Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 246
>Chapter Title: Sichuan (3)
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A pavilion located a short distance from the Black Island Hall's manor.
Il-mok and his group hid on the roof of that pavilion, leisurely watching the Black Island Hall.
"Wow."
Seeing Peng Ji-gwang causing a ruckus, Il-mok couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
'His performance is solid.'
Was there any being as easy to use as a man who lost his reason over a woman?
But they weren't here just to watch the spectacle.
If the Black Island Hall was connected to the Tang family, there was a chance the situation might wrap up too neatly.
"Who the hell are you!"
"I'm Mun Chang, the leader of the Black Island Hall."
Just then, as Peng Ji-gwang and the Black Island Hall leader began talking in the distance, Il-mok pointed at them with his hand.
"Jeong Sojeo, target that Peng Ji-gwang bastard. He's crap in skill and real combat experience, so go easy on him. If you kill him in one shot for no reason, things could get messy."
"Ah, yes, Young Master."
At Il-mok's instruction, Jeong Hyeon nocked an arrow and drew inner energy from her dantian.
'He said he's so crap he might die in one hit.'
Just a little.
She released the bowstring in a state where she minimized her power as much as possible.
Swaeeeek!
The small arrow she shot marked the start of the battle.
"You sneaky bastards!!"
Watching the chaos erupt in the Black Island Hall manor, Il-mok felt a longing for his modern life after a long time.
'Any popcorn around?'
It was prime entertainment.
* * *
Clang!
"Urk."
Peng Ji-gwang barely deflected the surprise arrow and screamed in rage, charging at the Black Island Hall thugs.
"You sneaky bastards!!"
With Peng Ji-gwang swinging his blade openly like he meant to kill, the Black Island Hall thugs couldn't just die quietly.
"Kill him!"
"You little punk!!"
The recklessly charging Peng Ji-gwang was soon surrounded by the black path mob, and the situation looked like he might die instead.
"Haa."
In the end, Hwangbo Yeon let out a sigh and sent a transmission.
- Unbaek Dojang. Protect Se-hee.
For guarding someone, Unbaek Dojang, who had mastered the Taiji Sword Art, was better than her, so she decided to leave her younger sibling's protection to him.
- Don't worry, Doju. Still, avoid killing if possible.
- ...The situation isn't ideal, but I'll try.
After finishing the conversation with Unbaek Dojang, Hwangbo Yeon exploded forward toward the black path mob.
Boom!!
The ground where her foot landed exploded, and in an instant, her iron fist covered a zhang's distance toward the black path mob surrounding Peng Ji-gwang.
Thud!!
One man whose bones shattered instantly flew far away.
From her intervention, the melee began in earnest.
Following Hwangbo Yeon, Jegal Eun-yeong and Mount Hua Sect's later-generation disciple Myeonghwan Dojang dove into the black path mob.
"Target those guys!"
Seeing Unbaek Dojang and the veiled woman hanging back, some black path thugs aimed for them to take hostages.
Of course, for mere black path thugs to overcome the Taiji Sword Art of the Wudang Sword Dragon, called one of the Seven Dragons and One Peak, was a pipe dream.
Seeing his subordinates getting owned by the righteous faction's later-generation disciples, Black Island Hall leader Mun Chang scowled.
'Damn it, which idiot shot that arrow...? Wait, an arrow? Did any of our guys know how to use a bow?'
Only then did Mun Chang realize something was off, but it was meaningless now. With the melee already in full swing, what good would it do?
"Hall Leader! Help us!!"
At that moment, a familiar voice snapped the hall leader out of it.
It was the deputy hall leader's voice.
Clang!
"Urk...."
Looking toward the voice, he was barely blocking Fist Peak Hwangbo Yeon's punch with his great blade.
He'd paid the price for getting distracted by yelling.
Watching that, the Black Island Hall leader pondered.
'Fist Peak and Wudang Sword Dragon. And three later-generation disciples.'
From their looks, martial arts, and age, he could roughly tell who they were.
'We still have over thirty fighters left who can battle.'
If he joined the fray, they had a solid chance of winning.
He could help the deputy suppress Fist Peak, or while the deputy stalled, take down one of the later-generation disciples for a hostage.
"Charge!!"
The Black Island Hall leader who made his decision yelled and rushed at the later-generation disciples, and his men, emboldened, roared too.
"Waaaaah!"
The Black Island Hall leader charged at Fist Peak, who was pressuring the deputy.
And after exchanging a few blows with Fist Peak.
Boom!!
The Black Island Hall leader who blocked her iron fist wrapped in qi bounced back and shouted.
"Deputy!"
"Coming!!"
As if responding to his call, the deputy who caught his breath dove at Hwangbo Yeon again.
The bounced-back Black Island Hall leader used the momentum to secretly slip away from his subordinates.
'Hmph. Even if we win, there's nothing to gain. What's the point of fighting?'
Killing righteous faction later-generation disciples here would just mean being hunted for life.
But he couldn't just die to those green punks who hadn't even shed their baby fat.
'Tell the Tang family that righteous faction later-generation disciples stormed in and disrupted business, and they'll understand.'
For him, the best choice was to report to the Tang family and get the antidote.
* * *
Watching the Black Island Hall battle for a while, thinking of popcorn.
"Hmm?"
Il-mok spotted the Black Island Hall leader sneaking away and smiled faintly.
"Better this way."
He'd used the righteous faction later-generation disciples only because the Black Island Hall was likely tied to the Sichuan Tang family.
If they wiped out the Black Island Hall, verifying the truth would be tricky.
But with the leader slipping away like this, it changed things.
Pat.
