Chapter 375

Beom-bon answered.

“Literally, it means to follow me to Shaolin.”

“No, why should we go to Shaolin Temple…”

Mu-gak scolded Beom-bon.

“Great Buddha. That is not the way of the Absolute Buddha Sect. Have you forgotten the agreement not to intervene?”

Beom-bon smiled good-naturedly.

“I’m sorry, Master Uncle. But too many people have already died. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, it would be different, but since I have seen it, what can I do? I cannot kill these people.”

The youngsters gained some hope at the words that they wouldn’t be killed.

“Wh-what happens if we go to Shaolin Temple?”

Beom-bon answered.

“If you follow a monk, you get your head shaved and become a monk. What else would there be?”

Suddenly cutting ties with the secular world to become a monk one day wasn’t an easy thing. They would have to sever all connections with parents and siblings. Moreover, there were several women mixed among the Cherry Blossom Corps youngsters.

But if they became disciples of Shaolin Temple, that story might be somewhat different. It was much better than dying a dog’s death here.

One person swallowed dry saliva and asked.

“W-will we become disciples of Shaolin Temple and learn martial arts?”

“I-I’m a woman. Doesn’t Shaolin Temple have no nuns?”

Before Beom-bon could answer, Mu-gak shouted in a hoarse voice.

“How dare scum like you dream of becoming disciples of Shaolin! You will spend your lives facing the wall in the Repentance Hall, and only the lucky ones will get to see the outside!”

Mu-gak cackled with laughter.

The Cherry Blossom Corps youngsters were horrified.

“What do you mean…!”

It was chilling.

That was something more terrible than dying. They would say they were becoming monks, but how was it different from rotting in prison for life!

Several who had been reading the situation finally couldn’t bear it and ran in all directions. It was no different from hastening death, but somehow it seemed like the Great Buddha would forgive them without killing them if caught. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“Oh dear.”

Beom-bon waved his pot-lid-like hand as if shooing away flies.

Whoosh!

At that moment, one of the fleeing youngsters was pushed by tremendous wind and crashed into the inn wall.

Crash! The youngster’s body broke through and burrowed into the wall. At the same time, sounds of bones breaking and dislocating could be heard.

Crack crack, crack crack crack!

“Aaaahhh!”

Beom-bon didn’t rest and waved his hand in the opposite direction again. The fleeing youngsters were blown in all directions as if caught in a gale.

“Whoooah!”

Thud! Crash!

Arms and legs were dislocated and bones were broken.

“Kagh!”

“Kghhh!”

Every single one of the fleeing youngsters was slammed down and something was broken.

Then strange shadows began appearing one by one through the hole in the ceiling.

When the youngsters looked up, countless Shaolin monks were standing on the roof, looking down with cold gazes.

Everyone froze. They could no longer think of fleeing.

Mu-gak clicked his tongue.

“Why do they all misunderstand? The only thing better about taking refuge than being subdued is eloquence.”

Beom-bon went to Mu-gak and knelt down. He checked Mu-gak’s pulse, then examined Gong-hon’s condition. Gong-hon’s condition looked more serious on the surface.

Beom-bon stroked Gong-hon’s head, then took out a small pill from his bosom and pushed it into Gong-hon’s mouth.

The pill was so small it was strange how Beom-bon’s fingers could hold it.

After a moment, Beom-bon said.

“Gong-hon. Get up.”

Gong-hon opened his eyes and slowly raised his upper body. Though his face was completely cut, his nose was crushed, and his teeth were showing in a mess, some light had returned to his eyes.

However, perhaps because he couldn’t properly resolve the poison, he coughed while bleeding black blood.

Cough.

“Hmm.”

Beom-bon made a contemplative sound.

Even Shaolin Temple’s miracle pill that could revive the dead couldn’t expel this poison.

Beom-bon touched Gong-hon’s leg to align his ankle, then nodded and stood up.

“Let’s go.”

Gong-hon barely managed to stand up.

Beom-bon comforted the terrified Cherry Blossom Corps youngsters.

“You all come too. Don’t worry too much. Shaolin is also a place where people live. If you gather your hearts, that place will be paradise where Buddha resides, wherever it may be.”

