Chapter 77

“Master!”

Amidst the silence of all, Yong Seol Lan’s cry echoed throughout the Great Hall.

Hwaak!

In that instant, an intense Qi Wave raged like a storm inside the Great Hall.

Yong Seol Lan’s clothes swelled up, and her black hair shot up towards the sky, swaying like seaweed.

Kwa-rururu!

The Great Hall shook as if it would collapse at any moment.

Yong Seol Lan glared at Guhwa Satae with eyes full of fury.

The disciples of the Emei Sect were utterly astonished at this side of Yong Seol Lan they had never seen before.

The Qi Wave emanating from Yong Seol Lan was in no way inferior to Guhwa Satae’s.

‘My goodness!’

‘Has Seol Lan reached such a level?’

The first-generation disciples of the Emei Sect could not hide their shock.

They had long known that Yong Seol Lan possessed great talent. But because she was usually quiet and did not put herself forward, they had never expected her to have reached such a level.

A smile crept onto Guhwa Satae’s lips.

“Seol Lan!”

“There was no need for this. It’s not like she did it on purpose…”

Yong Seol Lan’s anger exploded.

Woo Seon-ha’s death had made her reveal the accomplishments she had painstakingly hidden until now.

Yong Seol Lan could not tolerate Guhwa Satae’s behavior of treating people as mere tools.

Even seeing Yong Seol Lan confronting her, Guhwa Satae did not withdraw her smile. This was because it was the very image she had always wanted to see from Yong Seol Lan.

Yong Seol Lan had always hidden her true self.

While Jeong Hwa, who always kept her in check, was a factor, it was mostly because she did not want to be used by Guhwa Satae.

She had lowered and hidden herself so thoroughly that even Guhwa Satae could not use her as she pleased. But now that she had lost her temper and revealed her skills, she had given Guhwa Satae a pretext to use her.

Yong Seol Lan knew this fact as well. But this time, she just couldn’t bear it.

“No matter what wrong she committed, you can’t just kill her like this.”

“If she committed a crime worthy of death, then she must die.”

“Master!”

“Seol Lan, you too must understand. Once you start making one or two exceptions, there is no end to it…. In times like these, you must enforce discipline by making an example of one to warn a hundred.”

“……”

“You may not understand my words now. But one day, when you stand above all, you will understand me. So stop this childishness and return to your place.”

“Master!”

“Now!”

At Guhwa Satae’s voice, which sounded like the cawing of a crow, Yong Seol Lan bit her lip.

Now she understood for certain.

No matter what she said, the old woman before her would never listen.

Everyone is different, but her Master’s standards for judging people were uniquely harsh.

For those who did not meet Guhwa Satae’s standards, there was no mercy. Woo Seon-ha, the young boss of the Hundred Flowers Room, was one such case.

Guhwa Satae had used Woo Seon-ha as a tool to instill fear in the martial artists of the Emei Sect and the Hundred Flowers Room. Knowing that countless others had been used and discarded like Woo Seon-ha, Yong Seol Lan despised Guhwa Satae.

If Woo Gun-sang had not been killed by Pyo Wol seven years ago, she too would have been reduced to a mere tool.

Yong Seol Lan gritted her teeth and returned to her place.

Only then did Guhwa Satae show a satisfied smile. But it was brief; she soon looked at her disciples with cold eyes and said,

“First, get rid of this wench’s corpse.”

Where she pointed, Woo Seon-ha’s body lay sprawled.

“Heuk!”

“Young Boss!”

The martial artists of the Hundred Flowers Room swallowed their tears and moved Woo Seon-ha’s body.

Having suddenly lost their Boss and young boss, the faces of the Hundred Flowers Room’s martial artists were filled with bewilderment.

Guhwa Satae spoke to them.

“The Hundred Flowers Room was a branch that came from the same root as the Emei Sect anyway. I will now take you all back in.”

No one dared to defy Guhwa Satae’s command.

They were afraid of ending up like Woo Seon-ha if they needlessly stepped forward.

Jang Muryang’s gaze sank deep.

‘She’s a nine-tailed fox, no doubt.’

With a single move, Guhwa Satae had instantly seized control of the atmosphere in the hall.

Even if Woo Seon-ha’s wrongdoing had not been revealed, Guhwa Satae would have killed her under some pretext. Only then could she fully subjugate the Hundred Flowers Room.

