bloody storm would sweep through the Zhuge Family.

In that case, I should honor his intentions.

“Very well. I shall make preparations at once.”

“Please hurry.”

.

.

.

A short while later, we departed from the Zhuge Family.

Normally, guests are not sent away at night, so the fact that we were urged to leave in such haste at this hour showed how dire the situation was.

And to my surprise, those escorting us were the elder lord’s servant and his own Personal Guard.

That alone showed how much the elder lord was concerned for us.

After traveling for about an hour, we arrived at an inn.

It was a rather well-known inn, and the elder lord’s servant reserved a special room for us.

He didn’t need to go that far…

But to decline such kindness would be disrespectful to the elder lord, so I gratefully accepted it.

Everyone unpacked their belongings and then went down to the dining hall on the first floor.

We sat down, ordered food, and while waiting for it to arrive, I noticed a group dining at the opposite side.

The clothes they wore looked familiar.

“Those clothes…”

At that moment, Chief manager Yoo recognized them and spoke.

“They are escorts from the Prosperous Escort Agency.”

Seeing them, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity.

And then, I caught sight of an unexpected face.

Huh?

Why is Master here?

A little while later,

I managed to get a chance to speak with Master.

“Master, did your escort mission go well?”

At my question, Master answered.

“The escort mission to Zhejiang Province was safely completed, and now I am on my way after accepting another escort assignment.”

But strangely, I saw no escort goods with them in the inn.

Moreover, since Master was speaking with me apart from the others, it was clear the assignment’s target wasn’t an item.

That could only mean… it was something carried on the body.

Still, a doubt crept up on me.

Of course, an escort leader’s authority is not low, but the one who accepts assignments is the Escort Chief.

Naturally, an escort leader cannot take on a mission personally.

Which left only one answer.

Though holding the position of escort leader, Master had the standing of the Escort Chief within the agency, or perhaps had been delegated such authority.

Whatever it was, since it was Master, I trusted he would handle it well.

As I was thinking such things and sharing conversation with Master after such a long time, suddenly my stomach churned.

It was a sensation similar to the nausea I had felt earlier in front of the Finance Pavilion.

Seeing my pale face, Master asked.

“Are you unwell?”

“I think I may be a little tired. All of a sudden, I feel nauseous…”

At that moment, Master widened his eyes in shock.

“W-What is it, Master? Why are you so startled?”

“Hah! How could I not be startled? It has not even been a year since you began learning martial arts from me, and yet you are already entering the four seasonal energy stages.”

“The four seasonal energy stages?”

“Yes. That nausea is proof that you have entered the Stage of Sensing Wickedness.”

Master calmly explained to me.

“The cultivation technique you are learning from me, the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Arts, is a cultivation technique that gathers an exceptionally pure and clean form of Internal Energy.”

Though I already knew this, I pretended ignorance and listened attentively.

“Because of this, it has the ability to resist inner demons, and prevents one’s judgment from being clouded.”

Indeed, in my previous life I had benefited greatly from this.

There were often sordid tricks during important contract negotiations, where drugs or incense were used to cloud judgment for greater gain.

But this was the first time I had felt nausea like this.

“And when you reach a certain stage, you begin to show a rejection reaction to external things that are not pure.”

“And this rejection reaction, is it the nausea I felt?”

“That is correct.”

“Then, what does it mean regarding my level, that I experienced this rejection reaction?”

“It means, young lord, that you have now certainly reached the realm of first-class.”

Yet, even in my previous life, I was a first-class Martial Master, and never experienced this.

Sensing my doubt, Master smiled gently and added.

“To be precise, it means you are on the verge of the peak realm.”

“What? P-Peak?”

At those words, I was taken aback.

Peak?

I had not expected that. My Internal Energy should only be at the level of a first-class martial artist right now.

“Then, does this mean I have to live on feeling nauseated all the time?”

“That is not the case.”

Master smiled as he spoke.

“When you reach the peak realm, it disappears. The disgust remains, but not to the point of being uncomfortable.”

“I see.”

It was then I realized I had forgotten to ask a very important question.

“Then, what exactly is this nausea I am feeling?”

