Episode 225

Bang! Ba-bang! Kwang!

Three violent shocks reverberated throughout Xi’an.

The countenance of Mok Yeong, masquerading as Mok Chun, the chef of Southern Edge, twisted in pain.

Even though they were aware of the situation, they stood their ground.

Four subordinates were trailing behind him. They diverted the enemies’ attention to create an escape route, but tragically perished in the process.

He needed to push forward. The sacrifices made by his subordinates couldn’t be in vain.

He had to escape and inform the authorities, warning the Palace that they had a lead. The mark’s existence was now exposed.

Thus, Mok Yeong sprinted with all his might, cutting down obstacles in his path.

This strategy prolonged the pursuit and prevented an easy encirclement, likely due to the enemy’s awareness of explosives.

He had to seize this opportunity.

Once a gap was spotted, he could utilize his full strength to break free.

“He is veering to the left.”

The shout came from Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Swordsmen, seemingly the siege leader.

Initially, he needed to eliminate that individual to weaken the siege’s coordination.

Kuuuk.

Mok Yeong’s thighs, with his feet pounding the ground vigorously, swelled as if ready to burst.

He had to end this swiftly.

He focused all his power into one swift strike, aiming for the Plum Blossom Swordsman’s neck, exploiting any moment of vulnerability.

His thigh and calf muscles bulged with effort, and as the energy surged through his soles, Mok Yeong moved like lightning.

Pang!

With a swift sword strike, the Plum Blossom Swordsman was caught off guard, too late to react.

Taaang!

The Plum Blossom Swordsman’s blade rebounded, clattering to the ground, while Mok Yeong’s dagger continued its unyielding path towards his throat.

“…!”

What?

For a moment, the flow of time slowed down as if it had stopped, and the Plum Blossom Swordsman, who was supposed to be pierced in the neck, instantly moved away.

And another person stepped in to fill that spot.

Kakang!

“Tsk!”

Tak!

The impact was strong enough to make his wrists tingle, but he couldn’t scream out loud. The opponent who had deflected the dagger swiftly reached out and seized his chin.

The distance was too close for him to evade the hand.

Wooong!

Another hand reached for his open mouth, pressing down on both sides of his jaw.

Crack!

How can one describe this kind of pain?

The hand reached into Mok Yeong’s mouth, grabbing his lower teeth and pulling them out.

“Ahhh!”

Mok Yeong screamed, falling back in agony unlike anything he had ever experienced.

“Ugh…”

A figure stood before him while his face twisted in pain.

Jinmu of Wudang.

The moment he appeared, everything came to a halt.

Both the pursuer who had been after him and the encirclement that had been closing in stopped and turned to look at them.

“Taoist Jinmu!”

Ho Hyeon-gae, who had been following Mok Yeong, shouted with joy. Jinmu, who had saved the Plum Blossom Swordsman by grabbing the back of his neck and striking him, simply smiled and glanced down at his hands.

“First of all, you shouldn’t try to commit suicide, right?”

A sac of poison for suicide lay in his blood-covered hand. He had removed the object that had been in his mouth along with the lower teeth and grinned cheerfully in a manner unsuitable for the situation.

“The Sword of Wudang.”

“It is me, Mok Chun, you bastard.”

Who would utter profanities while laughing? Furthermore, he was extracting teeth as if playing with a toy.

“Hey, it seems like everything has been roughly sorted out. Surrender. Then it will end reasonably well.”

“……”

Surrender? Nonsense.

“Stop spouting nonsense. That won’t happen.”

Mok Yeong gripped the sword in reverse, assumed a defensive stance, and glared at Jinmu.

“Nonsense. You put a lot of thought into it.”

“What?”

“I just need to catch this. Because that is a promise. And that stew. Was pretty delicious.”

What is this nonsense? He couldn’t believe that a review of the dish he cooked was forthcoming now.

“Shut up!”

“I will handle it. You just surrender.”

“Nonsense.”

“What nonsense is there in it?”

Jinmu frowned at the continued curses.

“You should have some conscience too.”

“What?”

“Do you know how many people have been brought to catch you? 5,000 guards, 1,000 military and 500 from the Central Murim Alliance.”

All the way from even the Lower District Sect.

“If this is not enough, you acted ignorantly towards me. Even the most evil Demonic Cult leader in the world, Bokri Do-Cheon, wouldn’t treat me like this.”

What kind of shamelessness is this? They mobilized so many to catch him and this man treats Jinmu like this?

“Looking at it, it’s even harder to run, and now there is just one choice, right? To step back.”

“……”

“So just surrender. It is a good chance. Just answer some questions and then switch things up to put your talent to good use. If you open something like a guesthouse and make the chicken stew and sell it there, you will hit a jackpot right there. You will end up rich, I am telling you as a food lover; I assure you.”

At Jinmu’s sincere advice, Mok Yeong’s face turned red in shame and anger.

“You, how dare…”

Mok Yeong put his hand into his sleeve and then came this clicking sound.

“E-explosive!”

At the same time Ho Hyeon-gae shouted when Mok Yeong pulled out something like a wick and at that moment, Jinmu’s hand stretched out like a lightning bolt.

Kuak!

“Tsk!”

Mok Yeong was surprised by what happened to him a moment back rather than the pain in his hand.

He didn’t see anything move.

The hand that was extracting the wick was crushed down, and the upper part of the explosive had crumbled down with the wick.

Mok Yeong gazed at Jinmu with trembling eyes.

He remained rooted to the spot where he had first stood.

“It is shocking. This is actually a famous one. Have you heard of Wudang’s Ten Silken Movements?”

“……”

Wudang’s Ten Silken Movements.

The technique from Wudang that had always maintained its position among grappling techniques.

If the pinnacle was the Linking Palm, consisting of 36 changes and utilizing qi to its maximum strength in the final movement, then the Ten Silken Movements was a rare technique that controlled and subdued without releasing qi.

Although he had heard of it before, it was his first time witnessing it in person. The ultimate grappling technique.

“Wonderful. To be recognized as a Wudang practitioner and be praised for swordsmanship excellence.”

“Yes, swordsmanship is my specialty, but my true expertise lies elsewhere.”

Jinmu smiled and turned away.

“Does it make sense? Distributing Gu worms to subordinates by threatening to kill them if the secret is revealed? Did you not consider the possibility of them choosing suicide if caught? It’s not normal, is it?”

“Hmm, are you trying to placate me?”

“Do not misunderstand. I am usually not so lenient, but today is the last day. That’s why I am feeling generous. Now, hand over the…”

I am contemplating leaving the Justice Faction; this is the moment.

What a momentous day. So choose wisely when given the opportunity.

“I do acknowledge your greatness. Because of you, the plan we had meticulously crafted was nearly thwarted. However, with my demise, you will be hunted until your own death. By assassins beyond your imagination.”

There was a chilling intent in Mok Yeong’s eyes as he raised the sword towards Jinmu’s chin.

To strike.

Slash! Slash!

“…!”

The sword that was meant to pierce Jinmu’s chin and emerge from the top of his head fell to the ground, dropped by Mok Yeong’s own hands.

Blood gushed out like a fountain from the severed wrist, but all Mok Yeong could see was the sword floating in the air.

It had been dropped by the Mount Hua warrior a little while back.

“Void Air Object Movement?”

“That is the Air Sword. Ai-Air Sword.”

“Air Sword…”

“I told you. My specialty lies elsewhere in swordsmanship.”

This is insane.

His specialty is to handle two swords? Isn’t his specialty just the Ten Silken Movements?

“Well, you keep trying to die, so I cannot do anything.”

Jinmu scratched the back of his head with one hand, and the fingers flicked lightly.

Snap!

With this slight tingling feeling, Mok Yeong lost consciousness and fell to the ground, his eyes shaking violently. His paralysis acupoint was suppressed by Jinmu’s finger.

Jinmu carelessly threw away the tool of Mok Yeong he had been holding in his hand until then, and glanced at Ho Hyeong-gae, saying,

“Stop the bleeding.”

“……”

But Ho Hyeon-gae, who should have moved to stop the bleeding, was standing there in shock, as if he hadn’t heard Jinmu’s words.

It made sense.

Being proficient in Ten Silken Movements and also Air Sword.

Weren’t they both legendary movements? How could one person use two techniques of that level?

Well, doesn’t it seem like he was the best swordsman and warrior?

He couldn’t believe it despite seeing it, and everyone around him saw and witnessed it too.

“Ho Hyeon-gae!”

“…Uh?”

“Stop the bleeding, do you plan to kill him?”

Due to Jinmu’s irritated words, Ho Hyeon-gae suddenly came to his senses and approached Mok Yeong.

Once the bleeding was stopped to an extent, they bound the wound with a cloth.

“Let’s see, he could get knocked out during interrogation.”

Jinmu came next to Mok Yeong and squatted down.

“……”

Jinmu, holding his wrist, pushed his qi into Mok Yeong’s body.

Flame qi? No way.

“There were these Gu worms which I witnessed, so I roughly know the habits of those bastards.”

“……”

Mok Yeong’s eyes widened.

Jinmu’s qi began to circulate throughout his body.

And…

Chiik!

He was startled by the heat, and the Gu worm that had been escaping began to melt inside his body.

Of course, only Jinmu and Mok Yeong could hear that burning sound.

“Okay, done!”

Jinmu stood up, shaking his hands off and smiling at Ho Hyeon-gae.

There was no need to absorb qi from Mok Yeong. It is possible, but the qi is no longer necessary with so many eyes watching his every move, and all the required qi has been drawn from Yang So-bang.

“Ho Hyeon-gae.”

“Yes, Sword of Wudang!”

Having witnessed the transformation, he was more respectful towards Jinmu.

“If we have this guy, we can catch the rest in no time, right?”

“Ah! Right! These are all things that Taoist Jinmu accomplished.”

It was such high praise.

In any case, the promise was fulfilled for the hard work Yang So-bang did for him. Now he had done everything required of him.

“Fine then, take care of this guy, and let’s move out.”

“Uh? Move out?”

It is only evident.

“The spy has been captured, and the interrogation can be handled by the Beggars Union. What else is left?”

“…No, no. Let’s move together. The Elder is coming with the Southern Edge warriors.”

So?

There is no need for me to meet Yang So-bang now.

When we meet, he will likely try to manipulate me by saying things like ‘in return for your deeds’ or ‘for keeping your secret’.

Yang So-bang is a Beggar, a slave; he cannot act like a master.

“I am busy, so I need to leave.”

“Uh? But…”

It is a brief encounter. Why go through all this?

“Okay then!”

Pang!

Jinmu promptly left the scene without even waiting for Ho Hyeon-gae’s response.

Ho Hyeon-gae and all the warriors looked bewildered as Jinmu vanished.

“He is truly remarkable. Isn’t he a genuine Taoist? Didn’t he show compassion for the enemy and attempt to persuade him to surrender? He eradicated the Gu worm and saved his life. All the warriors here should learn from him!”

Everyone nodded in agreement with his words.

Unaware of the true motives behind his actions, the only reason he spared the man’s life was due to his exceptional culinary skills, and the thought of wasting such talent troubled him.

Pssk.

“…!”

The middle-aged man, with a strikingly handsome face, furrowed his brow at the sound emanating from the porcelain bottle on the table.

The bottle was labeled ‘Mok’, and small enough to fit in one’s hand.

Pang!

Upon removing the stopper sealing the bottle, a cloud of acidic smoke billowed out.

The Gu worm inside had perished.

“Mok Yeong.”

His voice carried a tinge of bitterness.

Despite the loss of a long-serving subordinate, the man’s demeanor remained composed.

“The Sword of Wudang. Is it him again?”

The man who spoke with a hint of familiarity about the incident was Mu Yeong, the leader of the Hidden Troops.