Sword God Reborn

Chapter 16 : Who's Behind You?

A cold silence descended.

Gu Jin-hae's eyebrows twitched.

'I didn't see it!'

Gu Jin-hae looked at Gyo-ryang's headless body rolling on the floor.

His expression, still full of question as if he didn't know how he had died, was evident.

He was clearly caught in Gyo-ryang's grasp. When had he drawn his sword, turned his body, and cut off his head?

A single bead of cold sweat ran down his back.

Gu Jin-hae's gaze fell on Cheon Mubaeck.

'He was just a brat.'

He was a guy he hadn't paid any attention to. Everyone had pointed at Heo Seong. As expected, after facing him, Heo Seong's skills were tremendous, unlike his appearance. His internal energy was clearly far below his own, but his swordsmanship and improvisation were extraordinary.

But when had the guy behind him, who had no presence and just looked like an immature rich brat, cut down Gyo-ryang?

"Who are you?"

"You're asking late, you bastard."

In an instant, Gu Jin-hae's face turned bright red.

Cheon Mubaeck laughed inwardly and carefully examined Gu Jin-hae's face.

'Wow. His personality is so obvious.'

People are so simple.

Cheon Mubaeck could guess a person's disposition just by looking at how they handled a sword. The speed at which they extended and withdrew their sword, the angle at which they twisted it, the process of unfolding their forms while stepping on their footwork, their expression and reaction in that situation.

Cheon Mubaeck, who had roughly guessed Gu Jin-hae's personality, used it.

"What, you bastard. If you're pissed, come at me."

"You bastard!"

When Cheon Mubaeck flicked his finger, Gu Jin-hae's sword fell towards Cheon Mubaeck's neck like an arrow.

But the sword never reached its destination.

Jjaeng!

"...!"

Gu Jin-hae's eyes widened.

Although it was a surprise attack, it was that much more powerful. It was a sword strike that he had poured all his heart into to cut in a single stroke.

But he had blocked it by holding his sword upright and using the flat side of the blade.

His wrist throbbed. He had almost dropped his sword for a moment due to the tremendous repulsive force.

"Eek...!"

Cheon Mubaeck slowly pushed Gu Jin-hae's sword away with the flat of his blade.

The corners of Cheon Mubaeck's eyes, which met Gu Jin-hae's gaze, drew an arc.

"You bastard. If you're old enough, you should control your expression before you launch a surprise attack. Huh? Are you attacking with a face that says 'I'm going to launch a surprise attack!' for everyone to see?"

Gu Jin-hae's expression hardened again.

A single clash.

From the dull impact transmitted from his wrist from that single clash, he knew the opponent's skill level to some extent.

No, in fact, he couldn't even guess.

'I can't feel any internal energy at all!'

That was the problem.

He clearly couldn't feel a single handful of internal energy. There was no resonance of qi that was felt when using internal energy!

But it was blocked. His sword strike that was imbued with internal energy.

"Alright. You don't have a restriction on you, do you? You're an elder, aren't you?"

"...!"

"Then shall we have a deep conversation? Neung-heo, bring a table with alcohol."

Neung-heo moved quickly. A simple table with alcohol was soon brought up. A table with just alcohol and cups.

"What are you doing? Sit down, you bastard."

"..."

Gu Jin-hae sat down at the table with a reluctant face.

And he quietly crossed his arms.

"Young master, who on earth are you, young master? Who are you to have a Mount Hua Sect martial artist as an escort and know about the Blood Demon Sect?"

"Well, well, my status has risen from a brat to a young master."

"Did you come from Mount Hua, young master?"

"Did you feel the scent of plum blossoms from my sword?"

"That's not it..."

He couldn't even feel internal energy, let alone the scent of plum blossoms.

"And you bastard. If you're sitting at a table with alcohol, you should fill the elder's cup first."

Bbaduk.

Gu Jin-hae's nostrils flared widely.

His skin trembled and a vein popped out on his neck.

"You bastard, really...!"

Jjaeng!

But Gu Jin-hae could never vent his anger.

At some point, Cheon Mubaeck had picked up the alcohol bottle and smashed it on Gu Jin-hae's head.

In the midst of his dazed mind. Cheon Mubaeck shouted.

"Left cheek!"

