Chapter 298 – The Path to Finding Truth Is Always Treacherous (2)

After Dong Hwa-woon's death, the village became an ocean of tears. The people who had been locked in the warehouse were released and wailed upon seeing their family members turned into mere handfuls of ash.

Their sorrowful cries tormented Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol. Though it was Dong Hwa-woon who had committed these acts, they felt they bore some responsibility as well.

They could no longer remain in the village. Without proper rest, they had to flee the village as if being chased.

Dam Ho silently led Black Ghost.

The snowy mountains were visible in the distance. The massive snowy mountains boasted tremendous majesty as if they were close by.

The snowy mountains stood tall like ancient giants, looking down at Dam Ho. But Dam Ho was not intimidated by the sight of the snowy mountains.

It was easy enough to figure out that the snowy mountains were Geom Yul-cheon's destination.

Geom Yul-cheon had such a distinctive large build. That's why many villagers remembered him.

The villagers told them that Geom Yul-cheon had headed toward the snowy mountains with some old man.

'An old man.'

At present, they couldn't know who the old man traveling with Geom Yul-cheon was. It seemed Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol didn't know the old man's identity either.

Deep furrows formed between Dam Ho's brows as he looked at the snowy mountains.

The snowy mountains looked only mystical. They were impressive enough to naturally inspire awe in those who saw them. Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol were also looking at the snowy mountains with eyes filled with reverence. But Dam Ho was different.

The closer they got to the snowy mountains, the more he felt a strange sensation. A tingling feeling as if his hands and feet were going numb was stimulating his nerves.

Dam Ho's eyes sank deep.

Something in the snowy mountains was touching his senses.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

When Dam Ho raised his head, he could see Eum Yu-kyung's face as she approached beside him.

She had a much more refreshed expression, as if she had recovered from the shock of Dong Hwa-woon's death. The same was true for Shin Moo-wol, who was leading his horse ahead.

"It's nothing."

"I see."

"……"

"Thank you. I wanted to say that. Thanks to you, I came to my senses."

"That's fortunate."

"I must have lost my mind for a moment. The moment I saw Hwa-woon, old memories came flooding back. Affection is more frightening than I thought. Even when you know better, it prevents you from moving."

"……"

"But there won't be such incidents anymore. I won't worry you anymore, so don't worry."

Eum Yu-kyung deliberately made a bright expression.

Just as Dam Ho was silently nodding, it happened.

"Over here!"

Shin Moo-wol's voice, who had been going ahead, echoed through the air.

Looking ahead, they saw Shin Moo-wol had dismounted and was examining the ground. Eum Yu-kyung dismounted and approached him.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you see it? Fourth Sister."

"What?"

Eum Yu-kyung's eyes widened greatly as she answered carelessly.

It was because of the traces left on the small rock that Shin Moo-wol was pointing to.

"This is?"

"It's a marker left by Elder Brother."

It was a marker that only they in the world could recognize. Only they could decode the meaning contained within it.

Shin Moo-wol decoded the contents contained in the marker.

"Snowy mountains…… northern Death Cliff."

"Death Cliff?"

"It seems he's telling us to come to that place."

Shin Moo-wol's expression became serious.

From what they had roughly heard from the villagers, the northern slope of the snowy mountains was the most treacherous. Because it was a series of sheer cliffs, even people familiar with the terrain absolutely never approached it.

"Whew! It seems we need to steel our resolve. Death Cliff. Even the name sounds ominous and unsettling."

"We made our resolve before coming here."

"That's true……"

Shin Moo-wol stood up, dusting off his knees with his hands.

There was no hesitation on his face.

"Let's go."

Shin Moo-wol and Eum Yu-kyung quickly mounted their horses.

Because their hearts were urgent, they rode their horses at full speed. How far had they gone like this? Bewildered looks appeared on their faces.

A fork in the road appeared before their eyes.

"What's this?"

Both paths were heading toward the snowy mountains.

The problem was they didn't know which of the two paths Geom Yul-cheon had taken.

Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Moo-wol looked at each other's faces with troubled expressions.

Both were visiting this place for the first time. Naturally, they didn't know about the geography of this area.

While they were hesitating, Dam Ho stepped forward.

"It would be better if we parted ways here."

"It seems we'll have to."

Eum Yu-kyung agreed with Dam Ho's opinion.

If they didn't know which path Geom Yul-cheon had taken, they had no choice but to choose both paths.

Shin Moo-wol asked:

"Which way will you go?"

"Left."

"Good. Then we'll choose the right path."

Shin Moo-wol headed toward the right path with Eum Yu-kyung. Eum Yu-kyung, who had been moving with Shin Moo-wol, suddenly turned back to look at Dam Ho.

