When Dragon and Tiger Join Hands (5)
The old saying that the imperial court and the murim world should not interfere with each other was now a thing of the past.
The court was currently buying off the prestigious orthodox sects one by one with official positions. Even the Wudang and Huashan sects had long since joined hands with the court.
In contrast, Shaolin Temple kept its distance from the court.
That explained why the Underground Hall had targeted Shaolin monk Jin-mun.
The court was using this opportunity to isolate the thorn in its side, Shaolin. In this time of rampant revenants, standing alone would mean losing influence in the Central Plains murim forever.
'Was the Underground Hall an organization created by the court from the start?'
He couldn't be sure. It might have been bought off with bribes later on.
Whether it had ties to the court or not, Seo Baek didn't care.
He would simply cut down anyone who blocked his path.
Gil Sang-baek flashed a vile smile as he spoke.
"Not poisoned, eh? What a shame."
Seo Baek turned his head, revealing a long tear in his shoulder area. If it hadn't been the meticulously tanned beast-hide Windbreaker Robe, the blade would have sliced his skin and poisoned him.
"Did you coat it with poison?"
"Of course. To kill the enemy is to save myself. You murim folk are so naive."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Gil Sang-baek turned and fled.
An unexpected move for a master spearman.
Seo Baek gave chase.
But upon entering the Wood tunnel, the paths grew far more complex than before.
Unlike the other tunnels, which were all straight right-angle forks, the Wood tunnel twisted at angles, split into multiple branches, resembling a labyrinth.
The Wood tunnel was the core of the Underground Hall, leading to Gil Sang-baek's chamber. The spiderweb of paths was designed to thwart intruders.
Just then, Gil Sang-baek rounded a corner. Seo Baek pursued, but with multiple forks, he couldn't tell which way he'd gone.
Gil Sang-baek knew the layout like a map, but this was Seo Baek's first time in the Wood tunnel—he naturally didn't know the way.
However, Gil Sang-baek had overlooked something.
One who trains only external martial arts their whole life doesn't grasp the terror of internal martial arts.
With the Shika Heart Method active, Seo Baek's senses were sharpened to hear even a needle drop.
Footsteps, breathing, and above all, the unmistakable presence of a living being that couldn't be fully concealed no matter how quietly they moved.
'This way.'
Seo Baek leaped toward the sensed presence and seized Gil Sang-baek from behind.
Unfortunately for him, it was a dead end. He halted, trapped with nowhere to go.
'A mistake.'
Seo Baek approached, sword held diagonally.
Then a thought flashed through his mind.
'No. A snake like him wouldn't make a mistake.'
In that instant, Gil Sang-baek stepped on a protruding brick in the floor.
An iron plate attached to the ceiling above Seo Baek's head dropped down.
Rumble.
The Underground Hall wasn't just equipped with crossbows—traps and mechanisms blocked intruders throughout the tunnels.
The ceiling panel was square, propelled by springs like a bolt from a crossbow, crashing down on Seo Baek in an instant.
And sprouting from it were dozens of spikes like a porcupine's quills.
The tunnel ceiling was just low enough that an adult's head barely cleared it. The plate slammed right onto him.
"Got you, you bastard!"
Gil Sang-baek thrust his death spear straight ahead.
Dodge the plate by leaping forward, and he'd be defenseless against the spear barrage. Stay put, and the spikes would pierce his skull.
A double trap impossible to evade!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Gil Sang-baek unleashed over a dozen spear strikes in a flash. The skill that earned him top marks at the military academy, his lifetime of honed combat spear arts, exploded viciously.
"Kahahahaha!"
But the next moment, Gil Sang-baek's triumphant laughter twisted into bewilderment.
"......?"
He had slain countless experts invading the Underground Hall with this ceiling trap.
Anyone would reflexively leap when something fell from above. Strike then, and no expert could dodge.
Yet there was no sensation of the spear piercing flesh.
Then where was the brat...?
Suddenly, Gil Sang-baek doubted his eyes.
Seo Baek stood there, one hand raised vertically, blocking the iron plate.
"......!"
The porcupine-like spikes protruded from it.
In other words, despite a spike piercing straight through his palm, he'd held his ground and stopped the plate!
Gil Sang-baek was aghast. No, more than shocked—he couldn't comprehend it.
Murim warriors, especially experts, instinctively dodged wounds. Seo Baek's action shattered everything he knew.
Even more astonishing was the strength to support the heavy plate with one hand.
With a pierced palm, no less...
Gil Sang-baek blurted out his curiosity.
"You... what if the spikes were poisoned...?"
"Hearing that puts me at ease. No poison on the spikes, then."
"......"
"Even if there was, it wouldn't matter. I planned to kill you and get the antidote."
"......"
Gil Sang-baek swallowed hard.
This boy expert wasn't just skilled in martial arts. His eyes blazed with unbreakable resolve.
Only then did Gil Sang-baek feel the terror of death. His teeth chattered as he spoke.
"D-do you know who I am?"
