Single-Instant Blade

Chapter 88 : Contracted Killing (3)

Ah Geol was confident that no one was following him.

If he executed the Complete Stealth, his movement would be slow, but he would not be pursued. How could they follow when they couldn’t find any traces?

The best way to train in Complete Stealth was to deliberately make enemies.

It was even better if the enemy was tenacious.

He would train in Complete Stealth while being deliberately chased by the enemy.

If he was discovered by the enemy, it meant that his Complete Stealth was not complete. He had to be able to take a leisurely nap without being followed.

Moving quickly was meaningless.

When the enemy took two steps, he had to be able to move only one step and not be found.

All Single-Instant Sect disciples trained in Complete Stealth in that way.

Ah Geol had also executed Complete Stealth dozens of times. His childhood with Grandpa had been a series of being chased.

Now, his Complete Stealth was complete.

He had thoroughly eliminated any mistakes while escaping with Mongseol. If he thought there might be a mistake, he would stop in his tracks and look back again.

There were no mistakes.

He was certain that he could avoid them even if the Wind Path Valley senior brothers pursued him.

He had completely hidden himself from the Sacred Sword Sect and the Wind Path Valley.

But… he also could not see them.

If the Ghost Gate did not collect information about them, he would also be in a situation where he did not know what they were doing.

Both sides were hidden.

‘…How could this happen.’

Ah Geol let out a smirk, finding it absurd.

An assassin sect had to be most sensitive to recent information. But they had closed their eyes to the Sacred Sword Sect, which was no different from their biggest enemy. Or they had secretly collected information elsewhere.

Ah Geol judged that it was not the latter.

Unless the Fifth Valley Master had lost his mind, he would not hide information from a master who had come with the sect master’s token. Also, since he didn’t even know who Ah Geol was, it didn’t make sense that he had hidden it in advance.

“It’s a good thing. Let’s just hide for a year.”

Mongseol said calmly.

“A year?”

“I think I can use the Life and Death Lock to some extent in a year. I also need to raise my Nihwan Single Sword a little more. And you, my dear, also have to complete the Single-Instant Blade, right? Let’s take a year to reorganize.”

“That would be fine.”

Ah Geol easily agreed.

He didn’t worry about Grandpa.

The Red Wolf Squad would have already extended their hand. Then there would be no problem in living.

What was left was the fight!

He had felt something after clashing with Seori Hyeonggae. In his current state, it was a hundred battles, a hundred defeats. If he fought, he would definitely lose.

The even more ridiculous fact was that Seori Gaheon and Seori Hyeonggae couldn’t even breathe loudly in front of Heo Dogi. They couldn’t even spread their ambitions and had spent their time just looking at the sky in a corner of the Wind Path Valley.

Just how high was Heo Dogi’s martial arts?

‘I can’t do it without the Single-Instant Blade!’

Ah Geol desperately needed the Single-Instant Blade.

Mongseol said, “Alright, then. We’ll rest here for a year. While training in martial arts. Let’s do that for now.”

* * *

“Please collect as much information as possible about the Sacred Sword Sect and the Wind Path Valley.”

Mongseol said calmly.

“There is no information about that side…”

“Isn’t it strange? Even the Drunken Flower Garden collected information about the Sacred Sword Sect, so why doesn’t the Ghost Gate? There must be some reason. So you have to collect it secretly.”

“How can I…?”

The Eighth Elder was at a loss.

“Please look into the movements of the Living Sword Sect.”

“The Living Sword Sect?”

“Also look into the movements of the Water Dragon Gang. See if the Mourning Guests appear again, and if they do, keep an eye on where and what they are doing.”

“Ah!”

The Eighth Elder slapped his head as if he had finally understood.

To know if a tiger was approaching, you didn’t necessarily have to see its form. You could know where it was just by seeing the bushes shake. You could also guess from the sound of its growl.

If you watched the sects or people related to the Sacred Sword Sect and the Wind Path Valley, you could look into their movements.

“I will watch all the sects related to the Sacred Sword Sect.”

“And the Wind Path Valley too.”

“Of course.”

The Eighth Elder smiled brightly.

* * *

The Ghost Gate was not idle.

“Again?”

“They work very busily here.”

The Eighth Elder held out a letter.

Several murder contracts came into the Ghost Gate every day.

Since they accepted any contract as long as it paid, without asking for the reason, they had a lot of work.

“Hmm!”

Mongseol crumpled the letter as she read it.

It was a contract aimed at property.

A servant was asking them to kill his master’s family. He had already finished preparing to seize the property.

If it were the Drunken Flower Garden, it was a low-quality contract that they wouldn’t even touch.

Had the Ghost Gate, which was called one of the two major killing veins of the martial world, accepted such a contract?

“Sect Master, look at the contract fee. It’s half the property. These Ghost Gate guys, they’re complete thieves.”

The Eighth Elder said.

Mongseol had instructed her Drunken Flower Garden subordinates to use the titles appropriate for the Ghost Gate. Because it would be very troublesome if the Drunken Flower Garden’s titles suddenly came out without her knowing.

“Issue the execution order.”

“What? You’re accepting this?”

“We’re not the ones accepting it. The Ghost Gate is. It would be strange if we didn’t accept this kind of thing.”

“Even so…”

The Eighth Elder frowned.

“Please do this for me. And, what happened to the Sacred Sword Sect?”

“All the sects related to the Sacred Sword Sect are being watched. These Fifth Valley guys, if you ask them to send information, they send it right away. It seems Ah Geol went to the Fifth Valley and gave them a good scare.”

It wasn’t because of Ah Geol. It was because the sect master had sent down a bamboo tube telling them to send it.

The Ghost Gate Master had ruled the Ghost Gate with fear.

