Chapter 74 Team Leader (2)

Inside a red room illuminated by candlelight.

This place was a brothel located on the outskirts of the outer fortress of the Heaven and Earth Society.

On the table were red and white powder, along with brushes for applying makeup.

There was someone looking at these with a serious expression.

It was Ha Chae-rin, the prospective leader of the Flying Killing Sect, one of the three major assassin groups, or rather Go Chan who had possessed her body.

-Thud!

Go Chan, with his interlocked fingers supporting his chin.

The face reflected in the mirror was so captivating that it could be called beautiful.

However, this was not his own appearance.

‘……..Do I have to go this far?’

Looking at the cosmetic tools on the table, Go Chan fell into self-loathing.

How did it come to this point?

As a servant ghost, his fate was tied to Mok Gyeong-un, so he had chased after him all the way to the Heaven and Earth Society.

In fact, if it were up to him, he wanted to run away, but since his life and death were tied to his master Mok Gyeong-un, he had no choice.

‘shit.’

Go Chan let out a deep sigh.

Somehow he had made it all the way to the outer fortress of the Heaven and Earth Society.

But when he actually tried to infiltrate the Heaven and Earth Society, he didn’t know the security would be this strict.

‘It’s impossible.’

Even during his assassin days, he occasionally had infiltration missions.

No, most assassinations required stealthy infiltration to be carried out.

However, the scale of the Heaven and Earth Society, which currently controlled one-third of the martial world, was beyond imagination, and it was on a completely different level from the small and medium-sized sects he had infiltrated before.

“Haa.”

With trembling hands, Go Chan reached for the brush to apply the powder.

The reason he was grasping these cosmetic tools was simple.

It was to infiltrate the Heaven and Earth Society.

-Shudder!

As he gripped the brush, Go Chan felt goosebumps all over his body.

It was due to the deep-seated aversion inherent in his soul.

The thought of him, a man, coming to this brothel to disguise himself as a courtesan made him feel so strongly repulsed that he even felt nauseous.

However, there was no other way.

In order to infiltrate, Go Chan had wandered around the outer fortress of the Heaven and Earth Society, gathering information.

He had also considered the method of secretly entering the carts carrying supplies or food, but it was impossible because they thoroughly inspected them at the gates of the Heaven and Earth Society.

In the end, the best method was to make contact with an insider and enter that way.

[Oho. So you’re saying the young lady has come of age and wants to meet the heroes of the Heaven and Earth Society, is that right?]

[Th-that’s right.]

Even though it was to gather information, to think he had to say such things.

Even as he said those words, he felt uncomfortable.

[But it won’t be easy to meet gentlemen of the rank of team leaders or division leaders, not just low-level warriors of the Heaven and Earth Society.]

[Is there no way?]

[Do you want to know? Ahem.]

Subtly extending his hand.

As expected of an information broker, he had a keen eye for money.

At this, Go Chan placed silver coins in his hand.

After receiving the silver coins, the information broker readily divulged the method.

[Do you know Crimson Orchid House?]

[Crimson Orchid House?]

[That’s right. It’s a brothel located on the eastern outskirts of the outer fortress, and there……]

-Bang!

[Are you telling me to become a courtesan!]

For a moment, it was so absurd that he almost snatched the money back from the information broker.

The information broker appeased Go Chan and said,

[Oh my. Listen to people until the end. Although Crimson Orchid House is a brothel, it’s not an ordinary pleasure district.]

[What’s the difference between a brothel and a pleasure district…]

[The courtesans there are not only outstanding in appearance but also excel in academics, arts, and skills, and possess dignity, so even high-ranking gentlemen from inside the fortress visit.]

[……Is that true?]

[After receiving the silver coins, would I lie? With the young lady’s appearance, Crimson Orchid House will welcome you with open arms.]

Trusting these words, Go Chan eventually infiltrated Crimson Orchid House.

As the information broker said, he had concerns, but he succeeded in entering Crimson Orchid House.

When asked if he had any skills, he recalled the times he had disguised himself as a musician during his assassin days and played the geomungo, and they truly welcomed him enthusiastically.

[You have artistic skills! We always welcome female musicians.]

On top of that, they mentioned that a few courtesans had become concubines of the Heaven and Earth Society’s division leaders, creating vacancies.

‘Concubines…..Ha!’

It seems infiltration into the inner fortress is possible somehow.

Go Chan swallowed dryly.

And after hesitating several times, he finally picked up the brush and started applying powder to his face.

