Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Ties Continue
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At some point, most of the people inside Tongman Fortress had collapsed.
Hong Gongtak and the six survivors of the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts were barely holding on, their bodies already drenched in blood.
By then, the bat swarm had calmed its frenzy and settled in a black mass on the ground. They then clung to the bodies of the fallen, groaning people and began sucking their blood with greedy slurps.
The sight of mere beasts like bats latching onto human bodies and draining their blood was grotesque beyond measure—almost unreal.
Confirming the situation had stabilized, Yong Seol-ran and her group cautiously crawled out from under the burning carriage.
Now, the only living souls left in Tongman Fortress were Heuk Do-san, Yong Seol-ran's group, Hong Gongtak and his six survivors, and Cheongjin Dojang.
Cheongjin Dojang asked,
"What do you plan to do now?"
"First, I'm not an enemy of the former Righteous Alliance. Second, the Kongtong Sect has long been a renowned orthodox sect that has hosted countless alliances—I have no desire to harm Elder No anymore. Third, but you must hand that man over to me."
Heuk Do-san cast his gaze toward Hong Gongtak at the end of his words. Hong Gongtak flinched as if a blade had come flying at him.
Heuk Do-san's words continued.
"Hong Gongtak, do you remember what happened thirteen years ago under a waterfall in a valley forest near Penglai Port in Shandong Province?"
"What... are you talking about?"
"You and two companions abducted a passing married woman and took turns committing acts too filthy to even speak of—do you really claim ignorance of that?"
Hong Gongtak was utterly shocked. Color drained from his face, and his pupils trembled violently. In a quavering voice, he said,
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Going to deny it to the bitter end? How about this, then? That day, the three of you were caught in the act by someone. He killed and punished the other two, but for some reason, he let you live. You knelt right there and swore loyalty to him. Afterward, fearing the matter might leak, he severed the woman's throat with a single stroke. Does that jog your memory now?"
By the time the conversation reached this point, Cheongjin Dojang's face had wrinkled in utmost disgust.
It seemed that in his reckless youth, Hong Gongtak had raped a married woman from the Yang family and caught the eye of that wild-haired fiend. If true, it was a grave matter indeed.
Pale as a ghost, Hong Gongtak bellowed loudly.
"I don't know where this lunatic came from, spouting nonsense. What are you waiting for? Kill him now!"
At Hong Gongtak's shout, the surviving Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts lunged forward. But the Blood Sword Corps, led by Bang Daegang, blocked their path.
If they fought again, death was certain this time—but with the order given, the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts had no choice but to press the attack, come life or death.
In this hair-trigger moment where battle was about to erupt once more, Cheongjin Dojang said quietly,
"All of you, stand down!"
The Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts halted mid-motion, unsure what to do. Hong Gongtak's eyes rolled back in fury. He barked again.
"Attack him, now!"
"Stand down!"
The Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts were killers forged by the Righteous Alliance. They answered only to the Sword Lord. They had been trained that way from the start and had never even considered obeying anyone else.
But when the opponent was Cheongjin Dojang, it was different. He was an elder of the Kongtong Sect, one of the pillars upholding the Righteous Alliance.
He held no separate official position within the Alliance, but a single word from him could easily sever the head of any lesser figure.
Moreover, they were here on Righteous Alliance business. Naturally, Cheongjin Dojang held supreme command in this operation.
Cheongjin Dojang swept a fearsome glare over the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts, who hesitated to decide, and barked once more.
"If you don't withdraw immediately, I'll hold you accountable for disobeying orders and execute you on the spot."
Unable to bear the weight of Cheongjin Dojang's voice, the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts sheathed their swords and began to retreat.
"Dojang, why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"Do I look like your subordinate?"
"That's not what I—"
"Silence."
Cheongjin Dojang shut Hong Gongtak down with those curt words. He then glared at Heuk Do-san with an expression as cold as it could be and said,
"For whatever reason, you're tarnishing not only the Shanxi Hong Clan but the honor of the Righteous Alliance itself. If those words you just spoke stem from lies or misunderstanding, I assure you, you'll face consequences beyond your reckoning."
"And if they're true, will you let me be?"
"......!"
Heuk Do-san smirked. He turned back to Hong Gongtak.
"Let me ask one last thing. Have you ever once regretted that day's events? Felt even a twinge of conscience? Just once, truly?"
Hong Gongtak's eyes twisted strangely. His pupils contracted and dilated repeatedly before he suddenly exclaimed in shock.
"You—you couldn't be...!"
"Looks like you've finally figured it out."
"No, it can't be. You were clearly dead back then—how...!"
