Chapter 205

As if it had never been so hot, the evening at the Wudang Sect was quiet.

A considerable number of the martial artists who had come to spectate Cheongjin Jin-in’s birthday banquet had left the Wudang Sect, and not many remained.

The crowd that had filled the grand Training Ground had receded like the tide, and only the Wudang Sect Daoists were left, cleaning up.

As it was a banquet that had drawn such a massive crowd, the amount of trash produced was also enormous. Cleaning it all up was the duty of the Wudang Sect Daoists.

From the second-generation disciples to the young Do-dongs, everyone was mobilized to clean. Since there was so much trash to clear, the work that began in the evening continued late into the night. Yet, not a single person complained, cleaning in silence.

The Daoists considered this, too, as a part of their training.

Watching the Daoists silently engrossed in their cleaning, Pyo Wol once again felt how formidable the Wudang Sect’s underlying strength was.

The Wudang Sect was a place teeming like grains of sand on a beach with people who enjoyed even such tedious daily routines, thinking of them as training.

There was no telling which of them might emerge and grow into a great tree that would make the Jianghu resound.

They swept and gathered trash, paying no mind whether Pyo Wol passed by them or not.

While there were those like Woo Seong Dojang who reacted sensitively to the unfamiliar presence of Pyo Wol, there were also many like these who paid him no attention at all.

Some even saw Pyo Wol and bowed their heads slightly in greeting first. Their faces were utterly bright, as if they had severed all worldly desires.

Pyo Wol passed through the Training Ground and returned to the Clear Stream Palace.

Perhaps because many people had left, the Clear Stream Palace was not just quiet but desolate.

It was just as Pyo Wol had stepped inside the Clear Stream Palace.

“Aaargh!”

Suddenly, a desperate scream shattered the silence of the Wudang Sect.

“What was that?”

“What’s going on?”

The sounds of people still staying in the Clear Stream Palace rushing out in surprise could be heard.

Pyo Wol furrowed his brow slightly.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

Pyo Wol walked toward the source of the scream. By the time he arrived where the scream had come from, many people had already gathered at the scene.

“It’s a murder.”

“Someone’s dead.”

The people surrounding the scene murmured.

Pyo Wol pushed through the crowd and moved to the front.

Finally reaching the front row, Pyo Wol’s face hardened.

In the center of the circle formed by the people, a small boy stood with blood on his face. In front of the boy, a man was lying face down.

Pyo Wol looked at the boy.

“Soma!”

As if hearing his voice, the boy turned his head and looked at Pyo Wol.

“Hyung!”

The boy looking at Pyo Wol with a bewildered expression was none other than Soma.

Pyo Wol approached Soma.

“What happened?”

“Well…”

Soma couldn’t explain properly.

In his hand was the Gongpo Sword. And on the Gongpo Sword was fresh blood.

From the circumstances, it seemed to be the blood of the man lying on the ground.

Pyo Wol turned the man’s body over. A familiar face was revealed.

A one-eyed man, it was Hong Mugwang.

He remembered him clearly, as he had been the one to make his eye one-eyed with his own hands.

Without needing to check his pulse, he could tell he was dead.

Hong Mugwang’s entire body was covered in large and small wounds. From the blood that flowed from the wounds, Hong Mugwang had become a Blood Human.

Pyo Wol stared blankly at Hong Mugwang’s face.

Fresh blood was also flowing from his eyes, nose, and ears.

As if unable to believe his own death, Hong Mugwang’s single eye was wide open.

Pyo Wol looked at Soma again.

Soma shook his head vigorously and said,

“We fought, but I didn’t kill him. It’s true, Hyung!”

“Alright!”

It was just as Pyo Wol nodded.

“How dare you commit murder in the Wudang Sect. This little brat’s methods are quite vicious.”

Suddenly, a cold voice came from among the people.

The people surrounding Soma and Pyo Wol parted, and six men walked out.

The men, exuding a chilling aura, were Jang Mu-yeon and the martial artists of the White Tiger Sword Unit.

Jang Mu-yeon stared at Soma with eyes like blades.

“To commit murder in the sacred Daoist Temple of the Wudang Sect, you have some nerve.”

“I didn’t kill him.”

“Then what is that corpse?”

Jang Mu-yeon pointed at Hong Mugwang’s body.

“Th-that’s…”

For a moment, Soma was at a loss for words.