"Please be careful."

With those words, Eum Yu-kyung rode off with Shin Moo-wol. Their hearts were that urgent.

Their figures disappeared from Dam Ho's sight in an instant.

Only then did Dam Ho move.

He slowly led Black Ghost.

Snort!

Black Ghost exhaled rough breath. It looked strangely excited. Black Ghost was also feeling the roughly surging atmosphere of the battlefield.

Dam Ho lightly patted Black Ghost's neck. Then Black Ghost quickly regained its composure.

The left path Dam Ho chose was extremely rough. The green trees had disappeared at some point, and only desolate scenery so bleak it was eerie welcomed him. Countless sharp rocks like beast fangs jutted up from the reddish-brown earth.

Dam Ho's eyes narrowed.

The somehow familiar desolate scenery made him recall memories from over ten years ago.

'Saewoe.'

This was what the scenery of Qinghai Province, or more precisely, where the Heavenly Gold Demon Palace was located, had looked like. There he had to spend more than ten years.

Thanks to that, he was able to create the Solitary Path and achieve the strength he had now, but that didn't mean it remained as good memories.

Snort!

That's when it happened.

Black Ghost suddenly snorted roughly. When Dam Ho raised his head, he could see a man sitting leisurely on top of a large rock visible in the distance.

When Dam Ho looked, the man waved his hand as if meeting a welcome person.

"Hey!"

The man was sparkling his eyes with a bright smile.

Dam Ho stopped Black Ghost in front of the rock. Then the man jumped down from the tall rock.

"Whoosh!"

"……"

"Hello! Nice to meet you. Are you that famous Fist Demon? To think you'd come this way, should I call this lucky?"

The man chattered noisily. With both hands firmly placed on his hips as he talked, he was as noisy as an adolescent girl.

Dam Ho silently looked at him. An ordinary person might have felt embarrassed, but the man continued talking without caring.

"My, you're as taciturn as I heard. Isn't life boring living like that? You'll get spider webs in your mouth. I don't think I could live like that."

"……"

"Well, that's fine. Everyone has their own circumstances. I'm a generous person, so I can understand that much."

"Are you one of the Ten Soldiers?"

Dam Ho spoke for the first time. Then the man opened his eyes wide as if surprised.

"So you're not mute after all. I thought you were mute because you were so quiet. That's right! I'm also a member of the Ten Soldiers. My name is Ga Ui-cheon."

The man revealed his name. He seemed to have great pride in his name as he puffed out his chest.

"Ga Ui-cheon."

"That's right. My name is Ga Ui-cheon. You'd better remember it well."

"Why?"

"Because my face will be the last face you see in your lifetime. Hahaha!"

Ga Ui-cheon burst into loud laughter. It was quite an exaggerated gesture and voice.

Dam Ho stared at him intently. A frighteningly deep gaze was fixed on Ga Ui-cheon's body. It was Dam Ho's gaze that not only ordinary people but even those with high martial arts couldn't dare to meet. Yet Ga Ui-cheon continued laughing without caring.

Dam Ho's gaze became even colder.

"Are you confident?"

"Confident? Of course. Do you know why? It's because I'm Ga Ui-cheon."

"And because we're here too."

The last voice flowed from behind Dam Ho.

When Dam Ho turned around, he saw two men.

One was extremely thin and gaunt, while the other was a giant reminiscent of an iron tower.

At their appearance, Ga Ui-cheon smiled broadly.

"Let me introduce them. The name of the pathetically skinny friend is Yeom Su-gang. Still, he's evaluated as having a pretty smart head among us. And that big guy's name is Ma Gok-cheon. As you can see from his huge build, he's incredibly strong."

"……"

"Don't you think the three of us would be enough? What do you think?"

Ga Ui-cheon grinned.

Only then did Dam Ho dismount from Black Ghost's back. Then a light of greed appeared in Ga Ui-cheon's eyes.

"Oh! That horse is magnificent. Perfect. I just needed a mount, so after I kill you, I can take that horse for myself."

"The mouth is the source of all calamities."

Dam Ho took steps toward him.

Thump!

Even though he hadn't deployed charging technique, the earth resonated strongly from his ordinary steps.

Even at the vibration coming up through his soles, Ga Ui-cheon wasn't intimidated at all. Rather, he sneered.

"You're going to die here today. Do you know why? It's because I'm your natural enemy."

"……"

"Oh! You seem angry. But what can you do when it's the truth? You absolutely can't do anything to me. From now on, I'll let you know why."

A smile spread across Ga Ui-cheon's entire face.

Whoosh!

