Novel Martial Artist Lee Gwak - chapter 339
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chapter 339
The Winds of Turmoil Gather the Dragons (1)
Sa Yeon-hee followed silently behind Woo Mun Pae.
No one wanted her presence to be noticeable.
Yu Mun Sang, Woo Mun Pae, and even Sa Yeon-hee herself preferred her to keep a low profile. Consequently, only a very few among the Martial Sword Troupe knew her true identity.
Wearing her bamboo hat low over her face, Sa Yeon-hee observed the crowd cheering for the Martial Sword Troupe.
There were countless people, but with her keen eyes, she distinguished each face.
‘Huh?’
That’s when Sa Yeon-hee’s face showed disbelief.
She could see a familiar face in the crowd.
Tall, with an ordinary yet gentle face—it was Lee Gwak.
‘Why is he here?’
Sa Yeon-hee’s eyes wavered.
When she first saw Lee Gwak in the Martial Sword Troupe, he was just an ordinary martial artist. Although he was quite skilled in martial arts, he had not yet gained any notable fame.
But now, just a few years later, his reputation has shaken the jianghu.
There were hardly any martial artists in the jianghu who didn’t know the name Lee Gwak.
Sa Yeon-hee still remembered how shocked she had been upon discovering that the Lee Gwak
she knew was the same Lee Gwak now called “The Sura Blade.”
After glancing around cautiously, she quietly slipped out of the procession and made her way through the crowd towards Lee Gwak.
Lee Gwak did not avoid her but met her gaze.
Sa Yeon-hee was the first to speak as she removed her bamboo hat.
“So it really is you, Grandmaster Lee.”
“It’s been a long time.”
“You still remember me, I see.”
“How could I forget someone like Lady Sa?”
“I’m honored. To think someone like you would remember me.”
“The honor is mine to see Lady Sa again.”
A glint of surprise flashed in Sa Yeon-hee’s eyes. She had thought that someone with such fiery fame might have grown somewhat arrogant by now. But he remained the same as before.
She had witnessed so many people change after finding fame, so his unchanged demeanor was surprisingly refreshing to her.
Sa Yeon-hee asked, “What brings you here, Grandmaster Lee?”
“I came to find someone. And what about you, Lady Sa? What brings you here?”
“As you can see, I’ve come to support Dragon Heaven Valley.”
“You’ve come personally?”
“Why, am I not allowed?” she replied with a slight smile.
“It’s not that, but it’s unexpected. I didn’t think you’d be moving alongside Young Master Woo Mun-pae.”
Lee Gwak’s gaze shifted toward Woo Mun-pae, who was walking with Muk Seon-wol.
Sa Yeon-hee gave a bitter smile. She, too, hadn’t expected to be moving alongside Woo Mun-pae. She didn’t particularly like Woo Mun-pae, who had a strong domineering nature. But this time, she had no choice.
She knew that Yu Mun-sang and Woo Mun-pae were up to something, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. That’s why she had joined them. However, Woo Mun-pae and the leadership had thoroughly blocked her access to any information. They didn’t ignore her outright, but they subtly excluded her. As a result, she had learned almost nothing.
Sa Yeon-hee momentarily contemplated asking Lee Gwak for assistance, but then bit down on her lip and swallowed the words rising in her throat. Her suspicions touched on the troupe’s most sensitive matters. Even if Yu Mun Sang and Woo Mun Pae were behaving suspiciously, it was not her place to expose the Martial Sword troupe’s weaknesses to an outsider like Lee Gwak.
“How long do you plan to stay here, Greatmaster Lee?”
“I’ll stay until I find the person I’m looking for.”
“That’s a relief.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s comforting to have at least one familiar person around, especially someone like hero Lee.”
Sa Yeon-hee’s words were heartfelt.
Although not close friends with Lee Gwak, simply having someone she could communicate with in the same space was a significant comfort.
“I should be going now. If I get the chance, I’ll seek you out again. I hope you find the person you’re looking for.”
“I too hope you achieve what you desire.”
“Thank you.”
Sa Yeon-hee gave a fist salute to Lee Gwak before returning to the Martial Sword Troupe.
Lee Gwak stood for a while, watching Sa Yeon-hee’s retreating figure.
With the elites of the Martial Sword Troupe joining, Taegang and Dragon Heaven Valley regained some of their vitality. As word spread that the elite of the Martial Sword Troupe had joined, many martial artists flocked to Taegang. As a result, all the rooms in the inns of Taegang were fully booked, causing quite a commotion.
Fortunately, Lee Gwak had reserved a room in advance, so he faced no issues, but the martial artists who came to Taegang later found themselves in trouble due to the lack of accommodation.
Most of the martial artists who had recently arrived in Taegang were those seeking fame through warfare.
Despite the numerous deaths and tragic fates in the chaos of war, many still came to the battlefield seeking glory.
Lee Gwak left the inn and walked the streets.
His destination was the Hao Clan’s Taegang branch.
The Taegang branch was operated very secretly. Given its location in the center of the turmoil, it had to maintain strict security.
As Lee Gwak walked towards the Taegang branch, a sudden outburst of angry voices came from a nearby inn.
“You bear-like bastard!”
Lee Gwak paused and glanced toward the inn.
“Kill this bastard!”
“Let’s take him down together!”
Voices of men followed one after another through an open window. Soon after, the sound of furniture breaking echoed.
It seemed like the guests inside the inn were fighting each other.
Passersby on the street stopped and looked at the inn with excited expressions.
Such incidents had become common in Taegang since the arrival of the Martial Sword Troupe. It was a side effect of many martial artists gathering in one place.
It was no surprise that conflicts occurred when spirited young martial artists were packed into a small area.
Crash!
At that moment, the window shattered, and bloodied men were thrown out.
“Ugh!”
“Damn it!”
The men sprawled on the ground, writhing like worms. Their faces were swollen and bruised beyond recognition.
“Aren’t those the Mangshan Seven Demons?”
“Yeah, they look like them.”
Even with their faces so badly damaged, they were easily recognized because of their clothing.
The Mangshan Seven Demons were a group of martial artists who had recently made a name for themselves, always traveling together as a group of seven. Relying on their formidable martial skills, they acted recklessly, causing harm to many innocent people.
If the jianghu hadn’t been in chaos, they would have been eliminated long ago by the renowned sects. But the chaos of the jianghu had been a great opportunity for them. Like fish in water, they ran rampant, committing all sorts of atrocities.
The Mangsan Seven Demons all wore sleeveless garments made of leopard skin, and the men sprawled on the ground were dressed just like that.
Curiosity appeared on people’s faces.
“What’s going on?”
“Who took on the Mangsan Seven Demons?”
As people’s gazes gathered towards the shattered window,
Bang!
With a loud noise, another person was flung out of the inn.
“Ugh!”
The man lying on the ground groaned, his limbs bent in grotesque directions. He too was wearing a leopard-skin sleeveless outfit.
This confirmed that these men were indeed the Mangshan Seven Demons.
“Who managed to do this to the Mangshan Seven Demons?”
The Mangshan Seven Demons were not ordinary foes.
Their survival in the harsh jianghu was no coincidence. Even decent martial artists hesitated to cross paths with them due to their ferocity, which allowed them to act even more audaciously.
But now, someone inside the inn was brutally crushing them.
Lee Gwak looked through the window into the inn.
He saw a man confronting the Mangshan Seven Demons.
The moment he saw the man, a look of recognition flashed across Lee Gwak’s face.
“You…”
Unknowingly, Lee Gwak approached the inn.
***
“You damn bear-like bastard…!”
Mak Sa-cheon , the leader of the Mangshan Seven Demons, gritted his teeth as he glared at the man in front of him.
The man was as large as a bear.
Behind him stood a slender woman.
Her face seemed ordinary, but her bright eyes and expressive features gave her a lively charm, making her strangely captivating.
The incident had started because of the woman.
The youngest of the Mangshan Seven Demons had approached her with lecherous intentions.
Although the bear-like man was by her side, the youngest fiend had ignored him and made advances.
This was the result.
Four of the Mangshan Seven Demons were severely injured, writhing on the ground like worms. Just half an hour ago, such a scene would have been unimaginable.
Mak Sa-cheon glared at the bear-like man with a fierce expression.
“You dare mess with the Mangshan Seven Demons and think you’ll get away with it?”
“I told you to leave. Why don’t you listen when I speak nicely?”
