novelraw Chapter 168 : Gunpowder and Steel Marble
Chapter 168 : Gunpowder and Steel Marble
Chapter 168: Gunpowder and Steel Marble
There existed a force in the Central Plains known as the Blood Heaven Cult.
A cult founded to worship the Blood-Heaven God, a deity unfamiliar to most within the Central Plains.
With its alien customs and bizarre sorcery, the cult was branded heretical and subjected to relentless persecution and humiliation.
This fostered in them a deep-seated hatred and thirst for vengeance—turning all of the Central Plains into their enemy.
“But when our god descends upon this world, all our persecution and humiliation shall be repaid with glory...”
Beyond a crimson curtain, the Blood Cult Leader murmured something like a prophecy.
The Central Plains were overflowing with the suffering poor and the ignorant masses.
Those gathered here had once groaned under the rule of a deluding court and Murim clans.
Yet, by the grace of the Blood-Heaven God, each of them had been granted their own salvation.
“Cult Leader, it took some time, but we have recovered the body of the Left Blood Law.”
One of the Blood Cultists who had infiltrated the Murim Alliance as a spy bowed his head and reported in front of a corpse.
Sliding aside the crimson curtain, the Blood Cult Leader confirmed the body of the returned Left Blood Law with his own eyes.
There was a faint trace of sorrow and rage on his revealed face.
Though he had scolded him harshly in the past for repeated failures, he hadn’t wanted to lose him so meaninglessly.
“Also, traces of blood sorcery were found on his body.”
The Right Blood Law spoke in a subdued voice.
A sorcerous language etched into one’s body by a Blood Cultist themselves.
When blood was splashed over the forearm, three names rose vividly despite the passage of time.
‘Heaven-Slaying Star Murong Cheonghye. Interferers Jo Harang, Dan Mujin.’
This had been inscribed before the Left Blood Law had discovered the truth about the Heaven-Slaying Star.
“I can understand Murong Cheonghye being chosen as a vessel for divine grace, but I cannot for the life of me understand why the name Dan Mujin keeps echoing in my ears.”
A situation where the cult’s Blazing Flame master had returned as a corpse. Where had it all started going wrong?
By this point, not only the cultists but even the Blood Cult Leader watching silently was at a loss for words.
“Dan Mujin… why does this man keep getting in our way?”
It had been the same during the surprise attack on the Murim Alliance using thunderburst bombs and blood sorcery, at the cliffs of Liaoning during the attempt to kidnap the Heaven-Slaying Star, and now with the Jiangshi incident in the Jinju Eon Clan.
Everywhere the hand of the Blood Cult reached, this man would appear and overturn everything. As if he bore some deep-seated grudge against the cult.
“Why is he always tangled up with the great cause of our cult?”
The Blood Cult Leader was voicing the very question Dan Mujin would have wanted to ask.
From beyond the curtain, he shut his eyes tight and offered an earnest prayer toward the blood-filled urn.
‘O Blood-Heaven God, I strive to follow your prophecy, yet the path ahead of the cult is so unclear.’
All they needed was the Heaven-Slaying Star who would serve as their vessel. Yet each time they pursued the prophecy, this strange troubleshooter would entangle himself in their affairs.
‘…….’
But despite the cult leader’s desperate plea, the blood within the urn reflected no future.
At the Blood-Heaven God’s silence, the Blood Cult Leader clenched his teeth.
“Cult Leader, what should we do with the body of the Left Blood Law?”
The Right Blood Law asked, looking down at the corpse that had once attained the realm of Blazing Flame.
“Prepare the Great Ritual. He shall be reborn, and serve the cult once more.”
The three names etched in life.
The revenge would be fulfilled—by his own hand, not another’s.
“Rise, Left Blood Law.”
For in the Blood Cult, death was not the end, but merely another beginning.
Their bewitching sorcery and blood arts, which had mesmerized so many, began to stir again within their secret sanctuary.
*
There comes a time in life when everything just… clicks.
Most people, drunk on the sweet taste of success, assume that moment will last forever.
But that’s precisely when you need to be most cautious. Luck always has two sides, and it often comes hand-in-hand with disaster.
I once didn’t know that—and ended up with a knife in my gut.
“M-Mujin, I’m sorry! I’m now the Wildcat of Mount Song...!”
Jo Harang suddenly burst through the office door and threw out that ominous line—then disappeared like she was fleeing from her own words.
Before I could even question her, she vanished, tormented by her own self-loathing.
“What the hell.”
She’d always taken pride in calling herself a tiger—sticking it into her nickname, her weapon name, everything. Now she was calling herself a wildcat?
