Chapter 101

“What is all this commotion?”

A muscle in the Shadowless Hermit, Yoo Shinpoong’s, jaw twitched.

In the distance, the glow of a fire soared into the sky.

Crimson flames blazed fearsomely as if to swallow the sky, and acrid smoke covered all of Chengdu.

The streets were filled with the poor who had fled the fire.

“Oh no! What are we going to do?”

“My house has burned down.”

“Sob!”

The streets were filled with the cries of the poor.

Lee Soha frowned deeply and asked.

“What in the world is going on?”

“How should I know? It seems something quite unusual is happening.”

Just then, a familiar man caught Yoo Shinpoong’s eye.

A Swordsman with a body as gaunt as bamboo, radiating a sharp aura.

It was the Bamboo Leaf Swordsman, Gam Il-Hae, a member of the Seven Stars Hall.

Even amidst the extreme chaos, Gam Il-Hae showed no sign of agitation, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings.

The sight of Gam Il-Hae, who seemed to be searching for something, drew Yoo Shinpoong’s attention.

Yoo Shinpoong was an experienced Martial Artist.

The moment he saw Gam Il-Hae’s behavior, which didn’t fit the surrounding environment, he had a gut feeling that this incident was related to him.

He unconsciously began to follow Gam Il-Hae. Lee Soha followed behind him.

Lee Soha’s eyes were sparkling.

Having lived a peaceful life, even this chaos was an object of curiosity for her.

‘What kind of incident could be happening?’

Lee Soha felt her heart pound.

She had always dreamed of the romance of the Jianghu.

To travel freely, to meet a righteous Martial Artist and share a sense of justice, and to meet a wonderful Martial Artist of her age and fall in love.

She was having the kind of fantasies that most newcomers to the Jianghu would dream of.

Yoo Shinpoong briefly glanced at his niece with a worried expression.

The Jianghu was not as romantic a place as Lee Soha thought. But no matter how much he told her, it was useless if she didn’t experience it for herself.

Yoo Shinpoong let out a faint sigh and followed Gam Il-Hae.

Unaware that Yoo Shinpoong and Lee Soha were following him, Gam Il-Hae diligently scanned his surroundings.

His sharp gaze, flashing like a hawk’s, felt fearsome even from a distance.

‘What is he looking for?’

Yoo Shinpoong also looked in the direction Gam Il-Hae was staring, but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

The Gam Il-Hae that Yoo Shinpoong knew was by no means an easy opponent.

Although he was only the sixth in the Seven Stars Hall, there were not many Martial Artists in Hunan Province who could be said to be overwhelmingly stronger than him.

In particular, his Swift Sword, wielded with a deformed sword as pointed as bamboo, was renowned as one of the best in the Jianghu.

Even Yoo Shinpoong himself couldn’t be confident of victory if he were to face Gam Il-Hae head-on. He was extremely curious about what such a man was looking for.

Lee Soha whispered.

“What do you think Great Hero Gam is looking for?”

“I wonder. I’m curious too.”

“Whatever it is, it must be quite important. Otherwise, his eyes wouldn’t be so full of killing intent.”

“You can feel the killing intent?”

“Of course! It would be foolish not to notice with his eyes glaring like that.”

“Haha! You have a point.”

Yoo Shinpoong smiled at Lee Soha.

He was pleased with his niece’s sharp eye.

To survive in the harsh Jianghu, an eye that could read an opponent’s capabilities and heart was essential.

In that respect, the keen eye Lee Soha had shown was more than enough to pass.

It was then.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Lee Soha let out a small cry.

“What is it?”

“I… I can’t see Great Hero Gam.”

“Hmm?”

Yoo Shinpoong looked toward where Gam Il-Hae had been.

Gam Il-Hae, who had been scanning the area with eyes full of killing intent just a moment ago, was gone.

He had only looked away for a fleeting moment to talk to Lee Soha. In that short instant, Gam Il-Hae had vanished without a trace.

“What? Did he notice we were following and run away?”

Yoo Shinpoong quickly shook his head.

Gam Il-Hae was not a man who feared anyone.

He might find Yoo Shinpoong to be a nuisance, but he was not the type to fearfully run away.

He rushed to the spot where Gam Il-Hae had been just moments before.

“Let’s go together, Uncle!”

Lee Soha ran after Yoo Shinpoong.

The two soon arrived at the place where Gam Il-Hae had disappeared.

As they looked around, both of their faces paled, and they let out suppressed groans.

“Hah!”

