Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 73

Jin Sa-wol, who had returned home, saw the three sitting awkwardly and called Bi-sun separately.

"You two, have a talk."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong looked at each other without answering.

Jin Sa-wol, who was watching their awkward appearance, went into the house next door. It was Bi-sun's house.

Bi-sun went inside, boiled water, and said.

"A problem has arisen."

"A problem?"

"It seems Brother Song was caught by the disciples of Loyal Ghost King in Guguang. It seems he's imprisoned in the Gangnam Grand Inn."

The Brother Song that Bi-sun was talking about was Song Ha-sang. Jin Sa-wol showed no particular reaction, as if he had no special feelings for Song Ha-sang.

Bi-sun poured hot water into a teapot with tea leaves and spoke again.

"A doctor of Brother Song's level is not easy to find in the world. That's probably why he was caught. It seems we'll have to go to get him out."

As Bi-sun had said, Song Ha-sang was a very skilled doctor. He was very interested in medicine and was even researching and developing medical techniques using various kinds of insect ghosts on his own.

"Anyway, we have to go to the Gangnam Grand Inn, so it's a good thing. But there's one problem."

"A problem?"

This time, Bi-sun asked and poured tea for Jin Sa-wol.

Drip-drip.

Jin Sa-wol touched the hot teacup and showed a difficult expression.

He looked very troubled about how to speak.

"Is it a big problem?"

As Bi-sun asked again as if to urge him, Jin Sa-wol opened his mouth.

"Actually, I received the help of the pavilion master in catching the Ten-Sword Demon this time."

The pavilion master meant Jo-rim. Jin Sa-wol, who thought of her, frowned.

Bi-sun thought that there was no reason for a person of the level of the pavilion master of Hwahwaru to easily help Jin Sa-wol.

"Help from the pavilion master? You're not close enough to get help without any compensation, are you?"

"She wanted compensation. So I accepted what the pavilion master wanted."

"What is it?"

"I decided to introduce you to her."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just as I said, I decided to introduce you to her. You can go to Honghwaru in the evening."

It was Jin Sa-wol, who spoke indifferently with a nonchalant tone. Bi-sun's eyes widened as if he had lost his words for a moment, and he looked at Jin Sa-wol.

Slurp!

Jin Sa-wol avoided Bi-sun's gaze and drank his tea.

"Hey!"

Thump!

Bi-sun, as if he were momentarily angry, hit the dining table and raised his voice.

"Have you forgotten how well I've treated you? I took care of you when you were sick, bought you drinks, and even fed you when it was time. Knowing how much I've devoted myself to you for the past few years, you sell me? You're telling me to meet that woman? Will you be satisfied only when I meet that black widow-like bitch and get my skin peeled off? Is that it?"

It was Bi-sun, who was showing a rejection reaction instinctively. He was not compatible with her.

"She seems lonely. And you're also alone, even though you're almost forty. So I thought you'd be a good match."

"A matchmaker?"

"Isn't it similar? You're a good match."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Bi-sun let out a deep sigh and then asked.

"Is she pretty?"

"She's pretty."

At Jin Sa-wol's confident answer, Bi-sun's anger subsided a little. If Jin Sa-wol said she was pretty, she was definitely a beauty.

"If it's someone of the level of a pavilion master, there's nothing wrong with making her an ally who will be helpful to us. You must have been aiming for that, right?"

"That's right."

Hearing Jin Sa-wol's answer, Bi-sun drank his tea with a face that said he couldn't help it. It seemed it wouldn't be bad to meet her in advance if he had to meet her anyway.

Swish!

Jin Sa-wol unfolded the blueprint of the Gangnam Grand Inn that he had received from Namgung Min from his bosom.

"This is?"

"The blueprint of the Gangnam Grand Inn that the head of the Namgung family gave me."

"You got something good."

The blueprint of the Gangnam Grand Inn was very complicated. Bi-sun took in the blueprint, which looked like a small castle.

Jin Sa-wol said in a low voice.

"The Martial Alliance Leader made three secret warehouses, and he said he made the Thousand Gold Vault here at the Gangnam Grand Inn."

"The Heavenly Sea Peak Spirit Map?"

"He said he can't give it. It's a matter of course. Fortunately, he said there's a copy in the Thousand Gold Vault of the Gangnam Grand Inn."

"There might not be."

