Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 313

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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 313
Chapter 2
Upon arriving at Cheonsu, Seol Woon-hwi encountered Seo Hyo waiting at the Entrance to greet him.
His first words were these.
“…I have no face to show you.”
Seol Woon-hwi chuckled softly and patted his shoulder.
“There is no need for despondency. I myself could not say with certainty where I was.”
“That is not what I meant to say.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s brow furrowed slightly.
“You found nothing?”
“…Yes. It is far too clean. In all my years, I have never encountered a human being so spotless in life.”
“Never, you say….”
I had suspected as much.
From the start, Seo Hyo knew nothing of the Muk Se-hoe organization. Neither did I, despite carrying memories of my previous life.
With such a degree of concealment, would it reveal itself so easily?
That would have been far more suspicious.
“…I am merely sorry.”
While I had been proving myself all this time, Seo Hyo had done the same.
He too had been proving himself. Yet this time he had failed to bring the results I expected, so his self-reproach was entirely understandable.
“Seo Hyo.”
“Yes.”
“All people make mistakes.”
“…That is true. There is no one who does not.”
“Then come with me.”
“…Pardon?”
“We shall go to remove a mask. And in doing so, you shall witness what the person you have chosen to follow is capable of.”
Seo Hyo scratched his head and alternated his gaze between Manager Seong and Han Mu-rin beside me.
The question was whether this would be acceptable, but unfortunately these two men did not know the details either.
If my suspicion was correct.
And if I could remove his mask, then by my nature, it would not be words but the blade that would begin.
No matter how much of a genius I was to have reached the Sang Hyeon realm, facing a master of the Five Realms of Martial God was not merely difficult—it was impossible.
Above all, these three did not judge me by the common sense that ordinary martial artists held.
Since I had already shattered common sense multiple times, they adjusted their thinking accordingly, but even so, this was rather….
“You all seem to be thinking quite deeply.”
At my sudden remark, everyone turned their heads.
“I trust you, yet it seems you do not trust me.”
“No… That is not so!”
Han Mu-rin answered quickly.
“Young Master…! Why would you say such a hurtful thing? How could I possibly distrust you?”
Manager Seong spoke belatedly.
“…I may appear unremarkable, but I am a Wise Lord of the Four Main Gods. I do not bow my head to just anyone. It is because our Supreme Commander—no, our Great Hero—deserves my trust and faith that I lower my head before you. I too wish to feel some measure of satisfaction.”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled softly.
“Then that settles it.”
“….”
“I trust you, and you trust me. What more could we possibly need?”
All three fell silent at once.
“Follow me. And.”
Seol Woon-hwi pointed with his hand toward the large, bald man standing in a daze.
“Bring Unit Leader Wi along as well.”
* * *
Naturally, Seol Woon-hwi’s party made their way toward Cheon Ryong Palace.
At the entrance, they encountered a large, bald man.
He approached Seol Woon-hwi first.
“Hwang Mu-jeong pays respects to the Cheon Ui Jung Jeong.”
This man, whose distinctive low-toned voice sounded like metal scraping, was the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s new Elder, brought personally by Mae Wi-dong.
Seol Woon-hwi returned the cupped fist salute as Hwang Mu-jeong performed it.
“So you are the renowned Hwang Mu-jeong, known by the alias Upper Mystic Mighty Fist. I have long heard of your reputation, Senior.”
“I dare not compare myself to the Cheon Ui Jung Jeong, but I am grateful for your kind words.”
Seol Woon-hwi asked abruptly.
“Your voice seems quite distinctive.”
Hwang Mu-jeong laughed awkwardly.
“Long ago, I suffered a grave wound near my throat. It has never fully healed since then.”
“I see. In any case, I must now report our recent progress to the Alliance Leader. Perhaps we could arrange a separate meeting at another time?”
Hwang Mu-jeong glanced briefly at his surroundings before nodding.
“Of course. Let us do so.”
Passing him by, Seol Woon-hwi gestured for Wi Cheon-ho to come closer.
The man he had indicated showed surprise, yet how could anyone refuse when summoned?
As Wi Cheon-ho approached, Seol Woon-hwi opened the doors to Cheon Ryong Palace.
Mae Wi-dong, seated in the upper seat, smiled brightly.
“Welcome. Cheon Ui Jung Jeong.”
“Yes. I have arrived, Alliance Leader.”
Mae Wi-dong’s expression filled with interest.
“And here is Unit Leader Wi Cheon-ho of our proud Wu Yi Squad.”
Wi Cheon-ho performed a cupped fist salute toward Mae Wi-dong, who waved his hand dismissively.
From Seol Woon-hwi’s demeanor and Wi Cheon-ho’s bewildered expression, Mae Wi-dong discerned several things.
“The reason you returned so quickly from An Sim Gun… I assumed this was a briefing on your progress, but it seems otherwise.”
“No, sir.”
“You have something to tell me?”
“Yes. A matter of considerable urgency.”
“Hmm… Very well. And if Unit Leader Wi would excuse us….”
“No.”
“…What?”
“Wi Cheon-ho must also be present.”
“…Hmm….”
Seol Woon-hwi shifted his gaze toward Wi Cheon-ho.
“Wi Cheon-ho, do you remember?”
“…Remember what?”
“When we agreed to work together before, I distinctly recall telling you something.”
“….”
“I asked you who you were loyal to.”
“…Yes. I answered that question by saying I am loyal to the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, and I spoke of my modest ambitions regarding how to develop the Wu Yi Squad.”
“And before you answered, I issued a warning as well.”
“….”
“That if your words contained falsehood, you would surely die.”
“…I have never told a lie….”
“Wi Cheon-ho, I am not asking you whether you lied or not. I am giving you a chance.”
“…A chance, you say?”
“One last question. While the An Sim Gun procession passed through, you absented yourself multiple times, and each time you sent a letter to someone. Who did you send that letter to?”
Wi Cheon-ho answered without blinking once, his voice resolute.
“I did not send any letter to anyone.”
“Then who gave you secret orders?”
“…I received none.”
“No falsehood this time either?”
“None.”
Seol Woon-hwi’s gaze shifted to Mae Wi-dong.
His expression was remarkably inscrutable, yet so natural that anyone unfamiliar with him would have taken it for his usual demeanor.
However, that naturalness was.
Shattered by what Seol Woon-hwi did next.
It happened in a mere instant.
Crack.
Seol Woon-hwi’s hand seized Wi Cheon-ho’s throat.
The panicked Wi Cheon-ho tried to wrench free from that grip, but.
Snap—!
His neck broke first.
Seol Woon-hwi, having completely shattered the cervical vertebrae, released his hand, and Wi Cheon-ho’s corpse crumpled to the ground.
“…What… what are you doing right now?”
Seol Woon-hwi smiled faintly.
“What else? I keep the promises I make.”
“A promise? You just killed the leader of the Wu Yi Squad and call it a promise?”
“I made it clear. That if you lied, you would die. Yet Wi Cheon-ho never spoke a moment of truth to me.”
“….”
“I gave you chances until the very end, yet you failed to seize them. What choice do I have but to kill you?”
“Hah… You killed the Unit Leader of the Wu Yi Squad based on suspicion alone, without a shred of evidence?”
Seol Woon-hwi shook his head.
“Why do you assume there is no evidence?”
“…What?”
“Have you perhaps checked what Sa Seol-ran, now an Elder, has been doing recently?”
“….”
“You haven’t, have you? You’ve been occupied with other matters.”
“…Cheon Ui Jung Jeong? What are you talking about now….”
“Among those who departed for An Sim Gun, there exists a person whose name was never recorded nor reported.”
Mae Wi-dong’s expression hardened.
“Sa Seol-ran followed me from behind and executed my orders flawlessly. You asked for evidence? The first day at the Hour of the Monkey, the second day at the Hour of the Tiger, the third day at the Hour of the Dragon, the fifth day at the Hour of the Rooster, the sixth day at the Hour of the Rat.”
“….”
“The Alliance Leader fell silent, and Wi Cheon-ho fell silent as well. Let me be absolutely clear. I am no scoundrel. Kill someone based on suspicion alone without evidence? I swear upon my life, there has never been a single moment when I have done such a thing.”
“….”
“And I shall sit now.”
Even as Mae Wi-dong told him not to sit, Seol Woon-hwi had no intention of listening.
Seol Woon-hwi, having settled quietly into his seat, asked briefly.
“What are your thoughts on discarding after use?”
“…This hardly seems the atmosphere for such a conversation.”
“Is my question flawed? I asked something simple—answer me.”
“Discarding after use—it is one of the methods employed by those in power, and the most certain stratagem of all.”
“Then is it I who trouble you as the Leader of the Muk Se-hoe? Or is it I who trouble you as the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance?”
Mae Wi-dong’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Truly… you keep forcing me to repeat the same words. I made it abundantly clear at the very place where I killed Jo Tae-hwa. I know nothing of an organization called the Muk Se-hoe, nor do I have any interest in the reconstruction of the Thousand Year Demon Cult.”
Seol Woon-hwi regarded Mae Wi-dong in silence. Because he clearly understood what that gaze meant, Mae Wi-dong spoke rapidly.
“I exchanged secret letters with Unit Leader Wi, yes. That is correct. I did exchange them. The reason is simple. I was concerned about Cheon Ui Jung Jeong.”
“Concerned about what?”
“War with the Ihwa Geom Cheon Jong has begun, so we cannot know what manner of master might emerge from their ranks. There are masters of Heaven-Human Unity and masters of the Heaven-Human Realm. No matter how important the sect’s honor, if someone like Yeon Song-baek were to appear, I believed they would stop at nothing to kill Cheon Ui Jung Jeong. I had to prepare for that. As the Alliance Leader.”
By emphasizing the title Alliance Leader, Mae Wi-dong made his position clear, while Seol Woon-hwi continued to wear that enigmatic smile.
Hah….
Mae Wi-dong swallowed hard and continued slowly.
“Very well. Let us settle this once and for all. Why exactly do you suspect me, Cheon Ui Jung Jeong?”
“Suspect… I am certain, yet the mask worn upon the Alliance Leader’s face is thicker than I anticipated.”
“….”
“I agree with what you said. Let us make this clear now.”
“Then speak to me step by step. I too wish to clear this misunderstanding.”
Seol Woon-hwi began to present his points one by one.
“When I first moved to Cheong Pung City to kill Dok Ju, my movements were perfectly tracked.”
“Isn’t that only natural? I had to secure the safety of Cheon Ui Jung Jeong.”
“But your true intention back then was to sow discord among the Four Main Gods. You orchestrated circumstances to make me suspect both Sal Ju and Am Ju.”
Mae Wi-dong fell silent for a moment before responding.
“Discord, you say… If Dok Ju didn’t orchestrate it that way, then Yeon Song-baek must have orchestrated it that way. For me to have intervened in that situation, I would have needed to sit here in Cheon Ryong Palace and predict every move of Cheon Ui Jung Jeong, then predict those predictions. I’m not a genius of that caliber.”

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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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