Cleanup
Cheong Su-in was far weaker than he had been in his previous life.
That was only natural.
When Ju Woo-jin had encountered him in his past life, he had already been nearing thirty. At least fifteen years from now.
“He’s definitely different from the ones I met in my past life. This is still an unripe monster.”
The Cheong Su-in he would meet fifteen years later had been a formidable opponent. But right now, that strength was absent.
Of course, he had been strong enough to subdue Muyoung, but that was all.
It didn’t feel as though he had properly absorbed the essence of the teachings the Blood Hand Poison Emperor had imparted.
Crack!
Cheong Su-in’s neck snapped, and his body went limp.
Ju Woo-jin had never intended to let him live in the first place.
‘He would never talk anyway.’
In his previous life, he had tried to extract the Blood Hand Poison Emperor’s location through Cheong Su-in, but these men never opened their mouths no matter what pain was inflicted upon them.
Based on experience, nothing would be different now.
After finishing Cheong Su-in, Ju Woo-jin immediately scanned his surroundings.
‘He never travels alone.’
As expected.
A group of black-clad figures stared at him in horror.
‘Black attire for stealth… and this energy.’
His heightened senses accurately detected the demonic energy they carried.
‘Black Blood Group.’
Good. In his current state, the Black Blood Group was more than manageable.
‘If it had been the Red Longevity Group or the Black Longevity Group, it might have been troublesome…’
They were higher-ranking martial units than the Black Blood Group. The martial units nurtured by the Blood Hand Poison Emperor. On average, the Black Blood Group consisted of second-rate to first-rate warriors.
‘They haven’t fully become demonic cultivators yet.’
Ju Woo-jin released his energy without hesitation toward them.
With even Cheong Su-in, their commander, dead, their confusion only accelerated.
“Damn it, everyone… scatter!”
One of them shouted.
At the same time, the Black Blood Group warriors split in all directions and fled.
Boom!
Ju Woo-jin charged straight into the rear of the fleeing group.
He was after only one man.
The one who had just given them orders.
Everyone else… would die.
Crunch!
Sickening sounds of flesh tearing echoed one after another.
Dealing with them was effortless.
“……”
Finally, the man he had targeted dropped his weapon and knelt before him.
“P-please spare me.”
“……”
As expected.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor still wasn’t ready. If these men had been properly made, none of them would have begged for their lives.
“Who are you?”
“We are merely…”
“You know who I am. You’d better speak properly.”
Ju Woo-jin flicked his hand, shaking off the blood.
Then he crouched down in front of the kneeling man.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded violently.
The moment he tasted blood, the demonic energy within him grew even more ferocious, as if in a frenzy.
“W-we are the B-Black Blood Group.”
Ju Woo-jin grinned at those words.
As expected, the man was terrified.
Why bother making up another name when he could just reveal his true identity?
‘Still naive. Their loyalty is weak too.’
Ju Woo-jin nodded.
“You and Cheong Su-in. What were you plotting here?”
“……Hup.”
When Ju Woo-jin even mentioned Cheong Su-in, the man was even more shocked.
“You seemed to be watching the Yu family. Am I right? You were the ones who delivered the Junghae Decoction too?”
“……Yes, that’s correct.”
The man nodded as if resigned to his fate.
“Good. Then this place was his responsibility. Who’s handling the Gangseo side?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. There should be someone in Gangseo watching the Ju family.”
“T-that is……”
The man was visibly flustered.
He hadn’t expected Ju Woo-jin to know that much.
“Isn’t it natural to watch the Ju family? There should be someone checking whether the poison took effect properly and reporting back.”
“……!”
The man’s eyes widened.
A direct hit.
“Who is it?”
“T-that, that……”
The man grew extremely anxious.
He rolled his eyes frantically, cold sweat pouring down his face.
What was even stranger was his expression.
‘What?’
His face flushed red as he fidgeted, unsure what to do.
Then Ju Woo-jin sensed the man’s irregular breathing.
‘Huh?’
