Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 127 : Making a Net

Son Ae-hwa, who was in the dark bushes, waited for the right time when she saw the masked women appear. The situation was such that she could only move once night fell.

'They are the women of the Flower Pavilion.'

The sounds of lovemaking from inside the house and Cheon Woo-rin's voice, which sounded like he was about to pass out, echoed in her ears.

The sound continued until evening when darkness fell, and only became quiet at night. It seemed Cheon Woo-rin had fallen asleep, exhausted.

The area around where Cheon Woo-rin was sleeping was guarded by the Flower Ghosts of the Flower Pavilion. Son Ae-hwa carefully moved upwards.

* * *

When night came, the fog returned.

Jin Sa-wol and Jo Geom-ok stood side by side, looking at the fog-filled lakeside.

Jo Geom-ok, looking at the lake, said.

"I couldn't find the guys who looked like shadows. There's no one around here."

"Am I being too sensitive?"

"If you say they're there, they're there. We just haven't found them. They must be somewhere."

At Jo Geom-ok's words, Jin Sa-wol looked beyond the fog. If they weren't here, they would be in there. It seemed he would have to search again during the night.

"What about Jeong-bong?"

"He's sleeping. He seems tired."

"You should get some sleep too."

"I'm fine. I haven't done anything, so I'm not tired. You look tired."

"I'm still fine."

Jin Sa-wol answered and then stared beyond the fog. But only the sound of water and wind could be heard, and there was nothing else.

"Leave at dawn."

At the word 'dawn', Jo Geom-ok looked back at Jin Sa-wol with a surprised face.

"You?"

"I have to do what I have to do."

"Human hunting?"

"The Three Emperors."

Jin Sa-wol had not given up on the martial arts left by the Three Emperors. Jo Geom-ok, as if angry, lowered her voice with a cold face.

"The reason you brought me here sounds like you just brought me because you were bored."

"That's not it. Dan Ji-hyu and that monk named Yeon-il or something are injured. It's also important to protect them. Although it was unintentional, I think it's good to leave them in my debt."

"The debt of life is expensive. It was a method that Alliance Leader Jo liked..."

Jo Geom-ok had seen Jo Han-yu deliberately push his comrades into a corner and then offer a helping hand to make them indebted to him a few times.

Among them, the biggest shackle was the debt of life.

"Can't you take Yeon-il and Dan Ji-hyu to a safe place and then come back up?"

"Alright."

At the suggestion to come back up, Jo Geom-ok obediently accepted Jin Sa-wol's words. That was a line she could compromise on.

Jin Sa-wol spoke again.

"The path down through the waterway is the safest, but it's rough. Because the valley is deep. If you go down along the ten-zhang-high waterfall and cliff, a lake will appear, and if you pass that, you can go to the village."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok asked.

"There was also a half-submerged cave. Can't we go out that way? There might be a shortcut."

"The inside of the cave is a cliff. It's a waterfall, and if you go in, ten out of ten will die. It's a place full of darkness, and you can't know where the waterway goes, so once you go in, you can't get out. It's a place you must never enter."

"I remember hearing that."

Jo Geom-ok recalled the events of her childhood. Jo Geom-ok asked as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"The name of this lake was Cheonhae Lake, right? There are many caves too."

"That's right."

"So you must have thought that the Sea Spirit Peak Map was here."

At Jo Geom-ok's words, Jin Sa-wol's expression hardened. He had recalled the reason why he had been so sure that it was here.

In that instant, something flashed through his mind.

'Bongryeong Cave.'

"Hoho!"

Jin Sa-wol laughed under his breath without realizing it.

"Why did I only now... They say the darkest place is under the candlestick."

"Why? Did you find something?"

"No. If you have nothing to do, go to the entrance and guard it. Since it's night, there will be guys coming up."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok stuck out her tongue and headed for the entrance of the cave with the stairs leading up from the fifth gate.

As she moved away, Jin Sa-wol entered the main hall.

On the first floor of the wide main hall was Dokgo Shin-wi's body. Dokgo Hyeon was sitting in front of it.

