Chapter 360

Mu-gak said to the Arhat monks.

“Let’s go to our seats… Since the rule at this inn is to eat noodles… we should follow it.”

The Arhat monks pushed two tables together and placed Mu-gak’s palanquin on one side of the table to take their seats.

Though the Shaolin Temple monks had cleared the entrance they were blocking, no one moved rashly. The martial artists in the inn still had the obligation to witness the story regarding King of Hell’s personal letter.

The only ones free from that obligation were Southern Sea Sword Sect’s Im Yi-eon and Son Bi.

Son Bi finally stood up after being urged several times by Im Yi-eon.

Son Bi went in front of Ham-geun.

Ham-geun shook his head.

It meant he couldn’t send away his poisoned disciple So-min.

Ham-geun sat cross-legged and entered breathing meditation as if he had no intention of conversing further. It was dangerous behavior, but no one here was vile enough to disturb him in this situation.

An Ryeong held Son Bi’s hand. Son Bi nodded, bit her lower lip, looked back once, then soon left the inn.

Even after Son Bi left, there wasn’t much change in the movement within the inn.

Time continued flowing throughout. The one moment Mu-gak mentioned wasn’t a very long time.

Yuk Ha-seon hadn’t come down from upstairs yet, and Namgung Geol only continued sharpening his sword blade with a bowl of water beside him.

Finally, Jin Ja-gang came out of the kitchen carrying eight bowls of noodles.

Jin Ja-gang placed the bowls in front of the Shaolin Temple monks with an indifferent face.

The Shaolin Temple monks only glared at Jin Ja-gang with fierce eyes.

With noodles placed before him, Mu-gak said to Jin Ja-gang.

“Let me… warn you in advance.”

“I will listen respectfully.”

“After I finish eating the noodles, one moment will have passed. After that, there’s no need for you to remain here. Do you understand what I mean?”

When Jin Ja-gang didn’t answer and only looked, Mu-gak raised a trembling finger.

“From now on, what you need to do is return with King of Hell’s personal letter as it is.”

Jin Ja-gang smiled faintly. It was an attitude showing he had known all along what Mu-gak would say.

Seeing Jin Ja-gang’s smile, Mu-gak also realized this and laughed while chattering his teeth.

“Wicked fellow. If you remain after I finish eating noodles… I’ll send you back loaded on a cart in the same wretched state as me.”

Namgung Geol and Im Yi-eon couldn’t help but admire.

“Huh…”

They learned what Shaolin Temple’s response to King of Hell’s personal letter was.

If they received the personal letter, whatever its contents, Shaolin Temple would face difficulties.

So Shaolin Temple planned to refuse to receive it at all without even looking at the contents.

Then they wouldn’t need to make a choice of acceptance or rejection!

It truly had to be called an excellent choice.

Namgung Geol muttered.

“So that’s why they didn’t put Poison Dragon on the life and death list from the beginning.”

It was the same logic as not including the An family medical house initially, then immediately including them upon confirming evidence.

Though Shaolin Temple’s life and death list seemed to have no standards, it meant they had their own complex and meticulous standards.

Im Yi-eon also said like talking to herself.

“Let Poison Dragon live and send him back… kill the rest…”

It was a difficult task. Especially since Poison Dragon was currently the most attention-grabbing newcomer in the martial world. He had survived by killing numerous masters.

They had to let such a Poison Dragon live and send him back to confirm to Tang family that the personal letter wasn’t received. It wasn’t an easy task for Shaolin Temple either.

That was precisely why the Demon Exterminating Monk had stepped forward.

Soon Mu-gak suddenly began reciting the meal prayer.

“Considering the merit and measuring where it came from, think of how many… sentient beings put effort into making this food.”

In Buddhism, even the act of eating is practice. Following protocol, when Mu-gak recited the meal prayer, the monks put their palms together and bowed to observe the ritual of offering.

“Examining whether one’s virtue and conduct are complete or lacking to deserve this offering, think honestly whether your virtue and conduct were complete enough to receive this offering or lacking. Guard the mind from faults…”

Then when the meal prayer ended, the monks began eating noodles silently without making any sound.

One Arhat monk assisted Mu-gak’s meal. He put a strand of noodles into Mu-gak’s mouth.

Slurp.

Mu-gak sucked the noodles one strand at a time like a child.

Perhaps to match Mu-gak’s pace, the Shaolin Temple monks’ meal proceeded very slowly. It was slow enough to feel tedious.

Already more than half the allotted time had passed. At this rate, they would consume the entire time just eating.

But Jin Ja-gang only watched from the side without taking any action.

This was so even though fighting would immediately begin after finishing the noodles.

Namgung Geol now stopped sharpening his blade and began wiping it with cloth.

And not long after, Yuk Ha-seon came down from upstairs.

“Hmm?”

Namgung Geol glanced over and was startled, while Im Yi-eon frowned with all her might. An Ryeong also looked at Yuk Ha-seon in surprise and couldn’t close her mouth.

Just moments ago, Yuk Ha-seon had been dressed like a man in martial attire.

But now, facing battle, she had actually come out fully adorned.

Just her clothing was different. She wore a vest-like half-sleeve garment that exposed her arms and a long skirt, but even that was made of thin silk in semi-transparent layers of silk gauze.

Not only did her figure show through, but the inside was faintly visible, and each time she came down the stairs, the silk gauze skirt hem would lift slightly, revealing even her bare skin.

Not only that, she had applied heavy makeup.

