Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37
An official seal. This was a stamp issued by Hyun Yu-won that managed not only the Divine Sect’s finances, but also the materials and personnel allocated to successors.
Unlike ordinary seals, it carried the weight of authenticating a senior member’s identity, so the mere fact of its presence could serve as decisive evidence of complicity.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“If my seal is stamped there, I cannot deny involvement. However, I must confess doubt as to whether it is truly mine. Might I examine the report?”
“Of course.”
Song Ryeong exhaled deeply as he studied the report he had received.
“…As I suspected.”
He retrieved the documents lying on his desk and handed them to Sa Ma-ryang.
“As you can see, the pattern differs from the seal I use. While generally similar, there are subtle discrepancies.”
Sa Ma-ryang examined the documents. The seal stamped on the report was indeed minutely different from what the Deputy Leader described.
“Are you suggesting that a squad leader forged an official seal just to submit this report?”
“I cannot give a definitive answer, but what is certain is that it differs from the seal I use.”
Song Ryeong cast a cold gaze toward Gwak Ji-ryang.
“Speak. How did this happen? Did you forge the seal and profit from it all this time?”
Gwak Ji-ryang offered no response, merely bowing his head deeply. Song Ryeong’s eyes grew sharper.
“Even the lowliest creature knows gratitude for being sheltered, yet you would bring me into this predicament?”
“…”
“Gwak Ji-ryang!”
Despite the thunderous rebuke that shook body and spirit, Gwak Ji-ryang maintained his silence.
Sa Ma-ryang, who had been quietly observing the situation, finally spoke.
“Forgery is not possible.”
“Pardon?”
“If a seal with a different pattern had been stamped on the report, the Chief Military Commander would have noticed long ago. The fact that there has been no mention of it until now suggests the seal itself is authentic.”
Song Ryeong’s eyes narrowed.
“You are saying the seal on the report is also genuine?”
“Yes. Do you have a hypothesis?”
Song Ryeong’s pupils trembled visibly as he pondered. A short exclamation escaped him.
“Ah, I received a seal from my predecessor that had grown old, which I destroyed and had a new one issued. It was when the Cult Leader reorganized the Divine Sect’s structure. If this was obtained during that chaotic period…
At that moment, Gwak Ji-ryang’s breathing trembled ever so slightly.
With his head bowed, it would have been imperceptible to ordinary senses, but Hyung Baek, who maintained constant awareness, caught that fleeting reaction with acute precision.
“I will examine the office.”
“Very well.”
Song Ryeong drank cold water and exhaled a long breath.
“One cannot know everything that happens below, but I never imagined it had become such a mess. Squad leader—no, he is no longer even that. Why did you do this?”
“…”
“What connection do you have with Yang Bong that drove you to such actions!”
Sa Ma-ryang regarded Song Ryeong with deeply sunken eyes.
It was impossible to determine with certainty whether he was concealing his true thoughts and acting, or whether he was genuinely uninvolved in this incident.
“Even if your statement is true, you have not been completely cleared of suspicion. Submit all documents that can corroborate the timing of your request for the new seal.”
“Yes… if I can clear myself of suspicion, I should cooperate willingly. Tsk, getting tangled up in a mess like this.”
Song Ryeong muttered with a sigh, pulling documents one by one from the drawer.
Shortly after, Hyung Baek entered the chamber with quick strides.
“Inspector, please verify this.”
Sa Ma-ryang received the half-broken seal. He pressed it directly onto paper, and it matched the official stamp on the report perfectly.
‘So the Deputy Leader’s claim is true.’
If Gwak Ji-ryang had indeed obtained and misused the discarded seal as he claimed, the pieces fit together to some degree.
However, this alone wasn’t enough to definitively exonerate Song Ryeong.
‘To investigate properly, I need to…’
It was time to make a decision.
“Please collect all the documents. I need to examine the circumstances.”
* * *
A vast quantity of documents was transferred to the temporary residence. Sa Ma-ryang explained the situation to Seo Rin and asked her to verify the records.
Then he took a seat across from Gwak Ji-ryang.
“Do you have nothing to say regarding the report?”
