Shaolin
Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong entered Uiwang-hyeon and strolled through the market, observing the town’s atmosphere.
Since they had already disguised themselves before entering Uiwang-hyeon, they did not attract much attention.
Fortunately, the town’s atmosphere was peaceful.
If the mutilated bodies of women or children had been discovered, the ambiance would not have been this calm.
“Hehehe.”
Hye-gwan, blowing on a wine bottle and staggering in a zigzag pattern, sent a telepathic message to Mu-gyeong, who was looking around to assess the situation.
– If you act so openly like ‘I’m here to catch someone,’ won’t they run away?
Realizing his mistake, Mu-gyeong started walking straight ahead.
His steps were obviously stiff.“Have a drink.”
To ease the tension, Hye-gwan handed the wine bottle he was holding to Mu-gyeong.
Mu-gyeong took a hearty swig, trying to act natural.
The two disciples continued walking through the market in a zigzag manner.
Drunk in broad daylight, they appeared to be nothing more than carefree loafers.
After making a large circle around the town center, Hye-gwan walked into a large inn.
“???”
In a daze from the alcohol, Mu-gyeong followed Hye-gwan into the inn with a puzzled expression.
“Hehehe. What can I serve you?”
The capable clerk, who never lost his smile even when faced with a seemingly drunken guest, asked Hye-gwan.
“Give us the best room on the top floor. We’ll be staying for a few days.”
Hye-gwan flipped a gold coin to the clerk and added,
“Before we go to the room, bring us the best food and the most expensive wine here. Hehe. I know my liquor well. You know what happens if you cheat me, right?”
Playing the part of a wealthy loafer or a thug, Hye-gwan finished his order with a flourish.
Mu-gyeong, trying to keep his composure despite the alcohol, asked telepathically,
– Master, we’re supposed to catch a serial killer. Is it alright to just drink and relax like this?
– Hehe. If outsiders like us keep wandering around the market, won’t we draw attention?
– Then why did we walk around earlier…?
– To assess the town’s atmosphere and layout. This inn seems to be the best place to observe the whole town. The alley behind has many brothels with women coming and going, and to the east are schools and martial arts halls with many children.
Mu-gyeong tried hard to hide his surprise at Hye-gwan’s explanation.
He had thought they were just wandering around drunkenly, but Hye-gwan had been analyzing everything even while appearing drunk.
Experience couldn’t be underestimated.
“First, I’ll bring out the Xiaolongbao quickly!! And the wine, our inn’s specialty, is the Dujiang Wine.”
As Mu-gyeong hastily collected himself, the clerk began placing wine and food on the table.
Hye-gwan quickly grabbed the Dujiang Wine from the clerk’s hands.
“Hohoho~”
Removing the cloth sealing the bottle, Hye-gwan inhaled the aroma deeply.
“Indeed, this aroma deserves to be called a specialty! Hahaha!”
Hye-gwan laughed heartily and poured the wine into his mouth.
“……”
Mu-gyeong, who had been impressed earlier, now looked at his master as if he were crazy.
* * *
For several days, Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong spent similar days at the inn.
Occasionally, they would stroll through Uiwang-hyeon, but most of their time was spent drinking in the inn.
Hye-gwan would sleep through the busy morning hours, waking up around 1-3 PM.
After a light meal and some hangover relief, he would take Mu-gyeong out of the inn.
They would glance around the market and observe children leaving their studies from a distance.
At sunset, they would return to the inn and drink until morning.
Mu-gyeong would go to bed around 11 PM and wake up when Hye-gwan went to sleep, observing the town through the window from their room.
Tonight, as usual, Mu-gyeong watched his master drink himself into oblivion before going to bed.
‘Does he really intend to catch that Muyeong Blood Ghost?’
Mu-gyeong wondered if their mission was just an excuse for Hye-gwan to drink freely.
As these thoughts occupied his mind, Mu-gyeong drifted off to sleep.
When he was deep in slumber,
“Wake up.”
A soft whisper reached Mu-gyeong’s ears.
Mu-gyeong opened his eyes to find the sky outside the inn still dark.
“He moved.”
Hye-gwan’s body exuded a strong scent of alcohol, not because he was drunk but because he had purged the alcohol from his body with his internal energy.
Hye-gwan had been chasing the Muyeong Blood Ghost for two years, and while he didn’t know the killer’s face or name, he knew his habits well.
The killer didn’t target specific individuals. He had no lofty hobbies of targeting noble ladies or high-ranking officials’ children.
If he had harmed such people, he would have been caught already, no matter how elusive he was, as many would be hunting him.
But the killer always targeted those struggling in life.
He would strike late at night when courtesans finished their work and stepped out to catch their breath.
He would prey on ordinary children leaving their martial arts classes or schools in the evening.
Or he would target lone women or abandoned children late at night.
Thus, Hye-gwan slept in the mornings and afternoons and watched the town from evening until dawn.
Tonight, the killer had finally moved to abduct a courtesan.
Hye-gwan, having awakened Mu-gyeong, cleared the alcohol from his system and moved with stealth.
Mu-gyeong, still groggy, quickly gathered himself and followed Hye-gwan.
Tracking the familiar, stealthy energy, Hye-gwan moved as if he were part of the shadows.
