Chapter 359

But no matter what achievements he had in his prime, he now had a twisted, wretched appearance.

Yet such a voice could come from him?

It was truly suspicious.

Jin Ja-gang tapped his ears with his hands and answered.

“I boiled some noodles. Would you like some? Though there might not be enough for so many people.”

Mu-gak’s eyes opened wide like a tiger’s and another roar burst out.

“ARE YOU STILL NOT COMING TO YOUR SENSES AND TALKING NONSENSE, YOU THUNDER-STRUCK BALD FOOL!”

Boom boom boom!

The inn resonated endlessly.

All the martial artists in the inn were masters. Though it wasn’t painful, their energy and blood boiled as they frowned and controlled their internal energy.

Jin Ja-gang also briefly closed his eyes then opened them.

Then he said.

“Despite appearances, you seem to overflow with vitality.”

Mu-gak’s eyes bulged.

Then Namgung Geol stepped forward.

“Poison Dragon. Don’t lose your manners. This is Senior Monk of the ‘Mu’ generation from Shaolin Temple.”

The previous generation Vajra monk Jin Ja-gang had faced was of the ‘Beom’ generation in his sixties. The generation above that was ‘Hui’. And the generation above that was the ‘Mu’ generation. One generation higher than even Taoist Haewol.

Considering Mu-gak’s age was already approaching one hundred thirty, he was truly a figure equivalent to the history of the martial world.

But Jin Ja-gang naturally didn’t back down.

“If courtesy is bidirectional, then I will.”

“Huh.”

Namgung Geol shook his head.

One of the dharma protectors guarding Mu-gak stepped forward.

A Vajra monk wearing golden kasaya.

The Vajra monk with a solid body two heads taller than Jin Ja-gang came right in front of Jin Ja-gang and looked down. Like the previous Vajra monk, his external cultivation had reached the extreme with bulging solar plexus points, and his forearms were as thick as an adult man’s calves.

It seemed Jin Ja-gang would be crushed and burst if pressed with a hand. An ordinary person’s legs would tremble from the pressure.

Jin Ja-gang raised his head and met eyes with the Vajra monk.

“Is it courtesy for Shaolin Temple monks to suddenly occupy someone else’s shop that’s in business?”

More force entered the Vajra monk’s eyes.

Jin Ja-gang put his hand into his chest.

Doing such an action in front of a Vajra monk was remarkable, but the Vajra monk was also bold enough not to shrink back at all and just stared at Jin Ja-gang resolutely.

Eventually what Jin Ja-gang pulled from his chest was none other than a contract.

The Vajra monk’s eyes scanned the contract. It contained contract terms stating the original owner was temporarily renting the inn to Jin Ja-gang.

In other words, though temporary, this was an inn Jin Ja-gang was operating. By renting a civilian inn, Jin Ja-gang had slightly positioned one foot in civilian territory.

Of course, depending on how you thought about it, it might not matter much. It was especially hard to think that Shaolin Temple, which had embarked on righteous law practice, would be held back by such trivial problems.

But this was Henan and Shaolin Temple’s territory. With a legitimate contract presented, there were certainly uncomfortable aspects to causing a ruckus freely.

The Vajra monk standing in front of Jin Ja-gang spoke heavily.

“Petty tricks won’t work. Just because you operate an inn doesn’t make you a civilian.”

“So…”

Jin Ja-gang waved the contract.

“You still don’t seem to understand, but this means this is an inn. If you didn’t come to eat noodles or stay overnight, then leave. Can’t you understand?”

The Vajra monk’s eyebrows raised.

Those in the inn once again admired Jin Ja-gang. He wasn’t wrong.

What had seemed like excessive acting as an innkeeper and even preparing food turned out to have meaning in every detail.

Jin Ja-gang shifted his gaze to Mu-gak and said.

“You look healthier than you appear, so you should be able to eat noodles. I made broth with vegetables especially for the monks. What will you do?”

If you didn’t come to eat at the inn, then leave – what more words were needed!

Mu-gak’s body trembled.

“Insolent fellow. One moment… I’ll give you. Go ahead and try.”

Without putting internal energy into it, even his voice was powerless like a dying old man.

