Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: I Guess That's True
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Not long after the fight between Cheon Gyeongwan and Hwangbo Yeop ended, the battle between the Hwangbo family warriors and the attendants was also reaching its conclusion.
Byeok Taesan's attendants didn't use any particular weapons.
As for the Hwangbo family warriors, their fists were practically weapons themselves, so they didn't wield any.
Normally, they would fight wearing cestuses studded with iron cores, but they weren't doing so now.
They hadn't even taken them out, believing they wouldn't need to use them in the first place.
The fight was quite fierce.
If it had been only Byeok Taesan's attendants, they would have surely been overwhelmed by the Hwangbo family warriors.
The ten warriors who had come here were no ordinary men.
Just five of them together were strong enough to take on Hwangbo Yeop.
Considering Hwangbo Yeop's skill was comparable to or slightly surpassed that of the Hwangbo family elders, it was clear how powerful these warriors were.
The reason they could fight on even terms against such warriors was entirely due to Yu Seoyeon's strength.
Yu Seoyeon moved swiftly, rescuing attendants in danger and guiding the overall flow of the battle.
In a different sense than Cheon Gyeongwan, Yu Seoyeon was gaining valuable experience.
The ability to grasp the flow of a battle was a crucial skill that could, at times, determine life or death.
In any case, as the fight continued, Hwangbo Yeop fell, which caused the Hwangbo family warriors to waver.
Byeok Taesan's attendants precisely exploited the openings that naturally appeared.
The ten Hwangbo family warriors were beaten mercilessly, collapsing to the ground covered in dark bruises.
And so, the fight ended.
Now, among the people from the Hwangbo family, only Yang Chibaek remained standing unscathed.
Everyone present could tell at a glance that Yang Chibaek was nothing special.
So, no one bothered to fight him.
Faced with a completely unexpected outcome, Yang Chibaek fidgeted, unsure of what to do.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages approached the anxious Yang Chibaek.
Yang Chibaek looked at the Divine Doctor of the Ages with nervous eyes.
"Uh, many people know we came here!"
Yang Chibaek shouted quickly before the Divine Doctor could make a move.
He had to say this first to ensure everyone could return safely without anyone dying.
Underlying his words was the belief that they wouldn't dare to openly kill people from the Hwangbo family.
"So?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages stared at Yang Chibaek with a dumbfounded expression.
Yang Chibaek furtively avoided the Divine Doctor's gaze and replied.
"It's just... a fact. I'm a rather cautious person... Also, for your information, the man who fainted over there is the next in line to be the head of the Hwangbo family."
The Divine Doctor tilted his head and turned to look for Hwaok. She was the only one here who would know such things.
However, Hwaok was currently on the top floor of the pavilion, completely absorbed in organizing the information Byeok Taesan had given her.
"Doesn't anyone here know?"
As the Divine Doctor grumbled, a member of the Underworld Sect who had been cautiously watching from outside the rear garden sidled up to them.
"Currently, the Hwangbo family has not yet decided on a young master. He is merely one of the candidates."
The Divine Doctor grinned at those words.
"So if we kill this guy, the other candidates will be overjoyed, won't they?"
"If the stage is set correctly, it seems possible."
Yang Chibaek was horrified by the Underworld Sect member's reply.
"That's absolutely not true! The Hwangbo family never abandons its own! If anything happens here, there will surely be retaliation!"
The Divine Doctor said with a sullen expression.
"Hasn't something already happened? They got beaten up like that."
Yang Chibaek pleaded with a desperate look.
"I'll do whatever it takes to make this seem like it never happened."
"You think this can be undone? And from what I saw of that guy earlier, he's a total scumbag. Can you even handle him properly?"
"I can! I absolutely can!"
The Divine Doctor nodded and slowly turned his gaze to Byeok Taesan.
"That's what he says. What will you do, Young Master?"
Byeok Taesan said calmly.
"Not necessary."
At Byeok Taesan's words, Yang Chibaek's heart sank. It felt like a death sentence.
The Divine Doctor said nonchalantly.
"Then I'll kill them all."
Yang Chibaek's face turned pale.
But Byeok Taesan didn't order them to be killed either.
"Enough. They won't remember properly anyway."
With those words, Byeok Taesan approached Hwangbo Yeop, grabbed the nape of his neck, and headed for the pavilion.
"Bring the rest of them."
