The Shadow Was Deep (6)
How much alcohol had he consumed?
Moyong Gun’s face was flushed red. Yet even so, his eyes sparkled like morning stars, suggesting that drinking posed no real problem for him.
“……?”
Eon Ja-bang, who had been gazing out the window, suddenly narrowed his eyes with a sharp glint.
“Did you notice?”
Moyong Gun asked as he lifted his cup.
“I told you they’d be here soon.”
A moment later, someone passed right by the window where they sat.
The person moved so naturally that it seemed almost ordinary. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from their sight.
And in that brief instant, a small slip of paper had been placed at the edge of their table.
It was such a natural and stealthy motion that even if the two men had been paying full attention, they likely would not have noticed. Eon Ja-bang inwardly clicked his tongue. Impressive. Just delivering a single note, and yet it revealed the true caliber of the Beggars’ Sect.
Even Eon Ja-bang, a supreme peak expert, had nearly missed the movement despite staring straight ahead. It seemed that high martial prowess did not necessarily mean mastery over every kind of motion in the world.
Eon Ja-bang handed the note to Moyong Gun.
Moyong Gun unfolded it.
“……”
“As expected.”
Moyong Gun rested his arm against the windowsill.
Srrrr.
From the palm of his left hand, which leaned against the window, clear droplets of liquid fell one by one. He had gathered the alcohol qi within his body using inner energy and expelled it.
Before long, Moyong Gun’s face had returned to its original color.
“Shall we get moving?”
“Where to?”
“Nearby. The timing works out perfectly.”
“Do you think a battle will break out immediately?”
“Most likely.”
The corners of Eon Ja-bang’s mouth curled upward.
“Let’s go.”
Moyong Gun let out a small chuckle.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper melee. Try not to overdo it.”
“They really built it in a place like this.”
The building erected deep within the dense forest was quite large.
It was three stories tall, and a stream flowed behind it. Though its exterior differed from the building where they had first encountered Songha Sinni, its size was nearly identical.
Songha Sinni’s face hardened.
“Silver Lord.”
“It would be best if you stayed here, Sinni.”
“That won’t do. Shouldn’t I witness their atrocities with my own eyes?”
“Will you be alright?”
“Of course.”
She would not be alright at all.
But she still had to go. Songha Sinni had made up her mind, and Yeon Hojeong respected her decision.
“Understood. Then please follow from the rear.”
“……”
“I will do so.”
She had realized that she could not exert much power in actual combat. It was regrettable, but now was not the time to be stubborn.
Yeon Hojeong turned to Dang Gwan.
“Can you sense it?”
“Yes.”
“It’s underground.”
The building itself was fairly large, but the place where a significant number of people were truly gathered was beneath it.
The presence of people was extremely faint. Since they had dug out a separate underground space, even the senses of supreme peak experts would struggle to detect it easily.
“It would be best to clear it from the top floor downward.”
Dang Gwan frowned.
“You really know how to use people, you rude brat.”
“Aren’t you the one who can deal with those bastards most efficiently? Strategically speaking, if the family head doesn’t step forward, it will take far too much time.”
“As if you didn’t already know that.”
Though he spoke that way, Dang Gwan also understood. For the initial surprise attack, he was the most suitable choice.
Yeon Hojeong’s expression grew serious as he continued.
“From the third floor to the first, you must not use absolute lethal poison. There may be civilians present.”
“Stop worrying about useless things and warm up your body.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
Srrk.
The moment the words left his mouth, Dang Gwan vanished from the spot.
Pae Yul clicked his tongue in awe.
“That movement technique is truly incredible.”
The Pointy Sword Sect’s movement arts were fast and irregular, well-suited for real combat.
But Dang Gwan’s movement technique was on another level. It was less about the difference in the martial art itself and more about his profound enlightenment regarding movement techniques.
Hwang Seok-tae asked.
“I suppose everyone from the Tang Family is skilled in movement arts?”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“Naturally. They are masters of poison and hidden weapons. It would be difficult to find anyone as precise as them when it comes to measuring distance.”
