Chapter 67: Ami Sect
Chapter 67: Ami Sect
Fortunately, Bi Sa-yeong's body had not been seriously injured anywhere.
It seemed he had merely had his acupoints sealed after losing consciousness.
Relieved, I released the bastard's acupoints and then slammed his annoying head hard with the palm of my hand.
"You little shit!"
Smack!
"Uwaaack! Wh-what the?!"
The bastard, having been dealt a heavy blow to the head, immediately regained his senses.
Then he stared blankly at my face for a moment, but soon, as if something suddenly came to mind, he frantically looked around and shouted.
"Wh-where... Jin? Ah! The Georyeokma, the Georyeokma!"
But it did not take long for the bastard's desperately searching eyes to discover the Georyeokma's corpse.
"The Georyeokma, the Georyeokma! ...He's dead?"
As the bastard muttered in bewilderment, Sak hyeongnim spoke up for him.
"According to Seon-woo saje, a reclusive master suddenly appeared, slaughtered only the Georyeokma, and then vanished again in an instant."
But as Sak hyeongnim said this, his eyes briefly glanced at me, and I had no choice but to pretend I hadn't noticed.
Well, what was I supposed to do about it.
I did kill him, but it wasn't me who killed him.
Bi Sa-yeong, who had not picked up on the atmosphere between the two of us at all, simply let out exclamations of admiration with a face full of wonder.
"Ooh! Such a thing! I saw earlier that bastard even used a condensed energy sphere, and you're telling me that kind of Georyeokma was slaughtered in an instant?! Truly, the martial world is vast and full of hidden masters and strange sages!"
It was true, but...
It was embarrassing.
Anyway, we went to the place where Sak hyeongnim had placed Jeong Yeon sojeo, reunited with her, and were also able to rescue the four other women she had mentioned.
There, one more disciple of the Ami Sect and three commoner women had been imprisoned.
One thing that was extremely striking upon seeing them was the fact that all of them were great beauties.
The Ami Sect was a Buddhist sect of female disciples, but unlike the other nuns' sects like the Mount Heng Sect or the Sword Pavilion, they did not force their disciples to cut their hair, and there were even cases where they arranged marriages if permission from the sect was granted.
So even when I first saw Jeong Yeon sojeo, I had absolutely no thought that she could be a disciple of the Ami Sect; I just thought she was a beautiful woman.
But once I saw the other captured women, every single one of them was an even greater beauty than Jeong Yeon sojeo.
Bi Sa-yeong abruptly sent me a telepathic whisper, sharing his inner thoughts.
- Somehow, I think I can guess the order in which those Georyeokma bastards sacrificed the women. Seems they were the type to save the best-looking one for last.
Huh? Is that how it works?
They left the greatest beauties for the end?
At that moment, one of the other rescued Ami Sect disciples, who had been shedding tears and sharing the joy of reunion with Jeong Yeon sojeo for a while, wiped her tears and greeted us.
"I am called Jeongan of the Ami Sect! I am deeply grateful for the grace of saving our lives!"
Even though she must have been drained from her body not fully recovering due to the prolonged acupoint sealing, she was an incredibly spirited and bright sojeo.
Compared to Jeong Yeon sojeo, who seemed like she would maintain her calm even if the sky fell, she appeared even more vigorous.
Moreover, among the remaining women, she was also the possessor of a beauty that made one think she would have been the very last one taken out.
Especially Bi Sa-yeong, his face slightly flushed as if in admiration of her beauty, was trying hard not to meet her eyes.
That sight was so ridiculous I let out a chuckle and sent him a telepathic whisper.
- Seems like you're more embarrassed than when you first saw Cheongyeon sojeo's face? Anyone watching would think you're an innocent country youth.
At that, Bi Sa-yeong glared at me slightly and answered.
- Lady Hae and Lady Dang were too inhuman to feel real. This sojeo is at least not to that degree, so it just flustered me for a moment, that's all!
Huh?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Cheongyeon sojeo and Lady Dang were so excessively beautiful he didn't feel nervous, but this sojeo was a little less pretty so he did feel nervous?
