Caught Up In A Secret Scheme (3)

Neung Je-gang could not find anything special on the bodies of the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters.

“Did these men also hide things in their residence?”

In the residence of the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters, Neung Je-gang once again found martial arts manuals hidden away in secret. The manuals the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters possessed were not just one or two. However, there was nothing especially useful. Perhaps the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters had not made manuals of their own martial arts, because no matter how much he searched, theirs could not be seen.

“There is nothing useful. I only wasted time for nothing.”

Neung Je-gang left the valley like that and tracked Ak Chang from behind again. Since he ran as if flying by using the lightness skill he was most confident in, finding Ak Chang was not especially difficult.

It had been a full month since he had crossed Tianshan like that. Ak Chang had still not left Tianshan. Only after going another half month could Neung Je-gang arrive at the place Ak Chang wanted to go. It was precisely the place where the residence of the Three Demons of Tianshan was located.

The Three Demons of Tianshan had settled on a small mountain called Beishan, which appeared after heading south again from western Tianshan and crossing the Tarim Basin. This place was actually not Tianshan. To be precise, it could be called a mountain located between Tianshan and the Kunlun mountain range.

He did not know why the name Tianshan was attached to their epithet and confused people when they did not even live in Tianshan.

There was a very famous place on Beishan in the Tarim Basin. That place was the Thousand Buddha Caves. It was a place where approximately one thousand Buddha statues were carved into countless caves, and one could glimpse the past greatness of Buddhism there.

Ak Chang was entering precisely those Thousand Buddha Caves. The Three Demons of Tianshan were right there.

“Did you bring him with you?”

The Great Demon of the Three Demons of Tianshan asked when he saw Ak Chang.

“I think so.”

“Then why did it take so long?”

“I wanted to give you ample time to prepare. But have you finished all the preparations?”

“They were finished long ago. As long as he enters that place, even if Secret Shadow has achieved the Diamond Indestructible Body, he will turn into a handful of ash.”

“That is good. What a relief.”

“But what happened to the others?”

“The Mushik Poison Demon died. I did not see him die, but Secret Shadow said so with his own mouth. He said he killed him before he could use poison. It seems Secret Shadow is also mindful of poison. As for the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters, honestly, I do not know. If Secret Shadow followed behind me as expected, they are probably dead. Still, seeing as they dragged in all their native disciples to try to face him in their own way, I thought that even if Secret Shadow won, there might have been a certain amount of damage.”

One secret had been revealed. The reason Ak Chang had wandered around Tianshan and then come here was to earn time to make a trap in order to deal with Neung Je-gang, who was following behind him.

Ak Chang had predicted that Neung Je-gang would suspect him and follow him. He had even acted in a way meant to make him suspicious from the very beginning.

“If it is the Secret Shadow I have heard rumors about, the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters would have failed. We made a mistake. We should not have touched Secret Shadow in the first place.”

The Great Demon spoke quietly.

“According to the rumors, Secret Shadow showed overwhelming martial power against seventy people of the Jinju Eon Clan who had learned the Small-Hand Art. Haha! Does that make sense? That he won against seventy people who had learned the same forbidden art? Even if only one-tenth of the rumors are true, he is someone beyond our ability to handle.”

Ak Chang agreed with the Great Demon’s words. The Secret Shadow they had grasped through rumors was that extraordinary. And now they had to deal with him.

“When do you think he will arrive?”

“I do not know. Since he appears and disappears like a ghost, to be honest, the idea that he followed behind me is only a feeling. Perhaps he did not come.”

“That is a big problem. If it is uncertain whether he followed you, we do not know how long we must wait. Should we go inside there in advance?”

“He may have sprinkled Tracking Incense on me. So I must be inside the trap.”

“That is true. Youngest, guide him and show him the safe place.”

“Yes.”

The Little Demon answered and entered one of the caves of the Thousand Buddha Caves with Ak Chang. It was the cave where they had prepared the trap to catch Secret Shadow.

At that very moment, Neung Je-gang followed Ak Chang and the Little Demon into the cave they had entered. Since he had not heard the exchange between the Great Demon and Ak Chang, it amounted to walking into the trap on his own.

“Is this the place? Are the Three Demons of Tianshan here?”

