Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 40 : That Person is the Enemy

"How foolish."

Son Ae-hwa shook her head and stared at Im Woo. Im Woo, who received her gaze, had a greatly excited expression.

But soon, as if he had resigned himself, he turned his eyes and looked at Jin Sa-wol. As much as the blood flowed, the strength was draining from Im Woo's eyes.

"When did you two get together?"

"A few days ago."

"From the beginning."

Jin Sa-wol and Son Ae-hwa gave different answers. Son Ae-hwa smiled.

"I liked you from the beginning."

At Son Ae-hwa's words, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

"Not me."

"I did."

Im Woo, who saw the two's argument, said to Jin Sa-wol with an absurd face.

"If you betray the Cult, there is only death. No matter how much you are, you can't avoid it. If I die, the Cult will send other executioners. They will also create a new branch."

Jin Sa-wol was silent. It was something he already knew.

But it was something that would take time, and it was a problem he could think about slowly.

If the regular contact from the Nanchang branch was cut off, they would come to investigate. The Flower Ghosts would also come to investigate if they couldn't be contacted.

But all reports had to go up to the main headquarters, and since the main headquarters had to make a decision, it would take a considerable amount of time.

He didn't know if it would take a few months or a few years.

"When did you know that we were from the Heavenly Divine Cult?"

"Before you moved in."

"Oh dear... It's been a long time."

Im Woo muttered with a dejected expression and then laughed lightly. The phenomenon of a final burst of energy before death appeared on Im Woo's face.

"It was still quite fun with you..."

Im Woo, who was muttering in a low voice, slowly closed his eyes as if his strength had run out.

"It was fun."

Jin Sa-wol was just looking at the deceased Im Woo.

* * *

Swish! Swish!

Son Ae-hwa, who had covered the pit with soil, put strength in her feet and stomped on the ground. She stomped on the ground a few more times with force and then approached where Jin Sa-wol was sitting.

Jin Sa-wol was looking at the dark night sky.

Im Woo and Jang Ha-jeong were buried together, and Ha So-eun was buried next to them. The three fell asleep in an unnamed wild mountain without a tombstone.

Jin Sa-wol thought that his future would be no different from theirs. So he had no feelings.

Son Ae-hwa said, dusting off her hands.

"With this, I can live freely for a while."

"For a while."

Jin Sa-wol answered and then asked Son Ae-hwa.

"What are you going to do now?"

"You?"

"I'm going to live as I am."

"Won't executioners come from the Demonic Cult?"

Son Ae-hwa asked with a hardened expression, as if she were surprised. Jin Sa-wol's house was already a known place. Normally, it would be normal to abandon that place.

Jin Sa-wol answered with an indifferent face.

"The main headquarters of the Demonic Cult is thousands of li away. Do you think they will send numerous cult members to catch just one of me? Executioners don't move in groups."

As Jin Sa-wol said, there was no way the Demonic Cult would send hundreds of people to the Central Plains. That was the same as saying they wanted to go to war with the Martial Alliance.

If hundreds of masters from the Demonic Cult crossed over to the Central Plains, there was no way the Martial Alliance or the numerous martial arts sects of the Central Plains would just stand by and watch.

Son Ae-hwa said.

"I'm going to travel for a while. I want to live freely. There's also a place I have to go."

"Where?"

"Hometown."

"Hometown? Do you remember your hometown?"

When Jin Sa-wol asked, Son Ae-hwa smiled.

"I remember. Everything about how I went to the Demonic Cult when I was young."

"Your parents too?"

"I remember."

Son Ae-hwa answered and then stared at Jin Sa-wol.

"You? You don't remember anything?"

"I have no memory."

Even when Jin Sa-wol thought of his childhood, he couldn't see anything. The earliest memory was when he had entered Ghost Spirit Valley, received clothes, and was given the name Number Ninety-nine.

Thump! Thump!

Jin Sa-wol dusted off his buttocks, stood up, and said to Son Ae-hwa.

"Farewell."

"Are we parting like this?"

Although Son Ae-hwa showed a disappointed expression, Jin Sa-wol walked into the darkness without a word. Since they were not on affectionate terms, parting was also easy.

"Don't die."

Son Ae-hwa threw a word and then disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

A small pleasure boat was floating on the wide Poyang Lake.

On the deck, Woo Jeong-bong and Sang Yu-rim were sitting side by side, looking around the shore of Poyang Lake and chatting.

The two were leaning on each other's shoulders like an affectionate couple and were having a pleasant time.

Sang Yu-rim leaned on Woo Jeong-bong's shoulder, observed the small fishing boats floating in the distance, and said.

"I never imagined I would be riding a pleasure boat like this with a disciple of the Wudang Sect."

"That's the same for me. Who would have thought I would meet Yu-rim while subjugating bandits?"

"It's fate."

"It's fate."

Woo Jeong-bong smiled and wrapped his arm around Sang Yu-rim's shoulder. Sang Yu-rim, as if she didn't dislike it, leaned into his embrace.

"I've been curious about something for a while, but I couldn't ask."

"Tell me."

"Why are you with that hunter? A Taoist of the Wudang Sect and a hunter don't match at all, do they? He's a person whose orthodoxy or unorthodoxy is unknown."

At Sang Yu-rim's words, Woo Jeong-bong shook his head.

"Whether it's orthodox or unorthodox is not important. What's important when looking at a person is whether they have an upright heart. Jin Sa-wol is a solid person with an upright heart. I have something to learn from him."

"What is it?"

"The attitude towards the sword."

At the words that he had something to learn, Sang Yu-rim showed an expression of incomprehension. Although she also trained in martial arts and used a sword, she was curious if there was anything to learn from a wanderer whose school was unknown.

'Is he being humble?'

Since a disciple of the great Wudang Sect was saying he would learn sword art from a mere wanderer, she couldn't think of what to say.

The martial arts of Woo Jeong-bong that she had seen were by no means at a level that a wanderer could deal with.

As Sang Yu-rim's face seemed to be full of some complaint, Woo Jeong-bong smiled.

"You have a face that doesn't understand."

"To be honest, yes."

At Sang Yu-rim's answer, Woo Jeong-bong loosened his upper garment and showed his left shoulder. Since Sang Yu-rim also knew about the wound there, her face said, 'Why?'

"The one who pierced this place is Jin Sa-wol."

"How?"

"Just one second. He pierced my shoulder in just one second. He has a fastest sword than anyone I've ever met. The moment you read the opponent's hostility, that opponent is already dead."

"The moment you harbor killing intent, you die?"

At Sang Yu-rim's words, Woo Jeong-bong nodded.

"He has a sword path that I don't have."

It was Woo Jeong-bong, who was saying something incomprehensible. Sang Yu-rim just thought that was the case.

Chwareuk! Chwareureuk!

At the sound of parting the water, Woo Jeong-bong turned his head, and in his eyes, he saw two small boats slowly approaching.

"Huh?"

On the small boats, five men were standing, and in their hands, they were holding bows and arrows.

Woo Jeong-bong's eyes widened.

"It's an attack."

Woo Jeong-bong jumped up and drew his sword. Sang Yu-rim also hurriedly stood up and drew her sword.

In that instant, arrows flew towards the boat.

Shwish-shwish-shwik!

Woo Jeong-bong and Sang Yu-rim quickly swung their swords and parried the arrows. From behind, another three small boats were approaching.

The small boats, five in total, were approaching, surrounding the pleasure boat.

Shwik! Shwish-shwik!

The distance from which the arrows were flying was about five zhang, a distance that was difficult to leap in one go.

Clatter-clatter!

Woo Jeong-bong, who had raised his sword and continuously parried the arrows, observed Sang Yu-rim.

Sang Yu-rim was lying flat on the deck. He could see arrows embedded in her leg and shoulder.

Although she had been hit twice in that short time, Sang Yu-rim did not even scream. It was because she was worried that Woo Jeong-bong might be flustered by her scream.

Woo Jeong-bong, without even being able to ask if she was okay, parried the arrows flying from all directions.

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Arrows were embedded in various places on the pleasure boat. What flew in after that were fire arrows.

Hwareuk! Shwish-shwish-shwik!

The fire arrows flew, aiming not at Woo Jeong-bong, but at the boat. Woo Jeong-bong, with a very angry face, swung his sword at the mast of the boat.

Shwik-gak! Thump!

Woo Jeong-bong, who had cut down the mast of the boat in an instant and thrown it into the lake, spoke to Sang Yu-rim and jumped up.

"Wait."

Sang Yu-rim answered by nodding.

Woo Jeong-bong stepped on the mast that had fallen into the lake and then flew towards a small boat.

"Block him!"

"He's in the air, so there's nowhere to dodge. Strike!"

The stout men standing on the small boat shouted and drew their sabers.

In that instant, a light flashed, and the sword energy that flowed from Woo Jeong-bong's sword cut their bodies and the boat.

"Kraak!"

"Ugh! You son of a bitch! He's a master! I didn't hear anything like this!"

Crash!

As the boat was cut, the stout men who were on it either died or fell into the lake.

Woo Jeong-bong quickly jumped to another boat, cut down the stout men who were on it, and then jumped back to the pleasure boat.

Hwareureuk!

The pleasure boat was burning with black smoke. Woo Jeong-bong, who had landed on it, embraced Sang Yu-rim.

Through the black smoke, he could see other small boats approaching from the opposite side. Although he wanted to jump in and fight, he didn't have time for that right now.

Sang Yu-rim's injury and the fact that they were on a lake, not on land, held him back.

"I will definitely find you bastards and kill you all!"

Woo Jeong-bong shouted loudly, then jumped up and fell onto the small boat where the corpses were left.

Sang Yu-rim, as if she had forgotten her pain, was blankly looking at Woo Jeong-bong, who was holding her.

"You're cool."

At her words, Woo Jeong-bong shook his head, placed her on the boat, and rowed.

The small boat cut through the surface of the lake at a fast speed and moved forward. Woo Jeong-bong, who turned his head, looked at the burning pleasure boat and the small boats loitering around it.

'What kind of bastards are they?'

* * *

Jin Sa-wol, who was eating rice in Seonyakru, said as Ha Mae-sang sat in front of him and poured him tea.

"The dogs that left the house show no sign of returning. It doesn't matter if they don't come back, though."

"Do you have dogs? I haven't seen any."

"I do."

"Dogs are like that, they go out in the morning and come back when they're hungry. Sometimes they wander around outside, fall in love, and come back with puppies, or they bring them."

At Ha Mae-sang's words, Jin Sa-wol decided not to care anymore.

"The tofu shop was empty. Where did they go?"

"I don't know."

Jin Sa-wol answered with an indifferent face.

Since the tofu shop was not open, people thought it was strange for a few days. But as time passed, they said, 'Didn't they go to their in-laws' house?' and didn't pay much attention.

It seemed people also didn't know about the disappearance of the mother and daughter from next door.

Five days had passed like that, but there was still nothing special.

Ha Mae-sang sighed and spoke again.

"To think the branch master was killed by an assassin. I knew it would happen. He incurred resentment here and there with his loan sharking, and in the end, he went like that. Tsk-tsk!"

"Do you think he died well?"

"He died well. To be honest, he was a bit of a bad guy."

Ha Mae-sang recalled meeting Jin Sa-wol on the day Jang Woong had died.

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

When Ha Mae-sang asked, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

"I am not an assassin."

"Well."

Ha Mae-sang also acknowledged that he was not an assassin. An assassin and a hunter were different professions from the beginning, and the work they did was also different.

"It would be better to be careful."

"Why?"

"The Blood Curtain has put a bounty on your head."

At Ha Mae-sang's words, Jin Sa-wol, as if he already knew, nodded and stood up.

"Are you leaving already?"

Although Ha Mae-sang asked, Jin Sa-wol went outside without a word.

(End of Chapter)