Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 6 : Bodyguard (1)

He was referring to Steward Soo, Soo Seon-wi.

He was also the younger brother of Soo Yang-yeong, who was called the Great Lady of the Na family.

When Soo Seon-wi's son, Number Two, Soo Jeong-bong, died, Na Hyungi was greatly surprised by Number Ninety-nine.

He never thought there would be someone among those who learned martial arts in Ghost Spirit Valley who could kill Soo Jeong-bong.

Soo Jeong-bong had entered Ghost Spirit Valley with him, but he had not come as a friend.

He was someone who had come along to watch over him.

The other children also seemed to be there for the purpose of surveillance rather than as friends or comrades.

They were people he couldn't give his affection to, and he had no intention of giving his affection to Ghost Spirit Valley in the first place. But Number Ninety-nine was different.

He had met his father before entering Ghost Spirit Valley. At that time, his father had told him to take the outstanding individuals in Ghost Spirit Valley as his subordinates.

He had said that forming a group that followed him would give him greater power.

Becoming close with Jin Sawoon was something Na Hyungi himself had wanted.

He was a talented individual with outstanding skills, despite having no connection to his family.

"Since there's no evidence, it won't be easy to find out who the culprit is. It would be better to wait for the next opportunity. If they find out you're alive, they will surely come for your neck again."

Hearing Na Hyungi's words, Jin Sawoon crossed his arms and had the same thought. Silence was affirmation, and after a short silence, Jin Sawoon opened his mouth.

"Someone told me that there would be an attack tonight. I need to find that person too."

"It seems someone among those who are after your life is on your side."

Na Hyungi replied as if it were no big deal, but his expression as he looked at Jin Sawoon was full of interest.

"I don't know who it is, but if it's someone who has goodwill towards you, they will surely approach you."

"Wait?"

"Yes."

Na Hyungi presented the correct answer, and Jin Sawoon, as if his business was done, turned his body. Na Hyungi's voice was heard again.

"Dokgo Hye is a selfish woman who only knows herself."

"I know."

Jin Sawoon replied briefly and then disappeared without a sound. After he disappeared, Na Hyungi shook his head, sat down in his chair again, and drank his tea.

"Who could it be?"

If the one trying to help and the one trying to kill were on the same side, they would fail.

* * *

As a single candle was lit in the dark room, Jang Muryong, who was lying on the bed, shot up.

"Who is it?"

Jang Muryong, who was quickly reaching for his waist, showed a hardened expression when he saw Jin Sawoon standing there holding a candle.

He hadn't heard any presence entering. If it weren't for the light, he wouldn't have even woken up.

Jin Sawoon spoke to Jang Muryong with an indifferent face.

"There's a bastard who lit sleep-inducing incense in my room and sent in a Black Centipede."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone tried to kill me."

At Jin Sawoon's cold voice, Jang Muryong's expression hardened. Jin Sawoon spoke again.

"You said it. That I would die soon. It sounds like you said that because you knew in advance what would happen in my room today, doesn't it?"

"No."

Jang Muryong was startled and shook his head. As a cold killing intent pressed down on his shoulders, cold sweat trickled down his spine.

"I just overheard Number One and his subordinates saying they were going to kill you, so I was just blabbering. I was trying to warn you."

Jang Muryong waved his hands and carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

Jin Sawoon did not stop Jang Muryong's actions. Jin Sawoon was confident that he could kill Jang Muryong first, no matter what move he made.

"As soon as I heard your warning, this happened. Isn't it strange?"

"It could be strange enough, but it wasn't me."

Hearing Jang Muryong's answer, Jin Sawoon soon took a step back and placed the candle on the table.

"You said it was what Number One and his subordinates were saying? When and where did they say that?"

"I overheard them talking on the first floor of the main hall in the afternoon. Several people were talking about you."

"Was Number One there?"

"That's..."

When asked about Number One, Jang Muryong trailed off for a moment and looked flustered. Thinking back, it seemed Number One wasn't there.

"I don't know."

"Did you see Number One?"

"I don't think he was there."

At Jang Muryong's answer, Jin Sawoon nodded and said.

"Sleep-inducing incense or a Black Centipede aren't things you can get your hands on."

Swish!

Jin Sawoon opened the door and spoke to Jang Muryong again.

