CLS-Chapter 517

Chapter 517:

“Are you asking what kind of place the Demon Cult is right now?”

“Yes.”

Yeom Mong’s brow furrowed.

It was a question that was both natural yet strange.

Many people had asked him about the Demon Cult before. But those questions were usually along the lines of ‘how cruel are those Demon Cult bastards’ or ‘how wicked are they.’

Every time he received such questions, Yeom Mong had to feel troubled.

“Are you asking how bad those Demon Cult bastards are?”

“No.”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

“I’m just asking what kind of people they are.”

“Don’t you already know that the Demon Cult is a place where bad people live?”

“Well, that’s obvious. From what I can see, there’s no one who knows more about the Demon Cult than you, Uncle, so wouldn’t it be most accurate to hear it from your mouth?”

‘Uncle…’

That word ‘uncle’ tickled Yeom Mong strangely.

For him, who had lost all his family and relatives in the war with the Demon Cult, the word ‘uncle’ was ticklish but somehow nostalgic.

“Let’s see. How should I explain this?”

Yeom Mong, who had stroked his beard a couple of times, opened his mouth.

“Let’s say you’re living well, but suddenly one day, bandits like bastards come barging in.”

“Yes.”

“But those bastards kill your family and take over the land you lived on. So you lose both your hometown and family and are driven out.”

“Yes.”

“Then how do you think you would feel about those bandits?”

“I’d want to kill them.”

“Bad bastards, right?”

“Yes! They’re bad bastards.”

Yeom Mong nodded.

“Right. That’s what the Demon Cult thinks of the Central Plains.”

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Yeom Mong with a surprised face.

“Not what we think of the Demon Cult?”

“That would work too.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What each side thinks of the other is the same. From their perspective, we are demon-like bastards who killed their families and drove them out, and from our perspective… there’s no need to repeat it. It would be the same. Yes, it would be the same.”

“But…”

Wei Yan-ho couldn’t understand.

“When did we ever kill them and drive them out?”

“Then where do you think they came from?”

“Uh…”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

Where did they come from?

He had never thought about that.

“Do they seem like people who came from outside and invaded the Central Plains? They don’t. They’re also people of the Central Plains. They’re just people who live on the outskirts.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, that seemed right.

He had fought several fierce battles with Demon Cult members in the past, but just because they were Demon Cult members didn’t make them particularly different from themselves. They were just people. He didn’t get any exotic feeling from them at all.

“They were persecuted because of religion and various other reasons.”

“But they’re evil.”

“Because they’re enemies.”

Yeom Mong’s voice was calm.

“They would also say the same about us. That the Central Plains bastards are evil beings without blood or tears. Because their families, their relatives died by our hands.”

“…”

“Where is there evil in war? Does the sword hurt less when stabbed by a kind-hearted person? When we’re in a position to cut each other’s throats anyway, nothing is more ridiculous than arguing about who is bad. It’s just different positions.”

Jang-il’s face contorted.

“Are you defending them now?”

“Defending?”

Yeom Mong put a sneer on his lips.

“Defending… If stating facts as they are is defending, then so be it. Yes, let’s say I’m defending them. What’s wrong with that?”

Jang-il gritted his teeth.

The Demon Cult were beings that should not be defended.

How many Central Plains people had fallen, spilling their blood because of them?

Even if what they did wasn’t particularly because they hated the Central Plains, the acts themselves were unforgivable.

But how could he say such words?

The reason he couldn’t spit out his boiling anger was because the person saying this was Yeom Mong.

He couldn’t give a lecture to someone who had devoted his entire life to keeping the Demon Cult in check. Jang-il’s life was also made possible by the sacrifices of people like Yeom Mong.

What he couldn’t understand was the fact that the person saying this was specifically Yeom Mong.

The person who should hate the Demon Cult most was defending them—wasn’t this maddening?

“You seem to be asking why. Am I right?”

“…Yes.”

“As you think, I hate the Demon Cult. There’s no way to cool my anger toward the Demon Cult. But you see, hating an opponent and understanding that opponent are separate matters. For twenty years, I’ve been watching the Demon Cult. Sometimes from watchtowers, sometimes near them, and in life-threatening crises. What do you think my conclusion is after watching them for such a long time?”

“I don’t know.”

Yeom Mong answered as if it was no big deal.

“That they too are people no different from us.”

“They are?”

“Why? Do they have three arms or something?”

“Well…”

Yeom Mong sighed.

Every time he talked about the Demon Cult, he had to overcome the same barrier. Telling the truth beyond people’s perception who just wanted the Demon Cult to remain as blood-crazed demons was always tiring work.

“They’re just people. They farm, draw water, sometimes laugh and play with children… Yes, they’re such people.”

A strange atmosphere began to dominate the barracks.

Simple words. But too much was melted into them.

“Think about it.”

Yeom Mong’s gaze turned to one side. Everyone could guess what was beyond the empty barracks wall.