It had been about two hours ago that Hong Mugwang had approached him while he was resting in a tree.

For some reason, Hong Mugwang had provoked Soma.

Eventually, Soma, having fallen for the provocation, had exchanged a few blows with him.

That was all.

But suddenly, Hong Mugwang, who had been fighting him, vomited blood and collapsed, dying on the spot.

Because of that, Soma was also in a state of bewilderment.

“What is this commotion?”

“A murder in a sacred Daoist Temple?”

To make matters worse, the Daoists of the Wudang Sect stormed into the Clear Stream Palace.

They looked back and forth between Soma and Hong Mugwang’s corpse, enraged.

To anyone’s eyes, it looked as if Soma had killed Hong Mugwang.

From among the Daoists, Woo Seong Dojang walked out.

Woo Seong Dojang already had a poor opinion of Pyo Wol. On his face, the anger he had been suppressing until now was being expressed.

Jang Mu-yeon said to Woo Seong Dojang,

“This young demon has killed that pitiful man.”

“How dare you! Seize that demon at once.”

Woo Seong Dojang commanded the Daoists.

The Daoists rushed forward and surrounded Soma.

Chwaang!

They all drew their swords in unison and aimed them at Soma.

“I told you I didn’t kill him.”

Soma protested, but it was no use.

“Then what is that corpse?”

“And what about the blood on that sword?”

The crowd of heroes surrounding Soma poured out their accusations.

Faced with unexpected accusations, Soma’s face gradually hardened.

Being blamed by so many people at once made his heart ache as if it were being squeezed by a noose, and he couldn’t breathe.

It felt as if the entire world had become his enemy.

The moment his vision turned white, Pyo Wol stood in front of him.

Instantly, the suffocating pressure disappeared, and he could finally breathe.

“Haa, haa!”

Soma gasped for breath and looked at Pyo Wol’s back.

Pyo Wol stood before Soma, facing the Wudang Sect Daoists, Jang Mu-yeon, and the others.

Woo Seong Dojang glared at Pyo Wol and said,

“You, step aside! We are going to apprehend the sinner who committed murder in the Wudang Sect’s Daoist Temple.”

“Apprehend him and then?”

“He will be punished according to the laws of the Wudang Sect.”

“Without even determining the truth?”

“With such clear evidence before our eyes, what truth is there to determine? That man’s corpse is the evidence. If you persist in stubbornly protecting that demon, even you will not be forgiven.”

Woo Seong Dojang began to emit killing intent.

Pyo Wol was already a thorn in his side. When he came out and interfered like this, his and the Wudang Sect Daoists’ anger turned toward Pyo Wol.

“What is going on?”

“A murder in the sacred Daoist Temple?”

Hearing the news, the leaders of the Wudang Sect appeared at the Clear Stream Palace.

Among them was Gongjin Jin-in, the Wudang Sect’s foremost Wisdom Strategist.

Gongjin Jin-in looked back and forth between Pyo Wol and Soma with calm, sunken eyes.

“What is the meaning of this? A murder in the heart of Wudang.”

As befitting an Elder of the Wudang Sect, his voice carried a strong power.

The martial artists surrounding Soma and the others flinched at his stern voice.

Usually, his presence was hardly felt, overshadowed by the Sect Master, Cheongjin Jin-in, or his Junior Martial Brother, Sangjin Jin-in, but everyone who knew, knew.

The path and direction of the Wudang Sect were all decided by him.

His martial arts might be the weakest among the Elders, but he had a brilliant mind to support his lacking martial prowess.

Gongjin Jin-in extended his hand toward Soma.

“Did you kill a man with that sword? Give it here.”

“No!”

Soma hugged the Gongpo Sword tightly to his chest and shook his head.

At that, Gongjin Jin-in’s face contorted, and the martial artists of the Wudang Sect became enraged.

“How dare you ignore the Elder’s words.”

“Hand over the sword at once.”

Their voices became flying daggers, stabbing at Soma.

Soma gritted his teeth and resisted their anger.

His eyes were completely bloodshot.

Ever since being saved by Pyo Wol, Pyo Wol had always made him suppress and endure.

Although the words ‘I’ll kill you’ were always on his lips, he refrained from using cruel methods as much as possible.

It couldn’t be said that he had become a different person, but it was true that he had controlled himself to some extent. However, being subjected to such blame all at once, Soma’s self-control was wavering.

