novelraw Chapter 125 : Cold Retribution
Chapter 125 : Cold Retribution
"Please be safe! Please!"
Kang Cheon, who had left the Jin Family, ran towards the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple, hoping that Jin Sohyun would be safe.
Thanks to pouring out his internal energy without holding back, his figure cut through the wind at an even more ferocious speed.
How long had he been running like that?
Something strange came into Kang Cheon's vision, who was running with his Heavenly Eyes open just in case.
It was trees that had been artificially cut down.
Following that, a thick smell of blood wafted to the tip of his nose.
‘The smell of blood!’
Kang Cheon realized that it was the smell of human blood and hurriedly threw his body.
"This... this is..."
What he faced next were the corpses of dead assassins.
Their number was enormous.
Kang Cheon, who had gone inside, past the corpses of dozens of assassins, found the corpses of other assassins and an old man sitting on his two knees.
Kang Cheon, who had approached the old man, realized that he was already dead.
"This wound is..."
The old man's cause of death was a thin stab wound on the crown of his head.
As soon as he realized that it was a wound caused by a flying sword, Kang Cheon widened his field of vision.
And finally.
"Sohyun!"
He found Jin Sohyun, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed as if he were dead.
Kang Cheon, who had run without delay, first brought his fingers to Jin Sohyun's neck and checked his pulse.
"Please... please...!"
Did the heavens hear Kang Cheon's desperate wish?
Although it was faint, he could feel Jin Sohyun's pulse.
"You're alive!"
Kang Cheon laid Jin Sohyun on the floor, took off his martial arts uniform, and examined the wound.
There were large and small sword wounds here and there.
But the most serious were the deep stab wound on his upper chest and the thin, deep wounds on his limbs and waist.
Kang Cheon first took out a golden wound medicine, applied the medicine to the wound, and then sat Jin Sohyun up straight.
Then he brought his hand to his back and infused his internal energy.
Since they shared the same heart method, and Jin Sohyun had a vast great meridian without any turbid qi, he accepted Kang Cheon's internal energy without any difficulty even while he was unconscious.
‘I will never let you die. Never!’
***
The Blood Rain Pavilion.
Their roots, which had been secretly growing their power in the outskirts of the Central Plains, were the Ming Cult.
The war between the Martial Arts Alliance and the Ming Cult, which had bet their fate.
The Blood Rain Pavilion, which had participated in the war under the banner of the Ming Cult, had fled the battlefield the moment the Ming Cult's young leader, Dan Yegang, had his head cut off by Cheon Yushin's sword.
Even though it was a situation where it would not be strange to be branded as a traitor, no one pointed a finger at the Blood Rain Pavilion.
In the first place, the Ming Cult, which had lost the war, had disappeared into the back of history, and the rest had been thoroughly annihilated by the Martial Arts Alliance.
Thanks to that, the Blood Rain Pavilion, which had been holding its breath and continuing its lineage, was currently following the orders of the Heretic's Path Alliance, which had pacified the dark path.
‘If we finish today’s work well, we will be able to increase our standing in the Heretic’s Path Alliance.’
Go Myeongdeok led the masters of the pavilion and personally entered the manor.
The martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion were still unable to enter inside because of the Heavenly Sound White Flower's sound art.
"Prepare the fire arrows."
At Go Myeongdeok's instruction, the martial artists of the pavilion prepared bows and arrows.
They were those who had learned archery, which was unusual in the martial world where swords and sabers were the mainstream.
"Shoot!"
As soon as the order was given, the fire arrows prepared by the archers soared high into the sky.
The target of the arrows was not the Heavenly Sound White Flower, but the inner building of the Jin Family behind her.
"You cunning bastards!"
The Heavenly Sound White Flower let out a painful groan for the first time.
They had begun to unfold a fire attack in earnest.
"Damn it!"
The Martial Marquis, who had witnessed the fire arrows, cut down the rushing martial artist of the Blood Rain Pavilion and shouted.
"Those who have the leisure, put out the fire... kkeuk!"
Unfortunately, there was no one among the escort warriors, including the Martial Marquis, who was leisurely enough to put out the fire.
Moreover, the fire arrows spread to various parts of the family and began to burn widely.
As the manor burned, the face of Jin Seomok, who was watching this, was greatly contorted.
"Are they determined to burn down the Jin Family?"
If the inner building burned down like this, it was clear that the underground shelter would also be damaged.
Oh Yoran had no choice but to put down the white zither and throw her body.
Oh Yoran, who had unfolded her lightness skill and climbed onto the roof of the inner building, spread her sleeves wide.
A strong wind pressure blew away the flames, but the fire attack of the Blood Rain Pavilion was not over this time.
"These bastards...!"
