Chapter 144: To Think Wed Meet Again
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Chapter 144 – To Think We’d Meet Again
Black Forest Hall, the unorthodox faction power that dominated the Hong Lake area.
Nestled at the edge of a forest adjacent to Jinyu among the various cities along the vast waterside, this place was famous for the vicious conduct of its members.
The starting point of Black Forest Hall’s history was just a low-quality gang.
But.
About twenty years ago, a wicked wandering master of the unorthodox faction, along with other wandering groups who shared his views, suppressed the entire gang and took them under his command, beginning to expand their sphere of activity.
From then on, Black Forest Hall didn’t hesitate at any work as long as it made money, and they rapidly increased their power by successively crushing several small armed groups in the Hong Lake vicinity and incorporating them as subordinates.
As their martial reputation and notoriety rose steeply, even low-quality martial artists of this region joined one by one, and Black Forest Hall’s current territory was thus established.
Their mode of operation was simple.
Flattery to the strong, and force to the weak.
The officials of the government office managing the Hong Lake region sided with those who had money and power, and whenever Black Forest Hall committed cunning misdeeds and earned the resentment of commoners, they protected them through improper means since they always supplied sweet bribes like honey.
Punishments were light compared to their crimes, and misdeeds that were difficult to find evidence for were repeated, gradually gnawing at the lives of the poor masses.
It wasn’t that there were no orthodox martial sects in the Hong Lake area opposing the unorthodox side, but their scale wasn’t large enough to confront them head-on by questioning their misdeeds.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s arrival at this forest where Black Forest Hall was located was not planned but coincidental.
Through unintentional surveillance.
Indeed, the person he had been trying to find had unexpectedly headed this way.
Neung Po.
He had secretly followed the one he had marked as a candidate for Guest Retainer and cook…
It is said that humans are beings who gather moments of coincidence and weave them into inevitability.
This was exactly such a situation.
A mixture of coincidence and inevitability.
While heading toward where the dumpling shop was said to be, Cheol Ryu-heun had discovered something in the darkness on the other side.
It was a person’s movement.
Extremely secretive yet swift movement.
Though it was a far distance, he recognized it immediately.
That the figure advancing through the darkness like a ghost had come from the dumpling shop beneath that hill over there.
So he was certain.
That it was Neung Po.
He hadn’t particularly employed eyesight enhanced with internal energy, or energy sense, or other such abilities to detect it.
It was read automatically.
Faintly.
It was instinctive perception.
Like the sharp wildness of a beast.
It was the effect of his basic physical abilities improving several more levels after going to the Sage Peak cave in Mount Heng Sect’s territory and achieving his second Bone Replacement and Marrow Cleansing.
If he had arrived a little later, he wouldn’t have seen it.
Thus… Coincidence became inevitability.
Cheol Ryu-heun watched Neung Po’s retreating figure as he walked toward Black Forest Hall’s main gate and reconfirmed his identity.
‘Left-handed.’
He held the sheathed sword in his right hand.
This matched what Ye Woon-rang had said.
Since that meant he was left-handed.
He still didn’t know anything else.
Though his sensory abilities including eyesight had improved so he could see more clearly than before, he had positioned himself at a distance for fear of Divine Wind beside him being detected.
Because of that, he couldn’t clearly confirm the details of his face, clothes, sword, and other features.
However.
He could tell that something cold was swirling around Neung Po’s body.
Killing intent.
And extremely vicious at that.
If the killing intent was thick enough to be felt across such a far distance, the purpose of visiting Black Forest Hall in the middle of the night was roughly predictable.
‘He intends to kill.’
Extremely personal revenge? Or revenge on behalf of others? Well, he couldn’t know that much.
Anyway, he must be harboring some deep story.
At that moment.
The expressions of the two gatekeeper members standing before Black Forest Hall’s main gate changed completely.
“Halt, stop right there.”
“Who are you?”
Neung Po stopped walking at their voices tinged with alertness and quietly asked back.
“Is everyone gathered inside?”
Black Forest Hall’s set final roll call of the day took place midway during the Xu hour (8-9 PM).
He had deliberately aimed for that time.
For when everyone would be gathered together.
Sure enough, he could sense through energy detection that many people had gathered in some space beyond the main gate.
Meanwhile, the two gatekeeper members at the front wore expressions of bewilderment.
Showing up out of nowhere, not answering questions and suddenly speaking informally – of course they would be dumbfounded…
Then, thinking Neung Po might be a wanderer who had come to request joining this place, they suppressed their anger as much as possible and spoke.
“It’s late, so go back.”
“Visit again tomorrow.”
But for some reason, goosebumps kept rising.
The two members were internally puzzled, not knowing the cause was the killing intent Neung Po was emitting.
“I wonder.”
Neung Po continued after those brief words, casting an even colder gaze.
“Will tomorrow come for you?”
Only then did the two members realize something was amiss and glared fiercely at the opponent standing five paces ahead.
“This bastard, are you looking for a fight?”
“You… Don’t seem like an ordinary wanderer – what’s your identity?”
“Dumpling shop owner. And my business is the annihilation and closure of Black Forest Hall.”
Simultaneously, the two gatekeeper members drew their swords.
SHING- SHING-
Following the chilling ring of blades, heavy voices flowed.
“Crazy…”
“First, summon the personnel with the emergency horn.”
Suddenly.
STAB, STAB- STAB STAB-!
Along with the chilling sound of piercing flesh, the two members let out sharp, prolonged screams.
“GAAAAAH, GAAAAAAAH!”
“AAAAAAAAH…!”
Before they knew it, Neung Po’s hands had moved swiftly and plunged into both members’ eyes as if gouging them out.
CLATTER CLATTER-
Swords falling to the floor.