Instantly, Dam Ho deployed charging technique.

His body rushed toward Ga Ui-cheon in an instant. Ga Ui-cheon's smiling face was visible right in front. Dam Ho drove his fist into his face.

It was the Explosive Star Strike.

The Explosive Star Strike exploded on Ga Ui-cheon's face. But the smile on Ga Ui-cheon's face didn't disappear.

"Too slow!"

Along with Ga Ui-cheon's voice, his figure disappeared like a phantom.

'An afterimage?'

Dam Ho's eyes narrowed.

The fist that had exploded on Ga Ui-cheon's face had no feeling at all. He had attacked an afterimage, not the real body.

"I told you you're slow."

Ga Ui-cheon's voice was heard from behind. He had already moved behind somehow.

He had moved at such tremendous speed that even Dam Ho couldn't perceive it.

Ga Ui-cheon was smiling with his hands on his companions' shoulders.

His nickname called by his comrades was Lightning Flash.

One who had transcended the extreme of speed.

Everything about him was attuned to swiftness.

Breathing, body type, muscles, mental techniques and martial arts too.

A man with speed that surpassed sound, so his comrades called him Lightning Flash instead of his name.

Ga Ui-cheon's gaze turned toward Dam Ho's legs.

"Though you somehow managed to overcome your disability, the fact that you're still a cripple hasn't changed. How about it? Can you catch me with those legs?"

"Stop teasing, Lightning Flash. He might cry."

Yeom Su-gang chuckled and waved his hand. Then the wooden stick in his hand was deeply embedded in the ground.

Whirrr!

Instantly, thick fog arose and engulfed the surroundings.

It was a phenomenon that would never occur naturally.

One of Yeom Su-gang's specialties was formation techniques. He had already deployed formation techniques around the area. The wooden branch stimulated the life gate and activated the formation.

The figures of Ga Ui-cheon and Yeom Su-gang disappeared, hidden by the fog, leaving only Ma Gok-cheon.

"Hehe! Dong Hwa-woon might have been pathetically defeated because his head was broken, but we're different."

Thump thump thump!

Ma Gok-cheon's muscles swelled greatly and tendons bulged out prominently.

Diamond Demon Shadow Art.

The pinnacle of demonic external arts, said to make one Diamond Indestructible upon mastery.

Ma Gok-cheon had mastered the Diamond Demon Shadow Art to near perfection.

"You will die. Today! Right here!"

Jin Ja-gang had left.

Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min moved to a nearby cave to avoid the poison fog.

Pyo Sang-guk flinched every time So-min removed needles embedded in his body because of the stinging pain. The needles stuck in his body were enough to fill a handful.

“I’ll keep the needles. They’re clues about Poison Dragon.”

“Ow, it hurts. Are there still more?”

“Yes.”

So-min clicked her tongue while extracting needles.

“That’s why you shouldn’t charge in recklessly. You couldn’t even break even.”

“Ah, since I was hit by poison needles anyway, I figured I’d die so I just went for it.”

“Tsk tsk.”

Fortunately, what he was hit by from Poison Dragon weren’t poison needles.

For Pyo Sang-guk, it was a ten-year reprieve.

“Poison Dragon really has a bad personality.”

“Why? I didn’t think he seemed bad. If Young Master Jin had a bad personality, brother would already not be of this world. He threw empty needles instead of poison needles.”

“You think regular needles don’t hurt? Doesn’t it hurt when you get stabbed with needles? It stings terribly!”

So-min slapped Pyo Sang-guk’s back.

“When someone shows mercy, you should be grateful.”

Only then did Pyo Sang-guk shut his mouth.

Yeong-woon, who had been listening, said.

“I agree with Sister Min. Brother Jin seemed like a different person from the rumors.”

“Right. I can’t believe such a person massacred civilians. Most of all, his eyes are too serious.”

Yeong-woon also agreed.

“From what I saw, those weren’t the eyes of a butcher either.”

Pyo Sang-guk grumbled.

“How can you judge a person by their eyes? And Sister Min is strange too. Before, whenever people died, you said it might be Poison Dragon’s doing.”

“Did Young Master Jin really massacre civilians? I’m starting to doubt that too.”

“Based on what?”

Yeong-woon said.

“The dead civilians at Stone Forest Gang were said to have died with their heads missing and limbs torn off. The same thing happened at Iron Umbrella Sect’s manor. It felt like random slaughter of whatever was within reach.”

So-min nodded.

“Right. After seeing today, the method is definitely different. Um, how should I put it. I could feel emotion contained each time he acted.”

“Emotion?”

“Emotions like hatred and anger. Could someone who puts such emotions into killing people have killed people indiscriminately?”

