The Three Masks Fall
The red-masked man shuddered violently.
The moment Jang Muhwi forced the antidote down his throat, the man reacted instantly.
With one of them gone, the power of their coordinated assault had been cut in half.
The remaining two reapers kept their distance, watching him warily.
Jang Muhwi refused to give them any breathing room and dove straight into the darkness.
Swish.
When he reappeared, he was directly behind the white-masked man.
The panic in the reapers’ eyes was obvious now that one of the members forming their joint formation had fallen.
It seemed they had no backup plan in their heads.
In a way, they had never needed one.
After all, the very idea of their defeat had never been part of the equation!
The white-masked man, too, lost his strength from the antidote and collapsed.
Thud!
Jang Muhwi turned his gaze toward the last remaining silver-masked man.
It was then.
The white-masked man who had fallen reached out and grabbed Jang Muhwi’s ankle.
At the same time, the red-masked man—who had been given the antidote first—rose from his spot.
The madness in their eyes had faded, but it hadn’t completely disappeared.
“Kekeke!”
It looked like the dose of antidote had been insufficient.
Chae Bi-su had clearly deceived them.
The red-masked man charged forward once more.
The lone silver-masked man ignited a crimson aura around his gauntlets and rushed in as well.
It was then.
A roar erupted from behind them.
“That one’s mine! Touch him and you die!”
The one charging in was Ma Uiryong, iron cudgel slung over his shoulder.
Jang Muhwi watched the reapers rushing at him again with a perfectly calm expression.
In truth, he had already anticipated this exact situation.
Jang Muhwi flicked the antidote with his finger.
The pill flew straight into the open mouth of the charging red-masked man.
It would have been impossible against the reapers in their original state.
But with their power halved, he could launch the antidote directly into their mouths.
He then shoved another pill into the mouth of the white-masked man still clutching his ankle.
The grip around his leg immediately loosened.
Seizing the opening, Jang Muhwi dashed toward the silver-masked man.
The crimson energy radiating from the man’s gauntlets was still threatening, but with two of his comrades down, his momentum had clearly faltered compared to before.
“I’ll give you some rest!”
Jang Muhwi swung his sword.
Despite his visible panic, the silver-masked man tried to block the blade with his gauntlet.
The crimson energy collided with the sword, producing a violent burst of sound.
Clang!
But Jang Muhwi wasn’t simply clashing with raw power.
Emptying the Mind, Transforming Like a Painting.
The roots of a tree cannot be cut by even a typhoon.
He refused to meet the opponent’s force head-on.
The true subtlety lay in redirecting the enemy’s power through subtle changes in his technique.
The silver-masked man’s fists were repeatedly thrown off course by Jang Muhwi’s blade.
“Ughhh…”
The silver-masked man let out a groan of confusion.
Every strike felt as if he were punching a bundle of cotton—his power simply wouldn’t land properly in front of Jang Muhwi’s sword.
Then, another fierce battle cry exploded from behind.
“Eat this!”
It was Ma Uiryong. He didn’t miss the moment the silver-masked man’s attention was fully locked on Jang Muhwi. With a heavy swing of his iron cudgel, he smashed into the back of the man’s knee.
Clang!
The sound was like metal striking metal.
But the effect was immediate.
The silver-masked man’s stance crumbled violently from the powerful impact to his leg.
Jang Muhwi struck the man’s shoulder with the pommel of his sword.
One Flash!
Thanks to the enlightenment he had gained in Paryun Valley, he could now control his internal energy well enough to unleash One Flash twice.
Striking with the pommel was simply to subdue the enemy.
The silver-masked man’s shoulder drooped limply.
His joint had been dislocated.
The crimson energy rising from his gauntlets also grew faint.
Jang Muhwi pressed down on the dislocated shoulder.
Thud.
It was the moment the third reaper was subdued.
Jang Muhwi quickly shoved two antidote pills into the silver-masked man’s mouth.
Having finished everything, Jang Muhwi let out a rough breath and looked at Ma Uiryong.
“What about Chae Bi-su?”
“I tied him to a pillar over there.”
“Good work. By the way, I think I heard you say something earlier… ‘Mine’?”
“You must have misheard, Young Master. I mean, Big Brother.”
Ma Uiryong awkwardly shuffled backward.
Jang Muhwi shook his head at the sight.
He walked over to Chae Bi-su, who was bound to the pillar.
In that instant, Chae Bi-su’s pupils shook violently.
“Y-you… who are you? I’ve never heard of anyone like you in the Murim…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Jang Muhwi had sealed his pressure point.
Inside the now-silent secret chamber.
Jang Muhwi gave a small chuckle and spoke.
“Finally, some quiet.”
“It’s so quiet I feel like I might actually live.”
“Right. You did drop the pouch I gave you, didn’t you?”
“Pouch?”
“The one I told you to throw away if you felt something was off. Don’t you remember?”
“It’s in my pocket…”
Ma Uiryong hurriedly searched his clothes with a flustered expression.
After a moment, his face turned deathly pale as he spoke.
“I put it in my pocket, but I lost it.”
“Well done.”
“Huh?”
“I said well done. If you had brought it all the way here, I was going to send you back to the hut.”
“Did I really do well, Big Brother?”
“Yes, so relax. Oh, are you bored?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Squeeze as much information as possible out of that bastard. But don’t kill him.”
“Just leave it to me, Big Brother.”
Ma Uiryong picked up his iron cudgel.
Seeing this, Jang Muhwi said,
“Put that down.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
Ma Uiryong’s eyes were shining brighter than ever.
Of course, Chae Bi-su’s face had turned a sickly blue.
He wanted to open his mouth, but he couldn’t.
Jang Muhwi had sealed his speech acupoint.
No matter what question was asked, he couldn’t speak a word.
Each time, Ma Uiryong’s expression changed dramatically.
When the opponent refused to open his mouth, Ma Uiryong gritted his teeth.
“Tough bastard.”
He kept repeating the same words.
Jang Muhwi never told Ma Uiryong that Chae Bi-su’s speech point had been sealed.
The man had hidden the true dosage of the antidote until the very end and led them into a trap.
There would be no mercy for such a man.
He needed to be thoroughly broken so that when he was taken to the Murim Alliance, he would spill everything without resistance.
How much time had passed?
With no sunlight reaching them, it was impossible to tell.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to eat.
As a result, Jang Muhwi had to skip meals.
But he couldn’t simply starve himself.
So Jang Muhwi began searching for useful medicinal herbs.
Ma Uiryong, who had no idea what they were, declared he would rather starve and kept his distance.
Now it was a battle against time.
Chae Bi-su’s body had been broken in half, and Ma Uiryong’s face had changed once again.
At this point, he looked pale enough that one might believe he was a scholar.
Jang Muhwi did not waste this time.
He consumed the medicinal herbs inside the chamber and continuously focused on circulating his qi.
It was while Jang Muhwi was sitting in meditation.
Sensing a faint vibration, he rose from his seat.
Ma Uiryong quickly stood up as well.
He had been lying down for twelve hours straight.
This was the principle of the Breath-Holding Technique.
When one didn’t eat, activity had to be reduced to the absolute minimum.
It was then.
Rumble.
One by one, the massive iron doors began to lift.
Two days later.
The underground prison inside the merchant group was packed with suspects.
The most important criminals would be transferred to the Murim Alliance, but it was impossible to arrest everyone, including those with only minor charges.
Among the staff of the merchant group, the ones suffering the most were none other than the clerks.
They had to gather and submit every single document the moment suspicions arose.
From ledgers to work journals, all records were in the clerks’ hands.
If left alone, the evidence could disappear.
This incident was the biggest event to occur in the last ten years.
Half of the personnel from the Murim Alliance Qinghai Branch had been dispatched here, yet the work was progressing agonizingly slowly.
A heavy silence hung over the Jangryong Merchant Group.
The quietest place of all was the main gate of the Jangryong Merchant Group.
This had once been a place so bustling there was barely room to stand.
Now, not even the sound of birds could be heard.
Everyone was afraid that showing their faces might drag them into the incident.
The Jangryong Merchant Group, which had once shaken the entire western part of Qinghai, was now avoided by everyone.
The gates of the Jangryong Merchant Group, where time itself seemed to have stopped, slowly opened.
Creeeak.
The ones who emerged were Jang Muhwi and Ma Uiryong.
