Chapter 268

The death of Dharma King Hong Dao. And the mysterious bloodbath at Shaolin Temple, the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper of the Murim.

Nothing travels faster than the human voice—not even a galloping horse.

Through the mouths of countless eyewitnesses, the rumor spread far and wide.

“Did you all hear the news? About the Star-Array Grand Banquet…”

“Martial artists are surrounding Mount Song. I hear there was a bloodbath at Shaolin Temple.”

Henan Province, which had been buzzing with festive excitement in anticipation of the Star-Array Grand Banquet, was thrown into an uproar.

The elderly were reminded of the Demonic Cult’s rampage across the land several decades ago, while the younger generation realized that the war they had dismissed as a dusty relic of the past had come knocking on reality’s door.

“The Demonic Cult has appeared? That’s terrible. Absolutely terrible.”

“I heard some people say it wasn’t the Demonic Cult, but someone else who did it.”

“Are you saying there’s someone besides the Demonic Cult capable of committing such a thing?”

“I don’t know the exact facts myself. I just heard it while passing by.”

“That can’t be right. They say the leader of the culprits who attacked Shaolin this time was the terrifying Yin-Yang Twin Freaks.”

“The Yin-Yang Twin Freaks? I heard the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult personally made a move.”

“T-The Heavenly Demon?”

As one rumor piled onto another, the story grew like a snowball.

It was only natural that the attention of the people confused by the mixture of truth and lies should turn toward one place.

The former site of the Murim Alliance.

The place where the great and small pillars of the orthodox faction stood.

“I heard what happened. About Jongni Chu—or rather, Great Hero Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.”

“…”

“Keep your chin up. These things happen in life.”

“…”

“I’m completely broke myself this time, whew… Anyway, that’s how things turned out. But when I heard your news, Captain, I felt my strength surge.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked why your strength surged.”

“Isn’t it obvious? As the ancient sages said, pain becomes lighter when it’s shared…”

Thwack!

“Guh.”

Hyuk Mujin bent at the waist with the wind knocked out of him after taking a precise blow to the solar plexus.

When I saw the back of his head sitting wide open, my hand moved on its own. It just moved.

Smack!

“Your strength surging? Huh?”

“W-Wait a second. You hit me in the solar plexus. The solar plexus.”

“Your bullshit is making my blood pressure surge. It’s making my blood run backward!”

Smack-smack-smack!

After pounding the back of his head like a storm, I finally felt a little better.

I was already troubled enough, and this bastard just had to come along and rile me up.

“The mood is serious right now, so watch what you say. Got it?”

Hyuk Mujin rubbed the back of his head and muttered,

“I was trying to lighten things up because you looked so serious.”

“Just keep quiet.”

“…Yes, sir.”

After silencing Hyuk Mujin, I quietly gazed out the window.

Martial artists moved frantically in every direction, and though no one openly showed it, tension hung thick in the air.

Yet even in the midst of all that, the sky was brilliantly clear.

Hyuk Mujin’s subdued voice pierced my ears.

“This feels strange.”

“What does?”

“Everything. It doesn’t feel real. That only one day has passed.”

“I feel the same way.”

Even the word tumultuous wasn’t enough to describe it. Nothing that had happened the day before felt real. It all seemed like a dream.

Hong Dao exhaling his final breath. The sight of Shaolin stained with blood. The appearance of the Yin-Yang Twin Freaks and the Blood Lord. The arrival of Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

It all flashed before my eyes like a panorama.

The problem is, this is only the prologue.

If this were a movie theater, it wouldn’t be strange for the end credits to start rolling by now. But this was nothing more than an ominous prelude.

The vague sense of crisis that everyone anticipated was so palpable I could feel it on my skin.

Something is changing.

The world had already become a massive powder keg. The orthodox faction held the fuse, but Dark Heaven had a flint in its hand.

And just yesterday, the fuse had been lit.

I didn’t know how all of this would end, but I could guess what would happen along the way.

There’s going to be a war.

A war on an entirely different scale from the one in Shanxi Province.

