By Zephyria Spirit Pill (3)
Before he fell, the last scenery he saw beyond the black dirt pile was Myeong-gwi running back to the warehouse, and Je Cheon-deuk, who had been sprawled on the floor, grabbing his sword as if to make up for his mistake and chasing after him.
“Young master Seong!”
Gang Woong, who belatedly woke up, discovered them leaving the gambling den and started running towards them, and Bang Gyeom and Seong Mu-jae also picked up their pace.
Before long, orange lights flickered in the dark surroundings. The warehouse where the gambling den was located was quite far from the residential area, near a secluded forest, and the light was approaching from the main road.
The light quickly turned into several torches. Dozens of people were rushing towards the gambling den. Among them, a young man running fiercely at the very front stood out. His movement technique was so fast that he seemed almost half-floating in the air.
Seong Mu-yeon, seeing his fierce eyes, grabbed and pulled Bang Gyeom’s hair.
“Go back, go back!”
“Agh! Seventh Young Master!”
A neat outfit fluttering whitely, a sharp yet elegant aura. Anyone could tell he was a master from the orthodox sect.
But it was already too late to run away, as their figures were clearly revealed under the moonlight.
“It’s the Demonic Cult!”
Sure enough, someone pointed at them and shouted.
“Hiek!”
Seong Mu-jae, who was chasing from behind, gasped and immediately turned around, running away breathlessly.
Bang Gyeom also stopped abruptly, but now he saw that the finger was strangely pointing upwards, avoiding them. Looking up at the roof following the finger, a battle with swirling black Demonic Energy was taking place.
Baek Ryeo-il and the Demon Slayer Unit were nowhere to be seen; Myeong-gwi and Je Cheon-deuk were fighting.
“In the name of the Jegal Clan, exterminate the Demonic Cult!”
The young man at the front shouted.
“Yes! Young master Jegal!”
‘Jegal Clan……!’
Moreover, Young master Jegal.
“Ugh!”
In the meantime, Gang Woong, who had caught up with Bang Gyeom, pushed his back with his shoulder with all his might.
The impact was transmitted to Seong Mu-yeon. As Bang Gyeom fell forward, Seong Mu-yeon naturally floated into the air.
‘Huh……?’
He braced himself for the impending impact. It would be good to perform a fall-breaking technique, but it seemed too late. But the expected impact did not come.
Opening his eyes slightly, he saw cold gray eyes looking down at him. Despite the already cold weather, it was as if an icy chill was felt only around here, a frigid gaze. The one who had caught Seong Mu-yeon in a daze had a pale face and pale clothes, all white, making it feel like being in a snowfield.
People passed by quickly on both sides.
“Gwaek!”
A moment later, Seong Mu-jae fainted with an unsightly scream.
“Don’t touch the Sixth Young Master, you dirty……! Keok!”
As Bang Gyeom also collapsed, Seong Mu-yeon was speechless.
This was what they meant by a guilty conscience needs no accuser.
Young master Jegal stared intently at Seong Mu-yeon.
“…….”
Seong Mu-yeon also stared intently at him.
“…….”
Seong Mu-yeon rolled away from Young master Jegal. But he couldn’t move a single step. Because a chilling coldness was felt right below his chin. Before he knew it, an iron fan containing the winter chill was at his neck.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Young master Jegal asked in an arrogant voice.
“I came after receiving a report that the Demonic Cult had appeared. Seventh Young Master Seong Mu-yeon, right? I need to hear an explanation of what’s going on.”
At that moment, Je Cheon-deuk spat out blood and fell from the roof. Baek Ryeo-il abandoned Myeong-gwi and the Demon Slayer Unit, who were retreating all at once, and jumped down.
He caught Je Cheon-deuk just before he hit the ground, but it was clear from afar that he had suffered a major injury.
Some disappeared into the darkness to pursue the Demon Slayer Unit.
“The Mount Hua Sect will also want to hear an explanation.”
Seong Mu-yeon sighed softly.
‘I wanted to avoid this situation…….’
Je Cheon-deuk, who was deeply injured, was immediately carried away on a stretcher.
“Let’s go together.”
Jegal Un ordered his retainers to investigate and took them away.
“Who are those guys?”
Baek Ryeo-il asked. He was asking about the identities of the attackers. Seong Mu-yeon told him that they were the Demon Slayer Unit, the Third Young Master Seong Mu-geuk’s direct military force.