It was a statement that seemed like it would get you buried no matter which side you told. I didn't entirely lack the desire to seize on it and tease him, but for the sake of my friend's future, I decided to just bury it.
After that, we asked them why they had been captured by the demonic minions of the Blood Cult.
Then, the story Jeong Yeon and Jeongan sojeo told contained astonishing information.
"What? You were investigating the Jeonghyeopbang?"
At our question, they nodded with eyes burning with rage and answered.
"Yes, we were in the middle of an investigation after receiving word that women, regardless of whether they were martial artists or commoners, were going missing. But then we discovered the fact that those disappearances were somehow connected to the Jeonghyeopbang's side..."
Their story was that the moment they learned of the Jeonghyeopbang's involvement in the women's disappearances, they were attacked and abducted by masters of unknown identity.
And they said that after being placed with many acupoint-sealed women in that location, they were transported here by the Georyeokma's group that had come there.
I asked urgently.
"Then you did not even know that those brigands were from the Blood Cult, or that the one was Georyeokma Jeo Woong-won?"
At that, both of them nodded.
"Yes, we had no idea. Blood Cult demon minions suddenly appearing in a place so far from the frontlines."
At their words, we exchanged glances with each other and spoke.
"Seems like airtight evidence to this degree, doesn't it?"
"Aah, I'm over eighty percent certain. The Blood Cult's forward base is..."
When I spoke up to that point, all three of us finished the sentence at the same time.
"The Jeonghyeopbang."
"It was the Jeonghyeopbang."
"It was the Jeonghyeopbang."
I clenched my fist.
We had finally found the Blood Cult's forward base.
If we could publicly reveal that place to the world and destroy it right now, this was surely a variable that could produce a result completely different from my past life.
We might be able to prevent the large-scale soul captivation incident that not only my Seonwoo clan but most of the sects of Guizhou Fortress had been forced to experience in the past life.
Suddenly, the faces of the Seonwoo clan household members who became puppets of the Blood Cult and attacked me, whom I had to kill with my own hands, flashed through my mind.
I gritted my teeth and thought.
This time, I would surely prevent it!
Furthermore, thanks to the sojeos of the Ami Sect, revealing that fact to the entire world did not seem like it would be too difficult.
Didn't it seem like there were still more disciples, besides them, being held captive in the Jeonghyeopbang?
And a more important disciple than ordinary outer disciples at that.
"Ami Sword Peak Lady Jeong-in, you say?"
"Yes, she is my saje who is highly regarded as someone who will lead the future of our Ami Sect. My saje is still imprisoned there."
Of course, that was undoubtedly a regrettable matter, but if such a disciple was imprisoned, it meant the Ami Sect would now commit its full strength, which was nothing but good for me.
If the Ami Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects, committed its full power, was the future of the Jeonghyeopbang not already as good as decided?
With a sense of anticipation, I said to them.
"Then you sojeos must quickly return to the Ami Sect and report about the Jeonghyeopbang and that Lady Jeong-in. Only then can you rescue her, can you not?"
At that, they looked at each other with somewhat heavy expressions for some reason, then nodded with difficulty and answered.
"Yes, we must."
Huh?
Their answer felt somehow reluctant.
At their uneasy response, we exchanged glances with questioning eyes and carefully asked.
"Is there perhaps some kind of problem? Why those expressions...?"
At that, the spirited Jeongan sojeo let out a deep sigh and opened her mouth.
"That is..."
But Jeong Yeon sojeo cut her off.
"Sister, no!"
And then she apologized to us.
"We are sorry. It is an internal matter of our sect, so it is difficult for us to speak of it carelessly."
An internal sect matter...
It meant there definitely was some kind of problem.
My mind grew complicated.
Because we would also be in trouble if the Ami Sect did not step to the forefront, publicly reveal the facts so far, and pressure the Jeonghyeopbang.
If it were the Mountain Sword Gate or the Un Clan, it might be different, but we could not fight against a massive faction like the Jeonghyeopbang with just our small squad alone.
Yet, since they said it was an internal sect matter, I couldn't exactly press them on what it was, making it an undeniably awkward situation.
At that moment, Bi Sa-yeong, who had been subtly observing my expression, suddenly stepped forward and opened his mouth.