She had applied white powder to her face for a pure feeling, drawn her eyebrows long with ink for a delicate eyebrow appearance. On her forehead she had dotted three thin red lines with flower ornaments like orchids blooming to give a unique feeling, and had sprinkled red powder on her cheeks to make them blush like a shy bride. She had also applied rouge to her lips to make them particularly glisten and stand out.

It was a tremendous transformation.

Earlier she had an androgynous appearance, but now she was a completely different person. She looked like a fairy descended from heaven.

This one appearance was enough to fully explain why she had become famous in the martial world as Red Flower Immortal. She was truly beautiful enough to bewitch souls.

Even her gaze had become mysterious. She had a charm that drew people in, making not only men but even An Ryeong, another woman, feel her heart flutter.

If her earlier appearance had been blank drawing paper, now it was as if that paper had been colored with various hues to paint autumn foliage.

While appearing to be in her early to mid-twenties, she possessed mature charm that only an adult could have, different from the pure charm of Son Bi or An Ryeong. It seemed no one could resist being captivated.

An Ryeong unconsciously muttered.

“Too beautiful…”

When Yuk Ha-seon smiled with her eyes and slightly raised the corners of her eyes, even Namgung Geol blushed and cleared his throat.

“Ahem, ahem! Really. Whose daughter melts this person’s heart with just one eye smile?”

At Namgung Geol’s jest, Yuk Ha-seon laughed.

“Ho ho ho ho!”

Even her laughter was different from before. It was soft yet clear like rolling jade beads on a tray. It gave goosebumps and made the fine hair on shoulders and neck stand up.

Of course, this wasn’t an ordinary voice.

It was Pleasure Heaven’s vocal technique that contained internal energy to shake people’s heartstrings.

The faces of the Shaolin Temple monks who had been quietly eating noodles became grim.

But the monks couldn’t speak and could only glare at Yuk Ha-seon, while it was actually Im Yi-eon who scolded Yuk Ha-seon.

“Wicked… It’s fortunate I sent Son Bi away first. Your clothing and behavior are utterly vulgar. Do you want to act like this before a great battle?”

“What’s wrong with my clothing and behavior?”

Even her speech pattern had changed greatly.

“Originally women cannot match men in physical strength. But women also have weapons that only women can possess. My current appearance is proof that I’ve done my best.”

Her voice was seductive. Though Namgung Geol had spoken in jest, it was truly a voice that melted people’s hearts.

Im Yi-eon knew too. Yuk Ha-seon’s makeup and clothing – though it was a short time, there wasn’t anything she hadn’t put effort into. This was the appearance most suited to Pleasure Heaven’s fighting style.

But Im Yi-eon walked a different path from Yuk Ha-seon.

Im Yi-eon tried to compete with men using pure power martial arts, while Yuk Ha-seon used martial arts that leveraged advantages as a woman as her weapon.

That was the part Im Yi-eon could least tolerate.

Yuk Ha-seon coaxed in a seductive voice.

“How about it? Would the Sword Empress like to learn makeup from me too?”

Im Yi-eon shouted angrily.

“Shut up and go to your seat! I can’t stand listening to your voice anymore because it’s so irritating!”

“Hmm.”

Yuk Ha-seon made a nose sound and walked gracefully past Im Yi-eon. Even from Yuk Ha-seon came a subtle musk scent.

Im Yi-eon was about to say another word when, suddenly.

Zing! Zinnnng!

Tremendous killing intent covered the inn.

This was on a different dimension from the killing intent of orthodox masters Jin Ja-gang had experienced.

It was rough, unrefined killing intent full of death’s aura.

It was the kind of killing intent that brought to mind scenes of throwing hundreds of living people into boiling lava while they screamed and wailed.

The source of the killing intent was Mu-gak.

All the martial artists in the inn looked at Mu-gak.

Though Mu-gak had twisted limbs and a small frame, the moment you met his eyes, nothing around was visible and only two golden pupils could be seen.

Like Jin Ja-gang’s, this wasn’t artificial killing intent refined with internal energy, but raw killing intent that had seeped out from killing countless people.

When the martial artists’ attention focused on him, Mu-gak finally put away his killing intent and spoke in a very angry tone.

“During meals… you should remain quiet.”

Im Yi-eon immediately apologized.

“I was rude.”

But Jin Ja-gang asked back casually.

“Is this a temple?”

It was obvious who he was asking without saying.

The Arhat monks glared at Jin Ja-gang again. Mu-gak also narrowed his small eyes and showed displeasure.

Jin Ja-gang continued regardless.

“This is an inn.”

Mu-gak glared at Jin Ja-gang while not stopping his meal.

At a glance, it seemed contradictory for someone who had killed countless people to talk about rules for eating.

But that was how it appeared from the outside. Shaolin Temple, Mu-gak, was still carrying out his justice from when he was young until now.

Distinguishing good and evil, justice and injustice would be completely meaningless to the current Mu-gak.

Slurp. Slurp.

Mu-gak focused solely on continuously sucking noodles. Though it was impossible to know without words, his expression gradually relaxed as if it tasted quite good.

Finally the noodles in Mu-gak’s bowl began to show the bottom.

Since he was eating noodles one strand at a time, it was fully possible to predict how much time remained in the allotted moment based on how many noodles were left.

It was about time to start preparing.

Namgung Geol didn’t even put his sword in its sheath but placed it on the table with the blue blade exposed. He positioned his hand in front of the handle so he could grab it at any time.

Yuk Ha-seon also raised her internal energy while holding her sword around her waist.

Ham-geun also now stopped his breathing meditation, stood up, laid So-min in a corner of the inn, and prepared.

Im Yi-eon also took position to grip her sword by lowering her hands under the table while sitting.

Slurp… slurp…