Chapter 80
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Has That Place Changed Too?
Yeon Gong-hu's head snapped around after finishing his meditation.
He could have dodged if he wanted to, but he didn't. He knew all too well that it would only stoke Yeon Baek-ryang's rage further.
"Go back? You sure have a lot of nerve talking with that busted lip! Is that what you want, leaving that kid out here?"
A roar of fury exploded from him.
His cheek swelled bright red.
A metallic tang of blood filled his mouth.
It seemed the inside of his cheek had torn on his teeth.
"It's the path for the clan. Taking that child along might be for Uncle's sake, but if we're thinking of the clan, we should turn back here."
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"What did you say? So you're saying I'm the one trying to ruin the clan!"
His clenched fist trembled violently.
Yeon Gong-hu didn't deny it.
To him, it was plain fact.
Instead, he laid out the reasoning behind his claim.
"The fact that our watchers got hit means Ha Mu-baek noticed their presence. And moving to take them out right then, heading deeper into the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest—it means he's luring us in. In other words, a trap."
A simple conclusion.
And an utterly logical one.
Yeon Baek-ryang halted his raised fist. Even blinded by desire, his basic judgment remained intact.
To him, too, the damned punk's words rang true.
But he couldn't admit it.
Couldn't turn back.
"Hmph. So what if those nobodies dig a trap? How dangerous could it be?"
"Don't forget. The Pang Clan fell to that one man."
Yeon Gong-hu warned him.
"How do you know about that...?"
Wasn't it Yeon Baek-ryang himself who had cut off all channels feeding Yeon Gong-hu information on the martial world's state?
"I heard it with my own ears once I left the clan."
Yeon Gong-hu said calmly.
"The Yeon Clan and Pang Clan are different."
"Of course."
Anhui Namgung Clan, Hubei Yeon Clan, Sichuan Tang Clan, Yungzhong Jegal Clan, Hebei Pang Clan.
The five great clans of the current martial world.
Among them, the Hebei Pang Clan ranked at the tail end. The Hubei Yeon Clan had surpassed the Anhui Namgung Clan to claim the top spot among the five great clans.
Though grouped as the five great clans, a clear gap in power existed between the Yeon and Pang Clans.
Yeon Gong-hu didn't deny that much.
"But we're heading into the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, not some Da-byeol Mountain. It's not just Ha Mu-baek—we'll face the jiangshi there too. And that's probably what he's counting on."
"Those pathetic jiangshi...?"
Yeon Baek-ryang dismissed them like they were nothing.
In truth, he had faced countless death jiangshi in the last war.
They were one of the Blood Cult's horrific main forces.
'And inside the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest... he could eliminate Uncle without repercussions.'
Yeon Gong-hu swallowed those words.
He couldn't say why, even to himself.
For the clan? For his brother?
Or perhaps he secretly hoped his uncle would vanish.
Maybe he just didn't want that hidden wish exposed.
Yeon Gong-hu stared at Yeon Baek-ryang with an even more impassive face.
"All our watchers got taken out?"
Ye Cho-a asked with a grave expression.
"Yes. And he's gone into the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest."
"Obviously impossible to track now."
"Our guys are dead the moment they step in."
Su-ha replied matter-of-factly.
"He planned it."
"Yes."
"A trap, then."
Ye Cho-a concluded. Knowing Ha Mu-baek as he did, the man was capable of such cunning.
"Exactly."
Su-ha agreed.
"Can Yeon Baek-ryang pull it off?"
Su-ha slowly shook his head.
"Lord Branch Master's foresight is astonishing, as always. Trying to play angler and letting them prepare would only tip Ha Mu-baek off."
Su-ha was convinced Yeon Baek-ryang could never beat Ha Mu-baek.
"When they headed for the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, I suspected as much. But I didn't think he'd drag his sister and escort disciples inside..."
"He must be that confident. And Ha Mu-baek has every reason to be."
In the last two wars, Ha Mu-baek on the battlefield had been a ghost—no, a demon.
Even that didn't suffice.
The Haomun knew fragments of his prowess.
They couldn't guess his true power, but they grasped at least a sliver.
"Qualifications... True. He was one who pushed to the end of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest with Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong in the final battle. No one knows it better."
Ye Cho-a nodded.
"In fact, he urged the Alliance Leader to fully purge the forest."
"But the Elder Hall's fossils opposed, saying more war would bring needless suffering to the martial world, settling for just the Great Wall."
Ye Cho-a responded to his subordinate's words.
How could he forget that debate?
The massive profits and gains the Orthodox Alliance skimmed from building the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall—what a haul.
Even Haomun had snuck in and grabbed a decent share.
"It's changed a lot."
Han Seol-bing said, looking around. It had been ages since she'd ventured this deep.
She thought she'd never return after leaving the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest that day.
"Well, time passes."
"I never imagined coming back like this."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled wryly at her words.
Not him, though.
He had always planned to return someday and wipe out every last demon lingering here.