"Jeongyeon Sojeo, we have absolutely no interest in the internal affairs of your sect. But isn't this matter connected to the Blood Cult's demon heads? Surely, as a disciple of the Ami Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects, you wouldn't just turn a blind eye to this?"
'Huh? All of a sudden?'
At Bi Sa-yeong's unreserved words, as if interrogating her, I was momentarily flustered.
But Jeongyeon Sojeo seemed even more flustered than I was.
"Y-yes?"
"Isn't that so? We risked our lives to rescue you, young ladies, and yet you only speak of the sect's difficulties and try to ignore a matter involving the Blood Cult's demon heads..."
"Ah, no, I wasn't saying I would ignore it."
"Then what are you saying?"
"Th-that is..."
At Bi Sa-yeong's words, which I thought were a bit rude, Jeongyeon Sojeo was flustered and tried to open her mouth.
'What? This actually works?'
'Bi Sa-yeong, that bastard, he's not half bad, huh?'
Jeongyeon Sojeo, hesitating to speak, exchanged a troubled look with her junior sister, Jeongan Sojeo.
Then Jeongan Sojeo said to her,
"Senior Sister, I agree with our benefactor's words. Before those who saved our lives, and particularly in a matter that is a public affair of the martial world involving the Blood Cult's demon heads, closing our mouths by calling it an internal sect issue—I think that's not right as a disciple of the Ami Sect."
As expected, Jeongan Sojeo was refreshingly forthright.
In the meantime, I asked Bi Sa-yeong via telepathic transmission.
— Sa-yeong, that was impressive. How did you think to say something like that?
Then the guy chuckled and answered.
— Who's asking whom? "How can a disciple of the righteous faction do such a thing?" Isn't that the method you always used on us?
'Ah, so that's how it is?'
Still, it was impressive that he could say such a thing to young ladies he'd just met.
'As expected of Bi Sa-yeong, always so reckless, I suppose?'
Finally, Jeongyeon Sojeo let out a sigh and spoke.
"*Sigh*... There is no helping it. Our sect's shame will be exposed, but... I will just speak frankly. In my estimation, even if we were to submit such a report, the sect is unlikely to take hostile action against the Jeonghyeopbang, nor do anything about it."
That was a strange thing to say.
Frowning, I asked.
"I don't understand. Didn't you clearly say earlier that Ami Sword Peak Jeongin Sojeo has been captured? And that it is connected to the Blood Cult's demon heads. Yet you say that the Ami Sect will not move?"
At my question, Jeongyeon Sojeo nodded heavily.
Her continued explanation was as follows.
It seemed the current leadership of the Ami Sect was split into several factions.
And among them, the ones actually holding power were those with pro-Murim Alliance, pro-Jeonghyeopbang leanings.
"Pro-Murim Alliance, pro-Jeonghyeopbang?"
"Yes. They are people who place great importance on maintaining good relations with the Murim Alliance, and for some reason, they also keep good relations with the Jeonghyeopbang. So... in fact, not long ago, they ordered Jeongin Sahyeong, who had denounced the Jeonghyeopbang for threatening the Ami Sect, to be confined."
Being friendly with the Murim Alliance I could understand, but the fact that the pro-Alliance figures were also friendly with the Jeonghyeopbang was deeply significant.
'Could it be that the Murim Alliance already knew it was a Blood Cult forward base?'
'Surely not to that extent?'
Also, as I recalled information about the Ami Sect, I could somewhat guess their situation.
Come to think of it, the Ami Sect was the only sect among those that participated in the last Great Blood War whose disciples were completely annihilated.
The other sects that participated together—Mount Qingcheng, the Tang Clan from Sichuan, and the other sects from Guizhou or Guangxi—did not suffer such great damage. Only the Ami Sect had all its disciples die, with not a single one returning.
The Murim Alliance used to grandly commemorate it as the Ami Sect's noble sacrifice.
But Jeongyeon Sojeo said with a hollow laugh,
"They held a grand memorial for all the martial world, but they never actually gave us any support. Not a single form of aid that could improve our situation."
The Ami Sect had lost more than half of the disciples who were to form the core of the sect's present and future.
