Chapter 203: In Parang-3
Chapter 203: In Parang-3
After destroying the Hapsan Sect's Nannyeong branch and hiding what we had taken in a suitable place, we headed for the forest located to the north.
Unfortunately, the Nannyeong branch leader of the Hapsan Sect had not known much about Inparang, the successor of the Haenam In Clan, either.
He had only said that they had received an appearance wanted despatch from the Hapsan Sect's main mountain and been ordered to kill him without fail, as he would soon pass through this area.
And he had said that a report had come in that warriors lying in ambush near the northern forest had succeeded in spotting him and attacking him, and were currently in pursuit.
So we intended to go there and meet this man called Inparang in person.
"Sakwol!"
When we entered the forest and I shouted the name of the Black Leopard Sakwol loudly, Sakwol, who seemed to have been nearby, came running over the trees to join us.
Sakwol had been hiding in the forest while we entered Nannyeong.
Once reunited with Sakwol, we now dashed like a gale toward the northern forest.
Mid-dash, Brother Pung shouted a question at me.
"Jin, little brother! Do you have any idea what this situation is about?!"
Though we had not heard much from the Nannyeong branch leader, there was quite a lot that could be inferred from it.
First, I relayed the organized contents in my head to my hyungnims.
"Firstly, it seems that among the members of the Haenam In Clan who disappeared over a decade ago, the successor of the In Clan was alive! And he has now returned to the martial world, and the Hapsan Sect is trying to kill him! But would the Hapsan Sect truly need to do that?! Considering they are not even a sect whose influence directly borders that of the Haenam Sect!"
At that, Brother Pung immediately gave the correct answer.
"The Hapsan Sect is connected to the Haenam Sect, and among them, to the Haenam Demon Sword Jin Tae-do?!"
"Yes! I am thinking the same! And if that is the case, then perhaps the disappearance of In Gye-un, the former family head of the Haenam In Clan, may also be deeply connected to the Hapsan Sect!"
Moreover, there was something else even more significant.
"The bastards had detailed knowledge of Inparang's appearance and movements! The fact that they distributed his portrait and ordered that he must be killed because he would pass through this area...!"
"Does that mean there's a spy near Inparang?!"
"That could be possible! If not that, then Inparang informed them of his own movements!"
"...Inparang informed them himself?! For what reason?!"
It was while we were having that conversation.
Suddenly, Jeung Chil hyungnim cut in.
"But do we really need to save that guy Inparang?! He's a guy with no connection to us at all, isn't he?!"
When we all looked at Jeung Chil hyungnim at that question, hyungnim immediately averted his gaze and spoke.
"No, I was just asking! In case you younger brothers were in a hurry! Hmph hmph! Of course, wrongdoings must be set right! That way, Yeong-chun-i would like it too!"
It was at that moment.
The Black Leopard Sakwol, who had been leading us at the vanguard, suddenly glanced at me and then increased his speed even more.
Elder Mukrang interpreted the creature's intent for me.
- He says there is a scent of blood.
I also shouted to the two hyungnims.
"It seems Sakwol has caught the scent of blood!"
Jeung Chil hyungnim exclaimed in admiration.
"Damn, that's one hell of a dog's nose!"
Ugh, calling a leopard a dog's nose.
Thankfully, it seemed Sakwol had not understood those words.
The place Sakwol led us to was where there was already a dead body.
But the identity of that corpse was no ordinary matter.
Brother Pung muttered with astonished eyes.
"...Herb gatherers?"
That was right.
They were merely herb gatherers.
Not even martial artists, just ordinary herb gatherers commonly seen anywhere in a forest, and they had been slashed apart by weapons and killed wretchedly.
Their pained expressions and open, unclosed eyes seemed to speak for the state of their hearts before death.
And their corpses were only the beginning.
Following Sakwol's guidance, we continued to see the bodies of ordinary herb gatherers who had been killed.
Brother Pung muttered.
"Slaughtering ordinary people who aren't even martial artists like this. Is this all truly the doing of the Hapsan Sect bastards?"
We could not be certain yet.
But I, too, was thinking that was almost certainly the case.
We felt our rage boiling over more and more.
Even martial artists of the evil factions rarely slaughtered ordinary people like this.
Let alone bastards who put up the signboard of the orthodox faction committing such atrocities — it was something utterly unforgivable.
