Chapter 269

Monk Woon-hae woke up early in the morning.

Though his body was staying with the Jin Clan, he had never once skipped his morning sutra chanting.

He neatened his robes, sat before the low table, and opened a Buddhist scripture. Then, he began to chant, tapping the wooden moktak.

Usually, when he chanted like this, the worldly cares in his mind would vanish. But today, the thoughts that filled his head did not easily disappear, tormenting him.

“Hmph! Is something the matter?”

In the end, Monk Woon-hae closed the scripture and rose from his seat.

It was the first time this had happened in years.

Monk Woon-hae shook his head and went outside.

“This disciple greets the Martial Grand-uncle.”

“Martial Grand-uncle, you’ve come out?”

The second-generation Disciples who were outside greeted him one after another.

“Why are you out here since dawn?”

“Well…”

“Speak.”

“Actually, Senior Martial Brother Bo-gyeong did not return last night.”

At Monk Woon-hae’s questioning, one of the second-generation Disciples answered cautiously.

“Bo-gyeong?”

Monk Woon-hae’s eyebrows twitched.

“Yes! We waited all night, but he never came back.”

“Could it be that he met with Young Hero Namgung?”

“I don’t think so. After Young Hero Namgung fought with Martial Uncle Seong-am, Senior Martial Brother Bo-gyeong has also been keeping some distance.”

“He is not one to be absent without reason.”

“That is why we are worried.”

Although Bo-gyeong seemed to act as he pleased, he never did anything that went against the rules of the Shaolin Temple. It was unlikely for such a person to be away all night for no reason.

“It seems I must look into this myself.”

Just as Monk Woon-hae was about to step outside.

“S-Sir! Something terrible has happened!”

Suddenly, a Martial Artist of the Jin Clan rushed into the Shaolin Temple’s quarters with a frantic voice.

The moment he saw the man’s face, Monk Woon-hae instinctively knew that a mishap had occurred.

“What is it?”

“P-Please follow me.”

Instead of explaining, the Jin Clan Martial Artist hurriedly ran outside.

Monk Woon-hae and the monks quickly followed him. The place they arrived at was a secluded path leading from the Jin Clan’s residence up to Mount Tianjung.

The moment he arrived, Monk Woon-hae squeezed his eyes shut.

“Amitabha!”

In contrast, the Shaolin monks who had followed him widened their eyes.

“How can this be!”

“Senior Martial Brother!”

Where their gazes were fixed, a blood-soaked corpse was hanging upside down, tied by a rope.

It was clear to anyone that the body had been hung upside down to desecrate it. The problem was the identity of the blood-stained corpse.

“Bo…gyeong!”

It was none other than Bo-gyeong, who had not returned the previous night.

Bo-gyeong’s condition was truly gruesome.

Long gashes on his neck and side gaped open like the gills of a fish.

“How could this happen?”

Monk Woon-hae’s voice trembled on its own.

After Seong-un, he had now lost Bo-gyeong as well.

Bo-gyeong was one of the brilliant futures of the Shaolin Temple.

It was not simply the loss of a single Disciple.

Bo-gyeong’s body was bound by a rope and hung upside down.

Just like a pig, hung upside down to drain its blood after being slaughtered.

It was an act of desecrating Bo-gyeong and insulting the Shaolin Temple.

“Bo-gyeong!”

Monk Woon-hae rushed to embrace Bo-gyeong and lowered him to the ground.

Bo-gyeong’s body was as cold as ice.

Monk Woon-hae burst into tears, holding Bo-gyeong.

“No, you fool! If you go first like this, what is this old man supposed to do? Uwaaah!”

“Senior Martial Brother! Sob!”

“Sob!”

Bo-gyeong’s Junior Martial Brothers wept with him.

The scene instantly became a sea of tears.

The martial artists who had rushed over upon hearing the tragic news wore solemn expressions as they watched the scene.

If there were any who were better at controlling their emotions than anyone else, it was the monks.

Yet, the monks of the Shaolin Temple, of all places, were wailing loudly. There was no one who did not understand how serious this situation was.