From somewhere, members of the Underworld Sect swarmed out, hoisted the Hwangbo family warriors, and followed Byeok Taesan.
Then, the Divine Doctor of the Ages glared at Yang Chibaek.
Like a cow being led to a slaughterhouse, Yang Chibaek slowly trailed at the very back of the procession.
As he walked, he turned his head several times to look at the Divine Doctor with pleading eyes.
But each time, the Divine Doctor would glare back, gesturing for him to hurry up and follow.
And so, Yang Chibaek too entered the pavilion.
A moment later, screams that sounded like lungs were being ripped out erupted from inside the pavilion.
* * *
Byeok Taesan watched the entrance of the pavilion with a rather satisfied expression.
Members of the Underworld Sect were just leaving, carrying the Hwangbo family warriors and Hwangbo Yeop on their shoulders.
Yang Chibaek was likewise unconscious, slumped over the shoulder of an Underworld Sect member.
It had been a long time since he'd last drawn out half a soul and gently roasted it.
But, perhaps due to the considerable enlightenment he'd gained about the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, things were quite different from before.
First, the time it took to burn the soul had been drastically reduced.
And the rate at which he absorbed the spiritual energy from the burning had increased.
He was now able to absorb a portion of the useless spiritual energy that had previously been impossible to take in.
In the process, he was able to extract a considerable number of thoughts.
He would soon pass them on to Hwaok.
Memories held by a direct descendant of the Hwangbo family—wouldn't they make for some pretty good intelligence?
And this time, he had confirmed a new possibility.
Normally, for someone like Hwangbo Yeop with a lot of experience in killing, the filth and the soul are so intermingled that it's nearly impossible to burn only the filth.
But, whether it was due to his past enlightenment or a new one gained just now, he saw the possibility of achieving it.
Of course, he hadn't done it this time. It might have been possible if he had taken more time to burn it meticulously, but why would he bother putting that much effort into someone like Hwangbo Yeop?
In any case, from now on, if he wished, he could cleanly burn away the filth of a soul without causing the soul itself to collapse.
It is the accumulation of such small experiences and enlightenments that allows one to step into a new realm.
Once the Underworld Sect members were outside, Byeok Taesan rose from his seat and headed upstairs.
Hwaok was there, still engrossed in organizing the information extracted from Hyeokryeon Bigwang.
Byeok Taesan slowly went up to give Hwaok a new task.
* * *
Hwangbo Yeop winced from a splitting headache. His eyes wouldn't open properly. His body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Still, he forced his eyes open.
After struggling to open them, sensation slowly began to return to his body.
First, his hearing slowly awakened.
He could hear a murmur of voices around him.
Then his sense of smell returned.
A foul stench assaulted his nostrils.
"Ugh."
He forced himself to sit up.
Looking around, he saw the family warriors he had brought with him.
They were all unconscious, sprawled here and there.
And surrounding them from a distance was a circle of people, watching him and the Hwangbo family warriors.
It wasn't just one or two people. The circle was packed tightly.
Only then did he see their expressions. They were all holding back laughter. And on a few faces, he could see surprise.
And he could hear words like "Hwangbo family" and "Hwangbo Yeop" coming from all sides.
'What is this?'
Hwangbo Yeop instinctively looked around.
He noticed something was wrong with the rear ends of the Hwangbo family warriors. He knew what it was the moment he saw it.
Startled, he checked his own condition.
'This is insane!'
He was in the same state as them.
Hwangbo Yeop hurriedly woke up the family warriors.
"What are you all doing! Get up!"
The Hwangbo family warriors struggled to regain consciousness. But he had no time to look after them.
Hwangbo Yeop leaped to his feet and used his movement arts to dash toward the family estate.
Plop, plop, plop!
A trail of filthy debris dropped behind him as he ran.
People jumped back in horror, clearing a path to his left and right.
Not long after Hwangbo Yeop disappeared, the Hwangbo family warriors also came to their senses.
And after reacting in the same way as Hwangbo Yeop, they too ran for the estate.
On top of the trail left by Hwangbo Yeop, the traces of ten more people were added.
* * *
The rumors about Hwangbo Yeop spread very quickly.
The place where they had collapsed unconscious was the busiest spot in Nanchang.
Since there weren't many people in Nanchang who didn't recognize Hwangbo Yeop, the rumors spread even faster.
Of course, the Underworld Sect had helped things along a bit, but even so, the speed was excessive.
