Chapter 115 : Chapter 115

Chapter 115: The Rogues’ Guild Master (4)

Officially, the headquarters of the Rogues' Guild is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

It's a place you have to head one province further south than the Evil Faction Alliance's headquarters in Hunan, located below the Yangtze River.

The reason I mentioned 'officially' is because the Rogues' Guild headquarters in Guangzhou, Guangdong, is merely a symbolic place.

In reality, the place where the Rogues' Guild Master resides is the headquarters of the Rogues' Guild.

This is similar to the Beggar's Gang, which considers the place where the Dragon Head Clan Leader is as their headquarters, and it is one piece of evidence that the Beggar's Gang and the Rogues' Guild, which seem to be at opposite poles, resemble each other more than anyone.

Anyway…….

Geographically, Guangdong is too far south, so it is not an advantageous location for managing information.

Therefore, the Rogues' Guild Master, no, Baekmyeon, who has now become the former Rogues' Guild Master, had established his bases throughout Anhui, Shaanxi, Henan, and Hubei, which can be called the center of the Central Plains.

That was the reason he was able to set foot on the scene without delay.

A certain place in Anhui.

A guest visited Baekmyeon’s secret safe house for the first time in a long while.

“Is the liquor to your liking?”

At Baekmyeon’s question, Wiji Han’s gaze turned to the liquor cup.

Although he was not well-versed in liquor, he could tell that it was yellow wine.

Wiji Han, who was appreciating the color of the liquor for a moment…….

Gulp.

“Good.”

He downed the yellow wine in one gulp.

At his boldness, Baekmyeon asked.

“What would you do if I had poisoned it? Why did you just drink it?”

“Did you?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then it’s fine.”

Wiji Han did not boast about things like being able to burn away any poison that invaded his body at any time, or that his actual realm had reached the vicinity of myriad poison immunity.

It was a frankness befitting the patriarch of the Evil Way.

“It is a specialty of our guild called Guangzhou Pearl Red Wine.”

“Was it? It’s a good drink.”

Although it was a slight nod, Wiji Han’s words contained sincerity.

Baekmyeon, who smiled as if in response, continued.

“Yellow wine resembles the Evil Way.”

Having started so, Baekmyeon immediately fell silent.

“Continue.”

It was a pacing that couldn't help but arouse interest, so it would be right to call it excellent rhetoric.

“The point where it hides its true intentions by concealing itself with color is one aspect, but the part that most resembles the Evil Way is that it is not artificial.”

“Not artificial?”

“White liquor uses a technique called distillation. It is probably for its unique clear and elegant color. It carves away at itself to become clear.”

After a brief pause, Baekmyeon met Wiji Han’s gaze.

“But yellow wine is a drink that is enjoyed as it is made. This means that the desires one is born with are not castrated, so it is no different from the Evil Way.”

Having finished speaking, Baekmyeon poured liquor into Wiji Han’s cup.

Gulp.

Wiji Han once again downed the liquor in one gulp.

“Good.”

Although it was the same yellow wine, it seemed to have a different flavor.

“So, what is the business you called me for?”

In truth, this meeting was created at Baekmyeon’s request.

It was Baekmyeon who had earnestly requested and stopped the Evil Faction Alliance Leader, who was about to leave after his business was done.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

As he said so, Baekmyeon’s face began to slowly distort.

Slightly, but his physique also gradually changed, and a man much more robust than the original Baekmyeon was now present.

“Hoo-”

Soon, a man in his late fifties stood there.

Wiji Han, whose martial arts had reached a high realm, noticed that Baekmyeon had completely released his Art of Disguise and Bone-Shrinking Art.

“Your subordinate Baekmyeon, Yeo Chung-jo, greets the Alliance Leader for the first time.”

It was the first time for Wiji Han to face Baekmyeon’s true form and real name, so Baekmyeon’s greeting was not wrong.

Baekmyeon is a person who has hidden himself his entire life. The name Baekmyeon has proven this fact through history, and that unwritten rule had finally been broken.

But the Evil Faction Alliance Leader Wiji Han showed no sign of it. It was because the footsteps of a giant should be solemn.

“Alliance Leader, what do you plan to do with them?”

Baekmyeon Yeo Chung-jo’s gaze fell on the unconscious figures.

They were the Hidden Shadow members that the ruffians had barely managed to capture alive, and the Evil Faction Alliance Leader Wiji Han had personally requested and received them from Gangpae and Yeo-wol.

