Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 17 : Spill (2)

Kang Yu and Jin Sawoon, who had crossed the river again by boat, searched the area around the pier. But they couldn't find the goods they wanted.

Around noon, the two, sitting in a tavern not far from the pier, ordered and ate noodles for a late lunch.

Jang Muryong approached and sat down next to the two who were eating in the tavern.

"I found it."

The two who were eating noodles stopped their chopsticks at those words. As the waiter approached, placed down a pouch, and retreated, Jang Muryong put the pouch in his mouth and spoke again.

"It's in a private house in Ye-chon, about ten li from here. It's a large house surrounded by tea fields, and Seo Woon-gang is waiting there."

"The Inspection Pavilion?"

"I've informed them."

At Kang Yu's question, Jang Muryong nodded. Kang Yu put down his chopsticks and stood up.

"Let's go."

As he took the lead, Jang Muryong hastily swallowed the pouch. Jin Sawoon also stood up from his seat.

* * *

Tea fields spread wide around a private house located on the mountainside, far from Ye-chon.

The house was quite large, with the length of its walls being about a hundred zhang.

Beyond the walls, there were a dozen or so houses, and there was also a spacious yard and garden. At a glance, it was the house of someone who appeared to be a local dignitary.

At the main gate, two stout men stood guard with sabers on their shoulders.

Black smoke descended behind the two of them. Immediately after, with a 'thwack-thwack!' sound, they fell to the left and right.

The two stout men, who had been struck on the back of the head, were fortunately still breathing.

The one who had descended was Kang Yu.

As Kang Yu subdued the two, Jin Sawoon opened the gate from inside.

"Who is it! Keok!"

"Ugh!"

With screams, the sound of people falling lingered around the house.

"Enemy! Eok!"

Thump! Thump-thump! Thud!

The guards were falling at the hands of Jang Muryong and Seo Woon-gang.

Kang Yu and Jin Sawoon quickly moved to the warehouse.

The warehouse was in the left corner of the house and was quite large.

In front of it, a dozen or so stout men were lying down, unable to move.

Thump!

With a heavy sound, Jang Muryong opened the door of the warehouse. Kang Yu went inside the warehouse and looked around.

In the meantime, Seo Woon-gang dragged out the homeowner who had been hiding. The homeowner was a fat man with a protruding belly, who appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties.

The size of his face was twice that of Seo Woon-gang, and his build was also twice as large, but Seo Woon-gang dragged him out and threw him to the ground.

Splat!

"Keuk!"

The middle-aged man who had fallen to the ground stood up with a face full of anger and dusted off his clothes.

"What on earth are you doing? What have I done wrong for you to be so violent in broad daylight?"

Although the middle-aged man raised his voice and spoke, neither Seo Woon-gang nor Jin Sawoon opened their mouths.

The middle-aged man looked at the two, then saw Jang Muryong and Kang Yu coming out of the warehouse and shouted again.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you going to commit robbery in broad daylight? Do you think the Heavenly Divine Cult will stand still?"

Although he mentioned the Heavenly Divine Cult, Kang Yu approached the middle-aged man without a word and struck him on the neck.

Thwack!

"Keok!"

The middle-aged man, who had received a strong shock, staggered and fell, then gasped for breath. Since it wasn't enough to kill him, no one stopped Kang Yu.

"When is the Inspection Pavilion coming?"

"They will be here within one shichen."

As Jang Muryong answered, Kang Yu also nodded.

"It's all in here. They've hidden it well in a place like this."

At Kang Yu's words, Jang Muryong brought a rope and bound the middle-aged man.

"We'll guard this place until the Inspection Pavilion arrives."

"Yes."

At Kang Yu's words, everyone answered and then moved the fallen stout men to one side. They also collected the willow-leaf sabers they had and piled them up next to the warehouse.

Jin Sawoon went inside the warehouse, discovered the silk and boxes with the words 'Heavenly Divine' written on them, and nodded.

They were certainly the goods that had been taken while guarding Dokgo Hye.

Suddenly feeling a strange feeling, Jin Sawoon went outside and spoke to Kang Yu.

