chapter 74
Peng Jinghao quietly flashed a genial smile.
“Hmm… maybe it’s my age, but I keep forgetting what I just heard. Could you explain it again? What did you say?”
But Zhao He strangely broke into a cold sweat down his spine.
“…All contact has been lost.”
“Huh?”
“I-I’m sorry, sir! Please spare my life!”
Zhao He collapsed flat on the floor, his face drenched in sweat nonstop.
“What’s gotten into this person all of a sudden? Making a fool of himself. First, answer the question I asked.”
“Sir…”
“Can’t you hear me, Zhao He?”
The words struck him like the voice of King Yama himself, and Zhao He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to report again.
“All the secret safe houses installed in the small country by this committee have lost all contact. It appears that every single one has… been completely destroyed…”
Bang!
Zhao He’s head exploded in an instant, and his body slumped sideways.
Thud!
Peng Jinghao lightly brushed the blood and brain matter off his staff and clicked his tongue.
“Damn… my hands moved before I even realized it. Ah, getting old means you have to fix your temper first. Eh.”
Grumbling, Peng Jinghao’s eyes were cold as ice.
The tower he had painstakingly built over the last ten years had crumbled in a single day.
Money, time, talent, effort—all wasted.
Though he wanted to kill everyone beneath him in fury, he forced himself to calm down and ponder the culprit who dared defy him.
He knew him well.
“Igun-san… that old man hadn’t truly retired. He was just hiding all this time. Slippery as ever.”
Major General Igun-san, who had long opposed him but had been forced off the international stage following the disbandment of the Qinglei Unit.
At that time, the entire world, including the United States, had wanted the Qinglei Unit disbanded.
And Peng Jinghao had been the one to orchestrate it, so Igun-san’s removal was etched vividly in his memory.
But now, Igun-san had returned.
And he carried a venomous, deadly edge with him.
“Where did everything start to go wrong?”
When he first heard that Ma Long had been captured, Peng Jinghao wasn’t overly worried.
Losing such a valuable operative was regrettable, but the committee had plenty of talent to spare.
Even if Ma Long knew a lot, it wasn’t a problem.
He assumed Ma Long would soon die, blocked by the “Jin Yan Jin Je” (prohibitive decree).
And that decree always worked.
However…
“They broke through the decree. How on earth did they do it?”
The decree was given directly by the deity Peng Jinghao served.
Even Xu Changyou, the Jade Emperor, could not overturn it.
Yet Igun-san had somehow nullified it.
Then, by successfully interrogating Ma Long, who had unwavering loyalty to the committee, everything went wrong.
All the secret houses and facilities secretly installed in the Korean Peninsula had been exposed.
And it took only two hours to completely wipe them out.
The committee didn’t even have time to react.
It had been a lightning-fast operation.
“The plan was to retrieve the Hongma King from the peninsula and use it as a stepping stone to advance into the Pacific… but it’s all ruined. Completely ruined. Ha… ha… ha…”
His laugh was hollow, but a glint of murderous rage danced in his eyes.
“Moreover, that general… he didn’t come back alone. That bastard… he came back too, didn’t he?”
Peng Jinghao recalled the breaking news he had seen on Korean media, featuring Seoul.
It felt so familiar because he had visited that location several times.
A place he thought he would never have to see again after four years.
A place he had forgotten.
“Jet… I should have killed you for good back then…”
Peng Jinghao instinctively knew.
Lee Hyun was at the center of this disaster.
As always in the past.
But regretting it now would change nothing.
“I have to salvage whatever remnants are left. At least… Ya Deng just used the Jin Go-ah earlier.”
And probably died.
Unable to withstand the energy from the Great Circle and the Summoning Circle.
But death could serve as a stepping stone for a new resurrection…
“If I use this correctly, I can turn everything around again.”
Cooling his heated mind, Peng Jinghao picked up his phone.
Beep… Beep…
“…Hello?”
A curt, low voice.
On the screen: Xu Changyou.
“…What the hell.”
Im Won-young couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“What? This guy? Dead?”
“Kak-kak. He didn’t suddenly want to die. Trying some human sacrifice?”
“Stop the nonsense and focus on what’s in front of you. We need to retrieve that first.”
Son Wukong waved off Sa Oh-jeong’s comment, glaring at the Jin Go-ah.
“That rotten thing is holding the Jin Go-ah? Preposterous.”
Passing through the lab, Son Wukong scanned everything with his Hwa An-geum-jeong.
