novelraw Chapter 121 : Ash Rekindled (1)
Chapter 121 : Ash Rekindled (1)
Chapter 121: Ash Rekindled (1)
The ashes began to burn again.
A shadow appeared at the entrance of Cheonsalgok Cave.
Shiiik—!
A man in black approached without a sound.
Each time his toes touched the ground, only a fine dust rose—no pebble was disturbed. Beneath the hood that covered half of his face, only sharp eyes gleamed.
Yeon Sohye sprang to her feet. Her hand reflexively reached for the hilt of her dagger. But—
“Captain, it's me.”
Unexpectedly, the figure spoke first.
“What! You… How did you know we were here?”
Yeon Sohye was so startled she stood frozen, staring blankly as if she had seen a ghost.
“You’re underestimating our intelligence network.”
There was a playful tone in his voice.
“The Director gave special orders. We were to keep our eyes peeled on your movements. Thanks to that, our collaborators planted here are crying out that their lives are miserable.”
“You’ve been watching us all this time?”
“You’re popping up east and west—how could we keep track of it all? We caught a few traces here and there and pursued what we could… but this time… heh!”
He laughed lightly as he glanced at Sasaha.
Yeon Sohye immediately caught on.
The Sasaha incident was one of the major incidents that occurred within the Heavenly Sound Cult. It was a matter both the Murim Alliance and the Cold Wolf Sect were keeping close eyes on. The Secret Inspector hadn’t been chasing Gugwi’s group—he was after Sasaha. And in doing so, he had discovered Gugwi’s group.
“Here! This! I sweated quite a bit carrying this over. A gift from the Secret Inspector.”
The subordinate lowered the large bundle he had been carrying on his back.
Jang Unhyeok and Jin Geommuu rose with tense expressions. They had been wary since the man’s arrival. Sasaha, however, watched calmly from where she sat. A flicker of curiosity passed through her eyes.
Gugwi approached, spear in hand, and asked,
“Who’s this guy?”
Yeon Sohye glanced at her companions.
“Don’t worry. He’s someone I know.”
Her voice was bright.
“I need to head back right away. Do you have anything you’d like to relay to the Director…?”
“Tell her thank you. It was a difficult journey—well done.”
“Lend me your ear for a moment.”
The subordinate leaned in and whispered something into Yeon Sohye’s ear.
Her eyes widened. She was clearly shocked—her mouth even fell open.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
Shiiik—!
Just as he had arrived, the subordinate vanished without a sound, melting into the darkness without even leaving footsteps behind.
“What did he say?”
Gugwi nudged Yeon Sohye’s shoulder.
Up until that point, Yeon Sohye had been blankly staring into space.
“No, let’s talk about it later. This concerns the Cold Wolf Sect, and the matter is too big… They say No Hun, the Chief Commander of the Murim Alliance's Immediate Response Unit… was killed while trying to enter to meet us. But it seems that the Cold Wolf Sect… No, I need to look into this more.”
“Take your time. If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to. Now! Let’s see what the gift is? There’s so much here!”
Gugwi grinned as he opened the bundle the subordinate had left.
Its contents were abundant. Dried meat was neatly packed, and fresh fruits were arranged with care. Two bottles of alcohol were wrapped in cloth.
At the very top, there were even four sets of clean clothing.
Gugwi picked up the dried meat.
“What a windfall!”
He laughed and tore into the meat.
It was the first decent meal he’d had in a long time. The savory flavor spread in his mouth, and his mouth watered.
Jin Geommuu’s eyes widened.
“This kind of good meat…”
His voice trembled with emotion.
Jang Unhyeok peered into one of the bottles.
“They sent liquor to drink in enemy territory? The Cold Wolf Sect, seriously…”
“Don’t want it? Give it here.”
“Who said I didn’t want it? I just meant—who sends stuff like this? Haha! Hey! This has a nice aroma!”
Their voices were filled with delight.
Jin Geommuu touched the new clothes.