“Bo-gyeong!”

Just then, a young Martial Artist appeared, pushing through the crowd.

It was Namgung Wol.

Namgung Wol’s gaze fell on Bo-gyeong, limp in Monk Woon-hae’s arms.

Namgung Wol’s pupils were shaking uncontrollably.

He had considered Bo-gyeong a close friend, transcending their respective sects.

On the very day he had shared drinks with Bo-gyeong, Seong-un was assassinated, so he had intentionally kept his distance, and he had also confronted Seong-am. But even then, he had never once resented Bo-gyeong.

He had simply thought that after this situation was over, they could share a drink and become as close as before. But all his promises had turned to nothing.

It was when Namgung Wol was silently vowing to avenge Bo-gyeong.

“Amitabha! Oh, most compassionate Buddha. Why do you give my disciple such a trial? Is this also your will?”

Monk Woon-hae’s desperate monologue echoed through the area.

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the people kept their mouths tightly shut.

Monk Woon-hae’s monologue continued.

“Naesajaebul. The Buddha is by no means only in the temple. To think I have lived until now without knowing this.”

These were the words written in the letter the Qiankun Merchant had sent him before he died.

It was the koan that had brought him anguish and sleepless nights.

Now, he felt he understood why the Qiankun Merchant had sent him such a letter.

Monk Woon-hae rose to his feet, holding Bo-gyeong’s body. He then spoke to the people watching him.

“The Shaolin Temple will endure no longer. We will find the one who has insulted our temple and make them pay a fitting price.”

These were the words of a Shaolin Elder.

Moreover, they were spoken officially in front of numerous people. There was no one who did not know what that meant.

‘He’s declaring that the Shaolin Temple will participate in this fight.’

‘My god! The Shaolin Temple is getting involved.’

People sensed that the situation had grown larger than they had thought.

Bo-gyeong’s death had angered the sleeping giant, Shaolin.

With both Seong-un and now Bo-gyeong killed, Shaolin had more than enough justification to intervene.

The problem was that with Shaolin’s entry, there was no telling how far the situation would escalate.

The already chaotic political situation was plunging deeper into fog.

＊＊＊

Hong Ye-seol’s eyelids trembled and slowly opened.

At first, her eyes couldn’t focus, and everything in the world looked blurry. But as she patiently kept blinking, her vision returned to some extent after a moment.

As the once-hazy ceiling came into sharp focus, Hong Ye-seol let out a sigh of relief.

‘A ceiling?’

The place where she had collapsed was definitely a field near a forest.

She had been fighting while poisoned and eventually succumbed to the Poison Qi and collapsed. And she had no memory after that.

Hong Ye-seol calmly looked around.

It was a small room where a shabby table and the bed she was lying on were the only furniture.

She got up and opened the window. The surrounding scenery came into view.

Familiar pavilion roofs were visible.

It was the scenery of Runan, which she had seen to the point of boredom for the past few days.

Only then did Hong Ye-seol realize that the room she had been lying in was a guest room in an Inn in Runan.

“Phew!”

Hong Ye-seol let out a sigh.

There was no way she, having fainted, could have come here on her own. Someone must have carried her here. And there was only one person who would do that.

Hong Ye-seol saw an outer garment neatly folded on the table.

It was a new piece of clothing without a single wrinkle.

Come to think of it, the clothes she was wearing were also new.

The clothes she had originally worn were torn and stained with blood from the fierce battle with Heo Ranju.

Someone had taken off her clothes and changed her into new ones.

She knew who it was without even having to look.

Hong Ye-seol put on the outer garment and left the room.

Going down the stairs at the end of the hallway led to the first-floor dining area. Pyo Wol was sitting on one side of the dining area, eating a meal.

Hong Ye-seol immediately approached the spot where Pyo Wol was.

She sat in the seat across from Pyo Wol and asked.

“How long was I out?”

“A whole night.”

“It hasn’t been as long as I thought.”

“You were lucky. They had an Antidote on them.”

“That’s a relief.”