He saw the extent of the human experiments carried out.
In the pursuit of necromancy, the living and dead alike had suffered.
To Son Wukong, who had always valued honor, this place was unbearably unpleasant.
“All those years torturing Sha-hyung… but did he even care?”
“On the contrary. That’s why he doesn’t want to give such a worthless thing away.”
“Kak-kak. Agreed. I don’t want to stay here either. The stench… unbearable.”
The corpses were decomposing rapidly, despite having died recently.
And the fumes… whatever toxins were mixed in, the ooze from the corpses seeped into the floor, creating a hazy smoke.
“Wait here. I’ll go check it out.”
“Please do.”
Im Won-young ordered Jang San-beom to scout for additional evidence.
Crackle!
[Clothing of the Duwakshini detected.]
[All foreign substances attempting entry via respirator eliminated.]
Lee Hyun confirmed the effectiveness of the Duwakshini clothing and climbed the hill of corpses.
Squish, splat-
The sensation beneath his feet was revolting.
‘The decay is faster than it should be… what the hell?’
[Curse Immunity (SS) activated, dispersing malice.]
[‘Holy Relic: Hwa An-geum-jeong’ activated, detecting anomalies.]
[Nothing found.]
[No spirits or vengeful ghosts detected.]
[No curses detected.]
Even with Hwa An-geum-jeong, the scene was unnervingly clean.
No spirits, no malice—nothing.
Lee Hyun found this even creepier.
At the hill’s edge, Executive Director Jung sat slumped on a corpse-chair, deeply wearing the Jin Go-ah.
Lee Hyun checked his neck with a hand.
“How is it?”
Im Won-young asked.
“No pulse. Truly dead.”
“So… hopelessly?”
“What about below?”
“Same here.”
Im Won-young jumped atop Jang San-beom to the hilltop.
Thud!
Landing lightly, like a cat.
The corpse wasn’t crushed despite their weight manipulation.
“No trace of curses or rituals. Yet every corpse clearly shows signs of suffering. Huh…”
“Anything?”
“No. But…”
Jang San-beom smiled bitterly.
“Even some guild staff here. They must’ve been on Jung’s side.”
Im Won-young helped close the eyes of those crushed under the corpse pile.
Lee Hyun watched, then turned back to Jung.
‘First, retrieve the Jin Go-ah.’
[Jin Go-ah]
A shackle used by the Jade Emperor and Sakyamuni with ■■ to govern ■■.
It controls energy, clears the mind, and draws out latent power through internal-external harmony.
-
Type: Holy Relic
-
Origin: Mythology “Journey to the West”
Some functions are forcibly deactivated due to external energy intrusion.
Restore its original functions.
‘…Some functions are deactivated by external energy?’
Lee Hyun noted the description differed from previous relics like Hwa An-geum-jeong or Yeoui Bong.
At that moment:
“Team Leader Im! Move!”
“What? Wha—Ah!”
Without waiting for an answer, Lee Hyun pushed her back.
As Jang San-beom grabbed and carried her out of the hill,
Flash!
Executive Director Jung’s eyelids flicked open.
A chilling gleam in his eyes.
Whoosh!
His hand reached out.
[The touch of a ghost approaches!]
Decayed, pus-dripping, maggot-infested hands.
[Duwakshini’s rage erupts!]
Crackle!
Reflexively, Lee Hyun swung the iron infused with energy.
Bang!!
The shockwave flattened the hill of corpses.
‘The power…!’
He twisted mid-air, landing safely.
The weapon trembled violently, even steaming from friction.
“It definitely contains something. The blade itself is imbued with pure malice.”
“Kak-kak. That much malice can’t be removed easily, even by a curse.”
Even Son Wukong and Sa Oh-jeong were shocked.
“Team Leader Jang, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m immune to toxins thanks to my energy.”
Lee Hyun cleared the poison from the blade and looked up.
“That seems to be the problem.”
Unlike Lee Hyun, Executive Director Jung rose from the corpse throne, radiating immense energy.
Rrrr…
It felt as if the world itself resisted him, but he pushed through, spreading enormous force.
Ku-ku-ku-ku…!
[A new apostle has been born.]
Jung slowly lifted his head, still pale, dark shadows under his eyes.
“Though it was only a few hours, life on Earth is better. Powerful, but never again there…”
His voice was like a ghostly wail.
“…What is this?”
“Apparently, he died and came back.”
Im Won-young remained confused.
Lee Hyun saw hundreds of wandering spirits around Jung—souls of the corpse hill, twisted in pain.
