Chapter 120

Chapter 120: The Threads of Fate Are Tangled in Ways No One Can Predict (2)

A woman in light traveling clothes entered the inn.

Her face was concealed by a veil, making it impossible to discern her features. But the curves revealed above her light attire were enough to captivate onlookers. Most striking of all was her seductive aura.

People were enchanted by her presence, unable to look away. But the woman appeared entirely accustomed to such attention, casually surveying her surroundings.

A vacant seat remained in the corner. The woman walked over and sat down with graceful composure. The men whispered among themselves as they watched her.

"Look at that figure. She's a real enchantress."

"I know, right. If I could spend one night with a woman like that, I'd have no regrets."

The men's gazes were filled with desire.

Dam Ho, too, looked at the woman.

He could understand the reactions of the men around him—her presence was overwhelming. But Dam Ho's gaze was different from ordinary men's.

His eyes were cold and sharp.

The men, blinded by lust, had failed to notice—but at her waist hung a sword.

It was no decorative sword that women commonly wore as ornament. Even at a glance, it was well-balanced in weight, with the smooth patina of long use on its hilt.

The woman was a swordswoman. Her steady gait and the intense gaze that pierced through her veil confirmed his assessment.

The landlady approached the woman.

"Welcome."

"Do you have an empty room? I'd prefer somewhere quiet, if possible."

The veiled woman's voice was as beautiful as her striking appearance.

"There is a detached cottage out back, but it's a bit shabby…"

"That's fine. I'll take the detached cottage."

"Oh dear, but it's really quite run-down…"

The landlady scratched her head awkwardly. Her reaction suggested the cottage was in quite poor condition. But the veiled woman answered as though it were of no consequence.

"It's fine. As long as it's quiet."

"Well, if you're sure…"

Only then did the landlady nod with a resigned expression.

"Show me the room later. For now, bring me a meal."

"What would you like?"

"If you have noodle soup, bring me a bowl."

"Very well."

The landlady hurried to the kitchen.

Only then did the veiled woman, now alone, look around. The men who had been stealing glances at her quickly looked away, clearing their throats.

The woman shook her head slightly. Then her eyes landed on Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo.

In that instant, a glint of interest appeared in her eyes. She and Dam Ho had made direct eye contact.

His black eyes, sunk into unfathomable depth. No emotion could be read from them. It had been quite some time since she had encountered such a case, and she could not help but feel intrigued.

'Was there such a master in Tongshan?'

She tilted her head.

In that moment, Dam Ho lowered his head and began eating. The woman felt a slight twinge of disappointment, but quickly turned her attention away from him.

She looked out the window.

Gugu Mountain could be seen in the distance. White clouds wrapped around the mountain's waist, giving it a remarkably atmospheric beauty.

As the woman watched the cloud-shrouded mountain, the men near the window exchanged glances and rose from their seats.

They headed straight for the veiled woman's table.

Among them, a particularly handsome young man addressed the veiled woman.

"Young miss, you seem lonely sitting alone. How about joining our table?"

The woman raised her head and looked at the man. After glancing briefly at the men around her, he flashed a sly smile.

The man's name was Cho Gyeong-yeom. In Tongshan, he was a fairly well-known playboy. His family was wealthy, and his own appearance was attractive, so he had wooed countless women.

Cho Gyeong-yeom's gaze was filled with desire.

'This is the first time I've seen a well like this. If I get this one naked, it would be truly extraordinary.'

It was not merely her figure. The instinct he had honed from having conquered so many women whispered to him that she was a rare beauty.

Cho Gyeong-yeom flashed the most charming smile he could muster. But the woman's response was the opposite of what he expected.

"Get lost."

"What?"

Cho Gyeong-yeom frowned. The woman spoke again.

"I said get lost, you disgust me."

"Well, now. Is that how you speak to me?"

"If there's no one else here but you, then I must be speaking to you."

"I never thought I, Cho Gyeong-yeom, would be dismissed like this. How outrageous. Brothers, what do you make of this?"

Cho Gyeong-yeom looked to the men around him.

The men eagerly stepped forward.

"This wench has no manners. A woman should receive a man's words as though they were heaven."

"Cho-hyeong must be losing his touch. Can't even properly address a woman and gets rejected."

The men were martial artists with ties to Tongshan's underworld. They ran with Cho Gyeong-yeom, committing various atrocities.

No woman who caught their eye ever came away unharmed. They ravaged not only their bodies but their spirits as well.

From the moment the veiled woman entered the inn, their lecherous intentions had been stirred. They were prepared to pay any price to have her.

"Let me see that face, then. Just how pretty are you?"

Cho Gyeong-yeom reached for the woman's veil—

Splat!

Suddenly, a fountain of blood erupted from the back of his hand.

"Huh?"

Cho Gyeong-yeom blinked in confusion. Then, through the extreme pain, he realized what had happened.

"Aaargh!"

Cho Gyeong-yeom clutched his arm and rolled on the floor.

"This wench!"

"Get her!"

The other men, startled, rushed forward—

Splat!

In an instant, their shoulders and the napes of their necks split open, and blood sprayed upward.

"Gah!"

"Aaaagh!"

The men tumbled to the ground.

Only then did they realize just how terrifying the woman was.

The wounds were as clean as though cut by a sword. And yet, none of them had even seen how she had attacked.

She was a master of a level they could not dare imagine. The kind of woman upon whom men like them should never harbor lecherous intentions.

The woman opened her lips.

"Still want to see my face?"

Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men shook their heads desperately.

Their faces had already gone gray. They pressed hard on their wounds to stem the bleeding, but the blood would not stop.

If the bleeding continued, their lives would be in danger.

Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men knelt and begged.

"We were wrong. Please, forgive us."

"Find a physician to stop the bleeding, and you may live."

