Chapter 28: Fierce Entrails (3)
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Namgung Paeng-saeng swung his sword.
In the darkness where he could not see even an inch ahead, dark red spear ghosts were giggling and playing with such a Namgung Paeng-saeng.
[You bastard Paeng-saeng—]
[It was good when you were taking and eating kickbacks from us, right?]
[It is all over. Now, let us follow the Mountain Sovereign.]
[Hehehehehe—serves you right, you lecherous bastard. Hehehehehe—]
[Paeng-saeng—Paeng-saeng—Namgung Paeng-saeng—I was always sharpening my blade for you!]
the spear ghosts of the Black Path Gang and the Cao Family Manor drifted around the blind Namgung Paeng-saeng, letting out sneers.
Anger makes blood circulate faster, and fast-circulating blood pushes the poison to every corner of the body.
The Qiang tribe’s poison first makes one blind.
Next it closes the ears, and next it blocks the nose.
On the other hand, the mouth still opens well and the tongue still moves vigorously.
Uniquely, the Qiang tribe’s poison had no effect on the mouth.
Perhaps because of that, Namgung Paeng-saeng was opening only his mouth wide while his eyes and ears were closed.
“You bastards! You bastards who are worse than insects! Garbage that would not have even been able to lock eyes with me if you were alive!”
Namgung Paeng-saeng’s sword cut through empty air.
His sword was a well-tempered famous sword.
It was a sword strong enough to split a rock with a single strike.
However, a sword can ultimately only kill the living; it cannot kill the dead again.
The spear ghost mocked and ridiculed him, imitating the voices of all the people Namgung Paeng-saeng knew.
[You, after receiving money, specially recruited an acquaintance’s son into the Martial Alliance, right? Do you know that the two young men who failed the final interview at that time committed suicide?]
[You son of a bitch Paeng-saeng—did you think I wouldn’t know that you slept with my wife after demoting me to the countryside!]
[You secretly took my daughter in as a concubine and abused her, and because you didn’t let her recuperate even once after giving birth, you ended up killing her, right?]
[You bastard Paeng-saeng! Do you know who I am! I am the patriarch of the Woo Clan manor whom you executed after framing me as a spy of the Demonic Path! What happened to the treasure map you snatched from me!?]
The spear ghost continuously laughed at him, listing Namgung Paeng-saeng’s past deeds.
Namgung Paeng-saeng ground his teeth, not even knowing that his teeth were breaking off.
“No! I, I did not receive kickbacks! I know nothing about the concubines dying off! It was all concocted by spies of the Demonic Path! I, I do not know!”
Right at that moment, another spear ghost appeared in front of him.
An old man who had grown a long red beard.
From his hollow eye sockets, blood surged up and dripped down continuously.
Namgung Paeng-saeng was startled out of wits.
“J-Cao Yangzi… How can you… Y-You are dead!”
[Dead? How could I go alone leaving you behind?]
Cao Yangzi’s mouth tore up to his earlobes.
In front of that terrifying smile, Namgung Paeng-saeng shouted in spite.
“You bastard! If you are going to die, die alone! Why are you pulling me like a water ghost!”
[Have I not taken charge of all your dirty work in the background during this time? So, are we not of one body? Kekeke…]
“Shut up! It was merely a self-harm scheme to maintain my seat as an elder! The bastards who interfered with me were the ones in the wrong!”
[I know that well. Am I not one of the meritorious contributors who made you an elder?]
“Meritorious contributor? Know your place! Cao Yangzi, you were simply a hunting dog! Crippling the bastard I told you to cripple! Killing the bastard I told you to kill! Bringing money as told when ordered! Not just you, but also the Northern Palace manor of the Namgung Clan! The subordinate sects and clans under them are all the same! They are all nothing but sons of bitches!”
[Indeed. You ordered me to do dirty work behind the scenes quite a lot. Kekeke… Thanks to that, I have ended up in a state worse than a bowl of dog stew inside a hot pot like this.]
“It is all your own doing! From the moment you participated in the Namgung Clan’s Blood Oath Ceremony, from the moment you entered under the Namgung Clan’s umbrella, you volunteered to be my dog! If you are a dog, listen to your master’s words like a dog! Get the hell lost to the afterlife right now!”
