Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 77 : The Night is Dead (6)

As Do-gang collapsed, Yuk Seol-jeong, who was squatting in front of him, poked his cheek with her index finger.

"I'm not interested in revenge for a perverted master. I don't want to be the Chung Pavilion Lord either. What I want is the demonic essence pill. Why should I share that good thing? If you hadn't suggested eating the demonic essence pill, you would have lived a few more days... Tsk! Tsk!"

Yuk Seol-jeong slapped Do-gang's cheek once and then took out the jade box from his bosom.

After that, she took the jade boxes on the round table and looked at the door. Her eyes met Song Ha-sang's, who was looking at her from there.

"Song Ha-sang."

"Yes."

Song Ha-sang, who had watched everything, opened the door with a nervous face.

"I'm leaving this place now. Take care of the deadly poison in your body yourself. You'll have a seizure in fifteen days, so find a way to live before then."

At Yuk Seol-jeong's words, Song Ha-sang's eyes widened. Her words were the same as telling him to just die.

Thwack!

"Huh?"

Yuk Seol-jeong stared blankly at the sharp sword blade that had come out of her Tiantu acupoint.

'A dream?'

Is it a dream? As she was thinking that, the sword blade disappeared as if by magic. Immediately after, the strength drained from her entire body.

"What is this nonsense... I finally got everything..."

Clang!

With a slippery echo, a red sword blade came out of Yuk Seol-jeong's neck.

As the sword disappeared again, Yuk Seol-jeong stared blankly at Song Ha-sang and fell to the side.

Behind the fallen Yuk Seol-jeong, Jin Sa-wol was standing.

Song Ha-sang's eyes widened when he saw Jin Sa-wol. A thick tear fell from his trembling eyes.

"Young Master Jin. Hmph!"

Warak!

Song Ha-sang hugged Jin Sa-wol as if he had met a family member who had been separated for several years. But Jin Sa-wol pushed him away with a cold face.

"Are these the disciples of Chung Pavilion Lord?"

"That's right."

Song Ha-sang answered and then took out a white bottle from the sleeve of the deceased Yuk Seol-jeong and ate the antidote that would get rid of the deadly poison in his body.

"I couldn't run away because she fed me a deadly poison. Now that I've eaten the antidote, I'm relieved."

Song Ha-sang drank water and then swallowed his dry saliva when he saw the jade box that had fallen on the floor. Song Ha-sang, who felt Jin Sa-wol's gaze, picked up the jade box and handed it to Jin Sa-wol.

"It's a demonic essence pill."

"A demonic essence pill?"

Jin Sa-wol also held the other jade boxes in his hand. Jin Sa-wol also knew well about the demonic essence pill. It was one of the treasures of the Demonic Cult that he could not get even if he wanted to.

There were a total of four demonic essence pills. He gave one of them to Song Ha-sang.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"You need to replenish your energy."

"Thank you, thank you."

"Let's go."

Jin Sa-wol walked outside as if he had finished his business. Song Ha-sang followed him closely.

"Are you just going to leave the corpses?"

"It's better for the inn to know. That way, the heads will move."

"A beheading."

Song Ha-sang spoke with a hardened expression and then moved, following Jin Sa-wol, who was walking ahead.

Jin Sa-wol only went around the alleys where there were no people. Although it looked strange to Song Ha-sang, he thought it was a matter of course for a Slaughter Ghost.

* * *

Song Ha-sang, who had entered Jin Sa-wol's dark room, collapsed into a chair. He looked quite tired, as if the tension had been released.

The light was not lit.

"What happened?"

When Jin Sa-wol asked, Song Ha-sang talked about what he had experienced so far. And he also told him in detail about the things that the disciples of the Chung Pavilion Lord had done.

They had all tried to kill him together, but had been betrayed by Do-gang and Yuk Seol-jeong, and Do-gang had been killed by Yuk Seol-jeong.

Since Jin Sa-wol had killed Yuk Seol-jeong, Jin Sa-wol could not even speak a proper word with the disciples of Loyal Ghost King.

He said there were two more disciples who had gone to Nanchang, but he had never seen them.

Jin Sa-wol was most interested in the story of the youngest, Yuk Seol-jeong, who had died at his own hands.