And before long, we came to witness that scene firsthand.
It was the sight of over a dozen Hapsan Sect warriors surrounding three herb gatherers.
***
"Aigo, please spare us, honored warriors! We haven't seen anything!"
"That's right! A wounded, handsome young warrior — where would we ever see such a person?!"
"In this forest, it's hard to meet even one person a year, honored warriors!"
The wounded young warrior they spoke of was likely referring to Inparang.
When they failed to get the information they wanted from the herb gatherers, the Hapsan Sect warriors exchanged glances with sinister smiles.
"So you don't know? I see. Then we have no choice."
"Indeed. We were going to let you live if you knew, you see."
"Heh heh heh, what a lie. You were planning to kill them whether they knew or not, weren't you?"
Joking like that, the Hapsan Sect warriors raised their blades toward the herb gatherers without hesitation.
Upon seeing that, the startled herb gatherers screamed.
"Uwaaaak!"
"No!"
"Please spare us!"
But there was no mercy.
Ignoring their screams entirely, the Hapsan Sect warriors brought their blades down.
"Die!"
Shiiik!
But the place the screams came from was not from the herb gatherers.
Puhwaak!
"Kuaaak?!"
"Wh-what?!"
"Who are you?!"
At the spot where the warriors who had been about to swing their blades at the herb gatherers had stood, three people and one black panther now stood.
The bodies of the warriors who had been there had been sliced apart in an instant.
At that, the Hapsan Sect warriors who had been standing behind with careless stances now startled and hastily retreated backward, thrusting out their weapons.
"I-it's an ambush!"
"Who are you?!"
"You must not value your lives! Daring to pick a fight with our Hapsan Sect!"
They had likely hoped that the name Hapsan Sect would threaten the opponent, but to three transcendent peak masters, it was merely laughable.
Seonwoo Jin took a light step forward and swung his sword.
Syaak!
Puhwaak!
The Hapsan Sect warriors could not help but be horrified.
Because the opponent had taken only a single step, yet in the blink of an eye, he had appeared before them and slaughtered their comrade who had been shouting.
In their eyes, it was a movement that appeared nearly like a Phantom Shift — absolutely not someone they could contend with.
"A-Phantom Shift, you say?"
"Th-this can't be..."
"Where did such masters come from...?"
Gazing at them, frozen in terror, Seonwoo Jin spoke in a low voice.
"Now seven remain. From now on, I intend to ask you a few things. If you speak nonsense, I will kill you immediately. Since there are many people to ask, it matters little if a few of you die. How many survive until the end depends on your actions from here on. Understood?"
The terror-stricken Hapsan Sect warriors could not help but hurriedly nod their heads, mouths clamped shut tight.
***
Seonwoo Jin's group interrogated the Hapsan Sect warriors and learned of the situation so far, as well as the scale and positions of the warriors deployed around the area.
Then they blew the horn the warriors had been carrying and sent the signal that the target had been found.
Biiiik!
At that, warriors began to swarm in from the surroundings accompanied by urgent horn sounds.
Biiiik!
Biiiik!
"Found him?!"
"It's that way!"
Listening to the presences and voices of the warriors rushing in from all directions, Seonwoo Jin spoke with an expressionless face.
"We will capture those of commander rank alive, but we shall kill all the rest. For they are men not even worth keeping alive."
At those words, Seol Pung silently nodded, and Jeung Chil let out a low chuckle and muttered.
"Uheuheuheu, the moths are swarming toward the fire. As I thought, things are easy when I'm with the youngest. We nearly had to go searching for them one by one, didn't we?"
A moment later, the warriors came rushing and shouted toward them.
"Where is he?! Where is the bastard...?!"
But the answer that returned to them was only beam-like throwing weapons, a cold sword blade, and a lightning-like single fist.
Pyu-pyu-pwook! Syaaaak! Puhwaak!
"Kuaaaak!"
"Aaack!"
"S-spare me!"
The Hapsan Sect warriors deployed in the area numbered close to a hundred, but it did not take very long to deal with all of them.
Rather, the time spent waiting for them to gather had likely been longer.
Shortly after, Seonwoo Jin's group captured alive the three peak-level masters who were the leaders of the Hapsan Sect warriors and interrogated them.
Seonwoo Jin looked at them with cold eyes and asked.
