Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 80 : A Stubborn Person (2)

Song Ha-sang, who was running with his beard fluttering, thought of the living-blood ghost.

'Surely? Is it that effective?'

Papapat!

Song Ha-sang, who had kicked the ground and was running on the main road, left the village and headed for the mountain.

When he turned his head, he couldn't see Yuk Seol-jeong's figure. Still, he couldn't be at ease.

"Hmph! Hmph!"

Song Ha-sang, who had climbed the mountain ridge, saw an open space of about ten zhang where grass was growing, and he sat there and rested for a moment.

Whoosh!

A large red bird flew from the forest and landed in front of Song Ha-sang. It was Yuk Seol-jeong.

"Ugh!"

Seeing Yuk Seol-jeong, Song Ha-sang stood up, sweating profusely.

"If you run away, you die."

At Yuk Seol-jeong's words, Song Ha-sang nodded and then collapsed. It was because he had realized that he could not run away.

Not only was Yuk Seol-jeong visible, but he also saw Jang-cho's figure in the shade of the forest. There was no way Song Ha-sang would not know his face.

Yuk Seol-jeong's cold killing intent was directed at Song Ha-sang.

"What I want is not Mr. Song, but the guy who killed me. Where is that guy now?"

"I don't know either. He must be in your heart."

Seeing the grinning Song Ha-sang, Yuk Seol-jeong exploded in anger.

Slap!

As he was slapped on the cheek, a flash of lightning flashed. Song Ha-sang stared blankly at the empty air.

Slap!

As he was hit one more time, now he saw the Milky Way. Song Ha-sang, with his eyes rolled back, collapsed on the spot.

Since Yuk Seol-jeong's anger had not subsided, she grabbed the collar of the fallen Song Ha-sang and lifted him.

"Where do you think you're pretending to be dead?"

Slap! Slap!

As Yuk Seol-jeong's hand went back and forth on Song Ha-sang's face, his lips burst and his nose bled. But Song Ha-sang did not get up.

Yuk Seol-jeong, who had no choice but to lay him on the floor, frowned and contemplated whether to kill him or not.

When she thought that it wouldn't matter if she killed him, a person walked out of the forest.

It was Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol had seen Song Ha-sang faint from the shade of the forest, but he had not stepped forward.

Although he had no grudge, he thought it was okay for him to be hit a little as long as he didn't die.

Only after seeing him being hit a few more times by Yuk Seol-jeong did he step forward.

"How did you live?"

Jin Sa-wol, with his sword in his hand, slowly approached Yuk Seol-jeong step by step.

Yuk Seol-jeong, seeing Jin Sa-wol, instinctively trembled her shoulders and then took a step back.

Her body was reacting instinctively.

"It was you."

Yuk Seol-jeong took out the Insect Armor Ghost and held it in her hand. Although Jin Sa-wol recognized the Thousand Armor Corpse that was in Yuk Seol-jeong's hand, he did not care.

"If you die this time, will you come back to life?"

Whoosh!

Jin Sa-wol, who had moved like the wind, stabbed Yuk Seol-jeong's neck with his sword.

As a silver flash glittered, Yuk Seol-jeong wrapped the Thousand Armor Corpse around her neck and retreated.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you stab a woman's neck!"

She, who had raised her voice loudly, quickly swung the Insect Armor Ghost like a whip. But since it was a weapon she was not used to, its movement was bound to be slow.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A silver flash dug into the black shadow created by the centipede-shaped Insect Armor Ghost that was moving in the air. It was the extreme-speed One-Sword Annihilation Ghost.

Thwack!

"Kraak!"

A sword qi brushed past her left shoulder and abdomen.

Yuk Seol-jeong was surprised by Jin Sa-wol's tremendous fast sword and retreated.

"Hey!"

Yuk Seol-jeong, who had shouted as if it were absurd, held the Insect Armor Ghost. But Jin Sa-wol had no intention of letting her off.

He kicked the ground and approached, continuously stabbing his sword into Yuk Seol-jeong's opening. The Thousand Armor Corpse whirled and blocked Jin Sa-wol's sword.

Clatter-clang!

Although a sharp metallic sound echoed, small wounds continued to appear on Yuk Seol-jeong's body.

No matter how outstanding a shield the Thousand Armor Corpse was, there were gaps. Those gaps were enough for Jin Sa-wol's sword to pierce through.

Jin Sa-wol's sword pierced Yuk Seol-jeong's abdomen and then came out.

"Aaaak!"

