Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 83

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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 83
“You came up with all of this on your own?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin hadn’t even offered a cup of tea. He merely glared at Dokgo Myeong with a face that seemed almost menacing.
“What do you mean, all of it?”
“Everything.”
Dokgo Myeong stole a glance at Dokgo Yeon-sin’s expression.
This man was truly impossible to read every time I saw him. It wasn’t merely a blank expression—I wondered if some condition had caused his facial muscles to stiffen permanently.
“Well, yes. But before I arranged it, you were already preparing for it yourself, Sect Leader.”
“I know. I lent a hand as well.”
“Pardon?”
“Who in the Main Sect do you think would be best at loosening people’s tongues and extracting information?”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s lips twisted.
Was he actually smiling? For real?
“So that rather unhumorous method of ferreting them out was your idea too.”
“Ah, that… If my meddling upset you, I apologize.”
“No, I liked it.”
“Pardon?”
“A rather efficient interrogation technique. There’s something called conscience inference—it has its flaws, but if the subjects are fanatics, it’s quite effective.”
“Ha! I knew you’d appreciate it!”
Hadn’t I reaped considerable benefits from this in my past life?
“Of course, if there are those who don’t care about a few words or rumors spread, it becomes nothing more than a one-time method with no further use.”
“Well, that can’t be helped. But for now, this is sufficient.”
“Why?”
“To activate the restriction seal.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s eyes gleamed.
“The human mind cannot think of negatives from the start. Just as telling someone not to think of a sword makes the sword appear in their mind.”
“The moment they speak those words, the restriction seal activates—is that it?”
“Using complex methods would only be more inefficient from the beginning.”
“What if there were no restriction seal?”
“Then we couldn’t catch them in the first place. We’d have to give up on such people.”
“You…”
Do you have experience with torture and interrogation?
Those words rose to Dokgo Yeon-sin’s throat and fell back down.
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s eyes shone brightly.
“Yes, you have quite a plausible reason.”
“Ah, what kind of praise is that.”
“So you’re saying you don’t trust the headquarters’ interrogation and want to conduct the questioning yourself?”
His voice was like a beast growling in a cave.
Dokgo Myeong hesitated for a moment.
“Hehe, it’s not that I don’t trust the Law Enforcement Bureau’s abilities.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s true that you haven’t extracted information yet, isn’t it? Since we have nothing to lose, let me give it a try—that’s what I’m saying.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s expression twisted increasingly.
Deep wrinkles carved across his blank face, making him look like a yaksha demon from a temple.
“If you fail to make him speak, you will pay the price for disrespecting the headquarters.”
“Why again…?”
“Be grateful that I’m even entertaining such an insolent request.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh.
“Very well. But I ask one thing in return.”
“What is it?”
“Please ensure no one enters the interrogation chamber. Not a single soul.”
* * *
“Kil-kil-kil-kil!”
From somewhere distant came a laugh like metal scraps grinding together.
“Krraaaaaah!”
A scream erupted from right beside him.
The floor was oddly slick, and darkness enveloped everything. The foul stench of blood and stale air made breathing difficult.
This place had no official name. It was simply called Naeok.
It was a space for the gravest criminals—incomparable to the Punishment Chamber where Dokgo Ak had once been disciplined.
“The Law Enforcement Bureau of the Main Sect is certainly ruthless. In less than a week, he’s become a complete wreck.”
“…”
“Did your tongue get cut off? You used to talk quite a bit, but now you’re mute?”
“…”
“Well, the defeated have nothing to say.”
In the sealed stone chamber, Yalul-ryeong lifted his head. His limbs were bound by iron chains, fixed to the wall.
“The young master speaks carelessly…”
Yalul-ryeong laughed, his voice like phlegm rattling in his throat.
Then a voice came from behind.
“One hour.”
Dokgo Yeon-sin’s voice rang heavy through the oppressive atmosphere.
“I will not open this door until one hour has passed.”
“Thank you.”
“Unnecessary perhaps, but be careful. One of the headquarters’ warriors who tested the words you spread died with his throat torn out.”
“Are you concerned for me?”
Kuuung—!
The door closed as if the question wasn’t worth answering.
Dokgo Myeong smiled faintly and turned his head again.
“No matter what you do, my lips will never open.”
“…”
“The blood I shed brings me joy. All of this is ultimately a path to the Pure Land of Bliss…”
“Yes, you call it martyrdom. Salvation through blood, passage to paradise… I know it all too well.”
Scraaape!
Dokgo Myeong dragged a crude chair right up to Yalul-ryeong’s face.