"Forget about today. I wasn't here, and you don't know anything. It's not good for the problem to get bigger."

"Alright."

Thud!

As the door closed, Jang Muryong let out a deep breath and lay down on the bed again. He closed his eyes, but sleep did not come easily.

* * *

From early in the morning, dozens of Slaughter Ghosts were seen leaving Ghost Spirit Valley, which was filled with thick fog.

Steward Hyung-wook, who was standing by the window on the fourth floor of the main building of Ghost Spirit Valley, watching them, was stroking his beard.

The white-haired man had worked as the steward here in Ghost Spirit Valley for over sixty years and had watched three Valley Lords change.

He had also seen countless young Slaughter Ghosts transform into adult Slaughter Ghosts. And the images of those who had disappeared and died without a sound also remained in his memory.

In Hyung-wook's eyes, he saw Team Three, along with Kang Yu, leaving the main building and heading towards the entrance of the fog-filled Ghost Spirit Valley.

He quietly watched the back of Number Ninety-nine, who was standing at the very rear of Team Three.

To Hyung-wook, who had watched over the many children who grew up in Ghost Spirit Valley, Number Ninety-nine, Jin Sawoon, was an outstanding talent.

Occasionally, outstanding talents like him, who had not caught the eye of others, would come to Ghost Spirit Valley.

When he was young, he didn't seem to have any outstanding qualities, but he began to show his prominence from his mid-teens.

Among the various martial arts learned in Ghost Spirit Valley, his Ink Shadow Heart Art and Ghostly God Steps had reached the peak, and his swordsmanship was also of a high level, so there were few who could match him among his peers.

"He didn't die."

Right behind Hyung-wook, a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, appeared.

He was a man like a dry piece of firewood, with a flexible body like a reed, dressed in hemp cloth.

He was Song Ha-sang, the master of the Earth Insect Hall, which handled poisonous insects and creatures.

At Song Ha-sang's turbid voice, Hyung-wook nodded.

"He's not the kind of guy to die easily."

At Hyung-wook's voice, Song Ha-sang frowned. Because Jin Sawoon hadn't died, the steward or the Great Lady who had ordered the job would reprimand him.

Perhaps they might even come in person.

"I put a Black Centipede in the sleep-inducing incense, but there's no trace of it. It also bothers me that he spent the night as if nothing had happened and then left."

If he had killed the Black Centipede, he would have surely reported it. But there was no report from Jin Sawoon. There was also no talk of a disturbance last night.

"Your plan failed. That's all."

At Hyung-wook's words, Song Ha-sang, as if his pride was hurt, lightly bit his molars and clenched his fists.

Hyung-wook felt the strong killing intent rising from behind him but paid it no mind.

"It's a waste to just kill him. Isn't he a talent we haven't seen in a long time?"

"There are many to replace him."

"Not many."

Hyung-wook said curtly and turned his body. Facing Hyung-wook's cold eyes, Song Ha-sang lowered his head.

"Don't make any useless moves. Your plan to use the Black Centipede was not good in the first place. You are the one who keeps the Black Centipede and manages that place. If he died from a Black Centipede, who would be suspected first?"

Hyung-wook's words meant that if Number Ninety-nine had died from a venomous creature, he would be the first to be suspected. Knowing that well, Song Ha-sang did not answer.

Hyung-wook spoke again.

"I will deal with the Great Lady. Go. Another opportunity will come."

"Yes."

Song Ha-sang replied and quietly went outside.

After he left, Hyung-wook sat at his desk, wrote a message, took out a pigeon from a cage, tied it to its leg, and released it out the window.

Flutter!

'I can't let him die so easily.'

Hyung-wook stroked his beard, watched the pigeon disappear into the sky beyond the fog for a moment, and then soon turned his body.

* * *

The pigeon flying in the sky was not headed for the Na family, but for the main headquarters of the Heavenly Divine Cult, which was filled with countless tall buildings and pavilions.

The pigeon, flying over the roofs of the main headquarters, turned towards the rear garden and flew towards its destination.

A short while later, the pigeon flew over the lush forest of the rear garden and sat on the windowsill of a separate building.

* * *

A woman sat in front of a large mirror that could reflect her entire body. Behind the woman, a cute-looking girl with her hair in a pigtail was combing her hair.