"They all died because of the demonic essence pill."

"In the end, that's what happened."

"How did you get caught?"

"That Yuk-ga bitch recognized me and ambushed me."

Since it was an expected answer, Jin Sa-wol closed his mouth for a moment. Song Ha-sang, who was barely holding back his heavy eyelids from closing, said.

"I'm tired, so I want to rest today."

"One more thing."

"What is it?"

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

Jin Sa-wol was not a person who held on to people. And Jin Sa-wol's voice had almost no change in pitch.

But now, his voice felt as if it were trembling.

"The Soul-Stealing Needle? What is it?"

Song Ha-sang thought about the Soul-Stealing Needle and looked at the small piece of cloth that Jin Sa-wol was holding out.

As he unfolded the cloth, two small hairs appeared there. They were from Jo Geom-ok's head, and he had two of the ones that had been embedded in his palm.

Song Ha-sang injected his internal energy and then flicked the Soul-Stealing Needle, which had stood up in a straight line, with his finger.

Ting!

As a faint sound was heard, Song Ha-sang smiled.

"It's the Soul-Stealing Needle of the esoteric sect."

"Do you know well about the Soul-Stealing Needle?"

Song Ha-sang asked, observing Jin Sa-wol's face.

"Is there a reason you're curious about this?"

"One of these also came out of my head. It seems there are a few more."

"This is serious. Did this come out of your head?"

"No. I got it by chance."

"To think there's a Soul-Stealing Needle here..."

Song Ha-sang spoke as if he knew about the Soul-Stealing Great Law and then put the Soul-Stealing Needle in his sleeve and said.

"It will take time to find out."

"Understood."

"Then I'll rest first. My eyes are closing."

Song Ha-sang smiled and then lay on the bed and tried to sleep. Perhaps because he was very tired, or because the tension had been released, he began to snore.

Jo Geom-ok's voice was heard in the darkness.

"What should I do now?"

"Go to sleep."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Jo Geom-ok was silent. As her presence disappeared, Jin Sa-wol sat in a chair and closed his eyes.

Bi-sun, who had been wandering the shopping district, returned at dawn.

* * *

Early in the morning, as corpses were discovered in a separate room, the Gangnam Grand Inn became very noisy.

Several warriors were standing outside the separate room. There was also a constable from the authorities, and he retreated when a middle-aged man approached.

The middle-aged man, wearing a silk robe and a scholar's hat and holding a folding fan in his hand, was the guest room master and steward of the Gangnam Grand Inn.

As he appeared, a middle-aged warrior approached and said.

"All four who were staying in the separate room are dead."

"How?"

"It seems they killed each other."

"Oh my... Tsk! Tsk!"

The guest room master clicked his tongue and went into the separate room. As he went in, the guards blocked the entrance.

The guest room master, who had gone inside, clicked his tongue when he saw the corpses of Do-gang and Yuk Seol-jeong lying in the room. Then he looked at the back of the woman in white who was standing in front of the bedroom.

"You must be in a difficult position since the acquaintances of the brothel master have all died like this."

Mae Jeong-mun, the brothel master, turned her head at the guest room master's voice. She had a round face that looked to be in her mid-twenties and had dimples.

"These are people of the Demonic Cult."

At Mae Jeong-mun's words, Oh-chung was not greatly surprised, as it was a fact he knew. His eyes turned to the large silkworm cocoon on the bed.

"What is that?"

"It's a corpse. Seeing that it was made with great care, there must be poisonous insects raised in the Chung Pavilion inside the corpse."

"You cruel bastards."

Oh-chung shook his head as if the thought alone were terrible.

"He liked poisonous insects, and in the end, he became food for poisonous insects even after he died."

"It's best to burn it and get rid of it."

"That would be good. But how are you going to report it?"

"I have to report it as it is. There are no signs of an external intrusion, and five came, four died, and one disappeared. If he left the inn, he couldn't have gone far."

"I'm looking for him."

Oh-chung answered and then touched his long mustache.

But they did not know that Song Ha-sang was now inside the inn.

"Let's go to the Golden Pavilion."

As Oh-chung turned his body first, Mae Jeong-mun went with him.

