novelraw Chapter 186 : The Spy (間者) Was Never Freed
Chapter 186 : The Spy (間者) Was Never Freed
Chapter 186: The Spy Was Never Freed
“Demonic practitioner ……!”
“T-this, what is this……?”
Cutting through the heavy silence, the executives who had not lost consciousness barely managed to force their voices out.
Unable even to wipe away the cold sweat streaming down their foreheads, they stared at Yelü Sheng with blank, stunned expressions.
‘……How could that Absolute Demonic Tyrant be here!’
‘That Yelü Sheng is helping us?!’
The Poison Demon had been a demonic tyrant of the previous generation, yet there was no one in the jianghu who had forgotten his name.
Originally a native of Shanxi Province, he had been a true physician who practiced medicine without discriminating between the orthodox and the unorthodox. However, after losing his wife and daughter in the conflict between the Mount Heng Sect and the Gunmaru, he had gone mad.
Consumed by insanity, he had devoted himself alone to poison arts, and in only a few years—without anyone’s assistance—he had washed in blood two factions that had been pillars of the era: the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Demonic Alliance, becoming an absolute demonic practitioner.
After that, until Poison Commander Tang Eui-tae finally stopped him, he had built his vile reputation for decades by turning the hundreds and thousands of Central Plains martial artists who hunted him into mere handfuls of bloodwater.
That very Poison Demon, Yelü Sheng, now stood before their eyes.
As silence settled over the room—
Only the Sect Leader, An Cheongmyeong, greeted him with a smiling face.
“This insignificant junior, An Cheongmyeong, pays his respects to the great senior.”
“Heh heh, you’re a child who properly understands manners.”
“Stop with the honeyed words. They make me sick.”
“Hoho, please, have a seat this way.”
The Poison Demon, with his characteristic dual personality, spat out contradictory remarks that made it hard to tell which tune to follow, but An Cheongmyeong showed not the slightest concern as he guided him.
The Poison Demon flopped down into his seat and casually propped both feet up on the table.
Since he had been seated right beside him, Gongsun Beon lowered his head deeply, barely managing to hide his flustered feelings inside.
‘Ugh, of all places, why did the Sect Leader have to seat him here.’
Yet because of that, Gongsun Beon failed to notice.
That in the Poison Demon’s eyes—eyes that had been filled with mocking laughter as he looked at the terrified Heaven-Piercing Gang executives—an inexplicable glimmer surfaced and vanished, visible only when he looked at him.
“Now then, our only worry has disappeared. Since Senior Poison Demon has arrived, those Tang Clan brats will soon become nothing more than a handful of bloodwater.”
“T-that’s right.”
As An Cheongmyeong spoke, the executives stammered their agreement.
As they did, their expressions gradually brightened.
It was true that the Poison Demon’s appearance had been frightening, but once they reconsidered, having that lunatic join the fight as an ally rather than an enemy felt immensely reassuring.
But then—
“Hee hee.”
“The Tang Clan brat? Him?”
“……Pardon??”
The Poison Demon openly mocked them.
As the Heaven-Piercing Gang members were taken aback by the sudden sneer, the Poison Demon continued.
“Yes, that’s right. All those who looked down on my disciple like that were slaughtered to the last. Pa-eum Bima, Gi Ryeon Yoma—every one of them was torn to shreds.”
“……!!”
“……Pa-eum Bima? Don’t tell me, Dong Wonpyeong??”
At that name, the executives’ mouths fell open.
The name Gi Ryeon Yoma was unfamiliar since he had operated only within the Blood Cult, but Pa-eum Bima was as infamous in the jianghu as the Poison Demon himself.
He was another absolute demonic tyrant who possessed the power to brainwash and control enemies through sound arts.
Moreover, the power of that martial art—closer to the realm of supreme sorcery than conventional martial arts—was precisely what Heaven-Piercing Gang had always coveted as research material.
“So Pa-eum Bima was within the Blood Cult……?”
“And the Blood-Thread Tyrant managed to kill even him?”
“……But where did he even encounter him, and how?”