"The security is too lax. These are important pieces of evidence, but the fact that there isn't even a proper warrior bothers me."

At Jin Sawoon's words, Kang Yu frowned.

He hadn't felt anything strange, but now that Jin Sawoon mentioned the security problem, it bothered him.

The answer came from Seo Woon-gang.

"Isn't it because they had to move the luggage in a hurry? It seems they couldn't pay attention because they were in a rush."

"That makes sense."

Rather than thinking complicatedly, Kang Yu tried to find a simple answer like Seo Woon-gang's words.

Then he recalled the young man who had eluded them in the morning.

The young man who had leisurely crossed the river by boat, leaving them behind, had clearly known he was being pursued.

As he was thinking that, he heard a 'whoosh!' sound in his ear.

"Huh?"

Jin Sawoon turned his head, and when he discovered the young man standing on the roof of the house, his complexion changed.

Cheon Woo-rin, dressed in a blue long robe, smiled and looked around at the four men in black standing in front of the warehouse.

"So it was you."

Whoosh!

Cheon Woo-rin, who flipped his body in the air like the wind, landed on the ground with a light movement.

Seeing him, Kang Yu's expression hardened.

"Isn't it Young Master Cheon?"

"It hasn't been long since we parted, but it's good to see you again like this."

Cheon Woo-rin spoke to Kang Yu and looked around at Jang Muryong and Seo Woon-gang. Then his gaze stopped at Jin Sawoon.

It was a face he hadn't seen before.

'Is it that bastard?'

He had a feeling that the one who had made him so annoyed was Jin Sawoon.

He stared at Jin Sawoon intently and then turned his gaze to Kang Yu.

"What brings you here?"

Kang Yu briefly contemplated how to answer Cheon Woo-rin's question. At that moment, dozens of warriors appeared on the roof.

They were all holding swords in their hands, were in blue martial arts uniforms, and some even had bows on their backs.

Jin Sawoon's eyes went to the young man standing on the left roof. It was the young man who had passed by on the boat in the morning.

He was looking at Jin Sawoon with a slight lift of his lips.

The distance to Jin Sawoon was about five zhang, and the others were standing between ten and fifteen zhang away.

'They're warriors of the Cheon family.'

He could tell they were Cheon Woo-rin's subordinates without having to be told.

Jin Sawoon's expression was indifferent and unchanged. Rather, the expressions of Jang Muryong and Seo Woon-gang were hardened.

Kang Yu said.

"We're looking for something we lost."

"Are you saying that thing is here?"

The sharp killing intent created by Cheon Woo-rin pierced Kang Yu's entire body. He knew that his life was on the line depending on his answer.

"That's..."

As he hesitated and trailed off, with a 'creak!' sound, Seomun Ok slowly walked in.

She walked slowly, her pink skirt fluttering. As she looked around the warehouse, she saw the middle-aged man with his head bowed low and then extended her hand to the side.

Ping! Thwack!

With the sound of wind, a silver light flashed, and a large iron needle pierced the middle-aged man's temple.

"What are you dawdling for? We don't have much time."

"We were together for a short while, so I can't just do that."

Cheon Woo-rin shook his head at Seomun Ok's words and turned his gaze to Kang Yu.

"Tell me. What was inside?"

Kang Yu opened his mouth with a hardened expression.

"The goods that disappeared from our Cult were stored in this house. But that's not what we're looking for."

"That thing is?"

"The Butterfly Crown."

"The Butterfly Crown is of course not here. Would I have stored something so precious in a shabby place like this?"

"Other than that, they seem to be goods stolen by these people. Ordinary things."

At Kang Yu's words, Seomun Ok smiled faintly, and Cheon Woo-rin nodded.

Kang Yu said that these people had committed theft.

"Are you trying to open a path to live? Well, if you're going to silence them, that's a good way to do it."

"We saw nothing and heard nothing."

"Hahahaha!"

At Kang Yu's words, Cheon Woo-rin laughed out loud and then said.

"How can I believe that?"

Cheon Woo-rin looked at the flustered Kang Yu and spoke again.

"Kill your subordinates with your own hands. If you kill them all, I'll believe your words and let you live."

