Just Decide
Deep in the early hours, the streets around West Lake still slept. Along an alley thick with darkness, five shadows glided without a sound. Black garments marked with crimson blood-drop emblems left no doubt who they were.
They were the Blood Shadow Tower’s elite assassination unit: the Blood Shadow Five Ghosts.
“There.”
The unit leader, Blood Face Ghost, pointed toward the West Lake Number One Inn. Sharp eyes flashed beneath his red mask.
“Conceal your auras. If the Absolute Martial God truly is inside, even the slightest mistake will not be forgiven.”
The other four nodded.
Poison Ghost. Sword Ghost. Shadow Ghost. Swift Ghost.
Named for their specialties, the Blood Shadow Five Ghosts were the Central Plains’ foremost assassination experts. At Blood Face Ghost’s signal they scattered, taking positions that ringed the inn.
Hmm… something feels off.
Blood Face Ghost’s brow furrowed. His keen senses swept the surroundings, yet the place seemed no different from any ordinary inn. No—it was too ordinary. Even if the Absolute Martial God himself were absent, the West Lake Number One Inn was said to house his family. Leaving it this defenseless made no sense.
A trap?
Just then Shadow Ghost flashed a hand signal.
—Strange patterns are carved all over the inn.
Blood Face Ghost looked closer and saw it was true. At a glance the markings resembled ordinary decoration, yet careful scrutiny revealed them as fragments of a complex formation.
Defensive arrays… and of no small caliber.
As expected. A place sheltering the Absolute Martial God’s family could never be left unguarded. Still, Blood Face Ghost only snorted. No matter how refined the formation, it could not guarantee safety inside the building itself. To assassins of their caliber, arrays were no real restraint.
He sent a sound transmission.
—Prepare. We hit the inn now.
In the kitchen of the West Lake Number One Inn, Kang Yeon was already at work in the pale dawn light.
“Oppa, what are you making?”
Jo Seol wandered in, still yawning. Kang Yeon had already begun prepping ingredients; even though service had not yet started, he was cooking something.
“Today I’m making a special medicinal congee.”
“Medicinal congee? Is someone sick?”
He set out ginseng, jujubes, and goji berries.
“No. Everyone just looks worn out.”
The steady rise in customers had piled fatigue onto every member of the inn’s staff. This dish was his quiet gift to the family that kept the place running.
At that moment Jin Mu-gyeong came down from the second floor, wearing a languid expression.
“Yeon-ah. Guests.”
“Yeah. They’re early.”
Kang Yeon answered as if it were nothing. Both of them already knew these were no ordinary customers. He glanced at Jo Seol.
“Seol-ah, go tell Uncle not to come outside.”
Having heard the talk about the Blood Shadow Tower only days before, Jo Seol understood at once.
“Got it!”
She hurried inside. Kang Yeon kept trimming ingredients and muttered under his breath.
“What a pain first thing in the morning…”
When every preparation was complete, Blood Face Ghost sent another sound transmission.
—Shadow Ghost, enter first.
Shadow Ghost melted into the darkness and approached the inn. Confident in his ability to dismantle formations, his movements were bold and unhesitating.
That was the moment.
Woom—!
The array activated. A blue barrier of qi bloomed around the building.
“Ugh!”
The instant Shadow Ghost crossed the threshold of the formation he was flung outward as though he had slammed into an invisible wall. He tumbled across the ground and, clearly shaken, struggled to rise.
“A formation strong enough to thrash Shadow Ghost like that?”
Blood Face Ghost clenched his teeth. Since the specialist had not even managed to begin dismantling the array, only one option remained.
Woooom—!
“I’ll break through myself.”
Direct assault was the lowest of tactics for an assassin, yet without piercing the formation there was no other path. Blood Face Ghost launched himself straight at the barrier that had just flared to life.
Woom.
As expected, the array reacted at once and manifested the qi wall. He poured power into a single fist and drove it forward.
Kuuung!
His punch struck the formation. The entire barrier shuddered.
“Good—just a little more…”
Then the patterns of the array blazed with sudden light.
Woom-woom-woom—!
