novelraw Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapter 27
10. Live-in Son-in-law (2)
The method of creating Gu poison is simple.
Hundreds of venomous insects are placed inside a filthy, grime-encrusted jar.
Driven to starvation, they devour one another, until at last only a single one remains—this is the Gu poison.
The Gu poison, with its ferocious hunger for life and its venomous spite, produces a lethal toxin so potent that even a single drop will kill a seasoned martial artist outright.
And what you get from grinding a hundred of those Gu poisons down into a pellet is precisely this Black Pellet.
Crunch—
Crunch—
Bang-rip chewed and swallowed the remnants of the Black Pellet still lodged in his teeth, his manner entirely unperturbed.
Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un blanched at the sight. He immediately stepped in front of his daughter, Hyeok Seol-hwa, who stood at the doorframe, and placed her behind him.
"F-Father-in-law..."
"Remember this. Do not stray from behind me. Not even for a moment."
The Black Pellet is a forbidden art.
Originally, it was a technique for condensing a hundred Gu poisons together to create a venom capable of killing even the greatest martial artist in a single breath.
Yet upon its completion, it was discovered to contain a strange and sinister sorcery—one that transformed the person who consumed it into the very embodiment of the Gu poison itself.
A complicated way of saying it, but in plain terms—
"Father-in-law. In this moment, and this moment alone, I am stronger than you."
"……"
Bang-rip had potentially attained a power that surpassed even the Heavenly Demon.
Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un replied with unruffled composure.
"There is a reason it is a forbidden art. You know this well."
"I do. It takes half of my remaining lifespan, they say. So what?"
Crack— crack—
Bang-rip's face began to twist in a grotesque fashion.
"You were going to kill me regardless, weren't you, Father-in-law? If that's the case, I'd rather stake what's left of my life on a gamble."
"Foolish. Who gave that to you? You could not have made it yourself."
"Does it matter who?"
Bang-rip had received the Black Pellet from Gwan Tae-ho, the one he had been exchanging letters with—but there was no reason to share that.
"Father-in-law… no, Hyeok Je-un. What you should be worrying about is not my wellbeing."
Shing!
For an instant, Bang-rip's blade flashed.
"It is your life—and the life of my wife!"
Swish!
Fast. Fierce and biting.
Hyeok Je-un nearly lost sight of Bang-rip's movement with his own eyes.
"Wily Fox Sword Advance!"
Whoosh— clang!
Hyeok Je-un caught the blade with his bare hand.
Not recklessly against the edge itself, of course. He had precisely aimed for the hilt and struck it, sending the blade off course.
"True to its name—a sword art as cunning as a fox."
"Where's that vaunted Heavenly Ascent Sword of yours? Why are you barehanded? Hyeok Je-un! Why don't you face me properly!"
"Even if I had it, it would be too fine a sword to waste on the likes of you."
The Heavenly Ascent Sword is not here. He gave it to Jeong-min.
Hyeok Je-un channeled the Heavenly Demon Divine Art throughout his entire body.
"It seems I chose the wrong son-in-law."
"That's my line. I chose the wrong father-in-law!"
Slash! Clang! Clang!
"Eek!"
With every swing of the blade, Hyeok Seol-hwa let out a scream.
Hyeok Je-un found it difficult to focus with her positioned behind him in the midst of combat.
With no other option, he grabbed her by the collar with his right hand and flung her out through the window at the end of the corridor.
"Kyaaa!"
"Hm!"
Then, concentrating his Internal Energy into his eyes, he wrapped her entire body in Demonic Energy, as though cloaking her in armor.
Thud!
Hyeok Seol-hwa, who had fallen outside, landed on the dirt ground without so much as a scratch.
Bang-rip's teeth ground together.
"A coward's trick."
"Says the man who was targeting Seol-hwa first?"
Whoosh!
Clang! Clang! Ring! Bang!
Bang-rip moved swiftly through his sword art, but Hyeok Je-un knocked each incoming blade away with the back of his hand, deflecting only the flat of the sword each time.
Without extraordinary visual acuity and reflexes, it would have been impossible. Even with age upon him, the Heavenly Demon remained formidable.
Damn it, even after taking the Black Pellet!
Not yet. Was he going to lose like this?
