Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 906

It was always Kang Jin-ho who caused the incidents. And it was always Lee Hyun-soo’s job to clean them up.

From the moment the ship arrived at the port, Lee Hyun-soo was incredibly busy. No, he had to be busy.

But surprisingly, Lee Hyun-soo was feeling relaxed.

‘There’s nothing much to do?’

Compared to the messes he had cleaned up in the past, this one wasn’t that difficult.

He didn’t need to absorb the Yeongnam Association and reorganize the structure to ensure smooth management, like when he cleaned up the war between the Yeongnam Association and the General Assembly. Nor did he need to deal with the Yeongnam Association’s assets.

He didn’t need to be horrified by Kang Jin-ho’s injuries, like when Kang Jin-ho brought the Demonic Cult from China, nor did he need to accommodate a massive number of refugees. [The term ‘refugees’ is used here, but it’s unclear if they are actual refugees or just a large group of people displaced by the incident.]

He just needed to send the moderately injured guys to the hospital and send the rest back to their groups.

Thanks to that, Lee Hyun-soo was able to enjoy a rare, leisurely post-incident cleanup.

“Yes, Chief. Hahaha! It just turned out that way.”

[Still… wasn’t that a bit too big of a mess?]

“I tried to be careful, but it didn’t work out well.”

[Won’t the Japanese make an issue of it?]

“That won’t happen. Instead, those guys are still floating on the sea.”

[Yes? Floating on the sea?]

“Yes. They’ll probably send a ship from Japan. So, please turn a blind eye to that. If you try to stop that too, there might be real problems.”

[Hmm. Well, there’s nothing we can do. Anyway, I’m Korean too, so I did my best to cooperate when the Japanese attacked… but please refrain from making such big messes in the future. The world isn’t what it used to be. There are cameras everywhere.]

“We’re being careful too. But what can we do when those crazy bastards attack? Please take care of it.”

[The higher-ups are very uncomfortable.]

Lee Hyun-soo’s face contorted.

‘Seriously, whose side are these guys on?’ It wasn’t like they attacked first; the Japanese attacked, and they just fought back. Why are they picking on them? Should they just sit and take it to avoid causing trouble?

His stomach was churning, but Lee Hyun-soo maintained a cheerful voice as much as possible.

“I’m always grateful for your hard work. Please take care of it. I know you’ve worked hard, so I’ll prepare something substantial.”

[Hey, don’t say such things. If you receive something like that these days, you’ll lose your head, lose your head.]

“Everyone understands what we give. We’ll do it discreetly.”

[Well, if that’s the case.]

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wryly.

“Then, please take care of it.”

[I’ll try my best to report it well. There might be a request for cooperation. Please keep that in mind.]

“Of course.”

[Okay.]

As soon as the call ended, Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He wanted to curse a blue streak, but it wasn’t worth it. To be honest, what power does the chief have?

The position of chief is supposed to be held by someone with real power, a commander who can actually move the military, but that’s a thing of the past, a story from when there was a war.

But in today’s world, there are too many three-stars [a high-ranking military officer].

Even the Minister of National Defense gets cursed by members of the National Assembly, so what power does a mere chief have?

In the face of sensitive issues that could cause trouble with neighboring countries, a chief is nothing more than a mayfly. So, he has no choice but to whine.

‘Anyway, this is resolved.’

He didn’t expect that person to be able to solve anything anyway. That person is just a contact. The real solution will come from the higher-ups.

The relationship between the Murim world [a world of martial arts practitioners] and the revealed world is always like this.

They are fully aware of each other’s existence, yet they act as if they don’t know each other. They communicate only through specific routes and respond as if there was no prior agreement.

It was a ridiculous thing.

There wasn’t any particular grand reason.

It was just that the things they had been doing in the past had become ingrained as a custom. And they didn’t want to change it. Lee Hyun-soo found this way more convenient. If they acknowledged each other’s existence and started interacting, Lee Hyun-soo’s workload would increase.

‘If it can be settled with money, it’s a win.’

Lee Hyun-soo really thought so. It wasn’t that he undervalued money. Even though they were Murim practitioners, they were still living in a capitalist world.

He knew that money was more important than anything else in the world.

But if there was something that could be easily solved with money, he shouldn’t hesitate to spend it. You can always earn more money, but if things get tangled, there might be things that you can’t solve even if you pour in a fortune.

“Then, this is resolved.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

Of course, this wasn’t the end of it. There were many things he had to pay attention to in order to smooth things over. To shut up the politicians and high-ranking officials who were trying to get involved, his wallet would be quite sad for a while.

But it was okay. The important thing wasn’t money.

No matter how much money you have, you can’t raise a Murim practitioner. Spending money to protect those who can’t be replaced by money was not a waste at all.

“By now, it must be a mess.”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

He had made a call to Japan as Kang Jin-ho had instructed. He had spoken clearly and concisely, so how they interpreted it was up to them. But if the higher-ups over there weren’t complete idiots, they would have grasped the situation by now.

They were probably in a panic.

If Lee Hyun-soo had experienced the same thing, how terrible would it have been?

Just thinking about it made him want to whistle.

“Korea shouldn’t lose on the sea.”

