Chapter 131 - The Isolated Yuksoon
Waiting at the entrance to the Wudang Sect's canyon for Jin-myeong's return, Jin-hoe spotted someone rushing in and heightened his vigilance.
It wasn't Jin-myeong.
'Hah... so this is as far as we go.'
Jin-hoe silently drew his sword, cursing the heavens. He turned to his disciples to warn them of the enemy—
"Senior brother!"
"...!"
Jin-hoe whipped around reflexively, and Jin-myeong's figure pierced his vision like a dagger as he leaped into the canyon right after.
Jin-hoe pushed through the underbrush. Yuksoon landed in front of him first, with Jin-myeong close behind.
"Senior brother, we must escape this place immediately."
"And this man is...?"
Yuksoon answered.
"I come from the Iron Blood Family on our lord's orders to aid the Wudang and Hwasan Sects. Details later—let's move first."
"The lord of the North... sent you to help us?"
"Yes. There's a situation... best explained later."
Jin-myeong urged them on.
"I'll fill you in on everything later, so hurry."
"Understood."
Moments later, the Wudang disciples who had been hiding deeper in the canyon gathered together. Yuksoon barely suppressed a sigh at their haggard appearances.
'This makes me feel unnecessarily guilty...'
It had all started with Wang-ho's death. Having kidnapped Wang-ho alongside Yeon-hoo, Yuksoon couldn't help but feel a pang of regret beyond mere pity.
Jin-myeong asked, "Where to?"
"To the city first. Safer to take the roads than climb the mountains right now. Oh, and our lord is about a day's journey away. Once we reach there, you'll be safe."
"Got it. Lead the way, then."
"Yes, sir."
Yuksoon took point out of the canyon. Unfamiliar with the terrain, he planned to retrace their steps, having memorized the path and surroundings on the way in.
"Squad leader."
"Yes, young master."
One of the Demon Corps members stepped forward.
"Prepare signal flares in advance for emergencies."
"Understood."
"Alright, follow me."
Yuksoon led the group, scanning their surroundings. Fortunately, no sign of the Golden Merchant Group appeared until they crested the first ridge.
The trouble came at the second.
Boom! Boom!
Sudden explosions lit the sky with fireworks. Not Northern signals.
'Damn...'
Figures burst from the forest ahead—first a few, then dozens, then hundreds in the blink of an eye.
'No guarantee intimidation will work again...'
Yuksoon made a snap decision.
"Back to the canyon!"
"That would trap us!"
"We hold out until the lord arrives."
"...!"
Yuksoon turned first. Jin-myeong glanced at Jin-hoe, who nodded gravely. Jin-myeong eyed the Golden Merchant Group's experts swarming like wolves and shouted,
"Everyone, back to the canyon!"
Yuksoon climbed atop a rock formation rising like a gate at the canyon mouth and gazed at the oncoming Golden Merchant Group experts.
"They brought a lot."
He frowned. The blue-robed man from the ferry was there.
"If that bastard's here, no hoping they'll back off."
Yuksoon checked the wind—headwind, unfortunately. And the gusts swirling chaotically into the canyon made poison impossible.
"Squad leader, now!"
"Yes!"
Whoosh—Boom!
Fireworks bloomed overhead. Yuksoon scowled up at them.
"Wonder if we can hold till the lord gets here..."
The fastest experts were already within fifty zhang.
"Huh?"
Yuksoon's eyes widened. Among the black tide of Golden Merchant Group experts were eerie figures. Two in blood-red robes executed bizarre lightness skills—like paper scraps caught in the wind. Their limbs barely moved, as if the breeze itself propelled them.
Yuksoon's dilated pupils began to tremble. A quavering voice escaped his lips.
"Ghost Corps..."
He doubted his eyes. He knew what the Blood Clan robes meant—and they had no business here.
Ghost Corps. The Blood Clan's proud elite assassins. And the ones tied to Yuksoon by an irreconcilable grudge.
His shocked gaze hardened into chilling killing intent.
"Come on, you bastards."
Swish.
