Light Novel: Volume 6 Episode 9
Manhwa: N/A
The name of the father was Yeop So-pyeong.
It was Yeop So-pyeong’s father who moved to Xizang. He couldn’t figure out why they came from the Central Plains to Xizang, but they lived a typically normal life.
Until the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple visited many years ago.
When the first batch of monks from Xiaoleiyin Temple came, Yeop So-pyeong’s father lost his life. He went out to protect his beloved grandson and was attacked by the monks.
After that, Yeop So-pyeong had engraved his resentment against the Xiaoleiyin Temple. In order to somehow save his child, he gathered information about the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
Little was known about the Xiaoleiyin Temple. They thoroughly blocked information about their sect. And if by any chance someone would spread rumors that could bring even the slightest harm to the Xiaoleiyin Temple, the monks would pursue them to the ends of hell and punish them.
Due to those circumstances, even those who knew something about the Xiaoleiyin Temple were silent. It’s because they don’t know when the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple will come after them if they ever talk about the said sect.
No one gave information to Yeop So-pyeong. However, Yeop So-pyeong did not give up.
The father’s tenacity after losing his child was so great that he dug into even the smallest information. Those who admired his tenacity shared the information they knew.
As if raking up millet that had fallen to the floor, Yeop So-pyeong relentlessly gathered information about the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
“The best person in the Xiaoleiyin Temple is the sect leader. He is called Hyeolbul. His martial arts was said to reach the sky. There is a saying that he has mastered the technique called the Supreme Layer of the Heavenly Dragon.”1
Yeop So-pyeong didn’t know what kind of martial art it was. He just heard that the best martial arts of the Xiaoleiyin Temple is the Supreme Layer of the Heavenly Dragon and Hyeolbul managed to master it.
“More than a dozen people serve as Hyeolbul’s hands and feet, including the Ten Monks. There are three hundred Demon Blood Monks2 under Hyeolbul’s Ten Monks. Both groups can be said to be the main special forces of the Xiaoleiyin Temple. In addition to the previous two groups, it’s also known that there are about three or four organizations which have been raised for a special purpose which includes the kidnapped children. They are being raised as weapons specifically for a special purpose.”
Compared to the effort he put into gathering information, the knowledge that Yeop So-pyeong knew was actually nothing great. It was a level of information that anyone could get with just a little bit of effort.
But for Pyo-wol, it was of great help. A true assassin would collect and analyze as much information as possible before proceeding with the job.
If it were a normal situation, Pyo-wol would have been calmly walking around the cold Namling Forest while slowly gathering information.
But this time he couldn’t.
Once Heukam reaches the Xiaoleiyin Temple, all of the Xiaoleiyin Temple’s monks will realize that Pyo-wol is on his way, and thus, prepare for his arrival.
The more time he spends staying in the Namling Forest, the more disadvantageous it would be for him. This is because the defense of the Xiaoleiyin Temple will become even stronger.
He needs to strike when the iron is hot.
They should not be given time to respond properly.
Even if Heukam is a member of Xiaoleiyin Temple, it will be difficult for them to believe the information he delivers.
It is because Pyo-wol’s ability was beyond common sense.
So the perfect opportunity to strike is when the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple were still in doubt. If Pyo-wol takes any longer, the Xiaoleiyin Temple might already be persuaded by Heukam.
Pyo-wol got up from his seat.
Ah-myung also stood up.
“I’ll follow you too.”
“Nonsense.”
Pyo-wol dismissed him coldly and then turned around. Then, Ah-myung grabbed Pyo-wol’s trousers,
“Why? I can help, too. Let me go with you.”
Ah-myung was not ready to let go until Pyo-wol agreed. But Pyo-wol had no reason to accept his foolishness.
Tuk!
Pyo-wol lightly hit Ah-myung’s head. Ah-myung could not even scream and lost consciousness.
Yeop So-pyeong accepted the body of Ah-myung who was collapsing.
“I’m sorry. This guy hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since his brother was kidnapped. He thinks it’s all his fault that he was kidnapped. It’s no use telling him not to think that way.”
“………”
“No one will be on your way. I pray that you will be safe on your journey.”
Yeop So-pyeong bowed his head to Pyo-wol.
He did not know the extent of Pyo-wol’s martial arts. He didn’t even think that Pyo-wol would be able to destroy the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
The Xiaoleiyin Temple had too much power and influence to be destroyed by a single individual.
