Invincible with Twin Swords

Chapter 16 : Blood Eagle Man, Wang Parip!

This time, I saw a familiar ceiling.

It was the annex where the guests of the Blood Dragon Sect stayed. In short, my room.

I seem to be losing consciousness too often these days.

Was my training insufficient?

I looked around and saw Deoksam sleeping on the floor this time, snoring.

Still, he loyally keeps his post.

I kicked the loyal Deoksam's butt with the technique of the Formless Divine Kick and woke him up.

"What happened? What about the Greenwood Tyrant King?"

Deoksam muttered, rubbing his eyes like a bear that had just woken up from hibernation.

"He's gone, he's gone."

Did it go well?

"On the table over there... the grand leader said that's a gift for you, hyungnim. The Greenwood Token!"

I looked at the table and saw a palm-sized golden token. On it, 'Greenwood Tyrant King, Jang Dal' was engraved in a fancy script.

"He just gave me this and left? How did the duel end?"

"Hyungnim, do you really not remember anything?"

The Greenwood Tyrant King had carried me, who had collapsed on the duel stage, himself. He stayed by my side and, after confirming the doctor's words that I would be fine after some rest, he left with all the greenwood disciples.

"Is there anything else? About you, Deoksam. Did he say anything like, use it and return it later?"

"Am I some kind of object? To be used and returned?"

"Then I don't have to return it."

"It just seemed to me that the grand leader acknowledged you, hyungnim. I could feel it in the way he looked at you when you were collapsed. He said to stop by the main stronghold on your way."

But would I really have a reason to visit the mountain bandits' main stronghold?

"By the way, what is this Greenwood Token? If I have this, can I call the Greenwood Eighteen Strongholds in an emergency and use them as I please? Or is it something like, 'He who holds this token must be treated as the Greenwood Tyrant King!'?"

As expected, men get closer by fighting.

At the end of a life-and-death struggle, the Greenwood Tyrant King had no choice but to acknowledge it.

The man that is me...

"Ah, that? It's just something for self-introduction? It seemed like the grand leader gives one to everyone he meets for the first time. He probably carries around two hundred of them? I think I have three or four too."

Ah? Ah! So that's what it is.

Suddenly, the door burst open and the Blood Dragon Sect leader came in.

"How is your body? I was very worried."

The Blood Dragon Sect leader, who was asking about my well-being, was wearing a Greenwood Token identical to mine as a necklace. He had even unbuttoned his clothes in case it wasn't visible.

"Well, I'm fine. I think I'll be able to leave after resting for a few more days."

The Blood Dragon Sect leader showed a disappointed expression at my words that I was leaving, but I saw it. The overflowing joy hidden behind that expression!

"It's a pity that you're leaving like this! There was a path of a martial artist that I wanted to share with you, Great Hero Jin. But since you have a big plan, I can't hold you back."

"I'm also sad to leave. Because you, the Sect Leader, treated me so well. So I plan to come back after finishing a few things."

The corners of the Blood Dragon Sect leader's mouth, which had been raised to the sky, stiffened awkwardly.

"Ah... why? Do you have to? You must be busy."

The Blood Dragon Sect is the only thin thread to the Demonic Cult that I have found.

I have to hold on to it somehow.

"Haha. It won't take long, so don't be too sad, Sect Leader. That bear-like fellow will also come back with me, so please keep our quarters empty."

He's the sect leader, but it must feel like he's not. It must feel like the guest is the sect leader and the sect leader is the guest.

I have taken control of this Blood Dragon Sect. It's good to be a guest of a third-rate underworld sect because I don't stand out.

I added another word to the disappointed Blood Dragon Sect leader.

"Ah! One more person might come when I return. Please prepare a place for them in advance."

I should just set up house here for a while.

* * *

"Who are you going to pick up?"

Deoksam asked while packing his luggage. His luggage was just a large axe. I told him to wrap it in cloth and carry it around because it was too brutal to look at and would scare people if he just carried it.

Mountain bandits have no consideration for other people at all.

Well, if a mountain bandit was considerate, he would starve to death.

"A person who has all the information of the Central Plains in his head. A person who can track the traces of the Demonic Cult most secretly!"

The vice-commander of the Azure Blade Unit.

Blood Eagle Man, Wang Parip!

He was one of the top ten assassins in the Central Plains before the Righteous-Demonic War.

He made it to the 'Top Ten Assassins of the Central Plains' by perfectly handling all thirty-five commissions. He was the only one who had such results while working alone without belonging to an assassin group.

He was more famous for warning his target in advance before eliminating them.

He would carve a small hawk shape out of red sandalwood and leave it by their pillow while they were asleep.