“Ugh!”

Lee Soha clamped a hand over her mouth as if she were about to vomit, and Yoo Shinpoong couldn’t hide his shocked expression.

In a corner that hadn’t been visible from where they were before, Gam Il-Hae was crumpled like a piece of paper.

Gam Il-Hae’s throat was slit wide open, pouring out crimson blood. The lack of movement in his chest indicated that he had already stopped breathing.

“How can this be! Wh-when?”

Yoo Shinpoong muttered as he approached Gam Il-Hae’s body.

He had only taken his eyes off Gam Il-Hae for a split second. All he had done was turn his head for a moment to talk to Lee Soha, and in that time, Gam Il-Hae had been struck down and killed by someone.

Even with Gam Il-Hae’s corpse right in front of him, he couldn’t believe it.

Gam Il-Hae was one thing, but Yoo Shinpoong himself was a renowned Expert in the Jianghu. Yet someone had taken Gam Il-Hae’s life while completely deceiving his own senses.

Deceiving his eyes and ears was one thing, but it was unbelievable that Gam Il-Hae himself had been caught off guard.

Judging by the state of the body, it was clear that Gam Il-Hae had lost his life without even knowing how he was attacked.

A shiver!

A chill ran down his spine, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

“Is this even possible? An Expert of Gam Il-Hae’s level, taken down so defenselessly.”

The difference in martial prowess between Gam Il-Hae and Yoo Shinpoong was not that great.

If Gam Il-Hae could be taken down off guard, then he could be as well. Judging from Gam Il-Hae’s wound, it was clear that someone had ambushed him.

If so, the culprit was definitely an Assassin.

“To think such an Assassin exists in All Under Heaven.”

“Uncle?”

“It… it must be him.”

“Who do you mean?”

“The man who was said to have turned Chengdu upside down a while ago.”

“Then the rumors about him were true?”

Lee Soha wore an expression of disbelief.

She had heard the rumors about the man who single-handedly faced all the sects of Sichuan Province at the Nine Family Manor, but she had thought the rumors were exaggerated.

In reality, most rumors that spread through the Jianghu were prone to being inflated. So she had thought this time would be no different. That was why she hadn’t paid them much mind.

A deep shadow fell over Yoo Shinpoong’s eyes.

“It’s hard to believe, but with the result right here before our eyes, we have no choice but to believe it.”

“My goodness! To think such an Assassin really existed.”

“A great disaster was lurking in Sichuan Province.”

“How did the Seven Stars Hall end up on bad terms with him? Did they receive a commission from someone?”

“I wonder. I can’t even begin to guess the circumstances, but it’s certain that the worst crisis has befallen the Seven Stars Hall.”

At Yoo Shinpoong’s words, Lee Soha unknowingly shivered.

Sa Hyokyung’s eyes resembled those of a wolf.

It wasn’t just his eyes. His tenacity, never letting go once he targeted his prey, and his cruelty, tearing it apart alive, were also exactly like a wolf’s. That was why Sa Hyokyung’s sworn brothers often called him Mad Wolf, instead of his alias, Gale Fire Dragon.

Right now, Sa Hyokyung’s eyes were those of the Mad Wolf.

Instead of the magnanimous and intelligent gaze that usually matched his alias, Gale Fire Dragon, he was glaring at his opponent with the cruel eyes of a wolf.

Where his gaze was directed, a boy of only fifteen or sixteen was crawling on the ground.

Scrape!

The boy squirmed and crawled like an insect.

He stretched out his right arm, planted it on the ground, and pulled his body forward with all his might. Then he stretched out his opposite arm and repeated the action.

In this way, the boy crawled forward little by little.

It was a struggle to get even a little farther away from Sa Hyokyung.

The boy, covered in blood and crawling like an insect, was named Nam Shin-woo.

It had only been about the time of one tea since Nam Shin-woo was discovered by Sa Hyokyung. He had struggled desperately to escape from Sa Hyokyung, but it was useless.

Sa Hyokyung was an old wolf.

Ferocious and cunning.

For an unarmed young boy to escape from him, a man with vast experience hunting countless prey, was impossible from the start.

It was a wonder he had managed to escape for this long.

“Hahh! Hahh!”

Nam Shin-woo crawled, panting heavily. The path he left behind was stained completely with blood.

Even after bleeding enough to have killed an ordinary person long ago, Nam Shin-woo was still alive.

“No, even a man of profound martial arts couldn’t survive after losing this much blood. What in the world are you?”

