Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 12 : The Old Men (2)

Thump! Thump!

Ha Shin-hak tapped the bluestone floor and then stopped.

"This is it."

He soon bent down, took out the stones that were deeply embedded in the floor, and then took out an iron box from the ground.

Clank!

When he opened the box, he saw the secret manuals of the Silver Heaven Divine Art and the Thirty-six Swords Under Heaven.

The Silver Heaven Divine Art was one of the three great divine arts of the Zhongnan Sect, along with the Taiyi Divine Art and the Tiangang Divine Art. There was a secret manual for the Taiyi Divine Art, but it was burned when the sect was exterminated.

The Thirty-six Swords Under Heaven was a representative sword art of the Zhongnan Sect, and along with the Nine Palaces Sword Art, it was a very famous sword art in the martial world.

The Thirty-six Swords Under Heaven was also called the 'Total Sword' because it was said to contain all the mysteries of all sword arts.

Many Taoist sects had a sword art with the same name as the Nine Palaces Sword Art, but their forms were slightly different.

Based on the Nine Palaces Sword Art, there was the Nine Palaces Divine Movement Sword Art, but it was now lost.

The absolute martial arts of the Zhongnan Sect were, of course, the Taiyi Formless Sword Art and the Light-Splitting Sword Art, which were performed along with the Taiyi Divine Art. But these too were all lost when the sect was exterminated.

Ha Shin-hak, who had taken the secret manuals, sat in front of the table and drank the cold tea.

"Hoo..."

A deep sigh escaped him out of frustration.

He was glad that the secret manual he had given to Bae Hyung-man was safe, but his heart was heavy with the news of his death.

To the current Ha Shin-hak, the severing of the Zhongnan Sect's lineage was a more frightening thing than revenge.

A deep red sunset cast its shadow over the shoulders of Ha Shin-hak, who was sitting still.

* * *

Jin Sawoon sat with Kang Yu under the wall of the abandoned manor, which was shrouded in darkness.

The front yard where Gwak Ho lay dead came into view, but the two did not move. Since Ha Shin-hak was still in this abandoned manor, they could not rashly show themselves.

In the first place, if they had seen Ha Shin-hak entering this place, Gwak Ho would not have died.

It was a matter of hiding before encountering Ha Shin-hak.

Gwak Ho's death was the result of carelessness.

Jin Sawoon just stared at the dead Gwak Ho with an emotionless face. Strangely, he couldn't feel any particular emotion.

The fact that a comrade who was alive during the day was now dead only brushed past his shoulders with a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

Kang Yu's telepathic voice pierced his ears.

[I'll go and check the surroundings, so you wait here.]

The moment the telepathic voice ended, Kang Yu's presence disappeared.

He thought that Kang Yu's decision to order a retreat when he first met Ha Shin-hak was a wise one.

If it weren't for his order, they would have all died at the hands of Ha Shin-hak.

He was not used to running away, so his agility was lacking, but fortunately, he was able to escape from Ha Shin-hak's sword energy.

But Gwak Ho could not. Death had come in a truly fleeting moment.

To think that the result of ten years of arduous training was death.

Suddenly, Jin Sawoon had a question.

'If the reason for training in martial arts is such a futile death?'

He thought about what the time in Ghost Spirit Valley meant to him. But he couldn't find an answer. Because living there was everything to Jin Sawoon.

Sitting in front of Gwak Ho's corpse, he had many useless thoughts.

He reminded himself that Ha Shin-hak was inside the house.

Rustle! Scrape!

With the sound of dragging feet, Ha Shin-hak was seen walking outside.

Jin Sawoon held his breath.

Ha Shin-hak looked around, then picked up Gwak Ho's corpse and headed for the rear garden.

As if it bothered him to leave the corpse unattended, Ha Shin-hak buried Gwak Ho's corpse in an open space in the rear garden.

The sound of digging earth was heard from a distance.

After Ha Shin-hak returned to the room, Kang Yu appeared next to Jin Sawoon.

[What about Gwak Ho?]

[Ha Shin-hak buried him in the ground.]

Hearing Jin Sawoon's answer, Kang Yu only nodded and did not open his mouth.

The next morning came, but Ha Shin-hak did not leave the abandoned manor. It seemed as if he was waiting for someone.