“Hmm.”

Pyo Sang-guk, who had briefly frowned, said.

“Are you both bewitched by something? Still, his actions weren’t those of an orthodox sect member. Like when he ambushed Phantom Poison Drooper who was holding his dead brothers.”

“That’s true. But martial world rumors aren’t always accurate. From now on, we should treat Brother Jin without prejudice. If we’re wrong about him, we’d be committing a great wrong against him.”

So-min said as if to herself.

“Everyone who commits themselves to the martial world has their own story, but Young Master Jin’s story seems particularly deep. It even seems connected to Northern Heaven.”

Yeong-woon nodded.

“I’m worried too. Why is Northern Heaven’s name, which had been quiet, suddenly being mentioned again?”

Pyo Sang-guk grumbled.

“Stop worrying about others and let’s quickly expel the poison first. We got unluckily involved in Poison Dragon’s affairs, so we’re in danger too. Don’t forget that one Leper Mound assassin was hit by a poison needle but escaped. We need to reach Chongqing to be safe.”

“Cough cough.”

So-min had a dry cough. Pyo Sang-guk was also short of breath with a darkened complexion.

“Wow, the poison energy is tremendous. Poison Dragon acted normally in poison fog containing such poison energy?”

* * *

The Leper Mound assassin fled desperately.

Why was Poison Dragon’s martial arts so strong?

Of course, poison was naturally something to be careful of, but his martial arts were also unexpectedly powerful. If it weren’t for those orthodox sect disciples who were annoyingly righteous, he might have been able to face Poison Dragon under better conditions.

However, in any case, all his twin brothers were dead, and even his eldest brother had died with his chest crushed.

“Ugh!”

The leper assassin vomited blood. The poison from the poison needle embedded in his back began spreading. He could suppress it somewhat with Leper Mound’s mental techniques for handling poison, but even that had limits. Moreover, he couldn’t properly suppress the poison energy while frantically fleeing.

“Qu, quickly send a signal.”

When the leper assassin felt he had gained some distance, he hurriedly gathered dry grass from the surroundings. After taking out flint to start a fire, he pulled out long sticks from his bosom and broke them. Then he sprinkled the powder inside the sticks onto the fire.

Hissing sounds came as black smoke and red smoke rose.

The leper assassin shed tears of bitter grief thinking of his dead brothers. But he vomited blood again and fell to his knees.

“Ugh…”

Limp, limp…

The leper assassin raised his head while kneeling at the asymmetrically approaching footsteps. Jin Ja-gang had somehow followed him.

Jin Ja-gang looked down at the leper assassin intently. The leper assassin glared at Jin Ja-gang while showing his blood-stained teeth.

“He, hehe. You’re dead now. Our, our Leper Mound never lets go once we bite prey, hehe, won’t let go…”

Jin Ja-gang answered calmly.

“I’ve heard such talk quite often while living.”

The leper assassin suddenly had a strange thought. He thought Jin Ja-gang had followed him here to interrogate or question him, but wasn’t he just looking without saying anything?

When he stayed quiet without saying anything, Jin Ja-gang also kept his mouth shut. Since he was poisoned and dying, the one without time was himself, not Jin Ja-gang.

The leper assassin asked in confusion.

“What, what business do you have with me?”

“No particular business.”

“You, you followed me without any business?”

The leper assassin vomited blood and shouted.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t talk nonsense! No matter what you do to me, you won’t get anything!”

“I’ll just confirm your death and go.”

“If, if that’s the case, kill me! Cut, cut me into pieces and kill me quickly!”

“That’s up to me.”

The leper assassin found Jin Ja-gang’s just watching unpleasant and irritating. The emotionally shaken leper assassin’s breathing became rough.

“Right, right. You… I’ve seen many with eyes like yours. Because I’m different from others, strangely shaped, so you’re staring. Am, am I funny to you?”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t answer and just watched. The leper assassin gripped his skewer and swung it wildly.

“Uh, uhhh! Uhhhhhh!”

Jin Ja-gang stepped back two steps and easily avoided the attack.

Then he finally asked.

“I heard you were driven from your village after being bullied.”

“That, that’s right! Driven out! Stabbed with tree branches and hit with stones until my head split.”

“So after finding refuge, the work you did was killing people?”

“What’s it to you! How can someone normal like you understand our hearts?”

Jin Ja-gang slowly answered.

“My mother and maternal grandfather died before my eyes, and my friends became corpses in one day. I was forced to eat poison daily and became a test subject for half a year, then escaped but was trapped in mine tunnels for ten years.”

The leper assassin shouted in frustration.

