Chapter 246

“What’s the status of the war?”

“We’re in a stalemate, trading blows back and forth.”

“What are our losses so far?”

“Fifty-five dead and twenty-seven injured.”

“The losses are greater than I expected.”

“The Jin Clan’s resistance is stronger than we thought.”

Seol Gang-yeon’s face was contorted as he listened to Steward Lee Yul’s report. The war had only just begun in earnest, yet their losses were greater than he had anticipated.

“Wasn’t the Jin Clan a tiger with its fangs pulled?”

“That is correct.”

“Then why is their resistance so fierce?”

“They say even a rich man can last three years after going broke, don’t they? Their power has already waned, but they have built up considerable goodwill, and helping hands are reaching out from all over.”

“How ridiculous. Considerable goodwill?”

Seol Gang-yeon’s shoulders trembled.

He and the martial artists of Snow Blade Sword Manor had endured untold hardships after losing their home. They had paid a great price to finally get the chance to return to their homeland.

The Jin Clan was the reason he and Snow Blade Sword Manor had suffered so much, and to hear that they had gained goodwill in the meantime made them seem all the more detestable.

Lee Yul replied calmly.

“Their resistance is fierce for now, but it will not last long.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes!”

“Good! I’ll trust you, Steward. By the way, I heard a bald monk from the Shaolin Temple was assassinated at the Jin Clan’s place?”

“Yes! That is true.”

“Who would dare assassinate a monk from the Shaolin Temple? Was it your doing?”

“It was not.”

“Really?”

“There is no reason for me to drag the Shaolin Temple into this, is there?”

“Hmm!”

Seol Gang-yeon nodded at Lee Yul’s answer.

The Jin Clan might not know it, but from Snow Blade Sword Manor’s perspective, they had to prevent the Shaolin Temple’s intervention as much as possible. If the Shaolin Temple were to get involved for no reason, it would only narrow their options for movement.

“The Shaolin Temple might suspect us, so make sure you have a solid plan in place.”

“I have already established one. The Shaolin Temple will have no reason to suspect us.”

“As expected, you are reliable.”

Seol Gang-yeon nodded his head.

The fact that Snow Blade Sword Manor had grown this much and was able to return to Runan was all thanks to Lee Yul’s exceptional abilities.

Without him, it would have easily taken several more decades to return to Runan.

“You may leave now.”

“Yes! Manor Lord.”

Lee Yul bowed his head to Seol Gang-yeon and went outside.

After leaving the great hall, the first person he met was the young master, Seol Gwangho.

“What? Are you coming from seeing my father?”

“Young Master!”

“What did my father say? Did he say anything about me?”

Seol Gwangho approached with a grin.

His clothes were spattered with blood.

The thick scent of blood made it clear that he had just returned from a fierce battle.

Lee Yul frowned and said.

“Did you lead the Shadow Unit into battle again?”

“Hehe! My body was itching, I couldn’t stand it.”

“The Manor Lord will be very worried if he finds out.”

“If the Steward keeps quiet, my father will never know.”

“Understood. However, you must be careful. The Manor Lord will be very sad if the Young Master returns with an injury.”

“Don’t worry. You think I’d lose? I’m Seol Gwangho. You think there’s anyone in Runan who can beat me?”

Seol Gwangho boasted, pushing his face right up to Lee Yul’s.

It was an arrogant claim, but Seol Gwangho had earned the right to make it.

His excessive fondness for women was a flaw, but he possessed greater martial prowess than any other martial artist in Snow Blade Sword Manor.

In particular, his Great Eight Desolations Axe Art, unleashed with his innate divine strength, was an axe technique renowned even in the Jianghu.

His appearance on the battlefield, wielding a large axe, was reminiscent of a giant bear.

For that reason, despite it being the early stages of the war, he was already feared and called by the alias Hellblood Axe.

“Just you watch! With this axe, I will reclaim Snow Blade Sword Manor’s old territory.”

“Still, please be careful.”

“Ah! I told you not to worry. I’ll be on my way then.”