Oh Yoran had no choice but to stand on the roof and deflect the flying fire arrows with her palm force.
In the meantime, the martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion, who had escaped from the fear of the sound art, began to push back the escort warriors of the Jin Family.
"Ugh!"
Every time an escort warrior fell, the Martial Marquis's sword became even rougher.
"Not a single one of them can enter!"
The Martial Marquis's fast sword emitted a light and cut down the martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion in succession.
"You're quite a fellow."
The Martial Marquis, who had unknowingly stepped back at the thick killing intent, discovered an old man who had appeared in front of him.
From the old man's body, he felt a turbid and nauseating energy that he had never felt before.
‘What on earth is this energy?’
As the Martial Marquis broke out in a cold sweat and was noticeably flustered, the old man chuckled.
"Young brats have probably never felt this kind of energy."
"What is your identity, old man?"
"What does that matter? You're going to be a corpse anyway."
As the old man said, the escort warriors of the Jin Family were gradually decreasing, and the martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion surrounding the Martial Marquis were still intact.
‘Is this the end…’
The Martial Marquis, who had sensed the end, re-gripped his sword.
The tip of his sword was aimed at the old man.
"Hoo. It's not the kind of spirit that an escort warrior of a mere merchant family should have. Kekeke!"
"I am the Martial Marquis! Until I die, no one will be able to pass this place!"
The Martial Marquis shouted valiantly and drew a long line at his feet.
"Who wants to die! I'll deal with you!"
"Interesting... interesting... it's been a long time since I've felt this way. I'll specially tell you who this old man is."
The old man took out a strangely shaped curved saber that was tied to his waist and said.
"This old man is..."
"A ghost of the past."
"Hmm...?"
The old man turned his head to where the sound had come from with a displeased face.
It was the entrance of the manor, and from there, a middle-aged man wearing a long golden robe appeared.
He drew his sword.
It was a strange thing.
Although the middle-aged man's movements were not fast or slow, everyone in the manor was captivated by the sight of the middle-aged man drawing his sword and could not move a single fingertip.
The reason was simple.
‘I can’t move…!’
It was because the overwhelming pressure emanating from the middle-aged man had filled the manor of the Jin Family.
Thanks to that, the heavy air made it difficult to breathe, and it was impossible to even stand up straight.
In the meantime, the middle-aged man, who had completely drawn his sword, opened his mouth.
"It's been a long time, you dogs of the Ming Cult."
"You... the Nangong Family?"
"It's the Yellow Dragon Divine Sword...!"
"Why is the family head of the Nangong Family here!?"
The martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion and the pavilion master, Go Myeongdeok, could only let out a hollow breath.
It was none other than the family head of the Nangong Family and the Yellow Dragon Divine Sword, Nangong Muhyeok, who had been active in the war between the orthodox and demonic factions, who had appeared in the manor of the Jin Family.
‘This wasn’t the original plan!’
Go Myeongdeok hurriedly looked for Seolpyeong, but his figure was nowhere to be seen.
‘That son of a bitch!!’
Go Myeongdeok, who realized that he had been deceived by Seolpyeong, gathered the martial artists of the pavilion in one place.
"Hangryong! Help us!"
With the power of the Blood Rain Pavilion alone, they could not break through Nangong Muhyeok.
Go Myeongdeok turned his gaze to find Hangryong, but his figure was also not seen.
The moment Nangong Muhyeok had appeared, he had hidden his figure.
Go Myeongdeok, who had belatedly realized that he had been abandoned by everyone, let his sword hang down and sighed.
"Fuck..."
With the appearance of Nangong Muhyeok, the battlefield was quickly cleared up.
The Blood Rain Pavilion, which had been abandoned by Seolpyeong and the Heretic's Path Alliance, gave up their resistance, threw down their weapons, and surrendered.
"Thank you for your help. If Elder Nangong hadn't come..."
Jin Seomok trailed off.
It was because it was painful to even think of the future that might have been disastrous.
"Not at all. I happened to have some business in Shanxi, and coincidentally, I heard that something unusual was happening at the Jin Family."
This was a lie.
Although Nangong Muhyeok was the family head of the Nangong Family, his gaze was always on the Shanxi Jin Family.
The reason, of course, was because of Jin Sohyun.
With the Heretic's Path Alliance and the Nameless Pavilion focusing their attention on him, the Jin Family could not be safe.
And just in time, the Heretic's Path Alliance had openly attacked the Jin Family.
‘This is troublesome.’
Nangong Muhyeok looked at the dead escort warriors of the Jin Family with a bitter gaze.
Most of them were young martial artists.
They had just finished preparing to unfold their will in the martial world.
The fleeting life of a martial artist had ended due to a sudden tragedy.
