Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Evil Demons and Outlaws 2
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Hongrak Manor.
Strictly speaking, it was a mountain villa built midway up a peak that wasn't particularly high. But unless you knew the entrance, it blended so seamlessly into the surrounding landscape that you'd never guess such a spacious manor existed there.
After the carriage entered, a massive iron gate slammed shut behind it, and vine-like mechanisms silently descended to cover it once more.
The facilities inside the manor were quite luxurious.
To the west of the entrance stood the main villa, and to the northeast was an artificial hot spring connected in a "pin" shape. In other words, it had been designed so three people could cultivate the Purple Blood Dark Art simultaneously.
Behind the hot spring, on a hillside, was a slaughterhouse that supplied blood to the Purple Blood Bath. Every so often, the sound of something being struck echoed intermittently from there, sending fresh blood flowing through the channel into the bath. This meant slaughter was still ongoing even now. The blood arriving at the bath hissed and steamed as it heated up.
The creator of this horrific place was an extreme villain known as the Blood Ghost of the Vanished Mountain. After his disappearance, his disciples had taken it over and continued using it.
A man in his mid-thirties, Sunwoo Myeong, approached the spot.
Sunwoo Myeong wore the same robe as the man captured by Baek Moo-jin. When he shed it, his completely naked body was revealed. But that wasn't the end of it. He reached up, carefully peeled off his long hair, and set it down outside the Purple Blood Bath.
Sunwoo Myeong was cultivating the Purple Blood Dark Art, which had caused all his hair to fall out. He used wigs made from the long hair of women they occasionally captured. This was a side effect from their master, the Blood Ghost of the Vanished Mountain, vanishing before fully transmitting everything.
As the man slipped into the scalding Purple Blood Bath, a subordinate approached and whispered quietly.
"The carriage has arrived. Two people."
Sunwoo Myeong replied with his eyes closed.
"Why are you reporting instead of Senior Brother On?"
"They said they're bringing an extra man. Only the coachman came."
Sunwoo Myeong nodded.
"Got it."
At that moment, a scream erupted from the slaughterhouse as a woman tried to flee but was caught. Sunwoo Myeong's expression soured, even with his eyes shut.
"Can't you keep it down?"
"My apologies."
The subordinate apologized on their behalf and hurried up toward the slaughterhouse.
Meanwhile, On Seo-gyu, who had just arrived at Hongrak Manor, pounded on the iron gate with his fists, yelling raucously.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Uwaaaaaah!"
His tongue still frozen stiff, he could barely form words.
With a creaking groan, the gate swung open, and On Seo-gyu bolted inside, desperately searching for Sunwoo Myeong. Strange, guttural cries still poured from his mouth. As he ran frantically, he glanced back absentmindedly and realized Baek Moo-jin was nowhere in sight. Looking around left and right, he charged straight for the Purple Blood Bath again.
2.
Baek Moo-jin had killed everyone at the entrance, including the coachman, when he spotted two bound courtesans lying there. He approached and swung his sword, severing the ropes around them. They seemed unharmed, at least physically. Baek Moo-jin looked at them and said,
"Can you two make it back on your own? No one will chase you. I'll kill them all."
The women, now free, removed the gags from their mouths and the ropes over them, nodding vigorously. Moments later, pale-faced, they said,
"Th-thank you."
"Go, quickly."
Baek Moo-jin sighed.
Poor things.
Sunwoo Myeong, unable to bear the noise from the entrance, finally opened his eyes wide in irritation.
"What the hell is all this commotion?"
Sunwoo Myeong's eyes were far redder than On Seo-gyu's. On Seo-gyu, panting from his sprint, flailed his arms wildly, trying to shout something. Then he pointed emphatically at his own tongue.
But with On Seo-gyu standing backlit by a torch, Sunwoo Myeong couldn't make sense of his gestures.
Sunwoo Myeong clicked his tongue.
"What are you even saying?"
At that moment, Sunwoo Myeong said to On Seo-gyu,
"Step aside. Who's that guy?"
Behind On Seo-gyu, a white-robed youth gripped a sword in one hand, prowling through Hongrak Manor.
Sunwoo Myeong spoke in a cold tone.
"What the fuck did this retard bring with him?"
Sunwoo Myeong's subordinates had already spotted Baek Moo-jin and were charging at him, weapons in hand. Meanwhile, On Seo-gyu gestured frantically for his senior brother to come out, screaming all the while.
Only then did Sunwoo Myeong notice something wrong with his junior brother's tongue and asked,
"What happened to your tongue? That guy's doing?"
As Sunwoo Myeong posed the question, screams stretched out long and shrill. The men lunging at Baek Moo-jin were collapsing, spraying blood across the ground.
Watching the scene, Sunwoo Myeong scratched his completely bald head and muttered,
"What a pain in the ass. Why are you just standing there? You go too."
On Seo-gyu suddenly plunged his head into the scalding Purple Blood Bath, dunking his tongue in the hot blood and letting out a horrific scream.
Sunwoo Myeong grimaced as if witnessing some grotesque spectacle.
"This fucking retard pulls every damn trick."
On Seo-gyu spat out the blood from his mouth with a splutter and cried,
"S-Senior Brother... that guy's strong. Really strong. These guys won't..."
In that instant, Baek Moo-jin's sword sliced through On Seo-gyu's throat as he spoke. His head sank into the Purple Blood Bath, bubbling furiously.
Baek Moo-jin glanced briefly at Sunwoo Myeong in the bath before turning his gaze toward the slaughterhouse.
Sunwoo Myeong, showing no sign of moving from the bath, asked in bewilderment,
"What the hell are you?"
