The Storm Rages (6)
Flash!
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes pierced the darkness with a gaze so ghastly it could make even ghosts stumble back in terror.
Pung-byeok-ja smiled and turned around.
“It’s far too dark here. Follow me.”
He spun with bold confidence and strode forward without the slightest hesitation. It was an utterly audacious move. His mere presence in this place was as good as admitting he was a spy, and it proved he knew full well he had fallen under suspicion.
Yet he showed his back.
Clack.
Yeon Hojeong gripped the Black Dragon Axe without a moment’s delay. He had no patience for trying to read the enemy’s mind. Breaking the man’s limbs first and talking afterward would not be too late.
At that moment, Pung-byeok-ja spoke.
“Ah, do you happen to know about this?”
“……”
“If we cause a disturbance here, someone you know might find themselves in danger.”
Yeon Hojeong let out a cold laugh.
“Cause a disturbance… What sort of disturbance are you referring to?”
“Playing the fool. You know exactly what I mean.”
His tone was completely relaxed. At least, his voice gave that impression.
“No matter where you were headed, speaking with me will not be a waste of your time. I guarantee it.”
“And why should I believe a word you say?”
“What do you have to lose by believing me? Besides, you’re stronger than I am, aren’t you?”
He openly acknowledged that Yeon Hojeong was the superior martial artist.
Yeon Hojeong stared silently at the man’s back for a moment, then released his grip on the Black Dragon Axe.
Pung-byeok-ja burst into laughter. Even without looking, he had sensed the sharp killing intent receding.
“Wise choice. We won’t be going far. There’s no need for unnecessary worry.”
“That may be true for me, but not for you. The road to the afterlife is quite long, after all.”
“The road to the afterlife… I’m sorry to disappoint you, but when I die, I will not be going to the netherworld. I will stand at God’s side.”
God.
He had all but openly revealed his true allegiance.
Yeon Hojeong walked toward Pung-byeok-ja without hesitation.
He did not use any special footwork, yet his stride was swift. It was the unstoppable gait of a Four Gods Martial General, majestic and imposing.
Pung-byeok-ja felt a flicker of tension inside. This won’t work with words alone. Whether he tried to stall or do anything else, this was not an opponent who could be reasoned with. With every step the man took, an overwhelmingly murderous aura rolled outward.
It was a stubborn, unyielding energy. Pung-byeok-ja felt his overflowing confidence chipped away—just a little, but noticeably.
He took a small, steadying breath. There’s no need to be nervous. He’s only human.
A short while later, the two men arrived at a wide clearing deep within the forest.
“The moonlight is lovely tonight.”
Pung-byeok-ja remained with his hands clasped behind his back, still showing Yeon Hojeong his rear.
Yeon Hojeong scanned their surroundings.
“Doesn’t look like you’ve set any traps.”
“Traps? Heh heh heh. What kind of trap could possibly catch you? You’re not the sort of person who would flounder in some hastily prepared pit, are you?”
Pung-byeok-ja finally turned to face him.
With the moonlight behind him, his face looked completely different from how it had appeared during the day.
His expression was full of leisure, benevolent yet mischievous. The face itself had hardly changed from earlier.
But his eyes were different. They were so deep and solid they refused to be overpowered by Yeon Hojeong’s murderous glare. They reminded him of a well-forged iron orb.
A rusted iron orb. The kind that would leave reddish flakes on your hands if you touched it—an aura that carried the sharp, metallic taste of cold steel.
After studying Pung-byeok-ja for a long moment, Yeon Hojeong asked bluntly, “Where did you come from?”
“You already know, don’t you?”
“I know it’s one of the Three Sects. But I don’t know which one.”
Pung-byeok-ja shook his head.
“We are three yet one, and one yet three. There is no meaning in making such distinctions.”
It was a meaningful statement.
“Of course, my sense of belonging and loyalty to the sect I serve is absolute. I simply have no desire to tell you which one it is.”
“Gwang-hyeol?”
Pung-byeok-ja’s eyes deepened.
“Why do you think so?”
Because if it had been Sa-eum, he would have noticed.
No matter how thoroughly one trained in foreign martial arts, it was difficult to completely change one’s inherent temperament. That remained true even if one had spent an entire lifetime practicing the Daoist arts of the Qingcheng Sect.
Especially the subtle aura he had felt during the day—it had been far removed from anything related to Sa-eum. Though the moment had been brief and he couldn’t grasp its true nature, he was certain it did not belong to Sa-eum.
That left Shinwha and Gwang-hyeol. If it had been Shinwha, there would have been no reason to take the risky step of establishing an information outpost so close by.
Yeon Hojeong knew what Pung-byeok-ja had said was true: the Three Sects were three yet one, and one yet three.
Yet even during his days as the Black Dark Emperor, they had never truly become one. He had heard they frequently clashed among themselves.
Most decisively, if this man had been from the Shinwha Sect, the Western Region Divine Maiden—who had encountered the envoys multiple times—would never have failed to recognize him.
Besides, he knew the Shinwha Sect was currently preoccupied with attacking the imperial palace rather than the murim world.
“Whether it’s Gwang-hyeol, Sa-eum, or Shinwha, the fact that you will die here remains unchanged.”
Clang!
The moment Yeon Hojeong drew both the Black Dragon Axe and White Dragon Axe, a ferocious killing intent surged forth.
It was so overwhelming that even Pung-byeok-ja, who had practiced Qingcheng’s martial arts for decades, found it difficult to withstand. Even if he raised the power of his ‘mask,’ it would be hard to endure.
Pung-byeok-ja said, “I came to have a conversation, yet you immediately bring out your axes.”
“I don’t particularly dislike wagging my tongue. However, I also have no hobby of spouting useless nonsense.”