“The sects of the Central Plains are self-sufficient. But they just need to make money. Whether running an inn or hiring people to work the land. With that money, they can do anything. But what can they do on this land? Money? Such things are nothing but heavy burdens. On this land, they farm and live. Then are they all martial artists?”

“…They probably aren’t all.”

“Most of those we know as the Demon Cult are actually just ordinary common people. They live by farming even on that barren land. Martial artists? Yes, they’re hateful. But did they have any other choice? What could they do against people who hate them and won’t give them even one pyeong of land? Stay and live on that land as they are?”

Yeom Mong put a sneer in his voice.

“If not that, should they have a conversation? With you?”

Jang-il kept his mouth shut tight.

“You can’t have a conversation with someone who has no intention of talking. In the end, there’s no choice but to fight. That’s the only path left.”

Yeom Mong was about to add something, but Wei Yan-ho said indifferently:

“So what’s the answer?”

“Huh?”

“What kind of place is the Demon Cult?”

“…”

Yeom Mong looked at Wei Yan-ho with a completely displeased face. But Wei Yan-ho still had an indifferent expression.

“Well, since they’re people, they’d all have their reasons and circumstances. I’m not curious about that. I’m just curious about what kind of place it is. Knowing that won’t change anything anyway.”

“…”

Yeom Mong looked at Wei Yan-ho with a dumbfounded expression and then laughed.

‘What an absurd kid.‘

Usually, when he made such defending statements about the Demon Cult, everyone showed hatred or got angry. If not that, they showed eyes of distrust.

But Wei Yan-ho was neither.

He was just being bored as if it was an obvious story.

‘Such a guy is Wei Jeong-han’s son.‘

No, perhaps it was possible because he was Wei Jeong-han’s son.

“It’s difficult to explain what kind of place the Demon Cult is in one word. I can’t say I know all of them either. But one thing is certain. They too are people, and that place too is a place where people live.”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek.

“Is that an answer?”

“It’s not satisfying, but it’s an answer of sorts. But umm… I still don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“Objectively speaking, I wondered if they had some reason. But well, it doesn’t seem like there’s any particularly great reason.”

“Great reason?”

“Umm…”

Yeom Mong, who was about to ask again, closed his mouth.

‘He’s talking about his brother.‘

It might not be appropriate to call him brother. Actually, Wei Yan-ho and Wei San-ho weren’t connected by blood.

It was a fact that even Yeom Mong didn’t know.

He could only find out after hearing from Shin Gi-sua what Wei Jeong-han had done. Shin Gi-sua must have had no choice but to tell him. Since Yeom Mong had to be most sensitive to changes in the Demon Cult. He couldn’t hide such an incident even from him.

‘A reason…‘

Yeom Mong shook his head.

“Have a drink.”

Filling everyone’s empty cups was all Yeom Mong could do.

***

The night had deepened.

The nights in the wasteland were bitterly cold.

Wei Yan-ho’s group, with accumulated fatigue from the long journey, settled down early and fell asleep. Though it was difficult to find spacious and cozy barracks, just having a sleeping place that blocked the wind in this wasteland was something to be grateful for.

Though they were people who could circulate internal energy so fatigue didn’t accumulate much, the cozy sleeping place they encountered after a long time was enough to lead them to sleep.

But there was someone who couldn’t sleep.

‘Beautiful.‘

Wei Jeong-han was looking up at the sky.

Stars filled the world.

The endlessly spread stars and the dark earth filled with darkness.

It was a strange land where you couldn’t tell at all where that boundary was.

Looking at only this made him think that this barren land wasn’t so bad either. Though those living here would shudder to hear such words.

Wei Jeong-han quietly tilted his wine cup while looking at the overwhelming scenery.

“Can’t sleep?”

Wei Jeong-han slowly turned his head.

Yeom Mong was climbing up to the watchtower.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

“When you do the same thing every day, sleep doesn’t come easily. It’s not something you can sleep on schedule either.”

“That makes sense.”

“Right.”

Yeom Mong wordlessly took the seat next to Wei Jeong-han. For a long while, the two looked far away in silence.

“You came because you have something to say, didn’t you?”

“…Not particularly.”

“The senior from before was quite skilled at lying, but you’ve become quite naive.”

“When all you see are sandstorms and all you talk to are those blunt guys, anyone becomes like this.”

Wei Jeong-han silently held out his wine bottle. Yeom Mong, who received the bottle, looked at the cup Wei Jeong-han held out.

“What’s with the cup?”

“I prepared it in advance thinking you might come.”

“How considerate.”

Yeom Mong filled Wei Jeong-han’s cup and drank it down in one gulp.

Thud.

Yeom Mong, who had set the cup on the ground, looked far away for a long time and quietly opened his mouth.

“Why did you do it?”

Wei Jeong-han closed his eyes.

This was a question he had to hear. And something he had to answer.

But it was still not an easy answer.

“Just…”

Wei Jeong-han slowly opened his mouth.

“At that time, I thought I had to do it.”