157 – Choice (7)

Choice (7)

That was only for a moment, as Luzhu soon regained his confidence.

“Harassment? Aren’t you the ones doing the harassing?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Jegal Un frowned, looking displeased.

“You made a big fuss about annihilating the Demonic Cult bastards, but in the end, you haven’t done anything properly, have you? You even lost the Spirit Pill this time.”

“……”

Jegal Un’s face contorted even more fiercely. Luzhu, thinking he had the upper hand, shouted with a greatly emboldened spirit.

“Hand over the Demonic Cult Young master to us.”

“Us… you mean?”

Jegal Un glanced over the martial artists arrayed behind Luzhu. At a glance, they were neither orthodox nor evil sect, but a majority of low-quality martial artists straddling the line. A motley crew, in other words.

To think he’d be looked down upon by such people.

“Oh, are you just going to keep arguing, Luzhu? Enough, leave it to me.”

Someone revealed himself from the crowd. An enormous height of well over six feet, with the blade of a guandao on his back gleaming fiercely in the moonlight.

“That guy! H-He’s Blood Rain Devil?”

Someone who recognized him shouted.

“Blood Rain Devil? Is he famous?”

“He’s known as the Great Demonic Leader of Shandong. There’s a rumor that blood rains wherever he passes.”

Gang Woong asked, and Jang Han-soo replied with a stiff face. He bit his lip anxiously.

‘This is bad. Things are going to get pretty noisy…’

If that man was really Blood Rain Devil, he must have come with a firm intention, and he wouldn’t leave quietly until he got what he wanted. Master’s plan to secretly smuggle Seong Mu-yeon out had to be handled discreetly and quickly. But with the commotion, Master’s plan had been disrupted.

“Han-soo! What’s going on here!”

As expected, Sang-geol, who had belatedly heard the commotion and rushed over, looked around at the situation and rubbed his forehead as if he were at a loss.

“Young master Jegal. I am Blood Rain Devil from Shandong. The Demonic Cult is the sworn enemy of the Central Plains. Anyone would want to settle their deep-seated grudges, but until now, I thought the esteemed Five Great Families and Nine Great Sects like you would take care of it, so I left it alone, but what is this mess?”

“……”

“You’ve been getting beaten without even putting up a proper fight, and in the end, you’ve even lost important items, so we can’t just sit back and wait any longer. We’ve decided to join forces and take action ourselves. Sorry, but you guys should step back and focus on recovering your strength.”

“What do you want?”

“Hand over the Demonic Cult Young master. And let us search for the lost Spirit Pill ourselves.”

“Y-You mean you’re going to rummage through the Jegal Clan manor as you please?!”

The chief steward shouted, his face turning red and blue with humiliation.

“Y-You…! You good-for-nothing bastards, where do you think you are, trying to set your dirty feet here!”

Blood Rain Devil shrugged.

“Or you can find it and hand it over. Can’t do that? Then there’s nothing we can do.”

Blood Rain Devil took a light step forward. Everyone watched with bated breath as he approached Jegal Un head-on.

The height difference between Blood Rain Devil and Jegal Un was even more pronounced when they stood side by side. Jegal Un, standing before him, looked like nothing more than a paltry child.

“Wouldn’t it look better for you to step aside on your own accord?”

Blood Rain Devil looked down at Jegal Un and smirked.

Jegal Un, who had been staring blankly at the approaching enemy, as if wondering what to do, finally opened his mouth.

“I’ll return those words to you. Either leave on your own…”

Before anyone knew it, Jegal Un’s iron fan was pressing against Blood Rain Devil’s heart.

“Or be dragged away like a dog.”

“This little brat, when did he…?”

Blood Rain Devil’s face twisted. He had underestimated Jegal Un, assuming he was a young master who had grown up pampered in a good family, and he hadn’t even noticed his opponent aiming for his vital point before being subdued.

“That’s it, let’s just push through! Let’s go in and find the Demonic Cult Young master and the Spirit Pill ourselves!”

Luzhu shouted, and the intruders began to push their way through the main gate.

“D-Don’t come in! You’ve been warned!”

“Can’t you see this Greatsword? Get out of the way if you don’t want to die!”

“If not now, when else would we ever set foot in the Jegal Clan?”

Jegal Un gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to stop them by force, a voice came from above.

“Why? Is the esteemed Jegal Clan’s courtyard so clean that we’d be committing a mortal sin by stepping on it?”

Blood Rain Devil, who had regained his smile, lightly pushed away his iron fan and stepped inside.

“Ah, go ahead and kill me! Try killing me!”