“Yes?”

“…What do you mean ‘yes’?”

Lee Myung-hwan, who had approached him unnoticed, was looking at Lee Hyun-soo with a sulky expression.

“Boarding is complete.”

“Good. Go home.”

“…Is that it?”

“Then what else do you want me to do?”

Lee Myung-hwan had no retort to Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

‘This is a strange feeling.’

In the past, when they attacked Lee Joong-geol’s villa, there were more grand things than this. The level of the enemies they faced had risen sharply, but the work was finished much more cleanly, making it difficult to get a grasp on things.

“Make sure the guys don’t stray elsewhere.”

“Where would they stray to?”

“Don’t just let it go in one ear and out the other, you punk.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s serious tone made Lee Myung-hwan straighten up.

“Accidents happen the most at times like this. When your head is full of energy, but there’s nothing to do.”

“Yes.”

“If anyone causes trouble today, I’ll grind you up first. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes!”

Lee Myung-hwan answered with a full-spirited posture, and Lee Hyun-soo finally nodded.

“Let’s go back.”

Watching the buses depart, Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Click.

As he slowly took a drag, he finally felt that everything was over.

‘No, it’s just the beginning.’

Lee Hyun-soo took a deep drag of his cigarette.

It ended more easily than he had expected, so it didn’t feel real, but this was the first time since the Korean Murim world was established that they had been subjected to a full-scale invasion from another country. This was not something to be taken lightly.

Once something happens, it happens again.

If Japan invaded, China could invade too. Who could guarantee that this wouldn’t happen again?

‘Looking at it long-term, it’s not good news.’

The story that Kang Jin-ho stepped in and annihilated them would soon spread throughout the world. Therefore, those who were targeting Kang Jin-ho and the General Assembly would be preparing more thoroughly from now on.

‘It’s just a worry, but…’

Lee Hyun-soo rubbed his eyes.

There was no end to thinking like this. Every event in the world has both positive and negative aspects. Lee Hyun-soo always thinks about the negative aspects first when he sees something. It was a bad habit. It could make a person feel discouraged.

Now, he should just enjoy this victory.

‘It’ll be a mess here too, I guess.’

Everyone hadn’t realized it yet. But by tomorrow, they would realize it.

What they had accomplished.

Thinking about that scene, Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

It was then.

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes!”

Lee Hyun-soo sharply turned his body at the voice coming from behind him. Just by hearing the voice, he could tell who it was.

Lee Hyun-soo slightly trembled as he looked at Kang Jin-ho standing behind him.

‘I can’t get used to this.’ Whether it was that he couldn’t get used to it, or that the aftereffects of battle hadn’t left Kang Jin-ho, Kang Jin-ho when he was on the battlefield, Kang Jin-ho when he returned from the battlefield, and Kang Jin-ho in his normal state felt like completely different people.

“What are your orders?”

“Is the cleanup finished?”

“Yes! It’s mostly finished.”

“I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes!”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head even after answering.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to go home too.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly and turned his body.

“Ugh.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had arrived in front of his house, let out a low sigh.

‘This is also a problem.’

The fact that the fastest means of transportation from Samcheok to Seoul was his two legs was definitely a problem.

Kang Jin-ho usually tried not to use his martial arts as much as possible. He shouldn’t forget that he was living together in this society.

That’s why he tried to travel by car as much as possible, even if he could get there faster by running. That was also one of the reasons why he often drove the stuffy car that didn’t let the wind through.

But today, he wanted to go home quickly.

Was it because he was tired?

‘Outfit.’

Kang Jin-ho checked his outfit again. He had changed into clean clothes before leaving, but he still checked in case there was a problem on the way.

‘Smell.’

And he checked again to see if there was any smell of blood on his body. After finishing all the checks and checking again with his phone camera, Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath and headed home.

Beep beep.

The door lock was released, and the door opened.

‘Are they sleeping…’

“Hey!”

As soon as the door opened, something flew at him. Kang Jin-ho quickly caught what was flying at him.

‘A cushion?’

“What time is it! This guy is crazy, staying out all night? I thought things had been quiet lately…”

Kang Eun-young, who was running like an angry bull, faltered.

“A tracksuit?”

“A tracksuit I haven’t seen before?”

“Uh…”

Kang Eun-young clenched her fist and trembled, then turned her body sharply.

“W-wait a minute…”

“Mommmmmmmmmmmmm! Mommmmmmmmmmmmm! Oppa went somewhere and sold his clothes and came back wearing new clothes! Mommmmmmmmmmmmm!”

“What?!”

The door to the master bedroom burst open, and Baek Hyun-jung rushed out.

“What’s this?”

Baek Hyun-jung, who had scanned Kang Jin-ho from head to toe, pointed at the sofa with her finger.

“Sit down.”

Kang Jin-ho sat down on the sofa obediently.

“Spill it, what happened. From the beginning to the end.”

“Hurry.”

It might be a little strange to say that he liked this peace.

But Kang Jin-ho was now realizing that he had left the battlefield and returned home.

Yes, home.

Yes, family.

Incredibly warm and joyful…

“Are you smiling?”

No, honestly, it doesn’t seem joyful right now.