Gongjin Jin-in took another step toward Soma.

His hand was still extended forward.

An unspoken pressure weighed down on Soma.

Just as Soma’s anger, unable to bear it any longer, was about to explode, Pyo Wol’s voice echoed through the Clear Stream Palace.

“That’s enough.”

It was a plain voice, devoid of any emotion.

But the moment they heard his voice, the crowd of heroes felt as if their flesh was being thinly sliced by a sharp razor.

It was the same for Gongjin Jin-in, who had his hand extended.

At the chilling sensation, he couldn’t help but retract his hand.

He, an Elder of the Wudang Sect, had made a fool of himself.

Gongjin Jin-in glared at Pyo Wol.

“Do you intend to interfere? No matter how much you have been acknowledged by Senior Martial Brother Cheongjin, if you meddle in our sect’s affairs any further, I will not forgive you.”

“Soma’s business is my business. So I have every right to intervene.”

“Sophistry…”

“You’re the one who should get rid of those eyeballs.”

“What?”

“You have eyes, yet you can’t see the truth. No, are you forcing yourself to see only what you want to see? Then it’s even more serious. It means a half-wit who can’t even distinguish right from wrong is occupying a position in the great Wudang Sect.”Gal (Drink)!””

Unable to contain his anger for a moment, Gongjin Jin-in let out a Lion’s Roar.

At his Lion’s Roar, the roof tiles of the Clear Stream Palace trembled, and the martial artists wore pained expressions. The sound waves that penetrated their eardrums had shaken their brains.

However, Pyo Wol, who had received Gongjin Jin-in’s Lion’s Roar head-on, showed not a flicker of change in his expression.

Instead, the scarf covering his face was blown away by the Lion’s Roar, revealing his true appearance.

Both those who had seen Pyo Wol’s face before and those who were seeing it for the first time had their pupils tremble at his shocking appearance.

Pyo Wol paid no heed to their gazes and approached Gongjin Jin-in.

Gongjin Jin-in unconsciously grabbed the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Pyo Wol had posed no threat, yet he had reacted unconsciously.

The surrounding martial artists looked at Gongjin Jin-in with puzzled expressions. To them, it seemed as if Gongjin Jin-in had gotten scared and was overreacting.

Gongjin Jin-in’s face twisted severely.

His once clear face was now full of bewilderment.

Pyo Wol had already entered his range.

He had to decide here.

If Pyo Wol was an enemy aiming for his life, he had to eliminate him before he got any further into his range. If he allowed him to invade his range any further, he would lose even the chance to counterattack.

Conversely, if he wasn’t aiming for his life, and he attacked first, he would suffer a humiliation greater than any he had endured so far.

Although he was called the Wisdom Strategist of the Wudang Sect, at this very moment, Gongjin Jin-in’s mind went blank, and he couldn’t react at all.

It was a difference in experience.

He had never once met someone who so directly challenged his authority.

If authority didn’t work, he had to subdue them with martial arts, but his opponent didn’t seem easy, and moreover, that was not his style.

That was why he hesitated and ended up letting Pyo Wol into his range.

Pyo Wol, who had come right up to Gongjin Jin-in’s nose, met his eyes directly.

He had seen Pyo Wol’s eyes from a distance, but this was the first time he was seeing them this close.

Seen up close, Pyo Wol’s eyes were more terrifying than he had thought.

It wasn’t simply a matter of emotion being present or absent.

Pyo Wol’s eyes held something that made the viewer instinctively fearful.

Gongjin Jin-in couldn’t understand what kind of life one had to experience to have such eyes at Pyo Wol’s age.

“St-step back.”

“Hong Mugwang didn’t die because of Soma.”

“What nonsense…”

“He was wounded by Soma’s sword, but not a single wound was deep enough to kill.”

“Then why did he die?”

“Because his internal organs burst from excessive pressure.”

“What?”

“Do you see the dried blood on his eyes, nose, and ears?”

“……”

“The sword wounds are on his torso, so why did he bleed from his Seven Orifices? Did you think about that? You probably didn’t. Because you just concluded that Soma was the culprit.”

“Th-that’s…”

“If you cut open the body, you’ll see that the internal organs have burst. I can cut open his stomach right now and show you.”

Ssk!

Pyo Wol took out the Ghostly Rain.