As soon as Cheon Mubaeck shouted, Gu Jin-hae's body reacted reflexively even in his confused state.

It was a kind of reflex reaction that had been engraved in his body as he had learned martial arts. The problem was that the opponent was a monster who far surpassed such a reflex speed. Cheon Mubaeck's palm had already slapped Gu Jin-hae's cheek so hard that his head whipped around.

"Keok!"

A few teeth and blood flowed onto the table.

"Right cheek!"

Gu Jin-hae's face turned pale.

Jjaak!

He slapped his right cheek without fail.

A few remaining teeth poured out.

"You bastard. You can't even block when I tell you to block. What on earth have you been training for all these years?"

At those words, Gu Jin-hae's eyes rolled back. He immediately raised the sword on the floor and thrust it at Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.

"Right. You're telling me to block too. I can see where it's coming from, hey."

"...!"

That move aimed at his eyes was a feint.

The real one was his left hand. That attack that would steal his gaze with the sword and thrust at his solar plexus with his left hand.

Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head and lightly dodged the tip of the sword. At the same time, he reached out, grabbed Gu Jin-hae's left hand, and twisted it.

Ududuk!

"Kkeuaaak!"

Even as he let out a miserable scream with a contorted face, Cheon Mubaeck did not stop twisting his hand. Only when his wrist was completely twisted and dangling did he let go.

Only then did Gu Jin-hae bury his face in the table with an exhausted face.

"Alright. Gu Jin-hae. Do you want to live?"

"...!"

"You want to live, right? Why would you risk your life for the Blood Demon Sect? You'll be suspected and killed if you go back now anyway, right? Isn't that right?"

"Th-That's"

"I know everything, you bastard. You'll just become a sacrifice for the Soul Sucking Demonic Art anyway."

Gu Jin-hae's eyes widened.

Wasn't the Soul Sucking Demonic Art a top secret known only to those at the elder level and above?

He looked at Cheon Mubaeck with trembling pupils.

Cheon Mubaeck, who was smiling with a nonchalant face.

To others, it was a very charming smile and appearance, but at this moment, Gu Jin-hae was afraid.

"I know almost everything. The fact that you guys worship snakes as gods. The Soul Sucking Demonic Art. But there's one thing I'm curious about. Why are you putting poison in alcohol and spreading it as if it's a plague? Huh?"

The original Blood Demon Sect didn't do things like this.

They just kidnapped people, fed them poison, made their bodies suitable for the Soul Sucking Demonic Art, and then the higher-ups would suck them dry.

So when Cheon Mubaeck first heard that a plague was spreading, he couldn't immediately connect it to the Blood Demon Sect.

But to him, this was a matter of time. He saw through the core right away.

Even after 400 years, the root of the poison they made had not changed. It was just that it had changed to look like a plague, with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and mental confusion, so there was some confusion.

Why did they devise such a change?

"If I tell you, will you spare me?"

"Let's be honest. It's hard to spare you. Really. Huh? How many gisaeng house kids did you kill before I even heard Neung-heo's words? Before that, you're an elder too, right? You must have used the Soul Sucking Demonic Art a few times, right? Still, if you tell me everything you know, there's room for extenuating circumstances. That's it."

"Do you know the reason for spreading the poison?"

"To make the body suitable for the Soul Sucking Demonic Art."

"That's right. That's the answer."

"...Are you crazy?"

For the first time, Cheon Mubaeck's brow narrowed.

In fact, he had thought about it, but it was a hard to believe fact.

"You're going to turn the entire Shaanxi Province into a mess with a plague and absorb the essence of all those commoners?"

"That's right. Not just Shaanxi, but also Hubei and Henan Provinces. That was our primary goal."

"Huh. You're going to absorb the essence of hundreds of thousands, millions of commoners?"

"Yes. In the past, we only kidnapped a few people to use the Soul Sucking Demonic Art, avoiding the eyes of the government office. But that speed was very slow, and it was difficult to find sacrifices."

"So you spread it like a plague. Is that it?"

"That's right. Do you know what the first problem that arises when a plague spreads is?"

Cheon Mubaeck shut his mouth. Only then did he see the Blood Demon Sect's scheme.