“He died… and came back? What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. The victims, and even himself, were offered as sacrifices to return from the underworld.”
“…!”
“That’s why the corpses decayed so fast.”
Though Im Won-young didn’t understand the principle, he knew extraordinary events had occurred.
“Only a being of sufficient energy can return the dead to the living,”
Kyaaa!
The spirits around Jung turned gray, thick mist spreading.
“Even under <Cheong-gyo>’s underworld, such cases are rare.”
Immediately:
[Myth, ‘Master of the Eerie Wind’ reveals his presence in this world!]
The immense power from Jung spread, carrying the winds of the dead.
Whoosh, whoosh…!
“…Wind Lord Supreme.”
Im Won-young recalled the deity’s name.
[Wind Lord Supreme]
A deity of the underworld under <Cheong-gyo>, ruling Fengdu, the city of the dead.
King of the Netherworld, overseeing sulfur flames and spirits with underworld envoys.
-
Origin: “Scripture of the Ten Kings of Earthly Reincarnation”
“Kak… I’ve seen humans like this too. Didn’t Dong Bang-sak do this before?”
“Kak-kak. Sha-hyung wreaked havoc before Yama to gain immortality.”
“That was for my people! He even accepted my apology later!”
Son Wukong’s face showed disgust.
“But that guy sacrificed living people! And you compare him to me?”
“…Hmph. That was extreme. I apologize.”
“That guy just controlled the ghost gate, yet flaunts power like some street thug. Suddenly blessed by a god? Unlikely…”
“Kak-kak. Must be the Jin Go-ah.”
Lee Hyun guessed Jung’s actions from the conversation between Son Wukong and Sa Oh-jeong.
‘Jin Go-ah awakens potential, enabling spiritual insight.’
Insight (sixth sense) allows glimpsing the spiritual world.
For a necromancer like Jung, this was immensely powerful.
‘He sacrificed his own soul, trying to reach a top rank…’
Ma Long had gifted two spiritual circles for Peng Jinghao’s mission: the Great Circle and the Summoning Circle.
If Jung had used both alone, awakening all potential, he could challenge a position only nine humans had ever achieved.
Traveling to the underworld was part of the <trial> in that process.
Exactly as Peng Jinghao intended.
‘But… Chairman Peng wouldn’t just hand over power willingly.’
In the end, Jung failed.
But he gained new power: the blessing of an underworld deity.
Could there be a better opportunity for a necromancer?
“Kak… you know what’s creepier?”
“What?”
“Wind Lord Supreme is the right-hand of Taesan Bugun, overseeing all kinds of underworlds. And—”
“Taesan Bugun is the grandson of the Jade Emperor.”
“Exactly. So,”
Son Wukong’s Hwa An-geum-jeong flared sharply.
“That’s essentially the Jade Emperor’s proxy. He didn’t just release the Jin Go-ah.”
The Jade Emperor suspected Lee Hyun might be connected to Son Wukong or Sa Oh-jeong.
‘Because of Peng and Xu Changyou’s friendship, Peng set a trap via Jung!’
Rumble…!
Gray wind spread, filling the room with chilling energy.
“Lee Hyun. Im Won-young. Just the two of you. Even now, he refuses to show himself.”
Jung stared at them, eyes dull, even after dying and returning.
[Myth, ‘Master of the Eerie Wind’ is instructed by the apostle to collect your souls and examine your karma.]
If the Jade Emperor or Taesan Bugun suspects them, there’s an easy way: kill them. Memories would remain in their souls.
Whether connected to Son Wukong or not, it wouldn’t matter.
As Wukong said, the deity doesn’t care much about mortal life and death.
“Yes. If he doesn’t come, we’ll make him. If we engulf this world in hellfire, he’ll eventually appear.”
[Combat Sense (S) warns of danger!]
“You will die first. Consider it an honor.”
Jung clenched his hands, ready to unleash all the power of Wind Lord Supreme to reveal the true face of the mountain god.
At that moment,
Whoosh-
Lee Hyun instinctively leaped forward.
No time to warn Im Won-young.
“Team Leader Jang!?”
The scent of death was overwhelming.
Combat sense nearly paralyzed.
A hellish, sulfurous wind boiled violently.
Crackle.
『Team Leader Im, take all your members and escape the lab! Now!』
Im Won-young hesitated, sensing the heatwave a beat too late.
Inside the corpse hill, black flames flickered.
Blink. Blink.
Ready to erupt.
