noveltune Chapter 233:
Chapter 233:
Red Tiger Group
“Are you insulting us right now?”
The leader of the Red Tiger Group asked with a fierce expression, but Mu-jin remained indifferent.
“If your master tries to kill you and you follow his orders without question, how are you different from a slave? Or perhaps, more like a dog?”
“How dare you slander our loyalty to the sect!”
The leader drew his sword in anger, but Mu-jin, still seated, merely smirked at him.
“Judging by your calmness in proceeding with the mission despite this situation, this isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. It seems the Red Tiger Group has caught the ire of someone high up in the sect?”
As he spoke what was obviously derived from a novel, the leader, who had drawn his sword, flinched unconsciously.
Since Ou-yang Pae joined the Red Tiger Group, the missions they were assigned were extremely dangerous, all leading to near-certain death.
Nevertheless, the reason the Red Tiger Group couldn’t refuse these missions was cloaked in loyalty or faith.
“Why don’t you be honest for once? It’s not about loyalty, is it? You follow orders because if you refuse, you’d be branded a traitor and executed on the spot, isn’t that right?”
Mu-jin’s words pierced deeply, causing the leader, who had drawn his sword bravely, to tremble in frustration, unable to swing it.
Ou-yang Pae, who had been quietly listening to the entire conversation, spoke up calmly.
“I didn’t realize your insight was this sharp. But surely you know, there’s only one option. As the saying goes, endure the hardships to exact revenge later. For now, we must improve our skills while carrying out their orders and bide our time.”
Mu-jin shook his finger left and right, indicating the flaw in Ou-yang Pae’s reasoning.
“That’s self-justification. You plan to endure and wait until an opportunity arises? Sure, with your talent and skill, you might survive, but in the meantime, other members of the Red Tiger Group will die one by one. Are you willing to dismiss their deaths as mere sacrifices for you?”
In the original novel, Ou-yang Pae openly rebelled against the sect’s upper echelon much later.
He managed to survive the heinous missions given to the Red Tiger Group, achieving great enlightenment and ultimately purging the sect of its corruption.
However, that was only possible if the story unfolded as it originally did. With Mu-jin’s intervention, the situation had changed.
Therefore, instead of relying on luck and hoping the story would follow its original course, Mu-jin decided to take proactive measures.
And he thought now was the perfect time for Ou-yang Pae to rebel against the sect.
“So what do you suggest? Should we rebel against the sect and become traitors right now?”
“Quite the opposite.”
“Opposite?”
As the two looked at him questioningly, Mu-jin decided it was the perfect moment to bring up ‘that story.’
“If the person you traveled all the way to the Southern Barbarians to assassinate from Taiyang Palace is none other than Geum Yang-hwi, isn’t it?”
“How did you know!?”
The leader exclaimed in surprise, while Ou-yang Pae, who hadn’t known the target’s identity, looked puzzled.
Seeing the leader’s shocked face, Mu-jin answered as if it were nothing.
“The only person in Taiyang Palace connected to the sect is Geum Yang-hwi, one of the sect’s Four Great Kings.”
At the pinnacle of the sect was the Heavenly Demon, with the Left and Right Guardians acting in his absence.
Below them were the Four Great Kings, who were like generals commanding the twenty martial divisions of the sect.
Although the martial skills of the Left and Right Guardians surpassed those of the Four Great Kings, Geum Yang-hwi was still among the top ten martial artists within the sect.
The reason Mu-jin aimed to resolve conflicts with Taiyang Palace through Mu-gung was precisely because of Geum Yang-hwi.
Despite being an outsider from the sect, Geum Yang-hwi used martial arts from the sect to secure a high position in Taiyang Palace.
‘No need to dwell on a plan that’s already fallen through.’
Clearing his mind, Mu-jin added.
“No reason is more suitable for pushing the Red Tiger Group to the brink than the pretext of eliminating a traitor like Geum Yang-hwi.”
“How do you know all this?”
The leader asked with suspicion and hostility, but Mu-jin shrugged.
“Isn’t the important thing now survival?”
“In that case, you should return to the sect. Use my name to save the members. Tell them I betrayed the sect and sided with Geum Yang-hwi, and they might spare you.”
In other words, he was ready to walk the path of a traitor.
Perhaps it was due to Ou-yang Pae’s character, who even in such a situation, was concerned about the members of the Red Tiger Group.
“We will not use your name to save ourselves.”
From the moment the leader first asked, he had already made up his mind.
Thud.
The leader, who had always acted as a superior to protect Ou-yang Pae from the upper echelon, knelt on one knee and pledged his allegiance.
“I, Neung Gok-hwan, leader of the Red Tiger Group of the Heavenly Demon Sect,
swear to follow Young Master Ou-yang Pae until my dying day.”
This was a vow that originally occurred years later in the story.
Seeing the leader suddenly kneel, Ou-yang Pae, looking somewhat troubled, replied.
“Please rise, Leader. Following me will put not only you but also the members in danger.”
“These are comrades I’ve shared life and death with for years. How could I not know their hearts? All the members share my sentiment.”
Ou-yang Pae’s assignment to the Red Tiger Group, and the upper echelon’s intent to eliminate the group alongside him, were due to its unique composition, which the leader Neung Gok-hwan was aware of.
Those assigned to the Red Tiger Group were individuals without backing.
They weren’t from prominent families within the sect nor had connections with the upper echelon.
The Red Tiger Group was composed of expendables.
This was a peculiar situation in the sect, where the foremost priority was pure martial prowess and the survival of the fittest.
The fact that such individuals gathered in the Red Tiger Group symbolized the sect’s corruption.
However, the decision to rebel wasn’t solely based on dissatisfaction with the sect.
“Moreover, Young Master has led us through countless battles over the past two years. We all know you are the true warrior worthy of the title of Heavenly Demon.”
The leader and the members of the Red Tiger Group believed in Ou-yang Pae himself.
“So please, ascend to the position of Heavenly Demon and cleanse the sect.”
At the leader’s plea, Ou-yang Pae closed his eyes in contemplation.
After a moment, when he opened his eyes, there was no hesitation left in them.
“It will be a path fraught with bloodshed. Will you still follow me?”
“The battles we’ve faced were no different. We will follow you until death, Young Master!”
Neung Gok-hwan, who proudly proclaimed this, knelt fully and bowed to Ou-yang Pae.
“May the Heavenly Demon descend, and may all demons bow!”
This was a chant used to praise the Heavenly Demon, but Neung Gok-hwan meant it differently.
He meant that the true Heavenly Demon would soon arrive, and all martial artists would bow to him.
Just as the prophecy in the doctrine foretold.
With a grateful face, Neung Gok-hwan completed his bow and looked up.
“Young Master! Is there anything you would like us to do?”
He asked this, eager to take on any task as a follower of the future Heavenly Demon.
Ou-yang Pae thought for a moment and then replied.
“For now, there is nothing to be done until we meet Geum Yang-hwi. However, when we return to the sect, investigate the spies.”
“Spies?”
“That man, Mu-jin, seemed to know too much. Too accurately, as if he had seen it himself.”
Unlike the naive Dao Yuetian, Ou-yang Pae was a suspicious man.