Chapter 117: Gyeon's Ten Rounds (6)
Half a shichen ago.
Gyeon Sul and Chui stood in front of the back door of the brothel.
Gyeon Sul turned back to Chui and asked.
“Pretty boy. By the way, what brings you to help me?”
“I am not helping you. I also have an interest in the person named Ximen Qing.”
“What interest? Don’t tell me you know him?”
“It is not that. Since they say he is going as an assistant instructor of the Ascending Heaven Academy, I have a few things that come to mind.”
“What comes to mind?”
“It is nothing much. I only need to ask a few questions, so after that, you handle it yourself.”
“Hahaha—what a relief. I thought you might try to shield that bastard, pretty boy. Then I would have to fight you too, and I would hate that.”
The purposes of the two men did not conflict with each other.
Just confirming that fact was a great harvest.
Before long, the two decided to break into the brothel.
Crash!
Gyeon Sul suddenly shattered the back door of the brothel and entered inside.
Chui naturally preferred to disguise himself or infiltrate secretly when entering enemy territory, but Gyeon Sul did not bother to endure such trouble.
“Come out, you sons of bitches~”
Gyeon Sul strode along, holding his Dog-Head Guillotine.
The kitchen connected to the back door was completely empty.
A cook who was making food and a few courtesans hid in the corner, startled.
Gyeon Sul paused right before swinging the Dog-Head Guillotine.
Then, he left an advice in a gentle tone.
“Get out of here without even looking back. Because all the bastards inside this place will die today.”
There was no one who would stay still when a madman entered with bright red eyes and thrust a Dog-Head Guillotine at them.
Everyone fled in a hurry before Gyeon Sul’s advice could even finish.
Soon, Gyeon Sul stood in front of the wooden stairs leading to the upper floor.
In that place, three scoundrels standing in insolent postures were visible.
“What is it? A guy who couldn’t pay his debt? Didn’t they all go up earlier?”
“Huh? What are you holding? What is that in your hand?”
“Crazy! What is that? A Dog-Head Guillotine?”
The moment they saw Gyeon Sul, they immediately took a defensive stance.
But.
Slash-thud!
Gyeon Sul slit the throats of the three with a single simple movement of sweeping his Dog-Head Guillotine sideways.
Splat!
The stairs were instantly stained bright red.
Squish- squish- squish- squish-
As he climbed the stairs thoroughly drenched in sticky blood, the creaking sound changed slightly strangely.
The moment Gyeon Sul arrived at the second floor.
“Who goes there!”
A man with sharp eyes drew his sword.
A swordsman who had clearly learned martial arts at a single glance.
Judging by the internal strength gathered at the tip of the sword, his martial arts level was not ordinary.
“Seeing your state, you didn’t come with good intentions. Die!”
The swordsman thrust his sword forward.
A swift sword that an ordinary human could not even dare to track with their eyes descended toward Gyeon Sul’s head.
But.
Catch—
The swordsman’s sword was blocked midway.
While caught between Gyeon Sul’s index finger and thumb.
“……!?”
The swordsman was greatly startled and tried to pull his sword out, but.
Cre-e-e-ak……
The sword did not move at all, clamped between Gyeon Sul’s fingers.
While holding the swordsman’s sword, Gyeon Sul raised his other hand and moved his Dog-Head Guillotine.
Whack!
The flat side of the Dog-Head Guillotine struck the swordsman’s head.
Then, chaotic footsteps were heard from further down the hallway.
“Hey! Shi Lang! What is going on!”
Nine men came running, having drawn their swords.
Presumably, these were the guards of the Western Gang who were guarding the second floor.
Gyeon Sul loosened his shoulders and spoke.
“Shall I show these petty thief bastards a spicy taste of the Yangtze River?”
At that, the second-floor guards broke into hollow laughter.
“A spicy taste of the Yangtze River?”
“Ha, anyone hearing this would think a Hundred-Head level of the Yangtze River Water Fortresses had come.”
“Just because you handled a few low-level punks below, you’re acting so haughty. We have learned martial arts. We are on a different level from those guys.”
“I know that guy. He’s a thug punk who hung out in this area when he was a kid. Didn’t he get kicked out after attacking his sister-in-law?”
“As if a guy who committed such a shameless act could possibly adapt well at the Yangtze River Water Fortresses.”
“Seeing you bring up the Yangtze River Water Fortresses, you probably rolled around as a low-level lackey for over ten years before fleeing because you couldn’t endure it. Do you think such bluffing will work here?”
The guards ridiculed Gyeon Sul, who mentioned the Yangtze River.
