Chapter 27: Chapter 27
Having laid Jang Woo-pyeong and Do Seong-hwi in a clean spot where blood had not soaked through, Song Yi-yeon fell into deep contemplation.
Seeing this, Cheon Woo-jin asked.
“Why are you like that?”
“No, we must wake the seniors, but…”
Scanning the room once, Song Yi-yeon wrinkled his expression as if nauseated. It was truly a scene of utter chaos. The overturned wine table was at a cute level.
Blood and bits of flesh were thickly smeared here and there, and corpses split in half and corpses with pierced foreheads lay neatly. Even Senior Jang’s clothes were covered in blood.
“If we wake the seniors, I feel like they will faint again. Senior Jang especially, without fail.”
“Mmm…”
Cheon Woo-jin, who had been pondering for a moment, nodded his head.
It would indeed be right to let the two seniors sleep for a while. Of course, it was not for the same reason as Young Hero Song.
When Cheon Woo-jin waved his hand in the air, the firmly closed door opened. The seventeen martial artists who had been waiting outside revealed themselves, frozen in place.
Their pupils darted busily. Soon, having verified the interior, the martial artists all prepared to flee.
At the same time, Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a low voice.
“If you go back, you will die.”
The movements of the martial artists came to a halt all at once.
Seeing this, Cheon Woo-jin continued speaking in a calm voice.
“Do you think the Lust Demon will spare you?”
The martial artists exchanged glances with one another. Thinking about it, it was true. That person was by no means someone who forgave defeated soldiers. How that Martial Alliance member knew that was a matter to set aside before the crossroads of death.
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head and spoke.
“I shall tell you a way to live. Of course, an expert who can escape the Lust Demon’s clutches alone is welcome to leave this place.”
Cheon Woo-jin’s tone was plain. It was because he was speaking of things just as they were.
That caused even greater confusion among the martial artists. A way to escape from the Lust Demon’s hand simply did not come to mind.
Until being labeled with the vulgar moniker of Lust Demon, how many people had she toyed with? She did not discriminate between men or women, young or old. There were times she had violated aged male experts, and times she had toyed with women newly emerged into the martial world.
Of course, all those who suffered at the hands of the Lust Demon had departed from the world without exception.
The Lust Demon was exceedingly vicious.
Mostly, once business was concluded, she struck down on their Baihui acupoints with her palm to kill them, but for those who seemed likely to take their own lives out of shame, she amazingly discerned them and deliberately spared them, sending them back home.
In that way, the Lust Demon’s notoriety only grew higher with each passing day.
It was already several decades ago that the moniker Lust Demon became known to the martial world, yet the Lust Demon was still very much alive.
The martial artists, who had chewed over a series of thoughts, eventually walked into the crimson room of their own accord.
* * *
The blood-stained room was painted even redder.
There lay the corpse of the middle-aged man, the corpses of the courtesans, and the corpse of the restaurant proprietress as well.
However, as for the martial artists who had walked in on their own feet, just as Cheon Woo-jin had said, not a single one had died. They were merely half-crippled to the point that they would never be able to walk around again.
They would be protected in a place where they would not face threats to their lives. The deep, secluded prison of the Martial Alliance.
When Cheon Woo-jin stepped out of the room again, there was no one blocking his front.
Song Yi-yeon’s complexion was pale white.
The things that had happened inside felt just like a dream.
People’s skin was torn, and their bones were bent.
As each person ended up like that, the martial artists begged desperately to speak more information than the other. In the end, Young Hero Cheon was able to obtain all the information he wanted.
Song Yi-yeon recalled the warning Cheon Woo-jin had given him as he looked at his back.
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin turned around.
Startled, Song Yi-yeon opened his eyes wide and round.
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head as if puzzled, then spoke in a truly mundane tone.
“In my qi sense, martial artists possessing similar energy can be felt in several places. It seems martial artists of the Black Tortoise Squad and Heavenly Tiger Squad came out to enjoy the night in various parts of the marketplace.”
“…You mean we were not the only ones targeted?”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head.
“It is fortunate.”
“Wh-What is fortunate about it?”
Song Yi-yeon was appalled. It was an expression as if he were looking at an evil ghost that had walked out of hell.