Kang Yu and Jin Sawoon had crossed the wall and were in the forest about twenty zhang away.

A short while later, Heavenly Divine Cult members were seen surrounding the abandoned manor. Their number reached at least two hundred.

Among them, a man with a sturdy build appeared. He was a figure who seemed to be at least a division leader.

But they only surrounded it and made no particular move.

It was after that that Jang Muryong and Seo Woon-gang appeared.

A short while later, an old man with salt-and-pepper hair was seen heading for the abandoned manor. He was a man with a fine physique and many wrinkles around his eyes. He wore a red martial arts uniform and a black cloak, and held a sword in his left hand.

Looking at him, Kang Yu said.

"It's Elder Dokgo."

At the word 'elder', Jin Sawoon asked with a serious expression.

"Do we wait here?"

"Yes."

Kang Yu's answer was short, and Jin Sawoon cast a disappointed look.

There was nothing as fun as watching a fight. And the more it was a fight between masters, the more it was an instinct to want to watch it up close.

In Jin Sawoon's field of vision, he saw Ha Shin-hak walking out.

Dokgo Shinwi, who was standing in the yard, showed a faint smile when he saw the skinny, dry-wood-like Ha Shin-hak walking slowly.

"It's been a long time."

At Dokgo Shinwi's voice, Ha Shin-hak narrowed his slender eyes even more.

"Has it been nearly twenty years?"

"That's right."

"Twenty years is also a fleeting moment."

Ha Shin-hak muttered in a bitter voice. Dokgo Shinwi asked.

"How have you been all this time?"

"Thanks to someone, I've been living hidden in the ground like a mole."

"You must have trained hard in martial arts."

"I raised a disciple."

At Ha Shin-hak's answer, Dokgo Shinwi smiled and stroked his beard. The word 'disciple' was quite grating.

If Ha Shin-hak had raised a disciple, it meant that the Zhongnan Sect still continued its lineage.

Dokgo Shinwi lowered his voice and said with a heavy expression.

"That disciple of yours tried to kill my grandniece."

"The one who died was not the Cult Leader's granddaughter, but my disciple."

Ha Shin-hak's words were not wrong. As Dokgo Shinwi fell silent for a moment, Ha Shin-hak spoke again.

"I lost a disciple, but what did you lose? In the end, the Demonic Cult lost nothing. Yes, nothing at all. Even in the past."

Ha Shin-hak's voice was filled with deep resentment and a sense of futility. That empty tone stimulated Dokgo Shinwi's emotions.

"The attack was a clear fact. The one who gave the justification was the Zhongnan Sect. Even in the past."

Dokgo Shinwi, who was stroking his beard, stood at an angle and asked.

"So, did you deliberately show yourself like this and wait for me?"

Dokgo Shinwi judged that there was no way Ha Shin-hak would so easily show himself to the Heavenly Divine Cult without any reason.

Ha Shin-hak stared at Dokgo Shinwi and recalled the past.

It was a memory of crossing swords with a young man with black hair and no wrinkles, and building a friendship over drinks.

In the Zhongnan Sect, they had said not to get close to the Heavenly Divine Cult, but Ha Shin-hak had thought that all who trained in martial arts and held a sword were friends.

But now it was not so.

If it weren't for their past friendship, he wouldn't even be having this conversation with Dokgo Shinwi.

"Recently, a strange rumor has been circulating in the martial world."

"What is it?"

"They say that the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Divine Cult, in his attempt to become the Heavenly Demon, trained in demonic arts and fell into qi deviation, unable to get up."

At Ha Shin-hak's words, Dokgo Shinwi laughed lightly.

"Hahaha! It seems you've heard a strange rumor from somewhere. There's no such thing. There's no such thing as a Heavenly Demon or demonic arts in our Cult."

Ha Shin-hak opened his mouth with a still dry tone.

"My sect is but a drop in the ocean compared to the Heavenly Divine Cult. Even if the Heavenly Divine Cult is shaken, my sect can do nothing. So, how about we wrap this up here?"

"Are you telling our Cult to back down?"

"What's important to me is not resentment, but the continuation of my sect."

Although Ha Shin-hak's words were filled with killing intent, Dokgo Shinwi had an expression of full understanding.