Their chase led them out of Uiwang-hyeon to a small hill nearby.
Soon, they spotted a figure in the bushes.
“Please, spare me…”
A courtesan, crying and begging, and a man in black brandishing a thin, sharp blade.
Hye-gwan, instead of shouting to draw the enemy’s attention, used his inner power to increase his speed.
Pop!!
“!!!”
The man in black, realizing Hye-gwan’s presence too late as he flew through the bushes, hurriedly swung his short sword at him.
Bang!
After exchanging one blow, the man in black, who had quickly responded to the ambush, was thrown back about a meter.
“Mu-gyeong, protect that woman.”
“Yes, Master.”
Seizing the moment while the man in black was pushed back, Mu-gyeong and Hye-gwan protected the woman first.
Leaving the woman to Mu-gyeong, Hye-gwan immediately rushed at the Silent Blood Demon again.
For a villain who only kidnapped and killed women and children, the Silent Blood Demon’s martial arts were quite exceptional.
After exchanging a few blows in an instant, Hye-gwan smirked and spoke.
“You, I suspected as much, you’re an assassin.”
His stealth techniques to conceal himself and his nearly undetectable lightness skill.
Moreover, his martial arts using the short sword were extremely covert and relentlessly aimed at vital points.
“……”
The Silent Blood Demon didn’t answer Hye-gwan’s question. He just watched for an opportunity to escape with his red eyes visible through the mask.
However, escaping from Hye-gwan, who had already assessed his opponent, was a remote possibility.
Hye-gwan didn’t give the enemy a chance to escape, gradually cornering him.
Boom!
After exchanging another blow, the moment the Silent Blood Demon’s internal energy was disrupted due to an internal injury.
As Hye-gwan closed in to finish him off, he quickly turned his body and swung his arms.
Clang!
Clang!
He blocked the flying daggers that suddenly came from the air.
“Who are you?”
No sooner had Hye-gwan asked than men in black masks appeared from the shadows of the bushes.
‘Wasn’t the Silent Blood Demon supposed to operate alone?’
Hye-gwan thought these men were accomplices of the Silent Blood Demon.
It wasn’t just because of their attire and the fact they attacked him.
The aura they emitted when they threw the daggers and revealed themselves was very similar to that of the Silent Blood Demon.
This meant they had learned the same type of martial arts.
Therefore, what happened next was unexpected even for Hye-gwan.
The men in black who appeared seemed to be distracting, as another man in black hiding behind the Silent Blood Demon suddenly swung a dagger.
Clang!
“Ugh.”
The target was the Silent Blood Demon.
Barely blocking the surprise attack, the Silent Blood Demon let out a faint groan.
And that groan marked the beginning of the men in black’s next move.
Some attacked Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong, while others aimed for the Silent Blood Demon.
In the confusion, Hye-gwan quickly made a judgment.
“Protect the woman!”
Hye-gwan shouted to Mu-gyeong while engaging the attacking men in black and keeping an eye on the Silent Blood Demon.
Though unexpected, the intrusion of the men in black changed nothing.
‘Today, I seem to be accumulating more deeds than expected.’
The only difference was the number of targets to kill had increased.
Since the men in black had the same martial arts as the Silent Blood Demon, it meant they were also assassins.
Assassins, who killed for money, were also evil beings that Hye-gwan, the leader of the Demon Extermination Squad, had to eliminate.
‘The Silent Blood Demon also seems to find it difficult to escape.’
It was a fortunate turn of events.
If the Silent Blood Demon had escaped while he was dealing with the assassins, he would have continued his killing somewhere else.
Now, all that was left was to kill the assassins before they killed the Silent Blood Demon.
“Haaap!”
Meanwhile,
Mu-gyeong, with the woman behind him, was fighting against three men in black.
Fighting assassins in the dark forest before dawn was quite a troublesome task.
They hid in the shadows of the forest, maintaining their distance, throwing daggers, or sneaking in to swing their short swords.
The most troublesome part was that, after a few attacks were blocked, they started targeting the woman instead of Mu-gyeong.
Clang!
“Kyaaa!”
Mu-gyeong blocked a dagger that flew dangerously close, and the frightened woman screamed.
Using the noise she made, a man in black suddenly appeared from the darkness, swinging his short sword.
Clang!
As Mu-gyeong leaned to protect the woman, he barely managed to deflect the short sword with his leg.
“Phew.”
Catching his breath after narrowly avoiding danger, Mu-gyeong calmly scanned his surroundings.
Whiiiing.
He suddenly drew energy, creating about twenty golden droplets in the air.
And those droplets suddenly flew towards the darkness.
Clang!
Clang!
Crash!
Several metallic sounds echoed from the seemingly empty darkness, followed by the unpleasant noise of flesh being pierced and blood spilling.
Mu-gyeong had adapted to their stealth techniques after blocking a few surprise attacks.
‘It was good to learn the Dark Shadow Art and Ghost Step.’
Though different, these techniques were similar, making analysis not too difficult.
Just as Mu-gyeong used the Golden Rain Art to swiftly handle two assassins,
Whoosh!
A silent sword aimed at Mu-gyeong’s heart from the darkness.
Clang!
Simultaneously utilizing the Golden Rain Art and moving his body was now a simple task for Mu-gyeong.
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