Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Eliminating Witnesses
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“Cheonhwi……?”
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader's brow furrowed.
He thoroughly searched his mind for information, but the name ‘Cheonhwi’ did not exist.
‘……A pseudonym, then.’
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader's eyes sank coldly.
The opponent was someone who had sneaked into the Nine Dragons Faction.
Would such a person readily reveal their name just because asked?
His gaze swept over Cheonhwi, then shifted slightly to the side, fully capturing the kneeling Inspector.
‘Unless he's completely insane, he wouldn't reveal his name after setting up this situation…….’
It was shocking enough that the Inspector, who always stood ramrod straight with hands behind his back, was on his knees, but his appearance was even more so.
Hair disheveled like a beggar's.
And between the strands, tear stains clearly visible on his cheeks.
‘He must have been through quite the ordeal.’
Coldly observing the Inspector, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's gaze turned to the source of the stench that had been filling the room since earlier.
Toward the Inspector's crotch.
The pure white pants' crotch area was yellowed, clearly as if he had thoroughly pissed himself.
Just then, their eyes met.
The Inspector's eyes bulged wide, his mouth flapping open and shut like a carp, but no sound escaped.
‘Even pressure points sealed……?’
At that sight, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader clicked his tongue.
But only for a moment.
『Please endure just a little longer. I'll rescue you soon.』
Frowning, he sent a sound transmission toward the Inspector, who was pleading desperately with his eyes.
Hearing the transmission, the Inspector's eyes widened round, and he nodded vigorously.
Following that, his expression relaxed considerably, trust filling his eyes. Seeing this, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader smiled inwardly.
‘Perfect timing. Just when his trust seemed lacking.’
Saliva gathered in his mouth.
The Inspector was arrogant and looked down on others, but he clearly distinguished between public and private matters.
‘If I save his life here, I'll receive his full support.’
The corner of his mouth lifted slyly.
‘But to do that…….’
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader's gaze turned toward Cheonhwi.
The youth sitting arrogantly.
He seemed out of the ordinary, but at best, he was just a youth around twenty.
‘Specializes in concealment arts, it seems.’
Sweeping his gaze over Cheonhwi, who emitted no presence whatsoever, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader suppressed the laugh threatening to escape and moved his lips.
“Do you know what you've done? This person is the head of the Qinghai Province Judicial Inspectorate, overseeing law and inspections—the Inspector.”
At the question, Cheonhwi smirked.
‘Wondering what he was pondering so long.’
He already knew everything.
Even the sound transmission to the Inspector. Even the thoughts running through his head.
“I know that too.”
With those words, he tilted his head to look at the Inspector, whose expression had relaxed.
“Right?”
“……!”
The Inspector startled with a jump, then nodded frantically up and down.
It was a nod as instinctive as breathing.
Watching this, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's eyebrow twitched slightly.
‘He knows who the Inspector is and still pulled this off? Then exactly…….’
Pondering deeply, he widened his eyes, then opened his mouth with utmost caution.
“You're not even afraid of the Imperial Family?”
“Not particularly?”
Cheonhwi shrugged.
Afraid of the Imperial Family? No.
Just a little annoying.
Yeah. Exactly like mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, conviction settled in the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's eyes upon hearing Cheonhwi's response.
‘Someone who knows the Inspector and still dares this……!’
Who would treat the Imperial Family so dismissively and reduce the Inspector to this state?
Only one possibility.
Someone connected to the Imperial Family.
And among those connected to the Imperial Family who could come here…….
“You're the one sent by the Qinghai Governor.”
“What?”
Cheonhwi stared at the Nine Dragons Faction Leader with an incredulous expression.
What a ridiculous swing and a miss.
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader was clearly deluded by the fact that Cheonhwi was engaging in conversation rather than charging in.
“No use beating around the bush.”
Already convinced, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader added confidently.
“Bringing no one other than the Inspector means this is about the Young Lord incident, doesn't it?”
“Well, that's correct, but.”
As if he had been waiting, he abruptly raised his hand and shouted.
“Damn it!”
Yelling furiously, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader swung his arm like lightning.
Boom!
The corner of the bed shattered.
Splintered wood fragments scattered into the air before raining down like dust.
“When did you figure it out? We prepared this plan meticulously!”
Cheonhwi stroked his chin and smirked.
“You done now?”
“……What do you mean?”
“No one's coming anyway.”
“……!”
“I set up a barrier.”
“Nonsense! Barriers require at least a hundred days' worth of internal energy and the Infinite Realm……”
“Figure it out yourself.”
With those words, Cheonhwi circulated the internal energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Art and executed the Divine Steps Hundred Changes.
“……!”
