Chapter 154: Peak Sword Clash
There were seven forces mobilized to strike the Defeng Yin Clan this time.
Myself, the Divine Monk Elder, Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, Baek Mu-ho, Beom-gak, Young Lady Jang So-wol, and finally Yi Hwa.
In the case of the Sichuan Tang Clan, we decided to exclude them due to the nature of this mission.
Due to the nature of the Sichuan Tang Clan specializing in poison and hidden weapons, if by any chance there was a surviving child, they could get caught in it.
Of course, the clan’s unique political aspects were also taken into consideration.
‘It would have been better if Young Lady Jang So-wol or Yi Hwa had not come either.’
Even Senior Jang Mun-gyeong had tried to stop them.
Young Lady Jang So-wol, who usually looked steadfast, showed a state of losing her composure.
Beom-gak showed a weak side, vomiting despite his large size.
“For a Buddhist disciple! In front of these pitiful children! Is that the first thing you do!!”
Slap! Slap!
“Ouch! Argh! I-I am sorry!!”
Thick teardrops flowed from the eyes of Beom-gak, whose back was slapped.
If it was the Divine Monk Elder’s Tathagata Divine Palm, it would surely hurt enough to cry.
So let’s just say that those tears were shed because it hurt.
“A Buddhist disciple… Ah, a Buddhist disciple…”
The Divine Monk Elder, who was slapping Beom-gak’s back, suddenly repeated the words ‘Buddhist disciple.’
“If one thinks of swinging a fist first even after seeing this, one has no right to be a Buddhist disciple…”
“Are you planning to step back?”
“You must know as well. They are fellows who fell into self-intoxication without knowing the difference in level, only turning their wheels in vain. A warrior made in this way is nothing to be feared.”
It was not particularly wrong, but the evaluation was bitter.
He also agreed with the opinion that it would be sorted out even if only Senior Jang Mun-gyeong stepped forward.
If so, he also understood prioritizing the rest of the dead over the fight before them.
“Although I am a bald monk who has been crazy about martial arts all my life… I still remember a few lines of Buddhist scriptures.”
It felt like seeing another side of the Divine Monk Elder.
‘Indeed, if he were only strong in martial arts, he would not have been called a Divine Monk.’
The corners of Senior Jang Mun-gyeong’s mouth curled up.
“That’s good. It seems the portion I have to cut has grown larger.”
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong’s gaze turned to Young Lady Jang So-wol for a moment.
Looking at Young Lady Jang So-wol, whose face was completely hardened, he twitched the frown between his brows once more.
“I am glad our desires match each other.”
Was it because he was the only one among the people here who had raised a child?
Although he tried not to show it outwardly, an enraged emotion was wriggling and flowing from Senior Jang Mun-gyeong to the extent that anyone could feel it.
“Calm your minds and regain your composure. I will give you half a double-hour.”
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, who had taken the position of leading the party, demanded they regain control of their shaken minds.
If emotion was loaded into martial arts, it was easy to make mistakes.
In that respect, it was a useful instruction.
Having quickly found composure thanks to the Clear Brightness Mind Method, he looked up at the sky as something suddenly came to mind during the brief free time.
“Master.”
[Why? Is there something you need?]
Ahead of the fight with the Defeng Yin Clan’s main house, Master Zhang Sanfeng spoke as if he wanted to provide something more.
Thanks to that, he also comfortably voiced his curiosity.
“What is hell like?”
[It is a place where sins are lessened through suffering. It can be said to be a place to lessen the karma of sins that cannot be completely resolved even within the countless flows of reincarnation to come.]
“Is that suffering… very painful?”
[Painful? Hahaha!]
At his question, Master Zhang Sanfeng burst into a hearty laugh.
[If people knew what hell was like, there would not be a single person among those living on earth who would commit a sin.]
Master Zhang Sanfeng asserted without a moment’s hesitation.
“…”
[With what does a person feel pain?]
“Is this a question like a Zen riddle?”
[It is literal.]
“Then… it would be the nerves.”
He had heard that in the case of assassins, they sometimes cut off their sense of pain and charge in order to deliver attacks that disregard suffering.
Although not an assassin, a minor Demonic Cult minion who was infiltrated into the slaughterhouse in Sichuan had done something similar.
[Then does a soul without a body feel pain?]
