Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Exterminating the Northern Underworld Assassins
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cho-seon moved her long, delicate fingers with graceful ease.
“Sorcery is the art of intervening in the divine realm, a place inaccessible to mortals, to resolve matters of fortune and misfortune.”
The concept of sorcery sounded absurd, but I saw no need to show it.
“People are terribly curious about things that lie beyond their own abilities.”
Cho-seon leaned her upper body forward slightly.
“One more thing. If you allow us to open a branch palace in Dong-ro County, I will tell you anything Master Ak wishes to know, whenever you ask.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as our Dong-ro Branch Palace remains open.”
It was a tempting offer.
Mastery of martial arts alone doesn’t make one the strongest; one must also know more than others. Before meeting Cho-seon, I had never given much thought to the value of knowledge.
Just then, the floating house swayed slightly as someone boarded the boat.
A moment later, someone stomped up the stairs and opened the door. It was a waiter from the tavern, carrying a bamboo basket filled with food.
“Food delivery!”
The savory aroma of the dishes filled the air.
“Hmph! We ordered this ages ago, and you’re just now arriving! Take it back!”
Aeng-a, who had been silent until now, seized the opportunity to berate the waiter.
“The tavern is packed with customers. I barely found a moment to bring this over.”
The waiter panted as he placed the dishes on the table.
“We paid a two-nyang delivery fee! You should have run faster! Why so many excuses?”
*Clink!*
“Here’s your two-nyang fee!”
The waiter placed a single copper coin on the table and began packing the food back into the basket.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t sell food to ill-mannered girls like you!”
“You brat! Do you want to die?”
Aeng-a swiftly slapped the waiter across the cheek.
*Smack!*
“Are you the one who wants to die?”
*Whoosh!*
The waiter lightly brushed Aeng-a’s arm aside with his left and threw a punch at her face.
“Ah!”
Startled, Aeng-a stumbled back desperately, barely dodging the blow.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, as if she couldn’t fathom that she had just been bested by a mere waiter.
I spoke to the waiter in a calm voice.
“Leave the food.”
“I’d rather not.”
The waiter retorted bluntly.
Just then, the door opened and Jang Ung walked in.
The waiter glanced over absently, then froze in shock upon spotting Jang Ung.
“Ah!”
Jang Ung bowed respectfully to me.
“I have returned.”
When Jang Ung looked at him, the waiter flinched and bowed his head.
“Greetings, Sect Leader!”
Jang Ung recognized him as a waiter from a tavern under the Crouching Dragon Group’s control.
Seeing Jang Ung’s deferential attitude toward me, the waiter finally realized who I was, his face paling in shock, unsure of what to do.
I asked the waiter.
“Have you learned martial arts?”
“Y-Yes.”
Jang Ung explained.
“All members of the Crouching Dragon Group train in martial arts after their work.”
“Well done.”
After the waiter left, Jang Ung reported on his task.
“I confirmed the identity of the first person listed in the booklet. He belongs to Jiangxi's Heaven of the Unorthodox Path, one of the Ten Heavens. He forged his documents to pass the Alliance’s screening.”
“What did you do?”
“I informed the Regional Master of Hangzhou about the six names on the first page of the booklet.”
Cho-seon crossed her arms and smiled.
“Hahaha! I do not lie.”
I pointed out with a serious expression.
“Don’t smile.”
“Pardon? Why?”
Jang Ung explained.
“Right now, your face is too swollen. It’s rather embarrassing to look at when you smile or try to act charming.”
“Ah!”
Cho-seon touched her face and looked at Aeng-a, who gave a bitter nod.
I walked toward the entrance and said.
“We can discuss the details later.”
“Is that a yes?”
“For now, yes.”
As we walked to the entrance, Cho-seon urgently said to Aeng-a.
“Aeng-a! Bring me a mirror! Quickly!”
* * *
At the western edge of Dong-ro County, where the village ended, stood Oseok Manor.