"Thirteen years ago, under that waterfall in the Penglai forest, it was the same. You thought you'd wiped out every witness, but I lived, and I saw it all with these very eyes. Those other two who died weren't from major sects like the Shanxi Hong Clan, but they were blood kin from factions with some clout, weren't they?"
Mindful of Cheongjin Dojang and his subordinates listening, Hong Gongtak shouted loudly.
"Shut your mouth. You cunning heretic, trying to sow discord between me and the Dojang with fabricated tales!"
"Whether it's lies or truth, the sects of those killed by your hands that day under the waterfall will uncover it. Their names were..."
Cheongjin Dojang and his men were watching. If those names leaked out, the fallout would be unimaginable.
Hong Gongtak's mind reeled. He kicked off the ground sharply. In an instant, his form soared into the air, then shot past the Blood Sword Corps like a hail of arrows.
The distance of six or seven paces vanished in a blink. His sword, thrust straight toward the sky, plummeted toward Heuk Do-san's crown with terrifying speed.
A strike of the Sky-Splitting Sword following the Shanxi Hong Clan's secret Cloud-Mist Step!
Knowing he might not get another chance, Hong Gongtak poured his life's worth of internal energy into this one blow.
A strike staked on his very life.
Heuk Do-san lightly shook his left palm. A gust of invisible wind erupted from his fingertips, slamming into Hong Gongtak.
Boom!
With the sound, Hong Gongtak's sword—falling at ferocious speed—was astonishingly blocked by an intangible barrier.
Heuk Do-san's ensuing display of the Capturing Hand was dazzling.
Thud thud thud!
His hands danced in a frenzy, and the sword tip inexplicably pierced the nape of the enemy's neck.
The sword's hilt remained gripped by Hong Gongtak. Heuk Do-san had merely twisted and seized his hand and arm.
Blood sprayed in fountains.
Heuk Do-san slowly drove the blade deeper.
Hong Gongtak, already choking, gaped wide with no chance to resist.
When the blade tip finally emerged from the nape, Heuk Do-san released the hand clutching the sword.
Hong Gongtak collapsed sideways with a thud, convulsing violently. A strange light flickered in his eyes.
Deathbed clarity—the final spark as one reflects on a life lived. Moments later, the convulsions ceased, and the spark faded.
The heart that had beaten ceaselessly for over thirty years ground to a halt.
The surviving Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts' eyelids twitched at the gruesome death of their superior. How could this have happened?
Cheongjin Dojang quietly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Yong Seol-ran and Bang Daegang were greatly shocked to see Heuk Do-san slaughter Hong Gongtak so mercilessly right before Cheongjin Dojang and the Ten Ghosts.
Heuk Do-san turned to Cheongjin Dojang and said,
"You should head back now, Dojang."
"The conversation with Sword Lord Hong seems unfinished. If it's all right, I'd like to hear more."
He meant to name those two who had died unjustly that day.
Had he been unaware from the start, it might have been different—but having sensed a grave incident had occurred, Cheongjin Dojang could not simply let it pass.
"Can you bear the weight of that?"
"What... do you mean?"
Heuk Do-san looked up at the sky. Stars had begun to speckle the night heavens densely.
"The war is already over. Now that you've seized the realm, please ensure no more warstorms ravage this land."
Heuk Do-san turned back to Cheongjin Dojang and offered a light clasped-hands salute. Caught off guard by such courtesy, Cheongjin Dojang faltered greatly.
"I've said all I have to say."
Cheongjin Dojang stared silently at Heuk Do-san, then turned to the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts and said,
"Let's go."
Moments later, the Ten Ghosts fetched over a dozen horses from the stables. They loaded the bodies of Hong Gongtak and their fallen comrades and hurriedly exited through the camp gate.
Just before departing, Cheongjin Dojang turned back to Heuk Do-san. He said,
"When many thoughts converge into one, there are highs and lows, blacks and whites. Yet placing what you believe right at the center and proceeding—that is what forms a fellowship. And the world changes by the hands of such people."
With those words, Cheongjin Dojang wheeled his horse and vanished. Soon after, only Heuk Do-san and Yong Seol-ran's group remained in the camp.
Heuk Do-san turned to Yong Seol-ran, standing some distance away. She flinched in surprise and swallowed dryly.
Heuk Do-san strode toward her without hesitation. Sensing his ominous momentum, Bang Daegang hurriedly blocked his path and suddenly offered a clasped-hands bow.
"I don't even know how to thank you..."
"Out of my way."
"Hero, why are you doing this?"
"One more word, and I'll rip your jaw off."
"......!"
Bang Daegang's face darkened. If this man coveted the Long Protection Escort, it would all be over.
"I can't let that happen."
