Chapter 564: Oldboy

Oldboy!

It was a classic Daeian movie. In the film, Oh Dae-su was arrested for drunkenness. After his friend picked him up from the police station, he was kidnapped and woke up in a sealed hotel room, where he remained trapped for the next 15 years. The same food was delivered to him daily through a trapdoor, and he could do nothing but watch the television. There was no sunlight, nor was he able to tell night from day. The only illumination in the room was the dim electric lighting that he had access to.

But Lee Jung-sook was even more ruthless than that.

“Do you think I’m being too ruthless?” Lee Jung-sook casually ruffled her hair, “Eat, or be eaten. Be nice to others, and they’ll step all over you. Or do you really think that… they deserve forgiveness?”

Having noticed that Lee Jung-sook had lost her memory, this family was planning to brainwash her and force her to marry a good-for-nothing jobless man. Had he been in her shoes, he would most certainly have reaped their souls at the earliest possible opportunity and subject them to the strictest punishments available in Hell.

None of these matter in Hell. Even if one cannot justifiably sentence them to punishment, there’s always plenty of hard labour that needs to be done.

“How dare you?!!!” Lee Hyomin screamed at the top of her voice and rushed in with a group of people following closely behind. She pointed at Lee Jung-sook in an accusing manner as she stormed over, “How dare you hook up with other men after marrying into our Lee family?! Look, everybody! You’re all eye-witnesses today! This is the daughter-in-law of the Lee family! What have I done to deserve this?!!”

“Tell me… how long have you been hooking up with this pretty boy?! Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death--...”

Lee Hyomin had just arrived in front of Lee Jung-sook when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her cheeks. A split second later, she felt her entire world spin about her and collapsed to the ground in a daze.

A bright red palm print appeared on her cheeks. At once, she began to wail at the top of her voice, “Everyone… You’re all witnesses to a travesty today!”

The crowd that had gathered behind to watch the commotion immediately exploded into a buzz. Just then, Lee Dae-jung burst through the crowd, “Mom! What’s the matter with you!”

“She even dares to hit her mother-in-law…” She howled wildly as she scrambled to her feet. Her son’s arrival must have filled her with courage, because she immediately charged forward boldly again, “Are you trying to take my life?! How dare you abdicate your duties to take care of your mother-in-law and your family?! And you even have the gall to ask us to take care of you?! I was just wondering where you’d gone to fetch a pail of water! To think you were here on the rooftop, seducing some young man!”

“Hurry! Right now!!”

“Here.” Lee Jung-sook waved her hands, and the commander immediately heaved a sigh of relief as he rushed over, “Why are you here? Do you know you gave us a huge scare? How are we supposed to explain things if something happened to you?!”

At once, all eyes fell on Lee Dae-jung and Lee Hyomin. Both of them were completely dumbfounded.

Three stars… We’re talking about the colonel! He’s the second-in-command around here! And the soldiers who keep us safe all this time are actually treating her like a god?!

Who the hell is she… At once, a wave of indescribable fear surged in their hearts. Unfortunately, their hearts soon sank even further when they saw Lee Jung-sook approach them with a group of bodyguards around her.

Even a fool could understand what was going on right now. Lee Dae-jung shuddered violently, “You… you… you’ve recovered your memory?”

“That’s right…” She smiled faintly, “I’d like to thank you for your kind hospitality all this while, so… I’ve prepared a special place just for the two of you. I assure you that it will be absolutely safe.”

Then, with two swift chops of their hands, the Lee family mother-and-son duo passed out without a sound.

Lee Jung-sook picked up an article of clothing that the bodyguard had handed over to her, and she began to straighten out her appearances, “Prepare a room and a computer for me. I don’t need any internet connection.”

………………………………………………………..

This was a tent that had been specially set up by the soldiers. The men in black were all standing guard immediately outside the tent, whilst several other mercenaries stood guard in another ring as an added defensive measure. In short, the security around the tent was so tight that not even a fly could break through. Qin Ye couldn’t help but feel awed by the sheer extent of Lee Jung-sook’s power and influence.

The tent was brightly lit. A computer had already been set up in the room, and a series of documents bearing the seal of Daehan’s Blue House had already been loaded onto the screen.

“I won’t look at these for now.” Qin Ye clicked on the ‘x’ button at the top right of the screen, and then turned to Lee Jung-sook, “What I truly want to know about is your interactions with the Russian Underworld over all these years.”

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Qin Ye continued to stare intently at her, “But I’d still like to hear you talk about it.”

Lee Jung-sook took a sip of coffee and glanced at Qin Ye with a bemused smile, “Alright. I don’t like owing others a favour either. But… let me think for a moment where best to begin.”

“It’s the same in the netherworld as well. I’ve crossed paths with several of these entities. After all, my position of power and influence here in Daehan naturally draws these entities to me. Over the last 50 years, those that have contacted me include spies from Nippon, Rus, and several other places. The Daehan Peninsula is a treacherous place. In fact, it might not even be an overstatement to say that it’s still a hotly-contested territory.”

Her gaze grew distant, almost as though she were looking back at the past, “It’s a long process. Then, some time later, a high official of the sect finally became its leader, setting the perfect stage for collaboration. And it was precisely for this reason that some time ago, around the 1940’s, Russian Emissaries finally got in touch with a man who held enough power and influence to change Daehan.”

What a familiar name… Qin Ye tried recalling who it was, but to no avail. Thus, he continued listening intently.

She sneered and took a sip from her cup of coffee, “It was the god of death.”

Qin Ye coughed dryly, “Do you really have to put things that way? It makes my heart beat faster…”

Qin Ye gasped in shock.

Shelving his thoughts, Qin Ye probed deeper, “Did she… believe him?”

1.

2. Some of this was in fact real, while other parts are naturally embellishments.