Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 67

"It feels like seeing a cute grandson."

"His skills?"

"I think he'll do as well as me."

"That much?"

"He recognized me."

At the gray-clothed man's answer, Namgung Min crossed his arms and muttered.

"If he does as well as you, it couldn't be better."

As Namgung Min gestured, the gray-clothed man disappeared under the pavilion again.

Namgung Min, who was left alone, had a cold glint in his eyes.

'So that's how it is?'

* * *

"Ugh!"

Woo Jeong-bong, who had sat up with a start, muttered, touching the back of his neck.

"To think someone who is one of the ten great masters would have different words and actions."

"If it were a real battle, you would have died."

At Namgung Ji's voice, Woo Jeong-bong came to his senses and turned his head. In his eyes, he saw Namgung Ji and Jin Sa-wol.

"My father treats even his own children like that."

"It must be hard."

"Yes, it's hard."

Namgung Ji answered honestly. Woo Jeong-bong asked Jin Sa-wol.

"What happened to you?"

"It's fine."

"Young Master Jin is fine."

As even Namgung Ji said he was fine, Woo Jeong-bong felt his pride was hurt for some reason.

Just then, a warrior of the Namgung family entered the room.

"Brother Woo. Are you there?"

"What is it?"

As Woo Jeong-bong raised his head and asked, the warrior answered.

"A guest has come to the guest hall."

"A guest? There's no one who would come..."

"He said it would be fine if I said it was Jo Geom-ok of the inspection pavilion."

"Why is Sister Jo here?"

"Huh?"

At the words 'Sister Jo', Namgung Ji's eyes widened.

"Sister? The person who was following the Murong Pavilion Master like a bodyguard is your sister?"

"Ah, I didn't tell you? She's my sister."

Woo Jeong-bong smiled at the two who were flustered.

* * *

Since the leader of the Martial Alliance and the master of the Wudang Sect were sworn brothers, Woo Jeong-bong, a disciple of the master, and Jo Geom-ok, a disciple of the leader, were sworn siblings.

"Brother Woo."

Jo Geom-ok called Woo Jeong-bong, who was sitting in front of her, with an emotionless face, as if a doll were speaking.

Woo Jeong-bong took in Jo Geom-ok's distinct features and her skin, which was as transparent as white jade.

Although her expression was emotionless, she had an outstanding beauty.

Woo Jeong-bong threw a smile at Jo Geom-ok.

"You didn't even pretend to know me, so what brings you to me?"

"Work comes first. Still, it's not polite not to greet, so I came to see you."

Jo Geom-ok answered in a low voice.

The two were not very close. Although they had run into each other a few times at Wudang Mountain, they had rarely had a conversation.

Although they had also met at the Martial Alliance, they had only had a few conversations.

Jo Geom-ok mainly trained in martial arts at the Martial Alliance, and Woo Jeong-bong spent his time at Wudang Mountain. So even though the two were sworn siblings, they had an awkward relationship.

She looked at Woo Jeong-bong and then turned her gaze to Namgung Ji, who was sitting next to him, and Jin Sa-wol, who was standing at the door, and glanced at them.

"There are many eyes and ears here, so it would be better to see you outside. I'll see you at the Clear Bright Pavilion in front of here in the evening."

"It's fine to talk here."

"Can we talk about trivial matters of our sect here?"

She asked back, turning the question of whether it was okay to let people who were not related hear about the internal affairs of the Wudang Sect.

There was nothing good about letting stories about the sect circulate outside.

"What's the matter? Although Older Brother Woo is my bodyguard, he is a close friend. My older brother's business is my business."

As Namgung Ji, who had never called him 'older brother' before, called him that and cut in, Jo Geom-ok threw a surprised look.

"I'll go out."

Jin Sa-wol, knowing that he was in the way, went outside. Namgung Ji, as if she were also conscious of it, followed Jin Sa-wol out.

As the two crossed the wall of the guest hall and disappeared into the garden, Jo Geom-ok said.

"Brother Woo. The relationship between Wudang and Namgung is not very good right now. If you stay here, you might die at any time."

"Die? Hahaha! Sister Jo, you're looking down on me too much. If it were a life that would die easily, I would have died already."

"You've just been lucky so far. How about going to the Alliance with me?"

"I'll go slowly. It's not too late to go after the Alliance leader has changed."

