Chapter 37
"...That damned dog."
Gritting his teeth, Namgung Wan rose to his feet and spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Senior Brother!"
In the brief clash with the deputy leader, he'd suffered internal injuries. Seizing the opening, the deputy leader lunged at Byok Seong-yul.
"Argh!"
Byok Seong-yul blocked reflexively, but his sword flew from his grip in a single strike. As the deputy leader thrust toward the now-defenseless Byok Seong-yul's chest, he suddenly leaped back.
"That's why I should've dealt with that Dang girl first."
A sharp dagger was embedded in the spot where he'd dodged.
"I held back on using poison on her because I was afraid you'd notice."
Dang So-yong's face hardened as she shouted.
"Why are you doing this?!"
"No need for you to know!"
The deputy leader twisted toward Dang So-yong, attacking. She was pushed back relentlessly. With someone she had to protect, Dang So-yong couldn't move freely. Her wounds accumulated bit by bit. None were fatal yet, but that was only because the deputy leader—wary of the Sacheon Dang clan's poison techniques—was fighting with extreme caution.
Still, Dang So-yong knew she wouldn't last much longer.
That's when Namgung Wan charged in like lightning. The deputy leader blocked his sword and recoiled in shock.
"Senior Brother!"
Dang So-yong gasped for breath.
"Tch. To move like that even after being poisoned with Scatter Energy Poison."
The deputy leader eyed Dang So-yong warily as he faced off against Namgung Wan.
Namgung Wan spat blood-mixed saliva and growled.
"Go to Ui-gang."
Ak Jung-hae and Ma Hye-hyang, swords drawn at Namgung Wan's side, yelled.
"Dang So-yong, go!"
"You think I'll let you?!"
As the deputy leader bellowed, Byok Seong-yul bolted—and it was a poor choice. The moment he turned to run, his back was fully exposed. The deputy leader swung without mercy. Ak Jung-hae cursed and intercepted, blood spraying in the next instant.
"Jung-hae!"
Even after slashing Ak Jung-hae, the deputy leader didn't stop. In a few strides, he blocked Byok Seong-yul's path, his hand poised to snap the man's neck—when he suddenly twisted, slashing at the empty air with tiger-claw fingers.
Clang!
A pale-glowing sword blocked the deputy leader's hand.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Over a dozen exchanges flashed in an instant. Overwhelmed by the breathless onslaught, the deputy leader retreated.
Dang So-yong cried out in elation.
"Senior Brother Ui-gang!"
Baek Ri-gang nodded silently toward Namgung Wan.
Namgung Wan grumbled irritably.
"...It's Scatter Energy Poison. The whole Dang girl got hit bad."
Baek Ri-gang gripped his sword firmly and stepped in front of the deputy leader. The man gnashed his teeth.
"How are you here...!"
"That's what I should be asking. I remember cleaving your face in half back then. Surviving that means heaven truly is indifferent."
"Heavenly Ghost Bird!"
Namgung Wan shouted as realization dawned. Ak Jung-hae, supported by Ma Hye-hyang, asked in astonishment.
"Wasn't the Heavenly Ghost Bird dead?"
"That's what I thought too."
Namgung Wan ground his teeth and continued.
"Something about him felt familiar... like I'd seen a corpse like that before."
The Heavenly Ghost Bird had once been a notorious demon whose infamy shook the land. Namgung Wan had never fought him personally, but he'd seen the mutilated corpses of Baekdo martial artists slain by him.
Ak Jung-hae said incredulously.
"But his face looks fine."
"Don't be an idiot, Ak Jung-hae."
Then it happened.
Crack, crunch.
A grotesque sound of twisting bones and muscles emanated from the Heavenly Ghost Bird. His shoulders broadened, arms lengthened, and frame expanded. It was Bone Shrinking Technique, reshaping muscle and bone.
Once transformed, he gripped his lower jaw and tore it off with a rip. Flesh tore with a wet shrrrip, revealing a new face. A horrific scar ran from chin to brow, across nose and temples—impossible to have survived.
"...He lived through that wound?"
Ak Jung-hae muttered.
The Heavenly Ghost Bird was the infamous demon who'd snatched countless children like ghosts from the old Gwiju Castle region. Kids vanished daily, silencing their laughter for a time. Even now, over a decade later, parents in Gwiju scared crying children with tales of him.
