Chapter 217: Who Took the Treasure (2)
At the Samhwang Lodge, the southern peak of Mount Song. Five ropes were connected down the cliff.
The monks were descending one by one, but the speed was far too slow. The biggest issue was that the non-martial monks were terrified and hesitated.
Although the appointed time had passed, nearly five hundred monks had yet to descend.
“Hurry up!”
The Wolf Fang Squad members urged the monks, but what use was that?
Watching the escape procession with her arms crossed, Yeon Seo-hwa let out deep sigh after sigh.
“This is driving me crazy.”
To make matters worse, a commotion arose from the rear. It was clear what had happened without even checking.
A shout erupted shortly after.
“We have trouble! The cultists have caught up with us!”
The monks and even the Wolf Fang Squad members flinched in panic.
To secure the retreat path, most of the martial monks, including the Four Great Vajras, had already descended. Not many fighters were left here.
“We will buy some time.”
These were the Eighteen Arhats, who, along with the Four Great Vajras, were known as the guardians of Shaolin.
They clasped their hands with their right hands, turned around, and vanished like arrows in the direction of the temple.
Though it was said that the Arhat Formation formed by the Eighteen Arhats could rival a master of the Realm of Transformed Qi, Seo-hwa thought differently.
‘Those guys won’t last even ten minutes on their own.’
Those left behind stomped their feet in anxiety as they watched their retreating backs.
Cheong-hae asked with a worried face,
“What should we do, sister?”
Pondering for a moment, she pointed her finger somewhere. They were the bundles the monks were carrying on their backs.
“Strip them of those bundles first.”
“Yes…?”
“We don’t have time, so do it quickly.”
She seemed to have a plan.
When the Wolf Fang Squad members demanded the bundles, the startled monks refused.
“These are items we must bring with us!”
“Do not touch them!”
There was no time to argue.
Seo-hwa’s figure turned into a streak of shadow, weaving through the monks. The bundles she snatched began to drop their contents one after another.
Thud! Thud!
Most of them contained Buddha statues and scriptures.
Though they were precious items, Seo-hwa didn’t care about the contents. She flung the wrapping cloths into the sky.
As the golden cloths spread wide, covering the sky, eight needles shot out from her sleeves.
Whoosh!
The needles carrying threads wove through the cloths, binding them together in midair in an instant.
Sewing in midair. Watching this, the monks and the Wolf Fang Squad members opened their mouths wide.
Seo-hwa tossed the newly created large tarp to Cheong-hae.
“Go down and hold it. I will throw them down from above.”
Half of the squad members nodded automatically, grabbed the ropes, and descended quickly.
A moment later, Cheong-hae’s voice echoed from below.
“We’re ready!”
The pale-faced monks shrank back. Being told to jump off a sheer cliff—even if they were told someone would catch them—did not feel reassuring at all.
But Seo-hwa wasn’t one to show mercy. The longer the evacuation took, the more danger her husband would face.
“What are you waiting for? Throw them.”
One of the monks muttered in disbelief,
“Aren’t you being too harsh? It seems this demon head is determined to kill us all…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence. Seo-hwa grabbed his collar and flung him over the cliff.
“Aaaaack!”
A moment later, her sensitive hearing caught the soft thud of the monk landing safely on the tarp.
Though the tarp wasn’t huge, the agility of the Wolf Fang Squad members was enough to catch them safely even if she threw them roughly.
At Seo-hwa’s signal, the squad members began to throw the monks down one by one at regular intervals.
“This monk is going to the Buddha’s side… aaaaack!”
“Namoo-Ami… save me!!!”
At this point, the non-martial monks who had been hesitating in fear began to grab the ropes themselves.
The situation was quickly being resolved.
The problem was that the Eighteen Arhats couldn’t hold out until all the monks descended.
Someone had to buy more time. And the only master capable of doing so here was her.
“All of you, go down too.”
Centurion Hyeon-jeong asked with a worried face,
“Will you be okay alone, sister?”
“Don’t even think about following me. If I’m late, depart first.”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and dashed away.
Crossing a peak, she saw the Arhats blocking the mountain path. At a glance, they were on the defensive.
The Arhat Formation looked precarious, as if it could break at any moment. Three of them had already collapsed, leaving a gap.
About a hundred cultists were pressuring them relentlessly. The individual strength of the Arhats was superior, but the presence of a single supreme master among the cultists was the issue.
Kwang! Kwang!
“Ugh!”
Another Arhat fell, struck by the Grand Protector’s palm.
The formation shook violently, on the verge of collapsing, and the Arhats fell into despair.
It was a critical moment. Suddenly, the cultists pressuring the Arhat Formation screamed and fell into disarray.
“Argh!”
“Ack!”
“W-Who is it?”
Dozens of flying needles shot from the hill, sweeping through the cultists.
Over twenty of them fell in a single move.
Taking advantage of their confusion, Seo-hwa charged in, executing her Black Dragon Sacred Palm to take down the cultists one by one.
Crack! Crack!
Any cultist struck by her palm died instantly.
Their necks snapped, their ribcages collapsed, and the struck areas were scorched black.
