Chapter 25
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Assassin's Hell (2)
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“Ten thousand nyang… This is enough to retire from the business altogether.”
A pockmarked man with a severely hunched back grinned foolishly at the gold before him.
He was Gam Mok-seo, the leader of the Sichuan assassin group, the Nine Crow Claws.
Beside him, Myo A-rang, leader of the Joyful Troupe, clad in a translucent robe, hummed as she inspected the gold in the chest.
“Is this really ten thousand nyang? Doesn't look like it's been mixed with anything. Was the Yangcheong Escort Agency that wealthy?”
“That's none of our business.”
A smile graced Gam Mok-seo's lips as he spoke.
Go I-hyeon looked back at the man who had summoned them. The man cleared his throat and stood before Gam Mok-seo and Myo A-rang.
“I wish to make a request, but I couldn't decide which of your two organizations would be better.”
The man said, stroking his catfish mustache.
Gam Mok-seo and Myo A-rang’s expressions soured for a moment, but the sight of the gold before them quickly smoothed their features.
The client’s intentions didn’t matter. Ten thousand nyang was enough to sell their entire organizations for.
“I considered giving five thousand nyang to each side, but I thought it would be better to entrust the entire sum to one party for a definite result.”
At Go I-hyeon's words, Gam Mok-seo and Myo A-rang nodded.
Neither had any intention of sharing such a large sum, no matter how many targets there were.
“The target is a man named Jin Je-yong. I haven't acquired a portrait of him yet, so you'll have to find one yourselves.”
“That’s a name I’ve never heard, sir.”
Gam Mok-seo tilted his head. It wasn't a name that warranted a ten-thousand-nyang bounty.
A sum like this was enough to target an elder of the Nine Great Sects, One Union, if not one of the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven.
But Jin Je-yong? He had never heard of him.
“I’ve never heard of him either. Where is he from? With a reward this high, could he be from Shaolin? Or Wudang?”
Myo A-rang also questioned the name as if hearing it for the first time.
“I’m told he’s an instructor at a small sword school in Sinnae Village.”
“Sinnae Village? Where’s that?”
“You’re spending this much money to take down a mere sword school instructor?”
Go I-hyeon simply nodded without answering.
As their eyes met, a realization struck Gam Mok-seo.
‘This is a test. From Go I-hyeon—no, from the organization behind him!’
Gam Mok-seo’s gaze shifted to the man with the catfish mustache.
There weren't many who could summon the leaders of Sichuan's top assassin groups, the Nine Crow Claws and the Joyful Troupe, at the same time.
Even the Qingcheng Sect… no, if it were a great sect of the Righteous Faction, these two would have tucked their tails and run.
“Hmph~ Is this a test? To join the alliance?”
Myo A-rang smiled, having also grasped the situation.
A rumor was circulating in the martial world, currently dominated by the Righteous Alliance.
That the remnants of the Blood Demon Cult, who had been on the run from the Righteous Alliance for over twenty years, were gathering. And that they were forming a new alliance of dark sects.
‘But to think that a subordinate sect of the Qingcheng Sect, the Yangcheong Escort Agency of all places, would be involved.’
Gam Mok-seo swallowed dryly.
This mission was not about assassination; it was a competition for survival between the Nine Crow Claws and the Joyful Troupe. The losing organization would surely be annihilated.
“And this is something to aid you in your request.”
“This is…”
“...A Soul Return Pill.”
Go I-hyeon took out two wooden boxes and handed them to the pair.
Gam Mok-seo and Myo A-rang groaned upon inspecting the contents.
Now, there was no escape.
***
“Let’s rest here for a while and recover from our journey.”
Upon reaching Suan Village, Dang Jin-seong spoke, his face weary.
Suan Village was even smaller than Haengbong County, so small that the entire village could be seen at a glance.
Perhaps because I'm from the countryside myself, I felt more at ease in a small village like this than in a crowded place.
“Let’s do that. Is that alright with everyone else?”
“We will follow your lead, Great Warrior Jin.”
“It’s not easy leading this old body around.”
“Then perhaps you should return to Haengbong County, old man?”
Ha Hyeol-ran retorted sharply to Pyo Il-jeon’s comment. The two sect masters would get along due to their common goal, but they still bickered frequently.
I ignored the two of them, asked Lee Geum-yeong for her consent once more, and then told Dang Jin-seong to arrange a place for us.
Suan Village was so small it didn't even have a common inn, so we were able to find a place to rest at the village chief's house.
“I’d like to hear a little more about Go I-hyeon.”
After dinner, as the group gathered again, Lee Geum-yeong called over Ham Jeong-eun to ask about the situation.
Ham Jeong-eun glanced at me before speaking.
“Director Go I-hyeon is the younger brother of Go I-da, the current master of the Yangcheong Sect. Both were talented individuals who studied at the Qingcheng Sect.”
Ham Jeong-eun was their junior by one generation.
According to him, the two young masters of the Yangcheong Sect, Go I-da and Go I-hyeon, were once promising next-generation talents as lay disciples of the Qingcheng Sect.
However, as lay disciples, unlike initiated disciples, they couldn't inherit the true arts of the Qingcheng Sect, and eventually returned to their hometown of Cheonggye County to take over the Yangcheong Sect and the Yangcheong Escort Agency.
“Back in the Qingcheng Sect, the younger brother, Go I-hyeon, was more skilled. They were often compared. The unremarkable older brother and the brilliant younger one.”
“But the Yangcheong Sect was inherited by the eldest son, Go I-da, while Go I-hyeon took over the escort agency.”
“It’s common for the eldest son to inherit.”
I nodded in agreement.
Although I had been managing the Sinnae Sword School for a few years, I wasn't the master. That title belonged to my senior brother, A-mun.
