Chapter 86
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Righteousness and Demonic (2)
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Haha...
I couldn't help but laugh in sheer disbelief.
Even in my dreams, I wasn't in one piece.
My entire body was cracked open, caked in blood, and I could barely move.
The Great Heavenly Demon looked down at me with utter contempt.
"If you'd just handed your body over to me from the start, none of this would have happened."
"I'd have to be insane for that to happen."
Tsk tsk...
"Soon enough, you'll be losing your mind. If you were in decent shape, I'd rip you apart limb from limb, but since you're like this, guess I'll just tear that mouth of yours."
The Great Heavenly Demon approached me as I lay there, looking like he really meant to rip my mouth open.
"Please hold off just this once."
"You fool. You could have handled that enemy far more easily, but you didn't, so this is what you get."
He was right.
If I'd fought Cho Eun-seon using this demon's martial arts, my body wouldn't be in this state.
"The Demonic Cult isn't staffed by idiots. They must have been watching my fight with Cho Eun-seon from somewhere."
Kuhahaha!
A hearty laugh burst from the Great Heavenly Demon's mouth.
Once he stopped laughing, he looked oddly pleased for some reason.
"The Boundless Sword Demon was watching from across the river."
"So my hunch was spot on."
Suddenly, a strange fragrance brushed past my nose.
I tilted my head, unsure what it was.
But the Great Heavenly Demon knew exactly what it was.
"That Divine Monk seems to know a thing or two about propriety."
"What do you mean?"
"To stabilize your body, that young monk used a Soul Revival Pill."
Huh...
I was utterly astonished.
The Soul Revival Pill, Shaolin's spirit medicine, was one of the world's martial treasures.
And he'd willingly used something that precious on me.
"No need to get all moved. You fought Cho Eun-seon in place of the Five Heavenly Kings."
The Great Heavenly Demon doused my budding emotions with cold water.
"How touching."
My sarcastic tone irked him; his thick brows twitched.
"The fact that they used a Soul Revival Pill means your internal injuries are worse than thought. You'll need to circulate your energy to heal for a while."
With that, the Great Heavenly Demon's form began to fade.
"You leaving?"
"I won't be dropping by for a bit."
"Thanks ever so much. Really brings a tear to my eye."
"I am Baek Jang-cheon."
The refined middle-aged man clasped his hands politely in greeting.
"Namo Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva."
The Divine Monk returned the half-bow.
"Thank you for answering my summons, Divine Monk."
Heheheh...
"How could I ignore that glare of yours, covered in blood as you are?"
His words were a touch frivolous, but his voice carried a generous, benevolent warmth.
The Boundless Sword Demon sensed it but showed no reaction.
"Do you know who I am?"
"My disciple mentioned the head of the Si Family."
"Then do you know why I called you here?"
The Divine Monk gazed deeply at the Boundless Sword Demon.
He wasn't what you'd expect from a Demonic Cultist.
He seemed more like a true martial artist walking the path of the sword.
"To discuss life and death?"
"I'd rather discuss victory and defeat."
Kekekeke...
The Divine Monk let out a hearty laugh, nodded, and stepped back.
"Such compassion from a layman."
As the Divine Monk created distance, the Boundless Sword Demon stepped back as well.
Silence hung between them for a moment.
But soon, the Divine Monk smiled faintly and raised both hands.
"Please, come at me, layman."
"Looks like we'll have to postpone this, Divine Monk."
The Divine Monk bowed with a half-prostration.
"Namo Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Seems my curious friend spoiled your mood. Allow me to apologize on his behalf."
The Boundless Sword Demon nodded slowly and turned to leave.
As he watched him go, the Divine Monk spoke.
"Jealous of an old friend enjoying himself after so long? You rascal."
Yeong-gae emerged from the shadows far behind the Divine Monk.
"What do you think, now that you've seen him with your own eyes?"
Yeong-gae asked as he approached.
"It'll be a tough fight. If all Five Lords are like this layman, the martial world is in for a long ordeal."
"That's not like you to sound so weak."
Heheheh...
"Listen, beggar. I'm getting on in years too. My body's not what it used to be."
"Damn monk. You've gotten whinier since we last met."
Yeong-gae dismissed the talk of age as nonsense, but he knew full well his own days were numbered.
"Let's go grab some rice wine."
The Divine Monk walked off without waiting for a reply.
"Aren't you going to meet that young fellow, Go Gong?"
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. Hurry up."
I opened my eyes to find the younger experts looking down at me worriedly.
"Are you awake, Go Gong?"
Ah...
"Yeah. How long was I out?"
"About an hour. You're far from stable. Don't get up."
I shifted my head slightly to check my body.
I was wrapped head to toe in white cloth, looking just like a prepared corpse.
"Were you planning to put me in a coffin?"
Smiles broke across their worried faces.
"Joking around means your injuries aren't as bad as we thought."
"Must be thanks to that monk's Soul Revival Pill. Anyway, thanks."
Myeong-gak stared at me in surprise, then sheepishly scratched his bald head.
