Chapter 58: The Dark Hall Master

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“So! He refused to return the White Fang to the very end?”

When Geum Ja-jeom raised his voice with an angry face, Du Cheong shrank and needlessly scratched his forehead.

“Yes… He said when did he ever specify half the reparation as the return condition… I’m sorry for coming back empty-handed.”

“Ugh, it can’t be helped. It’s not your fault.”

Geum Ja-jeom could somehow imagine it.

Cheol Ryu-heun’s figure speaking words with an expressionless face.

‘Eyesore of a bastard!’

He ground his teeth and spoke again.

“But… It’s strange. Setting him aside, even the old man who had suffered from illness for so long has recovered.”

He meant White Peak Sword Sect’s Elder, White Mountain Sword Excellence Yeop Hwon.

Du Cheong nodded and responded.

“When I first saw him, I wondered if it was a different person.”

“He seemed to have regained his internal energy too?”

“I couldn’t determine exactly, but his intangible aura was quite formidable.”

“Hmm, what on earth is going on…”

Moreover, Yeop Hwon wasn’t the only surprising one.

According to Du Cheong’s report, the disciples of White Peak Sword Sect were also training to awaken sword energy.

An incomprehensible matter.

They had been a bunch that couldn’t even emit sword wind until recently…

Well, granted, Cheol Ryu-heun, who had easily killed Gul Ma-hun, was an incomprehensible existence from the start.

“Anyway, we’d better hurry things along before it gets more worrying. By the way, nothing else happened on your way back? I heard earlier that the command post area was in an uproar.”

“Actually, because of that incident, I encountered the newly appointed magistrate. He unexpectedly showed goodwill.”

“What? Tell me in detail.”

When Geum Ja-jeom showed strong curiosity, Du Cheong briefly explained what he’d experienced on his return.

“Oho… Interesting. If he’s openly eager for bribes, isn’t that good fortune for us?”

“There’s a rumor that he was demoted here after being at the central government office – perhaps it’s true. Probably he tried to build merit again through various inspections but it didn’t work out, so he decided to compromise with reality.”

“If his path to success is blocked, it’d be hard to refuse bribes. Anyway, you didn’t waste your sword training. You even knew to make up a false destination on the spot.”

“A Vice Gang Leader should at least be able to work such small cleverness. Haha.”

“Right, well done. With this, the connection to White Peak Sword Sect has been cut off in advance, so we just need to quickly form the alliance and move.”

Geum Ja-jeom pointed with his chin at the letter on the desk and continued in a low voice.

“While you were on your trip, a response came from the Dark Hall.”

“Oh…!”

Du Cheong brightened and unfolded the letter to read, then soon wore a triumphant smile.

“My, everything is progressing according to our gang’s plan. Then have you decided on the meeting place?”

“Of course. I disguised one of our people as a traveler and sent them to an inn nearby to hire a messenger. Since this is the final coordination period, if our own people move directly, other parties might catch wind of it. By now, they should have reached the Dark Hall and delivered the sealed letter.”

“What kind of person is the messenger? If we carelessly step in something unexpected, we need to be careful.”

“It’s just some old drifter, so don’t worry. Not even a martial artist, and I’ve properly applied both threats and rewards. There won’t be any stepping in anything. Hoho.”

* * *

‘Heh… Stepping in shit without even knowing it.’

Head-Severing Yama Seop Pyo, wearing a mask, traversed the deep night forest with elegant lightness technique while letting out a cold laugh.

The target of his derision was naturally the Thousand Snake Gang.

Why?

Because the messenger, the old drifter, was none other than Seop Pyo himself.

Currently, Geum Ja-jeom’s sealed letter was stored in his clothes.

He had already finished checking the contents, and the seal on the outside had been replaced with a counterfeit.

Now he just needed to go to the Dark Hall and deliver the letter.

Of course, there was no chance of the switched seal being detected.

For someone who had been the previous martial world’s greatest assassin, such a thing wasn’t even difficult.

‘Dark Hall Master, Netherworld Sword Fork Jeo Gyeom. They said he’s a powerhouse rivaling the Five Supreme Martial Experts representing this region.’

Seop Pyo had already finished gathering information not only on the Thousand Snake Gang but also on the Dark Hall.

Originally, Cheol Ryu-heun had said he only needed to monitor the enemy’s movements.

