Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 68

Jin Sa-wol asked.

"The Demonic Cult went through great chaos in the process of changing its leader. But why didn't the Martial Alliance attack? Why did the Martial Alliance, which shouts for the annihilation of the Demonic Cult to protect justice, just watch that opportunity?"

"You..."

"The old men and the seniors said that the Demonic Cult Leader and the Martial Alliance Leader have the same will. I heard that they are in a relationship where they wipe each other's backs and encourage each other for their mutual benefit."

"You had no intention of living as a hunter from the beginning."

As if it didn't matter what Jo-rim said, Jin Sa-wol continued to speak.

"If the one who inherited the will of the current Martial Alliance Leader becomes the Martial Alliance Leader, the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance will look after each other's backs. But if Namgung Min becomes the Alliance Leader, the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult will have to go to war. The world will be chaotic, and in the meantime, I will eliminate the limbs of the Demonic Cult one by one."

"That's reckless. It's not something you can do alone. If everything went as planned, this martial world would have been peaceful."

"I'm not alone."

Jin Sa-wol poured wine and drank.

Jo-rim recalled the word 'we' that Jin Sa-wol had used.

'Although the Cheon family got rid of Ghost Spirit Valley, they couldn't get rid of the information network that the Na family had. An information network comparable to our pavilion is still alive.'

"It's an organization."

Thump!

Jo-rim, who had kicked the seat and stood up, threw her head back and laughed without realizing it.

"Hohohoho! Now, some of the various questions are being solved. You were originally going to live as a hunter, but since the Martial Alliance Leader is retiring, you started to move. That organization of yours, I mean."

She, who was laughing lightly, had a hardened expression when she felt killing intent and looked at Jin Sa-wol.

A deep killing intent was drawn on Jo-rim's lips along with a smile.

"Are you trying to kill me? Do I look easy because you killed the Loyal Ghost King?"

Jin Sa-wol looked at Jo-rim with an indifferent face.

"Before, I wasn't confident I could kill you. But now, I can."

The smile disappeared from Jo-rim's face. A Slaughter Ghost does not lie.

"If I'm going to die anyway, I should at least know. Who is the leader of your organization? What is the scale of the organization? And I also want to know who the old men and seniors you mentioned are."

"When the time comes."

"You annoying bastard."

Jo-rim crossed her arms and showed killing intent towards Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol was confident that he could kill Jo-rim if he used the explosive burst. But he had no intention of killing her.

"Tell Seomun Ok that if she wants to kill Cheon Woo-rin, she should do nothing and wait."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear what you've said so far. Seeing that you're talking a lot today, it seems you're planning to kill someone, and that's me."

"You said you'd pretend you didn't hear?"

"Hohohoho!"

Jo-rim showed a smile and then sat in a chair.

Rustle!

From behind her, transparent, glass-colored blood-cutting threads fell to the floor.

"The Red Spider Sect Master?"

"Hmm? Why are you asking me that?"

When Jin Sa-wol asked, Jo-rim tilted her head.

Jin Sa-wol held up his wine cup and said.

"If the Red Spider Sect Master has disappeared, he must be here. The pavilion master wouldn't miss a person, would he? Leak it to the Nanchang branch. Use the Red Spider Sect Master as bait to get rid of the Shadowless Hall guys."

"Why should I help you? Surely... you're not ordering me now, are you?"

"An order? Hmph!"

Jin Sa-wol laughed without realizing it. Although it was just a light laugh, Jo-rim's eyes widened.

"You're laughing?"

"Why?"

Jin Sa-wol changed his expression again, and Jo-rim rested her chin on her hand with a disappointed look and stared at Jin Sa-wol.

"Laugh again."

"Seomun Ok will tell me to help."

"Hmph..."

At Jin Sa-wol's expressionless face, Jo-rim frowned with a face full of annoyance.

"The Red Spider Sect Master's ransom is expensive. If I hand him over to the Namgung family, I can easily get a thousand gold nyang..."

"It seems my story is not worth that much?"

"It's not enough. Unless you tell me about the old men or those seniors. You said 'we', so that 'we' too."

