Chapter 38: Liquor Holding the Moon
The mysterious warrior who had come seeking Jin Muhon had wandered on the brink of death for three days and nights, unconscious.
It was a grievous wound that would have claimed his life already, had it not been for Han Sowol, who had stayed at the Jin family home tending to the people of Unbong County.
The Jin household kept it hushed in front of Jin Muhon, but behind his back, they debated fiercely over the man's identity.
Dr-r-r-ek.
Han Sowol emerged from the room, her face weary. She hadn't slept properly for days—her complexion was pallid, dark circles under her eyes.
"……!"
Jin Muhon sat outside the room, eyes closed.
"Has he awakened?"
Jin Muhon slowly opened his eyes.
Han Sowol bowed her head in reply.
"Yes, family head."
Jin Muhon rose from his seat.
The man had spoken of Yeon Unit Leader.
It could only refer to Yeon Jeokhwa, who had vanished after leaving just a single letter.
As Jin Muhon's expression grew grave, Han Sowol cautiously grasped the hem of his sleeve.
"Family head. He's only just woken. He needs rest."
"Don't worry."
"……Yes."
Jin Muhon opened the door.
A thick, murky air—reeking of potent herbal medicine, sweat, and blood—washed over his face.
The man lay on the bed, swathed head to toe in bandages, bloodstained cloths scattered about the room.
"Shall I administer one more dose of medicine—"
"No. You've done enough, Healer Han. Go and rest."
Han Sowol gazed anxiously at Jin Muhon's broad back.
It seemed unshakable in any circumstance, yet for some reason, she felt uneasy.
"Are you…… really all right?"
"I'm fine."
Tak!
Jin Muhon shut the door.
Han Sowol's pale hand reached for the doorknob, then quietly fell away.
Ja-bak. Ja-bak. Ja-bak.
Han Sowol's footsteps faded into the distance.
Jin Muhon pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat.
He extended his senses. No one nearby.
"Wake up."
Jin Muhon looked down at the man as he spoke.
The man, bandaged even over his face, let out a groan—euuuh—and struggled to open his eyes.
"L……Lord……."
The man twitched, trying to sit up straight.
Jin Muhon said coldly,
"Lie still."
"Forgive……me……."
The man's voice was feeble as a kitten's mew.
His breathing was so faint it seemed it might stop at any moment.
"Yeon Jeokhwa's been captured?"
"……My……failure……."
"And you barely escaped with your life?"
"……Yes."
Jin Muhon's gaze turned icy.
The man lacked the courage to meet those eyes.
"Where?"
"Poison……Dragon……Valley……."
"Poison Dragon Valley?"
Jin Muhon tilted his head.
A name he'd never heard before.
But Sichuan and poison naturally brought the Sichuan Tang Clan to mind.
"At the border……of Sichuan and Yunnan……."
The man labored to speak, his chest heaving.
Jin Muhon watched him a moment, then rose smoothly.
"Rest."
Jin Muhon turned to leave.
A faint voice came from behind.
"Forgive……me……."
Jin Muhon paused briefly, then opened the door without a word—dr-r-r-ek—and stepped out.
Poison Dragon Valley in Yunnan.
Sheer cliffs plunged downward, the ground eternally shrouded in thick poisonous mist.
True to its name as the former lair of a poison dragon, no entrance without exit—this was a treacherous place that suffered no human tread.
Yet at the valley's entrance and along the cliffs, grim-faced warriors stood guard in tense silence.
What they protected was the center of the cliff face.
A pitch-black cave mouth, like the maw of a poison dragon.
"Euuuuh……."
Inside the cave was far deeper and wider than it appeared from without.
Especially along both walls, crammed with cells barred by iron grates.
From one such pitch-dark cell, Yeon Jeokhwa let out a groan.
"Kekekeke."
Then, from deeper within, a cracked, rasping voice echoed.
It evoked the image of a starved beast.
"The red-haired bitch?"
"……!"
Yeon Jeokhwa, her mind drifting in and out, snapped alert at the familiar voice.
She crawled frantically to the bars and pressed her face against them.
The cave was black as ink.
For some reason, her eyes saw nothing.
"Bear cub! That you?"
She forced out the words through a throat that barely cooperated, hurling them beyond the bars.
The response came swift.
"Kekeke. Crazy bitch. Yeah, it's me."
"……."
Yeon Jeokhwa's face hardened.
She had rushed to Sichuan upon hearing her comrade was captured.
But nowhere could she find the comrades with whom she'd shared countless life-and-death struggles.
Then she latched onto the clue of Poison Dragon Valley and barely arrived.
Only to fall into a trap, captured without resistance.
Yet astonishingly, she wasn't the only one caught.
"Jin Baek. Why the hell are you……in there?"
"Kekekeke."
Paecheon Buwang Jin Baek.
A master ranking within the top fifty of the Demonic Cult, wielder of twin axes and lord of the Mad Soul Unit under the Sword Demon.
A demon who always charged at the vanguard in battle, unbreakable against any foe.
Who even bore the epithet "King."
For such a man to be shut in this pathetic cell…….
Yeon Jeokhwa, incredulous, felt her lower abdomen.
"Jin Baek. Don't tell me you too?"
"What? Dantian? Kekeke. Think I'd be caught like this if I had my qi? Hey! Say hi! Redhead's here!"