In fact, Dokgo Shinwi had no particular reason to think about Ha Shin-hak and the Zhongnan Sect. But he did not want the Zhongnan Sect, with its deep history, and its martial arts to completely disappear from the martial world.

"I told my disciples not to clash with the Heavenly Divine Cult. I told them to endure even if they have resentment. There is someone who interacted with my disciple who was killed by the Heavenly Divine Cult. That person ordered him to kill your grandniece. Isn't it a priority to find that person who used the emotion of resentment?"

At Ha Shin-hak's words, Dokgo Shinwi's expression hardened. His hand, which was touching the hilt of his sword, went behind his back and he clasped his hands.

"The reason the Heavenly Divine Cult is frightening is that there are no known masters like you in the martial world."

As Ha Shin-hak's voice was heard again, Dokgo Shinwi showed a faint smile. In the martial world, Dokgo Shinwi was the Cult Leader's younger brother and an elder.

Since almost nothing was known about his martial arts, he did not have a great reputation.

"It seems it's not my time to die yet."

At Dokgo Shinwi's words, Ha Shin-hak nodded.

"I have things to do. When my time to die comes, I will come to you. How about we decide then which of us will die?"

"Let's do that."

At Dokgo Shinwi's answer, Ha Shin-hak did not reply.

Dokgo Shinwi soon turned his body, left the abandoned manor, and ordered the warriors who had surrounded the manor to withdraw.

As the subjugation team retreated, Dokgo Shinwi, who was walking towards the carriage he had come in, stopped.

Dokgo Shinwi turned his head and his eyes went to the forest. He raised his hand and gestured towards where Kang Yu was.

Kang Yu, who was far away, was very surprised to see Dokgo Shinwi gesturing towards him and rushed out.

Whoosh!

With the sound of wind, Kang Yu leaped through the air like a flying squirrel and appeared in front of Dokgo Shinwi.

"I am Kang Yu, a Slaughter Ghost of Ghost Spirit Valley."

Dokgo Shinwi observed Kang Yu with interested eyes.

With the sound of wind, three Slaughter Ghosts appeared behind Kang Yu. It was Jin Sawoon and his comrades.

Dokgo Shinwi's eyes looked at Jin Sawoon, Jang Muryong, and Seo Woon-gang one by one.

"Stop chasing Ha Shin-hak. The Zhongnan Sect will disappear from the martial world for the time being. I will give a separate order to the Valley Lord."

"Understood."

Hearing Kang Yu's answer, Dokgo Shinwi asked Jin Sawoon.

"Are you Number Ninety-nine?"

"Yes. I am Jin Sawoon."

"Jin Sawoon (True Thinking Cloud)... The Valley Lord and the steward were happy that a pretty good one had come out. Survive in the martial world."

"Yes."

At Jin Sawoon's answer, Dokgo Shinwi soon boarded the carriage and slowly moved along the road.

After he disappeared, Seo Woon-gang, with a hardened expression, asked Kang Yu.

"To just leave Ha Shin-hak be, I don't understand. His disciple killed the young lady and our Cult's bodyguard unit, and Ha Shin-hak is the one who killed Gwak Ho."

"So, do you think the Elder or our Cult should avenge the dead Gwak Ho and the bodyguard unit?"

Not knowing what he meant, Seo Woon-gang closed his mouth for a moment. Kang Yu spoke again.

"We are not important. What's important is the young lady's safety. Discard emotional thoughts like revenge. No one will avenge our deaths for us. We are just pawns belonging to Ghost Spirit Valley."

"Yes."

Seo Woon-gang answered with a disappointed expression, but his eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

* * *

Kang Yu, who had returned to Ghost Spirit Valley, reported the events to the Valley Lord. Since the Valley Lord also knew the situation to some extent, he had no special words.

Won Young-choong, the Valley Lord of Ghost Spirit Valley, had a bitter expression at the news of Gwak Ho's death.

"The death of a subordinate is always sad."

Won Young-choong, who let out a deep sigh, drank a cup of wine and then turned his gaze to the quietly standing Kang Yu.

Even though the report was over, Kang Yu still did not move from the room.

"Is there more to say?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"The ones who attacked the young lady on her way to the Jeon family manor were those instigated by the Zhongnan Sect and Cheon Woo-rin."

(End of Chapter)