On the surface, it seemed she had killed Woo Seon-ha impulsively in a fit of emotion, but beneath it lay a meticulous calculation.

‘This won’t be as easy as I thought.’

If she were someone who only relied on brute force, she would have been easy to handle.

The most troublesome opponents were those like Guhwa Satae, who excelled in strategy. And it wasn’t as if Guhwa Satae’s martial arts were weak.

Guhwa Satae was a supreme expert who vied with Mujeong Jin-in of the Qingcheng Sect for the title of the strongest in Sichuan Province.

Guhwa Satae was a more difficult opponent than anyone Jang Muryang had ever met.

Just then, Guhwa Satae spoke to Jang Muryang.

“Unit Leader Jang.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll need you to make a move.”

“For what?”

“I want the Black Cloud Corps to hunt Pyo Wol.”

“Are you telling us to catch a mere assassin?”

“Because of that one mere assassin, the Hundred Flowers Room and our sect have suffered a great blow. On top of that, our relationship with the Qingcheng Sect has been damaged beyond repair.”

Guhwa Satae’s eyes shone eerily.

Her words continued.

“If we let him run wild like this, we will suffer great damage even before we can properly fight the Qingcheng Sect. We must eliminate him before that. In a way, catching him is far more urgent than dealing with the Qingcheng Sect.”

“Hmm! Three hundred and fifty members of the Black Cloud Corps moving to catch a single assassin? It doesn’t seem like a profitable business.”

“I will allow the Black Cloud Corps to establish a base near Chengdu, not on the outskirts of Sichuan Province.”

“……”

“I will stop any sect in Sichuan Province from daring to challenge you. And I will also grant you the trading rights for the Outer Regions. How about it? Is it still not a profitable business?”

“Haha! It seems I have no reason to refuse. Will you put it in writing?”

“I will.”

Guhwa Satae answered readily. At that, a deep furrow formed on Jang Muryang’s brow.

It was stranger that Guhwa Satae agreed so readily.

Jang Muryang looked at Daoshi Go.

Daoshi Go nodded his head. It was a sign to accept quickly.

—This is a golden opportunity to establish a base in Sichuan Province. If you miss it, an opportunity like this will never come again.

Daoshi Go, seemingly anxious, even sent a message via Telepathy.

Jang Muryang made up his mind.

“Very well. Pyo Wol, we will catch him. In return, you must keep your promise.”

“I swear on the honor of the Emei Sect’s Sect Master. Bring me Pyo Wol’s head.”

“Understood.”

As Jang Muryang answered, Guhwa Satae immediately wrote down the terms of the promise in a document.

Guhwa Satae finished signing it without hesitation.

Jang Muryang carefully tucked the document written by Guhwa Satae into his robes.

With this document, he could put down roots in Sichuan. Once he had roots, he was confident he could grow the Black Cloud Corps to be second to none of any sect in Sichuan.

Moreover, he had even obtained the trading rights for the Outer Regions. This was as good as striking an open-air gold mine.

Just then, Guhwa Satae threw cold water on his excitement.

“Don’t get too happy. If you don’t bring me Pyo Wol’s head, the document will become void.”

“That will never happen.”

“You seem confident.”

“Guhwa Satae, you can’t possibly imagine the things I have done. Or the things I can do.”

“What can’t one do with words? I don’t trust people who talk a lot.”

“Huhu! I will show you with results.”

Jang Muryang rose to his feet.

Now that he had received the signed document, there was no reason to stay here.

Jang Muryang went outside with Daoshi Go.

After the two disappeared, a disciple cautiously spoke to Guhwa Satae.

“Can we trust them?”

“How can I trust mere wanderers? Trust is not what’s important. His ambition is.”

“Ambition?”

“Yes! He needs a justification to settle in Sichuan. His ambition is to settle down, then draw in more wanderers to build an impregnable fortress that no one can touch.”

“Then isn’t that more dangerous? If we let such a dangerous man into Sichuan Province, he will become a source of trouble for years to come.”

“That would be true, wouldn’t it? If the Black Cloud Corps can really put down roots in Sichuan, that is.”

Guhwa Satae gave a meaningful smile.

＊＊＊

Woo Seon-ha’s body was wrapped in a straw mat and abandoned on a wild mountain on the outskirts of Chengdu.