Baek Ryeo-il swept back his hair with a deep sigh.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Seong Mu-jae said he shook them off in Qinghai, so I didn’t think they would follow us all the way here……”
Seong Mu-yeon replied in a subdued voice. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for how things had turned out.
Seong Mu-yeon glanced at Seong Mu-jae and Bang Gyeom, who were being dragged away unconscious.
“What will happen to my brother?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Can’t we somehow take them back to Mount Hua now?”
“I can’t think of a way to get them out without fighting the Jegal Clan.”
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart grew heavy at Baek Ryeo-il’s answer.
“Even if we could somehow persuade Jegal Un to let us take them, I’m against it now. The situation has changed. Now that the Demon Slayer Unit has appeared, they will definitely come back, and I don’t want to be ambushed on the road.”
“I guess so……”
Seong Mu-yeon had expected it, but he had to ask at least once to let go of the last thread of hope.
A branch family of the Jegal Clan was located nearby. Jegal Un took them to a certain room.
“Please rest here for a while.”
“Young master Jegal.”
Baek Ryeo-il opened his mouth, but Jegal Un spoke faster.
“I don’t doubt Mount Hua, but I can’t just let you go since there’s an injured person. I’ve contacted the Wudang Sect, so they’ll be arriving soon, and we can talk about it then.”
At that moment, the outside became noisy.
“It seems they’ve arrived.”
As Jegal Un took a step, Seong Mu-yeon tried to follow, but Baek Ryeo-il stopped him.
“You stay here.”
“Yes? But……”
“Listen to me. You won’t be able to see a good outcome if you step out now.”
Baek Ryeo-il pressed his shoulder and pushed him into the room. Then, he left the room with Jegal Un.
“…….”
“Young master……. Are you alright?”
Gang Woong looked like he was about to cry.
“I think that’s the question I should be asking.”
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon notice Gang Woong’s appearance. He was covered in cuts and scrapes, and blood had dried in places, making him a mess.
Gang Woong looked down at his own appearance and smiled awkwardly, then added.
“Ah……. I really thought I was going to die.”
As he was wondering what to do, a member of the Jegal Clan brought clothes to change into, bathwater, and a simple snack.
The boy, who had had a hard day, took a bath and filled his stomach, then sat down and started dozing off. Seong Mu-yeon had a hard time persuading Gang Woong, who stubbornly resisted, to go into the room. Eventually, Gang Woong, who was persuaded, went into the bedroom prepared inside and fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
Seong Mu-yeon was tired enough to make his eyes ache, but he couldn’t fall asleep at all, so he sat at the round table. As he rubbed his throbbing brow bone, he suddenly slammed the table.
Bang-!
He had saved Seong Mu-jae and the Spirit Pill. All that was left was to return to Mount Hua.
But the Wudang Sect, the Jegal Clan, Mount Hua……. And the Third Young Master and the Demon Slayer Unit.
Things had become complicated.
Thinking that Baek Ryeo-il was probably arguing with the Wudang and Jegal Clans somewhere in this manor, he couldn’t sit still.
Seong Mu-yeon opened the door and stepped out. A Jegal Clan martial artist was guarding the area around the room, but they only glanced at Seong Mu-yeon as he came out and didn’t stop him. After all, he was just a flea jumping around in this vast and heavily guarded manor.
It was a deep night past midnight, but the lights of the Jegal Clan never went out.
His breath turned white in the cold winter wind.
At that moment, a tremendous shout came from afar.
“You, you son of a bitchesaaaaagh!”
Seong Mu-yeon moved towards the direction of the sound. Before long, Jegal Un was coming out of what appeared to be a prison. As expected, that shout mixed with curses was Seong Mu-jae’s, and it came from inside the prison he had just come out of.
“Ah, it seems you’ve come to see your brother.”
Jegal Un didn’t even seem to want to hide the Spirit Pill he had just taken. He held it up as if to show off and greeted Seong Mu-yeon. It was a mockery disguised as a greeting.
“Hmph. Since when has a Demonic Cult member been wandering around the Jegal Clan manor at will? Guards, kick him out immediately!”
A short, middle-aged man who was with Jegal Un said. He had a cunning impression due to his petty mustache, and he looked even uglier when he glared.
“Please let me in.”
“What if the two of them are plotting something, Young master Jegal?”
Jegal Un chuckled.
“Even if they wanted to plot something, they wouldn’t be able to. The Sixth Young Master’s dantian has been destroyed, and this one is…….”
Jegal Un trailed off, staring at Seong Mu-yeon. It was an explicit implication that he knew something.