“Hmm.”
Hwang Seok-tae had grown interested in the Tang Family’s hidden weapon techniques ever since clashing with the Three Mystical Peaks.
Not because he wanted to learn them. Once this battle ended, they would head straight to the Tang Family. The Sichuan Tang Family was, without exaggeration, one of the most dangerous places in the entire martial world.
If they were to fight there, knowing the enemy well was crucial. Moreover, the terrain is completely unfamiliar to us. Unpredictable movement techniques, vicious hidden weapons, and poison on top of that. If a battle breaks out, we’ll be slaughtered without a chance to resist.
Of course, he had no intention of being slaughtered quietly.
Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes gleamed. Poison, hidden weapons, or movement arts. If we can block at least two of the three, the fight will become much easier.
A short while later.
Srrrk.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.
He could sense that Dang Gwan, who had climbed to the top of the three-story building in an instant, had already passed the third and second floors and reached the first.
“Let’s move.”
Paahk!
The group reached the building’s entrance in the blink of an eye.
It was then.
Piiiiiiiing!
With a chilling sound, countless hidden weapons poured out from every direction within the forest.
As if he had been waiting for it, Yeon Hojeong swung his Flood Dragon Chain. The chain, having devoured his inner energy to the limit, stretched out to over fifteen meters in length.
Chiriririririring!
He whipped the long chain like lightning. In an instant, the iron links formed a massive hemispherical barrier that deflected all the incoming hidden weapons.
Kang Liang let out a low whistle.
“That’s incredible.”
Chiring!
After retrieving the Flood Dragon Chain, Yeon Hojeong scanned the surroundings. As expected.
Dang Gwan had climbed the trees in a single breath and reached the top of the building instantly.
But the group had charged straight in from the front. The mechanisms had detected them and unleashed the hidden weapons. Even for a peak expert, that trap would be difficult to evade or block easily. This is definitely the work of the Tang Family.
Yeon Hojeong took the lead.
The hidden weapons that had been fired from all directions did not shoot again afterward.
Kiiiiik.
The first-floor door opened, and Dang Gwan emerged. His face had turned as cold as ice.
Yeon Hojeong jerked his thumb toward the rear.
“What is that?”
“It’s the Invisible Flying Scatter Bomb.”
“Invisible Flying Scatter Bomb?”
“One of the hidden weapon mechanisms. It was created a hundred years ago and has been continuously improved ever since.”
The more he spoke, the colder Dang Gwan’s voice became.
Though he had tried to control his emotions, seeing his family’s secret technique appear in a place like this made it impossible not to feel rage.
Yeon Hojeong stepped through the doorway.
“You must never release poison in the basement.”
“I know.”
The group entered Nakwonso.
Yeon Hojeong spoke.
“Kang Liang.”
Paahk!
The moment his name was called, Kang Liang moved with terrifying speed.
Pshk! Pshk!
From all over the first floor came the gruesome sounds of necks being severed and blood spraying.
Among those Dang Gwan had incapacitated, he was slaughtering every single one who had trained in martial arts.
It was a literal war of annihilation. Regardless of their personal circumstances, every martial artist in this place was to be sent straight to the underworld.
Pshk! Pshk!
Having swiftly cleared the first floor, Kang Liang headed up to the second.
The rest of the group searched the first floor. They were looking for the entrance to the basement.
“Not easy to find.”
Pae Yul frowned.
“Just where did they put the passage……”
Kik.
Suddenly, Pae Yul’s steps halted. The rest of the group did the same.
They gathered around Pae Yul.
Pae Yul applied a bit of pressure with his right foot on the floor.
Kiiik.
The sound came again.
“It’s here.”
Hwang Seok-tae raised his Red Dragon Divine Spear.
“Let’s head in.”
“Wait.”
“Hmm?”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.
“This isn’t it.”
“Why do you think so?”
At that moment, Dang Gwan spoke.