Yuk Seol-jeong, who had retreated, holding her belly, stared at Jin Sa-wol with wide eyes. Although she wanted to curse, the words would not come out.

Seeing Yuk Seol-jeong's flustered appearance, Jin Sa-wol moved his sword towards her neck without delay. This time, he was thinking of stabbing her neck and then cutting it.

"Stop."

Whoosh!

Seeing a black flash that had appeared like lightning from the left, Jin Sa-wol retreated.

It was Jang-cho, who had only been watching, who had stepped forward.

Jang-cho stood in front of Yuk Seol-jeong with a black wooden staff in his hand. Yuk Seol-jeong, with her waist half-bent, staggered and collapsed.

"Hmph! Hmph! Please kill that bastard."

At Yuk Seol-jeong's words, Jang-cho sighed, turned his body, and then struck the back of Yuk Seol-jeong's head.

Thwack!

"Aaaak! Why me...!"

Thump!

As she fell next to Yuk Seol-jeong and did not move, Jang-cho turned his body to Jin Sa-wol.

"Are you Jin Sa-wol?"

"That's right."

As Jin Sa-wol admitted, Jang-cho let out a short sigh. Jin Sa-wol was a master who had also killed his master.

His movements were a series of fast movements that were hard to follow with the eyes. Jang-cho knew well that it was by no means easy to face such a person.

If you fought with someone like Jin Sa-wol, you would lose more than you would gain.

"Is there a need to shed useless blood? The youngest is a very important person to me. And I have no intention of fighting with you. I'll give up on that Song Ha-sang too. How about it?"

At Jang-cho's voice, which had no killing intent, Jin Sa-wol lowered his sword.

Since Jin Sa-wol's expression was indifferent, Jang-cho could not read what he was thinking.

There was no emotion in Jin Sa-wol's eyes.

"They must have told you to kill me at the Demonic Cult, but you're giving up?"

Jin Sa-wol had an unbelievable expression.

Jang-cho nodded.

"Yes."

"The Cult Leader won't just stand by, will he?"

"The Cult Leader can't kill me. If I die, the Cult Leader will also suffer a great loss. It's because the person who will research the Thousand Armor Corpse will disappear."

Jang-cho seemed to be confident that the Demonic Cult Leader, Cheon Yu-myeong, could not kill him.

"That's right."

Swish!

Song Ha-sang, who was lying down, seemed to have come to his senses and approached Jin Sa-wol's right. But he did not step in front of Jin Sa-wol.

"Ouch."

Song Ha-sang, who had touched his face and wiped his nosebleed, looked at Jang-cho and spoke again.

"The young pavilion master is the most skilled in medicine in the Cult. He was the one who taught me medicine. On top of that, he is also knowledgeable about the esoteric sect. He will know more about the Soul-Stealing Needle than I do. Originally, I was also planning to ask the young pavilion master."

Swish!

Song Ha-sang approached Jang-cho and took out a small, long box containing the Soul-Stealing Needle that he had received from Jin Sa-wol from his sleeve and held it out.

"Please look at this."

Jang-cho opened the box that Song Ha-sang was handing him. In the box where a brush should have been, there were two long hairs instead of a brush.

Jang-cho, who had injected his internal energy, nodded when the hair turned like iron.

"It's a Soul-Stealing Needle. Where did you get it?"

When Jang-cho asked, Song Ha-sang looked at Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol answered.

"It came out of the head of someone I know. And one of them also came out of my head. It seems there are some in my head too."

"A suspicion or a certainty?"

"A certainty."

"It's the method of the esoteric sect. How strange. A survivor?"

"I don't know."

Jang-cho looked at Jin Sa-wol's head with a hot gaze. Jin Sa-wol asked.

"Can you take them out?"

"It's difficult with my strength. If you try to take them out carelessly, you might die instead."

At Jang-cho's words, Jin Sa-wol showed a disappointed expression. Jang-cho sighed and spoke again.

"The Soul-Stealing Great Law itself is a great law that can only be unfolded by an absolute master with an internal energy of more than three sixty-year cycles. Only with that much power can you put a Soul-Stealing Needle in a person's head. The way to take it out is for a person with an internal energy of more than three sixty-year cycles to unfold the Star-Absorbing Demonic Art. The problem is that the Star-Absorbing Demonic Art is a demonic art that also takes away internal energy, so you die. So you have to find another way. You'll have to wait even if it takes some time."

Jang-cho's words were the same as saying it was impossible. Where in the world would there be someone who had learned the Star-Absorbing Demonic Art? The Star-Absorbing Demonic Art was a demonic art that had been lost even in the Demonic Cult.