A bad feeling began to slither up from the corner of my chest.
“I really don’t like this.”
Could it be that her identity as the Purple Tenuity Star had been exposed?
She herself had insisted it be kept tightly under wraps.
At this rate, heading over to the Eunseong Trading Company’s training ground for practice was starting to feel like a death wish.
“What the hell is going on?”
Just like that, my good mood was doused in cold water, replaced by a whirlwind of worry.
And then, Ilhong, having just returned from an errand, told me something after overhearing an old man’s movements.
“Boss, I think your master’s looking for you.”
“……”
The instant she said that, a sense of impending doom surged in my mind.
So… Hwang Geolgae had found out after all.
Realizing this, I grabbed Ilhong’s hand and said,
“Ilhong.”
“Yes?”
“We should lay low and avoid the office for a while.”
“Ehh? But business is booming right now?”
Ilhong’s face clearly said she didn’t get it.
Yeah, business had picked up. That was true.
But having lived through enough, I’d learned there were things more important than money or customers.
Like, say… staying alive.
“Let’s take a break and go out for a meal, just the two of us.”
Though it was still broad daylight, her face lit up at the idea of closing shop to get something good to eat.
“Just… the two of us?”
“No? We’ll pick up Jo Harang on the way. She’s part of the office too.”
It’d be cruel to leave someone out when you’re eating out. That always stings.
Besides, there were a few things I needed to press her about.
“…Aha. Okay, sure.”
Her mood brightened and then sank just as fast. A girl at that age—no wonder her emotions were all over the place.
“Well then, let’s just get some dumplings and noodles at the inn nearby—”
Just as I reached for the doorknob to head out, I suddenly sensed a strange presence on the other side of the door and instinctively flipped the lock.
Click.
Ilhong stared at me with a “what are you doing…?” look in her eyes.
But I’d already sensed that unmistakable movement—the way someone glided silently like a ghost from far away.
When you get hit by that technique for years, you develop an unnatural ability to detect it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A pounding on the door, as if demanding I open up immediately.
Was this some kind of sixth sense? I hadn’t heard a word, but I already knew who that shadow beyond the door belonged to.
“Sorry, we’re closed today. No more customers.”
“Cut the crap and open the door, you insane disciple.”
Of course it was him.
I glared in the direction Jo Harang had fled and silently cursed.
“If you don’t come out, I’m busting down the door.”
“Hey, that door’s expensive. If you break it, you’ll have to pay for it. Not that a broke bum like you could afford to.”
“Hmph, this stupid wooden door? How expensive could it be?”
From beyond the door, I could feel qi beginning to stir—nature’s energy being drawn toward him.
He was ready to smash through and storm inside.
“How about I rat you out to the Beggars’ Union? I’ll tell them you’re here. Along with all your usual haunts—your drinking spots, your lazy-day hangouts. I’ll spill it all. Hmm?”
“……”
The one thing that old man ever cared about in this world was the beggars and the operatives of the Beggars’ Union in Beijing.
And ever since the union started letting them in again, he’d been busy avoiding them day and night.
Because every time he met them, they’d cling to his pants begging him to return as their Sect Leader. It was a pain in the ass.
“…You dare threaten your master? Just you wait.”
So, to save my own skin, I used them to fend off Hwang Geolgae.
The presence vanished from beyond the door—like an evil spirit exorcised.
With this, he probably wouldn’t storm the office for a while.
“I don’t know what happened… but you survived, right, Boss?”
“No, I just deferred death.”
Ilhong gave a dry chuckle at my reply.
“Let me guess, you picked only the things you weren’t supposed to do, didn’t you?”
They say even a dog that spends three years at a seodang will recite a poem—this girl hit the mark so well I was left speechless.
“I’m just a powerless duckweed drifting down the river of fate.”
I hadn’t intended it. It all happened because I tried to make the best decision I could in every situation.
Honestly, I don’t think I did anything wrong.
“Want me to come with you and take the scolding together? If I’m there to stop him, maybe he’ll hold back a little…”
Ilhong scratched her cheek and offered, worried.
What a promising kid.
“Sniff… Ilhong…”
I’d raised a good subordinate.
Overcome with emotion, I suddenly pulled her into a hug.
“Eep!”
She let out a weird yelp and jumped in surprise.
She hadn’t used to say anything, but now she was claiming to be a proper lady.
“N-No touching.”
Blushing to the tips of her ears, she slapped me a few times.
There’s a district in Beijing’s commercial sector where all the good inns are clustered.
A street affectionately known as Eatery Alley.
We were headed that way.
