Chapter 156: Fools
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Fools
Eunnamu placed a finger to her lips, making a “shh” sound.
It seemed she was trying to keep our conversation from leaking outside.
She’d managed to get in without anyone else noticing.
“…Is that Murim-style clothing?”
Eunnamu asked, looking at my outfit. I smoothed down my collar.
“Yeah. Does it not suit me?”
“No, it suits you perfectly. You look cool.”
Seeing her smile, I gave an awkward smile in return.
“…Have you been okay?”
I hadn’t seen her at all since the incident with Girasung.
As I asked, Eunnamu fiddled with the hair at her temple.
“You were worried about me this whole time?”
“Of course, I was.”
“I’m happy.”
She smiled shyly.
Then she came closer and asked.
“Can I sit next to you?”
When I nodded, Eunnamu sat down gently.
All the while, she kept her gaze fixed on my face.
It was as if she didn't even notice Eva-noona next to me.
Seeing the way she looked at me so preciously, as if she had to memorize my face right now, I carefully spoke.
“Eunnamu, did something happen?”
At my question, she rested her elbows on her knees and cupped her chin in her hands.
“What do you mean, ‘something’?”
“You just seem… different.”
“Does it feel familiar?”
If you’re asking if it’s familiar, it’s not.
“Ha-chan.”
Just then, Eunnamu called my name again.
She spoke to me, her eyes filled with a sorrowful look.
“I…”
Just as Eunnamu was about to speak, she covered her mouth.
As I stared blankly at her, Eunnamu bit her lip slightly.
“Everything will be sorted out soon.”
I didn’t know what ‘everything’ was, but she said that and stood up.
“Once it’s all over, I’ll tell you properly.”
“Eunnamu! Wait!”
“See you again.”
I called out to stop her, but Eunnamu had already vanished into the darkness once more.
Staring blankly after her, I clenched the hand I had reached out.
What in the world was Eunnamu up to?
I was worried about her, but it seemed like Eunnamu wanted to take responsibility for everything on her own.
Just then, I heard voices from outside my room.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Get lost, kiddo!”
“Manager-nim is drunk, so Si-ho has to take care of him.”
“Why don’t you both just get out of the way?”
I had a bad feeling about this.
Looking at my door, which seemed ready to burst open at any moment, I decided to forget about Eunnamu for now.
After Eva-noona, three more were about to launch a surprise attack.
More than anything, I needed to figure out what to do with those three first.
“Hey, Kang Ha-chan.”
Just then, Baeksan popped out and called to me.
When I turned to Baeksan, he was frowning deeply.
“Something crossed over.”
The moment I heard him say “crossed over,” I shot to my feet reflexively.
CRASH!
Suddenly, a shockwave erupted, shaking the entire building.
And through it all, Eva-noona slept soundly.
“Domi-oppa!”
Ahyu burst through the door, her form shifting into the red-clad Cheon Hong-ryeon.
“Ahyu, could it be…”
“…It seems they managed to break through, despite all the barriers we set up.”
From the way Cheon Hong-ryeon ground her teeth, it was obvious who the attackers were.
“Sister.”
In that time, Do Hwa had also changed into his original attire and returned to the window.
“My apologies. I will handle the Great Slaughter Emperor and the Blood Sect’s forces.”
As Do Hwa spoke with a frown, I let out a small, dry laugh.
“Do Hwa, what are you talking about?”
Hearing my voice, Do Hwa looked at me with confusion.
In response, I shifted my gaze behind me, as if giving him a simple answer.
Standing there were none other than the people who could be called our country’s greatest powers.
“Do Hwa-ssi, I’m going to help, so don’t say things like that!”
And the one most fired up among them was none other than Naek.
With one eye wide open, the fury flowing from her was the steadfast heart of one determined to protect their beloved.
And it wasn’t just Naek.
Because we all felt the same way she did.
The Great Slaughter Emperor and the Blood Sect had no idea.
That the greatest powers, from returnees to hunters, were all gathered here.
“The Great Slaughter Emperor and the Blood Sect, you said.”
A grim smile spread across my face.
“They picked the wrong people to mess with.”
*
14
The Great Slaughter Emperor, his retainers, and the members of the Blood Sect stepped inside after demolishing the hotel entrance.
The power was out in the obliterated entrance, leaving it dark.
“You said Cheon Hong-ryeon was here.”
“Yes, that is what we heard.”
“Hah, that rotten bitch. To think she’d make me come all this way.”
The Great Slaughter Emperor, Yeopyeonggang, scowled, his wrinkled brow furrowed in annoyance.
“Even though her mother ran away, the Demonic Cult went out of its way to raise her just because she had the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline, and this is how she repays that kindness? By running away to a place like this?”
As he vented his rage, dust and pebbles at his feet jumped erratically.
Even his retainers trembled before his fury, a rage that nature itself seemed to fear.
“Great Slaughter Emperor-nim.”
“I believe I told you not to call me that.”
“Ah, my mistake.”
At that moment, Yeopyeonggang glanced to the side, annoyed at the title.
Standing there was the Blood Demon, Jin Yong-nyeo, who could be called the representative of the Blood Sect, a smile on her face.