"That's right."

At Bi-sun's smile, Jin Sa-wol nodded.

Even if it were a copy, the value of the Heavenly Sea Peak Spirit Map was immense. There was no reason for the Alliance Leader to keep such a treasure in Guguang, which was far away. It might be a bait that the head of the Namgung family had thrown.

"He said to take the blueprint and the Thousand Gold Vault instead of the Heavenly Sea Peak Spirit Map."

"Did he give a reasonable price?"

"That's right."

Jin Sa-wol answered and then closed his mouth for a moment and examined the blueprint. Bi-sun touched his chin and frowned.

"Although the Gangnam Grand Inn looks like an inn on the outside, if you know it, it's a den of demons. There are the eyes of the Martial Alliance, and there's also the Hao Mun. On top of that, there's also the Demonic Cult. Not only that, but various other forces have entered. It doesn't seem like it will be easy to find."

Bi-sun felt that he had run into a difficult problem. But he couldn't not go either.

"It's an interesting place."

At Jin Sa-wol's smile, Bi-sun sighed and took the blueprint.

* * *

"Since when did you become the Ten-Sword Demon?"

"I think it's been about three years. The first was when I killed Young-chung, the master of the Youngga family, who was famous in Zhejiang. After that, I killed five people. Three of them were unorthodox sect members."

Jo Geom-ok answered truthfully, as if there were no need to hide it.

"Let's go to Wudang Mountain."

"Do you think I will go?"

"Are you refusing?."

Woo Jeong-bong, who had drunk water with a face full of disappointment, took out a wine bottle from the kitchen and placed it on the dining table.

Gurgle!

He poured wine into a rice bowl and then held out the wine bottle to Jo Geom-ok.

"What's with the wine from the afternoon?"

"One drink is fine."

Woo Jeong-bong grumbled and drank the wine down, then asked.

"Did Senior Brother Hyun Jeong really order me to be killed? Is that true?"

It was Woo Jeong-bong, who was asking with a face that still couldn't believe it.

Although Woo Jeong-bong looked very distressed, Jo Geom-ok's expression showed no change.

"What can't you do to become the Alliance Leader? If there's something that gets in the way of your path, you have to get rid of it. You have to be prepared for the sacrifice of the small for the sake of the great. Perhaps Brother Woo was a 'small' to Senior Brother Hyun Jeong."

It was Jo Geom-ok, who showed an eye-smile as if it were interesting while speaking.

That appearance looked unlucky to Woo Jeong-bong. He glared at Jo Geom-ok with a face full of annoyance.

"You tried to kill each other, but you're not bothered?"

"Did we try to kill each other? Who? It's over when you die. If Brother Woo had died, it would have been nothing. It's because you're alive. Don't think about it complicatedly."

"I don't know how to look at Senior Brother Hyun Jeong."

"Just act as you usually do. Originally, Brother Woo was fated to die here by me or Murong Bao. Do you know that? You were lucky to be alive. If Murong Bao had lived, he would have tricked you into going to the Alliance together and then killed you. So it's nothing."

"Why is it so complicated. Anyway, it's a relief that we're alive. Both you and me."

"Go to Wudang Mountain. The martial world is a harsh place for an upright person like you, senior brother."

"Anyway, I was planning to go back tomorrow."

Woo Jeong-bong had to go up to Wudang Mountain and tell the master about the stories he had experienced so far.

He could think about Jo Geom-ok's treatment after that.

'Should I just report that she's dead?'

If he lied, there would be no pursuit of Jo Geom-ok from the Wudang Sect. But he could not tell a lie in front of the master.

"Can I forgive Senior Brother Hyun Jeong?"

"Why forgive? Would a person who tried to kill even his sworn brother to become the Martial Alliance Leader want forgiveness?"

"I'll have to think about how to repay this pain."

Woo Jeong-bong muttered with a hardened expression and then looked at Jo Geom-ok. Jo Geom-ok was drinking tea.

"Before, I just thought you were a cold and cynical junior sister, but you weren't."

"This is me."

Although Jo Geom-ok smiled, Woo Jeong-bong felt a cold feeling.

"What are you going to do from now on? If you don't go back to the Martial Alliance, the Alliance Leader or your senior brother will look for you. Is that okay?"

"I have to find a way to live."

Jo Geom-ok answered with a serious expression.