‘Since Senior Brother seems to be busy with other matters, I'm just running the Sinnae Sword School in his stead.’
I was merely the sword instructor of the school. I didn't really know much about running a school.
Though at the moment, with the disciples and myself gone, the school was temporarily closed, left in the care of Gyeong-ae from next door.
“Skill in swordsmanship and managing a sect are two completely different things.”
“They are completely different, but the martial world is a little different, Young Master Jin.”
“That's right, Great Warrior Jin. You cannot lead a martial sect if you are weak.”
The answers from Lee Geum-yeong and Ha Hyeol-ran were quite different from what I knew.
“Of course, the strongest in a sect doesn't have to be the master. But if the master representing the sect lacks skill, others will look down on them.”
“People say that the duties of a sect master leave little time to train, but martial arts training is one of a sect master’s duties.”
Ha Hyeol-ran added her explanation.
It seemed the way things worked was different from our Sinnae Sword School.
“And…”
The tedious explanations from Pyo Il-jeon and Ha Hyeol-ran continued.
As a newcomer to the martial world, I was grateful for the lessons the two sect masters carefully imparted.
‘Hmm, so in the end, it's all about face.’
A sect master represents the sect; they are its face. If the master's martial arts are lacking, the entire sect appears weak. To put it simply, they'll be looked down upon.
Sect management could be semi-delegated with the help of managers or elders, but a sect master who did so would lose face and the respect of their disciples.
“I see. But…”
“Is something wrong, Great Warrior Jin?”
I was about to ask a few more questions when I paused.
I then raised a finger to my lips to quiet them.
“There are about twenty martial artists moving around the outskirts of the village right now.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I need to step outside for a moment.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I left the room.
***
“Alright boys, it looks like we quick-footed ones have seized the opportunity before that slow-assed Joyful Troupe.”
Gam Mok-seo, having arrived first in Suan Village, gathered his men.
Twenty assassins stood beside him, their mouths covered with black cloth.
“Our target is Jin Je-yong, but… let’s do this like we always do.”
Gam Mok-seo distributed portraits of Jin Je-yong and the Soul Return Pills to his men.
Having heard of the pills’ effects, the assassins of the Nine Crow Claws swallowed them in one gulp. Their eyes began to glow yellow.
This was a ten-thousand-nyang head, after all.
“Leader, the Yellow Wind Poison has all been set.”
A smile spread across Gam Mok-seo’s face.
The Nine Crow Claws were different from ordinary assassins who only killed their target. They planned operations that wiped out everyone in the vicinity.
Depending on the situation, they wouldn't hesitate to take family members hostage and kill them along with the target, or, like this time, annihilate an entire small village.
“To your positions!”
At Gam Mok-seo's command, the twenty assassins melted into the air.
Yellow smoke erupted from all four directions of the village—east, west, south, and north.
The smoke swirled without leaving the village, gathering toward the center. It was a poison technique utilizing a formation.
‘Hehe, the ten thousand nyang is ours, you bitches from the Joyful Troupe.’
With such a large sum at stake, Gam Mok-seo spared no expense on poison or men.
This kind of massacre was a method the Joyful Troupe, a group comprised solely of women, could never carry out.
It required a lot of resources, but there was no more certain method of assassination.
“Jin Je-yong, my ten thousand nyang! No matter who you are, you will not survive this Annihilation Hell Formation. Kuhaha... Gurgle!”
“What was that, you piece of trash?”
The head of the maniacally laughing Gam Mok-seo tumbled to the ground.
Jin Je-yong flicked the blood from his sword and gazed at the poisonous mist filling the village.
“They're not just mad, they're completely insane... Did Senior Brother really work with scum like this?”
He could feel the presence of the assassins stirring within the village.
They were spreading the poisonous mist from the outskirts, gradually moving toward the village chief's house in the center.
“I'll send every last one of them to hell.”
Jin Je-yong's usual smile was gone, replaced by an icy tone.
In an instant, his figure on the rooftop vanished.
“Deputy Leader! The target is here... Gak!”
A sword pierced an assassin’s neck.
The deputy leader, a seasoned assassin, spotted Jin Je-yong and immediately threw a shuriken.
But Jin Je-yong’s form had already disappeared into the yellow mist of the poison.
“Who… Aaargh!”
“He-help… Gack!”
“Ghk!”
A shadow crumpled with a scream.
It was followed by the dying shrieks of his subordinates.
‘A-a monster.’
A chill ran down the deputy leader's spine.
Jin Je-yong was killing his men without a word.
He slit throats and pierced hearts as if he didn't even need the sword.
“Everyone, r-run!”
Losing your life while trying to kill the target is putting the cart before the horse.
A professional assassin kills the target without dying. As long as you survive, another chance will come. That's why assassins learn how to escape first and foremost.
The Nine Crow Claws, in particular, were experts in escaping, as well as in their brutal methods.
But none of his men responded to the deputy leader's shout.
“You're the last one.”
A voice as sharp as frost reached him.
Spotting Jin Je-yong, the deputy leader summoned his courage to speak. He intended to save his own life by offering the antidote for the Yellow Wind Poison.
“I-If you kill me, the antidote…”
Before the deputy leader could finish, Jin Je-yong's sword moved.
The deputy leader's decapitated body staggered before collapsing to the ground.
“Not needed.”
Having dealt with the twenty-one assassins of the Nine Crow Claws in an instant, Jin Je-yong surveyed his surroundings.
The village was filled with a fog-like poisonous mist.
“I just need to draw the poison out of the village.”
Jin Je-yong held his sword upright.
Then he stretched out his arm wide and swept his blade through the poisonous mist.
The poisonous mist began to cling to his blade.
A great Taiji formed, with Jin Je-yong at its center.