The Rogue's Code of Brotherhood
There is a rogue��s code of brotherhood among wanderers of the jianghu. The warriors, fired up with excitement, sliced through the darkness of the night. Cheon Yuhak was the one tracking the pursuit incense using mysterious Eastern principles that defied logic. This was also one of the arts Cheong would have to learn later.
Eventually, Cheon Yuhak stopped in front of a gloomy, abandoned manor on the outskirts of the city and raised a finger.
“Is the target here?”
“Yes. Hmm. I don’t sense any other presence.”
Cheong closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her. With hearing that surpassed human limits, she listened carefully. Aside from the breathing of the nearby rogue warriors, nothing else reached her ears. She measured the manor wall from end to end, lightly leaped up to confirm there was one main building and one annex in a modest layout, then whispered again.
“I’ll jump the wall with the people here. Would you watch from outside, just in case? The target or some hidden accomplice might try to run.”
“Hmm. Wouldn’t it be better if I went with you? Who knows what’s inside? How could I send you in alone?”
“I can slip away with this one body anyway. Speed is everything here. Even if it’s a rat, we need to catch it. And if something really goes wrong, we’ll need someone to call Master for help.”
“Ahem. I’m not sure if this will cause unnecessary worry for my wife.”
Since he was still in his middle years, unlike the previous generation, Cheon Yuhak knew nothing about Seomun Su-rin’s glamorous past or her true nature. In fact, the previous generation had kept completely silent to hide her embarrassing history, so he knew even less about Seomun Su-rin.
“So, where is the bastard? Main building? Annex?”
“The master bedroom in the main building. If it feels dangerous, get out immediately. Don’t do anything stupid like showing mercy to these pathetic wretches.”
This was how rogues of the Central Plains were treated. But even if they weren’t rogues but people of noble status, Cheon Yuhak’s words would likely have been the same. Pathetic or noble, the priority was taking care of his disciple first.
“Alright, fellow rogues. They say our prey is over there. Main building, central master bedroom. I’ll charge in from the front. Brother Ma, you take the rear. Brother Wang, you take the right side…”
It was a simple strategy based on the four directions, hardly worthy of being called a plan. But since the world only had six directions to begin with, if attacked from all four sides, the only ways to escape were to sink into the ground or soar into the sky.
And so Cheong and the rogues leaped over the wall. The manor was barely the size of a warehouse with just one small annex, so even the weed-choked courtyard wasn’t very wide. They crossed it in an instant, kicked open the door to the master bedroom with a loud bang, and there sat an old man on a chair as if he had been waiting for them.
Even though uninvited guests had burst in during the dead of night, he showed no sign of panic. It was as if he had known they would come. Then, with a flash of light in his eyes, he spoke.
“Hmm. In the middle of the night—”
The rear wall exploded.
A group of rogues came pouring through. It was Brother Ma’s group, who had been assigned to take the rear. The old man let out a small “hmm,” acting as if he had never opened his mouth, and calmly flashed his eyes again.
“In the middle of this night—”
The right wall exploded.
Rogues poured in through the right wall, lining up on both sides with blades drawn. The old man casually brushed off the stone fragments that had fallen onto his lap and opened his mouth again with perfect composure.
“When a man is speaking—”
The remaining left wall exploded.
Rogue warriors poured in and formed a circle, completely surrounding the old man. Cheong thought to herself, Damn, their teamwork is absolute garbage. Why couldn’t they all burst in at once instead of going bang, bang, bang with perfect timing?
“……”
“……”
“……”
The old man maintained a heavy silence as if waiting for something. Only after confirming that everyone had arrived did he finally get to the main point.
“Ahem. Yes. I thought some insolent fools would come sniffing after the pursuit incense.”
“Huh?”
Cheong looked at the two men’s faces.
“I thought it was a rather discreet operation.”
“Ahem.”
The old man let out a mocking chuckle.
“That’s just how you rogue bastards are. You never do anything properly. Even after taking the Blood Vitality Pill, you couldn’t win against mere children with swords. Only two of you? Pathetic.”
The Sighing Mad Demon
📍 Target: Gyeong Damgan
🎁 Objective: Eliminate the Blood Sect’s evil
“Blood Vitality Pill!”