Sa Hyokyung asked as he approached Nam Shin-woo.

Nam Shin-woo didn’t answer. Sa Hyokyung hadn’t expected an answer either. He had merely spoken aloud the question that had popped into his head.

Stab!

“Ack!”

Sa Hyokyung stabbed Nam Shin-woo’s leg with a flying dagger.

As if pinning an insect with a needle, he stabbed Nam Shin-woo’s leg with the flying dagger, pinning it to the ground.

Nam Shin-woo struggled, but the flying dagger that had pierced his leg wouldn’t come out.

“It’s truly strange. How can a human be like this?”

Sa Hyokyung crouched down, meeting Nam Shin-woo’s gaze.

The eyes of Nam Shin-woo, now a Blood Human, were steeped in terror.

“I-I was wrong. Please spare me!”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, kid!”

Sa Hyokyung grinned at Nam Shin-woo.

At the chillingly cold smile, Nam Shin-woo’s body trembled as if he had foreseen his fate.

Sa Hyokyung took out another flying dagger from his robes.

The blade, honed to a sharp blue edge, gave off an eerie glint.

Sa Hyokyung brought the flying dagger to Nam Shin-woo’s back and said.

“But the Jianghu is a place where you can be killed even if you’ve done nothing wrong.”

Slice!

As Sa Hyokyung drew the flying dagger, a long gash opened up on Nam Shin-woo’s back.

Crimson flesh was exposed, and blood oozed out.

“Heuk! Heu-euk!”

Instead of screaming, Nam Shin-woo sobbed.

He no longer had the strength to even scream.

Sa Hyokyung watched Nam Shin-woo’s state intently.

It was simply amazing that after losing so much blood, there was still more to shed. What was even more amazing was that Nam Shin-woo was still alive.

Even with his vast experience in the Jianghu, Sa Hyokyung had never seen anything like this.

“So this is why they wanted me to bring you to them.”

Sa Hyokyung nodded his head with a look of understanding.

For some reason, Nam Shin-woo did not die easily, no matter how grievous his injuries.

Whether it was because he had consumed a Spirit Medicine at a young age, or had gained this ability for some unfathomable reason, if one could uncover Nam Shin-woo’s secret, the dream of Immortality might not be entirely absurd.

There were quite a few people in the Jianghu who possessed immense wealth and power. But no matter how much wealth and power they had to look down upon the world, they could not escape death.

Being born human, it was an unavoidable process to grow, age, and die. Most people accepted this process naturally, but there were also those who could not.

To such people, Nam Shin-woo was like a mouth-watering prey.

If he was brought to them, the client would cut him into pieces, dissect him, and study every nerve, every blood vessel, every drop of marrow.

Slice!*

Sa Hyokyung once again drew the flying dagger across Nam Shin-woo’s back.

Nam Shin-woo couldn’t even sob, burying his head in the ground. The way his body trembled looked ominous.

“It seems he’s reaching his limit.”

Sa Hyokyung put away the flying dagger.

Satisfying his curiosity was one thing, but if Nam Shin-woo died, he would be the one in trouble.

The commission he had received was to capture Nam Shin-woo alive. He had to bring him back with his breath still in him to get his full pay.

It was just as Sa Hyokyung was about to hoist the gasping Nam Shin-woo onto his shoulder.

“Eldest Hyung-nim!”

The youngest of the Seven Stars Hall, Jo Samcheok, came running towards him, out of breath.

The moment he saw his contorted face and bloodshot eyes, Sa Hyokyung had a gut feeling that something terrible had happened.

“What is it?”

“S-Sixth Hyung-nim…”

Jo Samcheok couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

Sa Hyokyung put down Nam Shin-woo, whom he had been carrying on his shoulder, and asked urgently.

“What about Il-Hae?”

“He’s… dead.”

“What?”

“I’m telling you, Hyung-nim Il-Hae is dead.”

“What kind of bullshit is this? Why would Il-Hae be dead?”

“It’s true. A little while ago, the Shadowless Hermit, Yoo Shinpoong, found Hyung-nim’s body and informed us.”

Before coming here, he had run into Yoo Shinpoong by chance.

Yoo Shinpoong had told Jo Samcheok that Gam Il-Hae was dead and had shown him where the body was.

“Who did it? Who the hell killed Il-Hae? Was it Yoo Shinpoong?”

“No. He only found Hyung-nim’s body; he has no connection to it.”

“Then who?”

Sa Hyokyung’s eyes trembled.

He did not know.

That this was only the beginning.