Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1306. Infiltrating (1)

This is illogical.

Then again, life was never logical. Or fair, for that matter.

Some people were born in wealthy households and didn’t have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, others were unfortunate enough to be born in desperately poor families and had to worry constantly about where their next meal came from.

Activities and other wise people all over the world endlessly preached about the value of equality, but anyone who had experienced even a little bit of what the world was like would know how much of a lie that was.

Talking about fairness in a world where someone looked like Greek god statues coming to life while some others looked like walking squids was a futile waste of time.

Despite this fact, though...

Even so, this is too illogical!

Maybe that was why humanity kept improving its civilization.

Humans tried to compensate for all the fundamental differences in people, and experimented with various systems and structures to create a world where everyone could theoretically get their opportunities.

Unfortunately, these systems and structures acted like a noose tightening around Kang Jin-Ho’s throat, and there wasn’t much he could do about it, other than lament his fate.

What a strange thing this was. Weren’t such systems and structures meant to bring happiness to all humanity? So why...?!

Vator casually shrugged. “My opinion? It’ll be better to take Lee Hyeon-Su with you, master.”

“...”

“Of course, I’m not doubting your strength, master. But life has a knack for throwing curveballs called variables at your face.”

“He’s right, my lord,” Wiggins spoke up next. “I always say this, but! If things always go according to plan, we’d never fight wars ever again. But plans going awry is inevitable. Although I loathe to admit it, that fool’s ability to counter variables is exceptional, my lord. Taking him along will help you.”

While looking stupefied, Kang Jin-Ho pointed at Lee Hyeon-Su. “That baggage will? You sure?”

“My lord, knowing your strength, I’m sure one piece of extra baggage won’t even slow you down.”

Even though that baggage didn’t look all that light?

Kang Jin-Ho urgently scanned the room until his gaze landed on Bang Jin-Hun next.

The Martial Assembly had three directors right now. Meanwhile, the demon cult’s elder, Chang Min, enjoyed a status equal to that of the directors. No, his status might be higher than that! In any case...

With Chang Min currently abroad, Bang Jin-Hun siding with Kang Jin-Ho would mean the vote would split evenly. That was the last ray of hope for...

Bang Jin-Hun spoke up. “Sir? Just think of it as enjoying an overseas vacation and take him with you.”

“...!”

“I mean, let’s be real. If you go alone, you most likely do the job and come home right away. Isn’t that boring, though? Since you’ve been through a lot recently, just think of it as a chance to recharge. Unwind.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at Bang Jin-Hun and his smug grin and grinned right back.

Yup, this guy is not right in the head, too.

The Crimson King’s faction was busy sharpening their knives and gritting their teeth right now, yet what should Kang Jin-Ho do in their backyard? Enjoy a vacation?! Seriously?

Kang Jin-Ho began to seriously ponder the severity of this situation.

When I think about it, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Soldiers fighting in wars suffered from PTSD without fail, so imagine martial artists who basically lived their entire life stuck in unending battles. Expecting them to be sane-minded was being unrealistic.

Even if various mind techniques were protecting their minds...

Now I remember. There weren’t that many sane people back in ancient Zhongyuan, too.

Most cultivators who got older and experienced the trials and tribulations offered up by Gangho would become cynical and cold-hearted. Or, if that was the incorrect explanation, maybe their personalities were already problematic, to begin with—just like the demon cult believers!

Maybe the idea of mandatory trauma counseling should be looked at more seriously and not as a joke.

Kang Jin-Ho silently scratched his forehead. Not only would trauma counseling help with the Assembly members’ mental wellbeing, it could also go a long way in improving the Assembly’s combat strength. After all, those not suffering from trauma should fight better than those suffering from it.

Unfortunately, there was a pragmatic problem to consider.

And that’s the question of the doctors.

For an effective counseling session, the patient must reveal their feelings and psychological scars to a doctor. But talking about battles within the martial world to a psychiatrist from the surface world would be difficult, to say the least.

For one, revealing information regarding the martial world to outsiders carried significant risk. Besides, the odds of most psychiatrists treating what the martial artists said as wacky daydreams were pretty high, too.