There was no need to risk danger by visiting.

However, since he’d taken on the job anyway, he figured he might as well obtain all the information he could.

Doing anything half-heartedly didn’t suit his nature.

Suddenly, this thought occurred to him.

That bad guys, no matter how many you killed, were endless.

In the past, he had only selected and beheaded the worst of the worst among evildoers.

But when he cut down one evildoer, a new evildoer would appear and take their place.

He was sick of it.

It was infinite repetition.

So in the end, unable to overcome his disgust, he had put down his sword and turned his back on the martial world.

Of course, he didn’t view killing a hundred evildoers as meaningless now.

Anyway, coming out to the world again like this made him newly feel facts he had forgotten over the long years.

That among those with corrupted hearts, those who truly reflected on and repented their lives were so rare…

Starting with the Thousand Snake Gang’s new leader Geum Ja-jeom, the Dark Hall Master Jeo Gyeom he was now investigating also fell into that category.

Evildoers who didn’t hesitate even at murderous schemes to line their own pockets.

A corrupted sort no different from Gul Ma-hun, who had lost his life at Cheol Ryu-heun’s hands.

He should be firmly punished.

It was homework-like work that someone had to do, just as Seop Pyo himself had done in the past.

That’s why he was actively trying to help Cheol Ryu-heun.

‘Though this world has many bad people… Hope is still greater than despair.’

Yes, that’s right.

In this world, there were far more good people than bad.

Just then.

Seop Pyo, having stopped his movement, let peculiar light emit from his eyes.

Straight ahead, beyond the thick bushes, a power boasting a grand site could be seen.

The Dark Hall.

A power that hadn’t existed during his time as Head-Severing Yama, but which had become one of the top ten most powerful forces in all of Hunan in the current era.

‘Meeting face to face should give me some sense. How formidable an expert this Hall Master fellow is…’

Having removed his mask, he pressed his own pressure points.

Tap, ta-tap, tap-

His intention was to temporarily block the circulation of vital energy to hide his internal power.

It was a rather dangerous method that placed great strain on the body, but since he’d done it many times before and it would be fine as long as he didn’t drag things out, he didn’t hesitate.

Wasn’t Dark Hall Master Jeo Gyeom a renowned sword master in Hunan Province?

He needed to prepare to this extent beforehand to deceive his eyes.

Having completed all preparations, Seop Pyo came out onto the forest path and walked normally until he reached the front gate of the Dark Hall.

“Is anyone there? I was paid to run an errand and brought a letter.”

Waiting briefly like that, the door opened with a clang! and through the gap, a swordsman in his forties appeared.

“Where are you from?”

At his quiet question while shining a torch, Seop Pyo quickly held out the letter.

“Youyang.”

The swordsman, upon confirming the sealed cover, wore an expression suggesting he knew immediately who had sent it.

“Follow me.”

* * *

A guest hall in the southeast of the Dark Hall.

Seop Pyo was sitting alone at a table in the spacious room, waiting quietly, when he suddenly sensed a presence.

‘He’s finally coming.’

Shortly after, the lattice door opened smoothly and a figure exuding a dignified atmosphere entered the room.

The appearance of Netherworld Sword Fork Jeo Gyeom.

Suddenly, the air in the venue seemed to turn chilly.

Fifty years old this year, his exterior carried an unapproachable majesty that overwhelmed everyone.

The middle-aged weight in his features, along with his black ceremonial robe, was particularly impressive.

Moreover, on his chest was a large embroidered image of a yaksha holding a sword in its mouth, which conveyed a sense of intimidation just from looking at it.

‘A yaksha wielding the sword of the underworld… He certainly has a deadly imposing presence befitting his alias.’

Having muttered internally, Seop Pyo clasped his hands before his chest.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am a messenger who was just passing by and was asked to deliver this letter.”

Jeo Gyeom, without a word in response, examined his opponent through sharp light radiating from his eyes.

There was something sinister about that gaze.

Soon, Jeo Gyeom, having seated himself in the opposite chair, took the letter and examined the sealed cover.

Pluck-

He tore open the seal without noticing Seop Pyo’s exquisite handiwork and confirmed the contents.

A brief silence.

Finally, having read everything, Jeo Gyeom opened his mouth.

“You said you’re a paid messenger?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Who gave you this?”