That's why, even stationed at the Righteous Heaven Alliance headquarters, he never slacked on training.
No different now.
"Has that place changed too?"
Han Seol-bing gazed toward the deepest part of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
"Who knows."
She still couldn't forget that day.
Ha Mu-baek was already Hocheon Corps Leader then. She had been his deputy.
The day the Elder Hall ordered withdrawal from the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
A month after slaying the Blood Cult Leader.
To eradicate the remnants, Ha Mu-baek unilaterally kept half the Hocheon Corps in the forest.
Despite their main duty being the Alliance Leader's guard, he permitted it.
Han Seol-bing had stayed by Ha Mu-baek's side as deputy.
One slacker stayed at headquarters guarding the Leader.
She was the one delivering the retreat order to Ha Mu-baek.
His eyes went mad upon reading it. He charged straight to the forest's depths, where the Blood Cult Leader had held court.
And then.
That day, chasing after him, Han Seol-bing witnessed her leader's true power.
The traces he left back then.
I wonder what became of them.
The thought suddenly struck her.
"Huff... huff... It's done."
Dang Jin-san said, panting heavily.
While the two conversed idly, the seven disciples had faced ten death jiangshi and cut them all down.
Ha Mu-baek nodded at the results, smashing each severed head.
"Uh, why do that?"
Joo Woo-myeong cautiously asked why he bothered crushing heads already silenced.
It was Ha Mu-baek's ritual since entering the forest.
"The Blood Cult created all sorts of bizarre demons. Jiangshi included."
Ha Mu-baek said flatly.
"Aren't there just five types?"
Dang Jin-san asked.
"I only named the five most common and dangerous ones. There are freakish variant jiangshi and demons too."
The seven disciples' faces twisted oddly at his words.
"Well, since they're unnamed variants, low chance of running into them."
Han Seol-bing added.
"Among them, we called one the Severed-Head Blood Ghost... I saw it once. Carried its own head tucked under its arm..."
The seven paled at Han Seol-bing's description.
A decapitated corpse walking with its head in its side.
Horrifying just to imagine.
"And that head kept muttering weird crap. Infuriating."
Han Seol-bing recalled.
Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran grimaced deeper.
Imagination alone turned horror to terror.
"Was it strong?"
Yeon Ha-min asked carefully.
"Strong. Tougher than blood jiangshi, I think. Anyway, after that, Leader always pulverizes heads."
The seven nodded at Han Seol-bing's words.
If they encountered one, they'd smash every demon head here too.
"That's it for today."
Ha Mu-baek announced the end of the day's training.
The sun had already set.
Deeper in, days felt eerily short.
"How long are we staying?"
Dan Mok Un-roe asked cautiously.
His eyes flicked to Nak Woo-jin.
Fine on the wall, but since entering, Nak Woo-jin's condition worsened.
No issue fighting jiangshi—he fought well.
But his face always looked uneasy.
He insisted he was fine when asked.
Anyone could see he wasn't.
"About a month of grinding."
Ha Mu-baek glanced toward the wall as he replied.
Night deepened.
Nak Woo-jin groaned in his sleep, face contorted in agony.
No sound, but clear torment.
Han Seol-bing watched silently.
"What's wrong with this kid?"
Ha Mu-baek shrugged it off.
"Doesn't suit this place, I guess."
"Feels like he's hiding something."
"Eh, no need to worry even if he is."
With Ha Mu-baek saying that much, Han Seol-bing dropped it.
Her gaze shifted to Yeon Ha-min.
"Tomorrow?"
"Probably. They're almost on top of us."
Ha Mu-baek's monstrous senses faintly picked up the Yeon group's presence.
He rose from his seat and vanished.
"Grrr..."
A low growl from a jiangshi.
Red glow shrouded its body.
A blood jiangshi.
Not one—three more glared with bloodshot eyes.
Thirst filled those eyes.
Thirst for blood.
Not red by name alone.
They drained human blood, hence "blood jiangshi."
Sucked dry, victims lost reason and turned.
Different danger from death jiangshi.
Whether these were original Blood Cult creations or bitten warriors—unknown.
They multiplied like rats.
If the latter, Ha Mu-baek had one job for them.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Their heads burst like watermelons.
Ha Mu-baek gazed indifferently at the three corpses on the ground.
As he stared.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted.
Samadhi Truefire.
His inner energy ignited, incinerating the bodies.
A acrid smell rose.
Not like burning human remains.
An unpleasant, foul odor spread slowly.
He waved it away with a casual hand.
No trace of the blood jiangshi remained.
Ha Mu-baek returned to camp.
"Blood jiangshi have increased too."
Han Seol-bing said calmly. She knew from the burning scent.
Each jiangshi type smelled distinct when burned.
Bitterness filled her face.
Only one reason for more blood jiangshi inside the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall.
Deployed warriors bitten.
"Those Elder Hall bastards..."
Ha Mu-baek muttered under his breath.