The formation began to drink his energy in reverse.
“Uuugh.”
Even a Super-Peak Realm expert like Blood Face Ghost found his body trembling violently.
“Leader!”
Sword Ghost rushed in and hauled him clear. Once free of the formation’s pull, Blood Face Ghost’s face had gone paper-white. A moment longer and every scrap of his internal energy would have been stripped away.
“Hah… hah… this is no simple defensive array.”
Poison Ghost ground his teeth.
“Then how do we get inside?”
“We find another way. Every formation has a flaw. Shadow Ghost—find the weak point.”
Having recovered enough to move, Shadow Ghost raced around the inn, searching. Near the rear courtyard he spotted a faintly glowing pattern.
“There! That section is the weakest!”
He relayed the discovery by sound transmission. Moments later the remaining Ghosts arrived. All five hurled themselves at the spot together.
“That’s the formation’s weak point. Concentrate everything on one place!”
Kwaang!
Five strikes crashed into a single point. The array heaved and groaned.
Zzzt—!
“Harder! Just a little more!”
They poured every ounce of strength into the assault. Sweat streamed down their faces; internal energy drained at a frightening rate.
At last—
Crack!
A tiny fissure opened, barely wide enough for one man to slip through.
“Quickly! Before it closes again!”
The Blood Shadow Five Ghosts forced their way through. The trailing hem of Swift Ghost’s robe snagged and tore free as the formation resealed.
“Hah… we made it.”
There was no time for relief.
Woom. Woooom.
Layer upon layer of additional formations blanketed the interior. A single misstep would trigger traps; the wrong touch on a pillar would summon illusions.
“Careful! This place is crawling with arrays!”
Poison Ghost took one step and instantly yanked his foot back as a blade of sharp energy erupted from the floor.
“This is insane… it’s not an inn—it’s a fortress!”
Sword Ghost advanced with sword tip probing the air, testing every step. Merely confirming the formations one by one consumed precious time. What chilled them most was the knowledge that all of this was happening in the relatively small rear courtyard of a building that had never looked particularly large.
Goosebumps raced across Blood Face Ghost’s skin.
“Who in the world built something like this…?”
A languid voice drifted down from the second floor.
“Ahhh… so noisy I can’t sleep.”
Dan U-ryeong pushed a window open and yawned widely.
“You lot the Blood Shadow Five Ghosts? Enjoy the formations?”
Blood Face Ghost’s teeth ground together.
“You made these arrays!”
“This little setup and you’re already making a fuss? And here I thought you were top-tier killers… Are you allowed to be this sloppy?”
The jab hit home; Blood Face Ghost’s face flushed dark red.
“You bastard!!!”
Dan U-ryeong flicked his fingers. The formations flared brighter.
“There’s a next stage. Want a demonstration?”
“This son of a—!”
Poison Ghost unleashed a cloud of toxic mist and charged.
Tong!
Jin Mu-gyeong’s finger appeared out of nowhere and struck a vital point with surgical precision.
“Ghk.”
Poison Ghost froze solid on the spot.
“Waking people at this hour. No manners.”
The instant Poison Ghost fell, Sword Ghost drew his blade and lunged.
Take out the weak one first.
His eyes locked on Nang Hyeon, who had just stepped out into the courtyard.
Srrrng.
The sword shot toward Nang Hyeon like lightning—Blood Shadow Tower’s signature assassination swordplay, silent and bent along an unpredictable arc.
Yet—
Tak!
Nang Hyeon’s palm met the blade and knocked it cleanly aside.
“What?!”
While Sword Ghost reeled in shock, Nang Hyeon took a single step forward.
“Why draw a sword the moment you see someone?”
His gaze remained perfectly calm.
“Insolent whelp!”
Sword Ghost attacked in earnest.
Srrrng. Srrrng.
Sword shadows multiplied into dozens, encircling Nang Hyeon. It was one of the Blood Shadow Tower’s secret arts: the Blood Shadow Phantom Sword.
Nang Hyeon did not so much as flinch. He calmly unfolded the third form of the Great Cloud Fist—Cloud Wind Soul Vanishing.
Srrr.