"...So, you approached by saying you were under orders from the Hengshan Sect and then ambushed him, is that correct?"
"Yes, yes! Th-that is correct! We were told that if we said that, he would not be on guard against us, and indeed he did not guard against us! So we were able to ambush him easily! We do not know any details beyond that!"
Now Seonwoo Jin, Seol Pung, and Jeung Chil silently exchanged glances.
It was because the fact that the name of the Hengshan Sect had come up was no small matter.
The Hengshan Sect was a sect located in Hunan Province, north of this Guangxi Province. It was a massive sect that had risen to great prominence recently, having filled the vacancy in the Nine Great Sects when the Jeomchang Sect collapsed and fell from their ranks over a decade ago.
At that time, two sects had been candidates to fill the empty seat of the Nine Great Sects: Hengshan Sect and Hainan Sect.
However, when Jin Tae-do of the Haenam Jin Family became the leader of the Hainan Sect and they began to walk a path closer to the evil faction, the Hengshan Sect was able to secure a place among the Nine Great Sects without much difficulty.
Seol Pung asked Seonwoo Jin with a serious expression.
"Brother Jin, could it be that the Hengshan Sect, not the Hainan Sect, was behind this matter?"
At that, Seonwoo Jin shook his head and said.
"We cannot know yet. They could have simply borrowed the name. Or it could be both the Hainan Sect and the Hengshan Sect. But... at least it seems certain that Inparang had made an appointment to meet with the Hengshan Sect. The one who gave these men their orders knew that fact, and even accurately knew Inparang's appearance-wanted dispatch."
But even as Seonwoo Jin said that, and as Seol Pung listened, they both knew.
If they knew about the appointment to meet with the Hengshan Sect, and knew what he looked like, when he would pass by, and where, then it was in fact harder for the Hengshan Sect to be uninvolved.
Seonwoo Jin frowned and muttered.
"The Hengshan Sect...."
If the Hengshan Sect was behind the Hapsan Sect along with the Hainan Sect, that was no simple matter.
Although the Hengshan Sect had entered the Nine Great Sects as a replacement after the Jeomchang Sect's collapse, if the Nine Great Sects were chosen anew today, even if the Jeomchang Sect had not collapsed, the Hengshan Sect possessed enough latent power to push aside other factions and be chosen for the Nine Great Sects and then some.
Unlike the other Nine Great Sects who only claimed the immediate area around their main headquarters as their domain, they held the entirety of Hunan Province as their territory.
Moreover, if it was true that the Hengshan Sect was behind the Hapsan Sect, it was safe to assume that their influence already extended beyond Hunan Province and into other provinces.
That was not the only problem.
The bigger problem was that the Hengshan Sect was not merely a place with great power.
Seol Pung let out a small sigh and said.
"If it is true that the Hengshan Sect is behind this, it is a troublesome matter. The sect leader of Hengshan, Wi Jeong-guk, the Honam First Sword, is one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, so he goes without saying, and besides him, I have heard that they possess a considerably large number of transcendent peak masters...."
That was true.
At present, the Hengshan Sect was enjoying a period of prosperity that could safely be called the greatest golden age since the sect's founding.
So if it was true that the Hengshan Sect was the mastermind behind this, they were bound to be a far more threatening opponent than the Hainan Sect, whose sphere of influence was limited to the sea alone.
Seonwoo Jin gave a hollow laugh and muttered.
"On the sea, the Hainan Sect, and coming inland, the Hengshan Sect. So the frontlines aren't the only place with serious problems."
At those words, Seol Pung and Jeung Chil's faces grew heavy as well.
Even Jeung Chil, who normally always exuded baseless confidence, kept his mouth firmly shut and wore a grave expression this time.
At that moment, Seonwoo Jin lightened the mood and said.
"Now, now! It hasn't been confirmed yet that the Hengshan Sect is behind this matter, has it? Nor have we decided to confront the Hengshan Sect. So for now, let us bury these corpses and go to the place where Inparang was said to have been attacked."
The Hapsan Sect warriors had said that when Inparang let down his guard, they raided him, killed the three martial artists who were with him, and wounded him as well.
Of course, the three martial artists had resisted tenaciously, allowing Inparang to flee alone, but according to the Hapsan Sect warriors' testimony, his injuries were not light and he could not have gone far.
At that, Jeung Chil asked.
