Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Golden Boat's Wild Ride
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"Gaaahhh!"
"Young Clan Leader! Pull yourself together!"
"Disciples, form the sword formation and attack the Namgung Young Clan Leader!"
"What do you think you're doing? Drawing your blade on our clan's Young Clan Leader—gaaahhh!"
It was pandemonium. A true field of slaughter.
Yang-hui quietly fell back and scooped up Adu.
"Adu."
"Ugh... it hurts."
"Snap out of it. You can stop circulating your qi midway, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then get to it. Be ready to move the second I give the signal."
"Got it."
The injuries from his death match with Blood-eye Ra ran deep.
He needed to recover as much strength as possible in case of any surprises.
'They're putting up a good fight.'
Namgung Cheon-hu was rampaging like a madman, committing slaughter left and right—and most of his victims were Namgung clansmen.
The Wudang disciples had formed a sword formation to resist, while the Namgung side, bereft of leadership, couldn't manage the same.
'Feels a bit iffy... but I did warn them. I've done my part.'
His cold, icy gaze fixed on Namgung Cheon-hu.
Yang-hui had no intention of moving until the bastard had lost just the right amount of face for the clan.
"Slice off the Namgung Young Clan Leader's forearm! We have to make him drop the demonic sword!"
"Stop this! Aren't you afraid of the consequences?"
"What choice do we have? He's gone berserk!"
"Subdue him! Just subdue him!"
"Then handle it yourselves in the Namgung Clan! Wudang's pulling out!"
He watched the unfolding mess with a leisurely air.
With some breathing room, his thoughts broadened, and one nagging question he'd shelved bubbled up.
'Come to think of it... why was that sword here?'
The Blood God Demonic Sword—sacred relic of the Blood Cult and the cult leader's personal blade.
He knew its identity for a simple reason: in his past life, during the Demonic Cult invasion, he'd seen it in the Blood God Blood Cult leader's hand.
In other words, in the future, that sword would end up in the Blood Cult's possession.
'But the Namgung Clan were the ones who excavated the Sword King's Tomb.'
Unlike this life, in his past life, the Namgung Clan had dug it up in secret, leaving no room for Blood Cult interference.
Yet the Blood God Demonic Sword had still reached the cult leader's hand.
Yang-hui's eyes grew even colder, more piercing.
'Looks like... an unexpected variable might pop up.'
An unforeseen gain.
If his deductions held, he might reap a fisherman's profit.
'But first... what to do with the Blood God Demonic Sword.'
A sword's nature—demonic or divine—depended on its wielder.
To Yang-hui, brimming with righteous energy, the wicked blade that dominated minds and drove men mad was just a particularly sharp knife.
In short, too good to hand over to Wudang or Namgung.
'Problem is, now that they've seen it, I can't just take it.'
No helping it. He'd have to abandon the Blood God Demonic Sword.
Instead, he'd secure some other solid gain.
"Adu. Ready to move yet?"
"...Yeah."
He eyed the golden urn in the back.
By its size, it had to be at least ten thousand taels of gold.
A hundred ingots could buy a fine tavern outright—equivalent to a hundred business ventures!
"Heh heh heh. Heh heh heh heh!"
"Yang-hui, why are you laughing?"
"'Cause if we snag that, we could buy a million rice cakes."
"A... a million?!"
Adu jumped in shock.
"Yeah. Pretty huge, right?"
"How many is a million?"
"..."
How high could this kid count, anyway?
"Ten thousand times one hundred eight."
"Oh!"
Seemed she could handle up to ten thousand.
Smart cookie, huh?
With that thought, he approached the golden urn.
It was fixed to the wall, but a good yank should free it.
"Hup!"
To his surprise, it came loose easily.
But one odd thing: the moment he pulled it out, the surrounding earthen wall crumbled, revealing a large hole.
'What? Another mechanism...? No way—hidden treasure!?'
He peeked inside, only to feel immediate disappointment.
A passage stretched back, but no treasure in sight, even if he scrubbed his eyes raw.
'Must be the exit marked on the map. Too bad.'
He gave up and turned away.
Only three Heavenly Sword Unit members left alive. That was witnesses enough—time to subdue Namgung Cheon-hu.
'Those Wudang bastards, though... that elder's a sly one.'
The Sweeping Elder was a peak realm master. Plus, dozens of disciples capable of a sword formation.
Even a fellow peak expert like Namgung Cheon-hu, possessed and berserk by the Blood God Demonic Sword, could be subdued easily.
Yet they played defense, watching Heavenly Sword Unit men die.
Not sacrificing their own disciples for justice, but standing by as rival sect warriors perished.
'They chose that path. Cripple a rival sword sect and profit twice over.'
"Adu. Feeling better now?"
"Yeah. Much better."
"Good. Time to move. See that guy going nuts?"
"Yeah. Bad."
"Let's take him down together. But no killing."
"Not send to hell?"
"Right. Subdue him with minimal injury and just grab the sword."
Seizing the perfect opening, he synced with Adu and unleashed their techniques in unison.
"Hundred Steps Divine Fist!"
The golden fist qi slicing through the air struck Namgung Cheon-hu dead on.
At the same speed, Yang-hui dashed in and jabbed the crook of his elbow.