With her striking red hair and the red spots near her eyes, she stood beside him, her smile captivating.
The front of her dress was cut low, revealing her ample chest.
Rumor had it she had cornered the market on breast enhancement pills.
“To think, you are the Supreme Cult Leader now. I suppose I’ve grown attached to the old title and let it slip.”
As she spoke, puffing out her chest, Yeopyeonggang snorted.
“Jin Yong-nyeo, even you are not permitted to address me in such a way.”
“Oh my, but didn’t you permit many things that night, Supreme Cult Leader?”
“That was only in private. Stop it.”
Hearing this, Jin Yong-nyeo let out another laugh.
Her enchanting laugh was enough to momentarily bewitch even Yeopyeonggang’s retainers, but the Blood Sect members standing by her side remained perfectly still.
They all silently wore masks with the character for ‘Blood’ (血) written on them.
“Let’s go capture the Heavenly Demon.”
She whispered to Yeopyeonggang, who snorted once before starting to walk.
His retainers hurried to follow.
“Tsk, they’ve erased their presence.”
Yeopyeonggang scanned the area with a displeased expression.
He couldn’t sense anyone’s presence anywhere.
This feeling… it was surely the work of that brat from the Hwasan sect.
He learned all sorts of useless, trivial things, and this must have been one of them.
Just then, red camellia petals began to drift slowly down the hallway.
Seeing them, flames of fury ignited in Yeopyeonggang’s eyes.
“Cheon Hong-ryeon.”
As Yeopyeonggang called out her three-syllable name, a violet aura enveloped his body.
“Follow me.”
At that moment, Yeopyeonggang shouted as he kicked off the floor.
His retainers immediately started running after him.
But that only lasted for a moment.
Because from the shadows on the wall, a man two heads taller than them shot out and slammed one of the retainers into the wall.
CRASH!
“Guhk, kgh.”
“Who are you!”
The other retainers shouted as their captured comrade foamed at the mouth.
Ignoring them, the man who had appeared tossed the retainer aside by his head and glared.
“Who am I? None of your damn business.”
With that, the man vanished over the wall.
The retainers stared in bewilderment, then realized they had lost Yeopyeonggang.
He had already dashed off in pursuit of Cheon Hong-ryeon.
Just as they tried to follow, talismans suddenly began to flutter through the hallway.
For some reason, no matter how much they ran, they couldn’t escape the hallway.
“It’s sorcery! Break the spell!”
The moment one of them shouted, he suddenly vanished.
CRASH! THUD!
A moment later, he dropped from the ceiling, looking as if he’d been brutally beaten.
“Wh-what, what in the world is happening!”
But it didn’t stop there.
One appeared, frozen solid in ice.
Another dropped down with a vacant expression, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
As their comrades vanished one by one only to return in such states, the remaining retainers gripped their weapons and began to tremble uncontrollably.
In an instant, only three were left.
They were martial artists who had reached the Hwagyeong state, but they were helpless against these inexplicable phenomena.
Just then, the sound of footsteps began to echo.
When they looked ahead with startled expressions, they saw a young girl.
The space behind her head swirled strangely with the light of the cosmos. She was wearing a hoodie, but the front of it was puffed out, disproportionately large for her height.
The moment the girl raised a small, magic wand-like object in her hand, the world before the three men’s eyes went black.
Glancing at them, the girl scurried away as if running for her life.
*
15
At the same time Yeopyeonggang’s retainers were being annihilated, the Blood Demon, Jin Yong-nyeo, was on the move.
“What a strange place this is.”
She smiled with her eyes as the Blood Sect members followed her without a single word of reply to her monologue.
Yeopyeonggang had gone ahead to the Heavenly Demon, carrying a special item meant for her.
That was why she was walking at such a leisurely pace.
Because she had detected a presence that even Yeopyeonggang had failed to find.
“Ufufu.”
Letting out a laugh, she licked her lips.
“I’ve coveted you for a very long time.”
At the same time, she plunged a hand with noticeably long fingernails into her cleavage.
With that, a red needle was slowly drawn out from her chest.
Drip—
As she pulled out the needle, a spray of blood followed, soaking the front of her dress.
Ignoring it, she also pulled out her hairpin, her own hair turning a deeper shade of crimson.
Shhhk—
Her red hair fluttered behind her back.
She tossed the hairpin to a Blood Sect member behind her and gave a captivating smile.
“I’ve often wondered what it would be like to turn someone as beautiful as you into one of my jiangshi.”
As she spoke, a crimson internal energy began to flow from her.
Befitting her title as the Blood Demon, the energy was as thick and viscous as blood.
“But who would have thought? You betrayed Murim of your own accord.”
Just then, a creaking sound echoed from behind her.
The Blood Sect members standing behind her began to make strange noises.
Suddenly, dozens of needles that had been embedded in their backs fell and rolled across the floor.
“Grrrk.”
“Guhk.”
At the same time, inhuman voices escaped their lips.
“These are my specially made jiangshi, the Hyeolgwi.”
She smiled as if introducing them, then pointed forward with the long finger holding the needle.
“Bring them to me.”