Namgung Paeng-saeng squeezed out his internal energy.
The strike he delivered even while vomiting black blood split Cao Yangzi’s spear ghost in half.
At that, Cao Yangzi giggled.
[You will follow me soon, Northern Palace Elder. It is very cold and lonely here… so prepare yourself well… kekekekeke…]
Finally, Cao Yangzi’s spear ghost vanished completely.
At the same time, Namgung Paeng-saeng vomited a massive amount of black blood from his mouth.
“Kehuuuk… Cough!”
His vision slowly returned.
Namgung Paeng-saeng raised his gaze through his disheveled hair.
“……”
“……”
“……”
He was standing on the altar that was split in half.
And below it, the warriors of the Namgung Clan, and all the prominent figures of Anhui Province who had gathered by the invitation of the Namgung Clan, were assembled.
They were all staring at Namgung Paeng-saeng with cold gazes.
“……?”
Namgung Paeng-saeng had a bewildered expression, not knowing why the atmosphere in the venue was like this.
At that moment, a middle-aged man sprang up.
He was Choi Eun-jo, the patriarch of the Choi Clan manor of Zaishi County.
“Northern Palace Elder! Were the words you just spoke serious!”
“……?”
Namgung Paeng-saeng stared at him with a blank expression.
What did I just say earlier?
Strangely, he could not remember.
A feeling as if he had been possessed by something, like some low ghost.
Soon, another person stood up from the side with an indignant expression.
He was Lee Ju-seon, the sect leader of the Great Refined Sect, the representative sect of Gaobin County adjacent to Zaishi County.
“Are you saying that the Namgung Clan regards the subordinate organizations that have taken the Blood Oath Ceremony as merely hunting dogs they raise!?”
After that, the situation was truly one that fit the term “springing up like bamboo shoots after rain.”
From all over, clan leaders and sect leaders stood up and condemned Namgung Paeng-saeng.
“I am called Kang Gu-min, the sect leader of the Stray Blade Sect of Wuqiu County. I came to this place today to become a friend of the Namgung Clan, not to become a dog of the Namgung Clan.”
“What was that remark about kickbacks just now? You must explain it!”
“Even if you are an elder of the Namgung Clan, this is not right! Buying concubines with money!”
“And what is this about framing a perfectly fine clan as spies of the Demonic Cult and wiping them out?”
“Recruitment corruption in the Martial Alliance! Was it something from when the Elder served as an executive of the Martial Alliance? What on earth is it?”
“Ahem! Regardless of other things, I must point out and address the treasure map incident!”
The crowd split into two groups.
One group consisted of those who had gathered in this place to enter under the Namgung Clan’s umbrella through the Blood Oath Ceremony.
All of them raised their voices toward Namgung Paeng-saeng with angry expressions.
The other consisted of the Namgung Clan warriors who stood half-heartedly, unable to block them or leave them be.
In the end, everyone’s gaze directed toward Namgung Paeng-saeng.
Precisely at that point in time.
*Thwack!*
Namgung Paeng-saeng’s waist bent into a right angle.
“Cough!?”
Behind Namgung Paeng-saeng who was letting out dry coughs, Chui cast the shadow of his black staff.
“This is why the Qiang tribe’s poison is terrifying.”
Looking at Namgung Paeng-saeng crawling on the floor and coughing, Chui murmured softly.
The Qiang tribe’s poison paralyzes a human’s eyes, ears, and nose, but it does not paralyze the mouth.
That is to prevent a human, who became unable to see, hear, or smell due to being poisoned, from even receiving anyone’s care.
“The root of all evils is the tip of the tongue…”
A human whose eyes, ears, and nose are ruined constantly expresses his suffering and dissatisfaction with the single remaining tongue.
If this continues, the people around him grow exhausted and turn away from him.
In the end, leaving the tongue inside the mouth alive is to finally isolate the poisoned person and drive him to death in the truest sense.
And if this poison is combined with the cunning whispers of the spear ghost, it produces a surprising side effect.
