Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 59 : Unsentimental Ghost

He was a first-class Slaughter Ghost. Even for Jin Sa-wol, it was not easy to detect his presence.

The daggers that flew without a sound were the Shadowless Dagger Art, and the enemy who moved with the Ink Shadow Heart Art was assimilated into the darkness.

Jin Sa-wol parried the daggers that flew in, drawing a circle with his sword.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

With a sharp metallic sound and sparks, the daggers went up into the air.

Jin Sa-wol parried the falling daggers in all directions, drawing a circle again.

Clatter! Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Jin Sa-wol, who had parried every single dagger in all directions without missing one, emitted a thick killing intent and revealed his presence.

It was to lure the enemy, using himself as bait.

But the enemy was cautious. Only a faint flow of air could be detected, and there was no presence to speak of.

Rustle!

The sound of a bug crawling was heard from the room on the left.

'Bait.'

Thwack!

As Jin Sa-wol's figure went up on the roof on the right, ten daggers flew in again from all directions as if they had been waiting.

Jin Sa-wol used the Thousand-Pound Drop to break through the roof and fall down.

Thump!

Five Blood-Cutting Silks brushed past the legs of Jin Sa-wol, who had fallen into the room. It was a trap that had been set in advance.

Thwack-thwack!

"Ugh!"

As blood splattered, Jin Sa-wol frowned slightly.

Rustle!

The moment a faint sound was heard from the left, Jin Sa-wol's sword first cut through the air and pierced the wall.

Thwack!

Papapat!

As the sound of fluttering clothes was heard, Jin Sa-wol shot up and landed on the roof.

His eyes, which were looking in all directions, glittered like a beast's. In his eyes, a black shadow moving to the north was briefly seen and then disappeared.

Jin Sa-wol looked around the house once and then flew to the north, chasing the black shadow.

* * *

Jang-gak, who had entered a dense forest on the shore of Poyang Lake, which was full of darkness, entered a half-collapsed abandoned house and sat down.

"Keuk!"

He took off his clothes, examined the left side where blood was flowing, and pressed it. He applied a gold-sore medicine for hemostasis and then tore his clothes and tied it tightly.

'What on earth has happened in the past five years?'

Jang-gak had fallen behind the wall when Jin Sa-wol had moved. The thought that it couldn't be brushed past his mind when a sword had entered his side.

If his movement had been a little slower, the sword would have pierced his abdomen.

Although he prided himself on his fast hands, Jin Sa-wol was even faster. The sight of him receiving the daggers that had been thrown, unfolding the Shadowless Dagger Art, was enough to startle his heart.

"I need support."

But he couldn't give up. The fact that he had been defeated by Jin Sa-wol and that he had run away felt shameful.

"Number Ninety-nine..."

More than the fact that he had failed the mission, the fact that he had been had by a young junior and a beginner Slaughter Ghost crushed his pride.

'Still, it's a relief.'

Jang-gak smiled without realizing it.

Hearing from Jo-rim that his injuries were severe, he had sent his subordinates in first. It was a measure to let them gain practical experience, but it had instead created a way for him to live.

If he was alive, he could always get revenge.

As long as he recognized that Jin Sa-wol's martial arts were completely different from what they had known, he could also prepare.

Thanks to the three dead subordinates, it had become a blessing in disguise.

Even if he made a mistake once, there would be no second time.

Swish!

Jang-gak, who had stood up from his seat, held his side and left the abandoned house.

Ting!

He opened his eyes wide without realizing it at the transparent silk thread that had wrapped around his neck in an instant.

"Don't tell me?!"

The thread had flown from inside the abandoned house where he had been sitting and had wrapped around his neck.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Jin Sa-wol, who had jumped over the roof, returned to his house, which was full of moonlight, and landed in the yard.

Although he had chased the enemy for about two hours, he had lost him.

In the yard, Jin Sa-wol saw a light in the room and went inside. In the room, Jo-rim was sitting under a candlelight.

"We cleaned up the corpses."

"Thank you."

Jin Sa-wol spoke briefly and then sat on the bed. Then Jo-rim's gaze turned to Jin Sa-wol's legs.

"You couldn't even move because you were so immobile, but you were faking it?"