“I can sense at least a hundred and fifty presences in the basement here. Yet even after coming this close, the sensation is so faint that the distance must be considerable.”
“……”
“It means the bedrock between the basement and this floor is extraordinarily thick. Even if several explosive charges went off down there, the ground wouldn’t collapse right away.”
Only then did Hwang Seok-tae and Pae Yul realize.
With such thick bedrock in place, there was no way the floor would be made so loosely.
“It’s a trap. If we open it carelessly, the trap will activate immediately.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. And there’s decisive proof.”
Dang Gwan pointed at his own nose.
“I can smell the Elysium Fragrance poison in the air.”
The Elysium Fragrance was one of the deadliest poisons in the Tang Family’s arsenal.
The poison itself had almost no scent. Unless one was a poison person, even a supreme peak expert would find it difficult to detect the aroma.
However, the mouths of those killed by Elysium Fragrance emitted a truly pleasant floral scent. That was why it was named as such.
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
“They really pulled out all the stops.”
First the Invisible Flying Scatter Bomb, then the Elysium Fragrance.
At first glance it seemed crude, but anyone who entered without permission and acted recklessly would almost certainly die. Even if one avoided the bomb, avoiding the poison would be nearly impossible.
“Then where the hell is it?”
It was then.
“Why don’t you ask these guys?”
Paahk!
Kang Liang, who had descended from the top of the third floor in a single leap, was carrying three sturdy martial artists on his shoulders.
“I didn’t kill them just in case. These three are the only ones left, so squeeze everything you can out of them and then kill them.”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“Well done.”
He struck the three men’s acupoints, sealing their voice and blood points.
Then Dang Gwan waved his hand.
“……!”
The three men opened their eyes at the same time.
They looked at each other in shock. Although their blood points were sealed, they could still move their heads freely.
Yeon Hojeong asked.
“Where is the path down to the basement?”
“……?!”
The three stared at Yeon Hojeong without speaking.
Since their voice points were sealed, they naturally could not speak. The reason Yeon Hojeong had asked about the location was to observe the look in their eyes.
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll just kill you all and break through the floor. Since I’ve already figured out where the traps are, that might actually be the cleaner option.”
“……”
“Any of you willing to talk?”
The eyes of two of the three men shook violently.
Yeon Hojeong looked at the martial artist on the far right, whose eyes remained steady. His gaze was filled with venom; this one clearly wouldn’t open his mouth even under severe torture.
Yeon Hojeong pointed at him.
“Kill him.”
Paahk!
Kang Liang’s iron sword slashed diagonally, splitting the man’s upper body in two.
Puhwaaak!
A massive spray of blood erupted as severed organs and bone fragments splattered across the floor.
The faces of the remaining two martial artists turned deathly pale.
Even when killing people, there was no need to do it so gruesomely. The thought that they too would end up like that if they stayed silent sent chills down their spines.
“We don’t need two mouths, do we?”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“I’ll release your voice points. Only one of you will be spared.”
He flicked his finger, sending out a burst of finger wind.
Puk! Puk!
“Cough! Haaak! Haaak!”
“Huff huff! Th-this isn’t the place!”
At that moment, Kang Liang’s sword flashed.
Swish!
The head of the martial artist on the far left, who had been gasping for breath, flew off cleanly.
The face of the last surviving martial artist was stained with utter terror. He had been completely overwhelmed by the group’s brutal and merciless killing.
Yeon Hojeong crouched down in front of the man.
“Where is it?”
“Y-you have to leave this building! The passage is by the stream!”
“Is that so?”
“It’s true! And that place can only be opened with a key! You have to insert the key precisely and turn it!”
It was a plea not to kill him.
Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.
“Quick-witted. I like that. You, my friend, are going to live quite a long life.”
“Haaak! Haaak!”
“You can guide us, right?”
“O-of course!”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Yeon Hojeong looked at Kang Liang and smiled again.
“I really like this guy. Don’t you think so?”
Kang Liang shuddered.
He was no saint himself, but Yeon Hojeong’s wickedness truly seemed to exist on another level.