Chapter 329: Chapter 329

She also knew that rescuing someone in danger or drawing a sword in the name of justice were nothing more than words fabricated by people.

Zhuge Yeon, holding her sword in a high-spirited manner, caught her breath.

‘It would have turned out like this anyway.’

Thinking so, she looked at the approaching figures.

As long as something happened near Dan Woo-hyun, he was bound to step forward. One way or another, Dan Woo-hyun would have tried to get involved in this situation.

Zhuge Yeon, who did not like being dragged around by someone, thought it was better to step forward first in the name of justice.

This was the result of that.

‘To think it was Muho…’

Zhuge Yeon frowned and lifted her foot.

Swoosh-!

A blade brushed past underneath her foot. Although the distance from the opponent was considerable, the extended blade flew in, closing the gap as if stretching.

“Oh?”

The men looked surprised, perhaps not expecting that she would be able to avoid it. They had intended to cut off her leg in one blow, toy with her, and kill her, but it did not go as planned.

“Foolish.”

Another man cursed his companion and threw himself forward.

He found his companion’s skills pathetic for failing to capture a mere girl in a single blow.

The man narrowed the distance in an instant.

The punches and kicks delivered from the instantly reduced distance were truly something that could not be followed even with open eyes.

However.

Pat-pat-pat-pat-!

She struck away the incoming knee with the tip of her sword, spun around, and lightly avoided the shoulder that came rotating in.

Then, striking down the hand blade aimed for a decisive blow with the flat of her sword, she slipped inside and aimed for the man’s Adam’s apple.

Chwack-!

The blade narrowly brushed past his neck.

The flustered man’s pupils shook.

Zhuge Yeon’s sword was not as powerful as Muho’s, nor was it loaded with any great force, but she precisely grasped the opponent’s gaps and movements, responding and counterattacking.

It was a rather tricky swordplay.

Even those who prided themselves on being confident in their skills could not grasp Zhuge Yeon’s style of fighting at all.

“Tch…!”

“What are you doing!”

“This girl… is stronger than expected.”

The man who quickly backed away frowned.

It was true that they had looked down on her, but that did not mean they were careless. Each strike they delivered carried the force to kill a person in a single blow.

Having realized that, Zhuge Yeon clearly evaded what could be evaded and blocked what could be blocked.

Furthermore, since she also possessed the ability to perfectly exploit those gaps, the outcome would have been uncertain in a one-on-one situation.

However, there were five companions in this place.

Being numerically overwhelming, some leisure returned to their faces.

“Sigh…”

Zhuge Yeon, having seen through the entire situation, caught her breath.

The momentum of the six men who had taken their positions before she knew it was unusual.

That they were outstanding experts was already a considerable burden, and since they were even trying to combine their attacks, Zhuge Yeon had no choice but to smile awkwardly.

“How unsightly…”

Zhuge Yeon muttered as she examined the men’s faces. If they had pride, at least one of them might have rushed forward, but they were simply smiling and taking their starting stances as if the six of them were one.

‘So you are not falling for it, huh?’

Judging by their lack of individual actions, they were clearly thoroughly trained.

They were people who fought using formations, like the Seven Swords of Wudang or the Eighteen Arhats Formation. That was why they were only completed as one when all six of them were present.

“What are these guys?”

Just then, with a rustling sound, Gwon Mu-jin revealed himself. He widened his eyes in surprise upon finding the fallen Muho.

He also naturally looked at the six men standing blankly in their starting stances, walked over slowly, and stood naturally beside Zhuge Yeon.

“Two is better than one.”

Gwon Mu-jin looked at them with a low, sharp gaze.

Judging by the starting stances they took, they were certainly people who performed combined attacks. Since it felt by no means easy, there was a possibility that they might struggle.

Glancing back, he saw Dan Woo-hyun’s figure faintly through the bushes.

The sight of him watching this place intently with his arms crossed even made it seem like he was testing something.

‘Did that fellow Jang Sam-tae also feel like this?’

Gwon Mu-jin thought.

He had stayed by Dan Woo-hyun’s side to become stronger. However, because he had done nothing, he had been caught up even by someone he had considered third-rate.

While he had to admire Jang Sam-tae’s ability to reach that level of skill in just about a year, Dan Woo-hyun, who drove the situation to that point, could also be considered amazing.

Gwon Mu-jin smirked without realizing it.

‘I will become stronger.’

Grasping his twin sabers, he released his momentum.

Just then, Zhuge Yeon, who was standing beside him, looked at Gwon Mu-jin with a somewhat disgusted expression.

“You are acting all cool by yourself. Even though you arrived late…”

Her single remark threw cold water on Gwon Mu-jin’s resolution.

* * *

“Aaaaargh!”

A scream erupted from Gu Mu-ak’s mouth.

With his upper body stripped and whipped several times, numerous scars swelled red on his body.

His face was clearly charred with burns, to the point that one would not even be able to tell he was Gu Mu-ak without checking closely.

‘Damn it…!’

Gu Mu-ak caught his breath as he looked at the people in front of him.

In the history of Hao Sect, the Master had almost never been captured.

Since he was so elusive, hid his identity well, and even manipulated information, who could possibly capture the Master of Hao Sect?