The wooden chest was placed next to him, but since he had decided to give it to the Dokgo family anyway, Jin Sa-wol was not greedy.

Dokgo Hyeon, seeing Jin Sa-wol's figure next to him, swallowed a groan and said.

"My granduncle often spoke of you recently, Brother Jin. He told me to be a little like you. Since he was someone who never praised others, it can be said to be a great compliment."

"I heard about Brother Dokgo five years ago. When I met the elder in Luoyang, he told me to be a little like Brother Dokgo. He said you were full of affection. He said that a martial artist is useless if he is full of affection, and that one should have a moderate amount of affection. I couldn't understand what he meant at all."

"It seems to be an incomprehensible statement."

Dokgo Hyeon answered and then laughed lightly.

The heavy atmosphere seemed to lighten a little.

"Where are the warriors of the family?"

"They are waiting at the entrance of the valley. I told them not to clash with the orthodox faction if possible. I intend to avoid unnecessary casualties."

Dokgo Hyeon recalled the subordinates who had come with him. There were about a hundred of them, all first-class warriors who had trained in martial arts at the Dokgo family for over ten years.

It was his job to take them back to their hometown without losing a single one.

"I told them to report on the situation below, so how about joining the Demonic Cult after seeing the situation?"

"Since we have the secret manuals of the Esoteric Sect, joining them is dangerous. Although I have my own side... I cannot move rashly. Since Yuk Sam-yuk and Kang Hang are dead, there will be pressure from the cult even if I return to my family. To show my loyalty to the cult, I must offer half of these secret manuals to the cult."

"A negotiation."

"It is for my family and me."

Dokgo Hyeon answered and then stroked the wooden chest containing the secret manuals. At his appearance of treating a precious object, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

"I heard the main force is coming. Who is leading it?"

"Originally, Yuk Sam-yuk was leading it, but since he is dead, the Wind Blood Pavilion Master will take his place."

He had hardly ever heard of the Wind Blood Pavilion Master.

"What kind of person is he?"

"He is a rigid and tight-lipped person. I don't know much else. The Wind Blood Pavilion are not people who often appear in the cult."

"The Wind Blood Pavilion refers to the Wind Ghost Valley of Guizhou. Didn't you know?"

"I didn't know."

Dokgo Hyeon shook his head. Jin Sa-wol asked as if he were curious.

"Who is on Brother Dokgo's side below?"

"I'm sorry."

Dokgo Hyeon waved his hand and showed a sorry expression. It meant that he could not tell him.

Jin Sa-wol did not ask further.

Clang! Clang-clang!

It was then that a metallic sound was heard from the darkness.

It was a sound from the entrance.

Thump! With the sound, Woo Jeong-bong's shout was heard.

"Which bastards are disturbing my sleep!"

Papapat!

At the sound of Woo Jeong-bong running, Jin Sa-wol thought of Jo Geom-ok. It seemed there would be no problem if the two of them were there.

"Go down at dawn."

"Alright."

Hearing Dokgo Hyeon's answer, Jin Sa-wol left the main hall and jumped into the sea of fog again.

Whoosh!

* * *

Clang-clang!

Jo Geom-ok, who had parried the flying hidden weapons, glared at the entrance of the dark stairs.

It was the only passage up from the fifth gate. To come up without passing through here, one had to climb the rock wall, which was by no means an easy task.

Next to Jo Geom-ok, two masked men were lying down. A thick smell of blood swirled around.

Thump! Whoosh!

Woo Jeong-bong landed, drawing a splendid circle in the empty air.

"What's going on?"

"There are Demonic Cult guys in there."

At Jo Geom-ok's words, Woo Jeong-bong stared at the bottom of the stairs with a hardened expression.

But only a thick darkness was visible, and there was no sign of a person anywhere.

Woo Jeong-bong, seeing only the pitch-black darkness, asked bravely.

"Should we go in?"

"If you lead the way."

"No."

Woo Jeong-bong shook his head. To be honest, he could not rashly enter because of the gloomy cold air.