“Comfortable. And this outfit… fits me perfectly. Huhuhu! Looks like the Cold Wolf Sect already has me figured out too?”
The clean texture of the fabric lingered on his fingertips.
For those who had endured with only a single set of clothes for so long, it was a refreshing gift.
At the very bottom of the bundle was a small box. Inside it was a finely detailed map.
Yeon Sohye unfolded the map.
“Unnie's intelligence is as sharp as ever.”
The map displayed the Heavenly Sound Cult’s territory in great detail—even the contours of the mountain ridges were intricately drawn. Safe hideouts were marked with red dots, and escape routes were outlined in blue lines.
“What are these red dots?”
“Hideouts. Safe houses.”
“There are this many safe houses in Heavenly Sound Cult territory? Hah! This is just… They were coming and going openly, huh?”
“With this map, we could escape comfortably.”
Yeon Sohye examined the map closely.
Hidden passages were marked with dotted lines. Even weak points in the Heavenly Sound Cult’s perimeter were meticulously noted. Patrol schedules and shift changes were written out… it was truly a treasure.
“From here, heading north seems most realistic. Everywhere else is heavily guarded.”
Her finger traced along the map.
“Captain, the Secret Inspector… can we trust her? I haven’t even seen her face, so I don’t know. But we’ve been branded as traitors by the Cold Wolf Sect.”
“It’s fine. She’s not that kind of person.”
Yeon Sohye answered firmly.
The group began their hearty meal.
It was a rare chance to eat their fill. The sweetness of the dried meat and fruits spread in their mouths. The slightly sharp aroma of the alcohol soothed their fatigue.
Sasaha calmly sliced the food and handed it out.
“Gugwi, try this too.”
She peeled a fruit with practiced fingers and passed it over.
Gugwi, who had grown up not knowing his mother, was flustered by the unfamiliar warmth. The kindness of someone looking after him felt foreign. A corner of his heart began to warm.
“Thank you.”
Gugwi said softly.
Yeon Sohye sat beside Sasaha, calling her “Unnie.”
“Unnie, this is really delicious.”
The two opened their hearts to Sasaha, but Jang Unhyeok still kept his distance, calling her “Lord of the Twelve True Armies.” It was likely difficult for him since she had once been someone they served in the Heavenly Sound Cult.
“Just call me Sasaha. We’re in the same situation now.”
She smiled and said.
“Can I really do that? You’re at least twenty years older than me.”
“Inquiring about a woman’s age is rude.”
“Oh my! How rude. Hohoho!”
The two women relaxed and laughed together.
In truth, Yeon Sohye had approached Sasaha quite proactively. While scouting the Heavenly Sound Cult, she had come to understand Sasaha to some extent. The woman she had heard about through intelligence and the woman she observed firsthand were quite different.
She judged her to be someone trustworthy.
The map analysis began in earnest.
Yeon Sohye traced the detailed route with her finger as she explained. She carefully examined which paths were safe and which areas to avoid.
“If we go this way, we can avoid the Heavenly Sound Cult patrols.”
Her voice was filled with certainty.
Sasaha offered a suggestion from the side.
“You missed one thing. This guy.”
Sasaha tapped the True Swordsman sitting beside her.
“Me? Why me? What’s missing?”
The True Swordsman looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Nang-a Shipjang. The Heavenly Sound Cult’s assassins used when killing Soul-Summoners. You left them out. Ah! Don’t take it the wrong way.”
“It’s fine. It’s true.”
The True Swordsman shook his head.
“Where there are no Heavenly Sound Cult patrols, there could be Nang-a Shipjang... Sheesh, I was snooping around someone else’s backyard...”
Jang Unhyeok closely examined the map. He had experience as an intelligence chief. He analyzed the indicated routes to find the most optimal path. For now, he intended to remain quiet.
“There’s a hidden path here.”
He pointed at the dotted line.
The True Swordsman showed interest. It seemed like a route he had used before. Such paths always had Nang-a Shipjang lurking. They were ambushers to be truly feared.