“It may be useless to me, but for you, this time could prove quite valuable.”
It was then.
BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the northern direction, sending massive flames shooting into the sky.
The blast was so powerful that the ground shook all the way to where they stood. That place is…? Yeon Hojeong’s eyes narrowed. It’s not where the leadership resides.
Pung-byeok-ja laughed. “With this, the information documents and passage I secretly diverted have been destroyed.”
“And the contact has been killed as well, I assume.”
“……”
Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.
“You erased the traces. Just as I expected.”
Pung-byeok-ja’s eyes wavered.
“How did you know I killed the contact?”
“As I just said—because you had to erase the traces. The things your kind do are obvious.”
“……”
“Who was the contact? It wouldn’t have been someone from the clothing unit out in the open. The most convenient person to cast suspicion on would be Bok-ho Satae. In that case, the contact must have been within the sound unit.”
What a terrifying bastard.
Pung-byeok-ja felt goosebumps rise at Yeon Hojeong’s perceptiveness.
Suspecting those around you and thoroughly investigating everyone connected to the suspects was already difficult. Yet the brain that could instantly analyze a sudden situation using such information and reach a conclusion was something beyond ordinary people.
So it really was him.
Pung-byeok-ja was now certain.
This man was the unseen core of the current Martial Alliance. Jegal Mun-ho may have assisted him, but it was this monster’s incomprehensible ability that lay at the root of everything.
“What a shame. If I had known you were this frightening a person, I would have killed you long ago.”
“Even if you had known, you wouldn’t have succeeded. Having been stabbed in the back so many times in my life, I’ve developed quite a keen sense for such things.”
“Is that so?”
“Which is why I’m curious.”
Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.
“You intend to kill me. You must kill me. Yet this is far too flashy, isn’t it?”
“Flashy?”
“There was no need to lure me out in such a manner. You could have simply come in secret, poisoned my food, or detonated explosives.”
Pung-byeok-ja grinned.
“Yes, I suppose I could have.”
“In other words, keeping me tied down here is currently your best option.”
The corner of Yeon Hojeong’s mouth rose.
“Why? Did you send an assassin to the military division? Or did the handler managing you order you to do this?”
This was the second time.
For the second time, Pung-byeok-ja felt an emotion close to fear at his opponent’s insight.
Of course, he had not actually sent an assassin. He had not even seen his handler recently. Pung-byeok-ja himself did not know where the man was or what he was doing.
What shocked him was that Yeon Hojeong had deduced the very existence of a ‘handler.’
……
He wanted to say something, but his mouth refused to open.
Yeon Hojeong’s judgment was accurate. Pung-byeok-ja had been raised as the ultimate spy, capable of hiding his true nature so well that even Daoist immortals would be deceived.
Yet after decades without facing a single crisis, he had become a half-baked spy—outstanding in ability but lacking in adaptability.
That was precisely why a handler had been assigned to him.
“I’m sorry to say this, but no assassin in the world can infiltrate the military division right now. It has become the most impenetrable fortress in the entire murim world.”
“……”
“By the way.”
Srrrk.
Yeon Hojeong took one step forward.
“Even a three-year-old child would know the claim that there are no traps is a lie. So why don’t you stop smiling so confidently and show me the weapon that gave you such confidence?”
Twitch!
Pung-byeok-ja’s right index finger trembled.
Yeon Hojeong’s assured attitude sent turbulent waves through his already shaken emotions.
“You didn’t actually call me here just to trade jokes, did you?”
Step by step, Yeon Hojeong closed the distance.
Watching him approach, Pung-byeok-ja smiled. It looked natural, but to Yeon Hojeong’s eyes, the smile seemed excessively forced.
“If you take one more step, you will die.”
“Really?”
“If you’re so confident, take that step.”
It was neither bluff nor jest.
There was no way it could be. From the moment Yeon Hojeong had entered this clearing, he had known. He had known the man had set a trap. The statement that it didn’t look like a trap had been deliberately crafted to lower the opponent’s guard.
Strange.
Yeon Hojeong was smiling as well, but in truth he was quite puzzled. Killing me or the strategist is a reasonable decision, but… why does this feel so sloppy?
It was completely different from when the man had first appeared in the alley. His reactions now resembled those of a third-rate thug.
Yeon Hojeong was the one applying pressure, yet could even an inexperienced spy crumble so easily under this level of pressure? He was supposed to be one of the very best.
Yeon Hojeong examined Pung-byeok-ja’s face once more. Could it be someone else? That was impossible. This was definitely Pung-byeok-ja.
Pung-byeok-ja sneered.
“What’s wrong? Even the great Byeoksan Tiger seems to value his life.”
It was an utterly stale line.
The smile vanished from Yeon Hojeong’s face. His eyes grew increasingly serious. What is this?
The moment the pressure reached its peak, Pung-byeok-ja began collapsing as if he had become an entirely different person.
And that wasn’t all.
Woooong. Wooooong.
Beyond the pure energy of his Daoist arts, the bizarre aura Yeon Hojeong had sensed during the day was slowly, gradually revealing itself.
As if it were beginning to run amok.
As if he were being controlled by another’s will rather than his own.
Don’t tell me this bastard—!
It was then.
BOOOOOOM!
Another massive explosion rang out.
It was not coming from the military division. The blast erupted from the exact opposite direction—toward the punishment hall and the thunder prison—sweeping across the entire area.
At that moment, Pung-byeok-ja screamed hysterically.
“Die!!”
Bang!
With a stomp, pale smoke erupted from beneath the clearing’s ground.
The range was enormous. The smoke, covering a radius of twenty zhang, instantly obscured all vision.
And then—
Hisssssssss. Drip.
Pung-byeok-ja’s body melted away without leaving behind a single scrap of flesh.