Chapter 236: Chapter 236

With the appearance of a second victim, the atmosphere of the Black Thought Alliance grew even sharper.

Even the people who had occasionally been seen exchanging jokes or secretly drinking wine had all vanished, and as if by prior agreement, everyone kept silent and watched the situation.

Ak Byeong-bi, who had been receiving treatment in the Medicine Hall, ultimately had no choice but to return to the lodging.

He needed far more rest before all his wounds could recover, but because Black Path people barged into the Medicine Hall several times a day without warning, he eventually had no choice but to leave.

“For now, the physician has agreed to visit once a day, so please do not worry too much.”

“……”

Even at Il-myeong’s consolation, Ak Byeong-bi could not easily open his mouth.

No matter what the result was, if one traced the cause of the matter, it had all begun with him.

As though he understood Ak Byeong-bi’s feelings, Il-myeong smiled faintly and said,

“There is nothing to be done about what has already happened. It was not your fault in the first place, Delegation Leader. The important issue now is how we will resolve it from here on, is it not?”

Il-myeong was trying hard to comfort him.

However, with the atmosphere so sunken, no one could easily speak.

At that moment.

“Hmm…… It will not be such a simple problem, though. The current atmosphere is anything but ordinary.”

Breaking the silence, Flame Ghost Consort’s clear, ringing voice flew in.

It was a remark that poured cold water over an already bad atmosphere, but no one refuted it.

Just as she said, the Envoy Delegation was facing the worst situation.

“Hmmm, moreover, because the situation has worsened like this, you can no longer run away either.”

Flame Ghost Consort paused for a moment, touched her lips, and looked at Dang Seo-hui.

“If you run away now, every Black Path bastard gathered in the Black Thought Alliance will start hunting you down.”

“……”

Dang Seo-hui’s clenched fists began trembling, but she could not bring herself to say anything.

After Do Bong-su of the Blood Sword Sect died, the atmosphere had turned murderous.

At intervals of roughly fifteen minutes, stones and hidden weapons flew into the Envoy Delegation’s lodging, and beyond the wall, more and more people gathered with weapons in hand, demonstrating that they would kill the Envoy Delegation.

As though blocking Flame Ghost Consort’s gaze, Il-myeong stepped in front of Dang Seo-hui.

“But Benefactor Yeom knows as well, does she not? Benefactor Dang…… did not do it.”

The person identified as the culprit who killed Do Bong-su this time was none other than Dang Seo-hui.

There had been no official announcement from the Black Thought Alliance command, nor had any witness appeared.

However, with a single Ox-Hair Needle found in the corpse, the Black Path people were pointing to her as the suspect in Do Bong-su’s murder.

“Benefactor Yeom watched us all throughout last night, so can you not prove that Benefactor Dang could not leave the lodging?”

Flame Ghost Consort readily nodded.

“Of course I can prove it.”

But she soon stared at Il-myeong with sharp eyes.

“The important thing is who will believe that.”

“……”

From the moment Ak Byeong-bi had been identified as the culprit who killed Gu Gye-ak, distrust toward the Envoy Delegation had already reached an extreme.

In the midst of that, Do Bong-su had been murdered and an Ox-Hair Needle had been found, so suspicion falling on the Tang Clan, the famed house of hidden weapons and poison, looked like a matter of course.

Moreover, one of the specialties of the White-Hand Divine Maiden Dang Seo-hui happened to be firing poisoned Ox-Hair Needles.

All the arrows were flying toward the Envoy Delegation’s necks, as if prepared in advance.

Flame Ghost Consort pointed at Ak Byeong-bi with the tip of her chin.

“I do not know if this will be any comfort, but in my opinion, that Delegation Leader offering his neck is the fastest way to resolve the matter for now.”

Then she brushed her hair back with her smooth fingers and tossed out,

“If not that, then everyone dies.”

