Swordless Demonic Path

Chapter 184 : Angry Shadow (1)

It was Zhuge Qing who had stopped in the middle of his qi circulation. And that too, by force.

The use of the Tang family's poison was surely to announce that the culprit was a person of the Tang family.

He was angry at Jin Sa-wol's intention to use him to drive a wedge between the Martial Alliance and the Tang family.

Naturally, his qi and blood were twisted, and the poison spread throughout Zhuge Qing's body even faster.

"I also have my people in the alliance."

Jin Sa-wol lightly kicked Zhuge Qing's face with his foot.

Thud! Jin Sa-wol, who saw the fallen Zhuge Qing, approached him and drew his Night Flower.

"Be grateful that this is the Martial Alliance."

If it weren't for the Martial Alliance, he would have slowly tortured Zhuge Qing to death.

"Keuk!"

Zhuge Qing, who was reaching for Jin Sa-wol with a hazy mind, opened his mouth wide to let out a loud voice.

In that instant, the Night Flower pierced into his mouth.

"Ugh!"

Zhuge Qing bit the blade of the Night Flower hard with his teeth. It was a desperate, instinctive struggle not to die.

Although red blood flowed from between Zhuge Qing's lips, Jin Sa-wol did not care.

"You're persistent."

In any case, Zhuge Qing had to die.

Zhuge Qing stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open. In his eyes, he saw the face of Jo-rim, who was hanging from the ceiling like a ghost. It was a face like that of a demon that could only be seen in hell.

Whoosh!

Jo-rim, who had fallen to the floor, stabbed Zhuge Qing's left eye with her flexible sword.

"Keo-eoh!"

Zhuge Qing, who was still breathing, trembled all over with a groan.

"This is for Il-bi. And this is for Il-hu."

Jo-rim cut Zhuge Qing's neck without any lingering attachment.

As the sharp blade of the flexible sword passed Zhuge Qing's neck, blood spurted.

Zhuge Qing's breath was cut off with one eye wide open.

His face in death was extremely miserable.

Swish,

Jin Sa-wol, who had pulled out the Night Flower from Zhuge Qing's mouth, wiped the blood on the sword's body on his sleeve.

"You killed him too easily."

Jo-rim, who had read Jin Sa-wol's expression full of regret, shook her head.

"This is the Martial Alliance. We don't have much time. If we've achieved our purpose, we have to get out right away."

As Jo-rim said, this was the center of the Martial Alliance.

There was nothing good about staying for a long time.

Jin Sa-wol looked around and then walked out the door.

"Move."

At his words, Jo-rim's figure jumped over the window without a sound and then disappeared into the darkness beyond the wall.

Jin Sa-wol, who was watching Jo-rim disappear, sat on the wall for a moment.

Jin Sa-wol, who was observing the surroundings, felt a presence but ignored it and seeped into the darkness.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Jo-rim, who had passed through the forest and appeared in an empty garden, approached a woman standing in front of a pond.

The woman, who was standing under the moonlight, turned her body as Jo-rim approached.

Namgung Ji showed a smiling eye.

"I'm glad you're not late."

At Namgung Ji's words, Jo-rim bowed her head halfway like a maid and closed her mouth.

As Namgung Ji moved, Jo-rim followed closely behind her.

Screech! Screech!

A long whistle sounded, and then, with the sound of a bell, countless footsteps swept through the Martial Alliance.

Namgung Ji made a hardened expression and hurriedly left the garden, grabbing a busy patrol warrior.

"What's going on?"

Jo-rim, who was standing behind her, showed a surprised expression, thinking that Zhuge Qing's death had already been discovered.

The patrol warrior answered hurriedly.

"Assassins have invaded the guest hall and tried to kill the innkeeper of the Gangnam Grand Inn, who came as a guest today. So we're on our way now."

"Oh my! Really? What kind of crazy bastard would dare to do that in the Martial Alliance..."

Namgung Ji's eyes widened as if she were very surprised. The patrol warrior greeted Namgung Ji and then hurriedly headed for the guest hall.

As they left, Namgung Ji pressed her chest and asked, "Was this also expected?"

"I didn't know at all. Who in the alliance would send an assassin to Brother Jin?"

"Only Zhuge Qing."

