Chapter 14: Four Gods Unleashed (4)
The boisterous clamor of Choseong-ru fell silent in an instant.
"Hmph! Planning to hide to the bitter end, are you? Fine! I'll make sure you can't hold out without crawling out!"
Boom!BOOM-boom!
Flames erupted all around Choseong-ru.
"Aaaagh!"
"F-Fire!"
"Gasp! Martial artists!"
The people who had come to Choseong-ru were seized by terror. Whether they'd doused it in oil or not, the fire spread with terrifying speed. The renowned inn, proud of its history and fame, was instantly trapped behind a wall of flames.
Jegal Jun, who had been resting, dashed out in a flash.
"Sister?!"
Jegal A-yeon had come out even faster and was peering out the window.
"Sister! What the hell is this fire?!"
"It's those bastards."
"What?"
Jegal A-yeon's face was flushed with seething rage.
"The ones I smashed yesterday—they're with that same crew."
"...!!"
Jegal Jun ground his teeth.
"How the hell did they know about this place?!"
"That's not the issue right now!"
Creak!
Jegal A-yeon flung open the window and leaped out, skipping over one rooftop in a single bound. It was a graceful movement, like a crane in flight—the signature lightness skill of the Jegal family, Heavenly Mechanism Body Movement.
In an instant, she landed on the central rooftop, and her face paled.
So many!
There were easily over a hundred of them—probably at least a hundred fifty, even counting low.
How did this many show up?!
She'd only taught a lesson to some ruffians beating up a passing merchant. The merchant didn't seem at fault, and crucially, he looked like he might die. After that, a black path sect that backed the ruffians had chased her down. But they were barely a cut above third-rate, and few in number, so she'd dropped them in one go and leisurely made her way back to Choseong-ru.
She thought that was the end of it.
But wasn't that the bastard screaming his lungs out down there—the leader of that black path sect she'd crushed earlier?
"Gasp! Boss! You see on that rooftop? That's the bitch right there!"
"I see her."
Jegal A-yeon looked down at the man called the boss.
An expert?
He looked about forty. Slender build, mild face. But unlike his appearance, his eyes were no joke. Even from afar, the gaze fixed on her was chilling, like a beast's.
"Boss! Hurry and grab that bitch and make her pay...!"
Crack!
"Gahk!"
The man tumbled to the ground. Blood pouring from his nose and mouth—he'd clearly taken severe internal injuries.
Jegal A-yeon's brow furrowed.
Yin Palm?
Not a technique that projected force outward. It was a yin palm style that infiltrated true energy into the body to induce illness in the bones.
The boss dusted off his hands.
"Useless piece of shit. That's why you're stuck at third-rate. Can't you tell just by looking? She's no ordinary bitch—she's an elite raised in a prestigious sect."
Jegal A-yeon called out clearly.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Who the hell? Heh, a little girl like you with a mouth like that. Well, the brats from white path prestige schools are all the same."
"...!!"
"Hard to talk looking up—come down here. We need to face-to-face for proper introductions."
"And if I don't want to?"
"Eh, nothing I can do then."
His reply was playful, but what followed was anything but.
Leather pouches flew in from all directions.
Boom!BOOM!BOOM!
"Gaaah!"
"Aaaah! S-Save me!"
The already menacing inferno doubled, no, tripled in ferocity. The pouches must have been filled with oil.
Jegal A-yeon shouted.
"Stop! I'll come down!"
"Should've done that from the start. White path folks just don't listen."
Swish!
No sooner had he spoken than Jegal A-yeon landed gracefully opposite him. It was an astonishingly fluid lightness skill.
The middle-aged man's eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"Well, damn! That's some impressive lightness skill. So, which sect's young miss are you?"
"Jegal A-yeon of the Jegal family."
She hated using her family's name to intimidate others. But with the situation like this, she had no choice. One wrong move, and the civilians would suffer.
"Divine Mechanism Jegal! To lay eyes on one of the Seven Great Families' heirs like this."
The man eyed her up and down like a rare beast.
Jegal A-yeon's expression hardened.
What the...?
He wasn't intimidated. Forget ruffians—even most black path sects fled at the mention of the Seven Great Families. Fighting was out of the question; their lives were at stake.
Yet this man showed no such sign.
Huh?
Jegal A-yeon realized his eyes were oddly murky. His energy was clearly first-rate, but his gaze was clouded?
What? Poisoned by some weird drug?
Swish!
Before she knew it, Jegal Jun had appeared at her side.
The man clapped deliberately, as if to show off.
"Ho! Impressive lightness skill even on a second look! Say, mind teaching it to me? I'm a bit weak on movement techniques myself."
She'd thought him bizarre, but this was getting ridiculous.
Jegal Jun spat a curse without thinking.
"You lunatic!"
"Want me to rip out your tendons alive and carve off your flesh piece by piece? Then maybe you'll talk. Huh?"
Chilling words. Not mere threats. Madness crept into the man's eyes. From his gaze and voice, it was clear he'd done this more than once or twice.
"What the hell are you?"
"Ah, right—I haven't introduced myself. I am the hall leader of the Thunderfire Hall."
A sect she'd never heard of. Then again, neither sibling paid much attention to black path sects to begin with.
"No more chit-chat. Tell your men to put out the fire now."