“……”

At Flame Ghost Consort’s words, Dang Seo-hui’s gaze sharpened.

As a heavy silence wrapped around the inner room.

“Where did Jin So-un…… that bastard go?”

Ak Byeong-bi, who had remained silent until now, opened his mouth.

Il-myeong immediately answered.

“He said he had business outside and left.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“……”

In a situation where tens of thousands of Black Path people gathered in the Black Thought Alliance were aiming for the Envoy Delegation’s necks, just what could be so important that he had to move even at the risk of his life?

But if it was that bastard, then surely……

‘He will somehow keep these people alive and bring them back.’

After all, the fact that he had broken through the encirclement of the Nine Sects and One Gang in that fierce Regular Exam and ultimately reached Wuhan had been a topic among the Execution Pavilion members for quite some time.

As though resolved, Ak Byeong-bi looked at Il-myeong with a detached face.

“Il-myeong.”

“Yes.”

“When Jin So-un returns, make an escape plan.”

“……”

Even though Il-myeong did not answer, Ak Byeong-bi continued.

“I will stay behind. The agreement and alliance are already beyond saving, so leave me behind and find a way back. This is the last order I give as Delegation Leader.”

“……”

Il-myeong, who had quietly listened to Ak Byeong-bi, shook his head.

“I am sorry, but I cannot follow that.”

“What?”

“Benefactor Jin already said it.”

“What does that mean?”

Il-myeong shrugged and informed him.

“He said if the Delegation Leader says some bullshit like, ‘I will stay behind,’ or ‘Leave me behind!’ then I should press his Acupoints and put him to sleep.”

“……”

Il-myeong looked at Ak Byeong-bi and smiled gently.

“Benefactor Jin said he has not given up yet, and that he will not give up from now on either.”

Ak Byeong-bi bit his lip hard.

Right after that, Dang Seo-hui’s voice, which had regained its calm before anyone realized it, rang out.

“The command authority has already passed to Jin So-un. So, Delegation Leader, you have no authority.”

When even Dang Seo-hui said that, Ak Byeong-bi could no longer open his mouth.

He could not understand at all why Jin So-un was trying to take such a difficult path.

‘Does he…… truly think of me as a comrade?’

For some reason, he felt a tightness forming in one corner of his chest.

In truth, Ak Byeong-bi could not understand it.

If he had been accompanying disciples of the Five Great Clans with whom he had usually built friendships, he would probably have been abandoned long ago.

And if their positions had been reversed, he too would have made the same choice.

‘Because that would be the correct choice and a rational judgment.’

No matter how close they were, one could not remain aboard a sinking ship together.

And yet Jin So-un, who was not even from the Five Great Clans, had risked even his life for Ak Byeong-bi, who had previously made a grave mistake toward him.

Ak Byeong-bi could not easily accept that fact.

Even so.

A small desire to take the hand Jin So-un extended began blooming in his chest.

“So, please rest for now, Delegation Leader. We will all return together.”

“……Understood.”

One who had given up taking responsibility was not granted the right to choose.

Ak Byeong-bi firmly closed his mouth so that he would no longer become a burden.

At that moment.

Knock, knock-

The sound of someone knocking on the door was heard, and Maidservants entered the room carrying food.

“I was worried about what we would do for meals since we cannot go out. This is fortunate, at least.”

Flame Ghost Consort stretched and sat at the table, and Il-myeong took the rice gruel and brought it to Ak Byeong-bi first.

Then, just as everyone lifted their spoons to fill their hungry stomachs.

Dang Seo-hui suddenly extended both hands to either side and fired Ox-Hair Needles.

Ting- ting- ting!

Flame Ghost Consort, whose spoon had been knocked away by an Ox-Hair Needle, frowned, and Ak Byeong-bi, whose rice gruel had spilled, looked at Dang Seo-hui with a dazed expression.

“What is this?”

Because she had been trapped in the inner room the whole time, Flame Ghost Consort’s nerves had grown sharp, and she subtly raised her killing intent. However, Dang Seo-hui’s gaze remained fixed on the table.

“Benefactor Dang……”

“……”

A moment later, without saying a word, Dang Seo-hui approached the table and stabbed a long acupuncture needle into the meat side dish that Flame Ghost Consort had been about to put into her mouth.

“……!”

The moment she saw the long acupuncture needle turn black, Flame Ghost Consort immediately understood what it meant even without Dang Seo-hui saying anything.

“Poison!”

Dang Seo-hui then began sticking needles into the other dishes one by one.

All the needles stuck into the dozen or so side dishes and rice turned black.

Only after checking all the food did Dang Seo-hui rise and look back at the group, murmuring quietly.

“……We must be careful.”

It was the same emotionless tone as usual, but for some reason, everyone felt a chill crawl over them.

With every step I took, people’s hostile gazes touched me.

Some gnashed their teeth.

Some stroked the handles of their blades.

Among them, there was even a man whose martial arts uniform had puffed up, perhaps because he had drawn up his inner arts……

But then the man’s companions noticed the person beside me and hurriedly stopped him.

Watching all of this, Blood Battle clicked his tongue.

“……You are a bastard mad to die.”

Is that so?

Thinking back, in my previous life, there had been many times when I thought it would be better if I simply died.

Especially after the Great Righteous-Demonic War broke out, on nights when I survived by stepping over the corpses of the Sojeong Squad and Alliance members, I desperately wished I would never open my eyes again.

A bitter smile formed on my face without me realizing it.

“Does it look that way?”

“Do you think it looks any other way?”

However, the reason I could hide the desire to die deep in my chest and continue moving forward was because of rage.

Rage toward the Murim Alliance, which thought our lives were nothing more than numbers.

Rage toward the vested powers who tried to use us as expendables, saying we were not important compared to them.

And above all, rage toward the Demonic Cult, which thought it could choose our life and death as much as it wished.

That rage made me continue living.

A malice that said, even if my heart was torn out and my neck was cut, I would still gouge out one of the enemy’s eyes.

A venom that said, even if my death was confirmed, I would definitely leave damage on the enemy.

That was the driving force that had kept our Sojeong Squad alive.

I intended to freely display that malicious venom in this life as well.

“It does not matter how I look. Being fixated on how things appear is exactly what the culprit must want.”

That was why I was moving like this, like a madman who had thrown away his life.

Because that bastard surely wished for us to hide like criminals.

Because that bastard surely wished for us to tremble in fear and run away.

If that was what the bastard wanted, then at the very least, wandering around as though I had thrown away my life would be a scene the bastard did not want.

If that bastard hated it, I had the confidence to strip naked and run around the Black Thought Alliance.

Soon, when I entered the largest pavilion in the eastern side of the Black Thought Alliance, the noisy atmosphere inside froze in an instant.

It was a pavilion jointly used by those among the alliance who did not possess particularly strong forces.

For that reason, more Black Path martial artists were gathered here than in any other place I had visited so far.

A massive man pushed through the crowd, holding an axe haft, and stood before me.

“Is that not the Black Flame Dragon!”

He looked me up and down, then crumpled his face.

“How dare you come here?”

“I came because I have business, so step aside.”

“Hmph! Who are you trying to kill this time?”

I could not help letting out a small laugh.

“Even if I were the culprit, would I go around in broad daylight with my life exposed just to kill a little rat like you?”

“What?! You bastard!”

As if there was nothing more to hear, the huge man tried to seize my neck with his left hand.

I lightly pushed his hand away, grabbed his sleeve, and unfolded Snowflower, slamming him headfirst into the floor.

BANG!

The huge man smashed through the wooden floorboards and fainted on the spot, and the Black Path martial artists drew their weapons as if they had been waiting for this and prepared to fight.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

Just before another large-scale fight broke out at any moment.