Neung Je-gang landed at the cave entrance and sighed. It had truly been a tiresome Tianshan. He had not known at first, but there had also been places where the Tracking Incense crossed over, so he had learned that Ak Chang was deliberately circling around Tianshan. Neung Je-gang had thought even that behavior of Ak Chang’s was simply something he was doing to avoid pursuit.

“Who are you?”

At that moment, the Second Demon of the Three Demons of Tianshan happened to discover Neung Je-gang’s figure. Neung Je-gang looked completely like a beggar. Because he had wandered through Tianshan for a month and a half and had not even been able to change his clothes, not only his clothes but his whole body had grime running down it, and his clothing was worn in many places.

The Second Demon realized from his appearance that the opponent was Secret Shadow. When Ak Chang had first entered this place, his appearance had also been similar to Secret Shadow’s current state.

“Who are you?”

“I am the manager of this place. What business does a beggar have here?”

The Second Demon tried his utmost not to grow tense. At that time, hearing his voice, the Great Demon also came outside.

“Ho! Two supreme masters. As expected, it seems you are the Three Demons of Tianshan. Is the remaining one with Ak Chang?”

“As for you, you must be Secret Shadow.”

The Great Demon did not bother trying to hide it. He was the Great Demon, known as the strongest among those living hidden in Tianshan. He was a figure who could be called a true warrior who pursued strength.

Although he had prepared a trap to deal with Neung Je-gang, since they had met face-to-face anyway, he wanted to properly face him.

“Since you know me, this should be easy to discuss. If you tell me where the Deung father and son are, I will send you off with as little pain as possible.”

Neung Je-gang regarded them as if he were looking at fish he had already caught.

“I do not know where that father and son went. Foolishly, we only went as far as Antang Mountain in expectation of the payment they promised.”

“Hmph!”

Neung Je-gang snorted at the Great Demon’s words.

“What matters is only that you went there. There is no difference between who acted and who did not.”

Perhaps because Neung Je-gang’s will was too firm, the Great Demon frowned.

“As expected. I felt it when I heard that you did not leave those you faced alive. You are a person who will spend his whole life making enemies.”

“What?”

“If you are too strong, you break. Just as there are many who rush in to break one that strong. Just as we went to Antang Mountain to kill your master, another of your enemies will target something else you cherish. You may have to live your whole life unable to make anyone close to you.”

“Hmm!”

Neung Je-gang listened carefully to the Great Demon’s words. Lately, he had been feeling that his words were true. He had been destined to become entangled with Kunlun anyway, but the Jinju Eon Clan and the Martial Alliance had happened simply because Neung Je-gang himself had learned forbidden arts. It was because he had learned forbidden arts and grown strong.

If he continued living in the martial world, there was no telling what kind of enemy would appear again. Those who plotted in the dark were difficult to face and difficult to find. In the end, he might lose the people he cherished one by one because of them, and later he might become alone.

But that was a matter for later. More than anything, he had no intention of forgiving the Three Demons of Tianshan.

“So will you fight?”

“I must.”

“Elder Brother!”

The Second Demon was startled when he heard the Great Demon’s answer and shouted.

“Do not stop me. This is a fight staked on a martial artist’s pride. I cannot accept that the martial arts I have trained in my whole life are inferior merely because they are not forbidden arts.”

“……Then I will join you as well. Hey, Secret Shadow! May we attack together?”

“Hehe! You act as if you have never done that before.”

“Do not mock us. Though we may look like this, we have never attacked anyone together until now.”

The Second Demon shouted, flaring up.

“Of course you have not. But you did beat hundreds of innocent ordinary people to death. I suppose that is your pride.”

“Umm!”

The Second Demon had nothing to say. Because it was true.

“Stop doing useless things and just come at me together. I think I will be busy, since I have to kill you and then find and kill the other two as well.”

“You bastard!”

The Second Demon charged at Neung Je-gang first. The Great Demon, who had claimed pride in his martial arts, also began the joint attack without hesitation.

This was precisely the way they had lived. If they were at a disadvantage, they could do anything. The Great Demon’s words had sounded fine, but in truth, this was his real nature.

Thud, thud!

“Keuheok!”

They were no match. Like a cat playing with mice, Neung Je-gang toyed with the two men who had charged in so boldly, then, as if he had grown tired of it, smashed their heads with his fists.

After killing them, Neung Je-gang entered again into the cave where the Tracking Incense he had sprinkled on Ak Chang remained. He took the martial arts manuals each of them had from the bosoms of the Great Demon and the Second Demon. Even so, compared to the manuals of the Wind-Wave Twin Monsters, their manuals were good enough to be called treasures.