And it wasn't just ordinary disciples—the leadership had been, too.
So in the end, various factions that had not been mainstream at the time emerged and proliferated, and as a result, the Ami Sect was now suffering from such an internal division that it could not accomplish anything at all.
And this had lasted for over ten long years...
Thus, the Ami Sect was only one of the Nine Great Sects and the Three Rivers of Sichuan in name; in reality, it had long since been surpassed even by the Jeonghyeopbang—that was her lamenting confession.
'I had absolutely no idea.'
'Who would have thought the Ami Sect's situation was that dire?'
Then, suddenly recalling something, I asked her.
"Then, is that also the reason the pro-Alliance figures hold power now?"
Jeongyeon Sojeo nodded with a somber face.
"Yes. Without the protection of the Murim Alliance, we are in no position to maintain our status as one of the Nine Great Sects. If we lose their favor, we might even be expelled from the Nine Sects, like the Jeomchang Sect. That is why the elders of our sect, too..."
"Haah..."
'It was the worst.'
While they were better off than the Jeomchang Sect, which had lost its headquarters and scattered, weren't they even worse off in that they had become a dog leashed by the Murim Alliance, having lost their free will?
'It seemed we couldn't expect anything from the Ami Sect.'
After all, even if the current Ami Sect stood up and denounced the Jeonghyeopbang, it didn't seem like they could exert much influence.
Letting out a helpless sigh, I suddenly asked about something she had mentioned earlier: that Ami Sword Peak Jeongin Sojeo had been confined.
"But... you said Jeongin Sojeo was confined?"
"Yes. Jeongin Sahyeong was originally supposed to be confined in the Training Hall right now. But Sahyeong is not the type to follow the orders of the current sect leader or elders very well. So when she heard about the disappearances of women, she ignored the orders of the sect elders and secretly left the Training Hall to carry out an investigation, but of all things, the matter..."
"Ahh..."
'Now I fully understood her meaning.'
'She was saying that because she had defied the sect's orders and then got caught up in trouble, her position wasn't honorable.'
And since the sect's elders were people favorably inclined toward the Jeonghyeopbang, it would be even harder for her to report.
Then Bi Sa-yeong said, as if frustrated,
"Nonetheless, isn't this a matter related to the Blood Cult's demon heads? And a disciple of your own sect has been kidnapped—who knows what might be happening to her. What could possibly be more important than that?"
Bi Sa-yeong's words were clearly correct.
Nevertheless, Jeongyeon Sojeo's expression remained heavy.
"That is true, but..."
Then Jeongan Sojeo, who was beside her, answered in her stead.
"Knowing those people, they would probably not want to believe a report that the Jeonghyeopbang is connected to the Blood Cult's demon heads. They might even take it as a lie meant to slander the Jeonghyeopbang."
At those words, our mouths fell open.
Bi Sa-yeong muttered involuntarily,
"At that point, it's just a total shit—mmph!"
Fortunately, I was able to quickly cover his mouth before he could finish.
And then I immediately continued,
"Totally! A restructuring is needed! Haha, hahaha."
Fortunately, they seemed not to have understood Bi Sa-yeong's words... But why was Jeongyeon Sojeo avoiding my gaze, and Jeongan Sojeo covering her mouth with her hand?
The next moment, unable to hold back any longer, Jeongan Sojeo let out a "Pfft!" of laughter.
'Hmm, so they were just pretending not to have heard.'
'As expected, Bi Sa-yeong being cool only happened about once a month. That consistent bastard.'
Anyway, the situation as they told it was awkward in every way.
From the atmosphere the young ladies described, wasn't it that if they went to report to the main headquarters, they might be disciplined instead?
It seemed absurd that a disciple called Ami Sword Peak was in danger, yet such a thing could happen, but since it was the atmosphere insiders described, it was probably not wrong.
'So, what now.'
'Should we look for another way besides the Ami Sect?'
'The Mountain Sword Gate? The Murim Alliance? Or should we even return to the Seonwoo family?'
It was while I was pondering that.
Suddenly, Jeongan Sojeo's eyes sparkled as she asked Jeongyeon Sojeo,
"Senior Sister, how about asking Hwa Sahyeong for help?"