No one knew how he brought it, and after the red hawk was discovered, no matter how tight the security was, they were found as a corpse a month later.

This is what gave him the nickname Blood Eagle Man.

"He's an amazing person. But he's one of the top ten assassins, and it's only thirty-five people?"

"Wang Parip doesn't kill just anyone. He only took commissions for those who had violated women and killed children. Among them, he gave top priority to commissions for those who had raped and killed young girls."

Wang Parip has a painful memory.

Having to live with such a memory for a lifetime is something no one can endure.

The goal he had pursued his whole life ended in vain. That's why he was always alone even after joining the Azure Blade Unit.

He was always sitting in the shadows, carving a small hawk with a small knife. If he hadn't opened his heart to me and confessed his entire past, he would have lived and died without ever getting out of the shadow of the past.

"But if he's an assassin, shouldn't he handle things secretly and without anyone knowing? Why did he send such a carving to warn them in advance?"

"It would be better for you to hear that story from him directly. It's not a story I can tell."

Of course, if I get to meet him...

The reason I'm looking for him is not just to secretly track the Demonic Cult. Of course, there is no one better for that job.

There was another, bigger reason why I had to find Wang Parip.

I am the only person who knows his past and future.

I have a duty to pull him out of the endless abyss of pain he is in.

"If he's an assassin, it will be hard to find him, won't it?"

"There's a rumor that a certain escort agency in Nanning, Guangxi is urgently recruiting masters. On the condition of escorting the agency head for a month."

"He must have received a red hawk."

"That's right. There must be no shortage of skilled escorts, but the fact that they are urgently recruiting masters for the purpose of escorting the agency head means only one thing. We're going there."

"So the two of us just have to go in as escorts?"

Bears are smart animals.

This large bear sitting in front of me proves it.

We set off with the farewell of the Blood Dragon Sect leader.

The sect leader told us to take our time, very slowly, and solve our business perfectly before coming back.

He must be very sad that we are leaving for a while.

Tears even welled up in his eyes. I should come back quickly for the sake of the Blood Dragon Sect leader.

* * *

The northern part of Guangxi was rich in timber resources due to its lush forests. It was also famous for its camellia oil. It was a prosperous place where many people gathered to live because the winters were short and the weather was warm all year round.

Thanks to that, many escort agencies were gathered in Nanning, Guangxi, and among them, the Subduing Dragon Escort Agency was the number one in terms of scale.

Subduing Dragon Escort Agency.

A large, ornately decorated sign hung as grand as the huge estate, and carts full of luggage and people were constantly coming and going.

"I came here because I heard you are recruiting ronin."

As expected, the guards' eyes turned to Deoksam. The sight of a bear-like build with something huge wrapped in cloth on his back was overwhelming even for me.

In fact, even in the inns we stopped by on our way here, the noisy inns would become quiet as if cold water had been poured on them when we entered. Thanks to that, we were able to come quietly without any trouble.

"Ah, should I announce that both of you are applying?"

Thanks to Deoksam, his tone is polite.

"Tell them that 'Jade-Faced Divine Dragon' and 'Mad Wind Blood Axe' from the Blood Dragon Sect have come!"

Only then did the guard's gaze turn to me, and he frowned and tilted his head.

The 'Axe' in Mad Wind Blood Axe means an axe, so he would guess that what Deoksam is carrying is an axe. Then 'Jade-Faced Divine Dragon' is only me, so why is he tilting his head?

I couldn't understand.

"You may enter."

* * *

The head of the Subduing Dragon Escort Agency was a pretty sharp master.

Usually, the heads of escort agencies are people who are more interested in wealth than martial arts. That's why many of them neglect their training and focus on the operation of the escort agency.

But the man in front of me had a different momentum. I could feel the sword-tip-like energy that can only be felt from a martial artist who constantly trains himself.

And it was the energy of an upright martial artist who always walks the righteous path!

If I didn't know the fact that he had received the Blood Eagle Man's red hawk, I would have considered him a trustworthy person.

As expected, you can't judge a person by their appearance alone.

"Here is a letter of guarantee written by Ma Yeonggeol, the sect leader of the Yunxian Blood Dragon Sect."

An escort agency of this scale would do business with both the righteous and unorthodox factions without discrimination.

They would have at least heard of the name of the Blood Dragon Sect.

The letter of guarantee stated that we were reliable martial artists and that we had made many contributions to the development of the Blood Dragon Sect.

With the confirmation that the Blood Dragon Sect leader guaranteed all of it.

Well, it's a fact.

"You must have heard the rumors, but the Blood Eagle Man appeared out of nowhere. When I woke up, this was on my pillow."

The agency head placed a small red carving on the table.