“…”
“Yang Bong founded the Ja Gwi Moon sect in the remote borderlands. He used his disciples to plunder the faithful and even engaged in human trafficking.”
“…”
“Countless people have suffered because of your crimes. Have you truly nothing else to say?”
A faint ashen gleam flickered across Sa Ma-ryang’s pupils. He had drawn upon his energy to avoid missing even the slightest reaction.
Yet Gwak Ji-ryang maintained his silence, eventually closing his eyes entirely.
Not a trace of guilt or shame emanated from him.
Still concerned only with his own welfare, his lips pressed firmly shut, Sa Ma-ryang felt his emotions stirring.
“Very well. I won’t ask about your backers now. If you feel inclined to speak, you may do so then.”
Thud!
Just as Sa Ma-ryang was about to strike Gwak Ji-ryang’s vital points.
[I’m not sure what you’re planning, but calm yourself for now.]
Hyung Baek sent a transmission.
[The Deputy Leader’s testimony appears to be correct. All records after the seal was requested bear the same stamp. There are no discrepancies in dates either. It would become clearer if we cross-referenced with the council records, but wouldn’t it be better to return for now?]
[Considering how the ledgers were disposed of, finding evidence through documents will have its limits. There’s no point in wasting time—I’ll conclude the investigation here.]
[Conclude? Gwak Ji-ryang won’t open his mouth again. Are you planning to torture him?]
[If necessary, there’s no reason to refrain.]
[You… have certainly changed. Compose yourself. Despite appearances, he was a squad leader of the Law Enforcement Hall who captured demon cultivators. He’s undergone all manner of training, so he’ll have immunity to pain. If you interrogate him too harshly and cause permanent bodily damage, you’ll lose your rationality. Wouldn’t it be better to employ persuasion instead?]
[There won’t be any permanent bodily damage.]
Leaving Hyung Baek with a puzzled expression, Sa Ma-ryang immediately assumed the lotus position.
An ashen current shimmered between his breaths, and his hair that had settled calmly began to flutter in the wake of the gathering energy wave.
Whoooosh—
Until now, Sa Ma-ryang had lived believing that saving lives was his calling.
Life itself was precious, and the fact that he could help others through medicine brought him immense joy.
Thus, Sa Ma-ryang had drawn a clear line for himself—a line born from the conviction that the moment he crossed it, he could never again call himself a Physician.
I came to the Military Council for the greater good, yet even during my duties, I often found myself yearning for my days as a Physician.
Because of this, I could never cross that line—but when confronted with a criminal so shameless that even calling him unscrupulous seemed a luxury, my resolve shifted.
‘Even without being a Physician, I can still save lives.’
I realized that punishing criminals like Gwak Ji-ryang was itself a path to saving countless lives.
Once I grasped with my skin what my mind had only understood intellectually, it took no long deliberation to harden my resolve.
Sa Ma-ryang sent a telepathic message to his companions.
[An unfortunate incident may occur. Please be prepared.]
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
Immediately, Sa Ma-ryang began pressing acupoints on Gwak Ji-ryang’s body using the Finger Technique.
He blocked the meridian pathways to restrict blood flow to the brain, and stimulated the vital acupoints to dull sensation to an extreme degree.
It was the Celestial Spirit Wisdom Technique—a martial art innovated by the Medicine Hall Master of this era.
Originally designed as a medical procedure to eliminate a patient’s pain during treatment, such as when suturing or excising flesh, in Sa Ma-ryang’s hands it transformed into its exact opposite.
The Calcaneus, the Heavenly Pillar, the Nasal Passage, the Pool of the Bend—pressing acupoints in reverse order, he placed his hand upon Gwak Ji-ryang’s Celestial Spirit Gate.
Though he attempted this technique for the first time, Sa Ma-ryang’s hands harbored not a shred of hesitation.
Within the sensation of his thoughts expanding like lightning striking his mind, he poured the energy of the Sa Ma Heart Seal according to his instinct.
The Sa Ma Heart Seal’s function was to stimulate the upper dantian, stretching a single moment to an extreme length and accelerating thought. Within Gwak Ji-ryang’s consciousness, one second would now flow as eons.
“…Cough!”