Mu-gak, held in Gong-hon’s arms, looked at the youngsters and smiled menacingly.

“You are lucky. You will get to receive Buddha alive.”

Those words were more terrifying. It felt like they would never escape Shaolin Temple’s Repentance Hall for life. But they couldn’t resist. They would rather be killed, but that wasn’t the case either. They wouldn’t kill them but would break their limbs.

Tremble tremble tremble.

The youngsters followed behind Beom-bon and left the inn. Their faces were filled only with despair.

Soon the Arhat monks on the ceiling jumped down to clean up the corpses and carry the injured.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang and Yuk Ha-seon couldn’t leave Henan as quickly as expected.

Both were in no condition to walk long distances.

They had no choice but to settle in an appropriate mountain cave and obtain clothes from a nearby village. They gave clothes to Yuk Ha-seon, who was practically naked, and found medicinal herbs to apply to wounds.

Only then could Yuk Ha-seon finally catch her breath.

“It seems Shaolin Temple really decided to let us live.”

“Is that so?”

“Seeing that they’re staying put without chasing us even though the Demon Exterminating Monk must have been discovered by Shaolin Temple’s eyes by now.”

Yuk Ha-seon, who had disguised herself as a man and was properly clothed, had returned to her original speech pattern.

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“It’s probably because of King of Hell’s personal letter.”

“The time that can be bought with one personal letter isn’t that much.”

Jin Ja-gang left some medicinal herbs and a little food in the cave and got up from his position.

“Are you leaving?”

“I’ve fulfilled my role.”

Just as Jin Ja-gang was about to leave the cave, Yuk Ha-seon threw out words.

“I guarantee it. It would be better not to wander around in that condition.”

Her tone wasn’t ordinary. Jin Ja-gang stopped walking.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about why I proposed joining hands with you. You said King of Hell considers you his successor, right? And I said I would stand on your side if you wanted. Then…”

Yuk Ha-seon continued.

“There must be others who covet King of Hell’s position. Those who don’t want you to rise to the successor’s position.”

Jin Ja-gang stared at Yuk Ha-seon intently.

“Are you referring to other successors within the Tang Family Main House?”

“The Tang family has no useful successors. That’s why King of Hell is being greedy about you.”

“Then who are you saying is targeting me?”

“Those who must die because of you. The leaders who decide the major and minor affairs of the Poison Sects.”

Jin Ja-gang finally understood what Yuk Ha-seon was saying.

King of Hell was eliminating the heads of the Poison Sect’s Six Cliques to gather power to himself. From the perspective of the Poison Sect’s Six Cliques who suddenly had to die because of Jin Ja-gang, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t be welcome.

“Funeral Parlour and Physician Bell Healers have been eliminated, but Leper Mound and Coal Miners still remain. And… I still remain in Pleasure Heaven.”

Jin Ja-gang fell into contemplation again. He had promised Piercing Ghost not to touch Leper Mound, but if Leper Mound targeted Jin Ja-gang first, he couldn’t just leave it alone.

Yuk Ha-seon continued.

“Even if you’re not interested, since King of Hell has marked you as his successor, you have no choice but to be dragged into it by force. And in the current situation, your life is very precarious.”

Yuk Ha-seon’s words weren’t wrong. Even for Jin Ja-gang who had defeated the Demon Exterminating Monk, no, precisely because he had defeated the Demon Exterminating Monk and was now injured, this was the most dangerous time.

Because the enemies targeting Jin Ja-gang wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity.

After thinking for a moment, Jin Ja-gang asked.

“What about Coal Miners?”

“They’re miners. They handle mineral poisons and are rough and strong. Unlike Leper Mound and Funeral Parlour who move secretly, Coal Miner isn’t afraid of being exposed.”

Jin Ja-gang also knew well about mineral poisons. He had encountered mineral poisons for a long time both at Extreme Poison Sect and in mine tunnels. He also knew about the extreme wickedness of mineral poison’s power.

Since he had considerable resistance to mineral poisons, he wouldn’t be easily affected.

