Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Chapter 7: The Baek Family's Pavilion's Central Treasure (4)
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The hall fell into stunned silence.
The White Dragon Swordsman had lost to a novice instructor from Bronze Hall.
To an instructor whose name no one even knew.
The renowned swordsman of the Baek Family defeated by an unknown instructor.
It was an unbelievable story.
But it was also the cold, hard reality unfolding before their eyes.
'Who the hell is that guy?'
'What a monster with the sword.'
'That kind of guy is a new instructor in Bronze Hall?'
He had defeated a peak expert who wielded sword aura using nothing but pure technique.
His exquisite forms had utterly overwhelmed and shredded superior internal energy.
They knew it was possible in theory, but witnessing such an unprecedented event left everyone dazed.
Kuuduk.
Baek Ri-jeong-sun struggled to rise from the wreckage, vomiting blood.
"You! You bastard!"
His hands trembled as he twisted his face like a wrathful ghost and bellowed.
"W-what sorcery did you use?!"
"Impressive swordsmanship."
"Impossible. I've never seen swordsmanship like that."
"Is that so?"
Chu Un-hwi strode forward, seizing Baek Ri-seol's wrist, and kicked Baek Ri-jeong-sun squarely in the chest.
Thud!
"Kuhuk!"
From the fallen man's robes, Chu Un-hwi pulled out a single book and tapped it with his index finger.
"It's right here."
"T-this is the bizarre dual-sword technique you used?"
"Yeah. Why are you asking me about the sword manual you had?"
Chururuk.
Flipping through the pages casually, Chu Un-hwi spoke in a bored tone.
"Dual-sword techniques aren't common. Especially not ones at the level of supreme divine arts. How did a mere merchant get his hands on such a mysterious sword style?"
All eyes turned to So Yong-dae, who was fidgeting awkwardly in one corner.
He looked like he wanted to bolt from the hall right then and there.
As his father was defeated and his precious So Yong-dae fell into peril, Baek Ri-man-ho screamed in rage.
"Kill them! Kill all those bastards!"
"What are you waiting for? Move!"
Clang, clang.
Just as the remaining guards gripped their swords hesitantly...
Chu Un-hwi spoke up.
"Not him."
"What?"
Whoosh.
Pulling Baek Ri-seol into his embrace, Chu Un-hwi moved like lightning, his sword flashing.
Shua shua shua!
The moment the sharp sword light gleamed, pitch-black energy began exploding outward.
Boom. Kwaduk.
Someone blocked the sword qi and spun, thrusting out a palm strike once more.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Thud thud thud!
Kicking the foe in the chest, the sword vanished from Chu Un-hwi's hand.
Kang!
The figure who caught the sword barehanded toward his temple slid back.
Kududuk.
Astonishingly, they crumpled the steel blade with their bare hands and asked.
"When did you figure it out?"
"Not long ago. When they started stuffing me with bribes? Or when I saw them always glued to her side? Ah, right. Actually, I knew it the first time I saw them next to Baek Ri-seol."
"You knew from the very beginning!"
"Something about their energy felt familiar. It was odd too. The Infinite Pavilion's precious Pavilion's Central Treasure seemed full of spirit but was dirt poor, with only the clothes on her back. Her room was utterly barren."
"Just for reasons like that..."
"Well, in the end, they revealed their true colors, didn't they?"
"Urgh."
The woman ground her teeth, her whites turned pitch black, eyes rolling wildly.
Seeing her, Baek Ri-seol's jaw trembled.
"Ryeong-ryeong?"
She was Baek Ri-seol's wet nurse and closest friend, Ryeong-ryeong.
"R-Ryeong-ryeong, why..."
Baek Ri-seol's shock was immense.
"How did this happen?"
"Ryeong-ryeong was a demon?"
The retainer of the Baek Family—one of the Ten Great Families—was a demon steeped in demonic arts.
Shock swept through the hall once more.
As astonished gazes lingered, Chu Un-hwi began to speak.
