The Miraculous Divorce Technique

Chapter 35

"What!? Geumryeong and Nokryeong failed!?"

Hongryeong asked with a disbelieving expression.

Cheongryeong nodded his head and said it again.

"It's certain. I couldn't find Nokryeong, but I personally confirmed and disposed of Geumryeong's corpse with my own eyes."

"The cause of death?"

"There was a sword wound on his glabella. Judging by the traces, it is presumed to be a peak master or higher who can use strong qi... Geumgae's specialty is fist techniques, so it's not Geumgae... It's a guy with deep knowledge of sword techniques."

"Couldn't you confirm what kind of sword technique it was?"

At Hongryeong's question, Cheongryeong shook his head.

"He was struck down in one blow. There was a bruise on his chest, but no other sword wounds remained. With just that, it's difficult to presume what kind of sword technique it was."

"Are you saying he killed Geumryeong in one blow? Didn't you see it wrong?"

"You know I'm the best at analyzing the traces left on a corpse, don't you? It's certain."

"That's impossible... To be able to do that, you'd have to be one of the Ten Great Masters of the World..."

As Hongryeong couldn't continue, Jaryeong opened his mouth.

"There are three people who use swords among the Ten Great Masters of the World. The Blood Fiend, Cheok Sagyeol, one of the Five Great Demonic Venerables. Among the Five Martial Emperors of Eui-cheon, there are the Azure Sky Sword Emperor, Namgung Geon, and the Northern Heavenly Great Emperor, Moyong Hak. But those three have not left their spheres of influence. If so, it means there is no one other than an unknown reclusive master."

Baekryeong added to Jaryeong's opinion.

"Certainly, if it were those three, they could kill him in one blow. But we can't leave out the bruise on his chest. That means he was toying with him with his fists and then used his sword at a decisive moment. Geumryeong was defeated after a number of exchanges. What's your opinion?"

Cheongryeong shook his head.

"The bruise on his chest was also from a single stance. In other words, the opponent killed Geumryeong in at least three moves."

Hongryeong asked back with a horrified face.

"Then you're saying he played with him with his fists and then killed him with one blow!?"

"Yes."

"And such a person is by Geumgae's side? Who on earth is he?"

"It's not certain, but there is one more clue."

At Cheongryeong's words, the spirits focused.

The fact that he was speaking even though it was not certain meant that there was no physical evidence, but he knew it by intuition.

"Although it was faint, the trace of internal energy left on Geumryeong's glabella was of a Buddhist qi art."

"A Buddhist qi art means Shaolin? But monks don't use swords."

Baekryeong nodded his head and chimed in.

"The Emei Sect. It's a guy who carries on the lineage of the annihilated Emei Sect. If it's a Buddhist qi art and a sword, there's no one other than those bitches."

"Right. It was annihilated more than a hundred years ago, but it can be explained if it's a reclusive master who had a connection with the Emei Sect. Of course, the possibility is extremely low."

One hundred and fifty years ago from now.

In Sichuan Province, a coalition of three sects, Qingcheng, Emei, and Diancang, had clashed against the Tang family.

After a long and arduous power struggle that lasted for nearly ten years over the land of Bashu, the one who stood tall as the victor was the Tang family.

They, who had thus gained the fame of the Sichuan Tang family, had annihilated the three sects without leaving a single pillar or root.

It was known that the family motto of the Sichuan Tang family, 'never forget a grudge,' originated from that fight.

"Even if it's rotten, it's still a sea bream. Is it really the Beggars' Sect? To think they found and hid such a reclusive master."

At Hongryeong's words, Jaryeong nodded his head in agreement.

"He must have been used as Geumgae's secret guard. Perhaps the Young Master knew that and leaked the information?"

"You're saying he expected us to target Geumgae?"

"He's the kind of person who would. He might have given a sharp warning to the subordinates who laid a hand on him even though they knew he was his idol."

At Jaryeong's words, the spirits fell silent.

It couldn't be asserted, but it was a plausible statement.

Their master, the Lord of the Four Alliances, also took the approach of letting his subordinates carry out their missions freely, but he was famous for giving a clear warning in this way if they crawled up from below.

Since Baek Ryuhon had grown up seeing such things since he was young, it could be seen that he had acted as naturally as breathing.