His body blurred like mist. Scores of phantom blades passed through the space where he stood; not one found flesh.
“Im… impossible.”
Sword Ghost stared in horror.
To evade his technique so effortlessly…
“I’ve put up with enough.”
Nang Hyeon’s voice stayed even.
“Shut up!”
Sword Ghost attacked with even greater ferocity. Yet Nang Hyeon’s movements only grew more leisurely. Mid-flurry, a chilling realization struck the assassin.
This bastard… is studying me.
While dodging, Nang Hyeon was dissecting every form.
“My turn.”
For the first time Nang Hyeon counterattacked, unleashing the fifth form of the Great Cloud Fist—Cloud Sea Surging Waves.
Woooom—
Wave-like force erupted from his fists. Continuous strikes rolled toward Sword Ghost like a rising tide.
Kwaang—! Kwaang—!
“Keuk!”
Sword Ghost tried to block with his blade, but the nature of the Great Cloud Fist refused to disperse force—instead it amplified. Unable to withstand the onslaught, he was driven steadily backward.
“This… this can’t be. A mere waiter…”
While he reeled in disbelief, Nang Hyeon’s final blow smashed into his dantian.
Puk!
“Keoheok!”
Sword Ghost spat blood and dropped to his knees. His dantian shattered, he could no longer channel a single thread of internal energy.
When the fight ended, Dan U-ryeong called down to Nang Hyeon.
“Well done, Nang Hyeon. You kept your cool even in real combat.”
“All thanks to the young masters’ teachings.”
Only then did Blood Face Ghost understand.
This inn was nothing like its ordinary façade. Even a single waiter possessed the skill to crush a Blood Shadow Tower elite assassin.
Absolute Martial God… what kind of being gathers such talent…
Kang Yeon’s voice floated out from the kitchen.
“What? They’re already inside? Is the formation weaker than I thought?”
Dan U-ryeong gave a short laugh.
“I let them in on purpose. That Blood Face Ghost fellow’s martial arts are pretty solid, after all.”
“Still got through, though. Make it stronger next time.”
The remaining Ghosts could only stare in disbelief. They had risked their lives to force entry, yet the people of the inn treated the whole affair as if it had been expected. Faced with that unshakable composure, Blood Face Ghost demanded,
“What is your connection to the Absolute Martial God?”
Jin Mu-gyeong and Dan U-ryeong both glanced toward Kang Yeon. Kang Yeon looked straight at Blood Face Ghost.
“None of your business.”
Blood Face Ghost gathered every last scrap of remaining power.
Woooom—!
Target: that cook who just appeared.
If he seized a hostage, escape would still be possible. The instant he prepared to leap—
Tak.
Kang Yeon was already there, one hand resting lightly on Blood Face Ghost’s shoulder.
“Don’t tell me you were aiming for me?”
A gentle surge of qi slipped into the assassin’s meridians. In the blink of an eye every pathway sealed shut.
“Huk…”
As Blood Face Ghost froze solid, Kang Yeon gave a soft chuckle.
“What kind of assassin charges in making this much noise? Brave, or just reckless…”
He turned his head slightly. There stood the immobilized Poison Ghost and Shadow Ghost, while Swift Ghost’s eyes darted about, already calculating escape routes.
“Just decide. Which one of you three gets to walk out of here alive?”
For a heartbeat the three assassins eyed one another, torn between the pride of elite killers and the raw desire to survive. Kang Yeon smiled faintly and pointed at Swift Ghost.
“You—the one who’s been rolling his eyes the whole time. I’ll let you live. Go tell your Tower Master this.”
Swift Ghost answered at once.
“Please speak.”
Kang Yeon’s voice remained calm and even.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’d be better off giving up the search for the Absolute Martial God.”
Puk!
He flicked a finger. Swift Ghost went flying out of the inn like a stone from a slingshot.
Dan U-ryeong grumbled.
“What, you’re just letting him go that easily?”
Kang Yeon grinned.
“We already caught the rest. Someone has to carry the news.”
“A warning, then.”
Kang Yeon nodded.
“I really hope the annoying stuff stops showing up for a while.”