Finding hope in the arrival of reinforcements, the Arhats stepped again to keep the formation from breaking. On the other hand, the Grand Protector, who had led the attack, was infuriated.
“Who are you, wench?”
The old man in the red robe charged at her.
Their palms clashed, unleashing a massive explosion.
Boom!
Rebounding two steps, they immediately charged back and began to trade palm strikes.
Boom! Boom!
The Grand Protector was growling in frustration, unable to comprehend the situation.
Who was he? Even among supreme masters, there were different levels. He, who had defeated all the elders to rise to the position of Grand Protector, was unable to gain the upper hand.
After trading about thirty exchanges in an instant, they backed away to catch their breath.
“Who are you calling a wench? I’ll rip your tongue out.”
“From your foul mouth, you must be the Saintess of Jade Flowers. This saves me the trouble of searching for you, so it is actually for the best.”
She wasn’t one to lose in a battle of words, no matter who the opponent was.
“An ugly old man with all talk and no action.”
The Grand Protector’s hands flared with a red current. The condensing qi flow was unusual. Since it seemed different from the martial arts of the Central Plains, Seo-hwa also prepared her ultimate form.
While the Arhats and cultists backed away to watch their duel,
someone suddenly burst into the clearing. It was a monk leaping over the right peak with a bizarre movement technique.
“Give me back my treasure!”
Everyone’s gaze focused on him.
It was the renegade monk who had turned Shaolin into a mess in the chaos.
The cultists were bewildered, and the Arhats’ expressions grew dark.
The renegade monk ran straight to Seo-hwa and held out his hand.
“Where is my treasure?”
Seo-hwa noticed instantly. The renegade monk before her had become even stronger than when they first met. What on earth had he consumed in the meantime?
One thing was certain: the renegade monk’s actions would decide the outcome here.
She pointed her finger at the Grand Protector.
“I want to return it, but that old man snatched it away. Go strip his clothes.”
“Bad grandpa, return my treasure now!”
Without hesitation, the renegade monk charged at the Grand Protector.
As the renegade monk’s body was wrapped in a golden current, the watching Arhats were shocked.
“The Vajra Qi?”
When did he steal and learn the martial art that only the Abbot of Shaolin could practice?
While the Arhats stood dazed, Seo-hwa quickly approached them and said,
“Don’t worry about this place. All of you, go down first.”
“…”
When the Arhats hesitated, Seo-hwa narrowed her eyes.
“What? Does it hurt your pride to owe a cultist? Decide quickly. If you stay, I’ll run away when you get beaten.”
Honestly, she didn’t care whether the monks died or not. But since she had obtained a significant harvest here, she felt she should repay them slightly to feel clean. She was the type who had to return what she received.
The Arhats looked at one another and finally nodded.
There was no reason to refuse if they were going to fight among themselves.
“Please be careful.”
The Grand Protector’s subordinates merely watched the Arhats leave. They did not have the confidence to break through Seo-hwa, who was blocking the path.
She watched the duel between the Grand Protector and the renegade monk with an expressionless face.
As expected, as time passed, the renegade monk fell into a disadvantage. That was not what she wanted.
“Hey, crazy monk. Shall I help you?”
Fruggling to hold his ground, the renegade monk retreated and shouted urgently,
“Help me! I’ll give you a treasure!”
Sensing the shift in the wind, the Grand Protector’s eyes shook.
No matter how strong he was, he had no chance of winning a two-on-one fight.
Hoping to finish the renegade monk before Seo-hwa could join, his attacks grew fiercer.
A red, spear-like current shot forward continuously.
“Ah! It hurts!”
Blood trickled from the renegade monk’s mouth. Though he swung his fists wrapped in the golden current, it looked like he wouldn’t hold out much longer.
Seo-hwa was not one to stand by.
Her figure moved like lightning, striking the Grand Protector’s flank.
Her delicate hands unleashed a series of black dragons.
Boom!
The Grand Protector was flustered. The combination of Seo-hwa’s Black Dragon Sacred Palm and the renegade monk’s Great Strength Thirty-Eight Palms was exceptionally effective.
“Ugh! Despicable…”
He had no chance of winning at this rate. As his stance began to crumble, the Grand Protector looked for a retreat path. Noticing this, Seo-hwa cut off his escape route and shouted,
“Monk, don’t let him escape!”
“Understood, sister!”
Absurdly, Seo-hwa and the renegade monk worked in perfect harmony. Finding himself in a corner, the Grand Protector had to resort to desperate measures.
“Ugh! Demon Annihilation Squad, attack these two immediately!”
“Understood!”
He knew his subordinates wouldn’t be of much help in this fight. However, sacrificing them to secure his escape was worth a try.
The cultists rushing from all directions looked like moths flying into a flame.
“How dare you!”
Moving like lightning, Seo-hwa’s hands executed the Demon Flower Flying Lightning consecutively.
The needles filling the air swept through the cultists again, taking down over twenty of them.
Thud!
However, about fifty cultists remained, and they were fanatics who did not fear death.
While the attention of the renegade monk and Seo-hwa was temporarily diverted, the Grand Protector did his best to escape.