We looked at the manor as we walked along the main road.
“It’s a bit strange that fifty-five assassins from the Northern Underworld would be holed up in Oseok Manor all at once.”
Given the nature of assassins, it seemed unlikely they would gather together and lie low in a place like a manor.
“You’re right. I will investigate.”
“When will the investigation be finished?”
“My apologies.”
Jang Ung bowed his head in embarrassment. He hadn’t properly investigated Oseok Manor.
Moreover, if he started investigating now, there was no telling when it would be finished, and I would have to wait indefinitely.
So I gave the order to Go Un-hyo.
“Un-hyo, you go check out Oseok Manor.”
“Yes.”
We watched Go Un-hyo walk past Oseok Manor and continue down the road, then entered a nearby teahouse.
Go Un-hyo would walk a good distance down the road, leave it, scout the area around the manor, and then infiltrate it from behind.
* * *
An hour later, Go Un-hyo returned.
“There are no assassins inside Oseok Manor.”
“That can’t be…”
Jang Ung looked shocked. It was only natural, as he believed fifty-five assassins from the Northern Underworld were there.
“Behind Oseok Manor is a small, wild mountain about twenty *li* in circumference. The assassins are scattered and hidden there.”
“Ah!”
A look of realization dawned on Jang Ung’s face. If you cage a wolf accustomed to roaming rugged mountains, it will foam at the mouth and thrash about in a frenzy.
Assassins were the same. They were more comfortable in the mountains than confined within Oseok Manor.
“There are about forty-five of them on the mountain.”
“Hmm!”
At Go Un-hyo’s words, Jang Ung let out another groan. If what he said was true, it meant that out of the fifty-five assassins, about ten were somewhere else.
“Chief Steward Jang.”
“I apologize.”
Jang Ung slammed his forehead on the table. *Thud!*
“The remaining ten or so must be within the county. Find them.”
“My lord.”
Seeing Jang Ung’s anxious and apologetic state was pitiable.
“You are doing better than I expected.”
“But I have made a mistake and caused you worry, my lord.”
“Isn’t trying to count every single grain of rice in a bowl a sickness in itself? All you need to do is find the bowl.”
“…”
“Un-hyo and I will handle things here. You go find the ten missing assassins.”
“I will do so.”
* * *
Go Un-hyo and I circled far around to the back of the wild mountain where the assassins were hiding.
“Un-hyo, were you spotted by them?”
“No, I was not.”
A question about Go Un-hyo suddenly came to mind.
“How much internal energy do you have?”
“About a hundred years’ worth.”
“Hoh! That’s incredible.”
Go Un-hyo’s face turned red.
“It is all thanks to you, Brother.”
Previously, I had gone to Mount Gwalchang and obtained the Immortal Yin-Yang Master, the Celestial Horn Yang Herb, and the Earth Spirit Yin Root, allowing Go Un-hyo to undergo a complete metamorphosis, cleanse his marrow, and open the Gate of Life and Death all at once.
Thanks to that, Go Un-hyo had regained a handsomeness even greater than before, and his internal energy had more than doubled.
My original goal was to fix his grotesque appearance, but his internal energy doubling was a bonus.
The Blood Shadow Sword Venerable I fought had about ninety years of internal energy, and Hwa U-gun had slightly more, at a hundred years.
If Go Un-hyo had a hundred years of internal energy, he was on par with the Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World.
Moreover, having inherited the swordsmanship of his master, the Golden Sword Martial Venerable, his skills would not fall short of theirs either.
“I’ll walk and lure them out. You eliminate them.”
“What?”
“They won’t stay hidden once they spot me.”
“Brother.”
Go Un-hyo looked flustered, but I ignored him.
“Let’s go.”
As I started climbing the mountain, Go Un-hyo followed.
I walked slowly through the mountain, my martial arts still not activated.
I wasn’t too worried, as my skills would surely awaken in a critical situation.
