Eat Well (2)

“If you even think of speaking before you eat, blink your eyes.”

“Kk, kkeuu!”

The old woman, having seen the Gu worm with her own eyes, had a seizure.

At last, Yu Seol slowly brought the Gu worm to her open mouth.

“Ah~~~”

Even one Gu worm had caused the old woman’s body to feel as if it were being torn apart.

And now they intended to feed her two at once.

The Gu worm writhed like a worm, its teeth chattering as if begging to be put in quickly.

The sight alone aroused revulsion.

Then Yu Jinsan, gripping the old woman’s jaw, whispered in her ear.

“We’re just returning them to their master, so don’t blame us. Open your mouth.”

They hadn’t even put them in yet.

Yet the old woman’s whole body began to tremble.

“Kk! Kkeoheo!!”

No matter how she screamed, Yu Jinsan had no intention of stopping.

With a determined look he signaled Yu Seol.

“Put them in quickly.”

It was when the Gu worm Yu Seol held was half inside the old woman’s mouth.

Suddenly the old woman’s eyes began to blink madly.

She had finally raised the white flag.

Yu Jinsan released her jaw and signaled his granddaughter.

At the same time, enraged curses burst from the old woman’s mouth.

“You, you evil bastards! You will surely be struck by heaven’s punishment!”

How many had died at the hands of the Twin Snake Demons so far? Hundreds, at least by known counts.

To hear the word ‘evil’ from such a cruel demon was infuriating.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now speak quickly. Who fed you the Gu worm?”

The old woman glared at Yu Jinsan with venomous eyes.

“Even if I tell you, do you think you can handle it? How dare you act like this.”

What kind of person could they be to speak like that?

Yu Jinsan’s curiosity about the mastermind who ordered the assassinations only grew.

“I may be beyond your reckoning. But what if it’s a Yin Monster?”

The old woman’s gaze slowly shifted to the right.

The girl who had effortlessly subdued an absolute master and beaten everyone down indiscriminately.

The fearsome Yin Monster, whose level couldn’t even be guessed, smirked.

Then she looked away and muttered in a small voice.

“…Perhaps there’s a little hope.”

“Good, then speak quickly. We’ll take care of the revenge.”

Fear was evident in the old woman’s eyes.

She was afraid of the mastermind who had ordered the hits against them.

But how could things get any worse in this situation?

At last, having made up her mind, she said softly.

“If I tell you, can you guarantee you’ll kill me for sure?”

“You’ve done things worth dying for, so there’s no reason to spare you.”

Though he spoke indirectly, it meant he accepted.

After a brief pause, the old woman finally spat out one name.

“Hwa-ryeong Incident. She ordered all of it.”

At that moment Yu Jinsan’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.

There was no one in the murim world who didn’t know that name.

She was the head of the Murim Alliance and leader of the Emei Sect, essentially the leader of the Justice Faction.

“So the Murim Alliance leader captured you, fed you Gu worm, and ordered the assassinations of the Evil factions? You expect me to believe that?”

“You don’t know. How crazy the Alliance leader is.”

Yu Jinsan had suspected her malicious and wicked nature, but he hadn’t imagined it went this far.

He needed to find out more.

“Come on, keep talking now.”

The old woman giggled to herself for some reason.

After laughing for a while, she turned serious and spoke again.

“Do you think we only assassinated members of the Evil Factions?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Anyone who opposed her wishes among the Murim Alliance wasn’t spared either. By numbers, the Justice Faction had more victims.”

The absurdity was endless.

They didn’t hesitate to kill people from their own side? Where in the world is a greater devil than that?

They couldn’t have deployed the Blue Dragon Troops to kill members of the Justice Faction.

They must have used the Twin Snake Demons as assassins to handle dirty work in the shadows.

“I wondered how someone like her stayed in the Alliance leader’s position; now some questions are clearing up.”

“I’ve told you everything, so just kill me. I have no attachments left in this world.”

She seemed eager to be reunited with her partner Ma Gwang-yun.

But they couldn’t let her go so easily; they had to extract as much information as possible.

“Not yet. Have you ever fought the Murim Alliance leader?”

“We tried ambushes several times to escape the Gu worm. The last one was about a year ago. She had become incomparably stronger than at first.”

“I’d like more specifics.”

“They attacked together, but couldn’t even brush her clothes. We were helpless like when facing the Yin Monster.”

She was a target who had to be held responsible for massacring the Yu household’s retainers.

Until now he had thought breaking the Blue Dragon Troops and cutting off their leader’s head would be enough.

But to hear her martial skill could be compared to Yu Seol’s? He needed to verify if that was true.

“And?”

“That’s all I know.”

Then the White Snake Clan’s leader, watching nearby, slipped in and said.

“Our Alliance lord knows the Murim Alliance leader well; they have a deep grudge.”

“Hmm.”

He had also vaguely heard from Baek Gyu of the Defeating Blade Clan that the Evil Sect Alliance leader Yong Yong and the Murim Alliance leader had long harbored a grudge.

So there would likely be much information to learn.

He planned to meet her later to learn more.

“Anything you want to say last?”

“Kill me.”

There seemed to be nothing more to extract from the old woman.

He considered using her to expose the Murim Alliance leader’s deeds to the murim world, but it would be useless—no proof and no one would believe them.

Yu Jinsan signaled the leader of the clan.

“Stay out with the Yin Monster for a while.”

“Understood, Great Warrior.”

There was no need to show his granddaughter the execution.

He calmly waited for the leader and Yu Seol to move away.

The Red Snake Geum Do-do who, with Black Night Clan’s Ma Gwang-yun, had stained the murim world with blood.

Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the corpse of her cold, dead comrade.

“Old woman. Pay your dues in this life here, and may you find peace in the next.”

Even for a villain, taking someone’s life was not enjoyable.

But it was a necessary action.

She had kept her promises and deserved to die by his hand.

“Old hag. It’s shameless, but grant me one favor.”

Yu Jinsan had already stood at the threshold of death.

He could guess what the old woman wanted without her saying it.

“You assassinated this clan leader. No matter how much you love your comrades, do you expect us to bury both of you intact together?”

“I suppose… that’s how it will be, isn’t it?”

She had held out for a while, but confessing what she knew willingly was commendable. Besides, she had useful information.

So he thought a small reward was reasonable.

“I’ll discuss it with that leader.”

The grim mouth of Geum Do-do, full of malice, faintly smiled for the first time.

“…Thank you.”

The grandfather and granddaughter stayed at White Snake Clan, waiting for the Black Night Clan’s arrival.

Only then could they proceed with their next move.

While staying here they were treated as honored guests.

They had avenged the clan leader, so it was natural to be honored beyond being heroes of the Evil Factions.

Sometime later, when the leader’s ankle had nearly healed,

“…Can we look forward to today?”

White Snake Clan’s Dining Pavilion.

About fifty disciples, their faces red with hostility, sat in rows in the dining hall.

Their expressions before the meal were heavy with gloom.

“You can expect it. Yesterday my stomach was bad and I went to the latrine twenty-two times.”

“Goodness. We can’t even pick and choose what to eat.”

“…Please.”

These days Yu Seol had taken a keen interest in cooking and was preparing the White Snake Clan’s meal. What could they do when the Evil Faction’s supreme insisted?

The problem was always inventing new dishes.

Strange flavors and textures they had never experienced before.

Occasionally a great dish came out, but two out of three times it was inedible.

Then one of the disciples whispered anxiously.

“I saw the Yin Monster hero carrying a sack and going to the stream earlier.”

“The stream? Why would she go there?”

“Maybe today she’s going to cook fish.”

“Hey, there aren’t any fish there. Only frogs everywhere.”

When the disciples complained, the leader at the head of the table slapped the table with his palm.

Thud-!

“Our benefactor is personally cooking for us—why so many complaints? From now on I’ll tear apart anyone who opens their mouth.”

Everyone shut up and kept quiet. The leader, satisfied, admonished them once more.

“Don’t leave anything; you must eat it all. If White Snake Clan is to survive, we must make a good impression on the Yin Monster.”

They expected her arrival soon, so they needed to clamp down on talk.

Complaining about food in front of the sharp-eared Yin Monster would be too dangerous.

About half a quarter of the bell passed in the silence.

“Were you very hungry?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the entrance.

Yu Seol entered carrying an enormous pot on her head.

It was easily twice the size of her body, yet she seemed to feel no weight and walked lightly.

Boom-!

Yu Seol set the pot down at the end of the table and stretched out her right hand.

Then dozens of bowls on the table floated up and flew toward the disciples.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!!

The bowls flew through the air and neatly stacked themselves before each person.

This level couldn’t be mimicked by mere airy tricks.

The disciples swallowed and watched the Yin Monster serve the food.

It was a red porridge with unidentifiable chunks floating in it, the aroma sharp enough to sting the nose from a distance.

The leader asked cautiously.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s Spicy Frog Porridge. It’s delicious, so try it.”

No one had heard of such a dish; she had made it up herself.

Each time Yu Seol snapped her fingers, a bowl flew right in front of a disciple.

They landed precisely without a single error.

“W-well then, I’ll eat.”

“I’ll eat well!”

Yu Seol watched them eat with a face full of anticipation.

Their expressions varied.

A disciple nearby reacted first.

“Guh!!”

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?”

“N-no way!? It’s so delicious I was startled.”

He saw the Yin Monster’s mouth corners rise into a broad smile.

The expression was like a parent’s contented smile feeding a baby.

“Mmm~ Is it tasty?”

The Yin Monster, holding the ladle, piled more porridge into his bowl.

“Th-th-thank you……”

At that moment Yu Seol’s gaze turned back to the right.

“Uncle, why are you crying?”

“It’s just… it’s so delicious…”

“There’s plenty, so have two bowls. Here.”

He was not the only one in tears.

“Sobs.”

“…sniff.”

How tasty could it be that they cried while eating porridge?

Watching them pityingly, Yu Seol sighed with regret.

“Sigh. I should have made more.”

As the disciples’ wails reached a peak,

Yu Jinsan, who understood their feelings well, arrived just then.

“You made food again. I told you not to torment these kids.”

“No, they say it’s really delicious. Grandpa, sit down and eat quickly.”

Just the smell was dizzying.

Yu Jinsan said urgently with a stern expression.

“No. We have to leave now, so prepare quickly.”

“Now?”

“Yes, the information we’ve been waiting for has arrived, so we must depart immediately.”

At that moment, the White Snake Clan’s disciples set down their spoons and sprang up together.

Their tear-streaked faces were now filled with joy.

“You’re leaving already!?”

“Such a shame.”

“Oh my… stay a little longer, won’t you?”