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head again.
“It means it is fortunate that the strongest bastard among them came to us. Because if he had gone elsewhere, someone would have died.”
“Aha…”
Song Yi-yeon let out a sigh of relief.
“It seems Namgung Jin is also in a nearby restaurant.”
“Just how far can your qi sense detect, Young Hero?”
Cheon Woo-jin shrugged his shoulders.
At that sight, Song Yi-yeon desperately suppressed his curiosity and casually nodded. Because the friend he had made for the first time after stepping into the martial world felt further away the more he learned about him.
“Young Hero Cheon, it seems we must rescue them.”
“Why.”
Cheon Woo-jin was genuinely puzzled. Namgung Jin was someone who had treated Song Yi-yeon terribly. He could not understand Song Yi-yeon, who was stepping forward first to suggest rescuing such a person.
However, Song Yi-yeon was originally such a man.
“Anyway, are we not fellow Martial Alliance members? We are peers as well, and at least he is not as hateful as the bastards who tried to kill us, so we naturally ought to help. Of course, though I speak boldly, strictly speaking, I am asking a favor of you, Young Hero.”
“Mmm…”
Cheon Woo-jin did not particularly feel the necessity. He had already gathered all the information he needed to gather.
The Lust Demon had attacked the Black Tortoise Squad and Heavenly Tiger Squad to find the location of the Giant Stone Monster’s secret cave after hearing rumors that it existed.
The Giant Stone Monster was someone a bit special even among the disciples of the Dark Emperor. He was a man who had trained his external martial arts to the extreme like a giant boulder, and there was talk that the skin of one who had achieved great completion in external martial arts was as thick and tough as a spiritual beast’s hide.
In other words, it meant they intended to dig up his grave to obtain his skin. Of course, not just the Lust Demon, but a large number of people who had obtained information would make an appearance.
Among them, there might be figures from the Demonic Cult, and there might be executives from the Black Overlord Castle, the foremost of the Unorthodox Path.
Furthermore, other disciples of the Dark Emperor, not the Lust Demon, could also appear.
Presumably, the purpose of this mission would also be related to the Giant Stone Monster’s secret cave. The reason the mission had been suspended midway was also likely due to the risk that big shots beyond expectations might gather because information had leaked out here and there.
Having learned all the facts, what needed to be done was simple.
After finding the secret cave, it would be enough to simply smash the heads of all the Dark Emperor’s disciples.
Of course, if not for Song Yi-yeon’s request.
“Young Hero, I beg of you like this. Huh? Please, I beg you. Are we not friends? In any case, if a commotion breaks out here and there, the seniors at the Namgung Clan and Song Clan will appear. Even so, knowing they are suffering nearby, we cannot just leave them unattended, can we?”
Song Yi-yeon made a pitiful face. Of course, in his head, he was certain that it was the right thing to do. Moreover, if he had the power, he would have stepped forward himself.
However, Song Yi-yeon was not such a shameless man as to force good deeds by borrowing another’s strength. He was even less of an unscrupulous fellow who would build merits by borrowing Cheon Woo-jin’s martial prowess.
‘I will help you find the path together.’
Song Yi-yeon thought so. He chewed over Cheon Woo-jin’s words several times, saying that he had not yet found the path to walk.
Inferring from Cheon Woo-jin’s actions, his two masters must have been a great villain and an incomparable virtuous person. Wondering if such a thing even made sense, Cheon Woo-jin’s values were precisely like that.
If he could not find his direction between them, as a friend, he intended to help.
He would not just stand by and watch him become a villain. Nor was he wishing for him to become a great saint. He merely wished for him to become a person who knew the minimum human decency as a human being.
Of course, if asked, ‘Who do you think you are?’, he had nothing to say.
However, Song Yi-yeon wanted to do so. Though if Cheon Woo-jin refused, there would be nothing he could do.
Looking blankly at such a Song Yi-yeon, Cheon Woo-jin let out a sigh.
“Is that what Young Hero Song truly desires?”
Song Yi-yeon nodded his head so hard it seemed it might fall off.
At that sight, Cheon Woo-jin burst into a soft chuckle.
“We shall go immediately.”
