By Zephyria 
HF 24
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In that instant, a black hand emerged from behind, seizing Young Master Yeom’s body in a vice grip. No, it was not a hand, but a distinct, dark-red energy.
That energy coiled around him in an instant, as if to crush not just his face, but his entire body. Just as he felt he was about to be slammed beneath the bridge and have his skull shattered, Young Master Yeom’s neck was caught in someone’s grip.
It was a blind spot, untouched by the lanterns lining the bridge. As a breeze blew, the lanterns above swayed. When a sliver of red light flowed into the darkness, Young Master Yeom’s eyes bulged as if they would tear.
This bastard was definitely just now…
However, the demonic energy Young Master Yeom released failed to spread anywhere, vanishing on the spot. Cold sweat erupted from his entire body under the intense pressure. Young Master Yeom had felt this energy once before, from a great distance.
It was when he had held an audience with the Cult Leader from a far-off distance. It seemed impossible, but the energy emanating from the man was unmistakably that of the Heavenly Demon.
Blood burst from the mouth of Young Master Yeom, whose eyes were wide with disbelief. Blood surged from his eyes and nose under the crushing pressure on his neck, but because his blood paths were seized, he could not even scream. Only thick blood flowed into the passing stream.
Swish. At that moment, Ho-yeon, who was crossing the bridge, quickly turned around. He gripped the handle of the Jiusan umbrella tightly. Someone had definitely been stepping behind him. The sound of following was consistent, so it wasn’t just his imagination, but now that he looked back, only the lanterns swaying in the wind were visible.
Though his internal energy was sealed, Ho-yeon’s energy perception remained intact, and he keenly scanned the surroundings. Ho-yeon tilted his head in confusion and remained in that spot for a long while. However, all he could hear was the sound of water flowing beneath the bridge.
Though the gold piece in his robe was extraordinary, he didn’t possess a nature so fragile as to be this anxious… Reflecting on his excessive worry, Ho-yeon continued to walk across the bridge nonchalantly.
But beneath the dark bridge was Young Master Yeom, unable to utter a single scream. Only after Ho-yeon had completely crossed the bridge did the sound of bones crushing follow.
Even amidst the distant pain, Young Master Yeom’s eyes remained filled with disbelief. Though the appearance and frame were entirely different, the aura was unmistakably the Cult Leader’s. The only one who had reached the state of transcending demonicity—where no demonic energy is felt despite using it—was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon.
Why the Cult Leader, who was said to have entered closed-door cultivation, was here; why he had hidden his identity to come to a gisaeng house and give a gold piece to a seven-stringed zither player—his bloodshot eyes were filled with questions.
“Eum Yohwa got along quite well with the Sword Demon, I believe.”
Hearing that dreadfully low voice, Young Master Yeom could be absolutely certain that the person before him was the Cult Leader. As Mu-gyeong released the blood paths, blood poured from his mouth along with a scream.
“Cu… Cult Leader, Cult Leader…! Gah!”
Mu-gyeong’s hot energy seemed to seep through the skin, and the muscles in Young Master Yeom’s forearms twisted uncontrollably. With his fascia torn and tangled by the Cult Leader’s internal energy, Young Master Yeom screamed in agony once more.
The plea for mercy that eventually leaked out was not the answer Mu-gyeong wanted. Young Master Yeom’s blood paths were seized again, and he could only shed tears of blood in silence.
“There was a pipa in the Sword Demon’s quarters.”
Following the crushing of the roots, the Cult Leader proceeded to shatter the bones.
“Your mother’s, I believe.”
Crack, crack. Every joint was splintered, and the fragments dug into the surrounding flesh, delivering excruciating pain. Young Master Yeom wished he could simply faint, but the Cult Leader’s qigong was injected into his cerebral vessels, forcing him to suffer with a clear mind.
Young Master Yeom could not fathom why such a horrific punishment was being inflicted upon him. He didn’t know what relationship the Sword Demon and his mother had, and his mother was more proficient with the seven-stringed zither than the pipa.
Mu-gyeong released the blood paths of Young Master Yeom, whose both arms were now grotesquely twisted. Crawling on the ground, Young Master Yeom grit his teeth this time to avoid screaming. Looking at the state of his arms, it was now a distant dream to ever hold a sword again, but he had to save his life at any cost.