“He is coming.”

The Little Demon of the Three Demons of Tianshan said in a very small voice. Even after seeing the Great Demon and the Second Demon die absurdly after being struck by Secret Shadow’s fists, he could not run out. He did not want to die yet. That was why he could not step forward. Instead, he swore in his heart to his two brothers that he would definitely lure Secret Shadow into the trap and kill him.

The Little Demon went outside through a secret passage. What had to be prepared before the trap activated was outside the cave.

Ak Chang shivered. It was different from when Secret Shadow had faced Ghost Blade. Secret Shadow was too frightening. He had killed Ghost Blade painlessly in one blow, but he beat the Great Demon and the Second Demon just enough that they would not die, and only after hearing them say to save them or kill them did he finally kill them.

When he thought that he himself had to receive such pain and die, it was horrifying. Now this trap was his only way to survive.

Swaaaah.

While chasing Ak Chang into the cave, Neung Je-gang suddenly heard something pouring down behind him.

“What is that?”

He smelled it a little later than the sound. It was a unique smell Neung Je-gang had never smelled before.

“What is this smell?”

Forgetting even to chase Ak Chang, Neung Je-gang became absorbed in that smell. It did not seem very good.

“Secret Shadow, you son of a bitch! You are already dead. Wahahaha! I caught you.”

Fwoosh.

The Little Demon, who had shouted loudly, threw the torch he was holding into the black liquid that had been poured into the cave.

Billow, billow.

Black smoke like the touch of a demon was created and pushed into the cave. After setting the fire, the Little Demon was forcing that smoke inside with a large fan. Since he used inner power like that, it was very effective.

“Little Demon, what is this? This is not what we talked about.”

From inside the cave, Ak Chang’s shout could be heard. Ak Chang had not known that the Little Demon, who had gone outside saying there was something absolutely necessary, would set fire to the cave. From the beginning, the Three Demons had prepared this kind of trap. Even if Ak Chang himself had not entered the cave out of concern for the Tracking Incense, the Three Demons had already decided that he was fated to become bait and disappear.

Neung Je-gang first approached Ak Chang. He could not go back out through the entrance. The black liquid was rushing after Neung Je-gang at a very fast speed. On top of that, the black smoke was even more terrifying. It made it difficult to breathe. It was smoke qualitatively different from smoke produced by burning wood.

“Poison, is it poison?”

It could be called poison. However, it did not seem like ordinary poison. If it was poison powerful enough to make even Neung Je-gang unable to open his eyes like this, it was an extremely great poison.

The smoke entering the cave was proof that the back was not blocked. Perhaps if he went to the end of the cave, there might be a hole through which he could escape. Because of that, Neung Je-gang’s movements became even faster.

“Little Demon, you son of a bitch!”

Inside, Ak Chang was still screaming. Neung Je-gang ran toward the place where the sound came from.

“Cough, cough!”

As he went, he saw Ak Chang sprawled on the ground, struggling because he could not breathe.

Rumble.

Since he no longer needed to follow Ak Chang, he ended it with one palm of Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign. Ak Chang’s death was rather happier than that of the Great Demon or the Second Demon. At least he had died without suffering pain.

Even if he was leaving, Neung Je-gang had to search Ak Chang’s bosom. He had not found much at Ak Chang’s residence. If so, important things were surely in his bosom.

There were two manuals in Ak Chang’s bosom. Without even checking their titles, he first put them into his bosom. If he survived, the manuals would be useful, but if things went wrong, it would be completely meaningless.

Neung Je-gang did not look back. He too was a person who had limits. If he made one wrong move, he could be caught in the flames and die, or he could suffocate from the smoke and die. He only ran as fast as possible.

At last, he arrived at the very end of the cave. Unfortunately, although there was a small hole at the end of the cave, perhaps for ventilation, it seemed impossible for a person to escape through it.

Neung Je-gang drew his sword. This was when martial arts were to be used. Martial arts were not something used only when killing people.

In Neung Je-gang’s view, the Empty Spirit Finger Saber was the strongest martial art. In all of history, among the seven saber principles of the Empty Spirit Finger Saber, the final seventh principle had never appeared. But at this very moment, that very seventh principle, Sword Storm, was about to reveal itself to the world.

Wuuuuung.

Neung Je-gang’s sword let out a sword cry. Just by drawing up his qi, the sword reacted to Sword Storm. Sword Storm was a saber principle that pursued the strongest destructive power. At the tip of the sword, a rotation of qi like a whirlwind began.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

A storm of qi swept over the wall where the small hole had been opened.

Rumble.

At that instant, the entirety of Beishan, where the Thousand Buddha Caves were located, shook violently. The Little Demon, who had been continuing to fan in front of the cave, became so uneasy that he could not help himself.

“What is that now?”

At the rear part of the cave, where black smoke had been weakly escaping, smoke suddenly billowed out in a huge mass. Unless another hole had formed in the place where there had been only a very small ventilation hole, such a phenomenon could not occur.

“T-this is bad.”

The Little Demon instinctively realized it. Secret Shadow had broken through the cave and come out. Even the trap using the black liquid had failed to catch Secret Shadow. Now the Little Demon was alone. He sensed that living was impossible. Then, rather, his mind became at ease.

Neung Je-gang looked at the cave. Through the smoke, red flames could be seen. If he had been even a little later, he would have been swallowed by those flames. It had truly been a very close moment.

“It was a meticulous trap. It was only unfortunate that I had a forbidden art with extreme destructive power.”

Of course, the misfortune he spoke of was the misfortune now about to befall the Little Demon, who alone had survived.

Thud.

The Little Demon had also seen how the Great Demon and the Second Demon died. Naturally, with death before him, he did not want to die in that manner. So he chose suicide. With his own hand, he struck his temple and went down the path of death while bleeding from his seven orifices.

“Damn it! I was going to hear from this fellow where Deung Gak is.”

Neung Je-gang felt regret as he searched the Little Demon’s bosom and found a manual. His disappointment was great. To him, his true revenge would only be completed once he found the Deung father and son.

Neung Je-gang was curious about the identity of the black liquid the Little Demon had poured into the cave. So he went to the cave entrance and touched what the Little Demon had poured and left behind. The slippery feeling was similar to touching oil. Though the smell was more terrible, it definitely seemed to be oil.

“Where did this kind of oil come from? This is the first time in my life I have seen such black oil.”

After learning that such a thing existed in the world, Neung Je-gang turned and came out. The fire that had completely burned one cave of the Thousand Buddha Caves only went out after all the oil had burned away. Since the place where the Thousand Buddha Caves were located was entirely made of rock, the fire did not spread further.

“I should examine the manuals here.”

The place Neung Je-gang settled down was the cave where the Three Demons of Tianshan had lived. It was one of the caves of the Thousand Buddha Caves, but it seemed they had modified it to suit their own tastes.

There, he examined the manuals he had obtained this time, and truly strangely, Ak Chang’s manual contained the saber principle of Single-Flash Severed-Soul, which Neung Je-gang had learned.

“Was Ak Chang the descendant of someone who had been imprisoned in Forbidden Demon Prison?”

Otherwise, there was no way they would both be learning the same martial art.

The Little Demon’s martial art was the same as the Great Demon’s. The manual he had possessed was also nothing more than a copy of the Great Demon’s. Rather than feeling like they were from the same school, it felt as if the Great Demon had taught the Little Demon.

The Second Demon’s martial art, in truth, was nothing special. Thinking about it, it seemed the Three Demons of Tianshan had gained fame solely because of the Great Demon. Even from what Neung Je-gang had personally felt, the Second Demon’s martial art was nothing special.

After examining the manuals, Neung Je-gang kept the useful ones and burned the rest by raising Samadhi True Fire. It was a shame. But he could not go around with that many thick manuals stuffed into his bosom.

“In the end, I could not find Deung Gak’s whereabouts. I ended up killing only unrelated people.”

Neung Je-gang had no choice but to turn back. He passed through the Tarim Basin, crossed the desert, and arrived at Kunlun again. Now the only place Deung Gak could go was Kunlun.

“He did not come here either. Where on earth did these people go?”

It was frustrating because he could not know what Deung Gak was thinking.

Neung Je-gang ultimately headed toward Beijing to rely on the Eastern Depot’s information again. He followed the road from Kunlun through Cheonghae and into Gansu Province.

When Neung Je-gang reached Gansu like that, an emergency was finally raised in the Brocade Guard. Even by then, the Eastern Depot’s information network had still not been fully reorganized.