"There are two choices we can make now. To properly plan the assassination of Geumgae and try again, or to chase the Young Master again. Which one would be better to carry out the Alliance Leader's command?"

In fact, there was no need to mention it.

Although they had followed Geumryeong's strong insistence, the core of this mission was to catch Baek Ryuhon and return him to the alliance, rather than killing Geumgae.

"It seems everyone is unanimous, right?"

At Hongryeong's words, Jaryeong nodded his head and summarized.

"He's a reclusive master who can handle Geumryeong and Nokryeong. Even if the four of us attack together, at best it will be a mutual destruction. Let's prioritize securing the Young Master's safety, return to the alliance, and then deal with that reclusive master and Geumgae."

It was known that if the full force of the Black Night Ghost Spirit Squad was exerted, even King Yama could be killed.

The spirits decided to postpone the assassination attempt for later and for now, to be faithful to the given mission.

* * *

The leaders of the three halls, Jindeokgae, Bungsangae, and Samsalgae, returned to the Luoyang branch and were dumbfounded.

While they were away, all the members of the Luoyang branch had been poisoned to death.

Even the Branch Leader's guard, the Tiger Guard Squad, was the same.

"How can this be! For all these comrades to be defeated! Who on earth!"

Bungsangae pounded the floor in anger.

"Calm down."

Jindeokgae said, placing his hand on Bungsangae's shoulder.

"How can I be calm!? Look at this disastrous situation! Sob, sob."

"We have to be calm to find the culprit!"

"Ugh, sob, sob, sob."

Bungsangae lowered his head and shed thick tears.

They were comrades who had eaten alms rice together and exchanged jokes just yesterday.

But in an instant, they had become cold corpses.

"The Branch Leader is not here."

Samsalgae, after leading the Uigidang and searching the inside of the building, said with a dark expression.

"Did he fortunately escape?"

At Jindeokgae's question, Samsalgae nodded his head.

"There were bloodstains in the office, and since they led outside, it seems he was injured and escaped. The members are tracking him, so we should be able to find out where he is."

"That's a relief. What about the culprit? Were there any clues?"

"From the traces left on some of the corpses, there's nothing other than that he's a guy who uses a dagger. What about you guys?"

"I could tell that he's a guy whose poison-using techniques have reached a high level, not a poison art. But since he used common poisons like Danjangdok and Mihonsan, it's difficult to specify the culprit."

The problem was that the traces of the wounds and the poison were too simple.

Of course, they could narrow down the suspects to those among the skilled poison users who were capable of this incident, but the most important evidence was missing.

That's why in a case of massacre like this, securing a survivor was more important than anything else.

And in this case, that survivor would be the Luoyang branch's top priority for protection, Branch Leader Geumgae.

"If we find Elder Geumgae, we can find out the culprit, but... could it be the work of those Twelve Spirits bastards?"

At Bungsangae's words, Jindeokgae shook his head.

"If they weren't planning to start a war between the righteous and demonic factions, would they have done something so conspicuous? And to use it as a prelude to a war between the righteous and demonic factions, Elder Geumgae's reputation and our sect's fame are not that great."

Objectively, the position of the Beggars' Sect in the Eui-cheon Alliance was at a minor level.

It was because the Alliance itself operated an intelligence unit, and each martial family also had its own individual intelligence unit, so there was little room for the Beggars' Sect to be active.

"I can't erase the thought of the Four Alliances. I don't know the reason, but among the rotten bastards who have recently shown themselves, the only ones who would cause this much bloodshed are those Twelve Spirits bastards!"

"We can't rule out the possibility of the Twelve Spirits. But we must not jump to conclusions. For now, we must focus all our efforts on finding Elder Geumgae."

"Alright. Let's inform the main branch of this bloodshed, and the three halls will focus on finding the Branch Leader."

With the decision of the three hall leaders, the Beggars' Sect also began to chase Cheok Sagyeol.

Whether he intended it or not, Cheok Sagyeol was becoming the center of incidents wherever he went, causing a storm.

* * *

"Excuse me... Mr. Jeokun."

Baili Huang asked Cheok Sagyeol, who was walking ahead, about something he was curious about.

"What is it?"

"About that assassin from before. You called them 'fucking bitches'... do you know their identity?"

Cheok Sagyeol looked back at Baili Huang and said nonchalantly.

"In this martial world, if there's a place called an 'alliance,' there's only one, isn't there?"