Many had tried to subdue him, but his elusive movements through dense forests—like his own home—and supreme martial arts left them crippled or dead.
Baek Ri-gang had stopped his atrocities. In their duel, when Baek Ri-gang was just past thirty, the demon took a near-fatal gash splitting his face and barely escaped. Everyone assumed he perished from the wound. With him gone, the fates of the abducted children became eternal mysteries.
Baek Ri-gang asked lowly.
"What happened to the children?"
"You know who I am—why ask?"
"The Yeongjongmun sect leader's illness was your doing too. How long have you been posing as deputy leader?"
The Heavenly Ghost Bird tossed aside the human-skin mask he'd peeled from his face. The simplest way to craft such a lifelike mask? Use actual human skin.
That meant the real deputy leader had been...
The Yongbong Assembly members shuddered at the horrifying realization.
Baek Ri-gang raised his lowered sword, aiming at the Heavenly Ghost Bird. Dang So-yong followed suit.
Then—
「So-yong.」
Baek Ri-gang's telepathic voice.
「Can you detox Wan?」
Scatter Energy Poison variants shared basics. Antidotes weren't hard—if one could circulate qi safely, with help channeling inner energy.
But poisoning often prevented safe meditation, making it deadly.
「Yes. But during detox, I can't move. You'd face the Heavenly Ghost Bird alone...」
「Don't worry about me.」
Dang So-yong clenched her fist, sheathing her sword aimed at the Heavenly Ghost Bird.
「Depending on severity, no more than a sikgyeong—about half an hour.」
「Focus on the detox.」
「Yes!」
Dang So-yong and Namgung Wan assumed meditative postures and began. Ma Hye-hyang and the wounded Ak Jung-hae stood guard around them like protectors.
Detoxing Scatter Energy Poison was simple: burn it out with inner energy. The victim couldn't circulate alone, needing aid. But meditation required safety—interruption during energy flow risked qi deviation.
Absolutely not for a roadside brawl.
Yet they trusted their guardian.
The Heavenly Ghost Bird's face twisted watching them. The scar made it grotesquely eerie.
"Meditating now? Ha! Such overflowing confidence."
A bluish glow limned Baek Ri-gang's blade, sharp aura pressing the air. Eyes dark, the Heavenly Ghost Bird stepped into stance.
"Fine. Today, I'll take your head!"
He struck first. A streak of light pierced toward Baek Ri-gang's chest, right hand thrusting. Baek Ri-gang leaped lightly, twisting to deflect—then the hand arced like lightning.
Unavoidable, it gouged his side—or so it seemed. Baek Ri-gang was gone.
No thunderous clashes like with Namgung Wan. Only the whisper of slicing wind persisted.
Baek clan swordsmanship was quiet, supremely restrained. To the untrained eye, Baek Ri-gang seemed merely dodging the Heavenly Ghost Bird's barrage.
But their duel drifted away from Namgung Wan and the others. Baek Ri-gang was luring him from the clearing.
Realizing it, the Heavenly Ghost Bird snarled.
"Still just scurrying like a rat!"
"......"
Baek Ri-gang didn't flinch at the taunt.
Suddenly, mid-assault, the Heavenly Ghost Bird paled and twisted away. A blade-blur grazed his neck by a hair's breadth. Off-balance, Baek Ri-gang slashed his side.
Clang!
He barely palm-blocked, skidding back in a straight line.
Baek Ri-gang reversed momentum, pressing relentlessly. Clashing rang out more, his sword scattering flashes. The tide turned.
The Heavenly Ghost Bird dodged desperately.
Clang-clang!
Ma Hye-hyang and Ak Jung-hae gripped sweaty palms, watching.
Cornered, the Heavenly Ghost Bird bared teeth and swung wildly with full power—missing Baek Ri-gang, shattering a nearby tree.
Crack, crunch.
Half-severed at the base, it toppled with a thud against another.
Baek Ri-gang's view was briefly obscured by dense leaves. The Heavenly Ghost Bird bolted into the forest.
Unlike Baek Ri-gang, he'd know these woods well—proven by using them to kill Yeongjongmun disciples.
"Senior Brother!"
Ma Hye-hyang cried to stop him. But Baek Ri-gang pursued into the trees.
And the two vanished completely from the clearing.