Shaolin
Mu-gyeong, having dealt with the assassins attacking him, turned his gaze towards Hye-gwan.
Next to Hye-gwan, there were already two corpses of men in black who had lost their lives, but there were still three more assassins attacking him.
Without hesitation, Mu-gyeong unleashed his Golden Turtle Technique, sending a golden orb towards the assassin who was hiding and attempting to throw a dagger at Hye-gwan.
Thud!
Even while being pierced by the golden orb, the assassin did not utter a single groan.
However, thanks to Mu-gyeong eliminating the assassin, Hye-gwan’s movements gained some leeway.
Wham!
Hye-gwan quickly executed the Vajra Exorcising Devil Fist, successfully piercing the abdomen of a nearby assassin.
“I’ll handle the rest!”“Alright!”
Upon hearing Mu-gyeong’s shout, Hye-gwan immediately dashed towards the side where the Silent Blood Demon was fighting, ignoring the last assassin.
* * *
The man known as the Silent Blood Demon to Hye-gwan was originally an assassin belonging to the Salmak.
From a young age, he endured harsh torture and training, having all emotions and desires eradicated, growing up as an assassin who executed missions as ordered by the Salmak.
Except for one thing.
The desire to kill remained.
Fortunately for him, his profession as an assassin allowed him to fulfill this desire by simply following orders to kill people.
Thus, it wasn’t difficult to conceal the remaining desire.
Years passed. Five, ten years.
Thanks to successfully completing hundreds of missions without a single failure, he rose to the position of branch chief.
He even had the honor of meeting the leader of Salmak’s main headquarters, albeit in shadows.
Salmak operated as a point organization, so unless one became a branch chief overseeing a region, it was impossible to know the main headquarters’ location.
However, the problem arose after he became a branch chief.
Branch chiefs overseeing regions did not personally engage in assassinations.
After months of forced restraint, he eventually reached his limit and took a mission for himself, going out for an assassination.
Everything went wrong afterward.
Despite having taken a break for months, his skills remained sharp, easily succeeding in the assassination. The problem arose afterward.
All his desires had been eradicated, concentrating all his desires into the lust for killing.
The desire built up over months couldn’t be satisfied with just one murder.
Losing his sanity, on his way back from completing the mission, he abducted a woman and enjoyed her screams while he butchered her body.
This was why he primarily hunted women and children.
The high-pitched screams from women or children who hadn’t hit puberty excited him more than the deep voices of elderly men.
Having satisfied his desire, the Silent Blood Demon realized he had made a grave mistake.
Thus, he decisively defected.
Having risen to the position of branch chief purely by skill, his ghost-like martial arts and stealth made it difficult for even the Salmak to track him.
But the problem was his desire to kill.
Whenever he reached his limit while hiding, he would abduct a woman or child to satisfy his lust by butchering them.
Then he would move to another region to avoid pursuit, committing more murders.
He survived over two years this way.
‘It’s all because of him!! This is all his fault!!’
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Salmak but an unknown man who caught him.
The four assassins who had attacked him.
Barely managing to deal with two of them, the Silent Blood Demon looked at the man rushing towards him.
If it weren’t for this man, he would have had the time to leisurely enjoy the screams of his current prey and escape from this place.
But now.
Clang!
While deflecting the dagger of a subordinate assassin, he also had to block the man’s fist targeting him.
“Ugh.”
Furthermore, the man possessed a stronger internal power, making him feel his insides shake every time they exchanged blows.
It wasn’t hard to realize that he couldn’t survive this way.
So he thought of one solution.
It wasn’t a solution to escape the situation.
Instead, it was a way to bring hell to the man who ruined his pleasure.
“Die!”
As the man’s fist flew towards his abdomen.
Instead of blocking the punch, the Silent Blood Demon uttered his final words in a raspy voice.
“Khehehe. The Salmak’s main headquarters is hidden in Guizhou Province’s Mount Ghost Spirit.”
Thud!
As he spoke, Hye-gwan’s fist pierced his abdomen.
However, despite the fatal injury, the Silent Blood Demon’s eyes shone with a delighted smile.
“…Damn it.”
Hye-gwan’s face twisted with anger as he successfully killed the Silent Blood Demon.
* * *
Hye-gwan did not delay in attacking the remaining assassins.
“Disciple! Don’t let even one escape!”