“Blood Vitality Pill!”
“Blood Vitality Pill!”
About three people shouted at the same time. Several warriors also wore expressions of pure shock, so Cheong thought, Hmm, it must be a pretty famous drug. In a bad way.
“Hey, old man. Aren’t you being way too relaxed? What realm are you in to be this cocky? Are you like, in the Profound Realm or something?”
“Keke, what an amusing little girl. This old man is called Gyeong Damgan. Yes, you orthodox faction bastards call me the Sighing Mad Demon, don’t you?”
“The Sighing Mad Demon!”
“A fiend of the Blood Sect!”
Cheong, however, couldn’t join the shout. A notification from the mission window was flashing furiously in the corner of her vision, practically screaming for attention. Yeah, I figured it was too quiet. She reluctantly opened the mission window.
Emergency Mission: Eliminate the Blood Sect Scum
The Sighing Mad Demon, Gyeong Damgan, Vice-Leader of the Blood Sect’s Double-Line Blood Gu Unit, has appeared.
Kill him.
The Heavenly Killing Star must slaughter all Blood Sect members.
End of transmission.
The mission window was flashy but completely lacking in useful information. Cheong already knew this well. Whatever. I’ll do what I want. She dismissed the window.
“Hmm. Is he a famous person? Brother Wu, do you know him?”
“He’s called a demonic head of the Blood Sect…”
“That’s it?”
“They also say he commits all kinds of insane acts.”
“Well, his nickname is Mad Demon, so that makes sense.”
The rogues’ knowledge was broad but shallow, picked up here and there on their travels. The Sighing Mad Demon. A bad guy from the Blood Sect. Uses demonic arts. Has a very nasty and dirty personality. End. In the end, just being from the Blood Sect already made him a bad guy who used demonic arts and had a nasty personality, so it was nothing more than “I think I’ve heard there’s a guy like that in the Blood Sect.”
Cheong suddenly missed Jegal Ihyeon. If he were here, he would have rattled off everything from the origin of the nickname to the martial arts he used, his realm, and even related anecdotes she hadn’t asked for.
Gyeong Damgan was far too calm, and just hearing the words “Blood Sect” had the rogues swallowing nervously, breaking into cold sweats. But with this many high-level experts gathered, they should be able to handle one demonic head, right?
This is getting bad. Cheong spoke up to steady the mood.
“Hey, old man. Can’t you read the room? Don’t you see we’ve got you surrounded? Are you looking down on us just because we’re rogues? How can you stay so relaxed no matter how many rogues show up? What, do high-level experts not die when stabbed?”
The interpretation was this: This bastard is looking down on rogues. Even high-level experts die when stabbed, so stop being scared, you idiots.
The rogues’ momentum grew fierce once more. However, Gyeong Damgan simply let out a mocking, unpleasant chuckle.
“Still, this old man can take more than half of you with me on the way to the afterlife. How about it? You rogues who cling so desperately to your pathetic lives. Hmm. What is it, little girl? Why are you naturally joining in?”
“Because I’m also a rogue by origin?”
“A disciple of the Goddess Sect was a rogue. I see. Then you must understand, little girl. If you all attack together, you might win. But do you really think I’ll let that happen?”
Cheong shot back without yielding.
“There is a rogue’s code of brotherhood!”
The rogues, their blood boiling with renewed spirit, answered in kind.
“That’s right!”
“There is indeed a rogue’s code of brotherhood!”
A thick killing intent filled the rogues’ eyes. It wasn’t just empty words. At this moment, their hearts were truly burning.
“Brotherhood, is it? Then how about this?”
Gyeong Damgan snapped his fingers.
“Ugh!”
“Kuuugh…!”
“Aaaagh…!”
The rogues collapsed to the floor all at once. They clutched their chests, letting out painful groans and pale, choking sounds. The only ones still standing were Cheong and one other rogue. Gyeong Damgan clicked his tongue.
“That’s what happens when you swallow medicine from a stranger without suspicion. What would you have done if it contained a gu parasite?”
“Gu parasite?”
“You don’t even know what a gu is? Since the little girl doesn’t know, this old man will enlighten you. A gu is… yes. It’s a parasite. It can release poison according to its master’s commands.”