Jin Ja-gang nodded. Mu-gak’s words didn’t mean to bring noodles but that he would wait that amount of time whatever he did.

“Good. Before that… the monks blocking that door need to move aside. There’s someone who needs to leave.”

The Vajra monk standing in front of Jin Ja-gang bared his teeth and said.

“The people who can leave from here are limited.”

“What does that mean?”

Mu-gak answered in a fading voice.

“Playing ignorant… Others can all leave. But…”

Mu-gak raised his trembling hand and pointed at Ham-geun.

“You…”

Mu-gak’s finger consecutively pointed at Disaster Sword Guest Namgung Geol and Pleasure Heaven Lord Yuk Ha-seon.

“And you, you.”

Mu-gak withdrew his finger and rolled prayer beads while speaking in a frail voice.

“Those three… cannot leave here…”

Though it was the words of a powerless old monk, those words shocked the martial artists in the inn. Being unable to leave the inn was tantamount to a death sentence.

But the designated individuals were unexpected.

Even Jin Ja-gang found it strange that he himself wasn’t mentioned.

Everyone had questions.

Poison sect’s Yuk Ha-seon from the Six Poison Cliques made sense.

But no Poison Dragon?

Moreover, An Ryeong, who was suspected of harming a Vajra monk, was also excluded. Yet Mount Hua Sect and the Namgung family were included while So-min was excluded.

It was an incomprehensible standard.

Ham-geun asked.

“Will you let my disciple go?”

“I cannot… stop the sick.”

Namgung Geol stood up from his seat.

The Arhat monks blocking the entrance all glared at Namgung Geol simultaneously.

Namgung Geol laughed heartily and said.

“I didn’t know the name Funeral Inn would be so fitting. But it seems Shaolin Temple had already decided who to kill and spare. May I ask what the standard for the book of life and death is?”

Even Yuk Ha-seon snorted with a twisted face.

“That’s right. If you take people’s lives arbitrarily without standards, who would accept it?”

Mu-gak opened his small eyes and asked back.

“Who said you should accept it?”

Yuk Ha-seon was speechless.

Mu-gak said.

“It wasn’t a standard made for acceptance in the first place. It’s just sweeping fallen leaves and dusting off dirt… That’s righteous law practice.”

An Ryeong stood up and went to Ham-geun.

“Fortunately, I’m not on the book of life and death, so I’ll take Miss So-min. This is personal without considering Mount Hua Sect and my family’s positions…”

But Ham-geun closed his eyes and pondered.

“Great Hero Ham. There’s no time for this. Senior Monk Mu-gak said Miss So-min could be taken.”

Ham-geun was currently forcibly preventing the poison’s spread by injecting internal energy into vital points, but the already poisoned parts would be rotting.

So An Ryeong urged, but Ham-geun didn’t budge.

“So-min is poisoned with Asura Blood. Since she drank a small amount, if she’s lucky… if she’s lucky, she might survive.”

“I know. So if we take her to our medical house, we can save her.”

When Ham-geun opened his eyes, his eye rims were reddened with sorrow. But his expression was even more resolute than before.

“That’s why I can’t send So-min to the An family medical house even more.”

“Great Hero Ham!”

“Our Mount Hua Sect decided to join hands with the Righteous Alliance. The An family medical house is hostile to the Righteous Alliance and will become our enemy someday. I cannot be indebted now.”

“That’s not the issue! Right now there’s a huge enemy called Shaolin Temple…”

“Shaolin Temple didn’t write Poison Dragon and the An family medical house in the book of life and death. But our Mount Hua Sect is different.”

An Ryeong said with a pained expression.

“Is it right to neglect a dying disciple for such… political reasons?”

“At least for now, it’s the right thing.”

Yuk Ha-seon interjected.

“The traces of Asura Blood remaining in So-min’s body will be a great weapon for Mount Hua Sect to face Poison Dragon in the future. So they can’t send her to the An family medical house even more. If Great Hero Ham can survive, that is, under that premise.”

An Ryeong knew this too. That’s why her heart ached more. If So-min died like this, what difference was it from Pyo Sang-guk earlier!