Even if there were, how many people would have an internal energy of three sixty-year cycles?

It was a statement that made him lose strength just by thinking about it.

"There was also a person from whom it came out on its own."

"That's just lucky. If not, the Soul-Stealing Great Law must have failed."

Jang-cho answered, smiled, and then put the Soul-Stealing Needle in his bosom. After that, he held Yuk Seol-jeong.

"It seems it will take time, so wait. I'll contact you when I find a way. With this, our deal seems to be a success."

At Jang-cho's words, Jin Sa-wol nodded.

Whoosh!

Jang-cho unfolded his lightness skill and retreated without even a greeting. As he disappeared, Jin Sa-wol asked Song Ha-sang.

"What's your relationship?"

"He was the one who helped me when I was learning medicine at the Chung Pavilion for five years. He's cold and scary, but sometimes he's warm. And he's also smart."

Thump!

Song Ha-sang tapped his own head once and continued to speak.

"It's annoying to have him as an enemy, but he's reliable as an ally. First of all, just looking at his medical skills, he's amazing. He sometimes revived a dead person if it hadn't been half a day. His acupuncture skills are also outstanding, so he can make you poop with one needle right after you've eaten and then make you eat again. One problem is..."

"What is it?"

"He doesn't treat people. He experiments. He plays with them like animals or bugs."

"You said he's sometimes warm?"

"That's right."

Song Ha-sang, who had nodded, trembled his shoulders once as if he had recalled a scary memory.

"After he revives a dying guy, he kills him again a few days later. He's sometimes warm."

Jin Sa-wol shook his head and headed for the city.

* * *

Jo Geom-ok, who was sitting on the second floor of a tavern, eating fried pork and steamed carp and looking around, was waiting for Jin Sa-wol to come.

When she was looking around the market after entering the city, he had left, and she was eating alone like this.

"Miss, the dot on your face is truly charming. I'll pay for the meal, so may I join you?"

One of the young men who were sitting at the table behind her approached and spoke.

There were three of them sitting, and among them was a young man with fine skin. They were young men who looked like the sons of a rich family, and their tone and voice were quite polite.

What was important was that this was already the fourth time this had happened while she was eating lunch from the morning.

It had only been about an hour since Jin Sa-wol had left, and Jo Geom-ok was having the same experience for the fourth time in that time.

"Go."

At Jo Geom-ok's one word, the young man's eyes widened, not knowing what he meant. Jo Geom-ok gestured with her hand and spoke again.

"I said go."

"What kind of crazy bitch is this? Where are you using informal language? Have you seen me?"

As the young man's attitude changed, Jo Geom-ok sighed and picked up her chopsticks.

'Don't cause trouble.'

As Jin Sa-wol's voice brushed past her ear, she put down her chopsticks and turned her head.

"Hey! This one uses informal language and now she's ignoring me? What kind of bitch is this? Looking at your clothes, you look like a commoner from some remote village, but you're insolently using informal language to whom! You rude bitch."

It sounded like he had approached her, looking down on her because the clothes she was wearing were plain common clothes.

The young man extended his hand and grabbed Jo Geom-ok's hand.

"Follow me, you bitch! I'll make you shut that insolent mouth of yours today."

Jo Geom-ok, as if it were a good thing, put strength in her hand. Just then, her eyes met Jin Sa-wol's, who had come up to the second floor.

In that instant, Jo Geom-ok's body went limp.

"Ah... it hurts. Let go."

Jo Geom-ok threw a desperate look at Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol, as his eyes met hers, turned his body as if it were absurd and went down to the first floor again.

Just then, the young man who had been holding Jo Geom-ok collapsed with a thud! Although no one had seen it in detail, Jo Geom-ok's hand had struck the young man's chin.

"Huh?"

"Uh-oh?"

The other young men stood up, not knowing what had happened. Jo Geom-ok ignored them and quickly followed Jin Sa-wol down to the first floor.

Jin Sa-wol was going out to the street.

Jo Geom-ok, who had quickly chased and stuck to Jin Sa-wol's side, said as if she were proud.

"I didn't kill him, I just knocked him out."

"Well done."

* * *

Two people were sitting in the fifth floor of the Jungshingak, which was composed of nine floors.

There were not many people who could sit comfortably in the Jungshingak, which was called the center of the Martial Alliance.

One was Namgung Min, the head of the Namgung family, and the other was the leader of the Martial Alliance.

(End of Chapter)