Being a wild mountain, it wasn’t particularly high or rugged, and a well-trodden path made it easy to walk even without internal energy.
‘I’ll deploy Skynet’s Divine Hearing.’
As I activated the Divine Hearing of Skynet's Ultimate Reach, my mind and ears suddenly opened up, and a flood of sounds poured in.
I had experienced this a few times before; Skynet's Ultimate Reach would activate even when my other martial arts were dormant.
There must be a reason why it worked sometimes and not others.
Right now, the Divine Hearing was active, but my martial arts were not. Whatever the reason, it was a damn nuisance.
One good thing about the Divine Hearing was that it filtered out all the useless noise and delivered only the necessary sounds.
The assassins were holding their breath, so I had to detect them by the sound of their heartbeats and the flow of blood in their veins.
Before I had taken ten steps, I had pinpointed the locations of all forty-five assassins.
*Rustle…*
I sensed three assassins approaching from three different directions. They moved by making the most of the forest’s features.
Since I couldn't use telepathy, I hoped Go Un-hyo would sense the three of them.
An assassin never reveals themselves until the moment of attack.
The same was true for Go Un-hyo. He was following me, but he remained unseen by the assassins.
I trusted Go Un-hyo, so I was relaxed, which was probably why my martial arts weren't activating.
If a situation arose where Go Un-hyo missed an assassin and I was in danger, my skills would awaken in that instant. At least, that's what I believed.
If I made even the slightest mistake when faced with such a situation, I would have to give up my life, but the monster—be it fate or whatever else—that governed my martial arts probably didn’t care about such things.
*Swoosh!*
The three assassins approached within ten feet before revealing themselves, drawing their swords to attack.
Two of them launched their assault from either side, lying low in the yellowed grass, while the third leaped diagonally into the air to strike down from above.
It was a splendid technique for assassins. A classic method where, should the two on the ground fail, the one in the air would finish the job.
Go Un-hyo was still nowhere to be seen.
*Chiiing!*
Just then, from about ten feet in front of me, I heard the distinctive sound of the Blood Shadow Sword being drawn.
Go Un-hyo, who had somehow moved to my front, revealed himself and shot out two streaks of red sword energy.
Just as the assassins’ two swords were thrusting and slashing, closing in to five feet, the two streaks of red sword energy pierced through their necks and torsos.
*Thwack!*
Then, Go Un-hyo shot into the air, slashing at the third assassin.
*Clang!*
“Huk!”
The Blood Shadow Sword simultaneously severed the third assassin’s descending sword and his neck.
And then, Go Un-hyo’s figure vanished.
The assassins had only been prepared for me to counterattack; they never expected to be intercepted by Go Un-hyo.
*Thud!*
Three assassins lay sprawled around me.
I didn’t stop walking, maintaining my slow, steady pace.
Go Un-hyo had revealed himself for only a moment to kill the three assassins, so the hidden ones might have seen him, or they might think I had killed them myself.
*Swoooosh!*
The second attack. Three again… no, six this time.
‘Three below, three above!’
I formed a ball of Yin Essence in each hand and continued walking.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘Why does Yin Essence not feel cold, while only Yang Essence feels hot?’
I believed I had absorbed all the Yin Essence from the Yin Essence Abyss while sleeping there for ten years.
As a result, my body must have undergone Yin Essence Transformation. That means my body has clearly become a body of extreme yin—no, a body of Yin Essence.
That’s why I don’t feel the cold, whether the Yin Essence is inside my body or held in my hand.
But Yang Essence, absorbed from the lightning of the Fire Dragon Sword, is an external element, which is why it feels hot.
However, when I envelop Yang Essence with Yin Essence, it doesn't feel hot. If that's the case, then because my body is a body of Yin Essence, it should neutralize the Yang Essence, and I shouldn't feel the heat.
There is only one conclusion.
My Yin Essence lies dormant in my dantian. Only by awakening it will I truly become a body of Yin Essence, and I will not feel the heat even when I conjure Yang Essence.