Which meant a counseling center had to be established within the Martial Assembly, and a psychiatrist meeting all the requirements must be found somehow, but...

Hmm, I wonder. Is there any practicing psychiatrist with a martial arts background?

If there were none right now, what if the Assembly started nurturing them...?

Wiggins tilted his head and asked Kang Jin-Ho. “My lord? What are you thinking about with such a deep frown on your face?”

“Oh. I was thinking about setting up a mental hospital inside the Assembly.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho finally realized what he had blurted out just now from all the silent protests coming from his companions.

He urgently waved his hand. “H-hang on, it’s not what you all think...”

Bang Jin-Hun started first. “No, it’s fine, sir. Dictatorship is not a bad idea, after all.”

Vator followed up. “Well, at least a nuthouse will give me free food, and on time too, so there’s that.”

Wiggins finished off with, “Actually, this sounds like a good idea. After the recent publishing of the Assembly’s official rules, we were wondering if we need to build a special prison, you see?”

Just from when did this place start going wrong?

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but feel doubt for some reason.

“In any case, sir. Please take Lee Hyeon-Su with you.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow slightly. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea...”

Wiggins shook his head. “We can’t help you on this one, my lord. How about we lay everything out in the open and be honest for once?”

Kang Jin-Ho wanted to applaud Wiggins for his Korean vocabulary improving so much lately. It was just that the verbal assault utilizing that vocabulary was directed at Kang Jin-Ho, and that saddened him quite a bit.

“My lord, do you think it’s possible for us to let you go to China alone?”

“Why can’t you?”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t understand what Wiggins was trying to say.

Of course, he acknowledged that enemies strong enough to threaten him existed in China. He failed to win that intense battle against the Crimson King. The other two Kings should be just as strong as the Crimson King too, which meant they would prove just as tricky to fight if things came down to that.

But that logic only applied if Kang Jin-Ho was going to China to fight them. Since he said he didn’t want to fight the Three Kings and would unhesitantly escape alone if he ran into trouble, what could possibly be the problem here?

“Let’s say you went to China alone. My lord, do you honestly think you’ll be in touch with us?”

“...!”

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth shut.

“How will we know if something happens to you? Or when you begin your operation? How will we know when to provide support?”

“Well, uh...”

“My lord, don’t even think about telling us that you will stay in touch. A man is judged by their behavioral patterns. Things spoken in a spur of the moment to escape a tight spot are not trustworthy.”

Why was Wiggins so good with Korean today? This was beginning to irritate Kang Jin-Ho.

“Lee Hyeon-Su isn’t accompanying you to keep an eye on you. And don’t think of him as baggage, either. My lord, he’s more like... Mm, yes. Let’s call him an alarm system.”

Kang Jin-Ho sneakily turned his head to look at Lee Hyeon-Su, but the latter betrayed his boss’s expectations by smiling contentedly while nodding in agreement.

How could he smile like that after being called an alarm system!

It was as if Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t care what people called him as long as he could travel to China.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly rubbed his face.

How... Just how did things get here?

He began missing the Martial Assembly at the beginning of his rule. Back then, just a slight little fake cough from him was enough to tense everyone up in the room, but now...

That was when what Kang Yu-Hwan said in the past suddenly popped up in Kang Jin-Ho’s mind.

Ah... Ah, father. So this is how it feels.

He wanted to apologize to his father for not understanding a piece of advice that came from life experience.

“If you still insist on going alone, we can’t stop you, my lord. However, please remember that all the directors have recommended taking Lee Hyeon-Su with you.”

It must be the first time in Kang Jin-Ho’s life that the words “We can’t stop you” scared him like this.

In the end, it was Kang Jin-Ho who waved the white flag of surrender. “Fine. Fine. I’ll take him with me.”

“Yes, my lord. You’ve made the right decision.”

“Kuh-uh~! A victory for democracy!” Vator cackled loudly.

Even Bang Jin-Hun chimed in. “An Assembly Master who actually cares about the members’ opinions!”