Jin Sa-wol thought of Bi-sun and nodded.

"I'll introduce you to that 'we'. First of all, he's handsome. He's tall, and his body is well-built from martial arts, so he's sturdy and has good stamina. He's a person who will never get tired even if he moves day and night for several days."

"Really? I'm interested since he's handsome."

"He's on a job somewhere else right now, but he'll be here in a few days."

"I'll look forward to it. I have very high standards. You know that, right? If I don't like him, I'll make him a eunuch."

"As you wish."

Jin Sa-wol answered without caring, since he wasn't the one dealing with it anyway.

Jin Sa-wol's eyes turned to the ceiling. Jo-rim also raised her head.

"It's a rat."

Jo-rim muttered and gestured to Jin Sa-wol with her eyes. Jin Sa-wol nodded.

Jo-rim threw the teacup in her hand at the ceiling.

Thwack!

As the roof tile broke and the teacup shot up, a black shadow, whoosh! flew through the air.

But as if it had expected the movement of the black shadow, a sharp, awl-like flash pierced its abdomen.

"Keok!"

Thump!

The black masked man who had fallen to the ground looked at Jin Sa-wol and Jo-rim, who were standing in front of him.

A dagger from Jo-rim's hand fell on the masked man's forehead.

'A perfect joint attack...'

The masked man closed his eyes with that thought.

Jo-rim pulled out her dagger, which was embedded in the masked man's forehead.

"If you kill him, you can't interrogate him, can you?"

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo-rim shrugged her shoulders once.

Jin Sa-wol took off the masked man's mask and then confirmed his face. Jo-rim said.

"He's one of Murong Bao's bodyguards."

"I know."

Although Jo-rim, who was sorry for killing him, recognized his face and spoke, Jin Sa-wol closed his mouth after saying a cold word.

Jo-rim kicked the dead body and said.

"It seems our teamwork is good. Shall we practice a bit while we're at it?"

"I'll pass. Get ready."

"Tomorrow night. Come to the abandoned manor near the Yichang pier."

At Jo-rim's words, Jin Sa-wol nodded and then went outside.

* * *

"Hap!"

"Ura-chaat!"

Clatter-clang!

In a wide training ground, two people were fighting, letting out loud shouts and metallic sounds.

It was Namgung Wi and Woo Jeong-bong.

The two had already been fighting for nearly half an hour. Soaked in sweat, they were breathing heavily.

Woo Jeong-bong, while cutting Namgung Wi's shoulder with his sword, shouted.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Why are you cursing, you crazy bastard!"

Namgung Wi quickly dodged to the side and tried to swing his sword. But the sword, soaked in sweat, suddenly flew away.

Whoosh!

The flying sword brushed past Woo Jeong-bong's earlobe.

Namgung Wi's eyes widened. Woo Jeong-bong's eyes also widened.

"You son of a bitch! You were determined to kill me! I knew it!"

Thwack!

Woo Jeong-bong threw his sword and punched Namgung Wi's face.

Thwack!

"It was a misunderstanding! You bastard! It slipped!"

Thwack-thwack!

Namgung Wi also, while being hit in the face, kicked and punched Woo Jeong-bong's chest and legs.

But Woo Jeong-bong endured the pain and descended upon Namgung Wi. The two rolled on the ground, cursing loudly.

"Die! You bastard!"

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

"You son of a bitch!"

Thwack! Thwack-thwack!

The two took turns getting on top of each other and punching.

"Ha..."

Namgung Ji, who was watching from a distance, sighed and shook her head.

A disciple of the great Wudang Sect and a child of the great Namgung family were having a dogfight like commoners.

Fortunately, there was no one around.

Since they had sent everyone outside before starting the duel, the two fought with their pride thrown away.

The two, who had been punching and kicking, retreated as if they were tired and then collapsed.

"Damn it!"

"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!"

Both of them had burst lips and bleeding noses. Their eyelids were also swollen, and their clothes were torn here and there.

"Hey! Why did you try to kill me? Tell me honestly, you son of a bitch."