Jin-myeong joined him atop the rock. He flinched at the venomous aura radiating from Yuksoon.
"Leave this to me and guard the position."
"You sure alone?"
"I'll manage."
Jin-myeong realized Yuksoon had changed. The man he'd seen always kept his cheerful smile even in life-or-death battles. Now, his skin prickled from the intense killing intent, his demeanor icy as a frozen lake.
"Stay sharp. Those are monsters beyond what you imagine."
"Die all the same, don't they? This because of them?"
"..."
"Never seen you like this."
"How long you known me... Get back to your post."
Jin-myeong sensed the unapproachable mood and descended.
Soon, the Golden Merchant Group experts reached the entrance and fanned out. The blue-robed man whispered to the robed man beside him, who addressed Yuksoon coldly.
"From the Iron Blood Family, were you?"
"Every damn one of you got short tongues. What, you some pig merchant grunt?"
"We want the rats inside. Step aside, North. We'll take them and go. First and last warning, kid."
"Guess that sardine-lookin' guy didn't tell you."
"What?"
"Best quit now and scram. Or... you'll get a taste of hell alive."
"Hahaha. Cocky brat's got a mouth on him. Fine. We'll kill everyone here, you included, and shut it permanently."
"Got the guts, come try."
Yuksoon spoke but kept his eyes on the two Ghost Corps members lurking like phantoms behind. Their exposed eyes were hollow as the dead's, flashing bloody glints that chilled the spine. Yet Yuksoon's own killing intent thickened in proportion.
'Now that you're here, this fight's mine too.'
Gruesome memories he wished to forget flashed by—a paradise like Muling Peach Blossom Grove, deep in uninhabited mountains untouched by worldly strife. Until monsters razed it, slaughtering hundreds. His master barely saved him but died days later. Thus began his wretched life. Chance encounter with fortune granted power; he scoured the world for revenge. Years later, he learned the culprits were the Blood Clan's Ghost Corps.
But he never reached the Blood Clan. Met Yeon-hoo en route, swore loyalty, and deferred vengeance.
Slaughter a few? Fine. But for true revenge, wait with me for the right moment.
Yeon-hoo's words stayed his hand. He'd waited since—now they appeared, stirring buried hatred. But Yuksoon wasn't fool enough to botch things for impulse.
Clench!
He shut his eyes tight.
'Stay cold. Hold till the lord arrives. Or Wudang perishes before blooming.'
Composed, his killing intent faded; eyes opened clear as ever.
Then—
"Come down. We've set formations at the entrance—should buy time."
Jin-hoe's voice.
"How long?"
"Can't promise, but without a better formation master than me, at least half a day."
Half a day was ample. If Yeon-hoo learned of this, he'd arrive before. A day's journey away, but with his lightness skill, feasible.
Yuksoon breathed easier, glaring at the Ghost Corps. The Golden experts advanced, but they stood ghost-like, uninvolved.
Whoosh!
Still southerly winds. Poison would backfire on Wudang.
Yuksoon cursed the wind and steadied his breath.
"Time for a real show, then?"
Kaboom! Rumble!
Endless blasts and faint vibrations shook the canyon.
'Incredible.'
Yuksoon was awestruck. He'd dismissed tales of ultimate formations trapping all with a twig as exaggerated legend. But no.
Golden experts hurled Wall Lightning Bombs—devilish weapons—but after over two shichen, the entrance held.
Blasts echoed from the rear too; more experts battered to enter.
'With this power, why...'
Yuksoon wanted to ask why they'd crumbled so pathetically.
Then Jin-myeong's heavy voice rang out.
"Time's running out, senior brother."
"Looks like the bombs weakened the formation's defenses."
To Yuksoon, it seemed fine.
"How much longer?"
"If they exhaust the bombs, maybe. Otherwise, not past half a shichen."
Too short for Yeon-hoo.
'Wait, unless...!'
Something clicked; Yuksoon asked urgently,
"Does this formation block wind too?"
"Impossible."
'Damn...'
Yuksoon cursed the wind again, pondering their move once breached.