The bear-like man shook his head in exasperation.
He had initially tried to resolve things peacefully. But the Mangshan Seven Demons had rejected dialogue and chosen violence. The man had simply fought back against their aggression.
If he had intended to kill them, Mak Sa-cheon would have been dead long ago.
Today was his first day in Taegang, and he didn’t want to draw attention by killing anyone. But contrary to his wishes, Mak Sa-cheon had no intention of letting things go.
Swoosh!
Mak Sa-cheon drew a large blade and pointed it at the man.
“I’ll tear you limb from limb.”
“Sigh.”
The man let out a deep breath.
It was always these kinds of people who started trouble and then acted as if they were the victims. If they hadn’t harassed the woman, he wouldn’t have had any reason to confront them.
Mak Sa-cheon shouted.
“Get him!”
At his command, the second and third demons, who were still unharmed, charged at the man
simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Mak Sa-cheon rushed toward the woman behind the man. He intended to take her hostage to escape the situation.
‘If I can capture her, it’s over.’
Mak Sa-cheon clenched his teeth and gathered his qi. But something felt off.
The woman, who was supposed to be his target, didn’t look frightened at all. Instead, she seemed delighted.
The woman jumped up from her feet and shouted.
“Oraboni!”
‘Oraboni?’
Confusion flashed across his face, but before he could process it, a powerful impact struck him.
Bang!
It felt as if a giant hammer had slammed into his entire body.
“Ugh!”
Mak Sa-cheon let out a short scream before collapsing to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
The man who had taken him down with a single strike now stood over him.
The woman approached the man who had defeated Mak Sa-cheon.
“Oraboni, what are you doing here?”
“What about you—why are you here?”
The man who had taken down Mak Sa-cheon was none other than Lee Gwak.
Lee Gwak’s face was filled with confusion. He had never expected to run into this woman and the bear-like man here.
The young woman rushing over was Bang Ye-in, and the giant who had brutally taken down the Mangshan Seven Demons was Cheol Gwang-woo.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
At that moment, with a loud crash, the screams of the Mangsan Seven Demons echoed. The second and third demons were sprawled on the ground, thoroughly beaten.
Cheol Gwang-woo, who had quickly subdued the Mangsan Seven Demons, smiled broadly at Lee Gwak.
“Brother!”
“It’s been a while.”
“Wow, brother.”
Cheol Gwang-woo spread his arms wide and hugged Lee Gwak.
The ferocious demeanor he had shown while dealing with the Mangsan Seven Demons was gone, and now he wore an innocently happy expression.
Cheol Gwang-woo lifted Lee Gwak up in a big hug.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing you here! How did this happen?”
“I might ask you the same thing.”
“Well, I just followed Ye-in.”
Cheol Gwang-woo answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lee Gwak’s gaze turned to Bang Ye-in. She smiled and replied, “I came to see Big Bear.”
“Big Bear? You mean the Big Bear from the West Wind Inn?”
“You still remember him? That’s right. Brother Cheol Daesan, who ran the West Wind Inn in Seige Fortress, moved his inn here.”
Finally, Lee Gwak understood why Bang Ye-in and Cheol Gwang-woo were here.
Big Bear Cheol Daesan was a chef who had studied at the Bang Family Inn. He had been close friends with Bang Ye-in for a long time. If he had opened a new inn, it was only natural that Bang Ye-in would come to visit.
Bang Ye-in smiled.
“I had no idea I’d run into you here.”
“Neither did I.”
“Why are you here, brother?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
“Looking for someone? Who?”
“Let’s talk about that somewhere quieter later.”
“Alright.”
Just as Bang Ye-in nodded, a gruff voice echoed from the entrance of the inn.
“What the hell happened here? Why is the inn in such a state?”
A man even larger than Cheol Gwang-woo stood at the entrance, holding baskets filled with ingredients in both hands.
His bulging eyes and thick lips resembled those of a catfish. But what stood out most were the large scar running across his face and the burn marks near his ear.
The guests in the inn gasped at the sight of the man’s terrifying face. But Bang Ye-in, on the other hand, smiled brightly at him.
“Big Bear, long time no see.”
“Miss?”
The Butcher, Cheol Daesan.
Big Bear had arrived.