That was what was frustrating and anxious. The being that had given fear did not even show its face, so it was even more anxious.

‘I have to figure out Ma Guyeong quickly.’

She had no intention of staying in the Ghost Gate for long. As she had told Ah Geol, it was a year at most. If the Drunken Flower Garden assassins just mastered the Life and Death Lock to the seventh or eighth level, they would immediately jump into the martial world.

She just had to buy that much time.

“This is the next contract. This is also a contract that will make your head spin.”

The Eighth Elder held out a letter.

It was a contract from a woman who had had an affair, asking them to kill her husband.

‘…It’s dirty.’

Mongseol said, her face distorting.

“Please take care of this kind of thing on your own. I’m not the Ghost Gate Master, so there’s no need for me to look at every single one.”

* * *

The most important point in the Blood Sword Sutra was the courage to offer your body in front of the sword.

Although if you trained the Blood Sword Sutra more deeply, the same content would be interpreted with a different meaning, for now, it was accepted that way.

You had to offer your body in a defenseless state to the sword that was trying to kill you.

You had to obtain the one and only sword with absolute arrogance. You had to receive the true meaning of the Nihwan Single Sword.

Arrogance was a target of caution for a martial artist. A lazy mind, a mind that looked down on others, had to be absolutely abandoned.

But in the Blood Sword Sutra, arrogance was also used usefully. First, you had to draw out arrogance.

This kind of principle was outside the common sense of ordinary martial arts.

If you were not careful, you could really fall into arrogance and lose your life while playing with a false Nihwan Single Sword.

Don’t be tense. Loosen up. You had to be as loose as possible.

At this time, the Nihwan Single Sword would rise with a clear red color.

When the Nihwan Single Sword moved, the body also moved.

Swoosh! Swish!

As the sword moved, the hands and feet also moved.

There was no need to think about the sword forms. The sword would express the necessary movements right now.

She moved as it was.

Her skin color changed to a deep purple. Although it was a color mixed with purple and pink, since it was her skin color, it felt as if she were a sick person.

Mongseol did not even know that her skin color had changed to purple.

The Blood Sword Sutra had surpassed the sixth level.

When it surpassed the eighth level, the skin would change to black. Then, when it reached the ninth level, it would return to red again. It would not be a turbid red, but a very clear red.

“Hoo!”

Mongseol opened her eyes, letting out her true energy.

The office was full of sword marks.

The forms recorded in the middle volume had scratched the pillars, had cut the table, and had cut the flower vase.

There was no mess like this.

‘I’m still far from it.’

Mongseol shook her head.

Although she executed the Blood Sword Sutra, she had to be able to distinguish between what should be cut and what should not be cut. Although she executed it unconsciously, with her consciousness put aside, she had to clearly distinguish the objects.

Mongseol had not yet reached that stage.

If she only executed the forms in the middle volume of the Blood Sword Sutra, she could execute them as she willed. But when she received the adjustment of the lower volume, it would become like this. In the end, it was a barrier that had to be overcome.

‘Are they all doing well?’

Suddenly, Mongseol wondered about her senior and junior sisters.

Although the Drunken Flower Garden did not use the terms ‘senior sister’ or ‘junior sister’ among its members, they were all just assassins. But if you cultivated flowers in the same flower garden, you would get to know each other as one person.

The nine Drunken Flower Garden assassins were sisters who had eaten from the same pot.

Everyone had died, and only nine were left… so they were more precious and dear.

‘The Life and Death Lock has to be at least at the seventh level. Only then can I even run away.’

What she wanted was not a killing method that could face the Sacred Sword Sect or the Wind Path Valley. It was a stealth technique that could escape from them. It was to just keep her own body safe.

Mongseol closed her eyes.

She circulated her true energy and concentrated it in her upper palace. She raised the Nihwan Single Sword. And she watched its movement.

* * *

“Hoo! I’ll have to clean this up, there’s no place to even step.”

The Eighth Elder grumbled.

The office was no different from an abandoned house. The broken and shattered furniture was scattered around, leaving no room to even step.

“Another contract?”

Mongseol asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Yes. I’m handling the minor ones… but I brought this because I thought you should see it.”

The Eighth Elder held out a letter.

Mongseol indifferently received the letter and unfolded it.

-Special Request. Death of the Wudang Elder, Cheongam.

The content written on the letter was very different from other contracts.

Other contract cases did not have the words ‘special request’. Also, the person they were asked to kill was not a big shot in the martial world.

The contract to kill the Wudang Sect Elder, Cheongam, was a major incident that would turn the martial world upside down. It was not a contract that could be easily accepted, and it was a case that had to be carefully considered.

And yet, the contract details were not recorded.

Why they were trying to kill Elder Cheongam, who the contractor was, and how much the contract fee was, all the specific details were missing.

“Who is the contractor?”

“That… there is no contractor.”

“There isn’t?”

“What’s strange is that this contract didn’t come through the waterway. It was received through the fourth valley.”

“By a person?”

“Yes.”

‘The sect master!’

Mongseol’s eyes flashed.

All general contracts were received through the waterway. There were no contracts received by a person.

Was that why it was recorded as a ‘special request’ at the beginning?

“I’ll have to change the fourth valley master.”

The Eighth Elder understood what Mongseol was saying.

“Yes. I’ll go and pursue the person right away. Let’s find out who and where this person is at the end of this line.”

“No. I’ll have to entrust this matter to my dear. It seems that things will get bigger.”

“What should we do with this contract?”

“We can’t kill a Wudang elder without even knowing the reason. For now, put it on hold. It seems we don’t have much time. I’ll bring the fourth valley master, and we have to make him talk within today.”

Mongseol released the tension that she had unknowingly built up.

The beginning of the Nihwan Single Sword was from arrogance.

(End of Chapter)