On the way, we found a wildcat—shrunken and devoid of confidence—and added her to our group.
Since she’d done something wrong, she was sneaking glances at me while keeping her distance. But her face lit up as soon as she heard we were going to eat.
Seems those bearing an Evil Star gain physical prowess in exchange for an equally intense appetite.
“Mujin, which inn are we going to?”
“Soso Inn.”
“Again? Can’t we go somewhere nicer for once?”
Jo Harang tried to pitch a fancy inn she had scouted earlier.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same once it’s in your stomach.”
“...Cheapskate.”
“None of your business.”
There were so many things I wanted to ask the moment I saw her, but the way she was shrinking back made it hard to say anything.
Yeah, to be honest, I always felt like this day would come eventually.
“Huh? Park Chil?”
While walking, I spotted a Beggars’ Union operative rushing somewhere.
Park Chil. These days, he showed up so often he was basically an honorary employee of our office—a valuable contact point with the Beggars’ Union.
I’d owed him plenty for the intel he provided, so I figured I’d repay the debt with a meal and raised my hand to call out to him.
Then Jo Harang suddenly nudged my shoulder.
“What now?”
“Look at Ilhong’s face.”
I turned my gaze and saw Ilhong staring at Park Chil with a strangely darkened expression, her lips moving silently.
“She’s got no reason to feel competitive, though.”
“She won’t say it. You go cheer her up or something.”
Why would I do something so embarrassing?
Even back at the orphanage, comforting and counseling were things I absolutely sucked at. Every attempt ended in disaster.
“Would my comfort even help?”
After hearing that, Jo Harang gave Ilhong a brief look of pity, then turned to me with a disappointed glare.
What did I do to deserve that look?
“What are you looking at, Wildcat of Mount Song.”
“……”
She clamped her mouth shut like she had nothing to say.
Still, the twitching at her lips said she had plenty of unresolved resentment.
“You were so smug, and you got caught right away, didn’t you?”
“I-I couldn’t help it! He just popped out of nowhere like a ghost!”
That’s Hwang Geolgae’s specialty. I told her not to go near him so many times.
But no, she just had to stick around for a sparring session.
“Yeah, Wildcat. Don’t go around roaring like a tiger anymore.”
“Ugh…!”
Frustrated, Jo Harang stomped the ground repeatedly.
Thanks to her, I now had to worry about how to deal with my master when I saw him again.
“Cut the crap. Let’s just eat.”
And when your head’s about to explode, the best thing to do is fill your stomach with good food.
We headed to Soso Inn, the place we often visited after finishing our requests.
The moment we entered, we were greeted by a mouth-watering aroma that tickled the nose and made us salivate.
“Dumplings as the base, and add huiguorou and five-spice pork slices.”
Jo Harang started rattling off the menu as soon as we sat down.
Despite having just been demoted to a wildcat, her appetite was still that of a carnivorous tiger.
Sheesh, easy to splurge when it’s not your money.
“I’ll have noodles and one spring roll, please.”
You’ve got to save while you have it, if you want a long run.
Business always has ups and downs, and financial crises are inevitable.
So I went with a humble menu and sat down.
“Hmm, I’ll have…”
Just as Ilhong, the guest of honor for today’s meal, was about to make her order—
Of course it wouldn’t be a Murim inn without a fight breaking out upstairs.
Crash!
Furniture shattered, and the wooden railing was smashed.
From the level of noise, it wasn’t a civilian brawl—it had to be martial artists going at it.
“Ugh, damn Murim.”
Is it really so hard to eat a peaceful meal?
With powerful people lurking everywhere, it’s always a battleground no matter where you go.
Next time, I’m just handing cash to the waiter and getting food delivered to the office.
“Please, stop this! What kind of behavior is this in an inn?!”
Poor innkeeper.
Even if I run a business someday, I’m never opening an inn.
At least with a troubleshooter’s office, nothing bursts out like this.
“I-I’ll kill you!”
“Yeah? Try it, you bastard!”
Even as I took a hot spring roll into my mouth, the fight raged on, ruining my appetite.
I tried to ignore it and just eat as the dishes arrived—
Then a boy being ganged up on rolled all the way near our table and pulled out a round steel marble from his chest.
“You’re the ones who started this…!”
His hands trembling, he lit the fuse attached to the steel ball.
Ssshhh—
Something began to burn. The rest of the inn’s patrons didn’t seem to recognize what it was and just tilted their heads in confusion.
But I, Ilhong, and Jo Harang—having lived through the Dragon-Phoenix Bloodbath—recognized it instantly and couldn’t hide our shock.
“Duck!”
BOOM—!