Sa Ma-ryang spat up blood. It was the backlash of expending most of his dantian’s power in a single instant.
By now, Gwak Ji-ryang’s pupils had dilated, their focus utterly lost.
‘It worked.’
Sa Ma-ryang gently pressed the Judge’s Brush against Gwak Ji-ryang’s hand and opened his mouth.
* * *
‘No matter what they attempt, there is nothing they can extract from me.’
Gwak Ji-ryang steeled himself with this conviction.
The position of Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall had not been granted freely. He had thoroughly mastered techniques to dull sensation. He was confident he could endure any torture.
He would hold out to the very end.
Maintaining a consistent stance—that he knew nothing, that he was truly wronged—and simply persevering was all that mattered.
Those who confessed would soon appear anyway.
‘Even if something goes wrong, I can serve an appropriate sentence and walk free. Then it’s over.’
But Gwak Ji-ryang realized something was amiss.
The Inspector pressed down heavily on his crown while continuously infusing some incomprehensible energy.
If he could draw up demonic energy, he might dispel that force—but he could not. One of the Inspectors had placed a seal on his dantian.
In the moment when unpleasant emotion arose from the suffocating helplessness—
‘…!’
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck him, as if flesh were being carved away by a blade.
He looked down at his hand where the pain originated.
Since his head was bowed, observing was not difficult—yet he saw no blade or weapon there.
‘What, what is this…?’
In that instant, a terror unlike anything he had felt in his lifetime seized him. A single hair on his hand was moving—ever so slowly, ever so deliberately.
‘…W-what in the world have you done to me!!’
It was merely the brush of wind passing by.
* * *
‘What? Cancer? What are you saying? What the hell are you saying? What are you babbling about? You bastard.’
Gwak Ji-ryang stared at Sa Ma-ryang’s lips with eyes wide open.
The only perceptible change was the shape of his mouth moving with an unbearably slow pace.
The acutely heightened senses I had developed through training made it barely tolerable. But the silence that seemed to have frozen everything, the void of sound that permeated the space—I could not adapt to it at all.
I was on the verge of complete madness.
Going insane. Going insane. Going insane. I felt like I was truly losing my mind. The sounds reaching my ears were so agonizingly slow that I couldn’t even distinguish them, and as if I had lost control of my body, I couldn’t move a single finger.
I knew a few methods of sleeping with my eyes open, but even that was impossible.
Because from the judge’s brush pressing down on the back of my hand, pain continuously surged upward.
Whenever my strength waned and consciousness threatened to slip away, a pain as terrible as scalding water poured into my mind, gnawing at my awareness.
How much more time had passed like this?
‘Eyes.’
Gwak Ji-ryang stared blankly at Sa Ma-ryang’s lips, my soul seemingly departed.
I had no strength left.
The emotions that had roiled like a thousand fires had long since subsided.
No anger. No resentment. I had even forgotten the reason I was in this situation.
As if eons had passed. The entirety of my life until now seemed insignificant compared to this span of time.
And then, in the midst of helplessly wasting away further—
Whiiiiish!
The surrounding air circulated rapidly and seeped into Gwak Ji-ryang’s nostrils.
“Gasp!”
Gwak Ji-ryang exhaled a long breath, his chest heaving.
‘F-Finally!’
An indescribable sense of liberation flooded through me. I had finally escaped from the torment that lacerated my limbs and the prison of endless time!
Whoooosh!!
Demonic energy circulated through my entire body, vitality surging back, and as my dulled memories returned, I realized the reason for my torture.
Gwak Ji-ryang glared at Sa Ma-ryang with bloodshot eyes.
‘I’ll chew him to death…!’
It was all because of this bastard.
Since some point, unable to maintain logical thought, Gwak Ji-ryang had obsessively repeated only one question like a mantra.
What would I do first once I escaped this hell?
Would I slit that neck, or would I tear off one arm immediately?
However, what tumbled from my mouth once freedom was granted was something entirely different.
“Wh-What have you been s-saying all this time…?”
It was a question eternally carved into my vision.
Sa Ma-ryang answered Gwak Ji-ryang’s halting question in a low, subdued voice.
“I said I would gouge out your eyes next time.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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