Bang-rip concentrated his Internal Energy into the tip of his sword and at last manifested Sword Energy Hardening.
"You wretch!"
"Wily Fox Sword Advance!"
Slash!
Thud!
He drove the blade once more into the Heavenly Demon's wounded shoulder.
Bang-rip pressed his advantage without letting up.
"Wily Fox Sword Advance! Wily Fox Sword Advance! Wily Fox Sword Advance! Wily Fox Sword Advaaance!"
"Urgh."
Drip drip drip—
Hyeok Je-un, blood pouring from his body, dropped to one knee.
From beyond the window outside, Hyeok Seol-hwa's voice reached them, laced with screams and worry.
"Father! Are you alright!"
I am fine—he ought to answer with that.
But Hyeok Je-un could only gasp, struggling to steady his breathing.
Bang-rip hammered the point home.
"Hmph, so the Heavenly Demon amounts to nothing much. Isn't that right, Father-in-law? Now I shall claim your daughter's life. Bear me no grudge."
But those words made Hyeok Je-un clench his fist and surge to his feet with a flash of fury.
As he planted his foot and rose, Bang-rip thought him remarkably tenacious and tightened his grip on the sword.
"The old man has stamina, I'll give him that."
Whoosh—
Clang! Clang!
Bang-rip thrust his blade into Hyeok Je-un's chest once more. This time he aimed for the heart.
But.
"....!?"
Creak— creak—
Bang-rip's blade only trembled at the surface of Hyeok Je-un's chest and could not be driven in any further.
What was this? It was as though driving a knife against steel—not a single gap was offered.
"Forgive me. I should have faced you at full strength from the start."
"What…?!"
"Did you not know that my body is Sword-and-Blade Impervious?"
Sword-and-Blade Impervious. Exactly as the name stated—blades would not penetrate his body.
He had heard the rumor. And yet, had not Hyeok Je-un just moments ago taken his sword across his entire body?
"Don't talk nonsense, Father-in-law. Sword-and-Blade Impervious—you're no eccentric monk of Shaolin. A constitution like that makes no sense."
"I never said it was a constitution, son-in-law."
Wiping the blood trailing from his mouth, Hyeok Je-un's eyes sharpened.
"It is one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's ultimate arts. One I never taught you."
Whoosh!
Scorching air enveloped Bang-rip's entire body. The heat that pressed against his face like a vice—in the instant Bang-rip felt a surge of panic and moved to withdraw his blade—
"What—!?"
Something black crashed over Bang-rip with tremendous force.
In that single moment, Bang-rip clearly saw Hyeok Je-un's 2 eyes blazing with fierce, brilliant light.
"You said you had become stronger than me? That delusion has gone too far."
Boom!
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, 5th Stage—Ocean Fang Acupoint Drive!
Rumble! Rumble!
It was not because the building was old. It was because Hyeok Je-un's power was far too immense.
One wall of the upper floor appeared to cave inward, then with a grinding shriek, the wood split and collapsed.
Crash! Rumble rumble rumble rumble—
Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un landed safely first and shielded Hyeok Seol-hwa from the debris raining down.
Hyeok Seol-hwa went pale as a sheet at the sight of her father drenched head to toe in blood.
"F-Father. The blood—"
"I'm fine."
Was Bang-rip alive beneath the wreckage?
Hyeok Je-un tracked his movements within the cloud of dust. But Bang-rip was nowhere to be seen.
Dead? He thought as much—and then.
"Haah. Haah."
From within the dust, Bang-rip came staggering out.
His complexion, beyond pale—nearly black. His body gaunt, as though every muscle had been stripped away. Dripping cold sweat, Bang-rip finally spat blood from his mouth.
"What… did you do to me, Father-in-law."
"Nothing at all."
Ocean Fang Acupoint Drive is an offensive art. What had reduced Bang-rip to this state was something else entirely.
"It is the Black Pellet's backlash. Did you truly expect to swallow a pill containing such sinister sorcery and emerge unscathed?"
"Damn it all. To think I'd end up like this, in a place like this… Xinjiang should have become my domain. I was promised as much."
"……By the Martial Alliance, you mean."
"...! How do you—"
Bang-rip's eyes went wide as a startled rabbit.