However, Gu Mu-ak broke that history.

‘Because of the Hunan Dan Family…’

He frowned without realizing it.

Hunan Dan Family.

Dan Woo-hyun.

Staying near Yueyang and Changsha because of that was the source of trouble.

Since the Master of Hao Sect, who should have hidden himself, remained nearby to receive Dan Woo-hyun’s orders, there was no way Myriad Gold Merchant Group, with its strong intelligence power, would not find out.

Gu Mu-ak frowned and looked at the person in front of him.

‘Ja Hak-sang.’

There was no way he did not know him. Not only that, but he also knew his subordinates. Those who were called the hidden blades of Myriad Gold Merchant Group.

Gu Mu-ak, who had not received any report about them entering Yueyang, could tell that there was a traitor inside Hao Sect.

‘Even Yun Gong…!’

A man who was once Man Hu-ryang’s right-hand man and who was said to rival Zhuge Un. For such a person to come here meant…

‘Man Hu-ryang has returned to the merchant group?’

Considering that only the head of the merchant group could move Yun Gong, it meant either Man Hu-ryang had returned, or a new head had been elected.

Gu Mu-ak quickly composed himself and judged it to be the former.

“Why are you racking your brain like that?”

Crack-!

“Argh!”

Gu Mu-ak screamed and breathed heavily. Feeling the throbbing pain in his chest, he smirked without realizing it.

“Heh… hehe. Since… this humble one does not know what wrong I have done to you, my lords…”

“Oh? Is that so? Haha, I did not tell you. That is because you are the Master of Hao Sect.”

“M-Master of Hao Sect? This humble one is just a street thug.”

Although he spoke lies with perfect acting, Yun Gong sneered. Due to the expression that seemed to see through all his acting, Gu Mu-ak’s complexion gradually stiffened.

It could no longer be hidden.

He realized that.

“Damn it…”

“Hahaha! Have you realized that lies do not work?”

“Why are you here? You should have just done business in Beijing.”

At Gu Mu-ak’s words, Yun Gong’s eyes sparkled.

Although they had not even introduced themselves, he saw through his identity.

This meant that Gu Mu-ak’s identity was undoubtedly the Master of Hao Sect, and it also meant that their intelligence power surpassed the Beggars’ Sect.

“I have something to ask.”

“Kidnapping and confining a person… and on top of that, asking questions after beating him? How rude.”

“Haha, please understand since the situation is like this. In the first place, is it not surprising that someone like you is looking at my face?”

Yun Gong looked at Gu Mu-ak with a condescending gaze. No matter how much Hao Sect flew and crawled, they were merely fireflies in front of the name Myriad Gold Merchant Group.

Not to mention their influence, even the power they possessed.

The words Yun Gong spoke made him realize that they were far superior, and clearly made him feel that he was looking down on his opponent.

Gu Mu-ak swallowed a groan.

A feeling so different from Dan Woo-hyun.

However, a sense of fear in a different sense rushed over him.

“Recite everything you know about the Hunan Dan Family.”

“I do not know where that is, though?”

Smirking sneers were heard here and there. This indicated that they had grasped the relationship between Hao Sect and the Hunan Dan Family to some extent.

‘Still, that bastard Dan Woo-hyun is much scarier than you guys, you know?’

Gu Mu-ak spat and frowned.

He was not afraid of dying. But if he angered Dan Woo-hyun, he would end up in a state where he could neither live nor die.

Also, even if Gu Mu-ak died, the Hunan Dan Family would protect and help Hao Sect. Gu Mu-ak was satisfied with just that.

The moment he looked at Yun Gong with a determined expression, Yun Gong sighed as if he had read his thoughts. As he then raised his hand, countless Hao Sect members and courtesans were seen being dragged in.

“You… you bastard!”

Forcing them to kneel one by one in front of the bound Gu Mu-ak, Yun Gong snapped his fingers.

Slash!

Before long, the neck of a Hao Sect member and the neck of a courtesan fell off.

Spurt!

The blood gushed up and soaked Gu Mu-ak’s entire body.

The moment he saw that, Gu Mu-ak’s eyes trembled violently. Soon, several men kicked the corpses away and forced another man and woman to kneel.

“P-Please spare me! Spare me!”

“Ugh…!”

The man closed his eyes tightly, and the courtesan, with a pale complexion, looked at Gu Mu-ak and begged for her life. No matter how lowly their lives were, they did not want to die like this.

Seeing this, Gu Mu-ak gnashed his teeth and glared at Yun Gong.

“Are you not even ashamed!”

At that harsh voice, Yun Gong sneered again and gestured.

Slash!

Once again, the necks of the two rolled on the floor, and their bodies collapsed to the side without support.

Looking at this sight, everyone turned pale.

“P-Please save me!”

“Help me, Master! Please! I do not want to die-!”

The voices of the men and courtesans echoed sharply here and there. The voices begging to live grabbed and shook Gu Mu-ak’s mind like crazy.

“I ask you again. Tell me everything about the Hunan Dan Family.”

Yun Gong’s voice stimulated his ears sweetly.

He whispered as he looked at Gu Mu-ak’s horribly crumpled face. It was just then that Yun Gong, who was smiling while examining Gu Mu-ak’s complexion, realized something strange.

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