## Chapter 601 – 601. The Ascent Of Light
601. The Ascent of Light
The performance of the highest-grade potion was undeniable.
Seong Ji-gon’s abdomen, which had been slashed, began to heal in less than ten seconds. Seong Ji-gon was startled and tried to get up, but sat back down on the floor. He was exhausted from the battle, so he needed some rest.
“Jin. What is that potion? A fatal wound healed in an instant…”
“Just think of it as one of the elixirs.”
“To use such a precious elixir for me…”
Seong Ji-gon’s eyes were filled with respect and gratitude as he looked at me. It wasn’t bad. If Seong Ji-gon was grateful to me, he would listen to me better in the future.
“There are still a few hours left until sunrise… Shall we finish what we were doing?”
I turned my body and walked towards the women. The women trembled as they looked at me. They seemed to think I might kill them all.
“Take off all your clothes. If you don’t satisfy me before dawn… I’ll kill all of you like those bandits lying over there.”
“……!!”
The women, not wanting to die, began to actively take off their clothes. Soon after, Seong Ji-gon joined in. Unlike me, he started having sex only with the older women.
We left the mountain fortress when the morning sun began to rise.
“But is it okay to leave the women behind? Shouldn’t we kill them?”
Seong Ji-gon asked me.
“Why? Do you want to kill them?”
“It’s not that, but we need to silence the women. They’ll go around spreading rumors about us…”
“We were wearing masks. Even if rumors spread, they won’t be able to identify us. And it’s a waste to kill the women. I’ll have to sleep with them again when we meet later.”
“You’re even thinking about sleeping with them again later?”
“You never know what the future holds. You know.”
We took off our masks and clothes far away from the mountain fortress. The stuffiness I had felt while wearing the mask disappeared.
“Were you satisfied, Jin?”
“Ah, of course. Gon.”
We returned to the transport group’s camp.
The guards were awake earlier than usual and were preparing to flee. Seok Ji-don was anxiously giving orders to the guards.
“The Ohyeongchae bandits who have been harassing us won’t stay still. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible!”
The guards, who had recovered their strength, moved more busily than ever.
•••
After many twists and turns, we arrived at our destination, Payang City.
Of course, we weren’t going to stay in this city for long. The purpose of the pilot transport group was not to sell or transport animal hides, but to learn the route to Payang City. The goal had already been achieved to some extent.
“We’ll return in two days. Rest well today and tomorrow. As long as you don’t cause any trouble, you can spend your time however you want.”
Seok Ji-don said. He ordered the guards to sell the animal hides to the merchants and then went into the inn with a tired face. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed like he was going to take a long nap.
“Yujin, what are you going to do now?”
“Well, I’ll wander around a bit. If I’m going to be active tonight, I need to know where the beauties are.”
Seong Ji-gon nodded.
Payang City was a city of similar size to Hudan City, where the Meteor Sword Sect was located. However, there was no large sect like the Meteor Sword Sect. There were several small sects, but even combined, they were not as good as the Meteor Sword Sect.
“It’s strange. I heard that there’s usually a sect of our size in a city like this.”
“Until 150 years ago, there was a sect comparable to the Meteor Sword Sect here.”
“Really? What sect was it?”
“The Nagwang Sect. Unlike our sect, it was a sect of sorcerers who specialized in training in sorcery.”
“But why is it gone now? Did they lose a war against another sect or something?”
“It would have been better if that were the case. The Nagwang Sect was destroyed due to succession issues.”
“Oh. That’s too bad.”
Seong Ji-gon moved on calmly.
In this world, it was natural for sects to be destroyed and new sects to be created. Even when I was in the Meteor Sword Sect, I often heard rumors that a nearby sect had been destroyed. In the case of the Nagwang Sect, it had been destroyed 150 years ago, so I didn’t know about it.
“It’s a similar size city, but… it’s a bit different from Hudan City. There seem to be a lot of strange things around.”
Seong Ji-gon pointed to a wall in the alley. It looked blue when viewed from the right, and black when viewed from the left.
“That’s the influence of the Nagwang Sect. There are quite a few remnants of the Nagwang Sect throughout this city.”
“Are all of these due to the influence of sorcery? Is it possible for them to be maintained even after 150 years?”
“If the conditions are right, such as the type of sorcery, the sorcerer’s skill, and the management of the sorcery, there are sorceries that can be maintained for over ten thousand years.”
“Wow… Isn’t sorcery better than martial arts?”
“That’s not true. Martial arts and sorcery each have their own advantages and disadvantages.”
We both stopped walking at the same time.
We had arrived at the largest brothel in the city. It was open even during the day, and we could see the beauties through the windows. The courtesans were deliberately exposing their shoulders and cleavage to seduce men.
However, Seong Ji-gon and I turned around.
“Let’s go to the brothel tomorrow at dawn.”
“Yeah. Yujin, you don’t really like buying courtesans and sleeping with them, do you?”
“The excitement is different. But are you okay? When I glanced at the courtesans earlier, I didn’t see any women who were your type.”
“She was on the top floor. She looked to be in her 50s, but she was beautiful, probably because she was a courtesan.”
I shrugged.
That day, we wore masks, raided private homes, slept with women, and then went to the brothel at dawn to sleep with more women.
•••
A man entered an old, dilapidated house on the outskirts of Payang City. He was a man with a neat face and high-quality martial arts attire, which didn’t match the dilapidated house, and he had a sword at his waist. The man opened the front door and went inside without hesitation.
“Wh-who are you?”
A woman said with a terrified face. Behind her, an old woman was sitting blankly. She didn’t look well.
Wi Jo-hee.
The wife of Oh Son-mo, the leader of Ohyeongchae.
“I heard that Ohyeongchae has disappeared.”
“W-we have nothing to do with Ohyeongchae!”
“Wi Jo-hee, the wife of the dead Oh Son-mo. I know everything, so don’t lie. I promise, if you answer my questions honestly, nothing will happen.”
“……”
Wi Jo-hee nodded, sweating profusely. The man’s words meant that something would happen if she didn’t answer.
“Who are the ones who killed Oh Son-mo and annihilated Ohyeongchae?”
“T-two men.”
“I know that. I already met another woman who was in Ohyeongchae before coming here. I also know that they violated you. What I want to know is a clue about their identities.”
“…There were no special features on their bodies. Except that one of them… his thing was too big.”
“I heard that you were repeatedly violated by a man with a large member. Are there any other features you remember?”
Wi Jo-hee trembled. She was afraid of the man in front of her, and she was also humiliated. And the most regrettable thing was that there was no way to repay the humiliation.
“…His face was ordinary, but it was a little awkward. Whenever he laughed, his whole face would contort.”
“That’s a characteristic of wearing a cheap mask. There’s a lack of decisive clues. Is there anything else?”
“Their names are Jin and Gon…”
“They were wearing masks. Those must be aliases, not their real names.”
“That’s…”
Wi Jo-hee trailed off. She was too out of her mind from being violated at the time. There wasn’t anything that particularly came to mind.
Then, the old woman, Oh Son-mo’s mother, who had been sitting blankly behind them, opened her mouth.
“Yujin!”
The old woman’s voice rang out loudly. It was filled with anger and hatred.
“I clearly heard that the bastard who raped me called him Yujin when he was dying!”
“Yujin… Is that his real name? I’ve got some good information. Is there anything else?”
“Those bastards had a strange potion! The bastard who raped me had his stomach cut open, but when he sprinkled a pink potion, he recovered instantly!”
“I’ve already heard about that. If that’s true, it’s an incredible elixir. It seems like there’s nothing more to hear from you.”
Wi Jo-hee tensed up. She thought that the man might harm them under the pretext of exterminating the bandits. But the man turned around and disappeared as he had promised.
From the man’s point of view, there was no need to kill Wi Jo-hee and the old woman from the beginning.
Wi Jo-hee sighed, sweating profusely. She had a rough idea of the man’s identity, but she would never say it out loud for the rest of her life.
•••
It was in the afternoon when we woke up and were having a late lunch with Seong Ji-gon at the inn. A man approached our table. He was a well-dressed martial artist.
“It’s a pleasure to meet the young heroes of the Meteor Sword Sect, Seong Yujin and Seong Ji-gon, here.”
He knew our names.
It was strange.
Seong Ji-gon and I were the sons of the Meteor Sword Sect Leader, but we had no reputation at all. This pilot transport was our first activity, and we hadn’t done anything particularly great.
The fact that he knew us and came to find us meant one thing. He had investigated us and come to find us.
I glanced at Seong Ji-gon, and I could see that he was nervous. That’s because we had been raping women just yesterday.
“Who are you?”
I asked.
“I am Shin Gong-se, the second son of the Ahyeon Shin Clan. Do you happen to know about the Ahyeon Shin Clan?”
“Isn’t that the most famous clan in Ahyeon City? I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard of the Ahyeon Shin Clan’s reputation.”
“Haha. I’m glad you know. It might make the conversation easier.”
He sat down next to Seong Ji-gon before we could even give him permission. Then, he took out a talisman from his pocket. A mysterious energy flowed from the talisman and enveloped us.
When I narrowed my eyes, he hurriedly said,
“I have no intention of harming you. This is a soundproof talisman. It creates an invisible barrier around us to prevent sound from escaping. It’s a talisman that we always use when we have important conversations.”
“What is this important conversation about? We are not high-ranking members of the Meteor Sword Sect. If it’s something related to the sect, you should go directly to the main sect and talk to them, not us.”
“I’m not interested in the sect, but in you.”
“…… Get to the point.”
Shin Gong-se grinned.
“I know what you did at Ohyeongchae.”
“……!!”
It was Seong Ji-gon who was startled. Seong Ji-gon’s eyes, who was inexperienced in such matters, were shaking. On the other hand, I maintained my composure.
‘How did he find out? We killed all the men at Ohyeongchae… Did he interrogate the women? Even if he did, we were wearing masks and using aliases. Did he read the traces of the Meteor Sword Sect’s martial arts? Even so, the only way he could specifically identify us is… Ah!’
I remembered that I had called out my name when Seong Ji-gon was dying. If some sharp-eared woman in Ohyeongchae had heard my name and told Shin Gong-se? I could understand the current situation.
“So. What are you going to do? Are you planning to spread rumors?”
I went straight to the point. If he was planning to spread rumors, he wouldn’t have come to us like this. He wanted something from us.
“I have no intention of becoming your enemy. Rather, I would like to ask for your cooperation.”
“Cooperation?”
“How much do you trust the Jikga Escort Agency? Isn’t it suspicious that the Jikga Escort Agency suddenly started to get involved?”
“I know that the Jikga Escort Agency is trying to use the Meteor Sword Sect. Since the Jikga Escort Agency, which is a larger force than the Meteor Sword Sect, suddenly reached out, it can only be assumed that they have some purpose.”
“You’re amazing. Usually, people don’t think that way. They tend to be happy without questioning the given luck. It seems like the future of the Meteor Sword Sect is bright.”
Shin Gong-se praised me as if he was genuinely surprised. However, this wasn’t something I had thought of and concluded on my own. I only knew the purpose of the Jikga Escort Agency through the original work. Of course, I also knew the purpose of the Ahyeon Shin Clan.
“If it’s cooperation, you must want something from us.”
“I want your martial power and your mysterious potion.”
“Mysterious potion?”
“I heard it’s a pink potion. It instantly healed a fatal wound, right? To be honest, I’m very greedy for it. So much so that I want to take it away right now.”
He was talking about the potion.
“You mean the potion.”
“Indeed, it has a unique name befitting a mysterious potion. Yes. I want that potion. Of course, I won’t take it for free. Tell me what you want.”
“I don’t have many.”
“If you had many of such a mysterious potion, I would have been suspicious. How many do you have exactly?”
“I originally had three potions, but now I only have two. I obtained them through a fortuitous encounter in the past.”
“Give both of them to the Ahyeon Shin Clan. I will give you a generous reward in return.”