"A disciple of the Wudang Sect has a mouth as dirty as a Beggars' Sect member."

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me. Why did you do it? Why did you do that to me?"

"The Alliance leader said he would retire. And who did he point to as the next Alliance leader? It's Hyun Jeong, Hyun Jeong! My father opposed that and stepped forward to become the Alliance leader. So what do you think will happen? Is your head empty?"

"What I'm asking is, why did you try to kill me!"

As if he had no interest in the matter of the Alliance leader changing, Woo Jeong-bong let out killing intent towards Namgung Wi.

Namgung Wi jumped up and raised his voice.

"I had no intention of killing you! I was just trying to give you a threat. Since you're a disciple of the Wudang Sect, I was telling you to go to Wudang Mountain or the Alliance."

"You're talking nonsense. A threat? I almost died, and you call it a threat? I won't forget this grudge."

"Right now, Wudang and the main family are hell-bent on finding each other's weaknesses. They're thinking of lowering each other's reputation by any means necessary. In the midst of that, you came here, so what do you think I would think? Of course, I would think that you came down from Wudang Mountain to find a weakness in the main family! Isn't that right?"

At Namgung Wi's fast words, which were like a fast sword, Woo Jeong-bong brushed off his bottom and stood up.

"I'm not interested in weaknesses or anything like that. I just came to do what I have to do."

"It has nothing to do with your thoughts or will. The fact that you are here is to pressure the main family."

"We'll know when we catch the Red Spider Sect Master. Whether you were really just trying to threaten me, or whether you were trying to kill me."

"Do as you please."

Namgung Wi held the blood in his mouth and then spit it on the floor.

"I'm going. Let's not run into each other for a while."

"I also have no lingering feelings for the Namgung family. I'll be leaving, so don't worry."

As Namgung Wi moved away, Woo Jeong-bong also touched his lips and then walked outside. Namgung Ji approached.

"Older Brother Woo hit him five more times."

At those words, strength went into Woo Jeong-bong's shoulders. He felt good.

Woo Jeong-bong showed a proud smile and then sighed.

"I have to leave tomorrow."

"What? What about the guard duty?"

"That guy's right. It's not right for me to be in the Namgung family in this situation."

"On the contrary, I think it's more right because it's this time?"

"Huh?"

As Woo Jeong-bong looked with a swollen face, Namgung Ji smiled brightly.

"You have to let it be known that you are my bodyguard. See, the Wudang Sect and the main family are on good terms. We can let that be known both internally and externally. That no matter who becomes the Alliance leader, the Wudang Sect and the Namgung family will have a close relationship."

At Namgung Ji's smile, Woo Jeong-bong's heart was greatly shaken. Hearing it, it was not a wrong statement.

'Am I easily swayed?'

Woo Jeong-bong rolled his eyes and tried to hold on to his wavering heart, which was like a reed.

* * *

As he entered Sunokwon, Jin Sa-wol was standing in front of the yard.

Jin Sa-wol looked at the face of Woo Jeong-bong, who was coming inside.

"What's with your face?"

"I was hit."

As Namgung Ji answered instead, Woo Jeong-bong shook his head.

"It's not that I was hit, but I hit him. I had a duel with Namgung Wi, and I won."

"That's a relief."

Jin Sa-wol spoke sincerely and then grabbed Woo Jeong-bong's shoulder.

"I have to go to Yichang tomorrow evening. Let's go together. Let's have a meal."

Yichang was a neighboring village that was not far away.

'Why is this guy suddenly like this?'

He suddenly recalled the memory of leaving Nanchang City, saying he was going to find the Blood Curtain. Woo Jeong-bong instinctively smelled a similar scent to that time.

"Do we have to go?"

"Yes."

"I'll go too. The Poyang Lake seen from Yichang is beautiful. I should enjoy a walk after a long time and enjoy the fish scent."

At Namgung Ji's words, Jin Sa-wol nodded without answering. Then, as if he were busy, he headed for his own room.

As he moved away, Woo Jeong-bong muttered.

"This is ominous..."

(End of Chapter)