By Zephyria Gambling Den (4)
Baek Ryeo-il and Je Cheon-deuk eventually moved to a corner. It was a place where they wouldn’t be noticed no matter what they did, as long as they didn’t disturb the gambling.
“Why are you following us?”
When Baek Ryeo-il asked, not hiding his hostility, Je Cheon-deuk’s lips twitched.
“I know you’re angry, but please show some respect. As a Wudang, I had no choice. Young master of the Demonic Cult is wandering around, shouldn’t we know what he’s up to?”
Je Cheon-deuk was very confident as he said that.
“I think it’s polite to ask for cooperation before secretly following us, don’t you think? Of course…”
“You wouldn’t have agreed even if I had.”
Je Cheon-deuk finished the words he swallowed. Baek Ryeo-il sneered and glared at him.
‘He knows me well.’
Baek Ryeo-il glanced around and his smile deepened.
“Ah, I see. You wanted to monopolize the credit.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“You’re talking about the Young master of the Demonic Cult as if it’s something Wudang is doing, but would you send only one person alone on such an important mission without any colleagues?”
Je Cheon-deuk’s face hardened as if he was embarrassed.
If there were colleagues nearby, Baek Ryeo-il, who has sensitive senses, would have noticed it soon because they would be watching the situation. But he didn’t feel anything.
As Baek Ryeo-il said, Je Cheon-deuk was alone.
“If Seong Mu-yeon causes trouble, you’ll be the first to notice, so it’s good to gain credit, and even if he doesn’t, you followed him to find something to pick on. Isn’t that right?”
“……”
“You weren’t invited by Luzhu, so how did you get in here? You didn’t leave any traces while entering, did you?”
“…I knocked down a guard, but I handled it well. You won’t get caught right away.”
“That’s something you don’t know.”
Baek Ryeo-il, who scoffed briefly, erased his smile and continued.
“Don’t cause unnecessary trouble and go back. Come to the Flying Swallow Sect when the sun rises and I’ll explain it to you.”
Of course, by that time they would have already left for Mount Hua. Baek Ryeo-il was planning to get on the main road back to Mount Hua as soon as he got out of here.
But despite the cold warning, Je Cheon-deuk did not back down. He raised the corners of his lips bitterly.
“…Well, are you the one who’s carrying around not one, but two Young masters of the Demonic Cult?”
“……”
‘He even noticed that.’
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes sank coldly. Since when has he been following us? It was his fault for not noticing that he had a tail.
If Je Cheon-deuk decided to stir things up, there was a risk that things would get complicated. Many righteous Sects have regarded the Demonic Cult as their long-standing enemy, but after what happened to Ma Jin-cheon last time, the atmosphere was even more tense.
Seong Mu-yeon is under the protection of Mount Hua, but if they find out about Seong Mu-jae’s existence, they might try to take him away by attaching all sorts of justifications.
Moreover, this was Hubei, where Wudang and Jegal were based, so their influence was great, and the influence of Mount Hua, which only had a few secular families like the Flying Swallow Sect, was insignificant.
‘……Should I get rid of him?’
Baek Ryeo-il seriously considered it.
Of course, he shouldn’t kill an innocent person for something like this. But if he fainted him and hid him well, he would already be gone by the time he woke up, so wouldn’t that be okay?
Je Cheon-deuk tensed up as if he had read Baek Ryeo-il’s thoughts. The air between the two people facing each other quietly began to change subtly.
A moment was enough to make a decision.
Baek Ryeo-il took a step towards Je Cheon-deuk. And at that moment, the two of them looked up at the ceiling at the same time.
This place, which was remodeled from a warehouse, had an unusually high ceiling. Above it, they could feel the presence of several people moving quickly without trying to hide it.
“Why isn’t the door opening?”
At the same time, one of the gamblers nearby grabbed the iron door and shook it. The door didn’t budge.
The moment they realized the door was locked, the ceiling collapsed.
Kwaang-!
“Aaaagh!”
People screamed as debris fell on their heads. Chaos spread in an instant.
What fell from the ceiling was not just debris. A dozen people in black clothes jumped down. Wrapped in black Demonic Energy all over their bodies.
Baek Ryeo-il and Je Cheon-deuk made eye contact for a brief moment. Then, without either of them saying anything first, they drew their swords.
“Aaaagh!”
“The door won’t open!”
Seong Mu-yeon came to his senses when the ceiling collapsed and the black-clad men rushed in.
He grabbed the back of Seong Mu-jae’s neck, who was standing there dumbfounded because he hadn’t grasped the situation, and pushed him under a low table, then crawled in himself.
“They’re here… They’ve come! They can’t chase us all the way here. I definitely shook them off!”