"Why should I?"
"What?!"
"Whether you brats are here or not, once the fire's lit, that's it."
The Jegal siblings' faces twisted in fury.
The Thunderfire Hall leader burst into laughter. Madness echoed in his voice.
"You crawled out nice and obedient, so I'll spare your lives! Now, how should I cook you white path brats?"
"You vile bastard!"
"The boy's got a sturdy look—perfect to sell to those old perverts obsessed with boys. The girl's pretty enough; I'll have my fun and sell her to a brothel!"
"You scum!"
Whoosh!
They couldn't listen anymore. The Jegal siblings kicked off the ground.
A sinister gleam crossed the Thunderfire Hall leader's face.
"Ha!"
At that moment, dozens of hidden weapons flew from the distant bushes on either side. Nothing special about the technique. But it was a complete surprise attack.
Caught in peak rage, they had no choice but to panic.
"Hah!"
Shing!
With Jegal Jun's gesture, the airborne weapons veered off course. It was the Jegal family's signature technique, Small Heavenly Star Palm Method.
His palm force spread wide like silk, disrupting the weapons' trajectories. It was impossibly advanced for a youth not yet twenty.
Thud!
"Kuh!"
"Jun!"
Impressive martial arts, but he hadn't anticipated a second ambush. Three daggers were buried in Jegal Jun's thigh.
The Thunderfire Hall leader chuckled and wagged a finger. A dagger gleamed between his knuckles.
"Greenhorns."
Jegal Jun gritted his teeth and stood. His skills were elite, but he lacked experience. Both he and his sister had zero combat experience in group or chaotic battles.
"This much is... cough!"
Suddenly, Jegal Jun vomited blood. Red, but foul-smelling.
Jegal A-yeon's eyes wavered.
Poison?!
She glared at the Thunderfire Hall leader.
"You filthy dog!"
"What's wrong? This is basic murim stuff."
"Hand over the antidote now!"
"Don't worry. His organs are a bit messed up, but he won't die. I said I'd sell him to the old perverts, right?"
Even in her boiling rage, her heart sank. This madman meant to follow through on his words.
"You're next, bitch."
Swish.
The warriors who had launched the hidden weapons emerged from the bushes. They meant to capture Jegal A-yeon for real now.
Alone, she might manage—but with her injured brother, movement was restricted.
Jegal A-yeon's face filled with distress.
* * *
Thud!Rumble!
Sounds of the walls encircling Choseong-ru crumbling echoed.
How fierce was this fire demon to shatter even stone walls?
Yeon Jipyeong, now at the top floor of Choseong-ru's main building, shouted.
"Captain Sin!"
"Yes, Young Master Yeon!"
"First, have the troops put out the fire! A-And over there! We need to help the Jegal family people!"
Yeon Jipyeong, as poised as Jegal Jun, was just as flustered by the sudden crisis.
Sin Mo replied promptly.
"We should evacuate the people first."
"Ah! R-Right! Then I'll go help the Jegals...!"
That was when it happened.
"Hold."
The two spun around. Yeon Hojeong was already there.
His face was smudged with soot from walking near the fire wall.
"Brother?!"
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes! But brother, what do you mean hold?"
Yeon Hojeong eyed Sin Mo.
"Captain Sin."
"Yes, Young Master."
"I've cleared paths in the rear garden, northeast and southeast. But it's not enough. Outside the southwest main gate, there's piled earth on both sides. Thirty zhang further, and you'll hit the riverbank."
"Y-Yes?!"
"Break down the southwest main gate. That's the final escape route."
"H-How did you...?"
Yeon Hojeong's eyes flashed.
In that instant, Sin Mo felt his back straighten.
"Understood, Young Master!"
Sin Mo moved at once.
Yeon Hojeong brushed past Yeon Jipyeong to the railing. His eyes caught Jegal A-yeon cradling Jegal Jun.
Now, show me your martial arts.
He could see faint energy rising faintly from Jegal A-yeon's body. She meant to go all out.
Hurry!
Yeon Jipyeong asked urgently.
"Brother! We need to open a path where the Jegals are too! There are lots of people there!"
"It's fine."
"What?!"
"The fire won't spread further. Wind's blowing against it—no smoke inhalation either. It'll hold for a bit."
"But if people panic and cause an accident...!"
"Once the fight ends, everyone lives. Don't panic."
"Th-Then let's go help the Jegals! We need to drive them off quick to open the gate...!"
"Hold."
"...Brother?"
"Wait."
Yeon Jipyeong almost asked what he meant but shut his mouth. The sharp glint in those eyes atop his high nose bridge was utterly murderous.
He'd never seen eyes like that. Not human—ghostly.
Clack!
Yeon Jipyeong unwittingly stepped back two paces, his foot catching a table leg. But he didn't notice. The unfamiliarity and fear from his completely changed brother gripped him.
Yeon Hojeong was the same. His senses, always probing everywhere, were locked solely on Jegal A-yeon.
If your family is behind this...
His grip tightened on the window frame.
Crack!
The wooden frame splintered. Bi-ra Jin-gyeol had unconsciously activated.
"...Starting with you white path scum, I'll turn all of Huguk into a sea of fire."
Boom!
Dozens of daggers rained down on Jegal A-yeon. In that instant, white energy surged from her body.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes widened.