A deep sigh came from beside me.

“Haah……”

THUD.

When Blood Battle kicked the floor, the martial artists standing around could not maintain their stances and collapsed to the floor one after another.

Good heavens. Just what kind of method was that?

The Black Path bastards gathered here should all be people who had some reputation in Jianghu.

And yet, as if their knees had gone weak, each of them could not endure and dropped to one knee.

Honestly, the more I saw, the more impressive this man was.

Blood Battle looked over the situation that had been settled and growled lowly.

“Did you not hear the order not to act rashly?”

“……”

At Blood Battle’s words, everyone looked full of dissatisfaction, but after seeing that Heaven beyond Heaven-level move he had shown, none of them had the courage to dare refute him.

Once the area had been settled, I began moving again, and Blood Battle asked me as though he found it absurd.

“Why exactly did you come here?”

“It is too difficult to solve this alone, you see. I came to request help.”

“Help?”

“Yes. If it is too difficult to do alone, should one not request help?”

At my words, Blood Battle even let out a hollow laugh.

“You call what you just did the attitude of a bastard who came to request help?”

I lightly shrugged.

“In the Black Path Murim, is it not the strong who can do as they please?”

“……”

One of the absolute rules of the Black Path Murim was the law of the strong eating the weak.

In the past, I had thought it was a truly unjust rule, but in the current situation, there was no rule more convenient for me than this.

If one had a good body, did that not mean there was no need to use one’s head to persuade ignorant bastards?

Following the rules of the Black Path Murim, I confidently walked inside.

And then.

“Welcome.”

At a table to one side, Gun Yu-hyeon was waiting for me with a smile that made one feel good just by seeing it.

That utterly peaceful attitude.

As expected, he was no ordinary person.

“Did you know? That I would come?”

“I thought it might happen.”

The fact that he had expected I might come was enough to make visiting Gun Yu-hyeon worthwhile.

I immediately brought up the main subject.

“Can you help us?”

“Hmm……”

If he moved with me now, it was impossible to predict what kind of inconvenience he would suffer within the Black Thought Alliance later.

That was why, unlike Blood Battle, it would not be easy for a disciple of a small sect like the Heavenly Crown Sect to step forward readily.

However……

“Am I absolutely necessary for that matter?”

If he was asking whether he was necessary or not, of course he was necessary.

I chose my words for a moment before answering.

“I think that without you, Young Master Yu-hyeon, it will be difficult to resolve this matter properly.”

Gun Yu-hyeon lowered his head as though thinking for a moment.

‘Should I have asked somewhere without people around?’

As expected, because there were many watching eyes, he could not help but hesitate.

However, an unexpected answer soon came back.

“I will help.”

Gun Yu-hyeon spoke without his expression changing at all.

“Will that really…… be all right?”

Although I had made the request, I had not thought he would accept so readily.

“Is this not all for the sake of the Black Thought Alliance and the Murim Alliance? Of course I should help.”

“Thank you for thinking of it that way.”

When I performed a clasped hands greeting, Gun Yu-hyeon added with an apologetic expression,

“However, before that, may I decide after receiving Strategist Dam’s permission?”

Why was Dam Ak coming up all of a sudden?

“He is precious to me, so I do not wish to offend him.”

It felt like behavior that truly matched Gun Yu-hyeon’s character.

I readily nodded.

“Of course. Even if you cannot join us, I will remember what you said today.”

Gun Yu-hyeon once again made his distinctive, radiant smile.

“Thank you for understanding.”

I left Gun Yu-hyeon behind like that and exited the pavilion with Blood Battle.

“To smile in a situation like this……”

At my muttering to myself, Blood Battle grumbled.

“What are you talking about?”

I shook out my thoughts.

“It is nothing.”

“Are your mad acts finished now?”

“Yes.”

With this, all the preparations were complete.

Now it was time to begin catching the hidden culprit in earnest.