“Uh…”
Since there were no nerves, it seemed they should not feel pain, but it was said that hell is a place to lessen sins through suffering.
“I think they feel it.”
[Correct. A soul feels pain. The existence of the soul itself is the optimal structure for feeling pain. And in hell, the multiplier of pain can be increased at the executor’s discretion. A soul undergoing execution cannot go mad, cannot faint, and cannot break down.]
It was a terrible thing.
[Come to think of it, in the past, the Heavenly Demon once crushed a cheeky punk in a fresh way. He increased the pain multiplier to a billion times and shoved a star of that sky into his mouth. The fellow who was smirking, saying he was used to all kinds of torture on earth, became polite all at once.]
“…A billion times.”
That level had far exceeded the figures he had imagined.
The moment the premise that they cannot go mad, cannot faint, and cannot break down was attached, it evoked fear just by imagining it.
While his face turned stiff at that remoteness, Master Zhang Sanfeng’s words continued.
[I see what you are curious about. You are asking if those things will still be in hell when you ascend to heaven in the future, right?]
“…Yes.”
[Rest assured. If it’s that level, it’s a thousand years at the minimum. Since no judge in hell will show generosity, reduction of sentence will also be difficult. They will be shoved in hell until you ascend.]
“That’s a relief.”
His mind, which was about to be shaken by anger, settled down peacefully.
At the same time, a deep sense of duty arose.
To shove those goddamn pieces of trash into that terrible place.
It seemed it would be very rewarding.
“What are you muttering about alone?”
Although he tried to converse as quietly as possible, he could not completely prevent his voice from leaking out, so Baek Mu-ho subtly approached.
Worried looks were clear on Baek Mu-ho’s face.
“There is something.”
Having already composed his mind, he smiled as if to show him.
However.
“Senior, this bastard is smiling?”
“…Huh?”
“He has a younger brother, so he seems to be in great shock after seeing that. Shouldn’t we exclude him too?”
That fellow Baek Mu-ho spoke useless words out of unnecessary worry.
‘What is he saying… Huh?’
What was flustering was that the surrounding reactions were also similar to Baek Mu-ho’s.
“Do not overdo it.”
Even Senior Jang Mun-gyeong patted his shoulder with a troubled expression.
It was a very complex and subtle feeling.
***
Yoon Jin-hyeok, the family head of the Defeng Yin Clan, was currently watching the events that had occurred recently with an anxious mind.
“How annoying.”
He felt like a beast trapped in a cage.
Even though he possessed sharp teeth and claws, it was especially suffocating that he had to voluntarily hold his breath and crouch down for fear of others’ eyes.
“Yin Ji-seung, that stupid old man. I knew he was an idiot who ran wild without knowing how scary the world was, but to throw that fit even in front of one of the Ten Great Swords…”
If one plays the role of a local boss for a long time in a place without subjects of comparison, the ability to know one’s place is often lost.
Yoon Jin-hyeok thought Yin Ji-seung must have been exactly in that state.
In fact, such a tendency could be easily found among the blood family shoved into the family shrine.
“Did he think he had become a real tiger just because he reigned like a tiger on a small hill in the backyard?”
What Yin Ji-seung, who had lost his sense of place, did at the Jungshin Merchant Group had already become known as much as it could be.
This was because the story involving the Jungshin Merchant Group, the Hongmu Sect, and the Bright Fate Escort Agency was precisely what the public would like.
The Bright Fate Escort Agency, which was practically ruined, raised its flag again and delivered a thrilling revenge to its enemies, the Jungshin Merchant Group and the Hongmu Sect.
It was a typical royal-road story.
As the story of such a Bright Fate Escort Agency was talked about, what Yin Ji-seung did was naturally mentioned together.
Just helping the Jungshin Merchant Group, which was treated as a villain, was hard to hear good things about, but it was said that he ran wild like a blood-crazed monster.
Along with that, the Defeng Yin Clan was also in a situation where they were branded as an axis of evil.
“And that of all things in front of Jang Mun-gyeong…”
However, what caused Yoon Jin-hyeok’s headache was not something like public rumors.
The chatter of powerless things could be easily quieted once time passed.
But the issue involving Jang Mun-gyeong was a different story.
The stories about the martial-arts-crazy Jang Mun-gyeong and the Peak Sword Tao were widely known in the world.