Namgung Ji answered with a cold expression and then recalled the time she had arrived at Muyeon Island.

After the inn had burned down, Namgung Ji had also visited the inn.

Although she had looked for the people who had worked under her in Guguang Fortress, there was no one.

With the thought of 'just in case', she had headed for Muyeon Island, and there, she had found numerous dead bodies and trembled all over.

She had to find out who had killed them.

Among the dead, there were also her maids, and there were also the shopkeepers of the front.

Although most of them were people who did not know martial arts, they had all died.

Namgung Ji put away the memory of Muyeon Island and walked forward.

***

Screech!

"An enemy has invaded!"

"An enemy has entered the guest hall!"

Rumble!

"Hurry up and move!"

Startled by the sound of the whistle and the shouts, the masked people hurriedly jumped over the wall of the separate courtyard. There were three of them.

As Woo Jeong-bong tried to chase them, Jo Geom-ok grabbed his shoulder and shook her head.

Chasing them was a job for the alliance.

The number of corpses scattered around the guest hall was a total of seven. Four had been killed by Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong, and the rest had been killed by Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol, who had a sword wound on his left arm, was standing with a tired face.

The masked people were masters of the first-rate or higher, and they were difficult opponents. But if it were Jin Sa-wol, they were people he could easily subdue.

Woo Jeong-bong's eyes widened when he saw the sword wound on Jin Sa-wol's left arm.

"You're hurt? What happened?"

Jin Sa-wol retreated a step with an indifferent face. His sweat-soaked face looked considerably more tired than usual.

Woo Jeong-bong tilted his head.

"It's not like you. Are you in a lot of pain?"

As Woo Jeong-bong approached Jin Sa-wol, Jo Geom-ok blocked his way.

"It was an ambush. He was attacked in his sleep, so he could get hurt."

Jo Geom-ok said with a smile, gestured to Jin Sa-wol, and then pulled Woo Jeong-bong to a place where there was a nearby corpse.

In the meantime, Jin Sa-wol went into the room.

Jo Geom-ok approached the masked person and took off his mask. As the face of a young man was revealed, she frowned.

Woo Jeong-bong asked.

"Do you know his face?"

"I don't know his face."

After Jo Geom-ok answered, she approached another masked person. Just then, many warriors rushed into the separate courtyard.

Through them, the master of the guest hall hurriedly poked his face out.

"Are you two safe?"

"Yes."

"As you can see, we're fine."

"What about Mr. Jin?"

"He's a little hurt, but he's safe."

"That's a relief."

The guest hall master let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. Since he was the guest hall master and such a thing had happened, it was difficult for him to avoid responsibility.

He was worried about that. If he was unlucky, he might be kicked out of the Martial Alliance.

"How on earth could such a thing happen? We will thoroughly investigate, find out the mastermind, and hold them accountable."

The guest hall master, as if his anger had reached the top of his head, shook his red cheeks and headed for the room.

Meanwhile, Bi-sun, who had entered the room bleeding, raised his left arm when he saw another Jin Sa-wol standing in the dark chamber.

"I'm hurt."

"I'm glad you're not dead."

Jin Sa-wol, as if he were relieved that Bi-sun was safe, said and then took out his Night Flower and cut his own left arm.

Bi-sun went into the chamber and took off his clothes, and Jin Sa-wol went out to the tea room and took off his clothes.

The moment the two's figures crossed, Jin Sa-wol quickly put on the clothes Bi-sun had taken off.

As Bi-sun's figure disappeared from the room, Jin Sa-wol, who was sitting in a chair, took out a gold sore medicine, applied it to his left arm, and then tore a piece of plain cloth and wrapped his arm.

"Mr. Jin."

The guest hall master, who had hurriedly entered the room, was soaked in sweat.

"Are you safe?"

Jin Sa-wol's eyes, who was examining his arm, and the guest hall master's met. Jin Sa-wol held up his arm and said, "I'm a little hurt."

"That's a relief."

Although the guest hall master cast a gaze full of regret that Jin Sa-wol was safe, he quickly erased it.

"An assassin in the Martial Alliance... Isn't it strange? How dare they..."

"We'll know if we investigate."

After the guest hall master answered, he hurriedly went outside.

