68. Sanzang's Shadow
“Insane!”
Jikho let out a scream of shock, his face twisted in horror.
The fist that filled the entire space.
One could not tell whether it was real or fake.
There were only two possibilities for the hand extending toward the center of the fist: either a madman or a master who could distinguish the real from the fake.
Unfortunately, Sun Wukong was the latter.
“What good is a fast fist if there’s no substance to it?”
Sun Wukong sneered lightly. The red energy surging from his entire body made Jikho’s face instantly pale. Within the fading shadow, only one fist remained clear. Sun Wukong flicked it away with the back of his hand.
“Ugh!”
Even though it was merely flicked away, the impact was immense. His hand turned bright red. His wrist throbbed and trembled.
“Hah!”
Jikho did not yield. He swung his fists and legs.
Following the fist technique, then the leg technique.
His level was quite sharp. Sun Wukong’s eyes calmed.
*He seems like just a little brat, but his level isn’t bad.*
A mere underling with such skill wasn’t bad. The backgrounds of these vicious ones were more than one might think.
*Probably related to those guys.*
There was something Sun Wukong wanted in the Wudang Sect. It was what they wanted.
Not just the Seven Star Sword, but the Golden Cord as well.
*The Golden Horn Demon in the Wudang Sect.*
Sun Wukong noted that it was the Wudang Sect that had been attacked.
*Probably those guys.*
Sun Wukong thought this and stared calmly at Jikho.
Jikho, who had been attacking continuously, realized something.
*I can’t do anything to this master. He’s a monster. But why?*
He didn’t kill me in one strike.
Even though swinging a huge steel rod would definitely shatter my head in one go.
*He wants to capture me alive and make me talk.*
Jikho’s mind raced wildly.
Sun Wukong did not use lethal force.
*If he doesn’t want to kill me, then…*
Take the flesh and leave the bones.
Recalling the Six Annihilation Palm, Jikho poured out his inner energy fiercely.
Sun Wukong frowned. His left hand moved gracefully. A faint vacuum formed at the center of the red qi flowing from the fingertips. Jikho’s inner energy was instantly devoured. The extended fist was crushed in an instant.
Kwa-jik!
Jikho gritted his teeth to endure the pain. He quickly turned his body, using his inner energy to its limit, and leaped away in an instant.
*That bastard!*
Two warriors from the Namgung Clan chased after him.
The young man with an upright face was more impressive than the expressionless woman, but she still looked weaker.
Even though they were warriors from the Namgung Clan, they were still novices. At least better than this monster Sun Wukong, right?
*We’ll break through that!*
As Jikho’s figure shot out, the blunt-faced Namgung Seowol drew her sword without hesitation. A dazzling white light flashed. The world seemed to flash, then turned red.
Swoosh.
Jikho finally realized something was terribly wrong.
“Keuk!”
Jikho let out a pained cry and rolled around. His chest was split open, revealing red internal organs and white ribs directly.
Without time to feel the pain, the shock to Jikho’s pupils was like an earthquake.
The deep wounds left on his body. It was a fatal slash. An extremely vicious cut. If he hadn’t turned his body hastily, his upper body would have been sliced off.
A bell rang in his mind.
*I’m dead…!*
A bold sword. Unhesitating hand speed. A single strike that would take his life in an instant, filled with vicious killing intent.
Before he could react, the white sword that had torn open his chest came stabbing towards his neck.
Jikho realized this was the end and tightly closed his eyes.
Kyaang!
Instead of pain, a clear sound pierced his ear.
“Stop, Seowol.”
Namgung Muyoung blocked Seowol’s sword with a stiff face. Seowol turned her head and looked at Muyoung. Seeing her unwavering pupils, Muyoung said firmly.
“You can’t kill him.”
“Why?”
“Is he definitely a vicious one from the Wudang bloodbath, or the culprit who destroyed Soseon Sect? It’s not confirmed yet.”
On Seowol’s expressionless face, emotions slowly surfaced. She frowned slightly, as if displeased.