Strength drained from Namgung Cheon-hu's hand at the pressure point strike, and the Blood God Demonic Sword clanged to the floor.
"Whew. Barely subdued him."
"..."
"..."
"I mean it. Fighting that demonic bastard left me in rough shape. Urk—coughing up blood...!"
He clutched his mouth and spat blood. With the congealed blood already pooled, faking it was easy.
"Anyway. Looks like my warning was spot on. Grab that sword, and you turn into a raving demon. The Wudang folks can test it yourselves."
"...No need."
The Sweeping Elder sighed and eyed Yang-hui.
"With Namgung warrior testing it personally, we won't repeat the mistake. Step back, young hero."
Saying that, but no sign of giving up on the Blood God Demonic Sword.
Probably planning to bag it in cloth or a scabbard without touching it and take it back to Wudang.
Made sense—with this much damage, the leader needed something to save face.
'Sigh. Really hand it over? Clashing openly with Wudang's premature.'
He glanced at Hyun-hyeon.
The future Wudang's top swordsman. Current Wudang's greatest prodigy.
'Hoped Namgung Cheon-hu would kill him.'
If so, the situation would shift dramatically.
Hyun-hyeon held massive value to Wudang.
Could've forced an immediate change in their stance.
'Whatever. Dwelling on failures is for fools.'
Regrettable, but the Blood God Demonic Sword was truly off the table.
With that thought, he took a step back.
"Take it."
That was the moment.
Rumble!
"...Rumble?"
Ruuuuumble!
Adu chirped brightly.
"The sound when your tummy hurts!"
True enough. When your stomach acted up, that noise came with a splattering torrent of liquid mess.
...Something was flooding in.
'Come to think of it...'
Behind the hole from the golden urn stretched a passage.
No—on second thought, not a passage.
'A waterway!'
Ruuuuumble!
The roar grew louder.
No doubt—a waterfall of rapids surging in.
'Damn it! My gold!'
Forget the sword—he bolted toward the golden urn.
What now? No confidence he could protect it from the current.
'Smash it open and stuff as much as possible into pouches... Huh?'
Wait—this urn wasn't rectangular?
He'd assumed it was an urn because the Blood God Demonic Sword was sealed inside like a corpse.
But now... it oddly resembled a belly.
No—crude, but definitely boat-shaped.
'I see. This is the final contingency.'
He shoved the golden boat aside and climbed on top.
"Adu! Get on!"
The instant Adu hopped aboard, an enormous cascade poured through the hole like a waterfall.
Having shifted the boat to empty space right beside the hole kept it from washing away immediately—but not for long.
'As long as we don't get swept before the others.'
"Jam your hands into the wall and hold on!"
"Okay!"
He plunged one hand into the earthen wall and gripped the golden boat with the other.
Thus they dangled, enduring, holding tight.
"What the—water?!"
"Grab each other tight!"
"Gaaahhh!"
"We're getting swept!"
"Jam your swords into the wall and hold!"
The Sword King's Tomb's interior passages curved but ran in a straight line overall.
Perfect for the torrent to flow in one direction.
Clinging to the wall in the current's blind spot, Yang-hui waited until every Wudang and Namgung warrior had been swept away before letting go.
"Let's go!"
"Wheee! Fun!"
It really was fun.
Riding the rough rapids on the boat felt just like an amusement ride.
Of course, every sharp bend slammed them against the walls, heart stopping each time.
Like that protruding rock ahead... huh?
"Yang-hui! Sword!"
The Blood God Demonic Sword was lodged in the rock.
Swept by the current, it had snagged by chance.
He kicked off the boat, snatched the sword mid-leap, flipped in the air.
The torrent timed perfectly, guiding the golden boat beneath him for a flawless landing.
"Talk about a steal!"
"Expensive?"
"Dunno! But we'll find a use keeping it!"
He couldn't wield the Blood God Demonic Sword openly.
His righteous energy neutralized it fine, but swinging around a blade with a blood-red edge screaming "demonic" would draw suspicion.
Especially since Namgung and Wudang knew its look.
'Still, this isn't just ordinary steel.'
Couldn't let it fall to the Blood Cult either. Smelt it down, study it—bound to find some use.
Even just denying it to those cult bastards was a win.
"Now, the question is what next."
Couldn't drift forever like this.
'The rapids have to empty into Baek Stream for sure.'
The river winding around Baek Mountain nearby.
The underground passage's end linked somewhere to its bank.
Drift on, and he'd run into Blood Cult remnants and all the Sword King's Tomb warriors.
'The cult remnants aren't a worry, though.'
Most of the Blood Cult's Six Divisions were half-demon, half-ghost.
Puppets under Blood-eye Ra's mental control.
With Ra dead, the connection snapped—they were just living corpses now.
Correction: half-rotted while still breathing.
'Anyway. The real headache's the warriors.'
Namgung had only two or three left after Cheon-hu wiped them out, but Wudang preserved decent forces.
Encounter them, and they'd seize the sword first thing.
'What to do. If only a side path midway...'
Ah, right.
Remembering something, Yang-hui looked up.
Perfectly timed—a shout from the ceiling.
"Little brother!"
"Big bro!"
"Hwi, you rascal!"
"Hwi, little bro!"
Yang-hui's face lit up.