The wild mountain was a place where the unclaimed bodies of Chengdu’s people were discarded, not a place for someone like Woo Seon-ha to be buried.

At least, not if the Hundred Flowers Room was still intact.

The Hundred Flowers Room was completely absorbed by the Emei Sect, and Guhwa Satae treated Woo Seon-ha as a criminal who had sold out the Emei Sect. In such a situation, it was impossible for the disciples of the Hundred Flowers Room to give her a proper grave.

“Heuk!”

They only shed tears before returning to Chengdu.

Grrrr!

A pack of wild dogs was the first to smell the corpse and approach.

The wild dogs pressed their noses against the straw mat and drooled.

Just as the alpha dog opened its mouth to tear at Woo Seon-ha’s body.

Thwack!

A stone that flew from somewhere shattered the alpha dog’s head. The startled dogs looked warily in the direction the stone had flown from.

Just then, a man appeared from the darkness.

The man, dressed in a magnificent Arrow Garment, was none other than Pyo Wol.

At Pyo Wol’s appearance, the wild dogs scattered in terror. They had instinctively sensed that Pyo Wol was a being on a different level from them.

Pyo Wol walked towards the straw mat containing Woo Seon-ha’s body.

When he lifted the mat, he saw Woo Seon-ha’s corpse, dead in a wretched state with a crushed head.

Pyo Wol lifted Woo Seon-ha’s body into his arms.

Since they had only used each other, he didn’t feel any particular affection or sorrow. Still, he felt that her body, at least, deserved to be buried in a proper place.

Pyo Wol moved Woo Seon-ha’s body to a sunny spot. He dug the ground himself and gently laid her body to rest.

He couldn’t even build a burial mound, fearing the Emei Sect might dig up the grave.

Pyo Wol sat by the grave and looked at Chengdu.

Chengdu was now like a Thunderbolt Bomb on the verge of exploding.

The fight between the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect had made it so. But it was Pyo Wol who had induced and created that situation.

By instigating a crisis for the two sects, Pyo Wol had caused all the sects in Chengdu and Sichuan to split into two sides, leading to extreme confrontation.

Countless people had died so far, but many more would die in the future. Still, Pyo Wol did not regret his actions.

To back down now was unimaginable.

No matter the outcome, he had no choice but to see it through to the end.

Even if that end was his own death.

Pyo Wol lay down by the grave and looked up at the sky.

A piercingly blue sky came into view. It was a sight he could not even have imagined when he was in the underground cavern.

Pyo Wol, taking in the sky with his eyes, muttered.

“I won’t say I’m sorry. We were just using each other, after all. But I will make sure to get revenge. She will experience pain greater than what you suffered.”

Pyo Wol lay still for a long time without moving.

It was after the sun had set beyond the western mountains that he got up. He descended the wild mountain, cutting through the darkness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Pyo Wol walked towards Chengdu.

The road to Chengdu was quiet.

Thanks to that, he was free from people’s gazes, but Pyo Wol covered half his face with a scarf just in case.

In a sense, he was now a celebrity.

His exceedingly handsome face drew people’s attention.

When his identity was unknown, he could move freely, but now he could not.

The Qingcheng Sect might not know, but the Emei Sect would now surely know his identity.

Woo Seon-ha’s death proved that fact.

Pyo Wol had intended this to some extent.

He could have assassinated them secretly without revealing his identity, but doing so would have halved the fear his opponents felt.

That was why Pyo Wol had deliberately leaked his identity.

If not for that reason, it would have taken them much longer to find out who he was.

Pyo Wol quietly entered Chengdu.

He had already secured an Inn on the outskirts of Chengdu.

He entered the Inn, but no one paid him any mind. Even though he had half his face covered with a scarf.

Most people were indifferent to the affairs of others, and the people inside the Inn were no different.

People were busy spitting as they talked about what had happened in Chengdu today.

“Did you hear Guhwa Satae entered Chengdu?”

“Don’t even mention it! I heard she struck down and killed Miss Woo in a single blow as soon as she entered the Hundred Flowers Room.”

“What? Why Miss Woo?”

“Who knows? You should be careful too. If you get on the wrong side of the Emei Sect, you might end up like that.”

“Ugh! That’s terrifying.”

The man shivered as if the mere thought was horrifying.

Pyo Wol sat down and listened to their conversation.

Even a trivial detail could be important information for him.