Signs of Collapse (3)
Songha Sinni flinched and came to a halt.
She swept her sharp gaze across her surroundings, but the street remained crowded with nothing but passing pedestrians.
She could sense the occasional presence of those who had cultivated internal energy, yet none among them were masters remarkable enough to warrant concern. Was it just my imagination? For a fleeting instant, she had felt as though someone was watching her.
The sensation had been so brief that she could not be certain, but the probability of anyone actually observing her was exceedingly low. I must be far too tense. After all, though this district saw heavy foot traffic, it was one of the few areas where martial artists were particularly scarce.
The reason was simple: it lay at a middling distance from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Outsiders rarely lingered here. The cost of living was high, and since one could reach the capital with only a little more travel, there was no reason to establish roots in this place.
Ordinary folk who had never trained in martial arts were plentiful, but martial artists were not. More precisely, there were almost none worth noticing.
Hoo. Songha Sinni let out a quiet sigh and resumed walking. Is it really nearby? The information cannot be wrong, can it?
Without realizing it, she bit her lip. Even if the information is false, I must go. To obtain it, two young disciples who had yet to see the light of day had lost their lives.
She felt as though tears of blood might spill, yet she believed she had no right to weep. The mere fact that she had been unaware her disciples had acted in secret was enough to disqualify her as an elder of the Emei Sect.
Once this matter was resolved—if she had not perished by then—she resolved to kneel before the graves of her fallen disciples for one hundred and eight days in atonement, then take her own life.
To do that……
Her hand tightened around the soft sword hidden beneath her loose robes, fastened to her sash. A venomous light flickered in her eyes. I must capture at least one of those involved in this affair.
In truth, this was not a task she could accomplish alone. Though she possessed martial prowess befitting an Emei elder, she had spent her life devoted solely to martial arts, etiquette, and the Buddhist path atop the mountain, leaving her with little worldly experience.
That was why she felt lost. She could not gauge how deeply the mountain’s elders were entangled in this matter.
Once distrust took root, she could trust no one. A few faces she believed reliable came to mind, yet she could not bring herself to approach them. What if, even by the slightest chance, they too were involved?
She did not mind if her own life were forfeit, but she could not die until she exposed this monstrous secret to the world.
Slipping behind a building, Songha Sinni hesitated. Should I contact the Beggar Clan even now?
The Beggar Clan, known as the Ten Thousand Beggars’ Clan, was indisputably the greatest intelligence organization in the Central Plains. In particular, the current Dragon Head Clan Lord and the Rear Beggar were renowned for their chivalrous spirit—so much so that they were hailed as the finest leaders in the clan’s history.
If such giants stand at its helm, the roots cannot have rotted. But……
There were simply too many of them. The title “Ten Thousand Beggars’ Clan” was no exaggeration. Including those who had never cultivated martial arts, the sheer number of beggars affiliated with the clan was beyond reckoning.
After a moment’s deliberation, Songha Sinni shook her head. I am growing weak. I must not do this. Even if the Dragon Head Clan Lord and the Rear Beggar are uninvolved, the leaves and branches may still be rotten. As I am now, I have no way to reach the clan’s upper echelons.
More precisely, even if she contacted them, there was no guarantee the message would not be intercepted midway.
Of course, that assumption rested on the premise that evildoers existed within the Beggar Clan as well.
If she could confirm their existence, her mind might at least be at ease. At present, Songha Sinni knew nothing of what was unfolding around her. Ignorance truly does wear a person down. I have lived in vain.
She sighed softly, then steeled her resolve once more. There is no choice. I have at least left a trace. If something happens to me, the rest will have to be entrusted to those who come after.
With her mind made up, Songha Sinni followed the map through the alleyways.
After some time, she found herself before a building.
It was neither lavish nor antique, nor was it dilapidated. It was simply a three-story structure one might find in any district. Its width, however, was considerable, and because it was night, even with lanterns lit here and there, it appeared smaller than it truly was.
This is the place. Tension and fury rose on Songha Sinni’s face. Right here……!
Her fist, concealed within her sleeve, trembled violently.
Without realizing it, her true energy threatened to surge. Songha Sinni drew a deep, quiet breath. Calm yourself.
Lacking worldly experience also meant lacking experience in the martial world.
She had never intended to plunge into a blood-soaked world to elevate the Emei Sect’s name. What mattered to her was approaching the Buddhist law through the martial path, thereby cultivating greater wisdom.
Along the way, she had found joy as her martial realm deepened and her cultivation had indeed risen, but that was all.
Thus, she had made many mistakes. She had committed countless errors on her way here, and she was making another now.
And she remained unaware of her own mistake. I do not know how many masters may be hidden inside. There could even be someone stronger than me.
Songha Sinni’s eyes hardened with resolve. Let us go in.
With a light push against the ground, her figure appeared atop the building’s roof in an instant.
It was an extraordinary movement technique. Though it was the Emei Sect’s basic Golden Peak Movement Technique, in the hands of a true master it became a peerless art.
A faint rustle of fabric against the rooftop tiles reached her ears.
Songha Sinni crouched low, sharpening her senses to the utmost. ……? A flicker of confusion crossed her face. What?