“There might be a grudge with Soseon Sect, or some unknown connection. In a situation where we don’t know who’s right or wrong, we can’t judge and take a life.”
Namgung Muyoung declared strongly.
Sun Wukong watched their conversation quietly.
No, he couldn’t intervene. Suddenly, his head throbbed, and a voice came from a line of memories.
“Especially, Seowol, your hand speed is too excessive!”
—Your hand speed is excessive, Wukong!
“Uhm.”
The afterimage faintly flickered.
Sun Wukong swallowed a groan and rubbed his eyes.
“Your sword has too much killing intent. Just a graze would feel like it would cut your heart.”
—Your movements have too much killing intent.
A gentle voice, and a sad face. The faintly flickering afterimage didn’t disappear even after rubbing his eyes.
“He’s a bad guy. He killed all those people. No mercy for villains.”
“I know. But I said we might not know about some unknown connection. To my eyes, these guys look like the villains who wiped out Soseon Sect. But what if there was a truly just reason that we didn’t know?”
“… ”
“It’s not just appearances, Seowol. You have to look inside.”
—It’s not just appearances. Look inside, Wukong.
It overlapped.
Muyoung’s upright face. Sanzang’s face, which was too straightforward and frustrating.
“… Sanzang.”
The shadow of Sanzang was cast.
* * *
*No. I can’t see him as Sanzang yet.*
Sun Wukong tried to shake off the flickering shadow of Sanzang in front of him.
*It’s not confirmed.*
It was the same as before with Muhwa.
The words that came out of Muhwa’s mouth. The intense sense of familiarity that shook the mind. The atmosphere and emotions. Sanzang didn’t overlap.
*Actually, it was Bajie.*
Thinking about that alone made a smile come out of his mouth.
Zhu Bajie.
The fat pig and the ridiculously thin Muhwa didn’t overlap at all.
Sun Wukong looked at Muyoung again.
*Sanzang affected everyone.*
Sanzang’s words and actions influenced others.
Even Sun Wukong, outwardly denying it, secretly admitted that he had been influenced by Sanzang and changed.
*This guy could be one of the others influenced by Sanzang.*
Sun Wukong dismissed the hasty conclusion.
He turned his gaze to Seowol.
*This side…*
If I weren’t Sun Wukong.
*This guy would think I’m Sun Wukong.*
Sun Wukong laughed self-mockingly.
The sword he swung had no hesitation, and it was full of killing intent.
The vicious resolve to kill in one strike was deeply felt.
Just like in the past when Sun Wukong did that.
That’s why.
*Who are you?*
It wasn’t clicking. Sun Wukong stared quietly at Seowol.
After sparring for several days and giving some instruction, maybe that was why.
Sun Wukong realized that even on that expressionless face, quite a few emotions were mixed.
Seowol stared with a blunt look at Muyoung for a while, then suddenly turned her head.
*She’s sulking.*
There were many things to say, but she wasn’t saying them. Muyoung also felt that emotion and said to Sun Wukong with a troubled expression.
“Master Sun, do you agree with my thoughts?”
“Me?”
“You deliberately didn’t use special killing intent when facing this guy. Probably, you intended to capture him alive and extract information.”
Sun Wukong slowly nodded.
It wasn’t for the straightforward reason Muyoung said; he just kept him alive.
It was simply a matter of utility value for Sun Wukong.
The value of a prisoner who could spit out information.
“In that case, I’ll leave the disposal to Master Sun. I’ll take this guy’s woman and investigate in detail whether he’s a vicious one and why he was attacked.”
Sun Wukong’s eyes narrowed.
It was a fact known to Muyoung, Seowol, and Sun Wukong.
That this guy was definitely a vicious one, and Soseon Sect was just a victim.
Muyoung was probably confident inwardly.
*Even so, he’s pounding on the bridge until the end, worrying if there might be any victims.*
Extreme stubbornness and straightforwardness.