Hong Ye-seol nodded.

Even if Pyo Wol hadn’t given her the Poison Pill, she probably wouldn’t have died. She, too, was proficient with poisons.

In the process of handling various poisons, her body had developed a Poison Resistance. Unless it was an extreme poison, it was impossible to kill her instantly.

If left alone, she would have recovered naturally. Of course, it would have taken an incomparably longer time than taking the Poison Pill.

In any case, it was true that she owed Pyo Wol a debt.

“Thank you. I’m alive thanks to you. How should I repay this debt?”

“No need to repay it. I received help too.”

“Is that so? Anyway, thank you. I even got these nice clothes. By the way, did you change my clothes yourself? How was it? Was it a good view?”

“The owner of this Inn had a hard time changing them.”

“Oh my? You didn’t change them yourself? I wouldn’t have minded.”

Hong Ye-seol looked at Pyo Wol provocatively.

It was a seductive expression that any man would fall for. But there was no hint of wavering on Pyo Wol’s face as he looked at her. That fact irritated Hong Ye-seol even more.

Until now, there had never been a man who looked at her and did not feel desire. No matter how iron-willed a man was, his heart would waver and crumble upon seeing her.

Hong Ye-seol knew well how to seduce a man, and how to break him.

Some people scorned the use of honey traps, but for an Assassin, it was one of the essential techniques to master.

Hong Ye-seol had practiced the art of seduction since she was young.

She was born with naemijisang, an inner beauty. Her looks weren’t flashy, but she had a charm that grew on you the more you looked.

Her innate inner beauty, combined with the various arts she had learned since childhood, maximized her charm. Her singing skills, which she had shown off on Mount Wudang, were one of them.

There was no man who saw her and did not fall for her. That was why she had looked down on all the men in the world. But her beauty and charm did not work on one man, Pyo Wol.

Even a stone rolling on the street wouldn’t be met with such indifference.

It wasn’t that he was pretending to be uninterested; Pyo Wol was genuinely not interested in her at all. That’s why she was more irritated, and more interested in him.

She, who was supposed to be seducing her opponent with a honey trap, was in turn falling for Pyo Wol. It wasn’t as if Pyo Wol was intentionally using a reverse honey trap on her, either. Yet, Hong Ye-seol couldn’t break free from Pyo Wol.

Hong Ye-seol thought it was unfair.

It was the first time she had experienced such a one-sided shift of emotions, which made it all the more bewildering.

Whether he knew Hong Ye-seol’s feelings or not, Pyo Wol just silently moved his chopsticks. That sight seemed even more detestable.

“Tch!”

She pouted and picked up her chopsticks.

The food was quite plentiful, as if Pyo Wol had ordered her share as well.

Her stamina had dropped significantly from being poisoned.

The best way to recover stamina was to eat a hearty meal.

Hong Ye-seol didn’t pick at her food and shoveled it into her mouth.

In an instant, the food on the table was gone.

“Ah! I feel alive.”

Only then did Hong Ye-seol put down her chopsticks with a satisfied smile.

Eating her fill gave her strength, and her head finally felt clear.

Only then did she become curious about Pyo Wol’s next move.

“What are you going to do now?”

“……”

“You’ve made an enemy of the Black Cloud Corps. The situation doesn’t look good, do you have any countermeasures in mind?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve made an enemy of the Black Cloud Corps. So it can’t get any worse.”

“Is that so?”

“With her and Daoshi Go’s deaths, Jang Muryang will be furious. She held a very important position within the Black Cloud Corps.”

“Ho ho! You must have quite a headache then.”

“What do I have to have a headache about?”

“You said she held a very important position within the Black Cloud Corps. Since you killed such a person, they will surely try to get revenge.”

“I’m not the one who killed her.”

“……”

Hong Ye-seol’s brow crumpled like a piece of paper.

Pyo Wol looked at her and continued.

“By now, the Black Cloud Corps will be looking for you.”

“How would they know I killed her and be looking for me?”

“I told them.”

“You crazy bastard!”

A genuine curse burst out.