Having said so, Cheon Woo-jin moved his steps. Song Yi-yeon also followed behind him with a much lighter stride.
The two momentarily forgotten seniors were only able to wake up long after that time had passed.
* * *
The situation in the restaurant where Namgung Jin and the martial artists of the Heavenly Tiger Squad were was not much different either.
Men in black were interrogating them about something, and the Heavenly Tiger Squad members, including Namgung Jin, were spilling everything smoothly. Seeing that one Heavenly Tiger Squad member was in a naked state, it seemed they were all underlings of the Lust Demon.
They knew more information than the Black Tortoise Squad members.
Just around the time when, having obtained fairly satisfactory results, they were about to leave while entrusting the clean-up to the courtesans.
Thwack!
A heavy sound of tearing flesh burst forth.
The head of the man in black who was stepping out of the room ahead of the others was shattered completely.
What took place afterward was not significantly different from expectations.
A mere fleeting instant passed.
The courtesans and the men in black were all laid down comfortably on the floor, and Song Yi-yeon, as if accustomed to it, put clothes back onto the Heavenly Tiger Squad member.
“I shall wake them.”
There was no one left to torture here. It was because they had already obtained all the information to be gained.
Song Yi-yeon nodded his head.
“By the way, how do you wake those intoxicated by aphrodisiac poison?”
At Song Yi-yeon’s question, Cheon Woo-jin pondered for a moment before answering.
“It is a principle similar to how Young Hero Song was not intoxicated by the aphrodisiac poison.”
“…Uh, as expected, do you know the martial art I learned?”
“It just turned out that way.”
Song Yi-yeon was not particularly surprised either. There were two reasons why he had not revealed the fact that he cultivated the Virgin Boy Art.
First, it was to avoid making his weakness known to the world, and second, because he hated being teased.
However, Young Hero Cheon was strong enough that he had no need to know his weakness, nor was he one to carelessly tease anyone, so even if his martial art was revealed, it did not matter much.
“Young Hero Song’s internal energy must be exceedingly pure due to the nature of the martial art. In particular, just as Shaolin’s energy carries the property of Subduing Demons, the energy of that martial art carries the property of Subduing Yin.”
“You can utilize such energy, Young Hero? Gasp! Could it be that you too…?”
Cheon Woo-jin shook his head. He had never cultivated the Virgin Boy Art for a single moment. In the first place, the Virgin Boy Art was a unique martial art that could not be practiced alongside other martial arts.
He merely understood the principles of martial arts and refined the properties of qi according to necessity.
Time was insufficient to explain this one by one.
“Young Hero Song’s energy will also be effective on them, so please infuse it.”
“A-All right.”
While Cheon Woo-jin infused energy into two Heavenly Tiger Squad members simultaneously to detoxify the aphrodisiac poison, Song Yi-yeon gripped Namgung Jin’s wrist with an unwilling face.
It was because, although he had come to help make his friend’s convictions right, holding the wrist after seeing Namgung Jin’s obnoxious face gave him a bit of reluctance.
Song Yi-yeon let out a sigh and infused energy into Namgung Jin. Suffering from the aphrodisiac poison, Namgung Jin was looking at Song Yi-yeon with unfocused eyes.
“Song Yi-yeon. This merchant’s bastard.”
“…Is he crazy?”
Song Yi-yeon shook his head from side to side.
One intoxicated by aphrodisiac poison speaks only the truth. Namgung Jin had been looking down on him on the inside as well. He wondered if he should smack his head taking advantage of his intoxication, but that was not the chivalrous code of the Jianghu.
Soon, Namgung Jin babbled like a drunkard.
“The Anhui Song Clan is a remarkable family. Even if it is not a martial family, starting from a small corner shop, it has achieved such immense wealth and power. Patriarch Song is truly amazing. Because there are few people my father recognizes to that degree.”
Song Yi-yeon flinched. It was because he had never imagined such words would come from that bastard’s mouth.
Looking at Namgung Jin for a moment, Song Yi-yeon asked carefully.
“Then why did you treat me like that?”
“Because seeing a mere merchant’s bastard dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with me was annoying. I, the eldest son of the Namgung Clan, must not let that be.”