Jin Baek banged on the bars—bang bang.
The metallic clamor echoed through the dark cave.
Yeon Jeokhwa startled and cried out.
"No way! Even Baek Ya Sal?"
"Kekeke. Dumb bitch. Acting all smart but can't grasp the situation? Yeah. Ghost boy's in there too. Got nabbed before me, the idiot. Kekeke. Hey! You dead? No answer!"
Yeon Jeokhwa's hands trembled.
Three of the four most loyal unit leaders under the Sword Demon.
Blood Shadow Unit Leader Blood Shadow Yeon Jeokhwa,
Mad Soul Unit Leader Paecheon Buwang Jin Baek,
Heavenly Death Unit Leader Baek Ya Sal Jin Jaryeong.
Masters each worth a thousand men, their dantians all crippled and imprisoned in this mysterious place.
Yeon Jeokhwa fell into confusion.
'Who the hell……?'
Probably the work of Cheon Gunak, who harbored a vicious grudge against her lord, the Sword Demon.
Yet during her captivity here, she hadn't seen a single Demonic Cult warrior.
Shamefully, she didn't even know how she'd fallen into the trap.
Which meant someone had sold them out.
How could she face her lord, so incompetent?
"Frustrating, huh? Wanna die? Kekeke."
As if reading her doubts, Jin Baek's mockery rang from the darkness.
"Stupid thing. The answer's simple. Who sent you that letter?"
"……!"
Yeon Jeokhwa's mouth fell open.
And like a fool, she repeated the words.
"No way……!"
A man flashed in Yeon Jeokhwa's mind.
The one who always smiled—unbefitting a demon—toward comrades and the Sword Demon alike, brightening the mood more than anyone.
The one she thought she could trust to the end, even if she doubted all others.
"Kekeke. Get it now?"
Yeon Jeokhwa's cracked lips quivered.
"Wi……Mugeol……."
"Kuhahaha! Yeah! That bastard! I always said his ugly mug brought bad luck! I was right! I was right! Uhahaha!"
The last of the four unit leaders.
Iron Guard Unit Leader Iron Mountain Wi Mugeol.
He had betrayed his comrades.
A moonlit night.
Jin Muhon climbed to the rooftop, as he did whenever his chest felt stuffy, listening to distant crickets.
Nights no longer felt cold.
Yet the karma of endlessly buried blood clung wearily, chilling his heart.
'Jeokhwa…….'
A comrade with whom he'd shared joys and sorrows.
A subordinate who had stood by him in his darkest hour.
Perhaps due to the pure yang energy of the Dual Intent Divine Art, Jin Muhon found himself unduly worried for their safety.
Tak!
"Kehum! Hum!"
A presence stirred behind him.
"Jin family head. Can't sleep?"
Muheo plopped down beside Jin Muhon, clutching a bottle of liquor.
Jin Muhon kept his gaze on the moon, not turning.
"Getting old? No sleep?"
"Heh heh heh. Yeah. But more than that, I couldn't sleep seeing you so worried."
"Worried? Me?"
Jin Muhon turned to Muheo with a look of disbelief.
Muheo blinked and asked,
"The guy laid up in the main room. One of your Demonic Cult subordinates, right?"
"……."
"Don't let this old man's Taoist robes fool you. That one-armed punk was blabbing guesses, but I knew at a glance."
"So?"
Instead of answering, Muheo swigged from the bottle—gulp.
"Kuh!"
Then he handed it to Jin Muhon.
"No cup?"
"Sheesh! Sword Demon, are ya? Suddenly all prim and proper. Folks might think you're a Sword Sage. Oh right! How's the pure liquor training? Bone-shattering rebirth. Don't forget."
"……."
Jin Muhon shook off stray thoughts, circulated his energy, and unleashed Sword Intent.
"Ooooh?!"
With a challang, liquor spurted from the bottle into the air.
Jin Muhon imbued his will into the floating liquid.
"Hiyaaaa!"
The liquor reshaped into a tiny cup, glimmering in the moonlight.
Muheo clapped in delight beside him.
"Ever thought of starting a circus act with this old man? We'd rake it in!"
Jin Muhon spread his hand.
The cup-form shattered—pak—scattering in all directions.
Tiny droplets twinkled like stars as they fell to earth.
Muheo applauded fervently.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
"As expected! Bone-shattering rebirth ain't far! Sword Sage, sir!"
Jin Muhon stood.
Unbefitting the Sword Demon.
Muheo's offhand words lingered in his mind.
Kill any who draw steel against him. No mercy in his strikes.
Only death lay along the Sword Demon's path.
When had he ever hesitated, weighing this and that?
"Huh? Another trick?"
Muheo looked up at Jin Muhon with sparkling, expectant eyes.
Jin Muhon gazed down indifferently.
"Heup!"
Muheo scrambled back.
Eyes deep with cold killing intent.
The Sword Demon's gaze had returned after so long.
"J……Jin family head. Someone……to kill?"
"Old man. Take care of Hayeon."
"Huh? 'Course. She's your niece, but now my disciple too. No one touches Hayeon."
Jin Muhon nodded faintly and turned.
"Jin family head! At least say where you're going!"
Muheo called urgently.
Jin Muhon, about to unleash his lightness skill, paused and said heavily,
"Sichuan."