As Jin Sa-wol also followed the guest hall master and went outside, many warriors were collecting the corpses.

Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong approached Jin Sa-wol, who had met their eyes and examined the people's faces.

"Are you okay?"

When Woo Jeong-bong asked, Jin Sa-wol nodded.

"I'm fine."

"To hurt your arm. It's not like you."

"I was careless."

Jin Sa-wol, who had thrown a word, said again to Woo Jeong-bong in a low voice.

"I just hid my martial arts. I can't show everything, can I?"

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Woo Jeong-bong's eyes widened as if he understood. It was a common thing in the martial world to hide one's skills.

Woo Jeong-bong had also hidden his skills more than usual, and it was the same for Jo Geom-ok.

There was no need to reveal everything to many people.

Master Hyeonjeong hurriedly came in and examined Jin Sa-wol.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm safe."

"That's a relief."

Hyeonjeong examined Jin Sa-wol and then turned his eyes to the dead masked people. Just then, warriors wearing white martial arts uniforms entered the separate courtyard.

They exuded a strong prayer that was significantly different from the other warriors.

"I am Song Mu-pung of the Inspection Pavilion."

As Song Mu-pung, the master of the Inspection Pavilion, appeared, everyone turned their eyes to him.

Song Mu-pung, who had approached Jin Sa-wol, said with a cupped fist salute.

"I am very sorry that such an unpleasant incident has occurred. What happened?"

"I was sleeping, and they attacked."

Although it was a simple answer, looking at Jin Sa-wol's injured left arm, he could sufficiently guess the situation.

Jin Sa-wol and Song Mu-pung looked at each other's faces for a moment.

'Song Mu-pung... The Meteor Clear Wind Sword of the Huashan Sect, who became the master of the Inspection Pavilion in place of Mo Yong-bo. According to rumors, the Alliance Leader is thinking of him as a son-in-law.'

"I'm glad you're safe."

"The security of the alliance is tight, so I was only slightly cut."

Song Mu-pung did not react to Jin Sa-wol's joke.

Perhaps it was a provocation against the Martial Alliance.

Song Mu-pung looked at Jin Sa-wol for a moment, then nodded, asked Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong a few things, heard their answers, and then summed up the situation.

"We will take the corpses."

"Do so."

As Jin Sa-wol answered, Song Mu-pung disappeared with the corpses. Master Hyeonjeong and the guest hall master also moved with Song Mu-pung.

Dozens of guards surrounded the separate courtyard.

Jin Sa-wol went into the room and sat down. Under the bright lantern, Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong were also with him.

"It's the Shadowless Division."

At Jo Geom-ok's low voice, Woo Jeong-bong's eyes widened.

"Are you sure? You said you didn't know their faces."

"I said I didn't know because there were many people around. You have no sense."

Jo Geom-ok gave Woo Jeong-bong a scolding and then said again.

"He was a member of the division I was in a few years ago."

"You were in the Shadowless Division?"

"Haa... I told you before."

Jin Sa-wol, who saw the appearance of Jo Geom-ok and Woo Jeong-bong, laughed under his breath without realizing it.

But a bigger problem erupted in the morning.

***

Boom!

A large round table collapsed with a crash.

Those who were sitting in front of it also stood up in a flash at the thunderbolt-like sudden event.

Namgung Min, with his eyes wide open, shouted at the prostrated warrior.

"What do you mean! Who died?"

"The Jeongcheon Wonju... in his room..."

"I'm going right away."

Namgung Min raised his voice and moved to Zhuge Qing's residence.

The main officials of the Martial Alliance followed him and rushed in.

The area around the Jeongcheonwon was blocked by numerous warriors. The Martial Alliance officials who had gathered around it split to the left and right when the Martial Alliance Leader, Namgung Min, appeared.

Namgung Min went up to Zhuge Qing's third-floor chamber with a heavy expression.

Thump!

As he opened the door, he saw the dead Zhuge Qing with the smell of blood. Next to him, Song Mu-pung was standing with Tang Hyu.

Seeing the several red spots on Zhuge Qing's face, Namgung Min's eyes turned to Tang Hyu.

"Is it poison?"

"It's our family's One Point Red."

At Tang Hyu's answer, the air in the room cooled down.

(End of Chapter)