However.
R-u-m-b-l-e……
As Gyeon Sul’s blood-red shadow stretched stickily, the expressions of the guards instantly overturned.
Crack- crack- crackle!
At the momentum emitted by Gyeon Sul, the surrounding floorboards began to creak and splinter.
Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of the nine guards blocking the way.
“W-what is this? Why is the atmosphere like this……?”
“Hey, didn’t you say he was the shameless bastard who attacked his sister-in-law?”
“H-he definitely was, though? What is this?”
“This momentum is clearly…….”
They were also martial artists who lived by the blade.
There was no way they could fail to recognize a martial artist stronger than themselves.
“A Hundred-Head level of the Yangtze River Water Fortresses? Me?”
Gyeon Sul’s mouth corners hooked up.
Laughter naturally mixed into his voice.
“If I were only a Hundred-Head level at the Yangtze River Water Fortresses…… the Yangtze River Water Fortresses would have already unified the martial world and had strength to spare.”
“……?”
The guards did not understand Gyeon Sul’s words.
Of course, Gyeon Sul did not wish for the guards’ understanding either.
Crash!
Gyeon Sul charged, holding his Dog-Head Guillotine.
Slash!
The body of one guard who tried to stand and face him with a raised sword was split vertically.
“Aaaaargh!?”
The guard behind him shrieked instead of drawing his sword.
The price of hesitating for a split second was an even more wretched death.
…Slash!
The waist of the guard who had drawn his sword halfway was cut in half.
Because of that, the guard whose body had been split vertically earlier was also cut into four pieces along with him.
Splat—
The hallway instantly turned into a sea of blood.
The guards threw away their swords, their faces turned deathly pale.
And immediately turning around, they began to run like mad.
Of course, Gyeon Sul swinging his Dog-Head Guillotine was several times faster than that.
…Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Amidst the fishy fountain of blood, twitching muscles and flashing blades intertwined to create a chilling silhouette.
Every time the blood-red ripples surged, human bodies fluttered like cloth dolls mauled by a dog.
Even after that, a one-sided slaughter continued for a long while.
Soon, with the faint crying sound of the last guard as the end, the curtain fell on the disturbance.
Ten heads shattered and split by Gyeon Sul’s guillotine blade slumped onto the floor.
It was a time that had not even exceeded a single incense burner’s time.
Crash!
Gyeon Sul smashed the banquet hall door at the top of the brothel and entered inside.
“Who goes……!”
A few guards blocked the way while drawing their swords, but.
…Thud!
They instantly suffered from Gyeon Sul’s single strike and became ghosts of the departed.
“W-what?”
Pei Yehai. The new boss of the Western Gang was seen rising in surprise.
……From him putting down the cup he held,
……bending his waist slightly,
……touching the floor with his hand,
……lifting his buttocks from the cushion, straightening his knees,
……standing up in a half-raised posture,
……to raising his neck to fix it forward.
During the split second that the succession of those brief movements occurred, Gyeon Sul raised his Dog-Head Guillotine and hacked dozens of Western Gang members to death.
Splat-splat-splat! Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!
Above the alcohol and dishes on the banquet tables, a shower of sticky blood poured down.
Today’s meal was fully finished.
Gyeon Sul gestured while shouldering the Dog-Head Guillotine on his shoulder.
“Where is Ximen Qing?”
“…….”
Because it was an extremely nonsensical situation, no one could open their mouth.
Like a young child facing an anomaly inside a scary story in reality, they only gasped with their mouths.
It was the same for Pei Yehai, who had been proud of the fact that he had crossed numerous lines of death until now.
At that, Gyeon Sul’s mouth corners curved thickly.
Crack!
As the Dog-Head Guillotine flew, the head of one guard who was in charge of Pei Yehai’s security blew apart.
Only then did Pei Yehai grasp the situation to some extent.
“H-hold on. I don’t know what you came here for to do this, but……!”
However, Pei Yehai could not finish his words this time either.
This was because Gyeon Sul raised his bare fist and struck the face of the guard on the opposite side.
…Thud!
The skull of the guard struck by the bare fist exploded and blew apart.
It was to the extent that the corpse struck by the Dog-Head Guillotine maintained a slightly finer form.
“I asked where Ximen Qing is.”
“…….”
Gyeon Sul’s gaze was directed not at Pei Yehai, but at a low-ranking gang member pressed tightly against the wall.
Crunch!
Gyeon Sul raised his foot and trampled one scoundrel.
He clearly stepped on the shoulder, but starting with the shoulder blade, the clavicle, collarbone, spine, and pelvis bone were all completely crushed.
