By Zephyria What Doesn’t Change (2)
“Senior Brother!”
Ma Jin-cheon’s Junior Brother, Heo Saeng, shouted like a scream. Only then did he and his Junior Brothers realize the gravity of the situation and drew their weapons. At the same time, Ma Jin-cheon used his movement technique and flew towards the Server.
Swish-!
Countless sharp hidden weapons were embedded in the spot where the Server had been standing just a moment ago. Whether he was hurt or not was of no concern to them.
Before Ma Jin-cheon could regain his posture, Demonic Energy-laden palm strike landed squarely on him. The two became entangled and flew across the space.
The men wearing bamboo hats, who had been quietly sitting in the corner until then, caught the two of them a step ahead of Yi-saeng and his Junior Brothers. It was an impeccable movement.
Ma Jin-cheon, who thought he was going to crash into the wall, raised his head when the expected impact did not come. The man who caught him slightly lifted his bamboo hat, revealing a softly smiling face. Ma Jin-cheon’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit when he saw the man’s face.
“Young master Peng?”
“Are you alright? Senior Ma. It’s been a while.”
The man with the soft smile was Peng Yuan-jin, the eldest of the two sons of the Peng family of Hebei. They had a relationship before, but he didn’t recognize him because he was wearing a bamboo hat.
“Then the other person is…”
Ma Jin-cheon turned his head. A handsome man with a wild aura had just placed the unconscious Server in the corner.
“Senior Ma! How have you been!”
Peng Do-hwan, the second son of the Peng family, laughed heartily.
“Why are you two here…?”
He never imagined that he would meet the Peng brothers in Henan, not Hebei.
They were welcome faces, but it wasn’t a situation where they could exchange friendly greetings.
“What is today? Besides the Mount Hua bastards, even the Peng family of Hebei has come.”
The man who appeared to be the leader sneered, slinging his curved saber over his shoulder. Behind him, at least twenty Demonic humans poured out at once. There were more people inside than he had thought.
Ma Jin-cheon quickly gathered himself and stood up. The Peng brothers also drew their huge Greatswords from their backs.
“Who are you guys!”
Heo Saeng shouted sharply.
“Seriously, these orthodox sect bastards… Who was the one who caused a ruckus in someone else’s business first, and now they’re raising their voices?”
The leader exuded a menacing aura from his posture and the distorted expression on his face.
“If you came to a restaurant, you should have just eaten your rice quietly. How dare you sneak in like rats and eavesdrop on our conversation…?”
Heo Saeng and his Junior Brothers, feeling guilty, glanced at Ma Jin-cheon.
If they had listened to their Senior Brother from the beginning, this would not have happened. Because of that, Ma Jin-cheon was subjected to an insulting misunderstanding.
However, Ma Jin-cheon only blushed slightly and didn’t even glance at his Junior Brothers, let alone resent them. It was clear that he didn’t care at all. That appearance brought them even greater shame.
Heo Saeng shouted fiercely.
“Shut up! How can you attack people without warning! Who the hell are you people!”
“You shut up! This store is my store! I was already in a bad mood, and now I have to deal with this?”
“State your affiliation and name!”
“You want to know who I am and what my name is that badly?”
The leader teased Heo Saeng. Heo Saeng’s face turned blue with anger.
“If you want me to, I’ll tell you. This body is called Dokgoe. We belong to the noble Fourth Young master of the great heavenly demon divine cult.”
“What?”
“The Demonic Cult…!”
Heo Saeng and his Junior Brothers were greatly shocked. Ma Jin-cheon already knew that fact and was trying to quietly escape from this place.
But even if Ma Jin-cheon was like that, even the Peng brothers didn’t seem surprised at all.
“You knew, Young master Peng?”
Peng Yuan-jin nodded with a bitter smile.
“In the meantime, my brother and I left home to travel the Jianghu to gain experience, but we happened to see suspicious people gathering in this Luoyang and quietly followed them.”
“…I see.”
The Peng family of Hebei only had two sons, and both were so talented that they were the pride of the family. Recently, stories of their exploits after choosing to travel the Jianghu had been heard everywhere. People called them the Hebei Twin Extremes.
As the atmosphere gradually became more ominous, Ma Jin-cheon stepped forward.
“I am Ma Jin-cheon of Mount Hua. I am very sorry for unintentionally offending you. I will leave quietly without causing any trouble. How about that, Dokgoe.”
“Then will it be like nothing happened?”