It was for the same reason that many of Xizang’s clans did not dare to challenge even though they had a grudge against the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
The only thing Yeop So-pyeong wished for was that Pyo-wol did even a little bit of damage to the Xiaoleiyin Temple. He wanted to let them know that not everyone in Xizang would be groveling beneath them.
Yeop So-pyeong looked at Pyo-wol’s back without saying a word.
‘Please, just kill at least one more—’
He hoped that his wish would be conveyed to Pyo-wol.
After leaving the village, Pyo-wol returned to the Namling Forest.
During his conversation with Yeop So-pyeong, he completely recovered his stamina and strength. After eating a simple and dry meal, he was back in his best condition.
There was no reason to delay.
Pyo-wol went to the stream he had noticed previously. The one in front of him was different as compared to the other streams.
The taste of the water was slightly different and there were more fish in the stream. This would mean that this stream was a better environment for fish to live in than other streams.
Pyo-wol thought that it might be because human feces were discharged through this place.
The biggest problem when many people live together is dealing with feces. All the big cities work hard to maintain a proper sewage system.
However, there was no reason to maintain and have a separate sewage channel in a forest. It was enough to use a nearby stream. Pyo-wol thought that the current stream is an example.
No matter how cleverly they try to avoid people’s eyes, they could not hide such an essential place.
Pyo-wol walked into the stream without hesitation.
As he walked for a long time, an unfamiliar landscape greeted him. But Pyo-wol was not dazzled by the scenery.
He closed his eyes and only listened to the sound of the water.
It would be unbelievable to find a person who could determine the direction by only hearing the sound of the water. But Pyo-wol traveled a long time like that.
It was by no means an easy task for someone to walk on a path that has never been taken before, by only relying on their sense of hearing while blocking all the other senses.
However, it was not that difficult for Pyo-wol, who had trained his senses to the limit in the underground cave.
After almost three hours or more, the watery smell and stench became particularly severe. The stench that penetrated Pyo-wol’s sense of smell almost blew away his mind.
It was only then that Pyo-wol finally opened his eyes.
There was a huge temple ahead. The temple where Heukam came from looked like a monster in itself.
The signboard hanging on the temple’s main gate caught Pyo-wol’s eyes.
Xiaoleiyin Temple.
He has finally arrived at his destination.
The stream that Pyo-wol walked through was penetrating the basement of the Xiaoleiyin Temple. As Pyo-wol expected, the Xiaoleiyin Temple disposed of their trash and feces through the stream.
Even from afar, he could feel the people busily moving around inside the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
Pyo-wol scanned his surroundings using his qi, he felt like a normal movement inside the temple was quite unusual.
Pyo-wol did not have any difficulty guessing why.
‘He must have talked about me.’
It was something he had already guessed, so he was neither surprised nor agitated.
But no matter how much they strengthened their security, it was of no use. Pyo-wol had already secured a perfect infiltration route.
Pyo-wol walked into the stream full of filth.
The water came up to his chest.
A stench that made it hard to even breathe went to his head. It was a stream full of feces excreted by hundreds of people. It was natural for the stream to smell like this.’
Pyo-wol easily inhaled the stench that would make ordinary people faint just by smelling it. He had a calm expression. This level of stench had no effect on Pyo-wol who had been living in the underground cave.
He even dipped his head in the stream with floating feces. He didn’t care about the feces sticking to his body.
An iron grate the size of a child’s forearm appeared in the middle. It was made in case of an intruder.
A trap had been set up that would ring a bell with a thread connected to it if one of the iron bars was cut.
It seemed impossible for even a child to squirm through the iron bars.
But Pyo-wol recklessly shoved his head through the iron bars.”
Srreuk!
He slid through the iron bars like a snake. Once he got through the iron bars there was no more stopping him.
Pyo-wol stuck his head out of the stream.
A light could be seen through the open space above him.
The open space was the space between the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple, where they could see what was going on behind the scenes. Pyo-wol made sure no one was around and went out.
Since the location smells, the security around the sides were loose. No one from the Xiaoleiyin Temple considered that outsiders would invade through such a smelly and filthy place.
It was a common loophole among sects who had never been invaded by an outsider. Because nothing of the sort has happened before, they think it will never happen again.
Thanks to this, Pyo-wol was able to easily hide inside the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
The first thing Pyo-wol did was to find a nearby well and simply wipe off the dirt on his body. Not because he was dirty, but because he was afraid that the monks would find him out because of the stench from his body.