Cheong swallowed a curse internally. Damn it, the Murim really has every damn thing. A remote-controlled parasite? How the hell does something like that even exist? Does it shoot psychic waves or something?
Looking closely, the one other person still standing was the warrior who had previously eaten half of the Blood Vitality Pill. Ah, so they planted a parasite in him.
“So, little girl. You spoke of a rogue’s code of brotherhood? Are you going to let them die like this?”
“Tsk, you dirty old bastard. Fine. We’ll settle this one on one. Good enough?”
When Cheong raised her sword, Gyeong Damgan shook his head.
“Hehe. For your information, if this old man dies, all the gu parasites will die too. The poison they carry will burst out all at once. What do you think will happen then?”
“What the—how is there such a convenient ability? Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Either this old man changes his mind and removes them, or you call a doctor to cut open their stomachs and pull them out. Though the moment you cut them open, the poison will spray out immediately.”
“So you’re saying you’ve got their lives in your hands and you’re just shaking them around?”
“Kekeke, it’s this old man’s favorite thing to do. So I’ll give you one too. If you swallow it obediently, I’ll spare these useless rogue bastards. So, will you uphold your so-called brotherhood? Or will you watch them die?”
He held out his open palm with a nonsensical pun. On it sat something that looked like a pale, bean-sized pill. When Cheong focused, she could see something wriggling inside a translucent membrane.
But Cheong had eaten plenty of bugs before. This one was even nicely packaged, so it was practically courteous. Besides, she had never once worried about stomach trouble no matter what bugs she ate. It releases poison from inside? Then isn’t it just excellent protein?
Cheong now had full confidence in her Corpse-Blood Poison Person constitution. Anything harmful to the body was completely blocked. In terms of convenience, her body was also quite the shameless cheat.
“Sigh. I’ll swallow it, so stop bothering me. Hurry up. I’m about to run out of breath.”
The painful groans stopped instantly. The sound of ragged, gasping breaths filled the room.
“Ho. You’ll really swallow it? Do you truly understand what this means? Your remaining lifespan will now be entirely in this old man’s hands.”
“In exchange, remove the gu from these warriors. I’ll take their place.”
Cheong spoke with solemn determination. Her voice, however, belonged to the greatest con artist in the world.
“Young lady, you mustn’t!”
“Lady Seomun…!”
Voices filled with grief tried to stop her. But isn’t the number of voices a bit low?These double-crossing bastards. So much for a rogue’s code of brotherhood. In the end, they just wanted to save themselves.
That was just how rogues were. Honestly, Cheong hadn’t expected much anyway.
“I’m fine. If my one life can keep all of you safe…”
“Why… why go so far?”
“We’re fellow rogues, aren’t we? Brotherhood. I said it, didn’t I?”
The rogues couldn’t lift their heads, ashamed of themselves for being unable to say they would rather die when she spoke of brotherhood.
“Now. Release these people.”
“Keke. Why should I? Are you really worth that much, girl? You want me to abandon all these men just to have one ugly girl who covers her face? That would be a terrible deal—”
Gyeong Damgan’s words suddenly cut off. It was only natural for his tongue to freeze when faced with a self-emitting beauty that lit up the entire room.
“I really don’t get why everyone makes such a fuss just because I cover my face. Here. Satisfied? One beauty is better than twenty dirty men, right?”
Gyeong Damgan burst into mad laughter. Mad laughter literally meant laughing like a crazy person.
“Kuhahaha! What a masterpiece! But what a shame. I said I would spare them if you swallowed it. I never said I would remove the gu.”
“You cheap bastard—”
“Your mouth is still alive, I see. My offer stands. If you swallow the gu, I will spare these rogues’ lives. If not, they die.”
“Ugh, fine. Give it.”
The gu pill flew through the air. Cheong snatched it without hesitation and swallowed it in one gulp. Lamenting sighs rose from the rogues.
But Cheong, who didn’t fear poison in the first place, wasn’t worried. There was only one thing that concerned her.
The poison is nullified, but what about this thing? Will it die or not? It needs to stay alive so I can pretend to be controlled and then smash him in the back of the head.