"When a plague spreads, chaos increases. Many towns are sealed off, refugees who are trying to escape the plague move around, the administrative power of the government weakens, and even the orthodox sect guys don't know what to do. If we openly kidnap dozens, hundreds of people in that situation, no one will notice."

"I see."

Cheon Mubaeck nodded his head. When he glanced around, Heo Seong had a pale face, and even Neung-heo, who had a lot of experience in the black-way, had an expression that said 'what kind of sons of bitches are these'.

That's how vicious, no, dog-like the Blood Demon Sect's actions were.

But a faint smile appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's lips.

That couldn't be all.

"But when I think about it, that doesn't seem to be the real reason, does it?"

"What?"

"It's as if you're covering the world in chaos and making it so that the orthodox sects and the government can't deal with any situation."

"...!"

"It looks like a preparatory process for someone to come out into the world. And using the Soul Sucking Demonic Art in the meantime is killing two birds with one stone. Isn't that right?"

An earthquake occurred in Gu Jin-hae's pupils.

Cheon Mubaeck's smile deepened.

"Alright. Tell me. Who's behind you?"

* * *

"D-Did you do that, Young Master?"

"What."

"His head exploding just now."

"Do you think I have a technique to make a person's head explode without even touching them?"

"Then why did his head suddenly explode?"

"How would I know?"

"Damn it, he did it himself and now he's saying he didn't..."

"You have a great lack of trust in me. When there's a lack of trust, you just need to get beaten."

"The person I trust more strongly than my own mother is the Young Master."

"You're subtly crawling up, so be careful, Neung-heo. I can read faces, and you have the face of someone who will die by being pierced from your anus to the top of your head with a wooden stick."

"I'm sorry. I was really out of line. I will reflect. I hope that face reading has changed."

"Now that I look again, it's changed to being beaten to death."

"Is there no way I don't die?"

"Not yet."

"I will do my best to change my face reading."

"Then first, clean up the corpse."

"I will clean it up as clean as a new house."

Heo Seong stared blankly at the banter between Cheon Mubaeck and Neung-heo.

It was an absurd banter that made him laugh inwardly, but wasn't the situation what it was?

Heo Seong's gaze fell on Gu Jin-hae's corpse sprawled on the floor.

A corpse with nothing left above its shoulders.

Recalling what had happened just a moment ago, Heo Seong's body trembled on its own.

After receiving Cheon Mubaeck's question, the moment Gu Jin-hae's mouth moved, his face suddenly turned red and then bang! It exploded.

"What on earth happened?"

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Heo Seong asked. Cheon Mubaeck said in a somewhat reluctant voice.

"A restriction."

"Pardon? But, it was different from the restriction of the Blood Demon Sect kids I've seen here so far."

"That's right. Because it wasn't a restriction placed by the Blood Demon Sect."

Looking at Gu Jin-hae's expression before his head exploded, it was clear that it was a restriction that was latent in his subconscious, which even he did not know about.

So the mastermind behind the Blood Demon Sect.

When he asked about their identity, the restriction was activated, and if it was something hidden in his subconscious without even his own knowledge, it must be a tremendous restriction.

Cheon Mubaeck narrowed his eyes and searched his memory.

Such a restriction was not entirely absent in the vast martial world of the Central Plains.

But there were only a few restriction techniques that came to mind right away.

Among them were those of groups and sects that had already been lost and disappeared, but they could not be excluded.

Like the resurrected Blood Demon Sect, they might have reappeared at any time.

"Th-Then, Young Master... what are you going to do?"

"Well. I have a guess. It was just hard to be sure, but looking at how things are going, I think I know."

Cheon Mubae-ck smirked.

When your experience in the martial world reaches not just decades but hundreds of years, you get a rough idea.

"I'll have to put more effort into my training."

Cheon Mubaeck turned his head and said to Neung-heo.

"Neung-heo, clean this up, and let's start the treatment now."

"Y-Yes! I understand! I'll get treated first!"

"What are you doing?"

"Pardon? Of course I should get treated first, shouldn't I?"

"I'm a trashy bastard who beats people to death. Neung-heo. Go to the gisaengs, the ladies who cook and clean, and the guys who do the heavy lifting. You're the very last."

"...Tell me honestly. Are you pissed?"

(End of Chapter)