If the Poison Demon’s words were true, then Tang Sewoon was already a seasoned martial artist who had eliminated several top-tier experts of both the orthodox and unorthodox, including Jeok Seongja and Pa-eum Bima.
And then—
‘……Wait, hold on. What did the Poison Demon say earlier?’
‘……Didn’t he just clearly say—?’
The shock from hearing Pa-eum Bima’s name faded in an instant.
They realized that they had missed something even more staggering.
And then, An Cheongmyeong, who had remained silent until now, spoke in a trembling voice.
“……Did you say, disciple?”
“!!”
All of Heaven-Piercing Gang’s executives’ eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
That was right. The Poison Demon had clearly referred to Tang Sewoon as his disciple.
“The Blood-Thread Tyrant is truly your disciple, senior?”
“Yes. A damn disciple with no respect for his master whatsoever. His specialty is running away to avoid my teachings. Hah, raising a child would be easier than this.”
“…….”
When An Cheongmyeong cautiously asked again, Yelü Sheng replied with a twisted expression.
As An Cheongmyeong slowly looked at him, he reached a conclusion.
‘That’s impossible.’
Even a child playing in the marketplace knew that Tang Sewoon was the grandson of Poison Commander Tang Eui-tae.
So how could such a man become the disciple of a Blood Cult demonic tyrant—of all people, Yelü Sheng?
Especially when Poison Commander Tang Eui-tae was none other than Yelü Sheng’s sworn mortal enemy.
‘Tch, the title of the greatest madman in the jianghu isn’t for nothing.’
As An Cheongmyeong thought this and looked at Yelü Sheng, Yelü Sheng’s gaze—sharp as a northern gale and freezing snow—pierced through him.
“What is that look? Are you saying I’m spouting lies?”
“Shall I pluck your eyes out right now?”
“……Senior, there seems to be a misunderstanding.”
“Heh heh, how presumptuous.”
An Cheongmyeong realized his mistake too late and tried to smooth things over, but in the next moment—
“You filthy foreign bastard.”
“……!!”
Yelü Sheng’s single cold remark cleaved through the space.
At those words, An Cheongmyeong’s expression hardened like stone.
What the Poison Demon had said struck at his sore spot.
A killing intent filled with murderous emotion flared in his eyes.
‘……How dare you.’
Shraaaa!
A horrific yin energy surged from An Cheongmyeong’s entire body, while from Yelü Sheng oozed sticky poisonous energy and killing intent like seeping pus.
As the powers of the two collided like crashing waves, the air inside the conference room was crushed.
“Ku, khhk……!”
“Guhhh……!!”
One executive clutched his throat and dropped to his knees, while another among those already collapsed convulsed and rolled his eyes back.
A catastrophe caused solely by the clash of the two absolute beings’ auras.
But fortunately……
Sssss—
“Heh heh.”
The catastrophe did not last long.
That was because Yelü Sheng seemed to lose interest, shrugged his shoulders, and rose to his feet.
‘Hiiik!’
Since he stood up while gripping Gongsun Beon’s shoulder, Gongsun Beon’s body trembled violently.
“Having a seizure, are you?”
“How dare—.”
Yelü Sheng immediately turned his back and left the conference hall.
“Hmph! My interest cooled far too quickly.”
“Call me again when it’s time for your disciple to depart.”
“……!”
Suaaah.
In the end, only those left behind could shudder under that sticky, clinging presence.
Damn bastard.
An Cheongmyeong clenched his teeth inwardly.
‘Fine. I’ll just use a piece with value where and when it’s needed. He’s already fallen out of favor with the Blood Demon anyway.’
But deep within his eyes, the fury toward Yelü Sheng was still boiling.
After Yelü Sheng departed, the meeting came to an end not long after.
There was no need to prolong it any further.
If the Poison Demon confronted Tang Sewoon in Pingguo County, the sorcery and countermeasures prepared to deal with the enemy were already perfect.
When the sect leader, An Cheongmyeong, left his seat, the executives of Heaven-Piercing Gang also began dispersing one by one.