At Cheon Woo-rin's words, everyone's expression hardened.

Kang Yu clicked his tongue as if it were absurd and then said to Cheon Woo-rin.

"The Inspection Pavilion will be here soon. It is a fact that Young Master Cheon betrayed our Cult, joined hands with the Zhongnan Sect, and attacked the young lady. The evidence is here. Many Cult members died because of that."

"So?"

"It means you have to take responsibility."

"Hahaha!"

Cheon Woo-rin shook his head, knowing that Kang Yu's group had figured everything out.

"The Inspection Pavilion is not coming."

At those words, Kang Yu's expression hardened. They had to come for him to get out of this crisis.

"What do you mean?"

"They already raided Hwahwaru against the Seomun family and got nothing. A mistake can be overlooked once, but twice? If they come here this time and get nothing, they'll have to offer their necks. Do you think they'll gamble with their own necks?"

As Cheon Woo-rin said, no one would easily gamble with their own life.

But this was not a gamble but a fact, and it was something the Inspection Pavilion should naturally do.

"That's a hard story to believe."

"Did you think the Inspection Pavilion would do its job properly in this situation where the Cult Leader has announced his retirement? You're a naive friend."

Cheon Woo-rin spoke mockingly and laughed lightly.

It was only then that Kang Yu realized that the Cult was in a state of chaos. As Cheon Woo-rin said, it felt like the Inspection Pavilion would not come.

"Kill them quickly."

Hearing Seomun Ok's words, Cheon Woo-rin waved his hand.

"It's no fun to kill them easily. It's more fun to scare them a little more and then kill them. Wouldn't they feel a little less wronged if I told them why they ended up like this?"

"You have a bad taste."

As if it were a joke, Seomun Ok's eyes were smiling.

Cheon Woo-rin spoke to Kang Yu.

"Actually, these goods were moved here this morning. If I hadn't prepared in advance, I would have been in big trouble. If I had been caught by the Inspection Pavilion, I or the owner here might have been punished by having our dantian destroyed or our limbs cut off."

Cheon Woo-rin trembled his shoulders for a moment as if the thought alone sent a chill down his spine, and then spoke again.

"But someone helped us. Should I say that the heavens helped? In the morning, someone came and told me to prepare because the Inspection Pavilion would be coming. I didn't believe his words, but there's no harm in being careful."

At those words, Kang Yu showed a cold expression. Cheon Woo-rin smiled.

"It means there's a traitor among those who know about this."

Cheon Woo-rin was mocking Kang Yu.

Kang Yu quickly searched his mind at the existence of a traitor. In that instant, with a 'thwack!' sound, a sword protruded from Kang Yu's abdomen.

Kang Yu, with his eyes wide open, turned his head and looked at Seo Woon-gang, who was holding the sword.

"Seo Woon-gang?"

In that instant, Jin Sawoon embraced Kang Yu, kicked Seo Woon-gang's shoulder, and jumped up.

Papapat! Whoosh!

"Seo Woon-gang! You bastard!"

Jang Muryong, who had also quickly noticed, unfolded his lightness skill and threw a dagger at Seo Woon-gang.

"Hmph!"

Seo Woon-gang avoided the incoming dagger and then turned his body. Cheon Woo-rin shouted.

"Chase them! Chase them and kill them!"

Shwaak!

In that instant, with the sound of wind, a sharp dagger flew towards Cheon Woo-rin. It was a dagger thrown by Jin Sawoon.

Cheon Woo-rin raised his sword and parried the dagger.

With a 'clang!' sound, the dagger fell to the ground, and Seo Woon-gang, holding a blood-stained sword, approached Cheon Woo-rin.

"I'm sorry. I could have killed them all..."

Seo Woon-gang smacked his lips as if disappointed and lowered his head. Cheon Woo-rin, with his smile gone, said.

"Well done. I was thinking of killing you too, but I didn't know you would stab a comrade. With that level of loyalty, you're worth having. Chase them and kill them."

"Yes."

Whoosh!

Seo Woon-gang answered and then jumped over the roof.

(End of Chapter)