At the same time, he instructed Mu-gyeong to ensure that the last one couldn’t flee.
Thanks to each handling one assassin, the two easily dealt with the remaining two assassins.
Yet for some reason, even after eliminating the Silent Blood Demon and the assassins, Hye-gwan’s face did not show any relief.
“We need to leave immediately.”
“Yes? Is there a problem?”
Instead of answering Mu-gyeong’s question, Hye-gwan approached the woman who seemed completely out of it.
Having seen a dozen people die before her eyes, she seemed unable to collect herself.
Sadly, this wasn’t a situation where he could afford to be considerate.
“Miss. It seems you must come with us now.”
“…W-what do you mean?”
She trembled in fear, wondering if she was being kidnapped again.
“You heard what that man said earlier, didn’t you? The part about the Salmak.”
“Yes, something about the Salmak.”
“That’s right. Since you heard it, your life is now in danger.”
“???”
She still appeared to be in confusion.
Although the situation didn’t allow for much time, Mu-gyeong, who was also clueless, prompted Hye-gwan to briefly explain.
“Salmak is one of the most notorious assassin organizations in Jianghu. However, their headquarters has never been known. But now, the three of us know their headquarters, so they won’t stay silent.”
“!!!”
“I-I don’t know anything. I was just dragged here by that man!”
“I know. But the assassins won’t care about that.”
“…”
Momentarily speechless, she suddenly shouted as if remembering something.
“But they’re all dead. They wouldn’t know I know, right?”
“That could be. But they are assassins. They might have had someone watching from afar just in case.”
After explaining, Hye-gwan spoke as if there was no more time to waste.
“I understand it’s unfair. But you need to decide. Either stay here, hoping they won’t come, or come with us. There’s no time!”
Pressed by Hye-gwan, she hesitated briefly before speaking.
“I was sold to a brothel because of my parents’ debt. If I disappear, they will chase me.”
She implied that Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong might face trouble because of her, but Hye-gwan let out a dry laugh.
“Miss. Compared to the Salmak, we need not worry about the thugs from the brothel in Uiwang-hyeon.”
Hye-gwan’s confident response made her wipe her tears and speak.
“Th-Then, could you take me with you as well?”
As soon as she spoke, Hye-gwan issued a command to Mu-gyeong.
“Carry her.”
“Yes, Master!”
And so, the three of them left the mountain and started heading north towards Songshan, where Shaolin was located.
* * *
They had been running since dawn and continued to move using Qinggong even as the sun reached its peak.
After passing one village and heading towards another along the main road, Mu-gyeong, who was running low on internal energy, spoke up.
“Master, at this point, Salmak might not even know where we are, don’t you think?”
Mu-gyeong began to suspect that Hye-gwan might be overreacting. So far, nothing had happened, and they were traveling along the main road in broad daylight.
It was an utterly peaceful atmosphere.
“We should probably take a rest now.”
But before Mu-gyeong could finish speaking,
“Ugh!”
Hye-gwan suddenly leaped and rapidly moved his arm, the sound of metal ringing out in quick succession.
“!!!”
The merchants walking peacefully ahead of them threw hidden weapons the moment they were about to overtake them using Qinggong.
“Hmph, you should never underestimate Salmak.”
As if he had anticipated it, Hye-gwan deflected the surprise attack with a sly smile.
After quickly dealing with the three assassins disguised as merchants, Hye-gwan and Mu-gyeong resumed their swift pace.
“Let’s rest here now.”
Hye-gwan suggested, knowing that Mu-gyeong’s dantian was nearly empty. He chose a suitable inn and went inside.
A while later, when the ordered food arrived, Mu-gyeong and the woman, who hadn’t eaten since morning, were about to dig in when,
“Wait.”
Hye-gwan abruptly stopped them and stuck a silver needle into the food and drink.
“Hmph, as expected.”
The tip of the silver needle turned black, indicating the presence of poison.
“Could it have been that attendant from earlier?”
“I doubt it. How would they know we’d come to this exact inn and disguise themselves as an attendant?”
Hye-gwan responded and then walked towards the kitchen.
Mu-gyeong, the woman, and the startled attendant followed him to find a middle-aged man, presumably the cook, lying unconscious in a corner of the kitchen.
“Don’t worry. It seems he’s not dead.”
Hye-gwan reassured the attendant and infused energy into the cook’s pressure points, causing him to blink and wake up.