"Simple enough. They got their hands on an amazing sword manual—that part's fine. But why? It seems the technique was incomplete."
"......"
Ignoring Ryeong-ryeong's venomous glare, Chu Un-hwi continued.
"They probably tried to decipher it themselves, but with their brute-force demonic arts mindset, they couldn't restore such a profound supreme art. So they decided to use someone else. Like with a soul-stealing technique, for example."
Baek Ri-seol asked in bewilderment.
"Soul-stealing technique?"
"Yeah. Soul-stealing technique. Didn't you find it strange?"
"No way... Even Father's change."
Soul-Stealing Portrait.
A form of hypnosis.
A wicked sorcery that used drugs and hypnosis to burrow into a person's fragile mind, amplifying impure emotions until the spirit collapsed, turning them into a puppet.
Not only had they infiltrated the Baek Family in secret, but they'd been wielding this soul-stealing technique for so long.
The one who had gifted her an inescapable prison was Ryeong-ryeong, who had always cared for her.
"How much do you know, exactly?"
"Not much. Just that killing the caster breaks the spell?"
Step. Step.
With Baek Ri-seol in his arms, Chu Un-hwi backed away toward So Yong-dae.
Flinch.
Ryeong-ryeong twitched to move, but as the guards leveled their swords at her, she narrowed her blackened eyes.
"Seol-ah."
"Yes, Instructor."
Whispering to the dazed Baek Ri-seol, Chu Un-hwi said.
"If you don't want to, we can stop here. Once you cross this line, there's no going back."
Feeling the weight of the sword pressed into her hand, Baek Ri-seol hesitated briefly.
'It's warm.'
But the warmth against her back was so comforting that it no longer mattered.
As long as she was with this man.
As long as he was by her side.
She wouldn't regret this decision.
"P-please spare me, Lady Baek!"
Gauging the sword's weight, Baek Ri-seol aimed the tip at So Yong-dae's heart.
"It's okay. I can do it."
"Hey, hey. Think it over again. Compromise and let it go, and you can return to your old life. You might become the Baek Family's Forbidden Jade Leaf. They'd treat you properly as the Infinite Pavilion's Pavilion's Central Treasure."
"I've made up my mind."
"Truth is, the jianghu is a mess. Honestly, quietly growing old and dying isn't bad. Look at me. I live on a shoestring budget. That's how all jianghu folk are. Hungry and miserable."
His words tickled her ear, and Baek Ri-seol smiled broadly.
Her resolve hardened even further.
"My heart has chosen the path."
"Really? That's a shame."
Snickering, Chu Un-hwi released the sword.
Feeling its full weight now, just as she moved to thrust the tip into So Yong-dae's heart...
"Wait. It's not time yet."
Chu Un-hwi turned the blade aside.
And there was the portrait.
Stab.
"Keurghhh!"
As the scroll bearing the portrait was pierced, the trembling So Yong-dae let out a scream.
Witnessing this, Ryeong-ryeong howled furiously.
"How dare you destroy my spell, you wretch!"
Baek Ri-seol's eyes, uncomprehending, turned to the portrait.
Sizzle.
Astonishingly, the beautifully adorned image of herself began melting grotesquely, reeking of foul stench.
Chu Un-hwi smirked.
"The caster doesn't have to be a person, right? Seems you were trying to frame the Dragon Caravan to create bad blood and bide your time for another shot. Too bad."
"Uwaaaah! I'll tear you to shreds and feed you to the dogs!"
"Soul-Stealing Portrait. A demonic art where you draw lines on the portrait each time you shatter a piece of the target's mind, and once complete, you seize their soul. Right?"
Ryeong-ryeong didn't know, but Chu Un-hwi was well aware of this soul-stealing technique.
The subject had to be a virgin. It didn't work on those with too much martial prowess. It required long-term, relentless crushing of the spirit to eradicate free will.
Tricky to use, but once it took hold, the victim became an eternal puppet.
'Spiritually breaking Baek Ri-seol was to complete the Soul-Stealing Portrait, too.'