"You don't know how much I begged my master for that Soul Revival Pill. So from now on, treat me like the lifesaver I am—bow politely and..."
"Hey, monk. Didn't the Divine Monk give it to you first?"
Cheongpung's exasperation made Myeong-gak snap back in anger.
"Shut it if you don't know anything, you Daoist fool! I begged with my eyes first, so master saw and gladly..."
I cut him off midway.
"No wonder they call you a con artist—scamming even in a situation like this?"
"Namo Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. I swear on Buddha, it's the truth, Go Gong."
Myeong-gak's shamelessness brought a smile to my face despite the pain.
Zhuge Ji and Namgung Hye giggled too.
"What about the Five Heavenly Kings and Seven Star Lords?"
"They returned to the Seok Family."
"I see. And no one else came to my house after they left?"
"No."
'Was I wrong?'
I'd figured someone from the Demonic Cult would come to finish off the injured, collapsed me.
But no one had shown.
"They might come at night."
Zhuge Ji caught on first.
"You're right. They just might."
The others realized too, their faces paling.
"I'll send someone to the Seok Family to inform my master."
"Can't you do anything without your master?"
Hmph...
My words pricked her pride; Namgung Hye made a strange noise and curled her lip.
"You look down on us too much."
"Then prove it."
"Fine."
"Did the Crimson Moon Great Demon send you lot as well?"
A layer of frost formed on the refined Boundless Sword Demon's face.
Those prostrated in the darkness said nothing.
"What orders did the Crimson Moon Great Demon give you?"
The man at the front cautiously answered the Boundless Sword Demon's icy question.
"The Lord commanded us to confirm the life or death of a man named Go Gong."
"Did you know the Five Heavenly Kings entered Huanin County?"
"Yes."
The Boundless Sword Demon clicked his tongue in displeasure at the unwavering reply.
Tsk tsk...
"Pathetic... Report that Cho Eun-seon was killed by Go Gong."
The man looked up in shock.
He was in his early forties, with sharp, piercing eyes.
"You doubt my word?"
The flustered man hurriedly bowed his head.
"N-no, sir. Then what of this Go Gong...?"
"He survived but took heavy wounds. He won't be moving for a while. You know everything now—go report it."
But the man didn't budge.
A glint of killing intent flashed in the Boundless Sword Demon's eyes.
"Were you ordered to confirm death with your own eyes?"
The man bowed his head silently.
The Boundless Sword Demon gazed down at him and his group for a moment, then turned and vanished into the darkness.
"A dog needs a good master..."
Sweat dripped from the prostrated man's forehead.
That killing intent piercing his back was no joke.
He'd truly meant to kill him.
'Why...?'
The Boundless Sword Demon rarely showed killing intent even within the cult, let alone anger.
That was why many cultists respected and feared him.
He had no subordinates under him.
Well, he did.
But no more than ten.
The man steeled himself.
'Cho Eun-seon may have been orthodox, but he was our master who taught us martial arts. It's only right we avenge him.'
As the man rose, those behind him followed suit.
"Strike fast and pull back."
Those with swords at their waists dashed toward the distant village at high speed.
"Will enemies really come?"
Cheongpung, sitting in the courtyard, gazed up at the starry night sky and asked.
"Probably."
Myeong-gak looked up at the night sky too.
"With three of the Five Heavenly Kings and three Seven Star Lords here, no sane person would barge in."
"When have those guys ever been sane?"
As the two chatted, Gwijong's voice came from the rooftop.
"Shadows are moving."
At his warning, Zhuge Ji and Namgung Hye stepped into the courtyard from the porch, and Myeong-gak and Cheongpung stood.
"We need to capture one and find out where Seok Daehyeop is."
The younger experts nodded and lined up at Zhuge Ji's words.
Figures began to appear faintly beyond the collapsed wall, then scattered in all directions.
But the hazy shapes couldn't cross the wall, blocked by something.
Thanks to the formation Zhuge Ji had hastily set up.
But it didn't last. The enemies realized the disorienting trick was a formation and leaped over it.
Pew. Pew...
With the sound of slicing air, the hazy figures closed in instantly.
Myeong-gak punched at the face of the middle-aged man now visible before him.
Thud!
The afterimage pierced by his fist faded, and a cold sword thrust toward his waist.
Myeong-gak urgently stepped aside to dodge, then his eyes widened like saucers as he tracked the elegant curving swordsmanship.
Clang! Clang!...
Cheongpung, Namgung Hye, and Zhuge Ji were clashing swords with their foes.
"Kunlun...!"
Myeong-gak's shout echoed in the darkness, and the younger experts all recoiled in shock.
But Kunlun's swordsmanship pursued them relentlessly.
Thud!
Myeong-gak smacked the enemy's sword arm with his left hand and struck his chest with his right.
Ughhh...
The middle-aged man toppled backward with a pained groan.
Krunch!
But at the sound of the back gate shattering, Myeong-gak's face changed.
"Damn it!"
The frontal assault had been a decoy.