There was no way the people at the top didn’t know what I had already begun to suspect.

The leaders of the orthodox faction were already fully occupied with containing the aftermath of the incident and holding meetings.

“Come to think of it, Captain, didn’t you attend yesterday’s meeting too?”

I nodded slightly.

The Jin Family of Taiyuan might not compare to the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Families, but it was still the undisputed hegemon of Shanxi Province.

And since Shanxi Province was where Dark Heaven had first revealed itself, it was only natural that the leaders would take a keen interest in it.

“What did they say?”

“They asked about the Head Elder and the Red Wind Band. I answered everything I knew.”

“The Head Elder is one thing, but the Red Wind Band?”

“The Temporary Strength Pill used by Pung Yang, the Red Wind Band Leader, is connected to Dark Heaven.”

“Ah.”

Hyuk Mujin was now a high-ranking member of his family, so he knew at least some of the circumstances. The same was true of the Temporary Strength Pill and Dark Heaven.

“Did they say anything else?”

“I just left. My eldest brother will hear the important news and pass it on anyway…”

My voice slipped out low without me realizing it.

“I was worried about leaving Old Master alone for too long.”

My gaze, which had been fixed on the window, naturally turned toward one person.

A small elderly man lay on the bed as though he were deeply asleep.

When I took his wrinkled hand, I could feel his pulse. The slight rise and fall of his body told me he was breathing. But even now, a full day later, he still hadn’t regained consciousness.

“When do you think he’ll wake up?”

“That’s the problem. We don’t know.”

“Didn’t some physician with a reputation as a famous healer come by?”

“He said there was nothing he could do. Since Old Master wasn’t seriously injured like the others, he told us to wait and see for now.”

The Dance of the Fire God and Demon. The supreme technique of the Fire Gate Clan.

It possessed enough power to contend with a thousand martial artists, but everything came with a price to match.

For a man well over a hundred years old, there simply wasn’t enough stamina or strength left to endure the aftermath.

Maybe…

A thought suddenly occurred to me, but I shook my head and cast it away.

I would put the negative thoughts aside.

The Sword Saint and the physician had both said that his life was not in danger. For now, the best thing I could do was remain by Jeok Cheongang’s side and watch over him.

“There haven’t been any suspicious people while I was gone, have there?”

The Abbot of Shaolin had been assassinated inside the Murim Alliance. No one could be called safe. Just as Jeok Cheongang had protected me from the Blood Lord, I had to protect him.

Hyuk Mujin nodded confidently.

“The Jin Dragon Squad has surrounded the pavilion without leaving a single opening. Don’t worry.”

“The Jin Dragon Squad? The one that’s supposed to be the Taiyuan Jin Family’s elite?”

“Yes. The Lesser Family Head was worried about Great Hero Jeok’s safety, so he assigned me here. Who do you think I am? Hyuk Mujin, Vice Squad Leader of the Jin Dragon Squad.”

“Uh…”

I looked him up and down before subtly averting my gaze.

Hyuk Mujin’s previously confident expression immediately turned sour.

“What was that reaction just now?”

“Nothing. I just realized I shouldn’t leave this place in the future.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t trust the strength of the Jin Dragon Squad, the family’s finest?”

“Now, now. I said that’s not it. Let it go.”

Hyuk Mujin glared at me with narrowed eyes before abruptly standing up.

“Fine. I’ll report to the Lesser Family Head and have them withdraw us.”

“Hey, hey. Why are you putting it like that? Are you going through puberty again?”

“Isn’t it because you’re being so hurtful, Captain? Is this the first time?!”

“Lower your voice. You’ll wake Old Master.”

“It would be nice if he woke up.”

“…”

He had a point.

While I was momentarily at a loss for words, Hyuk Mujin turned toward the door.

It was obvious from one glance that he wanted me to stop him. In moments like this, I had to live up to expectations.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Hyuk Mujin said angrily,

“Forget it. I can put up with everything else, but I won’t tolerate you insulting the subordinates I care about!”

“Gasp.”

“What now?”