In an instant, he grabbed the man by the throat.
He pressed down on the meridian leading to the Celestial Gate acupoint, forcibly blocking his qi and blood flow.
“A restriction seal.”
“……!”
The man’s eyes looked ready to pop out.
“If the restriction seal activated……”
Ju Woo-jin’s heart sank.
“Don’t tell me… it’s him?”
Placing restriction seals on subordinates was the Blood Hand Poison Emperor’s typical method.
More precisely, it was a technique the Demonic Cult favored.
And the range of that seal was narrower than one might think.
It was used on those most important, those leading the Heavenly Demon’s grand plan.
“Blood Hand Poison Emperor. Is that bastard in Gangseo right now?”
“Kuh… kuh-ugh… kuhk!”
The man’s face turned crimson, as if it would burst.
Then—
Crunch!
His head exploded.
Ju Woo-jin dodged the splattering blood and stepped back.
‘I was right.’
The man was dead.
He must have thought of the Blood Hand Poison Emperor.
‘He’s in Gangseo right now.’
Made sense. The man’s target was the Ju family. Since he had poisoned the matriarch of the greatest family in Gangseo, the Blood Hand Poison Emperor himself had to move.
‘I didn’t consider that.’
He had gained an unexpectedly large result.
If that bastard was in Gangseo—
‘I can catch him.’
He could capture him.
“Young Master.”
At that moment, a familiar voice called out.
It was Muyoung.
After surveying the carnage around him, Muyoung walked stiffly toward Ju Woo-jin.
“You’re awake?”
Ju Woo-jin turned to face him.
His entire body was soaked in blood and looked a mess, but… what could he do?
“You woke up at the right time.”
Ju Woo-jin extended his hand toward Muyoung.
The moment his hand touched Muyoung’s shoulder, strength drained from his entire body.
“I need to sleep.”
“……”
His vision went dark.
* * *
“Thank you, great hero.”
It was a man with a clear, refreshing appearance.
Clean-cut, polite, and with an excellent first impression.
“Don’t mention it.”
Ju Woo-jin smiled at the man and shook his hand.
The man had been getting beaten by black path thugs at an inn.
In these times when the Demonic Path had swallowed the world, he had thought the black path had collapsed too.
But they still crawled out like cockroaches from somewhere, siding with the Demonic Path.
Well, he didn’t blame them.
The orthodox path wasn’t in any better situation.
“Where are you headed?”
The man asked.
Ju Woo-jin shrugged and looked in one direction.
Toward the western frontier of the Central Plains.
The direction where Xinjiang, the origin of the Demonic Cult, lay.
“I’m heading west, where the sun sets.”
“West……”
Did the man understand?
He grinned and stood beside Ju Woo-jin.
“Would it be all right if I accompanied you?”
“……”
“The world is so dangerous these days… would that be a problem?”
“There’s no reason it would be. But you’re a stranger. Are you sure?”
The man nodded immediately at the question.
“I happen to have business in that direction. I’ll cover the expenses, so just let me follow.”
“If that’s all……”
He had thought of it as gaining a traveling companion for the long journey.
Indeed, they had talked a great deal on the way to Xinjiang, and Ju Woo-jin had been impressed by the man’s vast knowledge.
That had been his first meeting with the Blood Hand Poison Emperor, the man who would later take thousands of lives in an instant.
Back then, he had realized it far too late.
* * *
Ju Woo-jin woke up a full day later.
“Have you awakened?”
The moment he opened his eyes, Muyoung handed him a bowl of water.
“Where… is this?”
“A nearby clinic. After you suddenly collapsed, your body temperature dropped too low, so I brought you here in a hurry. A day has passed, Young Master.”
He felt like he had dreamed something unpleasant.
His mood wasn’t great.
“A day has passed……”
After emptying the bowl Muyoung gave him, Ju Woo-jin slowly stood up.
“Hm?”
He noticed something strange.
His body felt unusually light.
‘My internal energy……’
It didn’t make sense.