The moment Dokgo Myeong dropped into the seat with a thud, Yalul-ryeong’s body flinched. The distance was so close that his breath would reach the man’s face with every word.
Dokgo Myeong parted his lips.
“Before we begin, let me ask you one thing.”
Hummmmm.
Dokgo Myeong’s voice resonated with an unnaturally heavy timbre.
“I know you won’t answer, but I’ll ask anyway. What makes you so confident?”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you spent more time at the Main Sect than you ever did with the Blood Cult? All that time deceiving friends, comrades, family, and your lord—and you feel no pangs of conscience?”
“That’s absurd. I never deceived anyone.”
Yalul-ryeong’s eyes were clear.
Those lucid eyes shone as he spoke with unwavering confidence.
“Nor have I ever betrayed anyone. My loyalty to the Main Sect remains unchanged.”
“So you’re confident because you were a spy for the Blood Cult from the beginning?”
“My faith in Jeongheol is purely my own conviction. It is separate from the matter of loyalty.”
“You kidnapped me, the Main Sect’s Yong-hyeol.”
“I am not a Yong-hyeol, but a warrior loyal to the greatest Dokgo Family under heaven.”
“Do you actually believe that makes sense?”
“I am aware it violates the family law. That is why I am imprisoned here.”
“Your words contradict themselves. How can that possibly constitute loyalty?”
“Sometimes faith and loyalty collide. But I have merely done what is right.”
Yalul-ryeong looked down at Dokgo Myeong.
“You will not understand. Nor will the Main Sect. That is why I accept my punishment without complaint.”
“….”
“I understand. Zhongyuan cannot yet accept our teachings. But I acted as I did for the sake of the family. The Dokgo Household must shed blood….”
“….”
Dokgo Myeong regarded Yalul-ryeong with cold eyes.
This was not brainwashing, nor was it a mind broken by torture.
They had always been like this.
When people heard the word fanaticism, they imagined those who muttered strange things, rolled back their eyes, or acted drunk on narcotics.
Some were indeed like that, but most fanatics were different.
They seemed capable of conversation, yet all they produced were hollow echoes.
Dokgo Myeong opened his mouth.
“Stop spouting that garbage.”
“….”
“Salvation of the masses? Truth? Teachings? Is that your doctrine?”
Dokgo Myeong let out a scoff.
“When did those masses ever ask you for any of that?”
“It is to save this mortal realm from hell.”
“How many non-martial artists have you killed?”
“What did you say?”
“Answer me. How many?”
“….”
Yalul-ryeong could not answer.
Dokgo Myeong sneered.
“It is you and your kind who are creating hell for those sentient beings.”
Yalul-ryeong’s eyes widened slightly.
“How do you know so much about us, sir?”
“Because I have experienced much.”
“What did you say?”
“Once upon a time….”
Shadows fell across Dokgo Myeong’s face as the torchlight flickered and danced upon the wall.
“There was a time when I entrusted my back to comrades like you.”
“…?”
Because of that, suspicion had festered within the unit for a time.
“What are you saying now?”
“Once, I carried a dying man back to the main base and showed him to the physician. He was a friend more precious than my own life.”
“…?”
“The physician gave him internal medicine, but Dokgo Gyeon came rushing over urgently. It turned out to be poison.”
He was the only friend I had in the Chamma Unit.
I had to watch that comrade grow cold in my own arms.
“I have even severed the life of my own subordinate with these hands. You and your kind had set a trap, and he was wounded so severely….”
“Are you mad? What are you saying now?”
“That man had stolen bread because he was hungry. He was such a simple fellow that I wanted to discharge him from service.”
Everything.
I remembered it all.
I know such things will not happen again. Yet in my dreams, they came to visit me far too often.
‘How strange.’
Dokgo Myeong gazed at Yalul-ryeong.
‘I am angry, yet I feel oddly calm.’
Perhaps so much time had passed, or perhaps it was the influence of rebirth.
I could not know, but that was not what mattered.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes turned cold.
“While sending those men to their deaths, I and my subordinates created a technique.”
“What do you mean….”
“We had created many martial arts before, but the results from that time were far different from our expectations. So we all made a certain agreement.”
Clang!
Dokgo Myeong slowly rose from his seat.
Yalul-ryeong lifted his head and gazed at Dokgo Myeong.
“Four conditions. You must be a leader of the Ssangma Alliance, you must listen to their excuses, you must be those who show no remorse, and you must be acting of your own volition rather than being forced by someone.”
“….”
“Fortunately, you satisfy all of them.”
“No matter what you do, you will never pry open my lips.”
“Yes, your grand commander said the same thing.”
