Last Vacation (9)
I'd laid the perfect trap, and Du Jeong-cheong had walked right into it. After hearing my transmission, he scowled so fiercely it defied description.
"Th-that..."
Du Jeong-cheong tried to say more, but his time was up.
Schluck!
The moment I yanked my hand free from his pierced chest, the bleeding surged uncontrollably, the wound gaping wider by the second.
And that was just the beginning.
Whoosh!
Struck dead-center by the flame Sokseong Oh Haeng Kwon, he erupted in flames before he could even attempt first aid.
A perfect end for a villain like him.
The Black Heaven Sword Ghost Du Jeong-cheong had burst onto the Sichuan martial scene, founding the mighty Black Heaven Gang. His rise had been grand, but his fall was pathetic. His reckless absorption of minor sects to bolster his forces had backfired spectacularly. In the end, he couldn't hide his vicious heart—ambushing from the shadows only to meet a gruesome death at the hands of a much younger junior.
"Whoaaa! A Cheonmu Academy student... took down the Black Heaven Gang Lord!"
"The kid felled a giant!"
"The Black Heaven Sword Ghost Du Jeong-cheong, a peak expert of the evil factions, slain by a mere student!"
The frozen atmosphere shattered in an instant. The crowd exploded with excitement at this insane turn of events. They'd dismissed me at first, but once I showed my skills, they became my cheering fans in no time.
The loudest roar I'd ever heard echoed across the entire Throwing Sword Sect grounds.
But for every winner, there's a loser.
"G-Gang Lord!"
"Gang Lord!"
"No, we can't lose you!"
Watching their dying leader, the Black Heaven Gang felt unprecedented panic. The chest wound was bad enough, but with flames engulfing his body, all their top brass rushed out. It was blatant cheating—the spar hadn't even ended—but they couldn't bear to lose their lord right before their eyes.
Their efforts were in vain.
Thud!
Du Jeong-cheong couldn't string together another word before he breathed his last.
"Arrrghhh!"
"Gang Lord!"
"You can't go!"
They tried desperately to prop up his lifeless body on the eve of their grand scheme, but it was like prescribing medicine to the dead.
And as a physician myself, I knew better than anyone.
Even Chiwu Goe's disciple Ungwang, the world's top healer, couldn't revive him now.
No matter how divine Ungwang's skills were said to be, no one could bring back the dead.
"Rest in peace."
I calmly cupped my fists in a final salute. Regardless of the reasons, he was a martial world senior, so I'd done my duty.
"You bastard!"
"You dare kill our Gang Lord?"
"Filthy scum!"
The Black Heaven Gang warriors, clutching his corpse and wailing in grief, turned their sorrow to rage at me.
But it was pointless.
"This was a fair one-on-one duel!"
Cheonpung-gae Choryeok, overseeing the proceedings and judgment, bellowed at the top of his lungs.
He was right.
This wasn't some street brawl—it was an official duel.
A high-stakes clash where the Throwing Sword Sect and Black Heaven Gang had wagered their fates. We were all swords-for-hire, living on the edge of death, with opposing sides. We'd simply given our all.
"Even so...!"
Du Jin-bo, the dejected sub-gang leader who'd already lost to Meng Yuon, raised his voice. He was terrified, but blood was thicker than water.
Right then—
"Wasn't it your Gang Lord who tried a cowardly ambush despite the clear outcome?"
Dan Sim No-goe Han Hwi, who'd been silent till now, suddenly stepped forward. He'd entrusted the proceedings to Choryeok and stayed quiet, true to his disdain for pettiness and cowardice.
"What?"
"Great hero Han Hwi! How can you claim to be a senior of the evil factions after that?"
The Black Heaven Gang invoked "fellow evil faction" solidarity, but Han Hwi was cut from different cloth.
"Even among evil factions, I'm not like your Gang Lord. I wouldn't strike a much younger junior with a killing blow or ambush from behind like a coward."
Roooar!
The crowd erupted at Han Hwi's refreshing words. Anyone could see it was Du Jeong-cheong's fault.
"Exactly! As witness and judge, I declare the fault lies with your Gang Lord. Young hero Cheon Myeong only defended himself!"
With even Cheonpung-gae Choryeok backing me, there was nothing to fear. Or more precisely, he was just stating the truth.
I couldn't stay silent either.
"The Gang Lord's death is regrettable, but didn't he rise through one-on-one duels? Word is plenty of warriors in Sichuan fell to him while he wandered as a duelists."
The Black Heaven brass fell silent at that.
Riding the momentum, I pressed on without mercy.
"It was Black Heaven Gang who picked a fight with Throwing Sword Sect for no reason and tried to wipe them out. And it was their lord who ambushed from behind."
