Chapter 119

Chapter 119: The Threads of Fate Are Tangled in Ways No One Can Predict (1)

"Cough!"

Myeong-gyeong coughed up blood.

Fresh blood dyed his chest red.

Myeong-gyeong tried to smile. But he could not. Like a crumpled doll, he lay embedded in the remains of a boulder.

His limbs were twisted grotesquely. The sword that had once gleamed with cold light was shattered, leaving only the hilt.

It was only because Dam Ho had held back that he was still alive. Otherwise, he would have perished already.

Dam Ho was terrifying.

Watching from the side, one could not grasp his true terror. Only those who had fought him could truly understand his fear.

It was like a five- or six-year-old child standing naked before a tiger.

Myeong-gyeong was the child, and Dam Ho was the tiger. A massive tiger with enormous fangs.

Dam Ho's fifth punch had shattered the beloved sword his Master had bestowed upon him. His sixth punch had obliterated his left shoulder. And at the tenth attack, he had been seized by the collar and slammed into a boulder. Then consciousness had fled.

When he next came to his senses, Dam Ho was gone.

Only then did he realize that Dam Ho had shown him mercy.

"Heh heh! Look at you now, Myeong-gyeong. All that bravado, and this is all you amount to."

Even after deploying the Blood Plum Blossom Sword—his Master's ultimate technique—at full power, he had not managed to cut a single thread of Dam Ho's robe. The thought of his own boasts about subduing the Nine Dragons and proclaiming his Master's martial arts to the world now seemed laughable.

"He truly is strong. Terrifyingly strong."

Myeong-gyeong bit his lip hard.

Total defeat.

There was not even room for excuse.

Though he had deployed the Blood Plum Blossom Sword in its entirety, he had not even been able to gauge the extent of Dam Ho's true power.

Dam Ho was simply not someone he could deal with.

He was at least on the same level as his own Master.

The Master he respected above all.

Though he did not know how Dam Ho had obtained such power.

Myeong-gyeong struggled to his feet.

"Gah!"

A pain like his entire body was being disassembled washed over him. Fortunately, aside from his left shoulder, nothing else was broken.

"So there was still some affection between fellow disciples, after all? You didn't kill me."

Myeong-gyeong limped forward.

"I'll have to start over from the beginning. I'm going back. Back to Mount Hua."

Bang Jin-bo looked at Dam Ho with a puzzled expression.

"Hyung, where did you go last night?"

"Why?"

"I woke up because I was thirsty, but you weren't there."

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

"At that hour?"

"That's right."

Dam Ho's answer left Bang Jin-bo with a suspicious look, but he did not press further.

Dam Ho gazed out the window.

In the distance, he could see the hill they had crossed. By now, Myeong-gyeong should be climbing over it.

Myeong-gyeong was certainly strong. But he was raw.

His strength was not something he had claimed for himself—it had been crafted by Sage Hyeon-geom. Dam Ho, on the other hand, had become strong through his own power.

He had clawed his way out of the bottom of hell, surviving through sheer tenacity to attain his current strength. The density of power and the magnitude of resolve were different.

'He'll return to Mount Hua.'

At Mount Hua, there was a certain person. Sage Hyeon-geom, called the Number One Sword of Mount Hua.

No one could predict how Sage Hyeon-geom would react. But through Myeong-gyeong, he would learn of Dam Ho's intent.

Myeong-gyeong was, in effect, a message from Dam Ho.

Dam Ho rose to his feet.

"Let's go."

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo nodded and stood.

They bid farewell to the farmer couple and left the farmhouse.

They rode hard for half a day, yet no villages were in sight. But neither of them felt impatient.

They were people well accustomed to sleeping outdoors. If there were no villages, they would simply camp out.

There was no need to rush, no reason to be hasty.

"Ah! This is nice."

Bang Jin-bo smiled as he took in the surrounding scenery. But his smile vanished in an instant.

The wind carried a heavy scent of blood.

Having followed Dam Ho for so long, Bang Jin-bo could now distinguish the smell of blood.

"What is it?"

Bang Jin-bo looked at Dam Ho in alarm. But Dam Ho was not looking at him. His gaze was fixed ahead.

"Hyung!"

Bang Jin-bo shifted his gaze to where Dam Ho was looking. In the distance, a flock of crows was circling.

Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo rode the Black Viper toward the scene.

"Ah!"

When they arrived, Bang Jin-bo's eyes widened.

Where the crows circled, countless corpses lay strewn about. Wolves, drawn by the scent of blood, were tearing at the flesh.

"What on earth—"

Grrr!

The wolves snarled at Bang Jin-bo. But the moment they saw Dam Ho, they tucked their tails and fled. They instinctively recognized Dam Ho's terror.

Dam Ho dismounted from the Black Viper and walked toward the corpses.

The state of the bodies, ravaged by wolves, was truly grotesque. Flesh had been torn away in places, exposing bone. One body had its organs entirely spilled onto the ground.

A triangular flag lay torn on the ground. Though stained with blood and flesh, Bang Jin-bo could make out the characters written on it without difficulty.

"The Daewun Escort Agency? They must be escorts."

Dam Ho nodded.

It was an escort agency he had never heard of. But that was not surprising. The Central Plains were vast, and there were countless escort agencies.

"Were they killed by wolves?"

"No. They were killed by a human."

The wounds from the wolves were merely surface abrasions. The true fatal wounds were hidden within.

'A sharp energy severed all the meridians.'

No blade could have cut meridians so precisely.

It was the work of a master. One who could wield their energy with absolute control.

A martial artist of such caliber was not common.