Seong Mu-jae curled up, covering his head, and continued to mutter incoherently.
Seong Mu-yeon carefully raised his head and looked outside. Under the table, between the legs of people running around in confusion, he saw the black-clad intruders.
They were covered in black cloth from head to toe except for their eyes, and they were scanning through the people as if looking for something, wrapped in Demonic Energy.
“Demon Slayer Unit.”
“Yes?”
“Seong Mu-geuk’s direct military force! Do you see that guy over there? He’s the leader.”
Seong Mu-jae pointed his finger. The tip of his finger was shaking too badly. In the place he pointed, a black-clad man who looked like a leader was observing the surroundings with Twin Blades on his back. Everyone was dressed the same, but the only noticeable difference was a long scar between his eyes that were revealed through the hole that was made to see.
Seong Mu-yeon quickly checked and retreated to the depths of the table. If he stared for too long, they might feel his gaze.
“That’s the guy they call Myeong-gwi. That guy chased us here. I definitely shook him off in Qinghai, so how did he find this place? This is driving me crazy.”
“Well, Mount Hua found you, so why wouldn’t the Demon Slayer Unit be able to find you?”
“Damn it! Damn it! We have to run away quickly!”
“Wait! It’s dangerous to go out now!”
Seong Mu-yeon dragged Seong Mu-jae, who was crawling away in a hurry, back to his original spot.
Fortunately, the Demon Slayer Unit didn’t seem to have seen them yet.
Gang Woong stood as if guarding Seong Mu-yeon after seeing him crawl under the table, and Bang Gyeom was nowhere to be seen. He seemed to have hidden in a different place from them, fearing that his location would be revealed.
“Do you think they’ll recognize Bang Gyeom?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know…”
Seong Mu-jae was out of his mind. He was chattering his teeth and fidgeting restlessly. Even so, he was holding his chest tightly.
“Those vicious bastards… Those guys killed all my subordinates. Damn it, how did I shake them off…”
“If what you said is true, they’ll keep chasing us until we get the Spirit Pill back.”
People were screaming. The door was locked and no one could get out. Some people fell and were trampled.
“Brother, protect the Spirit Pill well. You must never let them take it…”
Before he could finish speaking, Seong Mu-yeon was suddenly pulled away by a strong force from behind. The next moment, a strong impact struck his body. He was dragged out from under the table and thrown against the wall.
It felt like all the air had disappeared from his lungs, his breath was cut off, and his vision blurred white.
He barely took a breath and shook his head, and his focus slowly returned.
The person who pulled out and threw Seong Mu-yeon was Luzhu. Seong Mu-jae was also unconscious at Luzhu’s feet. His front was open as if he had been searched in a hurry.
His heart sank.
“So that’s such an important item?”
Luzhu, who had overheard their conversation, lifted the Spirit Pill pouch and examined it. Other than that, the only thing Seong Mu-jae had was dust, so there was no room for doubt. Luzhu stuffed the pouch between his clothes.
“Here! Seong Mu-jae is here!”
He shouted towards the Demon Slayer Unit.
Several pairs of fierce eyes, exposed from the black cloth, immediately turned to Seong Mu-yeon and Seong Mu-jae.
‘That despicable bastard!’
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon suspect that Luzhu might have been instigated by the Demon Slayer Unit to drive them to their deaths.
Luzhu hurriedly ran away, escorted by his subordinates who were stationed in the gambling den.
The Demon Slayer Unit approached them directly. The frightened people who couldn’t run away or fight were pushed away like waves, but it was too narrow. A few slow people were pushed by the crowd and blocked the Demon Slayer Unit’s path.
“You’re in the way.”
The Demon Slayer Unit raised their weapons and swung them mercilessly.
“No!”
Gang Woong screamed, but he was too far away even if he ran. Just when he thought it was too late, a light came from somewhere and deflected the sword wrapped in Demonic Energy, splitting the innocent floor.
Baek Ryeo-il was already standing in front of them with his back turned. The light that blocked the Demon Slayer Unit’s sword was the light emitted by his Sword Energy.
“Master!”
“Master Baek!”
Gang Woong and Seong Mu-yeon shouted at the same time.
“You can go out this way! Run away quickly!”
His voice, filled with inner force, echoed loudly. Je Cheon-deuk was evacuating people near a wall with a large hole.
He made a hole in the wall because the door wouldn’t open. The Demon Slayer Unit was only focused on Seong Mu-jae’s side and had no interest in the fleeing civilians.
“Are you hurt?”
“I-I’m okay.”
Looking at Baek Ryeo-il, who was looking back and asking calmly, Seong Mu-yeon felt like laughing and crying at the same time.