* * *

It was a common occurrence for people to die at the inn. Of course, it was a death that was rarely known to the outside.

But it was rare for martial artists to die like this. Even if they thoroughly silenced it, it would have already been known.

The biggest worry was the innkeeper, whose personality was unknown.

A huge nine-story pavilion stood between the two artificial mountains in the inn.

That was the Golden Pavilion.

A considerable number of guards were seen around the Golden Pavilion.

Mae Jeong-mun and Oh-chung entered the Golden Pavilion and went up to the eighth floor.

As they opened the door, they saw a large round table in a wide room. In front of it, two middle-aged men who had already arrived were sitting.

They, seeing Oh-chung and Mae Jeong-mun who were coming in, showed different reactions.

The middle-aged man in black on the left raised his hand and threw a smile, and the middle-aged man in white who was sitting on the right did not even turn his head.

The man in white was Dam-un, the shop master, who was originally not talkative, and the man in black was A Jeong-geon, the gambling house master, who had a personality opposite to Dam-un's.

"They say the ones who died in the guest room were the disciples of the deceased Chung Pavilion Lord. They say they had a dogfight among themselves. Is that true?"

"The news travels fast. When did you hear?"

"I heard it on my way here this morning."

As A Jeong-geon smiled, Oh-chung looked at Mae Jeong-mun. Mae Jeong-mun nodded.

"The way the corpse was handled is the same as the Chung Pavilion's. It's true that they fought each other. But one was hit by a sword from behind. Song Ha-sang, who was with them, has also disappeared."

"It's a problem that will be solved if we find Song Ha-sang."

A Jeong-geon spoke as if he had solved the problem and then drank his tea. Just then, with a thump, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs echoed.

At that sound, everyone stood up at the same time with a hardened expression.

Swish!

A figure wrapped in a white robe quietly entered the room. Since he was wearing a fox mask, his face could not be seen.

"We greet the innkeeper."

As the four greeted at the same time, the fox mask raised his hand and then sat in the seat of honor.

He looked around at the four people beyond the mask and then opened his mouth.

"Sit."

His voice was low and thick, and a faint internal energy was loaded in it, lightly hitting everyone's ears.

As the four quietly sat in their chairs, the innkeeper with the fox mask took out a folding fan from his sleeve and held it in his hand.

"There was some business in the inn. What is it?"

"The kids of the Chung Pavilion are dead."

As Oh-chung answered, the innkeeper turned his gaze to the brothel master.

"The brothel master will take care of it."

"Yes."

"The guest room master will strengthen the security for the time being."

"Understood."

Since all matters related to the Demonic Cult were handled by the brothel master, it was a matter of course for her to take care of it. But since it was an incident that had occurred in a separate room that the guest room master was in charge of, Oh-chung showed a disappointed expression.

The innkeeper turned his eyes to the middle-aged man in white. It was Dam-un, the shop master.

"The shop master will send ten thousand nyang to the Martial Alliance within three days."

"What? Are you sending it again?"

Dam-un's expression was not good. Although he had sent it three months ago, he was not in a good mood because he had to send another ten thousand nyang.

On top of that, it was a situation where it was not known when the current Alliance leader would retire.

But it was not like the Martial Alliance was doing anything for the Gangnam Grand Inn.

In Dam-un's view, the Martial Alliance was treating the Gangnam Grand Inn as a money pouch.

"Don't make me say it twice."

"Understood."

As the innkeeper's gaze beyond the fox mask turned cold, Dam-un bowed his head.

After that, the innkeeper and the four pavilion masters continued their long meeting.

* * *

On the bed, the blueprint of the Gangnam Grand Inn was spread out. In front of it, Bi-sun and Jin Sa-wol were standing.

Song Ha-sang had gone to Guguang City with Bi-sun in the morning and was resting at a certain place. He was scheduled to become a medicine merchant after changing his appearance.

Bi-sun said.

"The nine-story pavilion is not marked on the blueprint. Although it's visible from the garden."

"The security?"

"The area around the pavilion is as dense as a net, so it's hard to approach."

At Bi-sun's words, Jin Sa-wol took out a mask from his sleeve.

"It's not like there's no gap."

(End of Chapter)