Chapter 891: It Is Better to Die Than Not to Possess It (Part 1)

[fixed]

A man quickened his pace.

It wasn't a stride filled with authority. He simply walked fast, as if he had urgent matters to attend to. However, those who saw him passing by couldn't help but lower their heads in contemplation.

The reason was simple.

He was none other than Ho Gakmyung, under the command of Paegun Jang Ilso.

If one were to consider official ranks within the Evil Tyrant Alliance, Ho Gakmyung wouldn't even be in the top ten.

However, among those who were part of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, no one was foolish enough to think that Ho Gakmyung's true influence didn't reach the upper echelons.

Ho Gakmyung reached Jang Ilso's residence with a stoic face. The guards at the entrance hurriedly bowed their heads. It was only natural since the approaching figure was none other than Ho Gakmyung.

However...

Stop.

Ho Gakmyung, who had been walking briskly, came to a sudden halt.

"..."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the guards who bowed their heads.

"Come here."

"Yes!"

The guards quickly approached Ho Gakmyung.

"Anyone entering the Ryeonju's residence should be searched. Isn't that the law of the Evil Tyrant Alliance?"

"Well, yes."

The puzzled guards quickly nodded their heads.

"Then why haven't you searched me?"

"W-Well, how could we dare..."

"Dare?"

Ho Gakmyung's voice grew colder as he questioned them.

"If I killed Ho Gakmyung and assumed his identity as an assassin, would you be able to handle the consequences?"

"...Co, Commander." [I don't know what 'Gusa' (군사) is, so 'Commander' will be Gakmyung's title from now on]

"Search me."

"Yes!"

Without further explanation, Ho Gakmyung ordered them. The nervous guards, with trembling hands, meticulously searched his body. They checked his clothes and even inspected his face, to confirm that he wasn't an imposter.

"Everything is in order."

With the search completed, the guards stepped back. Ho Gakmyung continued to gaze at them with his emotionless face.

The guards, with sweat-drenched faces, stood there, their legs trembling, as if they were sinners awaiting judgment.

"This time, I'll let it slide."

"Thank you..."

"But if something like this happens again..."

Ho Gakmyung's sharp eyes pierced through them.

"You will come to believe that dying would be preferable."

"We will remember!"

"The only person you pledge loyalty to is Ryeonju-nim. No one from the Evil Tyrant Alliance, not even me, should be treated with respect by those who are Ryeonju-nim's guards."

"..."

"Remember."

"Yes!"

Finally, Ho Gakmyung turned his gaze away and walked into the inner chambers. The guards, who had barely survived the crisis in the tiger's den, desperately clung to their weakened legs.

Thud.

Ho Gakmyung opened the door and walked into the room.

Once inside, Ho Gakmyung surveyed the surroundings with his keen eyes. After taking in everything around him with a few deep breaths, he nodded lightly and approached the bed in the center of the room.

Jang Ilso, who had been lying on the bed, began to stir.

"..."

"...Ryeonju-nim."

"..."

"Ryeonju-nim. Wake up. The sun is already in the zenith."

"..."

"Ryeonju-nim!"

"Ugh..."

Jang Ilso, lying on the bed, tossed and turned.

"You need to wake up!"

"Sh, shh... speak quietly. Doesn't it make your head throb?"

Groaning, Jang Ilso turned the silk blanket over his head.

Though it would be disrespectful to call him pathetic, Ho Gakmyung let out a deep sigh.

"You must get up."

"...In a moment."

"Yes?"

"Come back in a moment. Just a moment... let me rest a bit more." [mood]

"Ryeonju-nim!"

As Jang Ilso showed no sign of getting up, Ho Gakmyung finally took hold of the blanket and pulled it away.

"Please get up!"

"Mmgh..."

With great reluctance, Jang Ilso slowly raised his upper body. His disheveled hair and hunched shoulders made it hard to believe that this was the same Jang Ilso who had been Paegun just yesterday.

"Gakmyung-ah...my head is killing me." [in korean, adding "-ah" to end of a name indicates closeness]

"Did you drink that much?"

"Those bastards who look like giant rats didn't even blink after drinking all of it. What do you expect me to do? Am I supposed to quit drinking in front of that guy? If I did, I'd be no better than him!"

"Didn't you learn martial arts? You can use your internal energy to eliminate the alcohol."

"Ah... my head... I told you to speak softly. My head hurts so much."

Jang Ilso groaned again.

"You're normally smart, but when you're like this, you become a fool. If I drank while using my internal energy, that guy would have thought he was more talented than me." [not sure]

"Then..."

"But."

Jang Ilso chuckled.

"Now, he has no choice but to admit that I'm better at drinking. Anyway, he passed out before I did. Tsk tsk. You should have seen the expression on his face before he keeled over!"

Ho Gakmyung tapped his temple with his finger.

His head hurt.

It wasn't a joke; it really hurt. His blood pressure was soaring.

"...All right, enough. Try using your internal energy. You've proven that your alcohol tolerance is higher; there's no need for you to suffer from a headache."

"Not yet."

"Yes?"

Jang Ilso waved his hand, clicking his tongue. Suddenly, a servant who had been waiting in the background, rushed forward like the wind and handed him a drink.

Jang Ilso took a long sip of the drink, then shook his head.

"Today, I'm seeing Hwang Se-ak again. I should show him a glimpse of my prowess." [not sure lol]

"...because of that insignificant person."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gakmyung-ah, Gakmyung-ah. Why are you uncharacteristically speaking such obvious words these days? The world is full of uncertainties. One day, that insignificant person might decide my fate."