I understand why he had an impression of being an outlier and weak in the Namgung Clan.
*But because his heart is solid and his spine is firm, he can maintain such straightforwardness.*
Unchanging in the surrounding environment.
*Like that guy.*
Just like Sanzang did.
* * *
Jikho, who had been acting as if he wouldn’t open his mouth and say anything.
But he had no choice but to open his mouth under Sun Wukong’s torture using the point blood method.
“Really, is that all you know?”
Sun Wukong looked at him with a disappointed tone.
“Y-yes, I really don’t know.”
Sun Wukong glared at him with an unpleasant expression.
Jikho’s body trembled as their eyes met.
The bewitching red eyes, the bright golden pupils.
His mind burned white hot.
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue and looked away.
*He was indeed just a little brat.*
“Still… I found out that these guys are vicious.”
“Well, that’s natural.”
I didn’t hear much, but I got one important piece of information.
“If there’s a Taoist from Wudang who survived and hasn’t been caught yet.”
A Taoist survived the bloodbath and fled to this Soseon Sect.
The pursuit team chasing the traces found that Soseon Sect had been wiped out.
It turned out that Soseon Sect itself was a Taoist sect.
The sect leader had once studied Daoism and was a disciple of Wudang Sect.
When the Wudang Taoist escaped, they used all their power to help him.
Because of that, they walked the path of extermination…
“That Taoist is the key.”
Following Namgung Muyoung’s words, Sun Wukong nodded.
“It’s not just to completely eliminate the survivors.”
The survivors from the bloodbath are eyewitnesses who saw and heard a lot.
It was right to kill them to eliminate future troubles.
If the vicious ones’ actions were simply to get rid of the eyewitnesses, there were clearly excessive parts.
“Those who need to quickly strike and hide their tracks are still rampaging.”
“Going beyond killing the Taoist, there’s something more.”
“Probably need to find the Taoist first.”
Sun Wukong felt a strong intuition.
“I can’t hand him over to them.”
Muyoung nodded as if agreeing.
Muyoung meant he couldn’t stand the sight of a righteous sect suffering the same fate as the demons.
But Sun Wukong had a different reason.
*If they’re trying to capture him by force, it means he’s really important.*
The key to fighting is to take away the most important thing from the opponent.
Sun Wukong intended to dig into that key point.
“For now, cut the sinews and arteries of these guys, seal their meridians, and transport them to the Namgung Clan or send them to Wudang Sect or the Wulin Alliance.”
“… Why?”
“Because they’re definitely evil. Since they killed the envoy of the Wulin Alliance, the Wulin Alliance or the Wudang Sect, the parties involved, should handle the disposal. If it’s difficult, since it’s an incident that happened in Anhui Province, they should be thrown into the Namgung Clan’s prison.”
Sun Wukong frowned.
Suddenly, his chest felt stuffy.
“Even if we keep these guys alive for now, who will take them?”
“Well…”
“Right now, I have to chase after the vicious ones, but when do I bring the kids back?”
Sun Wukong’s words made Muyoung close his mouth.
He understood, but there was also an unpleasant feeling.
*Ah, this feeling when Sanzang got stubborn.*
Sun Wukong’s irritation surged. If Muyoung said one more word, he was going to hit his head.
Fortunately for Muyoung, he stopped at that thought.
Swoosh— accompanied by a chilling slicing sound that pierced the ear, Jikho let out a rattling death cry and died.
Muyoung’s face, which had turned away, hardened.
Sun Wukong’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“… ”
It wasn’t just Jikho. Black-clothed people scattered around, bleeding.
Sun Wukong’s steel rod pierced holes in various parts of their bodies, but they all managed to hold on.
Namgung Seowol stabbed them all deeply with her sword.
Neck, heart, chest, forehead.
The process was mechanical. Stab and pull out. It looked like a simple repetitive action without any emotion.
Eventually, when all the black-clothed people had breathed their last.
Seowol sheathed her bloodied sword with an expressionless face.
The silence settled.