Humans instinctively fear and dislike darkness. That is why they want fire.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the sound of the wind, Woo Jeong-bong and Jo Geom-ok moved their swords and blocked the flying hidden weapons.

Clang-clang! Thump!

Just then, a small pouch burst, and a yellow powder scattered in the empty air.

"Ugh!"

"Cover your mouth."

Woo Jeong-bong and Jo Geom-ok retreated, covering their mouths with their sleeves. Immediately after, two masked men shot up from the darkness like nimble squirrels.

The two masked men scattered to the left and right as if they had promised.

"Tsk!"

Jo Geom-ok moved her body to the left and said to Woo Jeong-bong.

"Senior brother, you guard the entrance."

At her words, Woo Jeong-bong, who was about to catch the masked man on the right, stood at the entrance again.

In that instant, two sword blades suddenly shot out from the darkness towards Woo Jeong-bong. It was as fast as lightning.

Woo Jeong-bong swung his sword and shouted.

"Too slow!"

Clang! Whoosh!

He parried the sword that was stabbing from the darkness and at the same time raised his sword energy and cut half of the cave.

Whoosh!

As the sword energy dug in, the sound of hitting flesh was heard.

But there was no scream. There was only the presence of something falling.

"Shit..."

As a curse was heard from below the darkness, Woo Jeong-bong smiled and shook his waist.

"If you're angry, come at me, you rat bastards!"

Woo Jeong-bong, who had learned that there were people, stuck out his tongue as if to provoke them. But what flew in was not a person, but a hidden weapon.

Ping! Clang!

Woo Jeong-bong quickly parried the flying dagger and then looked inside. But the presence had disappeared.

* * *

Ma-ryong, who had come down, sat on the stairs with a face full of annoyance. His subordinates sat behind him.

"If they stand guard like that, hundreds of people can't get out even if they rush in."

Because the entrance was narrow, even if hundreds of people went up, the number of people who could fight was only one or two.

Even two was narrow, and there were many restrictions on movement. In the end, it was good for one person to fight, but how could that be an easy task?

The one guarding the narrow entrance now was Woo Jeong-bong, and he was a master of the peak.

He was not a person that the killing ghosts of the Ghost Spirit Valley could defeat in a head-on confrontation.

As two of his subordinates died from Woo Jeong-bong's sword energy, Ma-ryong let out a curse. His anger had flared up.

But he could not just charge in recklessly.

"Lord Yuk is here, so why are there orthodox faction guys?"

Ma-ryong muttered and stood up from his seat. If he could not use the passage, he had no choice but to climb the rock wall.

"We'll climb the cliff."

At his words, his subordinates nodded and scattered in all directions. Ma-ryong found a suitable area and slowly began to climb the cliff.

* * *

Jin Sa-wol, who had entered the secret warehouse of the Esoteric Sect, lit a candle. As the small light illuminated the inside of the secret warehouse, Jin Sa-wol also lit the remaining candles.

A dozen or so candles illuminated the inside of the secret warehouse.

Compared to when he had left this place, nothing had changed.

But Jin Sa-wol stood quietly at the entrance. A few footprints that he had not seen were imprinted on the floor.

"The moment I close the door, no one can leave this place."

Swish!

Jin Sa-wol, who had taken a step back, took another step out of the door to close the entrance door.

In that instant, a 'whoosh!' sound was heard, and a sword flew in from the darkness. And another sword fell from right above his head.

A man in a black mask was hanging from the not-so-high ceiling like a bat.

Jin Sa-wol, leaving the sword that was stabbing his neck, raised his sword towards the top of his head.

As the light flashed, Jin Sa-wol's figure disappeared.

Whoosh!

The masked man who had jumped out of the secret warehouse and stabbed Jin Sa-wol opened his eyes wide. It was because Jin Sa-wol's figure had disappeared like a ghost.

Just then, a 'thump!' sound was heard, and his comrade who had been attached to the ceiling fell to the ground.

The masked man put strength into his legs to move quickly.

Thwack!

It was then that he felt a shock to his head. The masked man fell to the ground with his eyes rolled back.

Thump

(End of Chapter)