As a result, Hwangbo Yeop fell far behind in the competition for succession.
No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was practically eliminated.
They couldn't possibly present someone who had soiled themselves in the middle of the street as the heir to the Hwangbo family, one of the Five Great Families.
In any case, Hwangbo Yeop's elimination from the succession was one thing, but they still had to find out what had happened.
The Hwangbo family summoned Hwangbo Yeop, the ten family warriors, and Yang Chibaek one by one for a detailed investigation.
However, not a single one of them had any memory of the events.
Even Hwangbo Yeop and Yang Chibaek couldn't remember what happened when they tried to subjugate the water bandits at Poyang Lake.
So, the Hwangbo family began its own thorough investigation from the very beginning.
They meticulously retraced every action taken by Hwangbo Yeop, Yang Chibaek, and the ten warriors.
The results of this diligent investigation were delivered to the head of the Hwangbo family, Hwangbo Wonhu.
Hwangbo Wonhu sat alone in the family head's office, carefully reading through a rather thick document.
Most of it was meaningless.
It was a report compiled by tracing the movements of twelve people one by one, so it was naturally voluminous and lacking in substance.
There was originally a separate, summarized report with only the key points, but Hwangbo Wonhu was deliberately checking the full report himself instead.
This method—reading everything himself to grasp the core issues, then comparing it with the summarized report—was one Hwangbo Wonhu favored.
Hwangbo Wonhu pushed most of the documents aside, leaving only a few pages.
To be precise, they were about Yang Chibaek.
Yang Chibaek was Hwangbo Yeop's closest confidant. He was particularly adept at handling matters that Hwangbo Yeop couldn't do openly.
He was quite capable in that regard, so Hwangbo Wonhu had also been keeping an eye on him.
It was recorded that Yang Chibaek had commissioned something from an information broker in Nanchang.
Exactly what he commissioned was unknown. When asked about it, Yang Chibaek couldn't remember at all.
He only said that he would have no reason to meet with an information broker.
"First... I suppose I should meet with these people."
He needed to meet with the Nanchang information broker and find out what Yang Chibaek had commissioned from them.
That would be the starting point for this whole investigation.
* * *
Now, most of their work in Nanchang was finished.
In fact, they had achieved far more than their original goal.
In Nanchang, there had been two bases of Nameless and six masters; not only did they deal with all of them, but they also raided two additional small-scale bases.
On top of that, they had even captured Hyeokryeon Bigwang. What a huge success.
Now, all that was left was to deal with the Nameless bases on the way back to Changsha.
That was the original plan.
But the information obtained from capturing Hyeokryeon Bigwang and burning his soul was the problem.
"What? You're going to Mount Huang?"
Hwaok looked at Byeok Taesan, startled.
She hadn't finished organizing all the information Byeok Taesan had given her. The volume was immense, and much of it was too vague.
Hyeokryeon Bigwang knew more than she expected, but was also ignorant of many things.
Hwaok had expected Hyeokryeon Bigwang to be someone with a direct connection to the master of Nameless, at the very least.
That was, until she obtained his information.
But as she organized the information, she realized that wasn't the case.
Hyeokryeon Bigwang knew nothing about the master of Nameless.
He didn't even know about the direct subordinates under the master's personal command.
However, he did have some information about those who had stepped down from their positions as direct subordinates.
One of them was on Mount Huang.
That was the only piece of information Hwaok had confirmed about Mount Huang.
And he was the strongest person among all those Hyeokryeon Bigwang knew.
"You'll be busy, so wait here. I'll go take a look by myself."
Byeok Taesan said it casually. He often did this back when he was the Heavenly Demon.
However, he caused a storm every time. Of course, he himself never thought so.
"I can't allow that. At the very least, you'll need someone to attend to you, Young Master, won't you?"
At her words, Byeok Taesan immediately nodded.
"I guess that's true."
Come to think of it, he needed at least three attendants. That was one thing that had changed from his time as the Heavenly Demon.
Having attendants around was truly convenient. He had not the slightest intention of giving up that comfort.
"Then we'll leave tomorrow morning. Prepare three of them."
"Yes. I will relay the message immediately."
Hwaok couldn't go. It was a shame, but it couldn't be helped. She had too much work to do.
She planned to just pass this task on to the attendants. It would be best for them to decide amongst themselves, wouldn't it?
She found herself growing curious about who would get to go, and how they would choose.
The corners of Hwaok's mouth lifted slightly.