If they were truly connected to the Demonic Way, it was right for the Evil Faction Alliance to step in directly rather than entrusting them to the Rogues’ Guild.

“They must be interrogated.”

“Would you entrust it to me?”

A strange heat could be read in Yeo Chung-jo’s gaze.

“I am not asking you to hand them over to me. I am saying that I wish to enter under your command, Alliance Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“I am a commoner who has stepped down from the position of Guild Master, so there will be no problem. Please take me in.”

Having said so, Yeo Chung-jo prostrated himself before Wiji Han. It was clearly the etiquette of a subordinate.

“Hmm.”

In fact, there might not have been a problem even if he hadn’t stepped down from the position of Guild Master. This was because there was no one in the Jianghu who knew Yeo Chung-jo, not Baekmyeon.

“The reason?”

Baekmyeon was a person who was widely recognized for his ability, skill, and martial prowess. The fact that he had won the position of Guild Master of the Rogues’ Guild through his own power was proof of that.

He could not accept such a person as a subordinate without even knowing the reason.

This was because understanding begins with knowing. The same would apply to relationships.

“To look into the abyss, someone must become the abyss. That path is one that you, Alliance Leader, cannot walk. It is a path you must not walk.”

It was a statement that held many implications.

Demonic Cultists are inherently vicious people.

I know that it is not possible to extract information from them with ordinary torture.

To become their equal, one must likewise walk the path beyond humanity, and Yeo Chung-jo was volunteering for that thorny path himself.

“Hmm.”

The Unrivaled Force Wiji Han knew himself.

Furthermore, the Evil Faction Alliance Leader Wiji Han knew the Evil Way.

Therefore, Wiji Han knew that he did not know the Demonic Way.

It was because he, who must pursue the path of the present world, had to be human.

As Baekmyeon said, the path beyond humanity was a path that Wiji Han should not understand.

“Take it.”

Wiji Han, who had poured the Guangzhou Pearl Red Wine into his own cup, handed the cup to Yeo Chung-jo.

“Thank you.”

Yeo Chung-jo drank the cup without hesitation.

“You, you knew from the beginning.”

Yeo Chung-jo smiled sheepishly.

“I was still the Rogues’ Guild Master.”

That one statement explained many things.

Wiji Han could guess why Baekmyeon was at that place.

How the great task of transferring the position of Guild Master was accomplished so easily.

No, in the first place, how a person this healthy could have ordered a succession contest under the pretext of being ill.

Yeo Chung-jo had already sensed the stirrings of the Demonic Way long ago.

He had known that they were infiltrating the Rogues’ Guild.

It also meant that with this incident involving Yeo-wol, the contaminated part named Geombigak had been cut out, so the Rogues’ Guild would be safe for the time being.

Baekmyeon Yeo Chung-jo.

He was a man more competent and true to the Evil Way than Wiji Han had thought.

Even if he were to look into the abyss of his own will, he would still be of the Evil Way.

“What should I call you?”

“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”

Yeo Chung-jo was an intelligent man, so he understood that Wiji Han’s question was an acceptance of his request.

After a moment of thought, Yeo Chung-jo said.

“Demon Slayer would be good.”

“Good.”

It was a naming that conveyed Yeo Chung-jo’s determination.

“Demon Slayer, I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes.”

The two shared the yellow wine again.

For the first time in a long while, the Unrivaled Force Wiji Han had gained a subordinate.

In fact, the only person he truly considered a subordinate was the Heavenly Brain Sima Yi, so it would not be wrong to say he was his second subordinate.

“May I place my expectations on you?”

“I will repay you with all my heart.”

“Good.”

The Evil Way had sensed the stirrings of the Great War of Righteousness and Evil.

No, it would be right to say that they had begun to prepare thoroughly, going beyond mere sensing.

Unlike in Myeong-gae’s timeline, Demon Slayer had taken a key position in the Evil Faction Alliance.

Although he himself did not know, it was a flow of history that the existence named Dancheon Myeong had twisted.

* * *

Mashintong Wisu ascended the Skyscraper for the first time in a long while.

It was not to read the heavens’ secrets, but simply to soothe a foreboding intuition.

This was because the Skyscraper was the place that gave him the greatest peace.

“It seems to have failed.”

Wisu said in a calm voice.

“Did the heavens’ secrets tell you so?”

Wisu shook his head.

“The heavens’ secrets are not so omnipotent.”

