Chapter 1223 – 1223. The Ascent To Guangming
“Get the boss out here!!!”
My voice echoed.
What followed was a suffocating silence. Although they weren’t martial artists, the common people who lived on the fringes of the martial world knew enough to lower their gazes and shut their mouths. They acted in a way that wouldn’t upset me, trying their best not to be a bother.
In the silence, I scanned the inn with a sharp gaze. My Heavenly Eye pierced through the walls, spotting the hidden figures. The cook was trembling in the corner of the kitchen, and those in the inn rooms were quietly waiting for the situation to end.
‘I saw the innkeeper last night. A plump, middle-aged man with a mole next to his nose.’
He wasn’t there.
I scanned the entire inn three times, but I couldn’t find the innkeeper.
‘…Did he run?’
It was certain. The innkeeper was an assassin, just like the dead waiter. He’d fled as soon as he realized things had gone wrong.
‘The cook in the kitchen seems to be an ordinary person with no connection.’
I sat down on a chair.
I was annoyed that I’d missed one, but I couldn’t just kill everyone here out of spite. It was the middle of the day. There were too many eyes watching.
I sat still on the chair, doing nothing. Eventually, the smell of blood bothered me, so I kicked the corpse and the congee bowl to the corner.
There was no one around. The inn’s customers, seeing that I wasn’t doing anything, scurried out of the inn like mice.
*Thump!*
The inn door shattered as martial artists rushed in. The character ‘先’ (Seon/First) emblazoned on their uniforms shone brightly. About twenty martial artists poured in, surrounding me and exuding an aura of intimidation.
“……”
If I didn’t release my restraints, I would die if I fought them like this. But thankfully, they didn’t seem to want to kill me.
*Tap, tap.*
A man entered the inn with calm steps, belatedly. It was a familiar face. Seon Haedo. The head of the Seon family. He plopped down across from me.
“To openly kill someone in an inn in Hagasi… Does the Seon family look so weak?”
“……”
“Should I take this as a declaration of war from the Demonic Cult?”
“It’s a personal matter. The dead man wasn’t a waiter, but an assassin who tried to kill me. Search the corpse. You’ll find a vial of poison.”
Seon Haedo gestured to his subordinates. Understanding his intent, they immediately searched the waiter’s corpse.
“We found it. A poison vial and a dagger. This man is an assassin. Judging by the shape of the dagger, he seems to be an assassin from the Byungsal Clan.”
“…I see. This is a matter of the martial world that I have no right to interfere with.”
Seon Haedo rose from his seat without hesitation. He looked down at me with cold eyes.
As the head of the Seon family, Seon Haedo had a duty to maintain the peace in Hagasi. He was the representative of this city. He had the authority to summarily execute criminals who committed murder within the city.
However, things were different when it came to matters of the martial world. If an ordinary person got caught up in a martial artist’s dispute, that was one thing, but an assassin was considered a criminal, neither a martial artist nor an ordinary person. Killing an assassin outright was considered self-defense.
“Passing by hero. Is that you?”
“You’re suddenly showing up and spouting nonsense.”
“Corpses were found in the alleyways. The thugs who were playing in the alleyways were brutally massacred. Estimating the time of their deaths, it overlaps with the time you left the Seon family. The location of the alleyways is also close to the Seon family.”
“You’re saying I killed them?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“What’s the evidence?”
“……”
“At least a witness?”
“……”
“So, there’s nothing. Don’t bother me with things that aren’t certain.”
Seon Haedo’s face twisted for a moment before returning to a blank expression. It was a change of expression like watching a mask change.
“…You’re quite lucky.”
“I am lucky.”
“I hope that luck continues to the end.”
Seon Haedo left the inn with his subordinates. His subordinates explained the situation to the gathered common people.
‘Why did Seon Haedo come himself? Sending his subordinates would have been enough. Did he come to kill me?’
That couldn’t be it. He couldn’t openly kill me because he was wary of the Demonic Cult.
‘Was his goal to arrest me using this incident as an excuse? …No. He didn’t do anything and left. All he did was glare at me. …Glared?’
I understood Seon Haedo’s purpose.
He came to see for himself if I was okay.
‘He must have hired the assassin last night. He came to see if I was alive and how well I was doing. If I was hurt, he probably would have laughed and left.’
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue.
Seon Haedo was a martial artist who had reached the realm of stubbornness. His perception was beyond that of a master. He must have noticed that my right arm wasn’t in normal condition.
‘…I don’t need to be impatient. I was going to use my right arm’s condition as bait for him anyway.’
I spent my time gathering information about Chu Jeo and headed to the Seon family around noon.
The gatekeepers, tense, glared at me.
I drew internal energy from my dantian. The energy rose and filled my lungs. I shouted, releasing the energy like a dragon breathing fire.
“The Demonic Cult’s Yeom Gu-seok has come! Chu Jeo, the Seon family’s guest! The traitor of the Demonic Cult! I challenge you to a duel!”
“……”
There was no response.
The gatekeepers, as if they had been instructed beforehand, did nothing but stand still.
I shouted again.
“Chu Jeo! You cowardly bastard!! I respect your parents! If I were your parent, I would have smashed you to death with a rock! But your parents ended it by abandoning you! Oh! How merciful! I believe your parents are the reincarnation of Buddha!”
“……”
“Chu Jeo! You filthy traitor! I will surely kill you!”
“……”
There was still no response.
I spat on the Seon family’s main gate and turned away.
***
“Chu Jeo, calm down.”
Seon Haedo said urgently.
Chu Jeo was clenching his fists, his body trembling. The fierce flames of anger burning in his chest were telling him to go out and kill that man right away.
“Master… This is the first time in decades that I’ve heard such insults…!”
Chu Jeo had no tolerance for insults.
He was a martial artist at the second level of the Transcendent Realm. Having crossed the wall of the Transcendent Realm, he was treated as a master. He tried not to lose his dignity as a master, and if the other party acted with dignity first, they would usually treat him with dignity as well. It was the first time he had been insulted so openly like this.
“It’s said that a scared dog barks loudly. It’s proof that he’s getting impatient. He’s already in our grasp, so there’s no need to play along with his antics.”
“You said his right arm isn’t normal. At that level, I can win even if we duel.”
“That information isn’t certain. Seeing that he came so urgently… it means he’s confident he can win… He probably has a hidden card. And besides, I want him to suffer and die miserably. Chu Jeo, calm your anger for now and wait. He will meet a miserable death in the plaza of Hagasi.”
“Hoo. I will trust you, Master, and wait. Do you plan to continue using the Byungsal Clan?”
“The Byungsal Clan leader will move personally.”
“…You hired even the leader? That must have cost a lot… You’re amazing.”
“No. He killed the Byungsal Clan assassin too miserably at the inn. Thanks to that, rumors about the Byungsal Clan assassin who died in the congee have spread throughout Hagasi in an instant.”
“The Byungsal Clan’s reputation has been tarnished.”
“A killer organization is finished the moment it looks weak. Well, the Byungsal Clan leader won’t kill him, so don’t worry. You’re the one who will kill him.”
“I will wait, hoping that time comes as soon as possible.”
Chu Jeo ground his teeth and left for the training grounds.
A few minutes after Chu Jeo left, Seon Haedo slammed his fist down, shattering the table.
“Yeom Gu-seok… you bastard….”
Yeom Gu-seok had provoked Chu Jeo loudly in front of the Seon family’s main gate. It was proof that Yeom Gu-seok was openly disregarding the Seon family. Seon Haedo calmed his boiling anger by imagining Yeom Gu-seok dying miserably in a few days.
***
“S-Sir! I’m sorry! The madam ordered us not to let you into the brothel.”
“……”
“I’m sorry!!”
The manager of the brothel, followed by the men of the underworld, bowed 90 degrees to me.
This was the third time I had been denied entry to the brothel.
The reason was the incident at the inn earlier today. They didn’t want to let a martial artist who was likely to cause trouble into their establishment.
I turned away without a word.
The Seon family was watching me closely, and the Demonic Cult’s observer was paying attention to my movements. Causing a ruckus at the brothel without any justification would be extremely detrimental in the future.
I walked through the entertainment district, which had started its business for the evening, and thought.
‘Should I go to a courtesan house for the first time in a while? It won’t be as good as the high-class courtesans at the brothel… but still, the expensive prostitutes are quite beautiful….’
I stopped.
I grabbed the wrist of a boy who was passing by me. The boy, who looked to be in his early teens, was holding a sharp dagger. If I had reacted even a little late, my stomach would have been stabbed.
“…You hid your presence perfectly. How did you notice me?”
The voice was that of a child, matching his appearance. But there was a murderous aura in his tone and atmosphere.
‘It’s a good thing I’ve been maintaining my Heavenly Eye since this afternoon.’
I had been watching my surroundings with my Heavenly Eye. It was a little tiring, but there was nothing better for dealing with assassins.
“Just because you look like a child, do you think I can’t kill you?”
I put strength into my grip, intending to crush the boy’s wrist. But before that, the boy’s wrist slipped out of my grasp. It was a strange sensation. It was as if the boy’s wrist had suddenly turned into smoke and disappeared.
‘A fleeting moment.’
Ghost Cutting Sword Technique, Evil Cut.
I slashed at the boy without a word. No fountain of blood spurted from the boy’s body. Instead, the boy’s form distorted and disappeared like a phantom.
-The Byungsal Clan is watching you! Be afraid, trapped in the fear of death!
His telepathic message lingered in my ears.
“……”
Pain surged from my right arm, which had been injured by the assassin last night. It was the price of forcing my arm to move. It was starting to bother me, so I used Complete Recovery.
[Using Complete Recovery.]
Not only did my arm recover, but the fatigue that had accumulated in my body without me knowing disappeared. Feeling much refreshed, I walked out of the city.