Jang Muhwi had handed over the case to those who had arrived and left the scene.
All that remained now was Wang Jimak’s fair judgment.
Jang Muhwi narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ma Uiryong, who was following behind him.
“Are you really going to carry that cudgel around everywhere?”
“It fits my hand strangely well. Is that not allowed?”
“I’ll overlook it this time.”
“Thank you, Big Brother.”
Ma Uiryong bowed deeply.
He was genuinely grateful.
The iron cudgel in his hand had been taken from Biryong Pavilion.
It was the tool that had served as a lever to open the box containing Mahwa.
Ma Uiryong had used that very cudgel to great effect inside the warehouse.
It seemed to suit his hand quite well.
He could have commissioned a similar weapon from a blacksmith, but he had deliberately brought the one he had used that day.
Although it could be considered evidence, it wasn’t strictly necessary, so Jang Muhwi had let him keep it.
In truth, even if they had taken every piece of evidence, no one would have been able to say a word.
The primary authority over evidence belonged to the inspection agency, the Hyeonmudae.
It meant that the once-defunct Hyeonmudae was finally beginning to stretch its wings.
Jang Muhwi, who had been walking slowly, looked around.
“Why isn’t she showing up?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“The person who delivered that pouch to the Murim Alliance.”
“What? What was inside that pouch? It looked pretty heavy.”
“This.”
Jang Muhwi took out the token that symbolized the leader of the Hyeonmudae.
Ma Uiryong’s eyes sparkled for a moment.
Ignoring his subordinate’s gaze, Jang Muhwi continued.
“And there was a single note.”
“A note?”
“It simply said that evidence had been secured.”
Having finished speaking, Jang Muhwi turned his steps toward the east.
The person he was looking for was someone from Haomen.
Haomen had played a major role in this incident.
They deserved a share of the results that would come from this place.
Yet they hadn’t shown even the tip of their nose.
Jang Muhwi found that strange.
Given Sa Hwayeon’s personality, she should have appeared here and made a big scene.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
Jang Muhwi found that odd.
His doubts lasted only a moment before he quickened his pace.
In any case, he had revealed the connection between the Jangryong Merchant Group and the Demonic Cult.
He had secured all the evidence and witnesses.
Therefore, he would leave the trivial matters to others. The most urgent thing for him to do now was to visit the Murim Alliance Qinghai Branch.
Meanwhile.
Two pairs of eyes were watching Jang Muhwi as he walked away.
One of them belonged to Sa Hwayeon.
Beside her stood a man dressed as a merchant, letting out a sigh.
“Sister, are you really going to let him leave like that?”
“I’m exhausted. Don’t talk to me.”
When Sa Hwayeon waved her hand dismissively, the man spoke again.
“Still, it feels like a waste.”
“What’s there to feel wasted about? He’ll come find us soon enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“See that?”
Sa Hwayeon pointed at the gate, and the man tilted his head.
“There’s nothing there, Sister.”
“Little brother, have you ever seen a plain before a storm hits?”
“I haven’t, Sister.”
“Before a storm arrives, even the crickets stop chirping. That’s how it is, little brother.”
“What are you saying? Hasn’t the storm already passed?”
“Would you just walk past a gold ingot lying on the road?”
“Come on, what kind of nonsense is that!”
“Once things settle down a bit, a pack of hyenas will swarm that place. Even the Murim Alliance’s precious scholars won’t be able to handle it. They’ll probably reach out to us again. That’s when we’ll charge interest and collect a nice service fee.”
Having finished speaking, Sa Hwayeon licked her lips while staring at the Jangryong Merchant Group.
She hadn’t helped with this matter for nothing.
In truth, Haomen’s financial situation had not been very comfortable lately.
That was why the leader herself had to step forward for such dirty work.
She hadn’t even needed to wear the old woman’s mask.
She had worked so hard that her face felt permanently wrinkled.
The reason she wasn’t meeting him now was simply because she was completely drained.
Still, it wasn’t without reward.
There was no other intelligence organization that knew as much about the rising powerhouse called Jang Muhwi as Haomen did.
This was a tremendous asset for Haomen.
Sa Hwayeon watched Jang Muhwi as he grew distant.
“The more I look at him, the more I want him.”