Why was there nothing?
According to the information, this building should have housed numerous masters. Yet the presences she could detect were few—only three or four at most. One was a peak-level expert, while the rest were first-rate masters reeking of blood.
At this level, there was no need for stealth. Even a direct frontal assault would have sufficed to subdue them.
No, wait. Songha Sinni’s eyes wavered. It is not only the masters who are few. There are hardly any presences at all.
Something was wrong. There should be at least several hundred presences if the information is true! Why can I not sense them?
Could it be……?Was the information false?
At that moment—
Pa-ba-ba-ba-bak!
With a chilling sound, seven throwing daggers embedded themselves in the roof where Songha Sinni had been sitting. She had sensed the killing intent and leapt away just in time; had she been a moment slower, the daggers would have pierced her back. The ambush technique was that precise and lethal.
“Who is there?!”
Songha Sinni scanned her surroundings.
In that instant, an inexplicable chill ran down her spine. Nothing?
She had clearly detected the killing intent the moment the hidden weapons were launched. If she could sense the killing intent, she should have been able to locate the one who threw them. Yet she felt no presence whatsoever.
Moreover, this was a rooftop. Looking around, there was nowhere for a person to stand. Have I been bewitched by a ghost?!
Songha Sinni was flustered. Even the profound and tranquil divine art unique to the Buddhist sects could not steady her mind in such a situation. She had never experienced an ambush before.
This was why experience mattered. Though she was one of the Emei Sect’s greatest masters who had broken through the Wall of No-Return, panic at this level prevented her from realizing her senses were compromised.
Above all, she should not have remained there. If an assailant existed beyond her perception, she needed to escape immediately.
Shwi-shwi-shwi-shwik!
Hidden weapons rained down from all directions.
They were assassination techniques imbued with minimal killing intent—swift and sharp enough that even a skilled master would be struck the moment they sensed the attack.
Songha Sinni spun in place.
Whooooosh! Shwik! Shwik!
Her rotating form carried the energy of the Emei divine art. Through an extraordinary technique that controlled the flow of air, most of the daggers were scattered in all directions.
Yet not all missed. Three of them grazed her arms and legs.
“Huuuk!”
Gasping for breath, Songha Sinni looked around with tense eyes.
It was the same. She still could not sense any presence. An assassin? A killer!
Her eyes trembled. Were killers such terrifying existences?
The information appeared to be true. Even without worldly experience, she was someone who had broken through the Wall of No-Return. If such a person could not detect them, they must have mastered an unparalleled stealth technique. This is……
She had heard more than enough about assassins and killers. When spoken of, they had seemed merely despicable, but facing them now was an entirely different matter. How hopeless.
She was not afraid. The Emei Sect’s righteous and luminous divine art had not rescued her from the mire of panic, yet it had freed her from fear.
The problem was finding a solution. If this continues……
She needed to find a way out.
Pa-ba-ba-ba-bak!
Once more, hidden weapons flew toward her.
Songha Sinni’s face filled with urgency. Until now they had been daggers, but now invisible, minute poisoned needles were also streaking through the air.
Evading them had become far more difficult. Daggers alone might have been manageable, but if struck by the poisoned needles, she would struggle to properly manifest her martial arts. This will not do. First, I must leave this place and……
At that moment—
“Kek!”
Songha Sinni coughed violently and dropped to one knee without realizing it.
Her head spun and her stomach churned. The skin that had flushed with excitement now felt cold.
Her face turned deathly pale. Poison?!
She drew upon the true energy of the Lotus Flower Heart Art to expel the toxin.
But it was not easy. The sticky poison spread through her body like ink, far faster than she had anticipated. T-This!
When she pushed the Lotus Flower Heart Art to its limit, white smoke billowed from the wounds left by the daggers.
Only then did Songha Sinni realize the poison had entered through the cuts made by the daggers. The daggers…… I never even considered that!
It was utterly futile. She had heard that many in the martial world coated their daggers with poison before throwing them, yet experiencing it firsthand revealed just how terrifying poison could be.
Moreover, it was no ordinary poison. Though she lacked extensive knowledge of toxins, if it could stubbornly burrow into her body despite the Lotus Flower Heart Art’s true energy, it was undoubtedly a deadly toxin of the highest order.
Thud! Drip!
Blood streamed from her nose and stained the roof.
Despair clouded Songha Sinni’s face. Am I to die so meaninglessly…… so meaninglessly?
At that moment—
Bu-aaaaaaaang!
A gust of wind tore through the dark night sky.
Peo-beo-beo-beo-beok!
Simultaneously, a chilling sound of flesh being struck rang out, accompanied by the scent of blood.
“I have seen quite a few people in my time, but……”
Songha Sinni looked ahead with weary eyes.
There stood a strange figure with a long spear slung over one shoulder and a blood-dripping hand axe in the other.
“This is the first time I have encountered something this absurd. It was so ridiculous that I was late to intervene.”
“W-Who……?”
The stranger, Yeon Hojeong, furrowed his brow.
“I am more curious about your identity. Why are you so clumsy? Did you secretly steal and learn the Emei Sect’s martial arts? You are doing a decent job of imitating them, at least.”