Yesterday, he had clearly slaughtered Cheong Su-in and the entire Black Blood Group.
Due to the extreme internal energy consumption, a drawback of the Dragon Heaven True Qi, his dantian should have been completely empty.
But within just one day, it was filled with a heavy, solid amount of internal energy.
‘Impossible.’
Ju Woo-jin was shocked.
That wasn’t all.
The Dragon Heaven True Qi had advanced past the eighth star and reached the ninth.
‘I knew the demonic energy accumulated internal energy at an incredible speed, but……’
This was beyond reason.
Even though he hadn’t been tainted by demonic nature.
Demonic arts were extremely dangerous martial arts to begin with.
While orthodox arts built a solid foundation step by step, demonic arts were optimized for shattering that framework and accumulating power in an instant.
Of course, there were side effects.
The advantage of rapid accumulation came with the risk of falling into qi deviation and becoming a madman, or in severe cases, death.
“Young Master?”
Muyoung’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You must return to the Yu family immediately.”
“Ah.”
Ju Woo-jin quickly stood up.
He had stayed out overnight without telling his grandfather.
It might not seem like a big deal, but given his grandfather’s personality, there would definitely be an uproar.
“Let’s head back first.”
He had to put out the urgent fire.
Ju Woo-jin immediately headed toward the Yu family.
* * *
As expected, the Yu family was in complete chaos.
“You little bastard, Ju Woo-jin!”
His grandfather’s roar echoed throughout the entire estate.
“I’m sorry, Grandfather.”
Ju Woo-jin knelt on the spot.
“The servant Chilbok was found dead behind the storehouse. And you disappeared without a word. Were you trying to drive this old man to an early grave?”
“……I should have contacted you. I’m truly sorry.”
He had nothing to say, even with ten mouths.
Yesterday, the moment the tension had released, he had passed out.
How could he have known he would sleep for an entire day?
Fortunately, Yu Jang-baek’s voice soon softened.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. I have a guard with me.”
As he spoke, Ju Woo-jin glanced at Muyoung and winked.
Muyoung bit his lip and bowed to Yu Jang-baek.
“I apologize for not sending word in advance, Family Head.”
“As long as you’re safe, that’s enough. Rise.”
Ju Woo-jin stood up.
Then he spoke immediately.
“I think I should return. Everything here… is finished.”
“Did you find the culprit?”
Yu Jang-baek’s aura turned menacing.
He intended to make the one who dared touch his daughter pay dearly.
“Yes. I found him and cut him down. You can rest easy, Grandfather.”
“Huh? Really?”
Yu Jang-baek tilted his head, looking puzzled.
‘When did that boy learn to be so polite?’
Never.
He had no such memory.
Though everything about his grandson seemed adorable to Yu Jang-baek, he wasn’t foolish enough to ignore the rumors he had heard.
“Haha, as expected of the Ju family.”
Yu Jang-baek smiled contentedly.
“I’ll conduct my own investigation, so don’t do anything too dangerous. Understood?”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind, Grandfather.”
The word “Grandfather” seemed to please him greatly—Yu Jang-baek’s lips curved up to his ears.
He was simply delighted by his grandson’s change.
‘No matter how much he investigates, he won’t find anything except the Cheonjung Trading Company.’
Chilbok, the spy, was dead.
Moreover, the Cheonjung Trading Company had never been involved in this matter to begin with.
Even so, given his grandfather’s personality, he wouldn’t let it go easily……
‘Sorry about that.’
He would have to meet Mopyeong later and ask for help.
Anyway, Ju Woo-jin left the Yu family.
Now that he knew the Blood Hand Poison Emperor, the mastermind behind all this, was hiding in Gangseo where the Ju family resided—
There was no longer any reason to stay.
Of course, his grandfather had been very reluctant to let him go, but time was pressing.
He could always return later, so he promised to visit again and turned away.
“Now it begins.”
From now on, he would have to face the Blood Hand Poison Emperor who had entered Gangseo on his own.