Kang Jin-Ho was suddenly tempted to rip those mouths wide open just then. After feeling the mental fatigue, he leaned against the couch.

Wiggins grinned. “Please do try to understand, my lord. After all, our analysis has told us that this matter is not as straightforward as it looks on the surface. And it’s impossible to predict what might happen with so many moving parts in play.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered.

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled, too. “Honestly, sir? I find this whole thing surreal. It’s not like you’re a spy infiltrating the North, you know? So why would the government want you to go to China and hunt down a North Korean hiding there?”

Lee Hyeon-Su corrected what Bang Jin-Hun said. “Sir, the government never officially asked the Assembly Master to do that.”

“Isn’t that like splitting hairs?” Bang Jin-Hun tutted softly.

Lee Hyeon-Su could only shrug. “Well, I wonder. If I’m being honest, I think the government made a smart move this time. Whether it’s pretext or morality... None of those things should triumph the Korean citizens’ wellbeing in the eyes of the government. So, the government should be ready to do whatever it takes to deal with threats to national security.”

“Even if that means murder?”

“The target this time deserves to die, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun couldn’t help but chuckle just then.

A man like him, who had spent decades in this world, would obviously not feel disgusted by the idea of murder. His problem this time, though, was that the one making this request wasn’t some individual, but the dang Korean government!

Since Bang Jin-Hun lacked such a side to him, he wished the government could be a little more upstanding and upheld its own laws instead. Of course, he still understood the pragmatic reasons behind this request.

“It’s already been decided, so no point in debating about it now,” said Kang Jin-Ho, putting an end to Bang Jin-Hun’s argument right there.

“Understood, sir,” Bang Jin-Hun didn’t complain and obediently stopped there.

It wasn’t as if he was deeply dissatisfied, of course. No, he was just curious.

Any martial artist wishing to escape from the life of crime and murder should just wash their hands off of the martial world altogether.

“Let me say this now, since you seem to forget every once in a while, but...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew somber as he spoke.

“We might have gone legit recently and stopped getting involved in illegal activities, but that doesn’t mean our crimes have been washed away. We are still criminals. Parasites of society who suck the lifeblood of ordinary people.”

“Wowsers, my lord. That’s harsh.”

Kang Jin-Ho cleanly ignored Wiggins’ exaggerated response and finished his point.

“Do not forget. Even the criminals disparaged by society are more upstanding than us.”

“Yes, we know, sir...” Bang Jin-Hun nodded, his expression somewhat bitter.

Despite knowing it, he and others sometimes would forget that painful fact. That happened more frequently after Kang Jin-Ho became the Assembly Master and the Martial Assembly stopped getting involved in criminal activities.

Right. All of our past sins won’t just go away like that.

The Martial Assembly’s growth and survival owed a lot to crime. The former Assembly Master, Lee Jung-Geol, didn’t hesitate to clean up the administration’s messes. No matter how immoral and inhumane, he gladly did them, and that was how he earned the administration’s protection.

That was certainly a dark period in the Assembly’s history, but it was undeniable that those events had helped this organization at least continue surviving till this day.

As a man who benefited from the Martial Assembly’s fortunes, Bang Jin-Hun was not an innocent bystander of this dark history, either.

“At least, this ‘job’ isn’t anything to be ashamed about, wouldn’t you agree?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked.

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho could only chuckle at that. He found Lee Hyeon-Su’s mindset of not being ashamed about assassinating someone rather funny. But what was even funnier was himself almost nodding along in agreement.

Let’s not ponder too deeply about this.

It wouldn’t be too late to think about all these things after the job was taken care of.

“Lee Hyeon-Su.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Work with others to get us a definitive itinerary.”

“Understood. I’ll get on it right away.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

China, is it...

Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze shifted toward the West, beyond the office’s window.

How funny was this? Even though this matter was dangerous and could become rather troublesome later, too...

But it also felt like Kang Jin-Ho’s blood had begun circulating faster at the thought of going there.

Kang Jin-Ho smiled inwardly so that others couldn’t see it.