Seol Gwangho patted Lee Yul’s shoulder a couple of times with his large hand and turned to leave. He had meant to pat him lightly, but Lee Yul felt a pain as if his shoulder was breaking.

However, Lee Yul’s expression did not change one bit as he maintained his usual gait.

When he returned to his quarters, he saw an unfamiliar man sitting in his chair.

It was a gaunt man wearing a black wind cloak. He was so thin that his face looked like a skull with only skin stretched over it.

When Lee Yul entered, the man raised a hand in acknowledgment.

“So our client has returned.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

“What?”

“Who told you that you could sit in my chair as you please?”

“Ah! Come on, over that….”

“Get up!”

“You’re being awfully strict.”

The man, skinny as a skeleton, grumbled as he got up from the seat.

Lee Yul sat in his own chair and asked.

“Where have you been?”

“Just went to say a little hello.”

“A hello? Don’t tell me you went to see him?”

“Ah, I didn’t see him in person, so don’t worry. I just said a quick hello with my puppetry.”

The man grinned.

He was Black Tiger, the one who had made the puppet explode on Pyo Wol.

Lee Yul’s gaze became as sharp as a flying dagger.

“I’m sure I told you to restrain yourself for the time being.”

“Hey! Why so edgy? Did the Manor Lord scold you or something? Hehe!”

Black Tiger snickered.

“What about the others?”

“They’re all lying low as per the client’s orders. But do we really have to go this far?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about Pyo Wol. It would be much simpler if we just snuffed him out, so I’m curious why we have to handle things so complicatedly.”

Black Tiger was genuinely curious.

It was clear that Pyo Wol was a formidable assassin.

It was certainly surprising that an assassin of this level existed outside the Hundred Wraith Union. But he couldn’t understand why that was a reason to handle things so complicatedly.

Black Tiger had assassinated Seong-un on Lee Yul’s orders.

If Seong-un hadn’t been off his guard while reading the scriptures, assassinating him would have been much harder. He would have killed him one way or another even if he hadn’t been careless, but it was true that the job had become that much easier.

“If you wanted him to be suspected, wouldn’t it have been much easier to just fabricate evidence? By now, he would have been suspected by the Jin Clan and either kicked out or ganged up on.”

“Fool.”

“What?”

“If you so blatantly fabricate evidence to frame him, someone is bound to become suspicious. It’s too obvious that he’s the culprit. It’s much better to simply plant a seed of doubt, a ‘what if?’, in people’s minds. The effect may be minimal at first, but as time passes, the suspicion will grow, and they will naturally ostracize him.”

“Oh! That sounds plausible.”

“It’s important to make the Jin Clan cut him off themselves. That way, we take away his standing and isolate him emotionally and physically. Do you think he can withstand the pressure? When he’s being rejected by the very Jin Clan he came to help?”

“Ooh!”

“And when he’s cornered like that, what if another murder by an assassin occurs within the Jin Clan?”

“They’d be convinced he’s the culprit. The Jin Clan would naturally pursue him relentlessly, and then?”

“Imagine. What choice would a cornered assassin make?”

“If it were me, I’d kill every last one of the bastards who didn’t believe me.”

“He’ll be the same, won’t he? I will make sure it happens. Then he will become a public enemy of the Jianghu.”

“You’re the real devil. Wow!”

Black Tiger let out a cry of admiration.

He himself had committed countless murders as an assassin, but he had never even imagined bringing a person to ruin with such a meticulous plan.

“So be patient until then. I’ll let you hunt to your heart’s content after that.”

“Alright. I’ll listen to you. Wow! This gives me the creeps.”

Black Tiger rubbed his arms and shivered.

It sounded somewhat sarcastic, but Lee Yul didn’t care.

He had devised this plan after learning Pyo Wol’s identity through the Black Cloud Corps. After realizing that the assassin who had infiltrated his own front yard was the same one who caused the Chengdu tragedy, he recognized that he couldn’t be killed by ordinary means and concocted the plan.

‘I’ll bleed you dry, slowly.’

＊＊＊

“Amitabha! To think that Seong-un is dead.”

“Just what kind of person would dare to… Martial Uncle Seong-un.”