A red hawk with its wings wide open!

My eyes grew hot at the sight of the hawk decoration.

I remembered the image of Wang Parip sitting in the shade of a tree, holding a small knife and carving a hawk.

The hawks of that time always had their wings folded.

My heart ached as I remembered the image of Wang Parip silently carving the hawk. Having lost his lifelong goal, he could only carve the image of folded wings.

"You all know very well what it means to become the target of the Blood Eagle Man, don't you?"

I nodded silently.

"A strange rumor has spread, and I'm in a very difficult situation. I, Gil Wancheong, the head of the number one escort agency in Nanning, the Subduing Dragon Escort Agency."

No matter how much you try to hide it, you can't stop such a rumor.

It was widely known in the world that the targets of the Blood Eagle Man were only those who had done terrible things to young girls. Everyone who had received a red hawk vehemently denied it and argued that something was wrong, but they were found as corpses without exception.

It was unknown whether the terrible deed was true and they deserved to die, or whether the Blood Eagle Man had killed them by mistake.

Because both the dead and the Blood Eagle Man said nothing.

"Someone must have framed me and put in a false commission! I must correct this."

"In that case, do you, the agency head, want us to catch the Blood Eagle Man and then reveal to the world through his mouth that all these commissions are false?"

"N-no. Would an assassin who goes around taking people's lives in the dark even be able to communicate? Just kill him on sight."

This guy is probably a proper target who deserves to die.

Wang Parip said that he always thoroughly investigated in case he might kill an innocent person. He also said that the fact that he had never made a single mistake did not mean that there was no one he couldn't kill, but that there was no one he had killed by mistake.

"I understand. You don't have to worry too much."

"He's just an assassin, isn't he? It's a relief that two such reliable people have come. When the job is done, I will reward you handsomely."

And as if someone might be listening, he lowered his voice and said.

"Actually, I'm not too worried. Great Hero Neung Saun is here right now!"

Red-Eyed Strange Buddha, Neung Saun.

How desperate was he to call such a guy...

To bring him here, the agency head must have promised an unimaginable amount of money.

He was a pretty famous big shot in the unorthodox faction.

He was famous not only for his skills, but also for his ferocious and cruel personality.

Probably in terms of sins committed, this guy should die first.

When he was young, one of his eyes was red due to an unknown illness, and perhaps as a side effect of the illness, his personality was very ferocious.

He was also famous for his innate divine strength, and he handled a large mountain-cutting saber as lightly as if he were swinging chopsticks.

A mountain-cutting saber is a very large saber, as big as Deoksam's axe, and as its name, which means to make a mountain tremble, suggests, it belongs to the category of very heavy weapons.

He shaved his head himself and wandered around the Central Plains, saying he would spread the teachings of Buddha, but countless people died at his hands for no reason. He killed everyone who didn't please him, including women and even children.

He was a guy who deserved to die, but everyone just left him alone, as if passing the buck to each other. This is the reality of the so-called prestigious righteous sects.

"Great Hero Neung will escort me from close by! The two of you can guard my quarters from the outside."

Even if not Neung Saun, but all one hundred and eight arhats of Shaolin came to protect him, the Blood Eagle Man, Wang Parip, would achieve his goal.

His purpose is not to win. It's to kill.

Without anyone knowing!

My original plan was to escort the agency head from right next to him. That's the only way I can meet Wang Parip. If we just loiter outside, we will miss him too. Then we might never find him.

"Hmm... will Great Hero Neung Saun be enough? Well, he has a reputation, but isn't he insufficient to stop the Blood Eagle Man?"

"Ah, still, if it's Great Hero Neung, it's enough..."

"This kind of work requires delicacy. Did you, the agency head, feel the sharpness of handling things without a single flaw from Great Hero Neung?"

The agency head's expression stiffened.

He must be anxious. Because that guy is far from that kind of thing.

"Leave the closest escort to us! We've come a long way, wouldn't it be more comfortable for us to go back with the agency head's neck attached?"

The agency head, as if anxious, stroked his own neck and began to examine the two of us again.

I exuded the blade-like sharpness I had shown the Blood Dragon Sect leader during my 'Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood' days without hiding it.

And Deoksam has a pressure that can be felt even when he's just standing still.

"Ah... still, I think I need to think about this a bit. I've already asked Great Hero Neung in advance."

His own neck is on the line, so he has to be careful.

"In that case, let's do this. Wouldn't we know if Great Hero Neung and we cross swords? Who is suitable for the closest escort."

"Ah, then who among the two of you...?"

"Here, the Mad Wind Blood Axe, Han Deoksam, will step up!"

Deoksam's eyes widened.

(End of Chapter)