All of them were left utterly exhausted after the power struggle between the Poison Demon and the sect leader.
Amid the chaos, one person quietly avoided everyone’s eyes and headed alone in a different direction.
‘……Good. Now’s the time.’
The vice sect leader, Gongsun Beon, was quickening his steps while checking his surroundings.
Behind his composed expression, his inner thoughts were filled with jittery tension.
Thus, avoiding everyone’s gaze, he succeeded in secretly entering a deserted warehouse.
“Huahhh! Damn it aaall!!”
The moment he confirmed there was no one around, he drew in a deep breath and spewed out curses.
At the sect leader, An Cheongmyeong, who suspected a traitor had slipped in.
At the sudden appearance of the great demonic overlord, the Poison Demon, Yelü Sheng.
Every ounce of his mental strength had been drained to the point tears nearly welled up.
‘……Khk, just how did my life end up like this?’
What was even more tragic was that there was no time to sink into despair and sorrow.
There was simply not enough time.
Tak.
From among the piled junk, Gongsun Beon placed an old bronze bowl in front of him.
Then he poured water into it with a soft trickle.
As he stared at the water inside the bowl, his eyes brimmed with tension.
‘I have to let him know as fast as possible! If it’s the Poison Demon, he could die!’
The one he had to warn was, of course, Tang Sewoon.
The preemptive strike on Pingguo County decided in the meeting.
And the peerless demonic overlord, the Poison Demon, who would confront Tang Sewoon there.
If he failed to convey these two pieces of information to Tang Sewoon, the man would face a life-or-death threat.
……And the moment he died, Gongsun Beon would die as well.
The reason he was trying to help Sewoon was neither loyalty nor righteousness.
Gu poison.
The parasite gnawing at his insides—if Sewoon, whose soul was linked to his, were to die, it would perish as well.
Then Gongsun Beon himself would vomit blood as his organs melted away.
‘I have to live!!’
Clenching his teeth, he immediately brought his finger down to the surface of the water.
Then he slowly closed his eyes and focused on the energy flowing through his body.
Suaaah!
As sorcerous power began to bloom from his heart, Gongsun Beon slowly began chanting an incantation.
“Urgent, urgent, as the law commands (急急如律令)…….”
Upon the clear, quiet surface of the water, he attempted to transmit words by infusing it with his internal energy.
The spell of the Water-Crossing Mirror.
A sorcery that allowed written communication across vast distances, using water as the boundary.
‘Now, next—!’
After confirming the spell was ready, he placed a single strand of hair taken from his sleeve into the water.
It was a strand he had received from Sewoon beforehand.
Through this medium, the words he inscribed would appear on nearby ‘water’ around the target.
On a teacup at his quarters, on the water used for washing his face, or even on a pond he happened to be looking at.
‘Please, reach him already.’
When the other party came into contact with water, they would feel their spirits connect.
Chwarrrk!
In an instant, the surface of the water rippled and slowly began forming a circular pattern.
‘It worked!’
A strange light rose in Gongsun Beon’s eyes.
It was proof that Sewoon had made contact.
Gongsun Beon immediately moved his finger, beginning to write about the Poison Demon’s poison.
……And that was when it happened.
Suaaah!
‘Khup—?!’
Suddenly, a cold and sticky presence crawled up along his spine.
Without even a chance to inhale, a familiar yet horrifying aura wrapped around him from behind.
“—Ghk!”
Kwaak!
Something flew in like a storm and clamped down on the back of his neck.
He struggled desperately to break free, but it was futile.
“Gghk……!”
Gongsun Beon’s feet lifted off the ground, leaving him hanging helplessly in midair.
Just before his eyes rolled back from suffocation.
‘Ah, ahh!’
Forcing himself to raise his head, the face Gongsun Beon met—
Was a being he should never have encountered at this moment.
“Kikik. You little bastard, you’ve been carrying something interesting around in that belly of yours, haven’t you?”
“……!!”
The Poison Demon, Yelü Sheng.
At some point unknown, he had followed behind him, now staring down at him with a chilling smile.