But Baek Moo-jin ignored him entirely, heading up to the slaughterhouse as he said in a flat tone,
"Running won't help, so stay put."
"Running? Stay put?"
Sunwoo Myeong burst into laughter.
3.
As Baek Moo-jin climbed toward the slaughterhouse, he eyed the channel spilling blood. A bit higher up, a hulking brute wrapped grotesquely in leather straps, covered head to toe in dark red gore, was shoving a corpse into a vat. Blood from the vat mixed with the hot spring water below.
Baek Moo-jin stood silently for a moment, eyes closed.
Something in his head felt like it might burst. He needed to cool his mind, even if just for a second.
No one had ever warned him that such atrocities could happen somewhere in the world.
The shock to the young Baek Moo-jin was beyond words.
When Baek Moo-jin opened his eyes again, the slaughterhouse brute was thundering down toward him, shaking the ground.
"What the hell are you?"
The brute's body was splotched with bloodstains that looked like sweat. Baek Moo-jin, loath to touch him, drew his sword and launched forward like a streak of light, thrusting with his left foot extended.
Splurt!
As soon as Baek Moo-jin's sword pierced the brute's gut, he injected chilling energy. The brute screamed and grabbed the blade with both hands.
But the sword, his hands, and even his pierced belly froze white.
Baek Moo-jin lifted the brute one-handed and carried him to the vat. The brute's agonized howls echoed.
Pouring in his internal energy, Baek Moo-jin flung the impaled brute into the vat. The motion was so effortless it felt unreal. As the brute thrashed and tried to rise, screaming, Baek Moo-jin leaped high and stabbed down repeatedly.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Sunwoo Myeong turned his head from the bath and yelled at Baek Moo-jin, who was killing the brute.
"What the filthy fuck are you doing?!"
Baek Moo-jin replied as he descended back to the bath.
"What?"
"That guy's filthy, I said!"
Ignoring the mad rant, Baek Moo-jin nodded and continued scanning for any living souls.
He shook his sword, splattering blood across the ground. Standing near the Purple Blood Bath, sword in hand, Baek Moo-jin surveyed the manor. He expanded his senses like radar, detecting sounds and movements around him. If any warrior tried fleeing, he'd pursue and cut them down. Fortunately, the lunatic in the bath showed no intent to run, even after seeing Baek Moo-jin.
Baek Moo-jin muttered,
"This place feels like where an evil god descended."
Was he so angry because he'd anticipated something like this?
Everything since descending the mountain paled in comparison; this had carved deep scars into his heart. Then Sunwoo Myeong, soaking in the bath, called out to Baek Moo-jin.
"Come here."
Baek Moo-jin leaped lightly into the air. His form spun with a whoosh before landing softly on the bath's edge with a tap.
Looking down at Sunwoo Myeong, Baek Moo-jin said,
"What gave you the confidence not to run?"
Sunwoo Myeong inhaled deeply the bloody steam rising from the bath with a huff. His narrowed eyes seemed to exude the scent themselves. His body shuddered once as he spoke.
"This is paradise... Why would I leave it?"
Sunwoo Myeong, addicted to this sinister art like a drug, could no longer reason properly.
Baek Moo-jin asked quietly,
"Did you build this place?"
Sunwoo Myeong grinned and shook his head. Baek Moo-jin's next question followed.
"Are you the leader?"
Sunwoo Myeong shook his head again and confessed readily.
"Heard of the Blood Ghost of the Vanished Mountain? He's my master."
Baek Moo-jin tossed out questions as if chatting casually.
"Where can I find him?"
"Disappeared."
A smile played on Sunwoo Myeong's lips as he slowly lowered his outstretched arms into the bath and asked,
"Who are you?"
As Baek Moo-jin opened his mouth to reply, Sunwoo Myeong wrapped his hands in force and whipped up the rippling blood into crashing waves with a roar.
This was precisely why he'd chosen to confront Baek Moo-jin here. Crimson blood surged toward Baek Moo-jin, who casually arced his White Cloud Sword through the air.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
The blood wave froze solid mid-crash.
Sunwoo Myeong paled and tried to rise, but Baek Moo-jin dipped his sword tip into the bath first.
Crackle-crackle-crackle...
Sunwoo Myeong froze halfway up, his lower body locked in ice with the bath.
Baek Moo-jin walked across the blood-red ice.
Before Sunwoo Myeong could muster energy to break free, the red-tinged sword tip was already at his throat.
Baek Moo-jin asked,
"Anyone you want me to avenge you against?"
"What?"
"Someone's got to avenge you, right? I'll tell you myself. The Blood Ghost of the Vanished Mountain, was it?"
Only then did Sunwoo Myeong grasp his fate.
Who's going to avenge me? My disappeared master wouldn't give a damn...
Doubt flickered in Sunwoo Myeong's red eyes, and Baek Moo-jin nodded a couple times. Sunwoo Myeong looked up urgently and asked,
"Who... who am I dying to...?"
"Baek Moo-jin."
Sunwoo Myeong repeated the name once more.
"Baek Moo-jin."
Those were his last words in life. Baek Moo-jin's sword flashed, and Sunwoo Myeong's head tumbled onto the blood-red ice.
Baek Moo-jin shook the blood from his sword again and gazed over Hongrak Manor, recalling the words of Yi Mong-yeom, the Right Guard of the Holy Fire Palace.
We must purify it with fire.
At the time, from the Right Guard, it hadn't fully resonated, but now, beholding the manor's horrors, Baek Moo-jin finally understood.
He stood for a moment, letting the chill wind sweep through Hongrak Manor, steadying his heart. Though the martial prowess differed vastly, this evil shook him more than any foe. He needed to prepare so no future evil would rattle him again.