Watching Cheonhwi unfold an ominous movement technique, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader hurriedly untied the leather belt at his waist.
He then maximally circulated the Nine Dragons Advancing Qi Art, emitting his internal energy.
Shing!
The leather belt in the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's hand did not bend; instead, it stood rigid like a sword, radiating sharpness.
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader immediately swung his soft sword toward the chilling killing intent he felt from behind.
Clang!
The air split with a sharp crack.
“Oh ho.”
At the same time, Cheonhwi appeared in midair and landed lightly in front of the Nine Dragons Faction Leader.
“A soft sword. Haven't seen one in ages.”
Cheonhwi smiled upon seeing the soft sword.
It was a finicky weapon that required precise energy control, technique, and compatible martial arts to wield properly.
“H-how did you……”
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader's eyes shook.
‘Not only did he deflect the soft sword, but he sent it back at me.’
Chills ran down his spine.
Just a single clash.
But from that alone, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader sensed that Cheonhwi possessed skill comparable to his own.
‘At minimum my equal, or…….’
At that moment, Cheonhwi spoke up.
“Enough with the gimmicky martial arts. Show me that Nine Dragons Heaven-Opening Seal or whatever. Who knows? You might even win.”
“……Grit.”
Provoked, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader ground his teeth.
Impressive skill for his age, but not superior to his own.
“If you want to see it, I'll show you clearly!”
He swung the soft sword widely.
The sword energy-infused soft sword whipped around with a resounding noise, its sharp edge gradually closing in on Cheonhwi.
Disorient the mind with noise while disrupting vision with the soft sword—an attack!
But he had chosen the wrong opponent.
‘Oh! Virtual-real feint, is it?’
Cheonhwi's gaze was fixed not on the flashy soft sword but on the left hand concealing substantial energy.
‘The soft sword was the distraction? Hmm. I'll know once we clash.’
Raising his left hand, Cheonhwi met the soft sword head-on, just as the Nine Dragons Faction Leader desired.
Kiiing!
Sharp sparks flew.
The Nine Dragons Faction Leader's face registered shock at the unbelievable shockwave from palm versus soft sword, but it was fleeting.
Siiik—
His mouth curved into a crescent moon.
“Got you!”
At that instant.
Slither!
The rigid soft sword writhed like a snake, wrapping around Cheonhwi's wrist.
“This is the real thing!”
Simultaneously, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader yanked hard.
As he attempted to slam his left hand—secretly infused with internal energy—into the pulled-in abdomen.
Snap!
Cheonhwi grabbed his left hand.
It should have been perplexing, but the smile lingering on the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's lips grew even more sinister.
‘Fool! You're hastening your own death!’
The Nine Dragons Heaven-Opening Seal was the pinnacle of heavy palm techniques!
The moment the fist connected, the infused energy would ravage the meridians and climb to the Baihui acupoint, shaking the brain—a supreme heavy palm art.
But.
“Is that all?”
The opponent, who should have been writhing in agony, gazed at him with a relaxed expression.
“Then it's my turn.”
The relaxed-faced Cheonhwi slowly clenched his fist before thrusting it forward with power.
“Like this?”
Instantly, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's eyes nearly bulged out.
The fist technique the opponent displayed.
It was far too familiar a posture.
‘N-Nine Dragons Heaven-Opening Seal?!’
Cheonhwi's fist buried into the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's abdomen, shattering his internals with massive force.
“H-how?”
“Well.”
“M-monster……”
Spurt!
Blood poured from the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's mouth.
His complexion quickly turned ashen, and his body collapsed limply.
Thud!
Looking down at the sprawled Nine Dragons Faction Leader, Cheonhwi dusted off his fist and muttered.
“Hmm, should have held back a bit.”
Cheonhwi nodded to himself before naturally rummaging through his sleeve.
“I put it here somewhere. Where is it? Ah! Found it.”
Moments later, he pulled out a small vial.
The small bottle contained a clear liquid that shimmered brilliantly.
Pop!
Without hesitation, Cheonhwi uncorked the vial and splashed the liquid onto the Nine Dragons Faction Leader.
The moment the liquid touched his body.
Sizzle!
Amid a foul stench, the Nine Dragons Faction Leader's body rotted away and dissolved in an instant.
The clear liquid in the vial was Bone-Melting Acid, commonly used by assassins.
“Wow, look at it melt. Melts nicely.”
Impressed by the Bone-Melting Acid's remarkable effect, Cheonhwi hummed a tune with a smile.
‘Good thing I bought it.’
The Bone-Melting Acid he had purchased from the branch chief for this job was proving its worth.
Sizzle—
Confirming the corpse had vanished without a trace, leaving only the stench, Cheonhwi turned toward the Inspector.