Namgung Jin frowned as if in great agony. Whether his body was being strained in the process of detoxification or simply because he recalled a painful memory was unknown.
Song Yi-yeon’s expression also became serious.
It was because he had never thought that inside, Namgung Jin recognized him as an equal rather than an inferior.
After some time had passed like that.
“What?”
Namgung Jin opened his eyes wide. He had kept his eyes open all along, but he looked just like a person who had just awakened from sleep.
While scanning his surroundings with a serious expression, Namgung Jin discovered Song Yi-yeon holding his wrist.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
Roughly knocking Song Yi-yeon’s hand away, Namgung Jin grasped the situation in an instant and leaped to his feet.
Then, he bowed deeply toward the seniors of the Heavenly Tiger Squad who had already awakened.
“I, I am deeply sorry. I should have stayed sharp, but pathetically fell for such a shallow trick. I owe the seniors a debt of saving my life.”
Receiving an abrupt apology and words of gratitude, the Heavenly Tiger Squad members scratched their heads with truly awkward expressions.
It was because they were no different from Namgung Jin.
One Heavenly Tiger Squad member pointed at Cheon Woo-jin and Song Yi-yeon.
“Actually, we also fell for it. If not for these two juniors here, we would all have died.”
Namgung Jin looked at Song Yi-yeon and Cheon Woo-jin with disbelief in his eyes.
It was none other than the Heavenly Tiger Squad. The Heavenly Tiger Squad, called the foremost elite among the combat squads of the Martial Alliance. Those two bastards had disposed of those who used methods so vicious and heinous that even they had fallen prey?
However, all the circumstances were saying that it was the truth.
Namgung Jin bowed his head toward Cheon Woo-jin.
“I will surely repay the debt.”
It was a blunt tone, but it fairly possessed the formality of gratitude. Soon, Namgung Jin, who raised his head, glanced at Song Yi-yeon and turned his gaze away.
It was an act of blatantly ignoring Song Yi-yeon. Even the fellow Heavenly Tiger Squad members inwardly clicked their tongues at that sight.
However, Song Yi-yeon was not in the least displeased.
“Heh heh…”
“…?”
At the sudden sinister laugh, Namgung Jin looked at Song Yi-yeon with a serious face. However, Song Yi-yeon merely let out laughter without a word.
It was because, upon learning the fact that the bastard regarded him as an equal, his tyrannical behavior somehow felt laughable.
* * *
The Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader and Black Tortoise Squad Leader Cheol Ji-ak sprinted with all their might. They truly unfolded their lightness arts at full strength.
Nevertheless, contrary to the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader’s expectations, the distance with Cheol Ji-ak was not widening.
It was truly unexpected. Cheol Ji-ak was a man who received lower-tier evaluations among the squad leaders of the combat squads.
Of course, the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader had never personally looked down on such a Cheol Ji-ak. However, actually seeing him sprint at a similar speed to himself, he was simply dumbfounded.
‘Why on earth would such a man…’
However, right now, that was not what was important.
Late at night, the carrier eagle of the Martial Alliance had arrived at the Namgung Clan.
The content of the letter was truly shocking.
It was to the effect that, because information that the Martial Alliance was pursuing the Giant Stone Monster’s secret cave had leaked, in the worst-case scenario, other disciples of the Dark Emperor might step forward.
Upon receiving this, the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader immediately ran toward the restaurant where Namgung Jin had reportedly gone, and Cheol Ji-ak, who belatedly received the news from a Heavenly Tiger Squad member, also dashed toward the Pure Flower Pavilion.
However, the scene Cheol Ji-ak saw at the Pure Flower Pavilion was shocking.
Do Seong-hwi and Jang Woo-pyeong lay neatly. The surroundings were smeared thickly with blood and bits of flesh, tragic beyond description.
Moreover, seeing a familiar face among the corpses and comparing it with the Public Enemy Wanted List, the middle-aged man was the Third-Grade Public Enemy, the Black Wolf Hand.
Even as a Third-Grade Public Enemy, he was an expert on par with an ordinary combat squad. But what was more important than that was that the Black Wolf Hand was the subordinate of none other than the Lust Demon, a disciple of the Dark Emperor.
Turning pale, Cheol Ji-ak urgently examined the surroundings.