"A—A physician?"

At the woman's words, Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men scrambled out the door without a second thought.

The woman watched them go with a smile whose meaning was impossible to read. Her smile was ice-cold, but concealed behind her veil, no one could see her true expression.

Only then did the people in the inn understand that the woman was a terrifying master, and they dared not even glance her way.

The veiled woman had shown Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men exactly what happened when one became entangled with a martial artist. She was not someone upon whom they should harbor lecherous desires.

Bang Jin-bo, too, was greatly surprised by the woman's martial prowess.

"Hyung, that lady is really something."

Bang Jin-bo had not seen how the woman had wounded the men.

A glint of interest appeared in Dam Ho's previously impassive eyes.

'Find a physician, and you may live.'

That might be true.

If the physician was a Divine Physician of sufficient caliber to repair meridians.

Others had not seen how the woman had wounded Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men, but Dam Ho was different.

The weapon the woman had used was an iron chopstick from the table. She had moved so swiftly that the others simply had not seen it.

In that instant, Dam Ho had clearly seen it—a sharp sword energy forming momentarily atop the iron chopstick.

The sword energy the woman had generated had not merely cut flesh. It had severed the meridians of Cho Gyeong-yeom and his men.

Only because her manipulation of internal energy was so exquisite were the meridians clinging on by a thread.

The problem was that while the men moved to find a physician, those barely clinging meridians would snap.

From the moment the veiled woman had struck, they were already dead men walking.

Suddenly, the corpses of the Daewun Escort Agency escorts he had seen before arriving here flashed in Dam Ho's mind.

'That was her handiwork, too.'

The veiled woman was a master of the sword. And an exceptionally brilliant one.

After finishing her meal, the veiled woman was led to the detached cottage by the landlady. As the landlady had said, it was quite shabby. But it was neatly arranged, so staying for a time should not be a problem.

"Whew!"

The woman let out a sigh and removed her veil. Her true face was revealed.

Skin so pale it seemed she had not seen the sun for an age, eyebrows as delicate as though painted with a brush, and black eyes like obsidian. Her nose was straight and fine, and her small lips were a deep crimson.

The woman possessed every quality one could call the beauty of the age. More than that, she had a strange allure that drew people's souls.

For this reason, the woman always wore a veil. To avoid, even if only slightly, the attention of others.

"I still haven't found the object, and yet these flies keep buzzing around. How much longer must this go on?"

The woman gazed out the window for a moment, then leaped away.

Atop Gugu Mountain stood the Nine Palace Gate.

The current sect leader of the Nine Palace Gate was Sage Cheol-yang.

He had become sect leader in his early thirties and had led the sect well for twenty years. Rumor held that his martial arts and spiritual power were both formidable, earning the respect of many.

Though it was late at night, Sage Cheol-yang could not sleep. His heart was beating strangely.

"Sigh!"

In the end, Sage Cheol-yang gave up trying to sleep and went outside.

Normally, when the sun set and night fell, a fantastical sea of stars unfolded above Gugu Mountain. But tonight, thick clouds concealed all the stars.

"Why is it so dark? This is not good."

Sage Cheol-yang was a master of sufficient caliber to read the heavens. His accumulated spiritual power was that deep.

But tonight, the heavenly signs he saw were exceedingly turbulent. He had not seen such disturbed heavenly signs in years.

"The Demonic Cult has risen again. Could it be because of that?"

The realm was unsettled by the Demonic Cult's resurgence. The Nine Palace Gate was also preparing to dispatch forces to the Martial Alliance.

"How many more victims will there be this time?"

Decades ago, when the Demonic Cult had risen, Sage Cheol-yang had been a young martial artist in the prime of his life. He had joined the fight against the Demonic Cult alongside his senior brothers.

He had been fortunate enough to survive to the end, and because of that, he had been selected for the final suicide squad.

He had fought with that squad in the most brutal of battles. That was why he knew better than anyone how terrifying the Demonic Cult truly was.

"Still, if the realm unites its strength, surely something can be done?"

As Sage Cheol-yang tried to console himself—

Rustle!

A faint sound reached his ears. The sound of someone's robe brushing against the grass.

Sage Cheol-yang turned. There stood a woman in light traveling clothes. Exuding an air of mystery, she was none other than the veiled woman who had stayed at the Fengqian Inn.

Sage Cheol-yang's brow twitched.

The Nine Palace Gate had many disciples in training. Among them were women. But none among them possessed the mysterious aura of the woman before him.

"Who are you, young miss?"

"Are you Sage Cheol-yang, sect leader of the Nine Palace Gate?"

"I am. But… who might you be?"

"My name is Eum Yu-gyeong."

"I see! Miss Eum. But what business brings you to the Nine Palace Gate at this hour? During the day, you would have been welcomed with open arms."

A note of wariness filled Sage Cheol-yang's voice.

He knew that the woman before him was no ordinary person.

Where he now stood was a restricted area of the Nine Palace Gate. To reach it, one had to pass through three gates, each guarded by disciples in tight formation.

That Eum Yu-gyeong had evaded the disciples' eyes to approach this place meant she was a master of considerable skill.

Eum Yu-gyeong walked toward Sage Cheol-yang and spoke.

"I came to ask a question."

"My, my. How intimidating. What could be so important that you climbed the mountain at this hour?"

"If you know, I would appreciate it if you told me."

"Ask away. If it is something I know, I will gladly tell you."

Sage Cheol-yang covertly gathered his power.

"The sacred relic."

"What?"

"The sacred relic that your people stole from our sect. I am looking for it."

Sage Cheol-yang's eyes wavered.

"C—Could it be the Demonic Cult?"

"Would you tell me? Where you have hidden the sacred relic you stole?"

Eum Yu-gyeong's voice echoed calmly through the night sky.