He had heard it. From Jeong-min.
But Hyeok Je-un swallowed those words.
"What a wretched and pitiable thing. To carry the name of the Orthodox Faction, and yet stoop to such base and vile deeds."
"Do not insult me. I myself was born of that Orthodox Faction."
Flash—
Bang-rip's eyes blazed with light. Whether it was the moonlight catching them, or whether they simply burned that brightly on their own, there was no way to know.
Bang-rip wrung out the very last of his strength and lunged toward Hyeok Seol-hwa.
"My wife—I must at least kill you before I go!"
"Eek!"
Hyeok Je-un's legs gave out for a brief moment and he could not move in time.
Thud!
A sound of piercing rang out. Hyeok Je-un opened his eyes—and what met them was not Hyeok Seol-hwa run through by a blade.
"Urk."
The one who had coughed up blood was Bang-rip.
What was buried in his abdomen was not a blade—but the two bare hands of Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha.
"Father."
"Why… why would you do this…."
They had stopped their father from attacking their mother, and yet the 2 brothers were bewildered.
Why was their father trying to kill their mother? They had not been told the full circumstances.
But they had known instinctively that it had to be stopped.
Bang-rip stared at his 2 sons with the eyes of a man betrayed.
"You little—"
"Father, please answer us. Why are you doing this!"
"Father? Heh… father."
Bang-rip wept bloody tears.
"Have you ever acknowledged me as your father?"
"……!"
Taking advantage of the 2 brothers' shock, Bang-rip forced himself upright once more.
His sword hand could no longer draw any strength, but there was nowhere left to retreat.
"If you block me, I will kill you too. I will kill every last one of you!!"
Boom!
Bang-rip burned the last of his life force and wrung out his final strength.
Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha, even without knowing their father's circumstances, could only shed tears.
"Father. We will stop you."
"We will stop your wrongdoing."
Whoosh!
Bang-rip unleashed his final art.
Wily Fox Sword Kill!
Eeeee!
As Bang-rip flew toward them with that strange keening cry—
Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha recited the secret manual of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
"Demon Palm Piercer."
Thud!
Heave!
Bang-rip lurched, spewing blood, and his charge came to a halt. His ribs had been shattered.
He finally crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud, and Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha leaned close to the back of his head and whispered quietly.
"Father. We have…."
"Never once failed to acknowledge you as our father."
"Urk. Urk."
He knew.
Bang-rip had already known. That every last bit of it was nothing more than his own wounded pride.
Had he truly tried to kill his beloved wife with his own hands? His father-in-law too. And the 2 sons he himself had sired.
"I… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…."
Weeping tears of belated remorse, Bang-rip lifted his head.
But what filled his sight was not 2 sons weeping with him, arms open to embrace him—
"Too late."
It was Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un, his face twisted like a wrathful deity.
"Sever his tendons and veins, then confine him to the Closed-door Confinement. He must not be killed under any circumstances."
It sounded, somehow, like a punishment far more dreadful than death.
.
.
.
After brutal interrogation, Bang-rip confessed everything.
That he had been exchanging letters with a man called Eagle Eye Six Swords Gwan Tae-ho, and had agreed to hand over the Heavenly Demon Cult in exchange for control over Xinjiang.
"…I see."
Jeong-min sipped his tea and listened to Hyeok Je-un's account with unruffled composure.
Hyeok Je-un looked at his grandson.
"You aren't surprised. Which means you anticipated all of this."
"……"
He had known long since that Bang-rip was colluding with the Martial Alliance.
He had also known that Bang-rip would try to kill Hyeok Seol-hwa. In this life, at least, his mother had not died—and for that, he was grateful.
And… Gwan Tae-ho.
Eagle Eye Six Swords Gwan Tae-ho.
There was no way Jeong-min did not know that name.
Because Gwan Tae-ho was none other than—
The one who killed me.
The very person who had driven a sword into Jeong-min.
An astonishing rage surged through him—and yet, for a reason he could not quite fathom, his heart settled into an almost eerie calm.
Tremble—
The teacup in his hand shook, faintly.
Martial Alliance. The time has come for me to hunt you down and kill you myself.
It was because the path of vengeance was being tread, step by careful step.