"I will leave the disposal of the surrendered Blood Rain Pavilion to Family Head Jin."
"But..."
"The ones they were aiming for was not the Nangong Family, but the Jin Family. So it is right for Family Head Jin to decide their life and death."
"I understand."
As Nangong Muhyeok wished, Jin Seomok went to the surrendered martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion with the Martial Marquis.
They were sitting quietly with faces that had lost hope.
"As you know, I am the family head of the Jin Family, Jin Seomok."
"Blood Rain Pavilion Master... Go Myeongdeok."
"Pavilion Master. I do not enjoy killing. Also, since I am a merchant by birth, I know nothing about the blood debts between martial artists."
At Jin Seomok's gentle voice, the pavilion master, Go Myeongdeok, saw a ray of hope.
"Please spare me. We also had no choice! The Heretic's Path Alliance is a monster. As long as they have pacified the dark path, we had no choice. To live... we had no choice but to do as they said... so please show mercy just once."
Go Myeongdeok looked desperate.
"I also have a child and a wife. Just once! If you spare me just once, I will never come near not only Shanxi, but also the martial world again! Family Head Jin! I beg you."
"Family Head!"
The Martial Marquis was a martial artist.
And he was the captain of the Jin Family's escort.
He did not want to let the Blood Rain Pavilion live, but he had to follow the family head's will, so his heart was anxious.
If the merchant showed mercy, he was planning to persuade him somehow.
While everyone's attention was focused on Jin Seomok, the silent family head opened his mouth.
"The escort warriors of the family who fought, risking their lives to protect me and my family... they are also someone's child, older brother, younger brother, and father."
His voice was calm, but his gaze was cold.
"If I show you compassion, with what face will I see the faces of those who have left first?"
"F-Family Head Jin!"
"So I will also give the Pavilion Master a choice."
As Jin Seomok held out his hand, the Martial Marquis took out a dagger from his bosom and placed it in his hand.
Jin Seomok placed the dagger in his hand in front of Go Myeongdeok.
"Choose. Whether to save your own life or to offer your neck as the Pavilion Master and save your subordinates. The choice is yours, Pavilion Master."
His own life.
Or the lives of his subordinates.
Go Myeongdeok, who had to make a cruel choice, gripped the dagger in his hand.
‘The most important thing in this world is… my life!’
Go Myeongdeok's eyes took on a blood light.
"Please spare me, Family Head."
At his answer, Jin Seomok smiled a gentle smile.
"I was hoping you would answer that way."
"Th-Then now..."
"Thank you. Thanks to you coming out like that, I can wipe you all out... without any guilt."
"Wh-What? Wait... wait a minute!"
"It is the Family Head's order. There is no more mercy for these beasts who have shown their teeth to the Jin Family."
"No! Nooo!!"
The captured martial artists of the Blood Rain Pavilion lost their lives without even being able to resist.
Nangong Muhyeok, who was quietly watching this, was quietly relieved.
‘I was worried he would show mercy. It was a groundless fear.’
He was worried that Jin Seomok, who was a merchant and not a martial artist, would show mercy to the Blood Rain Pavilion.
Hasty mercy brings revenge.
Sometimes, cruel retribution is an effective way to protect a family in the cold martial world.
While the Martial Marquis was disposing of the corpses of the Blood Rain Pavilion.
The family members of the Jin Family, who had come up from the underground shelter, and Siu, and the young girl, Mihyang, who had newly become a maid of the Jin Family, appeared together.
"I have heard the story. Thank you, Elder Nangong."
"Thank you."
"Thank you!"
At the continuous words of thanks, Nangong Muhyeyok even felt embarrassed.
‘This is not a comfortable position.’
In the first place, Nangong Muhyeok also had some responsibility for the Jin Family becoming a target of the Heretic's Path Alliance.
It was also the reason why he had personally shown himself at the Jin Family.
It was to show the Heretic's Path Alliance that the Nangong Family was watching the Jin Family.
‘If I’ve done this much, the Heretic’s Path Alliance won’t be able to move easily.’
Unless they were going to start a war right away, the Heretic's Path Alliance would not be able to use their power carelessly against the Nangong Family.
‘But… why did they start a fight so ambiguously?’
If they had really targeted the Jin Family, they should have brought at least two or three more sects, not to mention the Blood Rain Pavilion.
Nangong Muhyeok, who was having doubts, suddenly turned his head to the open manor of the Jin Family.
There was Kang Cheon.
"Elder Kang..."
Soon, Nangong Muhyeok discovered Jin Sohyun, who was being carried on Kang Cheon's back as if he were dead.
"What on earth happened!?"
"There's no time. If we delay any longer..."
Kang Cheon said with an anxious face, which was unlike him.
"Sohyun will die."
(End of Chapter)