At that, an enigmatic smile appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.

“But why do you think so?”

“It’s just, a gut feeling.”

At Wisu’s uncharacteristic answer, the Heavenly Demon’s smile deepened.

I know.

The Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang never said that this plan ‘will succeed.’

He merely said that it was ‘not bad.’

Nevertheless, witnessing the attitude of the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, who seemed to have predicted failure, Wisu could not feel pleased.

“Huu-”

With a sigh, Wisu poured the Wuliangye, Yaozi Xuequ, into a cup.

The first time is always the hardest.

Though it was a shame, enjoying Yaozi Xuequ at the Skyscraper had become one of Wisu’s few pleasures recently.

This was especially true in these troubled times.

“Give me a cup too.”

“There are no cups.”

Of course, he had deliberately not brought one.

As if ignoring Wisu’s reply, Seol Cheon-sang reached out for the Yaozi Xuequ bottle.

Like water flowing from high to low, or like leaves falling to the ground. The Yaozi Xuequ bottle was grasped in the Heavenly Demon’s hand. The sight was like a law of nature.

“Cult Leader, you must maintain your dignity.”

Even in the Demonic Way, there is a way of drinking.

It wasn't some market-stall cheap liquor; Wisu could not tolerate drinking Yaozi Xuequ, which belongs to the Eight Great Famous Liquors of the World, straight from the bottle.

Since his opponent was the Heavenly Demon, he couldn't directly punish him, but at least in his heart, he had no intention of forgiving him.

“Don’t you worry.”

Seol Cheon-sang’s elbow lifted, and the mouth of the bottle tilted toward the floor.

It clearly looked like he was pouring the liquor onto the floor, but…….

Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

The liquor that came out of the bottle formed the shape of a cup itself and gathered in the air.

Psychokinesis, forming shapes with qi, controlling water with qi…….

The martial principles that Wisu could comprehend were limited to that extent.

The Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang now walked a realm that even Wisu could not fathom.

Gulp.

“As expected of a fine liquor.”

With those words, the Yaozi Xuequ bottle was once again in Wisu’s hand.

A wrinkle formed on Wisu’s brow.

There was the reason that his precious Yaozi Xuequ had been taken again today, but a bigger reason was that he was contemplating another way to avoid having his Yaozi Xuequ taken without bringing a cup.

Just then…….

A new figure appeared on the Skyscraper, which should have been deserted.

“Greetings to the supreme ruler of ten thousand demons.”

The figure, Ma Pyeong-sam, who had confirmed the presence of the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, prostrated himself flat on the floor.

It was an act of utmost reverence. Although he was clearly not in a whole state, there was not a single flaw in his conduct as he came to see the Heavenly Demon.

The Hidden Shadow was under Wisu’s command, but in reality, Ma Pyeong-sam was a being who served only the Heavenly Demon, so his faith was directed solely toward the Heavenly Demon.

“Rise.”

Wisu gave the command, but Ma Pyeong-sam did not budge.

“Rise.”

Only after the Heavenly Demon’s command did Ma Pyeong-sam get up.

Although he was displeased, Wisu did not show it. It was because a cultist following only the Heavenly Demon, the supreme ruler of ten thousand demons, was not something to be reprimanded.

“What happened?”

Wisu asked.

In truth, it seemed he could tell without asking.

Firstly, because Ma Pyeong-sam had arrived at the Skyscraper alone.

Secondly, because even that Ma Pyeong-sam’s appearance was not whole.

Wisu, who gauged Ma Pyeong-sam’s condition, could almost see the circumstances in which he had barely managed to escape only by using a life-saving ultimate technique.

Wisu, who knew Ma Pyeong-sam’s capabilities, could only guess that there had been a flow of fate that he had failed to read.

“I have failed.”

Wisu’s intuition was not wrong.

If there was any good news, it was that the loss felt less painful thanks to having predicted it in advance.

And Ma Pyeong-sam’s words that followed.

“He knew about us.”

“Hmm?”

This was something even Wisu had not anticipated.

“Speak. Everything.”

“Yes.”

Ma Pyeong-sam explained the situation in his characteristic toneless voice.

It wasn't vivid enough to paint a picture in one's eyes, but it was sufficient to grasp the before and after of the situation.

“Hmm.”

Having heard the full explanation, Wisu realized that he needed to revise his plan.

The New Star, who he had thought was a small variable, should be assessed as a fatal variable.