A group of monks was entering Runan.

At their appearance, the martial artists in Runan held their breath.

The Zen staff they held instead of walking sticks, the red kasaya worn over their gray robes, and the clear ordination marks on their foreheads indicated that they were monks from the Shaolin Temple.

Led by Shaolin Temple Elder, Master Woon-hae, were the first-generation disciple Seong-am, and several second-generation disciples.

Master Woon-hae’s face was utterly grief-stricken.

He had tried his best to compose himself on the way here, but the ripples of emotion did not subside easily.

“I will punish the one who killed Senior Martial Brother Seong-un with my own hands.”

Seong-am, who was next to Master Woon-hae, muttered, clenching his fists.

He had a fierce appearance and a large build that was hard to believe for a monk.

His physique was so large that the big Zen staff in his hand looked like a small stick.

Seong-am’s alias within the Shaolin Temple was Mad Buddha.

He was born with divine strength and had a volatile temper, causing numerous incidents. His parents, unable to handle him, eventually left him at the Shaolin Temple as if abandoning him.

Even after coming to the Shaolin Temple, Seong-am’s personality did not change easily. He became a little more docile under the influence of the Buddhist scriptures, but the fierce nature underlying it all remained.

Seong-am was particularly fond of his senior martial brother, Seong-un.

While all his other senior martial brothers tried to control him, Seong-un was the only one who saw him for who he was.

When he heard the news of Seong-un’s death, he despaired and became enraged. And he swore an oath.

That he would never let the one who killed Seong-un die a peaceful death.

Master Woon-hae looked at Seong-am with a shadowed face.

The sight of his martial nephew, a monk, emitting a ferocious killing intent weighed heavily on his heart.

‘This child must not go on a rampage again…’

It was known to the world that Seong-mu and Seong-hwan were the best among the first-generation disciples, but Woon-hae knew that when it came to martial arts alone, no one could match Seong-am.

If Seong-am were to go on a rampage, even Woon-hae couldn’t guarantee he could subdue him.

Seong-am was a double-edged sword.

If used well, he could be a great help to his allies, but the moment control was lost, he could turn into a great disaster.

The fact that Seong-am was sent to Runan despite knowing this was proof that the Shaolin Temple was taking this situation very seriously.

From the moment the Shaolin monks appeared, the people in Runan could not take their eyes off them.

They too knew that a Shaolin monk had been assassinated at the Jin Clan’s residence.

This was the first time in decades that a Shaolin monk had been assassinated.

And it was a first-generation disciple of Shaolin, no less, not some other sect. It was the death of Seong-un, who was highly respected among the first-generation disciples.

The Shaolin Temple was not going to stand by.

If they did not respond in any way here, the Shaolin Temple’s face would be dragged through the mud, and they would surely be seen as a joke.

The Shaolin Temple knew better than anyone what happened to the fate of a sect that was once looked down upon in the Jianghu.

It was the nature of the Jianghu to rush in like wild dogs and tear apart anyone who showed weakness.

No matter how much they were a Buddhist sect that advocated for the salvation of all living beings, when it was time to use force, they had to use it decisively.

That was why they had dispatched Seong-am.

To show the power of the Shaolin Temple to those who dared to look down on them.

They soon arrived at the Jin Clan’s residence.

The moment they appeared, the Jin Clan cleared away all the obstacles placed at the entrance.

Jin Si-woo hurriedly greeted them.

“Welcome…”

“Amitabha! Let’s save the greetings for later. Please guide us to Seong-un’s body.”

Master Woon-hae interrupted Jin Si-woo’s greeting and said.

“Understood. Please follow me.”

Jin Si-woo ended up guiding him to the room where Bo-gyeong was.

When he opened the door, he saw Bo-gyeong guarding the Ice Jade Coffin containing Seong-un’s body.

“Bo-gyeong!”

“I failed to protect my Martial Uncle. Please punish me.”

Bo-gyeong knelt before Woon-hae.

Seong-am grabbed Bo-gyeong by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up.

“Who was it? Who killed Senior Martial Brother Seong-un.”