Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 55 : A World Comfortable for a Rat

"Kraak!"

A scream echoed. Ha Mae-sang trembled all over and glared at Jo-rim.

"You damned bitch! What kind of trick is this! If you kill me, you won't be safe either! You son of a bitch! You pig-like bitch! Uwaaaak!"

Ha Mae-sang, who couldn't endure the pain, shouted loudly and cursed Jo-rim.

"Who will kill me?"

When Jo-rim asked, Ha Mae-sang gasped for breath and ground his teeth.

"If you're going to kill me, kill me quickly!"

It was Ha Mae-sang, who had spit on Jo-rim's face.

Although saliva was on her face, Jo-rim smiled as if she liked Ha Mae-sang's spirit.

The attendant standing next to her approached with a startled face and wiped the saliva on Jo-rim's face.

Jo-rim said.

"Killing a person is easy. But opening their mouth is difficult. That's why torture was created, and there are tens of thousands of tortures in the world. Death is a moment, but pain is endless."

Swish!

Jo-rim extended her hand and lightly pressed Ha Mae-sang's right eye with her thumb.

"Ugh!"

Although Ha Mae-sang trembled all over, he kept his mouth firmly shut. Jo-rim whispered in a sweet voice.

"But if you solve all my curiosities, I'll let you live. Although you've lost one eye, you'll be able to live well and boastfully in an unknown countryside."

Jo-rim withdrew her hand and smiled gently. Ha Mae-sang swallowed his dry saliva and looked at Jo-rim with eyes full of worry.

As Jo-rim turned her gaze to the attendant, the attendant took out a handkerchief and approached Ha Mae-sang.

A sweet fragrance stimulated Ha Mae-sang's nose. The attendant deliberately pressed her two legs against Ha Mae-sang's shoulders and wiped his sweat with a gentle touch.

"Since you have a lot of money, pretty women will follow you."

At Jo-rim's words, which were tempting, spreading a fragrant flower scent, Ha Mae-sang nodded.

'Even if you roll in a dog-dung field, this world is better than the afterlife.'

It was a saying that the old people always said. Being alive was a greater happiness than being dead.

He had a hope that he had to live somehow.

"Will you... will you let me live?"

When Ha Mae-sang asked, Jo-rim nodded.

"Of course. I don't lie."

"Understood."

At Ha Mae-sang's words, as the attendant retreated, Jo-rim rested her chin on her hand and asked.

"Why did you hide in the Namgung family?"

"Yun Deok, the branch master of the Nanchang branch of the Martial Alliance, died, so I went because I was scared. I thought Namgung Wi had killed him to silence him. So I thought he might kill me too, so I went under him and hid."

"It's not a bad method."

It was a law to be relieved if the one who knew one's secret was right next to one and could be killed at any time.

It seemed Ha Mae-sang had found his own way to live.

"The one who instigated the killing of Hyun Jin of the Wudang Sect must be Namgung Wi... and Yun Deok must have done it on behalf of Namgung Wi, right? And you hired Shinsuichae?"

"Yes."

"And you made a request to the Red Spider Sect through you?"

"Yes."

It was Ha Mae-sang who had acted as an intermediary between the Red Spider Sect and Namgung Wi.

Jo-rim waved the hand that was supporting her chin and shook her head.

"I know that. Besides that, why did you hide?"

Ha Mae-sang, realizing that he couldn't deceive Jo-rim, swallowed his saliva and answered.

"That's... because of the Ten-Sword Demon. I happened to see the Ten-Sword Demon who killed the master of Azure Sword Sect."

"Really?"

"The person who disappeared suddenly on a moonlit night was definitely a woman. But the Ten-Sword Demon who tried to kill Namgung Ji was a man."

"A woman, but a man?"

"Yes. So I told him that fact. After telling him the fact, I was in the Namgung family because I thought the Ten-Sword Demon might kill me. I was thinking of returning home when things quieted down. I have never betrayed the Hao Mun."

"So the Ten-Sword Demon who tried to kill Namgung Ji was a fake?"

"A fake."

"Who would have sent that fake? Wouldn't it be Namgung Wi?"

When Jo-rim asked, Ha Mae-sang's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"That can't be. Even if the siblings' relationship is not good, if he did such a thing, the head of the Namgung family would never forgive him."

Ha Mae-sang's story was not wrong. But Jo-rim was a person who thought that even if they were siblings, they could kill if there was a benefit. It was because she had often seen such things.

"It's unexpected information. It's good."

Although Jo-rim smiled at the words that the Ten-Sword Demon was a woman, she did not believe all of Ha Mae-sang's story.

"You also know that Jo Mal-sang is dead, right?"

"I know. It's definitely the work of the contractors that Namgung Wi ordered."

"No. The one who killed them was Jin Sa-wol. Jin Sa-wol killed them."

The moment he heard Jin Sa-wol's name, Ha Mae-sang's eyes widened as if he were very surprised.

Jo-rim showed a thick killing intent and spoke again.

"You knew. It was you who hired the Red Spider Sect to kill Jin Sa-wol at the request of Jo Mal-sang and Yun Deok. It was also you who told Jin Sa-wol about Shinsuichae. As a result, Jo Mal-sang died, and Yun Deok also died."

"..."

Ha Mae-sang's eyes trembled finely.

"You must have thought, 'It's my turn now,' and entered the Namgung family. It must have been a good thing that the Ten-Sword Demon had just infiltrated the Namgung family. But you couldn't have talked about Jin Sa-wol. To talk, you would have had to betray Namgung Wi and also talk about Shinsuichae."

Ha Mae-sang trembled all over, then came to his senses and asked.

"You seem to know a lot. How did you know?"

Jo-rim stood up from her seat, went behind Ha Mae-sang, and grabbed his shoulders with both hands.

"The rat hears the night talk, and the bird hears the day talk. Your house next door, all your acquaintances around you are all Hao Mun. They are all my eyes and ears."

"There are so many rats, so many. Hehe!"

Ha Mae-sang laughed as if it were absurd. Jo-rim patted his shoulder and spoke again.

"There's no need to be so surprised. It was also you who gave the information about the master of Azure Sword Sect to the Ten-Sword Demon. Ha Mae-sang, a member of the Shadowless Hall of the Martial Alliance."

"Keuk!"

Ha Mae-sang jumped up from his chair and tried to get up. But he couldn't.

Ha Mae-sang stared blankly ahead as if it were absurd.

"The reason you know that the Ten-Sword Demon is a woman is because you are an informant belonging to the Shadowless Hall of the Martial Alliance."

Jo-rim's voice flowed out, and the attendant standing in front of her took out a small dagger.

Ha Mae-sang trembled all over and said.

"Didn't you... didn't you say you would let me live?"

"It was a lie."

"You bitch!"

At Ha Mae-sang's cold voice, Jo-rim laughed lightly.

"Hohoho!"

Jo-rim tapped Ha Mae-sang's head once and then said to the attendant who was holding the dagger.

"Since he's the one who spit on my face, before you kill him, skin his face and pull out his tongue."

"Yes."

The attendant answered, bowing her head.

"You vicious bitch! Just kill me gently! Just kill me!"

Ha Mae-sang shouted, splattering saliva, at the back of Jo-rim, who was going outside.

The attendant who was holding the dagger approached Ha Mae-sang.

Thump!

With a heavy sound, the door of the stone room closed.

"Kraaaak!"

* * *

A person in a white bamboo hat, with a slender body and a sword on their shoulder, was standing in front of the closed Seonyakru.

The character 'Alliance' of the Martial Alliance was embroidered on their chest.

Their fine shoulders and jawline, through their shoulders and back, drew a graceful curve at the waist, came out at the hips, and continued to the legs.

She was a woman of average height and a well-balanced figure.

She stared at Seonyakru for a while and then turned her body.

On the hilt of the sword on the woman's shoulder, a single character 'ten' was written.

'Not here.'

Not far away, a carriage with the flag of the Martial Alliance and twenty or so horses were passing by. The people sitting on the horses were all warriors of the Martial Alliance, wearing white martial arts uniforms.

The woman approached that place, got on an empty horse, and sat down.

The curtain of the carriage opened, and a handsome man in his late thirties, with distinct features and double-lidded eyes, poked his head out.

"Did you see anything?"

"No."

At the woman's answer, the man said with a face full of interest.

"They say an assassin infiltrated the Namgung family yesterday too. Isn't it interesting? They say it's the Ten-Sword Demon."

Although the man laughed, the woman looked straight ahead with an expressionless face. At the stone-like appearance, the man, as if he had lost interest, closed the curtain.

A short while later, the carriage and horses of the Martial Alliance passed the main road and entered the Nanchang branch.

* * *

In front of a wide open space, three corpses were lying neatly. They were all with their tops off, and there were cross-shaped wounds on their chests.

Namgung Ji was examining the corpses, and around her, a dozen or so warriors were standing.

They were all the guards who guarded the front of Namgung Ji's bedroom.

The Ten-Sword Demon, who had infiltrated at dawn, had returned without being able to enter the bedroom. If she couldn't catch the Ten-Sword Demon, it seemed she wouldn't be able to sleep properly.

"He's definitely nearby. If not in the main house, he's in the city."

Namgung Ji was convinced that the Ten-Sword Demon was living nearby. A young warrior approached Namgung Ji, who was biting her thumb with a frown.

"They say the inspection pavilion master of the Martial Alliance has come to the Nanchang branch. The young master and the second young master have gone to the Nanchang branch. Shall we prepare?"

"Just stay. By the way, the investigation on those who have moved to Nanchang City in the last three months?"

"I belong to the guest hall, so I don't know well."

"That's right."

At the young warrior's answer, Namgung Ji, as if she understood, moved with a fast pace.

* * *

Bi-sun, who had removed the stones on the ground and taken out a large wooden box, put the pitch-black night clothes and sword he had worn at dawn inside.

"This should be enough, right? It's annoying to imitate."

Bi-sun clicked his tongue, put the box in the dirt, and then placed a stone on top to erase the traces.

He thought that if his purpose was to make Namgung Ji suspect the warriors of the Namgung family, he had sufficiently achieved that purpose.

He wouldn't have to use it for a while.

"By the way, why isn't this guy coming? It's definitely time for him to come..."

Bi-sun began to worry about Jin Sa-wol, who had not been heard from for over fifteen days.

* * *

Paradise.

They say it's a place where good people go when they die. Since it's a place without worries and full of only joyful things, they say to live a good life and receive blessings after death.

A six-year-old girl, sitting under a dim candlelight, said.

"So you have to be a good person."

"There is no paradise."

I answered.

The girl shook her head and raised her voice.

"No, there is. Mom said so too. Dad also said so. So there is. They said they would come back to get me later, so I should wait. They said we would go to paradise together."

"We were sold. We're slaves."

"No!"

The girl shouted and rushed at me, biting my hand.

"It hurts!"

I pushed the girl. The girl fell on her bottom and then lowered her head. The girl cried.

"Waaaaah!"

"Hmph!"

As I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. The thick smell of herbal medicine tickled my nose. As I turned my head to the side, I saw Woo Jeong-bong lying on the bed on the opposite side.

Woo Jeong-bong also opened his eyes.

"Hmph!"

Jump!

Woo Jeong-bong, with a startled face, sat up, sweating, and then drank water.

"Hoo... To chase me even in my dreams to pay my debt, there's no other stubborn person. How come none of my absolute martial arts work?"

Woo Jeong-bong shook his head and then his eyes met Jin Sa-wol's.

"Are you awake?"

"Where is this?"

"It's a pretty big village called Yubong Village. The doctor here is skilled."

Hearing Woo Jeong-bong's answer, Jin Sa-wol nodded. It was clear that Woo Jeong-bong had brought him here.

Although it was important to check the condition of his body, there was a bigger problem than that right now.

It was a dream.

"Do you dream?"

"A dream? I dream every day. Are there people who don't dream?"

"There must be somewhere."

(End of Chapter)