Pyo-wol looked inside the Xiaoleiyin Temple, while using his qi to dry the water from his body.
The voices of the monks were heard.
“I don’t think anyone would try to infiltrate and hide in the headquarters. So what’s the point of doing rounds at night?”
“I think so too, but it’s an order from above, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“In our hundreds of years of history, no outsider has sneaked inside the temple. Who would even dare to break into our headquarters?”
“Didn’t you say it was a command from above? Don’t be rude and be alert.”
“Yes!”
The dissatisfaction of the monks, who had to stand on the alert in the middle of the night, pierced the sky.
It was a natural dissatisfaction for those who had never experienced this kind of work. Pyo-wol looked at them for a while, and then hid himself in the dark.
* * *
In the biggest hall of the Xiaoleiyin Temple Temple, a black figure was prostrating.
It was Heukam.
In front of Heukam was Hyeolbul, the sect leader of the Xiaoleiyin Temple, and the Ten Monks.
Hyeolbul was looking down at Heukam with cold eyes.
“So what you’re saying is that you’ve been chased by an assassin and ran away here?”
“I’m sorry.”
“And not once did you hear his voice, let alone see the face of the assassin?””
“Yes.”
Heukam’s voice gradually lowered. On the other hand, the anger on the face of Hyeolbul worsen.
He slammed his fists against the table and shouted,
Bang!
“Do you think that makes sense? You have been chased by an assassin for over a month and you didn’t even get a glimpse of his face? Furthermore, you’re scared of the assassin? Even after all the support I’ve given you, I can’t believe you’ve let me down like this.”
“But, sect leader, you have to believe me! What I’m saying is true. He’s definitely real. He is—”
“Okay. Let’s say there is such a person. But to think you can’t even shake off an assassin?”
“That’s because I didn’t have enough preparations… If I have enough time, I can definitely get rid of him! Please give me a chance!”
Thud!
Heukam struck his head on the floor and begged.
Hyeolbul frowned and looked at Heukam.
‘This child has no reason to lie.’
He knew Heukam’s pride well. If Heukam, who would rather die than admit his failure like this, is saying such things, then there is a high probability that everything he had said so far was true.
Hyeolbul looked at the Ten Monks.
“What do you guys think?”
The Ten Monks whispered to each other and gathered their opinions. Then the eldest of the monks answered,
“Everyone knows that Heukam is not someone who would lie. It would not be a lie to say that he came with someone chasing him. He should be punished but since he took revenge on the Qingcheng sect, he can be pardoned.”
“Is that so?”
“Instead, we should capture the assassin who threatened Heukam. It will be difficult to find him because of the arrays in the Namling Forest, so I think it would be a good idea to release the hunting dogs just in case.’
“Hunting dogs?”
“Yes. At the same time, the demon monks who are under my command happen to be good at this kind of thing. If you allow them to go, they will be able to catch the assassin.”
“Hmm! Are they enough?”
“It will be enough. No matter how great the assassin may be, he will surely be exhausted wandering around the forest. Catching such a person is as easy as a man getting a woman”
“You have a point.”
Hyeolbul shook his head.
The atmosphere in the hall was gathering to unravel the madman. But at that moment, Heukam was screaming inside.
‘No! That’s not enough. How are you going to catch him with just the Demon Blood Monks? He’s not as easy as you think!’
Heukam was burning up to the point of going crazy.
In his mind, he wanted to say that theythey should raise theirtheir vigilance to the highest level and release more troops to catch him. But the atmosphere around him was not in his favor.
ot in his favor
If he spoke one more word of complaint here, he thought that they would question and lock him in the depths of the basement.
Hyeolbul and the Ten Monks were the ones who remained.
Knowing that fact, Heukam kept his head down and lips closed.
‘In the end, the only one I can trust is myself.’
SoundlessWind21’s Notes
Thank you for reading!
Supreme Layer of the Heavenly Dragon. Raws:천룡층층층무상강(天龍層層無上里) 天 sky, heaven, god龍 dragon層 story, layer層 story, layer無 top, superior上 top, superior里 unit of distance, villageDemon Blood Monks. Raws: 마라혈승(魔羅血僧) 魔 demon, evil spirits, magic power羅 net for catching birds, gauze血 blood僧 Buddhist priest