"Who?"
"I'm no lowly murim thug. I eat the court's rice. Kill me, and... "
"And?"
"You'll defy the Son of Heaven's command. So spare my life at least..."
"Not my concern."
"......!"
Seo Baek yanked his pierced palm free and lunged.
Gil Sang-baek thrust in panic.
A gale swept through, wildly whipping his hair and robes.
Whoooosh.
Shika Sword Technique – Sixth Form: “Startled, Rise and Sigh Long.
Alternately swing the sword left and right, then slash vertically three times.
Splat splat splat.
Gil Sang-baek felt a chill and instinctively stepped back.
His arms, already severed by the sword, hit the ground still clutching the death spear. Only his body had retreated.
"Ahh..."
As his mouth opened to scream, a crack split from his crown straight down his body, cleaving him perfectly in half to crash left and right.
Thud. Gush.
"Defying the Son of Heaven?"
Seo Baek sheathed his sword on his back.
"Scum like you, profiting from the revenant outbreak—that's defying heaven."
Seo Baek pulled cloth and golden wound salve from his pouch.
He applied salve to his palm, wrapped it tightly with clean cloth prepared for such moments. No risk of infection.
"That'll staunch the bleeding."
He turned and left.
"Dang Ryong, where's that guy?"
A thought crossed his mind.
Dang Ryong, who'd pinned silver needles into an Underground Hall member's body to extract the dried well's location.
That method might reveal the backers behind the Underground Hall.
"Over there..."
Seo Baek turned, saw the meat chunks that were once Gil Sang-baek, and swallowed his words.
"......"
No matter how ingenious Dang Ryong's techniques, that wouldn't talk.
Mistakes could be fixed.
Seo Baek thought positively.
"Next time, for non-revenants, just sever the arms first."
* * *
Once Gil Sang-baek's death spread, the remaining Underground Hall members dropped their death spears and surrendered.
They were stunned to learn there were only two infiltrators: Seo Baek and Dang Ryong.
But none resisted. The corpses of their comrades littering the tunnels had broken their will to fight.
Seo Baek freed the prisoners.
Most were refugees captured for human trafficking, but a few were Underground Hall members.
Among them was Gang Pyo, a former protector.
He explained that three months ago, deputy leader Gil Sang-baek had killed the hall leader.
Gil Sang-baek had been secretly trafficking humans; when caught, he staged a rebellion.
It was easy. He'd long bribed members, turning them to his side one by one.
Seo Baek asked the protector,
"What now?"
"Only disbanding the Underground Hall."
Most bribed by Gil Sang-baek were dead by Seo Baek and Dang Ryong's hands. Too many to rebuild with the survivors.
The protector and a few members said,
"We'll take the refugees and flee the revenant zone. We're heading to Shaolin—please inform them."
"I will."
With talks done, Seo Baek led them to the surface.
Before that, he and the members piled firewood and poured oil in the tunnels.
Seo Baek lit a torch, ignited it, and tossed it under the Metal passage at the Underground Hall's heart.
Soon, massive flames roared underground.
Roar.
About thirty of Gil Sang-baek's men fled outside, avoiding Seo Baek and Dang Ryong.
If they returned after he left, it might become a trafficking den again.
But the Underground Hall wasn't fully destroyed.
"Even with the flames, the tunnels remain. If Shaolin sends men later, it can be rebuilt."
The people dispersed to their paths.
Seo Baek west to Shaolin.
Underground Hall members and refugees east to safety.
Just before parting, the protector whispered to Seo Baek.
"Someone connected to deputy leader Gil Sang-baek is in Shaolin."
"Who?"
"I don't know. Just heard it's one of the Murim Alliance's renowned elders."
"Understood..."
After parting, Seo Baek pondered.
Gil Sang-baek was secretly dispatched by the court.
That meant one of the Murim Alliance's renowned elders was a court spy!
Shaolin would have much work. But top priority:
'Root out the spy.'
As Seo Baek organized his thoughts, someone sauntered out from the woods.
No need to look. Dang Ryong.
"Where were you?"
"Had some business."
In truth, Dang Ryong had dismantled thunderbolt bombs until just before the tunnels ignited, pocketing key springs and gears, then slipped out.
"You still following?"
"I said I'd save your life once."
"Can't we call it even?"
"Gotta keep the accounts straight."
Even stoic Seo Baek sighed inwardly.
No gratitude for the life debt—he'd demand a rematch immediately.
Fighting and killing him now would cost Seo Baek too, given his strength...
A true dilemma.
As Seo Baek hesitated, a booming voice called from the distant woods.
"Junior brother!"
No need to look. Wang Yi Sam.
Wang Yi Sam rushed up in a fluster upon spotting him, followed leisurely by Song Hyeon, Joo Eun-ri, and Shaolin monk Jin-mun.
Dang Ryong glanced at them and muttered flatly,
"They got here fast."
"My thoughts exactly."
For once, Seo Baek and Dang Ryong agreed.