“Then… at least let me give acupuncture so she can live a bit longer.”

Ham-geun didn’t prevent even that. An Ryeong laid So-min on the floor and took out her acupuncture kit. As a descendant of a medical family, she was also versed in medical arts.

But because she had injured her hands earlier, she had bandages wrapped from her fingers to her elbows and couldn’t perform acupuncture.

An Ryeong took a deep breath and unwrapped the bandages tightly wound around her hands.

Unlike An Ryeong’s fine skin, her forearms had hideous wounds along with bright red handprints. They were wounds that had been torn and were just beginning to heal after barely reattaching.

Suddenly Mu-gak laughed while chattering his teeth.

Mu-gak was looking precisely at An Ryeong.

“Tearing, is it?”

Che-yeol (車裂) is a punishment using carriages to tear a person’s limbs, while cha-yeol (撦裂) is a martial technique of twisting and tearing a person’s limbs by hand.

“Though I sent countless demon soldiers to enlightenment, for committing too much killing… I was dragged to the main temple and subjected to full-body tearing punishment. Thus the flesh, bones, and tendons of my limbs were all twisted and torn except for my right index finger and thumb.”

Mu-gak continued while chattering with laughter.

“At the main temple, there are monks who specifically carry out tearing punishments. Precisely the Arhat monks of the Discipline Courtyard.”

An Ryeong asked calmly.

“So what?”

Mu-gak raised his trembling arm and painfully rolled up his sleeve. His elbows and wrists were all twisted with skin pushed aside, and there even remained old, blackened handprints.

“The Gong-eup you killed was an Arhat from the Discipline Courtyard.”

An Ryeong’s face hardened.

Mu-gak raised his trembling hand and pointed at An Ryeong with the tip of his bent fingernail. Though his hands and fingers all trembled, strangely the pointing tip didn’t waver and precisely indicated An Ryeong.

“Now… you can’t leave either.”

An Ryeong shivered with chills. But she tried to speak calmly.

“What truly arbitrary standards.”

Mu-gak commanded the Arhat monks lined up at the entrance.

“Go. Chase out the remaining An clan minions in Henan.”

Mu-gak sent away all but two Vajra monks and five Arhat monks. This was confidence that this number could subdue everyone inside.

An Ryeong tried to stay calm.

“If only I hadn’t drunk alcohol, I could have been more clever. Can’t be helped.”

Yuk Ha-seon glanced at An Ryeong and said.

“Killing a Shaolin Vajra monk barehanded at that age. Did you indeed learn imperial palace martial arts?”

An Ryeong smiled bitterly and focused on So-min as if having no choice. She breathed carefully and placed acupuncture needles at various points on So-min’s body. Ham-geun could only watch such An Ryeong with complex emotions.

Also, with An Ryeong unable to leave, Im Yi-eon’s situation changed too. Now Im Yi-eon also had no choice but to intervene.

Im Yi-eon cupped her fists to Mu-gak and asked for understanding.

“Master Mu-gak. I came to care for An family medical house bloodline. Please don’t reproach my rudeness too much.”

Mu-gak nodded his chin with difficulty.

“Of course.”

At the same time, Im Yi-eon quietly instructed Son Bi.

“My disciple, you must immediately leave this inn.”

Son Bi firmly shook her head. But Im Yi-eon didn’t accept Son Bi’s resolve.

“Can’t you tell from Master Mu-gak leaving only that small number? Today this master will bury her bones here.”

When tears welled up in Son Bi’s eyes, Im Yi-eon harshly scolded.

“I told you to erase affection! Do you think your acting like this helps me!”

Son Bi bit her lips and bowed her head.

Mu-gak declared.

“I clearly said one moment…”

After one moment, this inn would become a battlefield. Within that, Jin Ja-gang had to resolve the matter of King of Hell’s personal letter.

“One moment is enough.”

Jin Ja-gang went to the kitchen to boil noodles.

Yuk Ha-seon clicked her tongue at Jin Ja-gang’s boldness.

“Then I can’t die like this either.”

Yuk Ha-seon went upstairs for some reason.

Namgung Geol drew his sword and began sharpening it.

A strange atmosphere pervaded the inn.