Before long, the voice of the head courtesan of Crimson Orchid House could be heard from outside the door.

-Are you ready?

“Uh…um, well…..”

Go Chan, who was applying red powder to his lips, fumbled.

Then, as if impatient from waiting outside, the head courtesan finally opened the door and entered.

-Creak!

“What’s taking you so long to do your makeup? Since you have a pretty face, you can do it roughly. Let’s see. How well did you do it?”

At these words, Go Chan looked at his own face in the mirror and couldn’t hide his perplexity.

He had tried his best, recalling Ha Chae-rin’s memories, but his hands must have shaken too much due to the instinctive aversion.

The head courtesan approached and looked at Go Chan’s face.

Then she soon frowned and muttered.

“…….Oh my goodness.”

He had applied so much powder that his face was as white as a corpse.

He had applied the ink so sloppily with the small brush meant for darkening the eyes that black tears were running down below his eyes, and he had drawn the red powder on his lips too long, making it look like his mouth was torn up to his ears.

“You’ve made yourself look like a demon.”

Go Chan no longer looked like a beauty but a ferocious demon.

At the sight of the head courtesan clicking her tongue, Go Chan gritted his teeth.

How did he end up doing something like this?

‘Seduction my ass.’

It might have been better to risk his life and infiltrate instead.

***

Mok Gyeong-un was standing in front of the door with a smile on his face.

Seeing him like that, Yeom Ga was momentarily taken aback and at a loss for words.

A smile filled with malice.

The moment their eyes met, Yeom Ga felt a chill down his spine.

‘This is…….’

The restrictions were lifted, allowing him to freely use his internal energy, so why was he being overwhelmed by the ominous aura emanating from this guy?

In an instant, Yeom Ga gritted his teeth.

He had intended to step forward, vowing to make the guy a cripple, but he was suddenly taken aback and felt like his momentum was stolen because the guy had appeared out of nowhere.

As his displeasure intensified, Yeom Ga spoke with a terrifyingly distorted face.

“What do you mean by having the same thought?”

“Is there any other reason?”

“What?”

“I thought you looked useful, so I was considering taking you as a teammate.”

-Grit!

Yeom Ga ground his teeth and slowly raised his internal energy.

And he spoke to Mok Gyeong-un in an agitated voice.

“You’re going to take me as your teammate?”

“Yes. Actually, I’ve been wanting to kill you since yesterday, but since the restriction of no killing is included in this gateway, I thought it would be better to just exploit you.”

Yeom Ga’s eyes fiercely darted around.

What nonsense was this impudent bastard spouting?

Saying he wanted to kill him but it’s better to exploit him?

-Grit!

His teeth involuntarily ground together.

Now that the internal energy restriction was lifted, how many among the boys did he think could compete with him?

Yeom Ga couldn’t hold back any longer.

-Swish!

Yeom Ga, who had already completed the circulation of internal energy throughout his body, reached out his hand toward Mok Gyeong-un’s neck.

He intended to grab his neck with his right hand, suppress his acupoints with his left hand in an instant, and drag him into the room.

However,

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Before he could do that, Mok Gyeong-un’s foot struck Yeom Ga’s abdomen.

It happened so fast that he couldn’t even see it.

Veins bulged on Yeom Ga’s face, and his skin turned red as if it would burn.

“You……you bastard……”

“Aren’t legs longer than arms?”

-Smack!

Yeom Ga tightened his abdomen and kicked his toes toward Mok Gyeong-un’s femoral nerve.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un bent his leg and slightly retreated backward.

Not missing that moment, Yeom Ga pushed off with his opposite foot, rotated his body, and tried to strike down on the top of Mok Gyeong-un’s head.

‘Whirling Kick.’

It was the third stance of the Vermillion Heaven Foot Technique, which the Vermillion Slaughter Cave prided themselves on.

It was a stance that deceived the path by raising the kick upward and then instantly rotated the body to strike downward.

It was difficult to dodge because it was extremely fast and mixed with feints.

However,

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un lightly moved half a step and twisted his body to avoid the Whirling Kick.

‘!?’

Yeom Ga’s eyes narrowed.

He never thought he would be able to dodge it so easily.

But a stance is meant to be connected, so the next one was ready.

-Whoosh!

Yeom Ga twisted his body and thrust his sword fingers toward Mok Gyeong-un’s Adam’s apple.

Having reached the pinnacle stage, he could form sharpness with his energy, even if not as much as an actual sword.

This is called Piercing Energy.

-Swish!

However,

-Whoosh!

The Piercing Energy was about to pierce through Mok Gyeong-un’s Adam’s apple.

But before it could even touch,

-Thwack!

Mok Gyeong-un’s foot kicked Yeom Ga’s leg like lightning.

It was just a simple kick, so Yeom Ga didn’t dodge it and instead sent internal energy to his leg to form a repulsive force.

Based on his senses, he was superior to this guy in terms of internal energy.

So if he protected his leg with internal energy, he thought he could sufficiently endure it…..

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Yeom Ga’s body, whose leg was kicked, instantly half-rotated to the side and his head slammed into the floor.

For a moment, Yeom Ga was dazed.

What is happened just happened?

He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t dodge this guy’s kick.

It was fast, but the moment they collided, the repulsive force scattered.

‘What…….’

While he was doing that, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,

“You’re weaker than I thought.”

“You bastard!”

Yeom Ga, whose anger had risen to the top of his head, flicked his arm and rose to his feet while simultaneously aiming his kick technique at Mok Gyeong-un’s neck,

-Swoosh! Smack!

Mok Gyeong-un easily dodged it, then grabbed Yeom Ga’s head and slammed it into the floor.

-Crash!

The floorboard shattered, and Yeom Ga’s head dug into the floor.

It was painful, but Yeom Ga couldn’t bear the humiliation, so he pulled up his internal energy to the fullest to try to raise his head again.

But strangely, the energy focused on his neck and head scattered little by little, and he felt his strength drain instead.

‘What, what is this?’

It was difficult to understand what phenomenon this was.

While he was doing that, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed Yeom Ga’s hair and pulled it.

-Yank!

As the embedded head was pulled out, sharp wooden splinters pierced various parts of his face, and blood flowed down.

Looking at Yeom Ga’s face like this, Mok Gyeong-un smirked as if satisfied.

“Your face looks a bit better now.”

“You……what did you do?”

“What do you mean what did I do?”

“Don’t tell me you used something like Scattered Energy Poison?”

“Scattered Energy Poison?”

At Yeom Ga’s words, Mok Gyeong-un countered with a puzzled expression.

He prided himself on knowing almost everything about poisons unless it was unusual, but it was the first time he had heard of something called Scattered Energy Poison.

Scattered Energy Poison.

It was a strange poison made through a special manufacturing method that scattered internal energy once the conditions were met.

“Don’t play dumb! If it’s not Scattered Energy Poison, then why is my internal energy scattering whenever I come into contact with you?”

Whenever he collided with Mok Gyeong-un, the internal energy in that area scattered.

At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, but when it happened twice, he couldn’t help but think of Scattered Energy Poison.

“Hmm. Was there such an interesting poison?”

‘Is this bastard toying with me now?’

Yeom Ga, whose anger had reached the top of his head, soon gritted his teeth.

Now that it had come to this, he thought he had no choice but to use the secret technique of Vermillion Slaughter Cave.

The secret technique was an assassination move that inevitably killed the opponent, so he was told not to use it unless it was an exceptional case, but he couldn’t bear it any longer.

-Thump thump!

Yeom Ga concentrated his internal energy toward his chest.

Then, the strange patterns drawn on his upper body glowed red.

But at that moment,

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Mok Gyeong-un pulled Yeom Ga’s hair back and smashed his fist down.

But that wasn’t the end.

As if he was going to shatter Yeom Ga’s face, Mok Gyeong-un kept striking with his fist.

-Thwack!

“Ack. St-stop…..”

-Thwack!

“Sto….p….”

-Thwack! Crack!

The sound of his nose breaking and teeth shattering could be heard, but he didn’t stop.

-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

There was no time to use the secret technique or anything.

With the continuous strikes to his face, Yeom Ga had already lost consciousness.

“Huh!”

At that moment, hearing a sound from behind, Mok Gyeong-un turned his head with his fist raised.

There was a boy who had woken up from the sound of fighting while circulating energy and refining his breath.

‘What, what is going on?’

The boy couldn’t hide his bewilderment when he saw Yeom Ga with his hair grabbed by Mok Gyeong-un’s hand and his face turned into a bloody pulp.

Toward this boy, Mok Gyeong-un waved his blood-stained hand and said with a smile,

“Ah. Don’t mind me and just continue what you were doing.”

[TL/N: I forgot Go Chan existed for a moment. Ngl]