‘W-what outrageous act against heaven and earth…….’
The Inspector, dazed as he watched the body dissolve, suddenly paled in terror as Cheonhwi approached. He frantically shook his head side to side.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His face was ghostly white, smeared with tears and snot.
Cheonhwi squatted down and looked at him.
Thud! Thud!
The Inspector kowtowed desperately, smashing his forehead against the floor as if begging for his life.
Cheonhwi watched him bash his forehead until it might split open and asked.
“You want to live?”
Like finding a drop of rain in a drought, the Inspector's expression brightened, and he nodded frantically.
Cheonhwi gazed at the Inspector with indifferent eyes and moved his lips.
“But what can be done? You have to die.”
The Inspector's face twisted.
‘Y-you dog bastard! How can you call yourself human after this! Rip you to shreds!’
Reading the words from the Inspector's flapping mouth, Cheonhwi grinned.
“Still, I'll send you off comfortably.”
With those words, Cheonhwi unhesitatingly approached and thrust his fist toward the Inspector.
Thud.
His fist touched the Inspector's chest.
Soon, bloodshot veins filled his eyes, and blood spurted from his seven orifices as he collapsed.
“The martial art's name is pretty flashy.”
Cheonhwi looked at the Inspector's neck.
A long meridian path extended from the neck, vividly drawn like a coiling dragon ascending toward the sky.
“Then, time to wrap up?”
Gazing at it, Cheonhwi immediately picked up the Inspector's corpse without hesitation and moved.
Toward the still-open underground passage.
Arriving at the secret vault at breakneck speed, Cheonhwi hurled the Inspector inside.
Whoosh—thud!
“This way, it looks like the Inspector tried to steal from the vault and got killed, right?”
Gazing at the corpse, Cheonhwi's eyes locked onto the myriad jewels and money in the vault.
“Then, grabbing this finishes it off.”
Cheonhwi naturally picked up a luxurious silk pouch hanging in one corner of the vault.
And in one go, he swept up every single jewel and coin without missing any.
“Awesome!”
Moments later, with the now-heavy silk pouch slung over his shoulder, Cheonhwi exited the vault.
‘Went according to plan.’
A satisfied smile rose on his face.
Cheonhwi's objective seemed complicated at first glance, but it was ridiculously simple.
The Inspector's corpse, struck by the Nine Dragons Heaven-Opening Seal.
The discovered secret vault, the missing items, and the vanished Faction Leader.
Anyone seeing these traces would surely conclude that the Nine Dragons Faction Leader had looted the vault and fled.
“Then, all that's left is……”
Looking at the wooden floor melted by the Bone-Melting Acid, Cheonhwi raised a finger.
And ignited the Samadhi True Fire.
Roar!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ All Under Heaven Merchant Group!
The merchant group bore the grandiose name ‘All Under Heaven,’ and true to it, it was a colossal entity spanning the world.
Twelve branches alone.
Each one rivaling an ordinary merchant group in scale.
And the Shaanxi branch of the All Under Heaven Merchant Group lived up to its reputation.
“Yawn—”
The gate guard of the All Under Heaven Merchant Group gazed at the ridge where the sun had just peeked over, yawned, and rubbed his eyes lightly.
“Hm?”
Something was protruding conspicuously.
“What's that?”
Staring intently for a while.
“Huh? Huh?”
The protruding dot gradually grew larger, soon taking the shape of a person.
The one who appeared was a handsome young man.
A sharp-featured youth whose attractiveness lay in his keen impression, with a massive load on his back.
Nearly twice his body size.
At that moment, the youth spoke up.
“This is the All Under Heaven Merchant Group, right?”
“Y-yes, it is.”
The guard responded in fluster.
But only briefly.
“What brings you here?”
Regaining his composure, he inquired about the purpose.
“Came to sell some goods.”
“Goods……?”
The guard glanced at the enormous bundle behind the youth.
Then shook his head and replied.
“Not possible right now. For transactions at our main group, you need to reserve at least three days in advance.”
“Reserve? Pretty strict.”
The youth frowned.
Then suddenly.
“Ah! Hold on a sec.”
The youth rummaged through his bosom.
‘What's he doing?’
As the guard puzzled over the sudden action.
“They said showing this token lets you use any merchant group immediately.”
The youth pulled out a token and said.
“No way that's……”
The guard saw the token and froze in place.
Then he bowed hastily.
“P-please wait just a moment!”
“Yes?”
The youth asked back, but the guard flung open the gate and rushed inside.
And moments later.
Bang!
Kicking open the main gate, a kindly-faced, gaunt middle-aged man hurried out.
“A-are you the one who brought the All Under Heaven Merchant Token?!”