“What did you say?”
Ma Jin-cheon and his party tensed up at the sight of him not seeming to cooperate at all.
“Ma Jin-cheon, you said? This, this… you were quite a famous person, weren’t you? But what should I do? I don’t want to end it like that.”
Dokgoe laughed, and the Demonic humans behind him also let out sinister laughter.
“There’s nowhere to retreat anymore.”
Dokgoe, who had erased his smile in an instant, had Demonic Energy swirling all over his body.
He shouted in a voice filled with internal energy.
“Brothers! Today! We will cut off the necks of these worm-like bastards and offer them to the Fourth Young master’s altar! Everyone, raise your swords for the Fourth Young master!”
“Waaaaah!”
Dozens of Demonic humans attacked at once. Black Sword Energy flew fiercely towards Ma Jin-cheon, his Junior Brothers, and the Hebei Twin Extremes. Ma Jin-cheon and Peng Yuan-jin protected the Server from stray attacks.
No one was hurt. However, while they were defending, most of the Demonic humans had run out into the street.
“Long live the Divine Cult! May myriad demons be blessed!”
“Long live the Divine Cult! May myriad demons be blessed!”
The Demonic humans raised their voices.
The Peng brothers hurriedly tried to stop them from leaving, but it was not enough. No matter how much they were praised in the world as great late-comers, it was impossible for two people to stop dozens of people.
The Demonic humans awakened and called out other cultists who had been hiding their identities in various places. Those who followed the Fourth Young master threw away their masks and poured out into the streets. Rather than bowing their heads to another Young master after their master died, they chose death.
In an instant, all hell broke loose.
The Demonic humans unreservedly poured out their anger and sense of loss on the common people.
“Aaaah! Save me!”
The Peng brothers and Junior Brothers ran out to prevent as much damage as possible. Just as Ma Jin-cheon was about to follow, Peng Yuan-jin stopped him.
“Senior Ma, please go to Shaolin and inform them of this situation.”
“That’s right, Senior Brother! Senior Brother won’t be of much help. That’s better!”
It was a consideration for Ma Jin-cheon, who had low martial prowess. Ma Jin-cheon frowned, but he knew it well himself. He was in a position where he had to be protected if he stayed here.
“…I understand.”
Ma Jin-cheon nodded with a heavy heart and put his sword back into its scabbard. Then he immediately started running towards Shaolin.
When Baek Ryeo-il arrived in Luoyang, the sun had already set over the western mountains.
However, the night sky was dyed red like the sunset.
A firestorm had engulfed the city.
Baek Ryeo-il’s pupils narrowed. Only for a moment, he exuded a ferocious aura and pierced the hearts of the Demonic humans without hesitation.
‘Where is Master?’
Even as he cut down the enemy, his eyes sharply scanned the surroundings.
‘Where is he?’
Everything that came into his sight was a mess. Houses engulfed in flames, common people running away, and black Demonic Energy pouring down on their backs.
Baek Ryeo-il rushed like an arrow and cut down a Demonic human attacking a commoner.
‘……Where were so many Demonic Cult bastards hiding?’
Every step he took, he encountered an enemy. He cut, and cut, and no matter how much he cut, it didn’t end.
He was anxious. He only wanted to check on Ma Jin-cheon’s safety as quickly as possible, even if it was just for a minute or a second.
There was a voice that grabbed and led Baek Ryeo-il, who was taking a step to find his Master.
“Help me!”
A woman screamed. The firestorm was blocking the woman’s back, and a Demonic human was approaching with a sword in front of her, making it a dilemma. Her desperate eyes for help reached Baek Ryeo-il.
“……Damn it!”
Whatever the case, he was a Taoist who had received the teachings of Mount Hua. He always thought that the inflexible doctrines were annoying, but he couldn’t help but react.
Baek Ryeo-il knocked down the Demonic human in an instant and gestured to the woman.
“Please evacuate to a safe place.”
“T, thank you.”
Even after the woman ran away, Baek Ryeo-il could not go to find Ma Jin-cheon.
“Aaaah!”
“Save me!”
“Kill them! I’ll take you all to the afterlife with me!”
“Aaaah!”
Screams and the sound of weapons clashing filled his ears from all directions. Baek Ryeo-il’s body stiffened for a moment. With a feeling that his feet were sinking, the surrounding noise faded away.
Who should I save first?
Which way should I go?
Master… where is he?
The palm of his hand holding the sword was wet with sweat.