Dam Ho stood and surveyed the surroundings.

Nearly twenty escorts lay dead. Dam Ho examined their positions, the way they lay, and their wounds in turn.

And he reached a conclusion.

'All killed… by a single sword stroke?'

It was a difficult thing to believe, but there was no other explanation.

Killing twenty people was not especially difficult. Dam Ho himself could do it in a heartbeat if he wished.

But to kill them all with a single sword stroke—to sever only their meridians—that was another matter entirely.

The internal energy manipulation of whoever had killed them was exquisitely refined beyond imagination. Dam Ho had never seen anyone who could control sword energy and internal energy with such precision.

"What on earth happened here?"

Bang Jin-bo shook his head slowly.

Dam Ho mounted the Black Viper.

"Let's go."

"Yes!"

Whatever had happened here, it was not their concern. There was no reason to investigate.

The two left the scene of the corpses and rode on. After some time, Gugu Mountain came into view in the distance.

Gugu Mountain was located within the Tongshan County border, rising over five hundred zhang, with picturesque scenery that attracted visitors throughout the year.

A legend held that the famous Southern Song Taoist Zhang Daoqing had established nine palaces on this mountain, which was how it came to be called Gugu Mountain. The mountain was thus revered as a sacred site of Taoism.

Upon Gugu Mountain stood a sect called the Nine Palace Gate.

The Nine Palace Gate was also a branch of Taoism. Though not as well known as the Mount Hua or Wudang Sects, their influence in the region was considerable.

Perhaps influenced by the Nine Palace Gate, the atmosphere of Tongshan was remarkably calm. This contrasted sharply with the rest of the realm, which was abuzz with the Demonic Cult's reappearance and the Martial Alliance's founding.

Upon entering Tongshan County, the two first sought out an inn.

They asked passersby and were directed to the Fengqian Inn on the main road. Though small and shabby, it was said to have excellent cooking.

As the person had described, the Fengqian Inn's exterior was unremarkable. But the moment they stepped inside, a delicious aroma stimulated their senses.

"Wow!"

Bang Jin-bo's mouth fell open.

From the smell alone, he could tell that the inn's cook was truly skilled.

"Welcome!"

The moment they entered, a woman in her early forties greeted them. With a warm countenance and a slightly plump figure, her smile put visitors at ease.

Bang Jin-bo asked, "Do you have a room?"

"Of course. How many days will you be staying?"

"Just one day for now."

"Go to the end of the hall on the second floor, right side. You'll be eating as well?"

"Yes! What's the best dish here?"

"My husband is from Sichuan, so he's good at spicy dishes like Dry-Fried Pork with Chili."

"Really? Then we'll have the Dry-Fried Pork with Chili and the Spicy Beef Cubes with Chili Oil."

"My! You know your Sichuan cuisine."

"Heh heh! I'm very interested in cooking."

The two chatted as though they had known each other for years. Their conversation showed no signs of ending, so Dam Ho left them and went up to his room on the second floor.

As if to prove the landlady's character, the room was impeccably clean.

When he threw open the window, the main street came into full view.

He could see many people passing by—a mix of commoners, merchants, and martial artists.

Among the martial artists, Taoists were by far the most numerous. Some were members of the Nine Palace Gate, while others had come from across the realm to feel Gugu Mountain's spiritual energy.

It was a scene that made the mountain's status as a Taoist holy land feel real.

Dam Ho stood with arms folded, watching the people on the street for a time.

"Hyung!"

Some time passed before Bang Jin-bo finally came up to the room. His face was beaming.

"Turns out the owner here is an incredible cook! She said if it's quiet at night, she'll even show me the kitchen."

"Is it that exciting?"

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo was grinning from ear to ear.

Anything related to cooking made him lose all composure. He set down the bundle containing his cooking utensils that he carried on his back.

"Let's go down. The food should be ready by now."

"Mm!"

Dam Ho descended with Bang Jin-bo to the dining hall on the first floor.

Only a short time had passed, but the hall was already quite full. The most eye-catching group was a gathering of Taoists.

Around a Taoist in his early fifties sat seven young Taoists, occupying a table.

The elder Taoist's eyes were sharp. The occasional glint of divine light suggested that the spiritual power he possessed was no ordinary thing.

But Dam Ho quickly lost interest.

If there were Taoists, he had encountered enough of them at the Mount Hua Sect to last a lifetime. He knew best what kind of people they were.

Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo sat in an empty seat.

After a brief wait, the landlady emerged carrying a tray of food.

"Here are the Dry-Fried Pork with Chili and the Spicy Beef Cubes with Chili Oil. And to quench your thirst, I brought a jar of my own homemade red liquor."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Enjoy your meal."

The landlady set the dishes and liquor bottle on the table.

Dam Ho gazed at the liquor bottle for a moment.

He did not particularly enjoy liquor, but he did not wish to refuse a kindness.

'He would have liked this.'

Dam Ho thought of his friend, who was especially fond of liquor, and poured a cup.

"Wow!"

The fragrant aroma of the liquor drew an immediate reaction from Bang Jin-bo.

Even having never tasted liquor before, he could tell that its bouquet was extraordinary.

Dam Ho brought the cup to his lips. The moment the liquor touched his tongue, he was genuinely surprised. It was more delicious than any liquor he had ever tasted.

The way the liquor seemed to cling to his tongue was fascinating.

'So this is why Master drinks liquor.'

As Dam Ho was discovering the pleasures of liquor—

The inn's door opened, and someone stepped lightly inside. In an instant, every person in the inn turned their gaze that way.

"Ah!"

A gasp escaped from more than one mouth.