“Good, good for you! You should have just died back then!”

“I couldn’t die because I had to get revenge.”

“…”

Jin Ja-gang looked quietly at the leper assassin and asked.

“Is there someone you want to get revenge on?”

“You’ll kill them if there is?”

“I’ll carry that burden.”

“…”

Jin Ja-gang, who had killed his brothers, was currently his greatest enemy. However, when Phantom Poison Drooper said he would die as a tool, Jin Ja-gang said he would respect his will. Though a cruel murderer, his attitude toward enemies was serious.

It smelled like treating person to person. The leper assassin became confused.

The leper assassin, who couldn’t continue speaking for a while and watched Jin Ja-gang, vomited blood and laughed.

“He, hehe… Do I look like an idiot? Asking me to owe a debt to my enemy when I’m about to die? What do you take me for?”

The leper assassin seemed to have some thought, glared for a while, twisted his lips and said.

“The, the Tang family recently agreed to kill you. Northern, Northern Heaven is also your enemy now.”

After briefly spilling his words, the leper assassin laughed.

“Wait in hell, wait in hell. Poison Dragon. Soon another Leper Mound assassin will come for you.”

The leper assassin stabbed the skewer into his own chest and committed suicide.

Jin Ja-gang watched the corpse of the leper assassin who had collapsed forward.

The leper assassin’s words contained much meaning.

Remaining Soul Blade, whom he met in Gubuk Village, initially hadn’t tried to kill him. But the fact that Northern Heaven also became an enemy after the Tang family agreed meant that the Tang family and Northern Heaven were connected in some way.

The Tang family was involved in everything. Of course, since the Tang family was the head family of poison sects, it might be natural.

As Jin Ja-gang continued his revenge journey, someday he would inevitably have to target the Tang family.

The Tang family, which was Tang Ha-ran’s natal family…

* * *

A Leper Mound watcher saw the dark red smoke from afar.

“Phantom Poison Drooper and the twins failed.”

Black smoke meant failure, and three streams of red smoke meant there were interferers. Disciples from Wudang, Zhongnan, and Mount Hua had entered this area, so they must have interfered.

The Leper Mound watcher immediately sent a messenger bird.

Chongqing had many watching eyes and was close to Huguang Province where orthodox sects were dominant, making it difficult to act freely. They had to do everything to kill Poison Dragon before he reached Chongqing.

* * *

Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min barely managed to expel the poison energy and moved.

It took two full days to remove the poison energy, so much time was delayed.

However, Yeong-woon’s abdominal wound was severe and So-min’s instep hadn’t healed, so they couldn’t run quickly with light body techniques either.

The three people continued to be vigilant while camping and walking until they finally saw an inn. The first floor was completely open with several chairs and dining tables where food could be eaten, and the second floor was a shabby inn with rooms for staying.

“Ah, finally we can have warm soup and comfortable sleep.”

At So-min’s moved words, Yeong-woon shook his head.

“Given assassins’ nature, they’ll definitely come again. That inn might become the most dangerous place for us. Wouldn’t it be better to go a bit further even if it’s difficult?”

Pyo Sang-guk stopped him.

“Forget it. What more can you do with that body? I’ll go check it out, so wait a moment.”

But before Pyo Sang-guk could step forward, they saw someone pulling a small cart and trudging into the inn.

“Huh? Who’s that?”

“Someone living nearby?”

“His height and build seem similar to Brother Jin…”

He was pulling a heavy cart so they couldn’t be certain, but he didn’t seem to be limping particularly.

The man with a hood on his head, barefoot and wearing dirty clothes, ordered a bowl of soup at the inn, ate it, and went on his way without incident. It was an inn run single-handedly by an owner who served as cook and server.

The three people looked at each other.

“Seems like no problem.”

“Does it look that way?”

Having already smelled the greasy soup, the three couldn’t resist their awakened appetite. The three immediately went to the inn and ordered food.

Pyo Sang-guk and So-min ate a soup dish with pork wrapped in thin wheat skin and chicken broth, while Yeong-woon, being a Taoist, ate noodles boiled in plain water and seasoned with soy sauce.

Slurp, slurp.

“Ahh! Having warm soup after so long really soothes the stomach.”

The three ordered two more bowls each.

The middle-aged owner who came to collect payment said.

“Did you enjoy your meal? In Sichuan they put red oil in the soup, but in Guizhou they make seasoning sauce with chili and soy sauce, so there’s a taste difference.”

Yeong-woon answered.

“The taste was good, but it was a bit salty.”

The middle-aged owner smiled broadly and said.

“Oh my, sorry about that. Cooking isn’t my main profession.”