The girl swept the woman's fine hair, placed a hair ornament with a silver butterfly on it, and inserted a red hairpin with a phoenix pattern into the back of her hair.

The woman sitting in the chair was beautiful.

She was a woman with skin as white as snow and glowing with a soft light like jade, eyebrows like a crescent moon, and large, clear, and transparent eyes like a deer.

A hand so fine it could be called a 'slender jade hand' touched her red lips.

"The head of the Jeon family in Chang'an is celebrating his seventieth birthday. Why do I have to go to that old man's feast?"

She spoke as if going to Chang'an was a great complaint. As her still youthful voice flowed out, the girl who had finished the hair ornament took a step back and answered.

"Lord Jeon is a person with a deep friendship with the Cult Leader. Since the Cult Leader cannot go in person, if you, my lady, go in his place, Lord Jeon will also be very happy."

"It's annoying to talk to an old man for a long time, so I'll just greet him and come right back."

"Yes, my lady."

The girl replied with a smile.

The woman looking in the mirror was the granddaughter of the Heavenly Divine Cult Leader, named Dokgo Hye. Her status as the Cult Leader's granddaughter and the daughter of the Dokgo family made her one of the most famous women in the martial world.

But her beauty was even more famous than her family's prestige.

She was called the 'Snow Flower Beauty' among the Three Beauties of the Martial World and was known as a beauty so outstanding that one could not forget her after seeing her once.

Her handmaiden, Soo-soo, also had bodyguard duties, so she had a sword propped up next to the door.

"If we go to the Jeon family, will the Seven Dragons also come?"

"I'm not sure about that."

The Seven Dragons referred to the seven most famous prodigies among the rising generation of the martial world. Their fame often reached Dokgo Hye's ears, so she was quite interested.

Dokgo Hye, who was examining her face through the mirror, stood up as the bodyguards approached.

"My lady, it is time to depart."

As the leader of the bodyguards spoke, Dokgo Hye smiled.

* * *

Around noon.

From the main gate of the Heavenly Divine Cult, a four-horse carriage and about fifty horses and two carriages loaded with luggage followed behind.

Jang Muryong and Gwak Ho were sitting in the rearmost of the two luggage carriages.

In the driver's seat, Jin Sawoon was slowly driving the horses along with Seo Woon-gang.

Kang Yu seemed to be at the head of the group with the bodyguard leader.

"I thought we would be tasked with assassinating traitors, but being a bodyguard, doesn't it feel like we're on the sidelines?"

When Seo Woon-gang asked, Jin Sawoon, who was sitting with his arms crossed, shook his head.

"It won't be an easy job."

Jin Sawoon thought that if it were a simple bodyguard mission, the bodyguards alone would have been sufficient. They were all warriors of the Dokgo family and first-rate warriors who had trained in martial arts for over ten years.

He believed that they were brought in because it was judged that these warriors alone were not enough.

Jang Muryong, who was sitting in the back, came over and leaned his back against the railing, speaking.

"There's a rumor that the reason the Cult Leader isn't showing his face in the great hall is because of an illness. There's talk within the Cult now that the next generation needs to be decided. There's also talk that those outside who hold a grudge against the Cult will take this opportunity to attack."

"Where do you pick up so many rumors?"

When Gwak Ho asked, Jang Muryong smiled.

"I heard it at the main hall. With the information network of Ghost Spirit Valley, this much is basic knowledge. The current state of the Cult, that is."

At Jang Muryong's words, Seo Woon-gang turned his head and spoke to Jang Muryong and Gwak Ho.

"It's been half a century since the Heaven-Shaking Martial Lord, Dokgo Cult Leader, has ruled the Cult. During that time, there have been many big and small incidents within the Cult, but there have been no major problems. But if the Cult Leader steps down, a period of chaos will come. In the past, there was a great period of chaos, and many people died."

At Seo Woon-gang's words, Jang Muryong laughed lightly and then said.

"Hehe! Seo Woon-gang. Do we need to worry about such things? We're just pawns to be used and discarded. We don't need to worry about what the higher-ups in the Cult are doing. We just need to do what we're told. It means that since the Cult might enter a period of chaos, we should protect our own lives."

"I'm saying this because it's closely related to us."

Jin Sawoon, who was listening to Seo Woon-gang and Jang Muryong's conversation, was silent with a blank expression.

'Steward?'

(End of Chapter)