Just like the situation Namgung Paeng-saeng was facing right now.
“I-It is a misunderstanding! W-What did I say! I was just…!”
Namgung Paeng-saeng flailed his hands, trying to line up excuses.
However, there was no way Chui would wait for that.
The long black staff in the shape of a hexagonal pillar stirred a heavy wind.
*Whoosh- Crack!*
A sound that would only occur when chopping firewood with an axe.
That erupted from Namgung Paeng-saeng’s waist.
“Kaghh!?”
Namgung Paeng-saeng lost his hold on his sword.
His elbow brushed against the tip of the staff when his waist was struck, and it seemed the entire arm bone was broken.
“Gggguuuu…”
An expert who had reached the peak realm was crawling on the floor like a bug.
Chui cast a shadow over him like a grim reaper.
*Thud!*
The staff was driven into the floor of the altar.
Chui put down the staff and picked up the awl and hammer that had fallen on the floor.
…*Grab!*
A blood-stained grasp grabbed Namgung Paeng-saeng’s hair.
Toward Namgung Paeng-saeng’s trembling face, Chui raised the hammer.
“S-Spare me.”
“No.”
The time during which begging and rejection was exchanged was short.
*Smash!*
The hammer struck Namgung Paeng-saeng’s jaw.
His lower jaw was shattered, and all his lower teeth scattered out of his mouth.
“Uuuuggh…”
Namgung Paeng-saeng curled up his body.
Chui swept the blood and teeth with his foot, brushing them down below the altar.
“I heard you broke my sworn brother’s teeth?”
“……?”
Namgung Paeng-saeng raised his head as if wondering what that meant.
Chui raised the awl with an indifferent expression.
“And did you also gouge out my sworn brother’s chest with a sword?”
“Ugggh… W-What do you mean… I have never done that!”
“You have. Although you probably do not remember well.”
Chui raised the awl and stabbed Namgung Paeng-saeng’s chest repeatedly.
Namgung Paeng-saeng rolled on the floor while clutching his chest.
Chui walked in front of him, territory he had conquered, switching the awl for the hammer.
“My sworn brother said, he also had one of his buttocks sliced off by you.”
“W-Who is your sworn brother! I do not know such a guy!”
“You do not need to know. In this life.”
Chui struck Namgung Paeng-saeng’s buttocks with the hammer.
His tailbone broke with a snapping sound, and even the ischium below it completely collapsed.
“……! ……! ……”
An intense pain transcending imagination.
Namgung Paeng-saeng began to twist his body like an earthworm that had touched salt.
From now on, it was not of the nature of a duel or contest.
Merely torture.
Only cruel revenge remained.
Several warriors of the Namgung Clan drew their swords and jumped onto the altar, but.
“If you come any closer, I will kill this guy right away. He is a hostage despite how he looks.”
At the voice of Chui speaking without even looking back, the warriors of the Namgung Clan were unable to do one thing or another.
Soon.
Chui kicked Namgung Paeng-saeng to the very edge of the altar.
Namgung Paeng-saeng sobbing while bleeding.
He was shedding tears like a young child.
“Please… s… top… I was… wro… ng…”
Chui merely looked down on such a Namgung Paeng-saeng with an indifferent expression.
‘This guy was the last name written on the death list.’
If he closed his eyes, the poem Ho Ye-yang had recited was still vivid in his ears.
The memory of that day, when the waters of Yi River and the hoarse voice of the vengeance ghost who swallowed charcoal swirled together.
“This is the place where one parted from Crown Prince Dan of Yan.”
“-At this place, parting from Dan of Yan,”
“The brave warrior’s hair rose and pushed up his cap.”
“-The brave warrior’s angry hair pierced through his cap.”
“The people of that past era have already passed away,”
“-Although the people of that era have already gone,”
“Today the river’s water is still cold.”
“-Even now, this river’s water is still cold.”
Chui opened his eyes.
And inheriting the will of his sworn brother who was now gone, he put a period to the last name written on the death list.
…*Thud!*
Meaning he had smashed Namgung Paeng-saeng’s head with the staff.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost