Toward Qingcheng Sect (4)

On a night when the full moon shone bright.

The gate guards of the Mountain Sword Sect were blinking hard to fight off the drowsiness that came in waves.

Just then, out of nowhere, a woman’s voice rang out.

“Please help us! Please, someone help us!”

In an instant the guards snapped their eyes open, drew their weapons, and looked toward the direction of the voice.

Cha-chang! Chang!

A woman, supporting someone, came running toward them as if about to collapse, shouting as she came.

The person being supported had a rain-cloak pulled low, but the small frame suggested she was also a woman.

The woman shouted again.

“A Lust Demon is after us! Please!”

Behind them, a black-clad, masked figure spotted the gate guards, hesitated for a heartbeat, then fled back into the darkness—something the guards clearly saw.

The guards’ captain stepped forward, keeping watch in the direction the masked figure had fled, and addressed the women.

“You are safe now, miss. Since you have come to the Mountain Sword Sect, we will protect you from here.”

The woman, eyes brimming with tears, offered thanks.

“Thank you. We were suddenly ambushed—my friend was injured, and I thought I would be overpowered next. As expected, your sect’s reputation for righteousness is well deserved.”

At her words, the captain curved his lips in a meaningful smile and said to them,

“Come inside first and rest a bit. Your friend should receive treatment.”

“Yes, then we won’t refuse. Thank you.”

As he opened the main gate and ushered the two women in first, the captain asked,

“By the way, where have you come from?”

“Ah, we are disciples of the Qinqfeng Sect, a collateral-branch school under the Qingcheng Sect. We were on our way to visit the main mountain of the Qingcheng Sect when…!”

It was then.

No sooner had the gate shut than the captain, following right behind them, shot out a hand like lightning and sealed the woman’s back acupoint.

Tadak!

Startled, the woman cried out.

“Agh! What are you doing!”

The captain immediately sealed the back acupoint of the woman being supported as well and said,

Tadak!

“Did I have a good dream last night? I don’t know what I did to deserve a windfall like this.”

As he spoke, his face shed all earlier courtesy; a greedy smile spread across it.

The false “captain” of the Mountain Sword Sect—Ma Chung-seol, an elite first-class Blood Cult warrior dispatched to the Righteous Chivalry Guild—smiled as he looked down at the two women collapsed on the ground.

Two rare beauties walking into his hands—he felt he could hardly restrain himself.

The unveiled woman was extremely beautiful, and even the one under the rain-cloak, from the glimpse of her face, looked likely to be a considerable beauty.

Besides, since he now knew they were disciples of some third-rate branch like Qinqfeng Sect, there was no reason to hesitate.

“Ehehehe! I was bored, and this is perfect. If I take them inside, the senior brothers will claim them, so why don’t I have my turn first?”

Though her body could not move, her vital meridians were not fully suppressed, so the woman shouted, almost like a scream.

“H-how could you do this! Why would a warrior of the Mountain Sword Sect—?!”

“Keh-heh-heh! When did I ever say I was a warrior of the Mountain Sword Sect?”

The woman’s face blanched, and she shouted with all her strength.

“Help! It’s a Lust Demon! Someone, please!”

Hearing her voice, Ma Chung-seol shivered, his expression ecstatic.

There was nothing so arousing to him as the panicked movements and cries of a terrified woman.

“Yes, yes. Both your face and your voice are very pretty.”

Bending over, he flipped the fallen woman face-up.

At that moment, something flashed from her turning body.

Puk!

“Guh!”

As she flipped, the dagger she drove forward pierced straight through Ma Chung-seol’s heart.

Having been far too careless and the strike coming with blinding speed, even he—a top-tier first-class—could do nothing in response.

Eyes wide in shock, Ma Chung-seol gurgled blood from his mouth and muttered,

“I clearly sealed your point… how…?”

Then he collapsed where he stood.

Jeong-yeon slipped off the rain-cloak covering Seonu Jin and released his acupoint, whispering.

“I’m sorry. I should have found out where the women were being held…”

Seonu Jin answered quickly,

“No. It was the right call. When the bastard tried something like that, there was no choice. We could only create a diversion.”

They had fully anticipated he would try to seal their points from behind.

So, supported by Jeong-yeon, Seonu Jin had focused on the man’s movements and, at the same instant the man struck a point, secretly released Jeong-yeon’s acupoint.

It had been possible because their bodies were pressed together.

But their original plan—to use that pretense to locate where the women were imprisoned—had failed.

To try to satisfy his lust here without even taking them inside, with other guards looking on… truly typical of a Blood Cult dog.

The surrounding guards began to shout.

“That wench killed the captain!”

“Grab her!”

The patrols along the inner wall had been watching with idle curiosity, but when the captain fell, they jolted in alarm and started rushing over.

Feigning that she was supporting Seonu Jin, Jeong-yeon drew her sword with one hand and sprinted back toward the main gate.

At the same time, Bi Sayoung and Jeong-an were concealed outside along the side wall of the Mountain Sword Sect.

Earlier, dressed in black, they had pretended to chase Jeong-yeon and Seonu Jin; when Jeong-yeon let out that desperate cry for help, that was their signal to begin infiltration.

That cry had confirmed the Mountain Sword Sect truly housed a Blood Cult contingent.

— This way.

Not on Seonu Jin’s level, but still diligent in honing his senses, Bi Sayoung found a spot where the inner patrols were slack and waited there outside the wall.

Then voices came from inside the wall.

“The women are escaping! Catch them!”

“But what about this side of the perimeter?”

“We’ll catch them quick and come right back!”

As the sentries inside the wall rushed toward Jeong-yeon and Seonu Jin’s direction, Bi Sayoung sent a sound-transmission to Jeong-an.

— Now, miss!

Bi Sayoung vaulted the wall, light and silent.

He moved with the sleek quickness of a black cat.

Right behind him, Jeong-an also crossed the wall.

As she had claimed, she was confident in her movement art; her motions were excellent.

Confirming she was with him, Bi Sayoung focused all his attention on the presences around them.

By the original plan, Jeong-yeon and Seonu Jin were to pinpoint where the women were held, but since that seemed not to have happened, he would have to find it by judgment alone.

The heavy sense of responsibility honed Bi Sayoung’s concentration to a razor’s edge.

Then it happened.

While Bi Sayoung studied the layout of the buildings, weighing where to go, Jeong-an’s voice brushed his mind from behind.

— Young master Bi, I’m so nervous. What should I do?

Focused, Bi Sayoung let out a wry breath at her sudden whisper.

She had been so excited at the thought of infiltrating, and now that they were truly inside, she was getting tense.

— Don’t worry, miss. The dangerous part is where Jeong-yeon and that rascal Jin are drawing eyes. Our role isn’t that risky. Trust me.

No one knew better than Bi Sayoung that this wasn’t really true.

No matter how well Seonu Jin diverted attention, there was no telling what strong foes lurked inside.

But the task had to be done; he couldn’t show doubt in front of her.

— I think the women are likely confined in the inner buildings. What do you think?

— Yes, I think it’s inside as well.

— Then let’s go.

Keeping low, Bi Sayoung slipped between the Mountain Sword Sect’s buildings like a thieving cat.

Face flushed beneath her mask, Jeong-an followed close behind.

But they did not know.

That two pairs of eyes on the rooftops were tracking their every move.

— What do you think?

— It’s entertaining. For now, shall we just watch?

— Hm, shall we?

Jeong-yeon, supporting her “injured comrade” under the rain-cloak—Seonu Jin in disguise—rushed forward and slammed the main gate open.

As expected, beyond the swung-open gate stood four gate guards.

They stared at the opened door in puzzlement, then, seeing the pair, jolted and fumbled to draw their weapons.

Jeong-yeon lunged at the nearest man and thrust her sword.

She had to strike before they fully braced.

“Haaap!”

Chaeng!

But when her blade was knocked aside with ease, Jeong-yeon grit her teeth.

Even the lowest gate guards—Blood Cult henchmen in disguise—were first-rate fighters with their inner force filled to the first “gapja” cycle.

“You brazen wench!”

The Blood Cult guard barely parried Jeong-yeon’s sword and spat a curse. As Jeong-yeon refused to give up and continued her flurry—

Pshuk!

“Guh!”

From within Seonu Jin’s rain-cloak, a hidden weapon flashed out like a bolt of light and pierced the Blood Cult guard’s neck.

The light faded from the man’s eyes at once.

In that unexpected turn, Jeong-yeon flinched in alarm—then a whisper struck her ear.

— Miss! Behind you!

Snapping back to herself, Jeong-yeon whirled to find another Blood Cult guard already charging right up behind her.

“You bitch!”

Jeong-yeon clenched her teeth, and her sword spewed a dizzying spray of light.

“Eek!”

Shu-shu-shuk!

A bewildering, turbulent pattern, like tangled winds—the Emei Sect’s Frayed Gale Sword method.

Chae-chae-chae-chaeng!

It was a desperate moment, but Jeong-yeon managed to fend off the ambush.

Partly thanks to the Emei absolute technique’s power, but above all because the opponent had been careless.

Though his inner force had filled the first cycle, the Blood Cult guard’s insight was lacking; he had not yet reached top-tier first-class and, for the moment, wasn’t trying to kill her outright.

And at that instant, another hidden weapon shot from within the rain-cloak.

Pyushuk!

“Gack!”

At such close range, with no telltale motion visible thanks to the cloak, even a first-rate expert simply could not defend.

The remaining two gate guards shouted.

“The injured wench is throwing hidden weapons—watch it!”

“You dare!”

At that moment, Seonu Jin’s whisper thrummed in Jeong-yeon’s ear.

— Charge boldly, miss. I’ve got your back.

At his voice, a smile rose unbidden to Jeong-yeon’s face.

At this moment, his voice had never sounded so dependable.

Ever since she had taken up the sword, the elders of her sect had always judged Jeong-yeon this way:

Her talent was excellent, but she was overly cautious and overthought things, limiting her own growth.

A judgment completely opposite to that of Jeong-an, who acted rashly from fearlessness and simplicity but, if she survived, would progress faster than anyone.

Jeong-yeon knew her own flaw.

But temperament was not easily changed.

Yet now, without realizing it herself, she was charging forward with fierce audacity, unleashing her swordwork—

—and doing so with the Emei Sect’s most offensive sword art: the Annihilation Sword.

Annihilation Sword, Fourth Form.

Rakshasa Slays the Ghost.

Kiiiiii!

An eerie wail poured from her blade—unbelievable for an orthodox style.

The storming sword-light tore like the claws of a vicious spirit.

Chae-chae-chae-chae-chae-chaeng!

“Th-this—uwaaagh!”

One of the guards, reeling under the savage onslaught, failed to block and was shredded by Jeong-yeon’s blade.

“Haa… haa…”

Realizing that, in a burst of unconscious flow, she had cut down a peer first-rate fighter in an instant, Jeong-yeon stared blankly at the corpse—when Seonu Jin’s whisper came again.

— Well done, miss! But now is the time to run!

“Ah—y-yes!”

Jerking to, Jeong-yeon grabbed Seonu Jin again and sprang forward.

The last of the four already lay dead with a hidden weapon buried in his throat.

As Jeong-yeon supported Seonu Jin and launched herself away, other guards burst out from inside the gate.

They saw the gate-guards’ corpses and shouted in shock.

“That wench killed all the brothers at the main gate!”

“Was she a master?!”

“Quick—call the captains and the great lord for support!”

The Mountain Sword Sect erupted like a stirred hornet’s nest.

They could not possibly let those who knew their secret escape alive.

The warriors waiting inside rushed out and began pursuing Jeong-yeon and Seonu Jin through the moonlit streets.

‘As expected of that brat Jin—reliable, as ever.’

From hiding, Bi Sayoung smiled in satisfaction as he watched the guards dash out.

Now, the inside of the Mountain Sword Sect would be that much easier to probe.

The Mountain Sword Sect’s main hall.

For months now, the sect master’s chamber had remained unused by its real owner; instead, two men sat drinking there.

They were “Slaying Demon Saber” Yang Bulgi, eldest of the Blood Cult cadres managing the occupied Mountain Sword Sect, under the demonic head Jang Sansama; and “Crimson Demon Saber” Myeong Dae-sul, the second brother.

Yang Bulgi suddenly knit his brow and asked,

“It’s getting noisy outside. What’s going on?”

Myeong Dae-sul replied, uninterested,

“What could it be? No doubt some trifling matter.”

But Yang Bulgi shook his head.

“I don’t think so. I hear someone shouting to catch a woman. Don’t tell me one of the captive sluts escaped? Go check.”

The eldest, Yang Bulgi, had over eighty years of inner strength, while the second, Myeong Dae-sul, had yet to break that wall.

So it seemed Yang Bulgi had heard what Myeong Dae-sul could not.

Grimacing, the second brother stood, unable to refuse his elder’s order.

“Tch. Where have the third and fourth run off to at a time like this?”

Grumbling, Myeong Dae-sul left the room—and returned a short while later.

“It wasn’t one of the captives escaping—some wench walked in on her own and then bolted again just before getting grabbed. That’s why it’s loud—everyone’s out to catch her.”

Yang Bulgi’s scowl deepened.

“They let a catch walk in and get away? A captain-level? Whoever that idiot is, I’ll have him executed.”

“No need. He’s already dead—killed by the wench. Must’ve been careless. Fool.”

At that, Yang Bulgi’s expression turned strange.

“Killed him? A captain-level?”

Rubbing his chin with interest, Yang Bulgi suddenly rose.

Myeong Dae-sul asked, puzzled,

“You’re going yourself?”

Yang Bulgi grinned, hunger showing.

“I’ve been bored. Bedding captive women feels bland. A woman is best when you hunt her yourself. I’ll be back quick. Keep watch—just in case.”

“Understood. I’ll go fetch a woman and enjoy myself. Ah—if she’s pretty, don’t kill her; bring her back.”

“Keh-heh-heh, understood.”

With that, Yang Bulgi left the room.

That Slaying Demon Saber Yang Bulgi—an expert with over eighty years of cultivation, on par with Man Jongim, the Demon-Hating Wanderer, a great-lord of the Twelfth Unit—had gone out to chase Seonu Jin and Jeong-yeon, and that Crimson Demon Saber Myeong Dae-sul—an expert with over seventy years—was guarding the main hall, were things neither Seonu Jin nor Bi Sayoung could possibly have known.