Il-mok, having decided, donned his mask and leaped with lightness skill, and the group followed, pulling on their masks.
Il-mok kept a certain distance until the Black Island Hall leader reached a remote spot, then accelerated.
Thud.
Il-mok and his group instantly closed the gap, landing to block the Black Island Hall leader from all sides, making him look shocked.
"Who the hell are you!"
Tensed up like a cornered wild animal, the Black Island Hall leader belatedly realized something and wore a defeated expression.
"...I don't know where you're from, but this was all your doing."
"Hoo."
Seeing his quick wits, Il-mok let out a light snort and asked.
"Then this'll be quick. Why did you send men to Pingliang County?"
"...You're from Pingliang County."
Il-mok didn't bother hiding it. He planned to deal with him after interrogation anyway.
Catching on to Il-mok's intent, perhaps, the Black Island Hall leader suddenly knelt and said.
"You may not believe me, but I didn't send them willingly. Being the Black Island Hall leader isn't something I wanted either."
"Then whose orders were you following?"
At the masked man's question, the Black Island Hall leader made a complicated expression as if pondering, then sighed in resignation and answered.
"The Sichuan Tang family."
He figured if the Tang family realized he'd leaked info, he was dead anyway, but with death staring him down now, what did it matter?
He just felt wronged and resentful about his situation.
"Those sneaky bastards fed me Deadly Solitude and ordered me to extort the commoners here in Gwangwon County. They're trash wearing the mask of the righteous factions!"
"...So that's how they were using the black path."
This was beyond Il-mok's expectations.
He'd thought maybe sending secretly raised experts to the black path, not blackmailing with poison.
'Worse than the Demonic Cult?'
The Demonic Cult at least sincerely brainwashed—no, instilled faith to control people. They didn't poison and threaten lives.
It seemed like useful info for later, so Il-mok memorized it and asked again.
"So why did the Sichuan Tang family order you to send men to Pingliang County?"
"I don't know exactly. Just that people were gathering there lately, a chance to make big money."
Whether to spill info to survive or out of anger at the Tang family, the Black Island Hall leader furrowed his brow as if recalling and added.
"Come to think of it, it was a bit odd. Those guys are busy checking Ami and Qingcheng, yet they got info on Pingliang County, a backwater in Gansu Province. Wonder where from."
At the Black Island Hall leader's mutter, a certain faction's name naturally came to Il-mok's mind.
'Haomen leaked info to the Tang family?'
Their goal was obvious.
'If they're after the Chado Slaughter Formation, it makes sense.'
It was probably a plan to pit the Black Island Hall against the maidservants and turn the Black Island Hall's backer, the Sichuan Tang family, against them.
'Good call using the righteous faction later-generation disciples.'
Truly fortunate.
Thanks to the woman-crazed idiot moving as planned, things resolved easily.
Pondering how to deal with Haomen for a moment.
Il-mok's eyes caught the Black Island Hall leader still kneeling and watching for an opening.
"So you're saying you had no choice because of the Sichuan Tang family's Deadly Solitude?"
"...Hard to believe, but yes."
"Then do you have any thought to repent your sins and live righteously?"
"If not for the Deadly Solitude, I wouldn't have lived like this."
"The Sichuan Tang family must give you the antidote periodically. How many days until the Deadly Solitude flares up?"
"About half a month left."
"Then want to gamble?"
"???"
While the Black Island Hall leader looked puzzled, Il-mok turned to Goo Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon with instructions.
"I'll write a letter. You two take this guy to the physician Seo in Pingliang County."
"U-us?"
"Why us again...."
They reacted like the most wronged people in the world, but glanced at Jin Ha-yeon and shut up.
Probably because Jin Ha-yeon was glaring coldly at them for defying Il-mok's orders.
Confirming the two subdued, Il-mok turned back to the Black Island Hall leader.
"There's an excellent physician in Pingliang County. Want to get treated by him?"
Il-mok hid that he was a crazy physician.
"Oh, and the other option is just dying here. You're quick, so you probably guessed—we can't let you go back to the Tang family."
At Il-mok's threat-not-threat, the Black Island Hall leader finally bowed his head.
"I'm grateful for the chance to repent."
* * *
Il-mok wrote a letter and handed it to Goo Yang-mun, who left for Pingliang County with Joo Seo-yeon and Mun Chang.
Watching them briefly, Dam Bin asked in a slightly worried tone.
"Do you really believe that guy will repent and atone?"
She was just voicing it, but the others felt the same, subtle reactions all around. Except Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.
As a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult believer set on punishing evil, she clearly disliked sparing him.
"First, it was for survival under Deadly Solitude, so plenty of room for leniency. Plus, the Maitreya Cult needs hands now, and he looks useful in many ways."
He was clearly sharp and quick-thinking.
"Oh, not fully forgiven, of course. He has to pay for his crimes, right?"
Even if due to poison, trying to set up a gambling den in Pingliang County showed how many commoners he'd tormented—obvious without seeing.
"I wrote in the letter to Seo physician: free to experiment during Deadly Solitude removal, as long as no death or disability. And no full cure. Can't leave him without a leash in case he betrays us."
"If he follows us because of the Deadly Solitude, that's not true repentance or atonement."
Jin Ha-yeon asked in principle. As expected of a devout fanatic.
At her point, Il-mok shrugged nonchalantly.
"I told them to keep it secret. That the Deadly Solitude remains."
"......"
"If he truly converts to our Divine Cult and repents, the Deadly Solitude won't flare up, so no issue, right?"
"......"
The group stared at Il-mok with speechless expressions.
"As expected, Brother is always thorough. I'll make sure to learn from you."
Everyone except Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.