He was certain, thanks to memories of the future—or perhaps the past.
'So the Crimson Flame Witch was Baek Ri-seol.'
It had felt familiar for some reason.
Looking at her now, Baek Ri-seol was probably fully brainwashed by Ryeong-ryeong.
And later, her body would be possessed, leading to her death.
The Crimson Flame Witch wouldn't let such a talented vessel go to waste.
'But that won't happen now.'
Crash!
The atmosphere in the hall shifted dramatically.
A demon had appeared in the Baek Family's most vital sanctum.
The guards, grasping the gravity, unleashed killing blows at Ryeong-ryeong without mercy.
"Uwaaaah!"
She lashed out with demonic palms in all directions, but the Infinite Pavilion elites held firm.
"Hurry and fetch the Pavilion Master!"
"Evacuate the Madam and young master!"
While securing the Pavilion Master and family, now unconscious as the spell broke, they fought even more fiercely to contain Ryeong-ryeong.
The silver lining was that, unlike in his memories, the current Ryeong-ryeong was an immature demon.
'That must be why she chose something cumbersome like the soul-stealing technique that takes so long.'
As the guards who had escorted the Pavilion Master outside returned...
"Reinforcements will arrive soon."
"Hold her! We must contain this bitch at all costs!"
"Kuhuk!"
It was total chaos.
Though immature by Chu Un-hwi's standards, a demon was still dangerous.
It wasn't for nothing that both righteous and evil factions ordered immediate execution on sight.
"Aren't you going to do something?"
"What, you want to help?"
"No. Just curious. What if she escapes?"
"Yeah, fair point."
Ryeong-ryeong glared at them with venomous eyes even as she fended off the charging guards.
If she fled, she'd surely seek revenge by any means.
But Chu Un-hwi remained unperturbed.
"No need to worry. That kind can't harm me."
"Why not?"
"Who knows. Maybe I'm their natural predator?"
Crack. Thud.
Guards were struck by black palm strikes and spat blood.
One flank of the encirclement collapsed.
"Kekeke. I won't forget this grudge!"
Realizing the tide had turned, Ryeong-ryeong tried to break away.
In the end, Chu Un-hwi scratched his head and stepped forward.
"Well, that's enough."
The Baek Family would surely reflect on this.
With a look of annoyance, Chu Un-hwi eyed Ryeong-ryeong as he took a single step.
- Look at me.
Ryeong-ryeong, who had just struck one guard in the chest and was twisting another's neck, froze at the voice echoing in her mind.
A low, sinister voice.
Whose was it? Man or woman?
She didn't know, but one thing was clear: she had to obey the command.
Turning her head, she saw a man standing there, arms crossed.
The bastard who ruined her ten years of scheming. She'd love to tear him apart.
'I'll kill him no matter what. Rip him limb from limb and feed him to the dogs!'
Ferocious imaginings flooded her mind amid boiling killing intent.
That was when it happened.
- Decay.
The endless stream of delightful, blood-red fantasies vanished.
And in their place came excruciating agony.
"Gaaahhh!"
Sizzle.
Ryeong-ryeong, locked in fierce combat, clutched her eyes and doubled over.
Then she began to wail pitifully.
"My eyes! My eyeeeees!"
Trembling hands touched her eyelids amid the pain.
They burned with terrifying heat.
"Uhk. Uheuk."
Enduring the blaze, she forced her fingertips to her eyes.
Sizzle.
The smell of burning flesh rose, and something sticky met her fingers.
Squelch. Squelch.
Eyeballs. The eyes that once beheld the world, that served as conduits for her soul-stealing technique, were cooked and oozing from her sockets.
"Uhheuk. Uhheuk."
Squelch.
As something slithered out from far deeper than where her eyes had been, a fading memory recalled her master's words.
"N-no way. That person is..."
- Shatter.
But she couldn't finish the thought. A brain boiled by heat couldn't think.
Splatter! Thud!
The hall fell silent.