“Wh-What’s going on?!”
“An assassin targeting us knocked you out and poisoned the food.”
“!!!”
As Hye-gwan explained, the shocked cook immediately knelt and began to plead for forgiveness.
“Please spare me! I truly didn’t know!”
“Don’t worry, I know. But could you prepare some new food? We’re quite hungry.”
As soon as Hye-gwan finished speaking, the cook, still trembling, began to cook again.
Feeling sympathetic, Mu-gyeong spoke up.
“Master, wouldn’t it be better to just go to another inn?”
“Tsk. If we go to another inn, the assassin who knocked out this cook might pull the same trick there. It’s better to eat and rest here to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
Hye-gwan pulled out a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to the nervous attendant.
“You must have been scared today. Share this with the cook. We’ll pay separately for the food and room.”
“There’s no need for this, Master.”
The attendant, realizing Hye-gwan was a martial artist, tried to refuse, but Hye-gwan insisted, pressing the gold coin into his hand.
While Hye-gwan was dealing with the attendant, the cook, still shaking, managed to finish the food. After another check with the silver needle, Hye-gwan took the dish himself and headed to the room the attendant had prepared.
“Master, how do you always spot the assassins, like the merchants earlier?”
Filled with curiosity, Mu-gyeong asked. Hye-gwan chuckled softly.
“It’s not about spotting the assassins. It’s about always expecting the worst-case scenario.”
“Ah…”
“There’s a saying in Jianghu: always keep your last move hidden. But an even better practice is to always anticipate the worst and think about your escape route. No matter how skilled you are, a moment of carelessness can be fatal in Jianghu. Understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
Clearly hungry, Mu-gyeong began to devour the food as soon as he finished speaking, making Hye-gwan smile as he drank his wine.
But despite appearing to savor the wine, his eyes were on Mu-gyeong.
‘Tsk. This isn’t what I intended. But perhaps it’s for the best.’
He had intended to use the Silent Blood Demon as a lesson. But it seemed that this journey had turned into a comprehensive education on life in Jianghu.
When Mu-gyeong and the woman finished their meal, Hye-gwan spoke.
“You should rest now, young lady. Mu-gyeong, you rest for one hour first, then we’ll switch.”
“Do we rest in turns for an hour before moving again?”
“Exactly.”
As soon as Hye-gwan answered, Mu-gyeong lay down and fell asleep immediately.
Watching his disciple snoring, Hye-gwan turned to the woman who was still tossing and turning.
“Young lady, if you can’t sleep, would you like a drink?”
After being kidnapped, witnessing a murder, and surviving another assassination attempt, it was no wonder she couldn’t sleep.
After a moment’s hesitation, she sat up and faced Hye-gwan.
Seeing her trembling slightly, Hye-gwan took a sip of wine and spoke.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.”
Surprised, she quickly replied.
“N-No! If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead by now. I’m the one who should apologize… If you hadn’t taken me along, you could have traveled much faster…”
“Haha. You’re thinking the wrong way. There’s no need for you to apologize. We didn’t force you to come. And you’re actually helping us.”
“M-Me? How am I helping?”
Hye-gwan glanced at the sleeping Mu-gyeong with a smile he never showed his disciple.
“It’s hard to go mad when you have someone to protect.”
Of course, she didn’t understand what he meant.
So she asked something else.
“Aren’t you tired, Master?”
Considering how a much younger man was snoring away, she wondered how a man who appeared to be in his fifties managed.
Hye-gwan replied with a mysterious smile.
“I’m used to it.”
He opened a new bottle of wine, poured a drink for her, and took a swig himself.
Hye-gwan, known as the Exorcising Devil Fist, had vanquished countless villains and demons.
Naturally, many wanted him dead, so he was always on high alert in Jianghu.
Just as he had advised Mu-gyeong earlier, he constantly observed his surroundings, never letting his guard down.
Though he could only truly relax in Shaolin, even there, he never felt entirely at ease.
In a place filled with Buddha statues and monks aspiring to enlightenment, he, who walked the path of a warrior, felt out of place.
Despite the understanding and support from others, it often weighed on his mind.
So, he was accustomed to sleepless nights and using alcohol to get through them.
‘Don’t become like me.’
Glancing at Mu-gyeong, Hye-gwan took another swig of wine.
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