"Who was I faking?"

When Jin Sa-wol asked back, Jo-rim did not answer.

She just showed a face full of annoyance for a moment.

"Since you killed Jang-gak's subordinates, Ghost Spirit Valley will now come out in full force."

"So it was Jang-gak."

Hearing the name Jang-gak, Jin Sa-wol thought of the hidden weapon technique. Jang-gak was skilled in the hidden weapon technique, and the daggers he threw were difficult to dodge.

Jo-rim asked.

"Jang-gak?"

Jin Sa-wol shook his head.

Jo-rim sighed and said.

"Haa! You lost him? Shouldn't you chase him and kill him? If that guy runs away alive, it will be annoying in the future."

"Who did I lose?"

When Jin Sa-wol asked, Jo-rim smiled.

"Jang-gak."

"You have your subordinates too."

"My kids cleaned up the corpses. You chased him, so there's no need to go."

Jin Sa-wol nodded at Jo-rim's story.

"We don't miss our enemies."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo-rim's eyes widened.

'We?'

In that instant, Woo Jeong-bong came to Jo-rim's mind. But she knew that Woo Jeong-bong had headed for the Namgung family with Namgung Ji.

If so, it meant that there were more comrades. But as far as she knew, Jin Sa-wol's only comrade was Woo Jeong-bong.

But it probably wasn't Woo Jeong-bong.

Jo-rim suddenly realized that she knew almost nothing about Jin Sa-wol.

'You slippery eel-like bastard.'

"I didn't know you had a comrade you call 'we'. You must be close, right?"

When she asked about herself, Jin Sa-wol looked at Jo-rim with his characteristic indifferent face.

"That hair?"

Jin Sa-wol changed the subject.

Jo-rim shook her head.

"Not yet. By the way, this isn't the answer I wanted."

"I'll introduce you later. That friend is afraid of Hwahwaru."

"Oh dear."

Jo-rim smacked her lips with a disappointed expression and stood up.

"There's nothing to eat, and there's no decent man, so I'll be leaving now."

Jo-rim gave Jin Sa-wol a nod with her eyes and then went outside.

* * *

Whoosh! Thump!

Jang-gak, who had been sucked into the abandoned house, rolled on the floor. The silk thread that had wrapped around his neck tightened with a strong force.

He raised his sword to cut the silk thread and cut above his head. Just then, he saw a sword falling in front of his eyes.

Thwack!

The sword pierced his solar plexus and was deeply embedded in the floor.

When the hilt of the sword touched his solar plexus, he saw the hand that was holding the sword.

"Keuuuk!"

Rustle!

A person was slowly rising from the floor. That figure slowly raised its head and smiled at the lying Jang-gak.

"I was sitting right in front of you, but you couldn't see me. I'm disappointed."

Jang-gak took in the face of the man he had never seen before with his eyes.

A young man with an ordinary impression.

Bi-sun smiled a cold smile full of killing intent.

But Jang-gak just glared at Bi-sun with an expressionless face.

"Hurry up and kill me."

"You don't know me?"

"I don't know what kind of bastard you are, but your skills are good. Are you from the Shadowless Hall of the Martial Alliance?"

"Oops! I forgot. I'm used to this face."

Udeudeuk!

Bi-sun grabbed the flesh that was wrapped around his neck and tore it off. Then his entire face was torn off.

Inside, the face of a young man with a completely different pale skin was visible.

Jang-seok's eyes widened.

"Bi... Unsentimental Ghost."

Bi-sun raised his foot and stepped on the hilt of the sword.

"You should call me senior."

"Keo-eok!"

Jang-gak trembled all over, vomiting blood with a pained face. Then, as the strength in his whole body drained, he went limp.

Bi-sun touched the human-skin mask and frowned deeply. To use the human-skin mask again, he had to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed when he had torn it off.

It was a work that required sincerity.

"I showed you for no reason."

Bi-sun muttered and then collected Jang-gak's body.

* * *

As dawn came, Jin Sa-wol, who had stood up from his bed, went out to the backyard and then jumped over the wall. Immediately after, a black shadow moved, following him.

As Jin Sa-wol's figure passed the main road and entered the market, the black shadow that had been moving behind also headed for the market.