But in any case, now wasn’t the time when he could use his strength properly.

Moreover, didn’t Jin Ja-gang have many other enemies besides the Poison Sect’s Six Cliques?

Jin Ja-gang stopped hesitating and unpacked his luggage. He couldn’t leave the cave until his leg healed.

“Good thinking.”

When Jin Ja-gang no longer spoke and was silently taking out and preparing medicinal herbs, the bored Yuk Ha-seon asked.

“I have something I’m curious about. May I ask?”

“Go ahead and ask.”

Jin Ja-gang expected Yuk Ha-seon to ask about the poison that Mu-gak, Yang Yang and others had taken. But what Yuk Ha-seon asked was a completely unexpected question.

“Funeral Inn. What will you do about blowing up that entire rented inn? Do you have to compensate for damages later?”

Though it was an out-of-the-blue question, Jin Ja-gang answered immediately.

“I already paid for it.”

Meaning he had paid for the inn in advance knowing it would become a mess.

Yuk Ha-seon let out a small laugh.

“Thorough. And kind.”

Again at the word “kind,” Jin Ja-gang hesitated briefly.

Tang Ha-ran came to mind.

Perhaps because she was the first woman he had given his heart to, Tang Ha-ran remained deeply in Jin Ja-gang’s heart.

Jin Ja-gang quietly picked up a stone to crush the medicinal herbs, meaning he wouldn’t accept any more questions.

Tap tap, tap tap.

* * *

Ham-geun was walking while carrying So-min’s corpse on his back.

His internal energy was depleted and his internal injuries weren’t light. He was exhausted. He felt dizzy, his head was hazy, and his mouth was parched. His legs had lost strength.

But he didn’t have the leisure to calmly perform breathing exercises in a place surrounded by enemies.

He had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, as a result of hastening his steps, he could see a village close to Henan. If he could get a cart, he could return to Mount Hua quickly.

Ham-geun quickened his pace.

From the opposite direction, an old man and middle-aged man who appeared to be villagers were walking toward him.

Ham-geun tensed up and put all his strength into his eyes as he observed the two people.

But he couldn’t discover anything strange.

The two people’s faces were very ordinary. They had no particular features. They were the typical appearance of rural villagers you could see anywhere.

The hunched old man was walking with his hands behind his back, while the middle-aged man with a darkly tanned face was simply carrying a hoe on his shoulder as if going to a nearby field.

The two people were approaching.

Ham-geun remained tense until the end and watched them both.

The two people who had been walking from afar naturally bowed their heads to greet Ham-geun when their eyes met. It was the warm smile and greeting you could see in kind-hearted countryside.

Ham-geun also bowed his head and returned the greeting with his eyes. The two villagers finished greeting and passed by Ham-geun as if nothing had happened.

Ham-geun let out a quiet sigh and thought it was fortunate.

But somehow his spine became chilly.

The appearance of the two villagers was too ordinary?

They were so ordinary to an excessive degree that it seemed awkward.

Come to think of it…

Had his own appearance been normal?

No, his body was covered in blood and he was even holding a corpse.

It absolutely wasn’t a normal appearance. Proper villagers should have been startled and run away or sat down in fear.

Yet they had greeted him as if nothing was wrong!

Ham-geun quickly raised his right hand to block his neck.

Prick.

His neck stung.

He had forgotten that his right wrist was gone. But since he had no fingers or palm to block with, even though he raised his arm, it was meaningless. You can’t block your neck with a hand that doesn’t exist.

“Hah…”

Ham-geun stopped briefly and let out a sigh before continuing to walk forward. A thin poison needle was embedded in Ham-geun’s neck.

His steps gradually became slower and his feet began to stumble.

Had he walked twenty steps?

Finally, Ham-geun collapsed forward.

Thud.

So-min’s corpse rolled and Ham-geun’s body convulsed and twitched.

The two villagers turned their heads to look at Ham-geun.

Then, only after Ham-geun’s convulsions subsided and they saw he was completely dead did they hasten their steps and continue on their original path.

Even then, the faces of the two villagers were the same peaceful expressions without any change from when Ham-geun had first met them.