At Woo Jeong-bong's story, Jo Geom-ok's expression turned cold.

"Do you know the person named Jin Sa-wol who is with Brother Woo well?"

"He's my friend. Is there a need to know a friend's past?"

"A friend, you say. That's good."

* * *

As they passed the small door that led from the guest hall to the garden, they saw a wide pond. As Jin Sa-wol turned in the direction of a small path, Namgung Ji followed.

"What did you talk about so secretly with my father?"

"He said to do a good job of guarding. That's all. I have to go out for a while in the evening. Is that okay?"

"If you come back early."

"I will."

Jin Sa-wol closed his mouth as if he had finished speaking. Namgung Ji, since he was not very talkative, thought that it was not easy to have a conversation with Jin Sa-wol.

"How did you and Mr. Woo get together? The two of you don't match at all."

"Not really..."

Namgung Ji, who was trying hard to continue the conversation, lost her words again.

Namgung Ji, who had been contemplating for a while, asked again.

"What's the reason you accepted my guard duty? I don't think you would have agreed to be my bodyguard without any reason."

"There's nothing to lose by forming a connection with the Namgung family."

"If it's a connection with the main family, my two older brothers would be better than me, right?"

"The two of them didn't come to me."

Jin Sa-wol's answer was, as expected, simple.

The two walked through the garden without a word. As they walked, Jin Sa-wol was standing behind Namgung Ji.

Jin Sa-wol did not step in front of Namgung Ji.

Only then did Namgung Ji realize that Jin Sa-wol was keeping a distance from her.

Although Woo Jeong-bong had tried to get close like a friend, Jin Sa-wol was faithful to his duty as a bodyguard.

'Different.'

The two were definitely different.

A short while later, Woo Jeong-bong ran and stood side by side with Namgung Ji.

"Did Miss Jo go?"

"I sent her away quickly because she was talking nonsense."

"She was pretty."

"What's important about beauty? Her heart is as cold as ice. She's not interested in men."

"Oh my? Then she's a person who likes women?"

Woo Jeong-bong frowned at those words.

"What's in your head? That's not what I meant. It means she's not interested in anything other than work and martial arts training. She's not interested in the affection between men and women."

"That's something you don't know."

"That's right. Come to think of it, Sister Jo was asking this and that about Young Master Jin."

Woo Jeong-bong turned his head and looked at Jin Sa-wol, who was five steps away. Namgung Ji also looked at Jin Sa-wol.

"It seems Sister Jo is very interested in Young Master Jin. Have the two of you met before?"

"No."

"She was pretty. You should meet her once. There's nothing to lose by forming a connection with a disciple of the Martial Alliance leader, right?"

"I'm not interested."

Jin Sa-wol said flatly and then closed his mouth. The two walked forward again.

Jin Sa-wol frowned at the words that Jo Geom-ok had tried to find out about him. That was not interest, but surveillance.

* * *

In the evening, Jin Sa-wol, who had left the Namgung family, headed for his own house.

While he was walking down the road, he saw people in ordinary clothes following him, but he didn't care.

It seemed they were not from the Namgung family.

Jin Sa-wol, who had entered his house, stopped walking when he saw that the furniture that should have been in the room was outside and all the books were on the ground.

It seemed someone had searched the entire house.

Jin Sa-wol, as if he had expected it, was about to enter the room with no particular expression. But a dozen or so warriors, as if they had been waiting, came into the house and surrounded him.

They were all warriors of the Nanchang branch of the Martial Alliance.

"What is it?"

As Jin Sa-wol asked, three warriors of the inspection pavilion, wearing white martial arts uniforms, and Jo Geom-ok came inside.

"A corpse came out of Young Master Jin's house."

"A corpse?"

"Yes. I think we need some explanation."

Although Jo Geom-ok observed Jin Sa-wol's reaction, Jin Sa-wol showed no sign of surprise.

"They are assassins who were aiming for Hyun Jin of Wudang. After killing them, I buried them, but I forgot to tell the authorities for a moment. I was busy."

Jin Sa-wol gave a prepared answer.

Jo Geom-ok said with a gaze full of annoyance.

"I'd like to hear the details at the branch."

"What if I don't go?"

"Are you thinking of fighting with the Martial Alliance? I'm not asking for your cooperation."

"I'm not a member of the Martial Alliance. So there's no reason for me to follow your words. Go back."