“Gah… the pipa… that pipa is indeed my mother’s!”
Young Master Yeom, who had never even seen the pipa, nodded repeatedly like a madman, claiming it belonged to his mother.
“W-what did my mother do wrong…!”
Hehe, ehehe. Young Master Yeom laughed servilely while tears streamed down his face. He was consumed by the single thought of leaving this place, even if it meant selling out his mother.
“I will personally capture my mother and, huff, bring her before the Cult Leader… Gack!”
This time, the bones in his legs were crushed, and Young Master Yeom was on the verge of losing his mind. What answer did he want? Even though he offered to sell his mother, there was no mercy in the Cult Leader’s hands. Driven by the sole desire to survive, Young Master Yeom tried desperately to find a breakthrough.
Then, the seven-stringed zither player suddenly came to mind. The Cult Leader had given a large sum of money to the zither player at the gisaeng house.
Perhaps the zither player was someone the Cult Leader had an eye on? He might have hidden his identity and worn a human-skin mask to approach for some unique amusement. Since he couldn’t say so openly due to his prestige, he might be persecuting him using some nonsensical pretext.
“P-perhaps if this is because of the seven-stringed zither player, y-you are mistaken. Huff, I have no, no interest in that fellow, gack!”
As Young Master Yeom was seized by the neck and lifted again, his vision turned from bright red to pitch black. Thwack. Then, Young Master Yeom’s neck burst in Mu-gyeong’s hand. His neck, torn in half, flopped backward, and Young Master Yeom’s breath ceased.
As Mu-gyeong released his grip, Young Master Yeom’s grotesquely twisted corpse fell to the ground. Soon, Jangun, Mu-gyeong’s subordinate who had been hiding in the shadows, stepped forward and offered a cloth. However, Mu-gyeong simply washed his blood-stained hands in the flowing stream.
“How shall we dispose of the body?”
With water still dripping from his hands, Mu-gyeong looked down at Young Master Yeom’s corpse.
“With Bone-Melting Powder.”
At the short command, Jangun poured Bone-Melting Powder onto the body as if he had been waiting. The poison, which turned bone and skin into liquid, caused the corpse of Young Master Yeom to slowly melt into a puddle.
The Sword Demon had a hobby of collecting the weapons of masters he had killed or those who had admitted defeat. On the day he visited the Sword Demon’s quarters, he had seen a pipa lying among a heap of swords.
The pipa, engraved with a red hummingbird, was the instrument Eum Yohwa had possessed. It was easy to guess that Eum Yohwa had either been defeated by the Sword Demon or had bowed her head and entered his service for some reason.
“Cult Leader.”
Jangun’s voice, as he disposed of the body, sounded unusual. It was because a small crystal, emitting a uniquely red glow, was visible within the puddle of melted flesh and bone.
“A Blood God Pill.”
Mu-gyeong had read the alien energy pooled within Young Master Yeom’s body from the beginning. Only then did Jangun understand why Mu-gyeong had killed Young Master Yeom.
The Blood God Pill, which did not dissolve even in Bone-Melting Powder, was a medicinal pill created by extracting the blood of hundreds of children and compressing it using the dark arts of the Blood Cult.
It was evidence that Eum Yohwa had used the dark arts of the Blood Cult to increase her child’s internal energy. However, because his internal energy was so meager, Young Master Yeom had been unable to even digest the pill.
In an instant, an immense blazing fire surged once more in Mu-gyeong’s forearm. He had suppressed the eons of accumulated blazing fire with his internal power, but it was merely a temporary measure. When the time came, he would turn the hundred thousand great mountains into a sea of fire.
Mu-gyeong shifted his gaze to the bridge Ho-yeon had crossed.
Though no internal energy was infused, Ho-yeon’s seven-stringed zither performance had contained the essence of winter. Once the Haeun Express that went to the North Sea returned, he would be able to learn more about Wi Ho-yeon, but that would take considerable time.
Originally, patience was a trait that stayed by his side like a constant companion. But he sensed that this time would be different.
“We go to the Heavenly Demon Palace.”
The Blood God Pill, emitting a sinister aura, rose from the red liquid as if moved by an invisible hand. With a strange ripple created by him, the Blood God Pill soon arrived in Mu-gyeong’s hand.