"Gasp! Then is it really the Four Alliances?"

"Yes. The demonic path mongrels who walk around with their shoulders squared, calling themselves the hegemons of the southern martial world. The guys from before belong to the Black Night Ghost Spirit Squad and are called the Twelve Spirits. It's an undeserved title for mere assassins. Tsk."

At Cheok Sagyeol's words, Baili Huang's mouth fell open.

It was known that the Lord of the Four Alliances had two swords.

The Yaksha Blood War Squad, used for external and official military actions, and the Black Night Ghost Spirit Squad, used for secret and unofficial covert operations.

The Twelve Spirits were the elite of that Black Night Ghost Spirit Squad.

'And he calls such people mere assassins? Who on earth is this person?'

'Not just one, but he killed two of the Twelve Spirits and his behavior is unchanged as if it were nothing.'

'Although a rice plant bows its head as it ripens, one cannot be like this unless one's humility reaches the heavens.'

'If it were me, I would have announced it right away and received the attention of the world.'

'Because the fact that he killed the Twelve Spirits meant that he would make his name known throughout the world, beyond a single province, and would get a moniker that would leave his name in the martial world.'

'Ah, right. Is it because his body has been swapped now, so he can't assert himself? Still, he is a truly respectable person. As expected, he is a reclusive eccentric worthy of that Grand Master Muheo swapping bodies with.'

Baili Huang interpreted Cheok Sagyeol through his own perspective and began to look at him as an object of envy.

"Now, shall we start around here?"

As Cheok Sagyeol entered a mountain path, he jumped onto Baili Huang's back.

"What? Start what?"

"We have to start the second training. During movement, you carry this one and train your movement technique, and in the evening, you train the Drunken Eight Immortals Fist through sparring."

"I'm not fully recovered yet..."

"Don't make a fuss over one or two stab wounds. When this one was young, I crawled a thousand li even with my four limbs' muscles and tendons cut and my internal organs spilling out. Now, let's go!"

Baili Huang started running, but he couldn't believe it.

'Why would Grand Master Muheo swap bodies with a body with its four limbs' muscles and tendons cut? Moreover, to crawl a thousand li with a wound that exposed his internal organs? That's impossible!'

* * *

Sa-wol, look.

A minor problem has arisen, so I am leaving for Jiangsu Province first with the Baili brat.

You, after dealing with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the trash who make forgeries, take good care of my babies.

For your reference, this one has personally laid the foundation for the cute ones.

Ask Teacher Seo to teach them the stances of the martial arts they have learned and to get the basics down.

They are smart, so if you show them a few times, they will follow well.

Make sure to feed them the Small Recovery Pills well, check if they sleep well, and if they poop well.

Li Bai is fussy about sleeping... Du Fu lacks activity...

(Omitted)

'Phew. It's mostly monkey nanny duty.'

Thus, Sa-wol, after finishing her mission, returned to Cheok Sagyeol's lodging and could see the letter he had left.

The mission was successfully completed.

She had made replicas of Sa-wang to cover Cheok Sagyeol's tracks, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard guards who had chased the replicas had wiped out the organization that made the forgeries.

Sa-wol had handled the matter easily, as if blowing her nose without using her hands.

And the last thing she had confirmed was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard guards had learned of the bloodshed at the Luoyang branch and had met with the leaders of the three halls.

Sa-wol immediately knew that the minor problem was that incident.

'By the way, Teacher Seo is the person who saved the Lord's life when he was in danger with his four limbs' muscles and tendons cut during his time as the Red Wolf Squad Leader.'

Although he had not joined the Demonic Cult, he was a reclusive eccentric who had formed a master-servant relationship through the connection at that time.

Of course, the master was Cheok Sagyeol and the subordinate was Teacher Seo, but Cheok Sagyeol used honorifics and treated Teacher Seo with utmost respect.

And the existence of Teacher Seo and other reclusive eccentrics with whom he had a connection was known only to the Red Moon within the cult.

Because they were Cheok Sagyeol's hidden hand.

'For that Teacher Seo to personally teach the monkeys? Hah... aren't these guys going to become monsters later?'

Sa-wol, looking at the Yi-Du-Han-Baek who were looking up at her with cute eyes, felt that she had to carry out her nanny mission well.

(End of Chapter)