He had staked his life long ago. Bang Daegang stepped back, gripping his longsword at the ready. His subordinates flanked him left and right.
Heuk Do-san's eyes flashed ferociously.
At that moment, Yong Seol-ran spoke.
"Stand down."
"But, Saintess..."
"Don't you get it yet? If he meant us harm, we couldn't stop him. Stand down."
Bang Daegang ground his teeth and stepped aside. His men followed, clearing the path.
Heuk Do-san approached Yong Seol-ran.
Tense, she apologized before he could even ask.
"I'm sorry. Earlier, I had to hide my identity, so I had no choice but to lie. But I swear I never meant to deceive or endanger you..."
"Do you know a woman named Bing-seol?"
"Who's Bing-seol?"
"They called her a saintess, like you."
"Not all saintesses know each other, but none I know use that name."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
After the fierce battle, Heuk Do-san addressed Yong Seol-ran bluntly, without honorifics. He wasn't generous enough to show courtesy to someone who had deceived him.
Yet neither Yong Seol-ran nor Bang Daegang found it strange. It was as if he had spoken that way from the start.
Heuk Do-san stared piercingly into Yong Seol-ran's eyes.
Demonic Cult saintesses were different from ordinary people; one couldn't tell truth from lies just by peering into their eyes.
For that matter, Bing-seol might have given a false name from the beginning. In any case, if Yong Seol-ran chose not to tell the truth, there was no way to know.
"You'll claim ignorance of the Seventh Star Lord's whereabouts too?"
"As I said before, no one's seen him since he vanished with countless sect brothers on the night of the final battle off Shandong's coast three years ago."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Is it because you're afraid I'll hunt them down? If so, rest easy. I only..."
Heuk Do-san trailed off, suddenly at a loss for words. Thinking it over, he realized he had no real reason to care about Gong Cheon-ak or Bing-seol's fates.
If he wanted to know whether Dang Yak-ran had safely reached the Tang Clan, there were plenty of other ways.
The Tang Clan of Sichuan was known to all in the martial world; if he set his mind to it, he could learn her status anytime.
Dang Yak-ran was just an excuse.
'Right—what do their fates have to do with me?'
Heuk Do-san shook his head.
This time, Yong Seol-ran asked,
"Why did you help us?"
"A long time ago, I owed a small debt to a saintess named Bing-seol and the Seventh Star Lord. Consider it repaid now. Though I think I overpaid a bit."
Heuk Do-san surveyed his surroundings.
Seeing over a hundred people collapsed in pools of blood stirred all sorts of thoughts.
Yet strangely, he felt no guilt. Not because they deserved death, nor because he had warned them sufficiently.
It was the Ten Myriads Great Heavenly Scripture. With the slain foes' deathly auras filling his body, he had unconsciously grown cold and ruthless.
Having said his piece, Heuk Do-san spotted a horse emerging from the stable's open door and vaulted onto it just in time.
As he turned to leave, Yong Seol-ran hurriedly blocked his path.
"Wait."
"......?"
"You're just going like this?"
"Is there a problem?"
"It's not that, but..."
"It's none of my business, but may I say one thing? The soldier's path says: think once before advancing, ten times before retreating. For a campfire already extinguished, it's wiser to gather the embers from the ashes than futilely try to reignite it."
Heuk Do-san spurred his horse.
At that instant, the bat swarm that had been gorging on human blood from the ground rose into the sky as one. They then flew off in the direction Heuk Do-san had vanished.
The people stared endlessly after the departing bats.
It was like being haunted by a ghost. In their moment of crisis, on the verge of losing the Long Protection Escort, he had appeared out of nowhere, single-handedly sweeping away mighty experts and over a hundred martial artists before leisurely departing.
Just who was he?
What ties had he shared with that saintess Bing-seol and the Seventh Star Lord in the past?
Whoever he was, a momentous new star had risen in the martial world. If he set foot on the path of supremacy, the jianghu would face great upheaval.
Yong Seol-ran mulled over the parting words Heuk Do-san had left them. Moments ago, he had shown them the way forward.
The war was over; now was the time to devote all efforts to preserving the flickering lives around them. It was the duty owed to the grassroots followers who had staked everything in the fight.
"We should go too."
Bang Daegang said cautiously.
"Disguising as an escort caravan won't work anymore. Grab the horses and hurry out of here."
"Understood."
Bang Daegang and his men dashed to the stables and led out the horses.
Yong Seol-ran looked up at the sky once more. Countless stars twinkled in the night where the bats had vanished.
In that moment, a fragment of the future flashed vividly in her mind. It was the precognitive intuition only saintesses could feel.
'I... am destined to serve him...?'