However, nowhere were the two youngest to be seen.
In Cheol Ji-ak’s mind, worst-case scenarios kept arising.
‘Cheol Ji-ak. You idiotic fool, run faster. They are the youngsters who chose the Black Tortoise Squad for the first time…’
Cheol Ji-ak truly ran with all his might.
In the midst of that, he met the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader, and they were on their way running together toward the restaurant where Namgung Jin and the Heavenly Tiger Squad members had reportedly headed.
The two reached their destination in an instant, moving at tremendous speed as if flying over rooftops.
“This is…!”
The smell of blood was already vibrating in the surroundings.
Cheol Ji-ak and the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader simultaneously unfurled their qi senses and entered the restaurant.
The large and luxurious restaurant was completely empty, even on the first floor where people should have been most numerous.
They immediately ran up the stairs toward the room on the highest floor.
Perhaps because precious guests had fled in a hurry, the room doors were all wide open, but among them, there was one firmly closed door.
Blood was seeping through the cracks of the door, and the qi sense of martial artists could be felt inside.
Clang!
Cheol Ji-ak and the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader drew their swords at the same time.
Soon, when they threw open the door with tense faces.
“Huh?”
Cheol Ji-ak examined the interior with a serious face.
All the youngsters they were looking for were in this place.
Furthermore, in appearances that contrasted so drastically with the gruesome scene.
If the youngest members had come to harm, he intended to lodge a direct protest to the Strategist Department of the Martial Alliance for failing to manage information properly. Even if it meant being stripped of his squad leader position.
However, if not for the corpses inside, they were so perfectly fine that one would have thought they had suffered nothing and were peacefully drinking alcohol here.
“Just what is this?”
Cheol Ji-ak scratched his head vigorously. He could not guess in the least how the situation had turned out.
The Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader was also the same. No matter how elite the Heavenly Tiger Squad was, if the Black Wolf Hand had stepped forward, barely three squad members and one rookie could not stand against him.
However, the bastard’s corpse had been found. In other words, it meant another expert had intervened in this matter.
This was important information. If his objective stood in opposition to the Martial Alliance, it could become a great element of danger.
The Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader asked with a serious expression.
“Did you see the person who killed the Black Wolf Hand? No, seeing the situation, it seems you fought together. Could it be that someone from the Namgung Clan stepped forward?”
It was a reasonable deduction. In this place was the Sword Dragon, the eldest son of the clan. Although the Black Wolf Hand was a great expert, in the Namgung Clan, there existed several experts capable of killing him, including the Sword King.
If so, the situation made sense.
However, the reaction of the Heavenly Tiger Squad members was a bit strange.
“That is…”
One Heavenly Tiger Squad member scratched his head. At that sight, the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader’s eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
“…Actually, there is nothing that we did.”
The Heavenly Tiger Squad member explained what he had seen and experienced.
From the appearance of the courtesans and falling victim to the aphrodisiac poison, to being on the verge of death before Cheon Woo-jin and Song Yi-yeon appeared and bestowed salvation upon their lives.
There were also quite a few shameful contents, but in reporting a mission, there was no choice but to speak only objective facts.
Throughout the report, the expressions of Cheol Ji-ak and the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader shifted from moment to moment.
Soon, right after the report ended, the Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader let out a long sigh.
“So, to summarize…”
The Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader’s head turned toward Cheon Woo-jin and Song Yi-yeon. Even then, a gaze tinged with disbelief lingered on the two for a long time.
“The two of you cleared out the Pure Flower Pavilion and came here? You mean to say you killed the Third-Grade Public Enemy, the Black Wolf Hand, without anyone’s help?”
At the words Third-Grade Public Enemy, the eyes of the Heavenly Tiger Squad members, including Namgung Jin, went truly wide. They also knew that those listed on the Public Enemy Wanted List were all vicious and high-and-mighty experts beyond imagination.
Suddenly, Song Yi-yeon shook his head.
“There is a part that needs a bit of correction.”
The Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader nodded with an expression saying ‘I thought as much.’
“As expected, did another expert intervene?”
“No, what I killed was one courtesan. The rest is entirely Young Hero Cheon’s handiwork.”