“The answer is simpler than you think. Why do you think it is called Stage of Sensing Wickedness?”

“That is… don’t tell me.”

I continued.

“Disgust toward wicked energy?”

“That is correct. Stage of Sensing Wickedness is disgust toward wicked energy, that is, the qi of the dark sect or demonic arts.”

“So that’s why you were able to warn me that you felt the killing intent of the dark sect before my elder brother’s Vice-Leader of Merchant Group announcement ceremony.”

“That is correct.”

Master nodded, and continued.

“However, I ask that you do not speak of this to others.”

“Others meaning?”

“To anyone besides me. The reason is…”

I smirked.

“I think I already understand. For my own longevity, I’ll need to keep this a secret.”

Those belonging to the Demonic Cult might openly declare themselves as such, but members of the dark sect often concealed their true identity.

And those who hid their identities rarely had good intentions.

What would such people fear most?

Being discovered for who they truly were.

Thus, eliminating anyone who could expose them was only natural.

“You are wise.”

“So then, the nausea I feel now means that someone of the dark sect or the demonic arts is inside this inn?”

“That is correct. To be exact, it is a member of the dark sect.”

“Then what would someone of the demonic arts feel like?”

“You will know when you experience it for yourself.”

Master answered thus, and then rose from his seat.

“Ah, I’ve been away too long. I must return.”

“Ah, I must have detained you for too long.”

I returned to the dining hall.

“Have you finished your conversation?”

“Yes.”

“You must be tired, let us retire for the night.”

“Shall we?”

At that moment, a guest who seemed to have only recently arrived finished his meal, sighed, and left the inn.

The nausea that had been tormenting me gradually subsided.

Ah, finally I can breathe again.

And then, I realized what I had been overlooking.

At the Finance Pavilion, the nausea I had felt was when I faced Zhuge Gyeong.

And when he left, the nausea disappeared.

That meant, Zhuge Gyeong himself was the source of it.

Master had clearly said earlier…

“Disgust toward wicked energy, that is, the qi of the dark sect or the demonic arts.”

Then why had I felt nausea from Zhuge Gyeong?

He was a member of the Zhuge Family, a clan of the righteous Murim Alliance.

Ah… damn!

Now I understood why I had felt so uneasy when I heard that Zhuge Dong-Woo, the elder lord’s younger brother, had orchestrated this incident.

If Zhuge Dong-Woo had truly taken control of the Zhuge Family after the Merchant Lord’s death, I would have known his name.

But I had never heard of him.

That could only mean one thing.

The one who destroyed the Zhuge Family was someone else entirely.

I urgently spoke to the elder lord’s servant.

“We must return to the Zhuge Family immediately.”

“What? For what reason?”

“The Zhuge Family is in danger.”

***

The Zhuge Family was in turmoil.

“Seize those traitors!”

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

The warriors, under orders from the elder lord and the Merchant Lord, were rooting out those who had sided with Zhuge Dong-Woo.

In the midst of it, a man walked leisurely, as if on a stroll.

“Ah, it’s ruined. Completely ruined.”

He clicked his tongue, as though in regret.

“Regrettable, but I must end it here. If I delay any longer and it is discovered that I was the one supplying the poison, that would be troublesome.”

If the higher-ups who had ordered him were exposed, it would be a grave problem.

Soon, he entered his room.

Then, he tore away a sheet of paper affixed to the wall.

Revealed beneath was a formation drawn in dark red.

Before him now was a formation that would activate linked arrays throughout the Zhuge Family.

The name of this formation was Vision-Blurring Bewilderment Formation.

As the name suggested, it blurred vision, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.

Originally, it was intended to be used only after both the elder lord and the Merchant Lord of the Zhuge Family had been killed.

But now that Zhuge Dong-Woo had been exposed, it was certain that his position would be replaced by another.

This could not be allowed.

He had to make some kind of achievement to earn recognition from his superiors.

Though the elder lord and Merchant Lord were still alive, he trusted in the power of the Vision-Blurring Bewilderment Formation.

“Hehehe, in the midst of that chaos, will they be able to break this formation, even as they are forced to cut down their own family members?”