It was an ordinary attitude as if stepping on and killing a bug.
A murder fiend. A demon who thought nothing of killing humans.
Facing such a being before them, the Western Gang members were collapsing and sitting down one by one.
Gyeon Sul spoke once again.
“Ximen Qing. Where is he?”
“…….”
The ruffian next to him was silent.
He was simply trembling in fear while wetting his pants.
Thud!
Gyeon Sul struck his neck down with his hand blade and snapped it.
“If you don’t want to talk, don’t. I can just ask the next guy. There are plenty of replacements here.”
If they did not answer the question, they died.
If they hesitated, they died.
Even if they showed signs of thinking about this and that, they died.
In any case, they died.
Gyeon Sul asked the next man.
“Where is Ximen Qing.”
“I-I will tell you! Please spare……!”
However, before his words could even finish, Gyeon Sul’s fist flew in.
Crack!
As long as his skull was completely fractured, he could not avoid death.
Gyeon Sul, who beat the man to death, smiled with his tongue sticking out.
“Ah, I killed him out of momentum.”
Seeing that, the faces of the men were now gradually turning deathly pale.
Now, there were only a few executives left in the banquet hall, including Pei Yehai.
Soon, Gyeon Sul’s gaze turned toward Pei Yehai.
“Where is Ximen Qi—……”
“At the eastern entrance of the village, there is a forest called Kuaihuo Forest, and if you go to the bamboo forest over there, there is a luxurious mansion! If not there, he will be in the blue-roofed house in the northern residential district, or the south-facing thatched cottage below the southern riverbank! Both are his mistresses’ houses! And Ximen Qing, while being the former boss of our Western Gang, has also sworn brotherhood with the bosses of the Tongxiang Association, the Northern Sword Alliance, and the Southern Heroes Association! Perhaps he is meeting the executives on that side and receiving entertainment!”
Pei Yehai wagged his tongue with all his strength, using maximum effort.
While doing so, he did not forget to subtly threaten by letting him know at the end that the Western Gang was connected to larger organizations.
However. Gyeon Sul’s expression did not change even a single bit upon hearing those words.
Simply,
“I am a Thousand-Head of the Yangtze River Water Fortresses.”
he merely explained briefly where he came from and what rank he held.
And the moment they heard those words.
“……! ……! ……!”
The complexions of all the survivors, including Pei Yehai, turned blackish and died.
Even in the wave of black water overflowing in the back alleys, there was a grade.
The Yangtze River Water Fortresses was precisely the place where vicious fiends and devils gathered who were nationwide, no, continent-wide, and incomparable to ruffians of a mere countryside back alley.
And as a Thousand-Head of that Yangtze River Water Fortresses, they were beings no different from gods to back alley scoundrels.
Pei Yehai began to foam at the mouth and hiccup.
“Th-Th-Th-Th-Thousand-Head…… Y-Y-Yangtze River Water Fortresses…… That person whose martial arts crossed the Realm of Harmony and reached the Realm of Transcendence…….”
Gyeon Sul merely wiped off the blood thoroughly soaking his face with his hand, giving no reply.
Rather, the answer was given by Chui, who was next to him.
“We have heard the location of Ximen Qing, so there is no more business here then.”
“Yes.”
As Gyeon Sul nodded his head, Chui immediately moved his hand.
Sss—
The fire striker brought from the kitchen dropped sparks onto the strong liquor on the table.
Woosh!
The fire spread in the blink of an eye.
The executives, including Pei Yehai, stood up in surprise, but.
…Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Chui’s Plum Blossom Ghost Spear inflicted a span-wide penetrating wound to all of their hearts in the blink of an eye.
“With this, the debts of the common people will become as if they never existed.”
“Did you care about such things too? You secretly have a righteous nature?”
“Not particularly. It is merely taking measures to make it easy to obtain the cooperation of the locals when collecting information.”
“Aha~ I am sure that is so. Yes, yes.”
Hearing Chui’s answer, Gyeon Sul turned his head toward a corner of the banquet hall.
“You heard, Owner?”
“Kyaak!?”
As Gyeon Sul reached out his hand and tapped her shoulder, the woman who had been trembling while burying her head in the corner of the banquet hall shrieked.
It was Yulan, the female owner of the tavern.
“Now, let us go out. It is time to go meet a missed face.”
Gyeon Sul walked toward the exit while carrying Yulan on his shoulder.
Chui also followed behind him silently.
Beneath the burning brothel, only the shadows of the two men stretched long.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost