Chapter 119

“How are you feeling?”

At Jin Geum-woo’s question, Ximen Pyeong clenched his teeth and didn’t answer.

Shame and anger coexisted on his face.

The fact that he, known as the Little Fist King, had been subdued by Pyo Wol without being able to display much of his skill shamed him.

So he said nothing.

Although the cause was a courtesan, the duel itself was fair.

Having lost a fair duel, he didn’t want to make excuses, nor did he want to ask for revenge.

His pride wouldn’t allow it.

Although he was a womanizer, he prided himself on being an honorable martial artist.

‘I will have my revenge with my own hands. I must!’

Ximen Pyeong clenched his teeth.

Jin Geum-woo silently watched him.

It was the first time he had seen Ximen Pyeong with such a devastated expression. It meant he was that furious.

In the end, Ximen Pyeong did not say who had done this to him.

Jin Geum-woo respected his will.

‘Pyeong will use this defeat as nourishment to grow even stronger.’

No martial artist liked defeat. But if one could overcome it and use it as a stepping stone for growth, they could soar even higher.

Jin Geum-woo thought this defeat would be such an opportunity for Ximen Pyeong.

He left Ximen Pyeong alone to mull over his defeat and went outside.

When he came out, he saw Won Gayoung standing there.

“Where have you been?”

“The brothel!”

“You mean the one Pyeong went to?”

“That’s right.”

“Then you must have met the one who did that to Pyeong.”

Won Gayoung nodded silently.

Jin Geum-woo asked again.

“Who is it?”

“The owner of the brothel.”

“So the problem did arise at the brothel.”

“The problem is that the brothel owner was no pushover. It’s no wonder that brute ended up like that.”

“Was he that good?”

“He’s strong.”

At Won Gayoung’s answer, which came without a hint of hesitation, Jin Geum-woo looked surprised.

Like Ximen Pyeong, Won Gayoung was also a very proud person.

She had immense pride in her martial arts, enough to be called Hwan-geom Seon-ja in the Jianghu. For her to call someone strong without hesitation meant his martial arts must be truly formidable.

“His name?”

“He calls himself the Night Lord.”

“The master of the night? How arrogant. What are the chances he’s the person we’re looking for?”

“Fifty… fifty.”

“So you’re not certain.”

“He’s someone who knows how to completely control his emotions. I couldn’t read his inner thoughts at all.”

“Such people appear from time to time. Most learn to hide their emotions through harsh training, but some are, in extremely rare cases, born with it. Which one is he?”

“I couldn’t tell.”

“This is getting more and more curious. Which brothel?”

“It’ll be useless to go. It seems he only drops by the brothel occasionally and has a real residence elsewhere.”

“Is that so?”

A peculiar light flashed in Jin Geum-woo’s eyes.

Won Gayoung was not one to miss what that look in his eyes meant.

“I’m looking into it from all angles, so we should hear good news soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Jin Geum-woo didn’t ask any more questions.

Won Gayoung was one of the few people he could trust.

Jin Geum-woo trusted her judgment and cool-headed reason.

Won Gayoung asked.

“What are you going to do now? Are you just going to wait indefinitely?”

“While I wait, I think I’ll go up Qingcheng Mountain.”

“You’re going to the Qingcheng Sect? But they’ve locked their gates, haven’t they?”

“It seems they’re not completely closed-off. If they were, we would have already received information.”

“So you’re judging that they’ve only temporarily locked their gates.”

“Even if they are completely closed-off and we can’t get in, it’s no loss, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit at least once.”

Any sect in the Jianghu would welcome a visit from someone of Jin Geum-woo’s fame with open arms. The problem was that the Qingcheng Sect had suffered great damage and was not engaging in any external activities.

The probability was high that they wouldn’t let him in even if he visited the Qingcheng Sect.

Won Gayoung smiled.

“Well, it’s not a bad idea to take this opportunity to look around Qingcheng Mountain.”

“How about stopping by Mount Emei on the way back?”

“For some reason, I don’t feel any affection for the Emei Sect.”

“I’m joking. I don’t particularly want to visit the Emei Sect either.”

There wasn’t a single martial artist who didn’t know that the cause of the Blood Mist in Chengdu last year was the Emei Sect’s excessive greed.

Because of that, many martial artists were shunning the Emei Sect.

It was the same for Jin Geum-woo.

The Emei Sect was already a prestigious sect in the Jianghu.

Although it had strayed a bit from its former glory, it was a sect worthy of sufficient respect.

Such a sect had become excessively greedy and made countless people miserable. The responsibility for that was entirely theirs to bear. And they were already paying the price.

The fact that there were people knocking on the gates of the Qingcheng Sect, but no one climbing Mount Emei, proved this.

Without any particular turning point, the Emei Sect would not be able to escape its decline.

The downfall of a sect that failed to attract outstanding talent was as clear as day. Knowing this, Jin Geum-woo predicted that the Emei Sect’s power would shrink before a generation had passed.

Jin Geum-woo thought of the assassin who had made the Qingcheng and Emei Sects go into seclusion.

When he first heard the story about him, he couldn’t believe it.

The scale of the incident was beyond imagination to be the work of a single assassin.

The emotion he felt at that time was a thrill.

Jin Geum-woo was a martial artist of the Orthodox Faction to the bone.

He was a great man who could not tolerate cowardice and proved his martial arts through head-on confrontation.

To him, the assassin’s fighting style in Chengdu was a great shock.

The more he delved into how a single individual could gain the upper hand against the Qingcheng Sect, the Emei Sect, and the numerous sects of Sichuan Province, the greater the thrill he felt.

That was why he came here.

Because he had to confirm it.

‘If that assassin is on their side, it will be a great disaster for the Jianghu.’

He had to meet him in person and judge for himself.

Hong Yushin rubbed both his temples with his fingers and rose from his chair. He had been reviewing information that came in overnight from Chengdu and all over Sichuan Province, and before he knew it, the sun was high in the sky.

He had stayed up all night.

Since the new Chengdu branch Captain was still clumsy, he had to review and handle most of the work. As a result, his workload was bound to increase.

“Hoo!”

Having stayed up all night with his eyes open, his eyes were sore and his head ached.

Hong Yushin briefly considered lying down to get some sleep. But he soon shook his head.

He felt that since he had already stayed up all night, trying to get some sleep now would be a waste of time.

There was nothing like tea to clear one’s head.

As it happened, there was some Dragon Well tea in the branch office that had been difficult to obtain.

It didn’t suit a member of the Hao Clan to drink such precious Dragon Well tea, but Hong Yushin had willingly invested a large sum to obtain it for his only hobby.

“Hoo!”

After a sip of Dragon Well tea, his mind became much clearer.

He looked at the booklets on his desk and muttered.

“Where on earth is he hiding? That bastard is definitely here in Chengdu.”

Pyo Wol, the being who, along with the high-piled snow, had tied his feet to Chengdu.

He was still chasing Pyo Wol.

Even if it wasn’t for Jin Geum-woo’s request, he had no intention of giving up the pursuit of Pyo Wol.

“That bastard is definitely here. He’s just changed his appearance, but he’s definitely breathing among us.”

It wasn’t a guess, but a conviction.

He just didn’t have any evidence to show for it.

“At this point, I have to assume he’s found an accomplice. Otherwise, it makes no sense.”

Anyone could simply hide their appearance. But obtaining the food, clothing, and shelter necessary to live in the world was impossible with one’s own strength alone.

Especially for someone like Pyo Wol, who made a living by killing people, it was unimaginable for him to earn money by doing other work. That’s why he speculated that Pyo Wol had an accomplice.

“I need to figure him out as soon as possible.”

He felt anxious.

He knew well that the source of his anxiety was a sense of crisis.

His intuition, honed for a long time at the bottom of the Jianghu, was constantly warning him that this was a crisis situation. That’s why he couldn’t leave Chengdu even though the snow had melted and the roads were clear.

The place he was monitoring most carefully was Tang Sochu’s workshop.

Among the people in Chengdu so far, only Tang Sochu had a definite connection to Pyo Wol.

He thought that if he watched Tang Sochu’s workshop, Pyo Wol would eventually show up, but for some reason, Pyo Wol never once showed his face.

“Hoo!”

Thinking of Pyo Wol made his head throb again.

He drank the Dragon Well tea again.

He emptied the cup in an instant and filled another.

After drinking two cups in a row like that, his mind and body seemed to calm down a bit.

Hong Yushin wanted to feel this way for a long, long time, but reality wouldn’t let him.

“Captain! We have a big problem.”

A martial artist from the Inspector’s unit burst into his quarters.

His flushed red face showed how urgent the situation was.

Hong Yushin sensed that his peaceful time was over.

“What is it?”

“Well… a major incident has occurred in a place called Yulgeum Village outside Chengdu.”

“A major incident?”

Hong Yushin frowned.

“Well… I think you’ll have to go and see for yourself.”

The subordinate was reluctant to speak.

Since this was a man who had never shown such an attitude before, Hong Yushin’s curiosity could only grow.

Hong Yushin shot up from his seat.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes! I will escort you to Yulgeum Village.”

When Hong Yushin went outside, the martial artists of the Inspector’s unit and the new branch Captain followed him.

Hong Yushin glanced at the new branch Captain. But perhaps due to the pressure, the new branch Captain’s face was frozen, and he didn’t even notice that Hong Yushin was looking at him.

The new branch Captain’s name was Do Ilchul.

He was chosen as the smartest among the members of the Chengdu branch. However, his martial arts and experience were shallow, so he couldn’t be fully trusted with the work yet.

He himself knew this, so he was working harder than anyone else, but he was still lacking in many aspects.

Hong Yushin didn’t blame Do Ilchul.

He thought it was a trial and error that everyone goes through at the beginning.

They walked for a long time and arrived at Yulgeum Village.

The moment he entered Yulgeum Village, Hong Yushin couldn’t hide his shock.

“What in the world?”

“Good heavens!”

Do Ilchul, who was looking around inside Yulgeum Village, also couldn’t close his gaping mouth in surprise.

Yulgeum Village, which boasted a beautiful landscape, was thoroughly destroyed. The buildings were almost collapsed, and the streets were littered with numerous corpses.

The corpses all belonged to the villagers.

The villagers’ bodies were covered in sharp wounds, and their entire bodies were stained with blood.

Hong Yushin asked urgently.

“Any survivors?”

“None.”

His subordinate answered with a devastated face.

“When did this happen?”

“We discovered it this morning.”

“The culprit?”

“We couldn’t find them. We might never find them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at their hands.”

At his subordinate’s words, Hong Yushin looked at the hands of the corpses. Each was holding a weapon.

They were holding large kitchen knives, flails, clubs, pickaxes, and the like.

“Looking at the wounds on their bodies, it’s clear they fought amongst themselves.”

“Are you saying they attacked each other?”

“Based on the wounds on the bodies, that’s what we’re assuming for now.”

“What? Wasn’t Yulgeum Village a clan village? Every other house is a relative, and they attacked each other? That doesn’t make sense.”

“We think so too, but the wounds on their bodies say otherwise.”

At his subordinate’s words, Hong Yushin personally examined the villagers’ corpses.

The wounds on the bodies clearly matched the weapons held by the villagers.

“Good heavens! How could this happen…”

For some reason, the villagers had attacked and killed each other. And not a single one had survived.

Hong Yushin knew well how close-knit and caring clan villages were. That’s why he couldn’t understand the tragedy of Yulgeum Village.

“We must find out what happened. The Inspector’s unit will focus its capabilities on this case until it is resolved.”

“Yes!”

The Inspector’s unit answered in unison. But their voices somehow felt unreliable.

“What in the world is going on?”

Hong Yushin’s pupils trembled violently.