“This path isn’t bad. Most of us wouldn’t know about it. Could someone else? Who knows.”
The True Swordsman studied the route Jang Unhyeok had found.
“If we take this path, we could save a day’s worth of travel. But it looks really rough. The passage here is too narrow.”
“Alright, alright! Let’s just rest for today. We’ve got food and alcohol. On a day like this, we should just relax.”
Yeon Sohye said with a bright smile.
He looked down at the final minor mastery body.
The chilling aura radiating from his body froze the entire room. His white hair flowed down to his shoulders, and from the fists clad in White Snow Gauntlets, frosty air continued to rise like a blizzard.
A child lay on the lab table.
Their chest was split open, and a black hole had formed where the heart should be.
Injected stray spirits wriggled within, spreading through blackened veins.
“Another failure.”
Kang Sangho’s voice was icy.
His subordinate bowed deeply.
The stray spirits moving through the veins indicated a rejection. Stray spirits should not materialize. They had to settle into the heart and unify.
Kang Sangho flipped through the experiment log.
It was the sixty-first failure. His attempts to resurrect the Manifest Demon Emperor without the Gatekeeper’s bloodline continued to fail.
“We’ll need to refine the bloodline modification further.”
He murmured as he looked around the lab.
Suddenly, Kang Sangho stopped in his tracks.
He sensed a subtle energy from the wall. Traces left by an infiltrator from a few days ago.
He discovered faint markings etched into the stone wall.
It was the residual spirit-summoning energy left when Gugwi had summoned Un Serim and General Madal. A mixture of the Cloud Flow Sect’s distinct aura and the killing intent of a four-hundred-year-old martial artist clung to the stone.
“This is…”
Kang Sangho’s eyes gleamed.
He removed the White Snow Gauntlets and touched the wall with his bare hand.
Cold energy poured from his fingertips, enveloping the wall and analyzing the residual aura.
His body trembled.
“The Gatekeeper’s bloodline! This is the energy of the Gatekeeper’s bloodline.”
His voice brimmed with excitement.
The intruder who stormed this place and took the minor mastery body was the very person they had been seeking — a bearer of the Gatekeeper’s bloodline. The one with the Spirit Flow Core had entered the Silver Soul Pavilion and escaped.
The energy inscribed on the stone wall confirmed it.
A unique frequency created from the mingling of two spirit-summoning energies — and an even stronger force that harmonized them.
“There’s no mistake. This is definitely the Spirit Flow Core. That bastard’s son accepted the Spirit Flow Core. And he’s been raised quite well.”
His eyes glinted with greed.
“The Eight Generals! If I had only known earlier that bastard’s son was the minor mastery body. Huhu! And the Gatekeeper’s bloodline too… What a waste. Truly a waste. I shouldn’t have let them slip away. Why didn’t I pay more attention? Huhu!”
Ssshh!
He swept his hand over the wall.
“The spirit energy is incredibly strong. Huhu! No wonder these fools were wiped out by such spirit energy. You… lucky bastards.”
He turned around.
His subordinates followed, their faces pale.
“I was thinking of beating a few of you to death for losing the minor mastery body… but not for this kind of opponent. This wasn’t your fault. You’re forgiven.”
“Thank you!”
The subordinates immediately bowed down.
“Fortify the defenses to the highest level. He’ll be back. We must catch him. Without fail!”
Kang Sangho ordered coldly.
He once again studied the markings on the wall. He traced the etched lines with his finger, analyzing them.
“The aura of the Cloud Flow Sect… and the killing intent of an ancient martial artist…”
The corners of his lips curled coldly.
“I’ve finally found it.”
Greed gleamed in his eyes.
The final key to the resurrection of the Manifest Demon Emperor was right before him. Now, he only had to seize it.
A cold wind brushed through the lab, making the candles flicker.
The residual aura on the wall faintly glowed, reflecting Kang Sangho’s greedy gaze.