The intruders, instead of backing down, pushed their heads into the faces of the clan warriors blocking their way. The orthodox sect martial artists, who had been taught not to draw their weapons recklessly, were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

It was clearly trespassing, but they could only subdue one or two people alive. They hadn’t been taught what to do against so many people.

The disciples of other Sects staying as guests also had no authority and could only watch the situation unfold.

“Y-Young master, what should we do?”

In the midst of the confusion, they had quickly surrendered the manor. The chief steward asked, and Jegal Un stared at his home, now a scene of chaos, with sunken eyes.

Jegal Un clenched his fist.

“We cannot allow them to rummage through the Jegal Clan as they please. Stop the intruders. Kill those who resist strongly.”

The chief steward nodded and shouted loudly to the retainers, relaying the order.

Jegal Un quickly moved his feet, chasing after Blood Rain Devil, who was already far ahead. The man crossed the manor without hesitation, as if his goal was clear. The prison where Seong Mu-yeon was being held was in the direction he was heading.

Gang Woong, who had been staring blankly at Jegal Un’s departing figure, suddenly raised his head.

“Master!”

Baek Ryeo-il, who was practicing breath regulation in his room, was currently completely defenseless.

As Gang Woong rushed out, Sang-geol and Jang Han-soo exchanged glances.

“You go to your Senior Brother! I’ll go to Young master Seong Mu-yeon!”

“Yes!”

Seong Mu-yeon was waiting helplessly in the deathly quiet prison cell for the farewell that was to come.

Then, he suddenly frowned at the lingering unease.

‘……’

Didn’t the Third Young Master want Seong Mu-yeon to take the Spirit Pill and become his pawn? Peng Yuan-jin, who followed him, confessed that it was a scheme to give him enlightenment.

But what was this situation now?

Death or escape. Two choices were placed before him.

‘……Could it be.’

At the thought that flashed through his mind, Seong Mu-yeon got up and frantically looked around.

Peng Yuan-jin said that he wouldn’t be able to escape this time. That wasn’t a statement made hoping for Seong Mu-yeon’s death.

‘Could it be.’

Seong Mu-yeon, searching every corner of the prison cell like a madman, suddenly stiffened.

He had discovered a glimmering light beneath the black iron bars.

He dragged his creaking body and crawled over. The bottom of the iron bars was half-buried in the dirt floor, and there was a gap between them.

Seong Mu-yeon carefully reached in. Soon, he felt a hard, smooth sensation at his fingertips.

There was a box inside.

The smooth, lacquered small box was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. The metal joints reflected the lamplight.

His mouth went dry, and his heart began to race like crazy.

Seong Mu-yeon opened the box with trembling hands. Then, a familiar scent spread throughout the prison cell.

Resting neatly on the silk was the Spirit Pill he had so desperately craved.

Seong Mu-yeon felt a chilling sensation and had the urge to throw the box away, but he barely suppressed it and muttered a curse.

This was the plan from the start. To drive Seong Mu-yeon to the edge of the cliff and ultimately make him choose between the Spirit Pill and the Third Young Master.

“He’s out of his mind…”

But he had to admit it.

Peng Yuan-jin had thrown away his life to bring it forward, but even if it hadn’t been him, it was going to happen someday anyway. The orthodox sect and the Demonic Cult were like water and oil, unable to mix. Seong Mu-yeon was in a position where he couldn’t escape responsibility for the evil deeds committed by the Demonic Cult.

Of course, he hadn’t intended to stay in Mount Hua until that happened…

〈You are destined to come to me anyway.〉

So that’s what that meant.

It was a chillingly terrifying obsession.

‘But why?’

Even if they were blood brothers, Seong Mu-geuk’s actions were incomprehensible. He was even someone who could kill his own flesh and blood without a second thought, wasn’t he?

‘Why me?’

Just because he liked him, he would go this far?

But his thoughts didn’t go any deeper. The sound of weapons clashing began to be heard from outside.

At first, Seong Mu-yeon thought that Sang-geol had returned after completing all the preparations, and he jumped up. But as the noise gradually grew closer, he realized that wasn’t the case.

The sound of swords clashing, screams, and heavy objects slamming into the ground gradually became clearer.

Not knowing what had happened, he felt anxious. Baek Ryeo-il wouldn’t have turned his sword against his Senior Brothers, would he?

Bang-!

Such thoughts were shattered by the loud noise and the person who came in as the prison door fell off.

“You must be Seventh Young Master Seong Mu-yeon!”

A huge man bent over and pushed his way through the gaping hole. It was a face he had never seen before.

Seong Mu-yeon’s expression darkened.

‘Sang Do-jang’s plan has gone awry.’