But a short while later, the black shadow that had reappeared at the entrance of the market sat on a roof.

The black shadow, wearing a mask, was Il-hu, a subordinate of Jo-rim. The reason Jo-rim had left her was to find out Jin Sa-wol's accomplice.

But since she had lost him, there was no way to find out.

The black shadow that had lost Jin Sa-wol sat there for a long time, and then, as the sun was about to rise, she headed for Honghwaru.

Jin Sa-wol, who had confirmed that Il-hu had disappeared, standing in an alley, came out to the main road and headed home.

It was a law that it was dark under the lamp.

Thump!

Bi-sun, who had put the human-skin mask in a drawer, put fire in the furnace and began to make glue.

"Jang-gak?"

"I killed him."

Bi-sun, who had answered the voice from behind, turned his body and then held out the decoction he had boiled yesterday to Jin Sa-wol, who was sitting at the dining table.

Jin Sa-wol frowned.

"Can't you do something about the decoction? It's fishy."

"Things that are good for the body are bitter and fishy."

Bi-sun chuckled and then sat in a chair.

"How did you know it was Jang-gak?"

"Jo-rim told me."

"That woman is very busy. She has to be the pavilion master, take care of the Hao Mun. On top of that, she has to do the work of Hwahwaru, and she has to look around you."

Bi-sun recalled the memory of seeing the passing Jo-rim when he had gone to Honghwaru to drink. It had been a few days ago, and she was a very attractive woman.

It was not strange for a man who lived alone to go to a red-light district.

Bi-sun asked.

"How were the Slaughter Ghosts?"

"They were clumsy, but they were okay."

"You're generous."

"Because they're dead."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Bi-sun showed an expression of incomprehension.

"Jang-gak's skills have regressed. It seems he has neglected his training since he became a cadre of Ghost Spirit Valley. He has lost the basic sense of a Slaughter Ghost."

Jin Sa-wol, who was drinking the decoction while listening to Bi-sun's story, frowned deeply.

Even Jin Sa-wol, who rarely showed a change in expression, found it hard to endure the decoction that Bi-sun had made.

"I don't think I should ever get hurt again."

"Hahaha!"

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Bi-sun laughed loudly. Bi-sun soon stopped laughing and said with a serious face.

"Since the Slaughter Ghosts are dead, there will be no major threat for a while. But since you killed Loyal Ghost King, the Demonic Cult Leader will know your name."

The difference between the Demonic Cult Leader knowing him and not knowing him was like heaven and earth. It meant that the entire Demonic Cult would be watching him.

A smile sat on Jin Sa-wol's eyes. He looked very pleased that the Demonic Cult Leader would know him.

"Destroy Ghost Spirit Valley and kill the Demonic Cult Leader."

* * *

In front of the closed door of Seonyakru, three beggars of the Beggars' Sect were sitting and begging. They sold cheap laughs to the people who visited Seonyakru, but their income was not much.

It was not a good place to beg.

Even when night came, the beggars seemed to have no intention of leaving the spot. As if they had even put saliva on Seonyakru, they occasionally observed Seonyakru.

As the hour of the rat passed, the beggars spread out their blankets and tried to sleep.

As the beggars fell asleep, a short while later, a masked man dressed in black night clothes entered the second floor of Seonyakru.

The masked man was a woman with a figure like a gourd bottle.

Although she searched the room, she could not find anything. It was already the third time. Although she had searched thoroughly three times, there was no clue to the disappearance.

Rustle!

As she disappeared from Seonyakru, one of the beggars of the Beggars' Sect opened his eyes.

"I think I heard something."

"Shut up. Go to sleep."

As his comrade next to him grumbled, the beggar who had opened his eyes looked around and then closed his eyes again.

* * *

The masked woman who had been to Seonyakru entered her room, which was located in the guest hall of the Nanchang branch, changed into a white martial arts uniform, and then sat on the bed.

'I have to find the guy who impersonated me.'

That was the reason she had come here to Nanchang.

"If I find him, I'll kill him."

She, who had revealed her killing intent, held her sword in her arms and tried to sleep, leaning against the wall.

(End of Chapter)