"..."

Ho Gakmyung was about to say something curtly, but instantly shut his mouth. Jang Ilso's expression had changed completely.

"Regret is not something you experience because you couldn't do something you couldn't have done. You suffer because you didn't do what you could have done. So, of course, what can be done must be done right away."

A sigh escaped from Ho Gakmyung's mouth.

It was truly a straightforward theory. But was it easy for a person to stick to that principle?

Now, even though he had risen to a position where he no longer needed to pay attention to trivial matters, Jang Ilso remained unchanged from when he was the leader of Myriad Man Manor.

As a result, Jang Ilso's daily routine was like overwork. Ho Gakmyung naturally had concerns, but on the other hand, he couldn't deny that Jang Ilso's attitude was the reason why he could completely control the Evil Tyrant Alliance.

"No matter what, you must take care of your body."

"Gakmyung-ah, you seem to be increasingly backed into a corner as time goes on."

"Ryeonju-nim." [forgot to mention, "-nim" at end of name indicates respect]

"Fine, I understand."

Jang Ilso gestured as if he couldn't care less.

"Pardon me for being the most pathetic person in the world. Ugh."

Ho Gakmyung sighed internally.

Pathetic?

No one could dare say that to Jang Ilso, who had cleared Gangnam entirely in just three years and established the Evil Tyrant Alliance.

Hwang Se-ak's voluntary pledge was significant. It was clear evidence that the Evil Tyrant Alliance's influence had spread beyond Gangnam to Gangbuk. ['Gangnam' = region south of Yangtze River]

"I have something to report."

"What is it?"

Jang Ilso asked with an impatient face. His face was full of determination to get Ho Gakmyung out of the way and lie down again.

"Mount Hua has unsealed..."

But the moment Ho Gakmyung began speaking, Jang Ilso's face, which had been lazy and annoyed, changed. His pale face contorted strangely, pouring out an eerie aura as if his heart had stopped beating.

"...Bongmun."

However, that momentum disappeared in an instant, as if Ho Gakmyung had momentarily been mistaken.

But it was definitely not a mistake. Although his face became unclear again, the dull expression that lingered before had completely vanished. A faint spark of madness flickered in his previously clouded eyes.

"...unlocked Bongmun?"

"Yes."

"It took a long time. Too long. That damn rascal..."

Jang Ilso curled his lips.

Of course, Ho Gakmyung knew who that "damn rascal" referred to.

'Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword.'

For some unknown reason, there was only one person in the world who could bring out such an expression from Jang Ilso.

"I was almost annoyed to the point of considering dragging him out personally..."

"The fool moved exactly as expected."

"That's right. That... that..."

Jang Ilso scratched his head.

"What did he say? The name...?"

"...Galcheonrip. Galcheonrip the Merciless."

"Oh, right. Galcheonrip."

"Galcheonrip."

"Let's overlook the trivial details. Anyway, he's just a little punk."

Jang Ilsu waved his hand as if to say there was no reason for him to remember the name of such a person.

"Anyway, that Galcheon guy got beaten up in Shaanxi as expected. Probably didn't even cause much damage, right?"

"He lost in a landslide."

"Of course. They're nothing but lowlifes."

Jang Ilso laughed lightly.

"Alright, everything is in place now. We just need the game to ripen."

He seemed almost pleased.

Was the world aware that the one who had been most eagerly awaiting the return of the Mount Hua Sect was Jang Ilso?

"Alright!"

Jang Ilso sprang up from his seat.

Simultaneously, his body emitted white steam like boiling water, instantly dispelling the accumulated alcohol in his body with his internal energy.

"Clothes!"

"Yes, Ryeonju-nim!"

Servants hurriedly approached, starting to dress Jang Ilso. While waiting for the servants to attach the accessories, Jang Ilso, slightly annoyed, furrowed his brow.

"Move aside."

He pushed the servants aside and started putting on the ring with his own hands. Ho Gakmyung swallowed dry saliva.

He thought that the name "Mount Hua" would move Jang Ilso, but he never expected such a strong reaction. However, at the same time, a strange sense of anticipation appeared in Ho Gakmyung's eyes.

Three years.

Almost three years had passed as they had agreed.

This meant that the world was about to be swept up in a storm once again. And it would be at the hands of none other than Jang Ilso.

"Cancel all the appointments."

"...What do you plan to do?"

"When the rice is ripe, you have to move. Before it burns down from waiting too long."

Jang Ilso's lips, painted crimson, twisted into a smile.

"I have a place to go."

Upon seeing that truly ominous smile, Ho Gakmyung's heart sank. Whenever Jang Ilso made such an expression, Ho Gakmyung knew exactly what would happen.

It wasn't a self-indulgent smile.

It was the kind of smile he made when he threw his own life into the fire.

"When I obtain the final card. I wonder if I can get it, or if I'll have to give up my life. Hahaha!"

With a burst of maniacal laughter, Jang Ilso opened the main door and stepped outside. Under the pouring sunlight, he gazed unflinchingly at the midday sun in the clear blue sky.

Raising his hands as if to catch the blinding sun, Jang Ilso revealed his intentions.

"It is better to die than not to possess it."

His hand reached out to cover the sun. It was as if he was grasping it with all his might. Then, he burst into laughter and walked away with wide strides.

The black snake filled with madness and venom had finally awakened from its long slumber.