When Neung Po pulled out the fingers he had thrust into both sides, the two members rolled on the ground with blood-soaked faces.
“AAAAH… AAAK, AAAAH…!”
“HUUGH… M-my eyes… My eyes… Damn…!”
Into the ears of the two writhing and screaming in agony, Neung Po’s icy voice was driven.
“Now begins the memorial ceremony.”
Immediately after, Black Forest Hall’s main gate was mercilessly destroyed before his kick.
CRASH!
As shattered wood fragments scattered, Neung Po walked inside, firmly gripping the hair of both members with his two hands.
Shouts of many people echoed under the night sky.
“Everyone gather!”
“It’s over there at the main gate!”
“Assemble! Assemble!”
Those inside must have entered some kind of readiness posture after hearing the screams and the explosion.
Cheol Ryu-heun, positioned at a distance, watched that direction with an indifferent expression.
-Neung Po’s swordsmanship was truly remarkable. Even Blood Sword had his neck cut off in about ten exchanges.
Ye Woon-rang had previously spoken as if the martial prowess of Neung Po he had witnessed was definitely stronger than his own.
Right, now was the time to confirm with his own two eyes.
‘Good, let’s get closer and take a look at his skills.’
Cheol Ryu-heun stroked the mane of Divine Wind standing quietly beside him and commanded.
“Stay here and wait. Looking at it, it doesn’t seem like it’ll take very long.”
Then he stepped lightly and disappeared toward the other side.
* * *
The spacious training ground beyond Black Forest Hall’s main gate.
In a space that could easily accommodate over three hundred people at a glance, everyone including the executives had gathered together, forming a black wave.
THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD…
Neung Po, who had stepped foot there, soon moved his hands and flung the two eye-gouged members far toward the front.
THUD, THUD-
The two members lying face-down on the training ground floor kept letting out agonized groans with blood-covered faces.
“Guh… Huh…”
“Uurgh…”
At that moment, the figure positioned at the front of the crowd let out a sharp shout.
“Move them!”
With a massive build like a large bear, he was Fallen Sword Bear Geum Deok-gi, the deputy hall master who had been managing Black Forest Hall’s affairs since Vicious Sword Chu Chung went missing.
Several members moved quickly and laid the two who had lost their eyes on one side of the training ground.
Neung Po stopped with a gap of about two jang and quietly gazed at the Black Forest Hall gang gathered ahead.
There were many.
Over two hundred people.
Any ordinary martial artist wouldn’t dare to think of facing them alone.
But Neung Po was different.
He thought it was fortunate that every single one was gathered.
Because his purpose for visiting was only one thing – merciless annihilation.
A brief silence flowed.
Geum Deok-gi, sensing the killing intent touching his skin, placed his hand on the end of his sword hilt and asked with a chin gesture.
“What is it, have you come because you have a grudge against our Hall?”
“As you can see.”
At Neung Po’s brief reply, Geum Deok-gi smirked.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“My, the longer you live, the more you see. Heheh.”
Having let out a derisive laugh, Geum Deok-gi turned his head and sent an eye signal.
Simultaneously.
THWACK!
One member drew his sword and charged toward Neung Po.
But.
SLASH-!
Both ankles of the member who had approached and thrust his sword were cleanly severed in an instant.
“AAAAAAAAH!”
He collapsed limply with a THUD and screamed in agony while spewing a large amount of blood.
“…!”
Deputy Hall Master Fallen Sword Bear Geum Deok-gi and the Black Forest Hall group were momentarily stunned.
It was a terrifying left-handed quick sword.
No one had seen it.
When Neung Po had drawn and swung that sword…
“Everyone, draw swords! He’s a considerable master!”
At Geum Deok-gi’s thundering command, the Black Forest Hall members drew their swords in unison and spread out to form a crescent-shaped formation.
Neung Po looked ahead and scattered a cold gaze.
“Committing robbery and rape against commoners… And on top of that, even murder… What reason is there for me to let you live?”
“Who do you think you are to babble such nonsense!”
When Geum Deok-gi exploded with rage and his gaze went elsewhere.
THWACK, THWACK, THWACK THWACK!
This time, four members charged rapidly.
But.
SLASH, SLASH SLASH, SLASH…!
Just like the fallen member before, all had their ankles mercilessly severed and screamed in agony.
“GAAAHHHH!”
“AAAH, AAAAK!”
The bloody scent pervaded the arena.
Seeing that, Geum Deok-gi’s hair stood on end from fear.
Before signaling for an ambush with his eyes, he had enhanced his eyesight with internal energy, yet he still couldn’t see the opponent’s sword-swinging motion.
In that moment.
HISSSSSS…
A gray current spread like waves around Neung Po’s body, playing a faint energy sound.
A bizarre energy that gave an eerie and unpleasant feeling just from looking at it.
“Today you will pay for your sins before this demonic art.”
The expressions of the Black Forest Hall gang turned pale.
‘What! Demonic art…?’
They never expected him might be a demon.
Right then.
BOOM!
The sword held in Neung Po’s left hand vibrated and generated an energy in the terrifying shape of a hungry ghost.
SHIVER.
Unprecedented terror.
When everyone including Geum Deok-gi instinctively shrunk their necks, a sound struck their ears.
-I’m hungry. Hehe, heheh… There’s much to eat. Heheh…
Could it be the sword voice of the sword emitting the hungry ghost-shaped energy?
Meanwhile.
Cheol Ryu-heun, who had climbed an old tree outside Black Forest Hall’s wall, took in that scene with his eyes and let out a barely-visible smile.
‘Ha, is that the Demon-Devouring Sword? To meet that old demon head again here… Interesting. I didn’t know he was still alive.’