Meng Yuon and the Throwing Sword Sect had fought for survival—a righteous outcome.
And one more thing.
"In this fate-deciding duel between Throwing Sword Sect and Black Heaven Gang, we've won by a landslide, haven't we?"
The Gang Lord was dead, but the gang lingered. Regret was one thing; they had to honor the wager. They'd started the provocation and the sect war.
"Before our duel, we staked everything—both sects. So disband Black Heaven Gang."
I shouted at Deputy Gang Lord Black Face Killer Jang Se-gon and sub-leader Black-Clad Evil Sword Du Jin-bo, the next highest ranks after the dead lord.
We'd agreed beforehand: winner takes all from the loser's sect.
This wasn't some private bet—with martial seniors as official witnesses, it carried immense weight.
Refuse to disband, and the martial world would shun them. The jianghu never forgave breakers of unspoken rules. They'd be branded cowards, not true warriors, their reputations shattered beyond repair.
Grind!
Du Jin-bo and Jang Se-gon gnashed their teeth, at a loss.
"I'll say it once more: Black Heaven Gang disbands as of this moment. No successor factions or remnants target Throwing Sword Sect."
I drove the nail in deep, in case they tried rebranding.
Whoaaa!
Admiring murmurs rose at my shrewd, seasoned handling. The crowd and public opinion were now ours.
"The duel between Throwing Sword Sect and Black Heaven Gang was fair, without a single blemish. Cheonpung-gae Choryeok of the Beggar Gang vouches for it!"
"Dan Sim No-goe Han vouches as well!"
With the witnesses endorsing us, Black Heaven Gang had no choice.
"Kuh-huh-huk."
They crumbled utterly, salvaging only their dead lord's body.
A total victory for us.
"Our gang... admits defeat to Throwing Sword Sect. We... will disband."
Du Jin-bo and Jang Se-gon choked out the words through tears and gritted teeth, then fled like dogs with tails between their legs.
Of course, they paid the promised reparations on the spot—not with promissory notes, but in hard gold.
Cowards' promises are all talk.
I watched them go, thinking that. They'd strutted in like kings, turning guests into hosts with brazen gall—now this pathetic exit.
Roooaaar!
As Black Heaven Gang departed, declaring disbandment, the emboldened Throwing Sword Sect disciples roared in triumph. Sect Leader Meng Dan-ya, who hadn't expected victory, even forgot his age and leaped for joy.
"My god, oh my god!"
The other disciples were the same—Meng Yuon's senior brothers knelt sobbing or muttering thanks to heaven and earth.
"We're saved. Truly saved."
"Heaven itself helped us."
"Gods above!"
Meng Yuon and Peng Jincheon reacted just as fiercely.
"Cheon Myeong!"
"We knew we'd win!"
My closest friends bounded over like puppies reuniting with their master and threw their arms around me.
"Haha!"
I patted their backs, finally savoring the joy.
It hadn't been easy foes—the Black Heaven Gang and their Sword Ghost—but we'd triumphed. The elation was indescribable.
Above all, this is my first win against a group enemy.
I'd beaten elite solos before, but they were lone wolves. Crushing a mid-tier major sect like this? The thrill was multiplied.
"They won't dare set foot in Sichuan anymore."
"Right—their glue, Black Heaven Sword Ghost Du Jeong-cheong, is gone. What rises fast scatters fast."
As everyone celebrated, today's dutiful witnesses, Cheonpung-gae Choryeok and Dan Sim No-goe Han Hwi, approached with advice.
"Well said."
I agreed. Black Heaven Gang still had power, but their reputation was in the gutter. Force the issue without disbanding, and the Martial Alliance would intervene—not to mention their own evil faction allies turning on them for the shame.
Black Heaven Gang's doom is sealed.
Losing their head, they'd face retaliation from those they'd provoked: Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, and even the Sichuan Dang Family.
Their fate was set.
"Thank you for your help today."
I bowed deeply to the two witnesses once more. Throwing Sword Sect weren't the only beneficiaries of this win. I'd forged ties with two Sichuan martial luminaries—and that thrilled me.
"Cheon Myeong, was it? You've piqued my interest."
Cheonpung-gae Choryeok—future Beggar Gang deputy lord and the righteous factions' eyes and ears with unmatched intel—now connected to me. Nothing beat Beggar Gang ties for roaming the martial world.
"Same here. Swing by my Dan Sim Gok sometime."
And another: Amid battling the Sword Ghost, I'd forgotten—Dan Sim No-goe Han Hwi ruled Dan Sim Gok. That valley held a priceless treasure...
But that was for later. Now, the priority was rebuilding Throwing Sword Sect!
We'd routed Black Heaven Gang, but their buildings were torched, their grain stores emptied. With fat gold from them, reconstruction was all that remained.