"You'll regret it."

"I'll be the one to regret."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok chuckled as if it were absurd and then turned her body. Jin Sa-wol's voice caught Jo Geom-ok.

"You have to compensate for messing up my house like this, right?"

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok took out a money pouch from her sleeve and threw it.

"It will be enough."

As Jo Geom-ok had said, the money pouch was heavy. When he looked inside, there were about ten gold coins.

"With this much, I can drink all night at a brothel and still have some left over."

As Jin Sa-wol nodded, Jo Geom-ok went out with her subordinates.

Only after all the warriors of the branch had left did Jin Sa-wol's expression harden.

'It must be today.'

Judging by her momentum, it seemed Jo Geom-ok would come back again without letting today pass.

Jin Sa-wol, who had entered his bedroom, opened the box he had kept under his bed. But all the hidden weapons and medicine bottles were gone.

Jin Sa-wol, who thought of Jo Geom-ok, shook his head and headed for Honghwaru.

* * *

In a wide room where the lamps were brightly lit, Jo-rim, dressed in a pink palace robe, and Jin Sa-wol were together.

Jo-rim poured the highest quality Shaoxing wine into a wine cup and asked.

"Why did our Sa-wol come to see this older sister?"

She, who had raised her wine cup with a glance, approached Jin Sa-wol's side, placed the wine cup down, and sat.

Swish.

As Jo-rim stuck to his side, her body scent stimulated Jin Sa-wol's nose.

Jin Sa-wol turned his head and looked at Jo-rim's red lips, which were right in front of his nose.

It was a distance where they would touch if he just lowered his head slightly.

"How many members of the Shadowless Hall have entered Nanchang City?"

At Jin Sa-wol's indifferent question, Jo-rim, as if her mood were ruined, stood up and returned to her own seat.

"Why don't you treat this older sister a little prettier? I'm a senior in life, but you seem to be treating me too coldly. You don't even visit often."

"I'll come if it's helpful."

"If it's a member of the Shadowless Hall, wouldn't it be about ten? We're also busy these days. It's overwhelming and difficult just to watch the Namgung family. On top of that, the Beggars' Sect bastards are constantly spreading a dirty smell around the brothel."

Since Jin Sa-wol had seen the beggars while coming into Honghwaru, he nodded. If you forcibly chased away the beggars, they would cause a ruckus, and it was quite annoying to deal with them.

Their methods of resistance were diverse, from lying down in front of the brothel to singing loudly and urinating on the street.

"What kind of woman is Jo Geom-ok?"

"Jo Geom-ok is the fifth disciple of the Martial Alliance leader. She became the leader's disciple at the age of seven, and everyone whispers behind her back that she's the leader's hidden daughter. The story that she's his actual daughter has spread almost as if it were a fact."

Jin Sa-wol just listened without any expression.

Jo-rim poured wine into Jin Sa-wol's cup and continued to speak.

"She has a calm and cool personality, but it seems that's attractive to men. She also has the nickname 'Snow Sword', and she's a master of the peak. Are you interested?"

Jo-rim rested her chin on her hand, observed Jin Sa-wol's expression, and smiled slyly. Jin Sa-wol drank the wine and then said.

"She's perfect for the Ten-Sword Demon."

If you had a suitable identity and an unassailable background, it was easy to be active.

Jo-rim, disappointed that it was not the answer she had wanted, poured wine again.

"The Ten-Sword Demon is not one person, but several. They say the one who killed the master of Azure Sword Sect recently was a woman... but she has never been to Nanchang."

"If I kill Jo Geom-ok?"

"It would be a big deal."

Jo-rim answered and then drank wine. Jin Sa-wol thought of Jo Geom-ok and then contemplated for a moment.

Jo-rim's voice was heard.

"The disciples of Loyal Ghost King have crossed the Yangtze River. They will be crossing over to Guguang soon. You have to be prepared, right?"

"I will."

It was Jin Sa-wol, who answered as if it were nothing. It seemed as if Jin Sa-wol had no tension.

Jo-rim asked again.

"What's the reason you went in as Namgung Ji's bodyguard? No matter how much I think about it, I don't know the reason. If you're looking for the master of the Red Spider Sect, you could have just asked me."

"Namgung Min."

Jo-rim's eyes widened.

(End of Chapter)