“Ah… It was a martial artist staying at the same inn. As I happened to need travel money, I took on this job. He intimidated me so thoroughly that I set aside everything else and hurried here.”

Seop Pyo acted skillfully like an ignorant old man.

But.

Jeo Gyeom, perhaps with something bothering him, scattered a sharp gaze while observing Seop Pyo closely.

“Um… Then may I take my leave now?”

At Seop Pyo’s cautious question, Jeo Gyeom nodded.

“You may go.”

Just as Seop Pyo pushed his chair back, stood up, bowed at the waist in greeting, and headed toward the door.

“Wait.”

Simultaneously with the short voice, spine-chilling energy flew rapidly toward the back of Seop Pyo’s head.

‘Urk!’

Seop Pyo instinctively felt it, but immediately suppressed the sensation and turned his head.

“Yes, why do you… WAAAH!”

The moment he saw the blade that had come right up to him, he collapsed as if his legs had given out.

The intangible aura flowing around Jeo Gyeom’s body was domineering, as if it were slashing the viewer’s body to pieces.

‘Hmm. This fellow is more formidable than expected.’

Contrary to his inner thoughts, Seop Pyo kowtowed in a terrified manner.

“Oh my! Why… Why are you doing this? Please spare me! Wh-What did I do wrong…”

But at that moment, a strange energy that unpleasantly stimulated his heart was detected.

‘Huh! What’s this?’

It definitely wasn’t just a simple intangible aura.

Then what was it?

This unidentified, unpleasant energy.

He wanted to immediately heighten his energy sense and determine its nature, but since he was disguised as a messenger, that was impossible.

Suddenly.

Creak, creak-creak, creak…

A faint metallic-like sound reached Seop Pyo’s ears.

‘Hmm?’

How to describe it – it was similar to the friction sound of metal joints.

He couldn’t know for certain, but instinctively it seemed like a sound somehow related to that energy.

Soon, Jeo Gyeom sheathed his sword and let out a quiet voice.

“My apologies.”

“…”

“I was checking whether you might be a martial artist in disguise. It’s a very important letter, so my nerves were on edge. Please understand.”

“Ah… I-I see? I thought… Phew… Anyway, I nearly died of fright.”

“Well then, you may go.”

Jeo Gyeom immediately opened the door and went out, then looked at the swordsman waiting in the guest hall courtyard and commanded.

“See him off and give him some food.”

“Yes, Hall Master.”

* * *

Seop Pyo was guided by the swordsman he had first seen and came out through the Dark Hall’s front gate.

“Here, take this. I put in various foods.”

When the swordsman handed over a small bamboo tube, Seop Pyo quickly took it and bowed.

“Oh my, you didn’t need to… I’ll eat well.”

“Take care.”

The moment the front gate firmly closed, Seop Pyo’s eyes completely changed.

‘Jeo Gyeom… It’s certain he’s hiding some kind of power. That earlier sensation wasn’t the energy inherent in his internal cultivation.’

It bothered him.

The nature of the strange energy that had given him an uncanny sense of discomfort, and the barely audible metallic sound…

There was probably something else beyond the information he had obtained.

‘Hmm, I have a bad feeling. Let me first go report to Sect Master Cheol.’

Seop Pyo walked like an ordinary person until he was far from the Dark Hall, then released his pressure points and executed nimble lightness technique.

* * *

Seop Pyo set foot in an abandoned temple in a hillside and came face to face with Cheol Ryu-heun.

“Sect Master Cheol, good that you’re not asleep. I have an urgent report…”

“What’s that?”

Cheol Ryu-heun indicated the bamboo tube with a disinterested glance.

“Ah, just some food.”

Saying that, Seop Pyo opened the lid of the bamboo tube.

But.

The various foods in the bamboo tube were mixed together in a jumbled mess as if someone had stirred them by hand.

It had ended up that way because he’d been running without rest.

“Is that dog food?”

“N-No, that’s not…”

“It is though? Dog food.”

“…”

“Did you get someone’s leftovers?”

“…”

“How did the world’s great assassin end up like this? Tsk, how pathetic.”

“…”

“If you have no money, just say so.”

When Cheol Ryu-heun tossed a few coins onto the ground, flames surged in Seop Pyo’s heart.

Ha… Forget retirement – should I just kill everyone?