If she went back to the Martial Alliance, she would have to put the Soul-Stealing Needle in her head again. If that happened, she would go back to how she was before. She would become the Alliance Leader's puppet and have to do everything he told her to do.

"If Young Master Jin called you, wouldn't it be to open a way for you to live?"

"Oh my? You're not as much of a fool as you look."

"What!"

Woo Jeong-bong flared up at the word 'fool'.

Jo Geom-ok laughed lightly, and Woo Jeong-bong suppressed his anger and drank wine.

A short while later, Jin Sa-wol came inside.

Woo Jeong-bong drank a few more cups of wine and then went into Jin Sa-wol's room and tried to sleep. Since he hadn't been able to sleep until dawn with a troubled mind, he quickly fell asleep.

Jin Sa-wol went into an empty guest room with Jo Geom-ok.

"I want to know properly about the Soul-Stealing Needle."

"As expected."

Jo Geom-ok nodded when she saw Jin Sa-wol mentioning the Soul-Stealing Needle.

She recalled that Jin Sa-wol's prayer had changed from the moment he had seen the Soul-Stealing Needle. Just by looking at his attitude, it seemed he was very interested in the Soul-Stealing Needle.

"So you called me."

When he had killed Murong Bao, Jin Sa-wol had told her to go to his house by telepathy.

"Is there no other reason? For example..."

She touched her own shoulder and chest and showed an eye-smile.

But Jin Sa-wol had no particular feeling. Although Jo Geom-ok was being coquettish, compared to Jo-rim's sensuality, she was a child.

"I'm not interested. It's just a corpse when you die anyway."

"The lust of men and women is the foundation of the world and the providence of nature that achieves the harmony of yin and yang and the five elements. To think you don't know that good thing, you're far from realizing the principles of the world."

"Where did you learn such words?"

"I heard it from young wives."

"So have you realized the principles of the world?"

As Jo Geom-ok saw Jin Sa-wol's gaze heat up, she took a step back.

"It was a joke."

At Jo Geom-ok's answer, Jin Sa-wol turned his gaze and opened the window. A cool wind seeped into the room.

"A while ago, I was seriously injured and collapsed, and something like that Soul-Stealing Needle came out of my head."

"What?"

"I asked knowledgeable people, but they said they didn't know. I'm looking into it separately now."

Hearing Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok's eyes widened.

She approached, looking at Jin Sa-wol with a face that said it was impossible.

"Is that true?"

"It's true."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Jo Geom-ok extended her hand and tried to grab Jin Sa-wol's head.

"What are you doing?"

As Jin Sa-wol grabbed that hand, Jo Geom-ok, who had come to her senses, was startled and took a step back.

"Sorry."

Jo Geom-ok, who had apologized without realizing it, opened her eyes wide.

Until now, she had never apologized to anyone except her master. But seeing herself apologizing to Jin Sa-wol today, she was surprised at herself.

Jo Geom-ok opened her mouth with a hardened expression.

"The Soul-Stealing Needle is from the esoteric sect. It's a needle made by the esoteric sect to create a monster, a Heavenly God Armor Body, with the Soul-Stealing Great Law. But how did it come out of your head? That's from the esoteric sect..."

Jo Geom-ok, who was speaking, took another step back.

"There were only five children who succeeded in the Soul-Stealing Great Law of the esoteric sect. The rest died or became soulless dolls."

"The Soul-Stealing Great Law and the Heavenly God Armor Body of the esoteric sect? What is the Heavenly God Armor Body?"

"It's a monster with a body of indestructible diamond and three sixty-year cycles of internal energy. It only follows the orders of the practitioner of the Soul-Stealing Great Law."

"A monster."

Jin Sa-wol knew from Jo-rim that a corpse ghost called the Thousand Armor Corpse had existed hundreds of years ago.

He suspected that it might be related to that.

"As the esoteric sect master who had unfolded the Soul-Stealing Great Law died, the five children were freed from the curse of the Soul-Stealing Great Law. One of them is me."

At Jo Geom-ok's words, Jin Sa-wol showed great interest, as if he were listening to a secret history of the martial world.

"Among the five children, two came to the Martial Alliance with me. But I also don't know the whereabouts of the other two."

"One of them could be me."

"If what came out of your head is really a Soul-Stealing Needle, it would be certain."

"How much do you know about those five children?"