“What?”
Whoosh! Thud-thud-thud!!
In an instant, Dokgo Myeong’s hands drummed across Yalul-ryeong’s entire body.
The deep purple vital energy of Hongcheon Gi seeped into Yalul-ryeong’s frame without resistance.
“What are you—… hm?”
Yalul-ryeong furrowed his brow in confusion.
For such a grand declaration, there was no reaction whatsoever. His lips simply would not move, as if his acupoint had been sealed.
But moments later.
Crack!
“…!”
Yalul-ryeong felt as though someone had seized his heart in their grip.
His mouth fell open involuntarily, yet not even a groan escaped.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Soon, a horrific pain began spreading through his blood vessels to every muscle and bone in his body.
It felt as though a swarm of ants had burrowed into his flesh, gnawing away at his bones and muscles.
“…!”
Clang! Clang!
Yalul-ryeong thrashed about in convulsions.
The stone chamber filled with the harsh sound of chains rattling.
Yet from his gaping throat, not a single whimper escaped.
Dokgo Myeong, who had maintained an impassive expression throughout, spoke.
“We have named it Muscle Severance and Bone Dislocation.”
Combined, it is called Muscle Severance Bone Dislocation. The muscles are torn and split asunder, while the bones are dislocated and twisted.
Unlike Hui Cheon Gi, which ignites while devouring an enemy’s inner strength, this technique was inspired by Hongcheon Gi, which seeps into the body and damages flesh and bone.
Once unleashed, recovery is impossible. Both vital channels and bone structure are twisted, making a normal life impossible.
“There is only one thing I wish to hear from you. Everything else is unnecessary.”
“…!”
“You must have some grand scheme underway now that you’ve entered Zhongyuan. Something so significant that even you, stationed at another branch, would inevitably know of it. Tell me what it is.”
* * *
“My goodness, you should let them wait….”
“It’s fine, Jang Sam. This is what I want to do.”
Dokgo Wi-hak stood at the entrance of Saheongang with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for someone.
Jang Sam, as always, fidgeted nervously behind him.
As always, Jang Sam was fidgeting nervously in the back.
“How could I possibly leave you standing here alone and enter by myself?”
“It’s nothing—I simply felt unsettled and came out. Go back inside.”
“But still….”
“Then go prepare a meal for me instead.”
“A meal, sir?”
“I left early and haven’t eaten all this time.”
“Ah, yes, I shall see to it at once.”
Jang Sam departed, and Dokgo Wi-hak remained standing calmly in place.
He couldn’t fathom why he had come to greet him. The thought had simply seized his mind—that today, he wanted to do this.
Thud, thud, thud!
How much time had passed?
Footsteps echoed from the distance.
“….”
Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes wavered.
Dokgo Myeong, who approached, appeared no different from usual.
The injuries from this affair were not severe, so there was no difficulty in his gait.
“…!”
Dokgo Wi-hak’s breath caught for a moment.
The image of a general in armor drenched in blood, dragging his body forward, overlaid itself upon the figure of Dokgo Myeong.
‘What is this.’
Bewildered, he shut his eyes tightly and opened them again, and that phantom scene vanished.
“Huh? Sect Leader?”
Dokgo Myeong, spotting Dokgo Wi-hak, bounded forward with a grin.
“What brings you out here? Are you going somewhere?”
“….”
“…Well, I didn’t cause any trouble this time. I told you beforehand, didn’t I? So why do you look at me like that….”
Dokgo Myeong rambled on in his usual manner.
Dokgo Wi-hak’s gaze deepened.
“Are you truly well?”
“Yes?”
“….”
Dokgo Myeong answered with a bewildered expression.
“Is something the matter, sir?”
“What of you—is something the matter?”
Dokgo Myeong tilted his head in confusion.
“There was something, yes.”
“….”
“But it’s fine now. There was a moment of frustration, but now that the task is done and I see your face, everything has become clearer.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
“What have you discerned?”
“I’ve uncovered what those bastards are plotting. Something quite significant, at that.”
Dokgo Wi-hak regarded his son for a moment.
There was no trace of gloom emanating from him, after all.
‘I was mistaken.’
The scent of blood clung to him, and exhaustion was evident in his bearing.
Yet that was merely the price of moving forward. Dokgo Myeong was not drowning in regret.
“Well done. You’ve earned your rest.”
“I’d say I’ve certainly earned it.”
“I’ve already instructed Jang to prepare a meal. Shall we go in?”
“Excellent! Let’s go!”
Dokgo Myeong and Dokgo Wi-hak entered Sa Heon-gak together.

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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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