"But why are we going there? Unless that Inparang fellow is a fool, he won't come back there now."
To that, Seonwoo Jin answered with a grin.
"The Hapsan Sect warriors could not pursue Inparang, but we think we might be able to, Brother."
"Huh? How?"
At Jeung Chil's wide-eyed counter-question, Seonwoo Jin stroked the neck of Black Leopard Sak-wol, who was moving beside him, and said.
"Do we not have Sak-wol with us?"
Seonwoo Jin's thought was that if this was Sak-wol, whom Mukrang had publicly declared to be nearly a spirit creature, he could surely follow traces that people could not find.
At that, Jeung Chil spoke with a bright expression, as if he finally understood.
"Aha! A dog's nose?"
As Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung gave wry smiles at the remark that again called the leopard a dog, Sak-wol glanced at Jeung Chil with an irritated expression.
It seemed Sak-wol too had understood those words.
And shortly after, Sak-wol proved through actions that his nose was far superior to a dog's.
Even though the bloodstains that seemed to be Inparang's had broken off early on, he began to follow his trail without any obstruction.
It was a relentless pursuit, as if he were following the traces with his eyes.
At Sak-wol's actions, Seol Pung and Jeung Chil let out exclamations of admiration.
"Sak-wol is truly remarkable!"
"Indeed, a dog's nose!"
At that moment, only Seonwoo Jin could see Sak-wol scrunch up his nose and pause for a brief moment.
A short while later, after leading the group deep into the mountain for a long while, Sak-wol guided them to a cave hidden in a very remote part of the mountain.
It was so secretly located that they would likely never have found it had Sak-wol not guided them.
The three of them looked around the cave in wonder and said.
"It seems this is the place."
"Anyone would have had a hard time finding it if not for Sak-wol. He certainly found himself a good spot."
Seonwoo Jin's group entered the cave without hesitation.
As they did, the smell of blood rushed heavily into their noses.
The inside of the cave was filled entirely with the scent of blood.
Then a voice, something like a groan, was heard.
"Wh-who is it? Urgh!"
The first thing that caught the three people's eyes was his pale but handsome face.
Lying collapsed on the cave floor was a man so similar in appearance that if one were to draw his portrait, one would truly have no choice but to draw it exactly like Seonwoo Jin.
And the second thing that caught their eyes was the blood that had flowed around his body.
It seemed he had wrapped the wound on his stomach with cloth and fled; thick cloth was wrapped around his stomach, but even that cloth was entirely soaked in blood, which filled the area around where he had collapsed.
It was more remarkable that he was still alive after having lost that degree of blood.
Seonwoo Jin quickly approached him and said.
"We are not those who seek your life. So you need not worry."
Under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult for him to drop his guard from just those words.
But his condition was already such that even if enemies had come, he could not have stopped their approach.
Seonwoo Jin immediately took his pulse and examined his physical state.
Of course, since Seonwoo Jin had never learned medicine, Seonwoo Jin performed the pulse-taking, but the interpretation was Mukrang's task.
But Jeung Chil, who could not have known that, watched from the side and muttered in admiration.
"Our youngest truly can't do anything wrong. To think he even knows how to take pulses now...."
At that, Seol Pung spoke as if he were proud.
"Is Brother Jin not the greatest prodigy in this world?"
Seonwoo Jin, who was listening to that talk, could only give a wry smile, unable to say anything.
At that moment, Mukrang spoke in a grave voice.
- Excessive blood loss is a problem, but before that, his internal organs are all ruined. I am sorry, but this friend is already as good as dead. I believe he is currently in a state of return of light before death.
Return of light before death: it meant a state where one's consciousness briefly returns just before dying.
Seonwoo Jin bit his lip and hurriedly asked him.
There was no time.
"You are Young Master Inparang of the Haenam In Clan, correct? By chance, do you have any words you wish to leave behind or a request to make? I will grant it to the best of my ability."
At that, Inparang, who had been looking at Seonwoo Jin with powerless eyes, opened his mouth with difficulty.
"Thank... you."
Then, barely gesturing toward a bundle beside him, he spoke.
"Please... just so that the line of our In Clan is not severed...."
With those final words, his hand fell powerlessly to the ground.
Thud!
He had breathed his last.
The three people could only stare with vacant eyes at Inparang, who had become a corpse.