If it was the broad-eyed Jang Mun-gyeong, he might have recognized the traces of the Blood Cult.
It was what Yoon Jin-hyeok truly feared.
“I have come.”
“Is that you, Jin-o?”
Yoon Jin-hyeok, who was biting his nails in anxiety, brightened up at the visit of Yoon Jin-o, a direct line of the Defeng Yin Clan.
“So, did the business you went for go well?”
“…It failed. Thinking that the money we slipped him was insufficient, I said I would hand over all the wealth we received from the Jungshin Merchant Group, but he refused.”
“County Magistrate Na abandoned us?”
Yoon Jin-hyeok’s face distorted all at once.
“Even though we offered that much wealth, he cast us out?”
“It didn’t even work. No matter what conditions… we offered, it seemed he had no intention of accepting.”
“That cursed fellow… To treat the connection established over generations so coldly!”
The great art of the Blood Cult that the direct line received used only the blood of pure virgins.
Furthermore, the number was not small.
No matter how much power the Defeng Yin Clan had, they could not completely silence the rumors floating in the world.
One of the people who helped such a Defeng Yin Clan was precisely County Magistrate Na, the magistrate of this county.
His father did so, and his son, County Magistrate Na, also actively helped the Defeng Yin Clan.
Therefore, they requested him to mobilize some of the county soldiers.
This was because they thought that even for Jang Mun-gyeong, attacking a place where county soldiers were guarding would carry a burden.
But what returned was a cold severance of ties.
“Is it because of the rumor that the old man of the Jungshin Merchant Group murdered an official? Because we helped him?”
“Probably so, isn’t it? When those ink-wielders are tight-knit among themselves, they are disgustingly tight-knit. Isn’t that something the whole world knows?”
“No… Thinking about it quietly, something is strange.”
County Magistrate Na and his father had really helped the Defeng Yin Clan with all their heart.
Although other officials required large sums of money every time a request was made, County Magistrate Na did not need much money, and depending on the occasion, he would even volunteer to resolve things.
For such a person to sever ties with the Defeng Yin Clan so coldly just because of the loyalty among officials was not easily understood.
“Tsk tsk! Brother, whatever the reason, it is reality that County Magistrate Na has cut us off. Pull yourself together now.”
“Mmm…”
“And honestly, I think your worry is too excessive. Of course, I was also startled and frightened when I heard that the stupid old man Yin Ji-seung was killed by Jang Mun-gyeong, but it is quiet. If that fellow Jang Mun-gyeong of all people had discovered something, wouldn’t he have smashed the main gate and raided us immediately?”
Yoon Jin-o saw the situation optimistically.
“That… is also true…”
Was it because he had been suffering from anxiety? Yoon Jin-hyeok gradually accepted Yoon Jin-o’s words, which were like honey in his mouth.
It was then.
“Family Head, a guest has arrived.”
“A guest? I said we would not receive anyone for the time being!”
“…It is Adept Heu-do.”
“What?”
The visit of Adept Heu-do, the head of the Ten Great Swords of the Realm.
At the news of the visit of an existence that could not be ignored, Yoon Jin-hyeok exchanged a glance with Yoon Jin-o and then nodded.
“For now… usher him in.”
Yoon Jin-hyeok quickly rolled his brain, thinking that he might be able to make use of Adept Heu-do.
Even if it was a lay disciple branch, the successor of the clan, Yin Si-hoo, was a disciple of the Wudang Sect.
If he appealed and pleaded while emphasizing this, it seemed some way might come out.
But the moment Adept Heu-do saw Yoon Jin-hyeok, he spoke unexpected words with a strange expression.
“I heard you were critically ill, but you look perfectly fine.”
“What do you mean by…?”
“I was keeping an eye on that child due to a certain matter. However, while I was paying attention to the Wudang Sect because there were more festering parts inside than expected, he descended the mountain under the pretext that his father was critical. But coming here, you look this fine, so what on earth is this about? Tsk tsk.”
“Haha…”
Yoon Jin-hyeok could understand what was going on in an instant.
Yin Si-hoo had fled from the Wudang Sect.
Whether he had heard of the story between Jang Mun-gyeong and Yin Ji-seung, it was clear that he had fled before the situation grew larger.
‘This… goddamn bastard!’