“I didn’t expect words like that to come out of your mouth. Mujin, you’ve really grown up. You won’t need circumcision on your mouth.”

“…I’m really leaving.”

“Fine, fine. Sit down. Calm down and have a glass of water.”

“Hmph. No.”

“Ha-ha. Our Mujin really has grown a lot. You made me say it twice.”

“…!”

Hyuk Mujin stopped, then slowly lowered himself onto the chair.

“Even so, I deserve an apology.”

“Huh? An apology for what?”

“For insulting my subordinates.”

“Why should I apologize? I never insulted them.”

“You just said you didn’t trust them. Wasn’t that because you look down on them for being weaker in martial arts than you?”

I took a sip of the cold tea.

“Well, we’re not the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Families, so of course there’s a difference in level between us and them. But you said the Jin Dragon Squad members are all young and talented, didn’t you? They performed brilliantly yesterday too. Weren’t they the ones who saved Unnamed?”

Shaolin was a great tree. Yesterday’s incident had knocked down a major branch named Dharma King and countless fruits, but the roots remained.

Shaolin’s martial arts. And the existence of Unnamed, who had survived.

Those were its roots.

Ah, didn’t they say an old monk named Hongcheon had survived too?

“That’s right. They fought Dark Heaven without giving an inch.”

Hyuk Mujin puffed out his chest, his face full of pride.

“Exactly. Then what’s the problem? The kids looked sharp enough to me. And they’re deeply loyal to the family. But there’s one thing that bothers me.”

“What’s that?”

“That you’re their Vice Squad Leader.”

“…”

“The subordinates are standing straight on duty down there, while their Vice Squad Leader is up here shooting the breeze?”

“Th-That’s…”

“You said you cared about your subordinates. That you were proud of them.”

“It’s true! Do you know how much I care about those guys…?”

Hyuk Mujin had faltered for a moment, but he quickly pulled himself together and began pouring out words as though he had been waiting for the chance.

“And the mission I was assigned this time is to guard Great Hero Jeok and you, Captain.”

“And before that?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what your previous mission was.”

“That was obviously guarding the Lesser Family Head.”

“Really?”

I chuckled and pulled that thing from inside my robes, then tossed it onto the table.

Clatter.

At the metallic clatter, Hyuk Mujin sucked in a breath as he spotted the gold mask gleaming on the table.

“Gasp! W-Where did you get that…?”

“Where do you think? I knew you weren’t usually that kind of guy, but you stuck to me like a bad smell after the preliminaries.”

“Wait a second. You’ve got it wrong. I was genuinely so busy with guard duty I barely had time to open my eyes—”

“A misunderstanding? Fine. Want me to make sure you never open them again?”

Crack!

The golden mask crumpled into a little ball, unable to withstand the strength of my hand. Hyuk Mujin’s eyes shook as though an earthquake had struck.

“You were handling an escort at a gambling house, you bastard? You were so famous I didn’t even need to ask around. Apparently, some guy won a hundred thousand silver nyang in one go, then lost a hundred thousand silver nyang right afterward. They were treating him like a legend—no, an absolute legend.”

If even I had heard about it despite the serious mood, that said everything.

I’d even heard a story about one of the servants working at the Murim Alliance hitting the jackpot on Toto—no, Dodo—then slapping the Chief Steward across the face and walking out.

“If you cared about your subordinates that much, you should’ve collected dues and placed the bet with their money. Did you really gobble it down by yourself because you were afraid the payout odds would drop?”

“…”

Silence. Utter speechlessness.

Even if he had ten mouths, he wouldn’t have anything to say. Hyuk Mujin stood there frozen and pale before finally forcing out a few words.

“Life is… all about one big score.”

“…”

This bastard still hadn’t come to his senses.

I stared at Hyuk Mujin in disbelief and raised my fist.

That was when—

Swish. Tap.

There had been no noticeable presence or sound.

A young man—or rather, an old man—had risen more than ten jang into the air as though by magic and landed on the windowsill. He grinned and waved.

“Want to talk for a moment, friend?”

Friend, my ass.

I let out a deep sigh inwardly as I looked at Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.